“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Matthew 22:36,39
“If we would God discern The world we must despise, His love and hate must learn, See all things with His eyes. And we must self forgo If God we would attain, His grace must in us grow And ease us from all pain. So shall we sing His praise And be at one with Him, In peace our voices raise In the celestial hymn, That with quadruple harmony And all mellifluous melody, In Heaven resounds eternally.”
Bl Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381)
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon Heaven, the only one goal of our labours.”
Quote/s of the Day – 21 December – Feast of St Thomas, Apostle of Christ, Martyr – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – Ephesians 2:19-22, John 20:24-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“O Radiant Dawn, Splendour of Eternal Light, Sun of Justice! Come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
“My Lord and my God”
John 20:28
“Who could ever soften this heart of mine but YOU alone O Lord!”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus (SJ)
“God’s love calls us to move beyond fear. We ask God for the courage to abandon ourselves unreservedly, so that we might be moulded by God’s grace, even as we cannot see where that path may lead us.”
“Hate what the world seeks and seek, what it avoids.”
“He who carries God in his heart bears heaven with him, wherever he goes.”
St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572)
“Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were, to be in collusion with the Church’s enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our faith.”
St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church
“The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of wearisome and trying ascents, nor can it be trodden without great toil and, therefore, wrong is their way, gross their error and assured their ruin, who, after the testimony of so many thousands of Saints, will not learn where to settle their footing!”
St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595) Priest and Martyr
“Recommend yourself to your Angel Guardian three times a day – in the morning. by the prayer “Angele Dei” in the evening, by the same prayer and during the day, when you visit the Altars in Churches. Remember that you are to be guided by your Angel, like a blind man who cannot see the dangers of the streets and trusts entirely. to the person who leads him.”
St Aloysius de Gonzaga (SJ 1568-1591)
“My child, it is indeed the Voice of God you have heard. He has given you a great grace in thus calling you into His one true Church. While you live, never cease to thank Him and bless Him for it.”
St John Francis Régis SJ (1597-1640)
“Teach Us Good Lord” By St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556) Teach us, good Lord, to serve You as You deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we are doing Your will. Amen
My God, I Love Thee By St Francis Xavier (1506-1552) (Attri) Transr: Fr Edward Caswall CO (1814-1878)
My God, I love Thee, not because I hope for heav’n thereby, nor yet for fear, that loving not, I might forever die but for that Thou didst all mankind upon the Cross embrace; for us didst bear the nails and spear and manifold disgrace.
And griefs and torments numberless and sweat of agony; e’en death itself and all for man, who was Thine enemy. Then why, most loving Jesus Christ, should I not love Thee well? Not for the sake of winning heav’n, nor any fear of hell.
Not with the hope of gaining aught, nor seeking a reward but as Thyself hast loved me, O ever loving Lord! E’en so I love Thee and will love and in Thy praise will sing, solely because Thou art my God and my eternal King! Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 2 November – All Souls Day – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”
“Remember, when you leave this earth, you can take nothing with you, which you have received, only that, which you have given.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181–1226)
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“It seems to me, my daughters, that everything passes so quickly that we should be thinking more, about how to die, than how to live!”
St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church
“The powers of hell will assail the dying Christian but his Angel Guardian will come to console him. His Patrons and St Michael, who has been appointed by God to defend his faithful servants, in their last combat with the devils, will come to his aid.”
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“It is not Death that will come to fetch me, it is the good God. Death is no phantom, no horrible specter, as presented in pictures. In the catechism it is stated, that death is the separation of soul and body, that is all! Well, I am not afraid of a separation which will unite me to the good God forever.”
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873 – 1897)
Prayer for a Holy Death By St Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
My beloved Jesus, I will not refuse the cross, as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept, in particular, the death Thou hast destined for me, with all the pains which may accompany it; I unite it to Thy Death, I offer it to Thee Thou hast died for love of me; I will die for love of Thee and to please Thee. Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always and then do with me what Thou will. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Confessor
“He who desires to consecrate himself to God must, in the first place, trample under his feet, all regard for what others will say of him. O my God, why do we not ask what Jesus Christ or His holy Mother, will think of our conduct?”
“Wherever our brethren may be, let their first care be, for those already converted. Their first aim must be, to strengthen these in the faith and to help them save their souls. After this, they may convert others not yet Baptised.”
(Excerpt from his correspondence, as Master General of the Order, to the Jesuit Missionaries he had sent to the Spanish colonies in Florida, Mexico and Peru.)
“This beast, (so he often called his body) “must suffer ,to expiate the delight it formerly took, in immoderately flattering its palate and can I forget, that Christ drank gall for me on His Cross!”
One Minute Reflection – 10 October – St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Confessor, Priest of the Society of Jesus, – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6, Matthew 19:27-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And everyone who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.” – Matthew 19:29
REFLECTION – “The Apostle Paul said: “Take off the old self with its practices and put on the new self” (Col 3,9-10)… This was the work Christ accomplished when He called Levi; He refashioned him into a new man. Similarly, it is as a new person that the former publican prepares a banquet for Christ, since Christ takes pleasure in him and he ,himself merits, to have a share in happiness, with Christ… He followed Him now, happy, lighthearted and overflowing with joy.
“I have the aspect of a publican no more,” he said, “I do not carry around the old Levi, any longer, I put off Levi when I put on Christ. I flee from my earlier life, my Lord Jesus, Thou alone, Who heals my wounds, I desire to follow. Who shall separate me from the love of God within Thee? tribulation? anguish? hunger? (Rom 8,35). I am bound to Thee by faith as by nails, I am held fast by the worthy bonds of love. All Thy commandments will be like a cautery which I will apply firmly to my wound – the remedy stings but it takes away the ulcerous infection. Lord Jesus, with Thy powerful sword, cut away the corruption of my sins, come quickly, lance my hidden and varied passions. Purge away all infection in the new bath.
Listen to me, you people who are fixed to the earth, you whose thoughts are intoxicated by your sins. I, Levi, was also wounded by similar passions. But I found a Doctor Who dwells in Heaven and pours out His remedies on earth. He, alone, can cure my wounds, since He, Himself, has none. He alone can remove the heart’s pain and the soul’s lethargy, for He knows everything that lies hidden.” – St Ambrose (c.340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel, 5, 23.27).
PRAYER – O Lord Jesus Christ, model of true humility and its reward, we beseech Thee, that as Thou made blessed Francis one of Thy glorious imitators, by his contempt for earthly honours, grant us to follow his example and to share in his glory. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Saint of the Day – 10 October – St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Confessor, Priest of the Society of Jesus, Advisor, Missionary, Evangelist, Administrator par excelleance. Francisco de Borja y Aragon was the 4th Duke of Gandía, was a Grandee of Spain, a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus
“St Francis instituted at his Court, before he entered the religious life, the veneration of the Saints of the Month. Every Catholic, besides worshipping the Almighty, ought to honour the Saints. We should especially honour the Divine Mother, as the Queen of all the Saints, then, the foster-father of Christ, St Joseph and further,, our Guardian Angel and Patron Saint. Besides this, we ought to select some special Patrons, for whom we feel particular esteem and love. It is also very beneficial, to adopt the practice of the “Monthly Patrons.” This consists in selecting, on the last day of every month, a Saint whose festival will be celebrated during the following month. Daily should he be invoked and honoured. If possible his life should be read and something from it, be selected for imitation. We may also approach the Sacraments on his festival, or on the Sunday after it and employ a little more time than usual, in good works. It is known, that several great servants of God, at the end of their days, called upon the Saints whom they had honoured as their Monthly Patrons during life and it cannot be doubted, that they received benefit and comfort. “Everyone,” says St Bonaventure, “ought to venerate an especial Saint with great devotion. To him, he ought daily, to commend himself and practise some good work, in his honoru.” By Fr Francis Xavier Weninger SJ (1805-1888)
Because the life of St Francis Borgia is rather long for one post, I post below, a part of it on his childhood and youth. Hopefully, we do not have to wait a year before I add to it. It is excerpted from the Lives of the Saints by Fr Alban Butler (1711-1773.)
St Francis Borgia, Fourth Duke of Gandia and Third General of the Jesuits, was son to John Borgia, Duke of Gandia and Grandee of Spain and of Joanna of Arragon, daughter of Alphonso, natural son to Ferdinand V King of Arragon … who was the great-grandfather to our Saint. The family of Borgia or Borja, had long flourished in Spain but in 1455, received a new lustre, by the exaltation of Cardinal Alphonso Borgia to the Pontificate, under the name of Calixtus III.
St Francis was born in 1510, at Gandia, a town which was the chief seat of the family, in the Kingdom of Valencia. His pious mother had a great devotion to St Francis of Assisi and, in the pangs of a dangerous labour, made a vow that if she brought forth a son, he should be called Francis.
As soon as he began to speak, his parents taught him to pronounce the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, which he used often to repeat with wonderful seriousness. At five years of age he recited, everyday on his knees, the chief parts of the Catechism. All his diversion was to set up pious pictures, make little altars, imitate the ceremonies of the Church and teach them to the little boys, who were his pages. From the cradle he was mild, modest, patient and affable to all. The noble sentiments of gratitude and generosity, which he then began to discover, were certain presages of an innate greatness of soul – the former being inseparable from a goodness of heart and the latter, when regulated by prudence and charity, being the greatest virtue of a Prince, who is raised above others, only that he may govern and do good to mankind.
Francis, at seven years of age, could read his mother tongue and the Latin Office of the Blessed Virgin very distinctly. His father, therefore, thought it time for him to learn writing and grammar, for which purpose he appointed him a preceptor of known prudence, learning and piety, who was called Dr.Ferdinand. At the same time, he was furnished with a governor, whose business it was, at different hours, to fashion the young Prince to the exercises that were suitable to his birth, in proportion as his age was capable of them. It was the first care of the parents, in the choice of the masters whom they placed about their son, that they were persons of uncommon piety, whose example might be a continual lesson of virtue and whose instructions, should all ultimately tend to the grafting, in his mind, true sentiments of morality and religion, without which all other accomplishments, lose their value.
St Francis Borgia assists at the death of a impenitent by Goya
Before he was ten years old , Francis began to take wonderful delight in hearing sermons and spent much time in practising devotions, being tenderly affected to the Passion of our Divine Redeemer, which he honoured with certain daily exercises. In his tenth year, his pious mother fell dangerously ill; on which occasion, Francis, shutting himself up in his chamber, prayed for her with abundance of tears. This was the first time he used that practice of mortification, which he afterwards frequently made a part of his penance. It pleased God that the Duchess died of that distemper in 1520. This loss cost Francis many tears, though he moderated his grief by his entire resignation to the Divine will. Her pious counsels had always been to him a great spur to virtue and he took care never to forget them.
At that time, Spain was filled with tumults and insurrections of the common people, against the regency. The rebels, taking advantage of the absence of the young King, Charles V.(who was then in Germany, where he had been chosen Emperor,) plundered the houses of the nobility in the Kingdom of Valencia and made themselves masters of the town of Gandia. The Duke fled with his whole family. Going to Saragossa, he left his son Francis, then twelve years old, under the care of the Archbishop, John of Arragon, who was his uncle, being brother to his deceased mother. The Archbishop made up a household for his nephew and provided him with masters in grammar, music,and fencing, which he had begun to learn. The young nobleman laboured at the same time, to improve daily in grace and in every virtue.
At the age of fifteen, Francis was sent to Tordesillas, to be taken into the family and service of the Infanta Catharine, sister to Charles V. who was soon after to be married to John III. King of Portugal. The marriage was accomplished in 1525 but when the Infanta went into Portugal, the Duke of Gandia, who had greater plans for his son in Spain, recalled him, and engaged the Archbishop of Saragossa to re-assume the care of his education. When he had finished rhetoric, Francis studied philosophy for two years under an excellent master, with extraordinary diligence and applause. …
By the eighteenth year of his age, Francis had strong inclinations to entera religious state. … But in 1528, his father and uncle, to divert his thoughts from a religious life, removed him from Saragossa to the Court of Charles V. , where they hoped his thoughts would take a different turn. He considered his duty to his Prince, as his duty to God and although he willingly accepted, every mark of his Prince’s regard for him, he was very solicitous in all things to refer himself, his actions,and whatever he received from God, purely to the Divine honour. … (TO BE CONTINUED …)
St Aldericus St Cassius St Cerbonius of Populonia St Cerbonius of Verona St Clarus of Nantes Bl Demestrius of Albania Bl Edward Detkens St Eulampia St Eulampius St Florentius the Martyr St Fulk of Fontenelle St Gereon St Gundisalvus Bl Hugh of Macon
Bl Pedro de Alcantara de Forton de Cascajares St Pinytus of Crete Bl Pontius de Barellis St Tanca St Teodechilde St Victor of Xanten
Martyrs of Ceuta – 7 Beati: A group of seven Franciscan Friars Minor missionaries to Muslims in the Ceuta area of modern Morocco. Initially treated as madmen, within three weeks they were ordered to convert to Islam and when they would not they were first abused in the streets, then arrested, tortured and executed. • Angelo • Daniele di Calabria • Donnolo • Hugolinus • Leone • Nicola • Samuele They were beheaded in 1227 in Mauritania Tingitana (Ceuta, Morocco). Local Christians secreted the bodies away and gave them proper burial in Ceuta. They were Beatified in 1516 by Pope Leo X.
Quote/s of the Day – 27 September – Wisdpm 5:16-20, Luke 6:17-23
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.”
Luke 6:20
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Matthew 5:3
“The soul must grow and expand so as to be capable of God. And its largeness is its love, as the Apostle says, “widen yourselves in love” (2 Cor 6:13). It grows and extends spiritually, not in substance but in virtue. The greatness of each soul is judged by the measure of love that it has- he who has great love, is great- he who has little love is little, while he who has no love at all – is nothing!”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Do not live any longer in yourself but let Jesus Christ live in you in such a way that the virtue of this Divine Saviour may be resplendent in all your actions, in order that all may see in you a true portrait of the Crucified and sense, the sweetest fragrance of the holy virtues of the Lord, in interior and exterior modesty, in patience, in gentleness, suffering, charity, humility and in all others that follow.”
St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)
“You leave the land just as it is when you depart, you do not carry anything away. Our first aim is to go to God, we are not on earth for anything but this!”
Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent – 3 Kings 17:17-24, John 11:1-45
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”
John 11:25
“We have had Your treasure hidden within us, ever since we received baptismal grace, it grows ever richer at Your sacramental table.”
St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death, trust yourself to the glory of Him, Who alone can help you when all others fail.“
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
Quote/s of the Day – 18 February – “Month of the Most Blessed Trinity” – Septuagesima Weekday
ETERNAL LIFE
“And everyone who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.”
Matthew 19:29
“He seemed to me, a very foolish man and very wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world and ever with and long to reach that endless life, where all shall be made clear.”
St Alfred the Great (849-899) King
“Eternal life flows from this Sacrament because God, with all sweetness, pours Himself out upon the blessed.”
St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Bishop of Regensburg Universal Doctor of the Church
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572)
“By giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange but, eternal life as well!”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
“On the journey of this life to eternity, let me carry You in my heart, following Mary’s example, who bore You in her arms, during the flight to Egypt.”
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Quote/s of the Day – 20 January – Hebrews 11:33-39; Luke 6:17-23
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Luke 6:20
“… Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions, cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:33
“The Kingdom of Heaven, says the gospel, is like a mustard seed … Christ is the Kingdom of Heaven! Sown like a mustard seed in the garden of the Virgin’s womb, He grew up into the Tree of the Cross, whose branches, stretch across the world … Christ is the Kingdom because all the glory of His Kingdom, is within Him. Christ is a Man because all humanity is restored in Him. Christ is a Mustard Seed because the infinitude of divine greatness, is accommodated to the littleness of flesh and blood!”
St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) “Golden Words” Father & Doctor of the Church
“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature. What you are in His sight, is what you are and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received… but only what you have given – a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Do not live any longer in yourself but let Jesus Christ live in you in such a way that the virtue of this Divine Saviour may be resplendent in all your actions, in order that all may see in you a true portrait of the Crucified and sense, the sweetest fragrance of the holy virtues of the Lord, in interior and exterior modesty, in patience, in gentleness, suffering, charity, humility and in all others that follow.”
St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)
“It was God Who created the fruits of the earth and gave them to men. … Evil consists in the abuse of these goods, which, in themselves, are intended to be aids to perfection. It is necessary, therefore, to preserve the proper hierarchical order of all that is good. We must guard against riveting our ambitions on earthly objects, as if tbey were capable of constituting the goal of our lives. God has given us these things as possessions, not as ends in themselves. He has ordered us to be masters of the world, not it’s slaves. Detachment is essential but not a complete surrender of our possessions. The latter was never commanded but simply indicated, as an evangelical counsel of perfection. The observance of this counsel, however, is valueless, if it is not accompanied by detachment. Worldly possessions, such as money, are good servants but bad masters!”
Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent
“Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. He assumed the worse, that He might give us the better; He became poor, that we through His poverty, might be rich.”
St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Those who refuse to be humble cannot be saved. They cannot say with the prophet: See, God comes to my aid; the Lord is the helper of my soul. But anyone who makes himself humble, like a little child, is greater in the kingdom of heaven.”
St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
“Let all your desires then be, directed toward Him, the Infinite One, the Giver of all Good.”
Bl Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306)
“Who could ever soften this heart of mine but YOU alone O Lord!”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Unreasoning and stupid that you look for God where He is not! Listen and be filled with awe – God is in our hearts, I know it. God lives in the human heart when this heart lives withdrawn from all that is not Him, when this heart heeds God’s knock at it’s door (Rv 3,20) and, sweeping and cleaning all its rooms, makes itself ready to welcome Him who alone truly satisfies.”
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – The Memorial of All Jesuit Saints and Blesseds
“Hate what the world seeks and seek, what it avoids.”
“God’s love calls us to move beyond fear. We ask God for the courage to abandon ourselves unreservedly, so that we might be moulded by God’s grace, even as we cannot see where that path may lead us.”
“Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God.”
St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)
I Beg of You, My Lord By St Peter Faber (1506-1546)
I beg of You, my Lord, to remove anything which separates me from You and You from me. Remove anything that makes me unworthy of Your sight, Your control, Your reprehension; of Your speech and conversation, of Your benevolence and love. Cast from me every evil that stands in the way of my seeing You, hearing, tasting, savouring and touching You, fearing and being mindful of You, knowing, trusting, loving and possessing You; being conscious of Your Presence and, as far as may be, enjoying You. This is what I ask for myself and earnestly desire from You. Amen
“What a tragedy, how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!”
St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“We ought to instruct with meekness those whom heresy has made bitter and suspicious and has estranged from orthodox Catholics, … Thus, by whole-hearted charity and goodwill, we may win them over to us in the Lord.”
