THE POPE BEGINS HIS
TWENTY-THIRD APOSTOLIC TRIP UNDER THE SIGN OF HOPE
Vatican City, 23 March 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today began his twenty-third apostolic trip abroad, which is taking him to Mexico and Cuba. The Holy Father departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 9.30 a.m. and is due to land at Leon in the Mexican State of Guanajuato at 4.30 p.m. local time (11.30 p.m. in Rome). Leon is the fourth largest city in Mexico and lies at the geographical centre of the country.
The Holy Father will remain in Mexico until 26 March, during which time he will lodge in the Miraflores College, an educational institution named after a Carthusian monastery in Burgos, Spain, and run by the Sisters Servants of the Blessed Eucharist and of the Mother of God. The Pope's three days in Mexico will be divided as follows: On Saturday he will meet Federal President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, then greet and bless children and faithful in Leon's Plaza de la Paz. At 10 a.m. on Sunday he will preside at Mass in the Parque Bicentenario and, that evening, preside at Vespers in the cathedral of Leon. He is due to depart for Cuba on Monday 26 March.
In his weekly editorial for "Octavia Dies", Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. enumerates the reasons for the Pope's trip to Mexico and Cuba: The bicentenary of the independence of the peoples of Latin America; the Mexicans' enthusiastic desire to welcome the Pope; the twentieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Holy See, and the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the image of "Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre" in Cuba, with its concomitant Holy Year.
However, Fr, Lombardi notes, "this voyage to the heart of the Americas also has a specific purpose. It will be a journey of hope. Hope for Mexicans, a people with immense resources and potential, but currently afflicted by serious problems which weigh on their present and future, first among them the problem of violence".
The Holy See Press Office Director also speaks of "hope for Cubans, who feel they are on the threshold of what is potentially a new epoch, in which John Paul II's words on the reciprocal openness of Cuba and the world may be realised in a climate of development, freedom and reconciliation".
Finally, Fr. Lombardi mentions "the hope of all Latin America, where a Church committed to the 'continental mission' launched at the Aparecida Conference, wishes to continue making her inspirational contribution to the progress of the continent, so that human and Christian values may guarantee integral human development, despite the difficulties and dangers of our time".
Vatican City, 23 March 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today began his twenty-third apostolic trip abroad, which is taking him to Mexico and Cuba. The Holy Father departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 9.30 a.m. and is due to land at Leon in the Mexican State of Guanajuato at 4.30 p.m. local time (11.30 p.m. in Rome). Leon is the fourth largest city in Mexico and lies at the geographical centre of the country.
The Holy Father will remain in Mexico until 26 March, during which time he will lodge in the Miraflores College, an educational institution named after a Carthusian monastery in Burgos, Spain, and run by the Sisters Servants of the Blessed Eucharist and of the Mother of God. The Pope's three days in Mexico will be divided as follows: On Saturday he will meet Federal President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, then greet and bless children and faithful in Leon's Plaza de la Paz. At 10 a.m. on Sunday he will preside at Mass in the Parque Bicentenario and, that evening, preside at Vespers in the cathedral of Leon. He is due to depart for Cuba on Monday 26 March.
In his weekly editorial for "Octavia Dies", Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. enumerates the reasons for the Pope's trip to Mexico and Cuba: The bicentenary of the independence of the peoples of Latin America; the Mexicans' enthusiastic desire to welcome the Pope; the twentieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Holy See, and the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the image of "Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre" in Cuba, with its concomitant Holy Year.
However, Fr, Lombardi notes, "this voyage to the heart of the Americas also has a specific purpose. It will be a journey of hope. Hope for Mexicans, a people with immense resources and potential, but currently afflicted by serious problems which weigh on their present and future, first among them the problem of violence".
The Holy See Press Office Director also speaks of "hope for Cubans, who feel they are on the threshold of what is potentially a new epoch, in which John Paul II's words on the reciprocal openness of Cuba and the world may be realised in a climate of development, freedom and reconciliation".
Finally, Fr. Lombardi mentions "the hope of all Latin America, where a Church committed to the 'continental mission' launched at the Aparecida Conference, wishes to continue making her inspirational contribution to the progress of the continent, so that human and Christian values may guarantee integral human development, despite the difficulties and dangers of our time".
AMERICA : USA : OVER 140 CITIES RALLIES FOR RELGIOUS FREEDOM AGAINST HHS
Today, March 23, saw rallies for
Religious Freedom in over 140 cities across the USA. The Bishops' Conference of
the USA described the circumstances:"One particular religious freedom issue demands our immediate attention: the now-finalized rule of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that would force virtually all private health plans nationwide to provide coverage of sterilization and contraception—including abortifacient drugs—subject to an exemption for "religious employers" that is arbitrarily narrow, and to an unspecified and dubious future "accommodation" for other religious organizations that are denied the exemption."
"
So what is it about?
An unwarranted government definition of religion. The mandate includes an extremely narrow definition of what HHS deems a "religious employer" deserving exemption—employers who, among other things, must hire and serve primarily those of their own faith. We are deeply concerned about this new definition of who we are as people of faith and what constitutes our ministry. The introduction of this unprecedented defining of faith communities and their ministries has precipitated this struggle for religious freedom. Government has no place defining religion and religious ministry. HHS thus creates and enforces a new distinction—alien both to our Catholic tradition and to federal law—between our houses of worship and our great ministries of service to our neighbors, namely, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the students in our schools and universities, and others in need, of any faith community or none. Cf. Deus Caritas Est, Nos. 20-33. We are commanded both to love and to serve the Lord; laws that protect our freedom to comply with one of these commands but not the other are nothing to celebrate. Indeed, they must be rejected, for they create a "second class" of citizenship within our religious community. And if this definition is allowed to stand, it will spread throughout federal law, weakening its healthy tradition of generous respect for religious freedom and diversity. All—not just some—of our religious institutions share equally in the very same God-given, legally-recognized right not "to be forced to act in a manner contrary to [their] own beliefs." Dignitatis Humanae, No. 2.
A mandate to act against our teachings. The exemption is not merely a government foray into internal Church governance, where government has no legal competence or authority—disturbing though that may be. This error in theory has grave consequences in principle and practice. Those deemed by HHS not to be "religious employers" will be forced by government to violate their own teachings within their very own institutions. This is not only an injustice in itself, but it also undermines the effective proclamation of those teachings to the faithful and to the world. For decades, the Bishops have led the fight against such government incursions on conscience, particularly in the area of health care. Far from making us waver in this longstanding commitment, the unprecedented magnitude of this latest threat has only strengthened our resolve to maintain that consistent view.
A violation of personal civil rights.The HHS mandate creates still a third class, those with no conscience protection at all: individuals who, in their daily lives, strive constantly to act in accordance with their faith and moral values. They, too, face a government mandate to aid in providing "services" contrary to those values—whether in their sponsoring of, and payment for, insurance as employers; their payment of insurance premiums as employees; or as insurers themselves—without even the semblance of an exemption. This, too, is unprecedented in federal law, which has long been generous in protecting the rights of individuals not to act against their religious beliefs or moral convictions. We have consistently supported these rights, particularly in the area of protecting the dignity of all human life, and we continue to do so."
"Most importantly of all, we call upon the Catholic faithful, and all people of faith, throughout our country to join us in prayer and penance for our leaders and for the complete protection of our First Freedom—religious liberty—which is not only protected in the laws and customs of our great nation, but rooted in the teachings of our great Tradition. Prayer is the ultimate source of our strength—for without God, we can do nothing; but with God, all things are possible."
SOURCE: USCCB
2012
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : FRI. MARCH 23, 2012
| John
7: 1 - 2, 10, 25 - 30
| |
| 1 | After this Jesus went about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. |
| 2 | Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand. |
| 10 | But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. |
| 25 | Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? |
| 26 | And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? |
| 27 | Yet we know where this man comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from." |
| 28 | So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true, and him you do not know. |
| 29 | I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me." |
| 30 | So they sought to arrest him; but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. |
ASIA : IRAQ : CHRISTIAN PHOTOGRAPHER KILLED
ASIA NEWS
REPORT:
by Joseph Mahmood
Salman Dawoud Salman was killed with nine shots. He had been kidnapped four days earlier, perhaps for money, the corpse found in the neighborhood southwest of the city. AsiaNews sources: Mosul has become a stronghold of Sunni Islam, linked to Saudi Arabia. The goal is to create an Islamic state.
Mosul (AsiaNews) - The Christian community in Iraqis once more the target of Islamic extremism: Yesterday morning in Mosul in the north, security forces found the corpse of a man riddled with bullets. The discovery occurred in the Yarmouk district, in the south-west of the city, the body carried nine bullet wounds, fired at close range. The victim is Salman Dawoud Salman, 45, a freelance photographer, and had been kidnapped four days earlier, probably for ransom.
AsiaNews sources in Mosul city explain that it is "a stronghold of Sunni Wahabi fundamentalism, which has close ties with Saudi Arabia." The goal, adds an expert on Iraqi politics, is "to form a Shariah state ", with the Koran and the sunna as references to legislation and "Islam as the only state religion". "And the faithful of other religions - he adds - will have no other choice; either convert or flee the country or pay the tax imposed on non-Muslims."
A church figure in the governorate of Mosul confirms that "many Christian families have left Mosul several years ago." "They have lost faith in everything - he adds - and the government is incapable of doing anything to protect them. The administration's promises are lies and a question emerges: what does the future hold for non-Muslims in those countries where the logic of violence dominates ".
For some time the Christian community in northern Iraq has been a victim of kidnapping for extortion and caught up in a war between Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds to gain power and control over huge oil fields contained in the subsoil. In a decade, estimates speak of a minority "more than halved" following the "biblical" exodus caused by the serial murders.
From 2003 to December 2011, the date of complete withdrawal of U.S. troops, 4,550 U.S. soldiers have died and 300 allies. However, the real carnage regards the Iraqi civilian population, which has around 100 thousand casualties since the war began. On 20 March, on the ninth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, a series of attacks - at least 20 explosions, which also targeted a Syrian Orthodox church in Baghdad over 40 people were killed and dozens injured.
SOURCE http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Mosul:-more-Christian-blood,-45-year-old-photographer-killed-24314.html
by Joseph Mahmood
Salman Dawoud Salman was killed with nine shots. He had been kidnapped four days earlier, perhaps for money, the corpse found in the neighborhood southwest of the city. AsiaNews sources: Mosul has become a stronghold of Sunni Islam, linked to Saudi Arabia. The goal is to create an Islamic state.
Mosul (AsiaNews) - The Christian community in Iraqis once more the target of Islamic extremism: Yesterday morning in Mosul in the north, security forces found the corpse of a man riddled with bullets. The discovery occurred in the Yarmouk district, in the south-west of the city, the body carried nine bullet wounds, fired at close range. The victim is Salman Dawoud Salman, 45, a freelance photographer, and had been kidnapped four days earlier, probably for ransom.
AsiaNews sources in Mosul city explain that it is "a stronghold of Sunni Wahabi fundamentalism, which has close ties with Saudi Arabia." The goal, adds an expert on Iraqi politics, is "to form a Shariah state ", with the Koran and the sunna as references to legislation and "Islam as the only state religion". "And the faithful of other religions - he adds - will have no other choice; either convert or flee the country or pay the tax imposed on non-Muslims."
A church figure in the governorate of Mosul confirms that "many Christian families have left Mosul several years ago." "They have lost faith in everything - he adds - and the government is incapable of doing anything to protect them. The administration's promises are lies and a question emerges: what does the future hold for non-Muslims in those countries where the logic of violence dominates ".
For some time the Christian community in northern Iraq has been a victim of kidnapping for extortion and caught up in a war between Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds to gain power and control over huge oil fields contained in the subsoil. In a decade, estimates speak of a minority "more than halved" following the "biblical" exodus caused by the serial murders.
From 2003 to December 2011, the date of complete withdrawal of U.S. troops, 4,550 U.S. soldiers have died and 300 allies. However, the real carnage regards the Iraqi civilian population, which has around 100 thousand casualties since the war began. On 20 March, on the ninth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, a series of attacks - at least 20 explosions, which also targeted a Syrian Orthodox church in Baghdad over 40 people were killed and dozens injured.
SOURCE http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Mosul:-more-Christian-blood,-45-year-old-photographer-killed-24314.html
AUSTRALIA : PRIESTS RETIREMENT MEETING
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese
REPORT
23 Mar 2012
A number of retired priests or priests considering retirement
within the Archdiocese of Sydney had the opportunity to "network" today when
they were hosted by the Priests' Retirement Foundation and Cardinal George Pell.
The Foundation is committed to the care of priests in their retirement and today, between swapping yarns and catching up with old friends, they had the opportunity to hear and ask about everything from property matters to health programs. It was also important for the Foundation to gauge feedback including ways support could perhaps be enhanced.
There are about seventy retired priests in the Archdiocese. With a number more due to retire in the near future the Foundation wants everyone of them to feel assured they will do so with dignity.
23 Mar 2012
Cardinal George Pell welcomed the retired
priests
The Foundation is committed to the care of priests in their retirement and today, between swapping yarns and catching up with old friends, they had the opportunity to hear and ask about everything from property matters to health programs. It was also important for the Foundation to gauge feedback including ways support could perhaps be enhanced.
There are about seventy retired priests in the Archdiocese. With a number more due to retire in the near future the Foundation wants everyone of them to feel assured they will do so with dignity.
EUROPE : GREAT BRITAIN : SUBWAY STATIONS OF THE CROSS
CATHOLIC
HERALD REPORT:
By Miguel
Cullen on Thursday, 22 March 2012
Two pages from the
booklet
Commuters forced to ponder the inscrutable workings of
London Underground’s Circle Line were this week offered a new diversion. An
anonymous artist has designed a pamphlet depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross
and has arranged them so they sit alongside stations of the Tube line.
“Jesus is Condemned to Death” occurs at Westminster and St James Park, and “Jesus Falls For the Second Time” at Monument and Notting Hill Gate. The skilful and intriguing paper-cut illustrations are collected in a pamphlet called Stations of the King’s Cross. The pictures will be exhibited in St Mary’s Church, Somers Town, in north London.
The artist, who wanted to be anonymous, said he had been handing the pamphlets out around London. He said: “It would be great if the wonder of the human imagination was acknowledged and encouraged more within the Church. Read the letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists [1999]. He has such clear ideas about the importance of art to human society. [As he says] ‘The human craftsman mirrors the image of God as Creator’.”
In the pamphlet, the pictures are called “just a little idea for those Circle Line passengers who believe that pondering on the enormous mystery of Christ’s death [and mysterious enormity of His love] could be a good thing”.
The images bring to mind the fashionable paper-cuts of artists like Rob Ryan, who set up a residency at Somerset House in 2010.
The artist, however, said that a series of Jianzhi pandas, given to him by his mother when he was eight, was his inspiration.
SHARED FROM http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/03/22/stations-of-the-cross-adapted-to-circle-line/
“Jesus is Condemned to Death” occurs at Westminster and St James Park, and “Jesus Falls For the Second Time” at Monument and Notting Hill Gate. The skilful and intriguing paper-cut illustrations are collected in a pamphlet called Stations of the King’s Cross. The pictures will be exhibited in St Mary’s Church, Somers Town, in north London.
The artist, who wanted to be anonymous, said he had been handing the pamphlets out around London. He said: “It would be great if the wonder of the human imagination was acknowledged and encouraged more within the Church. Read the letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists [1999]. He has such clear ideas about the importance of art to human society. [As he says] ‘The human craftsman mirrors the image of God as Creator’.”
In the pamphlet, the pictures are called “just a little idea for those Circle Line passengers who believe that pondering on the enormous mystery of Christ’s death [and mysterious enormity of His love] could be a good thing”.
The images bring to mind the fashionable paper-cuts of artists like Rob Ryan, who set up a residency at Somerset House in 2010.
The artist, however, said that a series of Jianzhi pandas, given to him by his mother when he was eight, was his inspiration.
