Our Morning Offering – 31 December – The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Let Me Spend My Life Near Thee, O Mother Blessed Miguel Pro SJ Martyr (1891-1927)
Let me spend my life near thee, O Mother
to keep thee company
in thy solitude and deepest grief.
Let me feel in my soul
the sadness of thine eyes
and the abandonment of thy heart.
On life’s highway I do not seek
the gladness of Bethlehem,
I do not wish to adore the infant God
in thy virginal hands,
nor to enjoy the winsome presence of Jesus
in thy humble home of Nazareth,
nor the mingle with the angelic choirs
in thy glorious Assumption.
My wish in life is for the jeers
and derision of Calvary,
for the slow agony of thy Son,
for the contempt, the disgrace
and infamy of the cross.
My wish, O most sorrowful Virgin,
is to stand near thee,
to strengthen my soul through thy tears
to complete my offering
through thy martyrdom,
to temper my heart through thy solitude
and to love my God and thy God
through my self-sacrifice.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 31 December – Blessed Alain de Solminihac OSA (1593-1659) Bishop of Cahors from 1636 until his death, religious of the Order of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine of Chancelade in Périgueux (now the Confederation of St Augustine). Blessed Alain was Abbot, Reformer, Marian devotee most especially to Our Lady of Rocamadour, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist especially by his promotion of Adoration, he was also a member of the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement. Born on 25 November 1593 in the family castle at Belet, Dordogne, France and died on 31 December 1659, aged 66, at Mercues, Lot, France of natural causes. Patronage – the Diocese of Cahors.
Alain was born into an aristocratic family in castle Belet near Perigueux in France.
He wanted to become a member of the Knights of Malta in order to serve God but felt a strong call to the Priesthood and to the religious life so joined the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine of Chancelade in 1613 as a postulant. The completion of his theological studies soon saw him Ordained to the Priesthood on 22 September 1618. While still a young man he became the Abbot of Chancelade, which had fallen into disrepair as a result of the turmoil of the times. He strove with great effort and effect to reform his brothers in the Congregation of the Canons Regular of Chancelade.
In 1636 he became Bishop of Cahors. He was as a zealous shepherd of the flock with which he was entrusted. As Bishop he visited each of his 800 parishes at least nine times during the course of his episcopate and he held an episcopal consecration on one occasion.
His great devotion to the Holy Eucharist prompted him to promote Eucharistic Adoration as well as restoring a many pastoral devotions within his Diocese.
He attended the Council of Trent and followed the lead of Saint Charles Borromeo in enforcing it’s decrees in his diocese. During this time, he met Saint Francis de Sales during Lent in 1619 and the two became friends and had many more meetings following this. Another friendship was his close relationship with Saint Vincent de Paul.
His reform work not only blessed his Diocese but influenced other parts of France.
Moreover, he remained always faithful to the Holy See. Misconceptions, which surrounded him, were resolved in his favour. His convincing love of neighbour made him a brilliant light of faith in 17th Century France. After a long, zealous, faithful and strenuous life he died on 31 December 1659.
He was declared a Servant of God after Pope Pius VI opened his cause for sainthood on 6 August 1783 and Pope Pius XI declared him to be Venerable on 19 June 1927. St Pope John Paul II Beatified him on 4 October 1981. The miracle required for his Beatification involved the cure of Marie Ledoux on 29 June 1661 in France.
Blessed Alain de Solminihac OSA (1593-1659)
St Anton Zogaj
St Barbatian of Ravenna
St Columba of Sens
Bl Dominic de Cubells
St Festus of Valencia
St Gelasius of Palestine
Bl Giuseppina Nicoli
St Hermes the Exorcist
St Marius Aventicus
St Melania the Younger
St Offa of Benevento
Bl Peter of Subiaco
St Pinian
St Potentian of Sens
St Sabinian of Sens
St Theophylact of Ohrid
Bl Walembert of Cambrai
Bl Wisinto of Kremsmünster
St Zoticus of Constantinople
—
Martyrs of Catania – 10 saints: A group of early Christians martyred together, date unknown. The only other information to survive are ten of their names – Attalus, Cornelius, Fabian, Flos, Minervinus, Pontian, Quintian, Sextus, Simplician and Stephen. They were martyred in Catania, Sicily, Italy.
Martyrs of Rome – 10 saints: A group of Roman women martyred in an early persecution, date unknown. We known the names of ten of them – Dominanda, Donata, Hilaria, Nominanda, Paolina, Paulina, Rogata, Rustica, Saturnina and Serotina.
Their relics were enshrined in the catacombs of Via Salaria, Rome, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Leandro Gómez Gil
• Blessed Luis Vidaurrázaga González
Thought for the Day – 30 December – The Sixth Day in the Christmas Octave
Her Amazement at her Only Child Karol Wojtyla Saint Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
Light piercing, gradually, everyday events,
a woman’s eyes, hands
used to them since childhood.
Then brightness flared, too huge for simple days,
and hands clasped when the words lost their space.
In that little town, my Son, where they knew us together,
You called me mother but no-one had eyes to see,
the astounding events as they took place day by day.
Your life became the life of the poor
in Your wish to be with them, through the work of Your hands.
I knew – the light that lingered in ordinary things,
like a spark sheltered under the skin of our days —
the light was You,
it did not come from me.
And I had more of You in that luminous silence,
than I had of You as the fruit of my body, my blood.
ST JOHN PAUL II’S CHRISTMAS POETRY Poem from his 1950 Collection, “The Mother”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 December – The Sixth Day in the Christmas Octave and the Memorial of Blessed Giovanni Maria Boccardo (1848-1913) “Father of the Poor”
“Do you want to become a saint? Imitate Jesus Christ, walk in His footsteps, think like Jesus, speak like Jesus, love like Jesus, make your life, a reproduction of His Life.”
“How many things Jesus tells us in our heart, when we stand at His feet, if we are careful to listen to His Voice!”
“In silence, in listening to His Word, the Lord waits for us to make His Voice heard. To take it with us as we walk the streets …”
“When you want to pass judgement on your neighbour, act as if it were you, and you were next!”
One Minute Reflection – 30 December – The Sixth Day in the Christmas Octave, Readings: 1 John 2:12-17, Psalm 96:7-10, Luke 2:36-40
“She spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” ... Luke 2:38
REFLECTION– “O Root of Jesse, who stand as a sign to the peoples” (Is 11: 10), “how many kings and prophets wanted to see you and did not” (Lk 10:24)? Simeon is the happiest of them all because by God’s mercy he was still bearing fruit in old age. For he rejoiced to think that he would see the sign so long desired. He saw it and was glad (Lk 8:56). When he had received the kiss of peace, he departed in peace but first, he proclaimed aloud that Jesus was born, a sign that would be rejected (Lk 2:25-34). And so it was. The sign of peace arose and was rejected, by those who hate peace (Ps 119:7). For what is peace to men of goodwill (Lk 2:14) is a stone to make men stumble, a rock for the wicked to fall over (l Pt 2:8). “Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him” (Mt 2:3). He came to His own and His own did not receive Him (Jn 1:11). Happy those shepherds keeping watch at night who were found worthy to be shown the sign of this vision! (Lk 23:8)
For even at that time He was hiding Himself from the wise and prudent and revealing Himself to the simple (Mt 11:25; Lk 10:21). ( … ) The angel said to the shepherds, “This is a sign for you” (Lk 2: 12), you who are humble, you who are obedient, you who are not haughty (Rom 12: 16), you who are keeping vigil and meditating on God’s law day and night (Ps 1:2). “This is a sign for you,” he said. What is this sign? The sign the angels promised, the sign the people asked for, the sign the prophets foretold, the Lord Jesus has now made and He shows it to you. ( … )
This is your sign. What is it a sign of? Indulgence, grace, peace, “the peace which will have no end” (Is 9:7). It is this sign: “You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2: 12). But this baby is God Himself, reconciling the world to Himself in Him (2 Cor 5: 19). ( … ) He is the Kiss of God, the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1Tm 2:5), who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end.” … St Bernard (1091-1153) Cistercian monk and Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, the human birth of Your Only-begotten Son, was the beginning of new life. May He set us free from the tyranny of sin. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 30 December – The Sixth Day in the Christmas Octave
The Staff of Life Springs Forth A Nativity Prayer By St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
The feast day of Your birth resembles You, Lord
because it brings joy to all humanity.
Old people and infants alike, enjoy Your day.
Your day is celebrated from generation to generation.
Kings and emperors may pass away,
and the festivals to commemorate them soon lapse.
But Your festival will be remembered
until the end of time.
Your day is a means and a pledge of peace.
At Your birth heaven and earth were reconciled,
since You came from heaven to earth on that day.
You forgave our sins and wiped away our guilt.
You gave us so many gifts on the day of Your birth,
a treasure chest of spiritual medicines for the sick.
spiritual light for the blind,
the cup of salvation for the thirsty,
the bread of life for the hungry.
In the winter when trees are bare,
You give us the most succulent spiritual fruit.
In the frost when the earth is barren,
You bring new hope to our souls.
In December, when seeds are hidden in the soil,
the staff of life springs forth
from the virgin womb.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 30 December – Blessed Giovanni Maria Boccardo (1848-1913) he is remembered as “Father of the Poor” – Priest, Founder of the Poor Daughters of Saint Cajetan. Born on 20 November 1848 in Ca’Bianca, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy and died on 30 December 1913, aged 65 in Moncalieri, Turin, Italy of natural causes. Patronages – the Poor Daughters of St Cajetan and against cancer. Blessed Giovanni is the elder brother of Blessed Luigi Boccardo (1861-1936), whose memorial is on 9 June and who founded a contemplative branch of his brother’s order.
Giovanni Maria Boccardo was born in Turin, Italy, in 1848 as the eldest of ten children born to Gaspare Boccardo and Giuseppina Malebra. He was baptised on 21 November. Three brothers – including Luigi Boccardo – became priests and another three died as infants.
Giovanni was generous to the plight of the poor as a child and adolescent and on one occasion cared for a blind beggar. He studied with the Barnabites in 1861 and graduated from their school in 1864 and thereafter, commenced his studies for the priesthood. He was Ordained in Turin in 1871.
After his Ordination, he was appointed assistant and then spiritual director of the Seminaries in Chieri and Turin. In this office he was a guide and father to his seminarians and gave them the best of his heart and his priestly knowledge. He became a friend of St John Bosco, whilst at the Seminaries and also met and forged longstanding friendships with Blessed Leonardo Murialdo and Blessed Giuseppe Allamano. He received a doctorate in his theological studies on 1 February 1877.
Fr Giovanni was named as a Canon of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala in Chieri and in 1882 was appointed Parish Priest of Pancalieri. He obediently accepted this post, which was to be his last on earth. The separation from his Seminarians must have deeply pained his sensitive heart. For Fr Boccardo, who maintained and increased his early apostolic enthusiasm despite the stress of daily life, his Parish was a true “mission land.” On the day set for his solemn entry into the parish, at the sight of the church’s bell tower in the distance, Fr Boccardo offered himself as a victim for the good of his parishioners, so that the Lord would not allow a single one of the souls entrusted to his pastoral care to stray.
He was present for his brother Luigi’s first Mass as a priest on 8 June 1884.
After serving as parish priest in Pancalieri for two years, the village was stricken with cholera. Bl Boccardo threw himself into caring for the sick, even at the risk of his own life, spending on them all his physical and moral energies and means. When the epidemic was over, the village was left with abandoned elderly, orphaned children and poor people who no longer had a roof over their heads or any resources. This situation made a deep impression on his fatherly heart. He prayed, sought advice and, when he was certain of God’s will, he laid the foundations of the Hospice of Charity and later, of a Congregation of Sisters called the Poor Daughters of St Cajetan, who in a few years spread throughout Piedmont and Italy.
He believed that a Parish Priest’s first duty was the saving of souls, via Catechesis and evangelisation. He preached Jesus Christ and His Gospel in its entirety. He celebrated the Sacraments with zeal and love, he preached to teach and help his parishioners grow in sanctity, he was committed to the ministry of Confession and of visiting the prisons of Saluzzo to provide spiritual comfort to prisoners. He was the “good father”, the father of all, especially of the sick and the poor. His life was filled with arduous penances hidden beneath a constant smile. When it was a question helping others, he never refused.
As a faithful shepherd, he served his Parish with paternal affection until his death on 30 December 1913. His secret? He did not seek himself but sacrificed himself to strengthen, in his faithful, the life of the spirit. And, he never failed to serve the body too of the poor, the sick, the needy.
His spiritual writings runs to a total of 44 volumes.
As of 2005 there were 132 religious in a total of 20 houses in Europe and Argentina, India, various countries in Africa and Togo.
He was Beatified on 24 May 1998 by St Pope John Paul II. The beatification miracle involved the complete healing from cancer of 80-year-old Lina Alvez De Oliveira of Sao Paolo, Brazil on 12 February 1968, hence his patronage against cancer.
St Anysia of Thessalonica
St Anysius of Thessalonica
St Egwin of Worcester
St Elias of Conques
St Eugene of Milan
St Pope Felix I
St Geremarus Blessed Giovanni Maria Boccardo (1848-1913)
St Hermes of Moesia
St Jucundus of Aosta
St Liberius of Ravenna
Bl Margaret Colonna
St Perpetuus of Tours
Bl Raoul of Vaucelles
St Raynerius of Aquila
Bl Richard of Wedinghausen
St Ruggero of Canne
St Sebastian of Esztergom
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – (5 saints): A group of Christians martyred in the unrest caused by Monophysite heretics. We know the names for five of them – Appian, Donatus, Honorius, Mansuetus and Severus. They were martyred in c 483 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Oia – (6 saints): A group of Christians martyred together, date unknown. The only details to have survived are the names – Cletus, Florentius, Papinianus, Paul, Serenusa and Stephen. They were martyred in Oia, Greece.
Martyrs of Spoleto – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian – Exuperantius, Marcellus, Sabinus and Venustian. They were martyred in 303 in Spoleto, Italy
Thought for the Day – 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave
I am most grateful for my upbringing in a truly Catholic family, not one exit was made by the children without a blessing by our parents. This is such an important and vital element in our daily lives as Catholic families. And you too, parents, as you exit and enter your homes, bless yourselves with the Sign of the Cross – have a Holy Water Font at your doors – habits are formed by action – start today!
Bless Your Children
Pope Francis
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 27 December 2015
“How important it is for our families to journey together towards a single goal! We know that we have a road to travel together, a road along which we encounter difficulties but also enjoy moments of joy and consolation. And on this pilgrimage of life we also share in moments of prayer.
What can be more beautiful, than for a father and mother, to bless their children at the beginning and end of each day, to trace on their forehead the Sign of the Cross, as they did on the day of their Baptism? Is this not the simplest prayer which parents can offer for their children? To bless them, that is, to entrust them to the Lord, just like Elkanah and Anna, Joseph and Mary, so that He can be their protection and support throughout the day.
In the same way, it is important for families to join in a brief prayer before meals, in order to thank the Lord for these gifts and to learn how to share what we have received with those in greater need. These are all little gestures, yet they point to the great formative role played by the family in the pilgrimage of everyday life.”
The Grace before Meals
Bless us, O Lord and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen
The Grace After Meals
We give Thee thanks, Almighty God, for all Thy gifts, almighty God, living and reigning now and forever. Amen
I learnt this Capuchin Grace Before a Meal from Fr Raneiro Cantalamessa, the Preacher to the Papal Household:
Lord, bless this food
that we are about to receive
from Your bounty.
Help us to provide
for those who do not have any
and make us partakers one day
in Your heavenly banquet,
through Christ, our Lord,
amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave
“God, to whom angels submit themselves
and who principalities and powers obey,
was subject to Mary;
and not only to Mary
but Joseph also for Mary’s sake [….].
God obeyed a human creature;
this is humility without precedent.
A human creature commands God;
it is sublime beyond measure.”
St Bernard (1090-1153)
Doctor of the Church
“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”
St Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
“The human family, in a certain sense, is an icon of the Trinity because of its interpersonal love and the fruitfulness of this love.”
Pope Benedict XVI
“By His obedience to Mary and Joseph, as well as by His humble work during the long years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work.”
CCC 564
“The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education of children, it reflects the Father’s work of creation….”
Sunday Reflection – 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave (excerpts from various homilies of St John Chrysostom).
“What excuse shall we have, or how shall we obtain pardon, if we consider it too much to go to Jesus in the Eucharist, who descended from Heaven for our sake?
This Fountain [of the Holy Eucharist] is a fountain of light, shedding abundant rays of truth. And beside it, the angelic powers from on high have taken their stand, gazing on the beauty of its streams, since they perceive more clearly than we, the power of what lies before us and its unapproachable dazzling rays.
The wise men adored this body when it lay in the manger…they prostrated themselves before it in fear and trembling….Now you behold the same body that the wise men adored in the manger, lying upon the altar…you also know its power.
How many of you say – I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him but also to be your food and nourishment. You can call happy those who saw Him. But, come to the altar and you will see Him, you will touch Him, you will give to Him holy kisses, you will wash Him with your tears, you will carry Him within you
like Mary Most Holy.
When you see (the Most Blessed Sacrament) exposed, say to yourself: ‘Thanks to this Body, I am no longer dust and ashes, I am no more a captive but a freeman, hence, I hope to obtain heaven and the good things that are there in store for me… eternal life, the heritage of the angels, companionship with Christ; death has not destroyed this Body which was pierced by nails and scourged, . . . this is that Body which was once covered with blood, pierced by a lance, from which issued saving fountains upon the world, one of blood and the other of water. . . This Body He gave to us to keep and eat, as a mark of His intense love’.”
Prayer Before Holy Communion By St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
O Lord, my God,
I am not worthy,
that You should come into my soul
but I am glad that You will come to me,
because in Your loving kindness,
You desire to dwell in me.
You ask me to open the door of my soul,
which You alone have created,
so that You may enter into it,
with Your loving kindness
and dispel the darkness of my mind.
I believe that You will do this
for You did not turn away Mary Magdalene
when she approached You in tears.
Neither did You withhold forgiveness
from the tax collector,
who repented of his sins,
or from the good thief,
who asked to be received into Your kingdom.
Indeed, You numbered as Your friends
all who came to You with repentant hearts.
O God, You alone are blessed always,
now and forever.
Amen
St John Chrysostom (347 to 407)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Bishop of Constantinople
One Minute Reflection – 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave, Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, Psalm 128:1-5, Colossians 3:12-21, Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. … Matthew 2:14
REFLECTION – “An angel appeared in a dream to Joseph and warned him that Herod was seeking the Child Jesus’ life: “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt”. Jesus had hardly been born before he was being persecuted to the death. (…) Joseph obeyed the angel’s voice without delay and warned his holy wife. He took such poor tools as he could carry so that he might have the wherewithal to carry on his work in Egypt and have something with which to maintain his little family. Mary, for her part, gathered together in a bundle the necessary linen for her divine son, then, going to the cradle where He was lying, she went down on her knees, kissed the feet of her beloved child and, weeping tears of tenderness, said to Him: “Oh my son and my God, You have come into the world to save humankind yet You have scarcely been born and they seek to kill You!” Then she took Him in her arms and, as they wept, the holy couple shut the door and set out through the night. (…)
Beloved Jesus, You are the king of heaven and now I see You in the likeness of a child, wandering in exile. Tell me, who are You looking for? I am moved with compassion when I see Your poverty and humiliation. But what distresses me, even more deeply, is the complete ingratitude with which I see You being treated by the very ones You came to save. You weep and I weep too for being one of those who have despised and persecuted You. Yet know, that I would now prefer Your grace to all the kingdoms of the world.
Forgive me all the harm I have caused You. On the journey of this life to eternity, let me carry You in my heart, following Mary’s example, who bore You in her arms during the flight to Egypt. Beloved Redeemer, I have often cast You out of my soul but now, I trust You have repossessed it. I beseech You, bind it closely to Yourself with the sweet bonds of Your love.” … St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop and Doctor of the Church – Meditations for the Octave of the Epiphany, no. 3
PRAYER – O Most merciful Infant Jesus, I give You thanks for all that You suffered for me. O my sweetest Love, I am sorry that I have offended You. I desire to be always faithful in Your service. Fill my heart with Your love. O Mary, grant that I may belong entirely to you and your Son, Jesus. Amen – St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Our Morning Offering – 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave
The Song Of The Eucharist By Liam Ó Comáin
Oh, let us adore and praise
The Eucharist who was born
As the Son of God to Mary,
An immaculate loving mother.
Oh Jesus, loving Jesus,
God with us on our way
Crucified and risen
To bring us to eternity.
By giving us Yourself
Before Your crucifixion
You granted us the ultimate
Beyond any imagination.
Oh Jesus, loving Jesus,
God with us on our way
Crucified and risen
To bring us to eternity.
For as the Bread of Life
We long for You daily
For to receive You is
The Fruit of our mother Mary.
Oh Jesus, loving Jesus,
God with us on our way
Crucified and risen
To bring us to eternity.
So let us sing to Jesus
Our most Blessed Sacrament
Offering thanks for His love
Which we experience daily.
Oh Jesus, loving Jesus,
God with us on our way
Crucified and risen
To bring us to eternity.
Amen
“The Truth is that Jesus, is the greatest of all poems! In truth, He is the Poet of all poets! The mystical Source of the Art of all arts!”
Liam Ó Comáin
The author was born in the Town of Limavady in the Valley of the Roe in the County of Derry, in the north of Ireland. His birth name in English was William Cummings ( Young Bar The Door) but later on in life he changed his name to its Irish Gaelic form. A great lover of poetry and, in due course, Liam has had books published about poetry, mysticism, politics and the sport of Pigeon Racing. He has also written for the media. A graduate from the Open University and the University Of Ulster at Coleraine in Psychologyand Philosophy (plus).
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave
The devotion to the Holy Family was born in Bethlehem, together with the Baby Jesus. The shepherds went to adore the Child and, at the same time, they gave honour to His family. Later, in a similar way, the three wise men came from the East to adore and give honour to the newborn King with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, that would be safeguarded by His family.
We can go further to affirm that in a certain sense Christ, Himself, was the first devotee of His family. He showed His devotion to His mother and foster father by submitting Himself, with infinite humility, to the duty of filial obedience towards them. This is what St Bernard of Clairvaux said in this regard, ‘God, to whom angels submit themselves and who principalities and powers obey, was subject to Mary and not only to Mary but Joseph also, for Mary’s sake [….]. God obeyed a human creature, this is humility without precedent. A human creature commands God, it is sublime beyond measure.’ (First Homily on the ‘Missus Est’).
Today’s celebration demonstrates Christ’s humility and obedience with respect to the fourth commandment, whilst also highlighting the loving care that His parents exercised in His keeping. The servant of God, St Pope John Paul II, in 1989, entitled his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘Redemptoris Custos’ (Guardian of the Redeemer) which was dedicated to the person and the mission of Saint Joseph in the life of Christ and of the Church. After exactly a century, he resumed the teaching of Pope Leo XIII, for who Saint Joseph ‘.. shines among all mankind by the most august dignity, since by divine will, he was the guardian of the Son of God and reputed as His father among men’ (Encyclical Quamquam Pluries [1889] n. 3). Pope Leo XIII continued, ‘.. Joseph became the guardian, the administrator and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was.[…] It is, then, natural and worthy, that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.’ Not many years before, blessed Pope Pius IX had proclaimed Saint Joseph, ‘Patron of the Catholic Church’ (1870)
Almost intuitively, one can recognise that the mysterious, exemplary, guardianship enacted by Joseph was conducted firstly, in a yet more intimate way, by Mary. Consequently, the liturgical feast of the Holy Family speaks to us of the fond and loving care that we must render to the Body of Christ. We can understand this in a mystical sense, as guardians of the Church and also in the Eucharistic sense. Mary and Joseph took great care of Jesus’ physical body. Following their example, we can and must take great care of His Mystical Body, the Church, and the Eucharist which He has entrusted to us. If Mary was, in some way, ‘the first tabernacle in history’ (John Paul II Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 55) then we, the Tabernacle in which Our Lord chose to reside in person, in His Real Presence, was also entrusted to us. We can learn from Mary and Joseph! What would they ever have overlooked in the care of Jesus’ physical body? Is there something, therefore, that we can withhold for the right and adoring care of His Eucharistic Body? No amount of attention, no sane act of love and adoring respect, will ever be too much! On the contrary, our adoration and respect will always be inferior to the great gift that comes to us in the Holy Eucharist.
Looking at the Holy Family, we see the love, the protection, and the diligent care that they gave to the Redeemer. We can not fail to feel uneasiness, perhaps a shameful thought, for the times in which we have not rendered the appropriate care and attention to the Blessed Eucharist. We can only ask for forgiveness and do penance for all the sacrilegious acts and the lack of respect that are committed in front of the Blessed Eucharist. We can only ask the Lord, through the intersession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, for a greater love for their Son Incarnate, who has decided to remain here on earth with us every day until the end of time.
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave +2019
Scripture tells us practically nothing about the first years and the boyhood of the Child Jesus. All we know are the facts of the sojourn in Egypt, the return to Nazareth and the incidents that occurred when the twelve-year-old boy accompanied His parents to Jerusalem. In her liturgy the Church hurries over this period of Christ’s life with equal brevity. The general breakdown of the family, however, at the end of the past century and at the beginning of our own, prompted the Popes, especially the far-sighted Leo XIII, to promote the observance of this feast with the hope that it might instil into Christian families something of the faithful love and the devoted attachment that characterise the family of Nazareth. The primary purpose of the Church in instituting and promoting this feast is to present the Holy Family as the model and exemplar of all Christian families. … (Excerpted from With Christ Through the Year, Rev. Bernard Strasser, O.S.B.)
The feast of St Thomas Becket, which is ordinarily celebrated today, is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.
St Aileran of Clonard
St Albert of Gambron
St Aproniano de Felipe González
St David the King
St Ebrulf of Ouche
St Enrique Juan Requena
St Florent of Bourges
Bl Francis Ruiz
St Girald of Fontenelle
St Jacinto Gutiérrez Terciado
Bl José Aparicio Sanz
Bl José Perpiñá Nácher
St Juan Bautista Ferreres Boluda
St Libosus of Vaga
St Marcellus the Righteous
St Martinian of Milan
Bl Paul Mary
Bl Peter the Venerable
St Quartillosa of Carthage
St Thaddeus of Scythia
St Trophimus of Arles
St Trophimus of Ephesus
Bl William Howard (1614–1680) Martyr
—
Martyrs of North Africa – (8 saints): A group of Christians executed together for their faith. The only details to survive are eight names – Crescentius, Dominic, Honoratus, Lybosus, Primian, Saturninus, Secundus and Victor.
Martyrs of Rome – (3 saints): A group of Christians executed together for their faith. The only details to survive are three names – Boniface, Callistus and Felix.
Martyrs of Seoul – (7 saints): Additional Memorial – 20 September as part of the Martyrs of Korea.
A group of seven lay woman in the apostolic vicariate of Korea who were martyred together.
• Barbara Cho Chung-I
• Barbara Ko Sun-I
• Benedicta Hyong Kyong-Nyon
• Elisabeth Chong Chong-Hye
• Magdalena Han Yong-I
• Magdalena Yi Yong-Dok
• Petrus Ch’oe Ch’ang-Hub
They were born in South Korea and were martyred by beheading on 29 December 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea. They were Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Aproniano de Felipe González
• Blessed Enrique Juan Requena
• Blessed Jacinto Gutiérrez Terciado
• Blessed Juan Bautista Ferreres Boluda
Thought for the Day – 28 December – The Feast of the Holy Innocents – The Fourth Day of the Christmas Octave
Herod “the Great,” king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his connections with the Romans and his religious indifference. Hence he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant capable of extreme brutality. He killed his wife, his brother and his sister’s two husbands, to name only a few.
Matthew 2:1-18 tells this story: Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the newborn king of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” They found Jesus, offered him their gifts, and warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. Jesus escaped to Egypt.
Herod became furious and “ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under.” The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children…” (Matthew 2:18). Rachel was the wife of Jacob (Israel). She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.
The Holy Innocents are few in comparison to the genocide and abortion of our day. But even if there had been only one, we recognise the greatest treasure God put on the earth—a human person, destined for eternity and graced by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The 15th Century English Carol commemorates the slaughter of the Holy Innocents.
Lully, Lullay, thou little tiny child.
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay thou little tiny child
Bye, bye, lully, lullay
O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day,
This poor Youngling for whom we sing
Bye, bye lully, lullay
Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day,
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.
Then woe is me, poor child, for thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye lully, lullay.
Quote/s of the Day – 28 December – The Feast of the Holy Innocents – The Fourth Day of the Christmas Octave
“These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as “infant martyr flowers”; they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.”
St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“The star of Bethlehem shines forth in the dark night of sin. Upon the radiance that goes forth from the manger, there falls the shadow of the cross. In the dark of Good Friday, the light is extinguished but it rises more brightly, as the sun of grace. on the morning of the resurrection. The road of the incarnate Son of God, is through the cross and suffering. to the splendour of the resurrection. To arrive with the Son of Man, through suffering and death, at this splendour of the resurrection, is the road for each one of us, for all mankind.”
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
[Edith Stein] (1891-1942)
One Minute Reflection – 28 December – The Feast of the Holy Innocents – The Fourth Day of the Christmas Octave, Readings: 1 John 1:5-2:2, Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8, Matthew 2:13-18
“A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.” … Matthew 2:18
REFLECTION – “Where does this jealousy lead?… The crime committed today shows us. Fear of a rival to his earthly kingdom fills Herod with anxiety, he plots to suppress “the newborn King” (Mt 2:2), the eternal Kin, he fights against his Creator and puts innocent children to death… As for those children, what fault had they committed? Their tongues were dumb, their eyes had seen nothing, their ears heard nothing, their hands done nothing. They accepted death who had not known life. ( … ) Christ reads the future and knows the secrets of the heart, He weighs our thoughts and probes our intentions (cf. Ps 138[139]), why did He forsake them? ( … ) Why did the newborn heavenly King abandon these companions in innocence, forget the sentinels watching around His crib to such an extent, that the foe who wanted to get at the King, ravaged His whole army?
My brethren, Christ did not forsake His soldiers but covered them with honour by allowing them to conquer, before they had lived and to carry away the prize, without a fight. ( … ) He wanted them to possess heaven rather than earth. ( … ) He sent them before Him as His heralds. He did not abandon them but saved those who went on ahead. He did not forget them. ( … )
Blessed are they who have exchanged their travail for repose, their pains for ease, their suffering for joy. They are alive! Yes, they are alive, they live indeed, who have undergone death for Christ’s sake. ( … ) Happy the tears their mothers shed for these infants, they have won them the grace of baptism. ( … ) May He who deigned to rest in a stable be pleased to lead us also, to the heavenly pastures.” … St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord, the white-robed army of martyrs praise you. (from the Te Deum).
Our Morning Offering – 28 December – The Feast of the Holy Innocents – The Fourth Day of the Christmas Octave.
When you think about the slaughter of these innocent children and the continuing slaughter of the unborn through the horrors of abortion, it becomes clear that they come from the same supreme act of selfishness. Even though Herod heard the message coming from the prophets of his own people, he had no desire to align his heart with the purposes of God.
A Prayer for Life By St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life.
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers of babies
not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely,
in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.
Amen
Taken from Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical, “The Gospel of Life.”
Saint of the Day – 28 December – Saint Caterina Volpicelli (1839-1894) Religious and Foundress of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of which Order she is the Patron., Apostle of the the Holy Eucharist and of Prayer, of the poor and need. Born on 21 January 1839 in Naples, Italy and died on 28 December 1894 in Naples, Italy of natural causes.
Caterina Volpicelli was born into an upper middle-class Neapolitan family on 21 January 1839 from which she received a sound human and religious formation. She was taught literature, languages and music at the Royal Educational Institute of St Marcellino by Margherita Salatino (the future foundress, with Bl Ludovico da Casoria OFM (1814-1885), of the Franciscan Grey Sisters of St Elizabeth). Both belong to that array of “apostles of the poor and marginalised” who in 19th-century Naples were a sign of the presence of Christ, the Good Samaritan, who comes close to all who are injured in body and spirit.
Caterina had been trying to outshine her sister in society, frequently going to the theatre and the ballet but prompted by the Lord’s Spirit, who revealed God’s plan to her through the voice of wise and holy spiritual directors, she soon gave up the transient pleasures of an elegant and carefree life, to adhere with generous decision to a vocation of perfection and holiness.
Her chance meeting with Bl Ludovico da Casoria on 19 September 1854 at La Palma, Naples, as she herself says, was “a rare stroke of preventive grace, charity and favour from the Sacred Heart, delighted by the poverty of his servant”. Bl Ludovico led her to join the Third Order Franciscans and indicated to her the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the one goal of her life, inviting her to remain in society to be a “fisher of souls.” Guided by her confessor, the Barnabite Fr Leonardo Matera, on 28 May 1859 Caterina entered the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament but she soon left, for serious health reasons. Caterina’s confessor showed her the monthly leaflet of the Apostleship of Prayer in France; from him she received detailed information about this new association with the diploma of Messenger, the first in Naples In July 1867, Fr Ramière visited the palace of Largo Petrone in Naples, where Caterina was considering establishing her apostolic activities “to revive love for Jesus Christ in hearts, in families and in society.”The Apostleship of Prayer would be the cornerstone of Caterina’s whole spiritual edifice and would permit her to cultivate her ardent love of the Eucharist and her outreach to others.
With the first messengers, on 1 July 1874, Caterina founded the new institute of “Servants of the Sacred Heart”, at first approved by the Cardinal Archbishop of Naples, the Servant of God Sisto Riario Sforza and later, on 13 June 1890, by Pope Leo XIII who granted the new religious family the “Decree of praise”.
Concerned about the lot of the young, she then opened the orphanage of the Margherites, founded a lending library and set up the Association of the Daughters of Mary, with the wise guidance of Venerable Mother Rosa Carafa Traetto (d. 1890).
She soon opened other houses, in Naples, in the Sansevero Palace and then at the La Sapienza Church in Ponticelli, where the Servants distinguished themselves in nursing cholera victims in 1884 and in Minturno, Meta di Sorrento and Rome. On 14 May 1884, the new Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Guglielmo Sanfelice, OSB, consecrated the Shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which she had had built, next to the Mother House of her institutions. She built it specifically for adoration in reparation, as requested by the Pope, to support the Church in difficult times for religious freedom and Gospel proclamation.
Caterina’s participation in the first National Eucharistic Congress celebrated in Naples in 1891 (19-22 November), crowned the Apostolate of the Foundress of the Servants of the Sacred Heart. Caterina Volpicelli died in Naples on 28 December 1894, offering her life for the Church and for the Holy Father.
She was Beatified on 29 April 2001 at Saint Peter’s Square by St Pope John Paul II and Canonised 26 April 2009 also in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI.
At her Canonisation, Pope Benedict said:
“St Caterina Volpicelli was also a witness of divine love. She strove “to belong to Christ in order to bring to Christ” those whom she met in Naples at the end of the 19th century, in a period of spiritual and social crisis. For her too the secret was the Eucharist. She recommended that her first collaborators cultivate an intense spiritual life in prayer and, especially, in vital contact with Jesus in the Eucharist. Today this is still the condition for continuing the work and mission which she began and which she bequeathed as a legacy to the “Servants of the Sacred Heart”. In order to be authentic teachers of faith, desirous of passing on to the new generations the values of Christian culture, it is indispensable, as she liked to repeat, to release God from the prisons in which human beings have confined Him. In fact, only in the Heart of Christ can humanity find its “permanent dwelling place.” St Caterina shows to her spiritual daughters and to all of us, the demanding journey of a conversion, that radically changes the heart and is expressed in actions consistent with the Gospel. It is thus possible to lay the foundations for building a society open to justice and solidarity, overcoming that economic and cultural imbalance which continues to exist in a large part of our planet.”
St Anthony of Lérins
St Caesarius of Armenia Saint Caterina Volpicelli (1839-1894)
BL Claudia Weinhardt
St Conindrus
St Domitian the Deacon
St Domnio of Rome
St Eutychius
St Gowan of Wales
Bl Gregory of Cahors
Bl Hryhorii Khomyshyn
St Iolande of Rome
Bl Johannes Riedgasser
Bl Nicolas Mello
Bl Otto of Heidelberg
St Romulus
St Simon the Myroblite
St Theonas of Alexandria
St Theodore of Tabenna
St Troadius of Pontus
—
20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia: 20,000 Christians who were murdered during in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey) during the persecutions of Diocletian. Many of them were killed en masse when they were ordered, during Christmas Mass, to sacrifice to idols; when they refused, they were locked in the churches and the buildings burned around them. We know some details of a few of them, but most are known only to God. The names we have are – Agape, Anthimos, Domna, Domna, Dorotheus, Esmaragdus, Eugene, Euthymius, Glykerios, Gorgonius, Hilary, Indes, Mardonius, Mardonius, Maximus, Migdonius, Migdonus, Peter, Peter, Theophila, Theophilus and Zeno. 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).
Martyrs of Africa – (3 saints): Three Christians murdered together in Africa for their faith. The only details to survive are their names – Castor, Rogatian and Victor.
Thought for the Day – 27 December – Feast of St John the Evangelist and the Third Day of the Christmas Octave
“There are [Saints] … who are so absorbed in the divine life, that they seem, even while they are in the flesh, to have no part in earth or in human nature but, to think, speak and act under views, affections and motives, simply supernatural.
If they love others, it is simply because they love God and because man is the object, either of His compassion , or of His praise.
If they rejoice, it is in what is unseen, if they feel interest, it is in what is unearthly, if they speak, it is almost with the voice of Angels, if they eat or drink, it is almost of Angels’ food alone – for it is recorded in their histories, that for weeks, they have fed on nothing else but that Heavenly Bread, which is the proper sustenance of the soul.
Such we may suppose, to have been St John!”
St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“The love of Jesus is noble and generous, it spurs us onto do great things and excites us to desire always, that which is most perfect. Love will tend upwards and is not to be detained by things beneath. Love will be at liberty and free from all worldly affections… for love proceeds from God and cannot rest but in God above all things created. The lover flies, runs and rejoices, he is free and not held. He gives all for all and has all in all, because he rests in one sovereign Good above all, from Whom all good flows and proceeds”
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book III, Chapter V, 3-4
Quote/s of the Day – 27 December – Feast of St John the Evangelist and the Third Day of the Christmas Octave
“John’s God-illumined mind, conceived the incomparable height of divine wisdom, when he reclined on the Redeemer’s breast, during the holy Last Supper meal (Jn 13:25). And because “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3) are within the heart of Jesus, it is from there, that he drew and from there, that he greatly enriched our wretchedness, as people who are poor and generously distributed these goods, taken from their source, for the salvation of the whole world. And because this blessed John speaks about God in a marvellous way, that cannot be compared to that of anyone else, it is only right that the Greeks as well as the Latins have given him the name of “Theologian”. Mary is “Theotokos” because she has truly given birth to God; John is “Theologos” because he saw in an indescribable way, that the Word of God, was with the Father before the beginning of time and was God (Jn 1:1) and because, too, he spoke about this, with extraordinary depth.”
St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Doctor of the Church
“If Moses, after having conversed with God in the cloud, came from the Divine interview with rays of miraculous light encircling his head, how radiant must have been the face of St John, which had rested on the very Heart of Jesus, in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [Col. ii 3] how sublime his writings! how Divine his teaching!”
“Then too, as Son and Guardian of Mary, thou hast to present us to thine own and our Mother. Ask her to give us, somewhat of the tender love, wherewith she watches over the Crib of her Divine Son, to see in us, the Brothers of that Child she bore and to admit us, to a share of the maternal affection, she had for thee, the favoured confidant of the secrets of her Jesus.”
One Minute Reflection – 27 December – Feast of St John the Evangelist the Memorial of Blessed Sára Salkaházi (1899–1944) Martyr and the Third Day of the Christmas Octave, Readings: 1 John 1:1-4, Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12, John 20:2-8
Beloved: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life (for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us.… 1 John 1:1-2
REFLECTION – ““Life itself was therefore revealed in the flesh.
In this way what was visible to the heart alone, could become visible also to the eye and so heal men’s hearts. For the Word is visible to the heart alone, while flesh is visible to bodily eyes as well. We already possessed the means to see the flesh but we had no means of seeing the Word. The Word was made flesh so that we could see it, to heal the part of us, by which we could see the Word…” … St Augustine (354-430) – Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – “I am grateful to You for the love You have given me. My dear Jesus, I place this love into Your hands: keep it chaste and bless it, so that it may always be rooted in You. And increase in me my love for You. I know that if I love You, I can never get lost. If I want to be Yours with all my heart, You will never let me stray from You. Amen. May St John the Evangelist, beloved of the Lord and Blessed Sára Salkaházi, intercede for us that we may love You Lord with all our hearts, minds and souls!
Saint of the Day – 27 December – St Fabiola (Died 399) Physician, divorced and then widowed in her second marriage, apostle of the poor and the sick, Foundress of the first known hospital and hospice, disciple of St Jerome, benefactress of the Church – born during the 4th century in Rome, Italy and died in 399 in Rome, Italy of natural causes. Patronages – Divorced people, difficult marriages, victims of abuse, adultery; unfaithfulness, widow, Hospice Movement.
The famous portrait of St Fabiola, painted by Jean-Jacques Henner in a classical Roman profile in 1885.
As Isaiah had prophesied, Christ came to preach the gospel to “the poor.” His church has always given a special option to the penniless. But sometimes rich people are even poorer than paupers because they are subject to greater temptations.
Fabiola was a member (as her name indicates) of the Fabii, one of ancient Rome’s most aristocratic and wealthy families. She was a Christian but a socialite and rather headstrong, probably because she had been raised to have her own way.
When Fabiola married, it was also to a man of social prominence. But, through no fault of hers, he proved to be so dissolute that she was unwilling to continue living with him. She therefore obtained a civil divorce. This was understandable. As so often happens today, Fabiola, still young, vigorous and companionable, took another spouse while her separated husband was still alive. Then as now, this was adultery. Fabiola remained strong in faith perhaps but proved weak in morals.
Providentially, Fabiola’s second mate did not live long. His death gave her the long-desired opportunity to seek reconciliation with the Church. Having performed the long public penance that was demanded in those days of public sinners, this Roman divorcee was re-admitted to the Sacraments by Pope St Siricius. Thenceforth, she sought to make amends for her waywardness by expending her great wealth on worthy causes. To churches and congregations in Rome and elsewhere she gave large sums. She also founded a Roman hospital for the sick poor, whom she gathered in from the streets and alleys and took care of personally, she treated citizens rejected from society due to their “loathsome diseases.” As far as is known, this was the first great Christian public hospital to be opened in western Europe.
In those days, St Jerome, the famous monk and scripture scholar, was exercising an influential apostolate among Roman Christian women of high position. Some of these had become nuns and gone to live near the saint in his chosen locale, Bethlehem. In 395 Fabiola herself went to the Holy Land to visit and learn from him. She stayed with two of his spiritual advisees, the nuns Sts Paula and Eustochium, both also Romans by origin. She applied herself, under the St Jerome’s direction, with the greatest zeal to the study and contemplation of the Scriptures and to ascetic exercises. Fabiola revered St Jerome and would have liked to join his community but the silent monastic life did not appeal to this gregarious and sociable woman.
Eventually, the rumour reached St Jerome’s little community that the Asiatic Huns were about to swarm into the area of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jerome and all his associates quickly fled for safety to the seacoast. The alarm proved to be false, however, so they moved back to Bethlehem – all except Fabiola, who had decided to return to Rome. She remained, however, in correspondence with St Jerome, who at her request wrote a treatise on the priesthood of Aaron and the priestly dress.
There is some indication that Fabiola was tempted once more to remarry. At least she did not yield to that temptation. Once back in Rome she renewed her program of good works. Co-operating with another prominent Roman Christian, the former senator Saint Pammachius, she set up a large hospice at Porto, the Roman port of entry on the Mediterranean coast. Intended to serve travellers and paupers arriving by sea, this guest-house, like her hospital in Rome, was both novel and welcome. As St Jerome tells us, within a year of its foundation, the good news of Fabiola’s hospice had spread across the Roman Empire from Britain to Persia. Even after the hospice, St Fabiola started to plan still another institution of charity but death now spoiled her plans.
All Rome, it is said, attended the funeral of its benefactress, who had shared her wealth with the needy. It was a wonderful manifestation of the gratitude and veneration with which she was regarded by the Roman populace.
St Jerome wrote a eulogistic memoir of Fabiola in a letter to her relative Oceanus.
St Fabiola’s Statue resides on the Colonnade at St Peter’s Basilica
The story of Fabiola has a curiously modern quality. This socially gifted woman can serve as a good example to today’s women whose marriages break up. Woman is endowed by God with talents both as a wife and a mother. Even when she loses her status as wife, she can still live out her status as mother, not only to her own children but to all who need a mother’s touch and a mother’s love.
The English Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman (1802-1865), wrote a fictional book, called Fabiola of the Church of the Catacombs and includes many saints and martyrs.
Bl Adelheidis of Tennenbach
Bl Alejo Pan López
Bl Alfredo Parte-Saiz
Bl Christina Ebner St Fabiola (Died 399)
Bl Francesco Spoto
Bl Hesso of Beinwil
St José María Corbin-Ferrer
St Maximus of Alexandria
St Nicarete of Constantinople
Bl Odoardo Focherini
Bl Raymond de Barellis
Bl Roger of Verdun Blessed Sára Schalkház S.S.S. (1899–1944) Martyr Biography of Blessed Sára: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/27/saint-of-the-day-27-december-blessed-sara-salkahazi-s-s-s-1899-1944-martyr-a-catholic-gem/
St Theodore of Apamea
St Theophanes of Nicaea
Bl Walto of Wessobrünn
Thought for the Day – 26 December – Feast of St Stephen the ProtoMartyr and The Second Day in the Christmas Octave
The Armament of Love
Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (460-533)
Bishop
An excerpt from his Sermon 3
Yesterday, we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King. Today, we celebrate the triumphant suffering of His soldier. Yesterday, our king, clothed in His robe of flesh, left His place in the virgin’s womb and graciously visited the world. Today, His soldier, leaves the tabernacle of His body and goes triumphantly to heaven.
Our king, despite His exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake, yet, He did not come empty-handed. He brought His soldiers a great gift, that not only enriched them but also made them unconquerable in battle, for it was the gift of love, which was to bring men to share in His divinity. He gave of His bounty, yet without any loss to Himself. In a marvellous way He changed into wealth, the poverty of His faithful follower,s while remaining in full possession of His own inexhaustible riches.
And so, the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth, raised Stephen from earth to heaven – shown first in the king, it later shone forth in His soldier. Love was Stephen’s weapon by which he gained every battle and so won the crown signified by his name. His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob, his love for his neighbour made him pray for those who were stoning him. Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend, love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment. Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven. In his holy and tireless love, he longed to gain by prayer, those whom he could not convert by admonition.
Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exalts, with Stephen he reigns. Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen. This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy. It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob and it was Paul’s love, that covered the multitude of his sins, it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.
Love, indeed, is the source of all good things, it is an impregnable defence and the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in love can neither go astray, nor be afraid, love guides him, protects him and brings him to his journey’s end.
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.
Quote/s of the Day – 26 December – Feast of St Stephen the ProtoMartyr and The Second Day in the Christmas Octave
“Love, indeed, is the source of all good things, it is an impregnable defence and the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in love can neither go astray, nor be afraid, love guides him, protects him and brings him to his journey’s end.”
St Fulgentius of Ruspe (460-533)
“He [St Stephen], followed the Lord in what may be, by nature, the most difficult and even, apparently, impossible for the human heart. He fulfilled the command to love one’s enemies, as did the Saviour Himself. The Child in the manger, who has come to fulfill His Father’s will, even to death on the Cross, sees before Him in spirit, all who will follow Him on this way. His heart goes out to the youth whom He will one day await with a palm as the first to reach the Father’s throne. His little hand points him out to us, as an example, as if to say, “See the gold that I expect of you.”
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
[Edith Stein] (1891-1942)
“For believers, the day of death and even more so, the day of martyrdom, is not the end of everything but rather, the “passage” to immortal life, it is the day of the final birth, the “dies natalis.” Thus is understood, the link that exists between the “dies natalis” of Christ and the “dies natalis” of St Stephen. If Jesus had not been born on earth, men would not have been able to be born for heaven. Precisely because Christ was born, we are able to be “reborn.”
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.