Saint of the Day – 29 July – St William Pinchon of Saint Brieuc (1180-1234) Bishop of Saint Brieuc, Confessor Born as Guillaume Pinchon on 11 October 1180 in Saint-Alban, San-Brieuc, Brittany (in France) and died on 29 July 1234 of natural causes. William was a champion for the poor and defended the rights and privileges of the Church against secular intervention. This was a cause of his exile from his Diocese but he returned not long after his exile and set himself on the construction of a new Cathedral which was still in construction at the time of his death. Patronage – Diocese of Saint-Brieuc, France. Also known as – William Pinchon, William of San Brieuc, Guillaume Pinchon.His body is incorrupt.
William was born in 1175 in Saint-Alban to the peasants Oliver Pinchon and Jane Fortin. He was, from a young age,, by the innocence of his manners, his admirable meekness, humility, chastity, mortification, charity and devotion, an accomplished model of all virtues. He received the tonsure and some years later, the Holy Orders of Deacon and Priest, at the hands of Josselin, Bishop of Saint-Brieuc.
He served that Church and Diocese, under his two predecessors, Bishops Peter and Sylvester and succeeded the latter in the episcopal dignity about the year 1220.
The poor were his treasurers and not content to exhaust on them whatever he possessed, he often borrowed great stores of corn and other necessary provisions for their relief. The bare boards were usually his bed – for his domestic servants discovered that he never made use of the soft bed which they prepared for him. In 1225 he sold all his possessions in a famine to aid the poor and homeless.
The Duke Peter I forced him into a brief exile in 1228 and he spent that time living for a while in Poitiers before he returned to his Diocese in 1230 after the Duke reconciled with Pope Gregory IX. It was during his exile in Poitiers that he assisted the ill Bishop there and helped him in his ecclesial duties.
He died in 1234 and his body was deposited in his Cathedral and taken up incorrupt in 1284 . Pope Innocent IV Canonised Pinchon on 24 March 1247 a mere 13 years after his death.
Saint Guillaume Pinchon and Saint Maurice Duault – Saints of the Diocèse of Saint-Brieuc by Pierre de Rennes
Madonna dei Miracoli / Holy Mary of Miracles, Morbio Inferiore, Ticino, Switzerland (1594) – 29 July:
Where the Sanctuary of Morbio now stands, a castle stood centuries ago, attested in 1198 and destroyed in the first half of the sixteenth century. Only the ruins of a Chapel, dedicated to St Bernardino of Siena, transformed over time into a pile of rubble, buried by weeds, brambles and thorns., remained. Surrounded by ivy and fortunately well preserved, remained the Fresco in the Chapel, depicting the Virgin with the Child. The history of the Sanctuary of Holy Mary of Miracles began on 29 July 1594. It was a Friday when the two mothers with their daughters, Catherine and Angela , respectively ten and seven years old, travelled to Morbio to entreat the assistance of Fr Gaspare Basbetrini. They were sick girls, tormented by the devil and had travelledp to Morbio, to ask for the blessing of Don Gaspare Barberini, the assistant Priest at Morbio, who was well-known as an Exorcist. However, sadly for the pilgrims, Fr Basbetrini was absent. To the tiredness of the journey and the sadness of illness, the bitterness of disappointment was added. Among the ruins of the ancient castle the little group of supplicants waited and discovered on the crumbling and crumbling walls, the faded remains of a fresco depicting the Virgin in a deeply maternal position nursing Baby Jesus. The two mothers knelt before the Virgin with their daughters and prayed in deep sadness and devotion for the intercession of the Holy Mother to come to the aid of the sick children. And then the miracle happened. Those two poor simple and innocent creatures were cured. This is Morbio’s miracle – the Madonna appeared to the two little girls and cureds them of all their illnesses, dispelling any demonic presence within them. Our Lady spoke to the elder girl, Catherine and instructed her to tell the Bishop that the Church should be rebuilt and that the Holy Rosary must be said everyday. Eight days after the event, on 5 August 1594, the episcopal curia of Como, whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction also extended to the southern regions of Ticino, instructed the regular canonical process, which recognized , upon the sworn deposition of the main eyewitnesses, the truth of what happened and their prodigious and supernatural nature. A stained-glass window, located at the top of the apse and placed at the beginning of this century, illustrates and reminds those who enter the Sanctuary of this miracle. Catherine is depicted on a ladder, with her arms outstretched, listening in front of the image of the Madonna dei Miracoli. At the foot of the ladder, Angela, the other sick girl, is lying asleep.
In a short while an Oratory was built on the site to recite the Rosary and celebrate Mass there, as the Madonna had said to Catherine, while on 29 July 1595, the Anniversary of the apparition and the miracle, the first stone was blessed and laid for the construction of the Sanctuary, Consecrated on 16 May 1631 by the Bishop of Como, Msgr Filippo Archinti.
St Antony St Beatrix of Rome Bl Beatrix of Valfleury St Callinicus of Paphlagonia Bl Charles-Antoine-Nicolas Ancel St Faustinus of Rome St Faustinus of Spello St Felix of Rome St John Baptist Luo Tingyin St John the Soldier Bl José Calasanz Marqués St Joseph Zhang St Kilian of Inishcaltra St Lek Sirdani Bl Luis Bertran St Lupus of Troyes Bl Mancius of the Cross St Martha Wang St Olaf II St Olaus of Sweden St Paulus Chen Changpin Bl Petrus of Saint Mary St Pjetër Çuni St Prosper of Orleans St Rufo of Rome St Seraphina St Serapia of Syria St Simplicius of Rome St Sulian
St William Pinchon of Saint Brieuc (1180-1234) Bishop of Saint Brieuc, Confessor — Four Anonymous Martyrs
Martyrs of Calanda – 8 beati: A group of Dominican priests and friars who were martyred over the course of a day in the same town by the same group of anti-Christian forces in the Spanish Civil War. • Antonio Manuel López Couceiro • Felicísimo Díez González • Gumersindo Soto Barros • Lamberto María de Navascués de Juan • Lucio Martínez Mancebo • Matías Manuel Albert Ginés • Saturio Rey Robles • Tirso Manrique Melero They were martyred on 29 July 1936 in Calanda, Teruel, Spain I.
Martyrs of Lleida – 12 beati: Carmelites of the Ancient Observance novices, friars and priests who were all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War. • Àngel Prat Hostench • Eliseo Maneus Besalduch • Gabriel Escoto Ruiz • Ginés Garre Egea • Joan Maria Puigmitjà Rubió • Joan Prat Colldecarrera • Josep Solé Rovira • Lluis Fontdecava Quiroga • Manuel Serrano Buj • Miquel Soler Sala • Pere Dorca Coromina • Pere Ferrer Marín They were martyred on 29 July 1936 in Clot dels Aubens, Cervera, Lleida, Spain and Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. • Blessed Bartolomé Rodríguez Soria
Martyrs of Rome – 23 saints Eugene Flora the Martyr Lucilla Theodore
Thought for the Day – 28 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Rich
“Sacred Scripture has some very severe and terrible things to say to the rich. “Woe to you rich! for you are now having your comfort” (Lk 6:24). “Amen, I say to you, with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. And further, I say to you, it is easier for a camel top pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:23-24, CF Mk 10:24-25, Lk 18:24-25). St James adds: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl over your miseries which will come upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted and their rust will be a witness against you and will devour your flesh as fire does. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who reaped your fields, which have been kept back by you unjustly, cry out and their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have feasted upon earth and you have nourished your hearts on dissipation in the days of slaughter”(Js 5:1-5).
These passages are not concerned with the rich as such, for men like Abraham, Job and St Louis, the King of France, were wealthy. They are directed against those who have become absorbed in their wealth (Mk 10:24) and have grown deaf to the rightful promptings of justice and charity.
Nevertheless, it is not only the wealthy and unjust who should reflect seriously on these stern words but also, those who have more than they need in life and are never moved by compassion for their less fortunate fellowmen. Can we be counted amongst these?”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 34: 29-35; Psalms 99: 5, 6, 7, 9; Matthew 13: 44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again and out of joy, goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Matthew 13:44
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
Matthew 6:21
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he, who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:20-21
“Lay not up for yourselves, treasures on earth … but lay up for yourselves, treasures in heaven”
Matthew 6:19,20
“You are a jailor of your wealth, not its owner, you who bury your gold in the ground (cf Mt 25,25); you are its slave and not its master. Christ said: “Where your treasure is, there also your heart will be” so it is your heart you have buried. Rather, sell your gold and buy salvation; sell what is metal and acquire God’s Kingdom; sell the field and purchase for yourself, eternal life. In saying this I am speaking the truth because I am relying on the words of Him who is Truth: “If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mt 19,21). Do not be cast down by these words lest the same thing be said to you, as to the rich young man: “It will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (v.23). Still more, when you read this sentence, consider that death can snatch these possessions away from you, that the aggression of someone powerful can carry them away.”
St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church
“Where is the heart that loves? On the thing it loves. Therefore, where our love is, there our heart is held captive. It cannot leave it; it cannot be lifted higher, it cannot go either to the right or the left; see, it is fixed. Where the miser’s treasure is, there is his heart and where our heart is, there is our treasure.”
One Minute Reflection – 28 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 34: 29-35; Psalms 99: 5, 6, 7, 9; Matthew 13: 44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again and out of joy, goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Matthew 13:44
REFLECTION – “It was Christ who was present to all those to whom, from the beginning, God communicated His Speech and Word. If anyone, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find, in them, an expression of Christ and a foreshadowing of this new calling. For Christ is the treasure which was hidden in the field, that is, in this world (Mt 13:38) – a treasure hidden in the Scriptures, since it was alluded to by means of symbols and parables which, humanly speaking, could not be understood prior to the fulfilment of prophecy, that is to say, before the coming of the Lord. That is why it was said to Daniel the prophet: ” Keep secret the message and seal the book until the end of time ” (12:4) … And Jeremiah also says, “In the last days they shall understand these things.” (23:20) …
When read by Christians, the Law is a treasure, hidden beforehand in a field, but brought to light and interpreted by the Cross of Christ. It shows forth the Wisdom of God and makes known His intentions with regard to our salvation; it prefigures the Kingdom of Christ and preaches, by anticipation, the Good News of our inheritance of the holy Jerusalem. It proclaims beforehand, that those who love God shall advance even to hearing and seeing His Word and, that they will be glorified by this Word …
Thus it was, that the Lord explained the Scriptures to His disciples, after his Resurrection from the dead, proving to them, by their means, that “it was necessary the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory” (Lk 24:26). So if anyone should likewise read the Scriptures, that person will become a perfect disciple, “like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom things both new and old.” (Mt 13:52). – St Irenaeus of Lyons ((130-202) Bishop, Martyr, Theologian – Against the Heresies, IV, 26 ; SC 100
PRAYER – Remember Lord, Your solemn Covenant, renewed and consecrated by the Blood of the Lamb, so that Your people may obtain forgiveness for their sins and continued growth by grace. May the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Christ, our Treasure, intercede for our salvation. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ Your Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You Father, now and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 28 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”
O God of Our Life By St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
O God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down, when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies grey and threatening, when our lives have no music in them and our hearts are lonely and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise, tune our hearts to brave music, give us the sense of comradeship, with heroes and saints of every age and so quicken our spirits, that we may be able to encourage, the souls of all, who journey with us on the road of life, to Your honour and glory. Amen
Saint of the Day – 28 July – Saint Pope Innocent I (Died 417) Papal Ascension 402 until his death on 12 March 417, Confessor. He defended the exiled Saint John Chrysostom and consulted with the Bishops of Africa concerning the Pelagian controversy, confirming the decisions of the African synods. The Catholic priest-scholar Johann Peter Kirsch, 1500 years later, described Innocent as “a very energetic and highly gifted individual …who fulfilled admirably the duties of his office.”
Before his elevation to the Chair of Peter, very little is known concerning the life of this energetic pope, so zealous for the welfare of the whole Church. According to the “Liber Pontificalis” he was a native of Albano – his father was called Innocentiu but his contemporary St Jerome, referred to him as the son of the previous pope, Anastasius I, probably a unique case of a son succeeding his father in the Papacy. He grew up among the Roman clergy and in the service of the Roman Church. After the death of Anastasius (December 401) he was unanimously chosen Bishop of Rome by the clergy and people. Not much has come down to us concerning his ecclesiastical activities in Rome. Nevertheless, one or two instances of his zeal for the purity of the Catholic Faith and for Church discipline are well attested.
Innocent I lost no opportunity in maintaining and extending the authority of the Roman apostolic See, which was seen as the ultimate resort for the settlement of all ecclesiastical disputes. His communications with St Victricius of Rouen, St Exuperius of Toulouse, St Alexander of Antioch and others, as well as his actions on the appeal made to him by St John Chrysostom against Theophilus of Alexandria, show that opportunities of this kind were numerous and varied. He took a decided view on the Pelagian controversy, confirming the decisions of the Synod of the Province of proconsular Africa, held in Carthage in 416, confirming the condemnation which had been pronounced in 411 against Cælestius, who shared the views of Pelagius. He also wrote in the same year, in a similar sense, to the fathers of the Numidian Synod of Mileve who had addressed him. Soon after this, five African Bishops, among them St Augustine, wrote a personal letter to Innocent regarding their own position in the matter of Pelagianism. In addition, he acted as metropolitan over the Bishops of Italia Suburbicaria.
The historian Zosimus in his Historia Nova suggests that during the sack of Rome in 410 by Alaric I, Innocent I was willing to permit private pagan practices as a temporary measure. However, Zosimus also suggests that this attempt by pagans to restore public worship failed due to lack of public interest, suggesting that Rome had been successfully ChristianiSed in the last century.
Among Innocent I’s letters is one to St Jerome and another to John II, Bishop of Jerusalem, regarding annoyances to which the former had been subjected by the Pelagians at Bethlehem.
He died on 12 March 417, although from the thirteenth to the twentieth century, he has beens commemorated on 28 July. His successor was Pope Zosimus.
In 846, Pope Sergius II gave approval for the relics of St. Innocent to be moved by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, along with those of his father and predecessor Anastasius, to the Crypt of the former collegiate Church of Gandersheim, now Gandersheim Abbey, where most of them rest until this day. Some Relics were also brought to The Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury upon its consecration.
The Siege of Rhodes. Victory over the Turks by the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes in 1480 through the intercession of Our Lady, final battle 27 July 1480 – commemorated on 28 July:
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, the last remnant of the Holy Roman Empire, fell to the “Scourge of Europe,” the Sultan Mehmet II, in the year 1453. This dire news was almost impossible to believe in the rest of Christendom but, it was sadly true and Constantinople was made into the new seat of the Ottoman Empire. A few short years later, Pierre D’Aubusson was Grand Master of the Hospitallers, the Knights of Saint John, living on the island of Rhodes. He and his Knights were untiring opponents of Islam, sworn to do everything in their power to fight against them. Having made the island of Rhodes their home, the Knights harassed Ottoman shipping lanes and assisted with attacks against the Ottoman Empire. In the year 1479, D’Aubusson refused to pay tribute to Mehmet in exchange for peace and furthermore, had the audacity to continue harassing the sultan’s shipping lanes. The Grand Master continued to work on the massive fortifications on Rhodes as he awaited the siege of Rhodes that he knew would soon come. His walls were strong but the Grand Master had only a few hundred Knights and about 2,000 natives to defend them. Mehmet was not intimidated by the Christian defenses on Rhodes, for he had huge cannons and basilisks which had blasted holes in the stout walls of Constantinople. He also had over 70,000 men in his army, and he was determined to wipe out “that abode of the sons of Satan,” as he referred to the Catholic Knights of Rhodes. The Siege of Rhodes began with a tremendous bombardment on the Tower of Saint Nicholas. Grand Master Pierre D’Aubusson was not intimidated as he asked: “What is more sacred than to defend the Faith? What is happier than to fight for Christ?” Breaches were eventually made in the walls and the Muslim’s unremittingly attempted to rush through the breaches. Many of the Turks had to be forced to attack the defenses, as their commanders lashed them forward with whips and chains. The Janissaries, however, did not have to be urged, for they were the sultan’s finest troops. They were warriors to the core and advanced over the fallen bodies of their comrades, anxious to cross swords with the Catholic Knights. Finally, the Tower of Italy began to crumble from the terrific assault, and large breaches opened in the wall. The Bashi-Bazouks and Janissaries rushed into the breach, placing the standard of Islam above the Tower. On witnessing this act, the Grandmaster rushed into the breach together with a few of his excellent Knights. Howling and raging like madmen, the Janissaries pressed the assault, for the Knights seemed too few to stand against their wave after wave of thousands of elite warriors. Yet, the Grandmaster stood, insensible of any wounds he received in return for the carnage he wreaked among the fanatical Muslim warriors. Fighting with broken blades and notched axes, the Knights of Saint John continued to hold the breach, cutting down any who approached them, until a huge Janissary rose up and hurled a spear with all his might directly at the Grand Master. Propelled at incredible speed, the sharp steel tip easily pierced D’Aubusson’s breastplate, puncturing a lung. The Grand Master went down beneath a torrent of hacking blades as the Knights struggled to drag his body from the fray.
The 1480 Siege of Rhodes. Neapolitan ships in the forefront and Turkish camp in the background.
By his courageous stand D’Aubusson had proven he was at least the equal of any Grand Master in history, but now, he was wounded unto death and could do no more. The siege of Rhodes appeared to be lost as D’Aubusson’s Knights struggled to haul him to safety. Thousands of Jannisaries were rushing into the breach with no-one to stop them and at this point the Knights knew, it would take a miracle to keep Rhodes from being overrun. A miracle is exactly what they got. Suddenly there appeared in the sky “a refulgent cross of gold, by the side of which stood a beautiful woman clothed in garments of dazzling white, a lance in her hand and a shield on her arm, accompanied by a man dressed in goatskins and followed by a band of heavenly warriors armed with flaming swords.” It was the glorious figures of Saint John the Baptist, the Patron Saint of the Order of Saint John, Saint Michael the Archangel brandishing his unsheathed sword and the Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary herself, dressed in battle array! The Turks turned at the sight and ran in panic-stricken flight. Thousands fell as they fled, cut down and pursued through the breaches by the Knights of Rhodes and their heavenly allies. Chased all the way back to their camp, it was now the defeated Muslims who suffered the insult of having their sultan’s own standard captured.
The siege of Rhodes had ended, and Grandmaster D’Aubusson later recovered of his wounds. He had lost 231 of his Knights but that was nothing compared to the thousands upon thousands of Muslim warriors who lay dead upon his shores. It was in the year of Our Lord 1480 that the Knights of Rhodes had gained this signal victory over the Turks, by the help of the Blessed Virgin, whom the Knights regarded ever after as Our Lady of Victory. They renewed their dedication to her who had appeared on the walls during the siege of Rhodes holding a lance in her hand to defend them, bringing with her Saint Michael the Archangel and a heavenly army. She, the Patroness of the Sovereign and Military Order of Hospitallers, had turned the formerly obstinate enemy, who retired in disorder, to lose the greater part of their army. Thanks BE to Our Lady of Victory, the all-conquering sword of Mehmet II had shattered upon the walls of Rhodes!
St Arduinus of Trepino St Botwid of Sudermannland St Camelian of Troyes St Celsus of Rome Bl Christodoulos Bl Davíd Carlos-Marañon St Eustathius of Galatia St Pope Innocent I (Died 417) St Irene of Cappadocia Bl John Soreth St José Caselles-Moncho Bl José Melchór García-Sampedro Suárez Bl Josep Castell-Camps St Longinus of Satala St Lucidius of Aquara St Lyutius Bl Manuel Segura-López St Nazarius of Rome
Blessed Stanley Francis Rother (1935-1981) Priest, Martyr, Missionary. He is the first US-born Priest and Martyr to be Beatified (on 23 September 2017) and the second person to be Beatified on US soil following the 2014 Beatification of New Jersey-born nun, Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich S.C. (1901-1927). Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/28/saint-of-the-day-28-july-blessed-stanley-francis-rother-1935-1981-martyr/
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War – Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. Martyrs of Fernán Caballero – 14 beati: Fourteen Claretian clerics who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War. – 28 July 1936 in Fernán Caballero, Ciudad Real, Spain. Bl Antolín Astorga Díez Bl Enrique Serra Chorro Bl Gregorio Charlez Ribera Bl Joan Ayats Plantalech Bl Joan Bover Teixidor Bl Joan Costa Canal Bl José Aurelio Calleja de Hierro Bl José Gutiérrez Arranz Bl Josep Camí y Camí Bl Josep Martí Coll Bl Lluis Casanovas Vila Bl Lorenzo Arribas Palacio Bl Manuel Collellmir Sentíes Bl Miguel Léibar Garay Bl Narcís Felíu Costa Bl Pedro Alonso Fernández Bl Pelagi Ayats Vergés Bl Pere Vilar Espona Bl Primitivo Sandín Miñambres Bl Ramon Gros Ballbé Bl Vicente Toledano Valenciano
Thought for the Day – 27 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
HEAVEN
“Faith teaches us that the soul which is in the state of grace and has expiated all the temporal punishments due to its sins, goes immediately to Heaven when it is separated from the body. There, the soul enjoys eternal happiness. It sees God face-to-face. It sees Him without any intervention of created things but as He is in Himself in the Unity and Trinity of His infinite perfections.
In this Beatific Vision, the intellect remains completely satisfied because, in God, there is every truth, beauty and goodness, The will abandons itself entirely to the Will of God, desiring nothing else and loving nothing else but God alone. There springs from this abandonment, a love which satisfies every desire, an inexpressible joy and a boundless peace. The happy soul will see the Blessed Virgin too and she will smile upon it with maternal tenderness. It will see the Angels and the Saints gathered around the King of Kings and the Queen of Heaven, singing praises. St Paul, who was taken up to the third Heaven, tells us that it is impossible to imagine or to describe the unknown joys which are experienced there. In comparison with the eternal happiness of Heaven, the poor pleasures of this world are empty shadows. We cannot imagine the happiness of those who have gained Heaven by their good lives upon earth. The concept of Heaven is so beautiful and immense, that it caused the Saints to desire death as a means of going there. They welcomed suffering too because, it brought them nearer to their goal.
St Augustine tells us, that Paradise is ours, if we wish: “You are not called to embrace the earth but to prepare yourselves for Heaven; not to the successes of this world, nor to a short-lived transient prosperity but, to eternal life together with the Angels.” (Serm 296, 6:7).”
Quote/s of the Day – 27 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 33: 7-11; 34: 5b-9, 28; Psalms 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13; Matthew 13: 36-43
“The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all causers of sin and all law-breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:41-43
“You do not know when your last day may come. You are an ingrate! Why not use the day, today, that God has given you to repent?”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Ah Jesus, Sun of Justice, make me clothe myself with You, so that I may be able to live according to Your will. Make me, under Your guidance, preserve my robe of baptismal innocence, white, holy and spotless and present it undefiled, before Your tribunal, so that I may wear it, for eternal life.”
St Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301)
“This then is to watch – to be detached from what is present and to live in what is unseen, to live in the thought of Christ as He came once and as He will come again, to desire His second coming, from our affectionate and grateful remembrance, of His first. ”
Sabbatum Sanctum
I look at You, my Lord Jesus and think of Your most holy Body and I keep it before me, as a pledge of my own resurrection. Though I die, as die I certainly shall, nevertheless, I shall not forever die, for I shall rise again. O You, who are the Truth, I know and believe with my whole heart, that this very flesh of mine will rise again. I know, base and odious as it is at present, that it will one day, if I be worthy, be raised incorruptible and altogether beautiful and glorious. This I know, this by Your grace, I will ever keep before me. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 27 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 33: 7-11; 34: 5b-9, 28; Psalms 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13; Matthew 13: 36-43
“Then the righteous shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” – Matthew 13:43
REFLECTION – “In your imagination see our Lord Jesus Christ seated on a throne of glory; beside Him stand the seraphim, cherubim and each angelic order, serving Him with fear and trembling. Then those who will have finished the combat, without allowing themselves to be drawn by any worldly pleasures or seduced by the attractions of this vain world, will hear the blessed voice of the Master. “Then, he says, “the righteous will shine like the sun” (Mt 13:43) when they have come from east and west, north and south to take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (cf. Mt 8:11) in an indescribable joy (cf. 1 Pt 1:8), when our King and Lord, will distribute gifts according to their merits. Ah! my brothers and children. ah! how great and beautiful is the glory which the thrice blessed will enjoy and the saints who practised asceticism! Yes, most certainly, each will receive the blessings promised, according to the degree to which they have pleased God. … So from now on, run well (cf. Gal 5:7) and may the devil not bewitch you (cf. Gal 3:1) nor hinder you! … May mercy, peace, charity, freedom from envy, from jealousy and ostentation come upon you, docility, friendly speech, solidarity, compassion towards each other, humility. Live like this, act like this, praying, too, with all your heart for my humble self that I may not be thrown into the eternal fire. May we all escape it, having been judged worthy of the kingdom of heaven, in Christ Himself, our God, to whom belongs all glory, honour, adoration, magnificence, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, world without end. Amen.” … St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Monk and Theologian – Catechesis 42
PRAYER – All-powerful and ever-living God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, chase away the night of sin and fill our minds with the glory of Your coming. Take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, help us in our battle with sin and the devil. By our prayers, Your holy Sacraments and the strength of the Holy Spirit, may we be ever vigilant of the evil one. By our Baptism in Your Son, we are Your children, grant us Your protection. Kindly listen to the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints and Angels, whose prayers we beg, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 27 July – Blessed Maria Magdalena Martinengo OSC Cap (1687-1737) Nun of the Order of the Capuchin Poor Clares, Mystic with a great devotion to the Passion of Christ, Mother Superior. Maria Magdalena devoted her life as a professed religious to the performance of small but humble chores in her time as a Poor Clare nun and was noted for her life of spiritual discernment and devotion to God above all else. She had a great horror of sin and devoted much time to contemplating death, and the Divine Judgement . Born Margherita Martinengo da Barco on 5 October 1687 in Brescia, Milan, Italy and died on 27 July 1737 (aged 49) also in Brescia,, Patronage – against tuberculosis. Also known as – Margarita Martinengo, Maria Maddalena.
Margherita was born on 5 October 1687 in Brescia into a noble household in the Martinengo Ducal Palace to Francesco Leopoldo Martinengo and Margherita Secchi d’Aragona. Her brothers were Nestore and Gianfrancesco. Her mother died five months after her birth in 1688. She was Baptised straight after her birth since there was fear that she might die. The Baptism was formally celebrated on 21 August 1691 at the Baptism of her half-sister Cecilia, born to the second marriage of her father to Elena Palazzi.
As a child she was perceived to be an intelligent girl and received a structured and comprehensive education based on the civic and religious studies. At the age of six she was entrusted to the Ursulines for additional education. Her teacher, Isabella Marazzi, instructed her in proper devotional practices to God and Marazzi played a formative role in Margherita’s religious education. Margherita was an avid reader and made full use of the Latin literature that her father owned.
On one occasion during her childhood, she was in a six horse carriage and she fell out. She would have been crushed had there not been, what she described as, an invisible touch that seemed to save her life.
On 11 October 1689 she entered the Convent boarding school of the Augustinian nuns of Santa Maria degli Angeli – two nuns there were her maternal aunts.
She made her First Communion towards the end of her childhood during which – in the nervous tension and emotion of the moment – she dropped the Host which forced her to pick it up from the floor with her tongue.
In August 1699 she asked her father for permission to go to the Spirito Santo boarding school of the Benedictines. Before she left the family went on a holiday with her father and siblings, in the mountains around Lago d’Iseo where she realised what her true calling was.
Around this time, at the age of thirteen, she took a vow to God in which she promised to remain a virgin. But at the age of sixteen several suitors approached her and her father had even promised her to the son of a prominent Venetian Senator. It even grew to the point where her two brothers Nestore and Gianfrancesco, pressured her to accept one of the offers. Her suitors bought her books and love stories and she did in fact like them – but she brooded over the fact that such stories which were given to her were “books from Hell.”
Margherita returned from the Spirito Santo Convent after the conclusion of her studies in 1704 and on 21 December 1704, announced to her father and brothers, her intention of becoming a Capuchin Poor Clare nun. Her Confessor and house servants, as well as her father and siblings, opposed this decision. Despite this opposition, on Christmas 1704 she went to the Capuchin Poor Clare Convent of Santa Maria della Neve and presented herself to them with the words: “I want to become holy.”. However, she was required to undergo a period of probation, which was conducted in the Ursuline-run Maggi College.
Once she entered the Convent at the age of eighteen, she was described to be “like wax” for her delicate appearance. On 8 September 1705 she was clothed in the habit and assumed the religious name of “Maria Magdalena” and parted from her family. Maria Magdalena was later deemed to be unfit for the Capuchin life but with a change in mistress she received unanimous support. She made her solemn profession on 8 September 1706.
Her Confessor instructed her to compile notes of her life and experiences which she did in the spirit of obedience. She was appointed as the Mistress of Novices at the age of 36 and made Abbess in 1732; – she was re-elected in that post on 12 July 1736.
Maria Magdalena died of tuberculosis in 1737 and when news of her death spread across Brescia people across the entire area mourned her passing. Her remains are located in the Church of the Convent of the Capuchin Poor Clare nuns in Brescia.
The recognition of two miracles attributed to her direct intercession allowed for Pope Leo XIII to preside over her Beatification on 3 June 1900. The miracles in question concerned the healings of Isabella Groppelli Gromi and of the future priest Giuseppe Tosi.
Notre-Dame-de-Foy / Our Lady of Faith,Gravelines, Liege, France (1616) – 27 July:
Not far from the small town of Dinant, in Liege near a home belonging to the Lord of Celles, two magnificent oaks once grew. One of the two venerable old trees was felled in the year 1609 by a man named Gilles, a lumberjack. The worker who inspected the tree found a small terracotta statue of the Mother of God, enthroned, as it were, with three iron bars that served as a trellis. The old oak stood on the edge of a path taken by pilgrims travelling to St Hubert. Apparently, at some time in the distant past, some pious Christian soul had placed the holy image in a hollow of the oak, as if in a niche. Then, over a period of time, the opening the tree had made while it was still young gradually closed and as it grew, the tree hid in its womb, the precious figure. Over the years the bark of the tree closed upon it and, as the road became less frequented, the existence of the Statue was completely forgotten.
To honour the Virgin, the Statue was subsequently displayed on the other oak, once again behind an iron grating, by order of the Baron of Celles. In this new Sanctuary, the Mother of God was honoured with the title of Our Lady of Faith. Those passing by did not fail to venerate the Statue;and there were many unexpected miracles. Graces of all kinds multiplied,and soon pilgrims began to flock to the area because of the dazzling miracles and very quickly a spontaneous cult grew. The Statue was first placed in another oak but it was almost thrown away by servants who thought it had no value. The local Baron placed it near the door to his oratory at the Castle of Veves as pilgrims began to flock there. In this new Sanctuary, the image of Our Lady was honoured under the title of Our Lady of Faith, which was the name of the farm. The first miracle occurred in 1616. As a result of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary an old man was healed from a painful and debilitating hernia. The canonical investigation prescribed by the Bishop of Liege, was positive in its conclusion. A Priest of the Society of Jesus had recently been sent to Gravelines. He worked diligently to cultivate souls, as if upon a fruitful vine and by his sermons excited the people of the region to a greater love for the Mother of God. Seeing that this devotion had taken root, he met with the local Magistrate to discuss how to maintain and increase the piety of the people. It was decided that they should make replicas of the Statue of Our Lady of Faith, made from the wood of the first oak. When the first was completed, the image was observed to have a great resemblance to the original. Received with great joy, it was placed in a large reliquary above the high Altar in the Parish Church.
St Aetherius of Auxerre St Anthusa of Constantinople St Arethas St Aurelius of Cordoba St Benno of Osnabruck (c 1020-1088) Bishop Bl Berthold of Garsten
St Ecclesius of Ravenna Bl Felipe Hernández Martínez St Felix of Cordoba St Galactorio of Lescar St George of Cordoba St Hermippus St Hermocrates St Hermolaus Bl Jaime Ortiz Alzueta Bl Joaquín Vilanova Camallonga Bl José María Ruiz Cano St Juliana of Mataró St Lillian of Cordoba Bl Lucy Bufalari St Luican
Bl Maria Klemensa Staszewska Blessed Maria Magdalena Martinengo OSC Cap (1687-1737) Nun St Maurus of Bisceglia Bl Modesto Vegas y Vegas St Natalia of Cordoba Bl Nevolone of Tavenisa St Pantaleimon
Bl Rudolf Aquaviva S.J. Bl Robert Sutton St Semproniana of Mataró St Sergius of Bisceglia Bl William Davies Bl Zacarías Abadía Buesa
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together. The only other information to survive are their names – Felix, Jucunda and Julia. Nicomedia, Asia Minor.
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus: A group of seven young Christian men who hid in a cave in hopes of avoiding the persecution of Decius in the year 250. Found and arrested, they were ordered by the pro-consul in Ephesus to renounce their faith; they refused and were sentenced to die. Legend says that they were walled up in their hiding cave, guarded by the dog Al Rakim; when the cave wall was breached in 479 – they all woke up! It is likely that the youths were tortured to death in various ways and buried in the cave. The resurrection story confusion came from the phrase “went to sleep in the Lord” which was used to describe the death of Christians and 479 is when their relics were discovered. Their names were Constantinus, Dionysius, Joannes, Malchus, Martinianus, Maximianus and Serapion. They were martyred in 250 in Ephesus (in modern Turkey); tradition says that they were walled up in a cave to suffocate but other records indicate that they were tortured to death in various ways. Their relics discovered in 479 and translated to Marseilles, France and enshrined in a large stone coffin.
Thought for the Day – 26 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Eucharistic Life
The Eucharistic life, which is the life of union with Jesus, especially by means of daily Communion, transforms us and makes us holy. It preserves and increases in us, the grace which is the supernatural life of the soul. The Eucharist, of itself, does not bestow grace because it is a Sacrament of the living. It is our food and food is not given to the dead but to the living. For this reason, we should receive Holy Communionb free from the stain of sin. The Eucharist, moreover, remits venial sins, strengthens us in our resolutions and increases our charity. Venial sin is a sickness of the soul. Just as natural food banishes listlessness and vulnerability to disease, our Eucharistic nourishment has the same effect on our spiritual life.
It is because the Blessed Eucharist increases our love for Jesus, that it weakens our evil inclinations. The Eucharist and sin are mutually exclusive of one another because, the Eucharist is Jesus and sin is the devil. Our Eucharistic food, moreover, produces in our souls, a spiritual consolation which is a foretaste of the happiness of Heaven.
Let us listen to Jesus living within us. He will enable us to forget our worldly cares and will raise us to a higher plane where, by God’s infinite goodness, we shall continue to grow in virtue.
May the Most Blessed Sacrament be forever praised and adored!
Quote/s of the Day – 26 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 32: 15-24, 30-34; Psalms 106: 19-20, 21-22, 23; Matthew 13: 31-3
The Leaven of Life
“Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me.”
John 6:57
“An inborn imperfection in our human dough was removed, thanks to the leaven that comes from His perfect body… To complete what was missing, in these human bodies of ours, He gave something of Himself, just as He gives Himself to be eaten …”
St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Those who have been tricked into taking poison, offset its harmful effect, by another drug. The remedy, moreover, just like the poison, has to enter the system, so that its remedial effect may thereby spread through the whole body. Similarly, having tasted the poison, that is the fruit, that dissolved our nature, we were necessarily, in need of something, to reunite it. Such a remedy had to enter into us, so that it might, by its counteraction, undo the harm the body had already encountered from the poison. And what is this remedy? Nothing else than the body that proved itself superior to death and became the source of our life.”
St Greogory of Nyssa (c 335– c 395) Father of the Church
“The doctrine of Christ is fittingly called leaven because, the bread is Christ.”
St Anbrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“ … For He did not only give His Body but, just as our flesh, drawn from the earth, had lost its life and died through sin, so He has introduced, so to speak, another substance like a leaven, this is His Body, the Body sharing the same nature as ours but free from sin and abounding in life. And He has given it to all of us, so that, fed with the banquet of this new food … we might enter immortal life.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father ad Doctor of the Church
“Dust, so to speak, had forcibly entered humanity’s eye; earth had entered it, had injured the eye and it could not see the light. … That physician made a salve for you. And because He came, in such a way, that by His flesh, He might extinguish the faults of the flesh and by His death He might kill death … ”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 26 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 32: 15-24, 30-34; Psalms 106: 19-20, 21-22, 23; Matthew 13: 31-35 and the Memorial of Saints Anne and Joachim – Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Grandparents of Jesus
“Until the whole was leavened” – Matthew 13:33
REFLECTION – “If someone kneads bread without mixing leaven into it, they may well apply themselves to the task, knead and work at it, the dough will not rise and cannot be used as food. But when leaven has been mixed in, it draws all the dough to itself and makes it all rise, as in the parable the Lord applied to the Kingdom… It is the same with meat – no matter how much care you take, if you neglect to put in salt to preserve it,… it will smell badly and become inedible In the same sort of way, imagine the whole of humanity as meat or dough and that the divine nature of the Holy Spirit is salt and leaven from another world. If the heavenly leaven of the Spirit and good salt of the divine nature… are not added to our lowly human nature and mixed into it, the soul will never lose its bad odour of sin and will not rise by losing the heaviness and impurities of the “leaven of wickedness” (1Cor 5,7)…
If a soul only relies on its own strength and thinks itself able to achieve complete success of itself, without the help of the Holy Spirit, it is greatly deceived. It is not made for the dwelling places of Heaven nor made for the Kingdom… If sinful man does not draw near to God, does not renounce the world, does not await in hope and patience a good that is foreign to its own nature, namely, the strength of the Holy Spirit; if the Lord does not instil His own divine life from on high into that soul, that person will never taste the true life… On the other hand, if he has received the Spirit’s grace, if he does not turn away from it, if he does not offend Him by his negligence and wrongdoing, if, after persevering a long time like this in the fight, he does not “grieve the Spirit” (Eph 4,30), he will have the happiness of winning eternal life.” – Attri to St Macarius of Egypt (c 300-390) Monk
PRAYER – True light of the world, Lord Jesus Christ, as You enlighten all men for their salvation, give us grace, we pray, to herald Your coming by preparing the ways of justice and of peace. Help us Lord, that we may sprout and bear fruit, fitting to grow and be a home of comfort to our neighbour. By the prayers of Sts Anne and Joachim, may we too be beacons of Your Light and of the glory of Your Kingdom. Through Jesus our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 26 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood – Reminding you and myself, that in Catholic Time, Monday is the day of the Holy Ghost and/or the Holy Angels.
Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus By St Ambrose (340-397) Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One Trans St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Trans 1836
Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One Art with the Father and the Son. Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess With Thy full flood of holiness.
In will and deed, by heart and tongue, With all our powers, Thy praise be sung. And love light up our mortal frame, Till others catch the living flame.
Almighty Father, hear our cry Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high, Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee Doth live and reign eternally.
Saint of the Day – 26 July – St Parasceva of Rome (Died c 180) Virgin Martyr, Confessor. Born near Rome in the 2nd Century and died by beheading in c 180. Patronage – invoked against blindness, healer of the blind.
Parasceva was born in a village near Rome, likely during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138). Her parents, Agathon and Politia, were Christians of Greek origin and had prayed for many years to have a child. When Politia finally bore a child, she was born on a Friday, the day of Our Lord’s suffering. They, therefore, named the baby girl Parasceva, meaning “Friday” in Greek (literally “preparation (day)” for the sabbath – cf. Mark 15:42). Parasceva grew up to be a devout and well-read woman, who rejected many suitors.
After the death of her parents, she gave away all of her possession and became the head of a Christian community of young virgins and widows. She also began to preach the Christian faith and at the age of 30, left Rome and ministered in many Towns and Villages.
In the Village of Therapia, Constantinople, she was arrested by soldiers of the Emperor Antoninus Pius and brought to trial. The charge was blasphemy and they charged her with inciting resistance to authorities. Antoninus Pius attempted to convince her to denounce her faith and even offered to marry her. Parasceva refused and was beaten and tortured by having a steel helmet lined with nails placed on her head and tightened with a vice. No pain seemed to affect her and her endurance caused many to convert to Christianity. Eventually, at his wit’s end, Antoninus Pius demanded that Parasceva be immersed into a large kettle of oil and tar. However, she emerged from even this unscathed. When she was accused of using magic, she responded by throwing the liquid into the Emperor’s face. He was blinded, and desperately asked for her help. Antoninus Pius regained his sight. This miracle moved him to convert to Christianity and set Parasceva free. Neither die he persecute Christians thereafter.
The Martyrdom of St Parasceva
However, after the death of Antoninus Pius, the laws changed once again under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. A plague struck the Roman people and many, including Marcus Aurelius, considered Christians responsible for angering the gods. Parasceva was again arrested amongst many other Christians in a City governed by a man named Asclepius, who threw her into a pit with a large snake. She, however, made a Sign of the Cross and the snake fell asleep or dead. Just as with Antoninus Pius, Parasceva ‘s miracle converted Asclepius to Christianity and he released her. She continued to travel from Town to Town, preaching the Faith.
Finally, Parasceva was arrested for the last time by a Roman official named Tarasius and taken to the Temple of Apollo. Upon entering the Temple, Parasceva made a Sign of the Cross and all the idols in the Temple were instantly destroyed. Instead of converting the onlookers to Christianity, however, they became enraged, and beat her. Taracius then had her beheaded.
Her remains were eventually taken to Constantinople. Although it is not certain when or how her relics reached Constantinople, it seems that they were exhibited there in around 1200 to pilgrims.
Madonna del Faggio (Our Lady of the Beech Tree), Castelluccio, Bologna, Emilia Romagna, Italy (1672) – 26 July, Ascension Thursday:
In 1672 the Blessed Virgin appeared to a shepherd boy and told him that she wished to be venerated at a certain place in the beech woods near Castelluccio in central Italy. Tthe child , following the directions to the site, discovered a terracotta Madonna affixed to one of the trees. The tiny Statue, barely 18 centimetres tall (7 inches) was moved to a wayside Shrine and then, in 1722, to its own mountain Sanctuary. Until 1964 a caretaker lived in the hermitage there. Since then a volunteer opens the Chapel only in summer on Sundays. In 1975 the sacred image was stolen and a copy was made to replace it. Since 1756, an annual pilgrimage on Ascension Day brings the image to the Town and back again, and on St Anne’s day, 26 July, a procession goes to the site of the beech tree where the Statue had been originally found, although the tree itself is no longer there as it fell during a storm. The Sanctuary’s holy card, shown above, does not seem to depict the terracotta image. It may represent one of the paintings of Lorenzo Pranzini, who decorated the interior of the Chapel in the 1800s.
St Benigno of Malcestine Bl Camilla Gentili St Charus of Malcestine Bl Edward Thwing Bl Élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin St Erastus Bl Évangéliste of Verona St Exuperia the Martyr Bl George Swallowell St Gérontios Bl Giuseppina Maria de Micheli St Gothalm St Hyacinth Bl Jacques Netsetov Bl John Ingram St Joris Bl Marcel-Gaucher Labiche de Reignefort Bl Marie-Claire du Bac Bl Marie-Madeleine Justamond Bl Marie-Marguerite Bonnet St Olympius the Tribune St Parasceva of Rome (Died c 180) Virgin Martyr, Confessor St Pastor of Rome Bl Pérégrin of Verona Bl Pierre-Joseph le Groing de la Romagère
Thought for the Day – 25 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Love of God The One Thing Necessary!
“If we really know God, we should love Him above all created things. “I have loved you too little, My God,” said St Augustine in his Confessions, “because I have not known You well enough.” If we knew God, we should recognise, that He is infinite beauty, goodness and wisdom. We should realise, that the beauty of creatures is like a passing cloud, for it is a vague and distant reflection of the eternal beauty of God. We should realise, that the wisdom of men, is only a ray of God’s light which comes from Him and must return to Him. Finally, we should perceive that men are good, only insofar, as they do their best to respond to the inspirations of grace which God has placed in their hearts. God alone is in Himself and of Himself, supremely true, beautiful, good, wise and holy. Created things are only an invitation to love God, their Creator. God alone, therefore, is supremely lovable in Himself. In the apt words of St Bernard, “God Himself is the reason why we should love God and, the measure of our love should be measureless.”
Let us not allow ourselves to become entangled in the empty passing things of this world but, let us raise our minds and hearts to God alone. There is only one thing necessary!”
Quote of the Day – 25 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251) One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Fourteen Holy Helpers: – Plague Saints for a time of plague!
In the middle of the 14th century, the Plague – also called “The Black Death” and the “The Greatest Catastrophe Ever” – ravaged Europe, killing 50 million people, or about 60% of the population, within a few years (a vastly higher death rate than any ‘pandemic’ since.)
Layering dead bodies in pits, watching loved ones succumb to the ravages of a ghastly illness, people turned to the Almighty and All-powerful Physician for help. It was at this time that the Fourteen Holy Helpers came to be invoked against the Plague and other misfortunes. As we face true death – the death of everything we know and love, even any form of Catholic life and any Catholic lifesigns, let us turn to true FAITH – no mask needed – and revive the assistance of these gracious and efficacious Holy Helpers.
Prayer to the Fourteen Holy Helpers By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
Great princes of Heaven, Holy Helpers, who sacrificed to God all your earthly possessions, wealth, preferment and even life and who now are crowned in Heaven in the secure enjoyment of eternal bliss and glory; have compassion on me, a poor sinner in this vale of tears and obtain for me from God, for Whom you gave up all things and Who loves you as His servants, the strength to bear patiently all the trials of this life, to overcome all temptations and to persevere in God’s service to the end, that one day I too may be received into your company, to praise and glorify Him, the supreme Lord, Whose Beatific Vision you enjoy and Whom you praise and glorify forever. Amen
The “fourteen angels” of the lost children’s prayer in the Composer, Engelbert Humperdinck’s (1854-1921) (not the popular Welsh singer) fairy opera, ‘Hansel and Gretel’, are the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The English words are familiar and very beautiful:
When at night, I go to sleep, Fourteen angels, watch do keep, Two my head are guarding, Two my feet are guiding; Two upon my right hand, Two upon my left hand. Two who warmly cover Two who o’er me hover, Two to whom ’tis given To guide my steps to Heaven.
One Minute Reflection – 25 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Feast of St James the Greater – Reaqdings: Second Kings 4: 42-44; Psalms 145: 10-11, 15-16, 17-18; Ephesians 4: 1-6; John 6: 1-15
When they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: , “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” – John 6:14
REFLECTION – “Governing the entire universe is a greater miracle than feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread, yet no-one marvels at it. People marvel at the feeding of the five thousand not because this miracle is greater but because, it is out of the ordinary. Who is even now providing nourishment for the whole world if not the God Who creates a field of wheat from a few seeds? Christ did what God does. Just as God multiplies a few seeds into a whole field of wheat, so Christ multiplied the five loaves in His Hands. For there was power in the Hands of Christ. Those five loaves were like seeds, not because they were cast on the earth but because, they were multiplied by the One who made the earth.
This miracle was presented to our senses, in order to stimulate our minds… and so make us marvel at “the God we do not see because of his works, which we do see” (Rom 1,20). For then, when we have been raised to the level of faith and purified by faith, we shall long to behold, though not with our eyes, the invisible God Whom we recognise through what is visible. This miracle was performed for the multitude to see; it was recorded for us to hear. Faith does for us, what sight did for them. We behold with the mind what our eyes cannot see and we are preferred to them because of us, it was said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (Jn 20,29). – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – Homilies on Saint John’s gospel, 24, 1.6.7.
PRAYER – Lord our God, You accepted the sacrifice of St James, the first of Your Apostles to give his life for Your sake. May Your Church find strength in his martyrdom and support in his constant prayer. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. St James the Greater, Apostle of Christ, Pray for us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 25 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Feast of St James the Greater and the Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251)
The Christopher Prayer, Make Us True Christ-Bearers Anonymous
Father, grant that we may be, bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son. Allow us to fill, the world around us, with Your light. Strengthen us, by Your Holy Spirit, to carry out our mission of living and following the path of Jesus, our Lord. Help us to understand, that by Your grace our gifts are Your blessings, to be shared with others. Fill us with Your Spirit of love to give glory to You in loving all and preaching by our love. Nourish in us the desire to go forth as the bearers of Your Son fearless and gentle, loving and merciful. Make us true Christ-Bearers, that in seeing us, only He is visible. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 25 July – Saint Magnericus of Trier (c 520-596) Bishop and Confessor. Born in c 520 and died on 25 July 596 of natural causes. Also known as – Magnerich, Magnerico, Magnerik, Meinrich. Magnericu. Magnericus was a friend and disciple of St Gregory of Tours, mentioned in his History of the Franks and ordained St Géry, one of his disciples, who became Bishop of Cambrai-Arras. St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609) (his life here:https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/14/saint-of-the-day-14-december-saint-venantius-fortunatus-c-530-c-609/) described the Bishop as virtuous and charitable and an “ornament of bishops“.
Magnericus was born and grew up in Trier, Germany. Not much is known about his early life. Once installed as Bishop, he continued the work begun by his predecessor of restoring the City of Trier and its environs. He founded several clerical communities and Churches, including St.Eucharius and St Paulin. He had a great devotion to Saint Martin of Tours and built several Monasteries and Churches dedicated to him. He converted the Holy Cross Church in Trier into an Oratory in honour of St Martin; it later became the Abbey of St. Martin. Other Churches Magnericus dedicated to St Martin are in Ivois, Carden on the Moselle and a second one in Trier.
He lived in the residence of Bishop Nicetius,and accompanied the Bishop into exile when Nicetius was banished by King Clotaire I. This was an act of revenge for the King being excommunicated. Magnericus returned to Trier the next year. He was Ordained by Nicetius in 566.
He gave sanctuary to Bishop Theodore of Marseilles when he was exiled by Guntramnus of Burgundy in 585 and pleaded with King Childebert II on behalf of the Bishop.
Magnericus was close to the Merovingian Royal house and Childebert II, who made him Godfather of his son,Theudebert II. In 587 he attended a family congress of Kings Childebert and Guntram, which nearly cost him his life. At the meeting, Duke Boso, who had been condemned by the King, fled to his house and took the Bishop hostage. The house was set on fire at the King’s command but fortunately, Magnericus escaped with his life.
The proximity to the Merovingian family and his influence on the fortunes of Austrasia and the Gallic Church helped him maintain urban and regional domination until his death.
He was buried in the cemetery of St Martins. Around the year 1000 Abbot Eberwin wrote a hagiography of the Bishop, whereupon his veneration spread throughout Lorraine. In 1506 his grave was opened but after the destruction of the Church during the French Revolution, his remains disappeared.
Notre-Dame du Saguenay / Our Lady of Lac Bouchet, Quebec (1920) – 25 July:
The Saguenay Fjord is an ancient glacial valley that has been overrun with sea water. In the year 1828 a surveyor, Joseph Bouchette, ventured into the region for the purpose of collecting data for topographical maps. It was during this expedition that he found a suitable site for a future village, which Pascal Dumais and his family later settled. This marked the founding of the village of Lac-Bouchette, with more and more people coming to settle in the area until the village had 300 inhabitants by 1888. Our story actually begins with a man named Charles Napoleon Robitaille, a salesman who travelled the roads in and around Quebec. During the winters he would have to cross frozen rivers and it was in the winter of 1878 while trying to cross the Saguenay River that the ice broke under the weight of his horse and sleigh. Pulled beneath the surface of the icy waters, Charles was alone and completely helpless. Knowing he was dying, he implored the Blessed Virgin Mary to save him. Charles miraculously survived, and managed to escape from the river with his life. He knew the Virgin had assisted him and so to honour Mary and her recent apparition at Lourdes, he asked Louis Jobin to create a huge Statue of the Blessed Virgin sculpted in the image of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Immaculate Conception. He envisioned the Statue in the heights overlooking the mouth of the river. The Statue Jobin sculpted became known as Notre-Dame du Saguenay.
