Solemnity of St. John the Baptist

Today marks the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, who is my personal patron saint as well as the patron saint of the Order of Malta.

Death of the Grand Prior of England - Fra Fredrik Crichton-Stuart

It was with great sadness that I learned yesterday of the death of Fra Fredrik Crichton-Stuart, the Grand Prior of England. He was a humble and generous man whom I unfortunately never got to meet in person. Nevertheless he was a reader of my blog and offered kind words of support and encouragement. He also helped me with information from time to time regarding the history of the Order, and I'm glad to say I was even able to reciprocate a couple times, once helping to find an out of print book he sought.

Despite his illness over the past year he would always respond to emails and even last week, just a few days before his death, he sent me a picture of Blessed David Gonson, together with some additional bits of information I didn't have, for an article on him I was writing. I mentioned that I was hoping to one day write a book on the lives of the saints and blesseds of the Order and as a testimony of his kindness he promptly responded with a list of people and sources of information to help me in my endeavor. As a sign that despite his illness he was not sitting around waiting to die, he offered to photocopy some of the booklets of information for me. That last email is bittersweet as although I will fondly remember his generosity and willingness to help a fellow knight, even one he never met, I never got the chance to respond and thank him before he died. So I will thank you now Fra Freddy and pray that you are in the company of Jesus and His mother whom I know you love and will remember you in the Little Office of Our Lady which I know was one of your favorite prayers too. You probably have found out the answer to those questions on St. Nuno you were looking for. If so I would be very grateful if you can somehow pass it along. For more biographical information please see the website of the British Association.

Fra Freddy, Requiescat in Pace.

Father's Mourning of Prayer

On Monday, June 20th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the men of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis are called to join in a "mourning of prayer" in front of the new Planned Parenthood construction site at Charles and Vandalia in St. Paul. This is being organized by Pro-Life Action Ministries and the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis and you can visit their website for more details.

St. Fleur of Beaulieu - Virgin of the Order of Malta

Fleur, or Flora, was born about 1300 at Maurs in the diocese of Saint-Flour (France) and took the veil as a girl of thirteen in the monastery of the Sisters of St. John of Jerusalem at Beaulieu, in the diocese of Cahors (France), where she devoted herself to tending the poor and the sick in the hospital attached to the monastery. Attractions and temptations she sublimated in the love of God and even in mystical experiences. She had a special devotion to Christ Crucified, Our Lady of the Annunciation and St. John the Baptist. She died in 1347 and her relics are still in the church at Issendolus, in the diocese of Cahors.

Prayer:

Almighty and merciful God, who wished blessed Fleur to love and live as a virgin in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, grant that, following her example, we also may love you more and more. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(From: The Missal with readings of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes, & of Malta, London 1997)

The last jewel in that glorious crown, and the most charming of all, is indeed that Saint Fleur the details of whose life we do not know. But we do possess the essentials of that life: she died at the age of 37 or 38, in 1299; she was one of the 38 professed cloistered nuns of the Hospital of Beaulieu, in Quercy, in the diocese of Cahors, which depended on the Priory of Saint Giles in Provence.

Like many saints, Saint Fleur was subject to the suspicions of her mother superior who could not admit or imagine the eminent virtue of her inferior and tried to catch her at fault. Saint Fleur was greatly addicted to giving alms to the poor, and the abbess thought that the young nun was taking food needed by the community to distribute it among the indigent. One day, the abbess followed the young sister and forced her to show what she was carrying in the folds of her cloak. The suspicious woman had the pleasure of admiring the superb purple-red flowers that the Lord had substituted for the charitable offerings of the saint, who from that time on has borne the name of her miracle.

She leas buried in the church of Beaulieu, where she had sung in the choir with her companions, according to the rule of Frà William of Vallareto. She worked numerous miracles in that city.

Her feast day is celebrated on June 11.

At the Hospital of Beaulieu, this prayer used to be recited from time immemorial:

"O God Who hast deigned to take into heaven Thy blessed virgin, Saint Fleur, we ask Thee, by her merits and prayers, to pardon us our sins, to defend us in our perils, to deliver us from all our enemies, visible and invisible and to make us think often of heavenly things. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen".

Is there a more fragrant close to this enumeration of saints than this delightful figure of a virgin surrounded by roses? She predicted another virgin who showered the earth with the miraculous petals of her immortal crown. It depends on us alone to receive her grace by invoking her as our ancestors did, and constraining her affectionately to forego her heavenly rest for a moment to help her brothers and sisters of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, who love her and pray to her, who wish to imitate her virtues and hope with all their hearts to walk in her footsteps in the flagrance of her eternal roses.

(From: Ducaud-Bourget, Msgr. François: The Spiritual Heritage of The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Vatican 1958)

St. Ubaldesca - Virgin Order of Malta

Today is the Memorial of St. Ubaldesca, Virgin of the Order of Malta.


St. Ubaldesca was born in Calcinaia, near Pisa, in 1136 and joined the Order of St. John of Jerusalem at the age of fifteen. She worked for fifty-five years in the infirmary attached to the monastery at Pisa, caring for her neighbour out of love of God. She died on 28 May 1206 and her body was taken back to Calcinaia where it is enshrined.

Prayer:

O God, pride of the humble lover of virginity, you called Saint Ubaldesca to the religious life in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem: grant that through her prayers and example we may rejoice in being humble and follow you, with pure minds. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(From: The Missal with readings of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes, & of Malta, London 1997)

For more information on this remarkable saint you can read the article I wrote on her, found on page 5 of the quarterly publication of the American Association, Hospitallers .

New Notre Dame Trustee Denies She Knew Emily's List was Pro-Abort

Roxanne Martino in a classic case of CYA has denied being aware that the organization that she gave nearly $20K to, Emily's List, promoted abortion. And if you believe that . . . well let's just say it is hard to believe that a person of her business acumen was entirely unaware of the immoral activities of an organization she donated a substantial amount of money to. On the other hand perhaps she is simply acting like Mr. Kruger in this classic episode from Seinfeld. I couldn't shorten the clip to the exact point so you will have to click to about the 1:05 mark to see the comparison.  Of course the whole clip is rather classic and if you are not familiar with "The Human Fund" you'll need to watch the beginning.

Reflections on Bishop Sheen from Msgr. Soseman

Msgr. Sosemen of the Diocese of Peoria asks in one of his daily reflections, do you know Bishop Sheen? Why Not?  I have posted it here and for those who haven't yet gotten to truly know him I encourage you to do so. Yesterday Bishop Jenky of Peoria presented the, Positio, on Bishop Sheen to Pope Benedict. This was the next step towards the canonization of Bishop Sheen.

Peter John Sheen. Fulton John Sheen. Monsignor Sheen. Bishop Sheen. Archbishop Fulton John Sheen. Over the years I have gotten to know all the facets of this great man's life, known in various ways by the abundance of people who came into his life.

His family members, who knew him as a studious brother, a kind uncle, a famous relative.

The young engaged couple, struggling financially, he a Protestant, resistant to the Church, she a Catholic. Bishop Sheen met with them frequently, and later performed their marriage ceremony.

Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton John Sheen

The young street sweeper in Baltimore, who, seeing the Monsignor on the street early in the morning asked to speak to him. "Walk with me to the bus station, I am late for a bus," he was told. He wrote to the Peoria office that through 60 years he has thought of these 20 minutes every day, as motivation for his life.

The drunk on the streets of Manhattan who went to Confession to Bishop Sheen, very late one night. Bishop Sheen bought him a train ticket home. His brother called rejoicing: our lost brother, husband and father has been sent back to us!

The man whose infant daughter had suffered a high fever for two weeks in a Long Island Hospital: "your daughter will never come out of this," he was told "but if she does she will be a vegetable." Bishop Sheen, asked to stop in the room when he was visiting the hospital, prayed over her, looked up, and said "Your daughter's fever will break during the night, tomorrow she will be released from the hospital." The girl's father wrote, 58 years later, telling what a wonderful nurse his daughter had become.

The untold thousands who, moved by the words of Bishop Sheen, were moved to encounter our Lord in the Church.

The untold thousands who, even after Archbishop Sheen's death, have been moved by his example, by his words, and have sought his intercession at the throne of the Heavenly Father.

Just recently I heard of a baby, whose heart stopped at birth. 61 minutes in the delivery room the medical personnel worked to restart the heart, to no avail. The parents decided to entrust their baby's life to Archbishop Sheen's intercession, asking for life, asking that there be no brain damage. In the 62nd minute life came. No brain damage.

Do you know Bishop Sheen? Why not?

New Notre Dame Trustee Donated Thousands to Pro-Abortion Groups

Is it impossible for Notre Dame to find a trustee who doesn't support pro-abortion groups. No matter how weak their argument for inviting President Obama to be the commencement speaker was was this seems even worse. 

Two weeks ago, the Cardinal Newman Society discovered that Roxanne M. Martino, a newly-appointed member of the trustees board, contributed $16,150 to the pro-abortion group EMILY’s List between 2005 and 2008. The watchdog group also uncovered information showing Martino gave donations to the Chicago Foundation for Women, which supports various pro-abortion groups including Planned Parenthood. http://blog.cardinalnewmansociety.org/2011/05/11/new-notre-dame-trustee-gave-thousands-to-pro-abortion-group/

Martino has given a total of somewhere between $3,250 and $5,996 to the pro-abortion Chicago Foundation for Women between 2004 and 2011, CNS notes.

The Sycamore Trust, the alumni group concerned for Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, followed up on the CNS report and contacted Notre Dame officials, who did not dispute the information in the CNS report. In fact, the donations to pro-abortion groups from Martino is higher than previously established.

Maybe those in charge at Notre Dame should hear the homily from Cardinal Bertone to Caritas, then again if they are going to ignore the Pope why would they pay attention to him.  Read more of the story here.

Cardinal Bertone Reminds Caritas International of It's Christian Mission

Cardinal Bertone spoke to the General Assembly of Caritas International on Sunday and reminded them that their mission is not to be just another humanitarian agency among many but must assert its Christian identity.

The full mission of Caritas Internationalis is thus carried out in the Church. This agency, along with all the national diocesan and parish offices, offers the faithful a privileged opportunity to participate in the Church’s mission and to draw near to Jesus Christ. “For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being”. This ecclesial charity has a twofold expression one within the community, another reaching out to all. First, within the Church herself, as a family,“no one ought to go without the necessities of life … no member should suffer through being in need; at the same time, caritas-agape surpasses the “confines” of the ecclesial community and following the example of the Good Samaritan, shoulders the needs of our brothers and sisters whosoever they may be.

The Church’s charitable activity, like that of Christ, could never be limited to assisting people’s material needs, however urgent and immediate those needs might be. A humanitarian assistance which would habitually prescind from its Christian identity, adapting a “neutral” approach seeking to please everyone, would risk, even in cases where it obtained its immediate goals, failing to offer men and women a fine service consonant with their full dignity. Thus, even without wishing to do so, theywould eventually foster in those whom they assist a materialistic mentality which the latter would then bring to other relationships and to their approach to social issues. In a word: the Church must not only practice charity, but practice it as Christ did.

Blessed Vilmos Apor - Chaplain SMOM

Today is the memorial for Blessed Vilmos Apor Chaplain ad honorem of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. He was a Bishop and Martyr.

Vilmos (William) Apor, born 1892, was a Hungarian bishop who earned a special reputation for his service to the poor, especially during the months of hardship that came at the end of World War II. He was also known for his hard work, his efforts for social justice and his protection of the weak. He provided emergency supplies to Jews being deported through his town. Named Bishop of Gÿor in 1941, he chose as his episcopal motto: "Crux firmat mitem, mitigat fortem".
“The Cross strengthens the weak and makes the strong gentle.”

During the many air raids he opened his home to those whose houses had been destroyed. When Russian troops entered the city in 1945, many women including religious took refuge in his episcopal residence. On Good Friday 1945 three Soviet soldiers came to the residence and demanded that the women be taken to their barracks. Bishop Apor refused and placed himself in front of the women. One of the Soviets shot and wounded him. Out of fear they then fled, leaving the women unmolested. Bishop Apor lived in great agony for three days and died on Easter Monday. His last words, "The sacrifice was worthwile".

Almighty and Eternal God, through your grace, Bishop William, by courageously
shedding his blood for his flock, earned a martyr’s crown.

Grant that we, despite the difficulties of our daily lives, may do your will and offer our good works for the salvation of our brothers and sisters.

We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen