Category Archives: Saints

Encouragement to persevere in prayer

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Today, 27 Aug 2012, is the feast day of St Monica, the mother of St Augustine of Hippo. On her feast day everyone who has been praying for the conversion of a loved one for a long time – especially one’s menfolk – is encouraged by her example to keep on praying. The life of St Monica reminds us all that God only delays to answer our heartfelt prayers if He is preparing an answer for us beyond our wildest imaginings. For Monica, she wanted Augustine to make His peace with Jesus, follow His teachings and get to Heaven. For God, He wanted Augustine to serve Him as priest, bishop, theologian, Saint and Doctor of the Church. Obtaining the transformation God wanted required years upon years of prayers, tears and sacrifices.

St Monica was born around the year 332 and was raised in a Christian home. Monica was married to Patricius, a pagan citizen of Tagaste, a city in Northern Africa. He is said to have had a bad temper and other vices. By her prayers and example she obtained the grace of baptism for her husband before his death. Monica had other children besides Augustine but we do not know much about them.

Augustine was living a sinful life, cohabiting with his girlfriend and accepting heretical teachings. Monica prayed, wept and did a lot of penance over about 20 years to obtain the conversion of Augustine. When he went to Rome, she followed, when he went to Milan, she followed. Without losing heart she asked others to pray, too, and she asked bishops and priests to speak to her son. When she found out that her son had met St Ambrose, she prayed even harder. 

When Augustine finally accepted Baptism at Easter in 387 she was filled with joy. Augustine recalled ‘You had granted her much more than she had asked for in her tears, prayers, plaints and lamenting.’ On their way home to Africa that same year, Monica had a special vision from God at Ostia before she died. She told him ‘Now I find no joy in anything of this life. All my hopes have been accomplished.’ She was no longer concerned about where she would be buried, only that Augustine would remember her at the altar of God.

Augustine later became a priest and bishop and Doctor of the Church. Writing of his mother, ‘She had a woman’s weak body but a man’s strong faith, the composure appropriate to her years, a mother’s love for her son, and a Christian’s devotion.’ He also wrote, ‘If I am Your child, O my God, it is because You gave me such a mother!’

Novena to St Monica

Dear St Monica, exemplary Mother of the great St Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats, but with prayerful cries to heaven. Please intercede for all mothers in our day, so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray.  Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother, many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime, yet you never despaired or lost faith. With confidence, persistence and profound faith, you prayed daily for the conversion of your beloved husband, Patricius and your beloved son, Augustine. Grant me that same fortitude, patience and trust in the Lord Jesus.  You sought these conversions with prayers, with tears, with penance, and with daily offering to the Holy Trinity the sacrifice of the holy Mass.So great was your confidence in God’s goodness in the Eucharist that you asked St Augustine to always remember you at holy Mass. Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, that God may favourably hear my plea for  (mention your petition here) And grant me the grace to accept His will in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. St Monica, pray for us, and pray with us. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen. (3 times)

St Monica, pray for us.

To honour an apostolic patron

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Today, 24 Aug 2012, is the feast day of St Bartholomew, the Apostle that Jesus chose to share His public life with, to join to His priesthood, and to send out to the world as a witness to His resurrection and ascension. Ever since His martyrdom in Greater Armenia, St Bartholomew has been close to Jesus in Heaven, interceding for the members of the Body of Christ on earth.

As you would have read from earlier blog-posts, St Bartholomew is my patron Saint for 2012, and the first time I have been given an Apostle for a patron. Obviously the reliable information about St Bartholomew is scarce; early written references to him are few, but the references in private revelation are rather consistent and we can infer quite a lot from looking at the lives of the Saints who had great devotion to him.

Just like Simon Peter was called Bar Jonah in the Gospel : son of Jonah, so the Church has seen that Nathaniel and Bartholomew : son of Tolmai or Tholmai, are one and the same person. Early sources agree that Bartholomew went east of Jerusalem to preach the Gospel, probably going through Arabia, Persia, Lycaonia and similar places before reaching Greater Armenia. Flayed alive and then beheaded is the way he entered eternity to be with Jesus, which is why he is the patron Saint of those who work with leather and other animal skins and of those with nervous and neurological problems.

The following extract from ‘Through the Eyes of Jesus’ by C. Alan Ames, page 36 of Book 3, is about Bartholomew and of great value as spiritual encouragement:

“Bartholomew spoke quietly to Me, ‘They have been praying a long time. I wish I was with them, but it was my turn to prepare the meal,’ he said, sadly. ‘You pray when you work for others,’ I explained. ‘What do You mean Lord? Cooking doesn’t seem like a prayer to me,’ Bartholomew asked. ‘In your work, whatever it is, if you offer the work to God and do it for God, then it becomes a prayer of action. See in everything you do that it is done because you love God and want to please Him… then everything is a prayer. See, as you live this life, that every breath is a gift from God, and so every time you take a breath you are accepting God’s gift within. Then use that gift for His glory in every action you do, from the smallest to the largest. See the way God’s gift to you is used to help others by your service to them in His name, then every act of servitude becomes a prayer. Life itself can become a never-ending prayer to God, when you make the effort to do everything for God in thanks for the gift of life He has given you. Never see anything you do as unimportant or inconsequential to God, for even the smallest task can be made a prayer, and then even the smallest task becomes important,’ I answered. ‘Even so, Lord, it would be good to be praying with them,’ said Bartholomew, as he looked over to the others. ‘My friend, understand it is because of your sacrifice to prepare the meal, they have the freedom to pray. See that what you are doing is giving your friends the opportunity of spending time trying to come closer to God, and that your denying yourself for them is a prayer in itself, ‘ I replied. ‘It’s true, isn’t it? If I wasn’t cooking, others would have to do it, and so they couldn’t pray. I didn’t think of that,’ he said. ‘See then what a special prayer your work is, a prayer that helps another come closer to God,’ I stated. ‘Cooking, a prayer!’ Maybe I should cook more often,’ smiled Bartholomew, as he continued preparing the meal. A few moments later the others started to gather around the fire. They all looked happy after their prayers. (and here follows some conversation around the campfire, not totally relevant to this story) …’Anyway, I think it is time we all said a prayer before we eat,’ said Bartholomew, for the fish was nearly ready. After we prayed, we sat to eat, when Bartholomew asked out loud, ‘Lord, can eating be a prayer?’ ‘Everything can be, if you show you appreciate God’s love in everything, and offer Him your love in return,’ I said. ‘What, even sleeping?’ he asked. ‘Yes, even sleeping,’ I said, smiling, thinking of the amount of prayer Bartholomew would be doing in the future as he slept.”

There is still more to come - especially what I have learned from looking at the Saints with great devotion to St Bartholomew – but it will have to wait until later…. Thank you for your patience. There are at least 12 Saints either named after St Bartholomew or who took his name in religion which have been written about in this blog during the last 9 months, so it could take quite some time.

 

St Bartholomew, Apostle of Jesus, pray for us.

Beautiful in God’s Eyes

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Today, 23 Aug 2012, is the feast day of St Rose of Lima, (a.k.a. Rosa de Lima) a young woman of Peru in the 17th century who followed Jesus along the royal way of the Cross and discovered the beauty of suffering for Him and with Him.

St Rose was my patron Saint for the year in 2007, and her prayers and example helped me get through a time of unexpected distress and bewilderment. It is only through perplexing times like that we begin to comprehend the value of suffering.

St Rose of Lima was born in 1586 in Lima, Peru, and christened Isabel, but she was such a beautiful baby that everyone called her Rose. From her parents she received both Spanish and Inca heritage. She was confirmed by St Turibius, archbishop of Lima. As she grew up she grew more beautiful, and yet she worked willingly to help her family when they fell on hard times, growing flowers, doing needlework and embroidery. She greatly admired St Catherine of Siena. In life she only wanted Jesus to notice her, and wanted to love Jesus only, and after several years of trying finally persuaded her parents to let her live a life of virginity as a Dominican Tertiary.

Because she didn’t want her beauty to become a cause of sin to anyone, sometimes she would do things to make herself look blotchy and ugly. When she talked about Jesus, her face would glow with love. She retired to a little house in the family garden, here she prayed and did much penance. To modern eyes her penances might seem extreme, but Rose was experiencing many mystical graces and ardently desired to co-operate in the salvation of souls. So fasting three times a week, wearing a circlet around her head which had sharp inner points, hair shirts and other bodily penances were part of her regular spiritual life together with frequent Holy Communion. Often these penances and prayers were offered for the archbishop and for the conversion of souls. Her friends and others caused her suffering when they made fun of her.

Rose understood the value of suffering in the Christian life when it is united to the suffering of Jesus. At some point she wrote ‘Listen, all you people! At Christ’s bidding and in His very words, I warn you: We cannot win grace if we do not suffer affliction; toil upon toil must be ours if we are to attain an intimate share in the divine nature, the glory of God’s children, and perfect happiness. If only men knew how beautiful, noble, and priceless a thing God’s grace is!’

This is one of her prayers, simple and poignant :

“Help me to remember what is really important: that I am Your child You are my Father
You love me for who I am and how I live not what I look like or what I own. Let me praise You, Who sees into my heart, Who is always with me and Who eases my suffering.”

Rose also overcame many temptations and cared for those who were sick and suffering, often in her own dwelling. Eventually she herself became very ill, with a very long painful sickness. But even in her sickness she prayed, ‘Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart’.  She died aged 31, on 24 August 1671 and was mourned by everyone, with her body remaining incorrupt for a considerable time.

For more information on St Rose of Lima, refer to http://www.catholickingdom.com/AAA_load_in_pages/Monastery/Lives%20of%20the%20Saints/Female/Rose%20of%20Lima.html

Novena to St. Rose of Lima

God our Father, for love of you St. Rose gave up everything to devote herself to a life of penance. By the help of her prayers may we imitate her selfless way of life on earth and enjoy the fullness of Your blessings in heaven. Almighty God, the beginning  and giver of all good things, Who willed that Blessed Rose should be prepared by the dew of grace from Heaven, and should bloom as a most beautiful flower of virginity and patience, grant us to be drawn by the perfume of her virtue, that we may deserve to become a sweet fragrance of Christ. You filled St. Rose with love for You and enabled her to leave the world and be free for You through the austerity of penance. Through her prayers, help us to follow her footsteps on earth and enjoy the torrent of Your delights in heaven. Amen.

Glorious St. Rose of Lima, you knew what it was to love Jesus with such a fine a generous heart. Since infancy you despised the world’s vanities in order to embrace His Cross. You loved with unfailing devotion our Heavenly Mother and professed a great tender dedication to the destitute, serving them the same way Jesus did. Teach us to imitate your greatest virtues, so that we, following your example, will enjoy your glorious protection in Heaven. We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

St Rose of Lima, pray for us always. Amen.

Our Father…..Hail Mary….Glory Be….

 

 

He inspired others to follow him on the road to Heaven

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Today, 20 August 2012, is the feast day of St Bernard of Clairvaux, priest, Cistercian monk and Doctor of the Church, who lived most of his life in 12th century France. In life he inspired many to embrace a radical Christian lifestyle, and several hundred years later his writings are still inspiring people to love God more and to be more deeply committed to Him.

St Bernard of Clairvaux was born in 1090 at Fontaines into a noble family of Dijon, France. He was the third son of seven children, several of whom are recognised as Saints. Sorrow entered his life early with the death of his mother when Bernard was in his late teens. When he responded to the call of Jesus to follow Him as a monk, he rounded up 30 friends and relatives and inspired them to join the new monastery at Citeaux founded by St Robert, St Alberic and St Stephen Harding. They all arrived at Easter 1112. 

Three years later, Bernard was sent as abbot to found a new monastrery in the Valley of Light, known as Clairvaux.  Bernard remained as abbot for the rest of his life, but was also called upon to preach, to advise popes, and negotiate peace between warring princes. Busy with the things of God, he founded many monasteries and wrote many letters, sermons and books about spritual matters and theological subjects. To him God granted the gift of miracles. Despite all this, Bernard’s one desire was for God alone.

He had a very deep love of the Blessed Mother, and always greeted her with a Hail Mary whenever he passed one of her statues. One day he heard her voice reply ‘Hail Bernard’, so much did this practice of his please her. To St Bernard is attributed the powerful prayer to Our Lady known as the Memorare:

Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone, who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence therefore I fly to you, O Virgins of virgins, my mother, to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. Do not O Mother of the Word of God despise my prayers, but in your mercy graciously hear and answer them. Amen.

To St Bernard is also attributed the Prayer to the Shoulder Wound of Jesus:

O Loving Jesus, meek Lamb of God, I a miserable sinner, salute and worship the most Sacred Wound of Your Shoulder on which You bore Your heavy Cross, which so tore Your Flesh and laid bare Your Bones so as to inflict on You an anguish greater than any other Wound of Your Most Blessed Body. I adore You, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify You and give You thanks for this most sacred and painful Wound, beseeching You by that exceeding pain and by the crushing burden of Your heavy Cross to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Your Cross. Amen. (Our Father… Hail Mary… x 3)

Here is a small taste of St Bernard’s writings from ‘On the Canticle of Canticles’ (or Song of Songs) : ‘ The Holy Spirit wisely compares the bridegrom’s name to oil when he leads the bride to exclaim: ‘Your name is as oil poured out.’ For oil gives light, nourishes, and anoints. Oil kindles fire, renews the flesh and eases pain. It is light, food and medicine. How much more so is the name of the true Bridegroom! When preached, His Name gives light ; when contemplated, it nourishes the soul ; when invoked, it heals and eases our wounds. We can profitably meditate upon each point…The name of Jesus is not only light, but it is also food. Are you not strengthened as often as you call it to mind? What else so strengthens the soul of the person contemplating it! What else so renews our tired senses, encourages us to virtue, establishes good and holy habits and develops noble affections? All spiritual consolation dries up unless infused with this oil; it all becomes insipid unless seasoned with this salt. If someone writes a book, I cannot savour it unless it speaks to me of Jesus. If someone speaks or preaches, I cannot enjoy it unless I find Jesus therein.’

After a lifetime of bringing souls to God, on August 20, 1153, God called Bernard into eternity. 

If you think you are up to being challenged today by St Bernard and his holy family, read ‘The Family that overtook Christ’ by M. Raymond, which is also available on Kindle. If you feel up to the challenge of reading his writings, try here and here. 

St Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.

 

Intercessor for First Communicants

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Today, 21 Aug 2012, is the feast day of St Pius X, who was Pope from August 1903 until his death in August 1914. Although this holy Pope did many wonderful things during his pontificate, he is probably best remembered for lowering the age at which children could make their first Holy Communion. 

The following extract is abridged from Chapter 30, of ‘Flame of White, a life of Saint Pius X’, by William Hunermann, c.1959…

“On August 8, 1910, Pope Pius X announced the solemn decree ‘Quam singular Christus amore,’ commanding that all priests over the whole world should admit children to Holy Communion as soon as they were able to distinguish Eucharistic bread from common food. The whole world received the decree with great joy. Especially happy were the young souls for whom the Pope opened the tabernacle. Although there arose some voices that expressed fear lest reverence for the Holy Sacrament be lessened if little children were admitted, the Pope knew that his way was God’s way. Above all he was consoled by the numberless letters that came to him from the little ones all over the world. Again and again he read them with tears of consolation.

‘Just see, Giovanni, what this little girl writes to me,’ he said with eyes sparkling. “At times after Communion, I feel as if my Father pressed me to His heart; I am so happy that I cannot say a word. But dear Jesus knows how much I love Him.” Oh, friend, what bishop in the world could have spoken more beautifully about the meeting of the Lord in Holy Communion?’

Each year he invited the First Communicants of Rome to the Vatican. In the Cordile della Pigna the Holy Father was surrounded by a vast crowd of little ones. From an elevation he spoke to them with deep love, asking them to be always true to Jesus and never allow Him to depart from their hearts. ‘Will you do that?’ he called to them.

‘Yes,Yes,’ rang the chorus of radiant children.

‘And of course you will help me pray. The Pope has many big cares; but you will help me pray when Jesus comes to your heart?’

‘Yes, yes – yes, Papa,’ promised the little ones. Some attempted to climb up on the platform. He helped one girl and one boy get on the dais. It seemed as though that moment was being repeated when Jesus drew the Palestinian children about him and caressed and blessed them. Again, the Pope asked them if they would love Jesus all their lives. The answer was a thundering ‘yes’. But the little girl near the Holy Father pressed close and said, ‘Yes, Jesus.’

Even the masters of ceremony, who were displeased at first when they saw the children, became so touched that tears were visible in their eyes. They saw Christ’s love in action and admitted the result.

‘We will come again, Holy Father; we will come again,’ called the children as Pius X dismissed them with his blessing. Nothing in those days gave the Pope more consolation than audiences with children. He rejoiced over their visit many days ahead of time.

‘When I am dead,’ he often said to Don Bressan, ‘I shall still desire to have First Communicants come to me. Bring them to my coffin and even from my grave I will bless them.’ ”

The rest of ‘Flame of White, a life of Saint Pius X’ is well worth reading, and will give you a deep love and respect for this true servant of Jesus.

Note: Rome is a long way to go, to where St Pius X is buried in St Peter’s Basilica, but should you ever visit Port Macquarie in NSW or the Gold Coast in QLD, there are two places you could pray to receive this promised blessing. At Port Macquarie there is a chapel dedicated to St Francis of Assisi which is part of the Catholic Retirement Village. Inside the chapel, near the statue of St Francis is a little box, it contains a little relic of St Francis of Assisi and a little relic of St Pius X. At Marian Valley, www.marianvalley.org , at 2541 Beechmont Road, Canungra QLD (about a 40 minute drive from Surfer’s Paradise) there is a little outdoor chapel dedicated to St Pius X containing a life-sided bust of him.  

