From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

April 9th - St. Gaucherius

Gaucherius was born at Meulan-sur-Seine, France, about the year 1060.
He apparently came from a wealthy family because he was well educated,
but little is known of his family and early life. At eighteen he
decided on a life dedicated to God.

With a like-minded friend named Humbert, Gaucherius traveled into the
wild forest area near Limoges and built a hermitage in a very remote
and inaccessible spot. The two men lived there for several years,
unknown and forgotten. However, as is common with holy men, others
came to join in their simple and austere life. Thus about 1078, the
Priory, later called Saint-Jean of Auriel, came into being.

The community followed the Rule of the canons of St. Augustine and
theirs was a simple semi-eremetical life of prayer and manual labor.
Later Gaucherius also founded a convent for women which followed the
rule of the canonesses of St. Augustine.

Gaucherius lived to about the age of eighty and died from
complications which developed after he fell from his horse while
traveling back to Auriel from Limoges. He was canonized in 1194. Once
again we have the example of a saint who didn't do anything
spectacular. He heard the call of God and responded whole heartedly,
living a simple austere life of humility, charity and love.


Saint Quote:
All places are alike to me, because everywhere I expect to find God,
who is the only object of all my desires.
--Saint Marie Victoire Therese Couderc

Bible Quote:
=C2 Whoever humbles himself as this little child, he is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 18:4)


<><><><>
NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

1. Behold, O Mother of Perpetual Help, at thy feet a wretched sinner,
who has recourse to thee and trusts in thee. O Mother of mercy,
have pity on me; I hear all men call thee the refuge and hope of sinners:
be therefore my refuge and my hope. Help me for the love of Jesus Christ:
hold out thy hand to a fallen wretch, who commends himself to thee and dedicates himself to be thy servant forever. I praise and thank God, who
of His great mercy hath given me this confidence in thee, a sure pledge
of my eternal salvation. Alas, it is only too true that in the past I have fallen miserably, because I did not come to thee. I know that with thy help
=C2 I shall conquer; I know that thou wilt help me, if I commend myself t=
o thee;
but I am fearful lest in the occasions of sin I shall forget to call upon t= hee
and so I shall be lost. This grace, then, do I ask of thee;
for this I implore thee, as much as I can and know how to do; namely,
that in the assaults of hell I may ever run to thy protection and may
say to thee:
Mary, help me; Mother of Perpetual Help, permit me not to lose my God.

Hail Mary, three times.

2. O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant me ever to be able to call upon thy powerful name, since thy name is the help of the living and the salvation o=
f
the dying. Ah, Mary most pure, Mary most sweet, grant that thy name from
this day forth may be to me the very breath of life. Dear Lady, delay not t=
o
come to my assistance whenever I call upon thee; for in all the temptations that assail me, in all the necessities that befall me, I will never leave
off calling upon thee, ever repeating: Mary, Mary. What comfort, what sweetness, what confidence, what tenderness fills my soul at the sound of
thy name, at the very thought of thee! I give thanks to our Lord, who for m=
y
sake hath given thee a name so sweet, so lovable, so mighty. But I am not content merely to speak thy name; I would utter it for very love of thee; i=
t
is my desire that love should ever remind me to name thee,
Mother of Perpetual Help.

Hail Mary, three times.

3. O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou art the dispenser of every grace that
God grants us in our misery; it is for this cause that He hath made thee so powerful, so rich, so kind, that thou mightest assist us in our miseries.
Thou art the advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners, if they
but come unto thee; come once more to my assistance, for I commend myself
to thee. In thy hands I place my eternal salvation; to thee I entrust my so= ul.
Enroll me among thy most faithful servants; take me under thy protection
and it is enough for me: yes, for if thou protect me, I shall fear nothing;=
not
my sins, for thou wilt obtain for me their pardon and remission; not the
evil spirits, for thou art mightier than all the powers of hell; not even Jesus, my Judge, for He is appeased by a single prayer from thee. I fear
only that through my own negligence I may forget to recommend myself to
thee and so I shall be lost. My dear Lady, obtain for me the forgiveness of=
my
sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance and the grace to have recourse to
thee at all times, O Mother of Perpetual Help.

Hail Mary, three times.

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