Subj : April 18th - Bl. James of Lodi To : All From : rich Date : Tue Apr 17 2018 10:15:19 From: rich April 18th - Bl. James of Lodi (d. 1404) How James of Lodi experienced a change of heart is one of the most fascinating illustrations of God's workings. James was a native of Lodi, a city in northern Italy. His family was wealthy and prominent, and leisure gave him plenty of time to cultivate his talents. He learned to paint, became expert at playing the lute, and danced divinely. When he married, James chose as a mate Catherine, a socialite and, like him, a great party-goer. Now, ever since the mid-1300s, bubonic plague had been recurring at many places in Europe. James and Catherine had not been married long before Lodi was stricken. Like many another well-to-do couples, they took flight--to Catherine's father's country villa--in orde= r to escape infection. It must have been boring for the couple to wait out the epidemic where there was no round of entertainments available. Up to this time, James had been more worldly than spiritual in his way of life. What happened to him one day in a country church shows that he was even rather flippant about spiritual things. On this day when he and a companion were out for a walk, they dropped into a neighborhood church to look around. There they found a shrine that was a reproduction of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem--the tomb of Christ. In this reproduction, there was a flat shelf like that in Jerusalem on which the body of Christ had rested before His resurrection. Observing the shelf, James suddenly lay down full length upon the stone slab. =E2=80=9CLet's see,=E2=80=9D he said, with a t= winkle in his eye, =E2=80=9Cwhich is the taller--Christ or I.=E2=80=9D He had lain there for only a moment, however, when his face suddenly became serious and he arose and quickly got off the shelf. In that brief moment, God had shown him that Christ was the taller--infinitely so--for James's own shortcomings were all too many. This marked a turning point in the life of the Lodi socialite. From that time on, James indulged no more in his round of pleasures. He began, instead, to rigorously deny himself. He spent hours at prayer in church. He used his paintbrush thenceforth to paint only sacred pictures. Furthermore, he started to take care of a sick priest, and to receive from him instructions in the Latin language. Soon his two daughters were taken off by the plague. Catherine now came to share her husband's conversion. They vowed henceforth to li= ve lives of sexual continence, and they joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Their home they turned into a church. Catherine cut up her party-dresses to make vestments, and gave her jewels to adorn liturgical vessels. James was eventually ordained a priest. There gathered about the couple a band of devout men and women who imitated them in their new austerity of life and practice of good works. Life was not always easy for the couple thereafter. Many misunderstood them. But James kept at his charities until the end of his life. As a matter of fact, he died of a sickness that he had caught from a patient whom he was nursing. St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, spoke of the role of the church leaders as =E2=80=9Cbuilding up the body of Christ,=E2=80=9D until there wa= s formed =E2=80=9Cthat perfect man who is Christ come to full stature.=E2=80=9D Paul= was, of course, referring to Christ's mystical body--the Church--as finally reaching =E2=80=9Cfull stature=E2=80=9D by the uniting of all the faithful = to Him as his members. Still, the phrase =E2=80=9Cthat perfect man who is Christ come= to full stature=E2=80=9D automatically comes to mind when we read of Blessed James's instant maturity. Saint Quote: For the Lord is gracious and merciful and prefers the conversion of a sinner rather than his death. Patient and generous in his mercy, he does not give in to human impatience but is willing to wait a long time for our repentance. -- Saint Jerome Bible Quote: 10 =E2=80=9CAnd you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: =E2=80=98Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste aw= ay because of them; how then can we live?' 11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel? [Ezekiel 33:10,11] RSVCE <><><><> Prayer Grant us, Lord Jesus, always to follow the example of Your holy family, that at the hour of our death Your glorious Virgin Mother with blessed Joseph may come to meet us, and so we may deserve to be received by You into Your everlasting dwelling-place. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .