O
odhiambo
Guest
So it does.No, don’t know a thing.
Hmm, the link calls him a saint but says ‘pending’ in regards to the canonization.
Looks like " I have eyes but do not see"
- Status
Looks like " I have eyes but do not see"
S
Shin
Guest
Oooh, odhiambo, you don’t know what you’re saying when you tell me that tonight after what I’ve been through…
:hypno:
It’s been all night long trying to spot and correct typos!
:hypno:
It’s been all night long trying to spot and correct typos!
O
odhiambo
Guest
I noticed you on line around 10 am East African Time, possibly 3-4 am your time.Oooh, odhiambo, you don’t know what you’re saying when you tell me that tonight after what I’ve been through…
:hypno:
It’s been all night long trying to spot and correct typos!
You are building up treasures in Heaven. That should mean everything, as I am sure it does.
O
odhiambo
Guest
19 April
Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna
Among many other Saints and Blesseds
Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna
Among many other Saints and Blesseds
O
odhiambo
Guest
Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna.
We do not know when Luchesio Modestini was born. We are told, however that he was a merchant in the town of Poggibonzi in Tuscany. He and his wife were both materialistic minded; regarding material success above all else.
One day, through an encounter with Saint Francis of Assisi, probably in the year 1213, Luchesio’s life changed for ever. He turned from his avaricious ways and began to perform works of charity instead.
At first Buonadonna was not happy about giving so much away. One day after complaining that he was giving everything to strangers, Buonadonna answered the door. It was another needy stranger. Luchesio asked her to give the poor man some bread. She frowned but went to the pantry to get the bread. There she discovered more bread than had been there the last time she looked.This miracle converted her completely. She became as zealous for the poor and simple life as her husband was. They sold the business, farmed enough land to provide for their needs and distributed the rest to the poor.
Then Saint Francis came to Poggibonzi at this time and visited with Luchesio. He was happy to find the latter was now a man of God instead of the avaricious man he had met earlier.
Luchesio asked for advice from Francis. They wanted a way of sharing in religious life, but outside the cloister. As it happaned, Saint Francis already had such a plan. He explained to them his plans for the establishment of an Order for lay people; and Luchesio and Buonadonna asked to be received into it at once.They were the first members of the Order of Penance, which later came to be called the Third Order, and yet again,the Secular Franciscan Order.
The charity of Luchesio drew the poor to him, and, like many other saints, he and Buonadonna seemed never to lack the resources to help these people.
One day Luchesio was carrying a crippled man he had found on the road. A frivolous young man came up and asked, “What poor devil is that you are carrying there on your back?” “I am carrying my Lord Jesus Christ,” responded Luchesio. The young man immediately begged Luchesio’s pardon.
Luchesio and Buonadonna both died on April 28, 1260. It seems that this is how their deaths occurred at the same time:
“When he lay very ill, and there was no hope for his recovery, his wife said to him, “Implore God, who gave us to each other as companions in life, to permit us also to die together.” Luchesio prayed as requested. and Buonadonna fell ill with a fever, from which she died even before her husband, after devoutly receiving the holy sacraments. Luchesio died on April 28, 1260. At his grave in the Franciscan church at Poggibonzi it is claimed that many miracles have occurred. His continuous veneration as Blessed was approved by Pope Pius VI.
Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna,
Pray for us!
We do not know when Luchesio Modestini was born. We are told, however that he was a merchant in the town of Poggibonzi in Tuscany. He and his wife were both materialistic minded; regarding material success above all else.
One day, through an encounter with Saint Francis of Assisi, probably in the year 1213, Luchesio’s life changed for ever. He turned from his avaricious ways and began to perform works of charity instead.
At first Buonadonna was not happy about giving so much away. One day after complaining that he was giving everything to strangers, Buonadonna answered the door. It was another needy stranger. Luchesio asked her to give the poor man some bread. She frowned but went to the pantry to get the bread. There she discovered more bread than had been there the last time she looked.This miracle converted her completely. She became as zealous for the poor and simple life as her husband was. They sold the business, farmed enough land to provide for their needs and distributed the rest to the poor.
Then Saint Francis came to Poggibonzi at this time and visited with Luchesio. He was happy to find the latter was now a man of God instead of the avaricious man he had met earlier.
Luchesio asked for advice from Francis. They wanted a way of sharing in religious life, but outside the cloister. As it happaned, Saint Francis already had such a plan. He explained to them his plans for the establishment of an Order for lay people; and Luchesio and Buonadonna asked to be received into it at once.They were the first members of the Order of Penance, which later came to be called the Third Order, and yet again,the Secular Franciscan Order.
The charity of Luchesio drew the poor to him, and, like many other saints, he and Buonadonna seemed never to lack the resources to help these people.
One day Luchesio was carrying a crippled man he had found on the road. A frivolous young man came up and asked, “What poor devil is that you are carrying there on your back?” “I am carrying my Lord Jesus Christ,” responded Luchesio. The young man immediately begged Luchesio’s pardon.
Luchesio and Buonadonna both died on April 28, 1260. It seems that this is how their deaths occurred at the same time:
“When he lay very ill, and there was no hope for his recovery, his wife said to him, “Implore God, who gave us to each other as companions in life, to permit us also to die together.” Luchesio prayed as requested. and Buonadonna fell ill with a fever, from which she died even before her husband, after devoutly receiving the holy sacraments. Luchesio died on April 28, 1260. At his grave in the Franciscan church at Poggibonzi it is claimed that many miracles have occurred. His continuous veneration as Blessed was approved by Pope Pius VI.
Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
20 April
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Conrad of Parzham
Among many other saints.
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Conrad of Parzham
Among many other saints.
O
odhiambo
Guest
Saint Conrad of Parzham.
Conrad was born on 22 December 1818 at Parzham, Bavaria, Germany. His given name was Johann Birndorfer.
He was the youngest in a family of nine children. His parents were Bartholomaus Birndorfer and Gertrude Niedermayer. They were farmers and John was born in the family farm at Parzham. John’s mother died when he was 14 years old. From his earliest years, the young John showed signs of piety. He was a modest child who loved solitude and prayer.
John spent his early years on the family farm. As the youngest son, he was supposed to inherit the farm. This was a common custom of the area; the youngest son carried on the work of the father and received the farm. This , however was not to be. . At age 30, John left his family home and inheritance and entered the Capuchin Order as a lay brother. Upon entering the novitiate, he took the name of Conrad.
Immediately after his profession he was assigned to the friary of St. Ann in the city of Altötting. This place is known for its shrine to the Mother of Mercy,the shrine of Our Lady of Altotting. Conrad was given the position of porter at this shrine, and retained it until his death.
For more than 40 years Conrad , the porter, admitted people to the friary, obtained supplies, dispened alms, encouraged others to open themselves to God, and generally assisting the thousands who came to the friary on pilgrimages. He worked with local children, teaching them the faith and practices, and supported charities for them. He was noted for the gifts of prophesy and of reading people’s hearts.
Conrad loved silence.His spare moments during the day were spent in a special spot near the door where he could see and adore the Blessed Sacrament. At night he devoted several hours to prayers. He is said to have written thus to a friend once:
“My life is to love God, suffer, and marvel in ecstasies and prayers about the love God has for us, poor creatures. His love never ends. There is nothing in my occupations that separates me from this union with God. My book is the Cross. It suffices for me to look at it to know what I should do.”
Three days before his death, he resigned his office of porter. He celebrated Mass, and took to his sick bed. Local children whom he had taught the rosary recited it outside his window until the end. He died on 21 April 1894 in the shrine where he had worked for forty-one years.His death was from natural causes.
He was:
Beatified
15 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized
20 May 1934 by Pope Pius XI
Conrad was born on 22 December 1818 at Parzham, Bavaria, Germany. His given name was Johann Birndorfer.
He was the youngest in a family of nine children. His parents were Bartholomaus Birndorfer and Gertrude Niedermayer. They were farmers and John was born in the family farm at Parzham. John’s mother died when he was 14 years old. From his earliest years, the young John showed signs of piety. He was a modest child who loved solitude and prayer.
John spent his early years on the family farm. As the youngest son, he was supposed to inherit the farm. This was a common custom of the area; the youngest son carried on the work of the father and received the farm. This , however was not to be. . At age 30, John left his family home and inheritance and entered the Capuchin Order as a lay brother. Upon entering the novitiate, he took the name of Conrad.
Immediately after his profession he was assigned to the friary of St. Ann in the city of Altötting. This place is known for its shrine to the Mother of Mercy,the shrine of Our Lady of Altotting. Conrad was given the position of porter at this shrine, and retained it until his death.
For more than 40 years Conrad , the porter, admitted people to the friary, obtained supplies, dispened alms, encouraged others to open themselves to God, and generally assisting the thousands who came to the friary on pilgrimages. He worked with local children, teaching them the faith and practices, and supported charities for them. He was noted for the gifts of prophesy and of reading people’s hearts.
Conrad loved silence.His spare moments during the day were spent in a special spot near the door where he could see and adore the Blessed Sacrament. At night he devoted several hours to prayers. He is said to have written thus to a friend once:
“My life is to love God, suffer, and marvel in ecstasies and prayers about the love God has for us, poor creatures. His love never ends. There is nothing in my occupations that separates me from this union with God. My book is the Cross. It suffices for me to look at it to know what I should do.”
Three days before his death, he resigned his office of porter. He celebrated Mass, and took to his sick bed. Local children whom he had taught the rosary recited it outside his window until the end. He died on 21 April 1894 in the shrine where he had worked for forty-one years.His death was from natural causes.
He was:
Beatified
15 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized
20 May 1934 by Pope Pius XI
O
odhiambo
Guest
Quote:
“It was God’s will that I should leave everything that was near and dear to me. I thank him for having called me to religious life where I have found such peace and joy as I could never have found in the world. My plan of life is chiefly this: to love and suffer, always meditating upon, adoring and admiring God’s unspeakable love for his lowliest creatures”
Letter of Saint Conrad
“It was God’s will that I should leave everything that was near and dear to me. I thank him for having called me to religious life where I have found such peace and joy as I could never have found in the world. My plan of life is chiefly this: to love and suffer, always meditating upon, adoring and admiring God’s unspeakable love for his lowliest creatures”
Letter of Saint Conrad
O
odhiambo
Guest
The_Reginator
Active member
Tuesday in Holy Week is not a saint day or a feast day, yet I feel that the Scripture from the Office of the Readings is appropriate here.**
“Since we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses …”** – the saints and angels surrounding us.
[Why is it so easy for me to ignore or forget about that? The last I checked, God also sees all I do and knows everything I think and say.]
First reading
From the letter to the Hebrews
12:1-13
Let us go forth to the struggle with Christ as our leader
Since we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead; let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith. For the sake of the joy which lay before him he endured the cross, heedless of its shame. He has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Remember how he endured the opposition of sinners; hence do not grow despondent or abandon the struggle. In your fight against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Moreover, you have forgotten the encouraging words addressed to you as sons:
“My sons, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
nor lose heart when he reproves you;
For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he receives.”
Endure your trials as the discipline of God, who deals with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you do not know the discipline of sons, you are not sons but bastards.
If we respected our earthly fathers who corrected us, should we not all the more submit to the Father of spirits, and live? They disciplined us as seemed right to them, to prepare us for the short span of mortal life; but God does so for our true profit, that we may share his holiness.
At the time it is administered, all discipline seems a cause for grief and not for joy, but later it brings forth the fruit of peace and justice to those who are trained in its school. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight the paths you walk on, that your halting limbs may not be dislocated but healed.
“Since we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses …”** – the saints and angels surrounding us.
[Why is it so easy for me to ignore or forget about that? The last I checked, God also sees all I do and knows everything I think and say.]
First reading
From the letter to the Hebrews
12:1-13
Let us go forth to the struggle with Christ as our leader
Since we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead; let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith. For the sake of the joy which lay before him he endured the cross, heedless of its shame. He has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Remember how he endured the opposition of sinners; hence do not grow despondent or abandon the struggle. In your fight against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Moreover, you have forgotten the encouraging words addressed to you as sons:
“My sons, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
nor lose heart when he reproves you;
For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he receives.”
Endure your trials as the discipline of God, who deals with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you do not know the discipline of sons, you are not sons but bastards.
If we respected our earthly fathers who corrected us, should we not all the more submit to the Father of spirits, and live? They disciplined us as seemed right to them, to prepare us for the short span of mortal life; but God does so for our true profit, that we may share his holiness.
At the time it is administered, all discipline seems a cause for grief and not for joy, but later it brings forth the fruit of peace and justice to those who are trained in its school. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight the paths you walk on, that your halting limbs may not be dislocated but healed.
S
Shin
Guest
The 19th of April is also Pope St. Leo IX’s day. …
He was the son of Count Hugh of Egisheim, and a cousin of Emperor Conrad II.
His mother had a vision of a man in a religious habit, foretelling that her son would be great before God, and giving him the name he bore, ‘Bruno’.
Whilst still a youth and at home for his holidays, he was attacked when asleep by some animal, and so much injured that for some time he lay between life and death. In that condition he saw, as he used afterwards to tell his friends, a vision of St. Benedict, who cured him by touching his wounds with a cross.
Before he became Pope he was a soldier and officer in the imperial army.
His given name was common, ‘Bruno’, but he was known to distinguish him from the others as ‘the good Bruno’.
In the year of Our Lord 1021, while still in the military, he was chosen bishop of Toul, France, a position he held for 20 years. Indeed the people begged for him to be their bishop, and he having served there as canon was in line for this office. The see was seen as an insignificant post for one of his talents and lineage, but he persuaded the Emperor to allow him to hold it, happy for its obscurity, though his friends all sorrowed for the loss of his company.
He commanded troops under emperor Conrad II in the invasion of Italy in 1026.
Very disciplined himself, he brought order to the monasteries in his diocese, discipline to the clergy, and the Cluniac reform to many of his houses.
In 1049, after he was chosen 151st Pope he brought his zeal for discipline and reform to the entire Church.
He brought Hildebrand, later Pope Saint Gregory VII, to Rome with him as his spiritual advisor.
He reformed houses and parishes, fought simony, enforced clerical celibacy, and encouraged the use of chant.
He fought to prevent the coming Great Schism between the Eastern and Western churches.
He received the nickname of Pilgrim Pope due to his travels through Europe, enforcing his reforms, insisting that his bishops, clergy, and councils follow suit.
He held synods at Pavia, Rheims, Mainz and Vercelli where he condemned the heresies of Berengarius of Tours, which primarily concerned the Eucharist.
In what was intended to be a joint military expedition with Emperor Henry III, to relieve southern Italy from Norman oppression, he personally led an army to throw them out. However, the Emperor withdrew, and the Pope’s army was defeated in the field and he was, with protestations of great respect from the Normans, nevertheless captured.
He spent months in imprisonment at Benevento. There he spent his time well, learning Greek to better understand the writings of the Eastern Church, but his health suffered badly.
He died shortly after his release.
. . .
'Seeing with what solicitude with which I must watch over all the churches, how the undisciplined and hostile nation of the Normans rose against the churches of God with unheard of fury and with an ungodliness worse than that of the pagans, how they slaughtered Christians everywhere and afflicted some of them with new and horrible tortures even unto death, how without any human feeling they spared neither child nor old man nor did they spare the weakness of woman; how they made no distinction between sacred and profane, how they plundered and burned the basilicas of the saints and tore them to the ground, I very often rebuked their perversity, reminding, beseeching, preaching, urging in season and out of season, and I threatened them with the terror of divine punishment.
But as the wise man says, “No one can make straight what God has made crooked” and “The fool is not corrected by words,” their malice has become so hardened and obstinate that with every day it has added bad deeds to worse.
Consequently, choosing not only to use the property of others but also to exhaust my own resources in liberating Christ’s sheep, I considered it necessary to raise a defensive force from whereever men could be recruited. . .’
Pope St. Leo IX
'Bishop Leo, servant of the servants of God, to the hermit Peter beloved son of Christ, the joy of eternal beatitude. . .
'The book which you have published, my son, against the fourfold pollution of carnal contagion, frank in style and even more direct in reasoning, provides indisputable evidence of the intention of your mind to enter the holy fray on the side of the splendid might of shining modesty.
You have smitten wantonness of the flesh by thus striking with the arm of the spirit against obscene desire, clearly delineating the execrable vice by the authority of virtue, which, since it is itself immaculate, allows no uncleanness.’
Pope St. Leo IX, in a reply to St. Peter Damien, praising his book ‘Gomorrah’, against unnatural vice.
He was the son of Count Hugh of Egisheim, and a cousin of Emperor Conrad II.
His mother had a vision of a man in a religious habit, foretelling that her son would be great before God, and giving him the name he bore, ‘Bruno’.
Whilst still a youth and at home for his holidays, he was attacked when asleep by some animal, and so much injured that for some time he lay between life and death. In that condition he saw, as he used afterwards to tell his friends, a vision of St. Benedict, who cured him by touching his wounds with a cross.
Before he became Pope he was a soldier and officer in the imperial army.
His given name was common, ‘Bruno’, but he was known to distinguish him from the others as ‘the good Bruno’.
In the year of Our Lord 1021, while still in the military, he was chosen bishop of Toul, France, a position he held for 20 years. Indeed the people begged for him to be their bishop, and he having served there as canon was in line for this office. The see was seen as an insignificant post for one of his talents and lineage, but he persuaded the Emperor to allow him to hold it, happy for its obscurity, though his friends all sorrowed for the loss of his company.
He commanded troops under emperor Conrad II in the invasion of Italy in 1026.
Very disciplined himself, he brought order to the monasteries in his diocese, discipline to the clergy, and the Cluniac reform to many of his houses.
In 1049, after he was chosen 151st Pope he brought his zeal for discipline and reform to the entire Church.
He brought Hildebrand, later Pope Saint Gregory VII, to Rome with him as his spiritual advisor.
He reformed houses and parishes, fought simony, enforced clerical celibacy, and encouraged the use of chant.
He fought to prevent the coming Great Schism between the Eastern and Western churches.
He received the nickname of Pilgrim Pope due to his travels through Europe, enforcing his reforms, insisting that his bishops, clergy, and councils follow suit.
He held synods at Pavia, Rheims, Mainz and Vercelli where he condemned the heresies of Berengarius of Tours, which primarily concerned the Eucharist.
In what was intended to be a joint military expedition with Emperor Henry III, to relieve southern Italy from Norman oppression, he personally led an army to throw them out. However, the Emperor withdrew, and the Pope’s army was defeated in the field and he was, with protestations of great respect from the Normans, nevertheless captured.
He spent months in imprisonment at Benevento. There he spent his time well, learning Greek to better understand the writings of the Eastern Church, but his health suffered badly.
He died shortly after his release.
. . .
'Seeing with what solicitude with which I must watch over all the churches, how the undisciplined and hostile nation of the Normans rose against the churches of God with unheard of fury and with an ungodliness worse than that of the pagans, how they slaughtered Christians everywhere and afflicted some of them with new and horrible tortures even unto death, how without any human feeling they spared neither child nor old man nor did they spare the weakness of woman; how they made no distinction between sacred and profane, how they plundered and burned the basilicas of the saints and tore them to the ground, I very often rebuked their perversity, reminding, beseeching, preaching, urging in season and out of season, and I threatened them with the terror of divine punishment.
But as the wise man says, “No one can make straight what God has made crooked” and “The fool is not corrected by words,” their malice has become so hardened and obstinate that with every day it has added bad deeds to worse.
Consequently, choosing not only to use the property of others but also to exhaust my own resources in liberating Christ’s sheep, I considered it necessary to raise a defensive force from whereever men could be recruited. . .’
Pope St. Leo IX
'Bishop Leo, servant of the servants of God, to the hermit Peter beloved son of Christ, the joy of eternal beatitude. . .
'The book which you have published, my son, against the fourfold pollution of carnal contagion, frank in style and even more direct in reasoning, provides indisputable evidence of the intention of your mind to enter the holy fray on the side of the splendid might of shining modesty.
You have smitten wantonness of the flesh by thus striking with the arm of the spirit against obscene desire, clearly delineating the execrable vice by the authority of virtue, which, since it is itself immaculate, allows no uncleanness.’
Pope St. Leo IX, in a reply to St. Peter Damien, praising his book ‘Gomorrah’, against unnatural vice.
S
Shin
Guest
It’s truly wonderful to think of a Pilgrim Pope traveling the world, bringing discipline and strong reform wherever he visited, correcting abuses, bringing the Gregorian Chant. . .
O
odhiambo
Guest
Hi All
It is Holy Week and our attention at this time of the year is focused on the Lord and His coming Passion and Resurrection.
I feel it is appropriate to temporarily halt the daily postings of Saint of the day until after Easter. Anyone else feels the same way?
Any contrary opinion and why, is welcomed.
I am just looking to be advised on the best way forward.
We have seen already that we do honor God in his saints. If there is majority opinion that we continue, the saints are waiting
It is Holy Week and our attention at this time of the year is focused on the Lord and His coming Passion and Resurrection.
I feel it is appropriate to temporarily halt the daily postings of Saint of the day until after Easter. Anyone else feels the same way?
Any contrary opinion and why, is welcomed.
I am just looking to be advised on the best way forward.
We have seen already that we do honor God in his saints. If there is majority opinion that we continue, the saints are waiting
K
kelvinf
Guest
:yup:Hi All
It is Holy Week and our attention at this time of the year is focused on the Lord and His coming Passion and Resurrection.
I feel it is appropriate to temporarily halt the daily postings of Saint of the day until after Easter. Anyone else feels the same way?
Any contrary opinion and why, is welcomed.
I am just looking to be advised on the best way forward.
We have seen already that we do honor God in his saints. If there is majority opinion that we continue, the saints are waiting
S
Shin
Guest
It’s up to you odhiambo.Hi All
It is Holy Week and our attention at this time of the year is focused on the Lord and His coming Passion and Resurrection.
I feel it is appropriate to temporarily halt the daily postings of Saint of the day until after Easter. Anyone else feels the same way?
Any contrary opinion and why, is welcomed.
I am just looking to be advised on the best way forward.
We have seen already that we do honor God in his saints. If there is majority opinion that we continue, the saints are waiting
O
odhiambo
Guest
April 21, 2011
Today is Holy Thursday
Today is Holy Thursday
O
odhiambo
Guest
April 21, 2011
Today is Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday.
Also known as
Maundy Thursday
In the Catholic Church, Holy Thursday is the day that we celebrate the Last Supper. The day that Jesus and His disciples ate the feast of the passover. It was the last meal Jesus ate before He was Crucified . It was eaten in the upstairs room of a house in Jerusalem, believed to have been owned by John Mark and his mother, Mary (Acts 12:12).
The term “ Maundy” never made any sense to me till I learnt that it comes from the Latin word “mandatum,” meaning "command.” This stems from Christ’s words in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you.”
I am aware that there are other explanations to the origin of the term. The reader is welcome to comment.
During this last meal, Christ instituted the Mass and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Holy Orders, the sacrament of Apostolic ministry also began with the Last Supper. The Apostles were there; they have been eye witnesses throughout His three year Ministry. Later He will commission them to “…go out and make disciples of all nations….”
This day marks the final part of Holy Week and is the first day of the Triduum, the three days before Easter , during which we commemorate Christ’s Passion.
Something else of significance took place at the Last Supper.
Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. This was a profound act of love described only by Saint John, the disciple whom Jesus loved
We know that the disciples at times concerned themselves with the question of “ status”; who is greater than the other, etc.
We learn that in the course of this memorable Last Supper, Jesus “rose from the table, took off his outer garment and tied a towel round his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel round his waist”
New International Version(13:.4,5).
This was an act expected only of servant slaves and reserved only for them.
The custom then was that when guests arrived, their feet was washed by a slave, not just any slave, but Gentile slaves as Jewish slaves were exempted from foot washing, a task regarded as particularly menial. But Jesus did it. He did it anyway.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35 New International Version (NIV)
This explained to the Apostles and to us, the significance of his action of washing their feet.
We are to love one another and to serve others.
Have a prayerful Maundy Thursday.
Today is Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday.
Also known as
Maundy Thursday
In the Catholic Church, Holy Thursday is the day that we celebrate the Last Supper. The day that Jesus and His disciples ate the feast of the passover. It was the last meal Jesus ate before He was Crucified . It was eaten in the upstairs room of a house in Jerusalem, believed to have been owned by John Mark and his mother, Mary (Acts 12:12).
The term “ Maundy” never made any sense to me till I learnt that it comes from the Latin word “mandatum,” meaning "command.” This stems from Christ’s words in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you.”
I am aware that there are other explanations to the origin of the term. The reader is welcome to comment.
During this last meal, Christ instituted the Mass and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Holy Orders, the sacrament of Apostolic ministry also began with the Last Supper. The Apostles were there; they have been eye witnesses throughout His three year Ministry. Later He will commission them to “…go out and make disciples of all nations….”
This day marks the final part of Holy Week and is the first day of the Triduum, the three days before Easter , during which we commemorate Christ’s Passion.
Something else of significance took place at the Last Supper.
Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. This was a profound act of love described only by Saint John, the disciple whom Jesus loved
We know that the disciples at times concerned themselves with the question of “ status”; who is greater than the other, etc.
We learn that in the course of this memorable Last Supper, Jesus “rose from the table, took off his outer garment and tied a towel round his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel round his waist”
New International Version(13:.4,5).
This was an act expected only of servant slaves and reserved only for them.
The custom then was that when guests arrived, their feet was washed by a slave, not just any slave, but Gentile slaves as Jewish slaves were exempted from foot washing, a task regarded as particularly menial. But Jesus did it. He did it anyway.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35 New International Version (NIV)
This explained to the Apostles and to us, the significance of his action of washing their feet.
We are to love one another and to serve others.
Have a prayerful Maundy Thursday.
O
odhiambo
Guest
21 April
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Anselm (Anselm of Canterbury)
Among many other saints
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Anselm (Anselm of Canterbury)
Among many other saints
O
odhiambo
Guest
This is a very long article so will be posted in two parts.
The account is from “Our Sunday Visitor’s encyclopedia of saints
By Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, Stephen Bunson”
Welcome.
Saint Anselm of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury,
Doctor of the Church
Saint Anselm was born in1033 at Aosta, in Lombardy, Italy. He was born in a wealthy and noble family. Anselm’s father was Gundulf de Candia. He was by birth a Lombard of the House of Candia. It seems that Mr. Gundulf was a very harsh man and treated his son harshly. His mother, Ermenberga of Geneva, on the other hand was a gentle soul, and was regarded as a prudent and virtuous woman.
At the age of fifteen, Anselm wanted to enter a monastery but his father refused to give his consent. Very disappointed and possibly reacting, as teenagers are wont to, he gave up his studies and lived a carefree life. During this period, his mother died and his father’s harshness became unbearable. He resolved to leave home. This he did when he turned twenty-three. He left home, accompanied by a servant, crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France. After passing nearly three years in Burgundy and France, he came to Normandy and spent some time at Avranches before entering the then renown Benedictine Abbey of Bec as a novice. The then prior of the Abbey was his own countryman named Lanfranc. The year was 1059 and Anselm was twenty-seven years old. As a Benedictine novice, Anselm submitted himself to the Rule of Saint Benedict, said to have shaped his life over the following decade.
In 1063, Lanfranc was made abbot of Caen and Anselm was elected prior of the abbey of Bec. He held this office for fifteen years before he became abbot at the death of Herluin, the abbey’s founder, in 1078.
Under Anselm’s jurisdiction, Bec became the foremost seat of learning in Europe, attracting students from Italy and elsewhere. It was during his time at Bec that Anselm wrote his first works of philosophy, the Monologion (1076) and the Proslogion (1077–8). These were followed by The Dialogues on Truth, Free Will and Fall of the Devil.
Anselm occasionally visited England , as part of his duties, to see the abbey’s property there, as well as to visit Lanfranc, who, in 1070, had been installed as Archbishop of Canterbury. He made a good impression while there as his kindness won him many English followers. When Lanfranc died in 1089, he was the natural successor as Archbishop.
Upon Lanfranc’s death, however, William II of England seized the possessions and revenues of the see, and made no new appointment. He kept the Church in England in a state of anarchy…
The account is from “Our Sunday Visitor’s encyclopedia of saints
By Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, Stephen Bunson”
Welcome.
Saint Anselm of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury,
Doctor of the Church
Saint Anselm was born in1033 at Aosta, in Lombardy, Italy. He was born in a wealthy and noble family. Anselm’s father was Gundulf de Candia. He was by birth a Lombard of the House of Candia. It seems that Mr. Gundulf was a very harsh man and treated his son harshly. His mother, Ermenberga of Geneva, on the other hand was a gentle soul, and was regarded as a prudent and virtuous woman.
At the age of fifteen, Anselm wanted to enter a monastery but his father refused to give his consent. Very disappointed and possibly reacting, as teenagers are wont to, he gave up his studies and lived a carefree life. During this period, his mother died and his father’s harshness became unbearable. He resolved to leave home. This he did when he turned twenty-three. He left home, accompanied by a servant, crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France. After passing nearly three years in Burgundy and France, he came to Normandy and spent some time at Avranches before entering the then renown Benedictine Abbey of Bec as a novice. The then prior of the Abbey was his own countryman named Lanfranc. The year was 1059 and Anselm was twenty-seven years old. As a Benedictine novice, Anselm submitted himself to the Rule of Saint Benedict, said to have shaped his life over the following decade.
In 1063, Lanfranc was made abbot of Caen and Anselm was elected prior of the abbey of Bec. He held this office for fifteen years before he became abbot at the death of Herluin, the abbey’s founder, in 1078.
Under Anselm’s jurisdiction, Bec became the foremost seat of learning in Europe, attracting students from Italy and elsewhere. It was during his time at Bec that Anselm wrote his first works of philosophy, the Monologion (1076) and the Proslogion (1077–8). These were followed by The Dialogues on Truth, Free Will and Fall of the Devil.
Anselm occasionally visited England , as part of his duties, to see the abbey’s property there, as well as to visit Lanfranc, who, in 1070, had been installed as Archbishop of Canterbury. He made a good impression while there as his kindness won him many English followers. When Lanfranc died in 1089, he was the natural successor as Archbishop.
Upon Lanfranc’s death, however, William II of England seized the possessions and revenues of the see, and made no new appointment. He kept the Church in England in a state of anarchy…
O
odhiambo
Guest
**Saint Anselm of Canterbury-Part 2
**
…This state of affairs apparently prevailed until 1093 when he was named as Archbishop of Canterbury by the king.
The Church’s rule stated that metropolitans could not be consecrated without receiving the pallium ( a sign of his office as metropolitan), from the hands of the pope. Anselm, accordingly, insisted that he must proceed to Rome to receive the pallium, but William would not permit it; he had not acknowledged Urban as pope and maintained his right to prevent a pope’s acknowledgment by an English subject. This was at a time the Antipope Clement was disputing the authority of Urban II, who had been recognized by France and Normandy.
The Archbishop who believed in the supremacy of the pope in all matters, insisted on going to Pope Urban, whose authority he had already acknowledged. King William compromised by sending a legate to Rome to receive the pallium. Problems again arose when he tried to bestow it upon Anselm ; Anselm, refused take the pallium from his hand. He however, compromised and agreed he would take it from the alter. Accordingly, in a solemn service at Canterbury on 10 June, 1095 the pallium was laid on the altar by the legate, from where Anselm took it.
Anselm continued to agitate William for reform and the interests of Canterbury. His vision of the Church was one of a universal Church with its own internal authority, which was at odds with William’s vision of royal control over both Church and state.
During the next two years, there was no overt dispute between Anselm and William. However, William blocked Anselm’s efforts at church reform.
The conflict between these two men came to a head in 1097.
Anselm resolved to proceed to Rome and seek the counsel of the pope because William had refused to fulfill his promise of Church reform, but William denied him permission. The negotiations ended with William declaring that if Anselm left, he would take back the see, and never again receive Anselm as archbishop. If Anselm were to stay, William would fine him and force him to swear never again to appeal to Rome: Anselm was given the choice of exile or total submission. To Anselm, the choice was easy, exile it would be; and exile it was.
As an exile, in October 1097 Anselm set out for Rome. William immediately seized the revenues of the see and retained them until his death, though Anselm retained the archbishopric. Anselm went into exile to defend his vision of the universal Church.
William was killed on 2 August 1100. His successor, Henry I of England, invited Anselm to return, writing that he committed himself to be counseled by Anselm. Henry also had an alterior motive in courting Anselm. He needed his support for the security of his claim to the throne against that of his elder brother.
When Anselm returned, Henry requested that Anselm do him homage for the Canterbury estates and receive from him investiture in his office of archbishop. The papacy had recently banned clerics doing homage to laymen, as well as banning lay investiture; thus started Anselm’s conflicts with Henry which eventually ended in a second exile for the archbishop.
Henry refused to relinquish the privilege possessed by his predecessors, and proposed that the matter be laid before the pope. Anselm set out for Rome in 1103. In 1106, the differences were settled and the English king gave up the right to invest bishops and abbots, thus, granting the Church freedom from throne politics and reinforcing papal authority.
Anselm returned to England and served the Church and king. He was regent of England in 1108 while Henry was in Normandy. At the same time, he was becoming the leading phylosopher and theologian of his time, earning the title, “ Father of Scholasticism.” As a theologian, Anselm was said to be a formidable spokesman for the Scholastic movement. He coined the term “Credo ut intelligam” which means, “ I believe in order to understand”
Some of his more recognized works are those already mentioned earlier as well as
Cur Deus Homo? ( Why did God become Man?).
He also wrote for the abolition of slave trading and the importance of priestly celibacy.
Anselm died during Holy Week, specifically on Holy Wednesday, 21 April 1109 at Canterbury, England.
He was canonized in 1494 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1720.
Saint Anselm, Founder of Scholasticism, is called “ one among the noblest worthies in the British Isles”
Saint Anselm,
Pray for us!
**
…This state of affairs apparently prevailed until 1093 when he was named as Archbishop of Canterbury by the king.
The Church’s rule stated that metropolitans could not be consecrated without receiving the pallium ( a sign of his office as metropolitan), from the hands of the pope. Anselm, accordingly, insisted that he must proceed to Rome to receive the pallium, but William would not permit it; he had not acknowledged Urban as pope and maintained his right to prevent a pope’s acknowledgment by an English subject. This was at a time the Antipope Clement was disputing the authority of Urban II, who had been recognized by France and Normandy.
The Archbishop who believed in the supremacy of the pope in all matters, insisted on going to Pope Urban, whose authority he had already acknowledged. King William compromised by sending a legate to Rome to receive the pallium. Problems again arose when he tried to bestow it upon Anselm ; Anselm, refused take the pallium from his hand. He however, compromised and agreed he would take it from the alter. Accordingly, in a solemn service at Canterbury on 10 June, 1095 the pallium was laid on the altar by the legate, from where Anselm took it.
Anselm continued to agitate William for reform and the interests of Canterbury. His vision of the Church was one of a universal Church with its own internal authority, which was at odds with William’s vision of royal control over both Church and state.
During the next two years, there was no overt dispute between Anselm and William. However, William blocked Anselm’s efforts at church reform.
The conflict between these two men came to a head in 1097.
Anselm resolved to proceed to Rome and seek the counsel of the pope because William had refused to fulfill his promise of Church reform, but William denied him permission. The negotiations ended with William declaring that if Anselm left, he would take back the see, and never again receive Anselm as archbishop. If Anselm were to stay, William would fine him and force him to swear never again to appeal to Rome: Anselm was given the choice of exile or total submission. To Anselm, the choice was easy, exile it would be; and exile it was.
As an exile, in October 1097 Anselm set out for Rome. William immediately seized the revenues of the see and retained them until his death, though Anselm retained the archbishopric. Anselm went into exile to defend his vision of the universal Church.
William was killed on 2 August 1100. His successor, Henry I of England, invited Anselm to return, writing that he committed himself to be counseled by Anselm. Henry also had an alterior motive in courting Anselm. He needed his support for the security of his claim to the throne against that of his elder brother.
When Anselm returned, Henry requested that Anselm do him homage for the Canterbury estates and receive from him investiture in his office of archbishop. The papacy had recently banned clerics doing homage to laymen, as well as banning lay investiture; thus started Anselm’s conflicts with Henry which eventually ended in a second exile for the archbishop.
Henry refused to relinquish the privilege possessed by his predecessors, and proposed that the matter be laid before the pope. Anselm set out for Rome in 1103. In 1106, the differences were settled and the English king gave up the right to invest bishops and abbots, thus, granting the Church freedom from throne politics and reinforcing papal authority.
Anselm returned to England and served the Church and king. He was regent of England in 1108 while Henry was in Normandy. At the same time, he was becoming the leading phylosopher and theologian of his time, earning the title, “ Father of Scholasticism.” As a theologian, Anselm was said to be a formidable spokesman for the Scholastic movement. He coined the term “Credo ut intelligam” which means, “ I believe in order to understand”
Some of his more recognized works are those already mentioned earlier as well as
Cur Deus Homo? ( Why did God become Man?).
He also wrote for the abolition of slave trading and the importance of priestly celibacy.
Anselm died during Holy Week, specifically on Holy Wednesday, 21 April 1109 at Canterbury, England.
He was canonized in 1494 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1720.
Saint Anselm, Founder of Scholasticism, is called “ one among the noblest worthies in the British Isles”
Saint Anselm,
Pray for us!
- Status