Thought for the Day – 9 May – “Mary’s Month” Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Cardinal Virtues of Mary
“Let us compare ourselves with Mary and consider how far we have succeeded in acquiring these virtues. If we are to possess fully, the Cardinal virtue of JUSTICE, we must direct all our thoughts, desires and actions, towards God. Since everything comes from God, we should offer everything back to Him. If we fail to do this, we are guilty of injustice towards God. We take for ourselves, something which belongs to Him. We must also be just to our neighbour. It is not enough to be charitable only because there can be no charity, unless, it is founded on justice. This justice should characterise our thoughts and judgements, as well as our words and actions.
Have we the Virtue of PRUDENCE? Prudence demands constant self-control. How often do we lose control over ourselves and say things which we ought not to say, or do things, which we ought not to do? Prudence is a splendid virtue, which can be obtained by the grace of God, by living a life of union with Him. It necessitates constant vigilance over our faculties and passions, in order to ensure, that nothing will interfere with our rational conduct and with our observance of the commandments of God.
Interior TEMPERANCE, is simply the result of prudence, insofar, as it obliges us to master ourselves and to abstain from everything which could upset the proper order of our faculties, in relation to one another and to God. If we are inwardly temperate, we shall show external temperance in our words and deeds. We shall abstain, in other words, from everything suggested by our lower nature, which is contrary to the commandments of God and the precepts of the Church. This means, we shall observe among other things, the Church’s laws of fasting and abstinence. We shall keep away from dangerous amusements and from anything else which could be harmful to ourselves or to our neighbour.
Finally, we must imitate the FORTITUDE of Mary. We must be brave in the face of temptation to sin, in suffering and in all the diffculties of life. Looking always towards Heaven, our true home, we shall find at last, the peace and happiness, which have no end.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 May – Sixth Sunday of Easter, Readings: First: Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm: Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4 (2b); Second: First John 4: 7-10; Gospel: John 15: 9-17
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. “
John 15:14
“It is not that we keep His commandments first and that then He loves but, that He loves us and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace which is revealed to the humble but hidden from the proud.”
“If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of Grace
“We must note, therefore, that he that does things pleasing to God, serves Christ but he that follows his own wishes, is a follower, rather of himself and not of God.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Incarnation
PRAYER – O Infinite Goodness – Act of Contrition By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) – Doctor of the Church
O my God, I am exceedingly grieved, for having offended Thee and with my whole heart, I repent of the sins I have committed. I hate and abhor them above every other evil, not only because, by so sinning, I have lost heaven and deserved hell but still more because I have offended Thee, O infinite Goodness, who art worthy to be loved above all things. I most firmly resolve, by the assistance of Thy grace, never more to offend Thee for the time to come and to avoid those occasions which might lead me into sin. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 9 May – Sixth Sunday of Easter, Readings: First: Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm: Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4 (2b); Second: First John 4: 7-10; Gospel: John 15: 9-17
“Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
REFLECTION – “Cloth of scarlet or purple is a very precious and royal fabric, not because of the wool but because of the colour. The actions of good Christians are of such great value, that heaven is given to us for them. However, … it is not because they come from us and are the wool of our hearts. Rather, it is because they are dyed with the blood of the Son of God. I mean, that the Saviour sanctifies our actions by the merits of His blood. A branch of the vine, united and joined to the stock, produces fruit, not by it’s own power but empowered by the stock. Now we are untied by charity to our Redeemer, as members to the head (Eph 4:15-16). That is why our fruits and good works, drawing their value from Him, merit life everlasting.
… We, ourselves, are branches that are dry, unprofitable and unfruitful. We are not competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers (2 Cor 3:5-6) and able to do His will. Therefore, as soon as sacred love engraves on our hearts the name of our Saviour, our great Shepherd (1 Pet 2:25), we begin to bear delicious fruits for life everlasting.” …. St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, bring us to the joy of Your heavenly city, so that we, Your little flock, may follow where Christ, our Good Shepherd, has gone before us, by the power of His Resurrection. May our hearts overflow with the joy of His eternal presence, that in Him and through Him and with Him, we may attain the happiness of life eternal. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, guide us that we may always follow our Shepherd in faithful love. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 9 May – Blessed Thomas Pickering OSB (c 1621-1679) Martyr, Benedictine Lay Brother. bBorn in c 1621 in Westmorland, England and died by being hanged, drawn and quartered on 9 May 1679 at Tyburn, London, England. He was one of the 107 martyrs Beatified by Pope Pius XI on 15 December 1929 and is, therefore, remembered with them all on 4 May. In character, he was described, as the most charitable and sweet-tempered of men.
Thomas was a member of an old Westmoreland family. He was sent to the Benedictine Monastery of St Gregory at Douai, where he took vows as a lay brother in 1660.
In 1665 he was sent to London, where, as steward or procurator to the little community of Benedictines who served the Queen’s Chapel Royal, Catherine of Braganza, the Catholic wife of King Charles II. Thomas became personally known to the Queen and Charles II and when in 1675, urged by the Parliament, Charles issued a proclamation ordering the Benedictines to leave England within a fixed time, Pickering was allowed to remain, probably on the grounds that he was not a Priest.
In 1678 came the infernal concocted fabricaltion of Titus Oates, claims of a Catholic plot against the King’s life. In consequence, Thomas was accused of conspiring to murder the King. At his trial on 17 December 1678, no evidence of treasonwas produced except Oates’s mere word and Pickering’s Housekeeper, the formidable Ellen Rigby, testified that Oates had only seen Pickering once in his life, when he had been begging for alms at the Benedictine’s London house in the summer of 1678. She also testified that he had a personal grudge against Pickering, who, despite his habitual charity and good temper, told her “never to let that man come in again.” Pickering’s innocence was so obvious, that the Queen publicly announced her belief in him, saying that she could not accept that he was a risk to the royal family: “I should have more fear to be alone in my chamber with a mouse.” But, the jury found him guilty and with two others, William Ireland and John Grove, he was condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
The King, who himself had Catholic leanings, was divided between the wish to save the innocent men and fear of the popular clamour, which loudly demanded the death of Oates’s victims and twice, within a month, the three prisoners were ordered for execution and then reprieved.
At length Charles remitted the execution of the other two, hoping that this would satisfy the people and save Pickering from his fate. The contrary took place, however and on 26 April 1679, the House of Commons petitioned for Pickering’s execution. Charles yielded and the long-deferred sentence was carried out on the ninth of May.
A small piece of cloth stained with his blood is preserved among the relics at Downside Abbey.
Madonna del Bosco / Our Lady of the Woods, Imbersago, Como, Lombardy, Italy (1617) – 9 May:
On 8 May 1617, three shepherds, one named Peter, saw the Madonna near a large tree, a chestnut tree to be exact. They reported that the apparition rose up and disappeared into the sky. They were believed immediately as that particular and only chestnut tree, was found full of fruit out of its normal season. In 1632 at the site, visited by the Virgin, a Chapel was erected, then replaced with a large and most beautiful Church in 1677., which has since been raised to the status of a Minor Basilica. In it we honor what is called the Madonna del Bosco (The Our Lady of the Woods).u Two years before this apparition, some had seen, in the same place, a lady bathed in light hovering on top of those chestnut trees and heard beautiful songs coming from the spot. Many other miracles occured here, the most well-known being that of a mother whose child was being attacked by wolves, which were very prevalent in the area. She called to the Virgin, who appeared and saved the child from the wolf-attack. The Statue within the Sanctuary commemorates these miracle.s
The main Altarpiece is a depiction of the Madonna and Child above a grove of Chestnut trees (1888).
The Sanctuary can be accessed via the 392 steps of the Scala Santa. Most are linear steps until the end with a scenic sweep of two accesses.
St Banban the Wise St Beatus of Laon St Beatus of Lungern St Brynoth of Scara St Dionysius of Vienne Bl Fortis Gabrielli St Gerontius of Cervia
Blessed Thomas Pickering (c 1621-1679) Martyr, Benedictine Lay Brother
St Vincent of Montes
Martyrs of Persia: 310 Christians murdered together for their faith in Persia. No details about them have survived.
20 Mercedarian Martyrs of Riscala: 20 Mercedarian friars who were murdered by Huguenot heretics for refusing to denounce their faith. 16th century at the Santa Maria convent at Riscala, France.
Thought for the Day – 8 May – “Mary’s Month” Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Theological Virtues of Our Lady
“We also possess the Catholic faith, or at any rate, believe that we possess it, for we often recite the Creed and were received, at Baptism, into the family of the Catholic Church.
But is our faith alive? When a man is living his faith, he has a constant realisation of the presence of God, Who has created him, maintains him in existence, has redeemed him, loves him and commands him to do good. Otherwise, our faith is dead, for as St James writes, “faith, without works, is dead” (Js 2:26). If our faith is not living, neither is our hope nor our charity.
Let us examine ourselves thoroughly. Perhaps we do not think about God enough and, as a result our faith is weak. Perhaps we place all our hope in earthly things and look for these passing pleasures, which cannot satisfy or hearts. Perhaps we love ourselves and our possessions too much and have too little love for God, our only real good. It maybe that we are constantly seeking our own interests and ease and are lacking in sincere and active charity towards our neighbour, when he is in need, even though he is our brother in Jesus Christ and we should love him as ourselves. If this is the way matters stand, we are not genuine Catholics, for we have not the three theological virtues, which should form the basis of our lives. Neither are we sincere sons of Mary, who possessed these three virtues in an outstanding manner. Let us examine ourselves with a view to forming a few good and earnest resolutions.”
Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – “Mary’s Month” – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 16:1-10, Psalm 100:1-3, 5, John 15:18-21
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me first.”
John 15:18
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own but because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you.”
John 15:19
“God watches us – we, His children – take part in the combat and Himself gives us a heavenly crown ( 1Cor 9:25). The angels watch us too and Christ comes to our aid. So let us arm ourselves with all our might, let us fight the good fight, with brave hearts and solid faith.”
St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church
“Do not rejoice in the Cross only in times of peace, preserve the same faith in times of persecution. Do not be a friend to Jesus in times of peace alone, only to become His enemy in times of war. You are now receiving forgiveness for your sins and the spiritual gifts lavishly bestowed by your King so, when war breaks out, fight valiantly for your King.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Father and Doctor of the Church
“When insults have no effect on us, when persecutions and penalties, have no terror for us, when prosperity or adversity, has no influence on us, when friend and foe, are viewed in the same light… do we not come close, to sharing, the serenity of God?”
St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)
“O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how He was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbour of guilt but pray to God, that He be merciful to you both.”
St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
“Catholics are part of the Church Militant. They struggle and they suffer for the triumph of Christ. They must never lose sight of their Divine Model, so that their trials will be turned into joy.”
One Minute Reflection – 8 May – “Mary’s Month” – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 16:1-10, Psalm 100:1-3, 5, John 15:18-21
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me first.”- John 15:18
REFLECTION –“I rejoice with you greatly in our Lord Jesus Christ, that you welcomed the copies of true love [Ignatius of Antioch and his companions]…who were encumbered with saintly chains, which are the diadems of those, truly chosen by God and our Lord. And I rejoice because the deep root of your faith, which has been renowned from early times, still lasts and bears fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who for our sins, endured even facing death, and whom “God raised, releasing him from the throes of death” (Acts 2,24). “Though you have not seen him, you believe with unutterable, triumphant joy” (1Pt 1,8)… “He who raised him from the dead will raise us also” (2Cor 4,14), if we do His Will and live by His Commands and love what He loved… Let us be imitators of His endurance and, if we suffer for His sake, let us glorify Him. For He set us this example Himself and this is what we have believed.
So I beg you all, to obey the message of uprightness and to exhibit all endurance, such as you saw with your own eyes, not only in the blessed Ignatius and Zosimus and Rufus but also, in others of your number and in Paul himself and the rest of the Apostles, being assured, that all these “have not run in vain” (Gal 2,2) but in faith and uprightness and, that they are in the place that they have deserved with the Lord, with and for Whom they suffered. For they did not “love the present world” (2Tm 4,10) but Christ, Who died for us and was raised up by God for our sakes.”- St Polycarp (69-155) Apostolic Father, Bishop and Martyr – Letter to the Philippians, 1-2, 8-9
PRAYER – Almighty God, grant that Your faithful, who rejoice in the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may be delivered from every evil here on earth, put on the armour of Your Son and fight the good faith bearing His standard. Through her prayer and the prayers of Your Angels and Saints, may we come to the enduring joys of heaven. We make our prayer through her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, one God with You, in the union of the Holy Spirit, forever amen.
