- 2 Timothy 3:1-5 -
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving,
slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
-
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with
them.
__________________________________________________________
Paul's reference to the "last days" reveals his sense of urgency. The last
days began after Jesus' ressurection when the Holy Spirit came upon
believers at Pentecost. The "last days" will continue until Christ's
second
coming. This means that we are living in the last days. Paul's descriptive
list of behavior in the last days describes our society - even,
unfortunately, the behavior of many Christians. Check your life against
Paul's list. Don't give in to society's pressures. Don't settle for
comfort
without commitment. Stand up against evil by living as God would have his
people live. Christ will return. Are you ready?
<<>><<>><<>>
April 15th - Bl. Damien of Molokai
Father Damien, formally Joseph de Veuster, ss.cc. and Blessed Damien of
Molokai (January 3, 1840 - April 15, 1889), was a missionary of the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who is revered
primarily
by Hawaii residents and Christians for having dedicated his life in
service
to the lepers of Molokai in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Father Damien is the
spiritual patron of lepers, outcasts, and those with HIV/AIDS, and of the
State of Hawaii.
Joseph De Veuster, the future Father Damien, was born at Tremelo in
Belgium,
January 3rd, 1840. His was a large family and his father was a
farmer-merchant. When his oldest brother entered the Congregation of the
Sacred Hearts (called 'Picpus' after the street in Paris where its
Generalate was located), then his father planned that Joseph should take
charge of the family business. Joseph however, decided to become a
religious
himself. At the beginning of 1859 he entered the novitiate at Louvain, in
the same house as his brother. There he took the name of Damien.
In 1863, his brother who was to leave for the mission in the Hawaiian
Islands, became ill. Since preparations for the voyage had already been
made, Damien obtained permission from the Superior General, to take his
brother's place. He arrived in Honolulu on March 19th, 1864, where he was
ordained to the priesthood the following May 21st. He immediately devoted
himself, body and soul, to the difficult service of a "country missionary"
on the island of Hawaii, the largest in the Hawaiian group.
At that time, the Hawaiian Government decided on a very harsh measure
aimed
at stopping the spread of "leprosy", the deportation to the neighboring
island of Molokai, of all those infected by what was thought to be an
incurable disease. The entire mission was concerned about the abandoned
"lepers" and the Bishop, Louis Maigret ss.cc., spoke to the priests about
the problem. He did not want to send anyone "in the name of obedience",
because he knew that such an order meant certain death. Four Brothers
volunteered, they would take turns visiting and assisting the "lepers" in
their distress. Damien was the first to leave on May 10th, 1873. At his
own
request and that of the lepers, he remained definitively on Molokai.
He brought hope to this hell of despair. He became a source of consolation
and encouragement for the lepers, their pastor, the doctor of their souls
and of their bodies, without any distinction of race or religion. He gave
a
voice to the voiceless, he built a community where the joy of being
together
and openness to the love of God gave people new reasons for living.
After he himself contracted the disease in 1885, he was able to identify
completely with them: "We lepers". Father Damien was above all, a witness
of
the love of God for His people. He got his strength from the Eucharist:
"lt
is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength we need in our
isolation..." It is there that he found for himself and for others the
support and the encouragement, the consolation and the hope, he could,
with
a deep faith, communicate to the lepers. All that made him "the happiest
missionary in the world", a servant of God, and a servant of humanity.
Having contracted "leprosy" himself, Fr. Damien died on April 15th, 1889,
having served sixteen years among the lepers. His mortal remains were
transferred in 1936 to Belgium where he was interred in the crypt of the
church of the Congregation of Sacred Hearts at Louvain. His fame spread to
the entire world. In 1938 the process for his beatification was introduced
at Malines (Belgium): Pope Paul VI signed the Decree on the "heroicity of
his virtues" on July 7th 1977.
In Father Damien, the Church proposes an example to all those who find
sense
for their life in the Gospel and who wish to bring the Good News to the
poor
of our time. - SSCC Website
Patron: Lepers.
This Version Taken From:
http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/calendar/day.cfm?id=106
Saint Quote:
As for what concerns our relations with our fellow men, the anguish in our
neighbor's soul must break all precept. All that we do is a means to an
end,
but love is an end in itself, because God is love.
-St. Edith Stein
Bible Quote
3 Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets that follow their
own
spirit, and see nothing.
(Ezechiel 13:3)
<><><><>
The prayer for preservation of the Faith of Saint Clement Hofbauer
Saint Clement is referred to as the second founder of the Redemptorists
after Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, because he established the Order north of
the
Alps after studying under St. Alphonsus in Rome. It would seem that he
was
well aware as others were in the 19th century that our times would be
Godless in character:
O my Redeemer, will that terrible moment ever come, when but a few
Christians shall be left who are inspired by the spirit of faith, that
moment when Thine indignation shall be provoked and Thy protection shall
be
taken from us? Have our vices and our evil lives irrevocably moved Thy
justice to take vengeance, perhaps this very day, upon Thy children? O
Thou,
the author and finisher of our faith, we conjure Thee, in the bitterness
of
our contrite and humbled hearts, not to suffer the fair light of faith to
be
extinguished in us. Remember Thy mercies of old, turn Thine eyes in
compassion upon the vineyard planted by Thine own right hand, and watered
by
the sweat of the Apostles, by the precious blood of countless Martyrs and
by
the tears of so many sincere penitents, and made fruitful by the prayers
of
so many Confessors and innocent Virgins. O divine Mediator, look upon
those
zealous who raise their hearts to Thee and pray without ceasing for the
maintenance of that most precious gift of Thine, the true faith. We
beseech
Thee, O God of justice, to hold back the decree of our rejection, and to
turn away Thine eyes from our vices and regard instead the adorable Blood
shed upon the Cross, which purchased our salvation and daily intercedes
for
us upon our altars. Ah, keep us safe in the true Catholic and Roman faith.
Let sickness afflict us, vexations waste us, misfortunes overwhelm us!
But
preserve in us Thy holy faith; for if we are rich in this precious gift,
we
shall gladly endure every sorrow, and nothing shall ever be able to change
our happiness. On the other hand, without this great treasure of faith,
our
unhappiness would be unspeakable and without limit! O good Jesus, author
of
our faith, preserve it pure within us; keep us safe in the bark of Peter,
faithful and obedient to his successor and Thy Vicar here on earth, that
so
the unity of Holy Church may be maintained, holiness fostered, the Holy
See
protected in freedom, and the Church universal extended to the benefit of
souls. O Jesus, author of our faith, humble and convert the enemies of Thy
Church; grant true peace and concord to all Christian kings and princes
and
to all believers; strengthen and preserve us in Thy holy service, to the
end
that we may live in Thee and die in Thee. O Jesus, author of our faith,
let
me live for Thee and die for Thee. Amen.
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