Posted on 07/06/2018 10:38:12 PM PDT by Salvation
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 210
“Then they will fast” “The day will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them and then they will fast.” Since the Bridegroom has been taken away from us, this is indeed our time for mourning and weeping. This Bridegroom is “the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon his lips” (Ps 44[45]:3) and yet, under the hands of his tormentors he lost all comeliness, all beauty and was cut off from the land of the living (Is 53:2.8). However, our mourning is right if we burn with desire to see him. How happy they were who were able to enjoy his presence before his Passion, to question him as they wished and listen to him as necessary… As for us, we see the fulfilment of what he said: “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it” (Lk 17:22)…
Who would not say with the prophet: “My tears have been my food day and night while people say to me continually: Where is your God?” (Ps. 41[42]:3). Certainly we believe him to be already seated at the right hand of the Father, but so long as we are in this body we walk apart from him (2Cor 5:6) and are unable to show him to those who doubt his existence or even deny him, saying: “Where is your God?”…
“A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while and you will see me” (Jn 16:19). But now this is the hour of which he said: “You will weep and mourn but the world will rejoice… But, he added, I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (v.22). The hope thus given us by him who is faithful in his promises never now leaves us without a certain joy — until that overwhelming joy comes on the day when we will be like him because we will see him as he is (1Jn 3:2)… “When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come,” says the Lord, “but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world” (Jn 16:21). This is the joy no one can take away from us and with which we will be satisfied when we pass to eternal light from our present conception in faith. So let us fast and pray since we are still on the threshold of birth.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
|
|
The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) "Blessed are you among women, |
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3611006/posts?page=3
Saint of the Day — Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions
|
Saturday, July 7
Liturgical Color: Green
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
founded the Missionaries of Charity
on this day in 1950. "Prayer begets
faith, faith begets love, and love
begets service on behalf of the poor."
-Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
July 07, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)
O God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!
Old Calendar: Sts. Cyril and Methodius, bishops and confessors; St. Willibald, bishop; St. Pantaenus, Church father
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Their memorial in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on March 7. Today is also the historical feast of St. Willibald and St. Pantaenus, Father of the Church, (+ c. 216).
St. Willibard
St. Willibard was son of the holy king St. Richard, and was born about the year 704 in the kingdom of the West-Saxons, about the place where Southampton now stands. When he was three years old his life was despaired of in a violent sickness; but when all natural remedies proved unsuccessful, his parents carried him and laid him at the foot of a great cross which was erected in a public place near their house, according to the custom in Catholic countries to this day. There they poured forth their prayers with great fervor, and made a promise to God that in case the child recovered they would consecrate him to the divine service. God accepted their pious offering, and the child was immediately restored to his health. St. Richard kept the child two years longer at home, but only regarded him as a sacred depositum committed to him by God; and when he was five years old placed him under the Abbot Egbald, and other holy tutors in the monastery of Waltheim. The young saint, from the first use of his reason, in all his thoughts and actions seemed to aspire only to heaven, and his heart seemed full only of God and his holy love. He left this monastery about the year 721, when he was seventeen years old, and his brother Winibald nineteen, to accompany his father and brother in a pilgrimage of devotion to the tombs of the apostles at Rome, and to the Holy Land. They visited many churches in France on their road; but St. Richard died at Lucca, where his relics are still venerated in the church of St. Fridian, and he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the 7th of February. The two sons went on to Rome, and there took the monastic habit.