Our Morning Offering – 8May – “Mary’s Month” – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Let Me Love Your Jesus By St Ildephonsus (c 607-670)
Virgin Mary, hear my prayer, through the Holy Spirit, you became the Mother of Jesus, from the Holy Spirit, may I too have Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, your flesh conceived Jesus, through the same Spirit, may my soul receive Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, you were able to know Jesus, to possess Jesus and to bring Him into the world. Through the Holy Spirit, may I too come to know your Jesus. Imbued with the Spirit, Mary, you could say “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word,” in the Holy Spirit, lowly as I am, let me proclaim the great truths about Jesus. In the Spirit, you now adore Jesus as Lord and look on Him as Son, in the same Spirit, Mary, let me love your Jesus. Amen
Saint of the Day – 8 May – Saint Pope Boniface IV (c 550-615) Bishop of Rome from 608 until his death, Deacon, Assistant and dDsciple of St Pope Gregory the Great, Papal Treasurer under Pope Gregory. Born c 550 at Valeria, Abruzzi, Italy and died in 615 at Rome, Italy of natural causes.
Boniface was the son of a man named Johannes, a Physician, from the area of Maria and town of Valeria. It is assumed that he was a student of Pope Gregory I. Around 591, Boniface was ordained a Cardinal-Deacon. Under that office, he served Gregory as treasurer . In other words, he was the first official in connection with the administration of papal property.
Boniface IV was elected to succeed Boniface III but a vacancy of over nine months ensued, awaiting imperial confirmation from Constantinople. He was consecrated on 25 September 608.
Like his mentor, he ran the Lateran Palace as a Monastery. As Pope, he encouraged Monasticism. With imperial permission, he converted the Pantheon into a Church. This was the first pagan temple in Rome to be transformed. On 13 May 609, the Pantheon was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin and all the Christian Martyrs. Boniface ordered 28 cartloads of bones from the Catacombs to be reburied under the high Altar of the new Church.
In 610, St Mellitus, the first Bishop of London, went to Rome “to consult the pope on important matters relative to the newly established English Church.” While in Rome, he assisted at a Synod concerning certain questions on “the life and monastic peace of monks” and, on his departure, took to England the Decree of the Council together with letters from the Pope to Archbishop Laurence of Canterbury and to all the clergy, to King Æthelberht of Kent and to all the Anglo-Saxons.
Inspired by Gregory the Great, he converted his home into a Monastery and divided his time between the Monk’s life and the Papal life until he died. He was buried at his Monastery and reburied several times, the last time at the new St Peter’s Basilica on 21 October 1603.
Nuestra Señora de Luján, Argentina / Our Lady of Luján: (1600s) – 8 May:
The Virgin is a two feet tall terracotta Statue of Our Lady. It was made in Brazil and sent to Argentina in May 1630. Its original appearance seemed inspired by Murillo’s Immaculates. In 1887, to preserve and protect it, the image was given a solid silver covering. It is usually clothed with a white robe and sky blue cloak, the colours of the Argentinian flag. Only the dark oval face with big blue eyes and the hands folded in prayer are now visible. Tradition tells us that a settler ordered the image of Mary Immaculate in 1630 because he intended to create a Shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the Port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image were removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive Chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides. A Basilica was built in its honour, where the image now resides above the high Altar.
Among the Popes who have honoured Our Lady of Luján are Clement XI, Clement XIV, Pius VI, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius XI, Pius XII, and John Paul II. In 1824, Fr John Mastai Ferretti, visited the Shrine on his way to Chile. He later became Blessed Pope Pius IX and defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1854. Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli served as the Papal Legate to the XXXII International Eucharistic Congress ,held in Buenos Aires in October 1934 and visited the Basilica on 15 October. When he became Pope Pius XII, he made a radio address to the pilgrims in Luján on the occasion of the First Marian Congress in Argentina in 1947. In 1982, during the Falklands War, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit Our Lady of Luján. During this visit the Pope celebrated an outdoor Mass in the square of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján and bestowed upon her the Golden Rose. Both in his homily of 11 June and his Angelus back in Rome reflecting on the trip, he commented on Our Lady’s never failing maternal solicitude for the faithful in times of distress. On 11 June 1982, John Paul II personally bestowed a Papal Golden Rose on Our Lady of Luján.
St Acacius of Byzantium Bl Aloysius Luis Rabata St Amatus Ronconi Bl Angelo of Massaccio St Arsenio of Mount Scete St Benedict II, Pope St Boniface IV, Pope (c 550-615) Bishop of Rome fro 608 until his death
St Ida of Nivelles St Martin of Saujon St Metrone of Verona St Odrian of Waterford St Otger of Utrecht St Peter of Besançon Bl Pietro de Alos Bl Raymond of Toulouse Bl Teresa Demjanovich Bl Ulrika Fransiska Nisch St Victor Maurus St Wiro of Utrecht
Thought for the Day – 7 May – “Mary’s Month” Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Humility of Mary
“Unfortunately, we often look for our share of glory on earth. We wish to appear to others, not only at our true value but much more than we are really worth. We imagine that the gifts and qualities which God has given us, belong to ourselves, whereas they are entirely His.
We like to put up a good appearance to win praise and renown – in other words, we want to have our reward upon this earth. We should remember, however, that if we look for our reward now, we shall not have it in Heaven.
God sees when our motives in doing good are distorted and, when we appear before His judgement throne, He will say to us: “You have received your reward” (Cf Mt 6:2).
Let us be humble like Mary. Let us make God’s glory, rather than our own satisfaction, the object of our actions. It will sometimes happen that men will misunderstand us, perhaps even insult us. We are not forbidden to defend ourselves and explain our position. We may not have the heroic virtue of St Francis de Sales, who remained silent when he was caluminated. But we should not be too disturbed by lack of understanding or slander, nor should we be too elated by flattery. Only one thing should count with us and that is, the testimony of a good conscience before God. Everything else is passing and futile.
Our humility will be tested by the inevitable opposition, sometimes jealous and malicious, which we shall experience on the part of other men. On these occasions, we shall see if we are really meek and humble of heart, like Jesus and our Blessed Mother.”
Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – “Mary’s Month” – Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 15:22-31, Psalm 57:8-12, John 15:12-17
“Love one another as I have loved you”
John 15:12
“Someone who shows no clemency, who is not clothed with the bowels of mercy and tears, no matter what sort of student he is in spirituality, such a one, does not fulfil the law of Christ.”
St Jerome (343-420) Father and Doctor of the Church
“My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.”
St Fulgentius of Ruspe (460-533) Bishop
“Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle.”
“Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller and nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things.”
One Minute Reflection – 7 May – “Mary’s Month” – Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 15:22-31, Psalm 57:8-12, John 15:12-17
“You have not chosen me but I have chosen you and have appointed you” … John 15:16
REFLECTION – “Just as the head and body of a man, form one single man, so the Son of the Virgin and those He has chosen to be His members, form a single man and the one Son of Man. Christ, is whole and entire, head and body, say the Scriptures, since all the members form one body, which, with its Head, is one Son of Man and He, with the Son of God, is one Son of God, who Himself, with God, is one God. Therefore, the whole body with its Head is Son of Man, Son of God and God. This is the explanation of the Lord’s words – Father, I desire that as you and I are one, so they may be one with us.
And so, according to this well-known reading of Scripture, neither the body without the head, nor the Head without the body, nor the Head and body without God, make the whole Christ. When all are united with God, they become one God. The Son of God is one with God by nature, the Son of Man is one with Him in His person; we, His body, are one with Him sacramentally. Consequently, those, who by faith, are spiritual members of Christ, can truly say that they are what He is – the Son of God and God Himself. But what Christ is, by His nature, we are as His partners, what He is of Himself in all fullness, we are as participants. Finally, what the Son of God is by generation, His members are by adoption, according to the text – As sons you have received the Spirit of adoption, enabling you to cry, Abba, Father. …
By the Spirit, from the womb of the Virgin, was born our Head, the Son of Man and by the same Spirit, in the waters of Baptism, we are reborn as His body and as sons of God. And just as He was born without any sin, so we are reborn in the forgiveness of all our sins. As on the cross, He bore the sum total of the whole body’s sins in His own physical body, so He gave His members the grace of rebirth, in order that no sin might be imputed to His mystical body.” – Blessed Isaac of Stella O.Cist.(c 1100 – c 1170) Cistercian Monk, Abbot, Theologian, Philosopher – An excerpt from his Sermon 42
PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, You gave us a new birth in holy Baptism and a new life in Your Son, who first loved us and gave His life for us. Grant us, we pray, the grace to love all as He did and bear much fruit, always striving after what He has taught who goes ahead of us, to lead us to You. May the prayers of His beloved Mother and ours, grant us help and inspiration as we travel the road to eternal life. Through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 7 May – “Mary’s Month” – Friday of the F1fth Week of Easter
Mary, my Good Mother By St Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840) Founder of the Marist Brothers
Mary, my Good Mother, I am called here to do good. I can achieve nothing without the assistance of your divine Son, and yours as well. This is why I ask you to help me. I ask you to be with me, directing my hands, my words, my heart, my whole person. And when I am faced with some difficulties, Good Mother, I will entrust them to you though I myself will do all that depends on me. I offer and commend to you, all that will be entrusted to me this day. Amen
Saint of the Day – 7 May – Saint Flavia Domitilla of Terracina (1st Century) Virgin and Martyr.
The Roman Martyrology states of her today: “At Terracina, in Campania, the birthday of blessed Flavia Domitilla, Virgin and Martyr, niece of the Consul Flavius Clemens. She received the religious veil at the hands of St Clement and in the persecution of Domitian, was exiled with many others to the island of Pontia, where she endured a long Martyrdom for Christ. Taken afterwards to Terracina, she converted many to the faith of Christ by her teaching and miracles. The judge ordered the chamber in which she was, with the virgins Euphrosina and Theodora, to be set on fire and she thus consummated her glorious Martyrdom. She is also mentioned with the holy Martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, on the 12th of this month.”
Sts Euphrosina and Theodora with St Flavia in the centre
Flavia was niece to the consul and Martyr St Flavius Clemens, being the daughter of his sister as Eusebius testifies; “consequently she was little niece of the Emperor Domitian, who, having put to death her illustrious uncle, banished her for her faith into Pontia. There she lived with her holy eunuchs, Nereus and Achilleus, in exercises of devotion, they all dwelling in separate cells which remained standing three hundred years after. “
Sts Nereus and Achilleus with St Flavia
St.Jerome tells us, that St Paula, going from Rome to Jerusalem, took this is and in her way, visited them with respect and devotion,and, by the sight of them, was animated with fervour. That holy Father , St Jerome, calls her banishment ,a long Martyrdom.
The acts of Sts Nereus and Achilleu say ,that she returned to Terracina and was there burnt under Trajan because she refused to sacrifice to idols. Her relics are kept together with those of Sts Nereus and Achilleus; who, though her servants here on earth, enjoy an equal honour and condition with her, in glory.
This royal virgin found true happiness and joy in suffering for virtue, whilst worldly pomp and honours are only masks which often cover the basest slavery,and much inward bitterness. Sinners who seem the most fortunate in the eyes of the world, feel in their own breasts, frequent returns of fear, anxiety and remorse. They are only enemies to solitude and retirement and, to all serious and calm reflection because they cannot bear to look into themselves and tremble at the very sight of their own frightful wounds. To turn their eyes from themselves, they study to drown their faculties in a hurry of dissipation, business, or diversion. Nay, though nauseated and tired with a dull and tasteless repetition of follies, they choose to repeat them still, for fear of being left alone, at liberty to think of themselves. But what becomes of them when sickness, disasters, or a wakeful hour forces them to take a view of their own miserable state and the dangers which hang over them? Their gaudy show of happiness is merely exterior and only imposes upon others but their pangs and agonies, are interior, these they themselves feel.
The servant of God, who in his sweet love enjoys an inward peace and comfort which the whole world cannot rob him of, carries his paradise within his own breast, whatever storms hover about him. – Fr Alban Butler (1711–1773).
Apparition of the Holy Cross over Jerusalem: Commemorates the appearance on 7 May 351, Pentecost that year, of a luminous image of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. It stretched from Mount Golgotha to the Mount of Olives (about two miles / three kilometers), was brighter than the sun, lasted several hours and was seen by the entire City. It led to many conversions and was reported in a letter attributed to Saint Cyril of Jerusalem.
Bl Agnellus of Pisa OFM (c 1195-1236) Bl Antonio de Agramunt St Augustine of Nicomedia St Augustus of Nicomedia St Cerenico of Spoleto St Domitian of Huy St Duje St Flavia Domitilla of Terracina (1st Century) Virgin Martyr St Flavius of Nicomedia Bl Francesco Paleari Bl Gisela of Ungarn Bl Jan Eugeniusz Bajewski St John of Beverley St Juvenal of Benevento St Maurelius of Voghenza-Ferrara Bl Miqael of Ulompo St Peter of Pavia St Placid of Autun St Quadratus of Herbipolis St Quadratus of Nicomedia
Thought for the Day – 6 May – “Mary’s Month” Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Virginal Purity of Mary
“Purity is the most beautiful of virtues. It is a virtue which is admired by God and by men, even by the most corrupt. It is often said, that it makes us like the angels but in fact, looking at it in a particular way, it makes us superior to the angels. Since they have no bodies, the angels cannot sin against purity, while we have to fight many battles and overcome many temptations, in order to preserve our chastity. Jesus had a very special love for this virtue. He chose to be born of a virgin and, He showed a particular affection for St John, who was a dedicated celibate. On one occasion, He placed His Hands on the head of a little child and said: “Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven “(Mt:18.3)
Unfortunately, the virtue of purity is as fragile as it is beautiful. It can be lost in a single moment of weakness. We must love ths virtue as Mary loved it. We must be prepared to make any sacrifice, even the most heroic, rather than lose it. Worldly charm and beauty attract us and the devil works hard to control our imagination and our affections. On account of the disturbance of original sin, the flesh is like a terrible weight retarding our spiritual advancement. Sometimes it seems as if it is irresistibly drawing us towards the abyss of impurity. But we need not be dragged down, if we are prepared to fly from the occasions of sin and to pray to God and to our heavenly Mother for her intercession. We must always act at once, for there is no time to dally. It is fatal to remain inactive and to allow temptation to make its way into our soul. This kind of battle, said St Francis de Sales, is won only by soldiers who flee. We must fly from the occasions of sin, no matter what sacrifice this entails. Jesus has warned us, that it is better to enter Heaven without a hand or a foot, than to be cast into hell.
We know the remedies – instant flight, heroic sacrifice and constant prayer. We can leave the rest to the grace of God and to the maternal protection of Mary.”
Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – “Mary’s Month” – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter. Readings: First: Acts 15: 7-21; Psalm: Psalms 96: 1-2a, 2b-3, 10; Gospel: John 15: 9-1
“As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.”
John 15:9
“You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart”
Mark 12:30
“Remember God more often than you breathe!”
St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Choose the opposition of the whole world, rather than offend Jesus. Of all those who are dear to you, let Him be your special love. Let all things be loved, for the sake of Jesus but Jesus, for His own sake.”
Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
(Book 2 Ch 8)
“My dear souls, let us recognise, I pray you, Christ’s infinite charity towards us in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist. In order that our love be a spiritual love, He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us. It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one, that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love, a supreme and most ardent love, by way of pure grace and charity. Ah! One needs to love Him back with one’s whole, whole, whole, living, living, living and true, true, true heart!!”
St Lawrence of Brindisi(1559-1619) Apostolic Doctor of the Church
“By giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange but, eternal life as well!”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
“If a man wants to know if he is living a good Christian life, therefore, all he has to do is ask himself if he loves God above everything and his neighbour as himself. … Love gives wings to his feet and pours enthusiasm and fervour into his heart.”
One Minute Reflection – 6 May – “IMary’s Month” – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter. Readings: First: Acts 15: 7-21; Psalm: Psalms 96: 1-2a, 2b-3, 10; Gospel: John 15: 9-11 and the Memorial of St John the Evangelist at the Latin Gate
“Abide in my love.” – John 15:9
REFLECTION – “You may well believe that there is no-one in the world, neither friend nor brother, father or mother, husband or betrothed who loves you more than your God loves you. Divine grace is that treasure of great price, that boundless treasure of which the wise man speaks, which, as soon as we use it, makes us participants in friendship with God (cf. Wis 7:14). In God’s sight we were only miserable creatures, poor servants and now, we become friends, beloved friends of our Creator himself!
Precisely so as to make us more at ease with Him, He emptied Himself (cf. Phil 2:7), so to speak, humbling Himself, so far, as to become man, in order to converse familiarly with men (cf. Bar 3:38).8). Even this was not enough, He became a child, became poor, he even let Himself be put to death on a cross, by a miscarriage of justice, before a whole people. Even more, He went so far as to put Himself under the species of bread, so as to make Himself our companion each day and unite Himself, in close union with each one of us – “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood,” He said, “remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). In sum, one could say, that He has no love but for you, He loves you so much.
Therefore, it is Him you should love and no other. Of Him you could and should say “My Beloved is mine and I am his” (Sg 2:16); my God has given Himself without reserve and, without reserve, I give myself to Him; He has chosen me as the object of His tenderness and He, among thousands, He, the radiant and ruddy one (Sg 5:10), so loveable and so loving, He is the chosen of my heart, the only one I wish to love.”- St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop and Most Zealous Doctor of the Church – The manner of conversing with God, trans. from the Italian
PRAYER – In Your gentle mercy Lord, guide our wayward hearts, for we know that left to ourselves, we cannot do Your will. Almighty God, turn our hearts to Yourself, so that we, seeking the one thing ne cessary, may worship You in spirit and in truth. We give You thanks for our faith, increase our faith O our God! May the prayers of St John and all your saints and the Virgin Mary, Queen of All Saints, obtain the gift of humility and fidelity for us and for every believer, so that our prayer may always be genuine and pleasing to the Lord. Through Christ our Lord and Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 6 May – “Mary’s Month” – Thursday of the Fifth week of Easter
Mother of Mercy By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor
Virgin full of goodness, Mother of Mercy, I entrust to you my body and soul, my thoughts, my actions, my life and my death. O my Queen, help me, and deliver me from all 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, to love you with all my heart and above all things. Amen
Saint of the Day – 6 May – St John the Evangelist before the Latin Gate. St John the Apostle and Evangelist – “The Disciple whom Jesus Loved” – (died c 101).
The Roman Martyrology States of this feast today: “At Rome, the feast of St John before the Latin Gate. Being bound and brought to Rome from Ephesus by the order of Domitian, he was condemned by the Senate to be cast, near the said gate, into a vessel of boiling oil, from which he came out more healthy nd vigorous than before!
“The seething oil was changed for him into an invigorating bath and the Saint came out more refreshed than when he had entered the cauldron.”
Abbot Dom Prosper Gueranger (1805-1875) relates the story for us.
“The Beloved Disciple John, whom we saw standing near the crib of the Babe of Bethlehem, comes before us again today and this time, he is paying his delighted homage to the glorious Conqueror of death and hell. Like Philip and James, he too is clad in the scarlet robe of martyrdom. The month of May, so rich in saints, was to be graced with the Palm of St John.
Salome one day presented her two sons to Jesus,and, with a mother’s ambition, had asked Him to grant them the highest places in His kingdom. The Saviour, in His reply, spoke of the Chalice which He Himself had to drink,and foretold ,that these two Disciples would also drink of it. The elder, James the Greater, was the first to give His Master this proof of his love; we shall celebrate his victory when the sun is in Leo; it was today that John, the younger Brother, offered his life in testimony of Jesus’ Divinity.
But the Martyrdom of such an Apostle, called for a scene worthy of the event. Asia Minor, which his zeal had evangelised, was not a sufficiently glorious land for such a combat. Rome, whither Peter had transferred his Chair and where he died on his cross and where Paul had bowed down his venerable head beneath the sword, Rome alone deserved the honour of seeing the Beloved Disciple march onto Martyrdom, with that dignity and sweetness which are the characteristics of this veteran of the Apostolic College.
Domitian was then Emperor, the tyrant over Rome and the world. Whether it were that John undertook this journey of his own free choice and from a wish to visit the Mother-Church, or .that he was led thither bound with chains, in obedience to an imperial edict, John, the august founder of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, appeared before the Tribunal of pagan Rome. He was convicted of having propagated, in a vast province of the Empire, the worship of a Jew that had been Crucified under Pontius Pilate. He was a superstitious and rebellious man and it was time to rid Asia of his presence. He was, therefore, sentenced to an ignominious and cruel death. He had somehow escaped Nero’s power but he should not elude the vengeance of Caesar Domitian!
A huge cauldron of boiling oil was prepared in front of the Latin Gate. The sentence ordered that the preacher of Christ be plunged into this bath. The hour was come for the second son of Salome ,to partake of his Master’s Chalice. John’s heart leaped with joy, at the thought that he, the most dear to Jesus and yet, the only Apostle that had not suffered death for Him, was, at last, permitted to give Him this earnest of his love.
LeBrun, Martyrdom of St John Evangelist at Porta Latina
After cruelly scourging him, the executioners seize dthe old man and threw him into the cauldron but, lo! the boiling liquid had lost all its heat, the Apostle felt no scalding, on the contrary,, when they took him out again, he felt all the vigour of his youthful years restored to him. The Praetor’s cruelty was foiled,and John, the Martyr in desire, was to be left to the Church for some few years longer.
An imperial decree banished him to the rugged Isle of Patmos, where God revealed to him, the future of the Church, even to the end of time.
St John on Patmos
The Church of Rome, which counts the abode and Martyrdom of St John as one of her most glorious memories, has marked, with a Basilica, the spot where the Apostle bore his noble testimony to the Christian Faith. This Basilica stands near the Latin Gate and gives a title to one of the Cardinals.”
O singular happiness of St John to have stood under the Cross of Christ, so near His divine person, when the other disciples had all forsaken Him! O extraordinary privilege, to have suffered Martyrdom in the person of Jesus and been eye-witness of all He did or endured and of all that happened to Him, in that great sacrifice and mystery. Here he drank of his cup; this was truly a Martyrdom and our Saviour exempted all those who had assisted at the Martyrdom of His Cross, from suffering death by the hands of persecutors. St John, nevertheless, received also the crown of this second Martyrdom, to which the sacrifice of his will, was not wanting but only the execution.
Santa Maria Della Pace / Our Lady of Peace in the Church of Our Lady of Peace, Rome (also called Our Lady of Miracles) (1483) – 6 May:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “It is related ,that in the year 1483, a man who had lost his money by gaming, after blaspheming at this picture, gave it four stabs with a dagger and that it bled so copiously, that the miracle was at once divulged all over the City. This picture is still preserved in the Church of Our Lady of Peace, where it is to be seen at the high Altar, framed in marble.”
The present cCurch of Our Lady of Peace, or Santa Maria Della Pace, in Rome, Italy, is still standing. It was built by Pope Sixtus IV after the City of Rome had been under siege by the Duke of Calabria. The Pope had made a vow ,that he would build a new Church in Rome in honour of Our Lady , if peace would somehow be re-established between his Papal States and the Cities of Florence, Milan and Naples. Construction actually started in 1482 as an act of thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin but the work was not completed until the time of Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492) who was Pope from 1484 until his death. According to various traditions, the particular site for the Church was chosen because of an incident, in which a drunken soldier had stabbed a statue of the Madonna in the breast, at which the figure had started bleeding as if it were alive. There is also another legend that perhaps a stone was thrown at the image of Our Lady of Miracles, that currently hangs over the high Altar in the Church of Our Lady of Peace, which subsequently started bleeding. In any event, the Church was in fact built, on the foundations of an earlier Church, known as Saint Andrea de Aquarizariis. The venerated painting of Our Lady of Miracles depicts the Blessed Virgin holding the Divine Child. It currently hangs over the high Altar at the Church, which was specifically designed by Carlo Maderno to display and enshrine the famous painting.
The now famous image was once believed to have been venerated in the portico of St Andrew’s of the Watercarriers. There is also another famous fresco inside the Church known as the Four Sibyls, which was painted by Raphael in the year 1514.
Bl Anthony Middleton Bl Bartolomeo Pucci-Franceschi St Benedicta of Rome St Colman Mac Ui Cluasigh of Cork St Colman of Loch Eichin St Dominic Savio St Edbert of Lindisfarne Bl Edward Jones St Evodius of Antioch
St Marianus of Lambesa Bl Peter de Tornamira St Petronax of Monte Cassino St Protogenes of Syria Bl Prudence Castori St Theodotus of Kyrenia St Venerius of Milan St Venustus of Africa St Venustus of Milan Bl William Tandi
Thought for the Day – 5 May – “Mary’s Month” Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Mary, Our Mother
“Mary is, at the same time, our loving and powerful Mother. No matter how much earthly mothers love their sons and desire to help them, very often they cannot do so because, their love is limited. It is not so with Mary. Not only does she love us but, she also possesses great influence with her divine Son, Jesus. We should have confidence in her, therefore and have recourse to her, in every spiritual or temporal need. We may be certain that she will use her powers of intercession on our behalf. Let us remember, however, to ask, first of all, for the spiritual favours which we need. Later, we may ask, in a spirit of resignation to God’s Will, for temporal benefits and for release from worldly suffering. If we acted otherwise, we should not be worthy sons of Mary, who endured all kinds of suffering for the sake of Jesus.
When we recite the Our Father, we say ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,‘ before we say ‘Deliver us from evil.’ If anyone refuses the cross, he shows that he does not love God because, he does not will what God wills for him. We should remember that there is no affliction which does not come from God and, that nothing comes from God, which is not for our own good.
So let us ask Mary for everything which we desire but let us ask her, first of all to make us holy. Devotion to Mary, as St Catherine of Siena assures us, is a mark of predestination..”
Quote/s of the Day – 5 May – Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: First: Acts 15: 1-6; Psalm: Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5; Gospel: John 15: 1-8 and the Memorial of the Conversdion of St Augustine
“Without Me you can do nothing”
John 15:5
“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?”
“What do you possess if you possess not God?”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of Grace
“A saint is not someone, who never sins, but one who sins less and less frequently and gets up more and more quickly.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“Each day then, we ought to renew our resolutions and arouse ourselves to fervour, as though it were the first day of our turning back to God. We ought to say: “Help me, O Lord God, in my good resolution and in Your holy service. Grant me now, this very day, to begin perfectly, for thus far I have done nothing.” … Just men depend on the grace of God rather than on their own wisdom in keeping their resolutions. In Him they confide every undertaking …” ”
Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
“A soul makes room for God by wiping away all the smudges and smears of creatures, by uniting its will perfectly to God’s, for to love is to labour, to divest and deprive oneself for God, of all that is not God . When this is done, the soul will be illumined by and transformed in God.”
St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Mystical Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 5 May – Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: First: Acts 15: 1-6; Psalm: Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5; Gospel: John 15: 1-8 and the Memorial of the Conversdion of St Augustine
“Remain in me as I remain in you ” … John 15:4
REFLECTION – “Whatever be the stage in which the soul is, its work, however, is never anything but a work of co-operation. The soul is not alone, God works in and with it, for He is ever the first Author of its progress.
Doubtless, at the outset, when the soul is yet encumbered with vices and evil habits, it must needs apply itself with virility and ardour to remove these obstacles, which are opposed to divine union. The co-operation that God requires of it, at this period, is particularly great and active and is revealed very clerly to the conscience. During this period, God grants sensible graces that uplift and encourage. But the soul experiences inward vicissitudes, it falls then rises up again; it labours, then rests; it takes breath again then goes forward on its way.
As far and in the measure as the soul advances and obstacles give way, the inner life becomes more homogeneous, more regular, more uniform; the action of God is felt to be more powerful because it is more free to act and because it meets with less resistance and more suppleness in the soul; then, we rapidly go forward in the path of perfection. … Our Lord has so clearly given us this fundamental doctrine: “I am the Vine, you are the branches; abide in me that you may bear fruit, for without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). …
To imagine, then, that Christ will take upon Himself all the work would be a dangerous illusion but, to believe that we could do anything, whatsoever without Him, would be no less perilous. We must be convinced too, that our works are only of value by reason of our union with Jesus. ” – Blessed Columba Marmion (1858-1923) Abbot – The “instruments of good works” (Christ, the Ideal of the Monk
PRAYER – Holy God and Father, help us to discern through prayer and meditation what You truly want of us. Then enable us to offer it to You and indeed, to offer ourselves and all we have and all we are, to You. When You bring us sufferings to mould us closer and make us more like You, help us to accept them and offer them back to You. Following Your divine Son, let us pick up those crosses in peace and love. Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our mother, pray for us! St Aaugustinet, pray for us. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 5 May – The Memorial of the Conversion of St Augustne of Hippo (354-430)
Blessed Virgin Mary, Receive Our Gratitude By St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of Grace
Blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay you with praise and thanks for having rescued a fallen world by your generous consent! Receive our gratitude and by your prayers, obtain the pardon of our sins. Take our prayers into the Sanctuary of Heaven and enable them to make our peace with God. Holy Mary, help the miserable, strengthen the discouraged, comfort the sorrowful, pray for your people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God. May all who venerate you feel now your help and protection. Be ready to help us when we pray and bring back to us, the answers to our prayers. Make it your continual concern to pray for the people of God, for you were blessed by God and were made worthy to bear the Redeemer of the world, Who lives and reigns forever. Amen
Saint of the Day – 5 May – Feast of the Conversion of St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father and Doctor of Grace. Born on 13 November 354 at Tagaste, Numidia, North Africa (Souk-Ahras, Algeria) as Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis and died on 28 August 430 at Hippo, North Africa, which date is his primary Feast day. The Augustinians celebrated today’s memorial on 24 April. St Augustine is the Patron of against sore eyes, against vermin, brewers, printers, theologians, 7 Dioceses, 7 Cities
The Roman Martyrology states of today’s memorial: “In Milan, the Conversion of St Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, whom the blessed Bishop St Ambrose instructed in the Catholic Faith and baptised on this day.”
The story of a soul’s journey to God is what we celebrate today in the feast of the Conversion of Saint Augustine. Or, perhaps, we might also say, the story of God’s tireless pursuit of His beloved and the attentiveness and openness of that soul at last to God’s love. Conversion, or the turning to God, is a movement that is possible for us at every moment of our journey – not simply once and forever but continually and ever more deeply.
During the Easter Vigil, on the night between 4 and 5 April 387, Augustine was baptised by Bishop Ambrose in the Cathedral of Milan ,together with his son, Adeodatus and a small group of friends, including the ‘brother of (his) heart,’ Alypius. Thus was brought to its happy end, the long and tiring journey of Augustine’s conversion to the Catholic faith. Augustine himself records, in Book 8 of the Confessions, the climactic moment in which he surrendered to God’s grace and was relieved of the doubts and fears, which had so long kept him imprisoned.
Baptism of St Augustine
How many things came together now, in one moment, to bring him freedom: – the story of a visiting countryman, the song of a young child, repeating Tolle Lege, Tolle Lege – Take up, read. Take up, read, moving him to pick up St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, to find there, the response to his heart’s longing.
“I found myself weeping in the bitter sorrow of my heart. And suddenly I heard a voice from a nearby house, a child’s voice, boy or girl I do not know – but it was sort of a sing song that repeated over and over again. ‘Take and read, take and read.’ Wiping away my tears I took this as a divine command and opened the Scriptures and in silence read the passage on which my eyes first fell – ‘Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in debauchery and impurity, not in contention and envy but put on the Lord Jesus…’”
“How sweet did it suddenly become to me to be free of the sweets of folly -things that I once feared to lose, it was now joy to put away. You cast them forth from me, You the true and highest sweetness, You cast them forth and in their stead, You entered in, sweeter than every pleasure…” (Conf. 9, 1).
Certainly the story of Augustine’s conversion, numbers among the most well-known and most significant of all of Christian history – well-known, through Augustine’s own recording of it in his Confessions; significant, not only for the impact which his life of faith – as Monk, Bishop and Theologian – has had on the Catholic Church ever since but also, on the many men and women of every period, whose own personal lives have been altered by reading it and then hastening to go on and read and read and read the words of love of St Augustine!
Let us now thank God for the great light that shines out from St Augustine’s wisdom and humility and pray the Lord to give to us all, day after day, the conversion we need to lead us toward true life. And we ask our beloved Father and Doctor of Grace, St Augustine, to not forget us in his supplications and intercessions. as he gazes on the Face of God. Amen.
Nuestra Señora de Europa / Our Lady of Europe, Gibraltar (1492) – 5 May:
Together with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Our Lady is the Catholic patron Saint of Gibraltar and as such, protector of the whole of Europe.
In thanksgiving for the reconquest of Spain by Christian forces in 1492, the Catholics of Gibraltar converted a mosque into the Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Europa. Beneath a lighthouse tower, Our Lady presided over the Straits, its mariners and the continent of Europe for over two centuries. But in 1704, the British captured Gibraltar and pillaged the Shrine. They mutilated the wooden statue of the Virgin and Child and threw it over the cliff. A fisherman found the floating pieces and took them to Father Juan Romero de Figueroa at the Church on Main Street (now the Catholic Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned), who carried them to Spain for safekeeping, while the Church of Our Lady of Europe served as a British guardroom.
There across the bay in Algeciras, the Capillita de Europa housing the repaired Statue became a focus of devotion. A replica was placed in Gibraltar’s Cathedral.
In 1864, the Bishop attended the First Vatican Council, where he interested Blessed Pope Pius IX in building a new Shrine to Our Lady of Europe. Two years later,, the new Church was completed. The Vicar Apostolic John Baptist Scandella arranged for the original Statue to be returned to Gibraltar from Algeciras, where a replica replaced it.
This is the replica Statue
But military occupation during two World Wars left the Shrine in such disrepair, that in 1960 it was torn down for construction of the Old People’s Home. In 1961, the Government of Gibraltar returned the original Chapel, the former mosque, to the Catholic Church. In 1962, it was renovated and reopened as the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe, where the Statue was reinstalled on 17 October 1961. In 1979 Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Principal Patroness of the Diocese of Gibraltar under this title.
The feast of Our Lady of Europe was celebrated on 30 May until 1980, when the Vatican authorised its transfer to 5 May, then celebrated as Europe Day in honour of the Council of Europe’s founding on 5 May 1949.
St Pope Pius V OP (1504-1573) (optional memorial) changed in 1969 this feast which had been celebrated on this day of his birth into Heaven since 1713. Bishop of Rome, Ruler of the Papal States, Pope of the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, the Battle of Lepanto, the Holy Rosary and the Pope who declared St Thomas Aquinas as a Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial) The Roman Martyrology states of St Pius V today: “At Rome, Pope St Pius V, of the Order of Preachers, who laboured zealously and successfully for the re-establishment of Ecclesiastical discipline, the extirpation of heresies, the destruction of the enemies of the Christian name and, governed the Catholic Church by holy laws and the example of a saintly lfe.” His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/30/saint-of-the-day-saint-pope-pius-v-1504-1572/ Lepanto by G K Chesterton: https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/30/lepanto-30-april/
St Crescentiana St Echa of Crayke St Eulogius of Edessa St Euthymius of Alexandria St Geruntius of Milan St Godehard of Hildesheim Bl Grzegorz Boleslaw Frackowiak St Hilary of Arles St Hydroc St Irenaeus of Thessalonica St Irenes of Thessalonica Bl John Haile St Jovinian of Auxerre St Jutta Kulmsee St Leo of Africo St Maurontius of Douai St Maximus of Jerusalem St Nectarius of Vienne St Nicetas of Vienne
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