St. Cecilia, ora pro nobis!

Stefano Moderno, "Saint Cecilia," 1599, church of St. Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome

Cecilia, in the meantime, continued to make many conversions, and prepared to have her home preserved as a church at her death.

Finally, she too was arrested and brought before the prefect. He ruled that she should die by suffocation in the baths. Saint Cecilia was locked into the bathhouse and the fires vigorously stoked. She remained there for a day and a night but was still alive when the soldiers opened the doors. She was then ordered beheaded, but the executioner, after striking three times without severing St Cecilia's head, ran away, leaving her badly wounded.

St. Cecilia hung onto life for three days after the mortal blows, preaching all the while. She made many more conversions and people came to soak up her flowing blood with sponges and cloths. There exists in Rome a church in St. Cecilia's honor that dates from about the fifth century. Her relics were believed to have been found by Pope Paschal I in 821 A.D., in the cemetery of St. Celestas. These remains were exhumed in 1599, when Cardinal Paul Emilius Sfondrati rebuilt the church of St. Cecilia, and said to be incorrupt.

more at saintcecilia.us

I believe she was the first recorded case of the phenomenon of incorruptibility.  The above statue is said to be what she looked like when the grave was exhumed some 1,200 years after her death.  I couldn't find the quote, but I read somewhere those exhuming the body said she looked alive like a young girl sleeping. 

St Gertrude the Great, ora pro nobis!

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

Hail, White Lily, of the ever-peaceful and glorious Trinity!

Hail, Vermilion Rose, the delight of Heaven, of whom the King of Heaven was born and by whose milk He was nourished! Do thou feed our souls with the effusions of thy Divine influences.

St. Martin of Tours, ora pro nobis!

Entry of St. Martin into Amiens

As you know, Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. In other countries, the day is celebrated as Armistice Day. It recalls the ending of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.

However, there is a deeper, Catholic meaning to November 11. This day is the feast of Saint Martin (c. 316 – 397) - that godly hermit and bishop who had once been a soldier. Martin laid down the sword in order to live a life of peace and penance under the gentle yoke of Jesus Christ. St Martin is Europe's chief example of the transition from soldier to saint; from war to peace.

Traditionally, November 11 had previously served as a day of signing peace treaties in honor of Saint Martin. Thus, it was fitting to end Europe's Great War on this same day - the festival of Saint Martin of Tours.

So there's a little Catholic history for you to share at the water-cooler or at your next cocktail party. Saint Martin is the ultimate veteran - a veteran from Christ.

Canterbury Tales

I was wondering how St. Martin and Veterans Day ended up on the same day.  That explains it!  By the way, Canterbury Tales is a great blog to follow.  

My grandpa on my mom's side was Marine and a Korean War vet.   Requiescat in pace. 

Blessed John Duns Scotus, ora pro nobis!

The Franciscan Monk Duns Scoto in his Cell

Perhaps the most influential point of Duns Scotus' theology was his defense of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. At the time, there was a great deal of argument about the subject. The general opinion was that it was appropriately deferential to the Mother of God, but it could not be seen how to resolve the problem that only with Christ's death would the stain of original sin be removed. The great philosophers and theologians of the West were divided on the subject (indeed, it appears that even Thomas Aquinas sided with those who denied the doctrine, though some Thomists dispute this). The feast day had existed in the East since the seventh century and had been introduced in several dioceses in the West as well, even though the philosophical basis was lacking. Citing Anselm of Canterbury's principle, "potuit, decuit, ergo fecit" (God could do it, it was appropriate, therefore he did it), Duns Scotus devised the following argument: Mary was in need of redemption like all other human beings, but through the merits of Jesus' crucifixion, given in advance, she was conceived without the stain of original sin. God could have brought it about (1) that she was never in original sin, (2) she was in sin only for an instant, (3) she was in sin for a period of time, being purged at the last instant. Whichever of these options was most excellent should probably be attributed to Mary.  This apparently careful statement provoked a storm of opposition at Paris, and suggested the line 'fired France for Mary without spot' in the famous poem "Duns Scotus's Oxford," by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

This argument appears in Pope Pius IX's declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Pope John XXIII recommended the reading of Duns Scotus' theology to modern theology students.

Wiki

... I wonder how many modern theology students have been exposed to Duns Scotus.  You may have heard the Friars of the Immaculate have put together a movie on the life of Bl. John Duns Scotus.  It is in Italian but Ignatius Press is now selling the DVD with subtitles. 

St. Charles Borromeo, ora pro nobis!

La Crosse seminarian has ties to newly beatified friend of St. John Bosco

When Blessed Luigi Guanella is added to the calendar of saints on Oct. 23 by Pope Benedict XVI, there will be many from the Diocese of La Crosse with a special connection to the man who founded congregations, served as a model for the priesthood and Christian charity, and at the time of his canonization will be officially be recognized by the Church for enjoying eternal bliss with God in heaven.

Born in 1842 in a small mountain village in northern Italy, Blessed Luigi was ordained a priest and, as a close friend of St. John Bosco (1815-1888), founder of the Salesians, he carried on St. John’s mission of establishing academies and vocational training schools for orphans and troubled youth. Like his friend, he also established two orders in his time, the Servants of Charity for men and the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence for women. Both orders have houses in the United States.

Blessed Luigi died in 1915 and was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1964, and his incorrupt body is on display for veneration at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Como, Italy, where he founded his orders.

Among those who plan to be in St. Peter’s Square for the canonization is a seminarian for the Diocese of La Crosse, Alan Guanella. That he and the Church’s newest saint share the same last name is no coincidence.

A fifth cousin of Blessed Luigi, Guanella has compiled an extensive archive of his relative’s life and works at www.luigiguanella.com.

continue at TheCatTimes

Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy

Angel of Death - Evelyn de Morgan

From a book on the death of his brother Satyrus, by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Lib. 2, 40. 41. 46. 47. 132. 133: CSEL 73, 270-274, 323-324)

We see that death is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ, and death a gain. What does “Christ” mean but to die in the body, and receive the breath of life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We have a doctor to heal us; let us use the remedy he prescribes. The remedy is the grace of Christ, the dead body our own. Let us then be exiles from our body, so as not to be exiles from Christ. Though we are still in the body, let us not give ourselves to the things of the body. We must not reject the natural rights of the body, but we must desire before all else the gifts of grace.

What more need be said? It was by the death of one man that the world was redeemed. Christ did not need to die if he did not want to, but he did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided, and he could have found no better means to save us than by dying. Thus his death is life for all. We are sealed with the sign of his death; when we pray we preach his death; when we offer sacrifice we proclaim his death. His death is victory; his death is a sacred sign; each year his death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.

What more should we say about his death since we use this divine example to prove that it was death alone that won freedom from death, and death itself was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind’s salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath his dignity, nor did he seek to escape it.

Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.

The soul has to turn away from the aimless paths of this life, from the defilement of an earthly body; it must reach out to those assemblies in heaven (though it is given only to the saints to be admitted to them) to sing the praises of God. We learn from Scripture how God’s praise is sung to the music of the harp: Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not revere and glorify your nature? You alone are holy; all nations will come and worship before you. The soul must also desire to witness your nuptials, Jesus, and to see your bride escorted from earthly to heavenly realities, as all rejoice and sing: All flesh will come before you. No longer will the bride be held in subjection to this passing world but will be made one with the spirit.

Above all else, holy David prayed that he might see and gaze on this: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I shall pray for: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to see how gracious is the Lord.

iBreviary

Wow, that's good stuff! 

Your destiny

Source

St. Luke the Evangelist, ora pro nobis!

Source

St. Ignatius of Antioch, ora pro nobis!

"I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the limits of the earth.  He who died in our place is the object of my quest."
- St. Ignatius of Antioch

more at Abbey Roads

St. Faustina, apostle of Divine Mercy, ora pro nobis!

St. Faustina Kowalska

I would like to say three words to the soul that is determined to strive for sanctity and to derive fruit; that is to say, benefit from confession.

First word - complete sincerity and openness. Even the holiest and wisest confessor cannot forcibly pour into the soul what he desires if it is not sincere and open. An insincere , secretive soul risks great dangers in the spiritual life, and even the Lord Jesus Himself does not give Himself to such a soul on a higher level, because He knows it would derive no benefit from these special graces.

Second word - humility. A soul does not benefit as it should from the sacrament of confession if it is not humble. Pride keeps it in darkness. The soul neither knows how, nor is willing, to probe ..the depths of its own misery. It puts on a mask and avoids everything that might bring it recovery.

Third word - obedience. A disobedient soul will win no victory, even if the Lord Jesus himself, in person, were to hear its confession (113)

Diary

My guardian dear

Source

St Jerome, ora pro nobis!

Saint Jerome and the Lion: Predella Panel

From the prologue of the commentary on Isaiah by Saint Jerome, priest
(Nn. 1. 2: CCL 73, 1-3)

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ

I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: Search the Scriptures, and Seek and you shall find. Christ will not say to me what he said to the Jews: You erred, not knowing the Scriptures and not knowing the power of God. For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of Gods, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

Therefore, I will imitate the head of a household who brings out of his storehouse things both new and old, and says to his spouse in the Song of Songs: I have kept for you things new and old, my beloved. In this way permit me to explain Isaiah, showing that he was not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle as well. For he says about himself and the other evangelists: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news, of those who announce peace. And God speaks to him as if he were an apostle: Whom shall I send, who will go to my people? And he answers: Here I am; send me.

No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of Scripture in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the Lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvellous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Savior of all men. I need say nothing about the natural sciences, ethics and logic. Whatever is proper to holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah. Of these mysteries the author himself testifies when he writes: You will be given a vision of all things, like words in a sealed scroll. When they give the writings to a wise man, they will say: Read this. And he will reply: I cannot, for it is sealed. And when the scroll is given to an uneducated man and he is told: Read this, he will reply: I do not know how to read.

Should this argument appear weak to anyone, let him listen to the Apostle: Let two or three prophets speak, and let others interpret; if, however, a revelation should come to one of those who are seated there, let the first one be quiet. How can they be silent, since it depends on the Spirit who speaks through his prophets whether they remain silent or speak? If they understood what they were saying, all things would be full of wisdom and knowledge. But it was not the air vibrating with the human voice that reached their ears , but rather it was God speaking within the soul of the prophets, just as another prophet says: It is an angel who spoke in me; and again, Crying out in our hearts, Abba, Father, and I shall listen to what the Lord God says within me.

iBreviary - get the app here

Holy Archangels, ora pro nobis!

Source

St. Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist & Martyr, ora pro nobis!

The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (Caravaggio)

Bummed about missing Mass today.  In Java training(different than the Mystic Monk kind) at work all week.

"In the manner of our ancestors"

St. Padre Pio celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Orbis Catholicus Secundus

From Wikipedia

Padre Pio is one of only two saints who were priests living after the Second Vatican Council; the other being Saint Josemaria Escriva.  Both priests had permission from the pope to offer the traditional Latin Mass without any of the liturgical reforms that stemmed from the [Second Vatican] Council.

St. John the Baptist, ora pro nobis!

Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist, Bernardino Luini

Father Z has a nice writeup.

And in case you were wondering, St. John the Baptist never drank beer...

St. Bartholomew, ora pro nobis!

The Saint Bartholomew Monastery (Armenian: Սուրբ Բարթողոմէօս Վանք) is a 13th-18th century Armenian monastery built in what was then the Vaspurakan Province of Greater Armenia, now near the town of Başkale (Albayrak) in the Van Province of southeastern Turkey. It was formerly considered one of the most important pilgrimage sites of the Armenian people.

The monastery was built on the traditional site of the martyrdom of the Apostle Bartholomew who is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Along with Saint Thaddeus, Saint Bartholomew is considered the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

At an unknown date after the Armenian Genocide, the monastery came under the control of the Turkish military and its entire site now lies within an army base. The dome of its church was still intact in the early 1960s, but the whole structure is now heavily ruined.

Wiki

St. Stephen of Hungary, ora pro nobis!

Reliquary of the Incorrupt Hand of Saint Stephen of Hungary

St. Stephen Statue, Budapest

Crown of St. Stephen

Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea!
West Wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree
Fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old.
O proud walls! White towers! O winged crown and throne of gold!
O Gondor, Gondor! Shall Men behold the Silver Tree,
Or West Wind blow again between the Mountains and the Sea? 

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. 

- JRR Tolkien

St Clare of Assisi, ora pro nobis!

Source

When, in 1234, the army of Frederick II was devastating the valley of Spoleto, the soldiers, preparatory to an assault upon Assisi, scaled the walls of San Damiano by night, spreading terror among the community. Clare, calmly rising from her sick bed, and taking the ciborium from the little chapel adjoining her cell, proceeded to face the invaders at an open window against which they had already placed a ladder. It is related that, as she raised the Blessed Sacrament on high, the soldiers who were about to enter the monastery fell backward as if dazzled, and the others who were ready to follow them took flight. It is with reference to this incident that St. Clare is generally represented in art bearing a ciborium.

When, some time later, a larger force returned to storm Assisi, headed by the General Vitale di Aversa who had not been present at the first attack, Clare, gathering her daughters about her, knelt with them in earnest prayer that the town might be spared. Presently a furious storm arose, scattering the tents of the soldiers in every direction, and causing such a panic that they again took refuge in flight.

NewAdvent