The finished Statue is an impressive more than 10,5 metres high and weighs 3 tons. Sculpted of solid white pine, it was then sheathed in lead to protect it from the harsh weather. Hauling such a huge Statue into place was a difficult task in the late nineteenth century. After being constructed, it was broken down into 14 separate pieces and then hoisted into place and rebuilt. The Statue made Louis Jobin the most famous sculptor of the time,and it has become a regional landmark, with visitors from all over the world assembling at her feet to sing the Ave Maria.
In 1889 the mission Church of Saint Thomas Aquinas was built and the next year Father Joseph Ironwood became the first Priest there A second Church was soon built, in 1898, as the population increased dramatically. Now, on the north shore of Lake Bouchet, in the Province of Quebec, there stand the buildings of a Friary and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Saguenay. In 1920, Father Elzear Delamarre built a house and a private Chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua on the site, which later became known as the hermitage of Saint Anthony and is one of the national Shrines in Quebec. So began the pilgrimage-shrine that has since grown steadily in popularity. After Father de Lamarre’s death in 1925, the Capuchin Franciscans took over the property, built their house and Church there and minister to the thousands of pilgrims who visit the Blessed Mother at her Sanctuary.
St Cugat del Valles Bl Darío Acosta Zurita St Ebrulfus St Fagildo of Santiago St Felix of Furcona St Florentius of Furcona St Glodesind of Metz St Magnericus of Trier (c 520-596) Bishop and Confessor Bl Michel-Louis Brulard Bl Mieczyslawa Kowalska St Mordeyren St Nissen of Wexford St Olympiad of Constantinople St Paul of Palestine
St Theodemir of Cordoba — Martyrs of Caesarea – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together in the pesecutions of emperor Maximilian and governor Firmilian – Paul, Tea and Valentina. 309 in Caesarea, Palestine.
Martyrs of Cuncolim – 20 saints: On 15 July 1583 the group met at the church of Orlim, and hiked to Cuncolim to erect a cross and choose land for a new church. Local anti-Christian pagans, seeing the unarmed Christians, gathered their weapons and marched on them. One of the parishioners, a Portuguese emigre named Gonçalo Rodrigues, carried a firearm, but Father Alphonsus Pacheco stopped him from using it. The pagans then fell upon them, and killed them all without mercy. They were – • Alphonsus Pacheco • Alphonsus the altar boy • Anthony Francis • Dominic of Cuncolim • Francis Aranha • Francis Rodrigues • Gonçalo Rodrigues • Paul da Costa • Peter Berno • Rudolph Acquaviva • ten other native Christian converts whose names have not come down to us They were martyred on Monday 25 July 1583 at the village of Cuncolim, district of Salcete, territory of Goa, India. Beatified on 30 April 1893 by Pope Leo XIII.
Thought for the Day – 24 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Particular and General Judgements
“It is appointed unto men to die once and after this comes the judgement” (Heb 9:27).
To have to appear before the Face of the Living God is terrifying for everybody. How much more terrifying will it be for the sinner? Weighed down by numberless sins, he will stand before the scrutinising gaze of God. He will be able to hide nothing. Everything will be evident and clear. The Countenance of our Divine Redeemer, which was mild and merciful during life, will at that moment be that of a severe and just Judge. After having scorned so many graces, after having spurned so many calls to conversion and so many secret inspirations to change his life, after dying unrepentant …behold the sinner in the presence of his Eternal Judge. At that moment, he will hear the irrevocable sentence resounding in his ears “Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire chich was prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:41). This terrible condemnation will be publicly repeated, moreover, at the general judgement. Memento mori!”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 24: 3-8; Psalms 50: 1b-2, 5-6, 14-15; Matthew 13: 24-30
“Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?”
Matthew 13:27
“Every kingdom devided against itself is laid waste.”
Luke 11:17
“No-one can have God as his father, if he does not have the Church as his mother… The Lord warned us of this when He said: “Whoever is not with me, is against me and whoever does not gather together with me, scatters.” The person who breaks the peace and concord of Christ, acts against Christ; the person who gathers together, outside of the Church, scatters the Church of Christ.”
St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church On the unity of the Church
“It is better to be cured within the Church’s community than to be cut off from its Body as incurable members. As long as a member still forms part of the Body, there is no reason to despair of its cure; once it has been cut off, it can be neither cured nor healed.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“And so we pray, that, by the same grace, which made the Church Christ’s Body, all its members may remain firm in the unity of that Body, through the enduring bond of love.”
St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462 – 533) Bishop, Father of the Church
“For nothing more glorious, nothing nobler, nothing surely, more honourable can be imagined, than to belong to the One, Holy Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, in which we become members of one Body as venerable as it is unique; are guided by one supreme Head; are filled with one divine Spirit; are nourished during our earthly exile by one doctrine and one heavenly Bread, until at last, we enter into the one, unending blessedness of heaven. But lest we be deceived, by the angel of darkness, who transforms himself into an angel of light, let this be the supreme law of our love – to love the Spouse of Christ, as Christ willed her to be and as He purchased her with His Blood.”
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) “Mystici Corporis Christi” 1943
One Minute Reflection – 24 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 24: 3-8; Psalms 50: 1b-2, 5-6, 14-15; Matthew 13: 24-30
“Suffer both to grow until the harvest” – – Matthew 13:30
REFLECTION – “Nor must one imagine that the Body of the Church, just because it bears the name of Christ, is made up during the days of its earthly pilgrimage, only of members conspicuous for their holiness, or, that it consists only of those whom God has predestined to eternal happiness. It is owing to the Saviour’s infinite mercy, that place is allowed in His Mystical Body here below, for those whom, of old, He did not exclude from the banquet (cf. Mt 9:11). For not every sin, however grave it may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy. Men may lose charity and divine grace through sin, thus becoming incapable of supernatural merit and yet, not be deprived of all life, if they hold fast to faith and Christian hope and if, illumined from above, they are spurred on, by the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit to salutary fear and are moved to prayer and penance for their sins.
Let everyone then abhor sin, which defiles the mystical members of our Redeemer but,, if anyone unhappily falls and his obstinacy has not made him unworthy of communion with the faithful, let him be received with great love and let eager charity see in him a weak member of Jesus Christ. For, as the Bishop of Hippo remarks – “it is better to be cured within the Church’s community than to be cut off from its Body as incurable members. As long as a member still forms part of the Body, there is no reason to despair of its cure; once it has been cut off, it can be neither cured nor healed.’”- Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958) – Pope from 1939 to 1958 – Encyclical – Mystici Corporis Christi, 1943
PRAYER – All-powerful and ever-living God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, chase away the night of sin and fill our minds with the glory of Your coming. Take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, help us in our battle with sin and the devil. By our prayers, Your holy sacraments and the strength of the Holy Spirit, may we be ever vigilant of the evil one. Hear the prayers of our Queen and Mother, the Blessed Virgin of Mercy on our behalf dear Lord. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 24 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”
Virgin Full of Goodness, Mother of Mercy By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus Doctor communis
Virgin full of goodness, Mother of mercy, I entrust to you my body and my soul, my thoughts and my actions, my life and my death. My Queen, come to my aid and deliver me from the snares of the devil. Obtain for me the grace of loving my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, with a true and perfect love, and after Him, O Mary, of loving you with all my heart and above all things. Amen.
AnaStpaul 
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