Saturday the Day of Our Lady

"The Last Supper - the Words of the Queen" fragments from "The Mystical City of God" by Venerable Mary of Agreda

O my daughter! Would that the believers in the holy Catholic faith opened their hardened and stony hearts in order to attain to a true understanding of the sacred and mysterious blessing of the Holy Eucharist! If they would only detach themselves, root out and reject their earthly inclinations, and, restraining their passions, apply themselves with living faith to study by the divine light their great happiness in thus possessing their eternal God in the holy Sacrament and in being able, by its reception and constant intercourse, to participate in the full effects of this heavenly manna! If they would only worthily esteem this precious gift, begin to taste its sweetness, and share in the hidden power of their omnipotent God! Then nothing would ever be wanting to them in their exile. In this, the happy age of the law of grace, mortals have no reason to complain of their weakness and their passions; since in this bread of heaven they have at hand strength and health. It matters not that they are tempted and persecuted by the demon; for by receiving this Sacrament frequently they are enabled to overcome him gloriously. The faithful are themselves to blame for all their poverty and labours, since they pay no attention to this divine mystery, nor avail themselves of the divine powers, thus placed at their disposal by my most holy Son. I tell thee truly, my dearest, that Lucifer and his demons have such a fear of the most Holy Eucharist, that to approach it, causes them more torments than to remain in hell itself. Although they do enter churches in order to tempt souls, they enter them with aversion, forcing themselves to endure cruel pains in the hope of destroying a soul and drawing it into sin, especially in the holy places and in the presence of the holy Eucharist. Their wrath against the Lord and against the souls alone could induce them to expose themselves to the torment of His real sacramental presence.

Whenever He is carried throught the streets they usually fly and disperse in all haste; and they would not dare to approach those that accompany Him, if by their long experience they did not know, that they will induce some to forget the reverence due to their Lord. Therefore they make special efforts to tempt the faithful in the churches; for they know what great injury they can thereby do to the Lord Himself, who in His sacramental love is there waiting to sancify men and to receive the return of His sweetest and untiring love. Hence thou canst also understand the strength of those who prepare themselve to partake of this bread of the angels and how the demons fear the souls, who receive the Lord worthily and devoutly and who strive to preserve themselves in this purity until next Communion....Write this admonition in thy heart;...For in our days they are heaping affliction and sorrow upon the mistress of nations, while there is none to console her or take it to heart (Thren. 1,10).


Feast of Corpus Christi at Lourdes

"I think I am correct in saying that the Shrine banned processions of the Blessed Sacrament some years ago. If this is true, I am not sure whether the ban is still in place." - photo and comment after http://cathcon.blogspot.com - Catholic Church Conservation Read whole post......

"The Real Presence"
by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD- "Hidden God, devoutly i adore thee, truly present beneath these veils: all my heart subdues itself before Thee, since all before Thee faints and fails (cf. Adore Te Devote)

MEDITATION
2. Jesus is present in the Eucharist with all His divinty and all His humanity. Although His humanity is present :"per modum substantiae," that is, in substance and not in corporeal extension, it is whole and entire in the consecrated Host - body and sol, and this latter with its faculties of intellect and will. Therefore our Eucharistic Lord knows and loves us as God and as Man. he is not a passive object for ou adoration but He is living; He sees us, listens to us, answers our prayers with Hhis graces. Thus we may have, with the gentle Master of the Gospel, living, concrete relations which, although impreceptible to our senses, are similar to those which His contemporaries had with Him. It is true that in the Eucharist not only His divinty but even His humanity is hidden; however, faith suppliesfor the senses, it substitutes for what we do not see or touch; "sola fides sufficit," says St. Thomas, faith alone is sufficient (Pange Lingua). As Jesus, disguised as a traveler, once taught the disciples of Emmaus, and inflamed the hearts , so too, Jesus hidden under the Eucharistic veil illumines our souls, inflames them with His love and inclines them ever more effectively toward sanctity.
Jesus is there, in the consecrated Host, true God and true Man; as he become incarnate for us, so for us too, has he hidden Himself under the sacred Species. There He waits for us, longs for us, is always ready to welcome and listen to us. And we need Him so much! Gos, pure Spirit, is present everywhere, it is true; and in His Unity and Trinity, He even deigns to dwell within our souls. vivifies by grace. Nevertheless, we always have need of contact with Jesus, the Word made Flesh, God made Man, our Mediator, our Saviour, our Brother, and we find Him present in the Eucharist. here on earth we are never close to Him than when we are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.

COLLOQUY
...."O Lord, wealth of the poor, how admirably You can sustain souls, revealing your great riches to them gradually and not permitting them to see them all at once. When I see Your great Majesty hidden in so small a thing as the Host, I cannot but marvel at Your great wisdom. O God, if You did not conceal Your Your grandeur, who would dare to come to You so often, to unite with Your ineffable Majesty a soul so stained and miserable? Be forever blessed, O Lord! May the angels and all creatures praise You for having deigned to adapt Your mysteries to our weakness, so that we might enjoy Your treasures without being frightened by Your infinite power. Otherwise, poor, weak creatures like ourselves would never dare to approach You. " (T.J. Life, 38). Read whole post......

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI
fragments from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - "The eternal tide flows hid in living bread. That with its heavently life too be fed..."
(St. John of the Cross Poems)

MEDITATION
2. The Eucharist is not only Jesus actually living among us, but it is Jesus become our Food. This is the chief aspect under which today's liturgy presents the mystery to us: there is no part of the Mass which does not, at least, make some allusion to it. The Introit refers to it when it mentions the wheat and honey with which God once fed the Hebrews in the desert, a miraculous food, and yet a very poor representation of the living, life-giving Bread of the Eucharist. The Epistle (I Cor 11, 23-29) speaks of it, recalling the institution of this Sacrament, when Jesus "took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said, 'Take ye, and eat; this is My Body' " ; the Gradual chants, "The eyes of all hope in You, O Lord, and You give them meat in due season." The very beautiful Sequence Lauda Sion, celebrates it at length, and the Gospel (Jn 6, 56-59), echoing the Alleluia, cites the most significant passage in the discourse when Jesus Himself announced the Eucharist. "My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed." The Communion Hymn repeats a sentence of the Epistle, and reminds us that we receive the Body of the Lord worthily. Finally , the Postcommunion tells us that Eucharistic Communion is the pledge of eternal communion, in heaven. But in order to have a better understanding of the immense value of the Eucharist, we must go back to the very words of Jesus, most opportunely recalled in the Gospel of the day, "He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me and I in him." Jesus made Himself our food in order to assimilate us to Himself, to make us live His life, to make us live in Him, as He himself lives in His Father. The Eucharist is truly the sacrament of union and at the same time it is the clearest and most convincing proof that God calls us and pleads with us to come to intimate union with Himself.

COLLOQUY
.....O my soul, how can you refrain from plunging yourself ever deeper and deeper into the love of Christ, who did not forget you in life or in death, but who willed to give Himself wholly to you, and to Himself forever?" (St. Angela of Foligno). Read whole post......

The Feast of Corpus Christi

Hymn: Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium
Sing, my tongue, the Saviour glory
Of His Flesh the mystery sing;
Of the Blood, all price exceeding,
Shed by our immortal King,
Destined, for the world's redemption,
From a noble womb to spring.
Of a pure and spotless Virgin
Born for us on earth below,
He, as Man with man conversing,
Stay'd the seeds of truth to sow;
Then he closed in solemn order
Wondrously his life of woe
On the night of that Last Supper,
Seated with his chosen band,
He the Paschal victim eating,
First fulfils the law's command;
Then, as Food to his Apostles
Gives himself with his own hand.
Word made Flesh, the bread of nature
By His word to Flesh he turns;
Wine into His Blood he changes: -
What though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
Faith he lesson quickly learns.
Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
Never rites of grace prevail;
Faith, for all defects supplying
Where the feeble senses fail.
To the Everlasting Father,
And the Son who reigns on high,
With the Holy Ghost proceeding
Forth from Earth eternally,
Be Salvation, honour, blessing,
Might, and endless majesty. AMEN

COLLECT
O God, who under a wonderful Sacrament hast left us a memorial of thy passion: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy body and blood, that we may evermore feel within the fruit of thy redemption: Who livest.

From "Devout Instructions" by Father Goffine, 1896 edition

Why is this day called Corpus Christi?
Because on this day the Catholic Church solemnly celebrates the institution of the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. The name, which is Latin, siginifies the body of Christ.

Why is this feast not celebrated on Maundy Thursday?
Because on Moundy Thursday, the day of the institution of this sacrament, the Church is occupied with the passion and death of Christ, and has no thought of joy, but gives herself up to grief.

By whom was this feast established?
It was instituted by Pope Urban IV. Persuaded by a devout nun of Liege, who believed herself to be divinely encouraged to introduce this feast, Robert, Bishop of Liege, determined, in the year 1247, to celebrate this feast in his diocese. This intention he was prevented from carrying out by death. In the year 1264 Pope Urban IV commanded this feast to be solemnly celebrated throughout the whole Church. Clement V confirmed this order, at the Council of Vienna, 1311, and fixed the feast on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

For what purpose was this feast instituted, and why are processions so solemnly held on this day?
1. To declare, openly, to the faithful the real and substantial presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. 2. In order to manifest, in the sight of heaven and earth, honour and adoration for Him before Whom every knee shall bow. 3. To give public thanks for the institution of this holy sacrament, and for all the graces thereby conferred upon the faithful. 4. To repair, in some measure, by solemn adoration, the wrongs done to Christ, in this sacrament. 5. To bring down God's blessing upon the land and upon the people. 6. To show that Jesus, as true God, dwells not only in temples built by hands, but He has heaven of His throne, the earth for His Footstool, and the whole world for His temple.
The Church sings at the Introit of the Mass:"He fed them with the fat of wheat, alleluia; and filled them with honey out of the rock, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice to God our helper, sing aloud to the God of Jacob" (Ps. lxxx)> Glory be to the Father, etc.

EPISTLE. I Cor. xi. 23-29
Brethren: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.

GOSPEL. John vi.56-59.
For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.

Why did Jesus say,"this is the bread that came down from heaven"?
He wished thereby to teach the Jews that the bread which He would give them, like the manna, came down from heaven, and was, indeed, the only true bread from heaven. The manna was but the a type, and could only prolong the life of the body. The type was now to be fulfilled: the bread that he was about to give them would impart to them eternal life, and this bread
would be His flesh, - Himself, Who truly came from heaven, to redeem mankind, and to bring them to life everlasting. Jesus calls His flesh bread, partly on account of his likeness to the manna, partly on account of its effect; for as bread nourishes the body, and sustains the earthly life, so the body of Christ, in the Holy Sacrament, nourishes the soul, and imparts to it, continually, a new, divine, and everlasting life.

What is the Holy Sacrament of the Altar?
It is that sacrament in which, after the words of its institution have bees spoken by the priest, Jesus Christ is present, whole and entire, in His Godhead and in His manhood, under the appearance of bread and wine.

When and how did Jesus institute the sacrament?
At the Last Supper. In the night, before His was betrayed, he took bread, and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples saying, "Take and eat, for this is My body which will be given for you." In the same manner, he took the chalice and said, "Take and drink, for this chalice is the new covenant in My blood. Do this as often as you drink from it in commemoration of Me."

What did Jesus effect by these words?
He changed bread and wine into His most precious body and blood.
Has He given to others the power to do the same?
Yes; He gave this power to His apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests, in these words: "Do this in commemoration of Me."

What takes place at the words of consecration?:
Bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and only the outward appearances of bread and wine remain.

How is Jesus present in the Most Holy Sacrament?
He is present, truly, really, and substantially, in His divinity and humanity, in flesh and blood, in body and soul, under the appearances of bread and wine.

Why do we believe this?
1. Because the words of Jesus do not reasonably admit of any other meaning: since by them we see (a) that Jesus gave His disciples a certain nourishment which they were to eat; (b) that this nourishment was bread and wine to all appearances, but Jesus called the bread His body, which was afterwards to be sacrificed for us, and the wine His blood, which was to be shed for us: this food consequently was not bread and wine, but, under the appearance of bread and wine, was indeed His body and blood; since what he gave for our redemption was not bead and wine, but His true body and His true blood; (c) that as the body and blood of Jesus were inseparable from His soul and divinity, he gave Himself up for our nourishment, whole and undivided, as he hung, bled, and died upon the cross; (d) that He commanded what He had done to be continued until He should come again (1 Cor. xi. 26), that is, until the end of the world; and that he, (e) on account of this being His testament, and the New Law, was not at liberty to speak figuratively, but plainly and distinclty.
2. Because the apostles preached this very doctrine.
3. Because the Catholic Church, the pillar and foundation of truth, has thus constantly taught, from the apostle' times down to the present day, as the oldest Councils and the Holy Fathers unanimously testify.

Why is communion given only in one kind?
1. The Church gives holy communion only under one kind, to guard against abuses; as, for example, the spilling of the wine; 2. In opposition to those who hold that communion can be received under both kinds, to hold fast to true doctrine, which is that Christ, whole and undivided, the entire sacrament, is received under one kind. The truth of this doctrine is plain from this, that where the living body of Christ is, there is the whole Christ; that Christ promises eternal life to him who eats this bread alone (John vi. 59); and finally, that there is no divine law which commands the receiving of this sacrament under both kinds. Read whole post......

Vigil of Corpus Christi

June 14 - St Eliseus Prophet of Carmel (ELISHA; Heb. ’lysh‘, God is salvation).

A Prophet of Israel. After learning, on Mount Horeb, that Eliseus, the son of Saphat, had been selected by God as his successor in the prophetic office, Elias set out to make known the Divine will. This he did by casting his mantle over the shoulders of Eliseus, whom he found "one of them that were ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen". Eliseus delayed only long enough to kill the yoke of oxen, whose flesh he boiled with the very wood of his plough. After he had shared this farewell repast with his father, mother, and friends, the newly chosen Prophet "followed Elias and ministered to him". (1 Kings 19:8-21) He went with his master from Galgal to Bethel, to Jericho, and thence to the eastern side of the Jordan, the waters of which, touched by the mantle, divided, so as to permit both to pass over on dry ground. Eliseus then beheld Elias in a fiery chariot taken up by a whirlwind into heaven. By means of the mantle let fall from Elias, Eliseus miraculously recrossed the Jordan, and so won from the prophets at Jericho the recognition that "the spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus". (2 Kings 2:1-15) He won the gratitude of the people of Jericho for healing with salt its barren ground and its waters. Eliseus also knew how to strike with salutary fear the adorers of the calf in Bethel, for forty-two little boys, probably encouraged to mock the Prophet, on being cursed in the name of the Lord, were torn by "two bears out of the forest". (2 Kings 2:19-24) Before he settled in Samaria, the Prophet passed some time on Mount Carmel (2 Kings 2:25). When the armies of Juda, and Israel, and Edom, then allied against Mesa, the Moabite king, were being tortured by drought in the Idumæan desert, Eliseus consented to intervene. His double prediction regarding relief from drought and victory over the Moabites was fulfilled on the following morning. (2 Kings 3:4-24)

That Eliseus inherited the wonder-working power of Elias is shown throughout the whole course of his life. To relieve the widow importuned by a hard creditor, Eliseus so multiplied a little oil as to enable her, not only to pay her indebtedness, but to provide for her family needs (2 Kings 4:1-7). To reward the rich lady of Sunam for her hospitality, he obtained for her from God, at first the birth of a son, and subsequently the resurrection of her child (2 Kings 4:8-37). To nourish the sons of the prophets pressed by famine, Eliseus changed into wholesome food the pottage made from poisonous gourds (2 Kings 4:38-41). By the cure of Naaman, who was afflicted with leprosy, Eliseus, little impressed by the possessions of the Syrian general, whilst willing to free King Joram from his perplexity, principally intended to show "that there is a prophet in Israel". Naaman, at first reluctant, obeyed the Prophet, and washed seven times in the Jordan. Finding his flesh "restored like the flesh of a little child", the general was so impressed by this evidence of God's power, and by the disinterestedness of His Prophet, as to express his deep conviction that "there is no other God in all the earth, but only in Israel". (2 Kings 5:1-19) It is to this Christ referred when He said: "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian" (Luke 4:27). In punishing the avarice of his servant Giezi (2 Kings 5:20-27), in saving "not once nor twice" King Joram from the ambuscades planned by Benadad (2 Kings 6:8-23), in ordering the ancients to shut the door against the messenger of Israel's ungrateful king (2 Kings 6:25-32), in bewildering with a strange blindness the soldiers of the Syrian king (2 Kings 6:13-23), in making the iron swim to relieve from embarrassment a son of a prophet (2 Kings 6:1-7), in confidently predicting the sudden flight of the enemy and the consequent cessation of the famine (2 Kings 7:1-20), in unmasking the treachery of Hazael (2 Kings 8:7-15), Eliseus proved himself the Divinely appointed Prophet of the one true God, Whose knowledge and power he was privileged to share.

Mindful of the order given to Elias (1 Kings 19:16), Eliseus delegated a son of one of the prophets to quietly anoint Jehu King of Israel, and to commission him to cut off the house of Achab (2 Kings 9:1-10). The death of Joram, pierced by an arrow from Jehu's bow, the ignominious end of Jezabel, the slaughter of Achab's seventy sons, proved how faithfully executed was the Divine command (2 Kings 9:11-10:30). After predicting to Joas his victory over the Syrians at Aphec, as well as three other subsequent victories, ever bold before kings, ever kindly towards the lowly, "Eliseus died, and they buried him" (2 Kings 13:14-20). The very touch of his corpse served to resuscitate a dead man (2 Kings 13:20-21). "In his life he did great wonders, and in death he wrought miracles" (Ecclus., xlviii, 15).

afte Catholic Encyclopedia Read whole post......

June 13 - St. Anthony of Padua 1195-1231

Anthony was born in the year 1195 at Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where his father was a captain in the royal army. Already at the age of fifteen years the youth had entered the Congregation of Canons Regular of St. Augustine, and was devoting himself with great earnestness to study and to the practice of piety in the monastery at Coimbra, when a significant event, which occurred in the year 1220, changed his entire career.

The relics of St. Berard and companions, the first martyrs of the Franciscan Order, were being brought from Africa to Coimbra. At the sight of them, Anthony was seized with an intense desire to suffer martyrdom as a Franciscan missionary in Africa. In response to his repeated and humble petitions, the permission of his superiors to transfer to the Franciscan Order was reluctantly given. At his departure, one of the canons said to him ironically, "Go, then, perhaps you will become a saint in the new order." Anthony replied, "Brother, when you hear that I have become a saint, you will praise God for it."

In the quiet little Franciscan convent at Coimbra he received a friendly reception, and in the very same year his earnest wish to be sent to the missions in Africa was fulfilled. But God had decreed otherwise. Anthony scarcely set foot on African soil when he was seized with a grievous illness. Even after recovering from it, he was so weak that, resigning himself to the will of God, he boarded a boat back to Portugal. But a storm drove the ship to the coast of Sicily, and Anthony went to Assisi, where the general chapter of the order was held in May, 1221.

As he still looked weak and sickly, and gave no evidence of his scholarship, no one paid any attention to the stranger until Father Gratian, provincial of Romagna, had compassion on him and sent him to the quiet little convent near Forli. There Anthony remained nine months occupied in the lowliest duties of the kitchen and convent, and to his heart's content he practiced interior as well as exterior mortification.

But the hidden jewel was soon to appear in all its brilliance. Anthony was sent to Forli with some other brethren, to attend the ceremony of ordination. At the convent there the superior wanted somebody to give an address for the occasion. Everybody excused himself, saying that he was not prepared, until Anthony was finally asked to give it. When he, too, excused himself most humbly, his superior ordered him by virtue of the vow of obedience to give the sermon. Anthony began to speak in a very reserved manner; but soon holy animation seized him, and he spoke with such eloquence, learning, and unction that everybody was fairly amazed.

When St. Francis was informed of the event, he gave Anthony the mission to preach all over Italy. At the request of the brethren, Anthony was later commissioned also to teach theology, "but in such a manner, St. Francis distinctly wrote, "that the spirit of prayer be not extinguished either in yourself or in the other brethren."

St. Anthony himself placed greater value on the salvation of souls than on learning. For that reason he never ceased to exercise his office as preacher along with the work of teaching. The concourse of hearers was sometimes so great that no church was large enough to accommodate the audiences and he had to preach in the open air. He wrought veritable miracles of conversion. Deadly enemies were reconciled with each other. Thieves and usurers made restitution of their ill gotten goods. Calumniators and detractors recanted and apologized. He was so energetic in defending the truths of the Catholic Faith that many heretics re-entered the pale of the Church, so that Pope Gregory IX called him "the ark of the covenant."

Once he was preaching at Rimini on the seacoast. He noticed that a group of heretics turned their backs to him and started to leave. Promptly the preacher turned to the sea and called out to the fishes: "Since the heretics do not wish to listen to me, do you come and listen to me!" And marvelous to say, shoals of fish came swimming and thrust their heads out of the water as if to hear the preacher. At this the heretics fell at Anthony's feet and begged to be instructed in the truth.

The blessings of St. Anthony's preaching were not confined to Italy. St. Francis sent him to France, where for about three years (1225-1227) he labored with blessed results in the convents of his order as well as o]in the pulpit. In all his labors he never forgot the admonition of his spiritual Father, that the spirit of prayer must not be extinguished. If he spent the day in teaching, and heard the confessions of sinners till late in the evening, then many hours of the night were spent in intimate union with God.

Once a man, at whose home Anthony was spending the night, came upon the saint and found him holding in his arms a child of unspeakable beauty surrounded with heavenly light. It was the Child Jesus.

In 1227, Anthony was elected minister provincial of upper Italy; and then he resumed the work of preaching. Due to his taxing labors and his austere practice of penance, he soon felt his strength so spent that he prepared himself for death. After receiving the last sacraments he kept looking upward with a smile on his countenance. When he was asked what he saw there, he answered, "I see my Lord." Then he breathed forth his soul on June 13, 1231, being only 36 years old. Soon the children in the streets of the city of Padua were crying, "The saint is dead. Anthony is dead."

Pope Gregory IX enrolled him among the saints in the very next year. At Padua a magnificent basilica was built in his honor, his holy relics were entombed there in 1263. From the time of his death up to the present day, countless miracles have occurred through St. Anthony's intercession, so that he is known as the Wonder-Worker. In 1946 he was also declared a Doctor of the Church.

ON THE VENERATION OF ST. ANTHONY
1. Consider how highly St. Anthony is honored by Holy Church. His feast is celebrated by the whole Catholic Church, and the priests celebrate holy Mass in his honor. In Franciscan churches, not only is his feast observed with great solemnity, but every Tuesday devotions in his honor are conducted before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, at which devotion all the faithful can gain a plenary indulgence. In Padua, where a magnificent basilica has been erected in his honor, he is called the Saint, as if there were no other that can compare with him, as when we style God's Mother the Holy Virgin. Among Catholics there is hardly anyone who does not know the dear saint with the Infant Jesus. -- Do you pay him due honor? Do you use the opportunity to gain the indulgence on Tuesday?
2. Consider that, judging by the measure with which God permits St. Anthony to be honored here on earth, his power in heaven must be very great. The experience of the whole Catholic world testifies to the fact. >From the day of his death to the present time, he has been invoked in the most diverse needs, and these prayers are answered in a almost remarkable manner. -- Have you not had the experience yourself? Call upon him with confidence in every necessity, and in case of serious trouble make the devotion of the nine Tuesdays.
3. Consider that in a special way St. Anthony is invoked as the restorer of lost objects. God usually gives the saints a power of intercession in keeping with the way by which there were distinguished in life. Now Anthony once missed a book of the Psalms which he valued very highly because he had written so many comments on the Psalms in it. He prayed earnestly to his dear Jesus to restore the book to him, and behold, soon afterwards a young man who had taken the book came to him, driven by some indescribable fear, and brought it back to him. Pray to St. Anthony and to the Divine Child with similar fervor, and you will experience his power. But let us not only pray for lost temporal things, but particularly for the more precious gifts of the soul. For example, let us pray for that devotion we used to have and have lost, for our lost patience, our lost zeal for all that is good. May he gladden us by restoring it so that we may one day rejoice with him in eternal bliss.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
O God, may the votive commemoration of St. Anthony, your confessor and doctor, be a joy to your Church, that she may always be fortified with spiritual assistance and deserve to enjoy eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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June 12 - Blessed Yolande (Jolenta) of Poland 1235-1298, franciscan tertiary

Yolande was the daughter of Bela IV, king of Hungary. Her mother, Mary, was the daughter of the Greek emperor of Constantinople. In the year 1240, when Yolande was scarcely five years old, she arrived at the court of Poland. Her elder sister, Blessed Kinga (Cunigunda), who was married to the duke of Poland, had asked to supervise the child's education. Under such a mistress, Yolande grew not only in age, but also in virtue and grace before God and men.

When she arrived at young womanhood, Yolande was married to Boleslaus, the duke of Greater Poland. But the young duchess was not enamored of the glory and pleasure of this world. It was a greater pleasure for her to do good in her elevated position. Like a true sovereign, she came to the assistance of the poor and sick, the widows and the orphans. She and her husband built hospitals, convents, and churches, and she was so great an inspiration to him in everything that was good and pleasing to God, that he received the surname of the Pious.

But Boleslaus was soon to receive the reward of his piety in heaven. After his death and after two of her daughters were married, Yolande and her third daughter left all the glamor and riches of the world and withdrew to the convent of the Poor Clares at Sandec, where, devoted to prayer and mortification, she led a life entirely hidden in Christ. Disturbances resulting from war compelled her after a time to move to the convent at Gniezno, which she herself, assisted by her last consort, had founded.

In spite of the reluctance to which her humility prompted her, she was advanced to the position of abbess. So successfully did she guide her sisters by word and by example in the practice of all the religious virtues that the convent flourished like a new garden of God. Even beyond the walls of the cloister she did very much good, so that the fame of the holy abbess spread far and wide.

But, notwithstanding all her fame, she remained entirely devoted to the interior life, as her vocation required. Her favorite devotion was meditation on the sufferings of Christ, during which the Divine Savior once manifested Himself to her under the appearance of the Crucified. He announced to her that He would soon lead her to glory. Attacked by a serious illness, she asked to receive the last sacraments. Then she admonished her spiritual daughters to persevere in fidelity to the holy rule, and departed blessedly in the Lord in 1298.

After her death Yolande appeared in wondrous glory, together with St. Stanislaus the bishop, to the sick abbess and restored her health. Many other miracles occurred at her grave down to our own time. Pope Leo XII, in 1827, approved the veneration given to her.

ON DESPISING THE WORLD
1. Consider how happy Yolande was already here on earth, when she left the world and all that it held out to her, to serve God as a Poor Clare. Could the enjoyment of all the pleasures and all the goods of this world ever have brought her such happiness? King Solomon tasted worldly pleasure in its fullness, but it did not make him happy. He says: "And, therefore, I was weary of my life, when I saw that all things under the sun are evil, and all vanity and vexation of spirit" (Eccl 2:17). Did not this duchess make a better choice? Still, what Thomas a Kempis says is true: "For it is not granted to all to forsake all things, to renounce the world, and to assume the monastic life." May you always heed the warning of the Apostle: "And they who use this world as if their hearts become attached to it. -- Is your heart attached to this world?
2. Consider how vain and deceitful the goods of this world are. The honors of the world, on which we expend so much energy, cannot make us better, and sometimes they vanish suddenly without any fault of ours. Its riches cause us so much more anxiety the greater they are. Its pleasures are short, and often missed with much bitterness, as the maxim says: "Many a flower grows smooth and fair, But bitter the root that it doth bear." Have you not experienced this yourself? But, as Thomas a Kempis says: "The world is censured as deceitful and vain; and yet it is with reluctance abandoned, because the concupiscence of the flesh too much prevails. Some things draw us to love the world; others to despise it." -- Examine yourself. What is it that holds you to the world, that keeps you from loving God with your whole heart and serving Him?
3. Consider that our heart should set its goal on something higher if it wishes to despise the world. The heart of man wants to cling to something, yet man was not made for this world and its perishable goods. As Christians we have a higher, a nobler goal, where genuine, imperishable goods await us. That is why the prince of the Apostles says: "Blessed be God, who has regenerated us unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that cannot fade, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Pet 1:4) -- Direct the desires of your heart to that inheritance. Then it will soon despise the seeming good things of the world.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Almighty and eternal God, who didst mercifully withdraw Blessed Yolande from honor and riches, and didst graciously inspire her to choose instead the humble cross of Thy Son and the mortification of the flesh, grant, through her intercession and mercies, that we may despise temporal things and with upright hearts seek those that are eternal. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

after www.paxetbonum.net/saints/june.html#12   Read whole post......

Holy Trinity Sunday

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
fragments from "Devout Instructions" by Fr. Goffine (1896 Benziger Brothers, Printers of the of the Holy Apostolic See)

Every Sunday is dedicated to the worship of the Triune God, and is called accordingly the Lord's day; but the first Sunday after Pentecost is appointed by the Church a special feast of the Most Holy Trinity, because this mystery, as the fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion, began at once to be preached by the apostles, as soon as they had been enlightened and strengthened by the descend of the Holy Ghost. What thoughts and affections should occupy our minds on this feast?
Although the mystery of the Trinity is incomprehensible to us, we must consider:
1. That God would cease to be God, if our limited understanding were capable of penetrating the substance of His nature.
2. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity, though incomprehensible to our intellect, is yet not without fruit in our hearts.
The records of revelation show us God the Father as our Creator, God the Son as our Redeemer, God the Holy Ghost as our Sanctifier; and should not this move us to a child-like gratitude towards the blessed Trinity? In praise of the Most Holy Trinity, the Church sings at the Introit of the Mass, "Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity; we will give glory to Him, because He hath shown his mercy to us. O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth." Glory be to the Father, etc.
PRAYER
O almighty and eternal God, Who hast created Thy servant to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, in the confession of the true faith, and to adore the unity in the power of Thy majesty, we beseech Thee, that by firmness in the same faith, we may be ever protected from all adversities. Through Jesus Christ, etc.
EPISTLE Rom.xi. 33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and recompense shall be made Him? For of Him, and by Him, and in Him, are all things: to Him be glory forever. Amen.
Explanation
The ground of St. Paul's admiration in this epistle is the unfathomable wisdom and love of God, by which He permitted the Jews and heathen to fall into unbelief, that He might have mercy on all, and make all perceive that they were justified, not through their merits, but only through His grace. But the Church make use of this words to express her reverent admiration for the greatness of the mystery of the all Holy Trinity. Though we can neither measure nor comprehend this mystery, yet no man of sound reason will hesitate to believe it, if he considers that it is most plainly revealed by God; that as God, the Infinite, cannot be comprehended by the spirit of man, so also He can reveal more than we can understand; and that, finally, there are many things in man himself, and in nature, which we acknowledge as true, but cannot comprehend. Besides, does not our holy religion assure us, that one day we shall behold face to face the Infinite Whose image is now reflected dimly in the mirror of nature? Let us add hope, therefore, to our faith, and if true and sincere love be based upon these two, our understanding and heart will have abundant consolation in regard to this great mystery.
GOSPEL Matt. xxviii. 18-20
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: all power is given to Me in heaven and in earth; going therefore teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.
What command does our Saviour give in this gospel? He commands his apostles to teach all nations, and to baptize them.
Is Baptism a sacrament?
Yes, for by it we receive the grace of God, through an outward sign instituted by Christ.
What is the outward sign?
Pouring water on the head of the person to be baptized and pronouncing at the same time the words: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
What is the effect of the grace of Baptism?
Through water and the Holy Ghost, the baptized person is cleansed from original sin, and from all actual sins, if he has committed such; is spiritually new-born, and made a child of God and a joint-heir with Christ (John iii.6; Rom. vii. 17).
What is the use of sponsors?
1. In the name of the child, they express the desire to be baptized, and make the profession of faith, together with the promise to live according to the doctrine of Christ.
2. In case the parents should die, or neglect their duty, the god-parents may provide for the instruction of the children.
3. They are witnesses that such a person has been baptized.

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Who is God?
God is infinite being, of all possible perfections, the most sublime and excellent of all goods, existing from all eternity, and containing within Himself the principle of His own being and substance; from Whom all other things have received their existence and life, "for of Him, and by Him, and in Him are all things" (Rom. xi. 36).
What is the blessed Trinity?
It is this one God, Who is one in nature and threefold in person, - the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Is each of these persons God?
Yes, for each possesses the divine nature and substance
Is any of these three persons older, more powerful, or greater than another?
No; they are all three, from eternity, equal in power, sublimity, and majesty, and must therefore be equally adored.
From Whom is the Father?
From Himself, before all eternity.
From Whom is God the Son?
The Son is begotten of the Father before all ages.
From Whom is God the Holy Ghost?
He proceeds from the Father and the Son. Read whole post......

Saturday after Pentecost - Ember Day

From "Devout Instructions" by Fr. Goffine

EPISTLE (Romans v. 1-5)Brethren: Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access through faith into this grace, wherein we stand, and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God. And not only so; but we glory also in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience trial; and trial hope; And hope confoundeth not: because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us.

GOSPEL (Luke iv.38-44And Jesus rising up out of the synagogue, went into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought him for her. And standing over her, he commanded the fever, and it left her. And immediately rising, she ministered to them. And when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to him. But he laying his hands on every one of them, healed them. And devils went out from many, crying out and saying: Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them he suffered them not to speak, for they knew that he was Christ. And when it was day, going out he went into a desert place, and the multitudes sought him, and came unto him: and they stayed him that he should not depart from them. To whom he said: To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God: for therefore am I sent. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

"Gift of the Holy Spirit" fragments form "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel Of St. Mary Magdalen OCD
......It is very consoling thought that, due to the profound unity of our supernatural organism, grace, the virtues, and the gifts increase simultaneously with and in proportion to the growth of charity. If we want the gifts to be fully developed in our soul, we must practice charity constantly, for with every advance in divine love, there will be a corresponding new development of the gifts. They are the sails of the souls, but these sails can be let down, weighted by our egoisim, our self-love and attachment to ourselves and to creatures. Charity, on the contrary, frees them from every impediment and turns them toward the gentle breeze of the Holy Spirit. The more open and full the sails are, the better they will be able to receive the least impulse of the divine Paraclete.

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BLESSED ANNA MARIA TAIGI - Wife and mother, Trinitarian Tertiary (1769-1837)

Spiritual Bouquet: He who is faithful in the little things is faithful also in much. St. Luke 16:10

Anna Maria Gianetti was born in Siena, Italy. She joined her father in Rome when a reversal of fortune obliged him to go and settle there. The little girl went to school only two years, and she scarcely learned how to read. Her parents poured all their bitterness upon their daughter, but the angelic little child redoubled in meekness towards them.

Anna Maria soon began working to help her parents. She grew up a pious, hard-working, coquettish lass who enjoyed dressing herself up. Domenico Taigi, an honest but rough man, quick to anger, who was working as a day laborer in the Chigi Palace, offered to marry her, and Anna Maria accepted his proposal.

In the early days of their household she kept her worldly habits, loving to go to the puppet theater and wear jewelry. After three years of a life divided between love of God and love of the world, Anna Maria went to confession to Father Angelo of the Order of Servites. She was totally converted, and with her husband’s consent she was received into the Third Order of the Trinitarians. Domenico asked for only one thing: keep the house peaceful and in good order!

But now Anna Maria’s parents came to join the young household. From the moment of their arrival, yelling scenes became a daily occurrence. Anna Maria did her best to quiet them down, but her quarrelsome mother was always looking for a fight with her son-in-law, who flared up very easily. Attenuating the blows as best she could, Anna Maria hastened to serve her quick-tempered husband, who was perfectly capable of dashing the contents of the dinner table onto the floor when a dish did not please him. After her mother’s death, her father lived at his daughter’s expense and heaped dispute upon dispute. When he contracted leprosy, Blessed Anna Maria cared for him tenderly and helped him die a Christian death.

Their home would have become a veritable hell for their seven children, but the Blessed remained so supernaturally sweet that Domenico later declared that the house was a real paradise, and that cleanliness and order reigned everywhere in his poor dwelling. Anna Maria would get up very early to go to church, and she received Communion daily. When a family member was sick, however, to avoid giving an occasion for complaint, she deprived herself of Mass and Communion. To make up for this involuntary privation, she spent her free moments in recollection on such days.

Blessed Anna Maria Taigi always kept her children busy. After supper, the family recited the Rosary and read a brief Life of the Saint of the day, and then the children went to bed after receiving a blessing. On Sunday they visited the sick in the hospital. Her maternal tenderness did not keep her from firmly applying punishments when they were deserved, such as the rod and fasting. Her children profited well from such a balanced formation, and soon they were an honor to their virtuous mother and an example to their companions.

Her delicacy towards the humble was exquisite. She fed her servant girl better than herself; when one of them awkwardly broke some dishes, she said sweetly, “Well, I suppose the people who make the china have to make a living too.”

When she was received as a member of the Third Order of the Holy Trinity, the Blessed offered herself as a victim of atonement for the sins of the world. In return for this generous offering, God granted her the permanent vision of a luminous globe or sun, in which she could read the needs of souls, the condition of sinners, and the dangers of the Church.

This extraordinary phenomenon lasted forty-seven years. Surprised by ravishments and ecstasies amid her domestic occupations, Anna Maria strove vainly to avoid them. Thanks to her, many sick people warned of their approaching end met with a holy death. The fate of the dead was revealed to her, and her compassion towards them inspired her to multiply her penances to win an earlier release for these poor souls, who came to thank her for their deliverance.

Although Blessed Anna Maria Taigi fervently wanted to remain unknown to everyone, a whole host of visitors — the poor, princes, priests, bishops, even the pope — flocked to her to ask for advice from her inspired wisdom. Simple and humble, she would reply very simply, trying to avoid praise, always refusing little gifts.

This woman who spread light and serenity all around her was deprived of spiritual consolation for five years and had a the very strong sentiment that she had been relegated to hell. The anxiety and darkness in her soul had been on the increase for seven months, and Anna Maria Taigi underwent a veritable agony, but she continued directing her house as though nothing was amiss.

Despite the fact that her fingers had become very painful, she did a great deal of sewing to earn the family’s daily bread. The wife of the Governor of Savoy, who had obtained many graces through the prayers of the handmaid of God, wanted to give her a large sum of money, but the Blessed categorically refused.

On Monday in Holy Week, Anna Maria learned in ecstasy that she was going to die on Good Friday. After blessing her loved ones and thanking them, she gave up her soul with a cry of joy and deliverance. It seems that God wanted to show in the person of this admirable Blessed the possibility of joining eminent virtue and exceptional supernatural gifts to fidelity in the most humble and material duties of the common life. Pope Benedict XV beatified Anna Maria Taigi on May 30, 1920.

Source: Marteau de Langle de Cary, 1959, Vol. II, pp. 338-342. Brothers of Christian School Edition, p. 201 — O.D.M. article. Read whole post......

Friday after Pentecost - Ember Day

From "Devout Instructions" by Fr Goffine

EPISTLE (Joel ii. 23-27) Thus saith the Lord God: O children of Sion, rejoice, and be joyful in the Lord your God: because he hath given you a teacher of justice, and he will make the early and the latter rain to come down to you as in the beginning. And the floors shall be filled with wheat, and the presses shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the ears which the locust, and the bruchus, and the mildew, and the palmerworm have eaten; my great host which I sent upon you. And you shall eat in plenty, and shall be filled: and you shall praise the name of the Lord your God, who hath done wonders with you, and my people shall not be confounded for ever. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: and I am the Lord your God, and there is none besides: and my people shall not be confounded for ever.

GOSPEL (Luke v. 17-26) At that time: It came to pass on a certain day, as he sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was to heal them. And behold, men brought in a bed a man, who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof, and let him down through the tiles with his bed into the midst before Jesus. Whose faith when he saw, he said: Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying: Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? And when Jesus knew their thoughts, answering, he said to them: What is it you think in your hearts? Which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say to thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. And immediately rising up before them, he took up the bed on which he lay; and he went away to his own house, glorifying God. And all were astonished; and they glorified God. And they were filled with fear, saying: We have seen wonderful things today.

"The Way of the Cross" fragments from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD
....By couragously practicing self-denial, we begin the way of conformity to Jesus Crucified; but here, too, our initiatives are disproportionate to the end to be attained; the acts of mortification and self-denial which we make are wholly insufficient to strip us of the old man and clothe us with Christ, with Cgrist Crucified. That is why the Holy Spirit, after setting us on the road of the Cross by His inspirations - which tend to make us accept, for the love of God, all that is hard and painful to nature - takes it upon Himself to complete our purification....

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"Conformity with Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit"fragments from 'Divine Intimacy' by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Holy Spirit, make me conformable to Jesus, make me an "alter Christus, another Christ.

MEDITATION
2. The norm of life for Jesus was His Father's will, and we have seen how the Holy Spirit guided Him continually in the accomplishment of that will. In the same way, the Holy Spirit guide us along the way traced out by the will of God. Practically speaking, "sanctity consists in conformity to the divine will" (Benedict XV), in a conformity so complete that ,as St. John of the Cross teaches: "there may be naught in the soul that is contrary to the will of God, but that, in all and trough all, its movement may be that of the will of God alone" (AS I, 11,2). It is not easy to reach this point, and we shall never be able to do so without the help of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, we must not forget that conformity to the divine will finds its expression in a "continual, exact fulfillment of the duties of one's state in life" (Benedict XV). Now, to be always faithful to duty, in all things and everywhere, is no small matter. It requires continual sacrifice, generosity, and constancy. Let us look at Jesus on the Cross, and we shall understand what the perfect accomplishment of our duty and God's will can exact. This is the way we must follow, constantly renewing our efforts and realizing, at the same time, that however much good will we may have, we are so weak, so inconstant, so deeply attached to ourselves, and so limited in our strength, that we will not always succeed in keeping ourselves to the perfect fulfillment of our duties; we often , and do not even know how to rise. Let us humble ourselves then, and make use of these falls to realize better our impotence and frailty: humility, yes; discouragement, never! Instead of weeping over ourselves, let us turn our eyes toward Holy Spirit, call upon Him to come to our aid, and begin again humbly and confidently. When the Holy Spirit sees us renewing our efforts, He will come to meet us, take us by the hand, and in an instant will lead us to a degree of perfection which we have not been able to reach even after years of effort. We can be sure of this, for Jesus merited it for us, and sends us His Spirit "in a most copious outpouring."

COLLOQUY
...O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love! Come down into me and reproduce in me, as it were, an incarnation of the Word; that I may be to Him an added humanity, wherein He may renew all His mystery!" (E.T.III). Read whole post......

Wednesday after Pentecost - Ember Day

From "Devout Instructions" by Fr Goffine

EPISTLE (Acts v.12-16) In those days: By the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. But of the rest no man durst join himself unto them; but the people magnified them. And the multitude of men and women who believed in the Lord, was more increased: Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that when Peter came, his shadow at the least, might overshadow any of them, and they might be delivered from their infirmities. And there came also together to Jerusalem a multitude out of the neighboring cities, bringing sick persons, and such as were troubled with unclean spirits; who were all healed

GOSPEL (John vi.44-52) At that time Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me. "Draw him"... Not by compulsion, nor by laying the free will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet motions of his heavenly grace.
Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father. Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.

"Our Cooperation" fragments from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD

...Our Teacher of sanctity is none other than the Holy Spirit;...He teaches us what we must do in order to love God with all our strength; He teaches us all that we do not know, whether about God, or about the spiritual life; and to perfect His teaching, he guides us in the accomplishment of it. Actually, by directly influencing our wills, he strengthens them, attracts them, impels them forcefully to God, orientating them perfectly toward Him. In this way the Holy Spirit "helpeth our infirmity" (Rom 8,26), which being constitutional - inherent in our human nature - causes us to be continually in need of Him...

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Bl Anne of St Bartholomew OCD

When the great St. Teresa of Avila, renewer of the Discalced Carmelite nuns, went about on her foundations and Inspections, she often took as her special companion the Carmelite lay sister, Anne of St. Bartholomew. Anne was the daughter of a peasant couple from near Avila. Teresa cane to admire her competence, and more than once suggested that she apply to become a choir sister, rather than remain a lay nun engaged in more menial work; but Anne preferred to retain the humbler status.
As the foundress was dying. Sister Anne did her every possible service. On the day of death, knowing how much Teresa loved neatness, Anne carefully changed her linen, headdress and sleeves. The saint was unable to speak, but smiled her thanks. When the last moments came, it was Sister Anne who held the dying mystic in her arms.
Six years later, some French Catholic leaders, anxious to introduce the Teresian nuns into their country, asked St. Teresa's successor, Anne-of-Jesus, to send some Spanish nuns to Paris to help with the foundation. Anne-of-Jesus included our Sister Anne in the group of religious selected for the mission.
When they arrived, the other five nuns were greeted by the Princess de Longueville and other women of the court; but Blessed Anne slipped away Into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Now her superiors made up for lost time by advancing her, willy-nilly, to the rank of choir sister.  When, in the midst of difficulties with the foundation, the other Spanish nuns went off to the Netherlands, Anne remained in France and was appointed prioress, first at Pontoise and then at Tours. Doubting her own competence to rule. Blessed Anne, in her prayers to our Lord, called herself a "weak straw". Jesus answered, reassuring her, "It is with straws I light my fire."
From France Carmelite foundations spread into the Netherlands (Belgium & Holland). Blessed Anne was sent to the one at Mons, remaining there a year. In 1612 she established a monastery at Antwerp.
Daughters of some of the noblest families of the Low Countries flocked to join this new monastic community. Anne herself was a drawing card. Her reputation for holiness, prophecy and miracle working had gone before her. Indeed, she came to be considered the protector of Antwerp. When the city was under siege by the Protestant Prince of Orange, Anne prayed all night and Antwerp was spared capture.
At the death of Blessed Anne in 1626, all Antwerp grieved; and as her body lay in state,
20 thousand mourners made a point of touching it with their rosaries or other Items for the sake of having a "relic" of this holy Spanish nun. Pope Benedict XV declared Anne "blessed" In 1917.
There is an American angle to this story. Among the Carmels set up in the Netherlands, a couple welcomed English Catholic ladies. In the British penal times, Catholics were forbidden to have convents in England.  Some of the English women who took the veil here were from colonial Maryland. In 1790, at the
request of Maryland Catholics and with the permission of Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, four Carmelite nuns from Belgium, headed by the former Marylander Mother Bernardina Matthews, established the first American Carmel at Port Tobacco, Maryland. One of the "granddaughter" foundations out of this source was the Carmelite monastery at Rochester. Hence, all the "Port Tobacco" Carmels in the United States
celebrated their bicentennial In 1990.
--Father Robert F. McNamara

after www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive Read whole post......

Whit Tuesday

From "Devout Instructions" by Fr. Goffine

The Introit of the Mass is again a song of joy: "Receive the joy of your glory, alleluia; giving thanks to God, alleluia; Who hath called you to a heavenly kingdom. Attend, O My people, to My law, incline your ears to the words of My mouth." Glory be to the Father, etc.

PRAYER
May the power of the Holy Ghost be with us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, which may mercifully purify our hearts and defend them from all adversities. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth in the unity of the same.

LESSON (Acts v. 12-16) Now when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For he was not as yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

EXPLANATION. The Samaritans had been converted and baptized by Philip the Deacon. Peter and John administered to them, by the imposition of hands and prayer, the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Is Confirmation a sacrament?
Yes, for Jesus Christ has promised the Holy Ghost not only to the apostles, but also to all the faithful, to confirm them fully in faith and charity.
What is the outward sigh of this sacrament?
The imposition of the bishop's hands, the anointing with the chrism, and the words of the bishop.
What grace is conveyed through this sacrament?
Through holy Confirmation, God confirms and completes in the Christians the grace of Baptism, and strengthens him for the combat with his spiritual enemies. Confirmation, like Baptism, cannot be received more than once, because the grace received in these sacraments is always efficacious if we only cooperate with it; and because in these sacraments we receive also indelible character, which forever distinguishes the souls of those who have been baptised and confirmed from those who have not.

GOSPEL (John X. 1-10.) At that time Jesus said to the Pharisees: Amen, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers. This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they understood not what he spoke to them. Jesus therefore said to them again: Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and flieth: and the wolf catcheth, and scattereth the sheep: And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know mine, and mine know me. As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep. And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.

How is this parable to be understood?
The sheepfold is the Church, or congregation of the faithful; the door for the flock is Baptism; for the pastors, lawful vocation and mission from God, through their spiritual superiors; the chief pastor is Christ; the sheep are the faithful; the invisible door-keeper is the Holy Ghost, inasmuch as He prepares hearts for Jesus; the visible door-keeper is the bishop or his representatives. The thieves and robbbers are the Pharisees and heretics of all ages, who led astray the sheep of Christ, and destroy their spiritual life by false doctrines. If we would not become the prey of thieves and murderers, we must follow the doctrines of the teachers and pastors whom Christ has appointed for his Church. Read whole post......

Whit Monday

From "Devout Instructions" by Fr. Goffine

Filled with joy over the gracious descent of the Holy Ghost, the Church sings, at the Introit of the Mass,"He fed them with the fat of wheat, alleluia, and filled them with honey out of the rock, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice to God, our helper, sing aloud to the God of Jacob" (Ps. Ixxx). Glory be to the Father, etc.

PRAYER
O God, who didst give the Holy Ghost to Thine apostles: grant to Thy people the fruit of their pious petition; that to whom Thou host given faith, Thou mayest also impart peace. Through Christ our Lord, etc..

EPISTLE (Acts X. 34., 42-48.) In those days, Peter opening his mouth, said: Men brethren, the Lord commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He Who was appointed by God to be judge of the living and of the dead. To Him all the prophets give testimony, that by His name all receive remission of sins, who believe in Him. While Peter was yet speaking these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word. And the faithful of the circumcision, who came with Peter, were astonished, for that the grace of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the gentiles also. For they heard them speaking with tongues, and magnifying God. Then Peter answered: Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

GOSPEL (John III. 16-21.) At that time, Jesus said to Nicodemus: God so loved the world, as to give his only-begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

For God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. He that believeth in him is not judged: but he that doth not believe is already judged; because he believeth not in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved. But he that doth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.

By what has God most shown the greatness of His love?
By giving up His only-begotten Son to the most painful and ignominious death, that we, the guilty, might be delivered from eternal death, and have life everlasting.
If, then, so many are lost, is it the fault of God?
No: as the physician gives up only the incurable, so God condemns only those who believe not in Christ as their Saviour and God; who love darkness, that is, the principles and works which correspond to their corrupt inclinations; who despise Jesus, the light of the world, and His doctrines; who neglect the divine service, the public instructions, and the reception of the holy sacraments; who take this licentious life for wisdom and enlightenment; who refuse to be taught, and have pronounced their own condemnation, even before the final judgment.
Why should we love God?
Because He has loved us from all eternity: He loved us when as yet we were not. If we love him who does us some good, who helps us in need, or exposes himself to danger for our sake, how much more should we love Him Who has given us all that we have: the angels to be our guards, the sun, moon, and stars to be our light; the earth to be our dwelling-place; the elements, plants, and animals to supply our necessary wants, and to serve us and protect us from countless dangers; Who continually preserves us and protects us from countless dangers; Who has subjected Himself for our sake, not merely to the danger of His life, but to the most painful and humiliating death; Who forgives all our sins, heals all our infirmities, redeems our life from destruction, and crowns us with compassion and mercy. Read whole post......

Whit Sunday

THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
fragments from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the heart and enkindle in it fire fo Your Love.

MEDITATION
1. Pentecost is the plenitude of God's gift to men. On Christmas Day, God gives us His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, the Mediator, the Bridge connecting humanity and divinity. During Holy Week, Jesus, by His Passion, gives Himself entirely for us on the Cross. He bathes us, purifying and sanctifying us in His Blood. At Easter, Christ rises, and His Resurrection, as well as His Ascension, is the pledge of our own glorification. He goes before us to His Father's house to prepare a place for us, for in Him and with Him, we have become children of God, destined for eternal beatitude. But the gift of God to men does not end there; having ascended into heaven, Jesus, in union with the Father, sends us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Father and the Holy Spirit loved us to the point of giving us the Word in the Incarnation; the Father and the Word so loved us as to give us the Holy Spirit. Thus the three Persons of the Trinity give Themselves to man, stooping to this poor nothing to redeem him from sin, to sanctifying him, and to bring him into Their own intimacy. Such is the excessive charity with which God has loved us; and the divine gift to our souls reaches its culminating point in the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the Gift par excellence: Altissimi Donum Dei, Gift of the Most High God. The Holy Spirit, the bond and pledge of the mutual love of the Father and the Son, He who accepts, seals, and crowns their reciprocal gift, is given to our souls through the infinite merits of Jesus, so that He will be able to complete the work of our sanctification. By His descent upon the Apostles under the form of tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit shows us how He, the Spirit of love, is given to us in order to transform us by His charity, and having transformed us, to lead us back to God.
2. The gift of the Holy Spirit is not a temporary gift, but a permanent one; in fact, for soul who lives in charity, he is the sweet Guest who dwells within it. "If anyone love Me," says Jesus in the words of today's Gospel (Jn14, 23-31)....We will come to him and will make Our abode with him." However, this indwelling of the Trinity - and hence of the Holy Spirit - in the soul which is in the state of grace, is a gift which can and should increase; it is a continual giving. The first donation was made when we were baptized; it was renewed later, confirmed, in a special way, by the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Sacrament that is, so to speak, the Pentecost of every Christian soul. Progressive renewals of this gift were made with every increase in charity.......
Veni Creator Spiritus - mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia - quae tu creasti pectora.

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
And in our hearts take up Thy rest
Come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill he hearts which Thou hast made.

COLLOQUY
......."Come, O Life-giving Spirit, to this poor world and renew the face of the earth; preside over new organisations and give us Your peace, that peace which world cannot give. Help Your Church, give her holy priests and fervent apostles. Fill with holy inspirations the souls of the good; give calm compunction to sinful souls, consoling refreshment to the suffering, strength and help to those who are tempted, and light to those in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Sr. Carmela of the Holy Spirit, OCD). Read whole post......

Vigil of Pentecost

"SWEET GUEST OF THE SOUL"
fragments from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Holy Spirit, You who deign to dwell in me, help me to open my soul completely to Your action.

MEDITATION
1. The Encyclical Mystici Corporis states that "The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church." Because soul means "principle of life", this statement equivalently says that the divine Paraclete is the One who gives life to the Church. As the soul is the principle of life in the body, so the Holy Spirit is the principle of life in the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. (cf.Divinum Illud).
We have seen that the Holy Spirit was in Christ's soul to direct Him in the accomplishment of His redemptive mission. Jesus could have carried out this mission alone, but He wished the Church to participate in it. Since the Church continues Christ's work, she needs the same impetus which guided His soul; she needs the Holy Spirit. Jesus merited His Spirit for us on the Cross; by His death, He atoned for all sin, the chief obstacle to the action of the Holy Spirit, and when he had ascended into heaven, He sent Him to the Apostles, who represented the whole Church. Now, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, He intercedes continually for us, He is always sending the Holy Spirit to the Church, as He promised. The Holy Spirit operates in the Church now, just as He once did in the blessed soul of Christ. He gives her impulse, moves her, and drives her to accomplish God's will, thus enabling her to fulful His mission, the continuation down through the ages of the redemptive work of Christ. With reason, then, did the early Fathers call the Holy Spirit the Soul of the Church; the Church herself invokes Him in the Credo:"Domineum et vifivicantem!" Lord and life-giver. As the soul vivifies the body, the Holy Spirit vivifies the Church. He is the impulse of love who kindles in her zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls; He gives light and strength to her shepherds, fervor and energy to her apostles, courage and invincible faith to her martyrs.
2.....The Encyclical Mystici Corporis asserts us that the Holy Spirit is "communicated to the Church abundandly, so that she herself and each one of her members may become, day by day, more like a Redeemer.".....if the Holy Spirit is an impulse of love that comes into us to sanctify us and bring us to God, why do we not all become saints? The mystery of human responsibility enters here. The Holy Spirit, with the Father and the Son, has created us free beings and He wishes us so; therefore, in coming to us, He respects our liberty and does no violence to it. Although he is eager to enter our souls and to possess it, He will not act thus unless we give Him free access. It is an example of the great principle on which St.Teresa of Jesus liked to insist:"God does not force anyone, He takes what we give Him; but He does not give Himsefl wholly to us, until we give ourselves wholly to Him" (Way,28). If we do not become saints, it is not because the Holy Spirit does not will it - he was sent to us and comes to us for this very purpose - but it is because we do not give full liberty to His action. This is the point in which we fail: we do not use our liberty to wholly yield our soul to His powerful, loving invasion. If our will would open the doors wide, the Holy Spirit would take us under His direction, and with His help, we wouls become saints.

Colloquy
....O Holy Spirit, Soul of my Soul, I adore You, Enlighten me, guide me, fortify me, console me. Tell me what I should do, give me Yours orders. I promise to be submissive to all that You ask of me and to accept everything that You permit to happen to me" (Cardinal Mercier). Read whole post......

The Spirit of Christ - from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Holy Spirit, You who had complete dominion over the holy soul of Jesus, deign to direct my poor soul

MEDITATION
1. In Sacred Scripture, the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of Christ" (Rom 8,9), an expression that is pregnant with meaning. Christ is the Incarnate Word, the Son of God. From Him, as from the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds; therefore the Holy Spirit is properly termed the Spirit of Christ, because the Person of Christ is none than that of the Word. When we speak of Christ, however, we do not speak of Him as God only, but also, and especially, as Man, that is, as the Incarnate Word. In this sense too, it can be said that the Holy Spirit is the divine Paraclete, with the Father and the Son, dwells there, but He delights to abide there. The higher the degree of grace He finds in a soul, the greater is His delight, for wherever grace is more aboundant, there is a more intense and luminous reflection of God's nature and goodness. This is why the Holy Spirit took such great complacency in the soul of the Blessed Virgin, who, although she was full of grace, continually grew from plenitude to plenitude. Yet the grace possessed by Mary was but a pale reflection of the grace which filled the soul of Jesus, grace which theologians call "infinite".
If then, Jesus possessed grace in an infinite manner, it can be said that the Holy Spirit took complacency in the soul of Christ in an infinite manner and dwelt there as in His temple of predilection. This idea is expressed in the Encyclical Mystici Corporis, when it says that the divine Paraclete "finds His delight in dwelling in the soul of the Redeemer as in His favourite temple." And if we can say that the Holy Spirit is ours because he dwells in our souls sanctified by grace, with infinitely greater reason can we say that He is "Christ's", whose sacred soul possesses grace in an immeasurable degree.....

COLLOQUY
....O Holy Spirit, You who worked with such plenitude in the most holy soul of Jesus, deign to operate also in my poor soul and take it entirely under Your direction, so that every act, interior as well as exterior, may be according to Your inspirations, Your choice, Your good pleasure.

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The Holy Spirit - from "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen OCD

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Holy Spirit, teach me to know You, to want You, and to prepare myself to second Your action in my soul.

MEDITATION
1. The approach of Pentecost reminds us to turn our mind and heart to the Holy Spirit; with His help, we want to know Him better so as to love Him more ardently, invoke Him more frequently, and dispose ourselves in the best manner possible for the furtherance of His action in our soul. The catechism teaches us that there are three Persons, equal and distinct, in God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; with His help, we want to know Him better so as to love Him more ardently, invoke Him more fervently, and dispose ourselves in the best manner possible for the furtherance of His action in our soul.
The catechism teaches us that there are three Persons, equal and distinct, in God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Ab aeterno the Father, knowing Himself, generates his Word, the perfect, substantial Idea in whom the Father is expressed and to whom He communicates all His goodness, lovableness, divine nature and essence. The Father and the Word, mutually beholding Their infinite goodness and beauty, love each other from all eternity, and the expression of this unitive love is a third Person, the Holy Spirit. As the Word is generated by the Father by way of knowledge, so the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son by way of love. The Holy Spirit is, therefore, the terminus, and the effusion of the reciprocal love of the Father and the Son, an effusion so substantial and perfect that it is a Person, the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, to whom the Father and the Son, by the sublime fruitfulness of their love, communicate their very own nature and essence, without losing any of it Themselves. Because the Holy Spirit is the effusion of divine love, He is called "Spirit", according to the Latin sense of the word which means air, respiration, the vital breath. In us, respiration is a sign of life; in God, the Holy Spirit is the expression, the effusion of the life and love of the Father and the Son, but a substantial personal effusion, which is a Person. It is in this sense that the third Person of the Blessed trinity is called the "Spirit of the Father and the Son," and also "the Spirit of love of God," that is, the "breath" of love of the Father and the Son, the "breath" of divine love. It was in this sense that the Father of the Church called the Holy Spirit "osculum Patris et Filii," the kiss of the father and the Son, a "sweet, but secret kiss," according to the tender expression of St. Bernard. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, so that He may come to enkindle in our hearts the flame of charity.

2. According to our human concept, a person is a being who is complete and distinct from other beings, free and capable of willing; and an affectionate being, capable of loving. All this is verified in the Holy Spirit in the most perfect manner: he, the breath of love of the Father and the Son, is a Person, and a divine Person. He is complete being. He is God, and wholly God, not a part of God; although absolutely equal to the other two divine persons, He is distinct from them; He is subsistent in Himself, knowing and loving. Because the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, we can have relations with Him just as we do with the Father and the Son. The Church invites us to do so proposing to us many beautiful invocations to the Holy Spirit, especially in the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, in which she mentions all the titles by which the divine Paraclete can be addressed with confidence. The hymn begins by calling the Holy Spirit "Creator Spirit", reminding us that he, together with the Father and the Son, is one only God, our Creator. Then, she invokes Him as our Sanctifier, that is, as the One who diffuses grace to our souls: Imple superna gratia, que tu creasti pectora, fill with heavenly grace the souls which you have created........Thus the work of sanctification, which is the work of love, is especially attributed to the Holy Spirit, who is the breath of divine love...... Under this special aspect, then, the Church urges us to invoke the Holy Spirit. Altissimi donum Dei, fons vivus, ignis, caritas et spiritalis unctio, gift of the Most High God, gift given to our souls to lead them to sanctity; living fount of grace, fire, divine love, spiritual sweetness. And again: Septiforms munere, digitus paternae dexterae, dispenser of the seven gifts by which he makes our spiritual life perfect, finger of the right hand of the Father which indicates to us the road to sanctity. With what joy, love and desire we should invoke the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier!

COLLOQUY
........"Holy Spirit, I see You coming down into the soul like the sun which, finding no obstacle, no impediment, illumines everything; I see You descending like a fiery thunderbolt which, in falling, goes up to the lowest place it finds and there it reposes, never stopping on the way nor resting on the mountainous or high places but rather in the center of the earth. Thus You, O Holy Spirit, when You come down from heaven with the fiery dart of Your divine love, You do not repose in proud hearts or in arrogant spirits, but You make Your abode in souls that are humble and contemptible in their own eyes" (St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi).

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