From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
August 19th - Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse
=C2 (1274-1297)
This Saint was the great-nephew of Saint Louis, King of France, and
through his mother, of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. He was born at
Brignoles in Provence, in 1274. From his childhood he made it his
earnest study to do nothing which was not directed to the service of
God, showing no interest in games and diversions. His walks usually
led him to some church or monastery, where he delighted to hear the
servants of God discourse on mortification or the most perfect
practices of piety. His modesty and recollection in church inspired
with devotion all who saw him. When he was only seven years old his
mother often found him lying in the night on a mat he spread on the
floor near his bed, because he found his bed too soft.
In 1284 the father of Saint Louis, Charles II, was taken prisoner in a
sea battle by the King of Aragon. He was released on condition he send
into Aragon as hostages, fifty gentlemen and three of his sons. One of
these hostages was our Saint. Confined as a prisoner for seven years,
he was subjected to ill treatment which never lessened his patience.
Louis was finally set at liberty by a treaty concluded between the
King of Naples, his father, and James II, King of Aragon. Both courts
desired that Louis, then about 18 years old, marry the princess of
Majorca, King James' sister. The Saint's resolution to dedicate
himself to God was inflexible, however, and he resigned his right to
the crown of Naples, begging his father to confer it on his younger
brother, Robert.
He had made a vow during a grave illness to join the Friar Minors if
cured; this vow was the cause of his recovery. The opposition of his
family obliged the superiors of the Friar Minors to refuse for some
time to admit him into their body, however, and he therefore went to
Naples to prepare for Holy Orders, with his father's permission.
Boniface VIII gave him a dispensation to receive priestly orders in
the 23rd year of his age, and afterward sent him a dispensation for
the episcopal character also, together with his nomination to the
archbishopric of Toulouse, and a severe injunction, in virtue of holy obedience, to accept the same.
Nonetheless, Saint Louis made his religious profession first amid the
Friar Minors on Christmas eve of 1296, to fulfill his vow, then
received the episcopal consecration the following February. He
traveled to his bishopric as a poor religious, but was received at
Toulouse with the veneration due to a Saint and the magnificence
befitting a prince. His modesty, mildness, and devotion inspired a
love of piety in all who beheld him. It was his first concern to
provide for the relief of the indigent, and his first visits were made
to the hospitals and the poor. In his apostolic labors, he abated none
of his austerities and preached frequently. Being obliged to go into
Provence for certain very urgent ecclesiastical affairs, he fell ill
not far from Marseilles. Recognizing that his end was at hand, with
tears he received the Viaticum on his knees, and in his last moments
ceased not to repeat the Hail Mary. He died August 19, 1297, at the
age of 23
Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on
Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources
Saint Quote:
Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and
its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man
leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.
--St. Anthony of Padua
Bible Quote:
I sanctify Myself for them, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
(John 17:19)
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The Consecration of All Suffering
Eternal Father, I offer You all the past, present and future
suffering of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
hanging in constant agony on the Cross. Of the sins and
indifferences of the world, In union with all the past, present
and future suffering of all Your holy innocents, born and
unborn.=C2 All Your martyrs, all Your saints, and all Your victim
souls, In total, inseparable, co-sacrificial union With every
single Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ever offered up to Thee
throughout the past, throughout the present, and throughout
the future, in reparation and atonement for poor sinners
everywhere: The unbelievers, the fallen away, and the lost
souls who are about to die, because they are our brothers
and sisters, made in Your Image, and we love them more
than we love ourselves, Amen.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)