"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Tuesday of the First week of Advent
Saints of the day:
BLESSED CHARLES OF JESUS
Charles de Foucauld
Priest
(1858-1916)
Charles de Foucauld
Priest
(1858-1916)
CHARLES DE FOUCAULD (Brother Charles of Jesus) was born in Strasbourg, France on September 15th, 1858. Orphaned at the age of six, he and his sister Marie were raised by their grandfather in whose footsteps he followed by taking up a military career.
He lost his faith as an adolescent. His taste for easy living was well known to all and yet he showed that he could be strong willed and constant in difficult situations. He undertook a risky exploration of Morocco (1883-1884). Seeing the way Muslims expressed their faith questioned him and he began repeating, ‘‘My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.’’
On his return to France, the warm, respectful welcome he received from his deeply Christian family made him continue his search. Under the guidance of Fr. Huvelin he rediscovered god in October 1886. he was then 28 years old. ‘‘As soon as I believed in God, I understood that I could not do otherwise than to live for him alone.’’
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land revealed his vocation to him : to follow Jesus in his life at Nazareth. He spent 7 years as a Trappist, first in France and then at Akbès in Syria. Later he began to lead a life of prayer and adoration, alone, near a convent of Poor Clares in Nazareth.
Ordained a priest at 43 (1901) he left for the Sahara, living at first in Beni Abbès and later at Tamanrasset among the Tuaregs of the Hoggar. He wanted to be among those who were, ‘‘the furthest removed, the most abandoned.’’ He wanted all who drew close to him to find in him a brother, ‘‘a universal brother.’’ In a great respect for the culture and faith of those among whom he lived, his desire was to ‘‘shout the Gospel with his life’’. ‘‘I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say, ‘‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like ?’’
On the evening of December 1st 1916, he was killed by a band of marauders who had encircled his house.
He had always dreamed of sharing his vocation with others : after having written several rules for religious life, he came to the conclusion that this ‘‘life of Nazareth’’ could led by all. Today the ‘‘spiritual family of Charles de Foucauld’’ encompassed several associations of the faithful, religious communities and secular institutes for both lay people and priests.
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice VaticanaHe lost his faith as an adolescent. His taste for easy living was well known to all and yet he showed that he could be strong willed and constant in difficult situations. He undertook a risky exploration of Morocco (1883-1884). Seeing the way Muslims expressed their faith questioned him and he began repeating, ‘‘My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.’’
On his return to France, the warm, respectful welcome he received from his deeply Christian family made him continue his search. Under the guidance of Fr. Huvelin he rediscovered god in October 1886. he was then 28 years old. ‘‘As soon as I believed in God, I understood that I could not do otherwise than to live for him alone.’’
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land revealed his vocation to him : to follow Jesus in his life at Nazareth. He spent 7 years as a Trappist, first in France and then at Akbès in Syria. Later he began to lead a life of prayer and adoration, alone, near a convent of Poor Clares in Nazareth.
Ordained a priest at 43 (1901) he left for the Sahara, living at first in Beni Abbès and later at Tamanrasset among the Tuaregs of the Hoggar. He wanted to be among those who were, ‘‘the furthest removed, the most abandoned.’’ He wanted all who drew close to him to find in him a brother, ‘‘a universal brother.’’ In a great respect for the culture and faith of those among whom he lived, his desire was to ‘‘shout the Gospel with his life’’. ‘‘I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say, ‘‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like ?’’
On the evening of December 1st 1916, he was killed by a band of marauders who had encircled his house.
He had always dreamed of sharing his vocation with others : after having written several rules for religious life, he came to the conclusion that this ‘‘life of Nazareth’’ could led by all. Today the ‘‘spiritual family of Charles de Foucauld’’ encompassed several associations of the faithful, religious communities and secular institutes for both lay people and priests.
St. Eligius, Bishop († 665)
Saint Florence
Saint Florence (Florentina) (636)
Saint Florentina lived in Spain and was the sister of three brothers who are saints — Saint Leander, Saint Fulgentius and Saint Isidore, Doctor of the Church. She became a nun and an abbess and died in the same year as her great brother, Saint Isidore.
Tuesday of the First week of Advent
The Book of Isaiah 11:1 But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai,
SAINT ELIGIUS
Bishop
(† 665)
Bishop
(† 665)
Eligius, a goldsmith at Paris, was commissioned by King Clotaire to make a throne. With the gold and precious stones given him he made two. Struck by his rare honesty, the king gave him an appointment at court, and demanded an oath of fidelity sworn upon holy relics; but Eligius prayed with tears to be excused, for fear of failing in reverence to the relics of the Saints.
On entering the court he fortified himself against its seductions by many austerities and continual ejaculatory prayers. He had a marvellous zeal for the redemption of captives, and for their deliverance would sell his jewels, his food, his clothes, and his very shoes, once by his prayers breaking their chains and opening their prisons. His great delight was in making rich shrines for relics.
His striking virtue caused him, a layman and a goldsmith, to be made Bishop of Noyon, and his sanctity in this holy office was remarkable.
He possessed the gifts of miracles and prophecy, and died in 665.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]Saint Florence
Saint Florence (Florentina) (636)
Saint Florentina lived in Spain and was the sister of three brothers who are saints — Saint Leander, Saint Fulgentius and Saint Isidore, Doctor of the Church. She became a nun and an abbess and died in the same year as her great brother, Saint Isidore.
Tuesday of the First week of Advent
The Book of Isaiah 11:1 But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai,
a shoot will grow from his roots.
2 The Spirit of Adonai will rest on him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fearing Adonai —
3 he will be inspired by fearing Adonai.
He will not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but he will judge the impoverished justly;
he will decide fairly for the humble of the land.
He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth
and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips.
5 Justice will be the belt around his waist,
faithfulness the sash around his hips.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard lie down with the kid;
calf, young lion and fattened lamb together,
with a little child to lead them.
7 Cow and bear will feed together,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 An infant will play on a cobra’s hole,
a toddler put his hand in a viper’s nest.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
anywhere on my holy mountain,
for the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Adonai
as water covering the sea.
10 On that day the root of Yishai,
which stands as a banner for the peoples —
the Goyim will seek him out,
and the place where he rests will be glorious.
Psalm 72:(0) By Shlomo:
(1) God, give the king your fairness in judgment,
endow this son of kings with your righteousness,
2 so that he can govern your people rightly
and your poor with justice.
7 In his days, let the righteous flourish
and peace abound, till the moon is no more.
8 May his empire stretch from sea to sea,
from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.
12 For he will rescue the needy when they cry,
the poor too and those with none to help them.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy;
and the lives of the needy he will save.
17 May his name endure forever,
his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun.[Psalm 72:17 Or: “May his name flourish/propagate as long as the sun.” Jewish tradition considers Yinnon a name of the Messiah.]
May people bless themselves in him,
may all nations call him happy.
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint Luke 10:21 At that moment he was filled with joy by the Ruach HaKodesh and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you because you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated, yet revealed them to ordinary people. Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this.
22 “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” 23 Then, turning to the talmidim, he said, privately, “How blessed are the eyes that see what you are seeing! 24 Indeed, I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them.”
Tuesday of the First week of Advent
Commentary of the day:
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130-c.208), Bishop, theologian and martyr
Adversus Haereses IV, 14,2
“Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see”
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130-c.208), Bishop, theologian and martyr
Adversus Haereses IV, 14,2
Right from the beginning, God formed the human person in view of his gifts. He chose the patriarchs in view of their salvation. He prepared for himself a people and taught the ignorant to follow God’s path. Then he taught the prophets so as to get the human person accustomed to bearing his Spirit already on this earth and to entering into communion with God. Certainly, he himself needed no one, but he offered communion with himself to those who needed him. Like an architect, he made plans of salvation’s edifice ahead of time through those “on whom his favor rests” (Lk 2:14). In the darkness of Egypt, he himself became their guide. In the desert where they were wandering, he gave them a very appropriate Law; and to those who entered the good land, he offered a chosen inheritance. Finally, for all who return to the Father, he killed the fattened calf and he gives them the precious garment (Lk 15:22). Thus, God disposed the human race in many ways for
the “music and dancing” (Lk 15:25). That is why John wrote in the Book of Revelation: “And his voice sounded like the roar of rushing waters.” (Rev 1:15) For the waters of God’s Spirit are truly many, because the Father is rich and great. And going by way of all that, the Word generously gave his help to those who submitted themselves to him, giving every creature the appropriate instruction.
the “music and dancing” (Lk 15:25). That is why John wrote in the Book of Revelation: “And his voice sounded like the roar of rushing waters.” (Rev 1:15) For the waters of God’s Spirit are truly many, because the Father is rich and great. And going by way of all that, the Word generously gave his help to those who submitted themselves to him, giving every creature the appropriate instruction.
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment