Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

Thanks for the tips Shin. I must cultivate a culture of spiritual reading. Imagine I have never really read the Bible from cover to cover like so many people have. Others have done so, not once but severally. I do so envy them.( where is the green monster smiley ?  )  I had joined a Saint Matthew Bible Study Group at CAF. Everything was going fine, unfortunataly the person who started it became swamped with university work and could not continue. It was a big loss for me.

Perhaps someday you will find another good Bible study. All things in Christ's time!

Sure hope so 
In fact we are starting one at our Parish soon though I am not particularly looking forward to it.
We used to have one before and I gained much more from the brief spell of online Bible Study I did at CAF than I did from months of studying the same chapters at our Parish. 

[odhiambo]

6 April

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Crescentia Hoess
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Crescentia Hoess.

Crescentia was born in1682  in Bavaria. Her given name was Anna  Hoess (Höss). Her parents were Matthias Hoess and Lucia Hoermann. She was raised devoutly, and knew at an early age that she wanted to become a nun at the local convent, the Franciscan Tertiary nuns of Mayerhoff. It is said that young Anna was once kneeling in the chapel of the local Franciscan nuns when she heard a voice from the crucifix: "This shall be your dwelling place."
Her father  was not a rich man; he was a poor woolweaver and did not  have enough money to pay the necessary “dowry”, or entry fee. Dowries were customary at the time in most convents.
.She was refused admission. Anna took it all in her stride. She simply waited patiently, working in her father's weaving business until she was 21. Then that patience was rewarded in a singular manner. This is how it was:
Next door to the convent was a very noisy inn. The sisters had at one time tried to buy it in an attempt to rid themselves of the noise but the landowner was asking too high a price for it and the nuns could not afford it.
The local mayor, a Protestant who was sympathetic towards the convent, got possession of the Inn and deeded the site to the sisters. He asked for nothing other than that the nuns receive Anna without a dowry. The Franciscans could hardly refuse, so, in 1704, Anna Hoess became a nun taking the name of Sister Maria Crescentia.
Sadly, the sisters were not kind to Anna at first.  She was subjected to a prolonged persecution by the unfriendly superior and some of the other sisters. The basic reason seems to have been her lack of a dowry. They called her a beggar and, and assigned to her the most menial tasks to perform.
Her tribulations ended when a more friendly nun was elected superior. Gradually all the other sisters began to recognize, that Crescentia was a pious and indeed, a very holy religious. She was eventually chosen as mistress of novices and finally as Mother Superior.
Despite her poor health, Saint Crescentia remained the convent's superior until her death on Easter of 1744.
She was canonized on November 25, 2001, by Pope John Paul II, along with three others. Her convent was renamed Crescentiakloster in her honor.
Saint Crescentia 
Pray for us!

[Shin]

All her troubles were part of what made her sanctity.

'God wants the convent rich in virtue, not in temporal goods.'

-St. Maria Cescentia Hoess

[odhiambo]

Crescentia Hoess.


Her father  was not a rich man; he was a poor woolweaver and did not  have enough money to pay the necessary “dowry”, or entry fee. Dowries were customary at the time in most convents.
She was refused admission.

One can only surmise that those who refused her admission into the convent felt that obeying the rule of admission took precedence over all else.

[Shin]

One can only surmise that those who refused her admission into the convent felt that obeying the rule of admission took precedence over all else.

Obeying rules is very important for religious. It all worked out in God's plan for her sanctification.

I've found that when it comes to the miraculous history of the saints, there's a lot of anti-Christian revisionism that takes place to explain away the miracles. And anti-Christian feeling among some Jewish historians especially.

[odhiambo]

One can only surmise that those who refused her admission into the convent felt that obeying the rule of admission took precedence over all else.

Obeying rules is very important for religious. It all worked out in God's plan for her sanctification.

I've found that when it comes to the miraculous history of the saints, there's a lot of anti-Christian revisionism that takes place to explain away the miracles. And anti-Christian feeling among some Jewish historians especially.

That must be it!
It explains a lot.

[odhiambo]

7 April
Today is the Feast day of
Saint John Baptist de La Salle
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint John Baptist de La Salle (1651-1719)
Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
Patron of Christian Teachers.

John was born in Reims, France on April 30, 1651. He was the eldest of ten children of  noble and wealthy parents.

John wanted to become a priest while still very young, dedicating himself to the religious life at the age of eleven. He became canon of Reims Cathedral when only sixteen years old.  He was finally ordained a priest on April 9, 1678. By then he was twenty seven years old.

Two years after his ordination, John received his doctorate in theology.

Meanwhile, he started helping a group of teachers who were looking after poor children in the city.

At that time only few people lived in luxury. Most of the people were extremely poor: peasants in the country, and slum dwellers in the towns. Only a few could send their children to school and most children had little hope for the future.

John was moved by the plight of these poor people. He determined to put his own talents and advanced education at the service of the children who were often left to themselves and were badly brought up.

 To answer to this call which he saw as coming from God, he gave up everything; abandoning his family home, he moved in with the teachers. He renounced his position as Canon and his wealth and inheritance, becoming as poor as the children attending his schools. The Schools schools depended for survival on God's Providence.

This was the beginning of the community that became known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools. From this beginning,
the Institute of the "Brothers of the Christian Schools" gradually evolved.
 This congregation was uniquein that  its members, though belonging to a religious order, were laymen, who spent all their energy and the whole of their lives in educating children, especially those who were very poor.
As always, difficulties arose. Certain priests began to interfere in his work in the schools, not really comprehending the Saints purpose;
teachers in rival establishments took him to court because their
students had moved over to John Baptist's Christian schools, where studies were free of charge. Despite all the opposition to his work, John
resolutely kept his vision on just one goal: the WILL OF GOD.
His method of teaching revolutionized the teaching technique of the time, including the use of the vernacular instead of Latin and he became famous across much of Europe. King James II asked him to go to England and teach the young boys in the royal court. In 1698, he opened a college for Irish teachers.
 Due to opposition to his work, John was deposed in 1702 at the instigation of the Archbishop of Paris. The members of his congregation however saved him with their support. He remained in active control of the congregation until 1717 when he resigned.

John died at Saint Yon near Rouen early in 1719 on Good Friday, only weeks before his sixty-eighth birthday.

 
God's Will was indeed accomplished the end, for at the time Our Lord called John Baptist to himself, the Brothers' Institute had spread throughout France, and the schools were performing excellent work.
· John Baptist's last words were:
" I adore in everything God's Will in my regard"

He was beatified  on February 19, 1888,
canonized  on May 24, 1900 and
proclaimed Patron of Christian Teachers May 15, 1950 by
Pope Pius XII.
 
Saint John Baptist de La Salle.
Pray for us!

[Shin]

'The crown shall be proportioned to the labor sustained, the victories won, the fatigues endured. Hence all these trials may be considered as so many sources of rejoicing. Our zeal must herein find food upon which to strengthen itself against difficulties, obstacles, and persecutions.'

St. John Baptiste de la Salle

To all he was accustomed to say that their confidence in God should be in proportion to their spiritual misery. To one of his spiritual daughters who was greatly troubled, he wrote these touching and encouraging words:

"Never allow yourself to be foolishly persuaded that you are forsaken by God; on the contrary, believe that He is more than ever disposed to receive you into His arms. His mercy manifests itself in proportion to the greatness of your wretchedness. The more abandoned you seemingly are, the more abundantly will His mercies be shown in your favor. He knows the extent of your weakness ; that you require His grace to establish and confirm you. when weakness and cowardice would cause you to lose ground."

He would teach that Christian virtues do not grow spontaneously in the soul. They are the result of careful and constant culture; and this must begin early in childhood.

[odhiambo]

"I will always look upon the work of my salvation, and the foundation and government of our community, as the work of God; hence I will abandon the care of both to him, acting only through his orders." 

St. John Baptist de la Salle

 

[odhiambo]

8 April

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Julie Billiart
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Julie Billiart
Also known as Saint Julia Billiart.
Julia of Billiart.
Maria Rose Julia Billiart was born in Cuvilly, France, on July 12, 1751.
She was the sixth of seven children born to Jean-François Billiart and his wife, Marie-Louise-Antoinette Debraine. Her childhood was quite remarkable in that by the time she was seven years old, she had memorized the catechism! She used to gather her little companions around her to hear them recite it and to explain it to them.
Julia went to the local village school taught by her uncle, Thibault Guilbert. She received her First Holy Communion earlier than was the practice because she knew the catechism well and understood the significance of Holy Communion. At 9 years of age, she was confirmed and she also made a vow of Chastity.

When Julie was 16, she went to work to help support her family. At the age of 23 she became paralyzed by the trauma of a shooting that was aimed at her father. The next twenty years were to see her confined to her bed. She used the time to draw closer to God, receiving daily Communion and spending several hours daily in prayers. When she was not praying, she was either making laces for the Church or teaching catechism to the village children whom she gathered around her bed.
At the time of the French Revolution, Julie fled from Paris to the city of Amiens where she was given refuge by Countess Baudoin. It was here in Amiens, Julie met Françoise Blin de Bourdon, a woman she was to work closely with in future.
At first, she took no notice of Julia, but by degrees grew to love and admire her. They met frequently.
In 1804, Juliet, with the aid of Françiose Blin de Bourdon, founded the Sisters of Notre Dame. The aim of the society was to offer christian education to girls, thus making known God’s goodness and to bring His salvation, especially to the poor and abandoned children.
On the feast of the Sacred Heart, 1 June, 1804, Mother Julie, after a novena made in obedience to her confessor, was miraculously cured of paralysis.
Saint Julie died on 8 April, 1816, at her institute in Namur, Belgium. By the time of her death, there were 15 convents in operation.
She was canonized by Pope Paul VI on June 22, 1969.
Saint Julie,
Pray for us!

[martin]

Anna took it all in her stride. She simply waited patiently, working in her father's weaving business until she was 21. Then that patience was rewarded in a singular manner.

Such a hard lesson to learn, to wait on God's time trusting in His providnce.
Saint Crescentia ora pro nobis

[odhiambo]

Saint Julie Billiart
Also known as Saint Julia Billiart.
Julia of Billiart.
Maria Rose Julia Billiart was born in Cuvilly, France, on July 12, 1751.
She was the sixth of seven children born to Jean-François Billiart and his wife, Marie-Louise-Antoinette Debraine. Her childhood was quite remarkable in that by the time she was seven years old, she had memorized the catechism! She used to gather her little companions around her to hear them recite it and to explain it to them.
Julia went to the local village school taught by her uncle, Thibault Guilbert. She received her First Holy Communion earlier than was the practice because she knew the catechism well and understood the significance of Holy Communion. At 9 years of age, she was confirmed and she also made a vow of Chastity.

When Julie was 16, she went to work to help support her family. At the age of 23 she became paralyzed by the trauma of a shooting that was aimed at her father. The next twenty years were to see her confined to her bed. She used the time to draw closer to God, receiving daily Communion and spending several hours daily in prayers. When she was not praying, she was either making laces for the Church or teaching catechism to the village children whom she gathered around her bed.
At the time of the French Revolution, Julie fled from Paris to the city of Amiens where she was given refuge by Countess Baudoin. It was here in Amiens, Julie met Françoise Blin de Bourdon, a woman she was to work closely with in future.
At first, she took no notice of Julia, but by degrees grew to love and admire her. They met frequently.
In 1804, Juliet, with the aid of Françiose Blin de Bourdon, founded the Sisters of Notre Dame. The aim of the society was to offer christian education to girls, thus making known God’s goodness and to bring His salvation, especially to the poor and abandoned children.
On the feast of the Sacred Heart, 1 June, 1804, Mother Julie, after a novena made in obedience to her confessor, was miraculously cured of paralysis.
Saint Julie died on 8 April, 1816, at her institute in Namur, Belgium. By the time of her death, there were 15 convents in operation.
She was canonized by Pope Paul VI on June 22, 1969.
Saint Julie,
Pray for us!

I feel that I have not quite done justice to this Saint. Anyone with extra information, please post it . This way we honor the Lord in His saints.

[Shin]

The childhood of Julie was remarkable; at the age of seven, she knew the catechism by heart, and used to gather her little companions around her to hear them recite it and to explain it to them.

. . . When twenty-two years old, a nervous shock, occasioned by a pistol-shot fired at her father by some unknown enemy, brought on a paralysis of the lower limbs, which in a few years confined her to her bed a helpless cripple, and thus she remained for twenty-two years.

During this time, when she received Holy Communion daily, Julie exercised an uncommon gift of prayer, spending four or five hours a day in contemplation.

The rest of her time was occupied in making linens and laces for the alter and in catechizing the village children whom she gathered around her bed, giving special attention to those who were preparing for their First Communion.

At Amiens, where Julie Billiart had been compelled to take refuge with Countess Baudoin during the troublesome times of the French Revolution, she met Françoise Blin de Bourdon, Viscountess of Gizaincourt, who was destined to be her co-laborer in the great work as yet unknown to either of them.

The Viscountess Blin de Bourdon was thirty-eight years old at the time of her meeting with Julie, and had spent her youth in piety and good works; she had been imprisoned with all of her family during the Reign of Terror, and had escaped death only by the fall of Robespierre.

She was not at first attracted by the almost speechless paralytic, but by degrees grew to love and admire the invalid for her wonderful gifts of soul.

A little company of young and high-born ladies, friends of the viscountess, was formed around the couch of "the saint". Julie taught them how to lead the interior life, while they devoted themselves generously to the cause of God and His poor.

Though they attempted all the exercises of an active community life, some of the elements of stability must have been wanting, for these first disciples dropped off until none was left but Françoise Blin de Bourdon. She was never to be separated from Julie, and with her in 1803, in obedience to Father Varin, superior of the Fathers of the Faith, and under the auspices of the Bishop of Amiens, the foundation was laid of the Institute of the Sisters of Notre Dame, a society which had for its primary object the salvation of poor children.

Several young persons offered themselves to assist the two superiors. The first pupils were eight orphans. On the feast of the Sacred Heart, 1 June, 1804, Mother Julie, after a novena made in obedience to her confessor, was cured of paralysis.

The first vows of religion were made on 15 October, 1804 by Julie Billiart, Françoise Blin de Bourdon, Victoire Leleu, and Justine Garson, and their family names were changed to names of saints.

They proposed for their lifework the Christian education of girls, and the training of religious teachers who should go wherever their services were asked for.

- from an encyclopedia article

"Oh, how good is the good God.”

“You will not doubt this: Friendship in God lasts forever.”

St. Julia Billiart