About two years after this, Winibald having been obliged to return to England, St. Willibald, with two or three young Englishmen, set out to visit the holy places which Christ had sanctified by his sacred presence on earth. They added most severe mortifications to the incredible fatigues of their journey, living only on bread and water, and at land using no other bed than the bare ground. They sailed first to Cyprus and thence into Syria. At Emesa St. Willibald was taken by the Saracens for a spy, was loaded with irons, and suffered much in severe confinement for several months, till certain persons, who were charmed with his wonderful virtue, and moved with compassion for his disaster, satisfied the caliph of his innocence, and procured his enlargement. The holy pilgrims expressed their gratitude to their benefactors, and pursued their journey to the holy places. They resolved in visiting them to follow our Divine Redeemer in the course of his mortal life; and therefore they began their devotions at Nazareth. Our saint passed there some days with his companions in the continual contemplation of the infinite mercies of God in the great mystery of the incarnation; and the sight of the place in which it was wrought drew from his eyes streams of devout tears during all the time of his stay in that town. From Nazareth he went to Bethlehem, and thence into Egypt, making no account of the fatigues and hardships of his journey, and assiduously meditating on what our Blessed Redeemer had suffered in the same. He returned to Nazareth, and thence traveled to Cana, Capharnaum, and Jerusalem. In this last place he made a long stay to satisfy his fervor in adoring Christ in the places where he wrought so many great mysteries, particularly on the mountains of Calvary and Olivet, the theaters of his sacred death and ascension. He likewise visited all the famous monasteries, lauras, and hermitages in that country, with an ardent desire of learning and imitating all the most perfect practices of virtue, and whatever might seem most conducive to the sanctification of his soul. The tender and lively sentiments of devotion with which his fervent contemplation on the holy mysteries of our redemption inspired him at the sight of all those sacred places, filled his devout soul with heavenly consolations, and made on it strong and lasting impressions. In his return a severe sickness at Acon exercised his patience and resignation. After seven years employed in this pilgrimage he arrived safe with his companions in Italy.
The celebrated monastery of Mount Cassino having been lately repaired by Pope Gregory II., the saint chose that house for his residence, and his fervent example contributed very much to settle in it the primitive spirit of its holy institute during the ten years that he lived there. He was first appointed sacristan, afterwards dean or superior over ten monks, and during the last eight years porter, which was an office of great trust and importance, and required a rooted habit of virtue which might suffer no abatement by external employs and frequent commerce with seculars. It happened that in 738 St. Boniface, coming to Rome, begged of Pope Gregory III. that Willibald, who was his cousin, might be sent to assist him in his missions in Germany. The pope desired to see the monk, and was much delighted with the history of his travels, and edified with his virtue. In the close of their conversation, he acquainted him of Bishop Boniface’s request. Willibald desired to go back at least to obtain the leave and blessing of his abbot; but the pope told him his order sufficed, and commanded him to go without more ado into Germany. The saint replied that he was ready to go wheresoever his holiness should think fit. Accordingly he set out for Thuringia, where St. Boniface then was, by whom he was ordained priest. His labors in the country about Aichstadt, in Franconia and Bavaria, were crowned with incredible success, and he was no less powerful in words than in works.
In 746 he was consecrated by St. Boniface bishop of Aichstadt. This dignity gave his humility much to suffer, but it exceedingly excited his zeal. The cultivation of so rough a vineyard was a laborious and painful task; but his heroic patience and invincible meekness overcame all difficulties. His charity was most tender and compassionate, and he had a singular talent in comforting the afflicted. He founded a monastery which resembled in discipline that of Mount Cassino, to which he often retired. But his love of solitude diminished not his pastoral solicitude for his flock. He was attentive to all their spiritual necessities, he visited often every part of his charge, and instructed all his people with indefatigable zeal and charity. His fasts were most austere, nor did he allow himself any indulgence in them or in his labors on account of his great age, till his strength was entirely exhausted. Having labored almost forty-five years in regulating and sanctifying his diocese, he died at Aichstadt on the 7th of June, 790, being eighty-seven years old. He was honored with miracles, and buried in his own cathedral. Pope Leo VII. canonized him in 938. In 1270 the Bishop Hildebrand built a church in his honor, into which his relics were translated, and are honorably preserved to this day; but a portion is honored at Furnec in Flanders. See the three lives of St. Willibald, written by contemporary authors, especially that by a nun of his sister St. Walburga’s monastery. She gives from the saint’s own relation a curious and useful description of the Holy Land, as it stood in that age; which is rendered more curious by the notes of Mabillon, and those of Basnage in his edition of Canisius’s Lect. Antiquae.
Rev. Alban Butler (1711-73). Volume VII: July.
Excerpted from Butler's The Lives of the Saints
St. Pantaenus
This learned father and apostolic man flourished in the second century. He was by birth a Sicilian, by profession a Stoic philosopher. His esteem for virtue led him into an acquaintance with the Christians, and being charmed with the innocence and sanctity of their conversation, he opened his eyes to the truth. He studied the Holy Scriptures under the disciples of the apostles, and his thirst after sacred learning brought him to Alexandria, in Egypt, where the disciples of St. Mark had instituted a school of the Christian doctrine.
Pantænus sought not to display his talents in that great mart of literature and commerce; but this great progress in sacred learning was after some time discovered, and he was drawn out of that obscurity in which his humility sought to bury itself. Being placed at the head of the Christian school some time before the year 179, by his learning and excellent manner of teaching he raised its reputation above all the schools of the philosophers, and the lessons which he read, and which were gathered from the flowers of the prophets and apostles, conveyed light and knowledge into the minds of all his hearers.
The Indians who traded at Alexandria entreated him to pay their country a visit, whereupon he forsook his school and went to preach the Gospel to the Eastern nations. St. Pantænus found some seeds of the faith already sown in the Indies, and a book of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, which St. Bartholomew had carried thither. He brought it back with him to Alexandria, whither he returned after he had zealously employed some years in instructing the Indians in the faith.
St. Pantænus continued to teach in private till about the year 216, when he closed a noble and excellent life by a happy death.
Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Lord . . . proclaims peace to his people (Psalm 85:9)
Peace.
Isn’t that what we all long for? Peace in our world, peace in our nation, peace in our families. Many of us would be happy if we could just have peace at the end of a long day! But life isn’t always peaceful.
Situations outside of our control can make us anxious. Events that may happen in the future—or that may not happen at all—fill us with a sense of dread. Even memories of past upsets can cast a dark cloud over our hearts.
We know that Jesus offers us his peace, even in the most difficult of circumstances. But it can still seem elusive. The truth is, peace is hard to come by. Just ask any foreign diplomat or parent of a teenager. You have to work at it. It doesn’t just descend on you magically; you have to pursue it, and then hold tight onto it when you find it.
So when you begin to feel uneasy or anxious, know that this is your cue to get to work. Don’t let yourself give in to the worrisome thoughts that spring into your mind. Take a deep breath instead, and try to focus your attention on Jesus. Picture him standing in front of you with arms open wide. Gaze into his eyes, and tell him what is making you uneasy. Be honest about your concerns and how they are troubling you. Ask him to help you find peace in his promises or in his presence with you.
Then, listen. Try to sense what Jesus may want to say to you. Perhaps just a single word, like “trust” or “forgive,” comes to mind. Maybe it’s an inner sense that helps you believe that God can bring good out of a difficult situation. Or maybe you get an idea of what your next step should be. If what you sense makes you feel more peaceful, follow it.
And if you don’t feel more peaceful, try your best to continue on. Believe that Jesus is with you, even if you don’t feel his presence. Tell yourself that he will never abandon you. Trust that his perfect love will cast out all fear (1 John 4:18).
In time, it will.
“Come, Lord, and fill me with your peace today.”
Amos 9:11-15
Matthew 9:14-17
Daily Marriage Tip for July 7, 2018:
Instead of online shopping or looking at ads in the paper, spend some time going for a walk, playing a game, or just being with your spouse. You’ll gain family time and avoid clutter in your house.
Language: English | Espa�ol
All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 4
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
The greatest challenge facing the western world is not violence from without, but the tragic decision to take a life within.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