St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1397) Doctor of the Church
“We … are under an obligation to be the light of the world by the modesty of our behaviour, the fervour of our charity, the innocence of our lives and the example of our virtues. Thus shall we be able to raise the lowered prestige of the Catholic Church and, to build up again, the ruins that others by their vices have caused. Others, by their wickedness, have branded the Catholic Faith with a mark of shame, we must strive, with all our strength, to cleanse it from its ignominy and to restore it to its pristine glory!”
The Burning Babe,
As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow, Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow; And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near, A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear; Who, scorchëd with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed As though His floods should quench His flames which with His tears were fed. Alas, quoth He but newly born in fiery heats I fry, Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I! My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns, Love is the fire and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns; The fuel justice layeth on and mercy blows the coals, The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defiled souls, For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good, So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood. With this He vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away, And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.
St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595) Priest and Martyr
“When He takes away what He once lent us, His purpose is to store our treasure elsewhere, more safely and bestow on us, those very blessings, that we ourselves would most choose to have.” (From A Letter to His Mother)
St Aloysius Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)
“The Catholic religion was the religion of your forefathers and the only one Jesus Christ founded; – the one which He promised would endure till the end of time. It is in the Catholic religion alone that you can save your soul.”
“How long are you going to be deaf to His call? Or are you going to lose your soul, which Jesus Christ bought at the price of His Precious Blood?”
St John Francis Régis SJ (1597-1640)
“… Make use of Our Lord as an armour which covers [us] all about, by means of which [we] shall resist every device of [our] enemies. You shall then be my Strength, O my God! You shall be my Guide, my Director, my Counsellor, my Patience, my Knowledge, my Peace, my Justice and my Prudence.”
“He promises to be [our] strength, in proportion to the trust which [we] place in Him.”
St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
The May Magnificat By Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)
May is Mary’s month and I Muse at that and wonder why: Her feasts follow reason, Dated due to season-
Candlemas, Lady Day: But the Lady Month, May, Why fasten that upon her, With a feasting in her honour? Ask of her, the mighty Mother: Her reply puts this other Question: What is Spring? Growth in everything- All things rising, all things sizing Mary sees, sympathising With that world of good, Nature’s motherhood.
Well but there was more than this: Spring’s universal bliss Much, had much to say To offering Mary May.
Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Romans 6: 12-18; Psalm 124: 1-8; Luke 12: 39-48
“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Luke 12:40
“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Matthew 24:13
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”
Mark 1:3
“The business of a Christian is nothing else, than to be ever preparing for death.”
St Irenaeus (130-202) Father of the Church
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“If we wish to make any progress in the service of God, we must begin everyday of our life, with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves, in the presence of God, as much as possible and have no other view or end, in all our actions but the divine honour.”
St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)
“Man must always be ready, for death comes when and where God wills it.”
Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – The Memorial of St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572)
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
“O sensual, base, miserable and blind life! is it possible, that men should be such strangers to their own happiness, such enemies to themselves, to be fond of thy false enjoyments and for their sake, to deprive themselves of those that are pure, permanent and solid?!”
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
La Naval de Manila / Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary , Quezon City, Philippines (1593) – Second Sunday of October: Also known as Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario / The Grand Lady of the Philippines.
In 1593, the Governor General of the Philippines commissioned a Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Dominican Church in Manila. A un-named Chinese sculptor carved the hardwood body and ivory hands and face, which has Asian features. About 4’8″ tall, the image is dressed in cloth of gold, with a crown and a halo of 24 stars and adorned with precious donated jewels. Our Lady holds the Child Jesus with her left hand and a Rosary with her right. The title “La Naval” refers to Our Lady’s help in the naval battles of Lepanto in 1571 and Manila in 1646, when a small Catholic fleet repeatedly repelled Dutch invaders. The Catholic Church in Manila first celebrated the feast of “La Naval” on 8 October 1646. Pope Pius X’s Apostolic Delegate crowned the Statue on 5 October 1907. Pope Pius XII also sent an Apostolic Letter on the occasion of the tricentenary of the Battle of La Naval de Manila on 31 July 1946. The Japanese bombing of 27 December 1941 destroyed the Church of Santo Domingo in Manila’s old walled city. Hidden for safekeeping, the holy Statue moved in 1954 to its present location in the Santo Domingo Shrine in Quezon City.
In 1646, naval forces of the Dutch Republic made several repeated attempts to conquer the Philippines in a bid to control trade in Asia. The combined Spanish and Filipino forces who fought, requested the intercession of the Virgin through the Statue prior to battle. They were urged to place themselves under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary and to pray the Rosary repeatedly. They went on to rebuff the continued attacks by the superior Dutch fleet, engaging in five major battles at sea and losing only fifteen members of the Spanish Navy. After the Dutch retreat, in fulfillment of their vow, the survivors walked barefoot to the Shrine in gratitude to the Virgin. Later, on 9 April 1662, the Cathedral chapter of the Archdiocese of Manila declared the naval victory a miraculous event owed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, declaring:
“Granted by the Sovereign Lord through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin and devotion to her Rosary, that the miracles be celebrated, preached and held in festivities and to be recounted amongst the miracles wrought by the Lady of the Rosary, for the greater devotion of the faithful to Our Most Blessed Virgin Mary and Her Holy Rosary.“
St Cassius St Cerbonius of Populonia St Cerbonius of Verona St Clarus of Nantes Bl Demestrius of Albania Bl Edward Detkens St Eulampia St Eulampius St Florentius the Martyr St Fulk of Fontenelle St Gereon St Gundisalvus Bl Hugh of Macon St John of Bridlington OSA (1319-1379) Priest, Prior of the Monastery of the Canons Regular of St Augustine. Bl Leon Wetmanski St Maharsapor the Persian St Malo the Martyr St Patrician St Paulinus of Capua
Bl Pedro de Alcantara de Forton de Cascajares St Pinytus of Crete Bl Pontius de Barellis St Tanca St Teodechilde St Victor of Xanten
Martyrs of Ceuta – 7 beati: A group of seven Franciscan Friars Minor missionaries to Muslims in the Ceuta area of modern Morocco. Initially treated as madmen, within three weeks they were ordered to convert to Islam and when they would not they were first abused in the streets, then arrested, tortured and executed. • Angelo • Daniele di Calabria • Donnolo • Hugolinus • Leone • Nicola • Samuele They were beheaded in 1227 in Mauritania Tingitana (Ceuta, Morocco). Local Christians secreted the bodies away and gave them proper burial in Ceuta. They were Beatified in 1516 by Pope Leo X.
Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent
“May We Love Only You”
“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Luke 24:29
“You hide your heart from man – hide it from God if you can. … Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from Him – flee to Him. Flee to Him by Confessing, not from Him, by hiding, for you cannot hide but you can Confess. Tell Him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7) and let there be nursed in yo, the love that alone leads to life.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
May We Love Only You By St Columban (543-615)
Loving Saviour, be pleased to show Yourself to us who knock, so that in knowing You, we may love only You, love You alone, desire You alone, contemplate only You, day and night and always think of You. Inspire in us the depth of love that is fitting for You to receive as God. So may Your love pervade our whole being, possess us completely and fill all our senses, that we may know no other love but love for You, Who are everlasting. May our love be so great, that the many waters of sky, land and sea cannot extinguish it in us – many waters could not extinguish love. May this saying be fulfilled in us also, at least in part, by Your gift, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen
“How good and pleasant it is to dwell in the Heart of Jesus! Who is there who does not love a heart so wounded? Who can refuse a return of love to a Heart so loving? Amen.”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“Who could ever soften this heart of mine but YOU alone O Lord!”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
St John Leonardi (1541-1609)
“During the night we must wait for the light.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
“Only God fills the soul and fills it wholly. Let scientists go on asking – Where is God? He is where those clever ones, arrogant in their knowledge, cannot reach.”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 October – Making our way to Life
“A person who wishes to become the Lord’s disciple must repudiate a human obligation, however honourable it may appear, if it slows us, ever so slightly, in giving the wholehearted obedience we owe to God.”
St Basil the Great (329-379)
O Lord, You have given us Your word for a light to shine upon our path, grant us so to meditate on that word and follow its teaching, that we may find in it, the light that shines more and more until the perfect day. Amen
St Jerome (343-420) “The Man of the Bible” Father and Doctor of the Church
“Rest is in Him alone. Man knows no peace in the world but he has no disturbance when he is with God.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
St John Leonardi (1541-1609)
“Only one thing is necessary: Jesus Christ! Think unceasingly of Him. ”
St John Gabriel Perboyre CM (1802-1840) Martyr for Christ
“Our vocation, yours and mine, is not to go harvesting in the fields of ripe corn, Jesus does not say to us; “Lower your eyes, look at the fields and go and reap them,” our mission is still loftier. Here are Jesus’ words: “Lift up your eyes and see….” See how in My Heaven there are places empty, it is for you to fill them! … each one of you is my Moses praying on the mountain (Ex 17:8f), ask Me for labourers and I shall send them, I await only a prayer, a sigh from your heart!”
“Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven. the only one goal of our labours.”
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873 – 1897) Doctor of the Church
“We must always be ready. Let our faith be lively and active and our minds turned towards God, Who is waiting for us. There is no need to be afraid. He is good and merciful. He desires our salvation. This is a wonderfully consoling thought. God desires my salvation! Let us surrender ourselves to Him, therefore, as if we had to die this very moment!”
Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – The Memorial of St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) and St Daniel Comboni (1831-1881)
“We must perform all our works in God and refer them to His glory, so that they will be permanent and stable. Everyone—whether kings, nobles, tradesmen or peasants— must do all things for the glory of God and under the inspiration of Christ’s example. . . . ”
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
“Who could ever soften this heart of mine but YOU alone O Lord!”
One Minute Reflection – 10 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Saturday of the Twenty SeventhWeek in Ordinary Time, Readings:Galatians 3: 22-29, Psalms 105: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Luke 11: 27-28 and the Memorial of St Paulinus of York (c 584-644) and St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572)
“While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’” – Luke 11:27
REFLECTION – “Mary was more blessed in accepting the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. To someone who said, “Blessed is the womb that bore you,” he replied, “Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”
Finally, for his brothers, his relatives according to the flesh who did not believe in him, of what advantage was that relationship? Even her maternal relationship would have done Mary no good, unless she had borne Christ more happily in her heart, than in her flesh.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of Grace – Holy Virginity, 3/
PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, you sent St Paulinus and St Francis Borgia to be Your witnesses and to bring Your Church to the pagans for the salvation of souls. Sustain us by their prayers that by our lives we may lead all to You through Holy Mother Church. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
St Fulk of Fontenelle St Gereon St Gundisalvus Bl Hugh of Macon Bl Leon Wetmanski St Maharsapor the Persian St Malo the Martyr St Patrician St Paulinus of Capua St Paulinus of York (c 584-644) First Bishop of York Bl Pedro de Alcantara de Forton de Cascajares St Pinytus of Crete Bl Pontius de Barellis St Tanca St Teodechilde St Victor of Xanten
Martyrs of Ceuta – 7 beati: A group of seven Franciscan Friars Minor missionaries to Muslims in the Ceuta area of modern Morocco. Initially treated as madmen, within three weeks they were ordered to convert to Islam and when they would not they were first abused in the streets, then arrested, tortured and executed. • Angelo • Daniele di Calabria • Donnolo • Hugolinus • Leone • Nicola • Samuele They were beheaded in 1227 in Mauritania Tingitana (Ceuta, Morocco). Local Christians secreted the bodies away and gave them proper burial in Ceuta. They were Beatified in 1516 by Pope Leo X.
St Fulk of Fontenelle
St Gereon
St Gundisalvus
Bl Hugh of Macon
Bl Leon Wetmanski
St Maharsapor the Persian
St Malo the Martyr
St Patrician
St Paulinus of Capua
St Paulinus of York
Bl Pedro de Alcantara de Forton de Cascajares
St Pinytus of Crete
Bl Pontius de Barellis
St Tanca
St Teodechilde
St Victor of Xanten
Martyrs of Ceuta – 7 beati: A group of seven Franciscan Friars Minor missionaries to Muslims in the Ceuta area of modern Morocco. Initially treated as madmen, within three weeks they were ordered to convert to Islam and when they would not they were first abused in the streets, then arrested, tortured and executed.
• Angelo
• Daniele di Calabria
• Donnolo
• Hugolinus
• Leone
• Nicola
• Samuele
They were beheaded in 1227 in Mauritania Tingitana (Ceuta, Morocco). Local Christians secreted the bodies away and gave them proper burial in Ceuta. They were Beatified in 1516 by Pope Leo X.
St Amatus of Nusco
St Antoninus of Piacenza
St Castus of Piacenza
St Colman of Clontibret
Bl Conrad of Urach
St Desiderius of Piacenza
St Enghenedl of Anglesey
St Eusebia of Marseilles Saint Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) – Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2017/10/10/saint-of-the-day-10-october-st-francis-borgia-s-j-1510-1572/ (This post made on 10 October 2017, is on the incorrect date. His feast day was moved to today in 1969. Today, 30 September is the day of his death.)
Bl Frederick Albert Saint Gregory the Illuminator (c 257 – c 331)
St Honoratus of Canterbury
St Ismidone of Die
Bl Jean-Nicolas Cordier
St Laurus
St Leopardus the Slave
Bl Ludwik Gietyngier
St Midan of Anglesey
St Simon of Crépy
St Ursus the Theban
St Victor the Theban
—
Martyrs of Valsery Abbey: An unknown number of Premonstratensian monks at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Valsery, Picardie, France who were martyred by Calvinists. They were martyred in 1567 at Valsery, Pircardy, France
Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – The Memorial of St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) and St Daniel Comboni (1831-1881)
“I have great doubts about the salvation of those who do not have special devotion to Mary.”
“When you pray, hear Mass, sit at table, engage in business and when at bedtime you remove your clothes— at all times crave that by the pain which He felt when He was stripped just before His crucifixion, He may strip us of our evil habits of mind. Thus, naked of earthly things, we may also embrace the cross.”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“For Africa, I have dedicated my mind and my heart, my blood and my life.”
“Our life is in God’s hands, He does what He wants, by an irrevocable gift, we have sacrificed our lives to Him. Blessed be He.”
“In Jesus crucified we are taken into the depths of God. It is there that we come to understand most deeply the love God has for us and the absolute lengths to which God goes to give us life, even in our moments of darkness and defeat.
hat we see in the passion of Jesus is a love that gathers in all the scattered, shattered pieces of our life and heals them with a tenderness that can break our hearts.
What we see in the cross is a love that loses nothing that can be saved, whether that be our defeats, our brokenness, or our shame. With God all these can be points of life for us and the reason is startling –
God can kiss us with a healing because God is wounded by our pain.”
Saint of the Day – 4 November – St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal, Doctor of Theology, Civil and Canon Law, Reformer, Founder of Seminaries. He is known as the “Father of the Clergy” Born Count Carlo Borromeoon the morning of Wednesday 2 October 1538 in the Castle at Aron, Diocese of Novara, Italy and he died at 8:30pm on 3 November 1584 of a fever at Milan, Italy. His will named the Hospital Maggiore of Milan as his heir. He is buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Milan – the famous and breath-taking “Duomo Milan.” His Relics were transferred to a Chapel built by Count Renato Borromeo in piazza San Maria Podone, Milan on 21 September 1751. St Charles was Beatified in 1602 by Pope Clement VIII and Canonised on 1 November 1610 by Pope Paul V. Patronages – • against abdominal pain • against intestinal disorders • against ulcers• apple orchards• Bishops, Priests, Seminarians • Catechists• Catechumens• spiritual directors• spiritual leaders• starch makers• 3 Dioceses• 3 Italian Cities. Attributes – • cardinal wearing a cord around his neck; it symbolises the cord or halter worn around his neck during the plague of Milan, Italy in 1575 • bishop wearing a cord around his neck • cleric curing the sick • Holy Communion • one hand raised in blessing, thus recalling his work during the plague • coat of arms bearing the word Humilitas (Humility) his emblem.
Count Carlo/Charles was born into the highest echelons of Renaissance life. The nephew of Pius IV, he was destined for great things in the Church. His successful career demonstrates the positive possibilities of Renaissance political life. Given every chance at success by his lineage and connections, he seized each opportunity and turned it to the service of God, the Church and his people. While many with similar chances squandered their advantages, Charles showed that such assets should not be guiltily eschewed or be a cause of embarrassment, so long as they are put to the service of the Good, the True and the Beautiful.
Charles was prepared for his later career by his aristocratic responsibilities, becoming a skilled administrator and diplomat at a very young age. At the same time he tirelessly pursued his studies, becoming a Doctor utriusque Iuris (a Doctor of both Civil and Canon Law) at 21 years old. With the accession of his uncle to the throne of Peter, he was called to Rome and immediately was created a cardinal-deacon. Such a position was advantageous because he became one of the closest associates of the pope, with all the dignity of a cardinal but without the responsibility for care of souls. He reformed the city of Rome and the Papal States thoroughly and was given increasing responsibilities. The papal curia was purified by his example of holiness and sobriety. He cultivated the friendship of other saints, such as Philip Neri and together they provided the pattern for a renewed curia. He gathered a circle of learned friends around him and sponsored literary, academic and musical activity, being in particular a patron of Palestrina.
For his handling of the delicate negotiations needed for keeping the Council of Trent from falling apart, Charles was awarded with the see of Milan. He began to shift his focus as well, for he had experienced a deep spiritual conversion as the result of the untimely death of his elder brother and dedicated the rest of his life entirely to the good of his people and his Church. Being one of the most famous and largest sees in Christendom, Milan was a microcosm that displayed both the grandeur and the corruption of Renaissance Catholicism.
Charles set about immediately implementing the reforming decrees of Trent. Had other bishops swiftly implemented the decrees, as Charles had, the damage from the Reformation may have been mightily checked. In any case, he found a diocese filled to the brim with time-servers, beneficed layabouts and outright corrupt and vile clergy. He set out for a purification. He set the tone with his mighty motto Humilitas and he began to demonstrate one of the most powerful roles in all of Church history: that of a holy bishop. Charles knew that the mission of the Church to convert the nations and to win back the Protestants must begin at home. The Church must be reformed from within, before she could bear effective testimony without.
He was convinced that the heart of the problem was the abuses caused, intentionally or not, by ignorant clergy. Corruption was comparatively easy to root up but the wholesale re-education of the clergy was a project for generations. To this end he set up the massive seminary of San Pietro Martire on the site of that saint’s murder in Seveso. It was to be the prototype of the professionalisation of the clergy that would set a pattern for the rest of the Catholic world, one of the most significant developments in the last 500 years of Catholicism. He knew that care of priests was essential before the laity could be properly educated and cultivated. Here is a link to Pope Francis’s visit to the St Charles Borromeo Seminary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495XzwybBS0
Doctrine was at the heart of his pastoral ministry. Trent had codified dogma and made it the basis of its reforming decrees. Charles carried this message that the truth itself was the best foundation of pastoral ministry. He reformed recalcitrant monks and nuns, calling them back to fidelity to their oaths and vows, rather than tolerating their laxity. Indeed one decadent member of the order of the Humiliati even tried to assassinate him at prayer, firing a point blank shot that miraculously left him nearly unharmed. He himself was one of the saints in charge of the Roman Catechism and the founder of the concept of Sunday school for lay children, educating them in the rudiments of the Catholic faith. He brought to the streets of Milan, Truth incarnated as a person, both in the Blessed Sacrament and in his life of imitating Christ. There was no divorce between his pastoral and doctrinal responsibilities, such a novel idea would have been treated by him as the worst form of heresy. For Charles, Christ the Merciful was Incarnate Truth itself.
He retained a simple devotion to Our Lady of Loreto and ministered personally to the plague victims of the city, spending his personal fortune for their relief and walking barefoot in sackcloth and ashes in penance for them before God. Yet at the same time he never forgot his office as a prince of the Church and the Successor of the Apostles. He repeatedly challenged the secular authorities who sought to circumscribe the liberties of the Church. He personally went to Santa Maria della Scala, to receive their obedience after they had appealed to the secular authority over him. He came in full pontifical regalia, bearing the crucifix, and pronounced a public excommunication at their door. A supporter of the disobedient church fired a shot at him, which was blocked only by the Cross of Christ he bore. He tirelessly traveled to the rural areas of his diocese, especially the Alpine valleys that suffered under heresy. To the peripheries he went—areas ignored by his noble predecessors—but Charles did not go there to confirm the people in their error, he came to bring the freedom of Truth. He took his duty of visitation seriously, removing the corrupt, correcting the erring and ensuring the proper celebration of his beloved Ambrosian rite.
He was a friend and confrere to many of the saints of the Catholic Reform, St Francis Borgia, St Philip Neri, Bl Bartholomew of Braga and many others, having a special predilection for the English priests who would later be martyred. His solicitude for the liturgy was exceptional, knowing it to be the key to the spirituality and doctrinal fidelity of the laity. Indeed, once he wanted to bless a cemetery but abandoned the idea when he discovered he did not have the requisite pontifical vestments. The service of God demanded the very best at all times. On his deathbed, he forbade the saying of Holy Mass in his room, considering it unfit for the sacrifice of the Mass and insisted on being vested in Rochet and Stole for the reception of his Viaticum. This was no violation of Humilitasbut rather its highest expression: utter, complete and humble service to his position as the successor of St Ambrose. He lived simply, devoutly and penitently but when he executed his office he bore the weight of tradition, history and doctrine.
Charles was beloved by his people of Milan and was respected by all throughout Europe, being rapidly canonised in the year 1610. His life demonstrates the fallacy implied by the words of a contemporary cardinal, who declared that mercy and doctrine were equal parts of revelation. Charles would have known that such a statement was nonsensical and opposed to the definitions of Trent (and Vatican II for that matter). He would gently correct his colleague. Mercy is part of the doctrine of the Church but, more to the point, the whole and complete doctrine of the Church is mercy for a fallen humanity. Truth is mercy; error is slavery. St Charles demonstrates for us that the Church needs reform in every age but it must be a reform that results in a re-conformation to the Face of her Founder. May the example of the holy bishop of the Counter Reform (who kept an image of Sts Thomas More and John Fisher on his person) animate those who would make novel arguments contrary to the faith of Christ.
St Charles Borromeo, Father of the Clergy, pray for us all!
Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – The Memorial of St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) and St Daniel Comboni (1831-1881)
“I am very sorry to lose the company of a man of your merit, a shining light of counsel, a model in the exercise of the highest offices of State and, because of your virtue and piety, a factor of edification for all my court. But I recognise that it would be unreasonable to dispute over you with the Master you have chosen to serve. It is, therefore, with sorrow that I grant you the permission you are requesting. I authorise you to renounce your fiefs and titles in favour of your firstborn son. The number of those who will envy you, will be greater than those who will imitate you, since it is easy to admire beautiful examples but difficult to follow them. I recommend myself to your prayers and I count upon you, to attract divine blessings over me, my States, and all Christendom.”
(King Charles V of Spain when he granted permission to St Francis to enter the novitiate of the Jesuits.)
“When you pray, hear Mass, sit at table, engage in business and when at bedtime you remove your clothes— at all times crave that by the pain which He felt when He was stripped just before His crucifixion, He may strip us of our evil habits of mind. Thus, naked of earthly things, we may also embrace the cross.”
“I have great doubts about the salvation of those who do not have special devotion to Mary.”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“The same terrible crosses that oppress me are also the greatest consolation because Jesus suffered, Jesus is a Victim Jesus chose the Cross…. (therefore) I am happy with the Cross, tbat borne willingly for the love of God, generates triumph and eternal life.”
Saint of the Day – 10 October – St Francis Borgia S.J. (1510-1572) Priest, Advisor, Missionary, Evangelist, Administrator par excelleance. Born – Francisco de Borja y Aragon was the 4th Duke of Gandía, was a Grandee of Spain, a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus – (28 October 1510 at Gandia, Valencia, Spain – 30 September 1572 at Ferrara, Italy). His relics were translated to the Jesuit church in Madrid, Spain in 1901. He was Beatified on 23 November 1624 at Madrid by Pope Urban VIII and Canonised on 20 June 1670 by Pope Clement X in Rome, Italy. Patronages – against earthquakes, Portugal, Rota, Marianas. Attributes – Skull crowned with an emperor’s diadem.
St Francis was born in Duchy of Gandía, Valencia, on 28 October 1510. His father was Juan Borgia, 3rd Duke of Gandía, the son of Giovanni Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). His mother was Juana, daughter of Alonso de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza, who, in turn, was the illegitimate son of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. His brother, Tomás de Borja y Castro, also became a clergyman, becoming the Bishop of Málaga and later the Archbishop of Zaragoza.
As a relative of Pope Alexander VI, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Emperor Charles V, joined Spain’s imperial court at age eighteen, although as a child he was very pious and wished to become a monk, his family sent him instead to court. He distinguished himself there, accompanying the Emperor on several campaigns. The next year he married Eleanor de Castro, who bore him eight children. In 1539, shortly after experiencing a religious conversion, Francis left the court but continued in public life as viceroy of Catalonia. At this time under the influence of St Peter of Alcántara O.F.M. and St Peter Favre S.J, he progressed in prayer and the spiritual life.
In 1543, Francis succeeded his father as duke of Gandia. He was much opposed to gaming and did not allow his servants to indulge in it. He used to say: “Gaming is accompanied by great losses; loss of money, loss of time, loss of devotion and loss of conscience.” The same aversion he had for the reading of frivolous books, even if they were not immoral. He found his greatest delight in reading devout books and said: “The reading of devout books is the first step towards a better life.” At the period in which he lived the principal enjoyments of the higher classes were music and hawking; and, as he could not abstain from them entirely, he took care, at such times, to raise his thoughts to the Almighty and to mortify himself. Thus, when he went hawking, he closed his eyes at the very moment when the hawk swooped; the sight of which, they say, was the chief pleasure of this kind of hunting.
The Almighty, to draw His servant entirely away from the world, sent him several severe maladies, which made him recognise the instability of all that is earthly. He became more fully aware of this after the death of the Empress, whose wondrous beauty was everywhere extolled. By the order of the Emperor, it became the duty of Francis to escort the remains to the royal vault at Granada. There the coffin was opened before the burial took place, and the sight that greeted the beholders was most awful. Nothing was left of the beautiful Empress but a corpse, so disfigured, that all averted their eyes, whilst the odour it exhaled was so offensive that most of the spectators were driven away.
St Francis was most deeply touched, and when, after the burial, he went into his room, prostrated himself before the crucifix and having given vent to his feelings, he exclaimed: “No, no, my God! in future I will have no master whom death can take from me.” He then made a vow that he would enter a religious order, should he survive his consort. He often used to say afterwards: “The death of the Empress awakened me to life.” When Francis returned from Granada the Emperor created him Viceroy of Catalonia and in this new dignity the holy Duke continued to lead rather a religious than a worldly life. He had a fatherly care for his subjects and every one had at all hours admittance to him. Towards the poor he manifested great kindness. He daily gave four or five hours to prayer. He fasted almost daily and scourged himself to blood. He assisted at Mass and received Holy Communion every day. When he heard that disputes had arisen among the theologians at the universities, in regard to the frequent use of Holy Communion, he wrote to St. Ignatius, at Rome and asked his opinion on the subject. St. Ignatius wrote back to him, approving of the frequent use of Holy Communion and strengthening him in his thoughts about it.
Meanwhile, the death of his father brought upon him the administration of his vast estates, without, however, in the least changing his pious manner of living. Soon after his pious consort, who was his equal in virtue, became sick. Francis prayed most fervently to God for her recovery. One day, while he was thus praying, he heard an interior voice, which said these words: “If thou desirest that thy consort should recover, thy wish shall be fulfilled but it will not benefit thee.” Frightened at these words, he immediately conformed his own will in all things to the Divine will. From that moment the condition of the Duchess grew worse and she died, as she had lived, piously and peacefully. St Francis, remembering his vow, determined to execute it without delay. Taking counsel of God and of his confessor, he chose the Society of Jesus, which had recently been instituted. Writing to St. Ignatius, he asked for admittance, which was cheerfully granted. But, to settle his affairs satisfactorily, he was obliged to remain four years longer in his offices. Having at length, by the permission of the Emperor, resigned his possessions to his eldest son, he took the religious habit and proceeded to Rome. Scarcely four months had elapsed since his arrival, when he was informed that the Pope wished to make him a cardinal; and, to avoid this dignity, he returned to Spain. Being ordained priest, he said his first Mass in the chapel of the Castle of Loyola, where St Ignatius had been born; and then spent a few years in preaching and instructing the people. It would take more space than is allowed to us to relate how many sinners he converted, and how much he laboured for the honour of God and the salvation of souls.
Saying goodbye to his family
While he preferred a quiet life of solitude, the Jesuits felt differently and promoted him so that he could use his great administrative talents for the church. In 1554, St Ignatius appointed Francis commissary for Spain, where he founded twelve colleges and a novitiate. The Jesuits chose Francis as their general in 1565. His consolidation of the society and expansion of its ministry has caused him to be recognised as the second founder of the order. He established disciplined novitiates in every Jesuit province, writing regulations and books of spiritual instruction for them.
Francis created a new Jesuit base in Poland and strengthened the community’s work in Germany and France. Between 1566 and 1572 he launched the Jesuit mission to Spanish colonies in Florida, Mexico and Peru. He maintained contact with the missioners by letter, advising them about their own spiritual lives and counseling them on strategy. Following is an excerpt from his correspondence:
“We must perform all our works in God and refer them to His glory so that they will be permanent and stable. Everyone—whether kings, nobles, tradesmen or peasants—must do all things for the glory of God and under the inspiration of Christ’s example. . . . When you pray, hear Mass, sit at table, engage in business and when at bedtime you remove your clothes—at all times crave that by the pain which He felt when He was stripped just before His crucifixion, He may strip us of our evil habits of mind. Thus, naked of earthly things, we may also embrace the cross.
Wherever our brethren may be, let their first care be for those already converted. Their first aim must be to strengthen these in the faith and to help them save their souls. After this they may convert others not yet baptised. But let them proceed prudently and not undertake more than they can carry through. It is not desirable for them to hurry here and there to convert heathen with whom they cannot afterwards keep in touch. It is better to advance step by step and consolidate conquests already made. . . . They are not to risk their lives unnecessarily in excursions among unconquered people. The swift loss of life in God’s service may be advantageous for them. However, it is not for the greater good of the many for there are only a few labourers for the vineyard and it is difficult to replace them.”
His successes during the period 1565-1572 have caused historians to describe Francis as the greatest General after Saint Ignatius. He founded the Collegium Romanum, which was to become the Gregorian University in Rome, advised kings and popes and closely supervised all the affairs of the rapidly expanding order. Yet, despite the great power of his office, Francis led a humble life and was widely regarded in his own lifetime as a saint.
In 1571 the pope sent Francis to Spain and Portugal to help build an alliance against the Turks. He grew increasingly ill on this ambassadorial trip and died after returning to Rome in 1572.
AnaStpaul 
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