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ST. PAULINUS OF NOLA. FEAST DAY: JUNE 22ND
PAULINUS was of a family which boasted of a long line of senators, prefects, and consuls. He was educated with great care, and his genius and eloquence, in prose and verse, were the admiration of St. Jerome and St. Augustine. He had more than doubled his wealth by marriage, and was one of the foremost men of his time. Though he was the chosen friend of Saints, and had a great devotion to St. Felix of Nola, he was still only a catechumen, trying to serve two masters. But God drew him to Himself along the way of sorrows and trials. He received baptism, withdrew into Spain to be alone, and then, in consort with his holy wife, sold all their vast estates in various parts of the empire, distributing their proceeds so prudently that St. Jerome says East and West were filled with his alms. He was then ordained priest, and retired to Nola in Campania. There he rebuilt the Church of St. Felix with great magnificence, and served it night and day, living a life of extreme abstinence and toil. In 409 he was chosen bishop, and for more than thirty years so ruled as to be conspicuous in an age blessed with many great and wise bishops. St. Gregory the Great tells us that when the Vandals of Africa had made a descent on Campania, Paulinus spent all he had in relieving the distress of his people and redeeming them from slavery. At last there came a poor widow; her only son had been carried off by the son-in-law of the Vandal king. " Such as I have I give thee," said the Saint to her; "we will go to Africa, and I will give myself for your son." Having overborne her resistance, they went, and Paulinus was accepted in place of the widow's son and employed as gardener. After a time the king found out, by divine interposition, that his son-in-law's slave was the great Bishop of Nola. He at once set him free, granting him also the freedom of all the townsmen of Nola who were in slavery. One who knew him well says he was meek as Moses, priestlike as Aaron, innocent as Samuel, tender as David, wise as Solomon, apostolic as Peter, loving as John cautious as Thomas, keen-sighted as Stephen, fervent as Apollos. He died A.D. 431. REFLECTION.—"Go to Campania," writes St. Augustine ; "there study Paulinus, that choice servant of God. With what generosity, with what still greater humility, he has flung from him the burden of this world's grandeurs to take on him the yoke of Christ, and in His service how serene and unobtrusive his life !" ********** SAINT THOMAS MORE (1478-1535) FEAST DAY: JUNE 22ND
Thomas was born in London on February 6, 1478 to his father John More, who was a lawyer and a judge. He attended Oxford University. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn. He became a lawyer in 1501 and three years later entered into Parliament. He entered into a number of important government positions which eventually led him to become the Chancellor of England in 1529. He was known as a great intellectual and wrote the book, Utopia, along with many other notable works. He opposed King Henry VIII attempt to divorce his wife as King Henry circumvented the Catholic Church's authority, who illicitly divorced his wife. Thomas More resigned his position as Chancellor and went in exile to his estate in Chelsea isolated from the King's officials. For his opposition, King Henry's men had him sent to the Tower of London on April 17, 1534. He was there until July 1535, when he was tried and condemned for treason. He was beheaded on July 6, 1535. Sir Thomas More's last words were "the King's good servant, but God's first." Thomas was beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII and was canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XI. INTERCESSORY PRAYER: Ask Saint Thomas More to assist you with your needs today. Saint Thomas More, pray for (prayer request). More information on Saint Thomas More *********
SAINT JOHN FISHER, CARDINAL OF ENGLAND, MARTYR
FEAST DAY: JUNE 22ND John Fisher was born at Beverly, in Yorkshire, England. At the age of twenty-two, he was ordained a priest at Cambridge. In 1501 he became the vice-chancelllor and in 1504 the chancelor in England. He was appointed the bishop of Rochester. He opposed the spreading of the Protestant faith through his writings which included a work on the Real Presence of the Eucharist, Assertio Septem Sacramentorum which is wrote in 1521. In 1529. he became the counselor to Queen Catherine of Aragon, who he assisted in opposing King Henry's divorce from Catherine. For his opposition to King Henry, he was imprisoned in the tower of London, at which time Pope Paul III named him a cardinal in the Catholic Church of England. After ten months in prison in the tower of England, John was put on trial for opposing the King and was sentenced to death by beheading. He was joined by Saint Thomas More in their opposition to King Henry's break from the Catholic Church and its teaching. He was canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XI. MORE ON SAINT JOHN FISHER, ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA ********
INTERCESSORY PRAYER: Today, ask these three great saints, Saint Paulinus, Saint Thomas More and Saint John Fisher, to intercede for all your prayer needs.
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INTERCESSORY PRAYER TO BLESSED ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH: Oh great holy follower of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was endowed with extraordinary gifts from God including seeing the Past, Present and Future History of the Catholic Church, reading the troubled hearts of souls, prophesying future events of the Catholic Church and enduring great suffering including the Holy Stigmata, so that many souls could be drawn toward the Holy Presence of God and enter into Heaven for all eternity, we sinners beseech you to listen to our prayer requests today (make your prayer request). We know that Almighty God hears your voice. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, intercede with God today for this prayer petition in the Name of Our Precious Lord Jesus Christ and through the intercession of His Blessed Mother Mary. Amen! |
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(1469-1535)
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