St. Benedict (July 11th)
Benedict, the Father of Western monasticism, lived circa 480 to 547. He was born in Nursia in central Italy, probably of common folk. The little we know of his personal life is gleaned from two documents: the second Dialogue of Gregory the Great, and the Rule written by Benedict himself.
As a youth, Benedict was sent to Rome to be educated. Rome was then a decadent city, and after two or three years, convinced that God was calling him to be a monk or hermit, Benedict fled to a village some 50 km away. After a brief stay with some holy men, he decided on a life of solitude. He received the monastic habit at Subiaco, and retired to a cave, where he lived alone in the tradition of the Desert Fathers. Soon, he began to attract followers and, for those who wished to share his life at Subiaco, he built 12 small monasteries.
Between 520 and 530, he and a few companions founded the great monastery of Monte Cassino where Benedict spent the rest of his life and wrote his Rule. This work became the primary influence on Western religious life for the next 600 years and is still followed today by the "daughters and sons" of Saint Benedict. This remarkable guide reflects the fatherly concern and charity of Benedict himself as he adapted the austere rule of the Desert Fathers to community life. He emphasized moderation, humility, obedience, prayer and manual labor as the way to holiness. Saint Benedict is considered the Patriarch of Western Monasticism, and was proclaimed Patron of Europe in 1964 by Pope Paul VI.
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel (July 16th)
Today the Church invites us to celebrate the praises of the Mother of God, patroness of the contemplative life. In the twelfth century, hermits withdrew to Mt. Carmel and later founded the order devoted to contemplation, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. In 1251 our Lady gave to St. Simon Stock, Superior General of the Carmelites, the familiar scapular which the Church recommends to all the faithful.
Let us have recourse to the Blessed Virgin and wear her scapular with faith and devotion.
Mary Always Gives Jesus!
Mary fulfills her apostolate: to give Jesus to the Father, to men, to heaven. She presented Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi who came to the crib in Bethlehem. They were the first of the people who one day would constitute the backbone of the Catholic Church. Mary always gives Jesus. She is like a fruitful branch. She always carries Jesus and offers Him to men: passible, glorious, eucharistic; the Way, the Truth and the Life of men.
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St. James - Apostle (July 25th)
St. James the Apostle, called the "Greater" because of his status, was the brother of St. John the Evangelist. St. James preached the Gospel in Judea and Samaria, and then went to Spain. Upon his return to Jerusalem, Herod Agrippa I had James beheaded in 43 or 44 (Acts 12:2). He has been especially honored at Compostella, in Spain, since the ninth century.
Let us ask St. James to implant in us the desire for true "greatness," to be genuine followers of Christ!
The Tongue
St. James writes in his letter (3:2-5): "if anyone does not offend in word, he is a perfect man.... The tongue is a little member, but it boasts mightily." May the tongue praise the Lord, preach the Gospel, instruct one's neighbor, spread a healthy happiness. May it be used for good and necessary social relations.....
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St. Joachim and St. Ann - Parents of Mary (July 26th)
St. Joachim was the head of a holy family which was composed of St. Ann, his spouse, and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The holiness of this couple must have been very great if they merited to be the parents of the Mother of God.
St. Ann, "grandmother" of Jesus, is glorious among the saints because she is the mother of the Mother of God, but even more so because she dedicated Mary to the service of God. In her we see the model of Christian mothers-model of diligence, of love of God, of modesty and justice.
Let us imitate the fidelity to God's call and great generosity that marked the lives of Joachim and Ann.
Fear More...
Many souls have to fear more on account of sins of omission than commission: talents, time, duties, apostolic undertakings, practices of piety ...omitted-gifts buried, virtues neglected, souls abandoned.....
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St. Ignatius of Loyola - Priest (July 31st)
Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) was born into a noble Basque family in northern Spain and raised as a gentleman destined for military service, a vocation filled with chivalric ideals. In 1521, while leading the defence of the citadel of Pamplona, he was struck by a cannonball. During his long convalescence, he read a life of Christ and lives of the saints and found himself inflamed with the desire to serve Jesus.
Leaving his home, Ignatius spent a night in vigil at Mary's altar in the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat. He lived for nine months in the nearby town of Manresa, praying and serving the poor. During this time, he had mystical experiences and illuminations which later formed the basis of his famous Spiritual Exercises. After a brief stay in the Holy Land, Ignatius returned to Europe determined to acquire the formal education he considered an apostolic necessity for himself and earned a master's degree from the University of Paris. He gathered a group of students, including Fancis Xavier, with whom he shared his eagerness for wholehearted service of Jesus.
After ordination and a variety of apostolic experiences, Ignatius brought the group to Rome where they offered themselves to the Pope to serve as he would direct. Wishing to make their companionship a lasting one, they formed the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). While his companions were sent on missions, Ignatius spent the rest of his life in Rome, directing the rapidly growing order, writing its constitutions, and refining the Spiritual Exercises. He was canonized in 1622 and is a universal patron of retreats.
Much early North American history was recorded by Jesuit missionaries in Jesuit Relations, a collection of their reports to headquarters. In the 1640s, eight French Jesuits, including Jean de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues and their companions, were killed. Canonized collectively in 1930, these martyrs are commemorated in the universal calendar.
Three Prayers of St. Ignatius
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. Amen.
Grant, O Lord, that my heart may neither desire nor seek anything but what is necessary for the fulfillment of Thy holy Will. May health or sickness, riches or poverty, honors or contempt, humiliations, leave my soul in that state of perfect detachment to which I desire to attain for Thy greater honor and Thy greater glory. Amen.
O my God, teach me to be generous:
to serve you as you deserve to be served;
to give without counting the cost;
to fight without fear of being wounded;
to work without seeking rest;
and to spend myself without expecting any reward,
but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will.
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