- Philippians 4:6-7 -
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ
Jesus.
____________________________________________________________________________
Jesus soothes our anxiety by offering us his Peace. Our anxiety can be
overcome,
Paul tells us, by praying - removing our anxieties from our hearts, where
they
stir us and trouble us, and placing them in His hands. As we do, God's
peace
will flow from heaven, soothing our spirits, even if we can't understand
why
we
have the peace that we do. In Christ, our hearts and minds are guarded,
safe
and
secure from every threat to peace.
<<>><<>><<>>
January 22nd - St. Vincent Pallotti
Born in Rome, Italy, April 21, 1795; died January 22, 1850; canonized in
1963 by
Pope John XXIII during Vatican Council II; feast day formerly on January
23.
Vincent was the son of a prosperous grocer. His schoolmaster Don Ferri
said
of
him, "He's a little saint but a bit thick-headed." He grew more proficient
at
his studies as he matured, however, and he was ordained at 23 (1817). He
took a
doctorate in theology and became an assistant professor at the Spaienza in
Rome.
He was encouraged by his friend****p with Saint Caspar del Bufalo to resign
his
post and pursue pastoral work. He was popular as a confessor, and acted in
this
capacity at several Roman colleges, including the Scots, the Irish, and
the
English. Unfortunately, he was disliked by the other clergy at the
Neapolitan
church to which he was appointed, and their malicious treatment of him
inexplicably passed without comment from the authorities for ten years,
and
without complaint on his part.
In 1835, Vincent gathered together a group of clergy, nuns and other
laymen,
committed to conversion and social justice, in order to organize
vocational
schools with evening cl***** for poor boys, and an institute to teach
better
agricultural methods. The schools were intended to teach young people
marketable
skills such as shoe-making, tailoring, joining, and agriculture, and to
instill
in them a pride in their work. He worked from the premise that holiness is
to be
found not only in a religious life of prayer and silence, but also by
filling
any need in any part of life wherever one sees it. These policies
resembled
those of Saint John Bosco, who worked in northern Italy (Turin).
From this group would evolve the Pallotines, or the Society of Catholic
Apostolate (called for a time the Pious Society of Missions and later the
Society of Catholic Action), which had only a dozen members during his
lifetime
but has since grown and a corresponding society of women, the Pallottini
Sisters, was established in 1843. The congregation has flourished in
Italy,
Brazil, Australia, and the United States, where it has specialized in care
for
the immigrants and, like their founder, in promoting e***enical contacts
with
Eastern Orthodox Christians.
He wrote to a young professor, "You are not cut out for the silence and
austerities of Trappists and hermits. Be holy in the world, in your social
relation****ps, in your work and your leisure, in your teaching duties and
your
contacts with publicans and sinners. Holiness is simply to do God's will,
always
and everywhere."
Vincent's apostolic labors were matched only by his austerities, and in
1837,
during an epidemic of cholera, he cared for others despite the danger to
himself. He went to great lengths to fulfill the spiritual needs of the
people,
once even impersonating an old woman in order to approach a bedridden man
who
had warned he would shoot any priest who came near him. Vincent also
performed
exorcisms.
In 1836, he started the special observance of the Octave of Epiphany for
the
reunion of the Eastern Orthodox Church with Rome. Each day he would
celebrate
the Mysteries with a different rite; since 1847, this custom has been
observed
in the church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle.
In 1844, don Pallotti sent one of his most trusted priests to minister to
the
Italians in London, and since then his society has spread throughout the
world.
He was also especially interested in the English mission and had numerous
English, Irish, and American friends. One of them, Walter Tempest, was
with
him
when he was given shelter at the Irish College in Rome in 1849.
The people of Rome saw don Vincent as a 19th century version of Saint
Philip
Neri. Often he came home half-****d because he had given his clothes away.
He
would go to great lengths to reconcile sinners. Once he dressed up as an
old
woman in order to get to the bedside of a man who seriously threatened to
shoot
the first priest to come near him. Pallotti was in demand as an exorcist.
God
also granted him the gifts of supernatural knowledge and healing. Father
Pallotti died of pleurisy at the age of 55.
It is interesting to note that when evidence was given during his
beatification
process, the vice rector of the Neapolitan church in Rome, who had been
one
of
his severest persecutors, said: "Don Pallotti never gave the least grounds
for
the ill-treatment to which he was subjected. He always treated me with the
greatest respect; he bared his head when he spoke to me, he even several
times
tried to kiss my hand." (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Walsh,
White).
Saint Quote:
Fasts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and
everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said;
they are its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is
acquired through them. It is useless, therefore, to boast of our
fasting, vigils, poverty, and reading of Scripture when we have not
achieved the love of God and our fellow men. Whoever has achieved love
has God within himself and his intellect is always with God.
-St. John Cassian
Bible Quote
And then shall many be scandalized: and shall betray one another: and
shall
hate
one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall seduce many. And because
iniquity
hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. But he that shall
persevere
to the end, he shall be saved. (Matt 24:10-13)
<><><><>
If on our daily course our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still of countless price
God will provide for sacrifice.
The trivial round, the common task
Will furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves -- a road
To bring us daily nearer God.
... John Keble
<><><><>
L. Lord, teach us to pray.
R. In the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Praise of the Lord
L. Lord, Father of heaven,
we honour and praise your Name.
You are the morning and the evening,
the beginning and the end of all time,
origin and source of all that was made.
We thank you for the night's rest
and for the light of this new day.
R. Lord Jesus Christ, Light of the world,
we honour and praise your Name.
You are the Way that we follow today.
You are the Truth that guides us.
You are the Life that we seek.
We thank you for your redeeming Word
by which you enlighten and guide us.
L. Lord, Creator Spirit,
we honour and praise your Name.
You awaken our senses and thoughts.
You give us the power to perceive ideas,
the power to think clearly
and to have a sensitive conscience.
We thank you for the love you kindle in our hearts.
R. Holy and eternal God,
we honour and praise your Name.
We implore you this morning to be with us today
in joy and in sorrow, in success and in failure.
We thank you for this new day. Amen.
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