SHARED FROM http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/03/22/stations-of-the-cross-adapted-to-circle-line/
AFRICA : MADAGASCAR : DAMAGE FROM CYCLONES
Agenzia
Fides report - The meeting of the Council of Priests of the Diocese of Moramanga
ended yesterday, March 22, during which the pastors of the eight district
missionaries of the diocese reported the latest news about the damage caused by
the passage of two cyclones, Giovanna and Irina, which recently devastated the
country (see Fides 14,16,17,20/02/2012). Even Pope Benedict XVI had launched an
appeal for Madagascar at the Angelus on Sunday, March 11 (see Fides
12,13/03/2012). Mgr. Gaetano Di Pierro, Bishop of Moramanga, says to Fides that
the overall picture reports 8 deaths, 1009 people affected, 809 huts destroyed
(the majority of the population lives in the forest huts, some with tin roofs),
14 schools destroyed, 42 churches were destroyed or badly damaged, 3 mission
dispensaries damaged, 80% of various kinds of crops destroyed. "We have assessed
the damages and this is the result" said the Bishop. "There would be need for
sheet metal roofs. The cost of a sheet is 10 euros: a quarter of the monthly
salary of one wage earner. At least 500 kg of seeds of rice, 200 kg of maize,
200 kg of legumes are required. This would be enough food for three months, at
least until the next harvest, for about fifty families - continues the Bishop -.
Also essential medicines for malaria and intestinal diseases are needed.
"Monsignor Di Pierro concluded by thanking all the friends who have prayed for
the people of his " beautiful country" Madagascar. (AP) (Agenzia Fides
23/3/2012)
TODAY'S SAINT : MARCH 23 : ST. TURIBIUS DE MOGROVEJO
St. Turibius de Mogrovejo
CONFESSOR, ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
Feast: March 23
 Information:
|
|
St Toribio, or Turibius Alphonsus Mogrobejo, was second son
to the lord of Mogrobejo, and born in the kingdom of Leon, on the 16th of
November, in 1538. From his infancy he discovered a strong inclination to piety;
and in his childhood it was his delight, at times of recreation, to erect and
adorn altars, and to serve the poor. He trembled at the very shadow of sin. One
day, seeing a poor peddler woman angry because she had lost something out of her
pack, he most movingly entreated and exhorted her that she would not offend God
by passion; and, in order to appease her, gave her the value of her loss, which
he had begged of his mother for that purpose. He was very devout to the Blessed
Virgin, said every day her office and rosary, and fasted every Saturday in her
honour. Whilst at school, he usually gave part of his slender dinner to the
poor, and was so much addicted to fasting that his superiors were obliged, by
strict commands, to compel him to moderate his austerities. He began his higher
studies at Valladolid, but completed them at Salamanca. He was introduced early
to the notice of King Philip II, honoured by him with several dignities, and
made president or chief judge at Granada. This office he discharged during five
years with so much integrity, prudence, and virtue that the eyes of the whole
kingdom were fixed on him, and his life in the world was a holy noviceship to
the pastoral charge. The pressing necessities of the infant church of Peru
required a prelate who inherited, in a distinguished manner, the spirit of the
apostles; and the archbishopric of Lima falling vacant, Turibius was unanimously
judged the person of all others the best qualified to be an apostle of so large
a country, and to remedy the scandals which obstructed the conversion of the
infidels. The king readily nominated him to that dignity, and all parties
concerned applauded the choice. Turibius was thunderstruck at this unexpected
news, and had no sooner received the message but he cast himself on the ground
at the foot of his crucifix, praying, with many tears, that God would deliver
him from so heavy a burden, which he thought absolutely above his strength. He
wrote the most urgent letters to the king's council, in which he pleaded his
incapacity, and other impediments, and laid great stress on the canons, which
forbid laymen to be promoted to such dignities in the church. This humility it
was that obtained the succor of heaven by which he performed wonders in the
service of souls. Being compelled by obedience to acquiesce, he at length
testified his submission by falling on his knees and kissing the
ground.
After a suitable preparation, he received the four minor
orders on four successive Sundays, the better to dispose himself for the
functions of each; and after passing through the other orders, he was
consecrated bishop. Immediately after which he set out for Peru, and landed at
Lima, in the year 1581, of his age the forty-third. That diocese is extended one
hundred and thirty leagues along the coast, comprising three cities and many
towns and villages, with innumerable cottages scattered over two ridges of the
mountains of the Andes, esteemed the highest and the most rugged in the whole
world. Some of the European generals, who first invaded that country were men
who seemed to measure every thing by their insatiable avarice and ambition, and
had so far lost all sentiments of humanity towards the poor savages, that they
deserved the name rather of tyrants and plunderers than of conquerors. Civil
wars and dissension completed the misfortune of that country; and covetousness,
cruelty, treachery, fraud, and debauchery seemed triumphant. Nor were the
repeated orders of the Spanish court able to redress these evils. The sight of
these disorders moved the good pastor often to tears, but his prudence and zeal
overcame all difficulties, extirpated public scandals, and made the kingdom a
flourishing portion of the Christian church. Upon his arrival, he immediately
began a visitation of his vast diocese- an undertaking of incredible fatigue,
and attended with many dangers. He often crept over the steepest and most rugged
mountains, covered with ice or snow, to visit some poor hut of Indians, and give
them suitable comfort and instruction. He travelled often on foot, and sometimes
barefoot, and by fasting and prayer never ceased to implore the divine mercy for
the salvation of the souls committed to his charge. He placed everywhere able
and zealous pastors, and took care that no one in the most remote corners of the
rocks should be left destitute of the means of instruction and of the benefit of
the sacraments. To settle and maintain discipline, he appointed diocesan synods
to be held every two years, and provincial synods every seven; and was vigilant
and severe in chastising the least scandal, especially of avarice, in the
clergy. Without respect of persons, he reproved injustice and vice, and made use
of all the means which his authority nut into his hands, to check the insolence
of public sinners, and to protect the poor from oppression. Many of the first
conquerors and governors of Peru, before the arrival of the most virtuous
viceroy Francis of Toledo, were men who often sacrificed every thing to their
passions, and for their private ends. From some of these the saint suffered many
persecutions, and was often thwarted by them in the discharge of his duty. But
by the arms of meekness and patience he overcame all affronts and injuries, and
with an invincible constancy he maintained the rights of justice and truth. He
showed that many sinners misconstrued the law of God to make it favour their
passions; but that, as Tertullian observes, "Christ calls himself the truth, not
custom," and will weigh our actions not in the false balance of the world, but
in the true scales of the sanctuary. Thus he extirpated the most inveterate
abuses, and established with so great fervour the pure maxims of the gospel, as
to revive in many the primitive spirit of Christianity. To extend and perpetuate
the advantages of religion, which by his zeal he had procured, he filled this
country with seminaries, churches, and many hospitals; but would never suffer
his own name to be recorded in any of his munificent charities or foundations.
When he was at Lima, he every day visited several hospitals, comforted and
exhorted the sick. and administered the sacraments. When a pestilence, though
that calamity is seldom known in Peru, raged in some parts of his diocese,
Turibius distributed his own necessaries in relieving the afflicted: he preached
penance, because sins are the cause of chastisements, and infinitely the worst
of evils. He walked in the processions, bathed in tears, with his eyes always
fixed on a crucifix, and offering himself to God for his flock; fasted, watched,
and prayed for them without intermission, till God was pleased to remove the
scourge.
Nothing gave the saint so much pleasure as the greatest
labours and dangers, to procure the least spiritual advantage to one soul.
Burning with the most vehement desire of laying down his life for his flock, and
of suffering all things for him who died for us, he feared no dangers. When he
heard that poor Indians wandered in the mountains and deserts, he sought them
out; and to comfort, instruct, or gain one of them he often suffered incredible
fatigues and dangers in the wildernesses, and boldly travelled through the
haunts of lions and tigers.1 He spent seven years in performing his first
visitation; his second employed him four years, but the third was shorter. He
converted innumerable infidels, and left everywhere monuments of his charity. In
travelling, he either prayed or discoursed on heavenly things.. On his arrival
at a place, it was his custom to repair first to the church to pray before the
altar. To catechise the poor, he would sometimes stay two or three days in
places where he had neither bed nor any kind of food. He visited every part of
his vast diocese, and when others suggested to him the dangers that threatened
him from rocks, precipices, marshes, rivers, robbers, and savages, his answer
was that Christ came from heaven to save man, we ought not therefore to fear
dangers for the sake of immortal glory. He preached and catechised without
intermission, having for this purpose learned, in his old age, all the various
languages of the barbarous nations of that country. Even on his journeys he said
mass every day with wonderful fervour and devotion. He always made a long
meditation before and after it, and usually went to confession every morning;
though they who best knew his interior testified that they were persuaded he had
never in his whole life forfeited his baptismal innocence by any mortal sin. He
seemed to have God and the divine honor alone before his eyes in all his words
and actions so as to give little or no attention to any thing else; by which
means his prayer was perpetual. He retired in private to that exercise often in
the day, and for a long time together. In it his countenance seemed often to
shine with a divine light. The care with which he studied to disguise and
conceal his great mortifications and works of piety, was the proof of his
sincere humility. His munificence in relieving the poor of every class,
especially those who were too bashful to make their necessities publicly known,
always exhausted his revenues. The decrees of his provincial councils are
monuments of his zeal, piety, learning, and discretion: they have been ever
since esteemed, not only in the new world, but also in Europe, and at Rome
itself, as oracles. The flourishing state of the church of Peru, the great
numbers of saints and eminent pastors with which it abounded, and the
establishment of innumerable seminaries of piety and learning, and hospitals for
the poor, were the fruit of his zeal. If he did not originally plant the faith,
he was at least the great propagator of it, and the chief instrument of God in
removing scandals and advancing true piety in that vast country, which till then
had been a land of abominations: whilst Francis of Toledo, the great viceroy,
first settled the civil government in peace and tranquillity by salutary laws,
which have procured him the title of the Legislator of Peru. St. Turibius, in
the sixty-eighth year of his age, in 1606 during the visitation of his diocese,
fell sick at Santa, a town one hundred and ten leagues distant from Lima. He
foretold his death, and ordered him to be rewarded who should bring him the
first account from his physician that his recovery was despaired of. The ardour
of his faith, his hope, his love of his Creator and Redeemer, his resignation,
and perfect sacrifice of himself, gathered strength in the fervent exercises and
aspirations which he repeated almost without ceasing in his illness. By his last
will he ordered what he had about him to be distributed among his servants, and
whatever else he otherwise possessed to be given to the poor. He would be
carried to the church, there to receive the holy Viaticum, but received extreme
unction in his sick bed. He often repeated those words of St. Paul, ; and in his last moments he ordered
to be sung by his bedside those of the Psalmist, He died on the
23rd of March, repeating those other words of the same prophet,
A pastor of souls must be careful to animate all his
exterior actions and labours in the service of his neighbour with the interior
spirit of compunction, humility, zeal, charity, and tender devotion. Without
this he loses the fruit of all the pains he takes, and by them will often
deserve only chastisements in the world to come; so much will his intention and
the affections of his heart be infected with self-love, and depraved by various
imperfections, and secret sinister desires, even in the most holy functions.
Therefore, a fervent noviciate, employed in the exercises of an interior life,
ought to be a part of the preparation for this state; and in the discharge of
his duties, a person ought always to unite contemplation with action, and
reserve to himself sufficient-time for conversing with God and his own soul, and
taking a frequent review of his own interior. From his labors he must return
frequently to prayer, and constantly nourish in his soul a spirit of fervent
devotion, which will thus accompany all his exterior actions and keep his
thoughts and affections always united to God. Those who are not faithful in thus
maintaining and improving in themselves an interior spirit of piety, and in
watching with fear and compunction over the motions of their own hearts, will
generally advance very little the kingdom of Christ in the souls of others, and
are in great danger of losing their own. This is what St. Bernard feared in his
disciple Pope Eugenius III, whom he conjured with tears never to give himself up
entirely to the care of others, so as not to live also for himself; so to
communicate a spirit of piety to others, as not to suffer it to be drained in
his own heart; to be a basin to hold it, not a pipe for it to run through. This
lesson is applicable, with due proportion, to other states, especially that of
teaching the sciences, in which the exercises of an interior life are so much
the more necessary, as the employment is more distracting, more tumultuous, and
more exposed to the waves of vanity, jealousy, and other secret petty
passions.
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source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/T/stturibiusdemogrovejo.asp#ixzz1pudK1KRx
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