DAY 6 INTENTION 40 Days for Life That knowing the shortness of life, all may value
it more deeply.
I'm in California today, visiting the 40 Days for Life locations
in Sacramento, Vallejo, Santa Rosa and Napa. Tomorrow, it's on to Santa Cruz
and San Jose. I have a question for you: Will you be speaking at a 40 Days
for Life kickoff event with the director of your local abortion facility
at this time next year? That's what I just did!!! And I have the video for
you.
This video was recorded in Fayetteville, Arkansas --where former Planned
Parenthood director Abby Johnson and I spoke outside of the Planned Parenthood
facility there. This time last year, we were both at the 40 Days for Life
kickoff event in College Station, Texas -- but on opposite sides of the fence!
See our talks and learn how your peaceful presence led to her conversion.
Enjoy this video and know that with God all things are possible: To see the
video, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1037 The subject line
of today's message no doubt got your attention. It's the one thing EVERYBODY
always wants to know -- "How many babies have been saved?"
As of the time I'm sending this, the total is indeed ... 44 ... that we know
of.
We always add "that we know of" because no one other than God Himself knows
exactly how many lives He has spared in response to your prayers and fasting.
With that in mind, here are some wonderfully encouraging reports from local
40 Days for Life campaign coordinators:
EVERETT, WASHINGTON
Friday is an abortion day at Planned Parenthood in
Everett, the site of a 40 Days for Life vigil.
This past Friday, however, the abortion total at this
facility was ZERO! The place was CLOSED!!! That was most unusual. No one
really knows why. And no one knows for sure how many lives may
have been saved. Women whose appointments were rescheduled
now have more time to think -- and reflect on what it is that they
were about to do. Keep praying!
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
TWO women rejected abortions on the first day of the campaign
in Birmingham. One young woman went into the Planned Parenthood
center -- and turned right around and left within 15 minutes. She spoke
to one of the volunteers and followed her to the pro-life pregnancy center
nearby, where she decided to keep her baby. Later, a couple took information
from a volunteer, but entered the Planned Parenthood building
and stayed for hours. It didn't look good. But finally they walked
out -- with huge smiles -- and told the people praying they canceled the
abortion.
TOLEDO, OHIO
While several people were praying at the 40 Days for Life vigil, a young
woman drove out of the abortion center and pulled up to the volunteers. She
rolled down her window and told them she had changed her mind. "Our prayers
and presence make a difference," said one of the volunteers. "Christians
of different faith backgrounds coming together for the same purpose!
What a witness!"
CHICO, CALIFORNIA
Early one morning, several 40 Days for Life vigil participants watched --
and prayed -- as a woman entered Planned Parenthood. They kept praying, hoping
for a miracle. After a while, the young woman exited the abortion center,
turned towards the prayer volunteers ... and gave them a big thumbs-up. "Be
encouraged," said Mary in Chico. "We most often do not see the results,
but know that each and every prayer is touching someone." I couldn't have
said it any better!
Here's today's devotional from Rev. Paul Stallsworth, president of Lifewatch
(United Methodist Church)...
DAY 6 INTENTION That knowing the shortness of life, all may value it more
deeply.
SCRIPTURE Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the
golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel
broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and
the spirit will return to God who gave it.-- Ecclesiastes 12:6-7
REFLECTION by Rev. Paul Stallsworth, Lifewatch
God is giver of all life. Short lived or long lived, human lives are lived
out in this world. The metaphors for death are many. But their meaning is
clear and singular: all will die. Even so, death is not the absolute end.
It is not the end of the story. For as certainly as God gave life,
at death the life or spirit that God gave returns to God.
By God, we are created. For God, we live our given days. To God, we return
at the end of our earthly days. And with God, we live through eternity.
Clearly, all along the way, this gracious, loving God is with us. No
human life is random or alone. No human life was created without purpose.
Not one human life is without destiny.
All human lives, acknowledged or not, are related to God -- from beginning,
to end, throughout eternity. Therefore, in this world, all human lives are
to be respected and protected, for their lives are signs of God's sovereignty.
PRAYER
O God, we too often try to live in ways that ignore our coming death. We
forget that our days are numbered by You, that at the end of our days your
judgment awaits, that You are the Lord of our destiny. Help us to repent
daily, and then to live each day in joyful obedience. Lead us to live in
the light and promise of eternity. Prepare us to live fully and sacrificially.
Prepare us to die faithfully and hopefully, so that we might live forever
with You. Through Jesus Christ, who has gone before us, we trust and
hope and love and pray, Amen.
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with
friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2010day06print.pdf
For Life, Shawn Carney Campaign Director 40 Days for Life
PS: So what did you think of the video? Please leave your comments
on today's blog posting at:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1037
|
St.
John Mark bishop of Byblos in Phoenicia {Lebanon}
Bybli, in Phœnícia, sancti
Marci Epíscopi, qui et Joánnes a beáto Luca nominátur,
atque fílius éxstitit illíus beátæ Maríæ,
cujus memória tértio Kaléndas Júlii recensétur.
At Byblos in Phoenicia, Bishop St.
Mark, whom St. Luke calls John, and who was the son of that blessed Mary
who is commemorated on the 29th of July.
According to the pre1970 Roman Martyrology, he was described
as the bishop of Byblos in Phoenicia, modem Lebanon. He was perhaps mentioned
in the Acts of the Apostles. Modem
scholars are of the view that he should be identified with St. Mark the Evangelist.
|
St. Caius martyred
Bishop disciple of St. Barnabas
Medioláni sancti Caji Epíscopi, qui fuit discípulus
beáti Bárnabæ Apóstoli; et, multa in Nerónis
persecutióne passus, quiévit in pace.
At Milan, the holy bishop Caius, a disciple of the blessed
apostle Barnabas, who passed calmly to rest after suffering severely in the
persecution of Nero.
At Milan; he was a disciple of St.
Barnabas the Apostle and, after suffering many things in the persecution
of Nero, finally rested in peace.
|
St. Adheritus
Bishop Greek successor of St. Apollinaris
second century?
Ravénnæ sancti Aderíti, Epíscopi
et Confessóris. At Ravenna, St. Aderitus, bishop
and confessor.
Adheritus was a Greek by birth. He entered the priesthood
and was made bishop of Ravenna, following
St. Apollinaris
His remains are venerated in the Benedictine Basilica of Classe near Ravenna,
Italy.
|
300 St.
Epicharis Martyr in Byzantium
Romæ sanctæ Epicháridis, mulíeris Senatóriæ,
quæ, in eádem Diocletiáni persecutióne, plumbátis
cæsa est atque gládio percússa.
At Rome, St. Epicharis, wife of a senator, who was scourged
with leaded whips and then struck with the sword in the persecution of Diocletian.
said to be the wife of a Roman senator.
She was martyred in Byzantium who was scourged and then smitten with the
sword in the persecution of Diocletian.
|
302 St.
Fidentius and Terence holy martyrs
St. Fidentius and Terence
Tudérti, in Umbria, sanctórum Mártyrum Fidéntii
et Teréntii, sub eódem Diocletiáno.
At Todi in Umbria, under the same Diocletian, the holy
martyrs Fidentius and Terence.
Martyrs whose relics were discovered in Todi, Italy, in the
twelfth century. At Todi in Umbria, the holy martyrs Fidentius and Terence,
who suffered under the same Diocletian. |
374
St. Florentine, Martyr with blessed Hilary
Sedúni, in Gállia,
sancti Florentíni Mártyris, qui, una cum beáto Hilário,
post abscissiónem linguæ, jussus est gládio feríri.
At Sion in Switzerland, St. Florentius, martyr.
After his tongue had been cut out, he was put to the sword with blessed Hilary.
At Sitten in Gaul, St. Florentine, Martyr; after
his tongue had been torn out, he was ordered to be smitten with the sword,
together with blessed Hilary.
|
614
St. Ceraunus bishop of Paris
France. His relics are enshrined in the church of St. Genevieve there.
|
7th century St. Barrog Disciple of St. Cadoc {580},
in Wales
also called Barroq and Barnoc. He was a hermit who lived on Barry Island,
off the coast of Glamorgen. |
679 St. Deodatus A saint of Sora in central Italy. His relics were enshrined
in the cathedral there in 1621; attracted by the reputation of St.
Columbanus he withdrew to the Vosges, sojourning at Romont, and Arentelle,
and made the acquaintance of Sts Arbogast and Florentius
St. Deodatus (Dié) (b. towards the close of the sixth century; d.
679) came from Le Nivernais, or, according to some authorities, from Ireland; attracted by the reputation of
St. Columbanus he withdrew to the
Vosges, sojourning at Romont, and Arentelle, and made the acquaintance of
Sts Arbogast and Florentius. For some time he was a solitary
at Wibra, doubtless the present Katzenthal on Alsace, but being persecuted
by the inhabitants, he went to the Vosges and founded a monastery, which
he named Galilée on lands (called "Juncturae") given to him by Childeric
II. The town of St-Dié now stands on this site. |
790 St. Hiltrude
Benedictine recluse at Liessies Abbey in France. Her brother, Gundrad, was abbot
|
850 Adulf
and John Martyrs of Spain brothers Islamic father Christian mother
Córdubæ, in Hispánia, sanctórum Mártyrum
Adúlfi et Joánnis fratrum, qui, in persecutióne Arábica,
pro Christo coronáti sunt; eorúmque animáta exémplo
beáta Virgo Aurea, ipsórum soror, ad fidem redúcta,
et ipsa póstmodum martyrium fórtiter súbiit quartodécimo
Kaléndas Augústi.
At Cordova in Spain, the holy martyrs Adolph and John,
brothers, who won the martyrs' crown in the Arabian persecution. Their
sister, the blessed virgin Aurea, was inspired by their example to return
to the faith and later bravely suffered martyrdom on the 19th of July.
Both men were residents of Seville, the sons of an Islamic father
and a Christian mother. Caught in the persecutions conducted by the Caliph
of Córdoba, Abdal-Rahman II, Adolphus and John were martyred in Córdoba.
At Cordova in Spain, the holy martyrs Adulf and John, brothers, who were
crowned with martyrdom for Christ’s sake in the Arab persecution. Their sister,
the blessed Virgin Aurea, was inspired
by their example to return to the faith, and later suffered martyrdom bravely
on July 19.
|
1125 St. Bonfilius
Benedictine bishop and pilgrim
Born in Osimo, in Piceno, Italy,
he entered the Benedictines and became the bishop of Storace. In 1078, he
became the bishop of Foligno and went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in
1096. He returned soon after to a Benedictine abbey.
|
1323 St. Elzear;
He managed his estate with firmness, prudence, and ability; Elzear and Delphina
were regarded as an ideal married couple, known for their holiness and piety
Lutétiæ
Parisiórum sancti Elzeárii Cómitis.
At Paris, St. Eleazar, a count.
1323 AND 1360 ST ELZEAR AND BD DELPHINA
ST Elzear of Sabran was born in 1285 at Ansouis in Provence, a castle belonging
to his father. His uncle, William of Sabran, Abbot of St Victor’s at Marseilles,
under whom he had his education in that monastery, perfected the lessons
in virtue he received from his mother. The abbot had to reprove him for the
austerities, which he practised, yet secretly admiring so great fervour in
a young noble. While he was still a child he was affianced to Delphina of
Glandèves, daughter and heiress to the lord of Puy-Michél.
She had been left an orphan in her infancy and was brought up by her aunt,
an abbess, under the guardianship of her uncles. When they were both about
sixteen the marriage took place. It is said that the girl, encouraged by
a Franciscan friar, asked her husband to agree to a virginal union, but it
was some time before he would do so.
In the lives of this holy couple the world saw religious devotion
in the midst of secular dignities, contemplation amid the noise of public
life, and in conjugal friendship a holy rivalry in goodness and charity.
St Elzear recited the Divine Office every day and communicated frequently.
“I do not think”, he said one day to Delphina, “that any man on earth can
enjoy a happiness equal to that which I have in Holy Communion.”
Elzear was twenty-three when he inherited his father’s honours
and estates. He found it necessary to go into Italy to take possession of
the lordship of Ariano. He found his Neapolitan vassals badly disposed towards
him, and it required all his tact and gentleness to satisfy them. His cousin
one day told him that his mild methods hurt the common cause, and said, “
Let me deal with these people for you. I will hang up half a thousand, and
make the rest as pliant as a glove. It is fit to be a lamb among the good,
but with the wicked you must play the lion. Such insolence must be curbed.
Say your prayers for me, and I will give so many blows for you that this
rabble will give you no more trouble.” Elzear smilingly replied, “Would you
have me begin my government with massacres and blood? I will overcome
these men by good. It is no great matter for a lion to tear lambs but for
a lamb to pull a lion in pieces is another thing. Now, by God’s assistance,
you will shortly see this miracle.” The effect verified the prediction. The
following is mentioned another instance of his Christian forbearance. Among
the papers which his father left, Elzear found the letters of a certain gentleman
under his command, filled with calumnies against him and persuading his father
to disinherit him as one fitter to be a monk than to bear arms. Delphina
was indignant at reading such impudence, and said she hoped her husband would
deal with the man as he deserved. But Elzear reminded her that Christ commands
us not to revenge but to forgive injuries, and to overcome hatred by charity
therefore he would destroy and never make mention of these letters. He did
so, and when their writer came to wait upon him he affectionately greeted
him and won his good will.
It is a dangerous mistake to imagine that one can be devout merely by spending
much time in prayer, and that pious persons should fall into careless neglect
of their temporal concerns. On the contrary, solid virtue is also able to
do business and to despatch it well. St Elzear was rendered by his piety
faithful, prudent and dexterous in the management of temporal affairs, both
domestic and public: valiant in war, active in peace, faithful in every trust,
and diligent in the care of his household for which he drew up careful regulations.
He himself set the example in everything that he prescribed to others, and
Bd Delphina concurred with her husband in all his views and was perfectly
obedient to him. No coldness interrupted the harmony or damped the affections
of this holy pair. The countess never forgot that the devotions of a married
woman ought to be ordered in a different manner from those of a nun, that
contemplation is the sister of action and that Martha and Mary must mutually
help one another.
About 1317 Elzear returned to Naples, taking with him Delphina, who waited
upon Queen Sanchia, wife of King Robert, and the tutorship of their son Charles
was entrusted to Elzear. This young prince was sprightly, understood too
well his high position, was intractable, and had all the airs of the court.
The count saw his pupil’s dangerous inclinations but took no notice of them
till he had won his affection and gained credit with him. Then did St Elzear
lead young Charles into more sober and fruitful ways, and when his father
had need of a new justiciar in the southern Abruzzi, Elzear was named to
the office.
Some years later King Robert sent St Elzear to Paris to ask for the
hand of Mary of Valois for his son. Bd Delphina was a little nervous for
her husband amid the dangers of the French court, but he replied dryly that
since by the grace of God he had kept his virtue in Naples he was not likely
to come to any harm at Paris. In fact, the danger that awaited him was quite
other. After he had carried through his commission he fell sick and it was
the sickness of death. He at once made a general confession and he continued
to confess almost every day of his illness, though he is said never to have
offended God by any mortal sin. The history of Christ’s passion was every
day read to him, and in it he found great comfort amidst his pains. Receiving
viaticum, he said with joy, “This is my hope; in this I desire to die”, and
on September 27, 1323, he died in the arms of a Franciscan friar who had been
his confessor.
About the year 1309 St Elzear had assisted as godfather at the baptism of
William of Grimoard, his nephew, a sickly child whose health was restored
at the prayers of his sponsor. Fifty-three years later this William became
pope as Urban V, and in 1369 he signed the decree of canonization of his
godfather Elzear, who is named in the Roman Martyrology on this day.
Bd Delphina survived her husband thirty-seven years. At the death of King
Robert, Queen Sanchia put on the habit of a Poor Clare in a nunnery at Naples.
In this state she lived with great fervour, learning from Delphina the exercises
of a spiritual life. After her death Delphina returned into Provence and
led the life of a recluse, first at Cabrières and then at Apt. She
gave away all she could to the poor, and during her last years was afflicted
with a painful illness that she bore with heroic patience. She died in 1360
and was buried with her husband at Apt. An old tradition says that both St
Elzear and Bd Delphina were members of the third order of St Francis, and
they are therefore particularly venerated by the Franciscans; in their supplement
to the martyrology Bd Delphina is named on December 9, though she appears
to have died on November 26.
The manuscript
materials collected and printed by the Bollandists in their vol. vii for
September are of considerable interest. From these sources P. Girard compiled
a popular biography, Saint Elzéar de Sabran et hi
B. Delphine de Signe (1912). A liturgical office formerly in use for their feast
day will be found in the Archivum Franciscanum Historicum, vol.
X (1917), pp. 231—238. There is another good
popular account in French by G. Duhamelet (1944).
Elzear was of noble parents. He was born at the family castle
at Ansouis, Province, France. He was educated at St. Victor's monastery in Marseilles by
his uncle, who was abbot and was married to Delphina of Glandieves
when both were sixteen vow of chastity with his spouse. He inherited
his father's estate, becoming lord of Ansouis and count of Ariano in the
kingdom of Naples when he was twenty-three.
He managed his estate with firmness,
prudence, and ability and Elzear and Delphina were regarded as an ideal married
couple, known for their holiness and piety. In 1317, they joined the court
of King Robert of Naples, and Elzear became tutor to the King's son Charles.
Elzear was named Justiciar of southern Abruzzi by Robert, acted as Robert's
envoy to France to arrange the marriage of Mary of Valois and Charles, fell
ill on the trip, and died in Paris on September 27th.
Elzear was canonized in 1369 in
a ceremony attended by Delphina.
|
1392 Saint Sergius
of Radonezh named Bartholomew by parents the pious and illustrious nobles Cyril
and Maria (September 28); For his angelic manner of life St Sergius was granted
an heavenly vision by God. One time by night Abba Sergius was reading the
rule of prayer beneath an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Having completed
the reading of the canon to the Mother of God, he sat down to rest, but suddenly
he said to his disciple, St Mikhei (May 6), that there awaited them a wondrous
visitation. After a moment the Mother of God appeared accompanied by the
holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Due to the extraordinary bright
light St Sergius fell down, but the Most Holy Theotokos touched Her hands
to him, and in blessing him promised always to be Protectress of his holy
monastery.
Born in the village of Varnitsa, near Rostov, on May 3, 1314.
His parents were the pious and illustrious
nobles Cyril and Maria (September 28). The Lord chose him while still
in his mother's womb. In the Life of St Sergius it is reported that even
before the birth of her son, St Maria and those praying heard the thrice-repeated
cry of the infant at the Divine Liturgy: before the reading of the Holy Gospel,
during the Cherubic hymn, and when the priest pronounced: "Holy Things are
for the Holy."
God gave Cyril and Maria a son whom they named Bartholomew. From
his very first days of life the infant amazed everyone by his fasting. On
Wednesdays and Fridays he would not accept milk from his mother, and on other
days, if Maria used oil in the food, the infant also refused the milk of
his mother. Noticing this, Maria refrained altogether from food with oil.
At the age of seven, Bartholomew was sent to study together with
his two brothers: his older brother Stephen, and his younger brother Peter.
His brothers learned successfully, but Bartholomew fell behind in his studies,
even though the teacher gave him much special attention. The parents scolded
the child, the teacher chastised him, and his classmates made fun of his
lack of comprehension. Finally, Bartholomew besought the Lord with tears
to grant him the ability to read.
Once, his father sent Bartholomew out after the horses in the
field. Along the way he met an angel sent by God under the appearance of
a monk. The Elder stood at prayer beneath an oak in a field. Bartholomew approached
him, and bowing, waited for the Elder to finish praying. The monk blessed
him, gave him a kiss and asked what he wanted.
Bartholomew answered, "With
all my soul I want to learn reading and writing. Holy Father, pray for me
to God, that He may help me to become literate." The monk fulfilled Bartholomew's
request, offering up his prayer to God. In blessing the child he said to
him: "Henceforth, my child, God gives you to understand reading and writing,
and in this you will surpass your brothers and peers" (See the famous M.
Nesterov painting "Vision of Bartholomew").
Then the Elder took a vessel and gave Bartholomew a piece of prosphora."Take,
child, and eat," said he."This is given to you as a sign of the grace of
God, and for the understanding of Holy Scripture." The Elder wanted to leave,
but Bartholomew asked him to visit at the home of his parents. His parents
received their guest with joy and offered him their hospitality.
The Elder replied that it was proper to partake of spiritual nourishment
first, and he bade their son to read the Psalter. Bartholomew began to read,
and his parents were amazed at the change that had occured with their son.
In parting, the Elder prophetically said of St Sergius, "Your son shall be
great before God and the people. He shall become a chosen habitation of the
Holy Spirit."
After this the holy child read without difficulty and understood
the contents of books. He became immersed in prayer with a special fervor,
not missing a single church service. Already in childhood he imposed upon
himself a strict fast. He ate nothing on Wednesdays and Fridays, and on the
other days he sustained himself on bread and water.
About the year 1328, the parents of St Sergius moved from Rostov
to Radonezh. When their older sons married, Cyril and Maria received the monastic
schema shortly before their death at the Khot'kov monastery of the Protection
of the Most Holy Theotokos, not far from Radonezh.
Later on, the older brother Stephen was widowed and became a monk
at this monastery. Having buried his parents, Bartholomew and his brother
Stephen withdrew into the forest (12 versts from Radonezh) to live in the
wilderness. At first they made cells, and then a small church, and with the
blessing of Metropolitan Theognostus, it was consecrated in the name of the
Most Holy Trinity. But soon, unable to bear the difficulties of life in the
wilderness, Stephen left his brother and went on to the Moscow Theophany
monastery, where he became close to St Alexis, afterwards Metropolitan of
Moscow. (February 12).
On October 7,1337 Bartholomew was tonsured by Igumen Metrophanes,
taking the name of the holy Martyr Sergius (October 7), and he started to
build a new habitation to the glory of the Life-Creating Trinity. Suffering
temptations and demonic apparitions, St Sergius advanced from strength to
strength. Gradually he became known to other monks seeking his guidance.
St Sergius accepted all with love, and soon a brotherhood of twelve monks
were gathered in the small monastery.
Their experienced spiritual
guide distinguished himself by an extraordinary love for work. With his own
hands he built several cells, he carried water, he chopped wood, baked bread,
sewed clothing, prepared food for the brethren and humbly took on other tasks.
St Sergius combined the heavy work with prayer, vigil and fasting.
The brethren were amazed that with such severe exertion the health
of their guide did not deteriorate, but rather became all the more hearty.
It was not without difficulty that they implored St Sergius to accept the
position of igumen of the monastery.
In 1354 Bishop Athanasius of Volyn ordained the saint a hieromonk
and elevated him to the rank of igumen. Just as before, monastic obediences
were strictly fulfilled at the monastery. With the expansion of the monastery,
its needs also grew. Often the monks had only scant food, but through the
prayers of St Sergius unknown people provided the necessities.
Reports of the exploits of St Sergius became known even at Constantinople,
and Patriarch Philotheus sent to the monk a cross, a "paraman" (monastic
clothing, a four-cornered cloth tied with cords to the chest and worn beneath
other garb, and adorned with symbols of the Lord's Passion) and schema-robe
in blessing for new deeds, and a grammota of blessing, in which the Patriarch
counselled the chosen of God to organize a cenobitic monastery. The monk
set off with the patriarchal missive to St Alexis, and received from him
the counsel to introduce a strict manner of cenobitic life. The monks began
to grumble at the strictness of the monastic Rule, and St Sergius was compelled
to forsake the monastery. At the River Kirzhach he founded a monastery in
honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Matters at the former
monastery went quickly into disarray, and the remaining monks recoursed to
St Alexis that he should get the saint to return.
St Sergius unquestioningly obeyed
the holy hierarch, and left in place of himself at the Kirzhachsk monastery
his disciple, St Roman.
Already during his lifetime St Sergius had been vouchsafed the
gift of wonderworking. He raised a lad, at a point when the despairing father
had given up on his only son as lost. Reports about the miracles worked by
St Sergius began quickly to spread about, and the sick began to come to him,
both from the surrounding villages and also from remote places. And no one
left from St without receiving healing of infirmities and edifying counsel.
Everyone gave glory for St Sergius, and reverenced him on an equal with the
ancient holy Fathers. But human glory did not hold allure for the great ascetic,
and as before he remained the example of monastic humility.
One time St Stephen, Bishop of Perm (April 27), who deeply revered
St Sergius, was on journey from his diocese to Moscow. The roadway passed
eight versts distant from the Sergiev monastery. Intending to visit the monastery
on his return trip, the saint stopped, and having recited a prayer, he bowed
to St Sergius with the words: "Peace be to thee, spiritual brother." At this
instant St Sergius was sitting in the trapeza for a meal with the brethren.
In reply to the blessing of the holy hierarch, St Sergius rose up, recited
a prayer, and made a return blessing to St Stephen. Certain of the disciples,
astonished at the extraordinary action of St Sergius, hastened off to the
indicated place, and became convinced of the veracity of the vision.
Gradually the monks began to witness also other similar actions.
Once, during Liturgy, an angel of the Lord served with the saint, but St Sergius
in his humility forbade anyone to tell about this until after his death.
St Sergius was connected with St Alexis by close bonds of spiritual
friendship and brotherly love. St Alexis in his declining years summoned
St Sergius to him and besought him to accept to be Russian Metropolitan,
but St Sergius humbly declined to be primate.
The Russian Land at this time
suffered under the Mongol-Tatar Yoke. Having gathered an army, Great-prince
Demetrius Ioannovich of the Don went to monastery of St Sergius to ask blessing
in the pending struggle. St Sergius gave blessing to two monks of his monastery
to render help to the great-prince: the Schemamonk Andrei [Oslyaba] and the
Schemamonk Alexander [Peresvet], and he predicted the victory for prince
Demetrius. The prophecy of St Sergius was fulfilled: on September 8, 1380,
on the feastday of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, Russian soldiers
gained a total victory over the Tatar hordes at Kulikovo Pole (Kulikovo Field),
and set in place the beginning of the liberation of the Russian Land from
the Mongol Yoke. During the fighting St Sergius and the brethren stood at
prayer and besought God to grant victory to the Russian forces.
For his angelic manner of life St Sergius was granted an heavenly
vision by God. One time by night Abba Sergius was reading the rule of prayer
beneath an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Having completed the reading
of the canon to the Mother of God, he sat down to rest, but suddenly he said
to his disciple, St Mikhei (May 6), that there awaited them a wondrous visitation.
After a moment the Mother of God appeared accompanied by the holy Apostles
Peter and John the Theologian. Due to the extraordinary bright light St Sergius
fell down, but the Most Holy Theotokos touched Her hands to him, and in blessing
him promised always to be Protectress of his holy monastery.
Having reached old age, and foreseeing his own end six months
beforehand, St Sergius summoned the brethren to him and designated his disciple
St Nikon (November 17), who was experienced in the spiritual life and obedience,
to be igumen. In tranquil solitude St Sergius fell asleep in the Lord on
September 25, 1392. On the night before, the great saint of God summoned
the brethren a final time to give them his final instruction: "Brethren,
be attentive to yourselves. Have first the fear of God, purity of soul and
unhypocritical love...."
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1660
St. Vincent de Paul patron of charitable societiesLutétiæ Parisiórum
item natális sancti
Vincéntii a Paulo, Presbyteri et Confessóris, Congregatiónis
Presbyterórum Missiónis et Puellárum Caritátis
Fundatóris, viri apostólici et páuperum patris; quem
Leo Décimus tértius, Póntifex Máximus, ómnium
Societátum caritátis, in toto cathólico Orbe exsisténtium
et ab eódem Sancto quomodólibet promanántium, cæléstium
Patrónum apud Deum constítuit. Ipsíus tamen festívitas
quartodécimo Kaléndas Augústi celebrátur.
At Paris,
the birthday of St. Vincent de Paul, priest and confessor, founder of the
Congregation of the Mission and of the Sisters of Charity, an apostolic man
and father to the poor. Pope Leo XIII appointed this saint as the heavenly
patron before God of all charitable societies in the world which in any way
whatever draw their origin from him. His feast is
celebrated on the 19th of July.
St. Vincent was born of poor parents in the village of Pouy in
Gascony, France, about 1580. He enjoyed
his first schooling under the Franciscan Fathers at Acqs. Such had been his
progress in four years that a gentleman chose him as subpreceptor to his
children, and he was thus enabled to continue his studies without being a
burden to his parents. In 1596, he went to the University of Toulouse for
theological studies, and there he was ordained priest in 1600.
In 1605, on a voyage by sea from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell
into the hands of African pirates
and was carried as a slave to Tunis. His captivity lasted about two years,
until Divine Providence enabled him to effect his escape. After a brief visit
to Rome he returned to France, where he became preceptor in the family of
Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Goigny, and General of the galleys of France.
In 1617, he began to preach missions, and in 1625, he lay the foundations
of a congregation which afterward became the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists,
so named on account of the Prioryof St. Lazarus,
which the Fathers began to occupy in 1633.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the works of this servant
of God. Charity was his predominant virtue. It extended to all classes of
persons, from forsaken childhood to old age. The Sisters of Charity also owe the foundation
of their congregation to St. Vincent. In the midst of the most distracting
occupations his soul was always intimately united with God. Though honored
by the great ones of the world, he remained deeply rooted in humility. The
Apostle of Charity, the immortal Vincent de Paul, breathed his last in Paris
at the age of eighty.
The deathbed confession of a dying servant opened Vincent's
eyes to the crying spiritual needs of the peasantry of France. This seems
to have been a crucial moment in the life of the man from a small farm in
Gascony, France, who had become a priest with little more ambition than to
have a comfortable life.
It was the Countess de Gondi
(whose servant he had helped) who persuaded her husband to endow and support
a group of able and zealous missionaries who would work among the poor, the
vassals and tenants and the country people in general. Vincent was too humble
to accept leadership at first, but after working for some time in Paris among
imprisoned galley-slaves, he returned to be the leader of what is now known
as the Congregation of the Mission, or the Vincentians. These priests, with
vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability, were to devote themselves
entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages.
Later Vincent established confraternities of charity for the spiritual
and physical relief of the poor and sick of each parish. From these, with
the help of St. Louise de Marillac, came the Daughters of Charity, "whose
convent is the sickroom, whose chapel is the parish church, whose cloister
is the streets of the city." He organized the rich women of Paris to collect
funds for his missionary projects, founded several hospitals, collected relief
funds for the victims of war and ransomed over 1,200 galley slaves from North
Africa. He was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when there
was great laxity, abuse and ignorance among them. He was a pioneer in clerical
training and was instrumental in establishing seminaries.
Most remarkably, Vincent was by temperament a very irascible person—even
his friends admitted it. He said that except for the grace of God he would
have been "hard and repulsive, rough and cross." But he became a tender and
affectionate man, very sensitive to the needs of others.
Pope Leo XIII made him the patron of all charitable societies.
Outstanding among these, of course, is the Society of St. Vincent de Paul,
founded in 1833 by his admirer Blessed Frederic Ozanam.
Comment: The Church is for all
God's children, rich and poor, peasants and scholars, the sophisticated and
the simple. But obviously the greatest concern of the Church must be for
those who need the most help—those made helpless by sickness, poverty, ignorance
or cruelty. Vincent de Paul is a particularly appropriate patron for all Christians
today, when hunger has become starvation, and the high living of the rich
stands in more and more glaring contrast to the physical and moral degradation
in which many of God's children are forced to live.
Quote: "Strive to live content
in the midst of those things that cause your discontent. Free your mind from
all that troubles you, God will take care of things. You will be unable to
make haste in this [choice] without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God,
because he sees that you do not honor him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust
in him, I beg you, and you will have the fulfillment of what your heart desires"
(St. Vincent de Paul, Letters).
Vincent de Paul, Priest (RM)
While serving in the poverty-stricken
Clichy district of Paris, St. Vincent said to Cardinal de Retz, "I think
the pope himself is not so happy as a parish priest in the midst of such
kind-hearted people." He spent his life in self-giving ministry with and
to the poor. St. Vincent said that such ministry liberates the one who serves
as much or more than it sustains, relieves, and liberates the served. He
didn't begin his priesthood with this attitude but rather grew into it.
St. Vincent was ordained in 1600. In 1605 he was captured by pirates
and taken to Tunis, sold as a slave, and remained there for two years. He
convinced his second master, a former monk, to return to France for absolution.
In France, St. Vincent found a patron in the papal vice-legate,
who took Vincent back to Rome with him. He was sent back to France in 1609
and became the almoner (person who gives out alms) to the former wife of
King Henry IV--Marguerite de Valois--and dispensed alms on a grand scale.
After serving in various other privileged posts, in 1617 he began
a new life while in Chatillon-des-Domes near Lyons, where he founded the Confraternity
of Charity to encourage ladies to minister "as if she were dealing with her
son, or rather with God, who refers to Himself whatever good is done to the
poor." There primary role was nursing the sick. The Confraternity served
as the seed for the Sisters of Charity (co-founded with Louise de Marillac
with pontifical approval in 1668) and the Ladies of Charity. The book says
that he gave women their first public role in the Church in 800 years.
For St. Vincent social commitment and the spiritual life were
united. He founded seminaries to mold missionary priests for rural France.
He integrated acts of corporal and spiritual mercy. He combined unselfish
commitment to the poor with his connections to the rich and powerful.
St. Vincent said, "I will set out to serve the poor. I will try
to do so in a gay and modest manner, so as to console and edify them; I will
speak to them as though they were my lords and masters...Even when one scolds
me and finds fault with me, I will not omit the fulfillment of my duty but
pay...the respect and the honor due."
From G. Markus. The Radical Tradition: Revolutionary Saints in
the Battle for Justice and Human Rights. NY: Doubleday, 1993, pp. 116-125.
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Laus, France (1664)
Title: Our Lady of Laus / Our Lady of Happy Meetings
Feast Day: September 27th Investigated: 1665, 2007 First Apparition:
1664 Approved: May 4, 2008
Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco of the Diocese of Gap Last Apparition:
1718
Visionaries: Benoite (Benedicta) Rencurel Number of Apparitions: Many
(over 54 years)
Summary: Benoite Rencurel, a poor shepherdess, was born in 1647. The
Virgin Mary started appearing to her in 1664 and continued visiting her throughout
the rest of her life (Died Dec 28 1718. The Blessed Mother told her to “pray
continuously for sinners.”
Laus, France (1664)
Summary
Benoite Rencurel, a poor shepherdess, was born in 1647. The Virgin Mary started
appearing to her in 1664 and continued visiting her throughout the rest of
her life. Rencurel died in Dec 28, 1718.
During the apparitions, the Blessed Mother asked for a church and a house
for priests to be built, with the intension of drawing people to greater
conversion, especially through the sacrament of penance. The holy site now
draws 120,000 pilgrims annually. Numerous physical healings have also been
associated with the site, especially when oil from a lamp is applied on the
wounds according to the directives the Virgin Mary gave to Rencurel
Sept 16, 1647
Benoite (Benedicta) Rencurel is born in Saint-Étienne d'Avançon
(in the southern French Alps).
1654
Benedicta's father dies. The family suffers financial difficulties
with creditors.
May 1664
Benedicta encounters an elderly man, St. Maurice (Maurice of Carnoët
Sistercian abbot and reformer), who tells her to take her flock of sheep
to the valley above Saint-Étienne where she will see the Mother of
God.
May 1664
Benedicta was caring for the animals of some neighbors and praying
the rosary when she saw a dazzling lady standing on a rock, holding a beautiful
child in her arms. “Beautiful Lady!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing up
there? Do you want to eat with me? I have some good bread which we can soften
up at the fountain.” The girl’s simplicity brought a smile to the Lady’s
face, but she said nothing. “Beautiful Lady! Could you give us that child?
He would make us so happy.” The Lady smiled again without responding. After
remaining a few minutes with Benedicta, she took the child in her arms and
disappeared into a cave.
For four months, the Lady appeared to Benedicta every day, talking
to her and preparing her for her future mission. Benedicta told the woman
who owned the flock that she cared for about the visions, but she did not
believe her. One day, however, the woman secretly followed her to the Fours
valley. She didn’t see the vision, but she did hear Mary’s voice, who told
Benedicta to warn her that her soul was in danger. “She has something on
her conscience,” Mary said. “Tell her to do penance.” The woman was deeply
moved by the message, returned to the sacraments and lived piously for the
rest of her days.
Aug 29, 1664
Benedicta asked the Lady what her name was. She replied, “My name is
Mary.”
1664-1665
During the winter, Benedicta went up to Laus frequently, each time
receiving a vision of the Blessed Mother, who told her to “pray continuously
for sinners.” News of the apparitions spread throughout the entire region.
Sept 18, 1665
The apparitions were officially recognized by the diocese and that
fall, construction began on a small church to receive the hundreds of pilgrims
coming to visit.
1669-1679
Benedicta received five visions of the suffering Christ. On a Friday
in July of 1673, the suffering Jesus told her: “My daughter, I show myself
in this state so that you can participate in my Passion.”
Dec 28, 1718
After more than two decades of suffering and continual apparitions
of the Blessed Mother, Benedicta received Communion on Christmas Day 1718.
Three days later she made a confession, received the last rites and around
8p.m. said goodbye to those around her. Benedicts then kissed a crucifix
and passed away peacefully.
May 4, 2008
Bishop Jean-Michel de Falco of Gap officially approved the apparitions:
“I recognize the supernatural origin of the apparitions and the events and
words experienced and narrated by Benedicta Rencurel. I encourage all of
the faithful to come and pray and seek spiritual renewal at this shrine."
Messages
Mary revealed herself in Laus as the reconciler and refuge of sinners, and
therefore she offered signs to convince them of the need to repent. She told
Benedicta that the oil from the sanctuary lamp would work miracles with the
infirm if they received the anointing with faith in her intercession.
Benedicta took the mission she received from Mary seriously and dedicated
herself to preparing sinners to receive the sacrament. She encouraged the
two priests at the shrine to receive penitents with charity and kindness
in order to help them convert.
Mary asked Benedicta to admonish women and girls about living lives of scandal,
especially those who commit abortion, the unjust wealthy and the perverse.
She also encouraged priests and religious to be faithful to their vows.
Miracles and Signs
During the apparitions, the Blessed Mother asked for a church and a house
for priests to be built, with the intension of drawing people to greater
conversion, especially through the sacrament of penance. The holy site now
draws 120,000 pilgrims annually. Numerous physical healings have also been
associated with the site, especially when oil from a lamp is applied on the
wounds according to the directives the Virgin Mary gave to Rencural.
Approval
During a Mass on May 4, 2008, attended by Roman Curia officials, Bishop Jean-Michel
de Falco of Gap noted these are the first Marian apparitions to be approved
in the 21st century by the Vatican and the Church in France. He called it
the most singular event to take place in France since the apparitions of
Lourdes in 1862.
“I recognize the supernatural origin of the apparitions and the events and
words experienced and narrated by Benedicta Rencurel. I encourage all of
the faithful to come and pray and seek spiritual renewal at this shrine,”
the bishop said.
In this homily Mass broadcast throughout the country by France-2 Television,
the bishop said, "344 year ago, Our Lady chose to address a simple shepherdess
to open the way of penitence and conversion, to invite pilgrims to reconcile
themselves with the world and with God."
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DAY 6 INTENTION 40 Days for Life 
Saints of this Day September
27 Quinto Kaléndas Octóbris
Refuge of Sinners September 27 - OUR LADY OF HAPPY
ASSEMBLY (Le Laus, France, 1664)
As we watch the spectacle of the world seeming to self-destruct
before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened and even frightened by so
much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea—It
is all a disaster of epic proportions displayed in living color on our television
screens.