From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
27 January =E2=80=93 Blessed George Matulaitis MIC
Archbishop of Vilnius from late 1918 until his resignation in 1925,
Apostolic Nuncio in Lithuania, Founder of the Congregation of the Poor
Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and
the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist, Professor, Spiritual Director =E2=80=93 he served as the Superior-General of the Marian Fathers from 1911 until his death and is known as the =E2=80=9CRenovator of The Marians.=E2= =80=9D Born
as Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevi=C4=8Dius on 13 April 1871 at Lugine,
Lithuania and died on 27 January 1927 of appendicitis at Kaunas,
Lithuania. Patronages =E2=80=93 Teachers, Sisters of the Immaculate
Conception, Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist. He worked in secret
to revive the Marian Fathers after the Russian authorities suppressed
all religious orders and he even relinquished his teaching position to
better dedicate himself to that secret revival. He was a noted teacher
and spiritual director who set up other branches of the order, in
places such as Switzerland and the United States, far from Russian
authorities.
George was born in the village Matulaitis Lithuanian Lugine on 13
April 1971, the last of the eight children of Andrew and Ursula
Matulaitis. At age ten he was orphaned and his older brother, John,
became his guardian. After elementary school he was put to work in the countryside. At 18 years, in 1889, he followed the brother John
Matulewicz to Poland, where the family name changed from Matulaitis in Matulewicz.
He completed his higher studies at the seminary in Kielce and then in
Warsaw and finally at Roman Catholic University in Petersburg, where
he was Ordained as a Priest on 20 November 1898. In June 1899 he
became a Master in Theology, in December he enrolled at the University
of Freiburg in Switzerland, where in 1903 he obtained a degree in
theology, with a brilliant thesis on which was published in Krakow.
Serving the poor was a priority in all the religious communities that Matulaitis founded. In the spring of 1918 he went to Lithuania to
restore the Marian monastery in Marijampole and to start a novitiate.
In the fall of that same year he founded a Lithuanian community for
women, the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, popularly known as
the Sisters of the Poor. Several years later he founded another
religious community for women in Belorussia, the Servants of Jesus in
the Holy Eucharist. All these communities are still active.
Despite his own wishes to remain a simple religious, in the fall of
1918 George Matulaitis was appointed Bishop of Vilnius by Pope
Benedict XV. He was consecrated in Lithuania, at the cathedral in
Kaunas on 1 December and the installation ceremonies took place in the
Vilnius cathedral on 8 December. He was not well known to the people
of Vilnius and was very much aware of the difficulty of his mission.
In his inaugural sermon he presented himself to his flock humbly and sincerely:=E2=80=9CI stand before you a stranger and therefore, first of al=
l,
I ask one thing of you =E2=80=94 to regard me as the servant of Christ who = has
been given you to show you the way to heaven and to guide you to
eternal happiness. From now on, we shall live together as one big
spiritual family of which I am to be the father and head, as we move
forward along our wearisome spiritual journey.=E2=80=9D
The years that followed were not easy for the new bishop =E2=80=93 the territory of Vilnius in the three following years changed hands and
was occupied by eight different governments, German, Russian
Bolshevik, Polish, Lithuanian, all of whom called him to
interrogation. Because of his refusal to take sides or to promote the
interests of one political party or nation against another, Bishop
Matulaitis was criticised, attacked and denigrated. Yet, he remained
gracious and cordial even to those who publicly vented their
antagonism or snubbed him personally. In some cases his goodness won
them over.
In the summer of 1925 Matulaitis' resignation from the diocese of
Vilnius was accepted by Pope Pius XI, his personal friend and
colleague. Poland had signed its Concordat with the Vatican and
Vilnius was going to be made an archdiocese. Matulaitis was well aware
that he had to withdraw. He quietly left Vilnius and went to Rome
where he hoped to establish the Marian generalate and a house of
studies. However, the pope made him titular Archbishop of Adulia and
appointed him Apostolic Visitor to Lithuania.
In June he sailed to the United States to attend the International
Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. He also visited 92 Lithuanian
parishes and gave over 200 homilies and speeches. Everywhere he was
welcomed with great enthusiasm. The railway car in which he was
travelling was even painted violet in his honour! Back home, he began
work on the Concordat between Lithuania and the Vatican. However, he
did not live to see its completion. Blessed George, true apostle of
his homeland of Lithuania, died after an appendix operation in Kaunas
on 27 January 1927 at the age of 56.
Throngs of people came to mourn him, all the church bells of Kaunas
pealed a final farewell. Every national group recognised the enormity
of their loss for he had been a father to all. Thousands attended the
funeral.
He was buried in the crypt of Kaunas cathedral but the remains were
transferred to his own parish church in Marijampole in 1934.
On 11 May 1982, the Congregation for the Saints issued a decree
stating that during his lifetime Archbishop George practised virtues
to a heroic degree.=C2 On 28 June 1987, the Holy Father, St John Paul II solemnly Beatified him at St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
On the occasion of his Beatification, a special repository was made
for the remains and an altar constructed. This has now become a
National Shrine where Lithuanians and people from other countries come
to pray.
https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/27/
Saint Quote:
St. Athanasius writes "And for this very reason there is also a word
of the Savior to prepare us for that day, in these words: 'Be ready
and watch, for He comes at an hour you do not know.' For, according to
the blessed Paul: 'We must all stand before the judgment-seat of
Christ, that each one may receive according as he has done in the
body, whether it be good or bad.'" Incarnation of the Word, 56.5
[Athanasius quoting Matthew 24:42 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 & Romans
14:10, 4th century AD]
Bible Quote:
Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you
know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.=C2 [James 1: 2-3]=C2 RSVCE
<><><><>
MY DAILY PRAYER
=C2 =C2 O My God,
=C2 =C2 I place my trust and confidence in You,
=C2 =C2 who will reward the good and punish the wicked.
=C2 =C2 I believe in You and accept everything
=C2 =C2 You have taught and revealed.
=C2 =C2 I believe that in one God
=C2 =C2 there are three Divine Persons -
=C2 =C2 God the Father,
=C2 =C2 God the Son
=C2 =C2 and God the Holy Spirit.
=C2 =C2 I believe that God the Son became Man
=C2 =C2 without ceasing to be God.
=C2 =C2 He is Jesus Christ, my lord and my Saviour,
=C2 =C2 the Redeemer of the human race.
=C2 =C2 He died on the Cross for my salvation
=C2 =C2 and eternal happiness.
=C2 =C2 O my God, give me a strong faith.
=C2 =C2 Help me to believe with lively faith.
=C2 =C2 O my God, all-good and all-merciful,
=C2 =C2 I sincerely hope to be saved.
=C2 =C2 Help me to do all that is necessary
=C2 =C2 to gain eternal salvation.
=C2 =C2 I have committed many sins in my life,
=C2 =C2 but now I turn away from them.
=C2 =C2 I am sorry, truly sorry for all of them,
=C2 =C2 because I have offended You, my God,
=C2 =C2 Who are all-good, all-perfect,
=C2 =C2 all-holy and all-merciful.
=C2 =C2 I love you, O my God, with all my heart.
=C2 =C2 Please forgive me for having offended You.
=C2 =C2 I promise that, with Your help,
=C2 =C2 I will never offend You again.
=C2 =C2 My God, have mercy on me.
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