Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?July_5th_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Anthony_Mary_Zaccaria?= To : All From : rich Date : Wed Jul 04 2018 10:13:49 From: rich July 5th =E2=80=93 St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria 1502-1539 At the same time that Martin Luther was attacking abuses in the Church, a reformation within the Church was already being attempted. Among the early movers of the Counter-Reformation was Anthony Zaccaria. His mother became a widow at 18 and devoted herself to the spiritual education of her son. He received a medical doctorate at 22 and, while working among the poor of his native Cremona, was attracted to the religious apostolate. He renounced his rights to any future inheritance, worked as a catechist, and was ordained a priest at the age of 26. Called to Milan in a few years, he laid the foundations of three religious congregations, one for men, one for women and another for laity. The three foundations met regularly and engaged together in various forms of apostolic action. Their aim was the reform of the decadent society of their day, beginning with the clergy and religious. The Laity of St. Paul died out soon after Anthony's death but experienced a rebirth in the 1990s. Greatly inspired by St. Paul (his congregation is named the Barnabites, after the companion of that saint), Anthony preached with great vigor in church and street, conducted popular missions and was not ashamed of doing public penance. He encouraged such innovations as the collaboration of the laity in the apostolate, frequent Communion, the Forty Hours devotion and the ringing of church bells at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays. His holiness moved many to reform their lives but, as with all saints, it also moved many to oppose him. Twice his community had to undergo official religious investigation, and twice it was exonerated. While on a mission of peace, he became seriously ill and was brought home for a visit to his mother. He died at Cremona at the age of 36. Comment: The austerity of Anthony's spirituality and the Pauline ardor of his preaching would probably "turn off" many people today. When even some psychiatrists complain at the lack of a sense of sin, it may be time to tell ourselves that not all evil is explained by emotional disorder, subconscious and unconscious drives, parental influence and so on. The old-time "hell and damnation" mission sermons have given way to positive, encouraging, biblical homilies. We do indeed need assurance of forgiveness, relief from existential anxiety and future shock. But we still need prophets to stand up and tell us, "He who says he is without sin is a liar." Quote: ''I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths" (2 Timothy 4:1-4). Quotes by Julian of Norwich on wrath =E2=80=9CFor I saw no wrath except on man's side, and He forgives that in u= s, for wrath is nothing else but a perversity and an opposition to peace and to love=E2=80=A6we, because of sin and miserableness, have in us a wrat= h and a continuing opposition to peace and to love.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CI saw truthfully that our Lord was never angry, nor ever shall be, for he is God: He is good, He is life, He is truth, He is love, He is peace; and His power, His wisdom, His love, and His unity do not allow Him to be angry (For I saw truly that it is against the character of His power to be angry, and against the character of His wisdom, and against the character of His goodness). God is the goodness that cannot be angry, for He is nothing but goodness.=E2=80=9D And this too: =E2=80=9C=E2=80=A6when I saw all this, it was necessary to ag= ree that the mercy of God and the forgiveness is in order to abate and consume our wrath, not His.=E2=80=9D Saint Quote: "I have always something to repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for having been silent." --St. Arsanius the Great, The Tutor of the Emperor's Children. <><><><> An act of oblation: O Jesus, humbled in the Eucharist to be the source and center of charity of the Catholic Church and the strength of souls, we offer Thee our prayers, our actions, our sufferings in behalf of Thy priests, to the end that each day may behold the wider extension of the Kingdom of Thy Sacred Heart. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .