From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

October 6th - St. Mary Frances of the 5 Wounds of Jesus, Mystic

Of the Third Order of St. Francis, b. at Naples, 25 March, 1715; d.
there, 6 October, 1791. Her family belonged to the middle class. Her
father, Francesco Gallo, was a severe, avaricious man with a
passionate temper, and from him the saint had much to suffer. He
subjected her to much ill-treatment and hard, incessant labour which
often brought her to the verge of the grave. Barbara Basinsin, her
mother, however, was gentle, pious, and patient in bearing with the
brutal conduct of her husband. Before her birth St. John Joseph of the
Cross, O.F.M., and St. Francis de Geronimo, S.J., are said to have
predicted Mary's future sanctity. At the age of 7 she was admitted to
Holy Communion, which she was subsequently in the habit of receiving
daily. When Mary Frances was 16 years old, her father sought to force
her into a marriage with a rich young man, but the saint firmly
refused, and instead asked leave to enter the Third Order of St.
Francis. This request was at length granted her through the influence
of Father Theophilus, a Friar Minor.

At her reception among the Tertiaries of St. Peter of Alcantara, 8
September, 1731, she took the name of "Mary Frances of the Five Wounds
of Jesus" out of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, St. Francis, and the
Sacred Passion. Her body is said to have been signed with the
stigmata, which, at her prayer, took no outward, visible appearance,
and on Fridays, especially the Fridays of Lent, she felt in her body
the very pains of the Passion. During her whole life the saint had
much to suffer from bodily ills, and to her physical suffering was
added mental pain from the persecution of her father, sisters, and
other persons. Even her confessors, to test her sanctity, made her
suffer by the severity of their direction. But over and above these
mental and physical sufferings she imposed upon herself voluntary
penances, strict fasts, hair-shirts, and disciplines. Her prayers and
advice saved many souls from dangers. Priests, religious, and pious
persons went to her for light and counsel. Her charity and compassion, especially toward the afflicted and miserable, knew no bounds. Like
St. Francis, Mary Frances had a tender devotion to the Infant Jesus,
the Holy Eucharist, and the Blessed Virgin.

The last 38 years of her life were spent in the house of a pious
priest, Giovanni Pessiri. She was buried in the church of the
Alcantarines, Sta. Lucia del Monte, at Naples, which contains the tomb
of St. John Joseph of the Cross. She was declared Venerable by Pius
VII, 18 May, 1803, beatified by Gregory XVI, 12 November, 1843, and
canonized by Pius IX, 29 June, 1867. Her feast on 6 October is kept by
the Friars Minor and Capuchins as a double of the second class, and by
the Conventuals as a double major.

This Version Taken From:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09755a.htm


Saint Quote:
Look at gold: the more you melt it, the better it becomes; you could
melt it until you had destroyed in it every imperfection. Thus does
fire work on material things. The soul cannot be destroyed in so far
as it is in God, but in so far as it is in itself it can be destroyed;
the more it is purified, the more is self destroyed within it, until
at last it is pure in God.
-- Saint Catherine of Genoa

Bible Quote:
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me: let my
enemies be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul.=C2 [Psalm lxix.
2,3]


<><><><>
Short Prayers

O saving Victim, opening wide
The gate of heaven to man below,
Our foes press on from every side;
Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.

To Thy great Name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, one in three;
Oh, grant us endless length of days
In our true native land with Thee.
Amen.

Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord:
=C2 Hosanna in the highest.

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