It was not long before Fr Tommaso Maria, envied for the good he achieved in his ministry and for his life as an exemplary priest, was faced with humiliation and persecution and, in 1880, even a brother priest’s slanderous calumny. However, sustained by the Lord, he lovingly carried that cross which his own Bishop Ammirante had foretold at the time of his institute’s foundation: “Have you chosen the title of the Most Precious Blood? Well, may you be prepared to drink the bitter cup”. (St John Paul at the Beatification of Blessed Thomas).
Know that we are all called to drink His Cup and carry His Cross but never forget – he carries and drinks with us all!
(St John Paul at the Beatification of Blessed Thomas).
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense.
You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised………………Hebrews 10:35-36
REFLECTION – “May work and suffering for God always be your glory and in your work and suffering, may God be your consolation on this earth and your recompense in heaven.”……………..Bl Thomas Mary Fusco
PRAYER – O Lord my God, give me the strength to endure with patience the sufferings I encounter in my life. Teach me to do my daily work for You alone and to do more than that in every way I can, for your greater glory. Blessed Thomas Mary Fusco, pray that we may achieve the crown of glory in heaven, amen.
An Act of Offering (Prayers to Christ in the Eucharist by Servant of God Fr Benedict Groeschel)
O Lord,
I offer You myself.
You have given Yourself to me –
now I wish to give myself to You.
I give You my body, that it may be chaste and pure.
I give You my soul, that it may be free from sin.
I give You my heart, that I may always love You.
I give You every breath that I breathe, especially my last.
I give You myself in life and in death,
knowing this alone brings the happiness I seek, amen.
Saint of the Day – 24 February – Bl Thomas Mary Fusco/Tommaso Maria Fusco (1831-1891 died aged 59) Priest and Founder called an “Apostle of Charity” – Patron of Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood
Thomas was born to a noble family in 1831 in Pagani, Italy. He was the seventh of eight children. When he was only six years old, his mother died of cholera. A few years later, his father also died. His uncle, a primary school teacher, took charge of Thomas’ education.
The canonization of St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1839 stirred aspirations for the priesthood in Thomas’ heart. He entered the seminary in 1847 and was ordained a priest in 1855. Immediately Thomas opened a morning school for the formation of boys and organized evening prayers for youth and adults. During these years, Thomas nurtured a deep devotion to the crucified Christ and to his Blessed Sorrowful Mother because of the deaths of his uncle and younger brother.
In 1862 he opened a school of moral theology in his home to train priests for the ministry of confession. That same year he also founded the priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate for missions among the faithful.
In 1873, Thomas was deeply moved by the plight of an orphaned street girl. After careful discernment, he founded the Congregation of the “Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood”.
For the remainder of his years, he was completely dedicated to his priestly ministry, preaching spiritual retreats and missions, teaching catechism to youth and organizing prayer for young people and adults at his parish. He worked to build a strong devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus among the people he served.
In 1891, Thomas died of liver disease at the age of 59.
The cause for his beatification was opened in 1955 and the decree of his heroic Christian virtues was published in 2001.
At Thomas’ beatification, Blessed John Paul II presented him as “an example and a guide to holiness for priests, for the people of God and for his spiritual daughters, the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood.”
Celebrating Bl Thomas’s Beatification in his hometown “Pagani, Italy”
St Adela of Blois
Bl Antonio Taglia
Bl Arnold of Carcassonne
St Betto of Auxerre
Bl Berta of Busano
Bl Constantius of Fabriano
St Cummian Albus of Iona
St Ethelbert of Kent
Evetius of Nicomedia
Bl Florentina Nicol Goni
Bl Ida of Hohenfels
Bl Josefa Naval Girbes
St Liudhard
Bl Lotario Arnari
Bl Marco De’ Marconi
St Modestus of Trier
St Peter the Librarian
St Praetextatus of Rouen
St Primitiva
St Sergius of Caesarea
Bl Simon of Saint Bertin
Bl Tommaso Maria Fusco
HOW TO AVOID PURGATORY By Fr. Paul O’Sullivan O.P.
For those who have not read this little book and to refresh myself, I will be posting the entire book in daily doses. (To read later find in the Purgatory Category).
Chapter 6
THE FOURTH MEANS: CONFESSION, COMMUNION, HOLY MASS
The Fourth Means by which we can lessen our time in Purgatory, or avoid it altogether, is by frequent Confession, Communion and daily assistance at Mass.
Confession applies to our souls the Precious Blood of Christ, wipes out our sins, gives us light to see their malice, fills us with horror of sin and above all, it gives us strength to avoid it.
In Holy Communion we receive the God of infinite mercy and love, the God of all sanctity, who comes expressly to pardon our sins and help us to sin no more. He visited the house of Zaccheus once, and in that one visit, Zaccheus obtained complete pardon of all his sins How is it possible that the same God of goodness and sweetness can come, not into our houses but into our very hearts in Holy Communion and not give us the same and even greater graces. He visited Zaccheus once, He visits us every day if we allow Him. Many, alas, never feel, never grasp the immense joys and consolation of Holy Communion.
The Mass is identical with the Sacrifice of Calvary, in its essence, in its value, in the graces it bestows. The Sacrifice of Calvary was sufficient to save all the world, millions and millions of souls and is also sufficient to save countless other sinful worlds, had they existed. By assisting at Mass, we can apply all these oceans of graces to our own souls and that not once, but every day.
RESOLUTION
Let us go to Mass and Holy Communion every day. We can do nothing better. One day with Mass and Communion is worth a hundred days without them.
Reflection – “We cannot escape punishment, here or hereafter; we must take our choice, whether to suffer and mourn a little now, or much then.”
“And then, alas! the truth flashed upon him; he uttered a great and bitter cry, when it was too late. It would have been well, had he uttered it before he came for the blessing, not after it. He repented when it was too late—it had been well if he had repented in time. So I say of persons who have in any way sinned. It is good for them not to forget that they have sinned. It is good that they should lament and deplore their past sins. Depend upon it, they will wail over them in the next world, if they wail not here. Which is better, to utter a bitter cry now or then?—then, when the blessing of eternal life is refused them by the just Judge at the last day, or now, in order that they may gain it? Let us be wise enough to have our agony in this world, not in the next. If we humble ourselves now, God will pardon us then. We cannot escape punishment, here or hereafter; we must take our choice, whether to suffer and mourn a little now, or much then.”
(Blessed John Henry Newman)
Lenten Preparation Novena
DAY FOUR
Loving Father,
may I live this Lent as an unceasing act of love for You.
Let me grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ.
In my prayer, grant me a spirit to see what must be done
and the strength to do what is right.
Make me radiant in Your presence
with the strength of my yearning for You.
By my fasting, fortify my resolve to carry out Your loving commands.
Bless me with an increase in devoutness of life so that I may be found steadfast in faith.
Any by my almsgiving, renew and purify my heart so that I may hold to the
things that eternally endure.
Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Amen
There is a time and judgment for everything………Eccl 8:6
REFLECTION – “Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,’ helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man.”…………..St Polycarp
PRAYER – God of goodness, let me never allow an opportunity for good to be wasted. Help me take advantage of every moment at my disposal to do good. St Polycarp pray for us, amen.
Saint of the Day – 23 February – St Polycarp of Smyrna – (69-156) – Martyr, Apostolic Church Father and Bishop of Smyrna, Writer, Preacher, Theologian – Patron against dysentery and earache.
Polycarp is regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. His name ‘Polycarp’ means ‘much fruit’ in Greek.
It is recorded by Irenaeus, who heard him speak in his youth, and by Tertullian, that he had been a disciple of John the Apostle. Saint Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a disciple of John and that John had ordained him bishop of Smyrna.
With Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers. The sole surviving work attributed to his authorship is his Letter to the Philippians; it is first recorded by Irenaeus of Lyons.
According to St Irenaeus, Polycarp was a companion of Papias, another “hearer of John” as Irenaeus interprets Papias’ testimony and a correspondent of Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius addressed a letter to him, and mentions him in his letters to the Ephesians and to the Magnesians.
Irenaeus regarded the memory of Polycarp as a link to the apostolic past. He relates how and when he became a Christian, and in his letter to Florinus stated that he saw and heard Polycarp personally in lower Asia. Irenaeus wrote to Florinus:
“I could tell you the place where the blessed Polycarp sat to preach the Word of God. It is yet present to my mind with what gravity he everywhere came in and went out; what was the sanctity of his deportment, the majesty of his countenance; and what were his holy exhortations to the people. I seem to hear him now relate how he conversed with John and many others who had seen Jesus Christ, the words he had heard from their mouths.”
In particular, he heard the account of Polycarp’s discussion with John and with others who had seen Jesus. Irenaeus also reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by apostles, was consecrated a bishop and communicated with many who had seen Jesus. He repeatedly emphasizes the very great age of Polycarp. Polycarp kissed the chains of Ignatius when he passed by Smyrna on the road to Rome for his martyrdom.
Polycarp occupies an important place in the history of the early Christian Church. He is among the earliest Christians whose writings survived. Saint Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a “disciple of the apostle John and by him ordained bishop of Smyrna”. He was an elder of an important congregation which was a large contributor to the founding of the Christian Church.
Irenaeus, who had heard him preach in his youth, said of him: “a man who was of much greater weight and a more steadfast witness of truth, than Valentinus and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics”. Polycarp had learned from apostle John to flee from those who change the divine truth. One day he met in the streets of Rome the heretic Marcion who, resenting that Polycarp did not greet him, said: “Do you know me?” The saint replied: “Yes, I know you, the first-born of Satan.” Polycarp lived in an age after the deaths of the apostles, when a variety of interpretations of the sayings of Jesus were being preached. His role was to authenticate orthodox teachings through his reputed connection with the apostle John: “a high value was attached to the witness Polycarp could give as to the genuine tradition of old apostolic doctrine”, Wace commented, “his testimony condemning as offensive novelties the figments of the heretical teachers”. Irenaeus states (iii. 3) that on Polycarp’s visit to Rome, his testimony converted many disciples of Marcion and Valentinus.
The story of Polycarp’s martyrdom is the earliest recorded account of a Christian martyr. Polycarp was seized for being a Christian. Persecution and death would not tear him away from Jesus now. Polycarp was led into the stadium of Smyrna. The crowd demanded that he be left to the lions, but instead he was sentenced to death by fire. An eyewitness account claims that the flames didn’t harm him. He was finally killed by the sword, and his body was burned.
The community of believers celebrated the anniversary of Polycarp’s death with great joy, for in him they had seen an outstanding example of love and patience. He had held strong and had won the treasure of eternal life. Polycarp is remembered as an Apostolic Father, one who was a disciple of the apostles.
St Polycarp of Smyrna (Memorial)
—
St Alexander Akimetes
St Boswell
St Dositheus of Egypt
St Felix of Brescia
St Florentius of Seville
St Giovanni Theristi
Bl Giovannina Franchi
Bl John of Hungary
Bl Josephine Vannini
Bl Juan Lucas Manzanares
Bl Ludwik Mzyk
St Martha of Astorga
St Medrald
St Milburga
Bl Nicolas Tabouillot
St Ordonius
St Polycarp of Rome
Bl Rafaela Ybarra de Villalongo
St Romana
St Serenus the Gardener
Bl Stefan Wincenty Frelichowski
St Willigis of Mainz
St Zebinus of Syria
—
Martyrs of Syrmium – 73 Christians who were martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know no details about them, and only six of their names – Antigonus, Libius, Rogatianus, Rutilus, Senerotas and Syncrotas.
Reflection – “He thought he was as sure of the blessing as if he had not sold the birthright.”
And then, when all is done and over and their souls sold to Satan, they never seem to understand that they have parted with their birthright. They think that they stand just where they did, before they followed the world, the flesh, and the devil; they take for granted that when they choose to become more decent, or more religious, they have all their privileges just as before. Like Samson, they propose to go out as at other times before, and shake themselves. And like Esau, instead of repenting for the loss of the birthright, they come, as a matter of course, for the blessing. Esau went out to hunt for venison gaily and promptly brought it to his father. His spirits were high, his voice was cheerful. It did not strike him that God was angry with him for what had past years ago. He thought he was as sure of the blessing as if he had not sold the birthright. (Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman)
Lenten Preparation Novena
DAY THREE
Today Lord I choose life,
I choose Your love and the challenge to live it and share it,
I choose hope, even in moments of darkness,
I choose faith, accepting You as Lord and God,
I choose to let go of some part of my burdens, day by day handing them over to You,
I choose to take hold of Your strength and power ever more deeply in my life.
I choose repentance and reparation and suffering, for all my sins
and those of all the world.
Forgive me my Lord!
May this truly be for me a time of new life, of change, challenge and growth.
May I come to Easter with a heart open to dying with You
and rising to Your new life, day by day. Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Amen.
HOW TO AVOID PURGATORY By Fr. Paul O’Sullivan O.P.
For those who have not read this little book and to refresh myself, I will be posting the entire book in daily doses. (To read later find in the Purgatory Category).
Chapter 5
THE THIRD MEANS: SUFFERING
The Third Means of avoiding Purgatory is very easy. It consists in making a
virtue of necessity, by bearing patiently what we cannot avoid and all the
more since suffering, borne patiently, becomes easy and light. Suffering,
if accepted with calmness and for God’s sake, loses all its sting. If
received badly, in the spirit of revolt and with repugnance, it is
intensified a hundredfold and becomes almost intolerable.
Everyone in this vale of tears has to face sorrows innumerable and infinite
in variety. Crosses light and crosses heavy are the lot of us all. Strange as it may seem, these sorrows, which most of us would gladly dispense with, are in truth God’s greatest graces. They are the little share He offers us of His Passion and which He asks us to bear for love of Him and as penance for our sins.
Borne in this spirit they will lessen considerably our time in Purgatory
and very possibly completely remove it–with this difference, that
Purgatory, even a Purgatory of 50 or 100 years, will in no wise increase
our merits in Heaven; whereas, every pain and sorrow and disappointment in
this life will lessen our suffering in Purgatory and also bring us more
happiness and glory in Heaven.
How sad it is that so many Christians, for want of thought, make their
sufferings a thousand times worse than they are and lose all the immense
merits that they could so easily gain.
RESOLUTION
Let us suffer with calmness and serenity for the love of God. We shall thus save ourselves from Purgatory.
From the beginning, the specialness, or primacy, of Peter has been recognized. On the feast of the Chair of Peter, we celebrate our unity as a Church. We celebrate the love, presence and protection of Christ for us, the Church. The title Chair of Peter refers to the chair from which a bishop presided, a symbol of his authority. When the title refers to Saint Peter, it recalls the supreme teaching power of Peter and his successors. Its first occupant stumbled a bit some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit, sometimes even failed scandalously. As individuals, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down. Still, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as a focus for the universal Church. It is from the chair, from the pastoral power given him, that the pope shepherds Christ’s flock. When the pope cautions world leaders, pleads for peace, or condemns social injustice, people listen and respond. What makes the world listen to this man? The answer lies in Scripture and in Tradition. Peter is named first among the apostles of Jesus; he was often their spokesman and leader; he was the first to preach after Pentecost and he was the leader in defending Christ and his message AND THE OCCUPANT OF THE CHAIR STILL IS!
Holy Father St Peter and all the Saints and Popes in Heaven, Pray for us!
“On this rock I will build my Church’,,,,,,,,,,Matthew 16:18
REFLECTION – “How blessed is the Church of Rome, on which the Apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood!” (De Praescriptione Hereticorum, 36)…….Tertullian
“I decided to consult the Chair of Peter,
where that faith is found exalted by
the lips of an Apostle;
I now come to ask for nourishment for my soul there,
where once I received the garment of Christ.
I follow no leader save Christ,
so I enter into communion with Your beatitude,
that is, with the Chair of Peter,
for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built”
(cf. Le lettere I, 15, 1-2)…………..St Jerome
PRAYER – Holy Father, send Your Divine Enlightener into the hearts of all Your faithful, filling us with the strength to fulfil our mission as the followers of the Chair of St Peter. And most of all, we pray Lord Holy God to inspire and light the way of our Holy Father, Francis. Sustain and guide him, keep him in health and strength, to lead Your people by the Light of the Way and the Truth. Holy Father, have mercy on us, Holy Spirit guide and lead us, Lord Jesus Christ be our intercessor and teacher, amen.
Show me, O Lord, Your mercy
and delight my heart with it.
Let me find You whom I so longingly seek.
Behold, here is the man whom the robbers seized,
manhandled, and left half dead on the road to Jericho.
Kind-hearted Samaritan, come to my aid!
I am the sheep who wandered into the wilderness.
Seek after me and bring me home again to Your fold.
Do with me according to Your Will,
that I may abide with You all the days of my life
and praise You with all those who are with You
in heaven for all eternity. Amen
By St Jerome
Feast of the Chair of St Peter – 22 February – Cathedra Petri), also known as the Throne of Saint Peter, is a relic conserved in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The relic is a wooden throne that tradition claims the Apostle Saint Peter, the leader of the Early Christians in Rome and first Pope, used as Bishop of Rome. The relic is enclosed in a sculpted gilt bronze casing designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed between 1647 and 1653. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI described the chair as “a symbol of the special mission of Peter and his Successors to tend Christ’s flock, keeping it united in faith and in charity.”
The wooden throne was a gift from Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in 875. It has been studied many times over the years, the last being from 1968 to 1974, when it was last removed from the Bernini altar. That study concluded that it was not a double, but rather a single, chair with a covering and that no part of the chair dated earlier than the sixth century. Below – The Pope’s throne in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, last publicly exposed in 1867.
The Chair is the cathedra of St. Peter’s Basilica. Cathedra is Latin for “chair” or “throne”, and denominates the chair or seat of a bishop, hence “cathedral” denominates the Bishop’s church in an episcopal see. The Popes formerly used the Chair. It is distinct from the Papal Cathedra in St. John Lateran Archbasilica, also in Rome, which is the actual cathedral church of the Pope, because the Cathedra he currently and officially sits upon is in its apse.
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, the Latin-rite liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. This is a very ancient tradition, proven to have existed in Rome since the fourth century. On it we give thanks to God for the mission he entrusted to the Apostle Peter and his Successors.
“Cathedra” literally means the established seat of the Bishop, placed in the mother church of a diocese which for this reason is known as a “cathedral”; it is the symbol of the Bishop’s authority and in particular, of his “magisterium”, that is, the evangelical teaching which, as a successor of the Apostles, he is called to safeguard and to transmit to the Christian Community.
When a Bishop takes possession of the particular Church that has been entrusted to him, wearing his mitre and holding the pastoral staff, he sits on the cathedra. From this seat, as teacher and pastor, he will guide the journey of the faithful in faith, hope and charity.
So what was the “Chair” of St Peter? Chosen by Christ as the “rock” on which to build the Church (cf. Mt 16: 18), he began his ministry in Jerusalem, after the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. The Church’s first “seat” was the Upper Room, and it is likely that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, Mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples. Therefore, we have the journey from Jerusalem, the newly born Church, to Antioch, the first centre of the Church formed from pagans and also still united with the Church that came from the Jews. Then Peter went to Rome, the centre of the Empire, the symbol of the “Orbis” – the “Urbs”, which expresses “Orbis”, the earth, where he ended his race at the service of the Gospel with martyrdom.
…This is testified by the most ancient Fathers of the Church, such as, for example, St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, but who came from Asia Minor, who in his treatise Adversus Haereses, describes the Church of Rome as the “greatest and most ancient, known by all… founded and established in Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul”; and he added: “The universal Church, that is, the faithful everywhere, must be in agreement with this Church because of her outstanding superiority” (III, 3, 2-3)….
Tertullian, a little later, said for his part: “How blessed is the Church of Rome, on which the Apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood!” (De Praescriptione Hereticorum, 36). Consequently, the Chair of the Bishop of Rome represents not only his service to the Roman community but also his mission as guide of the entire People of God.
Celebrating the “Chair” of Peter, therefore, as we are doing today, means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.
Among the numerous testimonies of the Fathers, I would like to quote St Jerome’s. It is an extract from one of his letters, addressed to the Bishop of Rome. It is especially interesting precisely because it makes an explicit reference to the “Chair” of Peter, presenting it as a safe harbour of truth and peace.
This is what Jerome wrote: “I decided to consult the Chair of Peter, where that faith is found exalted by the lips of an Apostle; I now come to ask for nourishment for my soul there, where once I received the garment of Christ. I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with your beatitude, that is, with the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built” (cf. Le lettere I, 15, 1-2).
Dear brothers and sisters, in the apse of St Peter’s Basilica, as you know, is the monument to the Chair of the Apostle, a mature work of Bernini. It is in the form of a great bronze throne supported by the statues of four Doctors of the Church: two from the West, St Augustine and St Ambrose and two from the East: St John Chrysostom and St Athanasius.
I invite you to pause before this evocative work which today can be admired, decorated with myriads of candles and to say a special prayer for the ministry that God has entrusted to me. Raise your eyes to the alabaster glass window located directly above the Chair and call upon the Holy Spirit, so that with his enlightenment and power, He will always sustain my daily service to the entire Church. For this, as for your devoted attention, I thank you from my heart.”…………….. Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday, 22 February 2006
St Ailius of Alexandria
St Angelus Portasole
St Aristion of Salamis
St Athanasius of Nicomedia
St Baradates of Cyrrhus
Bl Diego Carvalho
St Elwin
Bl Émilie d’Oultremont d’Hoogvorst
Bl Isabella of France
St John the Saxon
St Limnaeus
St Margaret of Cortona
St Maximian of Ravenna
St Miguel Facerías Garcés
St Mohammed Abdalla
St Papias of Heirapolis
St Paschasius of Vienne
St Raynerius of Beaulieu
St Thalassius
—
Martyrs of Arabia – A memorial for all the unnamed Christians martyred in the desert and mountainous areas south of the Dead Sea during the persecutions of Emperor Valerius Maximianus Galerius.
HOW TO AVOID PURGATORY By Fr. Paul O’Sullivan O.P.
For those who have not read this little book and to refresh myself, I will be posting the entire book in daily doses. (To read later find in the Purgatory Category).
Chapter 4
THE SECOND MEANS: PENANCE
The Second Means of avoiding Purgatory is to satisfy for our sins in this
life by doing penance. “Do penance or you shall all likewise perish”. Do
penance, or you will burn long years in Purgatory, is a fact that there is
no getting away from.
This is a terrifying thought and one that makes the bravest man shudder.
Which of us does not tremble when he thinks of those who have been burnt to
death in a slow fire? What fear would not be ours if we had to face a
similar death? Yet their suffering was of relatively short duration. The
incomparably fiercer fire of Purgatory, which we may have to face, may last
20, or 50 or 100 years!
Many people have such a horror of penance that they never even dream of
practicing it. It is like the fear that children have of ghosts, a very
great but a very unfounded fear. Their idea is that penance is something
awful. They think perhaps of the severe penances of the great Saints and of
course are afraid to attempt anything of a like kind.
The Second Means: Penance
God does not ask us, as a rule, to do what is heroic. When He does, He
gives us all the strength necessary, as in the case of the Saints. He asks
each one to do a little. If we are afraid of doing much and it is only
natural that some should be, let us do at least a little. No one but a
coward is afraid to do a little, especially if he gets much in exchange.
The easy road to Heaven of Saint Therese, the Little Flower, is to do many
little things. God was infinitely pleased with the widow’s mite; He will be
equally pleased with our little penances.
As a result of little mortifications, we can deliver ourselves from the
awful fires of Purgatory and amass rich merits for Heaven. To go into the
matter further, there is not much difficulty about mortification or
penance, notwithstanding the absurd fear that people have of it.
Penance is not only easy, it is useful and necessary and it will bring us
very great happiness. Not to do penance is the greatest penance of all. As
a matter of fact, every man of the world naturally, spontaneously mortifies
himself. The first principle, for instance, of politeness and good breeding
is to sacrifice our whims and tastes for the sake of others. The selfish
man is a boor; the generous man is the idol of all.
Again, the only way of securing good health is to eschew the most
appetising viands when they do us harm and to make use of plain foods when
they do us good. Overeating is the cause of the vast majority of sickness
and premature deaths.
To take another example. The secret of success is strenuous, methodical,
regular work. Now generosity, self-denial, method, regularity are other
forms of very genuine but practical mortification. Yet no man can get on
without them. To insist on our own likes and dislikes, to do only as we
please, is to lead a life bristling with difficulties, in which every duty
is a burden, every good act an effort and a labor
Boy scouts and girl scouts are bound to do a kind act every day, even though it costs them a big effort. Christians should surely do more. Daily acts of self-restraint, of patience with others, of kindness to others, the exact fulfilment of duty are splendid penances and a great aid to happiness.
RESOLUTION
If we are afraid to do much, let us do many little things.
Reflection – Do I despise the great gift of God’s Love?
“Is it not, I say, quite a common case for men and for women to neglect religion in their best days? They have been baptised, they have been taught their duty, they have been taught to pray, they know their Creed, their conscience has been enlightened, they have opportunity to come to Church. This is their birthright, the privileges of their birth of water and of the Spirit; but they sell it, as Esau did. They are tempted by Satan with some bribe of this world and they give up their birthright in exchange for what is sure to perish and to make them perish with it. Esau was tempted by the mess of pottage which he saw in Jacob’s hands. Satan arrested the eyes of his lust and he gazed on the pottage, as Eve gazed on the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve sold their birthright for the fruit of a tree—that was their bargain. Esau sold his for a mess of lentils—that was his. And men now-a-days often sell theirs, not indeed for any thing so simple as fruit or herb but for some evil gain or other, which at the time they think worth purchasing at any price; perhaps for the enjoyment of some particular sin, or more commonly for the indulgence of general carelessness and spiritual sloth because they do not like a strict life and have no heart for God’s service. And thus they are profane persons, for they despise the great gift of God.” – (Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman)
Lenten Preparation Novena
DAY TWO
Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.
Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.
Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.
Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.
Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen
St Peter Damian was a reformer but he reformed his own life before he tried to reform others. Example is still the most powerful influence in changing others and preaching is useless if it is not joined to a holy life. Before we can change others, we have to change ourselves. Lent is nearly here – a great place to work on our progress or to begin all over again.
“He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength… As the soul is the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.”
“The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits. A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday with exactitude and to study and work with all our strength.”
“Through a woman [Eve] a curse fell upon the earth; through a woman [Mary] as well there returned to the earth, a blessing.”
For whom the Lord loves he reproves,
he chastises the one he favours………….Proverbs 3:12
REFLECTION – “When you are scorned by others and lashed by God, do not despair.
God lashes us in this life to shield us from the eternal lash in the next.”………..St Peter Damian
PRAYER – Infinitely just God, help me to accept Your corrections and turn them to my benefit. Let me never despair about my weaknesses but entrust myself to Your goodness and mercy. Help me Lord! St Peter Damian, pray for us, amen.
(Excerpt 2 from the Universal Prayer attributed to Pope Clement XI)
I pray to You, Lord, enlighten my understanding, strengthen my will, make clean my heart, make holy my inward being. Give me sorrow for my past sins and let me not fall into temptation. Help me to rise above my natural weaknesses, let me grow stronger in all that is good and true. Grant me, O good and loving God, to love You as You deserve, to turn away from all that is self-centred. Let me seek Your Kingdom above all, let me live as a pilgrim in this world, give me right respect for all who have claim on me. Give me a tender care for any who depend on me. Let me cherish my friends and let me forgive my enemies from my heart. Grant me all this, my heavenly Father for I give You all of myself through Christ our Lord, amen.
Saint of the Day – 21 February – St Peter Damian (c 1007-1072) Bishop, Confessor, Benedictine Monk, Cardinal, Theologian, Reformer, Writer, Teacher, Preacher, Poet and Doctor of the Church. Also known as – Petrus Damianus; Italian: Pietro or Pier Damiani was a reforming Benedictine Monk and Cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of Paradiso as a great predecessor of Saint Francis of Assisi. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1828 by Patronages – Spiritual warfare, Church Reformers and of Faenza, Italy.
Peter was born in Ravenna, Italy, around 1007, the youngest of a large noble but poor family. Orphaned early, he was at first adopted by an elder brother, who ill-treated and underfed him while employing him as a swineherd. After some years, another brother, Damianus, who was Archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him away to be educated. Adding his brother’s name to his own, Peter made such rapid progress in his studies of Theology and Canon Law, first at Ravenna, then at Faenza and finally at the University of Parma, that when about twenty-five years old he was already a famous teacher at Parma and Ravenna. As well as a good grounding in the field of law, he acquired a refined expertise in the art of writing the ars scribendi and, thanks to his knowledge of the great Latin classics, became “one of the most accomplished Latinists of his time, one of the greatest writers of medieval Latin” (J. Leclercq, Pierre Damien, ermite et homme d’Église, Rome, 1960, p. 172).
About 1035, however, he gave up his secular calling and, avoiding the compromised luxury of Cluniac Monasteries, entered the isolated hermitage of Fonte Avellana, near Gubbio. Both as a Novice and as a Monk, his fervour was remarkable but led him to such extremes of self-mortification in penance that his health was affected and he developed severe insomnia. On his recovery, he was appointed to lecture to his fellow Monks. Then, at the request of St Guy of Pomposa (Guido d’Arezzo) and other heads of neighbouring Monasteries, for two or three years he lectured to their brethren too and (about 1042) wrote the Vita of St. Romuald for the monks of Pietrapertosa. Soon after his return to Fonte Avellan, he was appointed Economus (manager or administrator) of the house by the Prior, who designated him as his successor. In 1043 he became Prior of Fonte Avellana and remained so until his death in February 1072.
Subject-hermitages were founded at San Severino, Gamogna, Acerreta, Murciana, San Salvatore, Sitria and Ocri. A zealot for monastic and clerical reform, he introduced a more-severe discipline, including the practice of flagellation (“the disciplina”), into the house, which, under his rule, quickly attained celebrity and became a model for other foundations, even the great abbey of Monte Cassino. There was much opposition outside his own circle to such extreme forms of penitence, but Peter’s persistent advocacy ensured its acceptance, to such an extent that he was obliged later to moderate the imprudent zeal of some of his own hermits. Another innovation was that of the daily siesta, to make up for the fatigue of the night office. During his tenure of the priorate a cloister was built, silver chalices and a silver processional cross were purchased, and many books were added to the library.
Reformer Although living in the seclusion of the cloister, Peter Damian closely watched the fortunes of the Church and like his friend Hildebrand, the future Pope Gregory VII, he strove for reforms in a deplorable time. When Benedict IX resigned the pontificate into the hands of the archpriest John Gratian (Gregory VI) in 1045, Peter hailed the change with joy and wrote to the new pope, urging him to deal with the scandals of the church in Italy, singling out the wicked bishops of Pesaro, of Città di Castello and of Fano. Extending the area of his activities, he entered into communication with the Emperor Henry III. He was present in Rome when Clement II crowned Henry III and his consort Agnes and he also attended a synod held at the Lateran in the first days of 1047, in which decrees were passed against simony. After this he returned to his hermitage.
Pope Benedict XVI described him as “one of the most significant figures of the 11th century … a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform.”
Philosophy Peter often condemned philosophy. He claimed that the first grammarian was the Devil, who taught Adam to decline deus in the plural. He argued that monks should not have to study philosophy, because Jesus did not choose philosophers as disciples and so philosophy is not necessary for salvation. But the idea (later attributed to Thomas Aquinas) that philosophy should serve theology as a servant serves her mistress originated with him.
Papal envoy and Cardinal During his illness the pope died, and Frédéric, abbot of Monte Cassino, was elected pope as Stephen IX. In the autumn of 1057, Stephen IX determined to make Damian a cardinal. For a long time Damian resisted the offer, for he was more at ease as an itinerant hermit-preacher than a reformer from within the Curia but was finally forced to accept and was consecrated Cardinal Bishop of Ostia on 30 November 1057. In addition he was appointed administrator of the Diocese of Gubbio. The new cardinal was impressed with the great responsibilities of his office and wrote a stirring letter to his brother-cardinals, exhorting them to shine by their example before all. Four months later Pope Stephen died at Florence and the Church was once more distracted by schism. Peter was vigorous in his opposition to the antipope Benedict X but force was on the side of the intruder and Damian retired temporarily to Fonte Avallana.
Milan About the end of the year 1059 Peter was sent as legate to Milan by Pope Nicholas II. So bad was the state of things at Milan, that benefices (a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services) were openly bought and sold and the clergy publicly married the women with whom they lived. The resistance of the clergy of Milan to the reform of Ariald the Deacon and Anselm, Bishop of Lucca rendered a contest so bitter that an appeal was made to the Holy See. Nicholas II sent Damian and the Bishop of Lucca as his legates. The party of the irregular clerics took alarm and raised the cry that Rome had no authority over Milan. Peter boldly confronted the rioters in the cathedral, he proved to them the authority of the Holy See with such effect that all parties submitted to his decision. He exacted first a solemn oath from the archbishop and all his clergy that for the future no preferment should be paid for; then, imposing a penance on all who had been guilty, he reinstated in their benefices all who undertook to live in celibacy. This prudent decision was attacked by some of the rigorists at Rome but was not reversed. Meanwhile, Peter was pleading in vain to be released from the cares of his office. Neither Nicholas II nor Hildebrand would consent to spare him.
Later career He rendered valuable assistance to Pope Alexander II in his struggle with the antipope, Honorius II. In July 1061 the pope died and once more a schism ensued. Peter Damian used all his powers to persuade the antipope Cadalous to withdraw but to no purpose. Finally Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne and acting regent in Germany, summoned a council at Augsburg at which a long argument by Peter Damian was read and greatly contributed to the decision in favour of Alexander II.
In 1063 the pope held a synod at Rome, at which Peter Damian was appointed legate to settle the dispute between the Abbey of Cluny and the Bishop of Mâcon. He proceeded to France, summoned a council at Chalon-sur-Saône, proved the justice of the contentions of Cluny, settled other questions at issue in the Church of France and returned in the autumn to Fonte Avellana. Having served the papacy as legate to France and to Florence, he was allowed to resign his bishopric in 1067. Early in 1072 or 1073 he was sent to Ravenna to reconcile its inhabitants to the Holy See, they having been excommunicated for supporting their archbishop in his adhesion to the schism of Cadalous. On his return thence he was seized with fever near Faenza. He lay ill for a week at the monastery of Santa Maria degl’Angeli, now Santa Maria Vecchia. On the night preceding the feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch, he ordered the office of the feast to be recited and at the end of the Lauds he died. He was at once buried in the monastery church, lest others should claim his relics.
St Peter Damian (Optional Memorial)
—
St Avitus II of Clermont
Bl Caterina Dominici
Bl Claudio di Portaceli
St Daniel of Persia
Bl Eleanora
St Ercongotha
St Eustathius of Antioch
St Felix of Metz
St George of Amastris
St Germanus of Granfield
St Gundebert of Sens
Bl Noel Pinot
St Paterius of Brescia
St Pepin of Landen
St Peter Mavimenus
St Randoald of Granfield
St Robert Southwell
St Severian of Scythopolis
St Severus of Syrmium
Bl Thomas Pormort
St Valerius of San Pedro de Montes
St Verda of Persia
—
Martyrs of Sicily – 79 saints – Seventy-nine Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. c.303 on Sicily
Martyrs of Hadrumetum – A group of 26 Christians martyred together by Vandals. We know little more than eight of their names – Alexander, Felix, Fortunatus, Saturninus, Secundinus, Servulus, Siricius and Verulus. c.434 at Hadrumetum (modern Sousse, Tunisia)
Alexander
Felix
Fortunatus
Saturninus
Secundinus
Servulus
Siricius
Verulus
Martyrs Uchibori – Three Japanese laymen, all brothers, all sons of Paulus Uchibori Sakuemon, one a teenager, one only five years old, and all martyred for their faith in the persecutions in Japan. 21 February 1627 in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan. Beatified 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Antonius
Balthasar
Ignatius
“Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. … It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change. There can be no change; there can be no reversal. As that judgment decides it, so it will be for ever and ever. Such is the particular judgment. … when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in His presence and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words and deeds of this past life. Who will be able to bear the sight of himself? And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves. In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves. We do not like to know how sinful we are. We love those who prophecy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults. But on that day, not one fault only but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out. We shall see what we feared to see here and much more. And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him! …………………….We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”– (Blessed Card. John Henry Newman)
Lenten Preparation Novena
DAY ONE
Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.
Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.
Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.
Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.
Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)
Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.
HOW TO AVOID PURGATORY By Fr. Paul O’Sullivan O.P.
For those who have not read this little book and to refresh myself, I will be posting the entire book in daily doses. (To read later find in the Purgatory Category).
Chapter 3
THE FIRST MEANS: REMOVING THE CAUSE
The First Means of avoiding Purgatory is manifestly to remove the cause
which sends us there, which is sin.
It may not be easy to refrain from all sin, even the smaller sins but
every ordinary Christian can, by the frequent use of the Sacraments, easily
abstain from mortal sin.
Secondly, we can all avoid deliberate and grave venial sin. It is an awful
thing to offend the good God deliberately. Deliberation intensifies
enormously the malice of sin and offends God much more than faults of
weakness, or sins committed when we are off our guard.
Lastly, we must use our best endeavours to break off bad habits. Habits,
like deliberation, add seriously to the malice of sin
A deliberate falsehood is very much worse than a hasty lie of excuse and a
lie resulting from the inveterate habit of lying is very much worse than a
casual lie.
A lady once told us how she had, when younger, the habit of constantly
speaking ill of her neighbours.
Having heard a sermon on the subject, she made a strong resolution never to
do so again and kept it.
That simple, strong resolution changed the whole trend of her life and
saved her from thousands of sins, and most surely from a long and painful
Purgatory.
Who cannot make a like resolution and keep it?
If a Christian avoids, as he easily can, these three classes of sin, viz.,
mortal sins, deliberate and grave venial sins and habits of sin, it will
be relatively easy for him to atone for faults of frailty, as we shall
presently see.
RESOLUTION
We would be well advised to pronounce with special emphasis and fervour,
every time we say the Our Father, the words:
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”
These are the very words of God Himself and repeated frequently and
fervently will certainly obtain for us pardon of our sins.
You might think that if the Blessed Mother of God appears to you and speaks to you, you are a saint. But that is not necessarily true. What is true is that Mary chose to come to children who the year before had been visited by the Angel of Peace, children who had listened to the angel’s message and prayed the prayer the angel taught them. They responded to Mary in the same way and prayed the Rosary and offered sacrifices for sinners and for the conversion of the world. They were children who wanted to please God and that is why the Church has declared them Blessed.
Francisco and Jacinta died within a short time, as the Lady had said they would. They were beatified on May 13, 2000. At that time Lucia los Santos was a Carmelite nun in Portugal. Sister Lucia died February 13, 2005 at age 97. The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year and is the source of many conversions and miracles.
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.