Rich
2020-04-26 06:30:50 UTC
The fisherman
If Christ had first chosen a man skilled in public speaking, such a
man might well have said: "I have been chosen on account of my
eloquence. " If he had chosen a senator, the senator might have said:
"I have been chosen because of my rank." If his first choice had been
an emperor, the emperor surely might have said: "I have been chosen
for the sake of the power I have at my disposal." Let these worthies
keep quiet and defer to others; let them hold their peace for a while.
I am not saying they should be passed over or despised; I am simply
asking all those who can find any grounds for pride in what they are
to give way to others just a little.
Christ says: Give me this fisherman, this man without education or
experience, this man to whom no senator would deign to speak, not even
if he were buying fish. Yes, give me him; once I have taken possession
of him, it will be obvious that it is I who am at work in him.
Although I meant to include senators, orators, and emperors among my
recruits, even when I have won over the senator I shall still be surer
of the fisherman. The senator can always take pride in what he is; so
can the orator and the emperor, but the fisherman can glory in nothing
except Christ alone.
--St. Augustine of Hippo:
<<>><<>><<>>
April 26th - Our Lady of Good Counsel
(1467)
The apparition of Our Lady of Good Counsel is so celebrated, Her
picture so well known and so honored in the Church, that it is very
fitting to allot a place to this devotion. The little city of
Gennazano, situated on the mountains of the former Sabina province,
about ten leagues from Rome, for a thousand years already had honored
the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady of Good Counsel. In the 15th century,
the church of that city was dilapidated and about to collapse. A pious
woman of advanced age named Petruccia desired to provide for its
reconstruction, but the gift of her entire fortune, which she made for
this purpose, proved insufficient. Petruccia foretold that the Blessed
Virgin would Herself finish the work.
Then on April 25, 1467, at the hour of Vespers, a celestial harmony
was heard in the air, and the crowd saw a brilliant cloud coming down
through the air, which came to rest over the altar in the Chapel of
Saint Blaise in the Gennazano Church, where the restoration had begun.
At the same time, all the church bells began to ring joyously. The
cloud disappeared, and the marveling crowd saw a picture of Mary
holding the Child Jesus, painted on a prepared surface, suspended in
the air over the altar near the wall, without any natural support. It
was duly verified that this picture had been miraculously transported
from a church of Scutari, a city of Albania. Providence, wishing to
preserve it from profanation by the Turks who were controlling that
land, sent it as a reward for the faith of Petruccia and her fellow
citizens of Gennazano.
A history of the marvels of all kinds which have been wrought since
that time near this miraculous picture, suspended in the air, would
require volumes. Often the picture has been seen to change its
expression, the eyes of the Blessed Virgin taking on an appearance of
joy or sorrow. How many illnesses and infirmities have been cured! How
many spiritual graces have been obtained! Gennazano in Italy is still
a venerated pilgrimage site, much frequented by the people of that
land, and many pious pilgrims from other nations, when time permits it
for them, arrange to visit this blessed sanctuary. The Sovereign
Pontiffs have granted many indulgences to devotion to Our Lady of Good
Counsel, and the title Mother of Good Counsel was included in the
Litany of the Blessed Virgin by Pope Leo XIII.
Source: Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, by Abbé L. Jaud
(Mame: Tours, 1950).
Saint Quote:
If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish
God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without
waiting for them to ask you.
Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to
beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.
--St. Thomas of Villanova
Bible Quote:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. (Matthew
10:28)
<><><><>
Evil reports
Nothing is more opposite to charity, or more fatal to salvation, than the
evil reports we make of one another, whether they be true or false; because
they irritate the mind, disorder the heart, foment divisions, and embitter
hatreds, and because we cannot obtain God's pardon for them, unless we
resolve, in our confessions, to repair the evil we have done, and to
reconcile those we may have set at variance. We should therefore neither
spread evil reports of others, nor listen to them; and if we do hear
anything against our neighbor, we should be careful not to repeat it.
Prayer:
Grant, O my Saviour, that I may observe, with the greatest care, Thy
precept of charity towards my neighbor, to love him as Thou hast loved us,
since this is absolutely necessary for salvation. Give me also that
tenderness of charity which may prevent me from wounding it in any way: for
Thou hast said that to offend our neighbor is to wound the apple of Thine
eye. Grant, therefore, that I may avoid Thy displeasure by not incurring the
displeasure of my neighbor. Amen.
--Thomas à Kempis, From the Imitation of Christ
If Christ had first chosen a man skilled in public speaking, such a
man might well have said: "I have been chosen on account of my
eloquence. " If he had chosen a senator, the senator might have said:
"I have been chosen because of my rank." If his first choice had been
an emperor, the emperor surely might have said: "I have been chosen
for the sake of the power I have at my disposal." Let these worthies
keep quiet and defer to others; let them hold their peace for a while.
I am not saying they should be passed over or despised; I am simply
asking all those who can find any grounds for pride in what they are
to give way to others just a little.
Christ says: Give me this fisherman, this man without education or
experience, this man to whom no senator would deign to speak, not even
if he were buying fish. Yes, give me him; once I have taken possession
of him, it will be obvious that it is I who am at work in him.
Although I meant to include senators, orators, and emperors among my
recruits, even when I have won over the senator I shall still be surer
of the fisherman. The senator can always take pride in what he is; so
can the orator and the emperor, but the fisherman can glory in nothing
except Christ alone.
--St. Augustine of Hippo:
<<>><<>><<>>
April 26th - Our Lady of Good Counsel
(1467)
The apparition of Our Lady of Good Counsel is so celebrated, Her
picture so well known and so honored in the Church, that it is very
fitting to allot a place to this devotion. The little city of
Gennazano, situated on the mountains of the former Sabina province,
about ten leagues from Rome, for a thousand years already had honored
the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady of Good Counsel. In the 15th century,
the church of that city was dilapidated and about to collapse. A pious
woman of advanced age named Petruccia desired to provide for its
reconstruction, but the gift of her entire fortune, which she made for
this purpose, proved insufficient. Petruccia foretold that the Blessed
Virgin would Herself finish the work.
Then on April 25, 1467, at the hour of Vespers, a celestial harmony
was heard in the air, and the crowd saw a brilliant cloud coming down
through the air, which came to rest over the altar in the Chapel of
Saint Blaise in the Gennazano Church, where the restoration had begun.
At the same time, all the church bells began to ring joyously. The
cloud disappeared, and the marveling crowd saw a picture of Mary
holding the Child Jesus, painted on a prepared surface, suspended in
the air over the altar near the wall, without any natural support. It
was duly verified that this picture had been miraculously transported
from a church of Scutari, a city of Albania. Providence, wishing to
preserve it from profanation by the Turks who were controlling that
land, sent it as a reward for the faith of Petruccia and her fellow
citizens of Gennazano.
A history of the marvels of all kinds which have been wrought since
that time near this miraculous picture, suspended in the air, would
require volumes. Often the picture has been seen to change its
expression, the eyes of the Blessed Virgin taking on an appearance of
joy or sorrow. How many illnesses and infirmities have been cured! How
many spiritual graces have been obtained! Gennazano in Italy is still
a venerated pilgrimage site, much frequented by the people of that
land, and many pious pilgrims from other nations, when time permits it
for them, arrange to visit this blessed sanctuary. The Sovereign
Pontiffs have granted many indulgences to devotion to Our Lady of Good
Counsel, and the title Mother of Good Counsel was included in the
Litany of the Blessed Virgin by Pope Leo XIII.
Source: Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, by Abbé L. Jaud
(Mame: Tours, 1950).
Saint Quote:
If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish
God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without
waiting for them to ask you.
Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to
beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.
--St. Thomas of Villanova
Bible Quote:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. (Matthew
10:28)
<><><><>
Evil reports
Nothing is more opposite to charity, or more fatal to salvation, than the
evil reports we make of one another, whether they be true or false; because
they irritate the mind, disorder the heart, foment divisions, and embitter
hatreds, and because we cannot obtain God's pardon for them, unless we
resolve, in our confessions, to repair the evil we have done, and to
reconcile those we may have set at variance. We should therefore neither
spread evil reports of others, nor listen to them; and if we do hear
anything against our neighbor, we should be careful not to repeat it.
Prayer:
Grant, O my Saviour, that I may observe, with the greatest care, Thy
precept of charity towards my neighbor, to love him as Thou hast loved us,
since this is absolutely necessary for salvation. Give me also that
tenderness of charity which may prevent me from wounding it in any way: for
Thou hast said that to offend our neighbor is to wound the apple of Thine
eye. Grant, therefore, that I may avoid Thy displeasure by not incurring the
displeasure of my neighbor. Amen.
--Thomas à Kempis, From the Imitation of Christ