Another story about St Pius X goes like this : St Pius X was once speaking to the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. This is what he said to them. ‘Holy Communion is the shortest and surest way to Heaven. There are others, innocence for instance, but that is for little children; penance, but we are afraid of it; generous endurance of the trials of life, but when they approach us we weep and pray to be delivered. Once for all, beloved children, the surest, easiest, shortest way is by the Holy Eucharist. It is so easy to approach the Holy Table, and there we taste the joys of Paradise.’

To the intercession of St Pius X we entrust all of the young and not-so-young that we have prepared to receive Holy Communion for the first time, and all of those that the good Lord will sent to us in the future. May our young girls and boys fall in love with Jesus and always remain faithful to Him, as was St Pius X’s dearest wish.

St Pius X, pray for us.

A heart formed by the Sacred Heart

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Today, 19 Aug 2012, is the feast day of St John Eudes ( a.k.a. St Jean Eudes), a 17th century French priest, preacher and founder of two religious Orders : the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (a.k.a. Eudists) and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. Because he let his heart be formed in the furnace of the Sacred Heart of Jesus he preached with extraordinary efficacy and led many souls back to God. When ever he preached the confessors of the area were besieged with penitents.

While I had always had a soft spot for St John Eudes because of his great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, fifteen years ago his holy life was most emphatically placed before our notice by God. Fifteen years ago a battle royal was going on, would our son be born on the feast day of St John Eudes or on the feast day of St Bernard of Clairvaux? At 11.10pm on 19 August 1997 the battle was decided, but it was a very close thing. So it is with special relish that I learn a bit more about St John Eudes today.

St John Eudes spread the good news of God’s love in as many ways as possible. He preached. He taught others to preach. He conducted parish missions. He wrote books, catechisms, prayer manuals, devotional material and the liturgical prayers for several feast days. Together with that, he responded to the needs of his time, setting up seminaries and places of refuge for penitent women of ill repute, no matter how difficult those tasks were.

St John Eudes was born in late 1601 in the little village of Ri, near Argentan, Normandy France into a rural farming family. Joy filled his parent’s hearts when his mother discovered that she was pregnant, because they had been praying for three years for a child. Soon after this happy news, they travelled some 50 kms away to a shrine of Our Lay to give thanks, and to dedicate this as-yet-unborn little one to her. Happily the good Lord granted the family six more children. In the region where John grew up, he saw for himself the outcome of inadequate catechesis : lives lived with minimal reference to the sacraments. For himself, when of age, John began receiving Holy Communion as frequently as possible – which in those days was once a month after a good confession.

Because of his desire for the priesthood, and gifts of intelligence, John at age 14 was sent to the Jesuit college at Caen, some 50 kms away to study. Around this time he made a vow of chastity and consecrated his life to Our Lady. After pondering for some time how to serve God as a priest, as a diocesan priest, Jesuit or religious, John became very impressed with the Oratory of Jesus in Paris, begun by Pierre de Berulle and modelled on the Oratory of St Philip Neri. In 1622 a house of these Oratorians opened up in Caen, and in 1623 John joined them, being ordained to the priesthood just before Christmas in 1625.

Strangely, almost as soon as John was ordained he fell seriously ill and was unable to work as an active priest. What he did do was use this time of illness to further his studies and to deepen his prayer life. Just as he was recovered, news came that near his home village a plague had taken hold. Volunteering to help them, John went off to care for the sick and to bring them the comfort of the sacraments. Returning to Caen he entered fully into the life of the Oratory before plague struck Caen itself. While some isolated themselves, John again volunteered to assist the victims, putting up with having to live in a large oak wine cask in a field so as not to bring infection to his brother Oratorians.

When the plague ended, John began his ministry of parish missions. Not for him any one or two week mission. He knew that at least six to eight weeks were needed to effect any lasting change, particularly with the high levels of religious ignorance in the places he preached. For him, ‘Preachers beat the bushes. Confessors catch the birds.’, so the real work of the mission was not complete until the people came to the confessional and experienced the mercy of God and started afresh with Christ in their lives.

The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity were founded first, unofficially, in 1641, and officially in 1657. Since often the religious ignorance of the clergy was as bad as that of the laity, John saw the need for the reforms of the Council of Trent which greatly encouraged the founding of seminaries for diocesan priests. It was this need which prompted his leaving the Oratorians in order to found the Congregation of Jesus and Mary for the purpose of developing and running seminaries. This was a move which attracted a lot of criticism but which achieved profound and long-term good.

Wherever John went he promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the extraordinary union between these two Hearts. Because he preached from a heart in close conformity to that of Jesus’, large crowds came to hear him preach and to be converted.

After a long and fruitful life for souls, St John Eudes passed to his eternal reward on 19 August 1680 at Caen, Normandy. In 1925 Pope Pius XI canonised him.

An excellent source for finding out more about St John Eudes’ writings is at http://www.liberius.net/livres/The_spiritual_teaching_of_saint_John_Eudes_000000430.pdf

St John Eudes, pray for us.

Highlights from a mini pilgrimage

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Recently we were able – at last – to visit the Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia, at Marian Valley, Beechmont Road, Canungra, QLD. As with most places run by the Order of St Paul the Hermit, it was well off the beaten track.

To find out all the official information about this place, visit www.marianvalley.org . However, don’t depend upon the map on their website. Use a proper map or a Google search, and be prepared for a few winding roads.

Compared with their sister site at Penrose Park, near Berrima, NSW, this one was more compact and we could park much closer to the main devotional areas.

Sadly we didn’t get to see the whole site, but what we did see was impressive.

Firstly there was a life sized statue of Blessed Pope John Paul the Great, and the major shrine dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians, where a priest was busy hearing confessions. From there we went along the path where all the mini shrines are located. We didn’t have time to also do the walk along the life sized Stations of the Cross, which had been provided by the Vietnamese community.

Along the route it was a joy to find many heavenly friends to greet us, and opportunities to seek their intercession for particular intentions. Among them was a Lourdes grotto including St Bernadette, St Lucy, St Barbara, St Mary of the Cross McKillop, St Anthony of Padua, St Pius X, St Padre Pio and St Gerard Majella.

Many of the mini shrines opened our eyes to the vast array of devotion to Our Lady throughout the world, especially in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the middle East – several we had never heard of before.

Other mini shrines recalled the valiant Korean martyrs and St Lorenzo Riuz, the first Filipino Saint, or reminded us of holy images from Malta and other places. Still others were under construction, notably one for St Francis Xavier.

Sadly we didn’t get to have a look at the piety store, but we did get to visit a very lovely Adoration chapel and to hear the Magnificat sung in Latin for the first time.

The places where retreatants could stay looked very nice from the outside.

Opportunities to enrich our devotional lives don’t come quite so often any more, so this visit to the Marian Shrine was a real treat. So many churches have had all of their devotional elements removed or located where they are not easily visible, that it is good that places like these still exist to remind us of our Saintly friends in heaven and of the wonders God has done in ages past and in distant lands.

So if you are planning a holiday to south-east QLD, plan to include at least a half-day trip out to Marian Valley. It took about a 40 minute drive from Surfer’s Paradise to get there. You won’t regret it.

Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.

 

 

With an apostolic heart

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On 26 Jul 2012 was the anniversary of death of St Bartolomea Capitanio, (a.k.a. Bartholomea Capitanio / Capitanjo), who lived in the early part of 19th century Italy and who used the brief years of her life responding to God’s call to bring Christian education to the young.

This reflection on St Bartholomea’s life is out of sequence because St Anne, the mother of Our Lady, took precedence on 26 July. However, because St Bartolomea was named after the apostle who is my patron for 2012, it was important to learn more about her.

St Bartolomea Capitanio was born in Lovere, Lombardy, Italy in 1807. Challenges came swiftly into her life from her father, who was a manual labourer and alcoholic. Joys came from the virtuous life of her mother and from the education she received with the Clarist Sisters. Growing up Bartolomea day-dreamed about founding a religious order with a very hands-on approach to serving those in need.

Schooling finished for her at the age of sixteen, and at that time she entered into a period of learning and discernment. Within her parish there were many charitable and religious associations, and over a period of time she took part in them all. Listening and observing she was able to work out where the greatest needs were. The first thing she did was to use her talents in writing about spiritual subjects. Sometimes this took the form of mini-treatises on devotional practices, codifying the rules of religious associations and writing about different vocational calls and states of life – but mostly it took the form of letters to various people. This time consuming ministry of letter writing, which drew from the wells of her deep prayer life, was something she continued throughout her life until her final illness prevented it. Thankfully many of these letters have been preserved and published.

While it was obvious to everyone that Bartolomea had a religious vocation, her parents were dead set against it and forbade her entering an order. So instead she was permitted to take a vow of perpetual chastity.

Probably as a result of her written efforts, the joy she found in imparting spiritual truths to others naturally led her to consider teaching. Accordingly she studied for, and obtained, a teaching diploma which would accredit her to teach in an elementary school.

