Subj : July 30th - St. Leopoldo Mandic To : All From : rich Date : Mon Jul 29 2019 09:29:19 From: rich July 30th - St. Leopoldo Mandic (Also known as Adeodato Bogdan Mandic, Apostle of the Confession, Apostle of Unity, Brother Leopold, Leopoldo of Castelnuovo) =E2=80=9CMedieval=E2=80=9D saint in a modern setting. Such was St. Leopold,= a Capuchin Franciscan canonized only 41 years after his death.Canon law requires that 50 years pass after candidate's death before beatification may be considered, yet the holiness of Leopold was so obvious that it took less than 30 years for his beatification. It was an example of the sense of the faithful prevailing over canon law. His chief apostolate had been hearing confessions. For 36 years he spent most of his waking hours in the confessional, because he believed that ministry was most needed. Fr. Leopold lived and worked in Italy. He had been born in the small Italian seacoast town of Castelnovo. Actually, he was not Italian, but the twelfth and last child of a Croatian couple who had come to live in Italy only a short time before his birth. Indeed, during World War I, when he had already been a priest for over 20 years, he was imprisoned for a year for refusing to give up his Croatian citizenship. He entered the Capuchin Franciscans in Bassano, Italy, in 1884, changing his baptismal name Bogdan (=E2=80=9CGod-given=E2=80=9D) to =E2=80= =9CLeopold.=E2=80=9D His ambition had been to work among the Greek Orthodox. But circumstances, and the decision of his superiors, directed him rather into missionary work in northeastern Italy. For the first 15 years he was given various assignments: study, teaching, counseling, administration. He began his chief work at Padua in 1906. For 36 years he heard confessions daily for 10, 12 and more hours. On the very day before he died, he heard 50 confessions in his sick room. =C2 Leopold heard confessions normally not in a simple confessional but in a little =E2=80=9Creconciliation room.=E2=80=9D The room was furnished w= ith an old chair, a kneeler, a crucifix and a statue of Our Lady. There were always fresh flowers before the statue. Obviously, Fr. Leopold was a popular confessor. He was most kind to his penitents. For him there were no hopeless cases. The penances he assigned were very light, for he would make up the rest of the burden by saying more prayers himself. Not that he was an easy confessor. When firmness was called for, he was very firm. If the penitent balked, he would say, =E2=80=9CGod has spoken. That is enough.=E2=80=9D Onc= e when a penitent was resisting the truth, Leopold rose and said indignantly, =E2=80=9CSir, you cannot play with God. Go and die in your sin.=E2=80=9D Sh= aken by his remark, the man broke down and made a good confession. St. Leopold then embraced him and said, =E2=80=9CNow we are brothers.=E2=80=9D Friar Leopold was a man of great simplicity and devotion. It is not surprising that his effectiveness as a confessor came much from his own personal holiness. A number of cures were attributed to him while he lived, although he sought to belittle his own part in them. Once when the uncle of a dying child asked his help, he blessed an apple and told him, =E2=80=9CTake this apple and make the child eat it. She will = be cured. Trust in Our Lady.=E2=80=9D The uncle obeyed and the little girl recovered instantly. When Leopold learned of the cure, he said, =E2=80=9CAh= , Blessed Lady, how good you are!=E2=80=9D On another occasion he told the father of a child who was dying of endocarditis, that he would offer his Mass for her on the next day, which was the feast of St. Joseph, and she would recover. Recover she did, and the Friar commented, =E2=80=9CHaven't I said that St. Joseph does some wonderful things?= =E2=80=9D Occasionally Leopold also prophesied in the same offhand manner. Once he predicted that the Capuchin church and friary in Padua would be bombed but his confession room would not be touched. Two years after his death, on May 14, 1944, during World War II, the prophecy was fulfilled. Church and friary were badly damaged by bombs, but the confessional room and the statue of Our Lady remained intact. The point of the prophecy must have been this: confessions and confessional rooms are terribly important. Yet in our time Catholics all too often ignore them. St. Leopold often used to accompany his penitents to the door of the reconciliation room, saying, =E2=80=9CDon=E2= =80=99t' forget to come back. I shall be waiting for you.=E2=80=9D Is some priest waiting for us? Early in his Capuchin life, Leopold Mandic was asked to surrender his missionary aspirations and personal preference, and to work as Confessor and Spiritual Adviser. Looking back on this decision, he once said: "I am like a bird in a cage, but my heart is beyond the seas." =E2=80=93Father Bob Saint Quote: It is much better to obtain only an ounce of happiness in not risking our salvation, than one hundred pounds in hazarding it. --St. Ignatius of Loyola Bible Quote "Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.=C2 Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, 'Be holy because I [am] holy."=C2 [1 Peter 1:13-16] <><><><> Prayer of=C2 the Church O God, source of life and love, you gave Saint Leopold a tremendous compassion for sinners and a desire for church unity. Through his prayers, grant that we may acknowledge our need of forgiveness, show love to others, and strive to bring about a living unity among Christians. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .