Quote/s of the Day – 22 July
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine”
Isaiah 43:1
“Just as a woman had announced the words of death
to the first man, so also a woman was the first
to announce to the Apostles the words of life.”
….St Thomas Aquinas (Super Ioannem, ed. Cai, 2519)
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
The Doctrine of the Holy Name contd
The Passion:
The second meaning of the word Jesus is –
Jesus-dying-on-the-Cross for St. Paul tells us that our
Lord merited this most Holy Name by His sufferings
and death.
Therefore when we say Jesus we should also
wish to offer the Passion and Death of Our Lord
to the Eternal Father for His greater glory and
for our own intentions.
Just as Our Lord became man for each one of
us, as if that one were the only one in existence,
so He died not for all men in general but for
each one in particular. When He was hanging
on the Cross He saw me, He saw you, dear reader, –
and offered every pang of dreadful agony, every
drop of His Precious Blood, all His humiliations,
all the insults and outrages for me, for you, for
each one of us. He has given us all these infinite
merits as our very own. We may offer them
hundreds and hundreds of times every day to
the Eternal Father for ourselves and for the WorId.
We do this every time we say Jesus. At the
same time let us wish to thank Our Lord for all
He has suffered for us.
It is appalling that many Christians know so
little of this Holy Name and all that it means. As
a result they are losing every day precious graces
and forfeiting the greatest rewards in Heaven.
Sad, deplorable ignorance!
How to share in 500.000 Masses:
The third intention we ought to have when
saying Jesus is to offer all the Masses that are
being said all over the World for the glory of God,
for our own needs and for the World at large.
About 500.000+ Masses are celebrated daily. And
we can and should share in all these.
The Mass is Jesus. He once more becomes man,
renews the Incarnation in every Mass as really as
when He became man in His mother’s womb. He
also dies on the Altar as really and truly as He
died on Calvary. The Mass is said not only for
all those who assist at it in Church but for all those
who wish to hear it and offer it with the priests.
All we have to do is to say reverently Jesus.
Jesus with the intention of offering these Masses
and participating in them. By doing this we have
a share in all of them.
It is a wonderful grace to assist at and to offer
one Mass; what will it not be to offer and share in
500.000 Masses every day!
Therefore every time we say Jesus, let it
be our intention.
1. To offer to God all the infinite. love
and merits of the Incarnation.
2. To offer to God the Passion and Death
of Jesus Christ.
3. To offer to God all the 500.000
Masses being celebrated in the World
for His glory and our own intentions.
All that we have to do is to say the one word
Jesus but knowing what we are doing.
St Mechtilde was accustomed to offer the Passion
of Jesus in union with all the Masses of the
World for the souls in Purgatory.
Our Lord once showed her Purgatory open and
thousands of souls going up to Heaven as the
result of her little prayer.
When we say Jesus we can offer the Passion
and the Masses of the World either for ourselves
or for the souls in Purgatory or for any other
intention we please.
We should always. too, offer them for the World
at large and our own country in particular.
One Minute Reflection – 22 July
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” …….John 20: 13-15
REFLECTION – “When Mary Magdalen came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: “The disciples went back home,” and it adds: “but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.” We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for Him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see Him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tell us: “Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved….Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognised when He calls her “woman”; so He calls her by name, as though He were saying: ‘Recognise me as I recognise you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself.’ And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognises who is speaking. She immediately calls Him ‘Rabboni’, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.” – from a homily by St Pope Gregory the Great
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ made Mary of Magdala the first herald of Easter joy. Grant that, following her example and helped by her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaimn he living Christ and come to se Him reigning with You in glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 22 July
You are Christ
St Augustine
You are Christ,
my Holy Father,
my Tender God,
my Great King,
my Good Shepherd,
my Only Master,
my Best Helper,
my Most Beautiful
and my Beloved,
my Living Bread,
my Priest Forever,
my Leader to my Country,
my True Light,
my Holy Sweetness,
my Straight Way,
my Excellent Wisdom,
my Pure Simplicity,
my Peaceful Harmony,
my Entire Protection,
my Good Portion,
my Everlasting Salvation.
May the live coal of Your Love grow hot within my spirit
and break forth into a perfect fire;
may it burn incessantly on the altar of my heart;
may it glow in my innermost being;
may it blaze in hidden recesses of my soul;
and in the days of my consummation
may I be found consummated with You!
Amen.
Saint of the Day – 22 July – The Feast of St Mary of Magdala – “Apostle to the Apostles” (born probably in Magdala – died at an unknown date possibly in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, or Ephesus, Asia Minor). Patronages – against sexual temptation, apothecaries, druggists, pharmacists, contemplative life, contemplatives, converts, glove makers, hairdressers, penitent sinners, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumeries, reformed prostitutes, tanners, women, Diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah, 8 cities. During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was regarded in Western Christianity as a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman, claims not found in any of the four canonical gospels.
Mary Magdalene was one of Christ’s disciples. She has been identified with several Marys in the Gospel – Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus; Mary, the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears; Mary, a woman who cared for Jesus and his apostles on their journey. Today scholars believe that Mary Magdalene was not the sinful woman in Scripture although she has been confused with this unnamed woman for centuries. Except for the mother of Jesus, few women are more honoured in the Bible than Mary Magdalene. Yet she could well be the patron of the slandered, since there has been a persistent legend in the Church that she is the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.
Most Scripture scholars today point out that there is no scriptural basis for confusing the two women. Mary Magdalene, that is, “of Magdala,” was the one from whom Christ cast out “seven demons” (Luke 8:2)—an indication at the worst, of extreme demonic possession or possibly, severe illness.
Writing in the New Catholic Commentary, Father Wilfrid J Harrington, OP, says that “seven demons” “does not mean that Mary had lived an immoral life—a conclusion reached only by means of a mistaken identification with the anonymous woman of Luke 7:36.” In the Jerome Biblical Commentary, Father Edward Mally, SJ, agrees that she “is not…the same as the sinner of Luke 7:37, despite the later Western romantic tradition about her.”
Mary Magdalene was one of the many “who were assisting them [Jesus and the Twelve] out of their means.” She was not the sister of Martha and Lazarus! She was one of those who stood by the Cross of Jesus with his mother. And, of all the “official” witnesses who might have been chosen for the first awareness of the Resurrection, she was the one to whom that privilege was given.
Matthew, Mark, and John record that Mary of Magdala was present at the Crucifixion of Jesus and that she was among the women who visited the Tomb on Easter morning. Luke mentions her presence only at the Tomb on Easter. According to John, Mary was specially privileged to see and speak to the risen Lord on Easter morning. She thought He was the gardener until he said her name.
So Mary Magdalene was near Jesus in His darkest hour and again in His most glorious hour. Moreover, she was an outstanding disciple of Jesus. Because Mary Magdalene was the one who brought the news of Jesus’ Resurrection to the apostles, she is called the Apostle to the Apostles.
St Mary Magdalen (Feast)
Mother of God of Koloch: The Koloch Icon of the Mother of God manifested itself in the year 1413 during the reign of Basil I, 15 miles from the city of Mozhaisk, in the vicinity of Koloch in the Smolensk governia. A peasant of this village by the name of Luke found the holy icon and took it to his home. One of his household was paralyzed. The sick one put his forehead to the icon with faith and received complete healing.
This became known through the surrounding area and many of the suffering began to flock to the wonderworking icon and they received help from the Mother of God. Luke afterwards took the icon to Mozhaisk and from there to Moscow. At the capital, Metropolitan Photius, together with a gathering of clergy and a multitude of the people, visited the holy icon. As the icon was carried through Moscow many of the sick were healed of their infirmities. Later they returned the icon to Mozhaisk.
At the place where the icon appeared, a church was built in honour of the Mother of God. Here the holy icon was housed. With the offerings of the peasant Luke and others, Prince Andrew Dimitrievich built a monastery on this site called the Kolochsk or Mozhaisk.
—
St Anastasius of Schemarius
St Andrea of Antioch
St Andreas Wang Tianqing
St Anna Wang
Bl Augustine Fangi
St Baudry of Montfaucon
Bl Benno of Osnabruck
St Claudius Marius Victorinus of Saussaye
St Cyril of Antioch
St Dabius
Bl Jacques Lombardie
St John Lloyd
St Joseph of Palestine
St Lewine
St Lucia Wang Wangzhi
Bl Manuela de Jesus Arias Espinosa
St Maria Wang Lishi
St Meneleus of Ménat
St Movean of Inis-Coosery
St Pancharius of Besancon
Bl Paolo de Lara
St Philip Evans
St Plato of Ancyra
St Syntyche of Philippi
St Theophilus of Cyprus
St Wandrille of Fontenelle
—
Martyrs of Marula/Massylis: – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – Ajabosus, Andrew and Elian. They were martyred in Massylis (Marula), Numidia (in modern Algeria).
Martyrs of Massilitani: A group of Christians martyred together in northern Africa. Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote about them.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Jaime María Carretero Rojas
Bl Joaquin Rodríguez Bueno
José María Mateos Carballido
Juan Durán Cintas
Ramón María Pérez Sousa
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
The Doctrine of the Holy Name contd:
The Incarnation
God became man for love of us but what does
it avail us if we do not understand this love.
God the Infinite, Immense, Eternal, all-powerful,
God, the mighty Creator, the God that fills Heaven
with His Majesty hid all His power, His Majesty,
His greatness and became a little child in order
to become like us and so to gain our love.
He entered into the pure womb of the Virgin
Mary and there lay hidden for nine whole months.
Then He was born in a stable between two
animals. He was weak and defenseless like every
child. He was poor and humble. He passed 33
years working, suffering, praying, teaching His
beautiful Religion, working miracles, doing good
to all. He did all this to prove His love for each
of us and so constrain us to love Him.
This stupendous act of love was so great that
not even the highest Angels in Heaven could
have conceived it possible had not God revealed
it to them.
It was so great that the Jews, God’s chosen
people, who were expecting a saviour were
scandalised at the thought that God could humble
Himself so much.
The Gentile Philosophers, notwithstanding their
vaunted wisdom, said that it was madness to think
that the Almighty God could do so much for love
of man.
St. Paul says that God exhausted all His power,
wisdom and goodness in becoming man for us,
“He emptied Himself out.”
Our Lord confirms the words of the Apostle for
He says: “What more could I do?”
All this God did not do for all men in general but
for each one of us in particular. Think; think
of this.
Do you believe, do you understand. dear reader,
that God loves you so much, that He loves you
so intimately, so personally? What a joy, what
a consolation if you really knew and felt that the
great God loves you – you so sincerely.
He has done still more for He has made over
to us all His infinite merits so that we can offer
them to the Eternal Father as often as we like, a
hundred, a thousand times a day.
And that is what we can do each time we
say Jesus, if only we remember what we are
saymg.
A Doctrine, you may have never heard it before?
But now at least that you know the infinite
wonders of the Name of Jesus say this Holy
Name constantly, say it devoutly.
And in future when you say Jesus remember that
you are offering to God all the infinite love and
merits of His Son. You are offering Him His own
Divine Son, You cannot offer Him anything holier,
anything better, anything more pleasing to Him,
anything more meritorious for yourself .
How ungrateful are those Christians who never
thank God for all He has done for them. Men
and women live 30, 50, 70 years and never think
of thanking God for all His wonderful love.
When you say the Name of Jesus remember, too,
to thank Our Sweet Lord for His Incarnation.
When He was on Earth He cured ten lepers of
their loathsome disease. They were delighted and
went away full of joy and happiness but only one
came back to thank Him! He was very hurt and
said: “Where are the other nine?”
Has He not much more reason to feel grieved
and hurt with you and me who thank Him so
little for all He has done for us in the Incarnation
and in His Passion.
St. Gertrude was wont to thank God often with
a little ejaculation for His goodness in becoming
man for her. Our Lord appeared to her one day
and said: “My dear Child every time you honour
my Incarnation with that little prayer I turn to
my Eternal Father and I offer all the merits of
the Incarnation for you and for all those who do
as you do”.
Shall we not then try to say often Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus sure of receiving a like wonderful grace.
Thought for the Day – 21 July – The Memorial of St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Apostolic Doctor
“It is surprising that St Lawrence of Brindisi was able to continue without interruption his work as an appreciated and unflagging preacher in many cities of Italy and in different countries, in spite of holding other burdensome offices of great responsibility. Indeed, within the Order of Capuchins he was professor of theology, novice master, for several mandates minister provincial and definitor general, and finally, from 1602 to 1605, minister general. In the midst of this mountain of work, Lawrence cultivated an exceptionally fervent spiritual life. He devoted much time to prayer and, especially, to the celebration of Holy Mass — often protracted for hours — caught up in and moved by the memorial of the Passion, death and Resurrection of the Lord.
Moreover, with the unmistakable ardour of his style, Lawrence urged everyone and not only priests, to cultivate a life of prayer, for it is through prayer that we speak to God and that God speaks to us: “Oh, if we were to consider this reality!”, he exclaimed. “In other words that God is truly present to us when we speak to Him in prayer; that He truly listens to our prayers, even if we pray only with our hearts and minds. And that not only is He present and hears us, indeed He willingly and with the greatest of pleasure wishes to grant our requests”.
St Lawrence of Brindisi teaches us to love Sacred Scripture, to increase in familiarity with it, to cultivate daily relations of friendship with the Lord in prayer, so that our every action, our every activity, may have its beginning and its fulfilment in Him. This is the source from which to draw so that our Christian witness may be luminous and able to lead the people of our time to God.”…….Pope BENEDICT XVI (General Audience) – St. Peter’s Square, Wednesday, 23 March 2011
St Lawtence of Brindisi, pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 21 July
“The word of God is replete with manifold blessings, since it is, so to speak, a treasure of all goods. It is the source of faith, hope, charity, all virtue, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the beatitudes of the Gospel, all good works, all the rewards of life, all the glory of paradise…For the word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will. It enables man to know God and to love Him. And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk. For the soul it is a spiritual treasure of merits yielding an abundance of gold and precious stones. Against the hardness of a heart that persists in wrongdoing, it acts like a hammer. Against the world, the flesh and the devil it serves as a sword that destroys all sin.”
“The Holy Spirit sweetens the yoke
of the divine law and lightens its weight,
so that we may observe God’s commandments
with the greatest of ease and even with pleasure”
One Minute Reflection – 21 July
“I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.”………..Matthew 12:6
REFLECTION – “My dear souls, let us recognize, I pray you, Christ’s infinite charity towards us in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist. In order that our love be a spiritual love, He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us. It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one, that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love, a supreme and most ardent love, by way of pure grace and charity. Ah! One needs to love Him back with one’s whole, whole, whole, living, living, living and true, true, true heart!!” …… St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Apostolic Doctor
PRAYER – Lord God, You bestowed on St Lawrence of Brindisi the spirit of counsel and fortitude, so that Your name might be glorified and souls be saved. At the intercession of St Lawrence, grant that we may see what we have to do and, in Your mercy give us the strength to do it and the courage, love and charity to persevere. Grant above all, that by his prayers we may love You above all and with all we are. St Lawrence pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 21 July
St Francis’s Prayer Before the San Damiano Crucifix
Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me
true faith,
certain hope
and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge,
Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 21 July – St Lawrence of Brindisi O.F.M. Cap – Doctor of the Church – (22 July 1559 at Brindisi, Italy as Julius Caesar Rossi – 22 July 1619 at Lisbon, Portugal of natural causes). His remains are buried in the cemetery of the Poor Clares in Villafranca, Spain. He was Beatified on 1 June 1783 by Pope Pius VI and Canonised on 8 December 1881 by Pope Leo XIII. He was created a Doctor of the Church by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1959 with the title Doctor apostolicus (Apostolic Doctor). Patronages – of Brindisi, Italy. Attributes – leading the Christian army against the Turks, receiving the embrace of the Child Jesus. He is known as the “Franciscan Renaissance Man” – he was a Religious member of the Franciscan Friars Minor Capuchin, a Priest, Theologian, Vicar General of the Franciscans, Language scholar, Humanist, Philosopher, Biblicist, Preacher, Missionary, Professor, International Administrator, Confidant of Popes, Emperors, Kings and Princes, Diplomatic envoy, Army Chaplain, Military Strategist and Morale builder, Polemicist, Prolific writer.
Despite Saint Lawrence of Brindisi’s later fame, little is known of his early years. His father was William Russo, a well-to-do Venetian merchant and his mother was Elizabeth Masella. He was born in the Southern Italian port city of Brindisi on the 22nd of July 1559. He received his early education at a day school run by the Conventual Franciscans and made rapid progress in his studies. At the tender age of six, following the Italian custom of the time, he publicly preached a short Christmastide sermon on the Child Jesus. However, by the time he was 14 he had lost both his parents and his education was entrusted to his uncle, a high-ranking cleric at Venice’s Saint Mark’s Cathedral. It was at Saint Mark’s College, a private school run by his uncle, that Julius Caesar received an excellent secondary education.
In Venice he came to know the Capuchin Friars Minor who had a small church dedicated to saint Mary of the Angels on the island of Giudeca. Impressed by their austere life of Poverty, he asked for admission to the Order and was invested with the habit as a novice at the Verona Capuchin novitiate friary of on the 18th of February 1575. At this time, Julius Caesar was given the religious name Brother Lawrence. He made his perpetual profession on the 24th of March the following year.
His writings fill fifteen volumes and his knowledge of Hebrew allowed him to preach so effectively to the Jewish people in Italy that the rabbis were certain that Lawrence must have been a Jew who had become a Christian. His skills in dealing with people meant that he served as a papal emissary to many countries but he never forgot that he was first and foremost a priest.
There is a very special title accorded by the Church to certain saints, who are named “Doctor of the Church” and this title indicates that the writings and preaching of such a person are useful to Christians “in any age of the Church.” Such men and women are also particularly known for the depth of understanding and the orthodoxy of their theological teachings. St. Lawrence of Brindisi was given this title and he is one of the thirty-six saints to be named “Doctor.”
While still a deacon, St. Lawrence of Brindisi became known as an excellent preacher and after his ordination captured the whole of northern Italy with his amazing sermons. He was sent into Germany by the pope to establish Capuchin houses. While there, he became chaplain to Emperor Rudolf II and had a remarkable influence on the Christian soldiers fighting the Muslims who were threatening Hungary in 1601. Through his efforts, the Catholic League was formed to unify Catholics for the purpose of strengthening the Catholic cause in Europe. Sent by the emperor to persuade Philip III of Spain to join the League, he established a Capuchin friary in Madrid. He also brought peace between Spain and the kingdom of Savoy.
His compassion for the poor, the needy and the sick was legendary. Elected minister-general of his order in 1602, he made the Capuchins a major force in the Catholic Restoration, visiting every friary in the thirty-four provinces of the order and directing the work of nine thousand friars. He himself was a dominant figure in carrying out the work of the Council of Trent and was described by Pope Benedict XV as having earned “a truly distinguished place among the most outstanding men ever raised up by Divine Providence to assist the Church in time of distress.”
Yet in the midst of all this feverish activity, Brother Lawrence found peace and strength to keep going by taking refuge in prayer. Sometimes his Masses which were usually celebrated in private could last for up to twelve hours. He wept copious tears as he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice and was even witnessed being lifted into the air as he prayed at the Altar. When he entered the Order in 1575, he told the Provincial Minister who tried to dissuade him by describing in detail the rigours of the Capuchin lifestyle: “Nothing will be difficult for me as long as there is a Crucifix in my room.” Pictures of Saint Lawrence often show him contemplating the Crucifix.
To Mary he attributed his vocation, his restoration to health as a student, his knowledge of Hebrew and all his successes. He went to her in all his needs. When elected Vicar General of the Order, he first went to the Shrine of Our Lady’s Holy House at Loreto and returned there at the end of his term of office. From his formation days onward, he prayed the Rosary and the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin daily. His favourite greeting for the Brothers was: “Nos, cum prole pia, benedicat Virgo Maria! May the Virgin Mary bless us with her loving Child!”
In 1619, at the request of the Pope, Brother Lawrence had to travel once more to Spain to make known to the Spanish King the plight of Naples’s citizens under the tyrannical rule of the Spanish Viceroy of the region, the Duke of Ossuna. He managed to escape the Duke’s attempts to block his mission and set sail secretly from Genoa. He had to go to Lisbon in Portugal to meet the King of Spain. His diplomatic mission was successfully concluded but worn out by the journey he fell critically ill. Having received the Last Sacraments, Brother Lawrence of Brindisi died in Lisbon, Portugal before he could board a ship to return home on the 22nd of July 1619. Saint Lawrence entered heaven the same date as he entered this world sixty years previously.
O God, who didst bestow on blessed Lawrence of Brindisi, Your Confessor and Doctor, the spirit of wisdom and fortitude to endure every labour for the glory of Your Name and the salvation of souls: grant us, in the same spirit, both to perceive what we ought to do, and by his intercession to perform the same; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end, amen.
St Lawrence pray for us!
St Lawrence of Brindisi (Optional Memorial)
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Our Lady of Kazan: This miraculous icon, also known as the Theotokos of Kazan, is thought to have originated in Constantinople in the 13th century before it was taken to Russia. When the Turks took Kazan in 1438, the icon may have been hidden. Ivan the Terrible liberated Kazan in 1552, and the town was destroyed by fire in 1579.
The icon was eventually found in the ruins of a burnt-out house at Kazan on the River Volga on July 8th in 1579. According to tradition, the location of the icon was revealed during a dream by the Blessed Virgin Mary to a ten year old girl named Matrona. Matrona told the local bishop of her dream, but he did not believe her. There were two more similar dreams, after which Matrona and her mother went to the place indicated by the Blessed Virgin and dug in the ruins what had been a house until the uncovered the icon. It appeared untouched by the flames, with the colors as vivid and brilliant as if it were new. The bishop took the icon to the Church of Saint Nicholas, and immediately there was a miracle of a blind man’s sight being restored to him. A monastery was built over the place where the icon had been found.
Known as the Holy Protectress of Russia, the icon was stolen on June 29th, 1904. The thieves were later caught and claimed that they had destroyed the icon after taking the gold frame and jewels attached to the image. In any event, the original has never been found, though there are many copies in existence, thanks to the popularity of the icon. Many of the copies are known to be miracle working.
In 1993 a copy of the icon was given to Pope John Paul II, who kept it in his personal study before it was given to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2004.
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Bl Agrícola Rodríguez García de Los Huertos
St Alberic Crescitelli
St Arbogast of Strasbourg
St Barhadbescialas
St Benignus of Moyenmoutier
Bl Claudius of Avignon
St Claudius of Troyes
St Corona of Marceille
Bl Cristóbal López de Valladolid Orea
Bl Daniel Molini
St Daniel the Prophet
St Eleutherius of Marseille
St Eternus of Evreaux
Bl Gabriel Pergaud
St Iosephus Wang Yumei
St John of Edessa
St John of Moyenmoutier
Bl Juan de Las Varillas
Bl Juan de Zambrana
St Jucundinus of Troyes
St Julia of Troyes
St Justus of Troyes
Bl Parthenius of Thessaly
St Praxides of Rome
St Simeon Salus
St Victor of Marseilles
St Wastrada
St Zoticus of Comana
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Martyrs of Africa – 6 saints: Six Christians who were martyred together. We know no other details about them but the names – Emilian, Hugal, Motanus, Saphus, Stercorius and Victor. They were martyred in an unknown location in Africa, date unknown.
Thought for the Day – 20 July – Memorial of St Apollinaris
Following Jesus involves risks—sometimes the supreme risk of life itself. Martyrs, like St Apollinaris, are people who would rather accept the risk of death than deny the cornerstone of their whole life: faith in Jesus Christ.
Everyone will die eventually—the persecutors and those persecuted.
The question is what kind of a conscience people will bring before the Lord for judgment. Remembering the witness of past and present martyrs can help us make the often small sacrifices that following Jesus today may require.
There are no patterns and the saints break all molds.
God is interested in us right where we are and our own particular circumstances are as good a place as any to be a saint. Holiness is within our reach!
St Apollinaris and all you saints in heaven, pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 20 July
“Let sleep find you holding your Bible
and when you head nods let it be resting
on the sacred page.”
St Jerome (343-420) One of the Original 4 Doctors
“The Holy Bible is like a mirror before our mind’s eye.
In it we see our inner face.
From the Scriptures we can learn
our spiritual deformities and beauties.
And there too we discover the progress
we are making and how far we are from perfection.”
St Gregory the Great (540-604) One of the Original 4 Doctors
“The Old Testament is like a radio
with its hidden voice
announcing the One to come.
The New Testament is like a television
because the Word became both audible and visible.”
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
The Doctrine of the Holy Name:
We shall now explain the doctrine of the Holy
Name – the most important chapter in this booklet
– in order to show our readers whence comes
the power and the divine value of this Name and
how the Saints worked their wonders with it and
how we ourselves can obtain by its means every
grace and blessing.
You may ask, dear reader, how it is that one
word can work such prodigies?
I answer that with a word God made the World.
With His word He called out of nothing the Sun,
the Moon, the Stars, the high .Mountains and the
vast Oceans. By His word He sustains the whole
Universe.
Does not the priest, too, in Holy Mass, work a
prodigy of prodigies, does He not transform the
little white host into the God of Heaven and
Earth by the words of Consecration and though
God alone can pardon sin, does not the priest also
in the confessional pardon the blackest sins and
the most awful crimes?
How? because God gives to His words this infinite
power.
So, too, God in His immense goodness gives to
each of us an all -powerful word with which
we can do wonders for Him, for ourselves and for
the World. That word is Jesus.
Remember what St. Paul tells us about It.
That it is “a Name above all Names” and that:
“In the Name of Jesus every knee shall bend in
Heaven, on Earth and in Hell”.
But why?
Because Jesus signifies God-made-man – viz the
Incarnation. When the Son of God became man
He was called Jesus so that when we say Jesus
we offer to the Eternal Father the infinite love,
the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in a word, we
offer Him His own Divine Son Himself, we offer
Him the great mystery of the Incarnation. Jesus
is the Incarnation.
How few Christians have any adequate idea of
this sublime mystery and yet it is the greatest
proof that God has given or could give us of His
personal love for us. It is everything to us.
One Minute Reflection – 20 July
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction and for training in righteousness,so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work……..2 Timothy 3:16-17
REFLECTION – “We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them and let our thoughts now and then glance upon them: that knowledge which shows us heaven, will not bring us to the possession of it and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation it must be concocted, digested, and turned into the nourishment of our affections, before it can be powerful and operative enough to change them, and produce the necessary fruit in our lives. For this all the saints affected solitude and retreats from the noise and hurry of the world, as much as their circumstances allowed them.” – St. Apollinaris
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, St Apollinaris fought unto death for the law of his God. He was not afraid of the words of evil men, for he was like a house that is founded on rock. Grant that we too, may be founded on rock and be planted in good saoil to yield many fruits. St Apollinaris, please pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 20 July
Prayer for Reconciliation and Peace
St Pope John Paul
O God, Creator of the universe,
who extends Your paternal concern
over every creature
and guides the events of history
to the goal of salvation,
we acknowledge Your fatherly love
when You break the resistance of mankind,
and, in a world torn by strife and discord,
You make us ready for reconciliation.
Renew for us the wonders of Your mercy;
send forth Your Spirit that He may work
in the intimacy of hearts,
that enemies may begin to dialogue,
that adversaries may shake hands and peoples
may encounter one another in harmony.
May all commit themselves
to the sincere search for true peace –
which will extinguish all arguments,
for charity -which overcomes hatred,
for pardon – which disarms revenge.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 23 July – St Apollinaris (1st Century) – Bishop Martyr, Disciple of St Peter (born in Antioch, Turkey and was Martyred by being stabbed with a sword c 79 at Ravenna, Italy). His relics are at the Benedictine abbey of Classe, Ravenna and in Saint Lambert’s Church, Düsseldorf, Germany. Patronages – epilepsy; gout, archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia, Italy and 6 cities.
St Apollinaris was a native of Antioch in Roman Province of Syria. As the first Bishop of Ravenna, he faced nearly constant persecution. He and his flock were exiled from Ravenna during the persecutions of Emperor Vespasian (or Nero, depending on the source).
He was made Bishop of Ravenna, Italy, by Saint Peter himself. The miracles he wrought there soon attracted official attention, for they and his preaching won many converts to the Faith, while at the same time bringing upon him the fury of the idolaters, who beat him cruelly and drove him from the city. He was found half-dead on the seashore and kept in concealment by the Christians but was captured again and compelled to walk on burning coals and a second time expelled. But he remained in the vicinity and continued his work of evangelisation. We find him then journeying in the Roman province of Aemilia [in Italy]. A third time he returned to Ravenna. Again he was captured, hacked with knives, had scalding water poured over his wounds, was beaten in the mouth with stones because he persisted in preaching and was flung into a horrible dungeon, loaded with chains, to starve to death; but after four days he was put on board a ship and sent to Greece. There the same course of preachings, miracles and sufferings continued and when his very presence caused the oracles to be silent, he was, after a cruel beating, sent back to Italy.
All this continued for three years and a fourth time he returned to Ravenna. By this time Vespasian was Emperor, and he, in answer to the complaints of the pagans, issued a decree of banishment against the Christians. Apollinaris was kept concealed for some time but as he was passing out of the gates of the city, was set upon and savagely beaten and stabbed but he lived for seven days, foretelling meantime that the persecutions would increase but that the Church would ultimately triumph.
St Apollinaris of Ravenna (Optional Memorial) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT8-SE1NAQg
—
Bl Anne Cartier
St Ansegisus
St Aurelius of Carthage
St Bernward of Hildesheim
St Cassian of Saint Saba
St Chi Zhuze
St Elijah the Prophet
St Elswith
Bl Gregory Lopez
St José María Díaz Sanjurjo
St Joseph Barsabas
Bl Luigi Novarese
St Margaret of Antioch
St Maria Fu Guilin
St Mère
St Paul of Saint Zoilus
St Rorice of Limoges
St Severa of Oehren
St Severa of Saint Gemma
St Wulmar
—
Martyrs of Corinth – 22 saints: 22 Christians who were martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – • Appia • Calorus • Cassius • Celsus • Cyriacus • Donatus • Emilis • Felix • Fructus • Magnus • Maximus • Nestita • Partinus • Pasterus • Paul • Romanus • Spretus • Tertius • Theodolus • Ueratia • Valerian • Victor. They were martyred in Corinth, Greece.
Martyrs of Damascus – 16 saints: 16 Christians who were martyred together. We know the names of six of then, but no details about any of them – Cassia, Julian, Macrobius, Maximus, Paul and Sabinus. They were martyred in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.
Martyrs of Seoul – 8 saints: Eight lay native Koreans in various states of life who were murdered together for their faith.
• Anna Kim Chang-gum
• Ioannes Baptista Yi Kwang-nyol
• Lucia Kim Nusia
• Magdalena Yi Yong-hui
• Maria Won Kwi-im
• Martha Kim Song-im
• Rosa Kim No-sa
• Theresia Yi Mae-im
They were martyred on 20 July 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul.
Martyrs of Zhaojia – 3 saints: Married lay woman and her two daughters in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. During the persecutions of the Boxer Rebellion, the three of them hid in a well to avoid being raped. They were found, dragged out, and killed for being Christian. Martyrs. They were – Maria Zhao Guoshi (mother), Maria Zhao and Rosa Zhao (sisters). They were martyred in late July 1900 in Zhaojia, Wuqiao, Hebei, China.
Martyrs of Zhujiahe – 4 saints: Two Jesuit missionary priests and two local lay people who supported their work who were martyred together in the Boxer Rebellion during and immediately after Mass.
• Léon-Ignace Mangin
• Maria Zhu Wushi
• Paul Denn
• Petrus Zhu Rixin
They were martyred on 20 July 1900 in church in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China and Canonised on 1 October 2000 by St Pope John Paul.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
Bl Abraham Furones y Furones
Antoni Bosch Verdura
Bl Francisca Aldea y Araujo
Bl Jacinto García Riesco
Joan Páfila Monllaó
Josep Tristany Pujol
Bl Matías Cardona-Meseguer
Bl Rita Josefa Pujalte y Sánchez
Bl Vicente López y López
Thought for the Day – 19 July
Today is the Feast of St John Plessington, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, he was imprisoned for two months and then hung, drawn and quartered on 19 July 1679. Here are the words of the speech the saint gave before his martyrdom:
Dear Countrymen.
I am here to be executed, neither for Theft, Murder, nor anything against the Law of God, nor any fact or Doctrine inconsistent with Monarchy or Civil Government. I suppose several now present heard my trial the last Assizes and can testify that nothing was laid to my charge but Priesthood and I am sure that you will find that Priesthood is neither against the Law of God nor Monarchy, or Civil Government. If you will consider either the Old or New Testament (for it is the Basis of Religion […], St Paul tells us in Hebrews 7:12 that the Priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change of the Law, and consequently the Priesthood being abolished, the Law and Religion is quite gone.
But I know it will be said that a Priest ordained by authority derived from the See of Rome is by the Law of Nation to die as a Traitor, but if that be so what must become of all the Clergymen or England, for the first Protestant Bishops had their Ordination from those of the Church of Rome, or none at all, as appears by their own writers, so that Ordination comes derivatively to those now living.
As in the Primitive times, Christians were esteemed Traitors and suffered as such by National Law, so are the Priests of the Roman Church here esteemed, and suffer such. But as Christianity then was not against the law of God, Monarchy or Civil Policy, so now there is not any one Point of the Roman Catholic Faith (of which Faith I am) that is inconsistent therewith, as is evident by induction in each several point.
That the Pope hath power to depose or give licence to Murder Princes is no point of our Belief. And I protest in the sight of God and the Court of Heaven that I am absolutely innocent of the Plot so much discoursed of, and abhor such bloody and damnable designs. And although it be Nine Weeks since I was sentenced to die, there is not anything of that laid to my charge, so that I may take comfort in St. Peter’s words, 1 Peter 14-16, “Let none of you suffer as a Murderer, or as a Thief, or as an Evil doer, or as a Busy Body in other men’s matters, yet if any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed or Sorry”. I have deserved a worse death, for though I have been a faithful and true Subject to my King, I have been a grievous sinner against God; [others would have lived] in a greater perfection [than] I have done had they received so many favours and graces from him as I have.
But as there was never sinner who truly repented and heartily called to Jesus for mercy, to whom he did not show mercy, so I hope by the merits of His Passion, He will have mercy on me, who am heartily sorry that ever I offended him.
Bear witness, good hearers, that I profess that I undoubtedly and firmly believe all the Articles of the Roman Catholic Faith, and for the truth of any of them (by the assistance of God) I am willing to die, and I had rather die than doubt of any Point of Faith, taught by our Holy Mother the Roman Catholic Church.
In what condition Margaret Plat one of the chiefest witnesses against me was before and after she was with me, let her nearest relations declare. George Massey, another witness, swore falsely when he swore I gave him the Sacrament, and said Mass at the time and place he mentioned, and [I] verily think that he never spoke to me, or I to him, or saw each other but at the Assizes week. The third witness, Robert Wood, was suddenly killed but of the Dead why should I speak? These were all the witnesses against me, unless those that only declared what they heard from others. I heartily and freely forgive all that have been or are any way instrumental to my Death, and heartily desire that those that are living may heartily repent.
God bless the King and the Royal Family and grant his Majesty a prosperous Reign here and a crown of glory hereafter, God grant peace to the Subjects and that they live and die in true Faith, Hope, and Charity.
FINIS
And we too, recommend ourselves to the mercy of Jesus, now and at the hour of our death, amen. St John Plessington, pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 19 July
“But I know it will be said that a Priest ordained by authority derived from the See of Rome is by the Law of Nation to die as a Traitor but if that be so, what must become of all the Clergymen or England, for the first Protestant Bishops had their Ordination from those of the Church of Rome….?”
“Bear witness, good hearers, that I profess that I undoubtedly and firmly believe all the Articles of the Roman Catholic Faith and for the truth of any of them (by the assistance of God) I am willing to die and I had rather die than doubt of any Point of Faith, taught by our Holy Mother the Roman Catholic Church.”
St John Plessington
Martyred because he was a Priest by Elizabeth I of England
One Minute Reflection – 19 July
For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also…Hebrews 7:12
REFLECTION – ” If you will consider either the Old or New Testament (for it is the Basis of Religion […], St Paul tells us in Hebrews 7:12 that the Priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change of the Law and consequently the Priesthood being abolished, the Law and Religion is quite gone.”…….St John Plessington
PRAYER – Holy God, help us to pray continually for our priests, to respect them and consider them as representatives of You. Grant that the law of our lands may never regard them as men of God and of the law. St John Plessington, you were martyred because you were a priest of God, please pray for all our priests and for us, amen.
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
The Saints and the Holy Name contd.
Blessed Gonzalo de Amarante: reached a very
eminent degree of sanctity by the frequent repetition
of the Holy Name.
The Blessed Giles of Santarem: felt so much
love and delight in saying the Holy Name that he
was raised in the air in ecstasy.
Those who repeat frequently the Name of Jesus
feel a great peace in their souls “that peace which
the World cannot give”, which God alone gives,
a peace “that surpasses all understanding”.
St Leonard of Portmaurlce: cherished a tender
devotion to the Name of Jesus and in his continual
missions taught the people who thronged to
listen to him the wonders of the Holy Name.
This he did with such love that tears flowed from
his eyes and from the eyes of all who heard him.
He begged them to put a card with this Divine
Name on their doors. This was attended with the
happiest results for many were thus saved from
sickness and disasters of various kinds.
One, unfortunately, was prevented from doing
so as a Jew who was part-owner of the house in
which he lived sternly refused to have the Name
of Jesus placed on the door. His fellow lodger then
decided that he would write it on his windows,
which he accordingly did. Some days after a
fierce fire broke out in the building which destroyed
all the appartments belonging to the Jew while
the rooms belonging to his Christian neighbour in
no wise suffered from the conflagration.
This fact was made public and increased a
hundred fold the faith and trust in the Holy Name
of Our Saviour. In fact the whole city of Ferrajo
was a witness of this extraordinary protection.
St Edmund: had special devotion to the Name
of Jesus which Our Lord Himself taught him.
One day when he was in the country and separated
from his companions a beautiful child stood
by him and asked: “Edmund do you not know
me?” Edmund replied that he did not. Then
replied the child: “Look at me and you will see
who I am.” Edmund looked as he was bidden
and saw written on the Child’s forehead: “Jesus
of Nazareth. King of the Jews” “Know now who
I am” said the child “every night make the sign
of the cross and say these. words: “Jesus of Nazareth
King of the Jews.” “If you do so this
prayer will deliver you and all who say it from
sudden and unprovided-for deaths.”
Edmund faithfully did as Our Lord told him.
The devil once tried to prevent him and held his
hands so that he could not make the holy sign.
Edmund invoked the Name of Jesus and the devil
fled in terror leaving him unmolested for the
future.
Many people practise this easy devotion and so
save themselves from unhappy deaths. Others
with their forefinger imprint with holy water on
their foreheads the four letters I. N. R. I. to signify
Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judeorum. the words
written by Pilate for the cross of Our Lord.
St Alphonsus earnestly recommends both these
devotions.
St Frances of Rome: enjoyed the extraordinary
privilege of constantly seeing and speaking to her
Angel Guardian. When she pronounced the Name
of Jesus the Angel was radiant with happiness and
bent down in loving adoration.
Sometimes the devil dared to appear to her
seeking to frighten her and do her harm. But
when she pronounced the Holy Name he was filled
with rage and hatred and fled in terror from her
presence.
St Jane of Chantal: that most lovable friend
of St. Francis de Sales, had many beautiful devotions
taught her by this holy Doctor who acted
as her spiritual adviser for many years. She so
loved the Name of Jesus that she actually wrote
it with a hot iron on her breast.
Blessed Henry Suso – had done the same with a pointed steel
rod.
We may not aspire to this holy daring, we may
with reason lack the courage of inscribing the
Holy Name on our breasts. This needs a special
inspiration from God. But we may follow the
example of another dear St B. Catherine of
Racconigi, a daughter of St. Dominic, who repeated
frequently and lovingly the Name of Jesus so
that after her death the Name of Jesus was found
engraved in letters of gold on her heart. We
all can do as she did and thus the Name of Jesus
will be emblazoned on our souls for all Eternity
in sight of the Saints and Angels in Heaven.
St Gemma Galganl: Almost in our own days this
dear girl Saint also had the privilege of frequent
and intimate converse with her Angel Guardian.
Sometimes the Angel and Gemma entered into a
holy contest as to which of them could say more
lovingly the Name of Jesus.
Our Morning Offering – 19 July
Prayer for a Pure Faith
Blessed Pope Paul VI
Lord, I believe:
I wish to believe in You.
Lord, let my faith be full
and unreserved,
and let it penetrate my thought,
my way of judging Divine things
and human things.
Lord, let my faith be joyful
and give peace
and gladness to my spirit,
and dispose it for prayer with God
and conversation with men,
so that the inner bliss
of its fortunate possession
may shine forth in sacred
and secular conversation.
Lord, let my faith be humble
and not presume
to be based on the experience
of my thought and of my feeling;
but let it surrender
to the testimony of the Holy Spirit,
and not have any better guarantee
than in docility to Tradition
and to the authority of
the magisterium of the Holy Church.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 19 July – St John Plessington – Priest and Martyr – also known as John Plesington, William Scarisbrick, William Pleasington. Additional Memorial – 25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales – (c 1637 at Dimples Hall, Lancashire, England – hanged, drawn and quartered on 19 July 1679 at Barrows Hill, Boughton, England). He was buried in the local cemetery of Burton, England. He was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI and canonised on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
He was born at Dimples Hall, Garstang, Lancashire, the son of Robert Plessington, a Royalist Roman Catholic and Alice Rawstone, a family thus persecuted for both their religious and political beliefs.
He was educated by the Jesuits at Scarisbrick Hall, then at the Royal College of Saint Alban at Valladolid, Spain and then at Saint Omer Seminary in France. He was ordained in Segovia, Spain, on 25 March 1662. He returned to England in 1663 ministering to covert Catholics in the areas of Holywell and Cheshire, often hiding under the name John Scarisbrick. He was also tutor at Puddington Old Hall near Chester. Upon arrest in Chester during the Popish Plot scare caused by Titus Oates, he was imprisoned for two months and then hanged, drawn and quartered for the crime of being a Catholic priest.
It would be another 200 years until the bones were found in a trunk in the Old Star Inn in the village of Holywell close to St Winefride’s Well, a medieval pilgrimage site visited by Henry V after Agincourt, and where John Plessington himself had ministered during his lifetime.
It was known that the building had doubled as a secret headquarters for the Jesuits, and the obvious signs of violent death made it seem likely that the bones were those of murdered Catholics. They were taken to the nearby St Bueno’s Jesuit retreat house at nearby Tremeirchion and venerated as those unknown martyrs until recently but went largely forgotten to the wider world.
At the time, no-one considered the possibility they could be those of John Plessington, not least because there was already a grave thought to have been his in the village of Burton on the Wirral. It was not until 1962, as moves were afoot to canonise the executed priest, that it was exhumed and remains removed for study by experts at Liverpool University but found to be those of a younger man and therefore ruled out.
Then more recently, after the bones had been returned to Holywell, a group of forensic pathologists were asked to investigate them.
They singled out a portion of skull with a large hole apparently cut from inside – consistent with having been impaled on a spike after the person was beheaded.
It matched vertebrae from a neck which they concluded appeared to have been hacked off and a section of leg which linked to bone from a pelvis also bearing the marks of being cut.
Together, the report concluded, the presence of what appeared to be one of the quarters of a body and the fact that had been preserved in a Catholic context, as well as date of the clothing they were wrapped in meant they were almost certainly those of an executed priest.
St John Plessington’s close connection with the area, the date of his death and the mystery over his supposed grave now point to the possibility that the remains are his.
Bishop Davis is hoping to raise tens of thousands of pounds for new research including DNA testing which could connect them to a lock of hair which has also attributed to St John Plessington.
“By his faithfulness to the point of death, St John Plessington stands out as the great witness to the priestly life and mission in Shrewsbury Diocese,” said the bishop.
“As one of England’s 40 martyrs he points to the long continuity of our Catholic faith and our unswerving loyalty to the See of Peter.
“If funds could be found to identify and authenticate his relics it would allow our connection to his heroic ministry and martyrdom to become visible and tangible in a new way for generations to come.”
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
The Saints and the Holy Name contd
St Francis of Asslsi: that burning Seraph of
love found his delights in repeating the loved Name
of Jesus. St. Bonaventure says that his face lit
up with joy and his voice showed by its tender
accents how much he loved to invoke this all-Holy
Name.
No ‘wonder then that he received on his hands
and feet and side the marks of the Five Wounds
of Our Lord, a reward of his burning love.
St Ignatius of Loyola: was second to none in
his love for the Holy Name. He gave to his great
Order not his own name but called it the Society
of Jesus. This Divine Name has been, as it
were a shield and defence of the · Order against
its enemies and a guarantee of the holiness and
sanctity of its members. Glorious, indeed is the
great Society of Jesus. And now, our present Holy Father , too is a Jesuit.
St Francis de Sales: has no hesitation in saying
that those who have the custom of repeating
the Holy Name frequently may feel certain of
dying a holy and happy death.
And, indeed, there can be no doubt of this
because every time we say Jesus we apply the
saving Blood of Jesus to our Souls, at the same
time we implore God, to do as He has promised,
granting us everything we ask in His Name. All
who desire a holy death can secure it by repeating
the Name of Jesus. Not only will this practice
obtain for us a holy death but it will lessen
notably our time in Purgatory and may very possibly
deliver us altogether from that dreadful fire.
Many saints spent their last days repeating
constantly Jesus, Jesus.
ALL the doctors of the Church agree in telling
us that the devil reserves his fiercest temptations
for our last moments and then he fills the minds
of the dying person with doubts, fears and
dreadful temptations in the hope of, at last,
carrying the unfortunate . soul to Hell. Happy
those who in life have made sure of acquiring
the habit of calling on the Name of Jesus.
Facts like these we have just mentioned are to
be found in the 1ives of all the great servants of
God who became saints and reached the highest
degrees of sanctity by this simple and easy
means.
St Vincent Ferrer: one of the most famous
preachers that the World has ever seen, converted
the most abandoned criminals and transformed
them into the most fervent Christians. He converted
80000 Jews, and 70000 Moors, a prodigy
we read of in the life of no other saint. He
worked an incredible number of miracles. Three
miracles are demanded by the Church for the
canonisation of the saints, whereas in the bull of
canonisation of St. Vincent 873 are mentioned.
This great saint burned with love for the Name
of Jesus and with this Divine Name worked
extraordinary wonders. .
We, therefore, sinful as we are, can with this
Omnipotent Name obtain every favour and every
grace. The weakest mortals become strong, the
most afflicted find in it consolation and joy.
Who then can be so foolish or negligent as not
to acquire the habit of repeating Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
constantly. It robs us of no time, presents no
difficulty and is an infallible remedy for every evil.
Thought for the Day – 18 July
Commentary Saint Bruno of Segni on Mark 16:17-18
The Lord said to the Eleven: “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents in their hands and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover”. ..Mark 16:17-18
In the primitive Church all the signs the Lord lists here were fulfilled to the letter, not only by the apostles but many other of the saints. The Gentiles would not have abandoned the worship of idols if the gospel preaching had not been confirmed with so many signs and wonders. Indeed, did not the disciples preach “a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,” according to Saint Paul’s saying? (1Cor 1,23)…
As for us, from now on signs and wonders are no longer needed: it is enough for us to read or hear an account of those that have happened. For we believe in the Gospel, we believe in the Scriptures that relate them. And yet signs still take place daily and, if we would mark them well, we would acknowledge that they have far more worth than the concrete miracles of former times:
Every day priests administer baptism and call to conversion: isn’t this to cast out demons?
Every day they speak a new language when they explain holy Scripture by replacing the old letter with the newness of its spiritual sense.
They put serpents to flight when they free sinners’ hearts from their attachment to evil with gentle exhortation…
They heal the sick when they reconcile weak souls to God with their prayers.
St Bruno of Segni – pray for us!
Quote of the Day – 18 July
“Our Redeemer ever present in the most Blessed Sacrament, extends His hands to everyone.
He opens His heart and says, ‘Come to Me, all of you.’ “
St Raphael Kalinowski
One Minute Reflection – 18 July
Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age……Matthew 28:20
REFLECTION – “For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread. Through His own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, He offers life to men………The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.”…….St John Paul (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 1 &12)
PRAYER – Lord, let me live each day in joy – for You are with us to end of time. We have the joy of receiving Your Body and thus we live in You and You in us. Help us to give thanks and praise for the Holy Mass and Your saving Passion. St Bruno of Segni, your great love of the Holy Sacrament, led you to zealous efforts to spend your life in growing in others, understanding of the great Eucharistic grace we receive, please pray for us, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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