O
odhiambo
Guest
3 April
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Francis of Paola
Among many other saints.
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Francis of Paola
Among many other saints.
- Status
S
Shin
Guest
'In 1469, the Pope, Paul II.,sent one of his chamberlains to learn if Francis was indeed the saint which so many called him.
When the chamberlain arrived at Paula, Francis, as usual, was among the masons, at work on his church; but seeing two strangers coming towards him, he left his work and met them, bowing very low to them. The chamberlain had disguised himself, so as not to appear like a person of rank, nor even to be known as a priest; and when Francis met him with such humble courtesy he was equally humble, and attempted to kiss the hand of Francis, brown and hard with toil. But Francis would not allow this, and, falling on his knees, said he was himself bound to kiss the hands which God had consecrated during the thirty years he had said mass. The chamberlain was greatly surprised to hear a perfect stranger thus tell the number of years he had been a priest; but he said nothing, wishing to talk with Francis in his convent, aside from his companions.
The chamberlain was a very eloquent man, and he tried to convince Francis, by a long discourse, that his rule was too severe, and also of the dangers to which a person is exposed who pretends to miraculous gifts, or who lives in anyway differently from other good Christians; and urged him to leave all his extraordinary self-denials. Francis heard him patiently, and answered him with great humility; but, finding that the mind of his visitor was not changed, he took from the fire some burning coals, and holding them for a long time in his hand, said, “All creatures obey those who serve God with a perfect heart.”
These golden words were repeated by Pope Leo X. in the bill of his canonization. The chamberlain returned to the archbishop of Cosenza, and to the Holy Father at Rome, and told them that the sanctity of Francis was greater than his fame in the world, own society, and in the very state, or town, or village in which we live.’
When the chamberlain arrived at Paula, Francis, as usual, was among the masons, at work on his church; but seeing two strangers coming towards him, he left his work and met them, bowing very low to them. The chamberlain had disguised himself, so as not to appear like a person of rank, nor even to be known as a priest; and when Francis met him with such humble courtesy he was equally humble, and attempted to kiss the hand of Francis, brown and hard with toil. But Francis would not allow this, and, falling on his knees, said he was himself bound to kiss the hands which God had consecrated during the thirty years he had said mass. The chamberlain was greatly surprised to hear a perfect stranger thus tell the number of years he had been a priest; but he said nothing, wishing to talk with Francis in his convent, aside from his companions.
The chamberlain was a very eloquent man, and he tried to convince Francis, by a long discourse, that his rule was too severe, and also of the dangers to which a person is exposed who pretends to miraculous gifts, or who lives in anyway differently from other good Christians; and urged him to leave all his extraordinary self-denials. Francis heard him patiently, and answered him with great humility; but, finding that the mind of his visitor was not changed, he took from the fire some burning coals, and holding them for a long time in his hand, said, “All creatures obey those who serve God with a perfect heart.”
These golden words were repeated by Pope Leo X. in the bill of his canonization. The chamberlain returned to the archbishop of Cosenza, and to the Holy Father at Rome, and told them that the sanctity of Francis was greater than his fame in the world, own society, and in the very state, or town, or village in which we live.’
- Patron Saints
O
odhiambo
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Saint Francis of Paola
Hermit
Founder of the Order of Minims.
Saint Francis was born on March 27, 1416 at Paola, Italy. His parents were God fearing people, noted as “remarkable for the holiness of their lives”. It appears that after his parents were married,they were not blessed with children for a long time. The couple turned to the one thing they new best - Prayers. They turned to St. Francis of Assisi, asking for his intercession. The Saint did not disappoint. Francis came first, followed by two other children.
When Francis was a baby, he had a serious eye problem and risked losing sight in one eye. His parents again turned to Saint Francis. They promised him that when the boy is cured, he would be sent for one year to live in one of the convents of his order wearing the “little habit” of Saint Francis.
Francis was healed. When he turned thirteen, it was time to fulfill the vow his parents made to Saint Francis. Accordingly, he was sent to a convent of this Order.
Francis was a prayerful, humble and obedient child. At the end of the one year promised to Saint, Francis, he left the convent and went for a pilgrimage to Assisi, Rome, and other places of devotion with his parents.
When the family came back home, Francis sought a lonely cave on his father’s estate and lived there in solitude for awhile before moving to an even more secluded cave on the sea coast. He lived a solitary life here for about six years, giving himself completely to prayer and mortification.
In 1435, he was joined by two companions and because there was now need, a chapel and three cells were built. This was the begining of a new order. The followers gradually increased and by 1454, a monastery was built.
Francis and his followers lived in poverty, observing perpetual abstinence; the hallmark of their order, however, was said to be humility. They wanted nothing but to serve God hidden away from the world. To this end, Francis sought permission from the Pope to name his new community “Minims”, by which he meant to convey that they were the least of all the religious.
In 1474, Saint Francis was asked to write the rule of his community and their title was to be Hermits of St. Francis. The rule was written and formally approved by Alexander VI, who, however, changed their title back to that of Minims.
Saint Francis was renown for his very many miracles and he was also renown as a prophet.
I hope to post separately some quoted miracles of this holy man.
His last few days on earth included a Holy Thursday on which, knowing he was dying, he assembled the community around him and encouraged them to love one onother and particularly remember to continue with the vow of perpertual abstinence. On Good Friday again he called them to his bedside and gave them his last instructions. He then received the last sacraments and asked to have the Passion of Our Lord read out to him. He died peacfully during the reading of the Passion according to St. John. The date was April 2, 1507. He was 91years old.
Saint Francis,
Pray for us.
Hermit
Founder of the Order of Minims.
Saint Francis was born on March 27, 1416 at Paola, Italy. His parents were God fearing people, noted as “remarkable for the holiness of their lives”. It appears that after his parents were married,they were not blessed with children for a long time. The couple turned to the one thing they new best - Prayers. They turned to St. Francis of Assisi, asking for his intercession. The Saint did not disappoint. Francis came first, followed by two other children.
When Francis was a baby, he had a serious eye problem and risked losing sight in one eye. His parents again turned to Saint Francis. They promised him that when the boy is cured, he would be sent for one year to live in one of the convents of his order wearing the “little habit” of Saint Francis.
Francis was healed. When he turned thirteen, it was time to fulfill the vow his parents made to Saint Francis. Accordingly, he was sent to a convent of this Order.
Francis was a prayerful, humble and obedient child. At the end of the one year promised to Saint, Francis, he left the convent and went for a pilgrimage to Assisi, Rome, and other places of devotion with his parents.
When the family came back home, Francis sought a lonely cave on his father’s estate and lived there in solitude for awhile before moving to an even more secluded cave on the sea coast. He lived a solitary life here for about six years, giving himself completely to prayer and mortification.
In 1435, he was joined by two companions and because there was now need, a chapel and three cells were built. This was the begining of a new order. The followers gradually increased and by 1454, a monastery was built.
Francis and his followers lived in poverty, observing perpetual abstinence; the hallmark of their order, however, was said to be humility. They wanted nothing but to serve God hidden away from the world. To this end, Francis sought permission from the Pope to name his new community “Minims”, by which he meant to convey that they were the least of all the religious.
In 1474, Saint Francis was asked to write the rule of his community and their title was to be Hermits of St. Francis. The rule was written and formally approved by Alexander VI, who, however, changed their title back to that of Minims.
Saint Francis was renown for his very many miracles and he was also renown as a prophet.
