Saint Elzéar and Blessed Delphina

How beautiful in splendor is the chaste generation! Immortal is its memory because it is acknowledged both by God and by men.


St Elzear Blessed Delphine.jpg

Heavenly Father, You have given us Saint Elzéar and Blessed Delphina as shining examples of virtue in holy wedded life. As we venerate their pious achievements on earth, so may we arrive at blessed fellowship with them in heaven.

Saint Elzéar and Blessed Delphina are one of the very few married couples recognized by the Church for sainted holiness; they certainly are the only husband and wife team raised to the altar who were members of the Third Order Franciscans (today we say they are Secular Franciscans). As Third Order Franciscans, Saint Elzéar and Blessed Delphina observed a life of penance and obligation to pray the Divine Office. Their married life was characterized as resolutely chaste as they both vowed perpetual virginity, proving that marriage is more than sexual expression.

Dedicated to the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, the hagiographies indicate that each night 12 poor people dined with them. Saint Elzéar was religiously devoted and cared for the poor; known to be modest and generous; conforming himself to Christ he bore insults cheerfully. It was reported that he cured several people from leprosy. Delphina, together with her husband, cared for the poor and the sick; after Elzéar’s death she disposed of her wealth and is remembered for faithfully following Christ and thus living a moral life. One such example of living a morally upright life is her influence in converting the king of Sicily’s court to Christ.

Elzéar was canonized in 1369 by his godchild Pope Urban V (of whom he said would be the supreme pontiff) and Delphina was beatified in 1694 by Pope Innocent XII.

McGivney’s cause for beatification takes another step

The cause for beatification and eventual sainthood of Father Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, took
another step on September 22, 2009, with the submission of a supplemental report on
a potential miracle attributed to the priest’s intercession.

McGivney Cappuccio.jpg

The Knights of
Columbus announced today that officials from a supplemental tribunal of the
Archdiocese of Hartford -of which Fr. McGivney was a parish priest- formally
sent a new report to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints
through Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, the current postulator of McGivney’s cause. The
information gathered by the tribunal included testimonies from witnesses to the
supposed miracle as well as the statements of several medical doctors about the
circumstances surrounding the reported miracle. Dominican Father Gabriel B. O’Donnell,
the current vice-postulator and former postulator, has worked on the cause for a number
of years with the assistance of a variety people, not least was Millie Millea, the
former secretary at the McGivney Guild.

In the context praying Sext (midday
prayer), the brief ceremony in which the new report was signed and presented to
Archbishop Henry J. Mansell was attended by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, other
Supreme Officers and other Knights of Columbus officials, three relatives of
Father McGivney and a number of archdiocesan officials.

Presentation of McGivney materials.jpg

The submission of the
new report “marks an important step forward. The Vatican’s Congregation for the
Causes of Saints will now have valuable additional testimony that clarifies and
adds significantly to the original submission,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson
said.

“Father McGivney’s beatification would be an important event,” Anderson
added, “not only for Knights of Columbus, but for the many thousands of parish
priests who quietly do the Lord’s work in parishes each day and regard him as
an outstanding example for priests everywhere.  In this ‘Year for Priests’
it is an especially appropriate step forward.” When beatified, McGivney will be
the first US diocesan priest beatified.

The cause for Father McGivney’s
sainthood was opened by Hartford Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin in December 1997. In 2000, the cause was presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints;  Pope Benedict XVI declared
him “Venerable Servant of God” on March 15, 2008.

Father McGivney founded the
Knights of Columbus in 1882 and died on August 14, 1890 at the age of 38. At the time of
the founding of the Knights of Columbus he was a curate at Saint Mary’s Church
(New Haven, CT).

For pictures of the event see this link.

[this articled was first published at CNA and edited for
clarity] 

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

St Pio at Mass.jpeg

“…the legacy he left is holiness”


God our Father, in Saint Pio of Pietrelcina You gave a light to Your faithful people. You made him a pastor of the Church to feed Your sheep with his word and to teach them by his example. Help us by his prayers to keep the faith he taught and follow the way of life he showed us.


The Vatican biography may be read here.

See more on Saint Pio here.

When thinking about Padre Pio’s influence on the spiritual life it can be noted that he advocated 3 things:

1. Pray. And don’t be overcome.

2. Conform yourself to Christ crucified.

3. Attend to the sacraments, especially the sacrament of Confession.

Finding the Body of Saint Clare

St Clare of Assisi.jpgThis day a brilliant star rises, for today Saint Clare, the poor handmaid of the Lord, is glorified in heaven.

Lord, we recall the memory of Saint Clare the virgin. Through her merits, and following her example, may we be strengthened in our hope and charity as we await the glorious resurrection and the enjoyment of eternal communion with you.

Let me take the opportunity to promote the Capuchin Poor Clare vocation…something good happening here.

The hard work of being a person of peace

The Benedictine ideal of the human being is not that
of one who achieves and accomplishes things, not a person with an unusual
religious gift, not a great ascetic, but the wise and mature person who knows
how to bring people together, who creates around herself or himself an
atmosphere of peace and mutual understanding.


Behind this ideal image stands a
high demand. No one can simply resolve to become a peacemaker. Only those who
have created peace within themselves can make peace, only those who have become
reconciled with themselves, their own weaknesses and faults, their needs and
desires, their contradictory tendencies and ambitions.

Making peace is not a
program of action that one could write on one’s banners; rather, it must arise
from inner peace. And inner peace is achieved only through a hard and
unremitting struggle for inner purity and through prayer, in which one seeks to
accept everything God presents, whether one’s own weaknesses or those of
others.

Benedict of Nursia: His Message for Today
Anselm Grun, OSB

PS: what Fr Anselm doesn’t say is that creating an atmosphere of peace is harder than it looks, but don’t stop striving…. The realization that we are person’s with great inner need, as in we need a mother or we need friendship, like we need God, is born out in our abandonment to the Divine Plan of seeking a deeper communion with God, as John rested his head on the breast of Jesus.

Saint Matthew, the evangelist

St Matthew Caravaggio.jpgWe beseech Thee, O Lord, let the prayers of blessed Matthew, Thine Apostle and Evangelist, assist us, that those things which we cannot obtain by ourselves may be granted us by his intercession.

Adrienne von Speyer says of Saint Matthew: “in prayer, he feels himself drawn toward something mysterious in the Son, toward the Son’s divinity, toward the Father and the Spirit. And he always believes that the turning point in his life will one day bring confirmation of his prayer. He sees too little that he has to bring his life into correspondence with his way of praying already today. His prayer is a bit isolated. He is like a person who might say, “Every morning I pray for an hour. It’s wonderful! It is the highpoint of my day! If I didn’t have this time, I wouldn’t know how to bear the boredom of the rest of the time!” (Book of All Saints)

Confronting what is being proposed: a viewpoint on real education

This past summer some members of Communion and
Liberation gathered for the second time to discuss important educational
matters at a conference which met in Cambridge, MA. The 2009 theme of the Education Conference was “The Risk of Educating:
The Student-Teacher Relationship.”


“[Msgr. Luigi] Giussani
talks about this need to live this question, “To educate means to propose
something.  But it would mean to
dump something on someone externally, if it were not the proposal of a response
to the question that you live.  If
you don’t live the question, the response you propose is fake” (Chris Bacich, read
more of the Keynote address)


The keynote address was given on July 18, 2009, by
Mr. Christopher Bacich, a master teacher, a public speaker on education, and
the leader of the lay Catholic movement, Communion and Liberation in the United
States. 

Rooted in Jesus Christ (RiJC): an Adult Faith Formation Community

Rooted in Jesus Christ (RiJC) is an Adult Faith
Formation Community whose goal is to offer everyone the opportunity to explore
ways to ratify, strengthen, and renew their knowledge of, and love for, Jesus
Christ. If you are interested in deepening your faith, then we invite you to
join us at one of our Friday night gatherings. RiJC meets at Our Lady of Good
Counsel Church (East 90th Street, NYC, btw 2nd & 3rd Aves). For dates of
the meeting read the flyer here. 



RiJC is a personal initiative of members of Communion & Liberation.