THE VISITATION

 "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."


In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home. -- Luke 1:39-56

The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke 1:39-56. It is also the term for a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in the West (2 July in calendars of the 1263-1969 period and in the modern regional calendar of Germany) and 30 March in the East.

Mary visits her relative Elizabeth; they are both pregnant. Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist.

Mary left Nazareth immediately after the Annunciation and went to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to attend her cousin Elizabeth. Catholics believe that the purpose of this visit was to bring divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child. Even though he was still in his mother's womb, John became aware of the presence of his Divine Saviour, and leapt for joy as he was cleansed from original sin and filled with divine grace. Elizabeth also responded, and recognised the presence of Jesus. Thus Mary now for the first time exercised her function as mediatrix between God and man. (See external links.). It is also at this point (in response to Elizabeth's remark "And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb. And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."[1]) that Mary proclaims the Magnificat (My soul doth magnify the Lord), Luke 1:46b–55), for which reason this canticle had traditionally been reserved for this feast day.

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Visitation is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.


This is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Nativity of John the Baptist (June 24).

Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible actors in the visitation drama (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary and Elizabeth. However, Jesus and John the Baptist steal the scene in a hidden way. Jesus makes John leap with joy—the joy of messianic salvation. Elizabeth, in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit and addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages.

It is helpful to recall that we do not have a journalist’s account of this meeting. Rather, Luke, speaking for the Church, gives a prayerful poet’s rendition of the scene. Elizabeth’s praise of Mary as “the mother of my Lord” can be viewed as the earliest Church’s devotion to Mary. As with all authentic devotion to Mary, Elizabeth’s (the Church’s) words first praise God for what God has done to Mary. Only secondly does she praise Mary for trusting God’s words.

Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here Mary herself (like the Church) traces all her greatness to God.

One of the invocations in Mary’s litany is “Ark of the Covenant.” Like the Ark of the Covenant of old, Mary brings God’s presence into the lives of other people. As David danced before the Ark, John the Baptist leaps for joy. As the Ark helped to unite the 12 tribes of Israel by being placed in David’s capital, so Mary has the power to unite all Christians in her Son. At times, devotion to Mary may have occasioned some divisiveness, but we can hope that authentic devotion will lead all to Christ and therefore to one another.

“Moved by charity, therefore, Mary goes to the house of her kinswoman…. While every word of Elizabeth’s is filled with meaning, her final words would seem to have a fundamental importance: ‘And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her from the Lord’ (Luke 1:45). These words can be linked with the title ‘full of grace’ of the angel’s greeting. Both of these texts reveal an essential Mariological content, namely the truth about Mary, who has become really present in the mystery of Christ precisely because she ‘has believed.’ The fullness of grace announced by the angel means the gift of God himself. Mary’s faith, proclaimed by Elizabeth at the visitation, indicates how the Virgin of Nazareth responded to this gift” (Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer, 12).

Source:
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1400

SPIRIT OF LIBERTY

I leave you the spirit of liberty - not that which excludes obedience, for that is the liberty of the flesh; but that which excludes restraint, scruple, and worry. -- St. Francis De Sales

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. -- 2 Corinthians 3:17

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners. -- Isaiah 61:1

Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son always remains." -- John 8:34-35

"So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free." -- John 8:34-36

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. -- Romans 6:22

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. -- 1 Peter 2:16

For, brothers, you have been called to liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. -- Galatians 5:13

Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. -- Galatians 5:1

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. -- Romans 8:2

St. Bernadine of Siena, OFM Priest (Memorial)

If they don't want to change their ways by any other means, maybe they will change when they're made fools of.

Bernardino of Siena (sometimes Bernardine) (Massa Marittima 8 September 1380 – Aquila, Italy 20 May 1444) was an Italian priest, Franciscan missionary, and Catholic saint.

Saint Bernardino is the patron saint of advertising, communications, compulsive gambling, respiratory problems, any problems involving the chest area. He is the patron saint of Carpi (Italy), the Philippine barangay Kay-Anlog, barangay Tuna in Cardona, Rizal and the diocese of San Bernardino, California. Siena College, a Franciscan Catholic liberal arts college in New York state, was named after him and under his spiritual patronage.

Bernardino was born in 1380 to the noble Albizeschi family in Massa Marittima (Tuscany), a Sienese town of which his father was then governor. Left orphaned at six, he was raised by a pious aunt. On the completion of his education he spent some years in the service of the sick in the hospitals. While he was studying civil and canon law in Siena, he worked in the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala throughout the bubonic plague outbreak of 1400 and even urged other young men to stay and help. He thus caught the plague, of which he nearly died. In 1403 he joined the Observant branch of the Order of Friars Minor, with a strict observance of Francis' Rule. He was ordained a priest in 1404 and was commissioned as a preacher in 1405.[1]

For more than 30 years, St Bernardino preached all over Italy, and played a great part in the religious revival of the early fifteenth century. His success was claimed to be remarkable. Enormous crowds came to hear him speak. It was said that feuds and factionalism were reconciled by his counsel and that miracles took place. Donations to the Holy Name of Jesus (which he preached particularly) increased dramatically. Furthermore, "bonfires of vanities" were held at his sermon sites, where people were encouraged to burn objects of temptation. In 1425, he preached every day for seven weeks in Siena.

In 1427 he was summoned to Rome to stand trial on charges of heresy, with theologians including Paulus Venetus present to give their opinions. Bernardino was found innocent of heresy, and he impressed Pope Martin V sufficiently that Martin requested he preach in Rome. He was acquitted and thereupon preached every day for 80 days. A typical sermon would last for an hour, but some lasted for more than four. Bernardino's zeal was such that he would prepare up to four drafts of a sermon before starting to speak. That same year, he was offered the bishopric of Siena, but declined in order to maintain his monastic and evangelical activities. In 1431, he toured Tuscany, Lombardy, Romagna, and Ancona before returning to Siena to prevent a war against Florence. Also in 1431, he declined the bishopric of Ferrara, and in 1435 he declined the bishopric of Urbino.

Saint John Capistran was his friend, and Saint James of the Marches was his disciple during these years. Both Pope Martin V and Pope Eugene IV were urged by their cardinals to condemn Bernardino, but both almost instantly acquitted him. A trial at the Council of Basel ended with an acquittal too. The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund sought Bernardino's counsel and intercession and the future saint accompanied him to Rome in 1433 for his coronation.

Soon thereafter, he withdrew again to Capriola to compose a series of sermons. He resumed his missionary labours in 1436, but was forced to abandon them in the following year, when he became vicar-general of the Observant branch of the Franciscans in Italy. In 1438, Bernardino was elevated to vicar-general of the Franciscan Order in Italy. This cut back his opportunities to preach, but he continued to speak to the public when he could. Having in 1442 persuaded the pope to accept his resignation as vicar-general so that he might give himself more undividedly to preaching, Bernardino again resumed his missionary labours. Despite a Papal Bull issued by Eugene IV in 1443 which charged Bernardino to preach the indulgence for the Crusade against the Turks, there is no record of his having done so. In 1444, notwithstanding his increasing infirmities, Bernardino, desirous that there should be no part of Italy which had not heard his voice, set out to the Kingdom of Naples. He died that year at L'Aquila, in the Abruzzi. According to tradition, his grave continued to leak blood until two factions of the city achieved reconciliation.

Reports of miracles attributed to Bernardino multiplied rapidly and Bernardino was canonized in 1450, only six years after his death, by Pope Nicholas V. His feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is on 20 May, the day of his death.

St. Crispin of Viterbo, Religious (Memorial)

"Let us love God who deserves it!"

Saint Crispin of Viterbo, OFM Cap, (13 November 1668 – 19 May 1750) was an Italian member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

Crispin was born Pietro Fioretti in Viterbo. When he was five years old, his mother took him to a sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin, a short distance from Viterbo, where she consecrated him to the Mother of God and placed him under her special protection. The child was known for his piety and knowledge of the saints; so that the townsfolk of Viterbo were wont to call him el Santarello, the little saint.

As Crispin one day saw the Capuchin novices walking in procession, he was inspired with the desire to embrace the religious life. He was shortly afterwards received into the Capuchin Franciscan Order as a simple lay brother. Having been employed for some time as cook in the convent at Viterbo, he was sent to Tolfa, a town not far distant from Civitavecchia, to fulfil the same office. From there he was sent to Rome and finally to Albano. Here Crispin was visited by the men of the world, by bishops and cardinals, and even by the pope himself, who always took delight in conversing with the humble lay brother. It was Crispin's constant endeavour to imitate the virtues of his patron, St. Felix of Cantalice, whom he had chosen as his model of perfection at the beginning of his religious life.

Like St Felix, Crispin used to call himself the ass or beast of burden of the Capuchins, and, having on one occasion been asked by a stranger why he went bare-headed, Crispin answered, that "an ass does not wear a hat." Enfeebled by old age and by his numerous austerities, he was sent from Albano to Rome by his superiors, there to end his holy life. His body, which even at the present time is still in a remarkable state of preservation, rests under one of the side altars in the Capuchin church of the Immaculate Conception in Rome.

Saint Crispin was beatified by Pope Pius VII on September 7, 1806 and was the first saint canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 20, 1982.


source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispin_of_Viterbo

St. Paschal Baylon, OFM, Religious (Memorial)

"I was born poor and am resolved 

to die in poverty and penance."

Saint Paschal Baylon (or Pascal Baylon) (24 May 1540 – 17 May 1592) was a Spanish friar and is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of Eucharistic congresses and Eucharistic associations.

He was born at Torrehermosa, in the Kingdom of Aragon, on 24 May 1540, on the Feast of Pentecost, called in Spain "the Pasch (or "Passover") of the Holy Ghost", whence the name Paschal. His parents, Martin Baylon and Elizabeth Jubera, were poor peasants. He spent his youth as a shepherd. He would carry a book with him and beg passersby to teach him the alphabet and to read, and as he toiled in the fields he would read religious books.

In around 1564, he joined the Reformed Franciscan Order (Alcantarine Reform) as a lay brother. He chose to live in poor monasteries because, he said, "I was born poor and am resolved to die in poverty and penance." He lived a life of poverty and prayer, even praying while working, for the rest of his life.

He was a mystic and contemplative, and he had frequent ecstatic visions. He would spend the night before the altar in prayer many nights. At the same time, he sought to downplay any glory that might come from this piety. He died on May 17, which is his current feast day, in 1592.

His tomb in the Royal Chapel in Villareal in the old province of Valencia, where he died, immediately became an object of pilgrimage. Beatified by Paul V in 1618, he was canonized by Alexander VIII on October 16, 1690. The saint is usually depicted in adoration before a vision of the Eucharist.

Forty years before he was canonized, an indigenous Guatemalan claimed to have had a vision of a sainted Paschal Baylon, appearing as a robed skeleton. This event became the basis of the heterodox tradition of San Pascualito.[1]

Paschal Baylon was enlisted in the Church's struggle against Modernism, part of which was through increasing devotion towards the Sacrament of the Eucharist; Pope Leo XIII[2] proclaimed Saint Paschal Baylon, the "seraph of the Eucharist", Patron of eucharistic congresses and all contemporary and future eucharistic associations. Christian Art usually depicts him wearing the Franciscan habit and bearing a Monstrance, signifying his devotion to the Holy Eucharist.

During the Red Terror at the time of the Spanish Civil War his grave was desecrated and his relics burned by anticlerical leftists.

St. Margaret of Cortona, III Order (Memorial)

"I neither seek nor wish for anything but You, my Lord Jesus." 

Margaret of Cortona (1247 – February 22, 1297) was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonized in 1728.

She is the patron saint of the falsely accused; hoboes; homeless; insane; orphaned; mentally ill; midwives; penitents; single mothers; reformed prostitutes; third children; tramps.

At the age of seven, Margaret's mother died and her father remarried. Little love was shared between stepmother and stepdaughter.[citation needed] At the age of 17 she met a young man, according to some accounts a man named Arsenio, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano. She ran away with him. For ten years she lived with him in his house near Montepulciano and bore him a son. She wanted to marry him as promised, but he refused[citation needed].

When Arsenio failed to return home from a journey one day, Margaret became worried[citation needed]. The unaccompanied return of his favourite hound alarmed Margaret, and the hound led her to his murdered body which was located deep in a forest. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of prayer and penance, and Margaret returned all the gifts he had given her and left his home. With her child, she returned to her father's house but her stepmother would not have her. Margaret and son then went to the Friars at Cortona where she put herself in their care at the church of San Francesco in the city. She fasted, avoided meat, and subsisted on bread and vegetables.

After three years, St. Margaret joined the Third Order of St. Francis and chose to live in poverty. Following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread. She became a Franciscan tertiary.

In 1277, while in prayer, she heard the words: "What is your wish, poverella (little poor one)?" and she replied: "I neither seek nor wish for anything but You, my Lord Jesus." She began regular communications with God. She asked the city of Cortona to found a hospital for the sick, homeless and impoverished. To secure nurses for the hospital, she instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as "le poverelle". She also established a link to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy.

On several occasions, St. Margaret participated in public affairs. Twice following Divine command, she challenged Msgr. Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, Bishop of Arezzo, in which diocese Cortona sat, because he lived like a prince. St. Margaret moved to the ruined Church of St. Basil and spent her remaining years there. She is buried there. After her death, the Church was rebuilt in her honor. St. Margaret was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on May 16, 1728.

How can I be Perfect?

Daily advance, then, in this love, both by praying and by well doing, that through the help of Him who enjoined it on you, and whose gift it is, it may be nourished and increased, until, being perfected, it render you perfect. -- St. Augustine

"Therefore you are to be perfect, 

as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Matthew 5:48

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." -- Matthew 19:21