Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

July 2

Today we celebrate the
Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

[odhiambo]

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Luke 2:19: But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:35: And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed.
Luke 2:51: And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart.

What do we mean when we speak of Mary’s Immaculate Heart?
We believe as the Church teaches us that Mary was immaculately conceived, that is, conceived without original sin. We believe that her heart was immaculately created to be the temple of God in accordance with His Plan. After her birth, Mary chose to remain without sin
“Biblically, the heart of a person symbolizes the total person, the soul, the intellect, the memory, the core of the being, the life force, the interior life, as well as the material and corporal heart”
The physical heart as we know is a vital organ, one of the first in the body to “begin to live and the last to be stilled in death”. The heart is the seat of love, hatred, joy, sadness fear and every kind of passion. The spiritual heart is the one we share with God. It is believed to contain , among others, our will and spirit.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
Mary’s Immaculate Heart is a heart overflowing with love. It is a heart that reflects the grace of God, which is then showered upon us her children.

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Just as devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is only a form of devotion to the adorable Person of Jesus, so also is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary but a special form of devotion to Mary. It focuses on Mary's love for God and encourages our emulating her humility, gratitude, obedience, and adoration.

Our Lady, seat of Wisdom…Pray for us.
Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary….Pray for us.

[odhiambo]

Note:
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus focuses mostly on His divine love for mankind and encourages our humility, gratitude, obedience, and adoration.
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary focuses on Mary's love for God and encourages our emulating her humility, gratitude, obedience, and adoration.

[odhiambo]

July 3

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Thomas
Among Many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Thomas
Apostle and Martyr

Thomas was most likely born in Galilee. His Aramaic surname, "te'oma", translated " Didymus in Greek, meaning the "twin". He was a fisherman with no educational background. He was called by Jesus to be one of the twelve Apostles, although we do not know where or when this happened.
Saint Thomas is mentioned in the Bible in three notable moments.
First, we are given a glimpse of his great love for Jesus at the time when he was ready to accompany Jesus to the house where Lazarus had just died. The other apostles feared being stoned by the Jews in Judea but Thomas proclaimed himself ready to die with Christ, saying on the way to Bethany, " Let us also go to die with him" John 11:16
Next, it was his declaration at the Last Supper: " Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?",
 that prompted Christ to say:
" I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father , except through me."John 14:5-6.
Finally , Thomas gave rise to the expression "Doubting Thomas" for his refusal to believe in the Lord's Resurrection, when told of it by the other disciples.
When Jesus appeared to the disciples a second time, however, Thomas was present and he made the now renown act of faith: " My Lord and my God!" John 20:28. In so doing, Thomas became the first to acknowledge explicitly, the divinity of Christ.

Little is known with certainty about the missionary activities of Saint Thomas after the dispersal of the Apostles.
From Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius of Caesarea reportedly asserted that Thomas preached in Parthia in the East. He is also believed to have landed in Kerala( india) in AD 52.
It was here in India that Thomas was stabbed to death with a spear in 72,  while in prayer on a hill in Mylapore, near Madras.
 He was buried near the place where he died.
 His relics were later moved to Edessa, Mesopotamia and later still the  relics  were moved to Ortona, Italy and to Portugal.
Saint Thomas was declared the Apopstle of India by Paul the VI on July 3 1972.
He was precongregationally canonized.

Saint Thomas,
Pray for us!

[Shin]

So many fishermen!   

[odhiambo]

So many fishermen!   

He was Galilean and the Sea of Galilee was at hand.

[odhiambo]

July 4

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Elizabeth of Portugal
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal
The Peacemaker.

She is also known by the following names:
Elizabeth of Aragon.
Isabella of Portugal.
Elizabeth was a Princess. She was born in 1271 at Aragon, Spain. The daughter of King Peter III and his Queen, Constance of Aragon. She was named after her great aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Elizabeth was brought up piously. At the age of just 12 years, she was married to the corrupt and immoral King Denis of Portugal.
It was a difficult marriage. The King, although he worked hard for his country, had no morals and for years, Elizabrth suffered from his abuses and adultery. Her only weapon against all these was prayer for her husband's conversion. She was blessed with two children, Princess Constantia and Prince Affonso.
In time, Elizabeth was able to overcome the difficulties of her marriage. She earned the respect of many in the region for her abilities to negotiate ends to disputes and conflicts, especially disputes that arose between the monarchs of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. For these efforts, Elizabeth was called the "Peacemaker"
Closer to home, Elizabeth was also adept at settling disputes between her husband and their son Alfonso. In 1323, Alfonso rebelled and took up arms against his own father because he was outraged by the favours being bestored on his illegitimate brothers. The Queen, then a woman of 52 years, rode out between the two armies drawn up for battle and was able to bring about a reconciliation.
Elizabeth gained reputation for her piety, charity and concern for the poor. She founded convents, hospitals, foundling homes as well as shelters for wayward girls.
When her husband died in 1325, Elizabeth, who had wanted to become a nun, entered the Poor Clares instead, as a Franciscan tertiary.
When Elizabeth was 65 years old, she left her convent to travel to Spain where her son, now Alfonso IV, was at war with his son in law King Alfonso XI of Castile, for having neglected and mistreated his daughter Maria.
Again Saint Elizabeth succeeded in stopping the fight and bringing about a peaceful settlement.
Soon afterwards, however, she came down with a fever to which she succumbed on 4 July 1336 at Estremoz, Portugal.
She was buried at Coimbra, Portugal and miracles were reported at her tomb.
She was canonized on 25 May 1625 by Pope Urban VIII.
She is patron saint against against jealousy, among others.

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

“Mary, Mother of grace, Mother of mercy, defend us from the wicked enemy, and receive us at the hour of our death”

 St Elizabeth of Portugal.

 

[odhiambo]

July 5

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria
Co-founder of the Barnabites.

Anthony was born in 1502 at Cremona, Lombardy, Italy. When he was two years old, his father, Lazzaro, died. His mother, Antonia Pescaroli, eighteen years old and already widowed, devoted herself completely to the education of her son. Not much is known about Anthony’s childhood but an incident is reported in which he was on his way home form school as a boy and gave his cape to a destitute man.
In 1520, Anthony went to Padua to study philosophy and medicine. Before he left, however, he bequeathed his whole inheritance to his mother. After graduation he returned to Cremona. It is not clear whether he ever practiced medicine or not. According to his "Biography at Barnabites", he never did practice medicine. According to other sources, he practiced medicine for a short time.
While still a layman, and fresh the university, Anthony began to gather children on Sundays to teach them the catechism. Later, he included adults for Scripture reading and meditation. He was ordained to the priesthood in January 1529. Legend has it that
angels were seen around the altar at his first Mass.
Inspired by a zeal like that of Saint Paul's, Anthony laboured unceasingly at overcoming the deplorable conditions prevailing at the time in northern Italy.
In 1530, Anthony founded the Society of the Sons of Saint Paul. How it came to pass was that Saint Anthony and his first two companions, Giacomo Antonio Morigia and Bartolomeo Ferrari, simply petitioned the Holy See for the authorization to profess the three vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty before the Archbishop of Milan or his Vicar and begin common life in the diocese "in order to devote themselves more vigorously and unrestrictedly to God's gracious purposes and to probe more deeply into matters pertaining to God."
The Barnabites.
The Society began to be called Barnabites by the people who visited the Church at Saint Barnabas Monastery in Milan Italy where the motherhouse was.
The Barnabites was the first Religious Order named after Saint Paul the Apostle. The aim of this Congregation founded by Saint Anthony, in addition to that mentioned above was also "to regenerate and revive the love of divine worship and a truly Christian way of life by means of the sacraments" Saint Companions for Each Day
By A.J.M. Mausolfe, And J.K. Mausolfe.
For his success in this regard, he has been called the "Apostle of Milan"
It is said that he used to go through the streets of Milan, Crucifix in hand, preaching on Our Lord's Passion and Death, on the need for repentance and the need for doing penance for our sins.

The Barnabites consisted of :
Priests - The Clerics Regular of St. Paul
Uncloistered nuns - The Angelics of St. Paul
Married people - The Marrieds of St. Paul.
Saint Anthony also popularised the fourty hour prayer ceremony and introduced the ringing of church bells on Friday.

Anthony died on 5 July 1539 of natural causes at Cremona, Italy. He was buried at Saint Paul's Convent of the Angelics at Milan, Italy. Twenty seven years after death, his body was found incorrupt in 1566.
He was beatified in 1849 by Pope Pius IX and canonized on 27 May 1897 by Pope Leo XIII.

Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

"...true spiritual life consists in this:
that man keep his eyes on God all the time,
long for nothing but for God,
keep nothing in mind but God,
begin every single action in the Lord's name, and direct it to Him: in short,
that he unify his whole being -- mind, will, memory, senses, and actions -- in God..."
Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Sermon II

[odhiambo]

“We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us,
 rather than abhor and despise them since they harm themselves and do us good,
 and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory,
while they incite God’s anger against themselves”

St Anthony Mary Saccaria.

[Shin]

"...true spiritual life consists in this:
that man keep his eyes on God all the time,
long for nothing but for God,
keep nothing in mind but God,
begin every single action in the Lord's name, and direct it to Him: in short,
that he unify his whole being -- mind, will, memory, senses, and actions -- in God..."
Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Sermon II

In other words, the natural state of man, how he is meant to be, and is in Heaven, no?

[odhiambo]

"...true spiritual life consists in this:
that man keep his eyes on God all the time,
long for nothing but for God,
keep nothing in mind but God,
begin every single action in the Lord's name, and direct it to Him: in short,
that he unify his whole being -- mind, will, memory, senses, and actions -- in God..."
Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Sermon II

In other words, the natural state of man, how he is meant to be, and is in Heaven, no?

It is how God had planned it to be before we disobeyed Him.