From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
God calls us to conversion
"God calls us to correct ourselves and invites us to do penance. He
calls us through the wonderful gifts of his creation, and he calls us
by granting time for life. He calls us through the reader and through
the preacher. He calls us with the innermost force of our thoughts. He
calls us with the scourge of punishment, and he calls us with the
mercy of his consolation."
--St. Augustine--(excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 102, 16)
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November 20th - St. Felix of Valois
St. Felix of Valois (1126-1212) was a member of the royal family of
France, the grandson of King Henry I. While carrying the future saint,
his mother had a vision where she saw the Child Jesus holding a cross
and another child holding a garland of flowers. The two boys traded
their objects. The mother understood that the boy with the flowers was
her son.
Because of troubles in the family, the young man left his home and
went to the court, where he became a crusader to follow the King in
the Crusade. During the preparatory training, the King fell from his
horse and died. Felix approached the fallen monarch and ordered: =E2=80=9CI=
n
the name of the Holy Trinity, arise.=E2=80=9D Instantly the young King obey= ed,
alive and well.
During the Crusade Felix gave proof of his great courage and virtue.
In the military quarters he maintained the austere life of a
Cistercian religious. He was notable in all the battles he took part
in.
When he returned to Paris he determined to give himself to God. Even
though he was a close heir to the throne, he exchanged the
fleur-de-lys of France for the cross of Our Lord and became a hermit.
The vision of his mother was confirmed.
The fame of his sainthood spread and St. John of Matha sought him out
for advice about founding the Order of the Trinitarians. St. Felix
decided to join him in founding that order for the redemption of
Catholic captives.
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corr=C3=AAa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
Let me give a summary of the situation of Europe at the time, mainly
Spain and France, where the Trinitarian Order was founded.
One who visits southern Spain today and admires the beautiful
architecture of buildings in Toledo and Granada has no idea of what
the substance of the Muslim State was at that time. It was not a State organized like the Western nations. They did not have kings or a
regular dynastic succession as in China or old Egypt. It was a State
made up of bandits who lived like barbarians from their pillaging and
looting on land and sea, fighting not only with the Catholics but also
among themselves. They did not have harmonically distributed social
classes; there were the powerful persons who made those extraordinary
buildings and then the rest of the population living in slums. The
powerful were surrounded by sycophants who easily rose and fell from
the positions of power.
The piracy at sea and pillaging on the land were the habitual sources
of income. Making captured Catholics slaves was, therefore, both a way
to spread fear among Catholics and a source of funds.
How did taking captives spread fear? In the Catholic society of that
time, there was virtually no slavery, which existed only as a very
rare exception to the rule. Prisoners of war were treated with respect
by the Catholics. Hence, in the fighting between Catholics and
Muslims, the Mohammedans had much less to fear should they lose a
battle than the Catholics, because the former had the security that
they would be treated decently if they were captured.
On the contrary, if Catholic warriors fell prisoners, they knew that
they would be reduced to slavery and treated atrociously. It was not
rare, for example, for the Muslims to cut out the eyes of Catholic
prisoners to prevent them from escaping. Those blind slaves would work
more efficiently in jobs calling only for brute animal labor, such as
pulling ships out of the water to be repaired, for example, without
the danger that they would run away. Other times, the Moors would
morally and physically abuse nobles and important men. Finally and
worst of all, they would corrupt the faith of those Catholics and use
every means possible to make them apostatize and become Mohammedans.
So, the condition of a captive was miserable from several points of
view.
This situation generated a great compassion in all Christendom for the
captives and the idea of doing whatever they could to liberate their
Christian brothers from that abominable condition. Another decisive
reason to liberate them was to redress Catholic honor and prevent
their Catholic leaders and relatives from being reduced to slaves
without any vigorous action to save them.
These concerns often inspired military expeditions to save the
captives. Other times alms were collected to buy the liberty of the
prisoners. The idea of their captive brothers was constantly present
and generated an enormous sympathy.
Now then, when the Church or Christendom has a pressing need, Divine
Providence always calls for a new order to resolve it. The Trinitarian
Order was founded for this reason. St. Felix of Valois, who had been a
valorous crusader, and St. John of Matha founded the Order of Holy
Trinity for the redemption of the Christian captives. That vocation,
it could be said, focused the concern of Christendom regarding the
captives. The order became famous and carried out prodigious works.
This is what St. Felix of Valois was called to do. He carried out this
vocation so well that he became a saint canonized by the Church....
See Images at:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j155sd_St.FelixValoisI_11-20.shtml
Saint Quote:
When we have to reply to anyone who has insulted us, we should be
careful to do it always with meekness. A soft answer extinguishes the
fire of wrath. If we feel ourselves angry, it is better for us to be
silent, because we should speak amiss; when we become tranquil, we
shall see that all our words were culpable.
--St. Alphonsus Liguori
Bible Quote:
He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully.=C2 (II Cor. 9:6)
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Pious Invocations
O blessed Trinity, one God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope,
Thee I love, Thee I adore, have mercy on me now and at the
hour of my death, and save me.
Almighty, everlasting God, grant us an increase of faith, hope,
and charity; and that we may merit to attain what Thou dost
promise, grant us to love what Thou dost ordain. Through
Christ Our Lord. Amen.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)