Saint of the day and Feast days-Part 2

[odhiambo]

May 20
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Bernardine of Siena.
Among many other Saints.

“One day in the year 1408 the great apostle Saint Vincent Ferrer suddenly interrupted his sermon, to declare that there was among his hearers a young Franciscan who would be one day a greater preacher than himself, and who would be placed in honor by the Church before himself. This unknown friar, who would be canonized only six years after his death, was Bernardine, then 28 years old. Of noble birth, he had spent his youth in works of mercy, caring for the sick before he entered religion at the age of 24.”
From :
Lives of the Saints, May 20, St. Bernardine of Siena

 

[odhiambo]

Saint Bernardine of Siena

Bernardine was born on September 8, 1380, it was the feast of the Nativity of Mary. He was born of a noble , and very well known family of the name Albizeschi in the Tuscan town of Massa, near Siena, Italy. His father was governor of the town.
Bernardine was orphaned at seven years of age and was raised by his maternal aunt in Siena.
Right from the start, Bernadine was a good influence on his friends. He was said to be affable, courteous and patient at all times except when moved with righteous indignation.
From a book, Saints For All. Lives of Saints For Every Week. A Paulines Publication Africa, we read:

*“Once when a man of position sought to lead him into vice, Bernadine struck him in the face with his fists, and on a second and similar occasion, incited his comrades to join him in pelting the tempter with mud and stones”
*
The saint studied Philosophy, Law and Sacred Scriptures.
At the age of seventeen, he enrolled in the Confraternity of Our Lady in the hospital of Maria della Scala and served the sick for four years. He practiced severe bodily mortification and made sacrifices for the sick and the poor.
In the year 1400, a dreadful plaque spread like wildfire throughout different parts of Italy. Many people died from the plaque and those who had not succumbed, fled the stricken areas in fear and self preservation.
When the plaque reached siena, Bernardine convinced twelve young men to help him care for the sick and dying. For four months, these young men worked tirelessly, day and night under the direction of Bernardine.
Several of these noble young men died but Bernardine was spared.
When he returned home after the outbreak, he fell very ill, from utter physical exhaustion.
This is how Catholics on Line describes this part of the Saint’s biography:

“In the year 1400, a young man came to the door of the largest hospital in Siena. A plague was raging through the city so horrible that as many as twenty people died each day just in the hospital alone. And many of the people who died were those who were needed to tend the ill. It was a desperate situation – more and more people were falling ill and fewer and fewer people were there to help them.
The twenty-year-old man who stood there had not come because he was ill but because he wanted to help. And he brought not new patients but young men like himself willing to tend the dying. For four months Bernardine and his companions worked day and night not only to comfort the patients but to organize and clean the hospital. Only at the end of the plague did Bernardine himself fall ill – of exhaustion.”…

Please continue at the next post.

 

[odhiambo]

Saint Bernardine of Siena

Continuation
Bernardine was sick for several months. When he recovered, he devoted all his attention to the care of his aunt for whom he cared deeply. She was now blind, frail, and bedridden. She needed caring for and he was there for her. She died fourteen months later.
Free from all earthly ties, Bernardine distributed his inheritance to the poor, and joined the Franciscan Order in 1402 and was ordained a priest on September 8, 1404.
He then lived as a hermit for twelve years before starting his life’s work of preaching. Because of a defect in his speech, his success as a preacher seemed doubtful. He turned to the Virgin Mother, imploring her help and the defect was miraculously removed.
His first sermon attracted attention because of its eloquence and fervor. He traveled throughout Italy, going on foot from village to village, city to city, preaching against the immoralities of the time. He drew large crowds wherever he preached. He frequently focused his sermons on devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
All over Italy, men talked of the fruits of Bernardine’s mission: numerous conversions; restoration of ill- gotten goods; reparations of injuries and reforms of morals.
As is always the case, there were some who slandered him, accusing him of encouraging superstitious practices. This was because St. Bernardine had designed a symbol which he displayed during his sermons to assist him in promoting devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
The symbol consisted of an abbreviated form of the name of Jesus at the center, surrounded by a blazing sun.
Soon the symbol began to appear on buildings and in the homes where St. Bernardine had spoken. It was this use of his own symbol to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus that was disapproved of by some people of his time and charges of heresy were made against him.
They went as far as to denounce him to Pope Martin V who commanded him to keep silent. He was, however completely vindicated after an examination of his doctrine and conduct. After his vindication, he was permitted to preach wherever he liked.
The Pope offered Bernardine the see of Siena but he declined as he later declined the sees of Ferrara and of Urbino. His excuse was that if he was confined to one diocese, he could no longer minister to many souls.
In 1438, Bernardine was elected Vicar General of the Franciscan Friars of the Strict Observance. He held this office for five years and before he resigned, he had increased the membership of the order from three hundred to more than four thousand.
He resigned in 1442; so that he could start preaching again which he did.
In the end, the Saint was forced to retire because of ill health.
He was venerated as the foremost Italian missionary of this period particularly in stirring devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
He died at Aquila on May 20, 1444, Ascension Eve of that year.
His remains were enshrined there.
Relics of the Saint are also in Siena, Rome and Massa Marittima.
He was canonized in 1450.
He is depicted in liturgical art holding a sign with the letters “IHS” denoting the Holy Name of Jesus.
Small miters are often shown at his feet representing the offices of bishop that he refused.
He is the patron of wool weavers and Massa Marittima and is often invoked against hoarseness, bleeding and chest complaints.

Saint Bernardine,
Pray for us!

Ref:

1:Lives of Saints For Every Week.
A Paulines Publication Africa.
2:Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson:

 

[odhiambo]

May 21

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Christopher Magallanes
and Companions
Among many other saints

 

[odhiambo]

**Saint Christopher Magallanes.
Also known as
Saint Cristobal Magallanes Jara
And Companions-1915-1937
**
Martyrs of the Catholic Action Movement in Mexico.( The Cristero Movement or Cristiada)

Christopher was born in 1869 in a farm in Mexico. He worked as a shepherd in his youth. When he was nineteen, he entered the Seminary to study for the priesthood and was ordained priest. He was eventually the Parish priest at Totatiche, Mexico. He was noted for his devotion to Our Lady. At the time of the martyrdom of Saint Christopher and his companions, the Mexican Government of the day was a communist one and was completely anti-Catholic. It had suppressed the Church by instituting and enforcing laws against the Church in an attempt to eradicate the Catholic faith in Mexico. Foreign clergy were banned and so was the celebration of Mass in some areas of Mexico.

When the the government closed all seminaries, Father Christopher started his own seminary; it was quickly suppressed. He formed another, and yet another. When it was no longer possible to do this, he and the seminarians conducted classes in private homes.
He was falsely accused of promoting the Catholic Action Movement in Mexico.
Arrested on 21 May 1927 while en route to celebrate Mass at a farm. He gave away his few remaining possessions to his executioners, gave them absolution, and without a trial, he was martyred with Saint Agustin Caloca.
He was shot on 25 May 1927 at Colotitlan, Jalisco, Mexico
Magallanes’ last words, heard when he shouted from his cell were: “I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico”.
Among the Martyrs were twenty two devout priests and three laymen: Manuel, David and Salvador.
The Martyrs died in different regions of Mexico and at different times, but they were all victims of the oppression of the Church by Mexican Authorities.
Fifteen were martyred in Jalisco; four in Zacatecas, and one each in Chihuahua, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero and Morelos. Most died at the hands of firing squad. All were tortured terribly before their martyrdom.
The three lay men, David, Manuel and Salvador, died with their parish priest, Blessed Luis Batis.
Pope John Paul II beatified Christopher and his companions on 22 November 1992, and canonized them on 21 May 2000.

Saint Christopher Magallanes
and Companions,
Pray for us!

Saint Christopher Magallanes
and Companions,

 

[Shin]

'When a fire is lit to clear a field, it burns off all the dry and useless weeds and thorns. When the sun rises and darkness is dispelled, robbers, night-prowlers and burglars hide away. So when Paul’s voice was raised to preach the Gospel to the nations, like a great clap of thunder in the sky, his preaching was a blazing fire carrying all before it. It was the sun rising in full glory. Infidelity was consumed by it, false beliefs fled away, and the truth appeared like a great candle lighting the whole world with its brilliant flame.

By word of mouth, by letters, by miracles, and by the example of his own life, Saint Paul bore the name of Jesus wherever he went. He praised the name of Jesus “at all times,” but never more than when “bearing witness to his faith.”

Moreover, the Apostle did indeed carry this name “before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” as a light to enlighten all nations. And this was his cry wherever he journeyed: “The night is passing away, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves honorably as in the day.” Paul himself showed forth the burning and shining-light set upon a candlestick, everywhere proclaiming “Jesus, and him crucified.”

And so the Church, the bride of Christ strengthened by his testimony, rejoices with the psalmist, singing: “O God from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.” The psalmist exhorts her to do this, as he says: “Sing to the Lord, and bless his name, proclaim his salvation day after day.” And this salvation is Jesus, her savior.'

- from a sermon by Saint Bernadine of Siena

 

[odhiambo]

May 22

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Rita of Cascia
Among many other saints.

http://www.marypages.com/SaintRita.jpg

 

[odhiambo]

Saint Rita of Cascia.

Also called Margarita or
Margherita
An Augustinian Nun.

Rita was born in the village of Roccaporena, near Spoleto, Italy in 1381. Her parents were advanced in age when she was born, her birth said to be an answer to their prayers. From a young age, Rita wanted nothing but to become a nun. Her parents, however had promised her in marriage, according to the custom of the day, to Paolo Mancini (? Paul Ferdinand). In obedience to her parents, she did indeed marry the man at the age of twelve years. He was a tempestuos and quarrelsome man.
She was married for eighteen years and the couple was blessed with twin boys. Those years, however were not happy ones for Rita. Her husband derided her piety and made her suffer with his drunken rages.
One day as Paolo was returning home from work he was ambushed and stabbed to death on a mountain path. Her grief was aggravated by the fear that her sons, now teenagers, would want to avenge the death of their father in accordance with the unwritten law of the “vendetta,” that was prevalent at the time. Her fear was in fact well founded. The sons were determined to follow through with the vendetta and avange the murder of their father. Her pleas to the contrary fell on deaf ears.
Rita turned to God. She entreated Him to take them to Himself rather than permit them to commit such a sin. Within the year, both sons were dead.

Now aged 30 years old, and still very desirous of becoming a nun, she applied to the Augustinians in their convent at Cascia. To her dismay, she was rejected. This was because according to the rules of the order, all sisters should be virgins. She did not give up. She turned to her three patron saints John the Baptist, Augustine, and Nicholas of Tolentino to assist her. It took a miracle for her to be admitted to the convent. This is how my book of saints tells it:

“…She was twice refused on account of the fact that the order’s rules permitted the entry only of virgins. God, however indicated his express wishes by a miracle, when her prayerful vigil preceding the feast of the Assumption was interrupted by the arrival of her three patron saints: Sts. Augustine, John the Baptist and Nicholas of Tolentino, who conducted her to Coscia and placed her at the foot of the Blessed Sacrament in the convent chapel, and there the nuns found her at the hour of Matins. The untouched locks at the convent doors, convinced them of the truthfullness of her simple explanation and she was accepted.”

Saint Companion for Each Day.
By A.J.M. Mausolfe
and
J. K. Mausolfe

Thus, Rita gained admission to the Augustinian convent in 1413, received the habit of the order and in due course, she pledged to follow the ancient Rule of Saint Augustine. As a religious she earned fame for her austerity, devotion to prayer and charity.
One day, in 1442, Rita, now in her sixties, and having been deeply moved by the Lenten preaching of Saint James of the Marches, felt a great desire to share in Christ’s agony as depicted in a picture on the wall of the convent. Jesus allowed her to feel some of that glorious pain. Here is an excerpt from the link given:

“One day, when she was about sixty years of age, she was meditating before an image of Christ crucified as she was long accustomed to doing. Suddenly a small wound appeared on her forehead, as though from a thorn from the crown that encircled Christ’s head had loosed itself and penetrated her own flesh. For the next fifteen years she bore this external sign of stigmatization and union with the Lord. In spite of the pain she constantly experienced, she offered herself courageously for the physical and spiritual well-being of others. …”

Saint Rita of Cascia

During the last four years of her life Rita was confined to bed. She ate very little, being practically sustained on the Eucharist alone. She was, nevertheless, an inspiration to the other nuns and to all those who came to visit her, by her patience and joyful disposition despite her great suffering.

God took Rita back to Himself on 22 May 1457. She died peacefully at Cascia.

. As she breathed her last, Rita’s final words to the sisters who gathered around her were, “Remain in the holy love of Jesus. Remain in obedience to the holy Roman Catholic Church. Remain in peace and fraternal charity.”
Her body lies incorrupt in the shrine at Cascia where it is venerated today. In
Spain she was given the title of La Santa de los impossibiles, i.e Saint of the Impossible on account of the many miracles reported to have been occurred at her intercession
Rita was solemnly canonized on 24 May, 1900.

Saint Rita of Cascia,
Pray for us!

 

[odhiambo]

Saint Rita of Cascia

About one month ago, my niece who lives in Italy, sent me a delightful little book entitled ‘Saint Rita. Saint of the Impossible’ by Catholic Book Publishers Corp. New Jersey.
According to this booklet, Saint Rita was married at eighteen years of age and that Paul may not have been “all bad”.
The book notes and I quote: “Thus, at the age of eighteen, Rita married Paul. The early years were very hard for her. Her husband was a very loud and violent man who at times even hurt her. He is said to have been full of anger, vulgar, and debauched. However the latest research has unearthed data that tends to rehabilitate the man. He did not have all these vices we are now told……Under the influence of his bride, Paul became a good Christian. Rita’s acceptance of the cross given her eventually brought conjugal happiness.”

 

[odhiambo]

May 23

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Julia of Corsica
Among many other saints.

 

[odhiambo]

Saint Julia of Corsica.
Martyr.

Julia belonged to an aristocratic family in Carthage, North Africa.
She was a Christian. When the Vandals invaded this part of Africa and brought with it the heretical beliefs of Arianism, Julia refused to embrace this heresy; consequently, she was sold off into slavery in 439. She was bought by a Syrian pagan merchant named Eusebius who took her on one of his voyages to Gaul. When they reached the island of Corsica, they stopped and Easebius went on shore to join the pagans of the place in their idolatrous festival. Julia, however would not join in. Her master, who was kind to her defended her stand. While Eusebius was in a drunken sleep, however, the governor took it upon himself to compel her to sacrifice to the pagan gods offering to set her free, should she comply.
Julia told him that she was as free as she wanted to be so long as she was allowed to serve Jesus Christ.
This reply so enraged the governor that he had her tortured and crucified.

Saint Julia

Saint Julia
Pray for us!

 

[odhiambo]

May 24

Today we celebrate the Feast of
Our Lady Help of Christians.

 

[odhiambo]

The Church has always experienced the powerful help of the Mother of God in times of trials and persecutions. The link given, lists the following examples as some of these instances of Marian Intercession on behalf of her children, the Christians:

*1: “In 1214 She gave the Rosary to Saint Dominic as a weapon to combat the Albigesian heresy which was devastating Southern France…”
2: “In the year 1531 Our Lady appeared in Mexico to an indian named Juan Diego, He was a humble peasant aged 51. As a result of the apparitions, over 10 million indians were converted to Catholicism, the sacrificial killings of babies stopped, and Our Lady left an image which is a reflection of herself imprinted miraculously on the tilma of Juan Diego”
3: “In 1571 the whole of Christendom was saved by Mary Help of Christians when faithful Catholic throughout Europe prayed the Rosary. The great battle of Lepanto occurred on October 7th 1571. For this reason this date has been chosen as the feast of the Holy Rosary. In 1573 Pope Pius V instituted the feast in thanksgiving for the decisive victory of Christianity over Islamism”
4: “Near the end of the 17th century, Emperor Leopold I of Austria took refuge in the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Pasau, when 200000 Ottoman Turks besieged the capital city of Vienna. Pope Innocent XI united Christendom against the ominous attack of Mohammedanism. A great victory occurred thanks to Mary Help of Christians. On September 8th, Feast of Our Lady’s Birthday, plans were drawn for the battle. On September 12, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Vienna was finally freed through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. All Europe had joined with the Emperor crying out “Mary, Help!” and praying the Holy rosary”
5: “In 1809, Napoleon’s men entered the Vatican, arrested Pius VII and brought him in chains to Grenoble, and eventually Fontainbleau. His imprisonment lasted five years. The Pope smuggled out orders from prison for the whole of Christendom to pray to Our Lady Help of Christians, and thus the whole of Europe once again became a spiritual battle ground, not of arms against ruthless arms, but of Rosaries against ruthless military might. Soon Napoleon was off the throne and the Pope freed from prison”
*
And so it goes to this day. It was at the Foot of the Cross that Jesus commissioned Our Lady to take care of all the baptized: “Woman, behold thy son” John 19:26
The devotion to Mary under the title “Help of Christians, was popularizded by Don Bosco. He himself had a very deep devotion to her under this title. He erected a Basilica in her honor under that title in Turin in 1864 and later in 1872, he founded the Salasian Sisters under her partonage, i.e. the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
We are encouraged to celebrate this day by thanking Our Lady for her continuing help for Christians, to pray the Holy Rosary, and to attend Mass if we possibly can.

Mary Help of Christians

Mary Help of Christians
Pray for us!

 

[The_Reginator]

In honor of the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians (May 24), Pope Benedict XVI composed the following prayer in May 2008. He asked that it be recited every year on May 24, and that May 24 be designated a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians,”
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously co-operated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.

Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

 

[odhiambo]

In honor of the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians (May 24), Pope Benedict XVI composed the following prayer in May 2008. He asked that it be recited every year on May 24, and that May 24 be designated a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians,”
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously co-operated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.

Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

Thank You Reginator.
Could you post the same at the Saints Forum please, so that those who are not aware may be able to say the prayer.

 

[odhiambo]

May 25.

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
Among many other saints.

 

[odhiambo]

Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
Discalced Carmelite Mystic and Healer.

Mary Magdalene was born, in the difficult times of the Reformation in Florence, on April 2, 1566, into a distinguished Florentine family. She was baptized with the name Catherine. Members of the family however called her Lucrezia after her paternal grandmother, Lucrezia Mannucci.
Even as a very young girl Catherine was attracted to prayer, solitude, and penance. She had a deep devotion for the Eucharist, receiving her First Holy Communion On March 25, 1576, at the San Giovani Convent in Florence where she was educated. A few days later, she made a vow of perpetual virginity. She was just 10 years old.
In 1582, when she was 16 years old, she entered the Carmelites at Saint Mary of Angels Convent and took the name of Mary Magdalene.
After becoming seriously ill in March 1584, Mary Magdalene experienced numerous ecstasies. She could read people’s minds and performed healing miracles.
Her revelations were recorded and published.
Because of her deep spirituality, Saint Mary Magdalene was able to help the leaders of the Church to implement important reforms.
In the end, the Saint, who had contracted tuberculosis was forced to withdraw from the active life of the community.
She died on May 25, 1607 in Carmel. Her incorrupt body is under the altar of the Church of the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi in Careggi, Florence.
She was beatified on May 8, 1626, by Pope Urban VIII, also from Florence, and was canonized by Pope Clement IX on April 28, 1669.
Saint Mary Magdalene,
Pray for us!

 

[kelvinf]

Also that of Venerable Bede

St. Bede, Priest, Doctor (RM)

Born in Northumbria, England, 673; died at Jarrow, England, on May 25, 735; named Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1899.
In the days when Northumbria was a great scholastic center with famous schools at Jarrow and York, Bede was the most distinguished of its scholars. Beginning at age seven (or three?), he was educated at the newly-founded monastery at Wearmouth-Jarrow under Abbots Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrid. In 703, he was received as a monk by Saint Benedict Biscop and ordained a priest at age 30 by Saint John of Beverley. Except for a few brief visits elsewhere, Bede spent the rest of his life in Jarrow; never going further afield than Lindisfarne and York.

“I have spent my whole life,” he says, “in the same monastery, and while attentive to the rule of my order and the service of the Church, my constant pleasure lay in learning or teaching or writing.” He numbered 600 monks among his pupils and became the Father of English learning. “I have devoted my energies to the study of Scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church.”

Bede was a prodigious worker, the author of 45 volumes, including commentaries, text-books, and translations. His range was encyclopedic, embracing the whole field of contemporary knowledge. He wrote grammatical and chronological works, hymns and other verse, letters, and homilies, and compiled the first martyrology with historical notes. These are in Latin, but Bede was also the first known writer of English prose (since lost). Bede’s Biblical writings were extensive and important in their time, but it is as an historian that he is famous. The Latin of the hymns ‘The hymn for conquering martyrs raise’ and ‘Sing we triumphant hymns of praise’ was written by Bede

His supreme achievement, completed in 731, was his History of the English Church and People, in the laborious preparation of which he searched the archives of Rome (? most sources say he never left England), collecting and collating documents, and set forth in detail the first authoritative history of Christian origins in Britain. To this he added Lives of five early abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow. Nor until his last illness had he any assistance: “I am my own secretary; I dictate, I compose, I copy all myself.”

Many stories have gathered round his name. This one is probably mythic: On a visit to Rome with other scholars, he found them puzzled by an inscription of cryptic letters upon an iron gate. A passing Roman citizen, seeing their confusion, sneered at Bede and rudely called him an English ox, when, to his surprise, Bede at once read out the meaning. From that time, because of the range of his wisdom and the keenness of his intellect, he was given the title of venerable.

But the best-known story is related by his contemporary Saint Cuthbert of how when illness and weakness came upon him at the end of his life, his translation of Saint John’s Gospel into the English tongue was still unfinished. Despite sleepless nights and days of weariness, he continued his task, and though he made what speed he could, he took every care in comparing the text and preserving its accuracy. “I don’t want my boys,” he said, “to read a lie or to work to no purpose after I am gone.” His friends begged him to rest, but he insisted on working. “We never read without weeping,” remarked one of them.

When it came to the last day, he called his scribe to him and told him to write with all possible speed. “There is still a chapter wanting,” said the boy, as the day wore on; “had you not better rest for a while?” But Bede persisted with his task. “Be quick with your writing,” he answered, “for I shall not hold out much longer.”

When night fell, the boy said: “There is yet one sentence not written.” “Write quickly,” Bede replied; and when it was done, he said: “All is finished now,” then after sending for his fellow monks and distributing to them his few belongings, in a broken voice he sang the Gloria and passed to his reward on Ascension Eve.

Of all the writers in Western Europe from the time of Saint Gregory the Great until Saint Anselm, Saint Bede was perhaps the best known and most influential, especially in England. He was a careful scholar and distinguished stylist. His works De Temporibus and De Temporum Ratione established the idea of dating events anno domini (A.D.).

Already in 853 a church council in Aachen referred to him as ‘the venerable,’ i.e., worthy of honor. Saint Boniface called Bede ‘a light of the church, lit by the Holy Spirit.’ To Alcuin, himself the ‘schoolmaster of his age,’ he was ‘blessed Bede, our master.’ (Alcuin claimed Bede’s relics worked miraculous cures.) Bede is the only Englishman whom Dante names in the Paradiso. The center of Bede’s cultus is Durham, where his shrine is located, and York (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Duckett, Gill, Hamilton Thompson, White).

A good deal of further information on Saint Bede is available on the Internet, including his Life of St. Cuthbert. Saint Bede is depicted in art as an old monk writing with a quill and rule. He might also be shown studying a book, holding up a pitcher with light from heaven falling on him, or supported by monks as he is dying (Roeder). He is the patron saint of scholars and historians (White).

Catholic Matters

 

[kelvinf]

St Bede commentaries:

“Jesus does not say, ‘Why do you persecute My members?’, but, ‘Why do you persecute Me?’, because He Himself still suffers affronts in His body, which is the Church. Similarly Christ will take account of the good actions done to His members, for He said, ‘I was hungry and you gave Me food…’ (Matthew 25:35), and explaining these words He added ‘As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Matthew 25:40)” (“Super Act. Expositio, ad loc.”).

“The preacher should so trust in God that he is convinced that he will have everything he needs to support life, even if he cannot himself obtain it; for he should not neglect eternal things worrying about temporal things” (St Bede, “In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”)

“The Lord makes His disciples rest, to show those in charge that people who work or preach cannot do so without breaks” (St. Bede, “In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”)

“men often are placated by gifts from those who have offended them; but God, who ‘discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart’ (Heb 4: 12), lets himself be placated by no gift as much as by the pious devotion of the offerer. Once he has seen the purity of our heart, he will then also accept our prayers and our works” ("Hexaemeron 2: in Gen, 4:4-5).

“Just as Abel consecrated the start of the first age of the world by means of a sacrifice to God, so Noah began the second age”; and (after recalling the sacrifices offered by Abraham, Melchizedek, and the patriarchs, kings and priests of the Old Testament) he goes on to say that “All those sacrifices were figures of our supreme King and true priest who on the altar of the holy cross offered God the host of his body and his blood” (“Hexaemeron, 2: in Gen 8:21”).

“In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is teaching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use to invoke God’s clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage to God. The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly’ (1 Thessalonians 5:7)” (St. Bede, “In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”).

“Everyone will be salted with fire, says Jesus, because spiritual wisdom must purify all the elect of any kind of corruption through carnal desire. Or he may be speaking of the fire of tribulation, which exercises the patience of the faithful to enable them to reach perfection” (St Bede, “In Marci Evangelium expositio, in loc.”).

“if you do not want to be condemned by Christ, should guard against being a barren tree, by offering to Jesus, who made Himself poor, the fruit of piety which He expects of you” (“In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.”).

“Let everyone draw from this example of contrition, and if he has fallen let him not despair, but always remember that he can become worthy of forgiveness” (St. Bede, “In Ioann. Evang. Expositio, in loc”.).

“He who at his first coming came in a hidden way and in order to be judged (by men) will then come in a manifest way. (John) recalls these truths in order to help the Church bear its suffering: now it is being persecuted by its enemies, later it will reign at Christ’s side” (“Explanatio Apocalypsis”, 1, 1).

“St Peter says that it is good to suffer trials because eternal joys cannot be obtained except through the afflictions and sorrows of this passing world. ‘For a little while’, he says, however, because when one receives an eternal reward, the afflictions of this world–which appeared so heavy and bitter–seem then to have been very short-lived and slight” (“Super 1 Pet. Expositio, ad loc.”).

 

[Shin]

St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi is a powerful one. And Pope St. Gregory VII and St. Bede the Venerable!

Collect

‘O God, the lover of purity, who didst inflame the breast of blessed Mary Magdalen with the fire of thy love, and enrich it with heavenly graces: grant we may imitate her purity and charity, whose festival we celebrate. Through Christ Our Lord.’

‘St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi was so filled with the love of God that her sisters in the monastery observed it in her love of themselves, and called her “the Mother of Charity” and "the Charity of the Monastery.’ - Rev. Alban Butler

VISION OF ST. MAGDALEN OF PAZZI

‘One day, when she was praying before the Blessed Sacrament she saw the soul of one of her sisters detained in Purgatory, come out of the earth. She was clothed in a mantle of fire, which hid a robe of dazzling whiteness, and she remained a whole hour at the foot of the altar, adoring in the most profound annihilation God hidden under the eucharistic species. Magdalen having wished to understand the meaning of this, God made her know that this soul was condemned to make this hour’s adoration every day, clothed in a mantle of fire, to punish her for having often lost communions through her own fault, and that this robe of such dazzling whiteness was won by her virginity, and caused her great satisfaction. This hour’s adoration, which Margaret saw her make, was the last of her expiation, and at its expiration she saw her ascend towards heaven.’

What a special day… and so many more saints too…

‘There are in the world thousands of men who risk death every day at the summons of their lords. Yet, when the interests of the King of Heaven, our Redeemer, are at stake, how many Christians shrink, not from death only, but even from the hatred of other men! And the few — thanks be to God for those few — who dare to resist the wicked openly, and to face death, are not only unsupported by their brethren, but are accused by them of imprudence, and indiscretion, and are treated as fools.’

Pope St. Gregory VII

‘I do not desire to die soon, because in Heaven there is no suffering. I desire to live a long time because I yearn to suffer much for the love of my Spouse.’

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

‘God does not ask of us the perfection of tomorrow, nor even of tonight, but only of the present moment.’

St. Madeline Sophie Barat

‘I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore, I die in exile.’

Pope St. Gregory VII

‘By uniting themselves to the divine will, the saints have enjoyed paradise by anticipation in this life. Accustoming themselves to receive all things from the hands of God, says St. Dorotheus, the men of old maintained continual serenity of soul. St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi derived such consolation at hearing the words “will of God,” that she usually fell into an ecstasy of love. The instances of jangling irritation that are bound to arise will not fail to make surface impact on the senses. This however will be experienced only in the inferior part of the soul; in the superior part will reign peace and tranquility as long as our will remains united with God’s. Our Lord assured his apostles: “Your joy no man shall take from you . . . Your joy shall be full.” He who unites his will to God’s experiences a full and lasting joy: full, because he has what he wants, as was explained above; lasting, because no one can take his joy from him, since no one can prevent what God wills from happening.’

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

‘He who asserts that he cannot be bound by the Church’s bonds, confesses that he cannot be loosed by her authority. And he who makes such an assertion, separates himself wholly from Christ.’

Pope St. Gregory VII

Memorials today:

25 Mexican Martyrs
Agustin Caloca
Aldhelm of Sherborne
Atilano Cruz Alvarado
Augustin Caloca Cortés
Bartolomeus Magi of Anghiari
Bede the Venerable
Boniface IV, Pope
Canio
Claritus Voglia
Cristobal Magallanes Jara
David Galván Bermúdez
David Roldán Lara
David Uribe Velasco
Dionysius of Milan
Dunchadh of Iona
Egilhard of Cornelimünster
Genistus
Gennadius of Astroga
Gerbald
Gerius of Monte Santo
Gregory VII, Pope
Heribert of Knechtsteden
Injuriosus
Jacob Philip Bertoni
Jenaro Sanchez Delgadillo
Jesús Méndez Montoya
José Isabel Flores Varela
José Maria Robles Hurtado
Julio Álvarez Mendoza
Julius of Dorostorum
Justino Orona Madrigal
Leo of Troyes
Luis Batiz Sainz
Madeline Sophie Barat
Manuel Moralez
Margarito Flores Garcia
Mary Magdalen of Pazzi
Mateo Correa Magallanes
Maximus of Acquiney
Miguel de la Mora
Nicholas Tsehelsky
Pasicrates of Durostorum
Pedro Esqueda Ramírez
Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero
Peter Van
Philip of Troussey
Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán
Roman Adame Rosales
Sabas Reyes Salazar
Salvador Lara Puente
Sara the Black
Scholastica
Three Marys
Toribio Romo González
Tranquilino Ubiarco Robles
Urban I, Pope
Valentio of Durostorum
Victorinus of Acquiney
Zenobius of Florence