From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

July 11th - Pope St. Pius I

St. Pius I (140-155) was born in the city of Aquilea, He succeeded St.
Hyginus (136-140) in the Apostolic See. He was friend of St. Polycarp
of Smyrna and St. Justin the Apologist, who fought against the Gnostic
heresy that was contaminating the Church. St. Pius I demanded the
highest respect for the consecrated species of Bread and Wine in the
Eucharist. He made a special decree prescribing that if a negligent
priest would let even a drop of the Precious Blood fall on the ground
he would have to make 40 days of penance. If the Precious Blood would
be spilled on the Altar and not onto the ground, the penance would be
between 3-9 days, depending upon the quantity spilled.

One of the places where St. Peter and St. Paul used to work, the
palace of St. Prudentiana, was transformed by Pope Pius I into a
church. After governing the Catholic Church for 15 years, St. Pius I
suffered martyrdom under Marcus Aurelius.


Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corr=C3=AAa de Oliveira: (died 1995)

One can see that St. Pius I was a Pope who carried out his functions
during the period of the Roman persecutions. Thus he counts among
those first Popes who were associated with the admirable work of the
internal organization of the Church. This is a very important point
that historians and scholars habitually overlook.

During the persecutions, even when she was being stepped on and
wounded, even when she was pouring out blood in all her parts, the
Catholic Church continued to organize herself. After Constantine's
decree that gave liberty to the Church, she came out of the catacombs,
and one could admire her full and perfect organization: she had a
Hierarchy, an exact Church Law, all her structures had been made, her
liturgy defined, and a wealth of doctrine established. This means that
from the time that St. Peter and St. Paul arrived in Rome until the
moment the Church left the catacombs, an enormous work of organization
had been carried out.

The Catholic Church appeared as the first entity in History claiming a universal character. Until then, this idea was absurd. All the
existent religions and other organizations were limited by borders of
State. The Church claimed this universality naturally, wisely, and
with good sense. She emerged from the catacombs already with her
universal character and carried on naturally because everything was
already prepared for that.

This means that even while she was suffering persecutions, she was not
obsessed by them. At the same time, she was serenely constructing her magnificent structure. One might think that the development of the
body of the Church would need to be made in peace and tranquillity,
that persecuted men could never do such a thing. But the opposite is
true.

Throughout that period, those very men who were threatened,
persecuted, at constant risk of being brought before the Roman
tribunals and receiving their martyrdom, never ceased thinking,
praying, and making the Church more perfect ' here a point of doctr=
ine
was polished, there a part of the liturgy was improved, over there a
new custom was being established. Considering this serenity and calm,
one is reminded of the serenity and calm of the martyrs in the arena.
That tranquillity before death was present at the tragic moment when
they were facing beasts and tortures. This was a consequence of a
state of spirit fostered by the Catholic Church that kept them in a
constant state of confidence and calm. This also explains why they
were able to calmly and serenely construct, stone by stone, the
extraordinary institution that they built.

The contemplative state also was born in the Church as another
consequence of the persecutions. Many Catholics, fleeing the
persecutions of the pagan Roman Empire, found refuge in the desert.
There they began to dwell in isolation, living lives of prayer and
sacrifice, which became the eremitic life of contemplation.

Here, then, one sees the admirable panorama of the life of the Church
at that time: The great ever growing number of martyrs, the apostolate
of the Church extending to all corners, her spirit of recollection
giving rise to a flourishing contemplative state. It was an admirable
growth and development.

Behind all those initiatives was the presence of the Holy Ghost. The
Roman Catholic Church is more than a society of defined persons ' t=
he
Pope, Bishops, Clergy, and faithful. This is the human element of the
Church. But there is also that which is called the spirit of the
Church. This spirit is the continuity in the Church of a determined
mentality, a determined wisdom, a determined Faith, and a determined
virtue, which exist not by a work of man, but by a supernatural
factor: this is the action of the Holy Ghost. By means of this action,
good Catholics everywhere in all centuries understood each other, knew
each other, and supported each other. They had a single mentality, and
when they died, others came and succeeded them with the same
spirit....

=C2 See more at
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j029sdPiusI_7-11.htm


Saint Quote:
I find myself so bound to the divine will that neither death nor life
is important: I want to live as He wishes and I want to serve Him as
He likes, and nothing more.
-- Saint Rose Venerini

Bible Quote:
=C2 Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.=C2 (Matt. 25:34)


<><><><>
Pious recommendation to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Most holy Virgin, Mother of the incarnate Word, treasure-house of grace and refuge of us wretched sinners, with lively faith we have recourse to thy motherly love, and ask of thee the grace of ever doing God's will and
thine. In thy most holy hands we place our hearts, and of thee we ask
health of body and soul; and, as we have the sure hope that thou, our most loving mother, wilt hear us, we say to thee with lively faith, Hail
Mary.... (three times)

Let us pray: Defend, we beseech Thee O Lord! by the intercession of the
Blessed Mary, ever virgin, Thy servants from all infirmity; and mercifully deign to guard them, prostate in the sincerity of their hearts before Thee, against the snares of the enemy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)