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.

Belated Saints of the day- Apr 5th- April 8th

 Apr 5- Bd Cresentia Hoss , Virgin    (A.D. 1744)

Born in 1682 to poor parents. She entered the convent of the 3rd Order Regular of St. Francis, at age 21. She was treated poorly, in the convent, at first, but eventually was recognized as a living saint. She later became the prioress of the convent in which she lived. Later on in her life, people would seek her out, at the convent, for advice and prayers. she died in 1744. even today, pilgrims still visit her tomb. She was beatified in 1900, by Pope Leo XIII.



 Apr 6- Bd Catherine of Pallanza, Virgin    (A.D. 1478)

Born in 1437 in Pallanza, Italy. Her entire family died of the plague when she was very young. She was rescued by a local lord and was placed in the care of and later adopted and educated by a noble woman in Milan. After the death of the woman who raised her, she became a hermitess in the mountains above Varese. She lived this austere life for 15 years. She was joined by other women who wished to imitate her, and she later started a community which followed the Augustinian rule. She founded a convent called Santa Maria di Monti. She died after 4 years of being prioress of the community, she died at age 40. She had the gift of prophesy. Her cultus was approved in 1769.



Apr 7- Bd Alexander Rawlins, Priest and Martyr  (A.D. 1595)

Born on the border between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. He was educated at the English College at Rheims, in preparation for receiving Holy Orders. He and Bd Henry Walpole were executed together. Alexander had been working for the English mission ever since his ordination in March 1590. He had been arrested at about the time of Henry's return from the Tower to York castle. They were taken to the place of execution on the same hurdle. In order to keep them from talking to each other, they were laid with one's head at the feet of the other. Alexander was tortured and executed first, followed by Henry.


Apr 8- St Julia Billiart, Virgin      (A.D. 1816)

Blessed Mary Rose Julia Billiart was the child of fairly well to do peasant farmers. She was born in 1751 in Cuvilly, in Picardi, France. She was an intelligent girl who had a habit of teaching the catechism to other children. Her parish priest encouraged her to continue this practice and she was allowed to receive First Communion at age 9, which was rare in those days. She took a vow of chastity at age 14. Although she had to work very hard, when her family fell on hard times, she still took time to visit the sick, teach the ignorant and pray. Quite suddenly, after a gun was fired through a window at her father, whom she was sitting next to at the time, she became completely paralyzed, unable to use her arms or legs. She had become an invalid because of the shock of this event. She remained that way for 22 years. Throughout that time she continued to instruct children in catechism. During this time, she was also the co-foundress of an order called The Institute of Notre Dame de Namur. In 1804, during a mission held by the Fathers of Faith, in Amiens, which they entrusted to the sisters of the order, of which Mother Julia was the prioress, a novena was held for an unknown intention. On the 5th day, which was the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Father Enfantin asked Julia "Mother, if you have any faith, take one step in honor of the Sacred Heart". At this, Mother Julia stood for the first time in years, she was completely cured. During the years that followed, she continued to further the order which she had co-founded and at one point she suffered persecution and calumny from a young priest who turned many of her friends against her. She ended up relocating, with some of her sisters, to Namur, which later became the permanent location of the Mother House. Mother Julia spent the last 7 years of her  life founding more houses and training her spiritual daughters. She became sick in 1816 and was failing fast. She died on April 8, while reciting the Magnificat. She was beatified in 1906. She was canonized Jun 22, 1969, by Pope Paul XI.















                           

Belated Saints of the day - April 3rd and 4th

April 3- SS Agape, Chionia and Irene, Virgins and Martyrs (A.D. 304)
        
          In 303 Emperor Diocletian issued a decree making it illegal to have any portion of the Sacred Scriptures in a person's possession. At that time,  there were 3 Christian sisters living in Thessalonica in Macedonia named Agape, Chionia and Irene. Their parents were pagan, but they had become Christians and the owned several volumes of Sacred Scripture. They kept them so well hidden that they were not found until the following year, in 304. At that time, their home was searched after the sisters had been arrested on another charge.  They had been arrested, along with 3 others, for refusing to eat meat that had been sacrificed to the gods. Agape and Chionia  were later burned at the stake, for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ and for refusing to eat the sacrificial  meat.  Irene was imprisoned for a while and later brought again before the governor. No matter how much he tried to convince her to renounce her faith, she still refused to the very end, even after she realized that the Sacred Scriptures had been discovered in the home where she and her sisters had lived.  She was more cruelly treated. She was stripped and exposed in a brothel, which was being watched closely by guards. legend tells that she was miraculously concealed from view and protected from the advances of the men who came to the house. She also was martyred, legends say, either by being burned alive, after
being forced to herself into the flames, or, as some legends say, by being shot in the throat with an Arrow.

April 4- St Benedict the Black or Benedict the Moor,  Monk       (A.D. 1589)

            

      He was born in a village near Messina, Sicily, to poor Christian parents, who were African slaves,  and who were owned by a rich landowner. His father's name was Christopher. Christopher had been made foreman over the landowner's other slaves, and had been promised that his oldest son, Benedict, would be free. As a child, Benedict was sweet natured and religious. At the age of 10, he was nicknamed "the Holy Black", a moniker which stuck with him for life. One day, at the age of 21, while he was being ridiculed by a neighbor, and gently replying to the man's insults, because of his skin color and parentage, a young man named Lanzi, who was very impressed by Benedict's demeanor during these attacks, passed by and rebuked the man and prophesied that Benedict would soon be known for great things. Soon after this, Benedict sold his few worldly posessions and became a hermit. He, Lanzi, and their companions settled on Montepellegrino, near Palermo. soon after this, Lanzi, who had invited Benedict to join the hermits, died. Benedict was chosen superior in his place, even though he tried to refuse the position. At about the age of 38, Pope Pius IV decreed  that the hermits had to either disband or join an order. Benedict joined the Friars Minor of the Observance, and became a Lay-brother. At first, he worked as a cook. From this post, he became known for his little acts of kindness and his extraordinary goodness. When in the chapel, his face would often shine with an unearthly light, and food seemed to multiply miraculously in his hands. The order held a chapter in Palermo, where it was decided that the house of St Mary should become a convent of the reform. Therefore, Benedict was chosen as Guardian by the chapter. He couldn't read or write and this appointment bothered him. Still he obeyed and soon proved himself worthy of the assignment. Rumors of his sanctity and miracles soon spread all over Sicily. When he went to the chapter of his order, at Girgenti. Here, the clergy and people from all over came to meet him and to try to kiss his hand or obtain a piece of his habit as a relic.  Here, he was relived of the office of guardian and made vicar of the convent and novice-master. He also proved himself in this post. He was infused with an incomparable sacred knowledge of the Scriptures and sacred truths. he is known to have been endowed with the ability to read people's thoughts, and with great sympathy. He was happy when he was finally released from this post and could return to being a cook. However, he was no longer as obscure as he once was and he was continually visited by the poor and dignitaries alike, all seeking his help in some form. Although he never refused visitors, he shrank from praise and honors. Whenever he travelled, he covered his face in order to avoid recognition. He lived an austere life and ate only enough to sustain life. Benedict died in 1589, at age 63, after suffering a short illness.