Thought for the Day – 29 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” “Mary, Our Hope”
“In the beautiful prayer, known as the Salve Regina or Hail, Holy Queen, the Church salutes Mary as “our life, our sweetness and our hope.” Mary is our hope, because, she gave us our Saviour, Jesus and, because, she prays to Him continually for the graces which we need. Following the example of Luther, modern Protestants raise the objection that Mary cannot be regarded as a source of hope, because, all our trust should be placed in God. Anyone who places his trust in creatures, draws down God’s curse upon himself, they say and, they go on to quote from Jeremiah: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man” (Jer 17:5). But this is true only, when we trust in creatures independently of God, as if we can derive any good from them, without recourse to God. We invoke Mary, however, as the Mother of God and our mediatrix with Him. She is our hope, insofar as she obtains for us from God, the graces and favours which we require. St Bernard assures us, that God has placed in Mary’s hands, all the riches which He wishes to bestow on us (Serm de aquaed). “He will never experience eternal ruin,” says St Anselm, “for whom Mary has once prayed.” St Bernard calls upon Mary as the foundation of all his hope (Ibid). Let us remember, that Mary is our loving Mother who wishes us to pray to her, because, she knows that if she intercedes on our behalf, she will certainly be heard. It should be most consoling to us to have such a good and powerful Mother in whom, we can safely trust in every peril and in every necessity. Let us pray to her with love and faith, in the certainty that, we shall be answered in the way that is best for us. Let us say along with St John Damascene: “O Mother of God, if I place my trust in you, I shall be saved. If I am under your protection, I have nothing to fear, because to be devoted to you, is to possess a weapon of salvation which God grants only to those, whom He desires to redeem” (Serm de Nat, cap 4).”
Quote/s of the Day – 29 October – the Memorial of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971 –1990)
“I care only about doing the will of God, doing it well, in the present moment.”
“I must not exploit Him but just love Him and nothing else.”
“I discovered that Forsaken Jesus is the key to unity with God and I want to choose Him as my first Spouse and be prepared for when He comes.”
“Just as its easy for me to learn the alphabet, so must it also be, to live the Gospel. I have re-discovered this phrase that says: “Give and it shall be given to you.”
“I have nothing left but I still have my heart and with that, I can always love.”
One Minute Reflection – 29 October – Thursday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time, Ephesians 6:10-20, Psalms 144:1, 2, 9-10, Luke 13:31-35 and the Memorial of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971 –1990)
“How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing!” – Luke 13:34
REFLECTION – “Thus shall the spiritual thirst of Christ be quenched. This is His thirst – His love and longing for us that goes on enduring until we see the Day of Judgement. For of us who are to be saved and be Christ’s joy and bliss, some are alive now, while others- are ‘yet unborn and so, it will go on until that Day. His thirst and loving longing, is to have us all, integrated in Himself, to His great enjoyment. At least, so I see it (…) Because He is God, He is ‘supreme blessedness and never has been nor ever shall be other. His eternal blessedness can neither be increased nor diminished (…) Because He is human – this too is known by the creed and by the revelations – it was shown, that He, though God, suffered pain, passion, and death, for love of us and to bring us to blessedness (…) Since Christ is our Head, He must be both glorious and impassable. But since He is also the Body, in which all His members are joined (Eph 1:23), He is not yet fully either of these. Therefore, the same desire and thirst that He had upon the cross (Jn 19:28) – and this desire, longing and thirst was with Him from the very first, I believe He has still and shall continue to have, until the last soul to be saved has arrived at it’s blessedness. For just as there is in God the quality of sympathy and pity, so too in Him is there, that of thirst and longing. And in virtue of this longing which is in Christ, we in turn, long for Him too. No soul comes to heaven without it. This quality of longing and thirst springs from God’s eternal goodness just as pity does (…) and, this thirst will persist in Him, as long as we are in need, drawing us up, to His blessedness.” – Blessed Julian of Norwich (c 1342-c 1416) (aged 73–74) Anchorite, Mystic (Revelations of divine love, ch. 31)
PRAYER – Shed Your clear light on our hearts, Lord, so that walking continually in the way of Your commandments, we may never be deceived or misled. May Your loving Heart draw us more and more to Itself, so that Your love may be ours. Grant that the prayers of Blessed Chiara Badano, who always held Your Light up for others to see by, give us strength. Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 29 October – Thursday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Gaetano Errico (1791-1860), Founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Prayer to the Two Loving Hearts By St John Eudes (1501-1680)
O Jesus, only Son of God, only Son of Mary, I offer You the most loving Heart of Your divine Mother which is more precious and pleasing to You than all hearts.
O Mary, Mother of Jesus, I offer you the most adorable Heart of your well-beloved Son, who is the life and love and joy of your Heart.
Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen
Saint of the Day – 29 October – Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971 –1990) Laywoman – born on 29 October 1971 in Sassello, Italy and died on 7 October 1990 (aged 18) at the place of her birth. At age nine she joined the Focolare Movement and received the nickname “Luce” by the founder Chiara Lubich. When she was 16 she was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma, a painful bone cancer. Chiara succumbed to the cancer on October 7, 1990, after a two-year battle with the disease. She was Beatified on 25 September 2010 at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love in Rome. Patronages – Youth.
n 1971, after praying and hoping for a baby for more than 10 years, Ruggero and Teresa Badano of in the small village of Sassello, in Italy, welcomed a little girl whom they named Chiara.
Even at the age of four, Chiara seemed aware of the needs of others. She would sort through her toys to give some to poor children and she would never give away just the old or broken ones. She invited less-fortunate people into the family’s home for holidays and visited the elderly at a retirement centre. When other children were sick and confined to bed, Chiara visited them. She loved the stories of the Gospel and loved to attend Mass.
When she was 9, Chiara became involved with the Focolare movement and it’s branch for young people. The group focused on the image of the forsaken Christ as the means to overcome difficult times. Chiara later wrote that, “I discovered that Jesus, forsaken, is the key to unity with God and I want to choose Him as my only spouse. I want to be ready to welcome Him when He comes. To prefer Him above all else.”
While Chiara was a conscientious student, she struggled in school and even failed her first year of high school. She was often teased in school for her strong beliefs and was given the nickname “Sister” but, she was also very popular. She had a lot of friends, she played sports and she loved to sing and dance. But when asked, she said she did not try to bring Jesus to her friends with words. She tried to bring Jesus to them with her example and how she lived her life.
During the summer of 1988, when she was 16 years old, Chiara had a life-changing experience in Rome with the Focolare Movement. She wrote to her parents, “This is a very important moment for me – it is an encounter with Jesus Forsaken. It hasn’t been easy to embrace this suffering but this morning Chiara Lubich explained to the children that they have to be the spouse of Jesus Forsaken.” After this trip she started to correspond regularly with Chiara Lubich. She then asked for her new name as this was going to be the start of a new life for her. Chiara Lubich gave her the name Chiara Luce. This was a kind of a play on words since in Italian “Chiara” is a common girl’s name, taken for example from the name of St Clare of Assisi but it is also an everyday word meaning “clear.” “Luce” is occasionally found as a girl’s name in Italy, though it is mostly secular rather than religious and it, too, is also an everyday word meaning “light.” So “Chiara Luce” means “clear light.” Lubich wrote to Chiara that “your luminous face shows your love for Jesus,” which is why she gave her the name Luce.
In this same summer of 1988, Chiara felt a sting of pain in her shoulder while playing tennis. At first she thought nothing of it but when the pain continued to be present, she underwent a series of tests. The doctors then discovered she had a rare and painful form of bone cancer, osteogenic sarcoma. In response, Chiara simply declared, “It’s for you, Jesus; if you want it, I want it, too.”
Throughout the treatment process, Chiara refused to take any morphine so she could stay aware. She felt it was important to know her illness and pain so she could offer up her sufferings. She said, “It reduces my lucidity and there’s only one thing I can do now: to offer my suffering to Jesus because I want to share as much as possible in His sufferings on the cross.” During her stays in the hospital, she would take the time to go on walks with another patient who was struggling with depression. These walks were beneficial to the other patient but caused Chiara great pain. Her parents often encouraged her to stay and rest but she would simply reply, “I’ll be able to sleep later on.”
One of her doctors, Dr Antonio Delogu, said, “Through her smile, and through her eyes full of light, she showed us that death doesn’t exist; only life exists.” A friend from the FocColare Movement said, “At first we thought we’d visit her to keep her spirits up but very soon we understood that, in fact, we were the ones who needed her. Her life was like a magnet drawing us to her.”
While undergoing a painful medical procedure, Chiara was visited by a lady, “When the doctors began to carry out this small but quite demanding, procedure, a lady with a very beautiful and luminous smile came in. She came up to me and took me by the hand and her touch filled me with courage. In the same way that she arrived, she disappeared, and I could no longer see her. But my heart was filled with an immense joy and all fear left me. In that moment I understood that if we’re always ready for everything, God sends us many signs of his love.”
Chiara’s faith and spirit never dwindled even after the cancer left her unable to walk and a CAT scan showed that any hope of remission was gone. In response, she simply said, “If I had to choose between walking again and going to heaven, I wouldn’t hesitate. I would choose heaven.” On 19 July 1989, Chiara almost died of a haemorrhage. Her faith did not falter as she said, “Don’t shed any tears for me. I’m going to Jesus. At my funeral, I don’t want people crying but singing with all their hearts.”
Cardinal Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin, Italy, heard about Chiara’s illness and visited her at the hospital. He asked her, “The light in your eyes is splendid. Where does it come from?” Chiara simply replied, “I try to love Jesus as much as I can.”
Before she died, she told her mother, “Oh Mama, young people…young people…they are the future. You see, I can’t run anymore but how I would like to pass on to them the torch, like in the Olympics! Young people have only one life and it’s worthwhile to spend it well.”
When Chiara realised she was not going to get better, she started to plan for her “wedding” (her funeral) with her mother. She chose the music, songs, flowers and the readings for Mass. She wanted to be buried in her “wedding dress” a white dress with a pink waist, because her death would allow her to become the bride of Christ. She told her mother, “When you’re getting me ready, Mum, you have to keep saying to yourself, ‘Chiara Luce is now seeing Jesus.’“
During her final hours, Chiara made her final confession and received the Eucharist. She had her family and friends pray with her, “Come Holy Spirit.” Chiara Badano died at 4AM on 7 October 1990, The Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, with her parents at her bedside. Her final words were, “Bye, Mum, be happy, because I am.” Two thousand people attended her funeral; the mayor of Sassello shut down the town so people would be able to attend.
Chiara’s cause for sainthood was promoted by the Most Reverend Livio Maritano, the former Bishop of Acqui Terme, Italy, beginning in 1999. It was through this process that she was declared a “Venerable” on 3 July 2008. In December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the miracle of a young Italian boy whose parents interceded to Chiara to heal him from meningitis that was destroying his organs. His doctors could not medically explain his sudden healing. 25000 people attended her Beatification ceremony which was held at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love in Rome.
She was a normal, everyday girl and possibly a normal, everyday saint. Chiara’s brief life showed us how much one person can accomplish in God’s name.
St Abraham Kidunaia St Abraham of Rostov St Achahildis of Wendelstein St Anne of Mount Olympus Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano(1971 –1990) Laywoman
St Colman of Kilmacduagh St Dodone of Wallers-en-Fagne St Donatus of Corfu St Ermelinda of Meldaert St Eusebia of Bergamo St Felician of Carthage St Gaetano Errico (1791-1860) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/29/saint-of-the-day-29-october-st-gaetano-errico-1791-1860/ St Honoratus of Vercelli St John of Autun St Kennera St Mary of Edessa St Narcissus of Gerona St Narcissus of Jerusalem (c 99-c 215) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/10/29/saint-of-the-day-29-october-st-narcissus-of-jerusalem-c-99-c-215/ St Sigolinus of Stavelot St Stephen of Cajazzo St Terence of Metz St Theodore of Vienne St Zenobius of Sidon — Martyrs of Douai – (160 saints and beati): 160 priests, laymen and religious who studied at the English College in Douai, France, then returned to minister to covert Catholics in England during a period of government persecution of the Church, and were murdered for their work.
Martyrs of Lucania – (4 saints): A group of Christians executed together for their faith. Only their names have survived – Felician, Hyacinth, Lucius and Quintus. Their martyrdom occurred in Lucania, southern Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Arsenio Merino Miguel • Blessed Benito Paradela Novoa • Blessed Joaquina Rey Aguirre • Blessed José Ruiz Bruixola • Blessed Maurilio Tobar González • Blessed Ponciano Nieto Asensio • Blessed Victoria Arregui Guinea
Thought for the Day – 28 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” “Mary, Mother of God”
“The near-infinite greatness of Mary, flows from the fact, that she is the Mother of God. The Eternal Word of the Father, consubstantial with Him in nature and equal to Him in majesty, willed to become man in order to set us free from the slavery of sin and to regain Heaven for us. He became man in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary. He took a human body and soul and was born of her, as the God-Man. For this reason, there is attributed to His Divine Person, the title of Son of Mary and to Mary, the title of Mother of God.
There is a relationship between Mary and each of the three Divine Persons, for she is the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of the Holy Spirit by whose power the Word became incarnate in her and the mother of the Word made Man. She is, moreover, in the words of Dante, the “termine fisso di eterno consiglio” (Paradiso 33:1-3). In other words, she is the centre of the eternal plan which God established for the redemption of the human race. It was God’s eternal design to reunite creation to the Uncreated, by means of Mary. She became the mother of the Eternal Word, in whom the divine and human natures were indissolubly united. He redeemed us by His infinite merits but, in this work of redemption, He employed the co-operation of His holy Mother. All the graces, privileges and virtues of Mary, flow from this great mystery of her divine Motherhood. As befitted the future Mother of God, she was conceived free from the stain of original sin and full of grace. Her mortal life was a continuous ascent towards the highest peak of sanctity. When she died, she was assumed body and soul into Heaven, where she was crowned in glory, as Queen of Angels and Queen of Saints. When we consider the sublime nobility of Our Lady, we should be moved to love and venerate her. This love and veneration does not subtract in the slightest from God’s glory, because, she is the Mother of God. In fact, it is a great advantage to us, to imitate her and to call on her to intercede for us.”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs, Readings: Ephesians 2:19-22, Psalms 19:2-3, 4-5, Luke 6:12-16
“In those days he departed to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God.”
Luke 6:12
“Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
“We pray then to Him, through Him, in Him and we speak along with Him and He along with us.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard, more than the proceedings, from the mouth.”
St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
“Prayer is an act of love, words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.”
St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582)
“Give yourself to prayer and try by it, to procure, first the amendment of your fault, then the practice of Christian virtues and finally a great love of God.”
Bl Sebastian Valfre (1629-1710)
“He who prays most receives most.”
St Alphonsus Maria Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“My little children, your hearts are small but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.”
St John Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859)
“Prayer is our strength, our sword, our consolation and the key to paradise.”
St Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)
“To pray, is to think about Jesus and love Him. The more we love, the better we pray.”
Bl Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916)
“Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to Heaven. It is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.”
St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church
“Without Prayer nothing good is done. God’s works are done with our hands joined and on our knees. Even when we run, we must remain spiritually kneeling before Him.”
“In those days he departed to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God.” – Luke 6:12
REFLECTION – “So the Lord prays, not to entreat for Himself but to intercede for me. Although the Father placed all things in the power of His Son, yet the Son, in order to fulfil the form of a man, thinks that the Father must be entreated for us because He is our Advocate. If He is an Advocate, He must intercede on account of my sins.
It says, “He passed the whole night in prayer.” A model is given to you. A form is prescribed which you must imitate. Unless I am mistaken, it is nowhere found that He prayed with the apostles. Everywhere He entreats alone, for human prayers do not grasp the counsels of God, nor can anyone share with Christ, in the inward mysteries.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 5.)
PRAYER – Lord God, You taught us to call upon Your name, through the preaching of the Apostles. Open our eyes each day, grant that we may see Jesus Your Son at our side, open our ears that we may hear His voice, open our mouths, that we may beg forgiveness and proclaim the good news, as we follow the way Your Son carved out for us. At the intercession of Sts Simon and Jude, may Your Church continue to grow and to hope in Your love. We make our prayer through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs
Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of Apostles.
One Joyful Hymn of Praise must Greet Morning Hymn On the Feast of Sts Simon and Jude From the Breviary The Benedictines of Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK
One joyful hymn of praise must greet Apostles whom we always find Together in the Gospel’s page, By faithful love and zeal combined.
To follow Christ in early youth Was surely Simon’s joy and pride, Before the Zealot would set forth To preach His Name both far and wide.
Saint Jude, a kinsman of our Lord, In heart and mind yet closer still, Your words remain until this day With hope and love our souls to fill.
As brothers both in life and death, A martyr’s crown was your reward, As shining witnesses to truth And victims worthy of your Lord.
O gleaming stars in heaven’s light Help us to tread our thorny way, That with our faith alert and strong We may attain to glory’s day.
Be praised the Father evermore, The Holy Spirit and the Son, May we rejoice before God’s throne Eternally when life is done. Amen
Saint of the Day – 28 October – Saint Fidelis of Como (Died c 304) Soldier-Saint Martyr during the reign of Emperor Maximian.
The name of Fidelis is often repeated in Como, where an ancient, beautiful Romanesque Church, with apses and dome, is dedicated to the Saint of today. A saint, therefore, typical of the region and the city of Como, almost as much as St Abundius, patron saint of Como.
Faithful was this Martyr in the first centuries and the news about him is much scarcer than what his clear fame would suggest. He was probably a Christian missionary, sent by the Bishop of Milan to the shores of the lake, still inhabited by infidels. In fact, a somewhat late Passion gives the name of Materno, Bishop of Milan, who, in the third century, would have sent Fidelis to convert the idolaters of the region.
Preaching and teaching, St Fidelis would have reached the northern end of the lake basin. Here he would suffer a quick death, perhaps in the persecution of Maximian.
Another tradition says that he was a soldier of the imperial legions, a deserter, with two companions, when Diocletian and Maximian published the first edicts of persecution against Christians, aimed at purging the army and putting public officials under investigation.
Arrested in Como, Fidelis was allegedly tried, sentenced and finally beheaded. After his death, the references to St Fidelis are, if not more numerous, at least more precise. Ennodio, narrating the life of Saint Anthony of Lérins, remembers that his first refuge was at the burial of St Fidelis, where, he adds, “the Lario puts down the threat of its white rams, when the earth opposes its harsh rest of the banks.”
This description may suggest that the Martyr’s burial was actually in Como, on the narrowest and steepest end of the large, often stormy lake. But other sources testify in favour of the burial of St Fidelis in Samolaco, that is, at the other end of the lake, in the very place of the beheading. It is certain that even before the year 1000, the relics of Fidelis were transferred to Como, in that Church – until then dedicated to Santa Eufemia – which was to take the name of the Martyr and honour him over the centuries.
Church of St Fidelis in Como
But it seemed that the glory of the city by the lake was not enough for the ancient Martyr. In 1572, St Charles Borromeo solemnly transported the remains to Milan, to a Church then built in the centre of the city. And in the name of the Church of St Fidelis, the memory of the Martyr of Como also survives in the Lombard metropolis, from where he left a confident and faithful missionary.
At Milan, in 1559, St Charles Borromeo commissioned the church of St Fidelis by the artist/architect Pellegrino Tibaldi.
Church of St Fidelis in Milan, commissioned by St Charles Borromeo
In the Diocese of Como, St Fidelis’ memory is celebrated today.
Lord of Miracles/Señor de los Milagros de Nazarenas: A mid-17th-century painting of the Crucifixion that is venerated in Lima, Peru and its celebration involves one of the largest processions in the world.
It was painted by an unnamed African taken to Peru as a slave from what is now Angola. Above the Cross is the Holy Spirit and God the Father. Below and to the right of Jesus, is His mother, the Virgin Mary with her heart pierced by a sword of sorrow. Kneeling and weeping at the foot of the cross is St Mary Magdalene.
The name originated on 13 November 1655 when everything around it was destroyed in an earthquake that left the painting standing and undamaged. Christ is shown enduring the pain of crucifixion. Every year in October, hundreds of thousands of devotees from all races and economic backgrounds participate in a procession honouring the image through the streets of Lima. Boulevards are decorated in purple on 18,19 and the final Feast 28 October to celebrate the Lord of Miracles.
St Abdias of Babylon St Abraham of Ephesus St Alberic of Stavelot St Anastasia the Elder St Anglinus of Stavelot St Cyril of Rome St Cyrilla of Rome St Diomedes the Younger St Dorbhene of Iona St Eadsin of Canterbury St Elius of Lyon St Faro of Meaux St Fidelis of Como (Died c 304) Soldier-Saint Martyr St Genesius of Thiers St Gioan Dat St Godwin of Stavelot St Maria Ascuncion St Remigius of Lyons St Rodrigo Aguilar Aleman St Salvius of Amiens — Martyrs of Avila – 3 saints: Two sisters and a brother who, during a period of persecution, fled Talavera de la Reina, Spain, were caught and executed. Martyrs: Christeta, Sabina and Vincent. 303 in Avila, Spain.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Claudio Julían García San Román • Blessed Maria Asuncion
Thought for the Day – 27 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” “Holy Mary”
“The Angel’s greeting was later completed by the salavation of St Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth saw the Blessed Virgin coming to visit her, she cried out in humble veneratin: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!” (Lk 1:42).
In the first part of the Hail Mary, then, we pay her the words of the Gospel, the highest tributes ever accorded to any human creature, proclaiming her to be full of grace, blessed among women and Mother of the Redeemer. The second part, which was later added by the Church, is a heartfelt supplication addressed to Mary as the Mother of God and our Mother. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.” It would be hard to find a more touching plea. We ask our heavenly Mother to intercede for us now because we have such great need of her assistance in this vale of tears and temptations. May she be always by our side, to shelter us beneath her mantle!”
Quote/s of the Day – 13 October – Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 5:21-33,Psalms 128:1-2, 3,4-5, Luke 13:18-21
“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
“The doctrine of Christ is fittingly called leaven because, the bread is Christ.”
St Anbrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert, for fear that they would collapse on the way, it was to teach us, that it is dangerous to try to get to Heaven, without the Bread of Heaven.”
St Jerome (343-420) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Jesus Christ, the God-Man, was born in a manger and is spiritually reborn on the altar. He suffered on Calvary and continues to offer Himself on the altar. In His earthly life, He spread His teaching and worked miracles among the crowds. In the Eucharist, He spans the centuries and communicates Himself to all.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor
“And He departed from our sight that we might return to our heart and find Him there. For He left us and behold, He is here!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? … Behold – daily He humbles Himself as when from heaven’s royal throne He came down into the womb of the Virgin. Daily, He Himself, comes to us with like humility; daily He descends from the bosom of the Father, upon the altar, in the hands of the priest.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181–1226)
“The Holy Eucharist, is a fire that purifies and consumes all our miseries and imperfections. Do everything in your power to make yourself worthy of the Eucharist and this Divine Fire, will take care of the rest.”
One Minute Reflection – 27 October – Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 5:21-33,Psalms 128:1-2, 3,4-5, Luke 13:18-21 and the Memorial of St Emeline of Boulancourt (c 1115-c 1178)
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” … Luke 13:20-21
REFLECTION – “There are three measures – of the flesh, of the soul and of the spirit. This is truer of the spirit in which we all live. The woman, who prefigures the church, mixes with them the virtue of spiritual doctrine, until the whole hidden inner person of the heart is leavened and the heavenly bread arises to grace.
