Saint of the Day - St. Veronica Giuliani

St. Veronica was born in Italy in 1660, the daughter of the wealthy couple Francesco Giuliani and Benedetta Mancini. The child was baptised Ursula Giuliani. Her first words were spoken at the age of eighteen months when she said to a crooked merchant "Do justice, God sees you." At the age of three she began to receive visions from Our Lord. Throughout her youth she was known to be a pious child though she was prone to anger, especially when others did not readily join in her religious practices, at which times she could also become quite domineering. She finally recognized these imperfections when, at the age of sixteen, she received a vision of her own heart as a heart of steel. From then on she worked to correct these faults. She also confessed in her writings to a great pleasure in the worldly things which she enjoyed in her parents' home.

However, Ursula had long been resolved to enter the religious life despite her father's desire for her to marry. When he began to bring suitors to her the girl fell ill causing her father to relent and give his blessing to her call to the religious life.

In 1677, at the age of 17, Ursula Giuliani entered the convent of the Capuchin Poor Clares in Citt' di Castello, Italy. She took, at this time, the name of Veronica, in memory of Christ's Passion. Throughout her novitiate, Veronica suffered great temptations to return to the world. Soon after her profession of vows in 1678, at which she started to desire to share Christ's sufferings for the conversion of sinners, Veronica began to experience a severe pain in her heart. After her death an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart. The pain this caused was a prelude to a life spent in suffering for the conversion of sinners. Fifteen years after first experiencing this pain Veronica received a vision of the chalice which represented "the Divine Passion which was to be re-enacted in her own soul. At first she shrank from accepting it and only by great effort eventually submitted. She then began to endure intense spiritual suffering." One year later she received the first of the stigmata, the imprint of the crown of thorns about her head. In obedience to the Bishop, Sister Veronica submitted to medical treatment but obtained no relief. She also had to undergo scrutiny from Church authorities (in order to ascertain that this was in fact a mystical occurence) which increased when, on Good Friday 1697, she received the complete stigmata: the wounds of Christ in her hands, feet, and side.

Despite her mystical experiences, Sister Veronica was known to be a highly practical woman. While serving as novice mistress in the convent she refused to allow the young women to read anything related to mysticism, "insisting that they become practical brides of Christ." Later, as abbess of her house, Sister Veronica enlarged the convent and had a system of water-pipes installed.

Sister Veronica died of natural causes on July 9, 1727 at the convent. Her body remains incorrupt. She was canonized on May 26, 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.

100 Books Every Woman Should Read - The Odyssey ***

The Complete Woman Blog says: "This tale of homecoming has fascinated for millenia and the Robert Fitzgerald translation makes it as engaging and fast-paced as Homer ought to be. The final destruction of the suitors is hugely satisfying."

When I thought of reading The Odyssey I envisioned a giant tome that would take at least a year to get through. What I got was an easy to read paperback that I finished in two days. Granted, my job allows me 8 straight hours of reading a day, but still.





I would recommend The Odyssey. It's a good story, easy to read, entertaining, and a classic (which means you'll sound intelligent when you say you've read it). There was no glaring immorality in it and even contained, one could argue, a defense of fidelity. I was fascinated by the piety of the characters. If they had been worshipping the one, true God I would have been cheering them on. Nevertheless, I think a lot of Catholics could learn from the piety displayed in this book, given, of course, that they understand that this piety should be directed to God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and not to some bizarre idol (or idols, as the case may be).



One quote that I found thought-provoking was:




"My word, how mortals take the gods to task!
All their afflictions come from us we hear.
And what of their own failings? Greed and folly
double the suffering in the lot of man."




I think this is perfectly theologically true in view of our sins. We often blame suffering on God with no recognition that our sins are the cause of suffering in the first place. That is not to say that the less you sin the less you will suffer, but rather, the closer you are to God the better you will be able to understand and cope with your suffering. This is because you will recognize that this is the price mankind has had to pay for our transgressions and it is a far cry from what we would have had to endure had Christ not suffered Himself and died for us. Due to His great love for mankind God sent His only Son to take our sins and punishment upon Himself. If we truly understand this we will rejoice to share in His sufferings.



Three stars for the Odyssey.

Saint of the Day - St. Grimbald

Grimbald was born around 825 A.D. in Therouanne (Pas-de-Calais), France. He became a Benedictine monk around the year 840 and was ordained a priest in 870. Following his ordination, Grimbald was appointed abbot of Saint-Bertin.

Grimbald's first encounter with King Alfred (of England) came while on his way to Rome in 886. Alfred was so impressed with Grimbald that, a year later, he invited him to come to England. Grimbald accepted. He would reside in a small monastery in Winchester while serving as court scholar.

Grimbald went on to help found the University of Oxford where he served as its first professor of divinity. Alfred even offered Grimbald the prestigious Archbishopric of Canterbury but Grimbald declined, preferring the position of dean of the secular canons of New Minster at Winchester, the town Church.

In his final days, the fast deteriorating Grimbald prostrated himself on the floor in order to receive Holy Communion. He then requested that he be left alone with God for three days. On the fourth day the monks were called to his chamber where he passed away peacefully amidst their prayers.

Saint of the Day - Blesseds Roger Dickenson and Ralph Milner

Ralph Milner was born in Flacsted, Hants, England, in the sixteenth century, during the reign of the Tudors. He spent the majority of his life as a farm laborer in his native village where he and his wife had 8 children. Ralph was raised as an Anglican but after observing the pious example of his Catholic neighbors he made the decision to enter the Church.

However, at the time, England was in the midst of the Catholic persecutions ordered by Queen Elizabeth I. Due to this, Ralph was arrested on the same day that he received his first Holy Communion.

Because the jailer took a liking to Ralph he was often let out on parole. It was during this time that he met the undercover Catholic priest "Mr." Roger Dickenson. Ralph would act as escort to Fr. Dickenson "conducting [him] to the different villages to minister to the spiritual needs of the scattered and persecuted flock."

Eventually both men were caught in the act and placed in close confinement while awaiting their trial. At the trial the judge had pity on Ralph because of his large family and offered him a deal. If Ralph would just once attend a Protestant Church he could go free. Ralph refused "to embrace a counsel so disagreeable to the maxims of the Gospel."

He and Fr. Dickenson were led to the gallows on July 7, 1591. Ralph's 8 children were brought to him as he awaited the hangman in a last-ditch attempt to convince him to renounce his faith. Instead, Ralph gave his children his final blessing and declared that "he could wish them no greater happiness than to die for the like cause." He and Fr. Dickenson then went bravely to their execution by means of hanging, drawing and quartering.

Saint of the Day St. Maria Goretti

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890 in Corinaldo, Italy, the daughter of poor sharecroppers Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. Six years after Maria's birth Mr. Goretti moved his family from Corinaldo to Ferriere di Conca in search of work. The Gorettis moved in with the Serenelli family on their farm. Soon after the move Maria's father succumbed to malaria, leaving his wife, Assunta, to care for their six children. In the wake of this loss Maria "developed great strength and maturity," in addition to growing in grace and holiness. It was noted that Maria forsook playing in the dusty streets with the other children in order to cheerfully perform mundane household chores.

The highlight of Maria's short life was her first Holy Communion on June 16, 1901 in the Church of Conca. Her careful preparations displayed an eager anticipation to receive the sacraments.

Maria had long been sexually harassed by the twenty year old Alessandro Serenelli, the son of the couple with whom the Goretti's shared a house. Alessandro later wrote that "Looking back on my past, I can see that in my early youth, I chose a bad path which led me to ruin myself. My behavior was influenced by print, mass-media and bad examples which are followed by the majority of young people without even thinking. And I did the same. I was not worried. There were a lot of generous and devoted people who surrounded me, but I paid no attention to them because a violent force blinded me and pushed me toward a wrong way of life." On July 5, 1902 Alessandro attemted to rape the twelve year old Maria. The young girl fought her attacker, shouting "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" When unable to subdue the young girl, Alessandro stabbed her fourteen times. Maria suffered for twenty hours while doctors struggled to save her life. All the while she prayed for Alessandro. She received the Anointing of the Sick a little over one year after her first Communion. Maria passed away the day after the attack while holding a crucifix and a medal of Our Lady.

Alessandro Serenelli was sentenced to thirty years hard labor - a short sentence because he was a minor. By his sixth year in prison Alessandro was on the brink of despair. As he lay in his cell one night he had a vision of Maria gathering lilies - the flower symbolic of purity. She smiled and encouraged him to take some of the flowers. As he took them, each flower transformer into a still white flame, after which Maria disappeared.

This apparition led to Alessandro's conversion. When his prison sentence was finished Alessandro retired to a Capuchin Franciscan monastery where he worked in the garden. He asked, and received, forgiveness of Maria's mother whom he accompanied to Christmas Mass at the parish Church where he also asked forgiveness of God and the community. He later testified at Maria's cause for beatification and accompanied her mother to Maria's canonization by Pope Pius XII on June 24, 1950. This was the first time a parent had witnessed her child's canonization.

Alessandro passed away on May 6, 1970 in the Capuschin Convent of Macerata, after writing his short testimony.

Maria is the patron saint: against poverty; against the death of parents; of the diocese of Albano, Italy; of children; of Children of Mary; of girls; of martyrs; of poor people; of rape victims; and of young people.

Official Prayer to St. Maria Goretti
Oh Saint Maria Goretti who, strengthened by God's grace, did not hesitate even at the age of twelve to shed your blood and sacrifice life itself to defend your virginal purity, look graciously on the unhappy human race which has strayed far from the path of eternal salvation. Teach us all, and especially youth, with what courage and promptitude we should flee for the love of Jesus anything that could offend Him or stain our souls with sin. Obtain for us from our Lord victory in temptation, comfort in the sorrows of life, and the grace which we earnestly beg of thee (here insert intention), and may we one day enjoy with thee the imperishable glory of Heaven. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc.St. Maria Goretti, pray for us!

100 Books Every Woman Should Read - Le Morte D'Arthur **

Last year I came across a list of 100 Books Every Woman Should Read. So I began to read them. And I've decided that I'm going to start doing reviews of each of them on here as I finish. The asterisks next to the book title in the heading represent my rating of the book out of a total of 4 stars (or, in this case, asterisks). Oh, and just because it's a list of books every woman should read doesn't mean men can't read them too (though you can find a list of 100 Books Every Man Should Read here). And so we begin today with Le Morte D'Arthur.

Here's what The Complete Woman Blog has to say about the book: "And speaking of Malory . . . his compendium of Arthurian lore is a classic and well worth reading. It is commonly known as Le Morte D'Arthur or "The Death of Arthur" but that is properly only the title of the final section. There is much to love about this book, not the least of which is its gorgeous Middle English prose."

Le Morte D'Arthur translated literally means The Death of Arthur. Though technically only the title for the last section of the book, Le Morte D'Arthur has come to be used as the title for the entire collection of the tales of King Arthur. And no, I didn't read it in French, I'm not that talented.


I began reading Le Morte D'Arthur with the typical idea of knights in shining armor and suchwhat. Unfortunately, for the first 14 books of the volume I found myself sadly misled. The morality of these 14 books was incredibly screwed up. A common frustration was knights committing particularly agregious adulteries but then making a point of stating that they were daily Communicants. It was not until the entrance of Sir Galahad and the quest for the Sangreal that any legitimate morality or theology appeared. Unfortunately, though always nice, the religious tales were not always theologically correct. In addition to all this there is a significant demonization, throughout the book, of the "old law," meaning the thousands of years of Judaism prior to Christ. Well now isn't that dumb. Y'know considering that Christ WAS Jewish and said Himself in regards to the law that "I come not to abolish, but to fulfill." I really have nothing to add to that.

So, now, under the good points of the book we find a plethora of excellent quotes (mostly from the quest for the Sangreal) which I will allow to speak for themselves (for the most part):

• Sir Launcelot's recognition of his sin was one of the highlights of the book: "My sin and my wickedness have brought me unto great dishonour. For when I sought worldly adventures for worldly desires, I ever enchieved them and had the better in every place, and never was I discomfit in no quarrel, were it right or wrong. And now I take upon me the adventures of holy things, and now I see and understand that mine old sin hindereth me and shameth me, so that I had no power to stir nor speak when the Holy Blood appeared afore me."


• The book also contains a fantastic explanation of why we cannot receive the Eucharist while in a state of mortal sin: "And for your presumption to take upon you in deadly sin for to be in His presence, where His flesh and His blood was, that caused you ye might not see it with worldly eyes; for He will not appear where such sinners be, but if it be unto their great hurt and unto their great shame; and there is no knight living now that ought to give God so great thank as ye, for He hath given you beauty, seemliness, and great strength above all other knights; and therefore ye are the more beholding unto God than any other man, to love Him and dread Him, for your strength and manhood will little avail you an God be against you." The Sangreal (or Holy Grail) helps to emphasize this point in the book, however it is something that we need to be aware of every time we receive the Eucharist at Mass.


• There is a beautiful story told of King Solomon and the Virgin Mary (it's not actually Biblical but the message is true): "This Solomon had an evil wife, wherethrough he weened that there had been no good woman, and so he despised them in his books. So answer a voice him once: Solomon, if heaviness come to a man by a woman ne reck thou never; for yet shall there come a woman whereof there shall come greater joy to man an hundred times more than this heaviness giveth sorrow; and that woman shall be born of thy lineage. Tho when Solomon heard these words he held himself but a fool and the truth he perceived by old books. Also the Holy Ghost showed him the coming of the glorious Virgin Mary."

• I absolutely loved this one: "For if they misdid against God, the vengeance is not ours, but to Him which hath power thereof." I mean, it's pretty much taken straight from the Bible so you know it's good.


• Le Morte D'Arthur also contains a superb argument against euthanasia: "In the name of God, said an old man, for I do you verily to wit he is not dead, but he is so full of life as the mightiest of you all; and therefore I counsel you taht he be well kept till God send him life again." Basically, until they actually die, we never really know if a person will recover. For example, I remember reading about a woman who was in a coma for sixteen years and then recovered. I'm sure there have been people who have been in a coma longer than that and recovered. What it comes down to is: it's not our job to decide when people die! God will take a person home when it's their time and if we start fooling around with death we're gonna make some serious errors.


• Sir Galahad displays sanctity throughout his adventures but never more so than in this passage which gives an excellent explanation of the glory of God: "And Galahad fell in his prayer long time to Our Lord, that at what time he asked, that he should pass out of this world. So much he prayed till a voice said to him: Galahad, thou shalt have thy request; and when thou askest the death of thy body thou shalt have it and then shalt thou find the life of the soul. Percivale heard this, and prayed him, of fellowship that was between them, to tell him wherefore he asked such things. That shall I tell you, said Galahad; the other day when we saw a part of the adventures of the Sangreal I was in such a joy of heart, that I trow never man was that was earthly. And therefore I wot well, when my body is dead my soul shall be in great joy to see the blessed Trinity every day, and the majesty of Our Lord, Jesu Christ."


• One aspect of this book that I absolutely love is a real understanding of the Eucharist and the Mass. Here are the best examples:

1. "So came there out of a chamber a good man which was a priest and bare God's Body in a cup."


2. "Then he looked up in the midst of the chamber, and saw a table of silver, and the Holy Vessel, covered with red samite, and many angels about it, whereof one held a candle of wax burning, and the other held a cross, and the ornaments of an altar. And before the Holy Vessel he saw a good man clothed as a priest. And it seemed that he was at the sacring of the Mass. And it seemed to Launcelot that above the priest's hands were three men, whereof the two put the youngest by likeness between the priest's hands; and so he lift it up right high, and it seemed to show so to the people."


3. "And then he took an ubblie which was made in likeness of bread. And at the lifting up there came a figure in likeness of a child, and the visage was as red and as bright as any fire, and smote Himself into the bread, so that they all saw it that the bread was formed of a flshly man; and then he put it into the Holy Vessel again, and then he did that longed to a priest to do to a Mass."
   

It comes down to this: from the quest for the Sangreal to the end of the book is worth reading. The end, in fact, with it's tales of repentance and salvation, almost made the rest of the book worth it. Almost. I appreciate that the first 14 books were (somewhat) necessary backround information but they were immoral, tedious, and just an absolute chore to read. So I would give the end of the book 3 stars and the rest of it 1 star. So, to compromise, I give the book as a whole 2 stars. And my recommendation is: if you absolutely must read about King Arthur just read from the entrance of Sir Galahad and the beginning of the quest for the Sangreal to the end. Skip all that other stuff, it's just not worth it.

Oh, I almost forgot, my very favorite part of the book was the note at the end from Sir Thomas Mallory, the translator, asking the reader to pray for him. If I ever wrote a book that's how I'd want to end it.

Saint of the Day - St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born in 1502 to a noble family in Cremona, Lombardy, Italy. His father died two years later leaving Anthony's eighteen year old mother to raise their son.

The only story we have of Anthony's childhood tells that on his way home from school Anthony gave his cape to a beggar.

Anthony studied medicine and philosophy in Padua, earning his doctorate at the age of 22. He never officially practiced medicine though he did use his knowledge to minister to the poor. He also worked as a Catechist, gathering children together in order to teach them the Catechism and gathering adults for Scripture reading and meditation.

Anthony was ordained to the priesthood in January 1529 and legend holds that angels were seen around the altar during his first Mass. Following his ordination Anthony's catechetical gatherings developed into a structured group to which he delivered his sermons. He continued his outreach to the poor and sick, most especially during the plague of 1528. Anthony also served as spiritual director to several different groups and individuals.

Anthony's most commemorated achievement was his transformation of the feeble Oratory of Eternal Wisdom into "a new and original religious community, consisting of three families: priests, sisters, and lay people." The priestly family was named Sons of St. Paul though they acquired the title of Barnabites once they began to inhabit the Church of St. Barnabas. The family of sisters took the name Angelics of St. Paul and the lay family became known as the Marrieds of St. Paul.

Anthony passed away due to illness at his mother's home in Cremona on the octave of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, July 5, 1539. He was canonized on May 27, 1897 by Pope Leo XIII.