Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Psalms 23: 1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 (1); Ephesians 2: 13-18 Gospel: Mark 6: 30-34
“Come away by yourselves , o a deserted place and rest awhile”
Mark 6:31
“What benefits What divine exultation The solitude and silence of the desert Hold in store for those who love it!”
St Bruno (c 1030-1101)
“Alas, such are the passions of the flesh and the turmoil of thoughts, coming and going in our hearts, that we have no time to eat the food of everlasting sweetness, nor perceive the taste of interior contemplation. That is why our Lord says: “Come away” from the noisy crowd “to a deserted place,” to solitude of mind and heart, “and rest awhile.”
St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
“Until I was alone I never really lived. Until I was alone, I was not with myself. Until I was alone, I never drew near to my creator.”
Bl Paolo Giustiniani (1476-1528)
“Recall yourself sometimes to the interior solitude of your heart and there, removed from all creatures, treat of the affairs of your salvation and your perfection with God, as a friend would speak heart to heart with another.”
St Francis of Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
“The great method of prayer is to have none. If, in going to prayer, one can form in oneself, a pure capacity for receiving the spirit of God, that will suffice for all method.”
Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ / Institution of the Angelus of Our Lady, Europe, (1456) – 28 June:
The institution of the Angelus occurred on 28-29 June about 1456 by Pope Callistus. The Turks had been threatening Europe and it was the Pope’s request that the Faithful recite the Angelus for the safety of Christendom against the Turks and for peace. The Angelus was first recited about sunset, a general practice throughout Europe in the first half of the 14th century, recommended by Pope John XXI. The morning Angelus seems to have started somewhat later, again, for peace. The recitation of the midday Angelus began sometime in the 14th or 15th century; it was called the “Peace Bell.” This present-day custom of reciting the Angelus is a short practice of devotion in honour of the Incarnation, repeated three times each day, morning, noon, and evening, at the sound of the Church bell.
It is curious how the Angelus is associated historically with the invasion of the Turks, again, in 1683, when they laid siege to Vienna. Emperor Leopold of Austria fled and begged for assistance and help from John Sobieski, a great Polish general, who gathered his army and hastened to the rescue, stopping at one of Our Lady’s Shrines in Poland, for blessing. On 11 September Sobieski was on the heights of Kahlenberg, near Vienna and the next day engaged in battle with the Turks. Brilliantly leading his troops, he forced the Turks into a trap but the number of the foe was so great, that he could not penetrate their ranks; then Sobieski’s cavalry turned in retreat, interpreted by the Turks as flight. The Turks rushed forward but were re-attacked. The shouts and cries of Sobieski’s men threw terror into the Turks, when they learned that Sobieski himself, “The Northern Lion,” was on the battlefield, for he had defeated the Turks in Poland on previous occasions and they feared him, therefore, the Turks fled panic-stricken. The battle raged for a time; all along the front was Sobieski commanding, fighting, encouraging his men and urging them forward. The Turks were finally defeated, Vienna and Christendom saved and the news was sent to Pope Innocent XI at Rome. Sobieski was a humble man, for in the height of his greatest victory, in a letter to Pope Innocent XI, he said it was God’s cause he was fighting for and Mary’s honour. His message to the Pope on the victory read: “I came, I saw but God and Mary conquered.” The day after the Battle, Sobieski entered Vienna victoriously. Later, he pursued the Turks into Hungary, again attacking and defeating them. The Turkish threat to Europe had been vanished forever, or at least until the 21st century.
Pope Innocent XI, after the battle of Vienna, requested the whole Christian world to recite the Angelus for peace. In our own time, we see the peaceful Moslem invasion of Europe, which once again, Poland is resisting.
The 500th anniversary of the Institution of the Angelus by Pope Callistus III, was a reminder to recite the centuries old prayer for peace and for the protection of the Christian world. Let us renew this pious practice if we have become lax in our devotion and let us pray the Angelus, for the protection of the Church in our own times, from the many menaces, on all fronts, internally and exteriorly facing the Faith and the world and the whole existence of the Catholic Church.
Bl Almus of Balmerino St Argymirus of Córdoba St Attilio of Trino St Austell of Cornwall St Benignus of Utrecht St Crummine Bl Damian of Campania St Egilo St Heimrad St Lupercio St Papias the Martyr
Martyrs of Africa – 27 saints: 27 Christians martyred together. The only details about them to survive are the names – Afesius, Alexander, Amfamon, Apollonius, Arion, Capitolinus, Capitulinus, Crescens, Dionusius, Dioscorus, Elafa, Eunuchus, Fabian, Felix, Fisocius, Gurdinus, Hinus, Meleus, Nica, Nisia, Pannus, Panubrius, Plebrius, Pleosus, Theoma, Tubonus and Venustus. Unknown location in Africa, date unknown.
Martyrs of Alexandria – 8 saints: A group of spiritual students of Origen who were martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Septimius Severus – Heraclides, Heron, Marcella, Plutarch, Potamiaena the Elder, Rhais, Serenus and Serenus. They were burned to death c.206 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Quote/s of the Day – 6 February – Readings: Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6, Mark 6:30-34
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile”
Mark 6:31
“The supreme goal to which the monk tends, the summit of the perfection of his heart, is indeed the union of his heart with his Lord.”
St John Cassian (c 360-435) Monk, Father of the Church
“O Hermitage, only those who know you, who rest sweetly in your arms, can tell of your grandeur and chant your praises. As for me, I only know this and affirm it in all sincerity – Whoever forces himself with perseverance to enter more and more into the desire to love You, will finally enter Your mystery and, at the same time, the mystery of God.”
St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Benedictine Monk Doctor of the Church
“What benefits What divine exultation The solitude and silence of the desert Hold in store for those who love it!”
St Bruno (c 1030-1101)
“Until I was alone I never really lived. Until I was alone, I was not with myself. Until I was alone, I never drew near to my creator.”
Quote/s of the Day – 23 August – Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Rose of Lima (1586-1617)
“My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
“The thief on the cross certainly did not receive the Kingdom of Heaven as a reward for his virtues but as a grace and a mercy from God. He can serve as an authentic witness that our salvation is given to us only by God’s mercy and grace. All the holy masters knew this and unanimously taught that perfection in holiness can be achieved only through humility.”
St John Cassian (c 360- c 435)
“Christ shall minister to us and show us His radiant Face and His glorious Body with all the marks of faithfulness and love therein impressed. And we shall see all the glorious bodies clothed with all the many tokens of love won in the service of God since the beginning of the world… And our living hearts shall flame with burning love for God and all His saints…”
Bl Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381) Canon Regular, “Doctor Divinus Ecstaticus,” Mystic, Spiritual Writer – The seven steps of the ladder of spiritual love
“There is no sinner in the world, however much at enmity with God, who cannot recover God’s grace, by recourse to Mary and by asking her assistance.”
St Bridget of Sweden (c 1303 – 1373)
Prayer of Blessed Paolo Giustiniani
“Lord, I dare not say to You: “Show me the light that I may believe in Your Light” but it is enough for me, that You make me see my darkness … Bring me back to myself. In my misery I have distanced myself not only from You but from myself, becoming a stranger to myself. Make me know my darkness, that then I may look at the light. Yes, I tell You and repeat to You incessantly, Show me to myself, so that I may know my sins.”
Blessed Paolo Giustiniani (1476-1528)
“Give me grace to amend my life and to have an eye to mine end, without grudge of death, which to them that die in You, good Lord, is the gate of a wealthy life.”
St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
“Our Lord and Saviour lifted up His voice and said with incomparable majesty: “Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions, it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know, that the gifts of grace increase, as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise and without the cross, they can find no road to climb to heaven.”
Saint of the Day – 28 June – Blessed Paolo Giustiniani ECMC (1476-1528) – Priest, Monk and Founder of the Congregation of the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona, Reformer – born as Tommaso Giustiniani on 14 June in Venice, Italy and died on 28 June 1528, aged 52 in Monte Soratte.
He was a member of the noble Giustiniani family of Venice and was born there in 1476, the son of Francesco Giustiniani and Paola Malipiero. He studied theology, philosophy and law, at the University of Padua. when he had completed his studies, in 1507, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and upon his return he felt a call to follow the life of a the religious.
He joined the Order of the Camàldula, the Camaldolese, in 1510. The superior of the order, Pietro Delfino, asked him to assist in ending the irregularities that existed in some communities of the order, caused by the autonomy of each house and the lack of authority of the Prior General. Especially, the conventual branch (of cenobitic life) had relaxed in the application of the rule. In 1513, Pope Leo X, at the request of Giustiniani and Delfino, convened a General Chapter of the Camaldolese that decided the creation of the united congregation of the Sacred Hermitage and San Michele de Murano, with temporary general Priors and with a balance between the Conventual and Hermit branches.
In 1516 he was elected Prior of the Hermitage of Camaldoli until 1520 and in 1518 he was Ordained a Priest. Desiring a more hermit-like type of life and faithful to the primitive rule of the order, he obtained from Pope Leo X, permission to found other communities, which would follow the original rule of St Romuald. Pope Leo X granted him the necessary permission and allowed him to found a differentiated congregation, free from the jurisdiction of the Camaldolese Prior General and with its own constitutions, called the Company of Hermits of Saint Romuald, which would later be the Congregation of the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona. This Order would come to considered as the most faithful expression of the original Charism of the Order of St Romuald.
On his return from Rome with permission, Giustiniani resigned as Prior and with a companion, Oliverio da Cortona, went to seek the spiritual guidance of a Hermit who lived in Monte Corona, near Perugia. Together with a Dominican, they went to live alone in a place in the Apennines, Pascialupo, where they lived in a Chapel and in 1521 founded the Hermitage of Monte Cucco.
Allegory of the Camaldolese Hermitages by El Greco
Paolo was left alone with the Camaldolese monk who had accompanied him, as the other companion did not want to adopt the rule of St Romuald. The monks of Camaldoli asked him to be closer to them and he soon moved to a Hermitage near Massaccio, where he was joined by other monks of Camaldoli. These first Hermitages were followed by those of Cupramontana, San Leonardo de Monte Volubrio (diocese of Fermo) and San Benedetto de Monte Conero, near Ancona .
In 1522, Giustiniani drafted the constitutions of the new congregation, which consisted of the rigorous application of the original rule, modifying only the habit.
In 1523, the Order recognised the congregation of Monte Corona as independent, remaining in the Camaldolese family and in 1524 the first Chapter of the four hermitages of the congregation took place, which elected the Founder as Prior General. In 1527 he went to Rome for matters of order and was taken prisoner by the soldiers of the army of Charles V who occupied the city. with Gaietà de Thiene , also a prisoner, he was tortured but released. He returned to Venice and then to Massaccio.
In 1528 he returned to Rome and visited the Pope, obtaining confirmation of some privileges of the Order. In Viterbo he contracted the plague. He went to San Silvestro de Monte Soratte, near Rome, an ancient Benedictine Abbey that had been given to the Hermits of Monte Corona. He died there on 28 June 1528.
San Silvestro de Monte Soratte, where Blessed Paolo died
He was succeeded as the Prior General of the congregation by Agostino di Basciano.
He was buried in the crypt of San Silvestro. His relics were lost during the abandonment of the Hermitage and were only rediscovered in 1932. Although he has never been formally Beatified, he had always been considered a saint and was decribed as a “beati.” His cultus was formally confirmed allowing special veneration in his order.
Blessed Paolo Giustiniani’s Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona lives solely in Hermitages, usually with a very small number of monks comprising the community. There are three houses in Italy, two in Poland and one each in Spain, the United States and Colombia, as well as a new foundation in Venezuela. Unlike the other congregation, it is not a member of the larger Benedictine Confederation.
Bl Almus of Balmerino
St Argymirus of Córdoba
St Attilio of Trino
St Austell of Cornwall
St Benignus of Utrecht
St Crummine
Bl Damian of Campania
St Egilo
St Heimrad
St Lupercio
St Papias the Martyr Blessed Paolo Giustiniani ECMC (1476-1528)
St Pope Paul I
St Theodichildis St Vincenza Gerosa (1784–1847) Her life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/06/28/saint-of-the-day-28-june-st-vincenza-gerosa-1784-1847/
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Martyrs of Africa – 27 saints: 27 Christians martyred together. The only details about them to survive are the names – Afesius, Alexander, Amfamon, Apollonius, Arion, Capitolinus, Capitulinus, Crescens, Dionusius, Dioscorus, Elafa, Eunuchus, Fabian, Felix, Fisocius, Gurdinus, Hinus, Meleus, Nica, Nisia, Pannus, Panubrius, Plebrius, Pleosus, Theoma, Tubonus and Venustus. Unknown location in Africa, date unknown.
Martyrs of Alexandria – 8 saints: A group of spiritual students of Origen who were martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Septimius Severus – Heraclides, Heron, Marcella, Plutarch, Potamiaena the Elder, Rhais, Serenus and Serenus. They were burned to death c.206 in Alexandria, Egypt.
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