Subj : December 30th - St. John Alcober, Martyr To : All From : rich Date : Sun Dec 29 2019 07:36:45 From: rich December 30th - St. John Alcober, Martyr Born at Gerona, Spain, in 1694; died in Tonkin, 1748; beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1893. Canonized in 2000.=C2 John Alcober was a good friend of Bishop Blessed Francis Serrano, who was a brother Dominican of the Granada monastery and a fellow martyr in Tonkin. The two had planned to enter the Chinese missions together, but problems with the ship marooned Father Alcober in Lorca. There he spent his time as a popular preacher. In fact, he was beginning to forget about going to China until the Lord reminded him one day. As he was preaching, he used the words, "How long, you sinners, will you remain hardened?" His crucifix reproached him, "And you, John--how long?" He sailed to Manila with 43 religious in 1726, and he finally made it to China in 1728, where he labored for 16 years in the province of Fokien. Here his life was very difficult; he had to hide in uncomfortable places, and, once, he was smuggled in a coffin to anoint a dying man. Sometimes disguised as a water seller, he moved about the city. Once, he was far from any shelter, and he climbed into a tree to spend the night. Piously intoning the Miserere before going to sleep, he was startled to hear another voice answering his, and, to his joy, realized his old friend Father Serrano was sitting in the same tree. One of his last acts as a free man was to baptize a sick woman to whom Our Lady of the Rosary had appeared. The new Christian was so beautiful after her death that pagans crowded in to see her. Father Alcober's presence there led to his capture in 1746. Soon he found himself reunited in prison with Father Serrano and another priest, Francis Diaz. They were tortured to disclose the whereabouts of Bishop Peter Sanz, though they revealed nothing. The bishop and Father Joachim Royo, upon hearing of the capture of the other three, surrendered themselves in order to spare their brothers further suffering. The five were dragged before the emperor in chains, and again subjected to torture. Bishop Sanz was beheaded, but the others languished in prison for another six months. Father Alcober wrote a letter to his brother, a Carmelite, saying that they were all in good spirits, but that they hoped it would end soon because they were eager to shed their blood. Here in prison, Father Serrano was appointed successor to Peter Martyr. Late in November, these four was strangled in their cell at Futsheu during the night. This was the best way to fend off their apostolic work among the jailers and soldiers. When the executioners returned in the light of day to dispose of the bodies, they were horrified to note that the faces of the martyrs were not only serene, but shone with an unearthly radiance--a phenomenon indeed for someone who had died by strangulation. Afraid of being punished for not carrying out their duty, the executioners covered the faces of their victims, but the Christians followed them nonetheless to try to collect relics. The soldiers already knew there would be problems trying to dispose of the relics: Those of Bishop Sanz had resisted burning and various other kinds of destruction. For this reason, the persecuted Christians were able to retain the relics of the five martyrs (Benedictines, Dorcy). Saint Quote: The hands should be at work, the heart with God. --Saint Mary Joseph Rosello Bible Quote: For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences.=C2 (Matthew 6:14) <><><><> Reflection and Prayer from the Imitation of Christ "Watch and pray" is the simple means which Jesus Christ prescribes to enable a Christian to resist temptation, to avoid sin, and secure his salvation. To speak little to creatures and much to God, to renounce useless and curious conversations, to speak only what is good or necessary, is an excellent method of becoming an interior man, of preserving purity of heart and peace of conscience, and of becoming entirely united to God. A soul which gives itself through the senses to creatures, and lives not an interior life, but amuses itself with trifles, is not at all in a state to relish the things of God, or to apply to prayer or recollection, which are so useful and so necessary for salvation. Why, says St. Austin, dost thou, O dissipated and wandering soul, seek content in created objects, in the goods and pleasures of life? Seek within thyself, by recollection, the only true and sovereign Good, who is there, and who alone can satisfy thy desires. Prayer: Give me, O God, that spirit of interior recollection which will make me attentive to Thy holy will and faithful to Thy graces. Grant that the remembrance of Thine awful presence may remind me continually of Thy blessed life and conversation, and effectually control me during my earthly pilgrimage. I am weary, O God, of living an exile from Thy presence, and of being so little affected by the consideration of Thy majesty as to do nothing to please Thee. What can I find in Heaven or on earth that is comparable to Thee? Thou art the God of my heart: grant I may be ever sensible of Thy presence, and desire only the happiness of pleasing Thee, in time, that Thou mayest be my portion for eternity. Amen. Saint Quote: When I steeped myself in prayer, I was transported in spirit to the Chapel, where I saw the Lord Jesus, exposed in the Monstrance. In place of the Monstrance I saw the glorious face of the Lord, and He said to me, "What you see in reality, these souls see through faith. Oh, how pleasing to Me is their great faith! You see, although there appears to be no trace of life in Me, in reality it is present in its fullness in each and every Host. But for Me to be able to act upon the soul, the soul must have faith. O how pleasing to Me is living faith! (1420) --St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in my Soul Bible Quote: He that is good, shall draw grace from the Lord: but he that trusteth in his own devices, doth wickedly. Man shall not be strengthened by wickedness: and the root of the just shall not be moved.=C2 (Proverbs 12:2-3) DRB <><><><> To Thee all Angels cry aloud "He seeks not how each instant flies, =C2 One moment is Eternity; =C2 His spirit with the Angels cries =C2 To Thee, to Thee, continually. =C2 "What if, Isaiah-like, he know =C2 His heart be weak, his lips unclean, =C2 His nature vile, his office low, =C2 His dwelling and his people mean? =C2 "To such the Angels spake of old-- =C2 To such of yore, the glory came; =C2 These altar fires can ne'er grow cold: =C2 Then be it his, that cleansing flame." --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .