He returned to England in 1633, where he worked in London under the pseudonym of Cuthbert Claxton. Father Morse made many converts by his heroic labors in the plague of 1636-37. He had a list of 400 infected families—Protestant and Catholic—whom he visited regularly to bring physical and spiritual aid. His devoted service made such an impression that in one year nearly 100 families were reconciled to the Church. He himself caught the disease three times, but each time recovered. At the same time his brothers in faith were urging him to moderate his zeal, the authorities deemed it suitable to arrested Father Morse for his priesthood. They charged him with perverting 560 of his Majesty's loyal subjects 'in and about the parish of St. Giles in the Fields.'

 

Released on bail through the intercession of Queen Henrietta Maria, he again left England in 1641 when a royal decree ordered all Catholic priests from the country, but returned again from Ghent in 1643. He was arrested in Cumberland eighteen months later while making a sick call. He escaped with the help of the Catholic wife of one of his captors, but was recaptured and brought to trial. He was convicted of being a Catholic priest at the Old Bailey. On the day of his execution, Father Morse celebrated a votive Mass of the Most Holy Trinity. He was summarily hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. His hanging was attended by the French, Spanish, and Portuguese ambassadors in protest (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney, Walsh).

 

Quote:

"What is sufficient for health will not satisfy pleasure"

– St. Augustine (Doctor, 354-430) – "Instructions On Christian Morality"

 

Bible Quotes:

"But where is wisdom to be found, ....... neither is it found in the land of them that live in delights"  (Job 28:12-13)

 

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost "  (Romans 14:17)

 

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Consecration of humanity to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

 

O most Sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the Human race; behold us prostrate most humbly before Thine altar (in Thy presence). To Thee we belong; Thine we wish to be; and that we may be united to Thee more closely, we dedicate ourselves each one of us today to Thy most Sacred Heart.

 

Many have never known Thee; many, despising Thy commands, have rejected Thee.  Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart.  Be Thee King, O Lord, not only over the faithful who never have gone away from Thee, but also over the prodigal children who have forsaken Thee; and make them return quickly to their Father's house, lest they perish of misery and hunger. Be Thou King of those who have been misled by error, or separated by schism; and call them back to the haven of truth and the unity of faith, so that there may soon be one fold and one Shepherd. Grant to Thy Church, O Lord, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and grant that, over the whole earth, from pole to pole, may resound the words:

 

Praise to the Divine Heart, through which was brought to us salvation; glory and honor be to It forever. Amen...

 

O Heart of love. I put all my trust in You; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Your goodness.

 

Most sweet Heart of Jesus, grant that peace, the fruit of justice and charity, may reign throughout the world.

 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, protect our families.

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February 1st – St. Severus of Ravenna B (RM)

 

Died c. 348. Severus was a poor weaver of Ravenna, Italy, who never dreamed that God would one day call him from his weaver's loom to rule a diocese, but God has strange ways of calling His servants and sometimes lays His hand upon them in the least likely places: from the plough and the bench have come some of the greatest of His apostles.

 

So it happened that when the bishopric of Ravenna fell vacant in 283 and the cathedral was filled with those who had gathered to elect a new bishop, Severus said to his wife, Vincentia, that he would visit the minister and see what was going on. She replied that he had much better remain at home and not show himself in his working clothes among the nobles and well-dressed citizens. "What harm is there in my going?" he asked. "Why, you have work to do here," she answered, "instead of gadding about sightseeing." When he persisted, she said, "Go, and may you come back with a good box on your ear," and added sarcastically: "Go, then, and get elected bishop."

 

Severus, accustomed to her sharp tongue, set out and, entering the crowded cathedral, stood at the back, ashamed of his working clothes covered with flocks of wool. When, in the course of the service, the power of the Holy Spirit was invoked in prayer, there appeared in the cathedral a white dove that attracted the attention of the assembly, and which after flying around fluttered at the ear of the poor spinner. He beat it off, but it returned and finally came to rest upon his shoulder. Every eye was now turned in his direction, and the people, regarding it as a heavenly sign, with one accord chose him to be their bishop.

 

Vincentia was still at home, and when a neighbor came running, breathless, to her door with the news, she laughed and would not believe it. "What a tale," she said, "that a man who tosses a shuttle should be made a prelate!" But when another came with the same story, and yet another, and a crowd gathered at her door, and she found it was true, she was speechless.

 

Thus, it came to pass that Severus the weaver became bishop of Ravenna and who can doubt that he was a good weaver, well respected for his work and character, and that he was chosen not only because of a good omen but also for his own fine qualities. For these he was chosen to accompany the papal legate to the synod of Sardica in 344.

 

He made a good bishop, and when at last he came to die, he said his last Mass before all the people, then quietly dismissed them with his blessing. When all had departed save a single boy who served at the altar, he bade the boy close the doors, and clothing himself in his Episcopal robes, went to the tomb of his wife and daughter, who had died before him. There with the help of the boy he raised the stone, and descending into the grave, laid himself down, and after a prayer closed his eyes and fell asleep. After his death he was canonized a saint, and is usually portrayed in his bishop's robes and with a weaver's shuttle (Benedictines, Gill).

 

It may be that the dove was a common phenomenon, or that it was simply a pious addition to the story of unlikely bishops, but it occurs in several stories.

 

In art, Severus is a bishop weaving. He may have a loom and weaver's tools and, possibly, a dove on his shoulder (Roeder). He is the patron of glove makers, hatters, and weavers (Roeder).

 

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February 1st - St. Brigid of Ireland

(Incorrectly known as BRIDGET).

 

Born in 451 or 452 of princely ancestors at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth; d. 1 February, 525, at Kildare. Refusing many good offers of marriage, she became a nun and received the veil from St. Macaille. With seven other virgins she settled for a time at the foot of Croghan Hill, but removed thence to Druin Criadh, in the plains of Magh Life, where under a large oak tree she erected her subsequently famous Convent of Cill-Dara, that is, "the church of the oak" (now Kildare), in the present county of that name. It is exceedingly difficult to reconcile the statements of St. Brigid's biographers, but the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Lives of the saint are at one in assigning her a slave mother in the court of her father Dubhthach, and Irish chieftain of Leinster. Probably the most ancient life of St. Brigid is that by St. Broccan Cloen, who is said to have died 17 September, 650. It is metrical, as may be seen from the following specimen:

 

Ni bu Sanct Brigid suanach

Ni bu huarach im sheire Dé,

Sech ni chiuir ni cossens

Ind nóeb dibad bethath che.

(Saint Brigid was not given to sleep,

Nor was she intermittent about God's love;

Not merely that she did not buy, she did not seek for

The wealth of this world below, the holy one.)

 

Cogitosus, a monk of Kildare in the eighth century, expounded the metrical life of St. Brigid, and versified it in good Latin. This is what is known as the "Second Life", and is an excellent example of Irish scholarship in the mid-eighth century. Perhaps the most interesting feature of Cogitosus's work is the description of the Cathedral of Kildare in his day: "Solo spatioso et in altum minaci proceritate porruta ac decorata pictis tabulis, tria intrinsecus habens oratoria ampla, et divisa parietibus tabulatis". The rood-screen was formed of wooden boards, lavishly decorated, and with beautifully decorated curtains. Probably the famous Round Tower of Kildare dates from the sixth century. Although St. Brigid was "veiled" or received by St. Macaille, at Croghan, yet, it is tolerably certain that she was professed by St. Mel of Ardagh, who also conferred on her abbatial powers. From Ardagh St. Macaille and St. Brigid followed St. Mel into the country of Teffia in Meath, including portions of Westmeath and Longford. This occurred about the year 468. St. Brigid's small oratory at Cill- Dara became the centre of religion and learning, and developed into a cathedral city. She founded two monastic institutions, one for men, and the other for women, and appointed St. Conleth as spiritual pastor of them. It has been frequently stated that she gave canonical jurisdiction to St. Conleth, Bishop of Kildare, but, as Archbishop Healy points out, she simply "selected the person to whom the Church gave this jurisdiction", and her biographer tells us distinctly that she chose St. Conleth "to govern the church along with herself". Thus, for centuries, Kildare was ruled by a double line of abbot-bishops and of abbesses, the Abbess of Kildare being regarded as superioress general of the convents in Ireland.

 

Not alone was St. Bridget a patroness of students, but she also founded a school of art, including metal work and illumination, over which St. Conleth presided. From the Kildare scriptorium came the wondrous book of the Gospels, which elicited unbounded praise from Giraldus Cambrensis, but which has disappeared since the Reformation. According to this twelfth- century ecclesiastic, nothing that he had ever seen was at all comparable to the "Book of Kildare", every page of which was gorgeously illuminated, and he concludes a most laudatory notice by saying that the interlaced work and the harmony of the colours left the impression that "all this is the work of angelic, and not human skill". Small wonder that Gerald Barry assumed the book to have been written night after night as St. Bridget prayed, "an angel furnishing the designs, the scribe copying". Even allowing for the exaggerated stories told of St. Brigid by her numerous biographers, it is certain that she ranks as one of the most remarkable Irishwomen of the fifth century and as the Patroness of Ireland. She is lovingly called the "Queen of the South: the Mary of the Gael" by a writer in the "Leabhar Breac". St. Brigid died leaving a cathedral city and school that became famous all over Europe. In her honour St. Ultan wrote a hymn commencing:

 

Christus in nostra insula

Que vocatur Hivernia

Ostensus est hominibus

Maximis mirabilibus

Que perfecit per felicem

Celestis vite virginem

Precellentem pro merito

Magno in numdi circulo.

 

(In our island of Hibernia Christ was made known to man by the very great miracles which he performed through the happy virgin of celestial life, famous for her merits through the whole world.)

 

The sixth Life of the saint printed by Colgan is attributed to Coelan, an Irish monk of the eighth century, and it derives a peculiar importance from the fact that it is prefaced by a foreword from the pen of St. Donatus, also an Irish monk, who became Bishop of Fiesole in 824. St. Donatus refers to previous lives by St. Ultan and St. Aileran. When dying, St. Brigid was attended by St. Ninnidh, who was ever afterwards known as "Ninnidh of the Clean Hand" because he had his right hand encased with a metal covering to prevent its ever being defiled, after being he medium of administering the viaticum to Ireland's Patroness. She was interred at the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral, and a costly tomb was erected over her. In after years her shrine was an object of veneration for pilgrims, especially on her feast day, 1 February, as Cogitosus related. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian raids, the relics of St. Brigid were taken to Downpatrick, where they were interred in the tomb of St. Patrick and St. Columba. The relics of the three saints were discovered in 1185, and on 9 June of the following year were solemnly translated to a suitable resting place in Downpatrick Cathedral, in presence of Cardinal Vivian, fifteen bishops, and numerous abbots and ecclesiastics. Various Continental breviaries of the pre-Reformation period commemorate St. Brigid, and her name is included in a litany in the Stowe Missal. In Ireland to-day, after 1500 years, the memory of "the Mary of the Gael" is as dear as ever to the Irish heart, and, as is well known, Brigid preponderates as a female Christian name. Moreover, hundreds of place-names in her honour are to be found all over the country, e.g. Kilbride, Brideswell, Tubberbride, Templebride, etc. The hand of St. Brigid is preserved at Lumiar near Lisbon, Portugal, since 1587, and another relic is at St. Martin's Cologne.

 

Viewing the biography of St. Brigid from a critical standpoint we must allow a large margin for the vivid Celtic imagination and the glosses of medieval writers, but still the personality of the founder of Kildare stands out clearly, and we can with tolerable accuracy trace the leading events in her life, by a careful study of the old "Lives" as found in Colgan. It seems certain that Faughart, associated with memories of Queen Meave (Medhbh), was the scene of her birth; and Faughart Church was founded by St. Morienna in honour of St. Brigid. The old well of St. Brigid's adjoining the ruined church is of the most venerable antiquity, and still attracts pilgrims; in the immediate vicinity is the ancient mote of Faughart. As to St. Brigid's stay in Connacht, especially in the County Roscommon, there is ample evidence in the "Trias Thaumaturga", as also in the many churches founded by her in the Diocese of Elphim. Her friendship with St. Patrick is attested by the following paragraph from the "Book of Armagh", a precious manuscript of the eighth century, the authenticity of which is beyond question: "inter sanctum Patricium Brigitanque Hibernesium columpnas amicitia caritatis inerat tanta, ut unum cor consiliumque haberent unum. Christus per illum illamque virtutes multas peregit". (Between St. Patrick and St. Brigid, the columns of the Irish, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her Christ performed many miracles.) At Armagh there was a "Templum Brigidis"; namely the little abbey church known as "Regles Brigid", which contained some relics of the saint, destroyed in 1179, by William Fitz Aldelm. It may be added that the original manuscript of Cogitosus's "Life of Brigid", or the "Second Life", dating from the closing years of the eighth century, is now in the Dominican friary at Eichstatt in Bavaria.

 

This Version Taken From:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02784b.htm

 

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February 1st - Blessed Luigi Variara SDB

 

Luigi Variara was born in Viarigi (Asti in Italy) on 15 January 1875, and was baptised the same day, since he was not expected to live.

 

Twenty years previously, in 1856, Don Bosco had preached a mission in Viarigi; he had made a great impression and it was on that occasion that Luigi's father, who was a primary-school teacher, under-secretary of the commune, and parochial organist, made the acquaintance of the saint. It was natural, then, that he should turn to him when deciding to further the education of Luigi, the son of his second marriage. The boy became a pupil at Valdocco in Turin on 1 October 1887, four months before Don Bosco's death. The joyous spirit of the Oratory suited the lad's character, and being endowed with a fine soprano voice, he soon became a soloist much appreciated by choir-master Brother Giuseppe Dogliani.

 

The 20-year-old had been profoundly impressed by the way Don Bosco had once looked at him intensely. In Luigi's own words, "It was a wintry afternoon, and we were playing in the large courtyard of the Oratory, when there was a sudden shouting all around us: "Don Bosco! Don Bosco!" Instinctively everyone raced to where our good Father was to be taken for a drive in a carriage. I pushed my way through the crowd to where he was being helped into the carriage, and was able to catch sight of him surrounded by my excited young fellow pupils, all seeking to work their way into a place to be near him. I too was most anxious to get close to him and strove to be as near as possible to where he was being helped into the carriage, Then suddenly he looked at me in a most kindly way, and his eyes held my attention. I really don't know how to describe my feelings at that moment. That day was for me one of the happiest of my life; I was sure I had gazed on a real saint, and that that saint had read in my soul something that was known only to God and himself." Don Bosco died soon after, but the memory of that look proved such an influence on Luigi that it helped set his mind on the Salesian life. He entered the novitate on 17 August 1891, and as he made his perpetual vows into the hands of Don Rua, Don Bosco's successor whispered in his ear "Variara, non variare" a play upon Italian words meaning "Variari never vary..".

 

Luigi did his philosophy studies at Valsalice, together with the Venerable Andrea Beltrami then suffering from consumption and spending his last years in cheerful acceptance of the will of God. This reference to Beltrami is important, since it would have influenced Luigi to develop and propose to the Congregation of Sisters he was to found in later years, a spirituality closely devoted to the sick and infirm. The Congregation was the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary)

 

Another decisive event in the life of Luigi was his meeting in 1894 with Father Michael Unia, a missionary who worked for the lepers of Agua de Dios.

 

Luigi already was keen to devote his life to the missions, and was delighted to be invited by Father Unia to join him on his return to his leper refuge in Agua de Dios.

 

"I was absolutely amazed and thrilled when I was chosen from my 120 companions who all had volunteered for the missionary apostolate. Father Unia looked at me and said, ‘This is the one I choose’. He then spoke to me personally and asked if I would return with him to his leper colony in Agua de Dios. Delighted, I agreed; and I never ceased to recall the incident as a magnificent grace, a grace I treasured as a gift from Mary Help of Christians," he recalled.

 

Actually Father Unia died a little over a year after his return to Agua de Dios. He had written to the young Variara shortly before his death: "Someone more worthy than I am, will inherit this work with my blessing. Courage! Maybe this good fortune will be yours." Indeed, Luigi took possession of his inheritance and devoted his life entirely to the service of the lepers with the freshness of youthful energy and a wealth of talent, He set up a musical band that performed in the presence of the President of Colombia; and in the 'city of sorrow’ he created an atmosphere of joyousness that profoundly moved all who witnessed it.

 

To teach the young lepers how to play the wind instruments, he would show them certain techniques, using the instruments without changing the mouthpiece they had just blown into. He preferred to run the risk of infection, as was believed in those days, than to humiliate them with precautions. One witness maintained that he was both mother and father to the youngsters, "He cheerfully dressed the most repugnant sores of these little ones; and the more helpless ones he assisted with their personal toilet needs with the care of a mother."

 

In 1898, four years after his arrival, Luigi was ordained to the priesthood. His was the first Salesian ordination in Colombia, To his long list of labours he now added the duties of his priestly ministry, and immediately proved himself a wise spiritual director, an apostolate greatly furthered by his kindly understanding, respect, human sensitivity and interior spirituality.

 

Amongst his penitents were members of the Children of Mary Sodality, a group of some 200 girls among whom were many lepers. Luigi was faced with the fact that quite a few of these girls would have become religious, but there was no Congregation that would accept lepers, or even children of lepers. This gave him the idea of founding a Congregation for women that would accept such applicants: ‘a wonderful and carefully conceived unique concept in the Church’. In practice it started off as merely an association; for the idea of a definite Congregation was still not thought of as possibility. The aim was simply to found a ‘Religious Community’ exclusively for the Agua de Dios apostolate.

 

Meanwhile the ardent zeal of the young priest branched out in various other initiatives.

 

For babies in desperate need Luigi set up a haven which he dedicated to the memory of Father Michael Unia. It saw the light on 7 May 1905. He also organised concerts and plays that were received with extraordinary pleasure. But no one was happier than Luigi himself. He wrote on 22 July 1901: "I have never been so happy to be a Salesian as I have this year, and I bless the Lord for sending me to this leper colony. It has been for me an foretaste of heaven itself".

 

However in 1903 changes took place that profoundly affected Father Variara. Father Evasio Rabagliati, who had encouraged the ongoing Salesian development of the leper colonies, was succeeded by Father Antonio Aime, whose policy was to put a check on the expansion of the leper apostolate. His reasons were twofold: he had to develop the educational apostolate of the Province; and he was having difficulty in finding confreres for the leper refuge, largely because of the fear of contracting the disease.

 

This was a sad blow to Father Variara - it was something that was hard for him to understand; and other circumstances contributed to worsen the situation. At Agua de Dios there was a community of Presentation Sisters, and the Superior, Mother Anna del Pilar, did not favour Luigi's incipient Congregation; she took every opportunity to impede its development. Furthermore, Archbishop Bemardo Herrera Restrepo, who had given his approval to the Association, had received mistaken information given to him mainly by the Presentation Superior, and had complained to the Salesian Provincial.

 

Given this situation, the latter transferred Luigi to different places without giving sufficient attention to the facts, This was contrary to the backing of the Rector Major Don Rua, who had in writing approved of Luigi's remaining at Agua de Dios and also of the responsibility he had to the new Congregation.

 

In 1905 he was transferred to Mosquera; then returned to Aqua de Dios and further sent to Contratacion. However, because of the climate there, he was returned to Agua do Dios.

 

In 1911 he was in Italy and able to approach the new Rector Major, Father Paul Albera, who confirmed his obedience to return to Aqua de Dios and resume his work with the lepers.

 

However, after a few years of fruitful apostolate, he was sent to Bogota Here certain sores on his skin appeared, and it was suspected that he had contracted leprosy, and the decision was made to transfer him again to Agua de Dios. He returned there, even though the medical results of the sores had proved negative. Unfortunately, by this time people worried about having any contact with him.

 

Nevertheless, after a few months he was told to transfer to Barranquilla. In the letter he received, the Provincial gave no explanation for this new change, arriving as it did just when Luigi had been told not to leave Agua de Dios. It is difficult to understand how he was to be taken from the leper colony and sent to work with healthy people. It would seem that the Provincial was plagued by diabetes, and this may have been a contributory cause of the contradictions in his authoritative decisions.

 

The two years at Baranquilla were years of suffering for Luigi. He was ordered to cut down on his correspondence with the leper girls of the Religious Association and not to consider himself responsible for them any more. The motive for this prohibition seems to have been a painful false accusation made against him. Luigi bore this trial in a most edifying way, putting into practice the ‘spirit of victimisation’ that he had preached to his Institute, "We are victims, and we must accept our share in the cross of Jesus". When Luigi was told of the accusation he entered the church and remained a long time in prayer before the tabernacle.

 

History was to have the task of unmasking the baseness of the accuser. In 1921 Luigi was transferred to Tariba, Venezuela, on the border of Colombia. Two years after his arrival, his health had seriously deteriorated and the doctor advised that he be taken to Cucuta, Colombia, where the climate was more bearable for his patient, There he was cared for by a Salesian Cooperator, Rodolfo Faccini. But his health was soon to worsen, and he died on 1 February 1923 at 48 years of age and 24 of priesthood - far away, as his obedience demanded - from his beloved lepers and his Sisters. He was buried in Cucuta, and in 1932 his remains were transferred to the Chapel of his Sisters in Agua de Dios, where they still remain.

 

From:

http://www.donbosco.asn.au/Bulletins/2002/dec/variara.htm

 

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February 1^st - Blessed Luigi Variara

 

(1875-1923)

 

Blessed Luigi Variara was born in Viarigi (Asti), Italy, on 15 January 1875 and died on 1 February 1923 in Cucuta, Colombia. He was an apostle to the lepers in Colombia and founder of the congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who ran the homes he set up for lepers. He was born to Pietro Variara and Livia Bussa. When he was 12 years old he entered the Salesian Oratory in Turin, while the founder Don Bosco of the Salesian Congregation, was still alive. Luigi had the privilege of meeting this living saint on one occasion, and it was an encounter that changed his life. John Bosco looked into the eyes of the young boy, and this gaze was for Luigi a confirmation of his future Salesian vocation. John Bosco died a month later on 31 January 1888.

 

In 1891 he entered the novitiate and shortly afterward he made his profession in the hands of Bl. Michael Rua, Don Bosco's first successor. After his novitiate, Luigi did his study of philosophy at Valsalice and there he met Fr Michele Unia, the Salesian apostle of lepers of Colombia, who had come to speak to the community about his mission. His talk won Luigi over, and in 1894 he left for Colombia with Fr Unia when he returned. Here he dedicated himself to the lepers of Agua de Dios, sharing with them his passion for music and drama. Fr Unia died shortly thereafter, leaving Luigi and three other priests in charge of the leper colony.

 

The three years before his priestly ordination in 1898 proved to be a time of spiritual growth and maturation for the young Luigi, who came to understand better the reality of sacrifice and self-giving in serving others, and in running the risk of contagion through continual contact with lepers. After his ordination, he exercised his duties as priest in the leper colony, and with responsibility for the parish, often spending four or five hours a day in the confessional. He also continued to teach music and drama, especially concerned for the moral health of the young people of Agua de Dios. From the first year of his priesthood, Luigi felt the need to open a leprosarium for young patients, a project that mirrored that of his predecessor, Fr Unia. The scope of such a foundation was to educate these children in the faith, to teach them how to read and write and skill in manual labour, so that they would be saved from a life of desolation and vice. In 1905 the "Michele Unia Youth Hostel" was opened. On 7 May 1905 he founded the Congregation of the "Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary", in order to provide care for the residents of the hostel. "Our goal", he stated, "along with that of our own personal sanctification, is to care for the leprosy patients in the hostel and in serving God by offering ourselves as victims of expiation". He also said of the year 1905:  "Never as in this year did I feel so happy to be a Salesian and I bless the Lord for having sent me to this leper colony where I learned how to gain heaven". As the Congregation was also founded with the intention of offering to women lepers the possibility to consecrate their lives to God, Fr Variara's initiative was much criticized and misjudged by other religious institutes and even by some of his own brothers, who questioned whether this new Salesian "branch" was in accordance with the charism of their founder. He had founded a community of "outcasts" it seemed, in the eyes of the world. Luigi, however, held firmly to God's will, and began to climb the Calvary of not being understood or accepted by those who should have been closest to him. He received, however, the consolation and relief of knowing that he was acting out of obedience, since Fr Michael Rua, Don Bosco's first successor stood behind him and encouraged him to continue with the foundation.

 

His greatest trial proved to be his transferral from Agua de Dios to Venezuela, a separation from his Congregation which cast a shadow of mystery on the foundation itself and began 18 years of misunderstandings for Luigi. He was transferred from city to city after leaving Agua de Dios, and in 1921 he was definitively moved to Táriba. He continued, however, to keep in contact with Mother Lozano, cofoundress of the Institute. He assured her that there was "nothing to fear:  if it is a work of God, it will last". Luigi Variara died on 1 February 1923 in Cucuta.

 

The Congregation is currently present in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Dominican Republic and Equatorial Guinea and is dedicated in the service of the poor and the sick.

 

Taken from:

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2002/documents/ns_lit_doc_20020414_variara_en.html

 

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February 2nd - The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple,

The Purification, or Candlemas

 

The law of God, given by Moses to the Jews, ordained that after childbirth a woman should continue for a certain time in a state which that law calls unclean, during which time she was not to appear in public. This term was of forty days following the birth of a son, and double that time for a daughter. When the term expired, the mother was to bring to the Temple a lamb and a young pigeon or turtle-dove, as an offering to God. These being sacrificed to Almighty God by the priest, she was cleansed of the legal impurity and reinstated in her former privileges. A dove was required of all as a sin-offering, whether rich or poor; but as the expense of a lamb might be too great for the poor, these were allowed to substitute for it a second dove. Such was the case, Scripture tells us, for the Holy Family. (Luke 2:24)

 

Our Saviour having been conceived by the Holy Ghost, and His Blessed Mother remaining always a spotless virgin, it is evident that She was not subject to the law of purification, but devotion and zeal to honor God by every observance prescribed by His law, prompted Mary to perform this act of religion.

 

Besides the law which obliged the mother to purify herself, there was another which required that the first-born son be offered to God, and that after his presentation the child be ransomed with a certain sum of money, and specific sacrifices offered on the occasion. Mary complied exactly with all these ordinances. She obeyed not only in the essential points of the law, but had strict regard to all the circumstances. On the day of Her purification She walked several miles to Jerusalem, with the world’s Redeemer in Her arms. She waited for the priest at the gate of the Temple, made Her offerings of thanksgiving and expiation, and with the most profound humility, adoration and thanksgiving, presented Her divine Son, by the hands of the priest, to His Eternal Father. She then redeemed Him with five shekels, as the law appoints, and received Him back again as a sacred charge committed to Her special care, until the Father would again demand Him for the full accomplishment of man’s redemption.

 

The ceremony of this day closed in a third mystery — the meeting in the Temple of the holy prophets Simeon and Anne with the Divine Infant and His parents. Saint Simeon, on that occasion, received into his arms the object of all his desires and sighs, and praised God for the happiness of beholding the much-longed-for Messiah. He foretold to Mary Her martyrdom of sorrow, and that Jesus would bring redemption to those who would accept it on the terms it was offered, but a heavy judgment on all who would obstinately reject it. Mary, hearing this terrible prediction, courageously and sweetly committed all to God’s holy Will. Simeon, having beheld Our Saviour, exclaimed: “Now Thou canst dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, in peace, according to Thy word, because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” The aged prophetess Anne, who had served God with great fervor during her long widowhood, also had the happiness of recognizing and adoring the Redeemer of the world. This feast is called Candlemas, because the Church blesses the candles to be borne in the procession of the day.

 

Reflection. Let us strive to imitate the humility of the ever-blessed Mother of God, remembering that humility is the path which leads to lasting peace and brings us closer to God, who gives His grace to the humble.

 

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February 2nd - Blessed Peter Cambiano, Martyr

(Also known as Peter de Ruffi)

 

Born in Chieri, Piedmont, Italy, in 1320; died February 2, 1365; beatified in 1856.

 

Peter Cambiano's father was a city councillor and his mother was of nobility. They were virtuous and careful parents, and they gave their little son a good education, especially in religion. Peter responded to all their care and became a fine student, as well as a pious and likeable child. Peter was drawn to the Dominicans by devotion to the rosary. Our Lady of the Rosary was the special patroness of the Piedmont region, and he had a personal devotion to her. At 16, therefore, he presented himself at the convent in Piedmont and asked for the habit.

 

Here the young student continued his study and prayer, becoming a model religious, and was ordained at 25. His skill as a preacher had already become evident, not the least of his talents being a loud clear voice, which in those days of open-air preaching was a real asset.

 

Peter's span of active life was 20 years, most of which he spent among the heretics of northern Italy. The fathers of the Lombard province had a fine reputation to uphold. They were walking in the footsteps of martyrs, and they made a point of preparing their men carefully for controversy as well as for martyrdom. Peter's first assignment was to work among the Waldensians. These zealous and misguided folk, coming from France, had already infiltrated the Low Countries and were well established in northern Italy, by way of Switzerland.

 

The inquisition had been set up to deal with these people in Lombardy before the death of Peter Martyr, a century before. So well did young Peter of Ruffia carryout the work of preaching among them that the order sent him to Rome to obtain higher degrees. The pope, impressed both by his talent and his family name, appointed him inquisitor-general of the Piedmont. This was a coveted appointment; to a Dominican it meant practically sure martyrdom and a carrying on of a proud tradition.

 

In January 1365, Peter of Ruffia and two companions left the convent in Turin to go on a preaching tour that would take them into the mountainous country bordering Switzerland, where the heretics had done great damage. Their lives were in hourly danger. The Franciscans at Suse gave them hospitality, and they made the friary their basis of operations for a short, but very active, campaign against the Waldensians.

 

His preaching occasioned several notable defections from the ranks of the heretics, and it was decided that Peter must die. On the February 2, three of the heretics came to the friary and asked to see Peter of Ruffia, saying that they had an important message for him. They waited for him in the cloister, near the gate, and, when he appeared, surrounded him and killed him with their daggers. Peter died almost instantly, too soon to give any information about his assailants, and the murderers disappeared into a valley, where the heretics would protect them. All Piedmont, Switzerland, and Savoy were in an uproar over the death of Peter, who had been 'a saint in his life, a martyr in his death.'

 

The Franciscans at Suse claimed the holy relics, pointing out that it would not be safe to transport them to the nearest Dominican house, so Peter was buried among the Franciscans. Here he remained for 150 years until the Franciscan house was razed and desecrated by an invading army. Finally, in 1517, the relics of the great inquisitor were brought to Turin, and Peter was laid to rest among his brethren in the convent there (Attwater2, Benedictines, Dorcy)

 

This Version taken from:

http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm

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Saint Quote:

The missionaries will have to understand that they are stones hid under the earth, which will perhaps never come to light, but which will become part of the foundations of a vast, new building.

—Saint Daniel Comboni

 

Bible Quote:

No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.  (St. Luke 9:62)

 

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Ecce Homo

 

Protect me, great power of God.

Let the strength of Jesus' faith be with me.

Let the purification be with me.

Let the ecclesiastical court of the most Holy Trinity

crush the courage of my enemies

so that they do not harm me,

my family, or my benefactors.

Jesus Christ my Redeemer,

You conquered the world from the cross.

Let Your death conquer my enemies. - Amen.

 

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February 3rd - St. Ansgar (801-865)

 (Also known as Anskar, Anschar, Anscharius, Scharies)

 

Born near Amiens, Picardy, France in 801; died in Bremen, Germany on February 3, 865.  With the coming of the barbarian after the death of Charlemagne, darkness fell upon Europe. From the forests and fjords of the north, defying storm and danger, came a horde of pirate invaders, prowling round the undefended coasts, sweeping up the broad estuaries, and spreading havoc and fear. No town, however fair, no church, however sacred, and no community, however strong, was immune from their fury. Like a river of death the Vikings poured across Europe.

 

It's hard to believe that there would be an outbreak of missionary activity at such a time, but in Europe's darkest hour there were those who never faltered, and who set out to convert the pagan invader. Saint Ansgar was such a man. As a young boy of a noble family he was received at Corbie monastery in Picardy and educated under Saints Abelard and Paschasius Radbert. Once professed, he was transferred to New Corbie at Westphalia. He once said to a friend, "One miracle I would, if worthy, ask the Lord to grant me; and that is, that by His grace, he would make me a good man."

 

In France a call was made for a priest to go as a missionary to the Danes, and Ansgar, a young monk, volunteered. His friends tried to dissuade him, so dangerous was the mission. Nevertheless, when King Harold, who had become a Christian during his exile, returned to Denmark, Ansgar and another monk accompanied him. Equipped with tents and books, these two monks set out in 826 and founded a school in Denmark. Here Anskar's companion died, and he was obliged to move on to Sweden alone when his success in missionary work led King Bjoern to invite him to Sweden.

 

On the way, his boat was attacked by pirates and he lost all his possessions, arriving destitute at a small Swedish village. After this unpromising start, he succeeded in forming the nucleus of a church—the first Christian church in Sweden—and penetrated inland, confronting the heathen in their strongholds and converting the pagan chiefs.

 

Ansgar became the first archbishop of Hamburg, Germany, and abbot of New Corbie in Westphalia c. 831. The Pope Gregory IV appointed him legate to the Scandinavian countries and confided the Scandinavian souls to his care. He evangelized there for the next 14 years, building churches in Norway, Denmark, and northern Germany.

 

He saw his accomplishments obliterated when pagan Vikings invaded in 845, overran Scandinavia, and destroyed Hamburg. Thereafter, the natives reverted to paganism. Ansgar was then appointed first archbishop of Bremen around 848, but he was unable to establish himself there for a time and Pope Nicholas I united that see with Hamburg. Nicholas also gave him jurisdiction over Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

 

Ansgar returned to Denmark and Sweden in 854 to resume spreading the Gospel. When he returned to Denmark he saw the church and school he had built there destroyed before his eyes by an invading army.

 

His heart almost broke as he saw his work reduced to ashes. "The Lord gave," he said, "and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." With a handful of followers he wandered through his ruined diocese, but it was a grim and weary time. "Be assured, my dear brother," said the primate of France, who had commissioned him to this task, "that what we have striven to accomplish for the glory of Christ will yet, by God's help, bring forth fruit."

 

Heartened by these words, and with unfailing courage, Anskar pursued his Swedish mission. Though he had but four churches left and could find no one willing to go in his place, he established new outposts and consolidated his work.

 

King Olaf had cast a die to decide whether to allow the entrance of Christians, an action that Ansgar mourned as callous and unbefitting. He was encouraged, however, by a council of chiefs at which an aged man spoke in his defense. "Those who bring to us this new faith," he said, "by their voyage here have been exposed to many dangers. We see our own deities failing us. Why reject a religion thus brought to our very doors? Why not permit the servants of God to remain among us? Listen to my counsel and reject not what is plainly for our advantage."

 

As a result, Ansgar was free to preach the Christian faith, and though he met with many setbacks, he continued his work until he died at he age of 64 and was buried at Bremen. He was a great missionary, an indefatigable, outstanding preacher, renowned for his austerity, holiness of life, and charity to the poor. He built schools and was a great liberator of slaves captured by the Vikings. He converted King Erik of the Jutland and was called the 'Apostle of the North.' Yet Sweden reverted completely to paganism shortly after Ansgar's death.

 

Ansgar often wore a hairshirt, lived on bread and water when his health permitted it, and added short personal prayers to each Psalm in his psalter, thus contributing to a form of devotion that soon became widespread.

 

Miracles were said to have been worked by him. After Ansgar's death, the work he had begun came to a stop and the area reverted to paganism. Christianity did not begin to make headway in Scandinavia until two centuries later with the work of Saint Sigfrid and others. A Vita was written about Ansgar by his fellow missionary in Scandinavia, Saint Rembert (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Coulson, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Robinson, White).

 

In art Ansgar shown with converted Danes near him (White), wearing a fur pelisse (Roeder). He may sometimes be shown otherwise in a boat with King Harold and companions or in a cope and miter, holding Hamburg Cathedral (Roeder).

 

Saint Ansgar is the patron of Denmark, Germany, and Iceland (White). He is venerated in Old Corbie (Picardy) and New Corbie (Saxony) as well as in Scandinavia (Roeder).

 

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A prayer to glorious St. Blaise:

 

O glorious Saint Blaise, who by thy martyrdom didst leave to the Church a precious witness to the Faith, obtain for us the grace to preserve within ourselves this divine gift, and to defend, without human respect, both by word and example, the truth of that same faith, which is so wickedly attacked and slandered in these our times.  Thou who didst miraculously restore a little child when it was at the point of death by reason of an affliction of the throat, grant us thy mighty protection in like misfortunes; and, above all, obtain for us the grace of Christian mortification together with a faithful observance of the precepts of the Church, which may keep us from offending Almighty God.  Amen.

 

Traditional indulgence of 300 days. Imprimatur:  Francis Cardinal Spellman,

Archbishop of New York, May 30, 1951.

 

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February 3rd - St. Aelred, OSB Cist. Abbot (AC)

 (also known as Ailred, Ethelred)

 

Born in Hexham, Northumberland, England, c. 1109; died at Rievaulx Monastery, Yorkshire, England, on January 12, 1167; canonized by the General Chapter of Cîteaux in 1250 (and Attwater says he was canonized in 1191 but he is not in the Roman Martyrology so this statement may be in error); today is the feast celebrated by the Cistercians, feast day on calendar also on March 3, when it is celebrated in Hexham, Liverpool, Middleborough, and by the Cistercians; feast day formerly on January 12.

 

Aelred belonged to a noble family. He was the son and grandson of parish priests of Hexham—sainthood was probably in his genes. He was educated at Durham in the arts, letters, and the new humanism of the time.

 

At about age 20, Aelred was taken into the service of King Saint David at the beginning of his reign. Aelred became a clerk and then high steward of the household in the Scottish court because he was so beloved for his piety, gentleness, humility, and spirituality by King David, who, though son of Saint Margaret, considered the sword and knighthood more certain guarantees of his kingdom whose districts and frontier fiefs were in continual legal disputes.

 

The favors that Aelred received at court won him enemies. One of the king's knights, a jealous man, developed a hatred for Aelred because of the favors constantly bestowed upon him. One day his intense hatred burst out in the presence of the king himself. Bitter reproaches and insults followed.

 

Aelred replied without emotion: "You are right, Sir Knight, and you have said the truth: your words are exact, and I see that you are a true friend of mine." The soldier begged his pardon immediately, and swore that henceforth he would do everything he could for Aelred. "I am very happy you have repented," said Aelred, "and I like you the more for it, because your jealousy has been for you a means of advancing in the love of God."

 

Aelred formed a close relationship with David's son, Earl Henry. His soul was so torn between answering God's call to the cloistered life and remaining at court with Henry. Aelred considered friendship a most precious gift. His dilemma was solved when he visited the recently-founded Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx on his return from an interview with the archbishop of York.

 

Aelred chose not to return to the Scottish court. Thus, at age 24 (c. 1134), Aelred enter Rievaulx, where Saint Bernard had appointed his secretary William as abbot over the monks from Clairvaux who formed the community. In spite of delicate health, Aelred conformed to the austere regime and became so esteemed by his community that he was chosen as envoy to Rome in 1142 over the disputed election of Saint William of York and, soon afterwards, as master of novices.

 

Within a short time, he was obliged to change monasteries to avoid being named a bishop; but no sooner had he relocated himself than he was chosen to be abbot of a new Cistercian monastery in Revesby, Lincolnshire, in 1143. His biographers say that this new position did not prevent his "living a life of the severest asceticism." Under his rule, the house prospered, increasing in size to 150 choir monks and 500 lay brothers and lay servants—the largest in England. It expanded to five other foundations in England and Scotland.

 

Inspired by the writings of Saints John Chrysostom and Augustine and augmented by Aelred's own gentle holiness and natural charity, he was able to humanize the intransigence of Cistercian monasticism and attracted men of similar character to his own. Through his many friends as well as his writings, Aelred became a figure of national importance. He was chosen to preach at Westminster for the translation of Saint Edward the Confessor. This led him to compose a vita of Edward; he had already completed one on Saint Ninian and one on the saints of Hexham.

 

Four years later he returned to Rievaulx as abbot, succeeding Abbot Maurice. During his abbacy the number of monks at Rievaulx rose to over 600, attracted by his kindly, humane nature. In addition to looking after these he had every year to visit other Cistercian houses in England and Scotland, and even to go as far afield as the Cistercian centers of Cîteaux and Clairvaux. These journeys must have been a great trial to him, for during his later years Aelred suffered from a painful disease in addition to rheumatism.

 

Aelred became known for his prudence and holiness throughout England. He was admitted to the councils of the highest dignitaries in the land and was constantly called upon to settle disputes. King Henry II of England was his friend, and, in 1160, during the papal schism, he was able to influence the king on behalf of Pope Alexander III.

 

In 1164, he went to Galway in Ireland as a missionary but the following year he returned to England. Famed for his preaching, energy, sympathetic gentleness, and asceticism, Aelred was consider a saint in his own lifetime. He was also considered a delightful companion because of his wit, easy speech, and brilliant mind.

 

His biographer and disciple, Walter Daniel records: "I lived under his rule for 17 years, and in that time he did not dismiss anyone from the monastery." Aelred's name, indeed, is particularly associated with friendship—human and divine. One of his two best known writings is a little work “On Spiritual Friendship” which is delicately beautiful. Only when Aelred's enormous capacity for friendship was transformed by charity was he finally able to write the unique treatment of the subject. It resembles Cicero's dialogue on the topic, but is identifiably Christian in its approach.

 

Aelred also penned the “Mirror of Charity “(Seculum caritas), a treatise on Christian perfection. His sermons on Isaiah are also fine writing and he also composed biographies of the saints. He was in the process of writing a treatise on the human soul, which was left unfinished by his death at age 57. His writings and sermons are characterized by a constant appeal to the Bible and to a love of Christ as friend and savior that was the mainspring of his life.

 

Saint Aelred's frequent travel and writings merited for him the title of "a second Saint Bernard" or "the Bernard of the North." On his way to his Scottish foundations, Aelred used to visit his friend Saint Godric of Finchale. In the last year of his life, he could no longer travel. After being for a time virtually in a state of physical collapse, Saint Aelred died at his monastery, in a shed adjoining the infirmary that he had made his quarters. The historian of monasticism in England, Professor David Knowles, says that Aelred is "a singularly attractive figure . . . No other English monk of the 12th century so lingers in the memory." Saint Aelred was buried in the chapter house. Later his relics were translated to the church.

 

Quote:

"Place thyself under the discipline of a stern and austere man, who will treat thee harshly and with rigor; and then strive to drink in all his reproofs and ill treatment as one would drink milk and honey; and I assure thee that in a little time thou wilt find thyself on the pinnacle of perfection"

 —Abbot Moses

 

Bible Quote

I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour.   I will give glory to thy name: for thou hast been a helper and protector to me. (Ecclesiasticus 51:1-2)

 

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February 3rd - Aelred of Rievaulx, Abbot

 

Aelred was born in 1109 at Durham, and was sent to the Scottish court for an education that would ensure his future as a noble and courtier. He succeeded, to the extent of being made Master of the Household of the King of Scotland. Nevertheless, he found success at the court of an earthly king unsatisfying, and at the age of 24 he entered the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire. Bernard of Clairvaux encouraged him to write his first work, The Mirror of Charity, which deals with seeking to follow the example of Christ in all things. In 1147 he became abbot of Rievaulx, a post which he held until his death of kidney disease twenty years later at the age of 57.

 

His most famous work is called Spiritual Friendship (both it and the Mirror have been published in English by the Cistercian Press).

 

When Jesus was told that his family was waiting to see him, he replied, "All who do the will of my Father are my family." From this, some Christians have drawn the conclusion that the only kind of love permissible to a Christian is Charity — that is: (a) the universal benevolence that wills the good of all persons, and (b) the bond that unites the Christian with Christ and through Christ with all other Christians. Note that Universal Benevolence is extended equally to all persons (we are to love Jones because God made him), and that the bond of Christian Unity unites us equally with all our fellow Christians who are in a state of grace (we are to love Jones because Christ dwells in him). Neither leaves any room for particular friendships, for liking Jones more than Smith because Jones shares our interest in hockey, or because Jones and we like the same sort of jokes, or come from the same part of the country and have similar childhood memories, or because Jones is an easy-going type and it is easy to relax and feel comfortable around him, or because Jones and we have a special bond of friendship, loyalty, and trust. Particular friendships are OUT!

 

Some who do not think that every Christian must renounce particular friendships believe that every monastic must do so. In many religious houses, where the monks or nuns walk two by two into chapel or the dining hall or while pacing about during the daily hour of recreation, the superior will make a point of constantly shifting partners, lest anyone form a liking for one partner more than another. (This does not apply just to friends. It is sometimes held that no monk ought to allow himself any preferences in food or drink.) Against this view, Aelred wrote that it is compatible with the highest degree of Christian perfection to take special pleasure in the company of particular friends. He point out that we are told that Jesus loved John, and Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, and that this probably means that he found their company congenial.

 

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Prayer:

 

Pour thou into our hearts, we beseech thee, O God, the Holy Spirit's gift of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with thy servant Aelred draw many into thy community of love; through Jesus Christ the Righteous, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one

God, now and forever.

 

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February 3^rd - Saint Aelred or Alfred, Abbot

(1109-1167)

 

Saint Aelred was remarked in the court of a royal Saint, David of Scotland, for his humility and his gentleness. He resolved to separate from his king, his friends, and all whom he loved dearly, reflecting that death will soon separate us from all things in this world. To make his sacrifice complete, he left Scotland and went to the Province of York in England, where he received the habit at the age of twenty-four years under William, Abbot of Rieval, a disciple of Saint Bernard.

 

The heart of Saint Aelred never ceased to love his friends, according to his own avowal, because the center of it was Love itself. He was heard to exclaim: "What is love, O my God? It is, if I am not mistaken, this ineffable delight of the soul, the more sweet as it is more pure, the more gratifying as it is more ardent. The one who loves You possesses You in proportion to his love, because You are Love. Love is the torrent of joy with which you inebriate Your elect, transforming them into Yourself by love for You!"

 

As a young monk, his attention was drawn to one of his brethren because of his holiness. This good monk, named Simon, had left the world in his youth, and he appeared as though deaf and dumb, so absorbed was he in God. One day Aelred, forgetting for a moment the rule of perpetual silence, spoke to him. At once he prostrated himself at his feet, acknowledging his fault; but Simon's look of pain haunted him for many a year, and taught him to let no human sentiment disturb for one moment his or another's union with God.

 

Aelred in 1142 was named Abbot of Revesby, a newly founded Cistercian monastery, and the following year was obliged to take upon himself the government of the larger monastery of Rieval. A novice once came to him, saying that he must return to the world. But Aelred had begged his soul of God and answered, "Brother, do not ruin yourself; nevertheless you will be unable to do so, despite your desire." The novice would not listen, however, and wandered among the hills, thinking all the while he was going far from the abbey. At sunset he found himself before a convent strangely like Rieval, and Rieval it was. The first monk he met was Aelred, who embraced him, saying, "Son, why have you done this? I have wept for you with many tears, and I trust in God that, as I have asked of Him, you will not perish." The world does not so dearly love its friends.

 

At the command of his superiors Aelred composed his great works, both historical and ascetic, among which are the Life of David, King of Scotland; Life of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland; Spiritual Friendship and Mirror of Charity. In the last-named treatise he says that true love of God is only to be obtained by joining ourselves in all things to the Passion of Christ. Saint Aelred died in 1167, Superior of some three hundred monks.

 

Reflection. When a soul has given itself to God, God gives back friendship, with all His other gifts, a hundredfold multiplied. Friends are then loved no longer for themselves only, but for God, and with a love lively and tender, for God can easily purify sentiment. It is not sentiment but self-love which corrupts friendship.

 

Sources: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 1.

 

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Family Consecration—Long Form

 

Heavenly Father, grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of Thy Divine Son, may die to our own selfishness and be one spirit with Jesus Christ, as we seek to fulfill Thy distinctive plan for our daily life.

 

Form me and all the members of our family, our community, our Holy Church, into instruments of atonement. Unite our entire lives with the Holy Sacrifice of Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and accept our offering of all our possessions, both spiritual and material, for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, in union with St. Joseph.

 

O Father, let Sacred Scripture's Four C's of Confidence, Conscience, Charity, and Constancy, be our guide for living our consecration as peaceful children, and purified instruments of the Most Holy Family.

 

Let us live our consecration by remaining perpetually confident, calm, cheerful, and compassionate, especially with members of our family and community.

 

Please protect our loved ones and ourselves from the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Aid us in becoming more receptive of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Family, our Patron Saints, and Guardian Angels.

 

And now, most Heavenly Father, inspire us to establish the right priorities for Thy precious gift of time. And most of all, help us to be more mindful of the needs of our loved ones.

 

Never let us forget the Holy Souls in Purgatory who are dependent upon us for help. Enable us to gain, for the Poor Souls of our loved ones and others, especially those most forgotten, as many indulgences as possible. We ask Thee this, Our Father, in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Thy Son and the Son of Mary. Amen.

 

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Family Consecration—Short Form

 

Most Holy Family, unite my daily life with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Accept all my spiritual, mental, and material possessions as my sacrifice offered to the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, in union with St. Joseph. This shall be my commitment in life, in death, and in eternity.
Amen.

 

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February 3rd - St. Werburga of Chester, OSB V (AC)

(also known as Werburg, Werebrurge, Werbyrgh)

 

Born at Stone, Staffordshire, England; died at Threckingham, England, c. 690-700; feast of her translation at Chester, June 21.

 

The patroness of Chester, England, Saint Werburga, was born of a line of kings, being a daughter of Wulfhere, King of Mercia. From her mother, the saintly Ermingilde (Ermenilda), she learned as a child the Christian faith. By temperament she was pious and virtuous, and her beauty attracted many admirers, among them a prince of the West Saxons, who offered her rich gifts and made flattering proposals, and also Werbode, a powerful knight of her father's court. But refusing all her suitors, she secured, after much persuasion, her father's permission to enter a convent (or she did so after her father's death).

 

When the time came, he and his courtiers escorted her in great state to the abbey of Ely, where they were greeted at the gates by her aunt, the royal abbess, Ethelreda, and her nuns. Werburga fell upon her knees and asked that she might be received as a novice, and to the chanting of the Te Deum they entered the cloister, where she was stripped of her costly apparel, exchanged her coronet for a veil, and in a rough habit began her new life.

 

She made good progress, and after many years, at the request of her uncle, King Ethelred, was chosen to superintend all the convents of his kingdom. This opened to her a large and fruitful sphere of duty, and the religious houses under her care became models of monastic discipline. Through the wealth and influence of her family she also founded new convents at Trentham in Staffordshire, Hanbury near Tutbury, and Weedon in Northamptonshire, and secured the interest of Ethelred in establishing the collegiate Church of Saint John the Baptist in Chester, and in giving land to Egwin for the great abbey of Evesham.

 

Werburga won many from dissipation and vice, and God crowned her life with many blessings. Her work was deeply rooted in prayer and discipline. She took but one meal daily and that only of the coarsest food; she set before her the example of the desert fathers; and she recited the whole of the Psalter daily upon her knees.

 

She lived to a ripe age, and before her death she journeyed to all her convents, paying to each a farewell visit; she then retired to Trentham (Threckingham in Lincolnshire), where she died. She was buried in the monastery of Hanbury in Staffordshire. Later, her remains were transferred with great ceremony in the presence of King Coolred and many bishops to a costly shrine in Leicester, which attracted many pilgrims.

 

In 875, for fear of the Danes, her relics were removed to Chester. In 1095, they were translated within Chester, where in the course of time a great church, now the cathedral, was built over it, and where the remains of it may still be seen, carved with the figures of her ancestors, the ancient kings of Mercia. On its four sides the deep niches remain, where the pilgrims knelt, seeking healing, afterwards receiving a metal token to show that they had visited her shrine. This final translation was the occasion for Goselin to write her vita. The shrine was destroyed under King Henry VIII, although part of its stone base survives. Twelve ancient English churches were dedicated to her, including Hanbury and Chester (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill).

 

In art Saint Werburga holds the abbey, while her crown lays at her feet. Sometimes there are wild geese near her (Roeder), because, according to Goselin she restored one to life (see below); however, the writer borrowed the story from his o