• =?UTF-8?Q?7_August_'_Saint_Albert_of_Sicily?=

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Thu Aug 6 10:06:49 2020
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    7 August ' Saint Albert of Sicily
    (Also known as Albert of Trapani, Albert the Abbot, Albert degli Abbati)

    Carmelite Priest, Confessor, Preacher, Evangeliser, apostle of prayer
    and a devout servant of the Blessed Virgin and the Passion of Christ.
    He was born as Alberto degli Abati in c 1240 at Trapani, Sicily, Italy
    and died on 7 August 1306 at Messina, Italy of natural causes. He
    practised great austerities upon himself to make himself poor in the
    spirit of Jesus Christ and went out preaching and evangelising, he was
    known for working and maintaining a positive relationship with Jews as
    well as for his powers of healing. The saint was likewise attributed
    with the 1301 lifting of the siege in Messina, that could have seen
    hundreds die from starvation had it not been for his intervention. Patronages--Trapani, Carmelite order, Carmelite schools, Palermo
    Sicily.

    Alberto degli Abati was born circa 1240 in Trapani, Sicily, Italy as
    the sole child to the nobles (of Florentine origin) Benedetto degli
    Abati and Giovanna Palizi. His father served as an admiral in the
    fleet of Frederick II of Hohensautfen. His parents--who married in
    1214--were sterile and promised that if blessed with a son he would be consecrated to the Beata Vergine Maria del Monte Carmelo. In his
    childhood his father had thought of arranging a marriage for him but
    his mother was able to remind her husband, to adhere to the vow the
    couple made, that he be consecrated to the Lord.

    Sicily was one of the first areas of Carmelite settlement and
    expansion in the west. This island was an obvious choice for the
    Carmelites, coming west from Palestine, in which to make a foundation.
    Young Albert appears to have been attracted by the newcomers and
    entered the Order at Trapani, on the western side of the island.

    After his ordination, Albert was sent to the priory at Messina, also
    in Sicily and this was the main centre of his life's work. St Alber=
    t
    typified the new kind of Carmelite that adaptation to the west
    produced, a man of prayer and penance, a lover of solitude but also a
    man engaged in study and in the active apostolate. There were many
    Jews living in Sicily at this time and Albert seems to have made them
    a special object and been successful in making converts. He is also
    said to have written books, though none survive and he is regarded as
    patron of Carmelite studies. The order recognised his many and
    outstanding abilities. He attended the General Chapter at Bruges in
    1297, in the capacity as Superior. However, he spent the last years of
    his life before his death in 1307, living in a hermitage near Messina.

    He was recognised as a wonder-worker during his lifetime, miracles and
    cures continued to be attributed to Albert's intercession after his
    death.

    His cult spread quickly through the whole of the Order. The date of a translation of his relics, said to have been made in the year 1309 or
    1316, is uncertain. (This latter would seem more exact). Albert was
    among the first Carmelite saints venerated by the Order, of which he
    was later considered a patron and protector. Already in 1346 there was
    a chapel dedicated to him, in the convent of Palermo. At various
    general chapters, beginning with that of 1375, his papal canonisation
    was proposed. In the chapter of 1411 it was said that his Proper
    Office was ready.

    In 1457 Pope Callixtus III, by verbal consent permitted his cult,
    which was consequently confirmed by Pope Sixtus IV with a bull of 31
    May 1476. In 1524 it was ordered that his image be found on the seal
    of the general chapter. Moreover, the general of the Order, Nicholas
    Audet, wanted an altar dedicated to him in every Carmelite church.
    Even earlier, the chapter of 1420 had ordered that his image with a
    halo should be found in all the convents of the Order. With this
    intense and extended cult, his abundant iconography is easily
    understood. In it he is represented (with or without a book), first,
    bearing a lily, a symbol of his victory over the senses at the
    beginning of his religious life or with a crucifix and the Blessed
    Virgin.

    In 1623 one of the gates of the city of Messina was dedicated to him.
    He is the patron of Trapani, of Erice, of Palermo and of Revere
    (Mantua). St Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) and St Mary Magdalene de
    Pazzi (1566-1607) were especially devoted to him, the Bl Baptist
    Spagnoli (1447'1516) composed a sapphic ode in his honour. His reli=
    cs
    are spread throughout Europe. The head of the Saint is in the
    Carmelite church of Trapani where he is still venerated, especially as
    a patron against fever. His feast day is celebrated there with great
    ceremony on 7 August. In the last liturgical reform the rank of feast
    was granted for St Albert to the Carmelites and of memorial to the
    Discalced of the same Order.

    By Anastpaul 2019


    Saint Quote:
    Humility is necessary not only for the acquisition of virtues, but
    even for salvation.=C2 For the gate of Heaven, as Christ Himself
    testifies, is so narrow that it admits only little ones.
    --St. Bernard

    Bible Quote:
    He hath not dealt with us according to our sins: nor rewarded us
    according to our iniquities.=C2 For according to the height of the
    heaven above the earth: he hath strengthened his mercy towards them
    that fear him.=C2 (Psalms 102:10-11)


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    Let us pray.

    Lord God,
    you made St Albert of Trapani
    a model of purity and prayer,
    and a devoted servant of Our Lady.
    May we practise these same virtues
    and so be worthy always
    to share the banquet of your grace.
    We ask this through Christ our Lord.
    Amen.

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