Quote/s of the Day – 23 May – Within the Octave of the Ascension
“Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the Kingdom of Heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God, Our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of Light, our sharing in eternal glory and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all “fulness of blessing,” both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace, as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“And He departed from our sight that we might return to our hearts and find Him there. For He left us and behold, He is here!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“May your heart be an Altar, from which the bright flame of unending thanksgiving ascends to Heaven.”
St Fidelis of Sigmaringen OFM Cap (1577-1622) Priest of the Capuchins of the Friar’s Minor and Martyr, Lawyer, Philosopher, Teacher, Apostle of Eucharistic Adoration and charity Known as “The Poor Man’s Lawyer” St Fidelis was Beatified on 24 March 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII and Canonised on 29 June 1746, Rome by Pope Benedict XIV His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/saint-of-the-day-24-april-st-fidelis-of-sigmaringen/
St Alexander of Lyon St Anthimos of Nicomedia St Authairius of La Ferté St Bova of Rheims St Deodatus of Blois St Diarmaid of Armagh St Doda of Rheims St Dyfnan of Anglesey St Egbert (c639-c729) Confessor, Priest, Monk, Reformer. St Eusebius of Lydda St Gregory of Elvira St Honorius of Brescia St Ivo of Huntingdonshire St Leontius of Lydda St Longinus of Lydda
St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868) Nun, Foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. Patronages – Good Shepherd Sisters, travellers. On 11 December 1897, Pope Leo XIII declared her “Venerable.” She was Beatified on 30 April 1933 and Canonised on 2 May 1940 by Venerable Pope Pius XII. About St Mary Euphrasia: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/24/saint-of-the-day-24-april-st-mary-euphrasia-pelletier-1796-1868/
Our Morning Offering – 17 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary ”
Morning Offering May Every Beat of My Heart Be a Prayer By St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
O my God, may every beat of my heart, be a prayer, to obtain grace and pardon for sinners. May all my sighs be so many appeals to Your infinite mercy. May each look have the virtue to gain to Your love, those souls, whom I shall look on. May the food of my life, be to work without ceasing for Your glory and the salvation of souls. Amen
Nostra Signora di Bonaria / Our Lady of Bonaria, Island of Sardinia (1370) – 24 April:
The shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria (Good Air) dates back to the latter years of the fourteenth century, at Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia. According to tradition, on 25 March 1370, a ship ran into a terrific storm at a spot some miles off the coast of Sardinia while enroute from Spain to Italy. Soon the ship seemed in imminent danger of sinking and the sailors in a last desperate effort to save her, began to get rid of the cargo. When they heaved a certain large packing case into the sea, the waves immediately died down and the sea became calm. The sailors knew the ship had been miraculously saved and attempted to regain the last crate, followed it for some time. Unable to retrieve it, the sailors returned to their original course. The case floated away and pushed by the tides, eventually landed on the shore of Sardinia at the foot of a hill called Bonaria. A large crowd ran down to the beach when the crate washed ashore, eager to see what it contained. Some tried to open it, though no-one was able to pry off the lid. Others tried to carry it from the waves, but could not do so, for the crate was too heavy. One of the children suddenly cried out: “Call for the Mercedarian Friars!” The Mercy Fathers came and raised the heavy crate without any difficulty, and took it to their Church, where it was opened in the presence of a large group of people. To the surprise of all, they found it contained a beautiful Statue of the Virgin and Child. In her right hand the Virgin held a candle which was still lit! Thus, a prophecy was fulfilled – the Church, now a Basilica, had been built around 1330 by Father Carlo Catalan, while he was the Ambassador to the Argonese Court. At the dedication, he told the Monks, “A Great Lady will come to live in this place. After her coming, the malaria infecting this area will disappear and her image will be called the Virgin of Bonaria.”
Basilica of Bonaria
So when the Statue floated in from the sea and the Fathers placed it in their Church, remembering what Father Carlo had said, they named it “Our Lady of Good Air,” or “Our Lady of Bonaria.” Due to the miracle, devotion to the Virgin spread quickly, especially among sailors who took the Blessed Virgin for their protector and carried her devotion far and wide. The Statue is in colored wood, probably of Spanish workmanship. In 1908, Pope Pius X, declared Our Lady of Bonaria the Patron of Sardinia. Most recently, on 7 September 2008, Our Lady of Bonaria was visited by Pope Benedict XVI in honour of the first centenary of her announcement as the Patron Saint of Sardinia. He gave Our Lady of Bonaria a Golden Rose.
++++++++++ Nuestra Señora de Luján / Our Lady of Luján in Buenos Aires – 24 April:
Patroness of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 16th-century Icon of the Virgin Mary. Tradition holds that a settler ordered the terracotta image of the Immaculate Conception in 1630 because he intended to create a Shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the Port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, the people believed the Virgin wished to remain there.
The image was venerated in a primitive Chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides inside the Basilica of Luján.
Window of Our Lady of Luján in the Basilica
The Golden Rose is a gift from the Pope to Nations, Cities, Casilicas, Sanctuaries, or Images. It is blessed by him on the fourth Sunday of Lent, anointed with the Holy Chrism, and dusted with incense. This Rose consists of a golden rose stem with flowers, buds and leaves, placed in a silver vase lined, on the inside, with a bronze case bearing the Papal shield. Pope Leo IX is considered as the originator of this tradition in the year 1049.
In the Americas, the Rose has been given to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, to Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil, to St. Joseph’s Oratory in Canada, to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the United States, to the Cathedral Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Valle in Argentina and to the Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre in Cuba. On 11 June 1982, John Paul II personally bestowed a Golden Rose on Our Lady of Luján.
Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – Friday of the Second week of Easter and the Memorial of St Fidelis of Sigmaringen OFM.Cap (1577-1622) and St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
“O Catholic faith, how solid, how strong you are! How deeply rooted, how firmly founded on a solid rock! Heaven and earth will pass away but you can never pass away. From the beginning the world opposed you but you mightily triumphed over everything. This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. It has subjected powerful kings to the rule of Christ, it has bound nations to His service. What made the holy apostles and martyrs endure fierce agony and bitter torments, except faith and especially faith in the Resurrection? What is it that today makes true followers of Christ cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind and endure difficulties and pain? It is living faith that expresses itself through love. It is this, that makes us put aside the goods of the present in the hope of future goods. It is because of faith, that we exchange the present for the future.”
“Woe to me if I should prove myself but a half-hearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.”
St Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622)
“Draw near to our Lord, thoroughly aware of you own nothingness and you may hope all things from His Goodness and Mercy. Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less generous in the Blessed Sacrament than He was during His mortal life on earth.”
“May your heart be an altar, from which the bright flame, of unending thanksgiving ascends to heaven.”
“It is human to fall but angelic to rise again.”
St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
“To the end of the longest life, you are still a beginner. What Christ asks of you is not sinlessness but diligence …. You cannot be profitable to Him, even with the longest life; you can show faith and love in an hour!”
Our Lady of Bonaria: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the form of a statue of Mary and the Christ Child that was washed up at a Mercedarian monastery near Cagliari, Italy on 25 April 1370, apparently from a shipwreck the night before. Legend says that the locals tried to open the crate it was in, but only one of the Mercedarian monks could get the it open. Patron of Sardinia, Italy.
Our Lady of Luján in Buenos Aires: Virgin of Luján, Patroness of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 16th-century icon of the Virgin Mary. Tradition holds that a settler ordered the terracotta image of the Immaculate Conception in 1630 because he intended to create a shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides.
St Mary of Cleophas St Mary Salome Mother of St James the Greater and St John, the Apostles of Christ. St Mary has 2 Catholic universal Memorials – the 2nd is on 22 October – here is a post on that date: https://anastpaul.com/2019/10/22/saint-of-the-day-22-october-saint-mary-salome-first-century-disciple-of-jesus/ St Mellitus of Canterbury (Died 624)
St Neon of Lydda
St Sabas the Goth of Rome
St Tiberio of Pinerolo
St William Firmatus
—
Mercedarian Martyrs of Paris: No info yet.
Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week and the Memorial of St Fidelis of Sigmaringen OFM.Cap. (1577-1622) and St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
“Woe to me if I should prove myself but a half-hearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.”
“What made the holy apostles and martyrs endure fierce agony and bitter torments, except faith and especially faith in the resurrection? What is it that today makes true followers of Christ cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind and endure difficulties and pain? It is a living faith that expresses itself through love. It is this that makes us put aside the goods of the present in the hope of future goods. It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future.”
St Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622)
“May your heart be an altar, from which the bright flame, of unending thanksgiving ascends to heaven.”
“Draw near to our Lord, thoroughly aware of you own nothingness and you may hope all things from His Goodness and Mercy. Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less generous in the Blessed Sacrament than He was during His mortal life on earth.”
O my God, may every beat of my heart, be a prayer, to obtain grace and pardon for sinners. May all my sighs, be so many appeals to Your infinite mercy. May each look, have the virtue, to gain to Your love, those souls, whom I shall look on. May the food of my life, be to work without ceasing for Your glory and the salvation of souls. Amen
Our Lady of Bonaria: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the form of a statue of Mary and the Christ Child that was washed up at a Mercedarian monastery near Cagliari, Italy on 25 April 1370, apparently from a shipwreck the night before. Legend says that the locals tried to open the crate it was in, but only one of the Mercedarian monks could get the it open. Patron of Sardinia, Italy. Our Lady of Luján in Buenos Aires: Virgin of Luján, Patroness of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 16th-century icon of the Virgin Mary. Tradition holds that a settler ordered the terracotta image of the Immaculate Conception in 1630 because he intended to create a shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides.
St Alexander of Lyon
St Anthimos of Nicomedia
St Authairius of La Ferté St Benedetto/Benedict Menni OH (1841-1914)
St Bova of Rheims
St Deodatus of Blois
St Diarmaid of Armagh
St Doda of Rheims
St Dyfnan of Anglesey
St Egbert of Rathemigisi
St Eusebius of Lydda
St Gregory of Elvira
St Honorius of Brescia
St Ivo of Huntingdonshire
St Leontius of Lydda
St Longinus of Lydda St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
About St Mary Euphrasia: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/24/saint-of-the-day-24-april-st-mary-euphrasia-pelletier-1796-1868/
St Mary of Cleophas
St Mary Salome
St Mellitus of Canterbury
St Neon of Lydda
St Sabas the Goth of Rome
St Tiberio of Pinerolo
St William Firmatus
—
Mercedarian Martyrs of Paris: No info yet.
Thought for the Day – 24 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
Sorrow and joy alternated almost without interruption in Angers and the new houses. There were difficulties connected with each of the foundations, entailing a great deal of hard work. Throughout these hardships, St Mary Euphrasia endured and embraced them, and said “Great crosses bring great graces.”
Ardent prayer sustained her. “Pray, be silent and hope”became her motto. She loved to repeat: “I belong to every country where there are souls to be saved.” Her work of saving them was going on apace and souls were bought at a great price.
Mary Euphrasia’s last years were very lonely. Labour, enterprises, intense activities, physical and moral sufferings were steadily taking a toll on the Foundress’ strength. She was almost seventy-two years of age when she breathed her last on 24 April 1868, the Friday after Good Shepherd Sunday. “Goodbye my daughters, goodbye dear Institute” were her last words.
Mary Euphrasia founded, in her lifetime, 110 houses on every continent. Today, the Mission Partners of the Good Shepherd (Sisters and Lay) are present in more than 70 countries, embracing the world with their zeal for the salvation of all people. A year after the death of Mary Euphrasia, the Ceylon (Sri Lanka) mission was founded. From Ceylon, the Good Shepherd Sisters came to Singapore in 1939 and reached Malaysia in 1956.
It is not easy to sum up the life of Mary Euphrasia. Perhaps it is best understood in terms of her own wish for her Sisters: “You will effect no good, my dear Sisters … until you become animated with the thoughts, sentiments and affections of the Good Shepherd” and “Live His way of life!”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
“Draw near to our Lord, thoroughly aware of you own nothingness and you may hope all things from His Goodness and Mercy. Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less generous in the Blessed Sacrament than He was during His mortal life on earth.”
“The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme object of our worship. We must preserve, in the depths of our hearts, a constant and uninterrupted, profound adoration, of this precious pledge, of Divine Love.”
“To speak of the Blessed Sacrament, is to speak of what is most sacred. How often, when we are in a state of distress, those to whom we look for help leave us; or what is worse, add to our affliction by heaping fresh troubles upon us. He is ever there waiting to help us.”
“May your heart be an altar, from which the bright flame, of unending thanksgiving ascends to heaven.”
“It is human to fall but angelic to rise again.”
“One person is of more value than the whole world.”
One Minute Reflection – 24 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
In brotherly love, let your feelings of deep affection for one another, come to expression and regard others as more important than yourself...Romans 12:10
REFLECTION – “If you always love one another, if you always uphold one another, you will be capable of working wonders!”…St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
PRAYER – Lord, by Your grace, we are made one in mind and heart. Give us a love for what You command and a longing for what You promise, so that, amid this world’s changes, our hearts may be one with each other and be set on the world of lasting joy. May the prayers of St Mary Euphrasia on our behalf, help us to achieve holy love for all Your children and our brothers. Through Jesus Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 24 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
Morning Prayer By St Mary Ephrasia Pelletier
O my God,
may every beat of my heart,
be a prayer, to obtain grace
and pardon for sinners.
May all my sighs, be so many
appeals to Your infinite mercy.
May each look, have the virtue,
to gain to Your love,
those souls, whom I shall look on.
May the food of my life,
be to work without ceasing
for Your glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 24 April – St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868) Nun, Foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. St Mary Euphrasia was born on 31 July 1796 at Noirmoutier, Vendée, France as Rose Virginie Pelletier – Died 24 April 1868 at Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France of natural causes. Patronages – Good Shepherd Sisters, travellers.
Rose Virginie was born on 31 July 1796 on Noirmoutier a small island off the northwest coast of France. Her parents had fled there thinking that they could escape the violence of the French Revolution. She was the 8th child of Dr Julian and Anne Pelletier. An elder sister and her father died when she was ten years old. In 1810 her mother placed Rose Virginie in a boarding school in Tours. Shortly after her eldest brother died and then her mother in 1813. All these deaths were great tragedies and hardships for the young girl.
Near the boarding school was the convent of the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, a religious Congregation founded by Saint John Eudes to provide care and protection for women and girls who were homeless and at risk of exploitation. Despite her guardian’s reservations Rose Virginie was allowed to join the sisters provided that she not make her vows before she turned 21. She made her profession in 1816, taking the name of Mary of Saint Euphrasia. The sisters of the community had been dispersed at one point during the revolution; the majority had been imprisoned. Rose Virginie joined what was a community of elderly weary sisters. A short time after her profession, she became first mistress of the penitents and about eight years later was made prioress of the house of Tours. She founded a community, the “Sisters Magdalen” for women who wanted to lead a contemplative and enclosed life and would support, by their ministry of prayer, the different works of the Congregation. It is now known as the Contemplatives of the Good Shepherd.
The city of Angers asked that Sister Mary Euphrasia establish a Convent of Refuge there. She established a house in an old factory and called it “Bon Pasteur” (Good Shepherd). In 1831 she was appointed as Mother Superior of the House in Angers. The congregation in Tours did not wish to expand to Angers, nor did the house in Nantes. St John Eudes had established his houses as separate and autonomous. Mother Mary Euphrasia came to believe that if the work was to grow, that each house should be under the direction of a Generalate. She founded additional convents in Le Mans, Poitiers, Grenoble and Metz.
In April 1835, Pope Gregory XVI granted approval of the Mother-House at Angers for the institute known as Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd of Angers. Convents that developed for Angers would be part of the institute while those houses that did not attach themselves to the General Administration would remain Refuges. The development of the Generalate made possible the sending of the sisters to wherever they were needed. Convents were also established in Italy, Belgium, Germany and England. The institute is directly subject to the Holy See; Cardinal Odescalchi was its first cardinal-protector.
For some time, Mother Mary Euphrasia Pelletier had to deal with the opposition of the Bishop Angebault of Angers, who wished to exercise the authority of Superior General, although the constitutions of the Order did not provide for this. She was accused of ambition, of innovation and of disobedience. Sometimes she was put in the position of addressing conflicting instructions from Rome and the bishop. Although she had the support of Rome, the local clergy tended to keep their distance from someone who had incurred the bishop’s displeasure. According to Sister Norma O’Shea, the bishop’s opposition, coupled with the deaths of a number of sisters and longtime supporters, made Sister Mary Euphrasia’s last years very lonely.
Mother Mary Euphrasia Pelletier devoted herself to the work entrusted to her. By 1868, she was Superior General of 3,000 religious, in 110 convents, in thirty-five countries. She died of cancer on 24 April 1868. She is buried on the property of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Angers, France.
On 11 December 1897, Pope Leo XIII declared her “Venerable.” She was Beatified on 30 April 1933 and Canonised on 2 May 1940 by Venerable Pope Pius XII.
Virgin of Luján, Patroness of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 16th-century icon of the Virgin Mary. Tradition holds that a settler ordered the terracotta image of the Immaculate Conception in 1630 because he intended to create a shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides.
After embarking from the port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides.
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