I hope to post separately some quoted miracles of this holy man.
His last few days on earth included a Holy Thursday on which, knowing he was dying, he assembled the community around him and encouraged them to love one onother and particularly remember to continue with the vow of perpertual abstinence. On Good Friday again he called them to his bedside and gave them his last instructions. He then received the last sacraments and asked to have the Passion of Our Lord read out to him. He died peacfully during the reading of the Passion according to St. John. The date was April 2, 1507. He was 91years old.
Saint Francis,
Pray for us.
O
odhiambo
Guest
From Vatican Website.
A reading from the letters of St Francis of Paola, Hermit (Letter AD 1486)
Turn to the Lord with a pure heart.
"May our Lord Jesus Christ, who repays most generously, reward your labour. You must flee from evil, and drive away dangers. We and all our brothers, although unworthy, pray constantly to God the Father and to his Son Jesus Christ, as well as to Mary the Virgin Mother, to be with you as you seek the salvation of your souls and your bodies.
Brothers, I most strongly urge you to work for the salvation of your souls with prudence and diligence. Death is certain, and life is short and vanishes like smoke. Therefore you must fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ who so burned with love for us that he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sakes he suffered all the agonies of body and mind, and did not shrink from any torment. He gave us a perfect example of patience and love. For our part, we too must be patient when things go against us.
Put aside hatred and hostility. See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips that inflicted the wounds. In this way you will show each other mercy and not keep alive the memories of past wrongs. Remembering grievances works great damage. It is accompanied by anger, fosters sin, and brings a hatred for justice. It is a rusty arrow spreading poison in the soul. It destroys virtue and is a cancer in the mind. It thwarts prayer and mangles the petitions we make to God. It drives out love and is a nail driven into the soul, an evil that never sleeps, a sin that never fades away, a kind of daily death.
Be lovers of peace, the most precious treasure that anyone can desire. You are already aware that our sins drive God to anger,“so you must repent of them, that God in his mercy may spare you. What men conceal is open to God. Turn to him with a sincere heart. Live in such a way that you bring upon yourselves the blessing of God, and that the peace of God our Father may be with you always.”
A reading from the letters of St Francis of Paola, Hermit (Letter AD 1486)
Turn to the Lord with a pure heart.
"May our Lord Jesus Christ, who repays most generously, reward your labour. You must flee from evil, and drive away dangers. We and all our brothers, although unworthy, pray constantly to God the Father and to his Son Jesus Christ, as well as to Mary the Virgin Mother, to be with you as you seek the salvation of your souls and your bodies.
Brothers, I most strongly urge you to work for the salvation of your souls with prudence and diligence. Death is certain, and life is short and vanishes like smoke. Therefore you must fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ who so burned with love for us that he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sakes he suffered all the agonies of body and mind, and did not shrink from any torment. He gave us a perfect example of patience and love. For our part, we too must be patient when things go against us.
Put aside hatred and hostility. See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips that inflicted the wounds. In this way you will show each other mercy and not keep alive the memories of past wrongs. Remembering grievances works great damage. It is accompanied by anger, fosters sin, and brings a hatred for justice. It is a rusty arrow spreading poison in the soul. It destroys virtue and is a cancer in the mind. It thwarts prayer and mangles the petitions we make to God. It drives out love and is a nail driven into the soul, an evil that never sleeps, a sin that never fades away, a kind of daily death.
Be lovers of peace, the most precious treasure that anyone can desire. You are already aware that our sins drive God to anger,“so you must repent of them, that God in his mercy may spare you. What men conceal is open to God. Turn to him with a sincere heart. Live in such a way that you bring upon yourselves the blessing of God, and that the peace of God our Father may be with you always.”
O
odhiambo
Guest
“…Francis himself made the rock his bed ; his
best garment was a hair-shirt, and boiled herbs his only
fare. As his body withered his faith grew powerful…His name was reverenced through the Christian world. He died at the age of ninety-one, on Good Friday, 1507, with
the crucifix in his hand, and the last words of Jesus on his
lips, " Into Thy hands, Lord, I commend my spirit’”
Lives of the Saints
With Reflections for everyday of the Year
Compiled From
The Lives of the Saints by
Rev. Alban Butler.
best garment was a hair-shirt, and boiled herbs his only
fare. As his body withered his faith grew powerful…His name was reverenced through the Christian world. He died at the age of ninety-one, on Good Friday, 1507, with
the crucifix in his hand, and the last words of Jesus on his
lips, " Into Thy hands, Lord, I commend my spirit’”
Lives of the Saints
With Reflections for everyday of the Year
Compiled From
The Lives of the Saints by
Rev. Alban Butler.
S
Shin
Guest
Now that’s a saint.
S
Shin
Guest
He raised the dead, healed the sick, and because of his miracles was called to the deathbed of King Louis XI… the “Spider King” of France. “He sent for Francis to cure him. Francis did not save his life, but wrought a profound change of heart in him, and Louis died in his arms.”
Here are some excerpts, various quotations, from the prophecies of St. Francis of Paola…
They predict the coming of a great Catholic ruler who near the end of time will be key to the final reign of peace and abolishing of all heresies.
"…the Great Monarch…He shall be a great captain and prince of holy men, who shall be called ‘the holy Cross-bearers of Jesus Christ,’ with whom he will destroy the Mahometan sect and the rest of the infidels. He shall annihilate all the heresies and tyrannies of the world. He shall reform the Church of God by means of his followers, who shall be the best men upon the earth in holiness, in arms, in science, and in every virtue…
They shall obtain dominion over the whole world, both temporal and spiritual…
God Almighty will exalt a very poor man of the blood of Emperor Constantine…who shall on his breast wear a sign which you have seen at the beginning of this letter (a red Cross)…
He will gather a grand army, and the angels shall fight for them…
This religious order shall be the last and best in the Church: it shall proceed with arms…Woe to tyrants, to heretics, and to infidels to whom no pity will be shown…An infinite number of wicked men shall perish through the hands of the Cross-bearers…most holy Crossbearers elected by the Most High, who, not succeeding in converting heretics with science, shall make vigorous use of their arms…
These holy Cross-bearers shall reign and dominate holily over the whole world until the end of time…
But when shall this take place?
When crosses with the stigmas shall be seen, and the crucifix shall be carried as the standard.
The time is coming when the Divine Majesty will visit the world with a new religious order of holy Cross-bearers, who will carry a crucifix, or the image of our crucified Lord, lifted up upon the principal standard in view of all.
This standard will be admired by all good Catholics; but at the beginning it will be derided by bad Christians and by infidels…
You shall destroy the sect of the Mahomet, and all infidels of every sect. You shall put an end to all the heresies of the world…"
Here are some excerpts, various quotations, from the prophecies of St. Francis of Paola…
They predict the coming of a great Catholic ruler who near the end of time will be key to the final reign of peace and abolishing of all heresies.
"…the Great Monarch…He shall be a great captain and prince of holy men, who shall be called ‘the holy Cross-bearers of Jesus Christ,’ with whom he will destroy the Mahometan sect and the rest of the infidels. He shall annihilate all the heresies and tyrannies of the world. He shall reform the Church of God by means of his followers, who shall be the best men upon the earth in holiness, in arms, in science, and in every virtue…
They shall obtain dominion over the whole world, both temporal and spiritual…
God Almighty will exalt a very poor man of the blood of Emperor Constantine…who shall on his breast wear a sign which you have seen at the beginning of this letter (a red Cross)…
He will gather a grand army, and the angels shall fight for them…
This religious order shall be the last and best in the Church: it shall proceed with arms…Woe to tyrants, to heretics, and to infidels to whom no pity will be shown…An infinite number of wicked men shall perish through the hands of the Cross-bearers…most holy Crossbearers elected by the Most High, who, not succeeding in converting heretics with science, shall make vigorous use of their arms…
These holy Cross-bearers shall reign and dominate holily over the whole world until the end of time…
But when shall this take place?
When crosses with the stigmas shall be seen, and the crucifix shall be carried as the standard.
The time is coming when the Divine Majesty will visit the world with a new religious order of holy Cross-bearers, who will carry a crucifix, or the image of our crucified Lord, lifted up upon the principal standard in view of all.
This standard will be admired by all good Catholics; but at the beginning it will be derided by bad Christians and by infidels…
You shall destroy the sect of the Mahomet, and all infidels of every sect. You shall put an end to all the heresies of the world…"
O
odhiambo
Guest
3 April
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Benedict of Palermo
Among many other saints
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...re-icon.jpg/200px-Benedict_the_Moore-icon.jpg
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Benedict of Palermo
Among many other saints
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...re-icon.jpg/200px-Benedict_the_Moore-icon.jpg
O
odhiambo
Guest
Saint Benedict of Palermo
Also known as
Benedict the African
Benedict of San Philadelphio
Benedict the Black
Benedict the Moor
Benedict was the son of Christopher and Diana Manasseri both Christians, living in an ancient town of Sicily, today named San Fratello (Holy Little Brother), in memory of our Saint. His parents were slaves and had decided not to bring any child into this world only to be reduced to their own situation; that of being slaves.
When their master promised to liberate their firstborn, however, the couple relaxed their resolve and Baby Benedict was born to them in 1526.
Benedict did not attend any school and was completely illiterate. From his childhood, he showed a great love for the Blessed Virgin and a tendency to charity, often giving away whatever he had to those needier and to the sick.
As a youth, he worked as a shepherd. He often became absorbed in prayer and spent long hours on his knees praying. This made him an object of derision by his age mates because he did not join in their games.
One day a pious hermit named Brother Jerome passed by, and witnessed Benedict being mocked by his neighbours. He also witnessed Benedict’s behaviour in the face of his neighbours’ agression. The boy was patient and bore himself with dignity. Brother Jerome, who was leader of a group of Franciscan hermits, invited Benedict to join their order. Benedict sold whatever meagre possessions he had and joined Brother Jerome at his hermitage. He eventually became leader of that group.
In 1562 or 1564 the order of hermits was disbanded by the Pope who joined them to the Order of Saint Francis. Benedict moved to Palermo to the Franciscan Friary of Saint Mary. Where he held the position of “cook”.
He was noted everywhere for his penances. And, whenever he was sent out to beg for the Community there were talks of miracles. While still a simple lay Brother, he was named Guardian of his convent in 1578. This was a rather difficult situation for him and indeed even for those he was to guard. They were priests where as he was an illiterate lay Brother. Benedict reluctantly accepted the promotion. He was successfull in helping the order to adopt a stricter version of the Franciscan monastic rule.
.
Saint Benedict was widely respected for his instinctive understanding of theology and the Holy Scripture. He was often sought after for counseling. He had a reputation as a healer as well. Many people continued to come to him for help even after he returned to kitchen duty in his later years.
Saint Benedict died in April of 1589. Countless miracles are reported to have occurred at his tomb.
At the entrance of his cell in the Franciscan Convent of Saint Mary of Jesus, there is a plaque with the inscription “This is the cell where Saint Benedict lived, and the dates of his birth and death - 1524 and 1589”.( Yes, you read correctlly, there is some dispute; apparantly historians stick with 1526 birth date!)
Saint Benedict was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV on 15 May, 1743 and canonized on 24 May,1807 by Pope Pius VII.
Saint Benedict is a patron of Black people, Palermo, Sicily, and others. Benedict is remembered for his patience and understanding when confronted with racial prejudice and taunts.
Saint Benedict,
Pray for us!
Also known as
Benedict the African
Benedict of San Philadelphio
Benedict the Black
Benedict the Moor
Benedict was the son of Christopher and Diana Manasseri both Christians, living in an ancient town of Sicily, today named San Fratello (Holy Little Brother), in memory of our Saint. His parents were slaves and had decided not to bring any child into this world only to be reduced to their own situation; that of being slaves.
When their master promised to liberate their firstborn, however, the couple relaxed their resolve and Baby Benedict was born to them in 1526.
Benedict did not attend any school and was completely illiterate. From his childhood, he showed a great love for the Blessed Virgin and a tendency to charity, often giving away whatever he had to those needier and to the sick.
As a youth, he worked as a shepherd. He often became absorbed in prayer and spent long hours on his knees praying. This made him an object of derision by his age mates because he did not join in their games.
One day a pious hermit named Brother Jerome passed by, and witnessed Benedict being mocked by his neighbours. He also witnessed Benedict’s behaviour in the face of his neighbours’ agression. The boy was patient and bore himself with dignity. Brother Jerome, who was leader of a group of Franciscan hermits, invited Benedict to join their order. Benedict sold whatever meagre possessions he had and joined Brother Jerome at his hermitage. He eventually became leader of that group.
In 1562 or 1564 the order of hermits was disbanded by the Pope who joined them to the Order of Saint Francis. Benedict moved to Palermo to the Franciscan Friary of Saint Mary. Where he held the position of “cook”.
He was noted everywhere for his penances. And, whenever he was sent out to beg for the Community there were talks of miracles. While still a simple lay Brother, he was named Guardian of his convent in 1578. This was a rather difficult situation for him and indeed even for those he was to guard. They were priests where as he was an illiterate lay Brother. Benedict reluctantly accepted the promotion. He was successfull in helping the order to adopt a stricter version of the Franciscan monastic rule.
.
Saint Benedict was widely respected for his instinctive understanding of theology and the Holy Scripture. He was often sought after for counseling. He had a reputation as a healer as well. Many people continued to come to him for help even after he returned to kitchen duty in his later years.
Saint Benedict died in April of 1589. Countless miracles are reported to have occurred at his tomb.
At the entrance of his cell in the Franciscan Convent of Saint Mary of Jesus, there is a plaque with the inscription “This is the cell where Saint Benedict lived, and the dates of his birth and death - 1524 and 1589”.( Yes, you read correctlly, there is some dispute; apparantly historians stick with 1526 birth date!)
Saint Benedict was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV on 15 May, 1743 and canonized on 24 May,1807 by Pope Pius VII.
Saint Benedict is a patron of Black people, Palermo, Sicily, and others. Benedict is remembered for his patience and understanding when confronted with racial prejudice and taunts.
Saint Benedict,
Pray for us!
S
Shin
Guest
One of my favorite saints is St. Moses the Black, one of the great Desert Fathers, a hermit. 
St. Benedict is a great example of humility!
I have heard more than one good story about them.
One of the Audio Sancto priests before he became a shepherd of people took care of actual sheep, grew up on a farm.
Since I can’t seem to find what I’m looking for about St. Benedict, a little from St. Moses.
‘Above all we ought at least to know that there are three origins of our thoughts, i.e., from God, from the devil, and from ourselves. . . We ought then carefully to notice this threefold order, and with a wise discretion to analyze the thoughts which arise in our hearts, tracking out their origin and cause and author in the first instance, that we may be able to consider how we ought to yield ourselves to them. . .’
‘We should then constantly search all the inner chambers of our hearts, and trace out the footsteps of whatever enters into them with the closest investigation. . .’
‘You see then that the gift of discretion is no earthly thing and no slight matter, but the greatest prize of divine grace. And unless a monk has pursued it with all zeal, and secured a power of discerning with unerring judgment the spirits that rise up in him, he is sure to go wrong, as if in the darkness of night and dense blackness, and not merely to fall down dangerous pits and precipices, but also to make frequent mistakes in matters that are plain and straightforward.’
‘Whatever then can help to guide us to this object; viz., purity of heart, we must follow with all our might, but whatever hinders us from it, we must shun as a dangerous and hurtful thing. For, for this we do and endure all things, for this we make light of our kinsfolk, our country, honours, riches, the delights of this world, and all kinds of pleasures, namely in order that we may retain a lasting purity of heart.’
St. Moses the Black Hermit
St. Benedict is a great example of humility!
Our Lord loves shepherds.
I have heard more than one good story about them.One of the Audio Sancto priests before he became a shepherd of people took care of actual sheep, grew up on a farm.
Since I can’t seem to find what I’m looking for about St. Benedict, a little from St. Moses.
‘Above all we ought at least to know that there are three origins of our thoughts, i.e., from God, from the devil, and from ourselves. . . We ought then carefully to notice this threefold order, and with a wise discretion to analyze the thoughts which arise in our hearts, tracking out their origin and cause and author in the first instance, that we may be able to consider how we ought to yield ourselves to them. . .’
‘We should then constantly search all the inner chambers of our hearts, and trace out the footsteps of whatever enters into them with the closest investigation. . .’
‘You see then that the gift of discretion is no earthly thing and no slight matter, but the greatest prize of divine grace. And unless a monk has pursued it with all zeal, and secured a power of discerning with unerring judgment the spirits that rise up in him, he is sure to go wrong, as if in the darkness of night and dense blackness, and not merely to fall down dangerous pits and precipices, but also to make frequent mistakes in matters that are plain and straightforward.’
‘Whatever then can help to guide us to this object; viz., purity of heart, we must follow with all our might, but whatever hinders us from it, we must shun as a dangerous and hurtful thing. For, for this we do and endure all things, for this we make light of our kinsfolk, our country, honours, riches, the delights of this world, and all kinds of pleasures, namely in order that we may retain a lasting purity of heart.’
St. Moses the Black Hermit
O
odhiambo
Guest
The Long hours of quiet and solitude must have something to do with itOne of my favorite saints is St. Moses the Black, one of the great Desert Fathers, a hermit.
St. Benedict is a great example of humility!
Our Lord loves shepherds.
O
odhiambo
Guest
4 April
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Isidore of Seville
Among many other saints.
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Isidore of Seville
Among many other saints.
O
odhiambo
Guest
Saint Isidore of Seville.
Bishop, Doctor of the Church.
Isidore was born in Seville, Spain, about 560 AD. He was born into a family of saints, literally! Two of his brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, and one of his sisters, Florentina, are revered as saints in Spain. It was also a family of leaders and strong minds with Leander and Fulgentius serving as bishops and Florentina as abbess. Their father died when Isidore was still young. He was raised and educated by his older brother; Leander.He received his basic education in the Cathedral school of Seville. It appears that the saint was at first not learning as fast as his brother would have wanted and the latter, in his impatience, most likely out of love for the boy, used force and punishment.
Catholic on line, describes what happened next better than I ever could. Here is the link and the excerpt:
catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=58
“One day, the young boy couldn’t take any more. Frustrated by his inability to learn as fast as his brother would have wanted and hurt by his brother’s treatment, Isidore ran away. But though he could escape his brother’s hand and words, he couldn’t escape his own feeling of failure and rejection. When he finally let the outside world catch his attention, he noticed water dripping on the rock near where he sat. The drops of water that fell repeatedly carried no force and seemed to have no effect on the solid stone. And yet he saw that over time, the water drops had worn holes in the rock.
Isidore realized that if he kept working at his studies, his seemingly small efforts would eventually pay off in great learning. He also may have hoped that his efforts would also wear down the rock of his brother’s heart.
When he returned home, however, his brother in exasperation confined him to a cell (probably in a monastery) to complete his studies, not believing that he wouldn’t run away again”
After this unpleasant incident, the two brothers worked together. Isidore studied hard and was able to master Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
On the death of Leander, Isidore succeeded to the See of Seville about 599. He governed the See for 37 years and very successfully too. It was under him that the Visigoths, who had been ruling Spain for almost 200 years, were finally converted from Arianism to Catholicism. Isidore’s main instrument of change was the use of provincial and national Church councils which were usually attended by king and nobility. In this way, he was able to strengthen Church discipline. Among his synods, the fourth national council at Toledo in 633 was particularly important in that it obliged each Bishop to establish a seminary in his respective diocese and to encourage the study of Greek and Hebrew, law and medicine. It was also at this fourth council that Isidore called for toleration of Jews, uniformity in the liturgy and close cooperation between Church and State.
Isidore founded seminaries and schools, and promoted the study of art, medicine and law as mentioned earlier.
He compiled the Book of Etymologies ( encyclopedia of knowledge, a systemic collection of the knowledge of his time.) the Etymologies, was the most popular textbook for nine centuries for instruction in theology, asceticism, history, geography, astrology, grammar, biography, etc.
Isidore also wrote treatises on theology, astronomy and geography. His “History of the Goths” is considered a major source of knowledge about the Goths. The Saint also completed the Mozarabic liturgy started by his brother Saint Leander.
Saint Isadore is considered the last of the ancient Christian philosophers.
Isadore died on 4 April, 636. He was given posthumous honors by the Eight Council of Toledo in 653.
He was canonized by Pope Clement VIII IN 1598 and declared Doctor of the Church in 1722 by Pope Innocent XIII.
In liturgical art, Saint Isadore is depicted as a Bishop holding a pen. Swarms of bees or hives are sometimes shown with him.
Saint Isidore,
Pray for us!
Ref:1: Catholic on Line
2: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson:
Bishop, Doctor of the Church.
Isidore was born in Seville, Spain, about 560 AD. He was born into a family of saints, literally! Two of his brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, and one of his sisters, Florentina, are revered as saints in Spain. It was also a family of leaders and strong minds with Leander and Fulgentius serving as bishops and Florentina as abbess. Their father died when Isidore was still young. He was raised and educated by his older brother; Leander.He received his basic education in the Cathedral school of Seville. It appears that the saint was at first not learning as fast as his brother would have wanted and the latter, in his impatience, most likely out of love for the boy, used force and punishment.
Catholic on line, describes what happened next better than I ever could. Here is the link and the excerpt:
catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=58
“One day, the young boy couldn’t take any more. Frustrated by his inability to learn as fast as his brother would have wanted and hurt by his brother’s treatment, Isidore ran away. But though he could escape his brother’s hand and words, he couldn’t escape his own feeling of failure and rejection. When he finally let the outside world catch his attention, he noticed water dripping on the rock near where he sat. The drops of water that fell repeatedly carried no force and seemed to have no effect on the solid stone. And yet he saw that over time, the water drops had worn holes in the rock.
Isidore realized that if he kept working at his studies, his seemingly small efforts would eventually pay off in great learning. He also may have hoped that his efforts would also wear down the rock of his brother’s heart.
When he returned home, however, his brother in exasperation confined him to a cell (probably in a monastery) to complete his studies, not believing that he wouldn’t run away again”
After this unpleasant incident, the two brothers worked together. Isidore studied hard and was able to master Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
On the death of Leander, Isidore succeeded to the See of Seville about 599. He governed the See for 37 years and very successfully too. It was under him that the Visigoths, who had been ruling Spain for almost 200 years, were finally converted from Arianism to Catholicism. Isidore’s main instrument of change was the use of provincial and national Church councils which were usually attended by king and nobility. In this way, he was able to strengthen Church discipline. Among his synods, the fourth national council at Toledo in 633 was particularly important in that it obliged each Bishop to establish a seminary in his respective diocese and to encourage the study of Greek and Hebrew, law and medicine. It was also at this fourth council that Isidore called for toleration of Jews, uniformity in the liturgy and close cooperation between Church and State.
Isidore founded seminaries and schools, and promoted the study of art, medicine and law as mentioned earlier.
He compiled the Book of Etymologies ( encyclopedia of knowledge, a systemic collection of the knowledge of his time.) the Etymologies, was the most popular textbook for nine centuries for instruction in theology, asceticism, history, geography, astrology, grammar, biography, etc.
Isidore also wrote treatises on theology, astronomy and geography. His “History of the Goths” is considered a major source of knowledge about the Goths. The Saint also completed the Mozarabic liturgy started by his brother Saint Leander.
Saint Isadore is considered the last of the ancient Christian philosophers.
Isadore died on 4 April, 636. He was given posthumous honors by the Eight Council of Toledo in 653.
He was canonized by Pope Clement VIII IN 1598 and declared Doctor of the Church in 1722 by Pope Innocent XIII.
In liturgical art, Saint Isadore is depicted as a Bishop holding a pen. Swarms of bees or hives are sometimes shown with him.
Saint Isidore,
Pray for us!
Ref:1: Catholic on Line
2: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson:
The_Reginator
Active member
Just a note…
Our parish has been closed as it is undergoing renovations. Part of the renovation is giving us a new altar.
In the process our pastor discovered that the relics contained in the altar (and to be placed into the new altar) are from two saints.
Now we know that St. Urban’s relics are in our altar. I’ve always wondered, and in the past nobody knew. The other saint’s name I haven’t been able to determine from Father’s announcement as the name is odd and unfamiliar to me.
St. Urban, pray for all of us and for Holy Cross Church.
View attachment 10150
Our parish has been closed as it is undergoing renovations. Part of the renovation is giving us a new altar.
In the process our pastor discovered that the relics contained in the altar (and to be placed into the new altar) are from two saints.
Now we know that St. Urban’s relics are in our altar. I’ve always wondered, and in the past nobody knew. The other saint’s name I haven’t been able to determine from Father’s announcement as the name is odd and unfamiliar to me.
St. Urban, pray for all of us and for Holy Cross Church.
View attachment 10150
S
Shin
Guest
It’s good that it is known now.
St. Isidore… I’ve always loved St. Isidore… He was a great gatherer of information, and so, I’ve always felt happy to think of his work being like my own.
I have his books of etymologies.
He truly deserves to be patron saint of the Internet. I don’t know if it’s official, but if it isn’t, by popular acclaim, he is the one, I can’t think of anyone else.
From a slow student to Doctor of the Church. And a family of saints.
From his Etymologies:
“The sky is named caelum because, just as an engraved vase, caelatum vas, it has the lights of the stars impressed on it, as if designs. A vase is called caelatum because it shines with its raised decorations. God adorned and filled the sky with bright lights: the sun, the shining orb of the moon, and the splendid constellations of the glittering stars. . .”
St. Isidore of Seville, Etymologies
‘All vices must first be eradicated by the practice of good works in the active life, so that, the mind’s eye being purified, one may advance to the contemplation of God in the contemplative life.’
St. Isidore of Seville
‘In all your acts, in all your works, in all your behavior, imitate the good; be a competitor of the saints, keep your eye on the heroism of the martyrs, follow the example of the just. It is my wish that the life and teachings of the saints be for you an encouragement to virtue.’
St. Isidore of Seville
‘It is dangerous to live among bad persons; it is harmful to be surrounded by those with perverse wills. You will feed yourself on their infamy if you associate with the undignified. It is better to suffer the hatred of evil persons than their company. Analogously, just as much good comes from the lives of the saints, much evil comes from the lives of bad persons, for those who touch what is filthy become contaminated.’
St. Isidore of Seville
‘Heresy is from the Greek word meaning “choice”. . . But we are not permitted to believe whatever we choose, nor to choose whatever someone else has believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities, who did not. . . choose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the teachings of Christ. So, even if an angel from heaven should preach otherwise, he shall be called anathema.’
St. Isidore of Seville
St. Isidore… I’ve always loved St. Isidore… He was a great gatherer of information, and so, I’ve always felt happy to think of his work being like my own.
I have his books of etymologies.
He truly deserves to be patron saint of the Internet. I don’t know if it’s official, but if it isn’t, by popular acclaim, he is the one, I can’t think of anyone else.
From a slow student to Doctor of the Church. And a family of saints.
From his Etymologies:
“The sky is named caelum because, just as an engraved vase, caelatum vas, it has the lights of the stars impressed on it, as if designs. A vase is called caelatum because it shines with its raised decorations. God adorned and filled the sky with bright lights: the sun, the shining orb of the moon, and the splendid constellations of the glittering stars. . .”
St. Isidore of Seville, Etymologies
‘All vices must first be eradicated by the practice of good works in the active life, so that, the mind’s eye being purified, one may advance to the contemplation of God in the contemplative life.’
St. Isidore of Seville
‘In all your acts, in all your works, in all your behavior, imitate the good; be a competitor of the saints, keep your eye on the heroism of the martyrs, follow the example of the just. It is my wish that the life and teachings of the saints be for you an encouragement to virtue.’
St. Isidore of Seville
‘It is dangerous to live among bad persons; it is harmful to be surrounded by those with perverse wills. You will feed yourself on their infamy if you associate with the undignified. It is better to suffer the hatred of evil persons than their company. Analogously, just as much good comes from the lives of the saints, much evil comes from the lives of bad persons, for those who touch what is filthy become contaminated.’
St. Isidore of Seville
‘Heresy is from the Greek word meaning “choice”. . . But we are not permitted to believe whatever we choose, nor to choose whatever someone else has believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities, who did not. . . choose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the teachings of Christ. So, even if an angel from heaven should preach otherwise, he shall be called anathema.’
St. Isidore of Seville
O
odhiambo
Guest
5 April
Today is the Feast say of
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Among many other Saints
Today is the Feast say of
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Among many other Saints
O
odhiambo
Guest
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Spanish Dominican Preacher.
Vincent was born, and baptized on 23 January 1350 at Valencia, Spain. He was the second son of William Ferrer, an Englishman who had settled in Spain, and his wife, Constantia Miguel. They were both of noble origin and very pious people.
From a very early age, his parents instilled into Vincent an intense devotion to our Lord and His Mother and a great love of the poor. He fasted regularly each Wednesday and Friday on bread and water from early childhood, abstained from meat, and learned to deny himself extravagances in order to provide alms for necessities.
Vincent began his classical studies(most likely studies related to ancient Greeks and Romans) at the age of 8, philosophy at 12, and his theological studies at age 14. And, as everyone expected, he entered the Dominican priory of Valencia and received the habit on February 5, 1367. He was then 18 years old. He was sent to Barcelona to complete his studies.
It is said that for three good years, the Saint read nothing but, the Sacred Scripture, and that he eventually committed it to memory! He obtained his Master of Sacred Theology, then moved on to the University of Lleida, where he earned his doctorate in Theology. He subsequently taught at the Cathedral of Valentia.
Vincent quickly distinguished himself both as a philosopher and a preacher, who was very successful in arousing Christians to repentance. He devoted himself entirely to preaching, which was to be his life’s work.
Then Vincent was summoned to Avignon, France by the antipope Benedict XIII. He became his confessor. He however declined all offices and honors bestowed on him by his patron.
During a French siege of Avignon, Vincent became fell very ill and almost died. It is said that he recovered miraculously after beholding a vision of Christ, Saint Dominic, and Saint Francis of Assisi. In the vision, Vincent was told to go out and preach. The antipope Benedict was, however, reluctant for him to leave Avignon. In 1389, Benedict finally gave his permission and Vincent started on a preaching tour across Western Europe.
He toured Aragon, Castile, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland and Scotland preaching the Gospel of Our Lord. Eloquent and passionate, he attracted huge crowds of believers and he converted many people.
One of Vincent’s finest achievements was his effort to end the Great Western Schism, which had divided the Church since 1378. While he believed that Benedict XIII was the legitimate pontiff, he nevertheless called publicly for him to step down for the good of the Church.
He also spent much time preaching for an end to the Schism. He did not however attend the Council of Constance that brought an end to the Schisms in 1418.
In his last years, he preached in northern France, including a sermon before the royal court at Caenin 1418.
Vincent died on 5 April 1419 at Vannes in Brittany, and was buried in Vannes Cathedral. He was canonized by Pope Calixtus III on 3 June 1455. The Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, a Pontifical religious institute, is named after him.
Saint Vincent
Pray for us!
Ref: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson
Spanish Dominican Preacher.
Vincent was born, and baptized on 23 January 1350 at Valencia, Spain. He was the second son of William Ferrer, an Englishman who had settled in Spain, and his wife, Constantia Miguel. They were both of noble origin and very pious people.
From a very early age, his parents instilled into Vincent an intense devotion to our Lord and His Mother and a great love of the poor. He fasted regularly each Wednesday and Friday on bread and water from early childhood, abstained from meat, and learned to deny himself extravagances in order to provide alms for necessities.
Vincent began his classical studies(most likely studies related to ancient Greeks and Romans) at the age of 8, philosophy at 12, and his theological studies at age 14. And, as everyone expected, he entered the Dominican priory of Valencia and received the habit on February 5, 1367. He was then 18 years old. He was sent to Barcelona to complete his studies.
It is said that for three good years, the Saint read nothing but, the Sacred Scripture, and that he eventually committed it to memory! He obtained his Master of Sacred Theology, then moved on to the University of Lleida, where he earned his doctorate in Theology. He subsequently taught at the Cathedral of Valentia.
Vincent quickly distinguished himself both as a philosopher and a preacher, who was very successful in arousing Christians to repentance. He devoted himself entirely to preaching, which was to be his life’s work.
Then Vincent was summoned to Avignon, France by the antipope Benedict XIII. He became his confessor. He however declined all offices and honors bestowed on him by his patron.
During a French siege of Avignon, Vincent became fell very ill and almost died. It is said that he recovered miraculously after beholding a vision of Christ, Saint Dominic, and Saint Francis of Assisi. In the vision, Vincent was told to go out and preach. The antipope Benedict was, however, reluctant for him to leave Avignon. In 1389, Benedict finally gave his permission and Vincent started on a preaching tour across Western Europe.
He toured Aragon, Castile, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland and Scotland preaching the Gospel of Our Lord. Eloquent and passionate, he attracted huge crowds of believers and he converted many people.
One of Vincent’s finest achievements was his effort to end the Great Western Schism, which had divided the Church since 1378. While he believed that Benedict XIII was the legitimate pontiff, he nevertheless called publicly for him to step down for the good of the Church.
He also spent much time preaching for an end to the Schism. He did not however attend the Council of Constance that brought an end to the Schisms in 1418.
In his last years, he preached in northern France, including a sermon before the royal court at Caenin 1418.
Vincent died on 5 April 1419 at Vannes in Brittany, and was buried in Vannes Cathedral. He was canonized by Pope Calixtus III on 3 June 1455. The Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, a Pontifical religious institute, is named after him.
Saint Vincent
Pray for us!
Ref: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson
S
Shin
Guest
St. Vincent Ferrer was born at Valencia, in Spain on the 23rd of January, 1350. Excitement foreshadowed the child’s birth. His mother, Constance, experienced only joy and painlessness during her expectancy; furthermore, his father had a prophetic dream in which an unknown Dominican preacher appeared to him and told him that he would have a son whose fame would be world-renowned. . .
He made a surprisingly rapid progress in the paths of perfection, taking St. Dominic for his model. To the exercises of prayer and penance, he joined the study and meditation of the Holy Scriptures and the readings of the Fathers. For three years, he read only the scriptures and knew the whole Bible by heart. . .
As a humiliation, God permitted an angel of Satan to molest him with violent temptations of the flesh, and to fill his imagination with filthy ideas. The arms which the saint employed against the devil were prayer, penance, and a perpetual watchfulness over every impulse of his passions. As he grew into manhood it was said that his countenance was beautiful and radiant, which reflected the beauty of a soul filled with the love of God. Even in his old age, this radiance never left him. He was most radiant, however, when he gave a sermon on the Mother of God or the joys of Heaven. He was firmly devoted to the Passion and enjoyed a childlike devotion to Mary, which included a faithful observance of praying the Angelus.
His heart was always fixed on God and he made his studies, labor, and all his actions a continued prayer. The same practice he proposes to all Christians in his book entitled, A Treatise on a Spiritual Life, in which he writes thus: *“Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint.” *
Consider some of the phrases in this marvelous book. * “What is meritorious is not that a man should be poor, but that, being poor, he should love poverty.” “A vain question deserves nothing but silence. So learn to be silent for a time; you will edify your brethren and silence will teach you to speak when the hour is come.” “Regard yourself as more vile and miserable in the sight of God because of your faults than any sinner whatever, no matter what his sins… and consider closely that any grace or inclination to good or desire of virtue you may have, is not of yourself but of the sole mercy of Christ.” “Try to convince yourself that there is no crime-laden sinner but would have served God better than you… if he had received the same graces.” “Once humility is acquired, charity will come to life – a burning flame devouring the corruption of vice and filling the heart so full that there is no place for vanity.” *
Before the end of the year 1392, St. Vincent being forty-two years old, set out from Avignon towards Valencia. He preached in every town with wonderful efficacy; and the people having heard him in one place followed him in crowds to others. Public usurers, blasphemers, debauched women, and other hardened sinners everywhere were induced by his discourses to embrace a life of penance.
He converted a great number of Jews and Mohammedans, heretics and schismatics. He visited every province of Spain in this manner, except Galicia. He went thence into Italy, preaching on the coasts of Genoa, in Lombardy, Piedmont, and Savoy, as he did in part of Germany, about the Upper Rhine and through Flanders.
Numerous wars and the unhappy great schism in the Church had been productive of a multitude of disorders in Christendom; gross ignorance and a shocking corruption of manners prevailed in many places, whereby the teaching of this zealous apostle, who, like another Boanerges, preached in a voice of thunder, became not only useful but even absolutely necessary, to assist the weak and alarm the sinner. The ordinary subjects of his sermons were sin, death, God’s judgments, hell, and eternity. He delivered his discourses with so much energy that he filled the most insensible with terror. A great number of his sermons have come down to us, some in Latin and many in the vernacular. By them one seizes the man and the saint to the life. They are masterpieces of naturalness, intelligence, picturesqueness and, at moments, poetry. In their kind there is nothing better. And they all develop one same theme.
First of all, there is sin as he had known it in the world under its seven root forms, stripped of all its pretenses and of its false promises of delight. After that comes penance, which can drive out sin or at least dull the sharpness of its edge, fortifying us against sin’s assaults and uniting with the Blood of Christ to plead for us before the Throne of God. Finally is the Judgment with its alternative for those who have done evil – Purgatory or Hell. That inevitable judgment, which awaits each one of us in the moment of death, he made concrete and dramatic by building it into one thing with the terrible picture of the universal Judgment, the Last Judgment, when Christ will appear on the clouds of heaven to summon the living and the dead to that damnation or glory.
He showed it in all its splendor, all its horror – in that light which is beatitude or torment, which ravishes the soul or burns it without end. Punishment is certain; punishment is at hand. It is coming towards us relentlessly. Every day we live brings it one day closer. It may be upon us in an hour, in a second. He felt it so and he made sinners tremble with the feeling. He returned to this theme frequently and on great occasions. “Yes,” you will say, “he wanted to frighten them.”
He did indeed want to frighten them because he himself was afraid.
He made a surprisingly rapid progress in the paths of perfection, taking St. Dominic for his model. To the exercises of prayer and penance, he joined the study and meditation of the Holy Scriptures and the readings of the Fathers. For three years, he read only the scriptures and knew the whole Bible by heart. . .
As a humiliation, God permitted an angel of Satan to molest him with violent temptations of the flesh, and to fill his imagination with filthy ideas. The arms which the saint employed against the devil were prayer, penance, and a perpetual watchfulness over every impulse of his passions. As he grew into manhood it was said that his countenance was beautiful and radiant, which reflected the beauty of a soul filled with the love of God. Even in his old age, this radiance never left him. He was most radiant, however, when he gave a sermon on the Mother of God or the joys of Heaven. He was firmly devoted to the Passion and enjoyed a childlike devotion to Mary, which included a faithful observance of praying the Angelus.
His heart was always fixed on God and he made his studies, labor, and all his actions a continued prayer. The same practice he proposes to all Christians in his book entitled, A Treatise on a Spiritual Life, in which he writes thus: *“Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint.” *
Consider some of the phrases in this marvelous book. * “What is meritorious is not that a man should be poor, but that, being poor, he should love poverty.” “A vain question deserves nothing but silence. So learn to be silent for a time; you will edify your brethren and silence will teach you to speak when the hour is come.” “Regard yourself as more vile and miserable in the sight of God because of your faults than any sinner whatever, no matter what his sins… and consider closely that any grace or inclination to good or desire of virtue you may have, is not of yourself but of the sole mercy of Christ.” “Try to convince yourself that there is no crime-laden sinner but would have served God better than you… if he had received the same graces.” “Once humility is acquired, charity will come to life – a burning flame devouring the corruption of vice and filling the heart so full that there is no place for vanity.” *
Before the end of the year 1392, St. Vincent being forty-two years old, set out from Avignon towards Valencia. He preached in every town with wonderful efficacy; and the people having heard him in one place followed him in crowds to others. Public usurers, blasphemers, debauched women, and other hardened sinners everywhere were induced by his discourses to embrace a life of penance.
He converted a great number of Jews and Mohammedans, heretics and schismatics. He visited every province of Spain in this manner, except Galicia. He went thence into Italy, preaching on the coasts of Genoa, in Lombardy, Piedmont, and Savoy, as he did in part of Germany, about the Upper Rhine and through Flanders.
Numerous wars and the unhappy great schism in the Church had been productive of a multitude of disorders in Christendom; gross ignorance and a shocking corruption of manners prevailed in many places, whereby the teaching of this zealous apostle, who, like another Boanerges, preached in a voice of thunder, became not only useful but even absolutely necessary, to assist the weak and alarm the sinner. The ordinary subjects of his sermons were sin, death, God’s judgments, hell, and eternity. He delivered his discourses with so much energy that he filled the most insensible with terror. A great number of his sermons have come down to us, some in Latin and many in the vernacular. By them one seizes the man and the saint to the life. They are masterpieces of naturalness, intelligence, picturesqueness and, at moments, poetry. In their kind there is nothing better. And they all develop one same theme.
First of all, there is sin as he had known it in the world under its seven root forms, stripped of all its pretenses and of its false promises of delight. After that comes penance, which can drive out sin or at least dull the sharpness of its edge, fortifying us against sin’s assaults and uniting with the Blood of Christ to plead for us before the Throne of God. Finally is the Judgment with its alternative for those who have done evil – Purgatory or Hell. That inevitable judgment, which awaits each one of us in the moment of death, he made concrete and dramatic by building it into one thing with the terrible picture of the universal Judgment, the Last Judgment, when Christ will appear on the clouds of heaven to summon the living and the dead to that damnation or glory.
He showed it in all its splendor, all its horror – in that light which is beatitude or torment, which ravishes the soul or burns it without end. Punishment is certain; punishment is at hand. It is coming towards us relentlessly. Every day we live brings it one day closer. It may be upon us in an hour, in a second. He felt it so and he made sinners tremble with the feeling. He returned to this theme frequently and on great occasions. “Yes,” you will say, “he wanted to frighten them.”
He did indeed want to frighten them because he himself was afraid.
S
Shin
Guest
And as his fear for himself grew less, his fear for them grew greater. Not, alas, that he believed himself just. How could he when he still had life before him and might still, therefore, fail? And if he failed that day? What if God held him responsible for the sins of his brethren because he had not succeeded in raising and fortifying them in virtue?
At his sermons he was frequently obliged to stop to give leisure for the sobs and sighs of the congregation. His sermons were not only pathetic, but were also addressed to the understanding and supported with a wonderful strength of reasoning and the authorities of scriptures and fathers, which he perfectly understood and employed as occasion required. His gift of miracles and the sanctity of his penitential life gave to his words the greatest weight.
Amidst these journeys and fatigues, he never ate flesh; fasted every day except Sundays, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he lived on bread and water, which course he held for forty years; He lay on straw or small twigs. He spent a great part of the day in the confessional, with incredible patience, and there finished what he had begun in the pulpit. We have the testimony of John of Plascenia, who was with him for some time, that he read souls like an open book.
. . . He says that the general source of their heresy was ignorance and want of an instructor, and cries out, “I blush and tremble when I consider the terrible judgment impending on ecclesiastical superiors who live at their ease in rich palaces, while so many souls redeemed by the Blood of Christ are perishing. I pray without ceasing the Lord of the harvest that He send good workmen into His harvest.”
The saint was honored with the gift of tongues. Preaching in his own, he was understood by men of different languages, which is affirmed by Lanzano, who says that Greeks, Germans, Sardes, Hungarians, and people of other nations declared they understood every word he spoke, though he preached in Latin or his mother tongue, as spoken at Valencia. There is another marvelous fact which is beyond normal explanation. However far away people might be, everyone heard every syllable. He could make himself heard literally about three miles away, when it was of importance that he should be heard. . .
The Moorish king had heard of him; the multitude of his miracles was startling, and for a good Moslem, upsetting. He could not get Vincent out of his head. Finally he decided he must see the man who worked the miracles. He sent for him. The saint arrived lame from a great sore in the leg and rode on his moth-eaten old donkey through all the splendors of the Alhambra grounds under the fixed stare of the marble lions. The King wanted to hear him preach. That in itself was a revolution. They murmured, they listened, and doubtless they understood though he spoke no Arabic.
*For, after three sermons, eight thousand Moors asked for baptism. *
Some of the nobles, fearing the total subversion of their religion, obliged the king to dismiss him. He then labored in the kingdom of Aragon and again in Catalonia, especially in the diocese of Gironne and Vich; in a borough of the latter, he renewed the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, related at length in his life. At Barcelona, in 1409, he foretold to Martin, King of Aragon, the death of his son, Martin, the King of Sicily, who was snatched away in the middle of his triumphs in the month of July. Vincent comforted the afflicted father and persuaded him to a second marriage to secure the public peace by an heir to his crown.
He cured innumerable sick everywhere and, at Valencia, made a dumb woman speak but told her she should ever remain dumb and that this was for the good of her soul, charging her always to praise and thank God in spirit, to which instructions she promised obedience.
He converted the Jews in great numbers in the diocese of Valencia, in the kingdom of Leon, as Mariana relates. It is difficult to arrive at a figure.
The most cautious of his historians give twenty-five thousand converts among the Jews and eight thousand among the Moors.
“You know,” Vincent announced from the pulpit, “that we have good news. All the Jews and many of the Moors of Valladolid are converted.” There was similar news from Toledo, Huesca, Saragossa… This was after the Congress of Tortosa for the conversion of Israel, suggested to Benedict by a former rabbi, Josua Holuorqui, who had become Friar Jerome of the Holy Faith. It met in 1414 and was the occasion of interminable arguments – sixty-seven sessions – between rabbis and religious.
At his sermons he was frequently obliged to stop to give leisure for the sobs and sighs of the congregation. His sermons were not only pathetic, but were also addressed to the understanding and supported with a wonderful strength of reasoning and the authorities of scriptures and fathers, which he perfectly understood and employed as occasion required. His gift of miracles and the sanctity of his penitential life gave to his words the greatest weight.
Amidst these journeys and fatigues, he never ate flesh; fasted every day except Sundays, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he lived on bread and water, which course he held for forty years; He lay on straw or small twigs. He spent a great part of the day in the confessional, with incredible patience, and there finished what he had begun in the pulpit. We have the testimony of John of Plascenia, who was with him for some time, that he read souls like an open book.
. . . He says that the general source of their heresy was ignorance and want of an instructor, and cries out, “I blush and tremble when I consider the terrible judgment impending on ecclesiastical superiors who live at their ease in rich palaces, while so many souls redeemed by the Blood of Christ are perishing. I pray without ceasing the Lord of the harvest that He send good workmen into His harvest.”
The saint was honored with the gift of tongues. Preaching in his own, he was understood by men of different languages, which is affirmed by Lanzano, who says that Greeks, Germans, Sardes, Hungarians, and people of other nations declared they understood every word he spoke, though he preached in Latin or his mother tongue, as spoken at Valencia. There is another marvelous fact which is beyond normal explanation. However far away people might be, everyone heard every syllable. He could make himself heard literally about three miles away, when it was of importance that he should be heard. . .
The Moorish king had heard of him; the multitude of his miracles was startling, and for a good Moslem, upsetting. He could not get Vincent out of his head. Finally he decided he must see the man who worked the miracles. He sent for him. The saint arrived lame from a great sore in the leg and rode on his moth-eaten old donkey through all the splendors of the Alhambra grounds under the fixed stare of the marble lions. The King wanted to hear him preach. That in itself was a revolution. They murmured, they listened, and doubtless they understood though he spoke no Arabic.
*For, after three sermons, eight thousand Moors asked for baptism. *
Some of the nobles, fearing the total subversion of their religion, obliged the king to dismiss him. He then labored in the kingdom of Aragon and again in Catalonia, especially in the diocese of Gironne and Vich; in a borough of the latter, he renewed the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, related at length in his life. At Barcelona, in 1409, he foretold to Martin, King of Aragon, the death of his son, Martin, the King of Sicily, who was snatched away in the middle of his triumphs in the month of July. Vincent comforted the afflicted father and persuaded him to a second marriage to secure the public peace by an heir to his crown.
He cured innumerable sick everywhere and, at Valencia, made a dumb woman speak but told her she should ever remain dumb and that this was for the good of her soul, charging her always to praise and thank God in spirit, to which instructions she promised obedience.
He converted the Jews in great numbers in the diocese of Valencia, in the kingdom of Leon, as Mariana relates. It is difficult to arrive at a figure.
The most cautious of his historians give twenty-five thousand converts among the Jews and eight thousand among the Moors.
“You know,” Vincent announced from the pulpit, “that we have good news. All the Jews and many of the Moors of Valladolid are converted.” There was similar news from Toledo, Huesca, Saragossa… This was after the Congress of Tortosa for the conversion of Israel, suggested to Benedict by a former rabbi, Josua Holuorqui, who had become Friar Jerome of the Holy Faith. It met in 1414 and was the occasion of interminable arguments – sixty-seven sessions – between rabbis and religious.
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Vincent, who took part in the Congress, collaborated in a Treatise on the Jews which served as a base for his further labors among them; in it all the proofs of the Dogma of the Incarnation were magisterially set forth. The Pope presided. The populace were massed on the river bank; Master Vincent had taken up his stand to preach on the roof of a house surrounded by trees on the far side of the Ebro. One day he stopped suddenly in his sermon. The people were startled. “Do not be shocked by this interval,” he said, “I must wait upon grace.” As the crowd began to laugh, a party of Jews were seen approaching: Grace had conquered them. Of sixteen rabbis, fourteen were converted. How he loved these new children of his; he loved to remind Christians who too readily forgot the fact that Jesus and Mary were of the Jewish race.
The full story continues here.
Wherein was the great success of this humble, friar-preacher? First, he was a living image of the Crucified. He was gentle and patient and never murmured a word of complaint. He loved poverty and his purity consisted in excluding all thoughts that did not tend towards God. He preserved this awesome purity by obedience. As great as he was, he excelled more than anyone in submitting to his superiors. Second, he was an imitator of his spiritual father, Saint Dominic. It was said of Saint Dominic that he was “a light of the word, a dazzling reflection of Jesus Christ, a rose of patience, another precursor and a master in the science of souls.” Vincent was a worthy disciple who would himself protest that he was only imitating his holy founder. God is glorified in His saints!
The full story continues here.
Wherein was the great success of this humble, friar-preacher? First, he was a living image of the Crucified. He was gentle and patient and never murmured a word of complaint. He loved poverty and his purity consisted in excluding all thoughts that did not tend towards God. He preserved this awesome purity by obedience. As great as he was, he excelled more than anyone in submitting to his superiors. Second, he was an imitator of his spiritual father, Saint Dominic. It was said of Saint Dominic that he was “a light of the word, a dazzling reflection of Jesus Christ, a rose of patience, another precursor and a master in the science of souls.” Vincent was a worthy disciple who would himself protest that he was only imitating his holy founder. God is glorified in His saints!
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