Saint of the Day – 30 September – St Jerome (347-419) Father and Doctor of the Church
Saint Jerome, born in Dalmatia in 347, was sent to school in Rome. His boyhood was not free from fault, his thirst for knowledge was excessive and his love of books, a passion. He had studied under the best masters, visited foreign cities and devoted himself to the pursuit of learning.
But Christ had need of his strong will and active intellect for the service of His Church. He told him in a supernatural experience he never forgot, that he was not a Christian, but a Ciceronian – your heart is where your treasure is, said the Lord to him — that is, in the eloquent writings of antique times. Saint Jerome obeyed the divine call, making a vow never again to read profane works and another of celibacy.
In Rome he had already assisted a number of holy women to organise houses of retirement where they consecrated themselves to God by vow. Calumnies, arising from jealousy, made a certain headway against the scholar whose competence was beginning to attract honours.
He fled from Rome to the wild Syrian desert and there for four years learned in solitude, intense sufferings and persecution from the demons, new lessons in humility, penance and prayer and divine wisdom. I was very foolish to want to sing the hymns of the Lord on foreign soil and to abandon the mountain of Sinai to beg help from Egypt, he declared.
Pope Damasus summoned him back to Rome and there assigned to the famous scholar, already expert in Hebrew and other ancient languages, the task of revising the Latin Bible. Saint Jerome obeyed his earthly Head as he had obeyed his Lord. Retiring once more in 386 to Bethlehem, the eloquent hermit sent forth from his solitary cell not only a solidly accurate version of the Scriptures but during thirty years’ time, a veritable stream of luminous writings for the Christian world. He combated with unfailing efficacy several heresies being subtly introduced by various personages in his own region and elsewhere.
For fourteen years the hand of the great scholar could no longer write but Saint Jerome could still dictate to six secretaries at a time, to each on a different subject, in those final years. He died in his beloved Bethlehem in 420, when over 80 years old. His tomb is still in a subterranean chapel of its ancient basilica but his relics were transported to Saint Mary Major Basilica of Rome, where the crib of Bethlehem is conserved.
St Amatus of Nusco
St Antoninus of Piacenza
St Castus of Piacenza
St Colman of Clontibret
Bl Conrad of Urach
St Desiderius of Piacenza
St Enghenedl of Anglesey
St Eusebia of Marseilles
Bl Frederick Albert
St Honoratus of Canterbury
St Ismidone of Die
Bl ean-Nicolas Cordier
St Laurus
St Leopardus the Slave
Bl Ludwik Gietyngier
St Midan of Anglesey
St Simon of Crépy
St Ursus the Theban
St Victor the Theban
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Martyrs of Valsery Abbey: An unknown number of Premonstratensian monks at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Valsery, Picardie, France who were martyred by Calvinists. They were martyred in 1567 at Valsery, Pircardy, France
Thought for the Day – 29 September – The Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
“Michael is the one who fights against the devil, he protects us against the serpent that seduces us, that makes us fall and then accuses us before God, claiming us as his own. Michael, was asked by the Lord to fight the devil” and he helps us resist temptation on our earthly journey toward heaven.
Gabriel is the one who “brings the good news”, he’s the one who announced to Zachariah the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist and to Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus. Gabriel too accompanies us and helps us on our journey when we ‘forget’ the Gospel. He reminds us that “Jesus came to save us.”
Raphael, meanwhile, “walks with us taking care of us on our journey and helping us not take the wrong steps.”
These are our companions, at our service and at God’s service.
Let us Pray:
“Michael: Help us in our battle – each of us has a battle to fight in our lives;
Gabriel: Bring us news, bring us the good news of salvation;
Raphael: Take us by the hand and lead us forward without taking the wrong turns.
Always walking forward, but with your help!
Amen”
Quote/s of the Day – 29 September – The Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
“You should be aware, that the word “angel”, denotes a function, rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven, have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels, when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.”
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Angels take different earthly forms at the bidding of their master, God. They thus reveal themselves to human beings and unveil the Divine Mysteries to them”
St John Damascene (675-749) Father & Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 29 September – Today’s Gospel: John 1:47–51 – The Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”…John 1:51
REFLECTION – “I believe in one God…, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, visible and invisible.” The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition. St Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel. ” With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10), they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word” (Ps 103:20). As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendour of their glory bears witness (cf Dan 10:9).
Christ is the centre of the angelic world. They are his angels: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him” (Mt 25:31). They belong to Him because they were created through and for Him: “for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him,” (Col 1:16). They belong to Him still more because He has made them messengers of His saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” (Heb 1:14).
Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan.”...Catechism of the Catholic Church #328-332
PRAYER – God of all Wisdom, You direct the ministry of angels and of human beings. Grant that the angels who always minister to You in heaven may defend us during our life on earth and protect us from evil. Grant this, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 29 September – The Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
Prayer to St Michael
St Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our defense against the wickedness
and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray
and do thou o’ prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl throughout the world,
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
Prayer to St Gabriel
O God, who from among all Your angels
chose the Archangel Gabriel
to announce the mystery of the Incarnation,
mercifully grant that we who solemnly
remember him on earth,
may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven,
with Jesus who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen
Prayer to the Archangel Raphael
Glorious Archangel St Raphael,
great prince of the heavenly court,
you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace.
You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air,
consoler of the afflicted and refuge of sinners.
I beg you, assist me in all my needs
and in all the sufferings of this life,
as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels.
Because you are the “medicine of God”,
I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul
and the ills that afflict my body.
I especially ask of you the great grace of purity
to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 29 September – Blessed Luigi Monza (1898 – 1954) Priest, Founder of the Secular Institute of the Little Apostles of Charity, devotee of Eucharistic Adoration, Apostle of Charity – born on 22 June 1898 in Cislago, Varese, Italy and died on 29 September 1954 in Lecco, Italy of a heart attack. Patronage – the Little Apostles of Charity.
Father Luigi was born on 22 June 1898 in Cislago between Varese and Milan. The child appeared very frail and was baptised immediately. Fortunately his health slowly improved and over the years he grew stronger. In May 1913 a serious accident radically changed the life of the Monza family, his father Giuseppe fell from a tree and became paralyzed. He confided to his parish priest, Fr Luigi Vismara, that he had long felt the desire to consecrate himself to the Lord in the priesthood.
In September 1913, thanks to the help of his parish priest, Luigi left for the Salesian Missionary Institute of Penango Monferrato near Asti. On returning home for the summer holidays after the school year 1915/16 he found the family situation deteriorated. In fact, his father was completely disabled and forced to bed and Pietro, the eldest son, had been called to fight on the eastern front. Luigi decided not to leave the weight of the family only on the shoulders of his mother, as sister Giuseppina had entered the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea.
Fr Vismara came to his aid again and managed to get him into the Collegio Villoresi of Monza. When everything seemed resolved, on 16 January 1917, he lost his father and was later called in the army. When he was discharged, he resumed his studies. Cardinal Tosi ordained him a priest on 19 September 1925. He was assigned to the parish church of St Maurizio in Vedano Olona, in the province of Varese.
Fr Monza immediately became part of the parish life. His method was based on personal witness as a direct form of evangelisation, on the exercise of charity, on the formation of a community capable of living in loving relationship with each other. He founded a school for the teaching of French, to allow migrants, almost all headed to France or Switzerland, to learn the basics of the language with which they could communicate in the new country. The most successful activity was the sport of the “Viribus unitis” soccer team. In May of 1926 the fascists formed the Vedanese Sports Union, with the evident intention to oppose the “team of priests”. They preceded to provoke unrest and triggered a series of violent attacks that, despite the mediation of Fr Luigi, culminated in the arrest of eight young men of the oratory. Even Fr Luigi was arrested along with Fr De Maddalena and despite the intervention of the Curia had to spend four long months before the two were released. After his release, the diocese decided to temporarily transfer the young priest to the parish of St Mary of the Rosary in Milan and then assign him to the Shrine of Our Lady of Miracles in Saronno, where he arrived in November 1928. It was in this family environment that Luigi formed the first oratorian nucleus, initially constituted by no more than thirty boys. In a short time he constituted a choir and his house became a classroom to study and a room for singing and recreation.
On 30 October 1936, Fr Luigi took part in the first official meeting that began the institute that from that day took the name “La Nostra Famiglia”. So he got busy buying a house and, with great personal sacrifice, he managed to buy a land located in Vedano Olona on which the first stone was laid on 29 August 1937.
In the meantime he was appointed parish priest of the church of San Giovanni alla Castagna di Lecco, a suburb of the city. Within a few months he managed to win the sympathy of the parishioners by being loved and appreciated for his human and spiritual gifts. At the centre of the parish life he placed Eucharistic adoration that he practised assiduously and with which he “infected” his parishioners. And from the many testimonies that have remained of the period of Lecco, it is clear that in the ministry of Don Luigi the preaching, characterised by great simplicity, was also of great importance. With the arrival of Fr Monza to St John the Catholic association, already present in the parish, had new stimuli and new vigour; in fact he dedicated himself with great care to the development of all Catholic organisations.
After the World War II, true peace was still far away. In Vedano the displaced returned to their countries and the house of La Nostra Famiglia remained available for new initiatives. In January 1946 Professor Giuseppe Vercelli, director of the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute of Milan, proposed to Clara Cucchi to take care of the re-education of abnormal psychic children. This activity, which was well inserted in the spirit of the Institute, was extremely challenging and risky for the small community, composed of girls who were free of pedagogical medical knowledge. But Don Luigi and Clara let themselves be guided by events, perceiving in the Vercelli proposal a sign of God’s will.
In those years the heart problems of which Fr Monza suffered for some time were accentuated, aggravated by the loss of his mother on 17 April 1953. On 25 August 1954, when returning from the house of Varaz, Fr Luigi, began to suffer pain that within a few hours increased. The doctor had him hospitalised for he had suffered a serious heart attack. His condition deteriorated and on the morning of 29 September 1954, he received the Viaticum and died by saying, “My Jesus, mercy … “….Vatican.va (translated).
Blessed Luigi was beatified in Milan on 30 April 2006.
Bl Alericus
St Anno of Eichstätt
St Casdoe of Persia
St Catholdus of Eichstätt
Bl Charles of Blois
St Dadas of Persia
St Diethardus of Eichstätt
St Fraternus of Auxerre
St Gabdelas of Persia
St Grimoaldus of Pontecorvo
St Gudelia
St Guillermo Courtet
Bl John de Montmirail
Bl John of Ghent
St Lazaro of Kyoto
St Liutwin of Trier
Bl Luigi Monza (1898 – 1954)
St Miguel de Aozaraza
St Quiriacus of Palestine
St Rene Goupil
St Rhipsime
Bl Richard Rolle
St Sapor of Persia
St Theodota of Thrace
St Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz
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Martyrs of Thrace – 3 saints: Three Christian men murdered in Thrace for their faith. They are – Eutychius, Heracleas and Plautus.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antonio Arribas Hortigüela
• Blessed Antonio Martínez López
• Blessed Dario Hernández Morató
• Blessed Francesc de Paula Castelló Aleu
• Blessed Francisco Edreira Mosquera
• Blessed José Villanova Tormo
• Blessed Pau Bori Puig
• Blessed Vicente Sales Genovés
• Blessed Virgilio Edreira Mosquera
Open House… Conversations with …
St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
On The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”, we learn a little from St Louis.
How do I find the Grace of God?
TO FIND THE GRACE OF GOD, WE MUST DISCOVER MARY (Excerpt from The Secret of Mary by St Louis Marie de Montfort)
The difficulty, then, is how to arrive at the true knowledge of the most holy Virgin and so find grace in abundance through her. God, as the absolute Master, can give directly Hhat he ordinarily dispenses only through Mary and it would be rash to deny that He sometimes does so. However, St Thomas assures us that, following the order established by His divine Wisdom, God ordinarily imparts His graces to men through Mary . Therefore, if we wish to go to Him, seeking union with Him, we must use the same means which He used in coming down from heaven to assume our human nature and to impart His graces to us. That means was a complete dependence on Mary His Mother, which is true devotion to her.
28. Chosen soul, this devotion consists in surrendering oneself in the manner of a slave to Mary and to Jesus through her and then performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary, through Mary and for Mary. Let me explain this statement further.
29. We should choose a special feast day on which to give ourselves. Then, willingly and lovingly and under no constraint, we consecrate and sacrifice to her unreservedly our body and soul. We give to her our material possessions, such as house, family, income, and even the inner possessions of our soul, namely, our merits, graces, virtues and atonements. Notice that in this devotion we sacrifice to Jesus through Mary all that is most dear to us, that is, the right to dispose of ourselves, of the value of our prayers and alms, of our acts of self- denial and atonements. This is a sacrifice which no religious order would require of its members. We leave everything to the free disposal of our Lady, for her to use as she wills for the greater glory of God, of which she alone is perfectly aware.
30. We leave to her the right to dispose of all the satisfactory and prayer value of our good deeds, so that, after having done so and without going so far as making a vow, we cease to be master over any good we do. Our Lady may use our good deeds either to bring relief or deliverance to a soul in purgatory, or perhaps to bring a change of heart to a poor sinner.
31. By this devotion we place our merits in the hands of our Lady but only that she may preserve, increase and embellish them, since merit for increase of grace and glory cannot be handed over to any other person. But we give to her all our prayers and good works, inasmuch as they have intercessory and atonement value, for her to distribute and apply to whom she pleases. If, after having thus consecrated ourselves to our Lady, we wish to help a soul in purgatory, rescue a sinner, or assist a friend by a prayer, an alms, an act of self-denial or an act of self-sacrifice, we must humbly request it of our Lady, abiding always by her decision, which of course remains unknown to us. We can be fully convinced that the value of our actions, being dispensed by that same hand which God himself uses to distribute His gifts and graces to us, cannot fail to be applied for His greatest glory.
Act of Consecration to Mary By St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
I, N…., a faithless sinner- renew and ratify today in thy hands, Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works, and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future, leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen
“One cannot contemplate Mary without being attracted by Christ and one cannot look at Christ without immediately perceiving the presence of Mary.”
Pope Benedict XVI
“Those who would receive Christ and bring Him forth must become like her . . . her soul was virginal, so well cut loose from everything of earth, so humble before God, that He could wholly fill her.”
Thought for the Day – 28 September – The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”
The subject of this article lived in a time of great saints, great Spanish saints, so it is not surprising that he is little known. St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) who founded the Jesuits and wrote the Spiritual Exercises, St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) who reformed the Carmelites and wrote The Interior Castle and St John of the Cross who wrote The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night of the Soul (1542-1591), all lived during the lifetime of St Simon de Rojas. While they focused on the spiritual formation of souls, St Simon focused on organising the laity to play a more active role in performing the corporal works of mercy.
In the year 1552 there was a Catholic couple deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Constanza and Gregorio. They lived in Valladolid about 100 miles north of Avila in the kingdom of Castile. On 28 October 1552, they welcomed their son, Simon de Rojas, into the world and had him baptised.
The boy, a slow learner, also had a speech impediment but at the age of only 14 months he spoke his first two words. Not surprisingly they were “Ave Maria.” Eventually this boy would become a priest and become known as “Fr Ave Maria” because he repeated those words so frequently throughout the day.
His studies and activities revolved around Mary, the Mother of God. He frequently visited Marian shrines, making his life’s goal to imitate her virtues and to sing her praises and to contemplate the Virgin’s mysterious relationship with the Triune God.
While at the University of Salamanca, about 60 miles southwest of Valladolid, he studied the life of Mary and her cooperation with the Blessed Trinity in order to save humanity through her beloved Son.
Like many saints who lived before him and after him, Simon realised the important role that Mary played and continues to play in salvation history. He, like Pope St John Paul II (1920-2005), held up the motto, Totus Tuus, as a model for giving oneself totally to Mary for the greater glory of God. Only then could a person be intimately close to Christ and through Him be close to God the Holy Spirit and God the Father.
Nearly 100 years before the time of St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), Simon taught that for anyone to be surrendered to God, he must first become a slave of Mary. Hence, on 14 April 1612, he founded the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary. Their mission was to praise the Blessed Virgin Mary by their service to the poor.
Centuries before the Second Vatican Council encouraged the participation of the laity in the work of the Church, this congregation was for the laity. Any person regardless of wealth, education, or social standing was welcome to join the congregation. Persons from all walks of life joined in this work, including the king and his children who consecrated themselves to serving the poor.
To assist the members of the congregation in their spiritual formation, he wrote The Greatness of Prayer. Being a great contemplative, he deeply yearned to have others join this dimension of the spiritual life which is the foundation of any works of mercy. Such works of the congregation included helping the poor, ransoming captive, and nursing the sick. In short, the members were dedicated to assisting any marginalised members of society and thereby bringing them closer to Christ by being channels of His grace.
Dear St Simon de Rojas, help us by your intercession to obtain the divine graces of Marian contemplation. May we imitate her love, prayer, and devotion to the Blessed and Holy Trinity. By the merits of these graces may we also love our neighbour, especially the most destitute by not only giving alms but also giving our love, sharing our faith and lifting them up. Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 28 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 9:18-22 – Friday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”
And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”...Luke 9:20
REFLECTION – “In fact, there are two ways of “seeing” and “knowing” Jesus one – that of the crowd – is more superficial, the other – that of the disciples – more penetrating and genuine. With His twofold question: “What do the people say?” and “who do you say that I am?”, Jesus invited the disciples to become aware of this different perspective. The people thought that Jesus was a prophet. This was not wrong but it does not suffice, it is inadequate. In fact, it was a matter of delving deep, of recognising the uniqueness of the person of Jesus of Nazareth and His newness. This is how it still is today, many people draw near to Jesus, as it were, from the outside….Let us make Peter’s answer our own…..
Today too, as in Jesus’ day, it does not suffice to possess the proper confession of faith – it is always necessary to learn anew from the Lord the actual way in which He is Saviour and the path on which we must follow Him. Indeed, we have to recognise that even for believers, the Cross is always hard to accept.”…Pope Benedict XVI – 29 June 2007
PRAYER – Lord God, You hold out the Light of Your Word to those who do not know You. Strengthen in our hearts, the faith You have given us and the Credo we profess, so that no trials may quench the fire Your Spirit has kindled in us. May the intercession of St Simon de Rojas, grant us the grace of following the way of the Cross, to stand beneath it with our Mother, the Mother of God, Ave Maria! We make our prayer through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 28 September – The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”
The Hail Mary/Ave Maria
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Áve María, grátia pléna,
Dóminus técum.
Benedícta tū in muliéribus,
et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus.
Sáncta María, Máter Déi,
óra pro nóbis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae. Ámen.
Our petitionary payer to the Holy Mother of God, was commonly added to the prayers of the Church, around the time of the Council of Trent. The Dutch Jesuit, St Petrus Canisius (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church, is credited with adding in 1555 in his Catechism the sentence:
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death,
amen.
Eleven years later, the sentence was included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566. The “Catechism of the Council of Trent” says that to the first part of the Hail Mary, by which “we render to God the highest praise and return Him most gracious thanks, because He has bestowed all His heavenly gifts on the most holy Virgin … the Church of God has wisely added prayers and an invocation addressed to the most holy Mother of God … we should earnestly implore her help and assistance, for that she possesses exalted merits with God and that she is most desirous to assist us by her prayers, no one can doubt without impiety and wickedness.”
The Hail Mary is the central part of the Angelus, a devotion generally recited thrice daily by Catholics, at 06.00, 12.00 and 18.00.
On account of its connection with the Angelus, the Ave Maria was often inscribed on bells.
The Hail Mary is the essential element of the Rosary, of course, for those followers who are not yet Catholics:
The Rosary consists traditionally of three sets of five Mysteries, each mystery consisting of one “decade” or ten Ave Marias. The 150 Ave Marias of the Rosary thus echo the 150 psalms. These meditate upon events of Jesus’ life during his childhood (Joyful Mysteries), Passion (Sorrowful Mysteries), and from his Resurrection onwards (Glorious Mysteries). Another set, the Luminous Mysteries, is of comparatively recent origin, having been proposed by St Pope John Paul II in 2002.
Each of these Mysteries is prayed as a decade (a unit of ten), consisting of one Our Father (Pater Noster or The Lord’s Prayer), ten Hail Marys, and one ‘Glory Be’ (Gloria Patri) (Doxology) and the Fatima Prayer “O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”
The restatement of the prayers locks one into fixed language, having the effect of freeing the conscious mind so that the recitation may come more from the heart and not the head.
Pope Paul V (1550-1621) said that “the Rosary is a treasure of graces … Even for those souls who pray without meditating, the simple act of taking the beads in hand to pray is already a remembrance of God – of the supernatural”.
