Advent Reflection – 16 December – Monday of the Third Week of Advent, Year A, Readings: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 21:23-27
“The Lord is at hand, come, let us adore him.”
“We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” … Matthew 21:27
REFLECTION – “In truth, brethren, what God promised seemed humanly unbelievable, that starting from this mortal state in which people are corruptible, despicable, weak, dust and ashes, they would become equal to God’s angels! That is why God wasn’t satisfied with making a scriptural covenant for them, to believe but put forward a mediator as proof of His faith – no prince, no angel or archangel but His only Son. In this way, He would point out and bestow through His own Son, the way by which He would lead us to the end promised to us. Yet for God it was too small a thing that His Son should show us the way, He made of Him the Way (cf. Jn 14:6), the Way by which you would go under His direction, the Way you would follow…
How far we were from Him! He who is so high and we so low! We were sick, with no hope of healing. A doctor was sent but the patient did not recognise Him, “for if they had known him they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1Cor 2:8). But the death of the doctor has been the cure of the patient, the doctor came to visit him and died to heal him. He made those who believed in Him understand He was God and man, God who created us, man who recreated us. The one was visible in Him, the other hidden and that which was hidden, far exceeded what was seen… The patient has been healed by what was visible, that later he might be able to see in full. God postponed this final vision by concealing it, He did not refuse it.” … St Augustine (354-430) Doctor of Grace – Discourses on the Psalms, Ps 110[109]
MEDITATION – “Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned Your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with You. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into Your redeeming embrace”. … Pope Francis – The Joy of the Gospel
ADVENT ACTION – Let us go to Confession! Lead your family to the door of God’s love and mercy.
PRAYER – “My beloved Redeemer, how much did it cost You to raise me from the ruin, which I brought on myself through my sins? What can I do without Your grace? I can do nothing but pray that You will help me but even this prayer comes from the merits of Your suffering and death! O my Jesus, help me!” … St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most zealous Doctor
Our Morning Offering – 16 December – Monday of the Third week of Advent, Year A
Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus By St Ambrose (340-397) Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One Trans St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Trans 1836
Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One
Art with the Father and the Son.
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess
With Thy full flood of holiness.
In will and deed, by heart and tongue,
With all our powers, Thy praise be sung.
And love light up our mortal frame,
Till others catch the living flame.
Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee
Doth live and reign eternally
Come, Holy Ghost, Who Ever One is a translation from the original latin by St John Henry Newman of Nunc Sancte nobis Spiritus by St Ambrose (340-397). It was first published in Tracts for the Times (1836). It is included in the Latin Breviary as the hymn sung during Terce, for it was at the 3rd hour (9AM) that the Holy Spirit defended upon the Apostles at Pentecost.
Saint of the Day – 16 December – Blessed Mary of the Angels Fontanella OCD (1661-1717) “The Fragrant Rose of Turin,” Discalced Carmelite, Mystic, Stigmatist, Marian devotee and client of St Joseph, Prioress, Spiritual director – born as Marianna Fontanella on 7 January 1661 at Balderino, Italy and died on 16 December 1717 of natural causes at Turin, Iraly. Also known as Maria degli Angeli, Maria Fontanella of the Angels. Bl Mary studied with the Cistercians as a child and entered the Discalced Carmelites despite the protests of her mother and siblings – she soon became a noted abbess and prioress and in 1703 inaugurated a new convent she herself oversaw the establishment of and later, instigated the building of a beautiful Basilica in honour of the Blessed Virgin.
Marianna Fontanella came into the world on January 7, 1661. She was the youngest of 11 children born to Count Giovanni of Turin and his wife, Lady Maria Tana. The mother had among her close relatives, the mother of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591), a youthful aristocrat who renounced a life of privilege to become a holy Jesuit. The fact that there was an official Saint counted among her kin was undoubtedly a source of pride for the family but it wasn’t enough to impress Marianna to want to become one too. It was related that this Blessed initially lived her early years in a manner typical of her high social status – she was well-educated, pampered and exposed to all sorts of social niceties and assemblies … and she enjoyed it all, especially the fancy outfits and the dances.
However, on one particular day, while still a young child, she sat in front of a mirror admiring herself when her own reflection vanished to be replaced by a vision – Christ appeared in the mirror, sadly staring back at her, battered and crowned with thorns. The experience so shocked Marianna that it had the immediate effect of a lasting conversion. From that moment on she shunned her elaborate wardrobe and jewellery and began exercising a devout mode of living despite her tender age. In 1667 she schemed with a little brother to imitate the saints and to run off to live “in the desert” though, at the time they were meant to begin this journey, the two were so fast asleep that their plan was spoiled.
Due to her familial relationship with him, she adopted Saint Luigi Gonzaga as a model for personal holiness and made an effort to imitate the late saint’s example. In 1673 as a 12-year-old, Marianna accompanied one of her sisters to the Cistercian Monastery in Saluzzo where the latter was entering into religious life. Somehow, Marianna was able to persuade her parents to allow her to board with the nuns and she remained with them for over a year until her mother recalled her home due to the unexpected death of her father. Back at the family villa, she resisted her family’s efforts to marry her off and she practised a regimen of prayer and self-mortification. Apparently, while with the Cistercians, an earlier resolve she made to become a nun had strengthened but she was undecided as to which order to join.
After providentially meeting and speaking with a venerable Carmelite priest during one of the rare public exhibitions of the Holy Shroud of Turin, Marianna applied with the local Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Santa Cristina. Lady Maria reluctantly consented when it became clear that her daughter could not be dissuaded, so Marianna made her entrance into Carmel on 19 November 1675, she was 14-years-old and took the name Maria of the Angels.
The first year in the monastery was not easy for the aspiring nun. The sweetness of spirit and the divine favours she had started to enjoy before entering, evaporated, leaving Sr Maria with a terrible dryness in her soul. She clung desperately to her faith and, guided by a meticulous novice mistress, she managed to reach profession on 26 December 1676… but the sense of separation from God – the “dark night of the soul” – continued to torment her for the next 15 years. The devil aggravated the situation, via severe temptations and diabolic assaults.
Fortunately, the beleagured nun weathered her personal storm through the consistent practice of virtue, especially humility and obedience towards her superiors. All that she suffered, served to purify her spirit, as Jesus was leading her on a singular path of extraordinary mystical union with Himself, as was proven later on.
By 1691 Sr Maria was finally free of the darkness and began experiencing supernatural lights with greater intensity. Sublime visions of Christ and heavenly inhabitants resumed, along with other mystical gifts such as Prophecy, the Stigmata and the Fragrance of Sanctity. It was reported that the beautiful scent that constantly surrounded her was so obvious, that the other nuns could track her whereabouts by following the aroma she left in her wake. The Blessed, on her part, took to carrying small bundles of flowers and spices to try to disguise the heavenly scent but to no avail – it increased on feast days and during times when she was ill and unable to take precautions, to disguise the fragrance. Even things she handled, were imbued with the delightful scent!
Noting her many virtues and fine example of Carmelite spirituality, the community elected Sr Maria to the post of novice mistress in 1691 then prioress in 1694. Word soon spread outside of the monastery about the extraordinary prioress and people began seeking her counsel and prayers, including the reigning king of the region, Vittorio Amadeo II of the royal house of Savoy and other members of the nobility. Vocations to the Carmel of St Cristina increased, which necessitated the founding of another monastery in nearby Moncalieri in 1703, with the encouragement from Blessed Sebastian Valfrè CO (1629-1710). Sr Maria had hoped to transfer there, to be away from the centre of the limelight but the king explicitly forbade her to ever leave Turin, due to his dependence on her advice and his devotion to her.
A depiction of Bl Maria of the Angels interceding with Christ to spare Turin from a chastisement of the dreaded plague.
Public esteem for the prioress reached a pinnacle in 1696 when the city was besieged by an invading army. She publicly announced that the city would be saved if people turned to St Joseph, for help, which they did. Turin was liberated and, in gratitude, St Joseph was proclaimed the Patron Saint of the city by the king. Similarly, in 1706 when the French besieged the city, the citizens and royals turned to the intercession of their resident mystic – the nun invoked the Holy Virgin’s protection and the city’s army was again victorious. At Sr Mary’s urging, a church – the great Basilica of the Superga (Superga is a Hill in Turin) – was built to commemorate the victory and to honour Our Lady.
The beautiful Basilica of the Superga in Turin, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and constructed under the prompting of Bl Maria of the Angels. Below is a window of Bl Maria in the Basilica.
Sr Maria of the Angels died peacefully in her monastery on 16 December 1717, after living a productive life of prayer, self-sacrifice and service to her beloved people. She was 56-years-old at the time of her death and all of Turin mourned the passing of she, who had saved them from wars and even a plague in 1714.
At the instigation of King Vittorio, the holy nun’s Cause for Canonisation was started just a few years after the death of Sr Maria. Pope Pius IX declared her a Blessed on 25 April 1865 but a second miracle has yet to be officially recognised for the prioress to reach sainthood. Let us pray for her speedy Canonisation.
St Adelard of Cysoing
St Ado of Vienne
Bl Adolphus of Tunis
Bl Arnaldo of Tunis
St Albina of Caesarea
St Ananias
St Azarias
St Bean of Lough Derg
St Beoc
Bl Clemente Marchisio
St Dominic Dosso
Bl Elizabeth of Saint Francis
Bl Filip Siphong Onphithakt
St Irenion
Bl James of Tunis
Bl Jaume Mases Boncompte
St Jean Wauthier
St Macarius of Collesano Blessed Mary of the Angels Fontanella OCD (1661-1717)
St Misael
St Nicholas Chrysoberges
Bl Raynald de Bar Bl Sebastian Maggi OP (1414–1496) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-blessed-sebastian-maggi-op-1414-1496/
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Martyred Women of North-West Africa: A large group of women martyred in the persecutions of Hunneric, Arian King of the Vandals. 482 in North-West Africa.
Martyrs of Ravenna – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. Four names and no other information has survived – Agricola, Concordius, Navalis and Valentine. c 305 at Ravenna, Italy.
Thought for the Day – 15 December – Third Sunday of Advent, Year A, Gaudete Sunday – Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10, Psalm 146:6-10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11
The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church An excerpt from his Sermon 293
…John is born of a woman too old for childbirth, Christ was born of a youthful virgin. The news of John’s birth was met with incredulity and his father was struck dumb. Christ’s birth was believed and He was conceived through faith.
Such is the topic, as I have presented it, for our inquiry and discussion. But as I said before, if I lack either the time or the ability to study the implications of so profound a mystery, He who speaks within you, even when I am not here, will teach you better, it is He whom you contemplate with devotion, whom you have welcomed into your hearts, whose temples you have become.
John, then, appears as the boundary between the two testaments, the old and the new. That he is a sort of boundary the Lord himself bears witness, when He speaks of the law and the prophets up until John the Baptist. Thus He represents times past and is the herald of the new era to come. As a representative of the past, he is born of aged parents, as herald of the new, he is declared to be a prophet while still in his mother’s womb. For when yet unborn, he leapt in his mother’s womb at the arrival of blessed Mary. In that womb, he had already been designated a prophet, even before he was born, it was revealed that he was to be Christ’s precursor, before they ever saw one another. These are divine happenings, going beyond the limits of our human frailty. Eventually he is born, he receives his name, his father’s tongue is loosened. See how these events reflect reality.
Zechariah is silent and loses his voice until John, the precursor of the Lord, is born and restores his voice. The silence of Zechariah is nothing but the age of prophecy lying hidden, obscured, as it were and concealed before the preaching of Christ. At John’s arrival, it becomes clear, when the one who was being prophesied is about to come. The release of Zechariah’s voice at the birth of John is a parallel to the rending of the veil at Christ’s crucifixion. If John were announcing his own coming, Zechariah’s lips would not have been opened. The tongue is loosened because a voice is born. For when John was preaching the Lord’s coming he was asked – Who are you? And he replied – I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. The voice is John but the Lord in the beginning was the Word. John was a voice that lasted only for a time, Christ, the Word in the beginning, is eternal.
Rejoice, O star that goes before the Sun. Rejoice, O womb of the Incarnate God. Rejoice, for through you, all creation is renewed, Rejoice, for through you, the Creator became a baby. Rejoice, O Virgin and Bride!
Akathist Hymn to Mary (c Fifth Century)
“Open wide your door to the One who comes. Open your soul, throw open the depths of your heart to see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the sweetness of grace. Open your heart and run to meet the Sun of eternal light that illuminates all men.”
St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church
“Awake, you who lie in the dust, awake and give praise. Behold, the Lord comes with salvation. He comes with salvation, He comes with unction, He comes with glory. Jesus cannot come without salvation, Christ cannot come without unction, nor the Son of God without glory. For He Himself is salvation, He is unction, He is glory, as it is written, ‘A wise son is the glory of his father.'”
Advent Reflection – 15 December – Gaudete Sunday – Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10, Psalm 146:6-10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11
The Lord is at hand, come let us adore Him.
“Are you he who is to come…” … Matthew 11:3
REFLECTION – “It is part of the Baptist’s approaching witness-to-death, that, even in prison, he must put up with the darkness God has given him. He had expected a mighty One who would baptise with Spirit and fire. And now there appears in the Gospel, this gentle One, who “will not quench a smouldering wick” (Is 42:3). Jesus calms John’s disquie, by showing him that the prophecy is being fulfilled in Himself, in gentle miracles that still call for trusting faith: “Blessed is the man who finds no stumblimg block in me.” Perhaps the darkness that burdens John as a witness to Christ, is the very reason why Jesus praises him to the crowd – he really is what he understood himself to be – the messenger sent in advance of Jesus to prepare the way. John referred to himself as a mere voice in the wilderness, ringing out the marvel of the coming One.
The least among those belonging to the coming Kingdom is greater than John, who assessed himself as belong to the Old Covenant, yet, as “friend of the Bridegroom” he is showered with the light of new grace, as he humbly makes way for Christ.
On icons, he joins Mary the Mother, who also comes from the Old Covenant, yet steps across into the New Covenant, the two of them at the right and left hand, of the world’s Judge!” … Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) Theologian
MEDIATION – “I speak out in order to lead Him into your hearts but He does not choose to come where I lead Him, unless you prepare the way for Him.”
To prepare the way means to pray well – it means thinking humbly of oneself. We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ, he declares he is not what they think. He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
ADVENT ACTION – We begin this third week of Advent asking to feel the joy that comes from knowing our Lord’s coming to us is near.
In these precious days ahead, we are praying, longing, hoping in the background of our everyday lives.
His mission is to the poor, the brokenhearted, prisoners and captives. His mission is for us. It is “good news,” full of healing, liberty and release. We can smile today as we imagine the freedom He has won for us and how liberating it will be to live it, with Him, for others.
It is right to give our God thanks and praise and to follow His mission in our lives.
Jesus will come again, very soon!
PRAYER – O infinite God and only love of my soul,
I thank You, for having given me Your Son.
For the sake of this same Son,
accept me and bind me with chains of love
to my Redeemer. Amen … St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the Father: He it is who comes to His own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature and unites Himself to an intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like.”
Our Morning Offering – 15 December – Gaudete Sunday
Let Your goodness, Lord, Appear to Us An Advent Prayer By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Let Your goodness, Lord,
appear to us,
that we, made in Your image,
conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength
we cannot imitate
Your majesty, power and wonder,
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child
but You have brought us
the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love.
Caress us with Your tiny hands,
embrace us with Your tiny arms
and pierce our hearts
with Your soft, sweet cries.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 15 December – Blessed Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata (1562–1617) Widow, Nun, Foundress of the Order of the Annunciation – or Blue Nuns, of which she is the Patron. Born in 1562 at Genoa, Italy as Victoria De Fornari and died on 15 December 1617 of natural causes.
Blessed Maria Vittoria was married for just under a decade and decided not to find another spouse after having a vision of the Madonna who instructed her to lead a chaste life of motherhood. The widow decided to found an order not long after this based on the Carmelite charism.
Maria Vittoria De Fornari was born in 1562 in Genoa as the seventh of nine children to Girolamo Fornari and Barbara Veneroso. When seventeen she desired to enter the convent but out of respect for her father’s wishes she married Angelo Strata.
It was a happy marriage. Angelo encouraged his wife in her charitable works and defended her against those who said she should take more part in social events. Maria Vittoria bore him six children, four boys and two girls – Angela, Barbara, Giuseppe, Leonardo, Alessandro, Angelo (1587–97). Unfortunately, Signor Strata died after only nine years of married life. Their eldest daughter Angela became a member of the Canons Regular of the Lateran – as did Barbara not long after – while Giuseppe entered the Minims – OM [the Mendicant Order founded by St Francis of Paola (1416–1507)] with Leonardo and Alessandro following him.
His death was traumatic to Vittoria. She worried that she could not raise so large a family alone. When a local nobleman asked her to marry him, she thought at first that it might be wise to accept, for the sake of her boys and girls. But then she had a vision of Mary (which she wrote up at the request of her confessor) in which Our Lady told her, “My child Vittoria, be brave and confident, for it is my wish to take both the mother and the children under my protection. I will care for your household. Live quietly and without worrying. All I ask is that you trust yourself to me and henceforth devote yourself to the love of God above all things.”
Mary’s words settled Vittoria’s mind completely. She took a vow of chastity and lived in retirement, giving all her time to prayer, the care of her family and the needs of the poor.
When eventually her children were raised (five of the six entered religious orders), Signora Strata revealed to the archbishop of Genoa a proposal that she had long been considering. It was to found a strict new religious order of contemplative nuns. Dedicated to Mary’s Annunciation, the sisters would imitate her hidden life at Nazareth, devoting themselves to prayer and making vestments and altar linens for poor churches. Each member would add the names “Maria Annunziata” to her baptismal name. The archbishop first had his doubts, since the money necessary to make the foundation was not available. However, when a benefactor named Vincent Lomellini offered to purchase a convent for the widow, the prelate gave his permission. Pope Clement VIII approved the order’s constitutions in 1604 and Maria Vittoria and ten companions made their solemn vows in the late summer of 1605.
Early difficulties threatened the project but Our Lady kept the movement going. A second house was established in Italy in 1612. Others followed in Burgundy, France and Germany. Each house was independent. Today there are only three houses and 44 nuns. To distinguish them from the order of the Annunciation established by St Joan of Valois, the Strata “Annunziate” are called “Le Turchine”, i.e. the “Turquoise Annunziate”, or “Blue Nuns” because of their sky-blue scapulars and cloaks.
She served as superior from the order’s founding until ill health saw her not re-elected in 1611 which she accepted with grace and tact. Her order received pontifical approval from Pope Paul V on 6 August 1613.
Blessed Maria Vittoria died on 15 December 1617 due to lung disease after having predicted the date of her own death. She is interred in Genoa.
Many widows like Maria Vittoria have had “second vocations” of this sort, entering religious orders after the death of their husbands. St Elizabeth Seton, foundress of the American Sisters of Charity, was, of course, a memorable example. Cloistered, contemplative orders are perhaps even more attractive to widows who are a little older.
The Beatification cause started under Pope Benedict XIV on 10 September 1746 and the late religious was titled as a Servant of God, while Pope Clement XIII confirmed her heroic virtue and named her as Venerable on 1 April 1759. Pope Leo XII later approved two miracles attributed to her intercession, on 1 April 1828 and later Beatified her in Saint Peter’s Basilica on 21 September 1828. Below is the Altar of her Relics, with Reverend Mother Maria Angela Borsa, Prioress of the Venerable Monastery of the Most Holy Annunciation and Incarnation in Genoa, Italy, before the relics of the Holy Foundress, Bl Maria Vittoria.
‘Vittoria Who Overcame the World’, is a play on the words of Holy Scripture, often seen in pictures of the Blessed: “For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world and this is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith.” [1 John 5,4] It is uplifting to see her spiritual daughters continuing to overcome the spirit of the world, the flesh and the devil.
The altar of Our Lady of Protection, a devotion particular to the order.
Martyrs of Drina – (5 beati): Also known as
• Daughters of Divine Charity of Drina
• Drina Martyrs
Five members of the Daughters of Divine Charity who were martyred while fighting off Chetnik rapists. They were –
Jozefa Bojanc
Jozefa Fabjan
Karoline Anna Leidenix
Kata Ivanisevic
Terezija Banja
Their martyrdom occured in December 1941 in Gorazde, Bosansko-Podrinjski, Bosnia-Herzegovina
They were Beatified on 24 September 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Martyrs of North Africa – (7 saints): A group of Christians martyred together for their faith in North Africa. The only details about them that survive are their names – Caelian, Candidus, Faustinus, Fortunatus, Januarius, Lucius and Mark.
Martyrs of Rome – (22 saints): A group of 22 Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Valerian. The only details we have are five of their names – Antonius, Irenaeus, Saturnin, Theodorus and Victor. c 258 in Rome, Italy.
Second Thought for the Day – 14 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent, Year A, the Memorial of St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609) and a Marian Saturday
The Ave Maris Stella (“Hail Star of the Sea”) is a plainsong Vespers hymn to Mary. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers as the basis of other compositions. The creation of the original hymn has been attributed to several people, including Saint Venantius Fortunatus (6th century) Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century) and Hermannus Contractus (11th century).
The text is found in 9th-century manuscripts, kept in Vienna and in the Abbey of Saint Gall.
The melody is found in the Irish plainsong “Gabhaim Molta Bríde”, a piece in praise of St Bridget of Ireland. There are many translations of this most beautiful and favourite Catholic prayer, the one below is found in The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ave Maris Stella
Hail, O Star of the ocean,
God’s own Mother blest,
ever sinless Virgin,
gate of heav’nly rest.
Taking that sweet Ave,
which from Gabriel came,
peace confirm within us,
changing Eve’s name.
Break the sinners’ fetters,
make our blindness day,
Chase all evils from us,
for all blessings pray.
Show thyself a Mother,
may the Word divine
born for us thine Infant
hear our prayers through thine.
Virgin all excelling,
mildest of the mild,
free from guilt preserve us
meek and undefiled.
Keep our life all spotless,
make our way secure
till we find in Jesus,
joy for evermore.
Praise to God the Father,
honour to the Son,
in the Holy Spirit,
be the glory one.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 14 December – The Memorial of St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
The Knowledge of the Mystery Hidden in Christ Jesus
Saint John of the Cross
An excerpt from his Spiritual Canticle
Though holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders and devout souls have understood them, in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part, still remains, to be unfolded by them and even to be understood by them.
We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasure – however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.
For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ – in him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labours and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses and has undergone long spiritual training.
All these are lesser things, disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ – this is the highest wisdom attainable in this life.
Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first and in truth, to enter the thicket of the Cross.
Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations but to be steadfast and rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height and the depth—to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.
The gate that gives entry into these riches of His wisdom is the Cross, because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.
Quote/s of the Day – 14 December – The Memorial of St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
“Silence is God’s first language.”
“Most holy Mary, Virgin of virgins, shrine of the most Holy Trinity, joy of the angels, sure refuge of sinners, take pity on our sorrows, mercifully accept our sighs and appease the wrath of your most holy Son. Amen”
“O blessed Jesus, give me stillness of soul in You. Let Your mighty calmness reign in me. Rule me, O King of Gentleness, King of Peace.”
“The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”
“Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent!”
‘Song of the soul that is glad to know God by faith’
How well I know that fountain’s rushing flow Although by night
Its deathless spring is hidden. Even so Full well I guess from whence its source flow Though it be night.
Its origin (since it has none) none knows: But that all origin from it arose Although by night.
I know there is no other thing so fair And earth and heaven drink refreshment there Although by night.
Full well I know the depth no man can sound And that no ford to cross it can be found Though it be night
Its clarity unclouded still shall be: Out of it comes the light by which we see Though it be night.
Flush with its banks the stream so proudly swells; I know it waters nations, heavens, and hells Though it be night.
The current that is nourished by this source I know to be omnipotent in force Although by night.
(Translated by Roy Campbell)
St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
Advent Reflection – 14 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent, Year A, Readings: Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11, Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19, Matthew 17:10-13 and the Memorial of St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
“… but I tell you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognise him but did to him, whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands…” … Matthew 17:12
REFLECTION – “God fixed a time for His promises and a time for fulfilling what he had promised. The period of His promises was from the time of the prophets, up to John the Baptist and the period for fulfilling what He had promised is from John and henceforward, to the end. God is faithful, He made Himself our debtor, not by accepting anything from us but by promising us such great blessings. The promise was not enough, He even chose to be bound by writing, creating for us a kind of bond for His promises, so that, when He began to fulfil His promises, we might contemplate in scripture, the order of their accomplishment. The period of prophecy, therefore, as we have before now frequently said, was the announcement of the promises.
He promised everlasting salvation and an unending life of blessedness with the angels, an unfading inheritance (1Pt 1:4), everlasting glory, His own dear face, His sanctuary in heaven and, by the resurrection of the dead, no further fear of death. This is, as it were, His final promise, towards which all our endeavours tend and after we have received it, we shall seek nothing more, demand nothing more.
Nor has He passed over in silence in His promises and prophecies, how that final state will be reached. He promised us the divine nature, to mortals, immortality, to sinners, justification, to castaways, a state of glory.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
MEDIATION – “In giving us His Son, His only Word,
He spoke everything to us at once
in this sole Word – and He has no more to say…
because what He spoke before to the prophets in parts,
He has now spoken all at once by giving us
the ALL Who is His Son.” … St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
ADVENT ACTION – He gave us His ALL, perhaps today, we can give Him ourselves. May we be free of earthly things, just for today. Restore us, O God, let thy face shine, that we may be saved! Psalm 80:3
PRAYER – “O blessed Jesus, give me stillness of soul in You.
Let Your mighty calmness reign in me. Rule me, O King of Gentleness,
King of Peace.” … St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Our Morning Offering – 14 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent, Year A, the Memorial of St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609) and a Marian Saturday
The God whom earth and sea and sky For Mary, The Mother of God For the Annunciation and Christmas By St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
The God whom earth and sea and sky
Adore and praise and magnify,
Whose might they claim, whose love they tell,
In Mary’s body comes to dwell.
O Mother blest! the chosen shrine
Wherein the architect divine,
Whose hand contains the earth and sky,
Has come in human form to lie.
Blest in the message Gabriel brought,
Blest in the work the Spirit wrought,
Most blest, to bring to human birth
The long desired of all the earth.
O Lord, the Virgin-born, to you
Eternal praise and laud are due,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Spirit blest for evermore.
Saint of the Day – 14 December – Saint Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609) Bishop, Poet, Hymnist, Writer – born c 530 at Rreviso, Italy and died c 609 at Poitiers, modern France of natural causes.
Today’s saint was unique, first a travelling lay poet, he later became a Priest and then a Bishop. But he always remained a professional author of poetry, a “troubadour” of Christ.
His impressive full name was Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus. Born near Treviso in northern Italy, he received a good education in literature and law.
While studying at Ravenna, he was cured of an eye ailment by the intercession of St Martin of Tours. To express his gratitude to the Gallic saint, he set out for France, intent on a thanksgiving visit to St Martin’s tomb. He did not take the shortest route, however. He went to Mainz, Cologne, Trier and Metz in Germany, then crossed into Gaul (France) and visited Verdun, Rheims, Soissons and Paris before he reached his destination. We know all this, because, we have the poetry he wrote for benefactors in each of these places. Thus he earned his fare.
After Venantius had thanked the Saint of Tours, he went over to Poitiers, also in France and became attached to the Monastery of the Holy Cross at that place. He had been attracted by the work that St Radegund was doing at Poitiers.
Radegund was the daughter of the King of Thuringia. King Clotaire of the Franks had captured her and forced her to marry him. Escaping from her husband, the unwilling queen had taken the veil at Poitiers and founded Holy Cross Abbey. She chose her adopted daughter Agnes as abbess. Venantius, who had a great sensitivity to women in need, volunteered to serve this monastery as its unofficial steward. Later, he entered the priesthood and became the monastery’s chaplain. His “mother” (as he called St Radegund) and his “sister” (as he called Abbess Agnes) were a good and gracious influence on him.
It was in 569, while Venantius was serving Holy Cross Abbey, that the Emperor Justin II sent to Queen Radegund a generous relic of the true Cross of Jesus. King Sigebert of Gaul arranged for a splendid ceremony to welcome this relic. Venantius composed the hymn Vexilla Regis, (“The royal banners forward go.”) One of the greatest of the medieval hymns, it continued to be chanted at the rites of Good Friday until the 1960s.
When St Radegund died in 587, Fortunatus was freer to travel about. Wherever he went, he was still prevailed on to write new poems. From 599 to 609 he was also bishop of Poitiers. As such, he was a close associate of three other notable bishops – Saints Felix of Nantes, Leontius of Bordeaux and Gregory of Tours. St Gregory urged him to collect and publish his poetical works. He did so and it amounted to ten fat volumes. More volumes were added after his death.
He had written cheerfully for every sort of celebration. Some of his poems were complimentary, some were lives of the saints but the most durable were his devotional works. Another of these was sung, like the Vexilla Regis, in the Good Friday liturgy: “Pange lingua gloriosi lauream certaminis” (“Sing, my tongue, the Saviour’s glory”). A third is still used (in translation) for Easter – Salve festa dies (“Hail thee, festival day”). St Venantius also wrote hymns to Mary – “Quem terra, fontes, aethera” (“To God whom earth and sea and sky”) and perhaps even the popular “Ave Maris Stella” (“Hail, bright star of ocean”).
Fortunatus wrote panegyrics and other types of poems, including praise, eulogies, personal poems to bishops and friends alike, consolations and poems in support of political issues, particularly those presented by his friends Gregory of Tours and Radegunde. His eleven books of poetry contain his surviving poems, all ordered chronologically and by importance of subject. For instance, a poem about God will come before the panegyric to a king, which will come before a eulogy to aBishop. This collection of poems is the main primary source for writing about his life.
Venantius died with a reputation for genial holiness. Although he has never been listed as a saint in the official Roman Martyrology, he was honoured as such even during his lifetime and now, in several French and Italian dioceses, great feasts are still held in his honour. As a poet, his devotional verge can show a depth of poetic piety. Thus, in addressing the Cross in his Vexilla Regis, he sings touchingly – (I took the liberty of making an image of this beautiful verse on the Salvidor Dali rendition of “Christ of St John of the Cross” based on St John’s drawing and on his Feast day today).
“On whose dear arms, so widely flung, The weight of this world’s ransom hung, The price of humankind to pay And spoil the spoiler of his prey All hail, O Cross, our only hope!”
In his time, Fortunatus filled a great social desire for Latin poetry . He was one of the most prominent poets at this point and had many contracts, commissions and correspondences with kings, bishops and noblemen and women from the time he arrived in Gaul until his death. He used his poetry to advance in society, to promote political ideas he supported, usually conceived of by Radegunde or by Gregory and, to pass on personal thoughts and communications. He was a master wordsmith and because of his promotion of the church, as well as the Roman tendencies of the Frankish royalty, he remained in favour with most of his acquaintances throughout his lifetime.
St Abundius of Spain
St Agnellus of Naples
Bl Buenaventura Bonaccorsi
St Folcuino of Therouanne
Bl Joan Lambertini
St John Pan y Agua (Bread-and-Water)
Bl John Discalceat
St Justus of Spain
St Matronianus of Milan
St Pompeius of Pavia
Bl Protasi Cubells Minguell St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
St Viator of Bergamo
St Yusuf Jurj Kassab al-Hardini
Bl William de Rovira
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 4 saints: A group of Egyptian Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Decius – Arsenius, Dioscurus, Heron and Isidore. They were burned to death in 250 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Apollonia – 7 saints: Martyred in the persecutions of Decius. The only surviving details are three names – Callinicus, Leucio and Tirso. Apollonia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of Ashkelon – 3 saints: Several pilgrims from Egypt to Cilicia (in modern Turkey) who planned to minister to fellow Christians suffering in the persecutions of emperor Maximinus. They were arrested, torture, mutilated and then imprisoned in Ashkelon. Some were ordered to forced labour in the mines, but we have the names of three who were martyred by order of governor Firmilian – Ares, Elijah and Promo. They were burned at the stake or beheaded at the gates of Ashkelon c 308.
Martyrs of Hayle – 2+ saints: Several Christians, including a brother and sister, who were martyred together by pagans. The only other information to survive are the names of the two siblings – Fingar and Phiala. 5th century at Hayle, Cornwall, England.
Martyrs of Syria – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together. Known to Saint John Chrysostom who preached on their feast day, and left us the only details we have – their names – Drusus, Theodore and Zosimus. The date and precise location of their martyrdom is unknown, but it was in Syria, possibly in Antioch.
Thought for the Day – 13 December – The Memorial of St Lucy (c 283-304) Martyr “Bringer of Light”
Every little girl named Lucy must bite her tongue in disappointment, when she first tries to find out, what there is to know about her patron saint. The older books, will have a lengthy paragraph, detailing a small number of traditions. Newer books, will have a lengthy paragraph, showing that there is little basis in history for these traditions. The single fact survives, that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily, in the year 304. But it is also true, that her name is mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer, geographical places are named after her, a popular song has her name as its title and down through the centuries, many thousands of little girls, have been proud of the name Lucy.
One can easily imagine what a young Christian woman had to contend with in pagan Sicily in the year 300. If you have trouble imagining, just glance at today’s pleasure-at-all-costs world and the barriers it presents against leading a good Christian life.
Her friends must have wondered aloud about this hero of Lucy’s, an obscure itinerant preacher in a far-off captive nation that had been destroyed more than 200 years before. Once a carpenter, He had been crucified by the Romans after His own people turned Him over to their authority. Lucy believed with her whole soul that this man had risen from the dead. Heaven had put a stamp on all He said and did. To give witness to her faith she had made a vow of virginity.
What a hubbub this caused among her pagan friends! The kindlier ones just thought her a little strange. To be pure before marriage was an ancient Roman ideal, rarely found but not to be condemned. To exclude marriage altogether, however, was too much. She must have something sinister to hide, the tongues wagged.
Lucy knew of the heroism of earlier virgin martyrs. She remained faithful to their example and to the example of the carpenter, whom she knew to be the Son of God. She is the patroness of eyesight.
If you are a little girl named Lucy, you need not bite your tongue in disappointment. Your patron is a genuine authentic heroine, first class, an abiding inspiration for you and for all Christians. The moral courage of the young Sicilian Martyr shines forth as a guiding light, just as bright for today’s youth as it was in 304.
Saint Lucy’s name (Lucia in Latin) shares the root luc with the Latin word for light, lux. Because of this connection, Saint Lucy is often depicted in art and religious custom as a bringer of light – which also ties in to her patronage of eyes and sight. Her feast day today, is during Advent when we await the Light of Christ and is in winter, for the Northern Hemisphere, so there is significant iconography of Lucy as a bringer of light in the darkness. For this reason, she is particularly venerated as part of Scandinavian Christian custom – young girls dress in a white gown and wear wreaths of lights during celebrations in the darkest days of winter. Indeed, the fact that Saint Lucy’s feast day is celebrated as a festival of light, seems appropriate for a woman, who believed, she was bearing the light of Christianity in a world that punished her for it. Let us pray to St Lucy, for the intercession for all those with eye illnesses and for the protection of the ‘eyes of our faith’ of all of us.
O St Lucy, you preferred to let your eyes be torn out instead of denying the faith and defiling your soul and God, through an extraordinary miracle, replaced them with another pair of sound and perfect eyes to reward your virtue and faith, appointing you as the protector against eye diseases. I come to you for you to protect my eyesight and to heal the illness in my eyes.
O St Lucy, preserve the light of my eyes so that I may see the beauties of creation, the glow of the sun, the colour of the flowers and the smile of children.
Preserve also the eyes of my soul, the faith, through which I can know my God, understand His teachings, recognise His love for me and never miss the road that leads me to where you, St Lucy, can be found in the company of the angels and saints. St Lucy, protect my eyes and preserve my faith. Amen
St Lucy, “Bringer of Light” Pray for those with eye ailments,
Quote of the Day – 13 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent, Year A, Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19
“We played the flute for you but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.”
Matthew 11:17
“When some children are dancing and others are singing a dirge, their purpose does not agree. Both sides find fault with their friends for not being in harmony with them. So the Jews underwent such an experience when they accepted neither the gloominess of John the Baptist nor the freedom of Christ. They did not receive help one way or another. It was fitting for John as a lowly servant, to deaden the passions of the body through very hardy training and for Christ, by the power of his Godhead, freely to mortify the sensations of the body and the innate practice of the flesh and to do so, without reliance on strenuous ascetic labours.
Nevertheless John, “while he was preaching the baptism of repentance,” offered himself as a model for those who were obliged to lament, whereas the Lord “who was preaching the kingdom of heaven” similarly displayed radiant freedom in Himself.
In this way Jesus outlined for the faithful indescribable joy and an untroubled life. The sweetness of the kingdom of heaven is like a flute. The pain of Gehenna is like a dirge.”
Advent Reflection – 13 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent, Year A, Readings: Isaiah 48:17-19, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Matthew 11:16-19
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
“For John came, neither eating nor drinking and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” … Matthew 11:18-19
REFLECTION – “Saint John the Baptist was separated from the world. He was a Nazarite (Lk 1:15; Nb 6:2). He went out from the world and placed himself over against it… and called it to repentance. Then went out all Jerusalem to him into the desert (Mk 3:5) and he confronted it face to face. But in his teaching he spoke of One who should come to them and speak to them in a far different way. He should not separate Himself from them, He should not display Himself as some higher being but as their brother, as of their flesh and of their bones, as one among many brethren, as one of the multitude and amidst them; nay, He was among them already: “There hath stood in the midst of you, whom you know not” (Jn 1:26)…
At length Jesus begins to disclose Himself and to manifest His glory in miracles but where? At a marriage feast… And how? in adding to the wine… Now compare this with what He says in St Matthew’s Gospel of Himself: “John came neither eating nor drinking—The Son of man came eating and drinking and they say: Behold a man that is a glutton and wine-drinker.” John might be hated but he was respected; Jesus was despised…
This was, O dear Lord, because Thou so loved this human nature which Thou has created. Thou did not love us merely as Thy creatures, the work of Thy hands but as men. Thou love all, for Thou has created all but Thou love man more than all. How is it, Lord, that this should be? What is there in man, above others? “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” (Ps 8,5)… Thou did not take on Thee an angelic nature when Thou did manifest Thyself for our salvation, so too Thou would not come in any shape or capacity or office which was above the course of ordinary human life—not as a Nazarene, not as a Levitical priest, not as a monk, not as a hermit but in the fullness and exactness of that human nature, which, so much Thou love… in that very flesh which had fallen in Adam and with all our infirmities, all our feelings and sympathies, sin excepted.” … St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) – Meditations and Devotions, Part III, VII God with us 1
MEDITATION – Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me, speak to them of My great mercy. . . . The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me, is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered. …St Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1396-1397
ADVENT ACTION – With St Augustine we pray, “All my hope lies only in Your great mercy.”So, we turn in repentance and tell of His great love and mercy for us all, sinners though we are!
PRAYER – Lord, watch over Your people, who come to You in confidence. Strengthen the hearts of those who hope in You. Give courage to those who falter because of their failures. In this holy season of Advent, lead them closer to You in hope, by the power of Your Holy Spirit. May they one day proclaim Your saving acts of kindness in Your eternal kingdom. Through Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 13 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent, Year A
Jesus, my Saviour, Help me By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Jesus, my Saviour, help me.
I am resolved truly to love You
and to leave all, to please You.
Help me to free myself from everything,
that hinders me, from belonging wholly to You,
who have loved me so much.
By your prayers, O Mother Mary,
which are so powerful with God,
obtain for me this grace
to belong wholly to God.
Amen
Saint of the Day – Blessed Giovanni Marinoni CR (1490-1562) Priest of the Theatines of St Cajetan (1480-1547) (The Congregation of the Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence), renowned Preacher and spiritual director. Also known as John and Francesco Marinoni – born as Francesco Marinoni on 25 December 1490 at Venice, Italy and died on 13 December 1562, aged 71, at Naples, Italy of natural causes. Patronage – of Preachers.
Blessed Giovanni was the third and youngest son of a noble family, originally of Bergamo but was born at Venice, in 1490. From his infancy it was his chief delight to be on his knees at the foot of the altar and to hear as many masses everyday as his employments permitted him.
He usually studied before a crucifix and sanctified his studies by most frequent fervent acts of divine love. To beg of God the grace never to sully his baptismal innocence, he spent forty days in prayer and a rigorous fast in honour of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
Having embraced an ecclesiastical state, he served among the clergy of St Pantaleon’s church and, when he was ordained priest, became chaplain and afterwards superior of the hospital of incurables, in which charitable employ he was a comforting angel to all who were under his care.
He was called to be the Canon in the celebrated church of St Mark, where his life was the edification of his colleagues and of the whole city. Out of a desire of serving God in a more perfect disengagement from earthly things, he decided to take the habit of the regular clerks called Theatines and made his profession in 1530, then taking the name “Giovanni”, on 29 May, at the age of 40. He was received into the Order by the Founders, St Cajetan and Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Carafa – the future Pope Paul IV, the Bishop of Chieti or Theate, who had instituted this order six years before.
In August 1533 he left Venice for Naples at the request of Pope Clement VII and remained there to direct the faithful. He also made an attempt to strengthen the faith and to prevent unorthodox views from taking root. He was appointed as the Superior of the House of San Paolo Maggiore in April 1540 and served as the spiritual director of a Dominican convent. He also served as a spiritual adviser to Saint Andrew Avellino (1521-1608). Avellino made reference to Marinoni as a great saint.
Pope Paul IV wanted to bestow upon him the Archbishopric of Naples but he refused it.
Both by his prayers and sacrifices and by his exhortations in the pulpit and confessional, he was an instrument of salvation to many.
His age and disease undermined him as he continued to work for others in Naples and the cholera epidemic that spread there, overcame him in 1562 which led to his death on 13 December 1562.
He was Beatified by a bull of Clement XIII on 5 December 1764, who granted to his order, an office in his honour to be celebrated on 13 December. On 27 June 2011 Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree of heroic virtues and approved a miracle attributed to Blessed Giovanni’s intercession and thus cleared the way for his Canonisation cause.
St Aristone
St Arsenius of Latro
St Aubert of Arras
Bl Bartholomew of Tuscany
St Edburgh of Lyminge
St Einhildis of Hohenburg
Bl Elizabeth Rose
St Jodocus Bl Giovanni Marinoni CR (1490-1562)
St Martino de Pomar
St Odilia of Alsace
St Roswinda
St Tassio of Bavaria
St Wifred
Blessed Mercedarian Knights – (7 beati): A group of Mercedarian knights who fought the enemies of the Catholic faith in the first century of the Order.
• Blessed Bernardo de Podio
• Blessed Giacomo de Copons
• Blessed Giovanni de Bruquera
• Blessed Guglielmo de Sa
• Blessed Pietro Boguer
• Blessed Pietro Ricart
• Blessed Raimondo de Frexa
Martyrs of Jeongju – (6 saints): Six Christian laymen who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred together in the persecutions in Korea. They were beheaded on 13 December 1866 in Supjeong-i, Jeongju, Chungcheong-do, South Korea
and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.
• Bartholomaeus Chong Mun-Ho
• Iosephus Han Won-So
• Peter Cho Hwa-so
• Petrus Son Son-Ji
• Petrus Yi Myong-So
• Petrus Chong Won-Ji
Martyrs of Sebaste – (5 saints): A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Auxentius, Eustratius, Eugene, Mardarius and Orestes. They were martyred in c 302 at Sebaste, Armenia (in modern Turkey) and their relics are enshrined at the church of Saint Apollinaris in Rome, Italy.
Thought for the Day – 12 December – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Voice of the Turtledove has been Heard in our Land
Don Antonio Valeriano Native American author, 16th century
An excerpt from a Report
At daybreak one Saturday morning in 1531, on the very first days of the month of December, an Indian named Juan Diego was going from the village where he lived to Tlatelolco in order to take part in divine worship and listen to God’s commandments. When he came near the hill called Tepeyac, dawn had already come and Juan Diego heard someone calling him from the very top of the hill: “Juanito, Juan Dieguito.”
He went up the hill and caught sight of a lady of unearthly grandeur whose clothing was as radiant as the sun. She said to him in words both gentle and courteous: “Juanito, the humblest of my children, know and understand that I am the ever virgin Mary, Mother of the true God through whom all things live. It is my ardent desire that a church be erected here so that in it I can show and bestow my love, compassion, help and protection to all who inhabit this land and to those others who love me, that they might call upon and confide in me. Go to the Bishop of Mexico to make known to him what I greatly desire. Go and put all your efforts into this.”
When Juan Diego arrived in the presence of the Bishop, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, a Franciscan, the latter did not seem to believe Juan Diego and answered: “Come another time, and I will listen at leisure.”
Juan Diego returned to the hilltop where the Heavenly Lady was waiting and he said to her: “My Lady, my maiden, I presented your message to the Bishop but it seemed that he did not think it was the truth. For this reason I beg you to entrust your message to someone more illustriou,s who might convey it, in order that they may believe it, for I am only an insignificant man.”
She answered him: “Humblest of my sons, I ask that tomorrow you again go to see the Bishop and tell him that I, the ever virgin holy Mary, Mother of God, am the one who personally sent you.”
But on the following day, Sunday, the Bishop again did not believe Juan Diego and told him that some sign was necessary so that he could believe that it was the Heavenly Lady herself who sent him. And then he dismissed Juan Diego.
On Monday Juan Diego did not return. His uncle, Juan Bernardino, became very ill and at night asked Juan to go to Tlatelolco at daybreak to call a priest to hear his confession.
Juan Diego set out on Tuesda, but he went around the hill and passed on the other side, toward the east, so as to arrive quickly in Mexico City and to avoid being detained by the Heavenly Lady. But she came out to meet him on that side of the hill and said to him: “Listen and understand, my humblest son. There is nothing to frighten and distress you. Do not let your heart be troubled and let nothing upset you. Is it not I, your Mother, who is here? Are you not under my protection? Are you not, fortunately, in my care? Do not let your uncle’s illness distress you. It is certain that he has already been cured. Go up to the hilltop, my son, where you will find flowers of various kinds. Cut them, and bring them into my presence.”
When Juan Diego reached the peak, he was astonished that so many Castilian roses had burst forth at a time when the frost was severe. He carried the roses in the folds of his tilma (mantle) to the Heavenly Lady. She said to him: “My son, this is the proof and the sign which you will bring to the Bishop so that he will see my will in it. You are my ambassador, very worthy of trust.”
Juan Diego set out on his way, now content and sure of succeeding. On arriving in the Bishop’s presence, he told him: “My Lord, I did what you asked. The Heavenly Lady complied with your request and fulfilled it. She sent me to the hilltop to cut some Castilian roses and told me to bring them to you in person. And this I am doing, so that you can see in them the sign you seek in order to carry out her will. Here they are, receive them.”
He immediately opened up his white mantle and, as all the different Castilian roses scattered to the ground, there was drawn on the cloak and suddenly appeared the precious image of the ever virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the same manner as it is today and is kept in her shrine of Tepeyac.
The whole city was stirred and came to see and admire her venerable image and to offer prayers to her and, following the command, which the same Heavenly Lady gave to Juan Bernardino when she restored him to health, they called her by the name that she herself had used: “the ever virgin holy Mary of Guadalupe.”
And to us too, Holy Mary of Guadalupe, we beg your gaze and ask your protection!
Quote of the Day – 12 December – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
“You see that Mary did not doubt but believed and, therefore, obtained the fruit of faith. “Blessed are you who have believed.” But you also are blessed who have heard and believed. For a soul that has believed has both conceived and bears the Word of God and declares His works. Let the soul of Mary be in each of you, so that it magnifies the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each of you, so that it rejoices in God. She is the one mother of Christ according to the flesh, yet Christ is the Fruit of all according to faith. Every soul receives the Word of God, provided that, undefiled and unstained by vices, it guards its purity with inviolate modesty.”
St Ambrose
Bishop of Milan (340-397)
Father & Doctor of the Church
Advent Reflection – 12 December – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe – Readings: Zec 2:14-17, Book of Judith 13:18bcde.19, Luke 1:26-38
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” … Luke 1:31
REFLECTION – ““The Lord is near”, the Apostle Paul tells us
and nothing should perturb us. He is close by.
He is not alone but is with His Mother.
She said to St Juan Diego:
“Why are you afraid? Am I not here who am your Mother?”.
He is near. He and His Mother.
The greatest mercy lies in His being in our midst,
in our being in His presence and company.
He walks with us, He shows us the path of love,
He lifts us up when we fall and with such tenderness,
He supports us in our labours,
He accompanies us in every circumstance of life.
He opens our eyes to see our wretchedness
and that of the world but at the same time
He fills us with hope!” … Pope Francis, 12 December 2015
MEDITATION – “Even if the sins of souls will be as dark as night, when the sinner turns to My mercy, he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of my passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell.” — St Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 378
ADVENT ACTION – How can I lead someone to the mercy of Christ and His Mother?
PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ my Lord, help me to become a devoted client of Your holy Mother Mary. Through Your grace, may I receive the spiritual strength she has promised to all her clients. May I, in simplicity, like St Juan Diego, become her vessel to share Your Light of Love and Mercy, throughout my world. Our Lady of Guadalupe Pray for us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 12 December – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe By St Pius X (1835-1914)
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose,
make intercession
for the holy Church,
protect the Sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke thee in their necessities,
and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from thy most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life,
burning charityand the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Amen
This prayer was approved and enriched with an indulgence of five hundred days by St Pope Pius X at an audience held on August, 1908 and was included in the official edition of approved indulgenced prayers (1950). Raccolta number 389, 500 days Indulgence, St Pope Pius X audience, 15 August 1908.
Saint of the Day – 12 December – Saint Finnian of Clonard (470–549) “Tutor of the Saints of Ireland” – also Finian, Fionán or Fionnán in Irish – Monk and Founder of Monasteries the most famous being Clonard Abbey, Confessor, Ascetic, Missionary, Teacher, miracle-worker – Born in 470 at Myshall, County Carlow, Ireland and died in c 549 to 552 at Clonard, Meath, Ireland of plague. The Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him. Saint Finnian of Clonard (along with Saint Enda of Aran) is considered one of the fathers of Irish monasticism. Patronages – Alexandria-Cornwall, Diocese of Ontario, Canada, Diocese of Meath, Ireland.
St Finnian, a native of Leinster in Ireland, was destined to become one of the greatest fathers of the Irish monasticism. Finnian was born to a noble family in the second half of the 5th century, most probably in the village of Myshall in the present-day county of Carlow. When his mother was still pregnant, she once saw in a dream that a bright flame flew into her mouth and then flew away like a glorious bird, which at once flew between the northern and southern parts of Ireland, attracting a huge flock of other birds from all over the country, which followed it. The woman told her husband about her vision and he understood, that their child would become a great teacher and mentor. All this later came true.
The young St Finnian was probably educated in Idrone. His first teacher was St Fortchern of Trim, a disciple of St Patrick. Some time later, the Saint founded his first three monasteries, which were situated at Rossacurra, Drumfea, and Kilmaglush. According to some sources, St Finnian studied for a short time in the great monastic centre of St Martin in Tours in Gaul. It is certain that this ascetic, learned the fundamentals and skills of monastic life in Wales, in the tradition of the great hermits of Egypt. There his teachers included great fathers of the Welsh Church – St David, St Gildas the Wise and, particularly, St Cadoc. This experience proved to be extremely useful for the saint in the future.
St Finnian meant to go to Rome after his training in Wales but an angel appeared to him in a vision and told the saint to return to his native Ireland, where he was to become “a teacher and tutor of Irish Saints”. Significantly, among the future disciples of St Finnian was St Columban (543-615) (find his story here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/11/23/saint-of-the-day-23-november-st-columban-543-615/), one of the greatest early Irish missionaries. After some 20 or 30 years in Wales, St Finnian returned to Ireland, where he founded a great number of churches and monasteries, for example, at Aghowle (in Wicklow) and Mugna Sulcain. The holy man liked Aghowle very much and wanted to stay there but again the angel appeared to him and commanded him to go further, as that was the will of God.
As was the case with other early Irish saints, St Finnian became a travelling Missionary. On the island of Skellig Michael, not far from the shores of Kerry, which later became one of the most famous bastions of Irish Orthodoxy, St Finnian built several churches and founded monastic communities. After that the ascetic visited the monastery of Kildare, under the great Abbess St Brigid (c 453-523 (About St Brigid: https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/01/saint-of-the-day-st-brigid-of-ireland-kildare-c-453-523/) and remained there for some years. He left Kildare to continue his journeys and finally reached Clonard, situated on the River Boyne in the present-day county of Meath. And the Lord revealed that in this very old and pagan place, where there had never been any churches or monasteries before him, the saint’s main labours were to take place.
At Clonard, St Finnian, firsly built a small cell and tiny church and in the year 520 founded a monastery, which became the largest and the most important in Ireland. He became the first abbot of this monastery and organised life there, taking as his model the practices of Welsh monasteries. This form of monasticism was based on the traditions of the holy fathers of the East with the compulsory study of the Holy Scriptures.
St Finnian was venerated as one of the greatest saints of his time. Numerous disciples flocked to him. According to his life there lived some 3000 monks at Clonard at the same time. Monks and laypeople, bishops and priests, poor and rich—everybody came to him for spiritual advice. The fame of St Finnian, loved and honoured for his exemplary life, learning, gift of prayer and many miracles, spread all over Ireland and far beyond. Monks and theologians from various countries visited St Finnian‘s monastery. Over the centuries thousands of monks there studied the Holy Scriptures, the works of the Church Fathers, grew in monastic life and were then sent as Missionaries to distant lands. The rule of Clonard was known for its strictness and asceticism. The brethren slept little and rose early in the morning, prayed frequently and fervently, ate little and worked hard.
St Finnian himself used to sleep on the bare, earthen floor of his primitive cell and never put anything under his head. His iron girdle served him as chains in his ascetic labours. According to the evidence of one of his disciples, the venerable abbot became so emaciated because of his many years of extreme ascetic life that his ribs could easily be seen through his clothes.
The disciples of Clonard established hundreds of churches and monasteries in Ireland as well as in other countries. According to a custom which existed in Clonard, every monk who left the monastery as a Missionary, took with him a copy of the Gospels, a crozier and some holy object (for example, a reliquary) and later, when building his own church or monastery, placed these relics inside it. Thanks to Clonard and other monasteries of similar reputation, Ireland became known as “The Island of Saints”. Under the influence of Welsh saints and, originally, St John Cassian in Gaul, St Finnian compiled the first Irish Penitentiary, which, in its turn, influenced St Columban, who compiled his own and more famous version. The Abbot also had a reputation as a brilliant interpreter of the Scriptures.
St Finnian died of the plague in 549 (others say in 552). His relics remained in the monastery church at Clonard until 887. There is evidence that after his main relics had been vandalised by barbarians in that year, a small portion of his relics were kept in a parish church near Clonard till the 17th century. The monastery flourished till the 9th century and was considered as the second most important monastery in Ireland after Armagh. Unfortunately, following the attacks of the Vikings from the 9th to the 11th centuries, the glory of this monastery faded.
Stained glass image of St Finnian and his disciples at St Finnian’s Church at Clonard
In Clonard today, visitors can find a statue of St Finnian and a church dedicated to him, which contains stained glass of the saint with his disciples. Only minor ruins remain of the former monastery. In the village of Myshall in Carlow, where according to tradition St Finnian was born, there are ruins of a pre-Norman church, which stood there for many years but was ruined under Cromwell in the 17th century. In the village of Aghowle there are ruins of the ancient monastic church, which was built by St Finnian himself early in the 6th century. In the 18th century a new church of St Michael was built near it. An ancient cross of St Finnian has survived in this village as well.
St Abra
St Agatha of Wimborne
Bl Bartholomew Buonpedoni
St Pope Callistus II
St Colman of Clonard
St Columba of Terryglass
St Conrad of Offida
St Corentius of Quimper
St Cormac
St Cury
St Donatus the Martyr
St Edburga of Thanet St Finnian of Clonard (470–549) “Tutor of the Saints of Ireland”
St Gregory of Terracina
St Hermogenes
Bl Ida of Nivelles
Bl Ludwik Bartosik
Bl Martin Sanz
St Simon Phan Ðac Hòa
St Spyridon of Cyprus
St Synesius
St Vicelin of Oldenburg
Martyrs of Alexandria – (6 saints): A group of six Christians martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than five of their names – Alexander, Ammonaria, Dionysia, Epimachus and Mercuria. They were burned to death c 250 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Trier – (4 saints): A group of six Christians martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than five of their names – Alexander, Ammonaria, Dionysia, Epimachus and Mercuria. They were burned to death c 250 in Alexandria, Egypt.
She took a vow of chastity and lived in retirement, giving all her time to prayer, the care of her family and the needs of the poor.
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