April 14th - St. Peter Gonzalez
Peter Gonzalez was born in 1190 in the city of Astorga, Spain, of an
illustrious
family. After studies in which he excelled, he was named canon of the
Cathedral.
His uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, obtained for him from Rome the position
of
dean of the chapter of canons.
It was planned for Peter to take possession of the dignity at Christmas. A
vain
youth filled with the spirit of the world, Peter desired that the ceremony
should take place with great pomp before the whole city. Astride a
magnificent
horse in full harness, he rode through the streets of the city. When he
reached
a place crowded with onlookers, he spurred his horse to make it prance
more
elegantly and raise the applause of the people. But the horse tripped and
threw
the rider into a puddle of mud. The applause immediately changed into
derision
and laughter.
The misfortune, however, proved beneficial for him. Raising himself up, he
exclaimed, "How can this be? This same world that applauds me one moment,
laughs
at me the next? Well, I will laugh at it in my turn. From this day onward,
I
will turn my back to it and seek out a better life."
In fact, he abandoned the world and entered the austere Order of St.
Dominic. He
became an excellent religious and no less excellent preacher. His fame
spread
and reached the court of King St. Ferdinand of Castile, who asked his
advice
regarding the war against the Saracens. In fact, the saint accompanied the
King
in his expeditions against the Moors, particularly in the siege and taking
of
Cordova in 1236, which, from the year 718, had been the chief seat of the
Moorish dominions in Spain.
Later he became apostle and preacher to the poor, and especially to
sailors.
He
received the gift of miracles. He preached without stop until his last
days
and
foretold his own death, which took place on April 15, 1246. The sailors of
Spain
and ****tugal still invoke him in every storm under the name of St. Elmo
(Elm
or
Telm).
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
The life of this saint is truly picturesque, beginning with his worldly
nomination to the canonry of Astorga. You see that the man was a nephew of
the
Bishop and was named canon, and afterward dean of the chapter, which is
the
principal post among the canons.
It was a custom of the time that when a person was invested with a new
im****tant
post, he would parade in a cortege through the city wearing the insignias
of
his
new dignity acclaimed by the people. For example, if a man was named a new
professor in the university, he would also pass through the city and the
people
would celebrate his appointment with applause and fireworks; his alumni
would
play music and sing. Even when a simple youth graduated from a college, he
would
have the right to wear a special mantle. He would don it when he returned
to
his
city or home village so that everyone would know that he had completed his
studies and merited new respect. It was a way to acknowledge the
accomplishments
of an educated man and permit him to enter higher social and intellectual
milieus.
Some of these customs still remained in small cities of Brazil in the
1920s.
A
young man who finished his course and graduated in the capital would
return
to
his village and be received by the people at the rail station with
fanfare.
A
minor civil authority would be on hand to greet him. Then the family would
have
a party for him at their home with food and drink for all. In this way,
the
new
graduate was enthroned in the small society of his village. It was a very
reasonable, healthy, and picturesque tradition.
So, in Astorga we have our young canon Peter Gonzalez riding a magnificent
horse
and wearing the rich garments of dean of the canons. There were probably
other
canons riding alongside him and various parish associations following the
cortege. It was an epoch when anti-clericalism was nonexistent and an
ecclesiastical post was highly esteemed and appreciated by the world. Our
canon
entered the main street of the city and spurred his horse to make a more
elegant
picture. Suddenly he was thrown into a puddle of mud.
Once Napoleon was riding a horse in Paris at either the Bois de Boulogne
or
Champs Elysées - I forgot the place - with the ambassador of Denmark
riding
at
his side. The people recognized Napoleon and applauded. The ambassador
said
to
him: "Oh, Your Majesty, what a secure throne you have!" Napoleon replied:
"You
are mistaken, Monsieur Ambassador, the people take their revenge for the
applause they give." It is true. The onlooker is often just as ready to
scorn
the very one he applauds. This applies to the case of St. Peter Gonzalez.
The
crowd was applauding him, and when he fell, the people immediately began
to
deride and laugh at him.
But it was an op****tunity for the grace of God to act. This reaction
touched
the
heart of St. Peter Gonzalez, showing him the futility of worldly applause
and
moving him to challenge the world. With this, he broke with the world.
Often
this is the way grace works with Spaniards. It inspires a man to break
with
the
world, and immediately afterward to challenge it and counter-attack it. It
is
like a bullfight. Our saint responded in this way. He converted, entered
the
Dominican Order, became a famous preacher, and even counseled King St.
Ferdinand
on the crusade against the Moors and accompanied him in his battles.
It is a beautiful scene: a King-saint who calls upon a preacher-saint to
discuss
what to do in the fight against the infidel. How different from our times!
Where
is the saintly King? Where is the saintly preacher? Where is the fight
against
the infidel? All of those magnificent things have disappeared. We should
have
nostalgia for those values that so deeply move our souls.
Dante said that no sadness is greater than to remember one's past
happiness
in
days of misery. In a certain way, we suffer this kind of sadness. We are
in
days
of misery, and we recall the fortunate days of a bygone Christendom. We
have
sadness, but at least we know that such an epoch existed, that society
became
what it is today by the action of the Revolution, and that in future days
it
will be restored to even more than it was in the past. I think it is
legitimate
to recall these things with nostalgia.
Afterward, St. Peter Gonzalez took on other roles. One of them was to
preach
to
the sailors. At that time, sailors were one of the lowest levels of
society,
rough men without faith, morals, or law - a riffraff of adventurers. St.
Peter
Gonzalez chose to make his apostolate in that milieu, where he moved and
converted those souls. He did not need to become a worker-priest. God
showed
his
pleasure with his preaching by giving him the gift of miracles, so that he
could
placate the storms to bring the sailors safely back to their ****ts. This
shows
that we do not need worker-priests, who make all kinds of concessions to
the
world allegedly to convert the people. But they do not convert anyone.
Instead
of bringing the workers to the faith, the priests themselves become
atheistic,
like the worst workers. The worker-priests of our times should first
convert
themselves, confide in God, and become saints. Then they would convert the
people.
St. Peter Gonzalez preached until his last days, and foretold his own
death.
To
foretell one's own death is a special grace that God gives to some of His
servants. It is a way to allow them to die in the sweetness and peace of
God.
The prospect of death causes them no panic, because they hope to arrive in
Heaven very shortly. In a certain sense, it is the announcement that the
gates
of Heaven are open to them. They receive the warning with all naturality,
they
prepare themselves interiorly, then they say their farewells to their
friends:
"I came to bid you adieu, for I will die on the day X."
"Is it so? Then I beg you to please pray for me. Tell this to Our
Lady.
Ask
that of my Guardian Angel."
"Be assured that I will do so."
There was no astonishment at such news, because everyone had faith. It was
understood that this was the fruit of a normal albeit superlative
relation****p
between Heaven and earth.
In these days when human respect is so strong everywhere, let us ask St.
Peter
Gonzalez to give us the spirit of challenge to the world that he assumed.
Let us
also ask for that kind of relation he had with Heaven so that each one of
us
might have a peaceful death.
See Images at:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j122sdPeterGonzalez_3-15.htm
Saint Quote:
Nails were not enough to hold God-and-man nailed and fastened on the
Cross,
had
not love held Him there.
-Catherine of Siena
Bible Quote:
And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My
Church.
St. Matthew 16:18
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Saint Anthony, Martyr of Desire
Dear St. Anthony, you became a Franciscan with the hope of
shedding your blood for Christ. In God's plan for you, your
thirst for martyrdom was never to be satisfied. St. Anthony,
Martyr of Desire, pray that I may become less afraid to stand
up and be counted as a follower of the Lord Jesus. Intercede
also for my other intentions. (Name them.)
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