Quote of the day

Advice we all need in this world of ours.

Quote of the day

Poignant advice in a "Me" Centered, anything on demand world. It's a maxim many of the great saints practiced, and something St. Francis took very seriously. Just another little tidbit to meditate on.

Quote of the Day

Wise words. Prayer should be the center of Christian life. I read once that "God governs the world, but prayer governs God." Just a little tidbit to meditate on. Have an awesome day!

Saint of the week-- St Thomas A' Becket

           

St Thomas started out studying at Merton Priory, in Surrey, England. He studied law at London and later in Paris. In about 1141 he joined the household of Archbishop Theobold of Canterbury. The Archbishop sent him on several missions to Rome, and in 1144 he was sent to Bologna and Auxerre to study Canon Law. He was ordained a Deacon in 1154 and was later nominated to be Archdeacon by Archbishop Theobold.  He became a favorite of Henry of Anjou after opposing the claim of the son of King Stephen of Blois, Eustace, to the throne of England, and convincing Pope Eugene III. Henry later became King Henry II of England. Thomas was  appointed Chancellor of England in 1155. He was the second most powerful man in England, next to the King. He became known for the extravagance of his lifestyle. He accompanied Henry, on a military expedition, to Toulouse, in 1159, with his own army behind him. When Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, King Henry nominated Thomas as Theobald's successor. Thomas objected to the nomination, but was elected in 1162. He resigned as Chancellor, was ordained a Priest the day before his consecration, and became Archbishop of Canterbury. Upon consecration, he completely changed his lifestyle, becoming very austere. Soon, he was at odds with the king over Church and clerical rights. In 1164 Thomas had a falling out with the king over the Constitutions of Clarendon, which denied clerics the right to be tried in an ecclesiastical court and to appeal to Rome. As a result, he was forced to flee to France. He appealed to Pope Alexander III, who was then at Sens. Alexander didn't want to get on Henry's bad side and so refused to support Thomas. When both Henry and Thomas stayed firm in their opinions, Alexander suggested that Thomas enter the Cistercian abbey at Pontigny, which he did. In 1166 Henry threatened to expel all Cistercians from England, Thomas went to St. Columba Abbey, near Sens, which was protected by King Louis VII of France. Thanks to the efforts of King Louis, Henry and Thomas came to a peaceful agreement, at Normandy, in 1170. Thomas then returned to England. Peace didn't last long, soon they were at odds again, when Thomas refused to lift  an excommunication on the Archbishop of York, and on other Bishops who had participated in the coronation of Henry's son. The coronation had gone ahead without Thomas's approval and was an infringement of the rights of the Archbishop of Canterbury, unless they swore allegiance to the Pope. Henry threw a fit and in his anger he spoke rashly, saying that he wished he was rid of the "Troublesome Prelate". Four knights took his words literally and murdered Thomas, in his cathedral, on December 29, 1170. This shocked the whole of Europe. Thomas was proclaimed a martyr, and he was declared a saint in 1173, by Pope Alexander III. Henry did public penance in 1171. His feast is the date of his martyrdom, December 29.

Quote of the day

 

 

Another piece of good advice. Christ, when appearing or speaking to His saints, often tells them not to be afraid. Fear keeps us from God and from doing His Will. There were plenty of scary things happening in the lives of the saints, but when they trusted in God's love, Providence and promises, everything always turned out right, even after the trials and tribulations of life.

Saint of the week- Bd. Louis of Thuringia- Sept. 11

Blessed Louis (Ludwig) of Thuringia  (A.D. 1227)



 Bd. Louis was born in 1200 to Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia and Sophia of Bavaria . He was betrothed at age 11 to Elizabeth (St Elizabeth of Hungary), daughter of  King Andrew II of Hungary, who was only 4 at that time. Elizabeth was later taken to the Thuringian court where she was raised alongside her betrothed. Louis Succeeded his father, as landgrave, in 1221. At that time the marriage was ratified, Elizabeth was 14, Louis was 21. Their marriage was originally arranged for the sole purpose of a political alliance between Hungary and Thuringia (now a part of present day Germany), but the two soon fell deeply in love. The couple had 3 children, a boy and 2 girls. Their youngest daughter has now become known as Bd. Gertrude of Altenberg. He was very encouraging of his wife's every devotion and charitable work. In fact, he is known for having paid for the building of a Lazar House on the slope near their castle, known as the Wartburg after having found a leper in his bed, who had come to the castle looking for help. Instead of seeing a sick man, he saw  the suffering Christ lying in his bed. He was both a good ruler and a good man. More than once, he came to the rescue of victims of robbery. In 1226 he assisted the Emperor Frederick II, with his army, in the diet of Cremona. He was gone throughout a very hard winter and  through an entire spring. Elizabeth was overjoyed at his return and, according to Berthold "a thousand times and more [she] kissed him with her heart and with her mouth". He then asked her how the people had done during the winter. Elizabeth replied "I gave to God what was his, and God has kept for us what was ours".  Louis later replied to a complaining treasurer " Let her do good and give to God whatever she will, so long as she leaves me Wartburg and Nuenburg".  The next year, Louis volunteered to follow Emperor Friedrich into battle in the Holy Land. It was shortly before his departure that Elizabeth found a cross in his satchel and had a premonition that they would never see each other again, on this earth. Soon after, with Louis in Command, the German forces gathered at Schmalkalden. On St John's day, he and Elizabeth said their goodbyes, as Louis and the other Crusaders from Germany headed of to do battle with the Muslims. Louis and his army met with the Emperor at Troja, and the army set off in September. Just 3 days later, Louis fell sick, and took to his bed with Malaria. He received the Last Rites and it seemed to him that his entire sick room was filled with white doves.  Louis said "I must fly away with these white doves", having said this, he died.  When Elizabeth received the news, she said "The world is dead to me and all that was pleasant in it." Bd. Louis was buried at Reinhardsbrunn Benedictine Abbey. He is venerated there, to this day, as St Ludwig.

Quote of the day.

A good piece of advice, I think.  All too often, people forget that God is in control, then they lose faith and start to think that everything is a hopeless cause.  Saints and theologians agree that Dependence on God and his providence is a must for sainthood. We are all called to be saints.