Saint of the Day – 28 September – St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) “Father Ave Maria”/ “Apostle of the Ave Maria”, Religious Priest of the Trinitarian Order, Founder of the Lay Apostolate of the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary, Marian Devotee, Theologian, Philosopher, Spiritual Writer, Apostle of Charity, Apostolic Visitor – born on 28 October 1552 in Valladolid, Spain and died on 28 September 1624 in Madrid, Spain of natural causes. He was Beatified on 19 March 1766 by Pope Clement XIII and Canonised on 3 July 1988 by St Pope John Paul II.
Father SIMON DE ROJAS of the Trinitarian Order was born at Valladolid, Castilla, Spain, 28 October, 1552. At twelve years of age, he entered the Trinitarian monastery of the city where he was born and there made his religious profession on 28 October 1572. He studied at the University of Salamanca from 1573 to 1579 and was ordained a priest in 1577. Thereafter, he taught philosophy and theology at Toledo from 1581 to 1587 and from 1588 until his death he fulfilled with much prudence the office of superior in various monasteries of his province and was sent as apostolic visitor twice to his own province of Castilla and once to that of Andalusia.
On 14 April 1612 he founded the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary and in 1619 he was named tutor to the royal princes of Spain and in 1621 he was elected Provincial of Castilla and the following year he was chosen confessor of Queen Isabel of Borbon.
His Canonisation during this Marian year (1988), worthily rewards him for his tender devotion to Mary. He has been a compared to St Bernard of Clairvaux and to St Ildefonso of Toledo, for this immense understanding and devotion of the role of the Blessed Virgin Mother.
It was his mother, the virtuous Constanza, who instilled and helped grow in the soul of Simon the love of Mary. The veneration that she and her husband Gregorio constantly gave to Mary, makes it easily understandable why the first words that Simon, who had been a slow learner and stuttered, said at the age of fourteen months, were “Ave, Maria”. He was only repeating the prayer so frequently recited by his parents.
His greatest joy was to visit Marian shrines, to pray to Mary and with Mary, to imitate her virtues, to sing her praises, to acknowledge her importance in the mystery of God and of the Church. Through profound theological studies, he came to understand even better the mission of Mary in cooperation with the Trinity for the salvation of the human race and the sanctification of the Church. He lived his religious vows in the imitation of Mary. He held that, for everyone to be completely of God, as Mary had been, it was necessary to become her slaves, or better, slaves of God in Mary; for this reason he established the Congregation of the Slaves of Mary for the greater glory of the Trinity, in praise of the Virgin, in the service of the poor. For him, to be a slave of Mary meant belonging totally to her: “Totus tuus” in order to unite oneself more intimately to Christ and in Him through the Spirit, to the Father.
The Congregation founded by him was intended for the laity, persons of every social class could join. The members, who included the King and his children, dedicated themselves to honour Mary by giving maternal help to her favourite children – the poor. This work still continues in Spain. Fr Simon, who is held to be one of the greatest contemplatives of his time and who in his work, “The Greatness of Prayer” is clearly a great instructor of prayerful souls, wanted the contemplative dimension joined to the active through works of mercy.
Faithful to the Trinitarian charism, he promoted the ransom of captives, he helped relieve the many needs of the poor, he consoled the sick, the destitute and the left-out of every kind. He accepted duties at the Court, only on the condition that he be able to continue his work with the poor, whom he helped in a thousand ways, always with a smile on his face and at any hour of the day or night.
The expressions of his love of Mary are manifold. The painters who depicted him, put the greeting “Ave Maria” on his lips, words he uttered so frequently that he was familiarly called: “Father Ave Maria”.
He had thousands of images of the Most Holy Virgin printed with the inscription: “Ave Maria”, which he also sent abroad. He had rosaries made with seventy-two blue beads on a white cord, symbols of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception and also a reminder that Mary, according to the belief of the time, lived to the age of 72 years. He sent these rosaries everywhere, even to England. Using his influence at Court, he had the angelic greeting so dear to him, “Ave Maria”, engraved in letters of gold on the facade of the royal palace in Madrid. On June 5th, 1622, he petitioned the Holy See for the approval of his liturgical text composed in honour of the Sweet Name of Mary, which later, Pope Innocent XI extended to the universal Church.
After his death on 29 September 1624, the honours bestowed on him at his funeral, took on the aspect of an anticipated canonisation. For twelve days, the most re-known preachers of Madrid exalted his virtues and his holiness. Impressed with this unanimous veneration, on 8 October shortly after Fr Simon’s death, the Papal Nuncio ordered the beginning of the process leading to his glorification by the Church. His heroic virtues were recognised by PopeClement XII on 25 March 1735 and he was beatified on 19 March 1766. And today, 3 July, 1988, just before the close of the Marian Year, Pope John Paul II, enters the name of this great servant of Mary and Father of the poor on the list of the Saints.”…Vatican.va
Msgr Charles Pope – My recitation of the old carol:
Bl Aaron of Auxerre
St Alodius of Auxerre
St Annemond of Lyons
St Bardomianus
Bl Bernardine of Feltre
St Chariton of Palestine
Bl Christian Franco
St Conval of Strathclyde
St Eucarpus
St Eustochium
St Exuperius of Toulouse
St Faustus of Riez
St John of Dukla
St Laurence of North Africa
St Lioba of Bischofsheim
St Machan
St Martial of North Africa
St Martin of Moyenmoutier
St Paternus of Auch
St Privatus of Rome
St Salonius of Geneva
St Silvinus of Brescia
St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624)
St Solomon of Genoa
St Stacteus
St Tetta of Wimborne
Bl Thiemo
St Willigod of Moyenmoutier
St Zama of Bologna
—
Augustinian Martyrs of Japan: The first Augustinian missionaries arrived in Japan in 1602 and met with immediate success; many were brought to the faith; many of them became Augustinians; and many of them were martyred in the periodic persecutions of Christians. This memorial commemorates all of them, whether they have a sanctioned Cause for Canonisation or not. They include:
• Blessed Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez
• Blessed Ferdinand Ayala
• Blessed Francisco Terrero de Ortega Pérez
• Blessed Ioannes Mukuno Chozaburo
• Blessed Laurentius Kaida Hachizo
• Blessed Mancius Yukimoto Ichizaemon
• Blessed Martín Lumbreras Peralta
• Blessed Melchor Sánchez Pérez
• Blessed Michaël Ichinose Sukezaemon
• Blessed Pedro de Zúñiga
• Blessed Petrus Sawaguchi Kuhyoe
• Blessed Thomas Jihyoe of Saint Augustine
• Blessed Thomas Terai Kahyoe
• Blessed Vicente Simões de Carvalho
• Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki
Martyrs of Antioch – 37 saints: A group of 30 soldiers and 7 civilians who were murdered together for their faith. The names that have come down to us are – Alexander, Alphinus, Heliodorus, Mark, Neon, Nicon and Zosumus. c 303 at Antioch, Pisidia (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of China – 120 saints: A common memorial for the hundreds of the faithful, lay and clergy, who have died for their faith in the last couple of centuries in China. They were Canonised on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Francesc Xavier Ponsa Casallach
• Blessed Josep Casas Juliá
• Blessed Josep Casas Ros
• Blessed Josep Tarrats Comaposada
• Blessed María Fenollosa Alcaina
• Blessed Santiago Mestre Iborra
Thought for the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)
From “Conferences to the Priests of the Mission”
by St Vincent de Paul (Conference 207).
It is not enough to love God if my neighbour does not love Him.
“Our vocation is to go and enflame the heart of men, to do what the Son of God did, He who brought fire into the world to set it alight with His love. What else can we wish for, than for it to burn and consume all things?
Thus it is true that I have been sent not only to love God but also to make men love Him.
It is not enough to love God if my neighbour does not love Him. I must love my neighbour as the image of God and the object of His love and do everything so that in their turn men love their Creator who knows and considers them as His brothers, whom He has saved, I must obtain that they love each other with mutual love, out of love for God who loved them to the point of abandoning to death His very Son. So that is my duty. Now, if it is true that we are called to bear God’s love near and far, if we must set nations alight, if our vocation is to go and spread this divine fire in the whole world, if it is so, my brothers, if it is really so, how must I myself burn of this divine fire!
How can we give love to others, if we do not have it among us? Let us look if it is so, not generally but if each one has it within himself, in due amount, because if love is not on fire in us, if we do not love each other as Jesus Christ loved us and if we do not act as He did, how can we hope to spread such love throughout the world? You cannot give what you do not have. The precise duty of charity consists in doing to others what you reasonably would like done to yourself. Do I really behave towards my neighbour as I wish he would towards me?
Let us look at the Son of God. Only our Lord can be so taken by love for creatures so much as to leave His Father’s throne and take a body subject to infirmity. And why? In order to establish among us, with His word and example, the love of our neighbours. This is the love that led Him to the Cross and accomplished the wonderful work of our redemption. If we had a little of such love, would we stay here with folded arms? Oh! no, love can not remain barren, it urges us to obtain salvation and relief for others.”
Prayer for Vocations By St Vincent de Paul
O Lord, send good workers to Your Church, but may they be good! Send good missionaries to work in Your vineyard, labourers, O my God, such as they ought to be: utterly detached from themselves, their own comfort, and worldly goods. Let them even be few in number, provided that they are good. O Lord, grant this grace to Your Church. Amen.
Our Morning Offering – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)
Let Thou Thyself O Lord, Be Thine Eternal Thanksgiving! By St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
O Saviour, Who gave us the law to love our neighbour as ourselves, Who practised it, in such a perfect fashion, towards men. Let Thou Thyself, O Lord, Be Thine eternal thanksgiving! O Saviour, how happy I am to be in the state of loving my neighbour! Grant me the grace to acknowledge my good fortune, to love this blessed state and to ensure that this virtue, may be revealed now, tomorrow and always. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 27 September – St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660) “Great Apostle of Trumpets”
Excerpt from the His Holiness Pope Francis’ Message to the Vincentian Family on the Fourth Centenary of the Charism – 27 September 2017
“Vincent was always on the move, ever open to the discovery of God and himself. Grace entered into this constant quest, in his priestly ministry, he encountered Jesus the Good Shepherd in a striking way in the poor. On one occasion in particular, he was deeply touched by meeting the gaze of a man pleading for mercy and by the faces of a destitute family. There he saw Jesus himself looking at him, unsettling his heart and asking him no longer to live for himself, but to serve him unreservedly in the poor. Vincent would later call the poor “our lords and masters”(Correspondance, entretiens, documents XI, 349). His life then became one of unflagging service, even to his dying breath. A verse from Scripture showed him the meaning of his mission: “The Lord has sent me to bring the Good News to the poor” (cf. Lk 4:18).
Burning with the desire to make Jesus known to the poor, Vincent devoted himself passionately to preaching, especially through popular missions and by careful attention to the training of priests. He quite naturally employed a “little method”, speaking first by his life and with great simplicity, in a familiar and straightforward way. The Spirit used him as the means for a great outpouring of generosity in the Church. Inspired by the early Christians who were “of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32), Saint Vincent founded the Confraternities of Charity, who cared for those in greatest need by living in communion and joyfully sharing their possessions, in the conviction that Jesus and the poor are the treasure of great price. As he loved to repeat, “When you visit the poor, you encounter Jesus.”
The “mustard seed” sown in 1617 grew into the Congregation of the Mission and the Company of the Daughters of Charity, then branched out into other institutes and associations and became a great tree (cf. Mk 4:31-32) which is the Vincentian Family. Everything, however, began with that mustard seed. Saint Vincent never wanted to be in the forefront but only a “seedling”. He was convinced that humility, gentleness and simplicity are essential for embodying the law of the seed that by dying gives life (cf. Jn 12:20-26). This law alone makes the Christian life bear fruit, for it teaches us that in giving we receive, by losing our lives we gain them and in hiddenness our light is best seen. Vincent was also convinced that this can only come about in union with others, as a Church and as the People of God. Here I cannot fail to mention his prophetic insight in recognising and appreciating the remarkable abilities of women, which flowered in Saint Louise de Marillac’s spiritual sensitivity and human understanding.
Jesus says, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40). At the heart of the Vincentian Family is the effort to seek out “those who are poorest and most abandoned”, together with a profound awareness of being “unworthy of rendering them our little services” (Correspondance, entretiens, documents XI, 392). I pray that this year of thanksgiving to the Lord and of growth in the experience of your charism will prove an opportunity to drink from the source and to find refreshment in the spirit of your origins. Never forget that those wellsprings of grace streamed from faithful hearts, rock solid in love, “lasting models of charity” (Deus caritas est, 40). You will be filled with that same primordial freshness only if you look to the rock from which it all flowed forth. That rock is Jesus in His poverty, who asks to be recognised in those who are poor and have no voice. That is where He is to be found. When you encounter human weakness and broken lives, you too must be rocks – not hard and brittle, impervious to suffering but rather a sure support, steadfast amid the tempest and unshaken by adversity, because you “look to the rock from which you were hewn, to the quarry from which you were taken” (Is 51:1). You are called to go forth to the peripheries of human existence to bring not your own gifts but the Spirit of the Lord, the “Father of the Poor”. He has sown you throughout the world like seeds that spring up in dry land, like a balm of consolation for the wounded, a fire of charity to warm hearts grown cold by indifference and hardened by rejection.
Saint Vincent embodied this in his own life and even now he continues to speak to each of us and to all of us as Church. His witness invites us to keep moving, ever ready to let ourselves be surprised by the Lord’s gaze and His Word. He asks of us lowliness of heart, complete availability and humble docility. He prompts us to live in fraternal communion among ourselves and to go forth courageously in mission to the world. He calls us to free ourselves from complicated language, self-absorbed rhetoric and attachment to material forms of security. These may seem satisfactory in the short term but they do not grant God’s peace, indeed, they are frequently obstacles to mission. Vincent encourages us to invest in the creativity of love with the authenticity of a “heart which sees” (cf. Deus caritas est, 31).
Charity, in fact, is not content with the good practices of the past but aims to transform the present. This is all the more necessary today, given the complexity and rapid evolution of our globalised society, where some forms of charity or assistance, albeit motivated by generous intentions, risk abetting forms of exploitation and delinquency, without producing tangible and lasting benefits. For this reason, Saint Vincent continues to teach us the importance of reflecting on our practice of charity, developing new ways of drawing near to those in need and investing our efforts in formation.
His example also encourages us to make time and space for the poor, for the new poor of our time, of which there are so many and to make their worries and troubles our own. A Christianity without contact with those who suffer becomes disembodied, incapable of touching the flesh of Christ.
I pray that the Church and each of you, may be granted the grace to discover the Lord Jesus in our brothers or sisters who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, lacking clothing and dignity, sick and imprisoned, as well as in those who are uncertain, ignorant, persisting in sin, sorrowing, offensive, irascible and annoying. May you find in the glorious wounds of Jesus the vigour of charity, the blessedness of the seed that dies to give life, and the fruitfulness of the rock flowing with water. May you also find the joy of leaving yourselves behind, in order to go forth into the world, free of nostalgia for the past, fully trusting in God, and creative in the face of every present and future challenge. For love, in the words of Saint Vincent, “is infinitely creative”.…Vatican.va
—
St Adheritus
St Adolphus of Cordoba
St Antonio de Torres
St Barrog the Hermit
St Bonfilius of Foligno
St Ceraunus of Paris
St Chiara of the Resurrection
St Delphine
St Deodatus of Sora
St Elzear
St Epicharis
St Fidentius of Todi
St Florentinus the Hermit
St Gaius of Milan
St Hilary the Hermit
St Hiltrude of Liessies
Bl Jean-Baptiste Laborie du Vivier
St John of Cordoba
St Marcellus of Saint Gall
St Terence of Todi
—
Martyrs of Aegea – (3 saints)
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Crescencia Valls Espí
• Blessed Herminia Martínez Amigó de Martínez
• Blessed José Fenollosa Alcaina
• Blessed Maria Carme Fradera Ferragutcasas
• Blessed Maria Magdalena Fradera Ferragutcasas
• Blessed Maria Rosa Fradera Ferragutcasas
St Cosmas (Optional Memorial)
St Damian (Optional Memorial)
—
St Amantius of Tiphernum
St Callistratus of Constantinople
St Colman of Elo
St Cyprian of Antioch
St Eusebius of Bologna
St John of Meda
St Justina of Antioch
Bl Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923)
St Marie Victoire Therese Couderc
St Meugant
St Nilus the Younger
Bl Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
About Blessed Pope Paul and his Papacy: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/26/saint-of-the-day-26-september-blessed-pope-paul-vi-1897-1978/
St Senator of Albano
St Vigilius of Brescia
—
Martyrs of Korea – 12 saints: Twelve lay people in the apostolic vicariate of Korea who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred together in the persecutions in Korea.
• Saint Agatha Chon Kyong-Hyob
• Saint Carolus Cho Shin-Ch’ol
• Saint Catharina Yi
• Saint Columba Kim Hyo-Im
• Saint Ignatius Kim Che-Jun
• Saint Iulitta Kim
• Saint Lucia Kim
• Saint Magdalena Cho
• Saint Magdalena Ho Kye-Im
• Saint Magdalena Pak Pong-Son
• Saint Perpetua Hong Kum-Ju
• Saint Sebastianus Nam I-Gwan
They were beheaded September 1839 in Seoul Prison, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Amalia Abad Casasempere de Maestre
• Blessed Andreu Felíu Bartomeu
• Blessed Antonio Cid Rodríguez
• Blessed Josefa Romero Clariana
• Blessed Manuel Legua Martí
• Blessed María Jord´ Botella
• Blessed Pau Castell´ Barber´
• Blessed Teresa Rosat Balasch
Thought for the Day – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (18 41-1923
Blessed Louis Tezza’s message can be readily understood in the light of the gospel. Jesus had a special concern for the sick, and furthermore he identified personally with his suffering brothers: “I was sick and you visited me. In so far as you this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Mt.25.40)
Blessed Louis was chosen by God not only to live this charism of mercy for the sick but to spread it through the founding of the Institute of the Daughters of S. Camillus, an institute dedicated to care for human life from the moment of conception to natural death. He showed every Christian how to act in the face of suffering – to care and alleviate and especially to value it for one’s own sanctification and the redemption of others.
Fr Louis encourages us to believe in and operate in accordance with God’s plan for each one of us. The cornerstone of his existence was obedience to God . He was constantly seeking the will of God and striving to carry it out in his life. He could see God’s plan in the signs of the times, the ordinary events of life, in the decisions of his superiors and he was convinced that these had to be followed no matter what the cost in personal sacrifice.
He leaves each one of us today with this personal challenge, in the hope that we will make it our own:
“God’s invitation to become saints is for all, not just a few. Sanctity therefore must be accessible to all. In what does it consist? In a lot of activity? No. In doing extraordinary things? No, this could not be for everybody and at all times. Therefore, sanctity consists in doing good, and in doing this “good” in whatever condition and place God has placed us. Nothing more, nothing outside of this”.
“Blessed Luigi Tezza, glorious example of a life totally dedicated to the exercise of charity and mercy towards those who suffer in body and spirit. For them he founded the Institute of the Daughters of St Camillus, whom he taught to practice an absolute confidence in the Lord. “The will of God! Behold my only guide”, he exclaimed, “the only goal of my desires, for which I wish to sacrifice everything”. In his confident abandonment to the will of God, he took as his model the Blessed Virgin Mary, tenderly loved and contemplated particularly in the moment of the “fiat” and in her silent presence at the foot of the Cross.”… (St Pope John Paul at the Beatification of Blessed Louis) Vatican.va
Quote/s of the Day – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923) and Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
“God’s invitation to become saints is for all, not just a few. Sanctity, therefore, must be accessible to all. In what does it consist? In a lot of activity? No. In doing extraordinary things? No, this could not be for everybody and at all times. Therefore, sanctity consists in doing good and in doing this “good” in whatever condition and place God has placed us. Nothing more, nothing outside of this”
Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923)
“No matter where you are or where you may be working, make sure the world, will be renewed, upon contact with you.”
“Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.”
“Every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the promised land. She prepares a world she will not see.”
“If you want peace, work for justice.”
“… The Blessed Sacrament, which is in the tabernacle, is the living heart of each of our churches.”
“Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, God with us, day and night, He is in our midst. He dwells with us full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtue, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak.”
“Every theological explanation… must firmly maintain that in objective reality, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the consecration, so that the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus from that moment on, are really before us. under the sacramental species of bread and wine”.
“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace, continues uninterruptedly, from the consent, which she loyally gave, at the Annunciation and which she sustained, without wavering beneath the Cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect.
Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession, continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth, surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home.
Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress and Mediatrix. This, however, is so understood, that it neither takes away anything from, nor adds anything to, the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator.”
One Minute Reflection – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923) and Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
…and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal....Luke 9:2
REFLECTION – “This is the mission of the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. Indeed it is Baptism that makes us missionaries. A baptised person who does not feel the need to proclaim the Gospel, to proclaim Jesus, is not a good Christian.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 15 July 2018.
PRAYER – O God of love, You sent Your beloved Son to the world to proclaim the Good News of Salvation, to heal every illness and to cure all infirmity of body and soul. Help us to continue the mission of the merciful Christ in the service towards our neighbour, preaching the Gospel and offering our help in whatever way we can. May the example of charity of Blessed Louis Tezza and Blessed Pope Paul VI, teach us how to love and serve You especially in those who suffer. Through their intercession,grant us the grace to go forth in love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) and Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923)
Make Us Worthy, Lord By Blessed Pope Paul VI
Make us worthy, Lord,
to serve our fellow-men
throughout the world
who live and die
in poverty and hunger.
Give them through our hands,
this day, their daily bread,
and by our understanding love,
give peace and joy.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 26 September – Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923) the “Apostle of Lima”. Blessed Louis was an Italian priest, a professed member of the Camillians and Founder of the Daughters of St Camillus de Lellis M.I. (1550-1614), Apostle of Charity, Spiritual Director, Counsellor, Administrator, Teacher, Reformer, Advisor and is known as the Apostle of Lima. He was ordained in 1864 and went on to serve the sick and the poor in Peru. Tezza’s new religious congregation was established with the sole aim of sick relief who followed the Rule of the Camillian order as a branch of it. Patronage – Daughters of St Camillus. He was Beatified on 4 November 2001 by St Pope John Paul II.
Birth and youth
Fr Louis Tezza was born in Conegliano (TV) on 1st November 1841, the only son of Augustine Tezza and Cathetine Nedwiedt. His father, who was a medical doctor, died when Louis was nine and his mother decided to move to Padova, where Louis continued his studies. At the age of fifteen he entered the Camillian Order (Ministers of the Sick of St Camillus de Lellis). Having entrusted her son to the Camillian noviciate and being certain of the authenticity of his vocation, she herself entered the convent of the Visitation where she was renowned as an exceptional woman and religious sister.
After his ordination Louis was entrusted with the formation of the young religious. Four years later he was presented with an opportunity of fulfilling a long standing desire by becoming a missionary to Africa but obedience decreed that he obey his legitimate superiors who were not in favour of the venture. Instead of Africa, he was transferred to Rome as novice master.
In 1871 Fr Louis was sent to the new foundation in France as novice master, where he would later become the first provincial. Through his dedication and zeal he succeeded in establishing the common life within the community, while at the same time setting up specific Camillian social facilities in the local areas for the spiritual and corporal benefit of the sick. With the suppression of the religious institutes in 1880 he was expelled from France, as he was seen as a foreigner. However, he secretly returned and managed to unite the religious who were scattered here and there throughout the country. Thus he not alone resisted the suppression but he was responsible for laying the foundations for the development that would later follow.
He was elected Procurator and Vicar General of the Camillians in 1891 and on his return to Rome he providentially met Josephine Vannini (beatified on 16 October 1994). He had for some time cherished in his heart the desire to establish a group of consecrated women who would serve the sick in accordance with the spirit and charism of St Camillus de Lellis. Thus on the 2 February 1892, the Congregation of the Daughters of St Camillus was born, enriching the Camillian charism with the feminine characteristics of tenderness, hospitality, intuition and attentive listening. These were the very gifts which Camillus sought in his religious when they assisted the sick. The Institute was approved by the Holy See in 1931 and has experienced a rapid growth and expansion.
The Apostle of Lima
Just when it appeared that Fr Louis’ activity was drawing to a close, another very important chapter was about to be written. At the age of 59 he was sent to Peru as Official Visitor, with the brief of reforming the Camillian community of Lima, which for over a century had been separated from the Order and now risked being suppressed. This task was seen as involving a short stay in Lima but when the time to return to Rome came both the Archbishop and the Apostolic Nuncio considered his presence indispensable, defining him as “as a man inspired by God and providential for Lima”. He accepted their request, sanctioned by his superiors, as the will of God and entrusted all to Providence. Thus he remained in Lima for 23 years, until his death.
During this time he was to enrich his surroundings with his great charity and love of God, expressed through the exercise of an intense apostolic activity. Besides his work in re-establishing the regular life in the religious communities, he dedicated himself to the needs of the sick, especially those who were poor, in their homes, in the hospitals and in the prisons. He was confessor and spiritual director to the archdiocesan seminary and various religious Congregations. He was sought as a counsellor both in the Nunciature and in Archbishop’s House. He successfully helped another founder, the servant of God Teresa Candamo, overcome her initial difficulties with her new Institute.
His discreet work and intelligent and deep love, coupled with his loving and authoritative character, led to his being regarded as the “saint of Lima”. Here F. Louis died on 23 September 1923. An unknown visitor carved the words “Apostle of Lima” on his tomb.
He was described by the Cardinal Lauri as “the holiest priest in the diocese of Lima” and on his death the faithful distributed a remembrance card which highlights the main traits of his sanctity:
“he was sought after as a father and venerated as a saint – he is no longer with us but he continues to teach us from the tomb; his presence and comportment was angelic; his word was that that of a minister of the gospel; his heart a repository of noble affection; his mission was always salvific.
He passed among us as a heavenly vision, ever good and humble, always charitable. Faith was the basis of all his work while goodness enveloped him like a mantle and tiara”
His mortal remains are to be found in the Generalate of the Daughters of St Camillus on the Via Anagnina in Grottaferrata (Rome)….Vatican.va
Thought for the Day – 25 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 8:19-21 and The Memorial of St Vincent Strambi C.P. (1745-1824)
Leo XII, who succeeded Pius VII, was a warm admirer of Vincent. When he received his request to be allowed to retire from the dioceses of Macerata and Tolentino, he seems to have regarded it as an opportunity to take him to Rome and have him always by his side. This, of course, was not at all what Vincent had been hoping and praying for. What he wanted was to hide himself in some obscure Passionist monastery and there prepare himself for death. Instead he was to have apartments at the Quirinal and be almost on every day parade as the Pope’s confidant. However, he took this destruction of all his cherished hopes with a surprising calmness. He apparently had some sort of inward assurance that since his death was not far off it did not matter much after all. To a friend who was condoling with him on his disappointment, he said enigmatically: ‘Oh, it will turn out all right. St Sylvester will see to it.’ And to another friend he said joyfully ‘You will see I shall be only forty days at the Quirinal and then it will be SS. John and Paul’s!’ Subsequent events solved the enigma and explained his joy.
Leo XII was scarcely three months Pope when all the ailments of a shattered constitution assailed him with fury and threatened to cut short a reign that was more than promising great things for the Church. Towards the end of December, 1823, he was considered past all hope of recovery. Vincent visited him one evening during those days and found him so ill that he remained only a short time. On returning to his own apartments, he ordered his evening meal to be prepared a little earlier than usual. He said he would have to rise very hurriedly that night and wished to get some sleep. In fact, at midnight the Pope was taken so bad that it was thought advisable to give him the Last Sacraments. When told how serious his condition was the Pope asked for Vincent to be called. Vincent then administered Extreme Unction and the Viaticum. Afterwards, as he was speaking to the Pope about spiritual things and exhorting him to great confidence in God, his face suddenly took on a particularly joyous aspect. ‘Holy Father, he said with conviction, ‘someone is going to offer his life for you and I shall go now and say Mass for your recovery.’
All who assisted at that Mass of Vincent later on testified to the extraordinary fervour with which he said it. When it was over he enquired how the Pope was and on being told that he was much better, he said in accents of great joy:
‘Our Lady has accepted the sacrifice and the grace has been granted.”
The Pope recovered but Vincent had a stroke on the feast of St Sylvester and died on the following day, 1 January 1824. Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, in his ‘Recollections of the Last Four Popes, tells how everyone believed that Leo XII owed his life to Vincent. ‘All Rome, he says, ‘attributed the unexpected recovery to the prayers of a saintly Bishop, who was sent for at the Pope’s request. This was Monsignor Strambi, of the Congregation of the Passion. He came immediately, saw the Pope, and assured him of his recovery, as he had offered up to heaven his own valueless life in exchange for one so precious. It did indeed seem as if he had transfused his own vitality into the Pope’s languid frame. He himself died soon after and the Pontiff rose like one from the tomb.’
The circumstances of Vincent’s death called wider attention to his great sanctity. His body, extraordinarily flexible and life-like, lay in state in one of the halls of the Quirinal for three days and in the Basilica of SS. John and Paul for five days. During that time there was a ceaseless stream of people filing past it, many of whom surreptitiously cut off bits of the Passionist habit in which he was clothed. One of the many important ecclesiastics who came to honour Vincent in death was Abbot Cappellari, who was to become Pope Gregory XVI. Noting the uncorpse-like appearance of the body he tried an experiment. He took Vincent’s right hand in his own and with it formed with the greatest of ease the sign of the cross.
Vincent’s funeral was attended by all the members of the Papal Court and the Roman nobility as well as by a vast number of priests, religious and people. Having been, as he had prophesied, forty days at the Quirinal, he was laid to rest in SS. John and Paul’s beside St Paul of the Cross.
In the bulky volumes that have been written on the profane history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we find little or no mention of this hero of sanctity. The scales of value of historians failed to register one who was neither a soldier, nor a savant, nor a scientist. Yet, if the standards of the soul are higher than those of the body; St Vincent Strambi accomplished something that weighed down heavily the scales of Divine value-something that merits an eternal remembrance – he lived a life of virtue and selfdenial for God’s sake and he saved innumerable souls. (SAINT VINCENT STRAMBI, C.P. 1745-1824 – OSMUND THORPE, C. P.)
Quote of the Day – 25 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 8:19-21 and The Memorial of St Vincent Strambi C.P. (1745-1824)
“… how can anyone put on Jesus Christ and imitate His example, if he does not study this Jesus, who must inspire and perfect our faith? He must run the race to which he is challenged, the glorious race in which, he overcomes the enemy of the human family and follows the way of the cross. Under the lordly banner of that cross, he will attain eternal life.” (from his first Pastoral Letter as Bishop)
“I would sacrifice everything, sooner than disobey the orders, of the Vicar of Jesus Christ.” (Said by St Vincent when all Bishops in the provinces annexed to France in 1808 were threatened with exile and the confiscation of their property if they refused to take the oath of allegiance to Napoleon. He was arrested.)
One Minute Reflection – 25 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 8:19-21 – Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Vincent Strambi C.P. (1745-1824)
But he said to them, “My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.”...Luke 8:21
REFLECTION – “Look upon the face of the Crucified, who invites you to follow Him. He will be a Father, Mother–everything to you.”….St Paul of the Cross C.P. (1694-1775)
PRAYER – Jesus, our Lord and our God, only You are the best Shepherd of Your Church and we, the sheep of Your flock, who follow You and hear and do Your Word. Support with grace those who are responsible for the fate of Your fold, so that following the example of St Vincent Maria Strambi, they devote all their powers and talents to service to the Church. In God, our Father we pray through You who live in union with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ages and ages. Amen
Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás, Argentina – 25 September:
An ordinary housewife, a mother and grandmother who had no formal education and no knowledge of the Bible or theology claimed that she was visited by the Blessed Mother daily for a period of over 6 years. She reportedly additionally received 68 messages from Jesus Christ. Numerous healings, including the cure of a boy with a brain tumour, have been documented.
Every 25 September, the city of San Nicolás hosts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and faithful who meet to venerate and honor the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of St Nicholas. In 2003, on the twentieth anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady, the second largest group ever congregated: 400,000 faithful. Pilgrims came from all the provinces of Argentina, with a group of more than 1,000 people from Buenos Aires who travelled the whole 240 km distance on foot – a distance three times greater than that from Buenos Aires to the national Basilica of Our Lady of Luján. On 25 September 2013, thirty years after the first apparition of Our Lady, 500,000 people gathered surpassing the record of 2004 when the greatest number of pilgrims visited.
In a decree signed on 22 May 2016 and made public a few days later, Héctor Cardelli, Bishop of the Diocese of San Nicolás, declared that the apparitions that took place in city of San Nicolás were supernatural in origin. The devotion is thus approved at the Diocesan level within the Catholic Church.
St Anacharius of Auxerre
St Aurelia of Macerata
St Caian of Tregaian
St Ceolfrid
St Cleopas
St Egelred of Crowland
St Ermenfridus of Luxeuil
St Finbar
St Firminus of Amiens
St Fymbert
St Herculanus the Soldier
Bl Herman the Cripple
Bl Marco Criado
St Mewrog
St Neomisia of Mecerata
St Paphnutius of Alexandria
St Principius of Soissons
St Sergius of Moscow
St Solemnis of Chartres
St Vincent Strambi C.P. (1745-1824)
Biography here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/25/23731/
Martyrs of Damascus: A Christian family of six who were tortured to death in a persecution by Roman authorities. They were: Eugenia, Maximus, Paul, Rufus, Sabinian and Tatta. They were tortured to death in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Jose María Bengoa Aranguren
• Blessed Josep Maria Vidal Segú
• Blessed Juan Agustín Codera Marqués
• Blessed Julio Esteve Flors
• Blessed Pedro Leoz Portillo
• Blessed Rafael Pardo Molina
• Blessed Tomás Gil de La Cal
O my God, all is Good if it comes from You By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O my God,
I will put myself without reserve,
into Your hands.
Wealth or woe, joy or sorrow,
friends or bereavement,
honour or humiliation,
good report or ill report,
comfort or discomfort,
Your presence
or the hiding of Your countenance,
all is good if it comes from You,
You are wisdom and You are love –
what can I desire more?
You have led me in Your counsel
and with glory You have received me
What have I in heaven
and apart from You,
what want I upon earth?
My flesh and my heart fail
but God is the God of my heart
and my portion forever.
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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