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Saint John Baptist de La Salle

Complete dedication to what he saw as God’s will for him dominated the life of John Baptist de La Salle. In 1950, Pope Pius XII named him patron of schoolteachers for his efforts in upgrading school instruction. As a young 17th-century Frenchman, John had everything going for him: scholarly bent, good looks, noble family background, money, refined upbringing. At the early age of 11, he received the tonsure and started preparation for the priesthood, to which he was ordained at 27. He seemed assured then of a life of dignified ease and a high position in the Church.

But God had other plans for John, which were gradually revealed to him in the next several years. During a chance meeting with Monsieur Adrien Nyel, he became interested in the creation of schools for poor boys in Rheims, where he was stationed. Though the work was extremely distasteful to him at first, he became more involved in working with the deprived youths.

Once convinced that this was his divinely appointed mission, John threw himself wholeheartedly into the work, left home and family, abandoned his position as canon at Rheims, gave away his fortune, and reduced himself to the level of the poor to whom he devoted his entire life.

The remainder of his life was closely entwined with the community of religious men he founded, the Brothers of the Christian School (also called Christian Brothers or De La Salle Brothers). This community grew rapidly and was successful in educating boys of poor families, using methods designed by John. It prepared teachers in the first training college for teachers and also set up homes and schools for young delinquents of wealthy families. The motivating element in all these endeavors was the desire to become a good Christian.

Yet even in his success, John did not escape experiencing many trials: heart-rending disappointment and defections among his disciples, bitter opposition from the secular schoolmasters who resented his new and fruitful methods, and persistent opposition from the Jansenists of his time, whose moral rigidity and pessimism about the human condition John resisted vehemently all his life.

Afflicted with asthma and rheumatism in his last years, he died on Good Friday at age 68, and was canonized in 1900.

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-baptist-de-la-salle/

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2 Corinthians 12:9

Daily Reflections, Verse

Verse:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Spirit of wisdom and understanding, enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries of the universe in relation to eternity. Spirit of right judgment and courage, guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision to follow Jesus' way of love. Spirit of knowledge and reverence, help us to see the lasting value of justice and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another. May we respect life as we work to solve problems of family and nation, economy and ecology. Spirit of God, spark our faith, hope and love into new action each day. Fill our lives with wonder and awe in your presence which penetrates all creation. Amen.

Sources:

https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayeroftheday/?select_date=2023-04-06

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Pope Sixtus I

Daily Saints

Pope Sixtus I was the bishop of Rome from c. 115 to his death. He succeeded Alexander I and was in turn succeeded by Telesphorus.

According to the Liberian Catalogue of popes, he served the Church during the reign of Hadrian “from the consulate of Niger and Apronianus until that of Verus III and Ambibulus”, that is, from 117 to 126.

Like most of his predecessors, Sixtus I was believed to have been buried near Peter’s grave on Vatican Hill, although there are differing traditions concerning where his body lies today.

Pope Sixtus I instituted several Catholic liturgical and administrative traditions. According to the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, I.128), he passed the following three ordinances:

That none but sacred ministers are allowed to touch the sacred vessels;
That bishops who have been summoned to the Holy See shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on presenting Apostolic letters;
That after the Preface in the Mass, the priest shall recite the Sanctus with the people

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sixtus_I
George L. Williams (2004). Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes. p. 9. ISBN 9780786420711.
"Pope St. Sixtus I". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1912.

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Saint Vincent Ferrer

Daily Saints

Saint Vincent Ferrer was a Valencian Dominican friar and preacher, who gained acclaim as a missionary and a logician. He is honored as a saint of the Catholic Church and other churches of Catholic traditions.

Saint Vincent Ferrer began his classical studies at the age of eight, and his study of theology and philosophy at fourteen. Four years later, at the age of eighteen, Ferrer entered the Order of Preachers, commonly called the Dominican Order. As soon as he had entered the novitiate of the Order, though, he experienced temptations urging him to leave. He prayed and practiced penance to overcome these trials. Thus he succeeded in completing the year of probation and advancing to his profession.

For a period of three years, he read solely Sacred Scripture and eventually committed it to memory. He published a treatise on Dialectic Suppositions after his solemn profession, and in 1379 was ordained a Catholic priest at Barcelona. He eventually became a Master of Sacred Theology and was commissioned by the Order to deliver lectures on philosophy. He was then sent to Barcelona and eventually to the University of Lleida, where he earned his doctorate in theology.

He preached to Colette of Corbie and her nuns, and it was she who told him that he would die in France. Too ill to return to Spain, he did, indeed, die in Brittany in 1419. Breton fishermen still invoke his aid in storms, and in Spain he is the patron of orphanages.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Ferrer
"Archdiocesan Shrine & Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer". www.facebook.com
"Sant Vicent Ferrer, patró de l'antic Regne de València", by Àngel Canet Català, Vilaweb, 31 March 2008, reprinted in Normalització, (in Catalan). The author of this article references El gran llibre dels sants, by Roger Costa Solé, Ara Llibres, Barcelona, 2007, as his source. Consulted 2016-12-18.
Dress, Clayton J. The Late Medieval Age of Crisis and Renewal, 1300–1500: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 0-313-30588-9. (p. 490)

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Habakkuk 3:19

Daily Reflections, Verse

Verse:

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” - Habakkuk 3:19

Prayer for Strength and Healing

Great Healer and Physician, I ask for strength during the healing process in which I am undergoing. Although I know you are the Great Healer, these times are never easy to partake in. Remind me of all the times you have healed my hurting in the past and give me strength to endure now. Amen.

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Matthew 6:6

Daily Reflections, Verse

Verse:

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” - Matthew 6:6

A Prayer for Peace

Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed, kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and guide with Your pure and peaceable wisdom those who make decisions for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility Your kingdom may go forward, till the earth be filled with the knowledge of Your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Sources:

https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=1695

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Saint Isidore of Seville

Daily Saints

The 76 years of Isidore’s life were a time of conflict and growth for the Church in Spain. The Visigoths had invaded the land a century and a half earlier, and shortly before Isidore’s birth they set up their own capital. They were Arians—Christians who said Christ was not God. Thus, Spain was split in two: One people (Catholic Romans) struggled with another (Arian Goths).

Isidore reunited Spain, making it a center of culture and learning. The country served as a teacher and guide for other European countries whose culture was also threatened by barbarian invaders.

Born in Cartagena of a family that included three other sibling saints—Leander, Fulgentius and Florentina—he was educated by his elder brother, whom he succeeded as bishop of Seville.

An amazingly learned man, he was sometimes called “The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages” because the encyclopedia he wrote was used as a textbook for nine centuries. He required seminaries to be built in every diocese, wrote a Rule for religious orders, and founded schools that taught every branch of learning. Isidore wrote numerous books, including a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a history of Goths, and a history of the world—beginning with creation! He completed the Mozarabic liturgy, which is still in use in Toledo, Spain. For all these reasons, Isidore has been suggested as patron of the Internet. Several others—including Anthony of Padua—also have been suggested.

He continued his austerities even as he approached age 80. During the last six months of his life, he increased his charities so much that his house was crowded from morning till night with the poor of the countryside.

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-isidore-of-seville/

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1 John 5:21

Daily Reflections, Verse

Verse:

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” - 1 John 5:21

A Prayer for Friends and Benefactors

O God, bountiful in forgiving,
and lovingly desirous of man's salvation,
we humbly beseech Thy mercy in behalf of our friends,
relations and benefactors,
who have passed from this world, that,
through the intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin
and all the Saints,
Thou wouldst permit them to come
to the full participation of everlasting happiness.
Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Sources:

https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=757

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Saint Richard of Chichester

Daily Saints

Saint Richard of Chichester, born in Burford, near the town of Wyche, was also known as Richard de Wych. He was an orphan member of a gentry family. According to biographers, friends tried to arrange a match with a certain noble lady for Saint Richard. However, Saint Richard rejected the proposed match, suggesting that his brother might marry her instead; he also reconveyed the estates back to his brother, preferring a life of study and the church.

Educated at the University of Oxford, Richard soon began to teach in the university. From there he proceeded to Paris and then Bologna, where he distinguished himself by his proficiency in canon law. On returning to England in 1235, Richard was elected Oxford’s chancellor.

His former tutor, Edmund of Abingdon, had become archbishop of Canterbury. In 1237, Archbishop Edmund appointed Richard chancellor of the diocese of Canterbury. Saint Richard joined the archbishop during his exile at Pontigny, and was with him when the archbishop died circa 1240. He then decided to become a priest and studied theology for two years with the Dominicans at Orléans. Upon returning to England, Richard became the parish priest at Charing and at Deal, but soon was reappointed chancellor of Canterbury by the new archbishop Boniface of Savoy.

In 1244 Richard was elected Bishop of Chichester. Henry III and part of the chapter refused to accept him, the king favouring the candidature of Robert Passelewe. But Innocent IV confirmed Richard’s election and consecrated him bishop at Lyons in March 1245.

Saint Richard’s private life was supposed to have displayed rigid frugality and temperance. He kept his diet simple and rigorously excluded animal flesh; having been a vegetarian since his days at Oxford. He was also merciless to usurers, corrupt clergy and priests who mumbled the Mass. He was also a stickler for clerical privilege.

After dedicating St Edmund’s Chapel at Dover, he died aged 56 at the Maison Dieu, Dover. Saint Richard of Chichester is the patron saint of Sussex in southern England.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_of_Chichester
Greenway. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 5: pp. 1-6.
Lower. The Worthies of Sussex. p. 242

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At the Procession with Psalms – Gospel

Daily Reflections, Gosples & Readings

Mt 21:1-11

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,
"Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me.
And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,
'The master has need of them.'
Then he will send them at once."
This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Say to daughter Zion,
"Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."
The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.
They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them,
and he sat upon them.
The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,
while others cut branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road.
The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
"Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest."
And when he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"
And the crowds replied,
"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."

At the Mass - Reading I

Is 50:4-7

The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Response– My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

All who see me scoff at me;
they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:
“He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,
let him rescue him, if he loves him.”
R– My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Indeed, many dogs surround me,
a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.
R– My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

They divide my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, be not far from me;
O my help, hasten to aid me.
R– My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
“You who fear the LORD, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him;
revere him, all you descendants of Israel!”
R– My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Second Reading: Phil 2:6-11

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Verse Before the Gospel: Phil 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.

Gospel: Mt 26:14–27:66

Verse Before the Gospel: Phil 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040223.cfm

At the Procession with Psalms – Gospel Read More »

Author name: sanjose

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Prayer to the Holy Spirit

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Prayer for Strength and Healing

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A Prayer for Peace

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A Prayer for Friends and Benefactors

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Mt 21:1-11

At the Mass - Reading I

Is 50:4-7

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Second Reading: Phil 2:6-11

Gospel: Mt 26:14–27:66

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from:

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