CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: THURS. MAY 20, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: FIRST AMBASSADOR OF U.A.E. PRESENTS LETTERS OF CREDENCE-
AUSTRALIA: MISSIONARY FATHER CYRIL HALLY PASSES AWAY AGE 90-
ASIA: INDIA: TALLEST STATUE IN THE COUNTRY OF JESUS-
AMERICAS: CUBA: PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO MEETS WITH CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP-
AFRICA: DEM. REP. OF CONGO: MASSIVE LANDSLIDES BURIES 46-
EUROPE. ENGLAND: ARCHBISHOP TO BLESS 600 COUPLES-
VATICAN
FIRST AMBASSADOR OF U.A.E. PRESENTS LETTERS OF CREDENCE
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2010 (VIS REPORT) - The Pope today received the Letters of Credence of Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Al-Otaiba, the first ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) to the Holy See.
Speaking English to the diplomat the Holy Father highlighted how "love of God and respect for the dignity of one's neighbour motivates the Holy See's diplomacy and shapes the Catholic Church's mission of service to the international community. The Church's action in the field of diplomatic relations promotes peace, human rights and integral development, and thus strives for the authentic progress of all, without regard for race, colour or creed".
He went on: "The Holy See and the Catholic Church take care to highlight the dignity of man in order to maintain a clear and authentic vision of humanity on the international stage and in order to muster new energy in the service of what is best for the development of peoples and nations".
The U.A.E., the Holy Father noted, "notwithstanding difficulties, has experienced notable economic growth in recent years. In this context, your country has welcomed many hundreds of thousands of foreigners coming to seek work and a more secure financial future for themselves and for their families".
"The openness of the United Arab Emirates towards those foreign workers requires constant efforts to strengthen the conditions necessary for peaceful coexistence and social progress, and is to be commended", said the Pope, expressing his satisfaction "that there are several Catholic churches built on lands donated by the public authorities.
"It is the Holy See's earnest wish", he added, "that this co-operation may continue and indeed flourish, according to the growing pastoral necessities of the Catholic population living there. Freedom of worship contributes significantly to the common good and brings social harmony to all those societies where it is practised. I assure you of the desire of the Catholic Christians present in your country to contribute to the wellbeing of your society, to live God-fearing lives and to respect the dignity of all peoples and religions".
IMAGE SOURCE http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/index.asp
POPE PRAISES GUARANTEES OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN MONGOLIA
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Luvsantseren Orgil, the new ambassador of Mongolia to the Holy See, today presented his Letters of Credence to the Holy Father. "As your nation celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its passage to democracy", the Pope told him, "I express my confidence that the great progress made in these years will continue to bear fruit in the consolidation of a social order which promotes the common good of your citizens, while furthering their legitimate aspirations for the future".
Speaking English, the Pope expressed his "solidarity and concern" for people "who suffered as a result of the harsh winter and the effects of last year's torrential rains and flooding. ... Environmental issues, particularly those related to climate change, are global issues and need to be addressed on a global level", he said."The establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Holy See, which took place after the great social and political changes of two decades ago, are a sign of your nation's commitment to an enriching interchange within the wider international community", said the Holy Father. "Religion and culture, as interrelated expressions of the deepest spiritual aspirations of our common humanity, naturally serve as incentives for dialogue and co-operation between peoples in the service of peace and genuine development".
Pope Benedict likewise expressed his appreciation "for the constant support of the government in ensuring religious liberty. The establishment of a commission, charged with the fair application of law and with protecting the rights of conscience and free exercise of religion, stands as a recognition of the importance of religious groups within the social fabric and their potential for promoting a future of harmony and prosperity"."The Church's primary mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fidelity to the liberating message of the Gospel, she seeks also to contribute to the advancement of the entire community. It is this that inspires the efforts of the Catholic community to co-operate with the Government and with people of good will by working to overcome all kinds of social problems.
"The Church", the Pope added, "is also concerned to play her proper part in the work of intellectual and human formation, above all by educating the young in the values of respect, solidarity and concern for the less fortunate. In this way, she strives to serve her Lord by showing charitable concern for the needy and for the good of the whole human family", he concluded.CD/ VIS 20100520 (420)
PRIME MINISTER OF TONGA MEETS THE HOLY FATHER
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Feleti Vaka'uta Sevele, prime minister of Tonga. The prime minister subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"In the course of the cordial discussions attention focused on the process of institutional reform in Tonga, on various aspect of the archipelago's social and economic life, and on the important contribution the Catholic Church makes in various fields of human promotion. Opinions were then exchanged on the international situation, with particular reference to the political, commercial and environmental problems which the Pacific Island States are facing in a spirit of close collaboration".OP/ VIS 20100520 (150)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
AUSTRALIA
MISSIONARY FATHER CYRIL HALLY PASSES AWAY AGE 90
Cath News report: Father Cyril Thomas Hally, priest and missionary of St Columbans Missionary Society, has passed away in Melbourne. He died peacefully at Mercy Place, Parkville on Tuesday.
The Columbans foundation was to take the Gospel into China and it was there that Fr Hally expected to spend his ministry. But within a few years of his ordination, Mao's communist revolution saw the suppression of foreign missionaries and imprisonment of Catholic bishops, priests and religious under charges of anti-revolutionary activities. Instead, he became a chaplain to Asian students in New Zealand. He later studied in Rome and graduated with a licentiate in Canon Law. In 1951, he was sent to Japan but he was only there for just over a year before he was recalled to the staff of the Columban seminary in Sydney.
After studying linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, he joined the staff at St Columban's seminary at Dalgan Park in County Meath, Ireland. The Irish Columban ecological activist and author, Father Sean McDonagh, a seminarian at the time, vividly recalled Fr Hally's weekly class in Gregorian Chants for the discourses into anthropology, linguistics, or current affairs like the Vietnam War.
"The phrase I remember most from Cyril's lips was 'in my opinion'. Cyril expected missionaries to have opinions about a range of broad issues based on solid reflection and research," said Fr McDonagh.
"Over the years he built an extraordinary network of people in many areas of life. He touched the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people with his vision and understanding of what was happening to the Church and the world."
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21465
ASIA
INDIA: TALLEST STATUE IN THE COUNTRY OF JESUS
Cath News report: A statue of Jesus, more than ten metres high, at a new cathedral in India's northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state is being billed the tallest in the country.
The fibreglass stature, which weighs half a tonne, was created by a Kolkata-based firm, Church Art. It specialises in creating statues other artifacts for churches, the report said.
"This towering figure of Christ overseeing the whole of Miao, with open arms, invites everyone to seek peace and live the way of love," said Bishop P K George of Miao.
The newly erected Cathedral was blessed by Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, in a ceremony that drew a crowd of some 12,000 people. The diocese, which covers East Arunachal area has some 70,000 Catholics, according to officials.
The world's tallest statues of Jesus is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro which is 39.6 metres high.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21469
AMERICAS
CUBA: PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO MEETS WITH CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP
France 24 report: Cuban President Raul Castro and the island's Roman Catholic leadership discussed the "favourable development of relations" and the sensitive issue of political prisoners during a rare meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting followed Cardinal Jaime Ortega’s successful mediation between Communist authorities and female relatives of imprisoned dissidents earlier this month.
That resulted in the group, known as the Ladies in White, resuming Sunday marches along a main Havana avenue free from harassment by government supporters.
“During the meeting various issues of mutual interest were analyzed, in particular the favorable development of relations between the Catholic Church and Cuban state and the current international and domestic situation,” the official media said in a communique.
It was accompanied by photographs of Castro with Ortega and the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia.
The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Memberti, is due to visit the island next month amid increasing economic difficulties and international attention on human rights abuses in Cuba.
Dissident hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in February and another, Guillermo Farinas Hernandez, has been hospitalized since March.Memberti is expected to press authorities to release political prisoners whom the government brands as mercenaries and subversives in the pay of the United States.
“This is the first time the conference has had such a high level meeting,” Jose Feliz Perez, spokesman for the bishops conference, told Reuters.
“It was especially relevant in the context that the church has recently been working to mediate solutions to a number of difficulties in society.”
In an April interview with the Archdiocese of Havana’s magazine, Palabra Nueva (New Word), Ortega said economic woes and accusations of human rights abuses had placed Cuba in “a difficult situation, the most difficult we have experienced in the 21st century.”
He criticized authorities for moving too slowly on economic reforms and mistreating dissidents. But he also said the international reaction to human rights abuses was overblown and aggressive.
Laura Pollan, leader of the Ladies in White, termed the meeting “very important” in the context of the efforts to free jailed dissidents and Memberti’s visit.
“If only all this could prove successful and lead to the freeing of prisoners,” she said.
Relations between the Church and Cuba’s government have been marked by bitter recriminations in the past, but have steadily improved since the 1990s, especially after a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
http://www.france24.com/en/20100520-cuba-raul-castro-catholic-church-political-prisoners-relations
AFRICA
DEM. REP. OF CONGO: MASSIVE LANDSLIDES BURIES 46
All Africa report: United Nations peacekeepers today rushed in all-terrain vehicles and other relief after an overflowing river caused a landslide on the slopes of a major volcano in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), burying at least 46 people and washing away 200 homes.
"Our aim is to take care of the vulnerable population until the humanitarian organizations take over and provide those displaced with the necessary aid for their return," UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) spokesperson Madnodje Mounoubai told the UN News Centre."The search for the missing is continuing. Meanwhile, MONUC is urgently tending to the displaced people, who are staying close to their villages, and providing food."
He declined to estimate the number of people displaced by the disaster, which the Congolese press put at some 5,000. The landslide was apparently triggered earlier this week when a river overflowed after days of heavy rain.
The affected area is not at any security risk, being some way from the main zone of conflict with rebel forces which have sown havoc across the eastern DRC, killing thousands and driving hundreds of thousands of others from their homes.
The 11-year-old MONUC has helped restore a measure of stability and democratic process to a country, torn apart by years of civil war and revolts that led to the greatest death toll since World War II - 4 million people killed by fighting and the attendant starvation and disease. But strife still persists in the east and other areas of the vast country
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005191321.html
EUROPE
ENGLAND: ARCHBISHOP TO BLESS 600 COUPLES
Idependent Cath. News report: Nearly 600 couples will be celebrating significant wedding anniversaries at a Mass in Westminster Cathedral this Saturday. The Mass will be celebrated by the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.
By personal invitation, couples celebrating their 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th + wedding anniversaries during 2010 will gather to give thanks, renew their vows and pray for their families and all marriages. As part of the Mass, after the homily, the couples will face each other and state intentions to continue to love one another, and will be solemnly blessed by Archbishop Vincent Nichols. The Mass begins at 3pm.
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16181
TODAY´S SAINT
St. Bernardine of Siena
FRANCISCAN PREACHER AND MISSIONARY
Feast: May 20
Information: Feast Day: May 20
Born: 1380, Massa Marittima, Italy
Died: 1444, Aquila, Italy
Canonized: 24 May 1450 by Pope Nicholas V
Patron of: advertisers; advertising; Aquila, Italy; chest problems; Italy; gambling addicts; public relations personnel; public relations work;
St. Bernardine, a true disciple of St. Francis, and an admirable preacher of the word of God, inflamed with the most ardent love of our divine Redeemer, was made by God an instrument to kindle the same holy fire in innumerable souls, and to inspire them with his spirit of humility and meekness. He was born at Massa in 1380, of the noble family of Albizeschi, in the republic of Sienna. He lost his mother when he was but three years old, and his father, who was chief magistrate of Massa, before he was seven. The care of his education devolved on a virtuous aunt called Diana who infused into his tender soul ardent sentiments of piety towards God, and a tender devotion to his blessed Mother. This aunt always loved him as if he had been her own son; and indeed his towardly dispositions won him exceedingly the affections of all who ever had the care of him. He was modest, humble, and devout; and took great delight in prayer, visiting churches, serving at mass, and hearing sermons, which he would repeat again to his companions with an admirable memory and gracefulness of action. In that tender age he had a great compassion for the poor. One day it happened that his aunt sent away a poor person from the door without an alms, because there was but one loaf in the house for the dinner of the family. Bernardine was much troubled to see the beggar go away unrelieved, and said to his aunt, "For God's sake, let us give something to this poor man; otherwise I will neither dine nor sup this day. I had rather the poor should have a dinner than myself." This wonderfully comforted his good aunt, who never ceased to incite him to all virtues, and, according to his strength, to accustom himself by degrees to fasting. Young as he was, he fasted every Saturday in honor of the blessed Virgin; which pious custom he always continued. At eleven years of age he was called to Sienna by his uncles, and put to school under the ablest masters, who all admired the quickness of his parts, and the solidity of his judgment; but much more, his docility, modesty, and virtue. If he chanced to hear any word the least unbecoming, he, by blushing, testified what confusion it gave him, and how much it wounded his very heart; and though he was otherwise most condescending, civil, and respectful to all, he could never bear with patience any indecent discourse. For a single word of that kind he so severely reprimanded a man of quality, that it was to him a warning during the remainder of his life to govern his tongue; and many years alter, hearing Bernardine preach, he was so moved that he seemed to be drowned in tears. The modesty of the virtuous youth was a check to the most impudent, and kept them in awe in his presence: in whatever company, if the conversation was too free, it was dropped when he appeared, and the very loosest rakes would say, "Hush! here comes Bernardine:" as the presence of Cato among the Romans restrained the lewd libertinism of a festival.1 Nor did the saint behave on these occasions in such a manner as might render virtue the subject of ridicule, but with a surprising dignity. Nevertheless, an impure monster had once the insolence to make an attempt upon his virginal purity, and to solicit him to sin. But the saint, not content to testify his scorn and indignation, excited the whole troop of his little innocent playfellows against the lewd villain, who pelted him with clods and stones, and made him ashamed any more to show his face. Bernardine was exceeding comely and beautiful; but his known virtue secured him from any further assaults; and he never ceased to beg of God the grace of purity, particularly through the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary. When he had completed the course of his philosophy, he applied himself to the study of civil and canon law, and afterwards of that of the holy scriptures, with such ardor that he could never from that time relish any other study.
At seventeen years of age he enrolled himself in the confraternity of Our Lady in the hospital of Scala, to serve the sick. Here he began with new vigor to tame his flesh by severe fasts, watchings, hair-shirts, disciplines, and other austerities; but he applied himself more to the interior mortification of his will, which rendered him always most mild, sweet, patient, and affable to every one. He had served this hospital four years, when, in 1400, a dreadful pestilence which had already made great havoc in several other parts of Italy, and was increased by the concourse of pilgrims to the jubilee, reached Sienna; insomuch that twelve, eighteen, or twenty persons died every day in this hospital; and among others were carried off almost all the priests, apothecaries, and servants, that belonged to the place. Bernardine therefore persuaded twelve young men to bear him company in the service of the hospital, expecting heaven for their speedy recompense; and they all strove which should come up the nearest to Bernardine in cheerfulness, humility, and assiduity in performing the most sacred offices, and in exerting themselves in the service of the sick. The saint was intrusted in a manner with the whole care of the hospital, which, in the space of four months, he put into excellent order. It is hardly credible how many lives he saved, or with what charity and pains he night and day attended the patients, and furnished them with every comfort and succor which it was in his power to afford them. God preserved him from the contagion during these four months, at the end of which the pestilence ceased. He then returned home, but sick of a fever which he had contracted by his fatigues, which obliged him to keep his bed four months; during which time he edified the city, no less by his resignation and patience, than he had done by his charity. He was scarce well recovered when he returned to the like works of charity, and with incredible patience attended a dying aunt for fourteen months, named Bartholomaea, a woman of great piety, who was blind and bedridden. When God had called her to himself, Bernardine retired to a house at some distance from the city, making the walls of his garden the bounds of his enclosure. Here, in solitude, fasting, and prayer, he endeavored to learn the will of God in the choice of a state of life. After some time he took the habit of the order of St. Francis, among the fathers of the Strict Observance at Colombiere, a solitary convent a few miles from Sienna; and after the year of his novitiate, made his profession on the 8th of September, 1404. Having been born on the feast of the Nativity of the blessed Virgin, out of devotion to her, he chose the same day for the principal actions of his life: on it he took the religious habit, made his vows, said his first mass, and preached his first sermon. His fervor increased daily; and while some sought interpretations to mollify the severity of the rule, he was always studying to add to it greater austerities and heroic practices of virtue, the more perfectly to crucify in himself the old man. He was pleased with insults and humiliations, and whatever could be agreeable to the most ardent spirit of humility and self-denial. When he went through the streets in a threadbare short habit, the boys sometimes cast stones at him, with injurious language; in which contempt the saint found a singular joy and satisfaction. He showed the same sentiments when a near kinsman with bitter invectives reproached him, as disgracing his friends by the mean and contemptible manner of life he bad embraced. These and all other virtues he learned in the living book of Christ crucified, which he studied night and day, often prostrate before a crucifix, from which he seemed one day to hear our Lord speak thus to him: "My son, behold me hanging upon a cross: if thou lovest me, or art desirous to imitate me, be thou also fastened naked to thy cross, and follow me; thus thou wilt assuredly find me." In the same school he learned an insatiable zeal for the salvation of souls, redeemed by the blood of Christ. Having in retirement prepared himself for the office of preaching, his superiors ordered him to employ his talent that way for the benefit of others. He labored under a natural impediment from weakness and hoarseness of voice; the removal of which obstacle he obtained by addressing himself to his glorious patroness, the mother of God. For fourteen years his labors were confined to his own country; but when the reputation of his virtue was spread abroad, he shone as a bright light to the whole church.
In vain cloth the minister of God confide in the weak resources of mere human eloquence and pomp of words, by which he rather debases the dignity and majesty of the sacred oracles: while he pleases the ear and gains the applause of his audience, he leaves their hearts dry. The great apostle of Andalusia, the venerable holy John D'Avila, being desired to lay down some rules for the art of preaching, answered, he knew no other art than the most ardent love of God and zeal for his honor. He used to say to young clergymen, that one word spoken by a man of prayer would do more good, and have a more powerful influence, than all the most eloquent discourses; for it is only the language of the heart that speaks to the heart; and a life of mortification and prayer not only draws down the dew of the divine benediction upon the labors of the preacher, but it replenishes his soul with a sincere spirit of humility, compunction, and all virtues, and with an experimental knowledge and feeling sense of the great truths which he delivers. Zealous ministers who are filled with the Spirit of God, are a great blessing to the people among whom they labor; and this reflection unfolds the secret how saints possess so extraordinary a grace of converting souls to God. This was the excellent talent of Bernardine. They who heard him preach felt their souls to melt in sentiments of compunction, divine love, humility, and the contempt of the world, and returned home new men, striking their breasts, and bathed in tears. The word, of God was in his mouth as a fire, and as a hammer breaking the hardest rocks. Another eminent preacher of his order being asked the reason why his sermons did not produce equal fruit with those of Bernardine, answered, "Brother Bernardine is a fiery glowing coal. What is only warm hath not the power of kindling a fire in others like the burning coal." The saint himself being consulted what was the way to preach with profit, gave this rule: "In all your actions seek in the first place the kingdom of God and his glory; direct all you do purely to his honor; persevere in brotherly charity, and practice first all that you desire to teach others. By this means the Holy Ghost will be your master, and will give you such wisdom and such a tongue that no adversary will be able to stand against you." This he faithfully practiced, and from his assiduous communication with God he imbibed that eminent spirit of virtue which gave him the most powerful ascendant over the hearts of men. Among the great truths of religion, he principally labored to inculcate a sincere contempt of the vanity of the world, and an ardent love of our blessed Redeemer. He wished he could cry out with a trumpet which could be heard over the whole earth, that he might sound aloud in the ears of all men that great oracle of the Holy Ghost: O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying? O children, how long will you love childishness?3 And he never ceased with the thunder of his voice to raise men from grovelling always on this earth, to the important consideration of the things which belong to their eternal welfare, and to the love of Jesus Christ. So much was he affected with the mysteries of the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of God, that he could never pronounce his sacred name without appearing in transports of love and adoration. Often at the end of his sermon he showed to the people the sacred name of Jesus curiously cut on a board with gold letters, inviting them to adore Christ with him on their knees, reciting a pious doxology. This was misconstrued by some, who also cavilled at certain expressions which he had used. Upon their complaints, pope Martin V. summoned him to appear, and commanded him silence for a while. The humble saint meekly acquiesced without making any reply. But his holiness, after a full examination of his doctrine and conduct, dismissed him with his benediction, high commendations, and ample leave to preach everywhere. The same pope pressed him to accept the bishopric of Sienna in 1427; but he declined that dignity, alleging for his excuse, that if he were confined to one church, he could no longer employ himself in the service of so many souls. In 1431 he no less resolutely refused that of Ferrara, which Eugenius III. earnestly desired to confer upon him, and again that of Urbino, in 1435. When the saint preached first at Milan, the haughty duke Philip Mary Visconti took offence at certain things which he had said in his sermons, and threatened him with death if he should presume to speak any more on such subjects; but the saint declared, that no greater happiness could befall him than to die for the truth. The duke, to try him, sent him a present of one hundred ducats of gold in a golden bowl. The saint excused himself from receiving the money to two different messengers; but being compelled by a third to accept it, he took the messenger with him to the prisons, and laid it all out in his presence in releasing debtors. This disinterestedness turned the duke's aversion into the greatest veneration for the saint ever after.
St. Bernardine preached several times through the greatest part of Italy; some say also in Spain; but this seems uncertain. Nothing was more spoken of over all Italy than the wonderful fruit of his sermons, miraculous conversions, restitution of ill-gotten goods, reparations of injuries, and heroic examples of virtue. The factions of the Guelfs and Ghibellins then horribly divided many cities of Italy, and gave frequent employment to the saint. Hearing once of a great dissension at Perugia, he hastened thither from the marquisate of Ancona, and entering the city, thus addressed the inhabitants, "God, who is highly offended at this division among you, hath sent me, as his angel, to proclaim peace to men of good will upon earth." After preaching four sermons to persuade them to a mutual forgiveness of all injuries, and a general amnesty, at the end of the last he bade all those who forgave each other and desired to live in peace, to pass to the right hand. All present did so except one young nobleman, who stayed on the left, muttering some thing between his teeth. The saint, after a severe reproach, foretold him his sudden death, which happened soon after, and without the benefit of the sacraments. In 1433 he accompanied the emperor Sigismund to his coronation at Rome; after which he retired for a short time to Sienna, where he put the finishing hand to his works.
Amidst the greatest applause and honors, the most sincere humility always appeared in his words and actions; and he ever studied to conceal the talents with which God had enriched him. How great his esteem of humility was, he testified when a brother of his order asked him the means by which he might speedily arrive at perfection. The saint, instead of giving him any answer by words, threw himself at his feet; showing at the same time his own great affection to humility, and also that this virtue raises the soul to divine love and every grace. God, however, was pleased to honor his servant before men. Besides several predictions and miraculous cures of many lepers and other sick persons, the saint is recorded to have raised four dead to life. He was appointed vicar-general of his order of the Strict Observance in Italy, in 1438, in which he settled a rigorous reformation; but, after five years, obtained a discharge from his office; and in his old age continued the function of preaching through Romania, Ferrara, and Lombardy. He returned to Sienna in 1444, preached a most pathetic farewell sermon at Massa on concord and unity, and being taken ill of a malignant fever on the road, still preached as usual till he arrived at Aquila in Abruzzo. There, being confined to his bed, he prepared himself for his passage out of this life by the rites of the church. When he was speechless, he made a sign to be taken off his bed and laid upon the floor; where, lifting up his eyes to heaven, he surrendered his pure soul into the hands of his Creator on the 20th of May, 1444, after a life of sixty-three years, eight months, and thirteen days. His tomb was rendered illustrious by many miracles, and he was canonized by Nicholas V. in 1450. His body is kept in a crystal shrine, enclosed in one of silver, in the church of his order at Aquila.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/B/stbernadineofsiena.asp
TODAY´S GOSPEL
John 17: 20 - 26
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20 "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me.
26 I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
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