Neither are the souls of the pious dead separated from the Church which even now is the kingdom of Christ. Otherwise there would be no remembrance of them at the altar of God in the communication of the Body of Christ. -- Saint Augustine of Hippo from “The City of God

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Saint Rita of Cascia



Rita Lotti was born in the year 1381, her parents, Antonio and Amata were very devout Catholics and taught Rita a love of God and the Church from a very young age. The young Rita was much loved by her parents and from them she learnt to have an intense devotion to our suffering Lord.

This would prove to be providential for throughout her life, Rita would be touched by tragedy and grief, it was if God Himself would pierce her soul in order to share in His suffering, this was an honour given to few, but Rita was one of those holy souls.

Rita though she longed to become a Religious instead bowed to her parents decision that she marry, being that she was an obedient daughter to both her parents and the Church, Rita consented in all humility to her parents wishes. This brought relief to both Antonio and Amata Lotti as they had worried that a Religious life would be too difficult for Rita to live, especially as the Church seemed to be under attack by certain political elements.

Rita married Paolo Mancini at a very young age and though Paolo would not prove to be an ideal husband, he tried through his wife's influence to overcome his fiery temper. They would be blessed with the birth of twin sons who seemed to have inherited their fathers tempestuous nature, but through it all Rita maintained her love for God and the Sacraments of the Church.

This was one very strong woman, who though her husband at times ill treated her, she bore him no ill will and instead returned only love to this volatile husband of hers. Rita grasped that in order to set a good and holy example she would have to excel at patience, fortitude , courage and humility, she did this with natural ease, as these very Gifts were inherent in her nature. This wife and mother lived an ordinary life of daily chores of cooking, cleaning, laundry and other sundry housework in order to maintain the upkeep of her home.

Though Rita would suffer at the hands of her volatile husband she never resented him but simply prayed that he would find the peace of heart that she had in abundance. Paolo did try to follow in his wife's lead but unlike Rita, he had a difficult time controlling his temper, and maintaining his decorum through the social upheavals in his region.

This inability to control his temper and mind his tongue may have led to an act of vengeance when Paolo was murdered as he was returning back home after his daily work was finished. The death of her husband in such an unfortunate and tragic way deeply grieved Rita, as she prayed for the soul of her husband and also the salvation of the man who had killed her beloved husband.

What also troubled Rita was the tradition of avenging a loved one's death and though Rita grieved her husbands untimely death, she herself wished no harm to come to his assailant, this position though was not shared by her sons. Though Rita had brought up her sons to love God and the Church, she was also fighting against a society that cultivated vengeance. Her boys themselves were heart sore at the death of their father, listened to the whispers of revenge rather than the loving and forgiving words of their mother.

It is here that Rita's real strength of character and her total Faith in God took over as her sons seemed bent on avenging their fathers death, and ignored all her entreaties to desist from this perilous path. The boys had closed their hearts to their mothers pleading, so began the boys decision to avenge their fathers death.


Rita as she always did, prayed with great zeal to God that He would not allow her beloved sons to have a mortal sin on their souls. And so it was that both her sons died, before they could complete their mission of avenging their fathers murder.

With the death of her family this left Rita alone in the world and though she grieved the loss of her husband and her beloved boys, she also had peace of heart knowing that her sons had not taken a life for a life. As the days, weeks and months rolled by Rita dedicated her life to prayer and good works.

Still, the longing to become a Religious had never left her and after she had tried to enter the Religious Community of the Augustinian Nuns, this caused some concern for the Superiors in that members of the man who had murdered her husband were living in the Convent walls. After being refused numerous times, Rita then approached the relatives of those who had murdered Paolo and also to her own in laws to request that both sides forgive as our Lord desired them too.

This would prove the last hurdle as Rita's love of God and her forgiveness of those who had wronged her left all with a deep imprint of this woman's strong Faith and love of God and her fellow man. Upon the warring families reconciliation with each other, this allowed Rita to enter the Community Augustinian Sisters.

From here on Sister Rita led a life of prayer, mortifications, self service to the poor and ill and also worked within the Convent attending to her daily duties as a Religious Sister. This most courageous Sister truly epitomised the meaning of self giving love for the sake of love itself.

Perhaps this is why our Lord blessed Sister Rita with the singular gift shared by only a few Holy souls, a wound of the stigmata, as a thorn pierced her head, as she knelt in prayer. Once again Rita bore out this pain in silence as she spent her days contemplating the Crucified Lord, and prayed for the salvation of souls.

This remarkable woman truly embodied what it is to live one's Faith irrespective of the conditions one lives in, as she had often been on the receiving end of her volatile husbands temper and endured the loss of her beloved sons. Through all this not once did Rita complain of her lot, but rather offered up all her pain and suffering to her Lord and Saviour.

Sister Rita died in 1457.

Saint Rita was canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.


Tuesday, April 30, 2013

ON THE VENERATION OF ST. JOSEPH (From Goffine's Devout Instructions)




St. Alphonsus Liguori writes that the example of Christ who so highly venerated St. Joseph while on earth, and who during his whole life was obedient to him, should suffice to inspire all hearts with devotion to this great saint; and he, whom the King of kings placed so high, indeed deserves especial veneration from man. To encourage this veneration, St. Theresa wrote: “I do not remember that I ever prayed to St. Joseph for anything which he did not procure for me; the great graces God has given me through him, and the many dangers of body and soul from which he has preserved me, are indeed truly wonderful. It seems as if God has given to other saints the grace to assist in some special manner those who seek their intercession; but of this glorious saint my experience is that he assists in every need. The Lord appears to show by this, that as He was subject to him on earth, so in heaven he does every thing which St. Joseph requests of Him. Others, whom I have advised to have recourse to him, have experienced the same thing. I would gladly so advise every one.” “I have a great devotion to this saint,” continues St. Alphonsus, “because I have so often experienced that he can obtain so much from God. For many years I have been accustomed to ask a special grace on his festival, and my prayer is always answered. As we must all die, we should all have a special devotion to St. Joseph, for all Catholics consider him as the patron of the dying, who assists in the hour of death those who have venerated him, and this for three reasons: because Jesus loves Him, not only as a friend, but as His father, on which account he is a more powerful intercessor than any other saint; because St. Joseph has a special power against evil spirits who attack us in the hour of death; for since he freed our Saviour from the snares of Herod, God has given him the power to guard the dying from the attacks of the devil; lastly the assistance which Jesus and Mary rendered him in the hour of death, gives him the right to procure a sweet and holy death for his servants. If they, therefore, invoke him in the hour of death, he will not only aid them himself, but procure aid for them from Jesus and Mary.” Should not these words of so great a saint encourage us daily to honor St. Joseph? Should not this hope of being assisted in the hour of death by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, move us to devotion to the foster-father of Christ?

PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH. O St. Joseph, Mary’s pure bridegroom, who because of thy purity and love of justice wast chosen for the foster-father of Jesus Christ, do not leave me, I beseech thee, in my necessities and cares; ask for me the grace to live a just and pure life like thine, and grant, that I may obtain the happiness of dying, like thee, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

-- Goffine's Devout Instructions


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Guest Post From Father Juan R. Vélez : Blessed John Henry Newman



Blessed John Henry Newman, A Great Teacher and Catechist

During the Year of the Faith convoked by Pope Benedict XVI we can draw inspiration from great teachers and catechists. One of these was Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890) who founded both a school for boys and a university.

Today Catholic parents are sometimes confronted with the dilemma of choosing a school for either its catholic identity or for its academic excellence and sports programs. This is a sad and unacceptable dichotomy. As gifted educator and catechist, Newman paid equal attention to educating the both intellect and the soul.

A catechist is someone who teaches others the Faith while embodying the beliefs and practices himself. The Greek word katecho means to hold on to or to teach. A catechist is a person who holds on to what he has received and transmits it faithfully to others (not only in word but by their example). John Henry Newman was a true catechist. He knew the Faith very well and taught it with great clarity and abundant examples. Just as importantly, he did so with gentleness and charm. Newman worked as a teacher and catechist at Oxford, Dublin and Birmingham.

Newman studied at a boarding school just outside of London and then at Trinity College, Oxford. Afterwards he became a tutor, what we call an associate professor at the prestigious Oriel College, Oxford. He soon had a following of students who looked up to him. Newman was concerned not only with their intellectual life, but also with their character formation and their spiritual life. When he became Roman Catholic in 1845 some followed his footsteps; others had preceded their teacher who was more cautious and deliberate.

During his teaching time at Oxford Newman was pastor of St. Mary, the University Church, and its chapel at Littlemore. Newman preached hundreds of sermons on Christian life to the college students and professors. Many of the sermons focused on the mysteries of Christ, in His death and Resurrection, and the daily practice of following Christ in prayer, sacrifice, and on the Christian virtues. Newman also preached on the individual lessons that the Apostles and Martyrs, exemplars of the Christian life, give us. As a good teacher, Newman covered almost all the subjects of the Christian Faith.

Newman developed his sermons from Sacred Scriptures and frequently quoted it, explaining the figures of the Old Testament and resolving apparent difficulties (between the Old Testament and New). He spoke quietly from the pulpit of St. Mary's but with such depth and conviction that (the congregation remained deathly silent). All ears and eyes were on this teacher who was gentle and exacting at the same time. Newman was teaching the listeners and helping them to lead virtuous lives.

In addition to caring for the intellect and the spirit, Newman was concerned for the physical needs of his students, old and young. At Littlemore there was a Sunday school for children. Newman was concerned with the children's hygiene and appearance. He asked his sisters for advice on the girls' dress, and bought them aprons. He arranged for the children to learn how to sing religious hymns, and rehearsed with them. He installed beautiful stained glass windows in the little church at Littlemore which helped those attending to give fitting praise to God.

Once he became a Roman Catholic on October 9, 1845, founded the English Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham through which he aspired to be of service in the education of many youth. In 1852, while directing the Oratory, he began one of the most important and difficult projects of his life: the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland. At the petition of the Irish bishops he prepared study plans, hired professors and sought students. He was the founder, rector, administrator, fundraiser, and builder, all in one.

Newman had the extraordinary vision of university education as formation of both the mind and character. He explained the need for theology studies for a university to aspire to universal learning (comprising all learning, not just some spheres of learning). And he indicated what the usurpation of theology in a university would do for learning; the place of theology would be falsely occupied by another science. He extolled the value of knowledge for knowledge's sake. Newman transmitted these ideas in various lectures before the actual opening of the University, and they were later published in his seminal work, Idea of a University. Newman knew from his years at Oriel College that men need real mentors. He established houses or residences in which the students would live with a mentor who would take them under his wing. Students were offered guidance in the proper exercise of their freedom.

Newman's extraordinary work at Dublin was not well appreciated, and it was hampered by the very ones who had asked him to carry it out. In 1858 he returned full time to his home at Birmingham. As a born educator, however, he was anxious to communicate the truth, and soon undertook another important work, the foundation of the Oratory School. At the time the only secondary schools (or high schools) were the Protestant public schools and some Catholic colleges. The public schools were primarily for children from wealthy families. The few catholic colleges were run by various religious orders such as the Benedictines and the Jesuits. In the former there was a lack of discipline and poor religious formation. In the latter, students who were seminarians were mixed together with lay students, and the education was not academically as rigorous as in the public schools.

Urged on by his friends, Newman forged on with plans to start something like a Catholic Eaton (Eaton being the premier English Public School). He and his friends Edward Bellasis and James Hope-Scott worked hard to secure the necessary funds, support, and students. (A Catholic Eaton? Newman's Oratory School, Paul Shrimpton, Gracewing 2005). In May 1859 the school opened. Newman was not the headmaster; he had appointed an Oratorian Father, Nicholas Darnell to this role, but Newman was the inspiration and soul of the school. His prestige drew the students and patrons. The school had serious difficulties due to the faults of the headmaster, but Newman was able to set it back on good track.

The students were all boys. Newman made sure that the younger ones had the care of a woman, and that the headmaster exercised appropriate discipline. He insisted that the students receive both a good religious education as well as a classical liberal arts education. This was the very reason for the school, namely providing youth with a complete human and spiritual formation. Their intellect should be formed and they should learn piety. Running a school was a difficult task, and Newman persevered in the endeavor. He participated in school events, including arranging classical plays which the students acted. Some famous persons were associated with the school. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, whom Newman had received in the Church, was a teacher (1867-1868) and Hilaire Belloc was a student in 1887.

Some years later Belloc wrote: They [the boys] were taught to be as free - as self-reliant and as free - as any of the young Englishmen who were growing up around them in the great public schools; but with it there was an atmosphere of healthy religion, an unconstrained frequency in the approaching of the Sacraments, a sincere faith and high code both of morals and of honour, which appeared so natural and so native to the place, that it would have been called spontaneous by anyone who did not know that the founding of the school, its influence, and its spirit were due to Cardinal Newman. ('John Henry Cardinal Newman,' The Lamp 39, 1890, pp. 138-139 quoted from A Catholic Eaton? pp. 284-285).

Through his entire life Newman led by example. He taught what he first practiced, and people were drawn by that unassuming and committed life. After many years of teaching university students, and a short time teaching children at the Littlemore Sunday school, he ended teaching boys at Birmingham Oratory School. He was an educator and a catechist all his life. Those who knew him felt his affection and influence. Thus, Cardinal Newman's knowledge of the faith was lived and transmitted to others with the gentle persuasion of the truth. He truly was a great teacher, catechist, and mentor.

Fr, Juan R. Vélez, author of Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman (TAN/St. Benedict's, 2012)

Note:

This guest post was graciously written by Father Juan R. Vélez, author of "Passion for Truth, The Life of John Henry Newman". Father Vélez is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei who resides in San Francisco. He holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre. His doctoral thesis was on John Henry Newman’s Eschatology.

His interest in the life and works of Cardinal Newman began with his doctoral studies under Prof. José Morales, author of John Henry Newman (1801-1890).

Fr. Vélez has a medical degree, also from the University of Navarre, and was previously board certified in internal medicine.