The doctrine of Christ is fittingly called leaven because the bread is Christ. The apostle said, “For we, being many, are one bread, one body.” Leavening happens, when the flesh does not lust against the Spirit, nor the Spirit against the flesh. We mortify the deeds of the flesh and, the soul, aware that through the breath of God, it has received the breath of life, shuns the earthly germs of worldly needs.” – St Ambrose (340-397) (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7)
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 St Emeline of Boulancourt, 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 -27 October – Tuesday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time
Jesus, My Friend By St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) Excerpt
O Jesus! You are my true Friend, my only Friend. You take a part in all my misfortunes; You take them on Yourself, You know how to change them into blessings. You listen to me with the greatest kindness when I relate my troubles to You, and You have always balm to pour on my wounds. I find You at all times, I find You everywhere, You never go away, if I have to change my dwelling, I find You wherever I go. You are never weary of listening to me; You are never tired of doing me good. O Jesus! Grant that I may die praising You, that I may die loving You, that I may die for the love of You. Amen
Saint of the Day – 27 October – Saint Emeline of Boulancourt (c 1115- c 1178) Virgin, Lay Sister, Hermitess, living according to Cistercian rule, Penitent, Prophetess – born as Emeline d’Yèvres in c 1115 in the Diocese of Troyes, France and died in c 1178 at Longeville, France of natural causes. Patronage – single lay women.
Born in the 12th century in France, Emeline was a devout soul who deeply desired to do God’s will. She was led to the male Cistercian Abbey of Boulancourt at Longeville, France, where she established herself, with the Monks approval in a barn of Perte-Sèche which belonged to the Abbey.
There, Emeline led a solitary life a few kilometres from the Abbey and followed the Cistercian rule as much as she could, including sharing in the hours of labour. The rest of her days were given to the Lord in prayer and meditation, enhanced by fasting, she fasted totally three days of the week, wore the hair shirt and engaged in other forms of mortification, for example, Emeline went barefoot in both summer and winter.
Emeline’s prophetic gifts soon attracted the attention of many who came to find her to consult with her for spiritual guidance, for her reputation for holiness was great.
She was known to predict with accuracy, future events but was most concerned with the visitor’s relationship with God. Humility marked her interaction with everyone and she never used her heavenly gifts for selfish gain.
Emeline died in c 1178 and was buried under the altar of the Couvent des Dames, attached to the Abbey of Boulancourt where a perpetual flame was maintained at her tomb. Then, when the chapel was destroyed, her remains were transferred, along with those of Sainte Asceline and Saint Gossuin, to the Church of Boulancourt. Sadly, nothing remains of these tombs today after the violent excesses of the French Revolution.
Since she neither married nor professed vows with any religious community, St Emeline is known as the patron saint of single lay women.
Prayer O God, who called Your handmaid blessed Emeline, to seek You before all else, grant that, serving You, through her example and intercession, with a pure and humble heart, we may come at last to Your eternal glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
Note 1: The first Cistercian Monastery for women, Le Tart Abbey, was established at Tart-l’Abbaye in the Diocese of Langres (now Dijon), in the year 1125, by nuns from the Benedictine Monastery of Juilly and with the co-operation of Saint Stephen Harding, Abbot of Cîteaux. At Juilly, a dependence of Molesme Abbey, Humbeline, the Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’ sister, lived and died. The sisters became known as the Trappistines.
Note 2: Today we have “extern sisters” who are members of the Monastic family. They make perpetual rather than solemn profession. Theirs is a vocation within a vocation. They are contemplatives but they are called to serve the monastic community, so that the contemplative life and the observance of enclosure, can be better lived by the nuns. Externs serve the community and act as liaisons of the community to those outside.
St Capitolina St Colman of Senboth-Fola St Colman of Templeshambo St Desiderius of Auxerre St Elesbaan of Ethiopia St Emeline of Boulancourt (c 1115-c 1178) Virgin, Lay Sister, Hermitess St Erotheides St Florentius of Trois-Châteaux St Frumentius (Died c 383) “Apostle to Ethiopia“ St Frumentius’ Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/27/saint-of-the-day-27-october-st-frumentius-died-c-383-apostle-to-ethiopia/ St Gaudiosus of Naples Bl Goswin of Clairvaux St Namatius of Clermont St Odrian of Waterford Bl Salvador Mollar Ventura St Thraseas of Eumenia St Uni
Thought for the Day – 26 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” “Hail Mary … Holy Mary”
“After the Lord’s Prayer, there is no more beautiful prayer than the Hail Mary, which we should recite with particular devotion in the decades of the Holy Rosary. At the beginning of the Rosary, we can imgine that we are witnesses of the Annunciation to Mary, in her home at Nazareth. An Angel descends from Heaven and bows before the Blessed Virgin as she kneels, absorbed in prayer. “Hail, full of grace,” he says, “the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women” (Lk 1:26-28). We should join with the Angel of God in repeating these words fervently and devoutly.
The constant repetition of this prayer is very pleasing to Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother. When we greet her with the words of the Angel, we remid her of the great mystery of the Incarnation, which was the beginning of her lofty mission as co-redemptrix and the dawn of Christian civilisation.
Even when we say these words over and over again, they can never become monotonous. When a son is speaking to his mother, every word possesses an unlimited warmth and meaning because, it is the expression of a boundless love. When we recite the decades of the Rosary, we should think of the heavenly Mother who is watching over us and listening to us, eager to console and assist us. She loves us with a maternal love but, she requires us to love her also and to prove that we are her children by imitating her virtues.”
Quote/s of the Day – 26 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary”
“The Rosary is a treasure of graces”
Pope Paul V (1550-1621)
“The Rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who loves His Mother.”
-St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
“And so we contemplate all the great mysteries of His life and His birth in the manger and so too, the mysteries of His suffering and His glorified life. But even Christians, with all their knowledge of God, have usually more awe than love of Him and the special virtue of the Rosary, lies in the special way, in which it looks at these mysteries, for with all our thoughts of Him are mingled thoughts of His Mother and in the relations between Mother and Son, we have set before us the Holy Family, the home in which God lived.”
St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Praise of the Rosary From a sermon of St Francisco Coll
… Oh Rosary! You are a book, brief yes but that teaches the holiest and most sacred of our Religion. You are an ark, that conceals a very rich treasure worthy of all men seeking it with great eagerness. You are a gift from Heaven, that you reveal to us the elements of religion, the principles, the motives and the practice of all the virtues, you light us in charity and love towards that God Who so deigned to do and suffer for us. You wake up the drowsy, enflame the lukewarm, you push the lazy, you embrace the righteous, you convert sinners, you reduce or confuse heretics, you frighten the devil, you tremble to hell or, to put it better, you are a devotion that includes and contains all the devotions.”
“Is this not a work of God and admirable in our eyes? Yes, yes, it is the work of God and given to the world, by the merits of my Father Saint Dominic.”
St Francisco Coll y Guitart OP (1812-1875) “The Apostle of Modern Times”
“There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessing upon the family, than the daily recitation of the Rosary.”
Venerable Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
“The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful and frustrated souls, precisely because it involves, the simultaneous use of three powers – the physical, the vocal and the spiritual and in that order.”
One Minute Reflection – 26 October – Monday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Monday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 4:32-5:8, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6, Luke 13:10-17
“But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.” – Luke 13:14
REFLECTION – “The whole human race, like this woman, was bent over and bowed down to the ground. Someone already understands these enemies. He cries out against them and says to God, “They have bowed my soul down.” The devil and his angels have bowed the souls of men and women down to the ground. He has bent them forward to be intent on temporary and earthly things and has stopped them from seeking the things that are above.
Since that is what the Lord says about the woman whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, it was now time for her to be released from her bondage on the sabbath day. Quite unjustly, they criticised Him for straightening her up. Who were these, except people bent over themselves? Since they quite failed to understand the very things God had commanded, they regarded them with earthbound hearts. They used to celebrate the sacrament of the sabbath in a literal, material manner and did not notice it’s spiritual meaning.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father, Doctor of Grace (Sermon 162)
PRAYER – Come to help us in our weakness, God of mercy, forgive the sins of Your people and as nothing we can do is worthy in Your sight, save us through the intercession of the Mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May the prayers of all your saints be offered to You on our behalf. We make our prayer through Jesus with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 26 October – Monday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time
Please Lord, Make me Worthy Prayer of St Thomas à Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury
My Lord, I find it difficult to talk to You. What can I say? I, who have turned away from You so often with indifference. I have been a stranger to prayer, undeserving of Your friendship and love. I’ve been without honour and feel unworthy. I am a weak and shallow creature, clever only in the second-rate and worldly arts, seeking my comfort and pleasure. I gave my love, such as it was, elsewhere, putting service to my earthly king, before my duty to You. Please Lord, teach me how to serve You with all my heart, to know at last, what it really is, to love, to adore. So that I may worthily administer Your kingdom here on earth and find my true honour, in observing Your divine will. Please Lord, make me worthy. Amen
Saint of the Day – 26 October – Blessed Damian dei Fulcheri OP (Died 1484) Dominican Priest and Friar, renowned Preacher – born at Fulcheri, Liguria, Italy and died in 1484 at Modena, Reggio d’Emilia, Italy of natural causes.
One of the bright lights of the fifteenth century was Damian dei Furcheri. Unfortunately we know very little about him, expect that he lived at a time and place not noted for sanctity and he was known as a holy man.
Damian was born in Furcheri, near Genoa, at the end of the fourteenth century. His people were rich and noble and also pious. We know nothing of his youth, except the not-too-revealing fact, that when he was a baby, he was kidnapped by a lunatic. His parents prayed to Our Lady and the baby was returned unharmed.
Damian entered the Order of Preachers at Genoa and became a diligent student and a model Dominican. He was to be known especially for his preaching. The field of his endeavours was Italy. He seems never to have left the country.
By the force of his preaching, he inspired many hundreds of sinners to repentance and, since the fifteenth century produced many sinners who needed such preaching, he was kept supplied with works for a long lifetime.
Damian died in a little village near Modena, in 1884 and immediately became the object of much pious speculation, because of the miracles worked at his tomb. He was not, however, Beatified until 1848, though his relics were by that time widely distributed and his cult well known.
Blessed Damian was Beatified on 4 August 1848 by Blessed Pope Pius IX.
Dominican Saints
Prayer God of truth, for the salvation of the faithful You endowed Blessed Damian with wondrous virtues and powers of speech. Through his prayers, may we hear Your word with an open heart and hold fast to it with patience. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
St Adalgott of Einsiedeln St St Alanus of Quimper St Albinus of Buraburg St Alfred the Great St Alorus of Quimper St Amandus of Strasburg St Amandus of Worms St Aneurin St Aptonius of Angouleme St Arnold of Queralt St Bean of Mortlach St Bernard de Figuerols Blessed Bonaventura of Potenza OFM Conv (1651-1711) His Story: https://anastpaul.com/2019/10/26/saint-of-the-day-26-october-blessed-bonaventura-of-potenza-ofm-conv-1651-1711/ St Cedd Bl Celina Chludzinska St Cuthbert of Canterbury Blessed Damian dei Fulcheri OP (Died 1484)
St Eadfrid St Eata of Hexham St Pope Evaristus – (c 44 – c 107) Martyr Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/26/saint-of-the-day-26-october-st-pope-evaristus-c-44-c-108/ St Felicissimus of Carthage St Fulk of Piacenza St Gaudiosus of Salerno St Gibitrudis St Gwinoc St Humbert St Lucian St Marcian St Quadragesimus of Policastro St Rogatian of Carthage St Rusticus of Narbonne St Sigibald of Metz — Martyrs of Nicomedia – 5 saints
Thought for the Day – 25 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” “Deliver Us From Evil”
“Deliver us from evil, amen.” This is our last request in the Lord’s Prayer. God is our Father, Creator and Redeemer. Who cannot desire our ruin but only our welfare. Nevertheless, He wishes us to ask Him everyday, to deliver us from evil.
We ask God to deliver us from evil of any kind. There is nothing to prevent us from beseeching Him to save us from physical ills, such as sickness or hardship or any of the other many afflicions of life. God loves us and, therefore, does not wish us to have to suffer. He loves us, however, as He knows best and so desires our true welfare. He knows that suffering and sorrow are our necessary heritage in life. They are the salt which preserves us from corruption.
It would be fatal for us to be always happy in this world, for then, we should forget God and our true everlasting happiness. By all means, let us ask humbly for deliverance from bodily ills but, let us not complain, if God does not grant our request. He alone knows what is best for us, now and in the future.
Finally, when we ask God to rescue us from material evils, we should do so in a spirit of submission and resignation to His holy will. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” We should keep in mind the words of Jesus Christ. “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). Where are we to follow Him? To Calvary, of course. We must suffer and die as He did. Only afterwards can we achieve everlasting happiness.
Deliver us from evil, therefore, O God. Deliver us if possible, from bodily and from earthly ills but, let Your will be done. We realise, that there is a purpose in suffering, the mission of which, is to purify us and lead us more easily to You. We shall thank You, if You hear our plea but, we shall be no less grateful, if it pleases You to reject it.”
Quote/s of the Day – 25 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Exodus 22:20-26, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4,47, 51, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Matthew 22:34-40
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Matthew 22:36,39
“No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared, for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9
“Oh! My God, how much your hand was upon me and yet how little I was aware of it! How good you are! How good you are! How you protected me! How you covered me with Your wings, when I did not even believe in your existence!”
“The Gospel showed me that the first commandment is to love God with all one’s heart and that, we should enfold everything in love; everyone knows, that the first effect of love is imitation.”
“Every person is a child of God, who loves them infinitely: it is, therefore, impossible to want to love God, without loving human beings – the more one loves God, the more one loves people. The love of God, the love of people, is my whole life; it will be my whole life, I hope.”
“When you love, you feel like speaking the whole time with the one you love, or at least, you want to look at Him without ceasing. Prayer is nothing else. It is the familiar meeting with our Beloved. We look at Him, we tell Him we love Him, we rejoice to be at His feet.”
“I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say: ‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like.’”
One Minute Reflection – 25 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Exodus 22:20-26, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4,47, 51, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Matthew 22:34-40 and the Memorial of St Maurus of Pécs OSB (c 1000-c 1075)
“Master, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” … Matthew 22:36
REFLECTION – “O Lord, what is it that you require of Your servants? “Take my yoke upon you,” you say. And what sort of yoke is this? “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” Now who would not willingly bear a yoke that does not press down but gives strength; a burden that does not weigh heavily but refreshes? As You rightly added: “And you will find rest” (Mt 11:29). And what is this yoke of Yours that does not tire but gives rest? It is the first and greatest of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” What could be easier, better or more agreeable than to love the goodness, beauty and love that is most perfectly Yours, O Lord my God?
Do You not offer a reward to those who keep the commandments, which are “more desirable than a heap of gold and sweeter than honey from the comb?” (Ps 19[18]:11) So in every way You offer a very ample reward, as James the apostle says: “The Lord has prepared the crown of life for those who love him” (Jas 1:12) (…) And Paul quotes these words from Isaiah: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9).
That first and great commandment is not only profitable for the man who keeps it or for God who commands it – the other commandments of God also make perfect, him who obeys them, improves him, instructs him and makes him illustrious; in a word, they make him good and holy. If you understand this, realise that you have been created for the glory of God and for your own eternal salvation; this is your end, this is the object of your soul and the treasure of your heart. You will be blessed if you reach this goal but miserable if you are cut off from it.” – St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church – The Ascent of the Mind to God, 1
PRAYER – Lord God, You fill us with Your grace and teach us true faith. Strengthen in our hearts that faith that no trials may quench the fire, that we may seek Your face in every moment and accept AND LIVE all of Your will. May You be our first thought and our last each day. Send us Your Spirit to keep the fire blazing. May the humble love and intercession of Mary Mother of our faith, be our succour and may St Maurus of Pecs intercede for us on our pilgrim way. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 25 October – Saint Maurus of Pécs OSB (c 1000-c 1075) Bishop, the first Hungarian Benedictine Monk and Abbot (Ordo Sancti Benedicti – OSB), Peace-maker, Writer and Hagiographer – born in c 1000, probably in the territory of modern Hungary and died in c 1075 in Pécs, Hungary of natural causes. Patronage – Diocese of Pécs. Also known as – Maurus of Nitra, Maurus of Pannonhalma, Maurice, Mauricio, Mauro, Mór. Additional Memorial – 4 December (Benedictines).
Saint Maurus was born around the year 1000 in Hungary. The legend of Saint Emeric (1007-1031) relates that Maurus was still a child when his parents sent him to the Benedictine Monastery of St Martin in Pannonhalma for schooling.
St Maurus and St Emeric attend the Benedictine Monastery as children
St Maurus and St Emeric
At an early age, Maurus joined the Benedictine Order in Pannonhalma and became the first Hungarian-born Benedictine.
St Maurus is clothed as a Benedictine
St King Stephen I of Hungary and his son St Emeric held Maurus in very high esteem because of his piety and allegiance to the Benedictine rule. Legend has it, that Maurus was the only Monk who Emeric greeted with seven kisses on the occasion of a visit to the Monastery and, with this he wanted to demonstrate his conviction, that Maurus had kept his vow of celibacy. Apparently Emeric always used to greet with an odd number of kisses (one, three, five and thus seven to Maurus).
St Emeric greets St Maurus
St Emeric’s father, Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, appointed Maurus Abbot of the Monastery in 1029 at the latest. According to the Greater Legend of Saint Gerard, Maurus sent four monks from Pannonhalma to assist Gerard, the first Bishop of Csanád (now Cenad, Romania) in organising the new Diocese. Maurus was appointed the second Bishop of Pécs in 1036.
St Stephen appoints St Maurus as Abbot
Maurus was the prelate who finished the construction of the earliest Cathedral in Pécs in the reign of Stephen I’s successor, Peter I. He was one of the three Bishops who survived the pagan uprising that put an end to King Peter’s rule, thus the three Bishops together, celebrated the coronation of the new king, Andrew I in Székesfehérvár in 1046. Maurus’s prestige in the new king’s court is demonstrated by the deed of founding of the Benedictine Tihany Abbey from 1055 on which his signature is only preceded by that of the archbishop of Esztergom. The contemporary Palatine of the kingdom, Radó also bequeathed a part of his possessions to Maurus and the bishopric of Pécs in his last will in 1056. The Palatine’s will was confirmed by both King Andrew I and his brother and successor, Béla I.
After Béla Is’ death, Maurus succeeded in negotiating peace between the sons of the late King Géza I and Saint Ladislas and King Andreas’ son Solomon, who celebrated his treaty at Pécs Easter 1064. There, Géza and Ladislas accepted Solomon’s right to the throne and Prince Géza personally placed the crown on King Solomon’s head. Maurus was also the first ecclesiastical writer in the Kingdom of Hungary and a significant hagiographer and he wrote the biography that the prince requested. In addition to the account of Abbot Philip of Zobor, Maurus was able to base his work on his own conversations with Benedict of Hungary, in his youth in the Monastery of Pannonhalma.
St Maurus the Peace-maker
Maurus died around 1070 in Pécs. His cult began shortly after his death, and he was officially Canonised by the confirmation of his cult “from time immemorial” on 4 August 1848 by the Blessed Pope Pius IX (1846-78) (some sources call it a “beatification,” obviously incorrect, since the Martyrologium Romanum calls him Sanctus). The Canonisation took place at the request of the then Bishop of Pécs, János Scitovszky (1839-49), later Archbishop of Esztergom (1849-66) and apostolic administrator of Pécs (1849-52), Cardinal from 1853. He was the one who built the Cathedral in Esztergom, Hungary’s largest church.
Pope Pius IX emphasised that “there are Mass books from 1499 that sing the praises of Blessed Maurus and his name also appeared in martyrologies.”
Pope Pius XI declared him Co-Patron of the Diocese of Pécs on 4 December 1925.
Saint Maurus at the Bishop’s Pillar in Székesfehérvár
Our Morning Offering – 25 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Oh Wondrous God, Oh Infinite Mercy By St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)
My God, in every moment You nourish me with Your Wisdom and You destroy my ignorance. You nourish me with Your inaccessible Light and You destroy all my shadows. You nourish me with Your infinite Perfection and you destroy my life which is a monstrosity of imperfections. You nourish me with Your infinite Being and you destroy my brutish life, my loathsome self, a sinful man and by a miracle of Your Mercy, even though I have merited infinite times. to lose God forever, God Himself, with all of His Nature, Person and Attributes made Himself all mine, He becomes my nourishment and He nourishes me always, so as to transform me into Himself and make me one with Him. Therefore, I am all in God and God is all in me and with His eternal nature He brings me to all times and in His immensity, He brings me to all places and I experience myself as eternal and am immersed in Him. Oh Wondrous God, oh Infinite Mercy. Amen
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time +2020 Christ the King (Traditional Calendar)
St Alfons Arimany Ferrer St Bernard of Calvo St Canna verch Tewdr Marw St Chrysanthus St Crispin & St Crispian – (†285 or 286) Martyrs Their Story: https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/25/saints-of-the-day-25-october-sts-crispin-crispinian-%e2%80%a0285-or-286-martyrs/ St Cyrinus of Rome St Daria St Dulcardus Bl Edmund Daniel St Fronto of Périgueux St Fructus of Segovia St Gaudentius of Brescia St George of Périgueux St Goeznoveus of Leon St Guesnoveus Bl Henry of Segusio St Hilary of Javols St Hilary of Mende St Hildemarca of Fecamp St Januarius of Sassari St Lucius of Rome St Lupus of Bayeux St Mark of Rome St Maurus of Pécs OSB (c 1000-c 1075) Bishop St Miniato of Florence St Peter of Rome St Protus of Sassari St Recaredo Centelles Abad St Tabitha Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy (c 1455–1492) “White Martyr of Munster” – Bishop The Pain of Earthly Rejection but Beloved of the Lord: https://anastpaul.com/2019/10/25/saint-of-the-day-25-october-blessed-thaddeus-mccarthy-c-1455-1492-the-white-martyr-of-munster/ St Theodosius of Rome — Martyrs of Constantinople: Marciano Martirio
Martyrs of Cruz Cubierta – 5 beati: A mother, Blessed María Teresa Ferragud Roig de Masiá and her four daughters, Blessed María Joaquina Masiá Ferragud, Blessed María Vicenta Masiá Ferragud, Blessed María Felicidad Masiá Ferragud and Blessed Josefa Ramona Masiá Ferragud, all nuns, who were Martyred in the Spanish Civil War, on 25 October 1936 in Cruz Cubierta, Alzira, Valencia, Spain. They were Beatified on 11 March 2001 by St Pope John Paul II.
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales – 40 saints: Following the dispute between the Pope and King Henry VIII in the 16th century, faith questions in the British Isles became entangled with political questions, with both often being settled by torture and murder of loyal Catholics. In 1970, the Vatican selected 40 martyrs, men and women, lay and religious, to represent the full group of perhaps 300 known to have died for their faith and allegiance to the Church between 1535 and 1679. They each have their own day of memorial, but are remembered as a group on 25 October.
• Alban Roe • Alexander Briant • Ambrose Edward Barlow • Anne Line • Augustine Webster • Cuthbert Mayne • David Lewis • Edmund Arrowsmith • Edmund Campion • Edmund Gennings • Eustace White • Henry Morse • Henry Walpole • John Almond • John Boste • John Houghton • John Jones • John Kemble • John Lloyd • John Pain • John Plesington • John Rigby • John Roberts • John Southworth • John Stone • John Wall • Luke Kirby • Margaret Clitherow • Margaret Ward • Nicholas Owen • Philip Evans • Philip Howard • Polydore Plasden • Ralph Sherwin • Richard Gwyn • Richard Reynolds • Robert Lawrence • Robert Southwell • Secular Clergy • Swithun Wells • Thomas Garnet. Canonised on 25 October 1970 by St Pope Paul VI
Martyrs of Rome – 67 saints: A group of 46 soldiers and 21 civilians martyred together in the persecutions of Claudius II. 269 in Rome, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Alfons Arimany Ferrer • Blessed Recaredo Centelles Abad
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