St Cyriacus of Rome St Dionysus of Armenia St Elfleda of Whitby St Emilian of Armenia St Giacuto St Gisela St Honoratus of Milan St Inventius of Pavia Bl Jacoba de Settesoli St Kigwe St Laureatus of Rome St Lucius of Rome St Meingold St Mlada of Prague St Nicetius of Besançon St Oncho of Clonmore St Paul of Rome
St Sebastian of Armenia St Stephen of Muret (c1046-1124) Abbot
Martyrs of Constantinople: Community of 5th Century Monks at the Monastery of Saint Dius at Constantinople. Imprisoned and Martyred for loyalty to the Vatican during the Acacian Schism. 485 in Constantinople.
Martyrs of Persia: An unknown number of Christians murdered in early 6th-century Persia. Legend says that so many miracles occurred through the intercession of these Martyrs that the King decreed an end to the persecution of Christians.
One Minute Reflection – 8 February – The Memorial of St John of Matha (1160-1213) Confessor – Sirach 31:8-11, Matthew 12:35-40
“Let your loins be girt about and your lamps burning and you yourselves ,like men waiting for their master’s return from the wedding; so that when he comes and knocks, they may straightaway open to him. Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching.” – Luke 12:35-37
REFLECTION –“God, the Word, stirs up the lazy and arouses the sleeper. For indeed, someone who comes knocking at the door is always wanting to come in. But, it depends on us, if He does not always enter or always remain. May your door be open to Him Who comes; open your soul, enlarge your spiritual capacities, that you may discover the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace and sweetness of grace. Expand your heart, run to meet the Sun of that Eternal Light that “enlightens everyone” (Jn 1,9). It is certain, that this true Light shines for all but, if anyone shuts their windows, then they themselves shut themselves off from this Eternal Light.
So even Christ remains outside, if you shut the door of your soul. It is true that He could enter but He does not want to use force, He does not put those who refuse under pressure. Descended from the Virgin, born from her womb, He shines throughout the universe to give light to all. Those who long to receive the Light, that shines with an everlasting brightness, open up to Him. No night comes to intervene. Indeed, the sun we see each day gives way to night’s darkness but the Sun of justice (Mal 3,20) knows no setting, for Wisdom is not overcome by evil.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church – (12th Sermon on Psalm 118).
PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God and Father, grant us the grace of Your Spirit and fill us with the light of understanding and love. May we learn to truly pray and by our prayers to entreat You to bless us in Your goodness and lead us to true faith in Your eternal light and Word sent to redeem us. May we always be waiting and prepared to open the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ our Lord, who comes in light, love and peace. Grant that by the prayers of blessed Saint John of Matha we may be strengthened. Holy Mother, be our protection and our guide. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
St Jerome Emiliani CRS (1486–1537) Layman, Founder of the Somascan Fathers, Apostle of the poor, orphans, the sick. Patronages – the Somaschians, orphans, abandoned children. St Jerome was numbered amongst the Saints by Pope Clement XIII and assigned the Feast Day of 20 July. About St Jerome: https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/08/saint-of-the-day-8-february-st-jerome-emiliani-crs-1486-1537/
St Giacuto St Gisela St Honoratus of Milan St Inventius of Pavia St Isaias Boner St Jacoba Bl Josephina Gabriella Bonino St Kigwe St Lucius of Rome St Meingold St Mlada of Prague St Nicetius of Besançon St Oncho of Clonmore St Paul of Rome St Paul of Verdun (c 576-c 648) Bishop
Martyrs of Constantinople: Community of 5th century Monks at the Monastery of Saint Dius at Constantinople. Imprisoned and martyred for loyalty to the Vatican during the Acacian Schism. 485 in Constantinople.
Martyrs of Persia: An unknown number of Christians murdered in early 6th-century Persia. Legend says that so many miracles occurred through the intercession of these Martyrs that the King decreed an end to the persecution of Christians.
Madonna del Terremoto (Madonna del Carmine) / Our Lady of the Earthquake, Paterno, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy (1857) – 17 December. (As Patron-Our Lady of Carmel – 26 July):
In the evening of 16 December 1857 a terrible earthquake struck the population of Basilicata and neighbouring regions. In the entire area, the earthquake wreaked havoc devastating the region. The next day, the residents of Paterno began to pray and they processed with the Statue of the Madonna del Carmine, Out Lady of Carmel, who is the Patron of the Town. As soon as the procession reached the devastated area where the destroyed buildings and carts containing the bodies of the dead stood, Our Lady turned her face and her eyes shed blood. This miraculous event is commemorated every year on 17 December with a procession and Holy Mass.
Martyrs of Eleutheropolis – (60+ Martyrs-Beati): Approximately 60 Christian soldiers in the imperial Roman army of emperor Heraclius; they were murdered as a group for their faith by invading Saracen Muslims. We know the names of two of them – Calaoicus and Florian. 638 in Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), Palestine.
Martyrs of Eleutheropolis – (60+ Martyrs-Beati): Approximately 60 Christian soldiers in the imperial Roman army of emperor Heraclius; they were murdered as a group for their faith by invading Saracen Muslims. We know the names of two of them – Calaoicus and Florian. 638 in Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), Palestine.
Quote of the Day – 17 December – The Memorial of St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213) – Founder of the Trinitarians
The Trisagion Chaplet
The Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives, more commonly known as The Trinatarians, was founded in France by St John de Matha and St Felix of Valois (1127-1212) in 1198.
Meeting of St John and St Felix by Vincenzo Carducci
From the very early stages of the of order, the Trinitarians have used a form of prayer based on the Trisagion (sometimes Trisagium or Triagion, from the Greek “three” + ”holy”).
This is a Byzantine prayer still used in the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches in praise of the Holy Trinity.
It’s simplest form is “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.”
The Trisagion Chaplet (also called a rosary) has three sets of nine beads each – of course, a rosary can be used too.
When reciting the Trisagion Chaplet, each set begins with the Trisagion: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.” and the Pater Noster.
An invocation is said on each of the nine beads – “To you be praise, glory, and thanksgiving forever, blessed Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.”
Each set of nine prayers is followed by a Gloria Patri (“Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…”) and the recitation of the chaplet ends with a closing prayer.
St Judicaël
St Lazarus of Bethany
BL Mariano Alarcón Ruiz
Bl Mathilde Téllez Robles
St Maxentiolus
St Modestus of Jerusalem St Olympias of Constantinople (c 361-365 – 408)
Bl Peter of Spain
St Sturmi of Fulda
St Tydecho
St Wivina
St Yolanda
Martyrs of Eleutheropolis – (60+ Martyrs-Beati): Approximately 60 Christian soldiers in the imperial Roman army of emperor Heraclius; they were murdered as a group for their faith by invading Saracen Muslims. We know the names of two of them – Calaoicus and Florian. 638 in Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), Palestine.
Thought for the Day – 17 December – The Memorial of St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213) – Founder of the Trinitarians
The Trisagion Chaplet
The Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives was founded in France by St John de Matha and St Felix of Valois in 1198. From the very early stages of the of order, the Trinitarians have used a form of prayer based on the Trisagion (sometimes Trisagium or Triagion, from the Greek “three” + ”holy”). This is a Byzantine prayer still used in the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches in praise of the Holy Trinity: its simplest form is “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.”
The Trisagion Chaplet (also called a rosary) has three sets of nine beads each – of course, a rosary can be used too. When reciting the Trisagion Chaplet, each set begins with the Trisagion: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.” and the Pater Noster. An invocation is said on each of the nine beads: “To you be praise, glory, and thanksgiving forever, blessed Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory.” Each set of nine prayers is followed by a Gloria Patri (“Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…”) and the recitation of the chaplet ends with a closing prayer.
Quote of the Day – 17 December – The Memorial of St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213) – Founder of the Trinitarians and the Devotion to Our Lady of Good Remedy
From the Apostolic Letter “Sacred Vessel of the Holy Trinity” by St Pope John XXIII (AAS LIII, 1961, 602-604)
The Trinitarian religious whose primary duties are to worship the Triune God with a special devotion, to promote this devotion and to aid the needy and those who suffer by performing works of mercy, have honoured the Virgin Mary – Sacred Vessel of the Holy Trinity – under the title of “Mother of Good Remedy” from the very beginnings of their Order.
Indeed, St John de Matha, their founder and lawgiver, had a great love for the Virgin Mother of God. He founded and spread this holy Order under her protection and bequeathed to his sons and daughters the heritage of a strong Marian devotion. A singular love, for the Mother of God, has flourished among these religious throughout the ages, for she continually healed the sufferings of her suppliants; indeed, it still flourishes among them up to the present day.
The General Chapter of 1959, aware that such traditional devotion had become even stronger in the Order, decided to express the desire of all religious of the Order and to petition the Apostolic See that the glorious Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Good Remedy, should be declared the principal, heavenly patroness of the Trinitarian Order.
We have willingly decided to grant this request, hoping that the friars of the Order will be inflamed to honour the Virgin Mary under this title with an even more ardent love. We also trust that they, moved by her example, will more intensely commit themselves to bring relief and remedy to the less fortunate. Therefore, after consulting with the Sacred Congregation of Titles, with full knowledge and mature deliberation and with the fullness of our apostolic authority, by virtue of this document, we designate and declare the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Good Remedy, to be forever the heavenly, principal patroness of the whole Order of the Most Holy Trinity, along with St Agnes, virgin and martyr. The celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Good Remedy is to be given all the liturgical honours and privileges which are fittingly accorded to the patrons of religious Orders and Congregations; moreover, we grant the added faculty of celebrating her feast each year on 8 October.
Most powerful Virgin, we come to you in dangers and adversities. You are our protection, you are our refuge, you are our Mother of Remedy.
Our Morning Offering – 17 December – The Memorial of St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213) – Founder of the Trinitarians and the Devotion to Our Lady of Good Remedy
Prayer/Hymn to Our Lady of Good Remedy
O Mary, you accept our prayers
and lovingly grant remedy,
we ask you with humility,
remain with us continually.
Be with us if we fall in sin
and feel its cruel captivity,
break all the bonds which hold us chained,
and cleanse our hearts’ iniquity.
Help us when love is growing cold
and worldly lures lead us astray,
let heaven shine within our hearts
lest we forget salvation’s way.
Assist us in our sufferings,
when body soul or spirit fail.
Bring peace and calm into our lives
until the light of heaven prevail.
Be with your children at death’s hour,
protect them in your great pity,
that with your aid, they may enjoy
rewards throughout eternity.
With grateful hearts we sing your praise
with hymns unto the Trinity,
for giving us in all our needs
the Virgin as a remedy.
Amen.
From the Breviary Office of Readings for the Feast of Our Lady of Good Remedy
Saint of the Day – 17 December – St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213) – Priest, Founder of The Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives, also known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity or the Trinitarians, Confessor, – born on 23 June 1160 at Faucon, Provence, France and died on 12 December 1223 at Rome, Italy of natural causes.
Patronage – The Trinitarians.
Between the eighth and the fifteenth centuries, medieval Europe was in a state of intermittent warfare between the Christian kingdoms of southern Europe and the Muslim polities of North Africa, Southern France, Sicily and portions of Spain. The threat of capture, whether by pirates or coastal raiders, or during one of the region’s intermittent wars, was not a new but rather a continuing threat to the residents of Catalonia, Languedoc and the other coastal provinces of medieval Christian Europe.
The redemption of captives is listed among the corporal works of mercy. The period of the Crusades, when so many Christians were in danger of falling into the hands of Muslims, witnessed the rise of religious orders vowed exclusively to this pious work.
St John of Matha was born to noble parents on the borders of Provence on 23 June 1169. He was baptised John, in honour of St John the Baptist. His father Euphemius sent him to Aix, where he learned grammar, fencing, riding, and other exercises fit for a young nobleman. It is said that while there he gave the poor a considerable part of the money his parents sent him and he visited the hospital every Friday, assisting the sick poor.
He studied theology at the University of Paris and was ordained a priest at the age of 32 in December 1192.
According to Trintarian tradition, on 28 January 1193, John celebrated his first Mass. During that Mass, he was struck with a vision of Christ holding by the hand two chained captives, one a Moor, the other a Christian (the Crusades were in full force at the time). The Christian captive carried a staff with a red and blue cross. After the Mass, John decided to devote himself to the task of ransoming Christian captives from the Moors. Before entering upon this work, he thought it needful to spend some time in retirement, prayer and mortification and having heard of a holy hermit, St Felix of Valois (1127–1212), living in a great wood near Gandelu, in the diocese of Meux, he repaired to him and requested him to instruct him in the practice of perfection.
One day while walking with Felix, John had another vision–a white stag appeared at a stream with a red and blue cross between its antlers. John disclosed to Felix the design he had conceived on the day on which he said his first mass, to succour captive Christians under slavery and Felix offered his help in carrying it out. They set out for Rome in the midst of a severe winter, towards the end of the year 1197, to obtain the pope’s benediction.
St John of Matha and St Felix of Valois
On 17 December 1198, he obtained the preliminary approval of Pope Innocent III for a new order dedicated in honour of the Blessed Trinity for the redemption of Christian captives. This order was fully approved in 1209. The Order of the Most Holy Trinity’s first monastery was established at Cerfroid (just north of Paris) and the second at Rome at the church of San Tommaso in Formis. Christian slaves were first rescued by the Order in 1201. In 1202 and 1210 John travelled to Tunisia himself and brought back countless Christian slaves.
St John founded the Trinitarians to go to the slave markets, buy the Christian slaves and set them free. To carry out this plan, the Trinitarians needed large amounts of money. So, they placed their fund-raising efforts under the patronage of Mary. In gratitude for her assistance, St John of Matha honoured Mary with the title of “Our Lady of Good Remedy.” Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America and the Church celebrates her feast day on 8 October. Our Lady of Good Remedy is often depicted as the Virgin Mary handing a bag of money to St John of Matha.
Before his death, Trinitarian tradition says he met St Francis of Assisi and introduced Francis to the Frangipani family, one of the benefactors of the Franciscan order. St John of Matha died on 17 December 1213, in Rome in the house of St Thomas In Formis on the Caelian Hill.
In 1655, his relics were transferred from Rome to Madrid. He was Canonised on 21 October 1666 by Pope Alexander VII (cultus confirmed).
Today the Trinitarian family is composed of priests, brothers, women (enclosed nuns and active sisters) as well as committed laity. Members of the Trinitarian family include the Trinitarian religious, the Trinitarian contemplative nun,; the Trinitarian Sisters of Valence, the Trinitarian Sisters of Rome, Valencia, Madrid, Mallorca and Seville, the Oblates of the Most Holy Trinit, the Third Order Secular (tertiaries) and other Trinitarian laity. All are distinguished by the cross of red and blue which dates from the origins of the Order. Trinitarians are found throughout Europe and in the Americas as well as in Africa, India, Korea and the Philippines.
In 2000 the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life approved “The Trinitarian Way” rule of life which would guide all the lay groups associated with the Trinitarians including the Third Order Secular, the Trinitarian Movement, Confraternities, etc.
Like the Jesuits, Trinitarians also pledge not to seek promotion within the Church hierarchy. If promotion is offered, however, it is accepted.
The Order of the Most Holy Trinity is active on five continents and in many countries.
A John of Matha Saint sculpture from Mafra Palace, Portugal, main entrance
Statues of Saints Felix of Valois and John of Matha. Charles Bridge, Prague.
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