30 April 2012: Memorial -- St Pius V, pope

A Dominican, his pontificate was among the most glorious in the 16th century. He enforced decrees of the Council of Trent, published the Roman Catechism; and revised the Missal and Breviary. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1516) It was during his pontificate that the celebrated victory of Lepanto (1571) was won against the Turks and conferred the title, ‘Mary, Help of Christians’. (Fr Charles Belmonte, “Aba Ginoong Maria”, 1990, p175) As a result of this victory he ordered the feast of the Holy Rosary to be observed on the first Sunday of October. (Rev Hugo Hoever, SOCist, PhD, “Lives of the Saints”, p172) In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII ordered that the same event be solemnized under the title of “Our Lady of Victory”. (Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p49) ‘The Pope of the Rosary’ Pius V was born Antonio Ghislieri, and he sat upon the Chair of St Peter from 1566 till 1572. He is especially known as ‘the Pope of the Rosary’ by reason of the impulse he gave through his example and teaching to the spread of this devotion, so dear to the heart of the Christian people ... Dearly beloved, the truest and most sincere wish I can offer you is only this: “Turn yourselves into saints, make yourselves holy soon”, and I repeat the words of St Paul to the Thessalonians: “May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 5:23) Let us be glad to live in these times of ours, and let us courageously commit ourselves to the design which Providence is mysteriously accomplishing ... John XXIII said that “the surpassing personage that was St Pius V is linked with great trials that the Church had to bear in times much more difficult than ours.” St Pius teaches us as well to have recourse to Mary Most Holy in our difficulties, for she is our heavenly Mother. She has overcome every error and every heresy. Let us pray to her always especially with the Holy Rosary so that our sole and supreme ideal may ever be the salvation of souls. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p175 Jesus appears to Thomas After eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas was with them. (Jn 20:26) It was because Thomas was there, as the Gospel expressly mentions, that our Lord especially came. Why? That he might convert this unbelieving apostle, and bring back a lost sheep into the path of life. How good was our Lord! He took the first step towards the sinner. If Thomas had been left to himself, what would have become of him? He had already persisted for eight days in his unbelief. We may reasonably presume that he would have continued and be lost for all eternity. It is a remarkable circumstance that our Lord would only appear to Thomas in the presence of the other disciples. This was to give Thomas an occasion to repair before them all the scandal and sorrow he had caused. The words of God are perfect. He bestowed on the apostle the grace of a sincere conversion. By his providence he also gave the means to make it entire and exemplary. If we have scandalized or wounded anybody by word or deed, seize the first occasion which Providence gives for reparation. If it ought to be public because the fault has been public, make it heartily, humbly and sincerely. We will not lose the good opinion of others. To acknowledge we were in error yesterday shows we are wiser today. (Proverb) Our Lord enables Thomas to do this without spoiling his reputation. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst. (Jn 20:26) The circumstance mentioned in the Gospel -- the doors being shut -- contains a mystery and a valuable lesson. To tell our neighbor’s faults only to those who have the right to hear them. Nor to reprove anyone publicly except before those who witnessed his fault. Jesus showed himself to Thomas only before those whom he had scandalized and grieved by his unbelief. Do we abide by these rules of justice? Ref: Cf "Practical Meditations" by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp234-6 ... Christian family customs The homes of the early Christians did not differ outwardly from any other. Parents passed on the Faith to their children who in turn did likewise. Thus, the family became the main ground for nurturing Christian faith and morality. Christian homes being steeped in love were havens of peace amidst errors from without. What parents taught their children came with the naturalness of life itself, and so the family thus fulfilled its mission of education. St John Chrysostom gave the following advice to Christian couples -- “Show your wife you appreciate her company a lot and that you prefer to be at home because she is there. Show her a preference even above the children she has given you; love them because of her ... Pray all together ... Learn the fear of God; everything else will flow from this like water from a fountain and your house will be filled with bounty.” (cf St John Chrysostom, “Twentieth homily, Letter to the Ephesians”) Sometimes responsibility for bringing Christianity into the family falls on a son or daughter: they attract other brothers and sisters to the Faith; then perhaps their parents, who in turn bring the uncles and aunts ... even the godparents end up being involved. Many Christian devotions can be practised in the home: reciting the ‘Rosary’ (indulgenced if prayed in a family group), praying the ‘Angelus’, having pictures and statues of Our Lady, making cribs at Christmas, blessing at meals, etc. They will help make the home always a friendly place, characteristic of a Christian family where people are taught from a very early age to speak to God and his Most Holy Mother with naturalness. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:439-40 • Our Lady of Nantes, in Brittany. This church, dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul by Felix Bishop of Nantes, was demolished by the Normans in the year 937; and rebuilt by Alain, Duke of Brittany. — Fortauatus, lib. iii.; Carm., c. 1, 2, 3, and 4. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • “Notre-Dame de Nantes”. Bretagne, France. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Nantes (in Bretagne, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Africa. Algiers. 1876. Celebrated by the White Fathers. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Africa (celebrated by the White Fathers). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Africa (celebrated by the White Fathers) Algiers, Lebanon 1876. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Africa, Algiers (1876). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com) • Our Lady of Quito (Ecuador). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) [NB: See 28, 29 April.]

29 April 2012: Memorial -- St Catherine of Siena, virgin and Doctor of the Church

She caused the return of Pope Gregory XI from Avignon to Rome (~1376). Despite her short life, she gave us a lesson in courage -- ‘of telling the truth for love of the Church and of souls’. Imprinted with the stigmata, she died in Rome at thirty-three years of age. Patroness of Italy along with St Francis of Assisi. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1514) Pope Paul VI proclaimed her Doctor of the Church. (cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:201-2; 205) Love for the Church and the Pope St Catherine of Siena did not have a formal education (she learned to read and write as an adult). She led an extraordinarily full and fruitful life, “as if she was in a great hurry to reach the eternal tabernacle of the Blessed Trinity”. (John Paul II, “Homily in Siena”, 14 October 1980) She is a wonderful example of love for the Church and for the Roman Pontiff, whom she described as “the sweet Christ on earth” (St Catherine of Siena, “Letters”, Siena 1913, III, 211); and of forthrightness and courage in making herself heard by the men of her time which was particularly difficult in the Church’s history. Rome, as the centre of Christianity, had deteriorated. Our Lord made St Catherine see the necessity for the Popes to return from Avignon to Rome and inaugurate the long-awaited urgent reform of Church life. She prayed tirelessly, did penance and wrote unceasingly to the Pope, to cardinals and to various princes of Christendom. St Catherine always professed unswerving obedience and love for the Roman Pontiff, of whom she wrote: “Anyone who refuses to obey the Christ on earth, who is in the place of Christ in heaven, does not participate in the fruit of the blood of the Son of God.” (St Catherine of Siena, “Letter 207”, III, 270) She had great respect for the Church’s pastors because “they are ministers of the blood of Christ”. (cf Paul VI, “Homily on proclaiming St Catherine a Doctor of the Church”, 4 October 1970) Let us pray to her for this fiery love for our Mother the Church, which is an indivisible closeness to Christ. Our times, too are days of trial and sorrow for Christ’s Mystical Body. Let us offer the numerous pinpricks of daily life for the welfare of the Church. God will surely bless us and Our Lady will generously pour out his grace upon us. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:201-2; 205 St Catherine of Siena, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Mother’ We look at St Catherine today to admire in her what at once struck those who came close to her: ‘her extraordinarily rich humanity’. This was by no means obscured but rather was ‘increased and perfected by grace’. This made her a living image of that veracious, healthy Christian ‘humanism’, the fundamental law of which was formulated by St Catherine’s fellow Dominican and teacher, St Thomas Aquinas. His famous maxim is: “Grace does not suppress, but supposes and perfects nature.” A human with complete dimensions is one who acts in the grace of Christ ... Our saint had a woman’s nature, abundantly endowed with fantasy, intuition, sensibility, ... readiness to give herself in service. She was transfigured, not impoverished, in the light of Christ ... and to identify mystically with him in the depths of ‘interior knowledge’; to commit herself likewise in charitable action, social, and even political action, among the great and small, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant. She, almost illiterate, became able to make herself heard, to be read, to be held in consideration by rulers of cities and realms, by princes and prelates of the Church, by monks and theologians, by many of whom she was actually venerated as ‘teacher’ and ‘mother’. The daughter of humble dyers showed how she could hearken to the voice of the one Shepherd and Teacher and nourish herself at the table of the Divine Spouse, to whom, as a ‘wise virgin’, she generously consecrated her life. This was a masterpiece of grace, renewing and elevating the creature to perfection of holiness ... Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp173-4 ‘For God all the glory’ “Am I seeking human approval or God’s? ... If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10) “It is a very small thing that you should judge me ... The Lord alone is my judge.” (1 Cor 4:3-4) “Among the surprises which await us on the day of judgment, not least will be the silence with which Our Lord will greet those actions of ours which merited the applause of men ... On the other hand it can happen that he will weigh in positive terms some actions which have drawn down criticism and censorship upon us ...” (G Chevrot, “In Secret”) A wrong intention destroys the best of actions: the deed can be well done, it can even be beneficial; but, since it is corrupted at source, it loses all value in the eyes of God. Vanity or self-seeking can destroy, sometimes completely, what could have been a deed meriting holiness. Without a right intention, we go astray. Occasionally, receiving some praise is a sign of friendship and can help along the way of goodness. But this praise must be directed towards God in all simplicity. Besides, it is one thing to receive a word of praise, a sign of being well received; another thing is to look for praise. We must always be careful when we are praised or commended. “Since many times our poor soul goes off the right path, as soon as it is applauded ... thus it finds its delight more in being called happy than in actually being so. And that thing which should have been a reason for praising God becomes instead a cause of our separation from him.” (St Gregory the Great, “Moralia”, 10, 47-8) God accepts our actions, even small ones, if we offer them to him with a pure intention. “Do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31) The two small coins that the poor widow put into the box in the Temple (cf Mk 12:42) became a great treasure in heaven. We have a marvellous aspiration to say repeatedly: “Lord, for myself I want nothing. All for your glory and for Love.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 788) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:394-7 • Our Lady of Faith, at the Augustinian convent of Amiens. This image remained a long time in the cabinet of a young lady who made a present of it to the church of the Augustinians, where it has wrought many miracles. — Augustinian Manuscripts, Amiens. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Faith (in the Augustinian Church of Amiens, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Faith, Amiens, France. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady Queen of Orphans. Celebrated by the Somaschians. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of the Earthquake (Quito, Ecuador). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) [NB: See 28, 30 April.] • Our Lady of the Earthquake. Quito, Ecuador 1534. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonet, Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, whom she ordered to say mass one night when he had remained in the church to pray. The saint leaning against a pillar, as if to hide himself, the stone became soft and made the place for him, which is seen to this day. But the Blessed Virgin having obliged him to officiate, she left him when mass was over, the chasuble which had been brought him by angels to celebrate in. The heavenly present is still to be seen at Clermont, where it is preserved with great care. — See his Life in Surius, Jan. 15. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonet (7th Century). (/www/divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)

28 April 2012: The origin of the Rosary

St Louis de Montfort tells the story of how St Dominic received the Rosary from the Blessed Virgin. St Dominic, seeing that the gravity of people’s sins was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew into a forest near Toulouse where he prayed unceasingly for three days and three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh penances to appease the anger of Almighty God. He used his discipline so much his body was lacerated, and finally he fell into a coma. Our Lady appeared, accompanied by three angels, and said: ‘Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?’ ‘Oh, my Lady’, answered St Dominic, ‘you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation’. Our Lady replied: ‘I want you to know, in this kind of warfare, that the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Thus, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.’ He arose, comforted, and burning with zeal for conversion of the people in that district he went directly to the Cathedral. At once unseen angels rang the bells to gather the people and St Dominic began to preach. At the start of his sermon a storm broke out, the earth shook, the sun was darkened, and there was so much thunder and lightning. Everybody was very scared. Even greater was their fear when looking at a picture of Our Lady exposed in a prominent place, they saw her raise her arms to heaven three times to call down God’s vengeance upon them if they failed to be converted, to amend their lives, and seek the protection of the Holy Mother of God. God wished, through these supernatural phenomena, to spread the new devotion of the Holy Rosary and to make it widely known. At last at the prayer of St Dominic, the storm ended, and he went on preaching. So fervently and compellingly did he explain the importance and value of the Holy Rosary that almost all the people of Toulouse embraced it and renounced their false beliefs. Soon a great improvement was seen in the town; people began leading Christian lives and gave up their former bad habits. Ref: St Louis M de Montfort, “The Secret of the Rosary”, 1954, 18-9 “Virgo fidelis” -- “Faithful Virgin, pray for us! Teach us to believe as you believed! Make our faith in God, in Christ, in the Church, always be limpid, serene, courageous, strong and generous.” (Pope John Paul II, “The Pope Speaks on Mary”, 1979, p19) “We ought to perform all our actions through Mary, with Mary and in Mary in order to perform them better through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus.” -- St Louis Marie de Montfort “The Holy Spirit, upon entering a soul and finding there Mary, His beloved Spouse, communicates His life to that soul and fills it with gifts.” -- St Louis Marie de Montfort Ref: Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p19 The peace Our Lord gives His disciples ‘Peace be to you’, are our Lord’s first words to his apostles on the evening of his resurrection. Peace of the soul and of the heart; the only true happiness in this life. And he repeats them three times in two successive visits. Why three times? To make us understand the three kinds of peace he desires for us -- peace with God, our neighbor, ourselves. How much do we value this highest of heavenly gifts, ‘peace with God’? This peace consists in the full and entire conformity of our will with that of God. His will is manifested through the commandments and counsels, the orders of our directors. All we need do, then, is to ask, “How have I conformed my words, thoughts, and actions to these standards?” “... after eight days, again his disciples were within, with Thomas. Jesus came, the doors being shut, stood in their midst, and said, ‘Peace be to you’.” (cf Jn 20:26-7) Peace with God should always be united to peace with our neighbors. The fulness of this peace, based on charity and fraternal union, is what our Lord desired for his disciples. It was vital to them, for the least division can cause failure of their mission to reunite all nations of the earth by mutual faith, hope, and charity. The conditions for preserving this peace are: 1) to bear with the defects of others; and 2) to give others nothing to bear from us. Does our rudeness disturb peace and union? “He said, therefore, to them again, ‘Peace be to you’.” To possess the fulness of peace Jesus desires for his disciples, we must acquire ‘peace with ourselves’. This interior peace consists in a good conscience; the senses and passions subject to reason, and of reason to faith. This peace is impossible in this world where the flesh and self-love always rebel against the will of God. The peace of our souls must be sought in a perpetual and resolute combat “... resisting the passions, not by serving them, that true peace of heart is to be found.” (Thomas à Kempis, “The Imitation of Christ”) Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp224-6 • St Peter Chanel, priest and martyr -- A religious of the Society of Mary (Marists). (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1513) • St Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort -- Founder of the “Missionaries of the Company of Mary” (Montfort Fathers) and “Daughters of Wisdom”. A great lover of Mary, he wrote “The True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. • Our Lady of the Oak, near the town of Sable, in Anjou. This image has wrought so many miracles, that it is at present very famous in the country; Marshal de Bois-Dauphin built a fine church for it, and a house of reception for the pilgrims.— (Triple Couronne, n. 50.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of the Oak (“Notre-Dame du Chêne”). Near Sable, Anjou, France. In the Middle Ages. A Druidic custom absorbed by Christianity. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Oak, Anjou, France. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of the Oak (near Sable: Anjou, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Quito, Ecuador (1534). “Our Lady of the Earthquake”. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) NB: See 29, 30 April. • “Nuestra Señora de Quito” (Our Lady of Quito); Our Lady of the Earthquake. Quito, Ecuador. 1534. Discussed in the visit of John Paul II to Quito. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Graces (Italy, Avellino) (http://mariedenazareth.com)

27 April 2012: Our Lady of Montserrat

The veneration of Our Lady of Montserrat, Patroness of Catalonia, is extremely ancient, predating the seventh-century Arab invasion of Spain. The statue was hidden at the time of the Islamic incursion and discovered in the ninth century, at which point a chapel was built to venerate it. King Wilfrid later founded a Benedictine abbey there. The shrine was originally regional in appeal, but the miracles attributed to the Virgin of Montserrat became so numerous, news of them was carried far and wide; the fame of the shrine spread well beyond the borders of Catalonia. In Italy one can find more than one-hundred and fifty churches or chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat. Some of the first churches to be founded in Mexico, Chile and Peru were also dedicated to her, not to mention numerous monasteries, towns, mountains and islands throughout the American continent named in her honor. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:195-7 Marian shrines are ‘divine signs’ Countless pilgrims daily visit numerous shrines of Our Lady to discover God’s ways or to renew them to find peace of soul and consolation in affliction. In these places of prayer, the Blessed Virgin makes the soul’s encounter with her Son easier, his presence more accessible. Every Marian shrine is a “permanent antenna of the Good News of salvation”. (John Paul II, “Address to rectors of Marian shrines”, 22 January 1981, in F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:195) For centuries countless Christians have had recourse to Our Lady of Montserrat for her intercession to keep them going when life was hard. At her shrine they all found what they sought: peace of soul, God’s call to a greater self-giving, a cure, or consolation in tribulation. The liturgy of this feast is centred on the mystery of the Visitation, “which is the first undertaking of the Blessed Virgin. Montserrat offers us, therefore, very worthwhile lessons for our journey as pilgrims”. (John Paul II, “Address at Montserrat”, 17 November 1982) We must remember our goal is specific and very well defined: heaven. The destination determines to a great extent what transport to use, the baggage to bring and provisions along the way. The Blessed Virgin tells us not to carry too many things, nor wear cumbersome clothes, and to walk briskly towards our Father’s house. She reminds us that nothing on this earth is permanent; and that everything must be subordinated to the completion of the journey, of which perhaps we have already covered a considerable portion. Moreover, on the journey we have to do as Mary did when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth: She “arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39), with a quick and joyful gait. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:195-6 The Significance of Marian Shrines A particular manifestation of the motherhood of Mary with regard to mankind is to be found in places where she meets with them -- ‘houses which she inhabits’; houses where a particular presence of the Mother is felt. Such places and such houses are very numerous; and very varied -- alcoves in dwellings or wayside shrines where the image of the Mother of God shines out, chapels and churches erected in Her honor. But there are also some places where people ‘feel the presence of the Mother to be particularly alive’. Sometimes these places radiate their light fulsomely; they attract people from afar. Their brightness may cover a diocese, an entire nation, sometimes more nations and even continents. These are ‘Marian shrines’. In all these places, that singular testament left by the Crucified Lord is realized in a marvelous manner: man there feels consigned and entrusted to Mary. Man hastens there in order to be with her as with his own Mother, man opens his heart to her and talks about everything. ‘He takes Her into his house’, that is, into all his problems, which are sometimes difficult; and others’ problems: of families, of society, of nations, of the whole of mankind. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p204 The Holy Spirit, the Gift of Holiness We must now reflect on the fact that Pentecost began ‘on the very evening of the Resurrection’ when the Risen Lord breathed on those in the Cenacle and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them.’ This is the Easter gift whereby, according to a relationship of causality even before that of chronology, ‘Christ gave the Holy Spirit to the Church’ as the divine gift; and as the incessant and inexhaustible ‘fount of sanctification’. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ... And sanctification begins with remission of sins. First there is ‘Baptism’, the sacrament of total cancellation of sins; then ‘Penance’, the sacrament of reconciliation with God and the Church; then the ‘Anointing of the Sick’. But this work of sanctification always attains its culmination in the ‘Eucharist’, the sacrament of the fulness of holiness and grace. In this marvellous flow of supernatural life, what place is due to ‘Confirmation’? The same sanctification is expressed in reinforcement of it as well, that is, in ‘Confirmation’. In it, too, is the superabundant fulness of the Holy, sanctifying Spirit, operating in a special dynamism, the efficacy of inner-inspired and directed action. The nature of the Sacrament of Confirmation flows out in this ‘conferring strength’, communicated to each of the baptized, to make him or her a perfect Christian and soldier of Christ, ready to testify courageously to his resurrection and its redemptive power: ‘Then you are to be my witnesses ...’ Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p218 The School of Prayer The Lord will grant you the ability to discover many other aspects of the faithful response to grace of the Blessed Virgin. To know these facets of her life is to want to imitate them: her purity, humility, fortitude, generosity, fidelity ... But now I want to speak to you of an aspect that in a way encompasses all the others because it is a condition for spiritual growth -- her life of prayer. Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 174 Our Lady -- “Holy Mary is the ‘Queen of peace’, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing. Call to her by this title: ‘Queen of peace, pray for us.’ Have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm? You will be surprised at its immediate effect.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 874) • It is said that in the year 1419, Our Lady de Haut, in Hainault, restored a child to life who had been dead three days. — Justus Lipsius, History of Our Lady of Haut, c. 19. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Haut (Hainaut, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • “Notre Dame d'Haut”. Hainaut, France. Church built by Le Corbusier, 1955. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • “Nuestra Señora de Montserrat”. Spain. 1535. “Patrona de Cataluña”. ... Black madonna. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady “La Moreneta”, Spain. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Monserrat / “La Morenita”. Spain. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Montserrat (Spain). (http://mariedenazareth.com) • Our Lady of the Village. Corella, Bohol, PHL. 1884. (“The 2002 Catholic Directory of the Philippines”, p244) • Our Lady of the Victories. Victoria, Negros Occidental. PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Perpetual Help Icon Transferred to St Alphonsus' Church in Rome (1886) (http://mariedenazareth.com)

26 April 2012: Memorial -- Mother of Good Counsel

‘Mater Boni Consilii.’ You who profess a special devotion to the Mother of God may you obtain help and comfort from her for your renewed resolves to tighten the bonds of the common life and, exactly by reason of that interior strengthening of roots, to project that life to the whole Church. May we above all obtain from her that higher ‘counsel’ which is discernment and sagacity in decisions, but even more the individualization of the increased spiritual needs of our age, vision of social and human reality in the light of the Gospel, and consequently, courage to give adequate responses to these needs and that vision. O Mother of Jasna Gora, I am, O Mother, all yours, and everything mine is yours! All that is mine, so also my homeland, my nation. O Mother, I have been called to serve the Universal Church on the Chair of St Peter at Rome. Thinking of this universal service, I constantly repeat, ‘“Totus tuus” -- wholly yours’. I desire to be the servant of all! Mother, everything that is mine is yours! What more can I say to you? In what other way entrust this land, this people, this heritage, to You? I confide them to you just as I can. You are the Mother. You will understand and will accept. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p170 The fruits of difficulties After the martyrdom of St Stephen there arose a persecution against the Christians of Jerusalem which caused them to scatter throughout other areas of the Middle East. (Acts 8:1-8) Providence made use of that circumstance to carry the seed of the faith to other places which otherwise would have taken longer to get to know Christ. Our Lord always has more complete plans. What seemed the end of the primitive Church in fact led to its strengthening and expansion. So those who persecuted the Church, whose objective was to stifle the recently-born seed of faith, were the indirect cause why so many more people, otherwise unreachable because of their dwelling in faraway places, got to know the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The Christians expressed their apostolic spirit during times of peace, which were the majority, and in times of calumny and persecution. They never ceased to announce the Good News which they had in their hearts, convinced the doctrine of Jesus Christ is the only one that can make this world a more just and humane place. Trials and difficulties can differ considerably. Some may be due to a materialist and anti-christian environment which opposes Christ’s reign in the world: calumnies, professional discrimination, anti-Catholic fanaticism. Or Our Lord permits sickness, financial disaster, failures, fruitless apostolic enterprise after much effort or lack of understanding. Whatever, we should understand that God is very close to us. He helps us, with more graces, to mature in virtue and to bear fruit in the apostolate. God wants to purify us like gold in the furnace, cleansing our soul of its dross, leaving it more refined and valuable. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:399-400 The communion of graces The doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ shows the profound unity among Christians due to union with their head, Christ. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.” (1 Cor 12:26) This stable union of the faithful with one another led St Paul to ask for prayers from the first Christians at Rome. He always felt very united with his brothers in the Faith, whom he always addressed as ‘saints’ in his letters. (cf Phil 1:1) From the beginning of the Church, Christians have professed among the principal truths of faith in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the Communion of Saints.” It is a community of spiritual qualities from which everyone benefits. It is not a sharing of material, cultural or artistic favors, but of imperishable goods. Offering Our Lord our work, prayer, joy and difficulties brings an immense good to people who are far from us and to the entire Church. St Teresa, aware of the damage caused by Protestant errors in the Church, knew also of this desirable mutual support. “The things of God’s service are so bad that those of us who do serve Him have to stand back to back in order to make progress at all.” (St Teresa, “Life”, 7-8) This doctrine was always practised throughout Church history. (cf St Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Ephesians”, 2, 2-5; St Cyprian, “Letter 60”; St Clement of Rome, “Letter to the Corinthians” 36, 1 ff; St Ambrose, “Treatise on Cain and Abel”, 1 ff) What does the Communion of Saints mean for us in practise? “... that all of us who are united in Christ, the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and we on earth -- must be mindful of the needs of one another ... The saints ‘must’ love the souls whom God loves. The love the blessed in heaven have for the Souls in Purgatory and the souls on earth is not a passive love. ... [but] an active, ‘hungry’ love. The saints long to help onward to heaven all souls ... And if the prayer of a good man on earth has power with God, there is no estimating the power of prayers which the saints offer for us. ...” (Leo Trese, “The Faith Explained”, p146) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:411-3 Fortitude and Its Rewards This virtue can become rare in the pleasure-loving and success-hungry environment where most of us live. Religious convictions can easily be suppressed by fear of being criticized, belittled or even ridiculed. About fortitude, Fr Leo J Trese said it is hard not to laugh at the obscene joke, especially if the teller happens to be the boss or a good customer. When the malicious gossip starts, it is hard to insist on changing the conversation or to speak up in defense of the person under attack -- particularly when the subject really is a stinker. It is hard to make the boyfriend behave when everybody says a little loving never hurt anyone; especially when boyfriends are rare. Our world of work and recreation may frequently be uynsympathetic to virtue. Businessmen often find under-the-table deals as standard operating procedure. Risqué shows are bandied about as hilarious entertainment. It is consoling to find that fortitude also brings rewards. The courage of the man born blind in glorifying Jesus before the council was magnificently rewarded. “Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir’, the man replied, ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.’ The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.” (Jn 9:35-8 ) Before, sight was restored to his eyes. Now, sight was given to his soul. Christians who stand by their conscience inevitably discover that they have grown in stature in the eyes of other people. Initially, they might have been somewhat afraid they would lose their friends. Afterwards, they realize they have gained respect as well as affection. Their friends find in them a reassuring source of strength. Ref: Cf Fr M Guzman, “Encounters With Christ”, 1990, pp109-10 • Our Lady of Naiera, in Navarre. This image was found miraculously in the year 1048; Dom Garcias de Naiera, King of Navarre, built a church for it, which several kings of Navarre visited. — Andre Favin, liv. iii.. Hist. de Navarre. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Naïera, Navarre (1048). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Naiera (Navarre, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Good Counsel. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Mother of Good Counsel. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Mother / Our Lady of Good Counsel. Detailed history. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • “Nuestra Señora de Salera”. Aliaga, Nueva Ecija. (“The 1997 Catholic Directory of the Philippines”, p51)

25 April 2012: Feast -- St Mark, Evangelist

St Peter’s secretary in Rome. Author of the second Gospel which emphasizes the Saviour’s miraculous powers. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1511) Despite his Roman name, Mark was Jewish by birth. He was also known by his Hebrew name John. Not one of the twelve Apostles, he probably knew Jesus personally. Many ecclesiastical writers see in the episode of the young man, who let go the sheet and fled at Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane, a reference to Mark in his Gospel. Mark alone mentions it. This tallies with the fact that he was the son of a woman named Mary, who seems to have been a wealthy widow in whose house the first Jerusalem Christians used to meet. According to ancient tradition this house was in fact the Cenacle, where Our Lord celebrated the Last Supper and instituted the Blessed Eucharist. (cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:189-93) The apostolic mandate From his early youth Mark was among the first Christians of Jerusalem who had lived with Our Lady and the Apostles, all of whom he knew well. His mother was one of the first women to provide for Jesus and the Twelve. He is a cousin of Barnabas, one of the chief figures of those first days; and who initiated him in the task of spreading the Gospel. Mark went with Paul and Barnabas on their apostolic journey (cf Acts 13:5-13), but on arriving in Cyprus he probably felt he was unable to carry on any further, for at that point he left them and went back to Jerusalem (cf Acts 13:13). Paul seems to have been disgusted at Mark’s inconstancy. Many years later in Rome, Paul finds him “a comfort” and faithful companion. (cf 1 Pet 5:13) About ten years later we find him in Rome, helping Peter who refers to him as “my son, Mark” (cf Phil 24), thereby testifying to a long-standing close relationship. Being interpreter for the Prince of Apostles provided him with a privileged vantage-point, reflected in the Gospel he wrote later. St Jerome writes that “Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, wrote down his Gospel at the request of the brethren living in Rome, according to what he had heard Peter preach. And Peter, having heard it, approved it with his authority to be read in the Church.” (“De script eccl”) This was no doubt Mark’s principal mission in life: to faithfully transmit Peter’s teaching. The Church proposes St Mark to us today as a model. It can be a great source of hope and consolation to contemplate the life of this holy Evangelist, because despite weaknesses we can, like him, trust in divine grace and in the assistance of our Mother the Church. Our imperfections should not cause us to turn away from God or to abandon our apostolic mission. At times we may have failed to respond properly to God’s grace. In these and other circumstances, if they occur, we should not be discouraged. Failures and acts of cowardice can serve a purpose and that is why we turn to Our Lord asking his pardon and help. But precisely because he trusts us and that we can count on receiving grace anew, we ought to begin again immediately and resolve to be more faithful. With Our Lord’s help we learn to draw good from our weaknesses, especially when the enemy, who never rests, tries to discourage us and get us to give up. Jesus wants us to be his despite any history of weakness on our part. “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15) is the apostolic mandate. Moved by the Holy Spirit, St Mark testifies that this command was fulfilled: the Apostles “went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by signs that attended it” (Mk 16:20). Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:189-93 ‘Evangelical Leaven’ The Gospel St Mark wrote brings out the contrast between Christ who pardons (Mk 2:10), overcomes demons (Mk 1:24-7), heals the sick (Mk 1:31); and those men who jeer at him (Mk 5:40) and desire his ruin (Mk 3:36). In this ‘scandalous’ contrast Mark sees the guiding line of God’s activity; he surprises people and induces them to ask about Christ’s identity. “Who is he?” (Mk 4:41) Through the very experience of their humiliation, he prepared them for the act of faith in his saving mission. “Truly this man was God’s Son” (Mk 15:39) is the centurion’s confession at the foot of the Cross. How can we fail to see all this as a clear indication for whoever wishes to follow Christ’s footsteps and become his witness in the contemporary world? Meekness in the face of opposition and clashes, dominion over the passions and forces of evil, and commitment to alleviating every form of suffering: the concrete modes whereby the Christian can provoke a query about Christ in people of today as well, for hearts to be disposed to accepting this message. Thus, enable him to work effectively for the coming of God’s kingdom and construction of the earthly City, in accord with the Christian vision of the world and of history, which is irreconciliable with materialistic ideologies. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p169 The Christian Apostolate St John has recorded a wonderful phrase by our Lady. At Cana she told the waiters: "Do whatever he tells you." (Jn 2:5) It’s all about getting people to face Jesus and ask him: "Lord what do you want me to do?" (Acts 9:6) The christian apostolate -- about an ordinary Christian living as just one more man or woman among equals -- is a great work of teaching. Through real, personal, loyal friendship, you create in others a hunger for God and you help them to discover new horizons: naturally, simply. With the example of your faith lived to the full, with a loving word which is full of the force of divine truth. Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, "Christ is passing by", 149 Christ, Son of the Living God We are here, we, your Church: the Body from your Body and from your Blood. We are here, we are keeping watch. We are by your sepulchre. We keep watch. We remain awake, so as to be before those women who “at dawn will come to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared” (cf Lk 24:1) to anoint your body, in the tomb since the evening of the day before. We keep watch in order to be near your tomb, before Peter, summoned by the words of the three women, comes too; before Peter sees only the wrappings ... We wish to be before the women and the Apostles ... We wish to be with you, we, your Church, the body from your body and from your blood shed on the Cross. We are your Body, we are your People. We are many. We gather in many parts of the world. ... We are all united by the faith, born of your Easter, of your passage through death to new Life, the faith born of your Resurrection. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p158 Our Lady -- “Mary, teacher of prayer. See how she asks her Son at Cana. And how she insists, confidently, perseveringly ... And how she succeeds. Learn.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 502) • Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel of Paris, in honor of Our Lady, by Philip, Archbishop of Bonurges, in the year 1248. — Du Breuil, Theatre des Antiquites. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel of Paris in honor of Our Lady (1248). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel in honor of Mary. Paris. 1248. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Dedication of the Holy Chapel of Paris in Our Lady's honor, 1248. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Good Counsel, Genazzano, Italy. 1467. History. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Good Counsel. Genazzano. Elsewhere. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Apparitions of the Great Mediatrix of All Graces in Marienfried (Germany, 1946) (http://mariedenazareth.com)

24 April 2012: ‘... into the whole world’

Our Lord’s Resurrection is a call to apostolate. Each of his appearances ends with an apostolic command. To Mary Magdalene, Jesus says: “Go to my brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and to your Father' (Jn 20:17); and to the other women, 'Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and that they shall see me there'” (Mt 28:10).
The disciples of Emmaus reported that same night that Jesus is alive. (cf Lk 24:35) “Afterwards he appeared to the eleven as they sat at table ... he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation’”(cf Mk 16:14-5).
The Apostles began to preach “repentance and forgiveness of sins ...” (cf Lk 24:44-7)
What they preach and testify to, are not mere speculations but salvific facts they have personally witnessed.
The death of Judas brought the need to complete the number of twelve apostles. One condition is the candidate must be a witness to the Resurrection. (cf Acts 1:21-2)
“The Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate” (Second Vatican Council, “Apostolicam actuositatem”, 2) and “all the faithful, from the Pope to the child who has just been baptized, share one and the same vocation, the same faith, the same Spirit, the same grace ... They all have an active and appropriate share in the single mission of Christ and of the Church.” (cf A Del Portillo, “Faithful and Laity in the Church”)
We cannot be prevented from exercising the right in fulfilling this duty. Nor can we remain silent.
So much ignorance is around; error, too. Numerous people go through life lost and confused because they don’t know Christ. We must communicate daily to all, the doctrine and the faith.
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all ... Let your light shine before men, so they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (cf Mt 5:15-6)
“At the end of his time on earth, Christ commanded: go out and teach. He wants his light to shine in the words and behaviour of his disciples, and in yours, too.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 930)
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:329-31

The Resurrection Points to the Real Humanism
Why did Christ speak of remission of sins immediately after the words, “Receive the Holy Spirit”? He said, “If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound” (Jn 20:23).
Remission of sins supposes knowledge and confession of sins. Both signify ‘effort to live in truth and love’. It means the action of ‘the power of truth and love’, which forms the new man and transforms the world.
The contradiction is ‘falsification’ of the truth and ‘simulation’ of love. Contradiction is removing the line of demarcation between good and evil; calling humanism what is actually ‘sin’.
It would be very easy, unfortunately, to cite examples. Terrorism is rightly condemned as an attack upon and violation of elementary rights of man. Killing of man is condemned as something manifestly contrary to man’s very existence.
At the same time, however, depriving a human being ‘not yet born’ of life is called ‘humanism’; a ‘proof of progress’, emancipation; conforming with human dignity!
Let us not deceive ourselves! We must all denounce such contradictions. Remember, only “the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32).
Only the truth has power to transform the world towards authentic progress and real ‘humanism’. And let us not call the demands of truth, conscience and dignity a purely ‘political’ choice. Man may not renounce them.
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, pp172-3

The disciples constrain Our Lord to remain
“When they drew close to the town they were going, he made as though he would go farther.” (Lk 24:28)
Our Lord fully intended to confer on these disciples the wonderful privilege of becoming their guest, and of making himself known to them that very day. He however, desired that this favor should be granted only at their pressing invitation.
God willingly comes and enters into our soul and manifests his presence by heavenly graces and favors. ‘My delights are to be with the children of men’; but he will be sought for and invited with fervor and perseverance.
If he seems far, and our soul is void of those movements of grace his presence creates, could tepidity towards him be the cause?
The disciples, whose hearts had burned during the discourse of the unknown pilgrim, begged him not to leave them. “Stay with us because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent.” Adding action to word, “they constrained him. And he went in with them.” (Lk 24:29)
The practical conclusion here is -- if we wish to draw our Lord and his sensible graces into our souls, we must use a sort of holy violence towards him. At certain occasions, we increase our devout practices and mortifications, till, like the disciples, we constrain him to yield to our desires.
Like them, we may urge ‘that it is now towards evening’, and ‘that the day’ (of our life) ‘is now far spent’ and tending, perhaps without our suspecting it, towards its decline.
The pleas of the disciples, and their gentle violence towards him, pleased their Divine Lord. He yielded, and went in with them. Joyful, they did their best to be hospitable though still they knew not the dignity of their guest. What would they have done had they known?
I know the guest whom I receive into my heart at Holy Communion. How must I receive him?
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp218-20

Last Things
“Listen to me you who are up to your neck in science: your science cannot deny the reality of diabolic activities. My Mother, the holy Church, for many years -- and it is also a praiseworthy private devotion -- required the priests each day at the foot of the altar to invoke St Michael -- ‘against the wickedness and snares of the devil’.”
Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”

Our Lady
492 “The love of our Mother will be the breath that kindles into a living flame the embers of virtue that are hidden under the ashes of your indifference.”

504 “The holy Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, will bring relief to your heart, when it feels as if it’s made of flesh, if you have recourse to her with confidence.”
Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”

• Dedication of Our Lady of Reparation, at Florence, by Eugenius IV., in the year 1436.—(Balingham on the Calendar.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Bonaria. Sardinia 1370. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Bonaria (Sardinia). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of Bonaria, Island of Sardinia (1370). Declared Patron of Sardinia in 1908. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• “Madonna della Bonaria”. Sardinia, Italy. 1370. Mary is declared Patron of Sardinia in 1908. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Salera. Aliaga, Nueva Ecija PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Lujan (Argentina) (http://mariedenazareth.com)