February 9th - Blessed Alvarez of Cordova, OP (AC)
(Also known as Albaro)
Died c. 1430; cultus confirmed in 1741. Blessed Alvarez is claimed by both
Spain and ****tugal. He received the habit in the convent of Saint Paul in
Cordova in 1368, and had been preaching there for some time in Castile and
Andalusia when Saint Vincent Ferrer began preaching in Catalonia.
Having gone to Italy and the Holy Land on a pilgrimage, Alvarez returned
to
Castile and preached the crusade against the infidels. He was spiritual
advisor to the queen-mother of Spain, Catherine daughter of John of Gaunt,
and tutor to her son John II. Alvarez had the work of preparing the people
spiritually for the desperate effort to banish the Moors from Spain. He
also
opposed the Avignon pope Peter de Luna.
Blessed Alvarez is probably best remembered as a builder of churches and
convents, an activity which was symbolic of the work he did in the souls
of
those among whom he preached. He founded, in one place, a convent to
shelter
a famous image of Our Lady, which had been discovered in a miraculous
manner. Near Cordova he built the famous convent of Scala Coeli, a haven
of
regular observance. It had great influence for many years. His building
enterprises were often aided by the angels, who, during the night, carried
wood and stones to spots convenient for the workmen.
The austerities of Alvarez were all the more remarkable in that they were
not performed by a hermit, but by a man of action. He spent the night in
prayer, as Saint Dominic had done; he wore a hair****rt and a penitential
chain; and he begged alms in the streets of Cordova for the building of
his
churches, despite the fact that he had great favor at court and could have
obtained all the money he needed from the queen. He had a deep devotion to
the Passion, and had scenes of the Lord's sufferings made into small
oratories in the garden of Scala Coeli.
On one occasion, when there was no food for the community but one head of
lettuce left from the night before, Blessed Alvarez called the community
together in the refectory, said the customary prayers, and sent the ****ter
to the gate. There the astonished brother found a stranger, leading a
mule;
the mule was loaded with bread, fish, wine, and all things needed for a
good
meal. The ****ter turned to thank the benefactor and found that he had
disappeared.
At another time, Blessed Alvarez was overcome with pity at a dying man who
lay untended in the street. Wrapping the man in his mantle, he started
home
with the sufferer, and one of the brothers asked what he was carrying. "A
poor sick man," replied Alvarez. But when they opened the mantle, there
was
only a large crucifix in his arms. This crucifix is still preserved at
Scala
Coeli.
Blessed Alvarez died and was buried at Scala Coeli. An attempt was made
later to remove the relics to Cordova, but it could not be done, because
violent storms began each time the journey was resumed, and stopped when
the
body was returned to its original resting place.
A bell in the chapel of Blessed Alvarez, in the convent of Cordova, rings
of
itself when anyone in the convent, or of special note in the order, is
about
to die (Benedictines, Dorcy).
Saint Quote:
There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life
as anger and impatience.
-Saint Catherine of Sienna
Bible Verse
The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The
LORD
is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in
truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear
their cry, and will save them.
-Psalm 145:17-19
<><><><>
When Macarius was returning one day to his cell, he met the devil,
who, with a scythe in his hand, tried to cut him in pieces. But he could
not
do it, because as soon as he came near, he lost his strength. Then, full
of
rage, he said, "Great misery do I suffer from thee, O Macanus; for, though
I
wish so much to hurt thee, I am not able. It is strange! I do all that
thou
doest, and even more; thou dost fast sometimes, and I never eat; thou
sleepest little, and I never close my eyes; thou art chaste, and so am I.
In
one thing only thou surp*****t me." "And what is that one thing?" inquired
Macarius. "It is thy great humility" replied the demon. Saying this, he
disappeared, and was seen no more.
The devil once appeared to a monk in the form of the Archangel
Gabriel,
and said that he was sent to him by God. The monk replied, "See that thou
be
not sent by another!" And the devil immediately disappeared.
When an old priest was exorcising a possessed person, the demon said
that he would never come out, if he did not first tell him what the goats
and what the lambs were like. The good priest quickly answered: "The goats
are all those who are like me. What the lambs may resemble, God knows."
At
these words, the devil cried out: "Through your humility I can no longer
remain here" and immediately departed.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". February - Humility)
<><><><>
A prayer in reparation to the Blessed Sacrament:
With that profound humility which the Faith itself inspires in me, O my
God
and Saviour Jesus Christ, true God and true man, I love Thee with all my
heart, and I adore Thee who art hidden here, in reparation for all the
irreverences, profanations and sacrileges which Thou receivest in the most
adorable Sacrament of the Altar.
I adore Thee, O my God, if not so much as Thou art worthy to be adored nor
so much as I am bound to do, yet as much as I am able; would that I could
adore Thee with that perfect wor****p which the Angels in heaven are
enabled
to offer Thee. Mayest Thou, O my Jesus, be known, adored, loved and
thanked
by all men at every moment in this most holy and divine Sacrament. Amen.
Imprimatur: Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbp of New York, May 30, 1951.
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