2016
#PopeFrancis "Jesus, who is near us, extends his hand and says, “Come..." #Jubilee - FULL TEXT - Video
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his special Jubilee Audience for the month of June in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday,
Below, please find a Vatican Radio English translation of the Pope’s Audience address:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to the disciples before ascending to the glory of the Father. The Gospel passage which we just heard (Luke 24,45-48) tells of one of these apparitions, in which the Lord points out the fundamental content of the message which the apostles will offer to the world. We can synthesize it with two words: “conversion” and “forgiveness of sins”. These are two qualifying aspects of the mercy of God, which takes care of us in love. Today we shall consider conversion.
This theme is present through the Bible and, in a special way, in the preaching of the prophets, who continually invite the people to “return to the Lord” asking them to forgive and change their style of life. Conversion, according to the prophets, means changing direction and turning anew to the Lord, trusting that He loves us and that His love is always faithful.
Jesus made conversion the first word of his preaching: “Convert, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1,15). It is with this proclamation that He presents Himself to the people, asking them to accept his word as the final and definitive word of the Father for humanity (cf. Mark 12,1-11). Compared to the preaching of the prophets, Jesus insists even more on the interior dimension of conversion. Indeed, the entire person is involved in it, heart and mind, in order to become a new creature.
When Jesus calls to conversion, he does not set himself up as judge of persons, but he calls from a position of nearness, because he shares in the human condition, and calls from the street, from the home, from the table… Mercy towards those who needed to change their lives took place through his lovable presence so as to involve each person in his salvation history. With this way of being, Jesus touched the depth of people’s hearts and they felt attracted by the love of God and invited to change their life. For example, the conversion of Matthew (cf. Matthew 9,9-13) and of Zacchaeus (cf. Luke 19,1-10) happened in exactly this manner, because they felt loved by Jesus and, through Him, by the Father. True conversion happens when we accept the gift of grace, and a clear sign of its authenticity is when we become aware of the needs of our brothers and are ready to draw near to them.
Dear brothers and sisters, how many times have we also felt the need to effect a change which would involve our entire person! How many times do we say to ourselves: “I need to change, I can’t continue this way. My life on this path will not give fruit; it will be a useless life and I won’t be happy.” How often these thoughts come! And Jesus, who is near us, extends his hand and says, “Come, come to me. I’ll do the work: I’ll change your heart, I’ll change your life, I will make you happy.” But do we believe this, yes or no? What do you think: do you believe this or not? Less applause and more voice! Do you believe or not? ‘Yes!’ So it is. Jesus who is with us invites us to change our life. It is He, with the Holy Spirit, who seeds in us the this restlessness to change life and be a little better.Let us follow, therefore, this invitation of the Lord and let us not put up resistance, because only if we open ourselves to mercy will we find true life and true joy. (Devin Sean Watkins)
Below, please find a Vatican Radio English translation of the Pope’s Audience address:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to the disciples before ascending to the glory of the Father. The Gospel passage which we just heard (Luke 24,45-48) tells of one of these apparitions, in which the Lord points out the fundamental content of the message which the apostles will offer to the world. We can synthesize it with two words: “conversion” and “forgiveness of sins”. These are two qualifying aspects of the mercy of God, which takes care of us in love. Today we shall consider conversion.
This theme is present through the Bible and, in a special way, in the preaching of the prophets, who continually invite the people to “return to the Lord” asking them to forgive and change their style of life. Conversion, according to the prophets, means changing direction and turning anew to the Lord, trusting that He loves us and that His love is always faithful.
Jesus made conversion the first word of his preaching: “Convert, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1,15). It is with this proclamation that He presents Himself to the people, asking them to accept his word as the final and definitive word of the Father for humanity (cf. Mark 12,1-11). Compared to the preaching of the prophets, Jesus insists even more on the interior dimension of conversion. Indeed, the entire person is involved in it, heart and mind, in order to become a new creature.
When Jesus calls to conversion, he does not set himself up as judge of persons, but he calls from a position of nearness, because he shares in the human condition, and calls from the street, from the home, from the table… Mercy towards those who needed to change their lives took place through his lovable presence so as to involve each person in his salvation history. With this way of being, Jesus touched the depth of people’s hearts and they felt attracted by the love of God and invited to change their life. For example, the conversion of Matthew (cf. Matthew 9,9-13) and of Zacchaeus (cf. Luke 19,1-10) happened in exactly this manner, because they felt loved by Jesus and, through Him, by the Father. True conversion happens when we accept the gift of grace, and a clear sign of its authenticity is when we become aware of the needs of our brothers and are ready to draw near to them.
Dear brothers and sisters, how many times have we also felt the need to effect a change which would involve our entire person! How many times do we say to ourselves: “I need to change, I can’t continue this way. My life on this path will not give fruit; it will be a useless life and I won’t be happy.” How often these thoughts come! And Jesus, who is near us, extends his hand and says, “Come, come to me. I’ll do the work: I’ll change your heart, I’ll change your life, I will make you happy.” But do we believe this, yes or no? What do you think: do you believe this or not? Less applause and more voice! Do you believe or not? ‘Yes!’ So it is. Jesus who is with us invites us to change our life. It is He, with the Holy Spirit, who seeds in us the this restlessness to change life and be a little better.Let us follow, therefore, this invitation of the Lord and let us not put up resistance, because only if we open ourselves to mercy will we find true life and true joy. (Devin Sean Watkins)
#Quote to SHARE by #MotherTeresa “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” ― Mother Teresa
#PopeFrancis “life has been touched from the personal and merciful love of Jesus Christ" to #Laity at Plenary Assembly
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis wants to see the laity more and more involved in the Church’s mission to evangelize in light of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. The Pope made that affirmation in an address Friday to participants of the last Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity ahead of the reform process that will bundle the department together with the Council for the Family and the Academy for Life.
As one phase comes to a close, a new horizon opens for the mission of the laity in the Church, Francis told participants at Friday’s audience. In this, the last plenary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Pope began by thanking those who have worked in this institution of the Curia for their commitment. The Council was set up after the Second Vatican Council with the blessings of Pope Paul VI.
No to lay people acting on "proxy" of the hierarchy
The Pope recalled the many fruits born over the last 50 years in the context of the laity: World Youth Day, "providential gesture of St. John Paul II", the appearance of new lay associations and the growing role of women in the Church:
"We can say, therefore, that the mandate you have received from the Council was precisely to 'push' the lay faithful to get more and more involved and, better at it, in the evangelizing mission of the Church, not as 'delegates' of the hierarchy, but because [the lay] apostolate [means] 'participation in the salvific mission of the Church, to which all are disciples of the Lord through Baptism and Confirmation'. It is Baptism that makes every lay faithful a missionary disciple of the Lord, salt of the earth, light of the world, yeast that transforms reality from within.
New challenges require reform, sign of renewed confidence in laity
In light of the progress made thus far, the Pope then said "it is time to look again to the future with hope." The reality, he noted, brings new challenges and the idea to amalgamate the dicastery for the Laity with the Pontifical Council for the Family and with the Academy for Life came about in response to the need to reform the Holy See’s Curial offices.
"I invite you to welcome this reform, which will see you involved, as a sign of appreciation and esteem for the work you do, and as a sign of renewed confidence in the vocation and mission of the laity in the Church today,” the Pope said.
As it navigates new waters, the new department, he noted, will have as its 'helm' the 1988 Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici, Evangelii gaudium and Amoris laetitia, all papal documents which have focused on the family and the defense of life.
Reach out to the remote and needy
In the context of the Jubilee of Mercy, he continued, the Church is called to be "permanently going out" and to be an "evangelizing community" which "knows how to take the initiative without fear, to meet, seek out those who are distant and to come out to the crossroads to welcome the excluded."
The Church and the laity, Pope Francis said, need to be outward–looking – seeking out “the many families in trouble and in need of mercy, the many fields of apostolate still unexplored, the many good-hearted and generous lay people who would willingly put at the service of the Gospel their energy, their time, their skills if they were [encouraged to get] involved, and valued and accompanied with affection and dedication on the part of pastors and church institutions. "
We need lay people who look to the future and are willing to get their hands dirty
"We need well-trained lay people animated by a sincere and limpid faith,” the Pope said. Those whose “life has been touched from the personal and merciful love of Jesus Christ":
"We need lay people who take risks, who dirty their hands, who are not afraid to make mistakes,” he continued. “We need lay people with vision of the future, not [preoccupied] with the little things of life. And I said to the young people: we need lay people with the flavor of life’s experiences, who are animated by dreams. "
"Today,” the Pope concluded, “is the time when young people need the dreams of the elderly" so that they can have "the ability to dream," and so that they can give us "the power of the new apostolic visions".
Saint June 18 : Venerable Matt Talbot - Patron of #Alcoholics
Matt Talbot was born on the 2nd May 1856 at 13, Aldborough Court in the Parish of St. Agatha, Dublin, Ireland. Matt was one of Dublin's poor he lived in a tenement, wore second hand cloths, died in a laneway and was buried in a pauper's grave. Coming from such a deprived background and with an alcoholic father and a family history of neglect and poverty, Matt found himself sucked into the culture of addiction and to the only choice of drug available to the poor of his day alcohol. Matt like so many others embraced alcohol as a means of escape from the misery and poverty of daily life.
Today we live in an age of addictions more sophisticated perhaps than those of Matt's day, addictions to substances such as alcohol and other drugs soft or hard, prescription or illegal, addictions to gambling, pornography and the internet, addictions to work, professional advancement, sex, money and power. All these have the ability to destroy our lives and like demons even our very souls as well.
Matt Talbot gradually came to this awareness and from the time of his conversion as a young man of 28, he spent the rest of his life living to a heroic extent the Christian virtues through prayer, spiritual reading, work and acts of charity. For three months, Talbot decided to make a general confession and begin to attend daily Mass. The first seven years after taking the starting were especially difficult. He avoided his former drinking places. He began to pray. He paid back people from whom he had borrowed or stolen money. He joined the Secular Franciscan Order with strict penance; he abstained from meat nine months a year. Matt read Scripture and the lives of the saints every day. He prayed the rosary daily. Matt sets before us a radical example which demonstrates that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. His life is a witness to the fact that people can by God's grace and their own self acceptance say no to that which leads to addiction or addictive behaviors.
Trinity Sunday the 7th June was the hottest day of a heat wave that had gripped the country since the previous week. Matt as usual had attended the 5.30am Mass in Gardiner St. and went to Holy Communion with the men of his Sodality at 8.00am Mass after Mass he returned to Rutland Street to have his usual meagre breakfast, one of his neighbours thought he looked poorly and advised him to take a little rest. Matt admitted that he was feeling a little weak but a half an hour later Matt came down again; he smiled at his neighbour, said he felt all right and was going on to the 10am Mass in Dominick Street. Dominican Church He always hurried to Mass. Around two sides of Mountjoy Square, along Gardiner Place, past Belvedere College, down Gardiner Row and along the North side of Parnell Square he was now just a few minutes away from his goal, the Dominican Church. Turning into Granby Lane, a short cut to the Church, he stumbled and collapsed. Passers by came to his aid people coming from an earlier Mass in Dominick called for a priest, a nurse and a Guard were on the scene. An eye witness account from Noel Carroll, who was a young boy at the time, recalls how his father who was manager of a chemist's shop at Bolton Street, would generally attend the 10am Mass on Sunday mornings in Dominick Street.
Prayer to Venerable Matt Talbot
Asking Matt's Help in the Presence of the Lord Gentle Matt, I turn to you in my present needs and ask for the help of your prayers. Trusting in you, I am confident your charitable and understanding heart will make my petitions your own. I believe that you are truly powerful in the presence of Divine Mercy. If it be for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the honour of Mary, our Mother and Queen and the deepening of my relationship with them, show that your goodness towards me, in my daily struggles, equals your influence with the Holy Spirit, who is hidden and at home in my Heart. Friend of pity, friend of power, hear, oh hear me in this hour, gentle Matt, please pray for me.
Edited from http://www.matttalbot.ie/
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Sat. June 18, 2016
Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 370
Reading 12 CHR 24:17-25
After the death of Jehoiada,
the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joash,
and the king then listened to them.
They forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers,
and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols;
and because of this crime of theirs,
wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.
Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the LORD,
the people would not listen to their warnings.
Then the Spirit of God possessed Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada the priest.
He took his stand above the people and said to them:
“God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the LORD’s commands,
so that you cannot prosper?
Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’”
But they conspired against him,
and at the king’s order they stoned him to death
in the court of the LORD’s temple.
Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him
by Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, and slew his son.
And as Zechariah was dying, he said, AMay the LORD see and avenge.”
At the turn of the year a force of Arameans came up against Joash.
They invaded Judah and Jerusalem,
did away with all the princes of the people,
and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
Though the Aramean force came with few men,
the LORD surrendered a very large force into their power,
because Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers.
So punishment was meted out to Joash.
After the Arameans had departed from him,
leaving him in grievous suffering,
his servants conspired against him
because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest.
He was buried in the City of David,
but not in the tombs of the kings.
the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joash,
and the king then listened to them.
They forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers,
and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols;
and because of this crime of theirs,
wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.
Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the LORD,
the people would not listen to their warnings.
Then the Spirit of God possessed Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada the priest.
He took his stand above the people and said to them:
“God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the LORD’s commands,
so that you cannot prosper?
Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’”
But they conspired against him,
and at the king’s order they stoned him to death
in the court of the LORD’s temple.
Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him
by Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, and slew his son.
And as Zechariah was dying, he said, AMay the LORD see and avenge.”
At the turn of the year a force of Arameans came up against Joash.
They invaded Judah and Jerusalem,
did away with all the princes of the people,
and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
Though the Aramean force came with few men,
the LORD surrendered a very large force into their power,
because Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers.
So punishment was meted out to Joash.
After the Arameans had departed from him,
leaving him in grievous suffering,
his servants conspired against him
because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest.
He was buried in the City of David,
but not in the tombs of the kings.
Responsorial PsalmPS 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
I will make his posterity endure forever
and his throne as the days of heaven.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“If his sons forsake my law
and walk not according to my ordinances,
If they violate my statutes
and keep not my commands.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with stripes.
Yet my mercy I will not take from him,
nor will I belie my faithfulness.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
I will make his posterity endure forever
and his throne as the days of heaven.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“If his sons forsake my law
and walk not according to my ordinances,
If they violate my statutes
and keep not my commands.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with stripes.
Yet my mercy I will not take from him,
nor will I belie my faithfulness.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
Alleluia2 COR 8:9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 6:24-34
Jesus said to his disciples:“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
#Breaking Pope Francis helps 9 Syrian Refugees come to Rome!
(Vatican Radio) A group of nine Syrian refugees, including two Christians, arrived in Rome on Thursday from the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, following the visit of Pope Francis to the island on April 16, when he accompanied three families of refugees back to Rome. The Vatican Gendarmeria, with the help of Interior Ministry of Greece, the Greek Asylum Service, and the Community of Sant’Egidio, accompanied the refugees from Athens to Rome on Thursday. The Community of Sant’Egidio will provide for their housing, according to a statement from the Holy See Press Office. The refugees, six adults and three children, are all Syrian citizens who were in the Kara Tepe refugee camp. They had arrived in Lesbos from Turkey.
Saint June 18 : St. Elizabeth of Schoenau : Patron Against #Temptations : Abbess and Mystic
BENEDICTINE ABBESS AND MYSTIC
Feast: June 18
|
Information:
| Born about 1129; d. 18 June, 1165.-Feast 18 June. She was born of an obscure family, entered the double monastery of Schönau in Nassau at the age of twelve, received the Benedictine habit, made her profession in 1147, and in 1157 was superioress of the nuns under the Abbot Hildelin. After her death she was buried in the abbey church of St. Florin. When her writings were published the name of saint was added. She was never formally canonized, but in 1584 her name was entered in the Roman Martyrology and has remained there. Given to works of piety from her youth, much afflicted with bodily and mental suffering, a zealous observer of the Rule of St. Benedict and of the regulation of her convent, and devoted to practices of mortification, Elizabeth was favoured, from 1152, with ecstasies and visions of various kinds. These generally occurred on Sundays and Holy Days at Mass or Divine Office or after hearing or reading the lives of saints. Christ, His Blessed Mother, an angel, or the special saint of the day would appear to her and instruct her; or she would see quite realistic representations of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension, or other scenes of the Old and New Testaments. What she saw and heard she put down on wax tablets. Her abbot, Hildelin, told her to relate these things to her brother Egbert (Eckebert), then priest at the church of Bonn. At first she hesitated fearing lest she be deceived or be looked upon as a deceiver; but she obeyed. Egbert (who became a monk of Schönau in 1155 and succeeded Hildelin as second abbot) put everything in writing, later arranged the material at leisure, and then published all under his sister's name. Thus came into existence * three books of "Visions". Of these the first is written in language very simple and in unaffected style, so that it may easily pass as the work of Elizabeth. The other two are more elaborate and replete with theological terminology, so that they show more of the work of Egbert than of Elizabeth. * "Liber viarum Dei". This seems to be an imitation of the "Scivias" (scire vias Domini) of St. Hildegarde of Bingen, her friend and correspondent. It contains admonitions to all classes of society, to the clergy and laity, to the married and unmarried. Here the influence of Egbert is very plain. She utters prophetic threats of judgment against priests who are unfaithful shepherds of the flock of Christ, against the avarice and worldliness of the monks who only wear the garb of poverty and self-denial, against the vices of the laity, and against bishops and superiors delinquent in their duty; she urges all to combat earnestly the heresy of the Cathari; she declares Victor IV, the antipope supported by Frederick against Alexander III, as the one chosen of God. All of this appears in Egbert's own writings. * The revelation on the martyrdom of St. Ursula and her companions. This is full of fantastic exaggerations and anachronisms, but has become the foundation of the subsequent Ursula legends. There is a great diversity of opinion in regard to her revelations. The Church has never passed sentence upon them nor even examined them. Elizabeth herself was convinced of their supernatural character, as she states in a letter to Hildegarde; her brother held the same opinion; Trithemius considers them genuine; Eusebius Amort (De revelationibus visionibus et apparitionibus privatis regulae tutae, etc., Augsburg, 1744) holds them to be nothing more than what Elizabeth's own imagination could produce, or illusions of the devil, since in some things they disagree with history and with other revelations (Acta SS., Oct, IX, 81). A complete edition of her writings was made by F.W.E. Roth (Brunn, 1884); translations appeared in Italian (Venice, 1859), French (Tournai, 1864), and in Icelandic (1226-1254). (Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia) |
#PopeFrancis "And do not be afraid of mercy: mercy is God’s caress." FULL TEXT - New Mercy Video
Pope Francis made a special video on Mercy to help "Aid to the Church in Need" (ACN). The charity’s “Be God’s Mercy” initiative marking the Jubilee Year of Mercy was launched at a press conference.
Please find below a full English translation of the Pope's video message on behalf of the charity, ACN:
"I want to appeal to all men and women of good will all around the world for a work of mercy to be done in each town, in each diocese, in each association. We, men and women, need God’s mercy, but we also need each other’s mercy. We need to take each other’s hand, caress each other, take care of each other and not make so many wars. I am looking here at the dossier prepared by Kirche in Not, a papal foundation, to carry out works of mercy in the whole world. I trust Kirche in Not with this work… I also entrust them to carry on the spirit they have inherited from Father Werenfried van Straaten who had the vision at the right time to carry out in the world these gestures of closeness, of proximity, of goodness, of love and of mercy. So I invite all of you, together with Kirche in Not, to do, everywhere in the world, a work of mercy but one that stays, a permanent work of mercy; a structure for so many needs that there are today in the world. I thank you for everything you do. And do not be afraid of mercy: mercy is God’s caress."
Saint June 17 : St. Avitus : #Abbot : Died 530
ABBOT
Feast: June 17
Information:
| ST. AVITUS was a native of Orleans, and, retiring into Auvergne, took the monastic habit, together with St. Calais, in the abbey of Menat, at that time very small, though afterward enriched by Queen Brunehault, and by St. Boner, Bishop of Clermont. The two Saints soon after returned to Miscy, a famous abbey situated a league and a half below Orleans. It was founded toward the end of the reign of Clovis I. by St. Euspicius, a holy priest, honored on the 14th of June, and his nephew St. Maximin or Mesnim, whose name this monastery, which is now of the Cistercian Order, bears. Many call St. Maximin the first abbot, others St. Euspicius the first, St. Maximin the second, and St. Avitus the third. But our Saint and St. Calais made not a long stay at Miscy, though St. Maximin gave them a gracious reception. In quest of a closer retirement, St. Avitus, who had succeeded St. Maximin, soon after resigned the abbacy, and with St. Calais lived a recluse in the territory now called Dunois, on the frontiers of La Perche. Others joining them, St. Calais retired into a forest in Maine, and King Clotaire built a church and monastery for St. Avitus and his companions. This is at present a Benedictine nunnery, called St. Avy of Chateaudun, and is situated on the Loire, at the foot of the hill on which the town of Chateaudun is built, in the diocese of Chartres. Three famous monks, Leobin, afterwards Bishop of Chartres, Euphronius, and Rusticus, attended our Saint to his happy death, which happened about the year 530. His body was carried to Orleans, and buried with great pomp in that city.
(Taken from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler)
|
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment