St Bartholomew of Rossano (c 970-c 1065) Abbot Confessor, Spiritual disciple and friend of St Nilus (910-1005), Hymnist an highly skilled Calligrapher of sacred manuscripts – the art of calligraphy he had learned from his blessed guide and teacher, He is known as the “Second Founder,” of the Monastery of Grottaferrata founded by St Nilus. A copyist of many codices, Bartholomew is also considered the greatest hymnographer of the 11th century. His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/11/saint-of-the-day-11-november-saint-bartholomew-of-rossano-c-970-c-1065/
St Bertuin of Malonne St Cynfran of Wales St Isidre Costa Hons Bl Josaphat Chichkov St Marina of Omura St Mennas of Santomenna St Mercurius the Soldier Bl Pavel Dzjidzjov St Rhediw St Theodore the Studite St Turibius of Palencia St Veranus of Lyon St Veranus of Vence
One Minute Reflection – 15 November – Readings: Wisdom 7: 22b – 8: 1; Psalm 119: 89-91, 130, 135, 175; Luke 17: 20-25 – The Memorial of St Martin of Tours (c 316-397) and St Bartholomew of Rossano (c 970-c 1065)
“For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” – Luke 17:21
REFLECTION – “The Kingdom of God is within you,” says the Lord …. Get up, faithful soul, prepare your heart for this Bridegroom, that He may deign to come and dwell within you. For so He proclaimed: “Whoever loves me will keep my word and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him,” (Jn 14:23). Make room for Christ and then, bar the door against all comers. When you have Christ, you have all the riches you need. He will be your Purveyor and your faithful Manager in all things; you will have no need to hope in men. For men are quick to change and speedily die but Christ “remains forever” (Jn 12:34), standing firm to the very end.
Not much reliance should be placed upon man, be he never so beloved or so useful; for he goes to pieces and he dies. And not much sadness should be felt if he sometimes turns against you – with you to-day, against you to-morrow and fickle as the breeze, to return to you again. Put all your trust in God, let Him be your fear and Him your Love. He will answer for you and do that good thing that is best for you.
“Here we have no lasting city” (Heb 13:14), wherever you are, you are “a stranger and an alien” (Heb 11:13); you will never, at anytime have peace until you are intimately one with Christ.” – Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471) – The Imitation of Christ – (Book II, ch. 1, 2-3)– Trans Robert Dudley
PRAYER – Our Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done! Grant us Lord, a true knowledge of our salvation, so that freed from fear and from the power of our foes, we may serve You faithfully, all the days of our lives and thus attain eternal joy with You. May the prayers of St Martin of Tours and St Bartholomew of Rossano, on our behalf, be a succour to us all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 11 November – Saint Bartholomew of Rossano (c 970-c 1065) Basilian Monk, Abbot, Confessor, Spiritual disciple and friend of St Nilus (910-1005), Hymnist an highly skilled Calligrapher of sacred manuscripts – the art of calligraphy he had learned from his blessed guide and teacher, He is known as the “Second Founder,” of the Monastery of Grottaferrata founded by St Nilus. A copyist of many codices, Bartholomew is also considered the greatest hymnographer of the 11th century. Born in c 970 in Rossano, Calabria, Italy and died on 11 November c1065 at Grottaferrata Abbey, Frascati, Italy of natural causes. Also known as – Bartholomew of Grottaferrata, Bartholomew the Younger, Bartolomeo il Giovane.
The Roman Martyrology states: “In the Monastery of Crypta-Ferrata, near Frascati, the holy Abbot Bartholomew, companion of the blessed Saint Nilus, whose life he wrote.”
Bartholomew was the son of a noble Greek immigrant family originally from Constantinople. He was Baptised with the name of Basilio and showed much interest in religious life from an early age. At the age of seven he was entrusted to the Monks of the Monastery of San Giovanni Calibita, where he received such a profound education, that he surpassed his contemporaries
After five years he went to Vallelucio, near Monte Cassion, where he became the disciple of St Nilus of Rossano and a Monk at the Monastery at Grottaferrata in Fracati, which St Nilus had founded. The Monks celebrated the Greek Catholic Rite and kept the Basilian Rule. St Nilu’s life here: https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/26/saint-of-the-day-26-september-saint-nilus-the-younger-910-1005/
The Monastery of Grottaferrata
When St Nilus died in 1005, Bartholomew continued his works and became his fourth successor as Abbot – a position he held for forty years. During those 40 years, Bartholomew completed the construction of the Monastery and other ancillary works, which St Nilus had begun. This work turned the Monastery into a centre of education and manuscript copying and was so extensive, that he is often listed as the ” Second Founder.” Under his guidance and administration, the Monastery established a firm basis, surviving many troubles and political interference and thus, this foundation has allowed it to continue to this day.
He also took part in the Roman Synods of 1036 and 1044. He showed excellent diplomatic skills, managing to appease the differences between Duke Adenolfo and the Prince of Salerno. He was a close friend of the Pontiffs Benedict VIII and Benedict IX, managing to persuade the latter to abdicate, who then retired to the Monastery of Grottaferrata.
Bartholomew was described as having a very sympathetic and kind nature. He was unable to see anyone suffer in any manner, without striving to assist and extend comfort.
In the biography of the Saint, a miracle is narrated that underlines his love for the poor, which happened a few years after his death. The protagonist of this event is a Monk named Franco, who at the end of his life and unable to speak, was miraculously healed. He told his brothers that he was now ready for burial and that in his sleep, he had seen two doves, one white and one black, approach him and guiding him into a field full of light, where Bartholomew was standing surrounded by a multitude of poor people. Bartholomew gave them all bread, then entered a beautiful building in which there was a woman of indescribable beauty, that is, the Virgin Mary. Here Bartholomew, addressing the Monk Franco advising him to remind the remaining Monks of Grottaferrata, to be merciful towards the poor.
Bartholomew died around 1065, he was buried next to St Nilus in the Chapel named after the two of them in the Monastery. heir remains remained in Grottaferrata until 1300, after this date all traces of their relics disappeared.
The interior of the Grottaferrata Abbey
Pope Pius XII on the Ninth Centenary of the Saint’s death, in a message to the Abbot of Grottaferrata, defined St Bartholomew “luminary of the Church and ornament of the Apostolic See.”
Nossa Senhora do Português / Our Lady of the Portuguese, Diu, India (1546) – 11 November:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “On this day, about the year 1546, the Portuguese gained a great victory over the infidels, who had been before the castle of Die, in the East Indies, for the space of seven months and who would have carried it by storm, if Our Lady had not appeared upon the walls – which caused so great terror in the enemy’s camp, that the siege was at once raised.”
The Portuguese began building the stronghold of Diu, their symbol of Portuguese influence and authority in the region, protecting their lucrative trade with India, on 20 November 1535 and finished the work a short time later, on 29 February of the following year. The fort was circular in shape, having walls 6 metres high and 3.50 metres thick, made of solid stone and lime. There was a deep ditch immediately before these stout walls and the fort had three triangular shaped bastions. Manned with a garrison of three hundred and fifty men, it was further supported by a fleet of eleven ships. Manuel De Souza was named the fort’s first Captain. It was not long before the Portuguese came under siege, as a powerful Ottoman fleet made up of 72 ships laid siege to the stronghold in September of 1538. The Turks arrived with an army of at least 20,000 men, far more than the 400 or so Portuguese who made up the entire garrison. There were many pitched battles after an intense bombardment and as time wore on the Portuguese suffered from an acute shortage of men and ammunition and a lack of adequate nutrition, bringing scurvy and great suffering to the remaining defenders. The defenders were at their last extreme and the fort had less than 40 men left alive when the siege suddenly ended. Modern history records that, “for unknown reasons” the savage Turks gave up the siege and sailed away for no reason. It was obvious to the battle hardened Turkish troops, that the defence was about to collapse and that victory was at hand, so there must have been a reason that they fled. The Portuguese defenders could have said that the victory was the result of their gallantry defending the fort and to the grim determination with which they held the bastions against every manner of assault. Instead, however, the Portuguese recalled that Our Lady appeared on the battlements herself, as had recently happened at the Siege of Rhodes and that it was their fear of her ,that the Turks ran for their lives. In 1546 there was a second assault on Diu that began on the eve of Easter and this time the Portuguese thwarted the efforts of the Turks to capture the fort in a pitched battle recorded as one of the greatest ever fought by the Portuguese troops in India. The siege had continued uninterrupted from 20 April 1546 until 7 November, when a Portuguese fleet finally arrived on the scene under Viceroy Juan de Castro. The Portuguese success in Diu confirmed Portuguese dominion and their hold over the region. Contemporary accounts, of course, do not mention the miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the siege, even though it was recorded that she appeared on the ramparts holding a lance in her hand to defend the fort from the enemy, for the ‘City of Men’ cannot accept the glories of God!
Bl Alicia Maria jadwiga Kotowska St Bartholomew of Rossano (c 970-c 1065) Abbot Confessor St Bertuin of Malonne St Cynfran of Wales St Isidre Costa Hons Bl Josaphat Chichkov Bl Kamen Vitchev
St Marina of Omura St Menas Kallikelados St Mennas of Santomenna St Mercurius the Soldier Bl Pavel Dzjidzjov St Rhediw St Theodore the Studite St Turibius of Palencia St Veranus of Lyon St Veranus of Vence Blessed Vincent Eugene Bossilkoff — Martyrs of Torredembarra: Members of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Discalced Carmelites, and Carmelite Tertiaries of Education who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War. • Blessed Bonaventura Toldrà Rodon • Blessed Damián Rodríguez Pablo • Blessed Felipe Arce Fernández • Blessed Frederíc Vila Bartolì • Blessed Isidre Tarsá Giribets • Blessed Joan Roca Vilardell • Blessed José Alberich Lluch • Blessed Josep Boschdemont Mitjavila • Blessed Josep Maria Bru Ralduá • Blessed Julio Alameda Camarero • Blessed Lluís Domingo Oliva • Blessed Mariano Navarro Blasco • Blessed Miquel Saludes Ciuret • Blessed Pedro de Eriz Eguiluz They were martured on 11 November 1936 in Torredembarra, Tarragona, Spain, Beatification celebrated in Tarragona, Spain.
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