At the same time Bartolomea’s desire to bring young people to Jesus led her to start guilds and societies under the patronage of St Aloysius Gonzaga. These were successful, and spread into other districts.

1823 was a major turning point in her life, for this was the year that she found a kindred soul in St Vincentia Gerosa, who at that time was old enough to be her mother. On Vincentia’s heart was a deep desire to provide nursing care for the sick poor. Together, united in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, they proved to be an unstoppable force for good and the nucleus of a new religious order, the Institute of the Sisters of Charity of Lovere.

This new order drew its inspiration from the Daughters of Charity founded by St Vincent de Paul. In November 1832 the two women made their initial consecration. Soon other women joined them in their apostolate of education of young people, involvement in the local parish, and in the care of the souls and bodies of the sick. Writing the provisional Constitution of the order was Bartolomea’s task.

Almost as soon as this important task was completed, Bartolomea fell seriously sick with tuberculosis, dying on 26 July 1833. It seems that the good Lord took her obedience to her parent’s seriously because her death occurred before she had been clothed in the habit and before she had pronounced any official vows.

Her heart was full of apostolic zeal and humble love. In 1950 Bartolomea was canonized by Pope Pius XII.

St Bartolomea Capitanio, pray for us.

 

 

 

What a pastoral heart looks like

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Today, 4 Aug 2012, is the feast day of St John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests and of all priests. The way he won the hearts of his parishioners over to the Heart of Jesus is worth studying. Of even greater value is imitating his methods. Let’s look at them….

1. He placed the names of each one of his parishioners into a heart shaped receptacle that hung over a statue of Our Lady in the parish church. Doing this was a way of entrusting each one of them to Our Lady’s intercession. It is a wise parish priest who gets the best intercessor in heaven praying for his parishioners.

2. He prayed for his parishioners. This was not ‘prayer on the run’. In addition to his regular prayers, St John Vianney would add fasting, corporal penance, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, extended times of prayer and Holy Mass.

3. He got to know his parishioners well enough through short visits, that he could tailor his sermons to those aspects of the Christian life which would do them the maximum good. Not only did St John Vianney determine the major things which were preventing his people drawing closer to God, he took practical steps to help them. He would not only preach against dances and working on Sunday (for example), he would also provide clean and wholesome alternative activities.

4. He went to good sources for inspiration. It takes not only prayer but also study to prepare a homily packed with spiritual goodness. From the library at Ars it can be seen that St John Vianney received a lot of inspiration from the church fathers.

5. He didn’t spend money on himself, but he did spend money on increasing the dignity of the outward trappings of the Mass : chasubles, chalices, altar linens etc. Outward signs and reverence help human beings to appreciate the wonder and magnitude of what takes place in the sacred liturgy.

6. He was well aware that ignorance of the teachings of the Catholic faith was one of the major reasons why souls were not progressing in their relationship with God. To combat this St John Vianney conducted frequent and regular catechism classes. In these classes He would explain the truths of the Faith in easily comprehensible language and would ‘tell it to them straight’ without any watering down of the demands of the Gospel.

7. He not only followed in the footsteps of Jesus and the Apostles by preaching repentance, he also dedicated himself to providing the means of reconciliation with God. For hours on end St John Vianney would minister the healing and reconciling Sacrament of Penance. So pleased was Jesus with his work in the Confessional that He gave St John Vianney the gift of being able to read souls, thereby making his ministry in the Confessional even more effective.

8. He looked at the needs of the most needy in his parish and initiated works of mercy to assist them. The most notable of which was the House of Providence which looked after the orphans in the parish.

9. He encouraged devotion to the Saints, especially St Philomena and St John Francis Regis.

10. He had great faith that God would provide for all his personal needs, and for the needs of all those entrusted to his care. More than once God miraculously multiplied food for the hungry members of the House of Providence, at St John Vianney’s request.

Throughout these 10 methods, the prime motivations for St John Vianney were the salvation of souls, and the glory of God .

St John Vianney, pray for us.

Reconciler of souls and peoples

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Today, 30 Jul 2012, is the feast day of St Leopold Mandic, a holy Capuchin friar who lived out most of his life ministering to souls in the confessional at Padua, Italy. Beneath his frail, slight and suffering body lived a heart very similar to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Its mercy, desire for unity and zeal for souls.

It is a joy to honour St Leopold today because he was my Patron Saint for 2005, and ever since I have sought his prayers each time I have prepared for the Sacrament of Penance. In my eyes he is one of the three outstanding Confessors of recently centuries, together with St John Vianney and St Padre Pio.

St Leopold Mandic was born on May 12, 1866 in Castelnuovo, on the southern tip of Dalmatia, Croatia, the twelfth child of a devout local Croat family. As a young man he was very frail, and never grew taller than 1.35m or 4 ft 5 in . He limped because of arthritis. However, he always wanted to be a foreign missionary. Leopold entered the Capuchin Franciscans at Udine, Italy in 1882 when he was 16 years old. He studied hard and grew in holiness. When he entered the novitiate in 1884 he took the name Brother Leopold. (one book has his original name Bogdan, the other Adeodatus). He studied philosophy at Padua and theology in Venice. In Venice he was ordained on 20th September 1890. Because of a speech impediment he was assigned permanently to the confessionals. He was sent to various Capuchin convents first, before being sent to Padua in 1906 where he lived until his death, except for one year in an Austrian prison camp during World War I for refusing to renounce his Croat nationality.

Behind his vocation was a secret. When Leopold was 22 he heard God ask him to pray from the return of the Orthodox to Catholic unity. He desired to return to his homeland to assist this cause, but it wasn’t to be. After Mass one day a holy person came to tell him, ‘Father, Jesus told me to tell you that each soul you help here in the confessional is your East. After this he would treat each person as though the conversion to unity of his people depended on that person. At Holy Mass, which he always offered for the intention of unity between the Eastern churches and the Catholic Church, he would suffer physically for the break in unity to the point that his tears would dampen the altar cloth.

Leopold’s life in Padua centered around the confessional, where for thirty years he heard confessions for 10 to 15 hours a day in a narrow cell which was bitter in winter and sweltering in summer. The convent in Padua where he lived and ministered is where his incorrupt body lies today.

He said of himself: ‘I really am quite ridiculous’. And that is what the other monks and children thought of him. But people had begun to line up outside his confessional in Padua. Some were sent by St Padre Pio himself, who said, ‘You have a saint in your city, why come to me?’

Granted the gift of reading people’s souls, Leopold used it to help souls seek reconciliation with God. One time a man who had not been to confession for a long time was brought by friends to Padua. Secretly he hoped to slip away after everyone had gone. Before he made his escape Leopold came suddenly out of the confessional and went straight to him and said: ‘Come in, sir. I have been waiting for you’ and inside ‘You didn’t want to come, did you…but don’t worry. I’ll tell you what you did? And now you are repentant aren’t you. Then God forgives you for everything. Thank you for coming, for bringing me so much joy; but do come again. I’ll be waiting for you.’

If a person was hesitant in approaching theSacrament, Leopold would get up to greet him and say, ‘Please sit down, don’t fear. You know, I’m a monk and a priest, but I’m a real wreck. If it weren’t for God the Master who holds my reigns, I’d be worse than others…’ He also knew when people were truly repentant and when they tried to excuse or minimize their sinfulness. At times he would continue to offer theSacrament of Reconciliation even when he was ill, or would skip meals to assist those waiting for God’s mercy. He suffered from severe stomach ailments. Often when confessions were over, he would remain in prayer, because he had promised to many of his penitents: ‘I will do penance for you. I will pray for you.’

Through out his life Leopold had a great devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, and he had a remarkable gift of discerning graces and helping people grow in their spiritual lives.

Once he said: ‘If Crucified Jesus should reproach me for being over indulgent, I shall say to Him, but You set this poor example for me. I have not yet become as mad as You as to die for souls.’

St Leopold used to repeat: “Remember that you have been sent for the salvation of people, not because of your own merits, since it is the Lord Jesus and not you who died for the salvation of souls…. I must cooperate with the Divine goodness of our Lord Who has deigned to choose me so that by my ministry, the Divine promise would be fulfilled: ‘There will be only one flock and one shepherd’” (John 10:16).

Shortly before he died, July 30, 1942, Leopold prophesied ‘the city will be bombed many times and this convent severely hit, but not this cell. Here in this cell God the Master has used much Mercy. It must remain as a monument to His goodness.’ And so it was that the bombings of 1944 destroyed the convent, but Leopold’s confessional cell remained unharmed.

On the last day of his life, Leopold was up at 5.30am, spent an hour in prayer and then began vesting for Mass.He collapsed while vesting, and a few hours later died while praying the last words of the Hail Holy Queen. He was 76 years old, having served Jesus as His priest for 52 years.

St Leopold Mandic was beatified in 1976 by Pope Paul VI, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1983, declaring him the saintly hero of the confessional. There is, not surprisingly, a statue of St Leopold located between the confessionals and the presbytery at the church of St James in Medjugorje.

St Leopold Mandic, pray for us.