Subj : Meditation on Calmness To : All From : rich Date : Wed Apr 22 2020 09:03:10 From: rich Meditation on Calmness Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I should not rush into action. I should first "be still and know that He is God." Then I should act only as God directs me through my conscience. Only trust, perfect trust in God, can keep me calm when all around me are agitated. Calmness is trust in action. I should seek all things that can help me to cultivate calmness. To attain material things, the world learns to attain speed. To attain spiritual things, I have to learn to attain a state of calm. I pray that I may learn how to have inner peace. I pray that I may be calm, so that God can work through me. =E2=80=94From Twenty-Four Hours a Day <<>><<>><<>> April 24th - St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier [At Angers in France, St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, virgin and foundress of the Institute of the Good Shepherd Sisters, whom Pius XII, Sovereign Pontiff, enrolled among the number of the saints.] ROSE Virginia Pelletier was born in 1796 in the island of Noirmoutier off the coast of Brittany; her parents had been forced to seek shelter there in the war of La Vend=C3=A9e. Having been sent to school at Tours, Rose came to learn something of the Convent of the Refuge. This belonged to a religious congregation founded in 1641 by St. John Eudes for the rescue of =E2=80=9Cfallen=E2=80=9D women and the protection of thos= e in danger. It was known as the Institute of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, and it had a house in Tours. Rose joined the noviceship there in 1814, and some eleven years later, when she was still only twenty-nine, was elected superior. In this office she was prevailed upon to make a new foundation at Angers and she herself went temporarily to take over a house of refuge which had existed there years before under the invocation of the Good Shepherd. Her success was marvellous, but there was a sad reaction when she was compelled to leave Angers and return to her own proper community at Tours. In the end, after much negotiation and rather painful controversy, Mother Pelletier was made prioress of the new founda=C2=ADtion. Coming before long to realize the difficulties which would hamper their work if each house, as was the ease with the Institute of Our Lady of Charity, stood alone, remaining under control of the bishop of the diocese and training its own novices, Mother St. Euphrasia (as she was now called) became convinced that a centralized organization was necessary, having one common noviceship, and a superior general who could transfer subjects from one house to another as need required. In spite of strong opposition and the anguish of mind entailed by taking so independent a line, Mother Euphrasia stood firm in what she clearly saw to be a wiser policy to promote the great cause they had at heart. While deeply humble and respectful of authority, the young prioress, who, as one of her admirers said, =E2=80=9C=C3=A9tait de taille a gouverner= un Royaume=E2=80=9D, succeeded, God's providence helping, in creating = at Angers what was virtually a new institute, =E2=80=9Cof the Good Shepherd=E2=80=9D.= Papal approbation was obtained in 1835, and the developments were rapid, immense good being visibly effected wherever new foundations were made. When Mother Euphrasia died in 1868, the Good Shepherd nuns numbered 2760 and were known all over the world. In all her manifold trials and difficulties, including charges of rash innovation, personal ambition and impatience of authority, St. Mary Euphrasia displayed heroic fortitude, cheerfulness and trust in God; =E2=80=9CHaving brought to birth all our young sisters in the Cross=E2=80=9D, she said once= , =E2=80=9CI love them more than life itself. And the root of that love is in God and in the knowledge of my own unworthiness, for I realize that at the age at which they are professed I could not have supported such deprivations and hard work.=E2=80=9D She was canonized in 1940. There are full biographies in French, both in two volumes, by Mgr Pasquier (1894) and by Canon Portais (1895), and a more recent one (1946) by G. Bernoville in which use has been made of unpublished beatification documents; shorter ones by F. Georges (1942) and H. Joly (1933) in the =E2=80=9CLes Saints=E2=80=9D series. A religious of the congr= egation published a life in English in 1933, and Redemption (1940), by G. F. Powers, is a good popular account of the saint; the biography by A. M. Clarke is founded on the books of Pasquier and Portals. Saint Quote: The day you learn to surrender yourself totally to God, you will discover a new world, just as I am experiencing. You will enjoy a peace and a calm unknown, surpassing even the happiest days of your life. -- Saint Jaime Hilario Bible Quote: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:10) <><><><> Reading from Journey of the Mind to God Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the "throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant," and "the mystery hidden from the ages." A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope, and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a "pasch," that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulcher, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: "Today you will be with me in paradise." -- Saint Bonaventure The food that makes us live forever When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.), an early church father and martyr, calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward. April 24th - Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Martyr 1577-1622 Born at Sigmaringen of prominent family in the principality of Hohenzollern, in the year 1577, St. Fidelis received the name Mark in baptism. He was fortunately endowed both by nature and by grace, so that while he progressed in learning, he made still greater progress in virtue and piety. When he had completed his studies in philosophy and jurisprudence at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau, the parents of several young noblemen were looking for a tutor who would accompany their sons on a tour through the various countries of Europe. The professors at the university drew their attention to Mark, who qualified for the position by his moral as well as by his mental gifts. Mark accepted the position, as a result of which he spent 6 years traveling. To the young men who had been entrusted to him he pointed out, not only everything that was noteworthy from a worldly point of view, but he led them also to the practice of Christian virtue. He himself was to them an exemplary model, since in all the vicissitudes of these 6 years they never saw him get angry. Upon his return, Mark followed the profession of a lawyer. He was soon much in demand because of his ability. But when he noticed that many lawyers, corrupted by money, did violence to justice, and that an attempt was being made to lure him also into that course, he gave up the dangerous career. He had an elder brother among the Capuchins; and he, too, joined them in the year 1612. At his investiture he received the name Fidelis, the faithful one, and in his address, the superior applied to him the words of Holy Writ: "Be thou faithful until death, and I will give thee the crown of life." (Apoc 2, 10). The words were destined to be a prophecy concerning the new candidate in the order. After Fidelis had completed his studies in theology and had received holy orders, he preached the word of God with great zeal. Meanwhile, he was a model in all the conventual practices, and evinced such wisdom that a few years later the superiors appointed him guardian. In this position he strove earnestly to promote in his subjects religious perfection, tolerating no violation of it. But he was stricter with himself in this regard than with any of his brethren; towards all the others he cherished truly maternal solicitude and charity. Whenever the salvation of a soul was concerned, no sacrifice was too great. When he was guardian at Feldkirch, a pestilential disease raged among the soldiers there; at once Father Fidelis betook himself to them and tendered them every possible service. In the year 1622, the Congregation for the Spreading of the Faith, which had just been founded by Pope Gregory XV, established a mission for the Grisons in Switzerland, to check the pernicious inroads of the Calvinists and Zwinglians. Father Fidelis was named the head of this mission. For a long time he had been begging God daily at holy Mass to grant him the grace to shed his blood for the Faith; now his prayer was about to be heard. Since Fidelis had the happiest results from the very first months of his mission activity, the rage of the heretics rose to great heights; his death was resolved upon. Fidelis was so convinced of it that on the morning of April 24th at Sevis he prepared himself for his last moments. Then he mounted the pulpit. During the sermon a band of armed heretics pressed into church. They dragged him down from the pulpit, and inflicted so may blows and cuts on him that he died at their hands. God almighty glorified His martyr by many miracles, whereupon Pope Benedict XIV solemnly entered his name in the register of saints in 1746. Bible Quote: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time." 1 Peter 1:3-5. <><><><> FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH 1. Consider how the holy martyr Fidelis remained true to his Lord and God throughout life. The fidelity which he vowed in baptism, he kept in all the circumstances and manifold dangers to which he was exposed. Not his youthful years at the university, not his many years of travel all over Europe, not the allurement of money in his position as a lawyer, not human respect while he was a superior of his convent, not danger to his life during the pestilence, not certain death from fanatical heretics, could make him waver in the fulfillment of his duties, in his fidelity to God. He was faithful unto death, therefore he also obtained the glorious crown of eternal life.--Let us rejoice with him and wish him happiness. 2. We, too, would like to obtain the crown; but that will be the lot of only faithful combatants. "For he is not crowned except he strive lawfully" (2 Tim 2:5). You promised to do that in baptism as did St. Fidelis; at your first Holy Communion you solemnly renewed the promise. How do you keep it? Do you remain faithful to God in all things? In the dangers of youth? Amid unusual circumstances, for instance while traveling? Against the lure of money? Against the fear of displeasing men? In dangers of life? Even when certain death is imminent? Fortunate he who at the end of his life can say with the Apostle: "I have kept the faith" (2 Tim 4:7). For then there will also be a crown laid up for him. 3. Consider the means that will preserve us faithful unto death. It is firm and lively faith, and strong and fervent love of God. Faith enlightens us to acknowledge that everything else is as nothing compared with God and eternity: love strengthens us to suffer everything rather than displease our Lord and God. May the veneration and intercession of St. Fidelis obtain for us an increase in both these virtues. <><><><> PRAYER OF THE CHURCH O God, who didst vouchsafe to enkindle in St. Fidelis the seraphic fire of charity, and didst adorn him with the palm of martyrdom and of astounding miracles in the propagation of the true Faith, so strengthen us by Thy grace in faith and in charity that we may merit to be found faithful in Thy service unto death. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Imitating Christ and Despising all Vanities on Earth {1} He who follows Me, walks not in darkness," says the Lord.[ John 8:12.] By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ. The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ. --Thomas =C3 Kempis--Imitation of Christ Bk 1, Ch 1 April 24th =E2=80=93 Saint Ivo of Huntingdonshire THE town of Saint Ives in Huntingdonshire recalls the memory of a saint who was=E2=80=94supposing indeed that he ever existed=E2=80=94quite a= different person from the St Ia who accounts for the Saint Ives in west Cornwall. All that we can be reasonably sure of is that in accord with some supposed dream or vision (though the vision may well have been invented afterwards) certain bones and episcopal insignia were dug up at Slepe, close to the abbey of Ramsey, about the year 1001 and were enshrined in the abbey church. In the vision St. Ivo had disclosed his name and history. He was a Persian and a bishop, who had, with three companions, run away from the comfort and honour he enjoyed in his own country and eventually found his way to England. There he had settled in the wild fen country, and after being mocked at first for his barbarous speech, had been left alone to live or die unnoticed. After the bones had been removed from the spot where they had lain hidden, a spring appeared at which many miracles were reported. William of Malmesbury tells us that he had been an eye-witness of the remarkable cure of a man suffering from dropsy. This story became well known after the Norman conquest, but no satisfactory evidence is producible and the whole thing is very suspicious. Since before 1281 this Ivo has been regarded as the patron of Saint lye, near Liskeard in east Cornwall, probably taking the place of some local patron. Saint Ives in Hampshire is not a saint'= s name, says Ekwall, but probably a derivative of Old English ifig, ivy. An abbot of Ramsey, Withman, having gone as a pilgrim to Jerusalem in 1021 heard so much of the fame of St Ivo in the East that on his return he wrote a life of him. This was reproduced in more polished style by Goscelin when at Canterbury, and from an imperfect copy his account has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii. See DCB,, vol. iii, p. 324; G. H. Doble, St. Yvo (1935); and remarks in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. liv (1936), p. 202. Reflection: =E2=80=9CGod often works more by the life of the illiterate seeking the things that are God's, than by the ability of the learned seeking the things that are their own.=E2=80=9D Bible Quote: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith to a salvation that is --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .