Fr. Damien May be Canonized Next Year

From KITV.com

The Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican has voted to canonize Father Damien of Molokai to sainthood.

After the verification of two medical miracles, after decades of investigation into the life and works of Damien De Veuster, the Consisterie at the Vatican has at long last voted to elevate the Martyr of Molokai to its Pantheon of Saints. The measure now awaits the signature of Pope Benedict XVI.

Read the rest here.

Despite the heretical and offensive reference to the "Pantheon of saints" mentioned in the article, this is great news.

A Local Miracle for JPII?

Wow! A local man may be the recipient of a miracle through the intercession of the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II.

From the Standard Times:

With neck bent and gripping forearm crutches, Jose Amaral slowly climbed the stairs to the Bullard Street entrance of St. Anthony of Padua Church.

Once settled in the pew near the door, he stowed the crutches until it was time to receive Holy Communion. Then, with great devotion, he made the painful journey to the altar.

When Mr. Amaral was 19, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which caused him great discomfort and pain.

"I also have had for years arthritis all over," he said.

In February 2003, Mr. Amaral's condition worsened. He collapsed at work and was diagnosed with cervical myelopathy, a stroke of the spine.

"The neurologist and neurosurgeon both said that there was considerable nerve damage. I've gotten progressively worse and had to have five surgeries."

On Jan. 26, Mr. Amaral was reading from a booklet of meditations on the Gospel when his eyes fell on the passages about Jesus curing the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26).

"You remember the story," he said. "Jesus first healed the paralyzed man of his sins and then cured him of his physical paralysis."

Mr. Amaral said that he went to confession that afternoon so that Jesus could heal him of his sins.

"Something happened during that confession that I cannot explain," he said. "But I felt different."

Later that night, Mr. Amaral was thinking about the experience in the confessional, and his eyes lit upon a picture he had beside him of Pope John Paul II.

"Pope John Paul the Great, please help me," he prayed. "Help me to understand God's will."

Turning on the TV to EWTN, he watched the movie, "Witness to Hope," a biography of Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II.

"That is when something came over me that is very difficult to explain," he said. "I just kept remembering the late pope's words, 'Be not afraid!'"

Over the next few days, Mr. Amaral said that he began to walk a little better with his forearm crutches.

"But I didn't say anything about it to anyone," he said. "I was very calm and peaceful."

On Jan. 30 at 3 p.m., Mr. Amaral prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and looked over at Pope John Paul II's picture.

"I decided to get up and try to walk around without my crutches," he said. "I just walked back and forth, and I didn't stop — and I've never stopped since. My strength came all at once."

Mr. Amaral attended morning Mass on Feb. 2, and after the service, he approached the sacristy.

"I was taking off my vestments, and then all of a sudden I saw him," said the Rev. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Anthony's. "He was standing completely erect, and I had never seen him stand erect. I knew then as a person who had been trained as a scientist and worked at Mass. General for five years that the only way that happens is by direct intervention of the Lord."

The Rev. Landry said that his eyes welled up with tears and the men embraced and cried together.

"One of the most beautiful moments in my priestly life was when I saw him leaving the church, and this man whom I had never seen walk before, genuflected to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I'll never forget that. Awesome."

Editor's note: The Rev. Landry has written a letter to the procurator at the Vatican relating Mr. Amaral's healing through the intercession of Pope John Paul II. A medically certifiable miracle is required for the late pontiff's canonization. Mr. Amaral visited his doctor last week and related that the physician had no scientific explanation for the healing. Last weekend, Mr. Amaral went shopping at the local Target for the first time and bought a pair of sneakers and a football.

If you are wondering, yes it is the Fr. Landry from EWTN and the Catholic Preaching site.

Instruction for Opening Sainthood Causes

In the Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presented the Instruction "Sanctorum Mater" for conducting diocesan or eparchial enquiries in the causes of saints.

Cardinal Saraiva was accompanied by Archbishop Michele Di Ruberto and Msgr. Marcello Bartolucci, respectively secretary and under-secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

In his remarks, the cardinal affirmed that the aim of the document "is to contribute to ensuring that current norms for the diocesan inquiry of a cause of beatification and canonisation are applied with ever greater care".

The Instruction is divided into six sections, said Cardinal Saraiva, going on to explain: "The first draws attention to the need for a true reputation of holiness before beginning a process, and explains the duties and roles of the petitioner, the postulator and the competent bishop. The second part describes the preliminary phase of the cause which extends as far as the 'Nihil Obstat' of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The third section concerns the instruction of the cause. The fourth part concentrates on the gathering of documentary proof and the fifth on the gathering of proof from witnesses. Finally, the sixth section of the document outlines the procedures for the closing of the inquiry".

The cardinal then went on to consider the reasons for the publication of the document, pointing out that 25 years have passed since the promulgation by John Paul II of the Apostolic Constitution 'Divinus Perfectionis Magister', and of the 'Normae servandae' by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Since then, he said, "in some dioceses, certain provisions of the law have not always been understood and, consequently, not been put into practice with the necessary meticulousness, the which has sometimes made it necessary for the congregation to supply clarifications or to ask diocesan curias to correct errors".

Furthermore, he added, "dioceses do not always have access to specialised individuals with practical experience of the various procedures involved in a cause of canonisation". For this reason, "it is evident that a practical document, such as this Instruction, was useful, indeed necessary".

"When the current legislation on causes of saints came into force", said the cardinal outlining another reason for the publication of the present document, "an unfounded idea became widespread that the traditional methodology ... had been substituted by some kind of historical-critical investigation". And he identified the reason for this confusion in "the fact that the term 'inquisitio' used in Latin (the only official text) to designate the procedure of the diocesan phase of a cause of canonisation was translated in Italian as 'inchiesta' (inquiry)". This Instruction, then, highlights "the importance of procedure" in causes of beatification and canonisation, "and accurately highlights the norms that must be observed".

Turning to the last reason for which the document was published, Cardinal Saraiva noted how, "in the move from the earlier legislation to that in force today, it was unclear to some people that a serious and rigorous verification of the fame of sanctity or martyrdom, undertaken in dioceses, is a prior requirement of absolute importance. Hence, a procedure must not be begin without irrefutable proof that the Servant of God ... is held to be a saint or martyr by a considerable number of faithful, who invoke him or her in their prayers and attribute graces and favours to his or her intercession".

Thus far during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, there have been 20 beatification ceremonies during which 563 Servants of God were beatified (36 confessors and 527 martyrs), including 48 diocesan priests, 485 male and female religious, and 30 lay people, for a total of 509 men and 54 women.

The prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has presided at 31 ceremonies, 18 in Italy and 13 in other countries (Mexico, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, France, Poland and Austria).

The canonisation ceremonies celebrated thus far during the pontificate of Benedict XVI number four (three in Rome and one in Brazil), during which 14 people were canonised (two bishops, four priests, five male religious and three female religious).

The current total of saints and blesseds of this pontificate is 577.

VIS

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Today is the feast of one of my favorite saints, St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas, the eighth of nine children, was born 1225 into a noble family.

The youngest son of a noble family was traditionally given to the Church, so Thomas was brought to the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, most likely with the hope that he would eventually become the Abbot there. However, war broke out in 1240 and the Abbey was closed. Thomas went to study and the University of Naples. In Naples, Thomas Aquinas encountered two things which changed the course of his life and Catholicism: the writings of Aristotle, and the Dominicans.
The Order of Preachers had opened a friary in Naples in 1231. Although there were only two friars living there at the time Thomas was there, one had a profound influence on Thomas. John of San Guiliano, introduced Domincan prayer, study and preaching to Thomas.

Although Thomas felt called to the Dominicans, his family had other plans. They thought it a mendicant's life was beneath him and desired for him to enter the Benedictines and eventually become the Abbot of Monte Cassino. After discovering that he had joined the Dominicans, his father kidnapped Thomas and locked him up, hoping the would change his mind. While under house arrest, Thomas studied the Sentences of Peter Lombard (another driving force in Thomas' writings) and helped his sister discern a vocation to the Benedictines. As a sort of final test, his brothers brought a prostitute to Thomas. Thomas did not succumb to temptation, but kept her at bay by brandishing a flaming stick and burning a cross on the wall.

Finally, his family realized that there was nothing they could do to prevent Thomas from following his vocation.

In this case, Thomas family desired for Thomas to choose his vocation based on what would bring honor, wealth, and prestige rather than what would give honor, praise, and glory to God. Yes, to be the Abbot of Monte Cassino could be the fulfilment of one's true vocation, but not if one's sights were on the externals. How often do we decide what God must want from us or others rather than letting Him tell us Himself? Many times, what God asks of us is not what we want or what we think should be, but He has His reasons. In addition, as the story of St. Thomas Aquinas shows, God has ways of making the events which prevent His plans from becoming realized way of furthering and deepening his will.

In the end, few remember the name of the Benedictine who became the Abbot of Monte Cassino, but St. Thomas Aquinas has become a driving force is Catholic theology. All this from a man who summed up his immense contributions to the faith and study of theology as "straw".

When one reads the Summa Theologiae or sings one of the five beautiful hymns which Thomas wrote, the thought enters the mind, "How can he have thought this was straw? This is extraordinary!" Yes, it is and I am sure that Thomas knew what an immense contribution he made, but he had seen something better. He had seen a glimpse of the things yet to come. What a comfort! How spectacular must the presence of God be, if it makes the works of St. Thomas seem like straw.

Below is one of the hymns which St. Thomas wrote, Adoro Te Devote. I have posted the Latin first and the English translation below. Yes, if the prayer in verse seven is granted even partially everything in the world will seem like straw.

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subiicit,
Quia te contemplans, totum deficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur;
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,
Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.

In Cruce latebat sola Deitas.
At hic latet simul et humanitas:
Ambo tamen credens, atgue confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro paenitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor,
Deum tamen meum te confiteor:
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.

O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini:
Praesta meae menti de te vivere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie pellicane Iesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine:
Cuius una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Iesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud, quod tam sitio,
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. Amen.

and the translation by E. Caswall

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth's own word there is no truer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the Manhood too:
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be:
Make me believe Thee ever more and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O thou Memorial of our Lord's own dying!
O Bread that living art and vivifying!
Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu, Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood;
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world's entire guilt.

Jesu! Whom for the present veil'd I see,
What I so thirst for, O vouchsafe to me:
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

St. Augustine - Part 2

Continuing the catechesis he began last week on the subject of St. Augustine, in today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope considered the final years in the life of that Doctor of the Church.

The Holy Father highlighted how, four years before his death, St. Augustine had appointed a successor, Heraclius, as bishop of Hippo, because he "wished to dedicate the years that remained to him to a more profound study of Holy Scripture".

"What followed were four years of extraordinary intellectual activity" during which time the saint also "intervened to promote peace in the African provinces which were being assailed by barbarian tribes from the south", said the Pope. He then quoted St. Augustine's own words - "it is a higher glory to stay war itself with a word, than to slay men with the sword, and to procure or maintain peace by peace, not by war" - and highlighted how the siege of Hippo by the Vandals in 429 brought great suffering to the saint.

"Though he was old and tired, Augustine remained at the breach, comforting himself and others with prayer and meditation on the mysterious designs of Providence. ... If, indeed, the world grows old, Christ is ever young, and so I invite you: 'Do not refuse to be rejuvenated with Christ, Who tells you not to fear as 'your youth will be renewed like that of the eagle'," said Pope Benedict quoting from the sermons of Augustine. "Hence Christians must not be dejected but make every effort to help those in need", he added.

After recalling how "Augustine's house-monastery used to open its doors to welcome his colleagues in the episcopate who came asking for hospitality", the Holy Father noted that the Doctor of the Church, finally free of commitments, took advantage of his time "to dedicate himself with greater intensity to prayer. He used to say that no-one, bishop, religious or lay person, however irreproachable their behaviour, could face death without adequate penance, and it was for this reason that he continually and tearfully repeated the penitential psalms which he had so often recited with his people".

The bishop of Hippo died on 28 August 430, said the Pope, "at some uncertain date his body was transferred to Sardinia and thence, around 725, to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia, where it rests today".

"We discover him 'living' in his writings", said Pope Benedict. "When I read the works of St. Augustine, I do not get the impression that here is a man who died more or less 1600 years ago, rather that he is man of today, a friend, a contemporary who speaks to me, to us, with his fresh and topical faith".

In the saint's works, "we see the permanent relevance of his faith, of the faith that comes from Christ, the eternal Word incarnate, Son of God and Son of man. And we see", the Holy Father concluded, "that this is not yesterday's faith, even though it was preached yesterday, it is today's because Christ really is - yesterday, today and forever - the Way, the Truth and the Life. Thus St. Augustine encourages us to entrust ourselves to this ever-living Christ and so find the path of life".
VIS

The Apostles - A Book Review

I finally finished "The Apostles". It's an awesome book that I recommend for everyone to read. It is written in a way that is very easy to read, yet it is filled with great insight and interesting details. While it is not groundbreaking and does not introduce anything new, unlike so many modern works, it introduces traditional teaching about the apostles and the early church in a simple way without being watered down.

Here is a quote which deserves to be repeated over and over again.

The saints have not 'fallen from Heaven'. They are people like us, who also have complicated problems.
Holiness does not consist of never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again, and, especially for reconciliation and forgiveness.

An even greater passage appears in the ninth chapter "Peter the Apostle". Pope Benedict explains the subtle message behind John 21:15. That blew me away as I read the page over and over. I'll make you read the book for that one, though. Let me just say that much is lost in the translation we hear at Mass and I now feel cheated because of it. I hope that someday I will hear a homily based on the real text.

St. Augustine the Tireless

Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during today's general audience, held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, to St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, "a man of passion and of faith, of exalted intelligence and of tireless pastoral activity", he said.

The Pope made it clear that he intended to dedicate this catechesis to St. Augustine's biography, leaving the saint's numerous works to be considered in coming weeks. It could be affirmed, said the Holy Father, that "all the threads of Latin Christian literature lead to Hippo" and that "many of the subsequent developments in Christianity, and in Western culture itself, lead out from this city of Roman Africa where St. Augustine was bishop from 395 to 430".

The author of the "Confessions", that "extraordinary spiritual autobiography ... with its great concern for the mystery of the self, for the mystery of God hidden in the self", was born in Tagaste in the year 354, the son of Patricius and of St. Monica. His mother educated him in the Christian faith, which the saint would later abandon despite his persistent interest in the figure of Christ.

Augustine studied rhetoric and grammar, a subject he went on to teach. While in Carthage, he read Cicero's "Hortensius" because although he had abandoned the practices of the Church he still always sought the truth. The book "awoke in him the love of wisdom", but "being convinced that without Jesus it is not possible to discover the truth", and as "Hortensius" contained no mention of Christ, he began to read Sacred Scripture.

However his encounter with the Bible left him disappointed, not only because of the poor Latin style of the translations, but also because "the content matter itself did not satisfy him. In the biblical accounts of wars and other human vicissitudes, he did not find that exalted philosophy," or "that splendour of the search for truth which characterises it", said the Pope.

Yet Augustine did not want to live without God and continued to seek "a religion that responded to his desire to find truth ... and to draw close to Jesus". For this reason he was attracted by Manichaeism, the followers of which claimed that theirs was a "completely rational religion". Their dualist morality attracted the future bishop of Hippo who was convinced he had found the right fusion between "rationality, search for truth, and love for Jesus Christ"; yet Manichaeism proved incapable of resolving the saint's doubts.

When Augustine moved to Milan he began to frequent the sermons of Ambrose, as a way of improving his own rhetoric. The bishop of Milan taught "a typological interpretation of the Old Testament, as the road that leads to Jesus Christ". Thus it was that Augustine "discovered the key to understanding the beauty, and even the philosophical profundity, of the Old Testament, and he came to understand all the unity of the mystery of Christ in history, and the synthesis between philosophy, rationality and faith in the Logos, in Christ the eternal Word made flesh".

Augustine converted to Christianity on 15 August 386, "the end of a long and painful interior journey", and was baptised on 24 April 387. Ordained a priest in 391 following his return to Africa, he became a bishop four years later. "In his tireless pastoral commitment", said the Pope, "he was an exemplary bishop, ... he supported the poor, ... concerned himself with the formation of the clergy and the organisation of monasteries and convents", and in a very short space of time became "one of the most important exponents of Christianity of that time".

"The bishop of Hippo", the Holy Father went on, "exercised a huge influence in his guidance of the Catholic Church in Roman Africa" and stood up against "tenacious and disruptive religious movements and heresies such as Manichaeism, Donatism and Pelagianism".

Pope Benedict recalled how "Augustine entrusted himself to God every day, until the end of his life", and how shortly before his death "he asked for the penitential psalms to be written in large letters and hung on the wall so he could see and read them from his bed". The bishop died on 28 August 430.

VIS

The Real News of the Audience

Despite the excitement over the "attack" on Pope Benedict, the audience went on as usual and the real story of today's audience is the homily he taught on St. Cyprian.

St. Cyprian, "the first African bishop to achieve the crown of martyrdom," was the subject of Benedict XVI's catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 40,000 people.

Cyprian, said the Pope, "was born in Carthage to a rich pagan family" and "converted to Christianity at the age of 35. ... He became a priest and later a bishop. In the brief period of his episcopate, he had to face the first two persecutions authorized by imperial edict, that of Decius (250) and that of Valerian (257-258)," following which many faithful "renounced their faith, or at least failed to comport themselves correctly when under trial. These were the so-called 'lapsi,' that is, the 'lapsed'."

Cyprian was "severe but not inflexible towards the 'lapsi,' giving them the chance of forgiveness after an exemplary penance." The saint also "showed great humanity and was pervaded by the most authentic evangelical spirit in exhorting Christians to offer fraternal help to pagans during the plague." But he was "irremovable in combating the corruption and sins that devastated the moral life, especially that of avarice."

"Cyprian wrote many treatises and letters, all of them associated with his pastoral ministry. Little given to theological speculations, he wrote above all for the edification of the community and to encourage the faithful to good behavior."

In the saint's works, the Holy Father explained, "the Church is by far the topic most dear to him. He distinguishes between the visible hierarchical Church and the invisible mystical Church, at the same time forcefully affirming that the Church is one, founded upon Peter. He never tires of repeating that 'whoever abandons the chair of Peter, upon which the Church is founded, deludes himself if he believes he remains in the Church'."

Hence, "the indispensable characteristic of the Church is unity, as symbolized by the seamless robe of Christ; a unity that finds its foundation in Peter and its perfect realization in the Eucharist," said the Holy Father. He then referred to Cyprian's teaching on prayer "which highlights how in the Our Father Christians are shown the correct way to pray." That prayer refers to "us" and "our" rather than to "me" and "mine," said the Pope, "so that he who prays does not pray only for himself. Ours is a public and community prayer. ... The Christian does not say 'my Father,' but 'our Father,' even when praying in the privacy of a closed room, because he knows that everywhere and in all circumstances, he is a member of the one Body."

"Cyprian, then, lies at the origins of that fruitful theological-spiritual tradition that sees the heart as the privileged place of prayer. ... It is there that God meets and talks to man, ... and man listens to God."

"Let us make our own that 'understanding heart' about which the Bible and the Fathers speak," the Pope concluded. "We have such great need of it."

VIS

The Holy Father also spoke about the G-8 summit, which began today.

At the end of today's general audience, celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made an appeal to heads of State and government of the G8 countries - the seven most industrialized countries in the world plus the Russian Federation - who are holding their annual summit meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany from June 6 to 8.
The Pope recalled how on December 16, 2006 he had written to Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, at the beginning of the German presidency of the European Union, "thanking her, in the name of the Catholic Church, for the decision to keep the theme of world poverty on the agenda of the G8, with specific reference to Africa. Chancellor Merkel kindly replied to me on 2 February last, assuring me of the G8's commitment to attaining the Millennium Development Goals.

"Now," he added, "I should like to make a further appeal to the leaders meeting at Heiligendamm, not to retreat from their promises to make a substantial increase in development aid in favor of the most needy populations, especially those of the African continent.

"In this regard, the second Millennium Goal merits special attention: 'to achieve universal primary education - to ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015.' This is an integral part of the attainment of all the other Millennium Goals: it is a guarantee of the consolidation of goals already reached; it is the starting-point for autonomous and sustainable processes of development.

"It must not be forgotten that the Catholic Church has always been at the forefront in the field of education, reaching places, particularly in the poorest countries, that State structures often fail to reach. Other Christian Churches, religious groups and organizations of civil society share this educational commitment. According to the principle of subsidiarity, this reality should be recognized, valued and supported by governments and international organizations, among other things by the allocation of sufficient funding, so that greater efficacy may be guaranteed in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. Let us hope," he concluded, "that serious efforts be made to reach these objectives."

VIS

St. Justin Martyr

The Holy Father dedicated his catechesis during this morning's general audience to the figure of St. Justin, philosopher and martyr, the most important of the Apologist Fathers of the second century. The audience took place in St. Peter's Square and was attended by around 25,000 people.

St. Justin, said the Pope, was born in Samaria around the year 100. He "long sought after the truth" by studying Greek philosophy before converting to Christianity after meeting a mysterious old man who spoke to him "of mankind's incapacity to satisfy his aspiration to the divine through his own efforts," then indicated "in the ancient prophets ... the path to God and 'true philosophy'," exhorting Justin to pray in order to open the "doors of light."

After his conversion, Justin founded a school in Rome where he taught the new religion to his pupils free of charge. He was denounced for his activities and decapitated during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

In his works "Justin seeks to explain, above all, the divine project of salvation that comes about in Jesus Christ, the Word of God," said the Holy Father. "All men and women, as rational beings, share in the Logos, they carry in themselves a 'seed' and can catch some glimmers of the truth.

"Thus," he added, "the same Logos that was revealed in prophetic figures to the Jews in the ancient Law, was also partially manifested as 'seeds of truth' to the Greeks. ... And because Christianity is the historical and personal manifestation of the Logos in its entirety, it follows that 'everything of beauty that has ever been expressed by anyone belongs to us Christians'."

Justin, in the conviction that Greek philosophy tends towards Christ, "believed that Christians could draw from that philosophy with complete confidence. ... The figure and work of Justin mark the ancient Church's decisive option in favor of philosophy, rather than of pagan religion," with which the early Christians rejected "any form of compromise."

"In fact, pagan religion did not follow the paths of Logos but persisted along those of myth, even though myth was recognized by Greek philosophy as having no foundation in truth. Therefore the decline of paganism was inevitable, stemming as a logical consequence of the removal of religion - reduced to an artificial agglomeration of ceremonies and conventions - from the truth of existence."

Justin and the other apologists chose "the truth of existence over the myth of convention. ... In an age such as our own, marked by relativism in its debate of values, religion and inter-religious dialogue, this is a lesson that must not be forgotten.

At the end of today's catechesis, the Pope recalled that March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. "May this anniversary," he said, "favor increased responsibility in the treatment of this sickness and an ever greater solidarity towards those who suffer from it. Upon them and their families I invoke the comfort of the Lord while encouraging the many initiatives the Church promotes in this field."

VIS

Personal note:
St. Justin Martyr was the first Church Father I studied and his writings were the basis of my very first college paper. In addition, he holds a very special place in my heart because it was by reading his First Apology that I learned the history of the Mass.

St. Margaret of Hungary

Today is the feast day of St. Margaret of Hungary. I knew practically nothing about her until Mass this afternoon, where the Dominicans as school preached about her life and how we can learn from her example. It was powerful stuff and exactly what I needed to hear today.

St. Margaret of Hungary was born in 1242. Her parents were Bela IV, king of Hungary and Croatia and his wife Marie Laskaris. Margaret's parents dedicated their next child to the Church if Hungary would be freed from the Tartars. Hungary was freed and Margaret was born. She entered the Dominican convent at the age of three.

When Margaret was 18, her father wanted her to marry the Bohemian king, King Ottokar II. She protested this vehemently, wishing to give her life to God and His Church. Saying, "I esteem infinitely more the King of Heaven and the inconceivable happiness of possessing Jesus Christ than the crown offered me by the king of Bohemia.”

She practiced severe corporal mortification and was known to spend each Friday in tears, contemplating the suffering of Our Lord.

Margaret died on January 18, 1271 at the age of 29.


She was canonized in 1943 by Pope Pius XII.

Now, what does this have to do with us. Well, everything. Margaret set an example for us that all the riches in the world cannot compare to the wealth of graces which come from God.

As the scripture reading for today, (St. Margaret of Hungary) said:

I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne, And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, And I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

Wisdom 7:7-10

What fitting words for today's feast. St. Margaret did not turn down figurative jewels and riches, scepter and throne to serve the Lord. They were real, and I am sure they were tempting.

Serving the Lord is not always easy, actually it isn't even usually easy. We have to think counter-culturally. We have to put aside the things the world tells us is valuable, the jewels, and trappings of power, and pick up the humility, service and self sacrifice. Those things are considered by the world to be sand, but we know the truth.

I as continue on my journey of study and service, it is easy to get caught up and lose focus. I will never become powerful, famous, and definitely will never be wealthy, but that isn't what matters. It is easy to get caught up in the ways of the world and judge yourself against others. If I think I am holier, smarter or more talented than someone else, in reality I am more sinful, stupider, and less talented.

So, what's the point of this? I don't know. Perhaps, I wrote this just to sort things out in my very confused mind. I hope there is someone out there who will find this post at some time and need it just as I needed the readings and homily at Mass today. Perhaps, that is too arrogant an assumption on my part. Let's just say I am one confused theology student trying to muddle her way though life.

Christ, the Church, and the World

The Church in the life and thought of St. Paul, the last in a series of lessons focussing on the figure of the Apostle, was the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during the general audience, held this morning in a rain-swept St. Peter's Square.

The Pope recalled how St. Paul's "first contact with the person of Jesus came about through the witness of the Christian community of Jerusalem. ... This gives us the opportunity to make a first important observation: normally we come to Jesus, either to accept Him or refuse Him, through the mediation of the community of believers."

"In a certain way this also happened to St. Paul," said the Pope, although in Paul's case "adherence to the Church was facilitated by a direct intervention of Christ, Who, revealing Himself on the road to Damascus, identified Himself with the Church and made Paul understand that to persecute the Church was to persecute Him. ... From this we can understand why the Church was so present in the thoughts, heart and activity of St. Paul."

He "founded many Churches in the various cities he visited as an evangelizer." And "in his Letters, Paul also explains his doctrine on the Church. ... Particularly well-known is his definition of the Church as the 'body of Christ,' which is not to be found in other first-century Christian writers."

"The deepest roots of this surprising definition of the Church," the Holy Father went on, "are to be found in the Sacrament of the body of Christ. ... In the Eucharist, Christ gives us His Body and makes us His Body. ... In this way, Paul brings us to understand that not only does the Church belong to Christ, but that there is also some form of equivalence and identification between the Church and Christ. Thence springs the greatness and nobility of the Church, in other words, of all of us who, as limbs of Christ, are part of the Church, almost an extension of His personal presence in the world."

"Thence also derive Paul's exhortations regarding the various charisms that animate and give structure to the Christian community," the Holy Father affirmed. "However, it is important that all such charisms work together to build the community and do not become a cause of its break-up."

"Of course, underscoring the need for unity does not mean that ecclesial life must be rendered uniform and dull. ... However, if there is one criterion that Paul holds dear it is that of mutual edification. ... One of the Pauline Letters even goes so far as to present the Church as the bride of Christ, ... both in the sense that love must be exchanged," and that "we must be passionately faithful to Him."

Benedict XVI concluded: "In the final analysis, what is involved is a relationship of communion: vertically between Jesus Christ and all of us, but also horizontally among all those who identify themselves in the world by calling 'on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ'."
VIS

Being a Slave for God

St. Paul was, once again, the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during his weekly general audience, held Wednesday morning in St. Peter's Square.

"Having meditated last week upon St. Paul's writings concerning Jesus Christ's central position in our life of faith," said the Pope, "today we consider what he says about the Holy Spirit."

"St. Paul, in his Letters, ... does not limit himself to explaining just the dynamic and active role of the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, but also analyzes the presence of the Spirit in the lives of Christians, whose identity is thereby marked. In other words, Paul reflects upon the Spirit, explaining its influence not only upon the activities of Christians but also upon their being."

Quoting the words of St. Paul, the Holy Father said: "You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship." It is clear then, he went on, "that Christians, even before they act, possess a rich and fruitful inner life ... that instates them in a ... filial relationship with God. This is our greatest dignity, that of being not just the image but the children of God," which, in turn, "is an invitation to transform this objective gift into a subjective reality, that determines our way of thinking, acting and being."

"Paul also teaches us," the Holy Father continued, "that there is no true prayer without the presence of the Spirit within us." The Spirit is "like the soul of our soul, the most secret part of our being, whence a prayer incessantly rises towards God."

"Another aspect of the Spirit ... is its association with love. ... The Spirit introduces us into the very rhythm of divine life, which is a life of love. ... And since by definition love unites, this means, above all, that the Spirit is a creator of communion within the Christian community."

"Finally, the Spirit, according to St. Paul, is a generous down payment given us by God Himself as a foretaste and guarantee of our future inheritance. ...The action of the Spirit guides our lives towards the great values of love, joy, communion and hope."
VIS

Beware of False Relics

Ansa is reporting that there are false relics of Pope John Paul II being sold in shops near the Vatican.

Small pieces of cloth being sold near the Vatican as 'relics' of the ever popular John Paul II are bogus, Catholic Church authorities warned on Thursday .

Scraps of material which have allegedly been rubbed against the tomb of the late pontiff are being sold to tourists in at least one souvenir shop .

The scraps of material, encased in a round piece of transparent plastic, are available in three sizes and start at 3 euros each .

The same shop is also selling statuettes of the Polish pontiff on which he is described as Saint John Paul II, even though the process expected to lead to his canonisation is still long from over .

The shopkeeper was asked by a journalist on Thursday whether the articles had been approved for sale by the Vatican. He declined to answer .

Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the official in charge of John Paul's canonisation process, said that the cloth 'relics' now on sale had definitely not received a green light from either his office or the Rome diocese ."

They have no official recognition and anyway what's the point of rubbing cloth on his tomb when you can have a piece of one of his robes?" he said .Msgr Oder pointed out that pilgrims and devotees can obtain official John Paul relics free of charge through his office at the diocesan headquarters .

The authorised items comprise a small picture of the Polish pope together with a fragment cut out of one of the tunics he wore as pope .

Ever since John Paul died in April 2005, pilgrims have been coming to Rome to visit his tomb at St Peter's Basilica. Souvenir shops do a roaring trade in gadgets, calendars, posters showing the popular pontiff's face.

The widespread fascination with the charismatic figure has been fed by numerous TV dramas and films about his life. Meanwhile, procedures are under way to have the late pope declared a saint and there are frequent reports of alleged miracles attributed to him .

Placing Trust in God

In yesterday's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of more than 15,000 people, Benedict XVI continued his catechesis on the figure of St. Paul.

The meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus, the Pope explained, "literally revolutionized his life. Christ became his raison d'etre and the profound inspiration behind all his apostolic labors. ... In truth, Christ Jesus is the apex of the history of salvation and, hence, the true point of reference in dialogue with other religions."

"Paul helps us to understand the absolutely fundamental and irreplaceable value of the faith," said the Holy Father, quoting the Apostle's words: "we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the Law." Being justified, the Holy Father continued, "means being made righteous, in other words being accepted by God's merciful justice and, ... being able to establish a much more authentic relationship with our fellows."

In the light of his meeting with Christ, Paul, who was not a man who had lived outside the Law, understood "that he had been seeking to construct his own justice, and that with that justice he had lived for himself. He understood that it was absolutely necessary to give a new direction to his life. ... Before the cross of Christ, the extreme expression of His sacrifice, no one can boast of themselves, of their own justice."

"Reflecting upon the meaning of justification not by works but by faith we have come to the second defining component of Christian identity," said Pope Benedict. Indeed, Christian identity has two elements: "not seeking oneself by oneself, but receiving oneself from Christ and giving oneself to Christ," and "participating personally in Christ's own story, to the point of immerging oneself in Him and sharing both His death and His life."

"For Paul," he concluded, "it is not enough to say that Christians are baptized or that they are believers. For him, it is equally important to say that they are 'in Christ Jesus.' ... That which we, as Christians, are, we owe it only to Him and to His grace. And because nothing and no one can take His place, then to nothing else and to no one else do we pay the homage we pay to Him. No idol must contaminate our spiritual universe. Otherwise, instead of enjoying the freedom we have acquired, we would fall into a form of humiliating slavery. ... Our radical devotion to Christ and the fact that we 'are in Him' must infuse us with a sense of complete trust."

In greetings at the close of the general audience, the Pope addressed himself especially to young people of different nations and religious traditions who recently gathered in Assisi, Italy, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Inter-religious Meeting of Prayer for Peace called by John Paul II.

Speaking English, the Holy Father thanked the various religious leaders "who enabled the young people to take part in this event, and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue which organized it.

"Dear young friends," he added, "our world urgently needs peace! The Assisi meeting emphasized the power of prayer in building peace. Genuine prayer transforms hearts, opens us to dialogue, understanding and reconciliation, and breaks down the walls erected by violence, hatred and revenge. May you now return to your own religious communities as witnesses to 'the spirit of Assisi,' messengers of that peace which is God's gracious gift, and living signs of hope for our world."

VIS

A Miracle for John Paul II?

A young Italian man cured of lung cancer has attributed his recovery to the miraculous intervention of John Paul II in a case which could speed the late pope along the road to sainthood .

According to Neapolitan daily Il Mattino on Thursday, the man from Salerno south of Naples was taken into hospital last year where he was diagnosed with lung cancer. After his wife prayed to John Paul II, the dead pope reportedly appeared in a dream to her and reassured her that her husband would be alright .

A few days after the dream, doctors noticed a marked improvement in the man's condition. Within weeks, his cancer completely disappeared, doctors say .

Salerno Archbishop Gerardo Pierro told Il Mattino he was confident that a miracle had taken place .

"There is medical proof otherwise I wouldn't have dared bring up the case. The recovery has lasted - a year and a half later, the inexplicable remains confirmed," he said .

"This could mean that John Paul II will soon be beatified," the archbishop added .

The diocese of Salerno is now looking into the case .

Vatican officials are already working for the beatification of the Polish-born John Paul, who died in April 2005 at the age of 84 after a reign of 27 years .

Read the rest of the ANSA article here.

Relic Boycott

More reporters are getting it all wrong again. This time over relics.

WHDH in Boston ran a story about the sale of relics on eBay, but in their attempt for the dramatic, they couldn't get it right.

7 News had no problem finding these items online. Everything from bones to blood and from crosses to clothing, all said to have once belonged to a saint.

Take a look at what we bought on Ebay. At first glance it looks like a regular rosary. You look a little closer, and you'll find a relic attached to it. And it was sold to us by this church here in Cranston, Rhode Island.

The church calls itself Catholic, but it is not recognized by the Vatican.

The relic we bought for $20 claims to be a piece of clothing from a saint. And this wasn't the only relic the church had up for sale.
We wanted to ask the parish pastor why he was going against catholic laws, so we gave father Roger Durand a call.

Phil Lipof on phone:

"We talked to an expert about canon law and they said that's pretty much against canon law to sell a relic."

Father Durand argued there was nothing wrong with selling a relic.

Roger Durand and I disagree on many things. First on his operation of a schismatic church. (See Brian's post on Roger's church) When I checked his e-Bay page, I found numerous items such are holy cards, bells, even a chalice as well as relic medals, and a few empty thecas. Rosaries and medals containing third and fourth degree relics are offered for sale at nearly every Catholic goods and church supply shop in the world. These relics, which are pieces of cloth which have been touched to first, second, and even third degree relics do not have the same canonical restrictions as first and second degree relics.

If Roger Durand was representing that relic as a second degree relic (part of the clothing of a saint) then, he is guilty of misrepresenting the product.

The International Crusade for Holy Relics is encouraging a boycott of eBay in an attempt to get them to ban the sale of relics.

Below is the official press release:

After nearly a decade of battling eBay over the sale of sacred relics, the International Crusade for Holy Relics is calling for a boycott of the online auction house.

"We have exhausted dialogue and negotiations and have decided it is time to deal with eBay in the only language they understand -- money". saind Tom Seraphim, founder and president of the ICHR.

For nearly ten years, the ICHR has obbied eBay to stop the sale of relics and enforce its own rules barring the sale of body parts to no avail.

Even a cursory search of eBay will reveal dozens of relics - often purporting to be the bones of saints - for sale.

The sale of relics is an direct affront to Catholics and other Christians, for whom relics are considered sacred, priceless and spiritual heirlooms. The sale is expressly forbidden by the Canon Law of the Catholic Church. Moreover, many of the relics being sold are of dubious origin, and some have been shown to be outright frauds.

"Our saints should be enjoying their eternal reward in peace, not having thier body partssold like cheap trinkets," Serafin said. "Our heritage and our faith are not for sale. We have decided that a boycott of eBay has become the only option o prevent the repugnant practice of selling our spiritual patrimony."

The ICHR is a coalition with members worldwide that includes members of many denominations including the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican faiths. It is devoted to spotting the sale of relics online and to preserving relics and educating the public about relics and the saints.

Here is a link to the CNS article on the relic sale.

Jack: The Depressed Pumpkin

Fr. Roderick has made a very cute, very funny halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day movie.
I tried to post this yesterday, but my internet connection wasn't cooperating.



Enjoy!

At Canonization Mass Pope Says Saints are People who Leave Everything and Follow Christ

During the Eucharistic celebration held yesterday morning in St. Peter's Square, which was attended by around 30,000 people, the Pope canonized the following Blesseds: Rafael Guizar Valencia (1878-1938), Filippo Smaldone (1848-1923), Rosa Venerini (1656-1728), and Theodore Guerin, nee Anne-Therese (1798-1856).

At the beginning of his homily, the Holy Father commented on the Gospel account of the rich young man, affirming how "a saint is that man or that woman who, responding with joy and generosity to the call of Christ, leaves everything to follow Him."

"Earthly riches occupy and preoccupy the mind and the heart. Jesus does not say they are evil, but that they distance one from God if they are not, so to say, 'invested' for the kingdom of heaven, in other words used to help those who live in poverty."

Benedict XVI then went on to refer in turn to each of the new saints. The Mexican, Rafael Guizar Valencia was, he said, "bishop of the poor." In his ministry as priest and later as bishop, in the diocese of Veracruz, he was a tireless preacher of popular missions - then the most effective way of evangelizing the people - using his "Catechism of Christian Doctrine." One of his priorities was the formation of priests, and he rebuilt a seminary which he considered "the apple of his eye."

"May the example of St. Raphael Guizar Valencia," said the Pope, "be a call to brother bishops and priests to consider as a fundamental element of their pastoral projects - alongside the spirit of poverty and evangelization - the fomentation of priestly and religious vocations and their formation in accordance with Christ's heart."

The Italian St. Filippo Smaldone, founder of the Institute of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, was, said Pope Benedict, "a priest with a great heart, nourished through constant prayer and Eucharistic adoration; he was above all a witness to and servant of charity which he displayed magnificently in serving the poor, especially the deaf, to whom he dedicated himself entirely."

"In the deaf," the Pope went on, the saint "saw a reflection of the image of Jesus, and he used to repeat that, just as we prostrate ourselves before the Most Holy Sacrament, so must we kneel before the deaf."

Speaking of the new Italian saint, Rosa Venerini, foundress of the Congregation of the "Maestre Pie Venerini," Benedict XVI pointed out how "she did not content herself with giving girls an adequate education, but made it her concern to ensure them a complete formation, with concrete reference to the doctrinal teaching of the Church. Even today her apostolic style continues to characterize the life" of the congregation she founded. "How important, even for modern society, is the service [the congregation] provides in the field of schooling, and especially in the formation of women."

St. Theodore Guerin was a Frenchwoman who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary "ad Nemus" (Saint Mary of the Woods) in the U.S.A. The Pope recalled a phrase she used shortly before her death as she noted how sisters from her congregation were running schools and orphanages all over the state of Indiana: "How much good has been accomplished by the Sisters of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods! How much more good they will be able to do if they remain faithful to their holy vocation!

"Mother Guerin is a beautiful spiritual figure and a model of Christian life," he added. "She was always ready for the missions the Church asked of her, finding the strength and courage to put them into effect in the Eucharist, prayer and an infinite trust in Divine Providence. Her interior strength gave her a particular concern for the poor, and especially for children."

After Mass and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father met delegations from each of the countries of origin on the new saints, and greeted all the faithful who had attended the canonization ceremony.

VIS

St. Rafael Guizar Valencia

RAFAEL GUÍZAR VALENCIA was born in Cotija, Michoacan in the diocese of Zamora on April 26th 1878. His parents, Prudencio and Natividad were devout Christians who gave their 11 children a careful religious upbringing.

Blessed Rafael lost his mother at the age of nine. He spent his early years studying in a religious school and then spent time with Jesuit priests. His calling in life was to enter the priesthood thereby dedicating his life in the name of Good. In 1891 he entered the minor seminary in Cotija and, then in 1896, he entered the major seminary in Zamora. In June of 1901, at the age of 23, he was ordained to the priesthood.

In his early years as a priest, he devoted a large part of his time doing missionary work in the city of Zamora and in various different regions of Mexico. In 1905 he was named spiritual director of the seminary in Zamora. He worked tirelessly to educate students in the love of the Holy Eucharist and faithful devotion to the Virgin Mary.

In 1911, to counteract the persecution of the Catholic Church, he founded a religious newspaper in Mexico, but shortly thereafter it was unfortunately put out of business by the revolutionary movement. Persecuted until his death, he lived a number of years with no fixed home. He suffered loss of privacy and faced many dangerous experiences. To continue his ministry, he disguised himself as a street seller, a musician, and a doctor of homeopathic medicine. In this way, he was able to heal the sick, continue to console and administer the sacraments to the dying.

Untiring missionary

He was pursued by his enemies and was unable to remain permanently in placecountry-region Mexico due to the constant danger of being captured. He remained in the southern part of the United States until the end of 1915. The year after, he went to Guatemala where he conducted a large number of missions. His reputation as a missionary reached Cuba where he was later invited to conduct missions for the people. His work was very productive on the island. His charitable work with the victims of the black plague in 1919 was exemplary.

Bishop of Veracruz

On August1, 1919, while in placecountry-region Cuba he was elected Bishop of Veracruz. His consecration took place in the Cathedral of Havana on November 30, 1919. He took possession of his diocese on January 9, 1920. He dedicated his first two years to visiting personally the vast territory of his diocese. He conducted missions and later assisted those affected by a terrible earthquake, which caused mass destruction and death among the poor of Veracruz. His work included preaching in parish churches, teaching doctrine, validating marriages, spending time listening to confessions and helping earthquake victims.

His Episcopal mission. New persecutions

One of his main preoccupations was the education of future priests. In 1921 he was able to save and renovate the old seminary of Xalapa, which was confiscated in 1914. Once again, however, the government seized the building shortly after its renovation. He then moved the seminary to Mexico City where it continued to function clandestinely for 15 years. It was the only seminary that remained open during these years of persecution. There were 300 seminary students.

Of the years in which he was in charge of the diocese, 9 years were spent in exile or fleeing for his life. An exemplary act of bravery came when he wanted to give himself up to his persecutors in return for the freedom of worship.

His death

In December 1937, while on a mission in Cordoba, he suffered a heart attack and spent the rest of his days bedridden. From his deathbed he managed the diocese and the seminary while he prepared his soul to meet Almighty God. He also celebrated mass everyday.

He died on June 6, 1938 in Mexico City. The next day he was laid to rest in Xalapa. The funeral procession was a triumphant event: everyone wanted to have a last look at “the Saintly Bishop Guízar”. On January 29, 1995 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in the Vatican Basilica of Saint Peter. This past April 28, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree on the miracle thus paving the way for his canonization. His tomb in the Catholic Cathedral of Xalapa attracts thousands of worshipers who come to ask for his help and intercession.

Bio and image from the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints

Blessed Rosa Venerini to Be Canonized on Sunday

ROSA VENERINI was born in Viterbo, on February 9, 1656. Her father, Goffredo, originally from Castelleone di Suasa (Ancona), after having completed his doctorate in medicine at Rome, moved to Viterbo where he practiced the medical profession brilliantly in the Grand Hospital. From his marriage to Marzia Zampichetti, of an ancient family of Viterbo, four children were born: Domenico, Maria Maddalena, Rosa and Orazio.
Rosa was naturally gifted with intelligence and an uncommon human sensibility. The education that she received in her family allowed her to develop her many talents of mind and heart, forming her in steadfast Christian principles. According to her first biographer, Father Girolamo Andreucci, S.I., she made a vow to consecrate her life to God at the age of seven. During the early years of her youth, she lived through a conflict between the attractions of the world and the promise made to God. Rosa overcame this crisis with trusting prayer and mortification.
At age twenty, Rosa raised questions about her own future. The women of her time could choose only two orientations for their live: marriage or the cloister. Rosa esteemed both, but she felt called to realize another project for the good of the Church and the society of her time. Urged on by prophetic interior occurrences, she committed much time in suffering and searching before reaching a resolution that was completely innovative.
In the autumn of 1676, on the advice of her father, Rosa entered the Dominican Monastery of St. Catherine, with the prospect of fulfilling her vow. With her Aunt Anna Cecilia beside her, she learned to listen to God in silence and in meditation. She remained in the monastery for only a few months because the sudden death of her father forced her to return to her suffering mother.
In the years immediately following, Rosa had to bear the burden of serious events for her family: her brother Domenico died at only twenty-seven years of age; a few months later her mother died, unable to bear the sorrow.
In the meantime, Maria Maddalena married. There remained at home only Orazio and Rosa, by now twenty-four years old. Challenged by the desire to do something great for God, in May of 1684, the Saint began to gather the girls and women of the area in her own home to recite the rosary. The way in which the girls and women prayed, and above all, their conversation before and after the prayer, opened the mind and heart of Rosa to a sad reality: the woman of the common people was a slave of cultural, moral and spiritual poverty. She then understood that the Lord was calling her to a higher mission which she gradually identified in the urgent need to dedicate herself to the instruction and Christian formation of young women, not with sporadic encounters, but with a school understood in the real and true sense of the word.
On August 30, 1685, with the approval of the Bishop of Viterbo, Cardinal Urbano Sacchetti and the collaboration of two friends, Gerolama Coluzzelli and Porzia Bacci, Rosa left her father’s home to begin her first school, according to an innovative plan that had matured in prayer and her search for the will of God. The first objective of the Foundress was to give the girls of the common people a complete Christian formation and prepare them for life in society. Without great pretense, Rosa opened the first “Public School for Girls in Italy”. The origins were humble but the significance was prophetic: the human promotion and spiritual uplifting of woman was a reality that did not take long to receive the recognition of the religious and civil authorities.
Expansion of the Work
The initial stages were not easy. The three Maestre (teachers) had to face the resistance of clergy who considered the teaching of the catechism as their private office. But the harshest suspicion came from conformists who were scandalized by the boldness of this woman of the upper middle class of Viterbo who had taken to heart the education of ignorant girls. Rosa faced everything for the love of God and with her characteristic strength, continuing on the path that she had undertaken, by now sure that she was truly following the plan of God. The fruits proved her to be right. The same pastors recognized the moral improvement that the work of education generated among the girls and mothers.
The validity of this initiative was acknowledged and its fame went beyond the confines of the Diocese. Cardinal Mark Antonio Barbarigo, Bishop of Montefiascone, understood the genius of the Viterbo project and he called the Saint to his diocese. The Foundress, always ready to sacrifice herself for the glory of God, responded to the invitation. From 1692 to 1694, she opened ten schools in Montefiascone and the villages surrounding Lake Bolsena. The cardinal provided the material means and Rosa made the families aware, trained the teachers, and organized the schools. When she had to return to Viterbo to attend to the strengthening of her first school, Rosa entrusted the schools and the teachers to the direction of a young woman, St. Lucia Filippini, in whom she has seen particular gifts of mind, heart and spirit.
After the openings in Viterbo and Montefiascone, other schools were started in Lazio. Rosa reached Rome in 1706, but the first experience in Rome was a real failure which marked her deeply and caused her to wait six long years before regaining the trust of the authorities. On December 8, 1713, with the help of Abate Degli Atti, a great friend of the Venerini family, Rosa was able to open one of her schools in the center of Rome at the foot of the Campidoglio.
On October 24, 1716, they received a visit from Pope Clement XI, accompanied by eight Cardinals, who wanted to attend the lessons. Amazed and pleased, at the end of the morning he addressed these words to the Foundress: “Signora Rosa, you are doing that which we cannot do. We thank you very much because with these schools you will sanctify Rome ”.
From that moment on, Governors and Cardinals asked for schools for their areas. The duties of the Foundress became intense, consisting of travels and hard work interwoven with joys and sacrifices for the formation of new communities. Wherever a new school sprang up, in a short time a moral improvement could be noted in the youth.
Rosa Venerini died a saintly death in the community of St. Mark’s in Rome on the evening of May 7, 1728. She had opened more than forty schools. Her remains were entombed in the nearby Church of the Gesù, so loved by her. In 1952, on the occasion of her Beatification, they were transferred to the chapel of the Generalate in Rome.
Her Spirituality
During her entire life, Rosa moved in the ocean of the Will of God. She said, “I feel so nailed to the Will of God that nothing else matters, neither death nor life. I want what He wants; I want to serve Him as much as pleases Him and no more”.
After her first contacts with the Dominican Fathers at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Oak Tree, near Viterbo, she definitely followed the austere and balanced spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola under the direction of the Jesuits, especially Father Ignatius Martinelli.
The crises of adolescence, the perplexity of youth, the search for a new way, the institution of the schools and the communities, the rapport with the Church and the world—all were oriented to the Divine Will.
Prayer was the breath of her day. Rosa did not impose on herself or her Daughters long vocal prayers, but recommended that the life of the Maestre, in the practice of the precious education ministry, be a continuous speaking with God, of God and for God.
Intimate communion with the Lord was nourished by mental prayer, which the Saint considered “essential nourishment of the soul”. In meditation, Rosa listened to the Teacher who taught along the roads of Palestine and in a particular way from the height of the Cross. With her gaze upon the crucifix, Rosa always felt more strongly her passion for the salvation of souls. For this reason, she celebrated and lived daily the Eucharist in a mystical way. In her imagination, the Saint saw the world as a great circle; she placed herself in the center of it and contemplated Jesus, the immaculate victim, who offered Himself from every part of the world to the Father through the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
She called this means of elevating herself to God “The Greatest Circle”. With incessant prayer, she participated spiritually in all the Masses being celebrated in every part of the world. She united with love the sufferings, hard work and joys of her own life to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, concerned that His Precious Blood would not be shed in vain.
The Charism
We can summarize the charism of Rosa Venerini in a few words. She lived consumed by two great passions: passion for God and passion for the salvation of souls. When she understood that the girls and women of her time needed to be educated and instructed in the truths of the faith and of morality, she spared nothing of time, hard work, struggle, and difficulties of every kind, as long as it responded to the call of God. She knew that the proclamation of the Good News could be received if people were first liberated from the darkness of ignorance and error. Moreover, she intuited that professional training could give woman a human promotion and affirmation in society. This project required an educating Community and Rosa, without pretense and well before its time in history, offered to the Church the model of the Apostolic Religious Community.
Rosa did not practice her educational mission only in the school but took every occasion to announce the love of God. She comforted and cured the sick, raised the spirits of the discouraged, consoled the afflicted, called sinners back to a new life, exhorted to fidelity consecrated souls not observing their call, helped the poor and freed people from every form of moral slavery.
“Educate to save” became the motto that urged the Maestre Pie Venerini to continue the Work of the Lord intended by their Foundress and radiate the charism of Rosa to the world: to free from ignorance and evil so that the project of God which every person carries within can be visible.
This is the magnificent inheritance that Rosa Venerini left her Daughters. Wherever the Maestre Pie Venerini strive to live and transmit the apostolic concern of their Mother, in Italy as in other lands, they give preference to the poor.
After having made its contribution to the Italian immigrants to the USA from 1909 and in Switzerland from 1971 to 1985, the Congregation extended its apostolic activity to other lands: India, Brazil, Cameroon, Romania, Albania, Chile, Venezuela and Nigeria.

Biography and Image from the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints