Subj : May 18th - Bl. William of Toulouse To : All From : rich Date : Fri May 17 2019 09:25:59 From: rich May 18th - Bl. William of Toulouse d. 1369 AT a very early age Bl. William de Naurose joined the Hermits of St. Augustine in his native city of Toulouse. Young though he was, he had already begun to tread the path of perfection, and with the triple promise he made at his profession he dedicated himself to the Holy Trinity. With the vow of obedience he offered himself to the Father under whom all things are in subjection, with the vow of poverty to the Son who for our sake became poor, and with the vow of chastity to the Holy Ghost, the spouse of our Lady and all pure souls. After his ordination he was sent to pursue higher studies at the University of Paris, then the educational centre of Christendom. His course completed, he was entrusted with mission work and soon became celebrated as a preacher and as a director of souls. A great promoter of prayer for the holy souls in Purgatory, he was once visited by a wealthy woman who gave him gold, requesting his prayers for her deceased relations. Bl. William at once said aloud, =E2=80=9CEternal rest g= ive to them, 0 Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace,=E2=80=9D and stopped short--much to the disappointment of hi= s visitor, who plainly intimated that she expected more prayers for her money. The holy priest replied by bidding her write down his prayer and weigh it in a balance with her bag of gold. She did so, and lo! it was the money which kicked the beam, while down came the scale with the prayer. Bl. William had a reputation for delivering those possessed by devils, but was himself said to be troubled by evil spirits, who sometimes appeared to him in visible form and tried to do him bodily harm. He died on May 18, 1369, and his cult was confirmed in 1893. The short life by Nicholas Bertrand which is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iv, was written a century and a half after the death of Bl. William. There is also a brief historical summary in the decree approving the cult and a compendious account of the beatus by N. Mattioli, in Italian, was published in 1894. Saint Quote: Mary seeks for those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children. --Saint Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church Bible Quote: =C2 What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him? And if a brother or sister be naked and want daily food:=C2 And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself.=C2 [James 2:14-17] DRB <><><><> May God's Holy Will Be Done O Lord, do to me whatever shall seem good in Thy sight. If Thou willest that I should be in darkness, blessed be Thou! If Thou willest that I should be in light, still blessed be Thou! If Thou deignest to comfort me, blessed be Thou! And if Thou willest that I should be afflicted, equally blessed be Thou forever! I will willingly suffer for Thee, O Lord, whatever Thou willest should come upon me. I am ready to receive alike from Thy hand good and evil, sweet and bitter, joy and sadness, and to give thanks for everything that befalls me. Keep me only from all sin and I will fear neither death nor Hell. Cast me not off forever, nor blot me out of the Book of Life, and whatsoever tribulation befalleth me shall not hurt me. --Imitation of Christ, Bk. III, Ch. 17 --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .