Tag Archives: Benedictine

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Julian of Norwich, Feast Day May 8




Bl. Julian of Norwich Public Domain Image
Bl. Julian of Norwich

 

The feast day of Bl. Julian of Norwich is celebrated on May 8.

Very little is actually known about Julian of Norwich. It is believed her birth name is Julian and that she was born to a privileged family in Norwich in 1341. She lived as a recluse, probably as a Benedictine Nun.

At the age of 30, she became deathly ill. Near death she experienced visions of Christ. She wrote about her visions immediately in her book Revelation of Divine Love. The book has been translated into many languages.

Bl. Julian believed in God’s love and mercy. She believed sin brings someone to self knowledge which leads to acceptance of the role of God in their life. She believed the pain caused by sin is a reminder of the passion of Christ. Bl. Julian saw God as both Father and Mother which was controversial.  Bl. Julian always accepted the authority of the Church.

Bl. Julian of Norwich died in the year 1416.

 

He did not say:  You will not be assailed,  You will not be belabored,  You will not be disquieted,  but He said….”You will not be overcome.”

Quote of Bl. Julian of Norwich

 

May is the Month of Our Lady

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Anselm, Feast Day April 21




St. Anselm
St. Anselm

 

The feast day of St. Anselm is celebrated on April 21.

St. Anselm was born in 1033 near Aosta . At the age of 15 Anselm wanted to enter a monastery but his father opposed the idea. For a time, he lost interest in religion, but at the age of 27 he finally entered the Monastery of Bec in Normandy. Fifteen years later he became the abbot of the Benedictine monastery.

In 1093 he became the Archbishop of Canterbury. England’s King William Rufus refused to cooperate with his efforts to reform the Church. When the king became very ill St. Anselm became his confessor. However, after he recovered his health matters worsened and St. Anselm went into exile until the death of the King in 1100. The successor, King Henry I, recalled Anselm. St. Anselm fearlessly disagreed with King Henry over the King’s insistence on investing England’s bishops. St. Anselm went into exile for three more years.

St. Anselm opposed the slave trade and worked for the poorest people. He persuaded the national council of Westminster to prohibit the sale of human beings. He was admired for his patience and his teaching ability.   St. Anselm published theological works. The most well known is Cur Deus Humo  (Why God became Man).

St. Anselm died in the year 1109. St. Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by Pope Clement XI.

 

For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.  For this also I believe…that unless I believed,  I should not understand.

 

Quote of St. Anselm of Canterbury

 

April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Elphege, Feast Day April 19




St. Elphege
St. Elphege

The feast day of St. Elphege is celebrated on April 19.

St. Elphege was born in 954 to a noble Saxon family. He became a Benedictine monk at Deerhurst Monastery in Gloucestershire, England. After several years he left to become a hermit at Bath where he became abbot. His rule was strict, requiring diligent prayer and service. In 984 he became the Bishop of Winchester. He worked tirelessly to help the poor trying to eliminate poverty in his diocese. In 1006, he was appointed archbishop of Canterbury.

Persecutions by the Danes were taking place at this time. When Canterbury was sacked and burned St. Elphege was taken captive. Because he refused to cooperate in there ransom demands they became angry and drunk. They pelted him with oxen bones and stones and then killed him with an axe in the year1012. As he died he prayed for his attackers.

 

Just look how these days, when “Alleluia” is ringing in our ears, our spirit soars!…If these days fill us with such tremendous joy, what will that day be like when we are told “Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom.” when all the saints are gathered together?

Quote of St. Augustine; Feast day August 28

 

April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Leander, Feast Day March 13

St. Leander
The feast day of St. Leander is celebrated on March 13.

St. Leander was born into a saintly family. Both he and his brother St. Isidore served as the Bishop of Seville. His sister St.Florentia became an abbess in charge of forty convents and over 1,000 nuns. He was born at Cartagena, Spain in 534.

St. Leander became a Benedictine monk. In 579 he became the Bishop of Seville. As bishop he defended the church from the heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ. He promoted orthodox Christianity. For a period of time he was forced into exile in Byzantium. When he returned he oversaw the Third Council of Toledo.

It was St. Leander who began the practice of reciting the Nicene Creed during Mass. He believed it would help in the fight against Arianism.

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial
of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

St.Leander died in the year 601. He was succeeded as bishop by his brother St. Isidore.
St. Leander is considered a Doctor of the Church.

The humble man receives praise the way a clean window takes the light of the sun. The truer and more intense the light is the less you see of the glass.

Quote of Thomas Merton

 

March is the Month of St. Joseph

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Oswald, Feast Day Feb. 29

St. Oswald
The feast day of St. Oswald is celebrated on Feb. 29.

 

St. Oswald was born to a military family in England. He was raised by his uncle, St. Odo, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury.

St. Oswald studied in France where he decided to join the Benedictine Order. He was appointed Bishop of Worcester then Archbishop of York. He was known for his reforms and the founding of monasteries. He was an adamant supporter of education especially math, science and astronomy. He was known for his love of the poor and his personal holiness.

St. Oswald died in 992 during the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor during the season of Lent. He is buried in the Church of St. Mary at Worcester.

Silence is the cross on which we must crucify our ego.

Quote of St. Seraphim of Sarov; Feast day February 5

 

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Marie Adcodata Pisani; Feast Day Feb. 25




Bl. Marie Adeodata Pisani

 

The Feast day of Bl. Marie Adcodata Pisani is celebrated on February 25.   She was born in Naples, Italy on Dec. 29, 1806 to a noble family.

Her childhood was quite troubled.   Her father was alcoholic, which led to marriage problems.  She was raised by her grandmother.  She was ten when her grandmother died.  She then entered a boarding school known as Istituodi Madama Prota which was in Naples.

 

After an uprising in Naples, her father was sentenced to death.  The sentence was suspended and he was expelled from Naples and deported to the island of Malta.  Maria and her mother went to Malta an lived in Rabal.  Maria Terese wished to become a nun rather than marry.  She enjoyed helping the poor and attending church.

 

At the age of 21 she entered the Benedictine Community in St. Peter’s Monastery.   She took the name Maria Adeodata (given by God).  She worked as a teacher, seamstress , sacristan and writer.  Her most well known work is The Mystical Garden of the Soul That Love Jesus and Mary, which was a collection of reflections.

 

Bl. Marie served as the abbess for several years but retired due to heart problems.  She died on Feb. 25, 1855 at the age of 48.

 

In 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified Bl. Marie Adcodata Pisani citing a miracle of the healing of a stomach tumor after a request for her intercession.

 

My daughters, I see more Pharisees among Christians than there were around Pilate!

 

Quote of St. Margaret of Cortona

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord.

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