St Anthony, The Eucharist and a mule

St. Anthony of Padua lived during the 13th century and possessed a great zeal for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. One day Saint Anthony heard of a man in Rimini named named Bononillo who did not share the same belief. In fact, Bononillo openly mocked people who believed that Jesus was truly present under the appearances of bread and wine.

St. Anthony tried his hardest to convince Bononillo with the proofs of scripture and argument, but discovered that the man was as stubborn as a mule.

Then St. Anthony received an inspiration. He challenged the wealthy merchant, “If the mule you ride adored the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, would you believe in the truth of the Blessed Sacrament?” Bononillo agreed, but decided to raise the stakes. Bononillo would starve his mule for three days and then bring it to the town square. Saint Anthony would bring the Blessed Sacrament to that same square. The mule then would be put in front of a pile of hay and St. Anthony would stand a few yards away with the Blessed Sacrament. What happened next would decide the victor.

To prepare for the event, St. Anthony fasted for three days, and Bononillo in turn told everyone in the town. Bononillo was convinced that the mule would think nothing of the Eucharist and ravenously eat the pile of hay.

On the day of the test, Bononillo brought his mule and placed the hay under the mule’s nose. St. Anthony came and stood a distance away with the Holy Eucharist. Defying all odds, the mule turned his head and walked over to Saint Anthony. When the mule was close, the animal bent his front legs and kneeled in adoration! When Bononillo saw this miraculous change of events, he immediately knelt down and professed his belief in the truth of the Real Presence.

What this short story tells us is that Eucharistic presence of Jesus is something miraculous and supernatural. It is a gift that Jesus gave to his Church, one that reason alone cannot explain. Faith is required to hold to such a fantastic belief. It reminds us that what we witness each Sunday (and every day) is beyond our understanding.

The Catechism affirms this fact and declares, “That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that ‘cannot be apprehended by the senses,’ says St. Thomas, ‘but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.’ For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 (‘This is my body which is given for you.’), St. Cyril says: ‘Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie'” (CCC 1381).

St. John Vianney put it perfectly, “If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.”

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Revealed to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich

 Aug 15, 2022 by Anna Policarpio

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, an Augustinian nun, stigmatist and ecstatic who lived in Germany from 1774– 1824,  gives us a splendid biography on the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary based on her visions from Our Lady. In the passage below, she narrates the beautiful vision that she was given of Our Lady's Assumption to Heaven:

"A short time before the Blessed Virgin’s death, as she felt the approach of her reunion with her God, her Son, and her Redeemer, she prayed that there might be fulfilled what Jesus had promised to her in the house of Lazarus at Bethany on the day before His Ascension. … When she begged Him that she might not live for long in this vale of tears after He had ascended, Jesus told her in general what spiritual works she was to accomplish before her end on earth. He told her, too, … the Apostles and several disciples would be present at her death, and what she was to say to them and how she was to bless them.

"After the Blessed Virgin had prayed that the Apostles should come to her, I saw the call going forth to them in many different parts of the world. … I saw all, the farthest as well as the nearest, being summoned by visions to come to the Blessed Virgin. The indescribably long journeys made by the Apostles were not accomplished without miraculous assistance from the Lord. …[Blessed Anne Catherine describes the Roman numerals she sees in her visions.] … Then I see X and III and then two full moons as they are shown in the calendar, that means that the Blessed Virgin died thirteen years and two months after Christ’s Ascension into Heaven.

"Afterwards I saw the Apostles and disciples once more standing round the Blessed Virgin’s bed and praying. Mary’s face was radiant with smiles as in her youth. Her eyes were raised towards heaven in holy joy. Then I saw a wonderfully moving vision. The ceiling of Our Lady’s room disappeared, the lamp hung in the open air, and I saw through the sky into the heavenly Jerusalem. Two radiant clouds of light sank down, out of which appeared the faces of many angels. Between these clouds a path of light poured down upon Mary, and I saw a shining mountain leading up from her into the heavenly Jerusalem. She stretched out her arms towards it in infinite longing, and I saw her body, all wrapped up, rise so high above her couch that one could see right under it. … I saw her soul leave her body like a little figure of infinitely pure light, soaring with outstretched arms up the shining mountain to heaven. The two angel-choirs in the clouds met beneath her soul and separated it from her holy body, which in the moment of separation sank back on the couch with arms crossed on the breast. My gaze followed her soul and saw it enter the heavenly Jerusalem by that shining path and go up to the throne of the most Holy Trinity. I saw many souls coming forward to meet her in joy and reverence; amongst them I recognized many patriarchs, as well as Joachim, Anna, Joseph, Elisabeth, Zacharias, and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin soared through them all to the Throne of God and of her Son, whose wounds shone with a light transcending even the light irradiating His whole Presence. He received her with His Divine Love, and placed in her hands a scepter with a gesture towards the earth as though indicating the power which He gave her.

“Would we rather have God’s gifts and troubles or God Himself and peace of mind?”

 

I have noticed of late that many people’s woes stem from ‘Needing’ what they want but not wanting what they need. It creates a lot of tension, pressure, disappointment and often broken relationships. Sometimes it seems that God gives in to the whims of His children (and sometimes not) but which is really the greater blessing? 

We can feel at times that some people are jumping the queue when it comes to blessings, that our prayers are stuck in God’s spam folder somewhere and in a spirit of false comparison we feel a bit left behind. But if you take a long view what is revealed may be quite unexpected. 

An acquaintance of mine, a prayerful man to begin with, was given the opportunity to have a business in his chosen field. He did everything in prayer, from applying for contracts, to suppliers, to staff; each meeting or letter he wrote would be under God’s guiding hand. He did well. From being an employee he was catapulted to success, multimillion Peso contracts flowed in like a river and profits with them. At what point things changed I don’t know. He acquired property, vehicles, houses, luxuries, holidays and entered into ventures without seeking God’s guidance and things started to fall apart. Bad payers squeezed the cash flow, unexpected tax bills, and his integrity in money matters was compromised. During that time, periodically he turned back to God, who bailed him out; then he would repeat his folly and back to repentance and so on. It’s an old story of lacking the character to rule the kingdom. Perhaps it’s part of his learning curve. 

Others face economic calamity, pray for a restoration of past glories and instead realise that there is a gift within losses; the discovery of the benefits of simplicity. That having God is enough of itself without being adorned with gifts and blessings to make life comfortable. 

Would we rather have God’s gifts and troubles or God Himself and peace of mind? 

St Rita of Cascia

 

Rita: Daughter, Wife, Mother, & Widow

High in the hills of the republic of Cascia, in a tiny Umbrian village called Roccaporena, Antonio and Amata Lotti were well-respected peacemakers. In 1381, they welcomed their only child, Margherita. In the local dialect, her name meant “pearl," but she was known simply as Rita. Baptized in the church of Saint Augustine in Cascia, Rita became acquainted with the local Augustinian nuns of Saint Mary Magdalene Monastery and was attracted to their way of life. But her parents arranged a marriage for her in order to provide safety and security, and so Rita obediently married Paolo Mancini with whom she had two sons.

In the troubling political climate of the times, there was often open conflict between families. Paolo was the victim of one such conflict, and he was murdered when their sons were still young. The expectation of society at the time was that the boys should avenge the murder of their father to defend the family honor. Rita, however, influenced by the peacemaking example of her parents, pledged to forgive her husband’s killers. She faced a steep challenge, however, in convincing her sons to do the same. Tradition has it that she often pointed out to them the image of the crucified Christ and the fact that he forgave those who killed him. Within a year, however, both sons succumbed to a deadly illness leaving Rita not only a widow, but also childless. Following these tragedies, Rita placed her trust in God, accepting them and relying on her deep faith to find her way. After eighteen years of marriage, Rita felt called to a second but familiar vocation: to religious life in the Augustinian convent.

Rita: the Peacemaker

But the sisters at Saint Mary Magdalene Monastery were hesitant and refused her request. However, Rita was not discouraged, convinced that she was called to the contemplative community. She returned and asked for entry again, but the sisters even more firmly refused, citing that although Rita had forgiven her husband’s killers, her family had not. There were members of the rival family in the convent; her presence would be detrimental to community harmony. And so, inspired by her three patron saints (Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, and Saint John the Baptist), Rita set out to make peace between the families. She went to her husband’s family and exhorted them to put aside their hostility and stubbornness. They were convinced by her courage and agreed. The rival family, astounded by this overture of peace, also agreed. The two families exchanged a peaceful embrace and signed a written agreement, putting the vendetta to rest forever. A fresco depicting the scene of the peace embrace was placed on a wall of the Church of Saint Francis in Cascia, an enduring reminder of the power of good over evil and a testament to the widow whose forgiving spirit achieved the impossible.

Rita: the Augustinian Mystic

At the age of 36, Rita finally was accepted into the Augustinian convent. She lived a regular life of prayer, contemplation, and spiritual reading, according to the Rule of Saint Augustine. For forty years she lived this routine lifestyle until Good Friday of 1442, fifteen years before her death, when she had an extraordinary experience. In contemplation before an image of Jesus that was very dear to her, the Jesus of Holy Saturday or, as it is also known, the Resurgent Christ, she was moved by a deeper awareness of the physical and spiritual burden of pain which Christ so freely and willingly embraced for love of her and of all humanity. With the tender, compassionate heart of a person fully motivated by grateful love, she spoke of her willingness to relieve Christ’s suffering by sharing even the smallest part of his pain. Her offer was accepted, her prayer was answered, and Rita was united with Jesus in a profound experience of spiritual intimacy, a thorn from his crown penetrating her forehead. The wound it caused remained open and visible until the day of her death.

Toward the end of her life, Rita progressively weakened physically. Several months before her death, she was visited by a relative from Roccaporena who asked if there was anything she could do for the ailing woman. Rita at first declined, but then made a simple request to have a rose from the garden of her family home brought to her. It was January, the dead of winter in the hills of Umbria, but upon her return home the relative passed Rita’s family garden and found to her astonishment a single fresh rose in the snow-covered garden on an otherwise barren bush. She immediately returned to the convent where she presented the miraculous rose to Rita who accepted it with quiet and grateful assurance. For the four decades she spent in Cascia’s convent, she had prayed especially for her husband Paolo, who had died so violently, and for her two sons, who had died so young. The dark, cold earth of Roccaporena, which held their mortal remains, had now produced a beautiful sign of spring and beauty out of season. So, Rita believed God brought forth, through her prayers, their eternal life despite tragedy and violence. She now knew that she would soon be one with them again.

Rita: the Saint

Rita died peacefully on May 22, 1457.  An old and revered tradition records that the bells of the convent immediately began to peal unaided by human hands, calling the people of Cascia to the doors of the convent, and announcing the triumphant completion of a life faithfully lived. The nuns prepared her for burial and placed her in a simple wooden coffin.  A carpenter who had been partially paralyzed by a stroke, voiced the sentiments of many others when he spoke of the beautiful life of this humble nun in bringing lasting peace to the people of Cascia. “If only I were well,” he said, “I would have prepared a place more worthy of you.”  With those words, he was healed; Rita’s first miracle was performed. He fashioned the elaborate and richly decorated coffin which would hold Rita’s body for several centuries. She was never buried in it, however. So many people came to look upon the gentle face of the “Peacemaker of Cascia”' that her burial had to be delayed. It became clear that something exceptional was occurring as her body seemed to be free from nature’s usual course.  It is still incorrupt today, now in a glass-enclosed coffin, in the Basilica of Saint Rita in Cascia.

The Permanent Presence of God

 

I have been attending an online Catholic Bible study lately and am finding it fascinating just how many parallels there are between the old and new testaments and the Church today. One thing, a couple of weeks ago, was when the Israelites constructed the Tabernacle to house the Ark of the Covenant. And God’s presence was always there with His People, day and night. 

Of course we take it for granted nowadays; every chapel, church and cathedral has its own tabernacle housing the Blessed Sacrament and so the living God is always with us too. 

What happened next was that His presence was not static. He moved. And when He moved the people moved with Him. In the Old Testament case they moved into the promised land, into enemy territory. Not just for a stroll but to conquer it, to take possession of it by overthrowing its rulers. One spectacular scene is the destruction of the walls of Jericho. Rather unconventional warfare, the Israelites marching around the city and then blowing trumpets!. With the presence of God in the Ark at the lead, God won the victory; all they had to do was follow. 

I have heard tell, that there used to be frequent and widespread Eucharistic Processions in England and other European Countires. I wonder what would happen if we let Him lead us out again; into the parishes, towns and cities? Into our modern day wilderness: spaces emptied of faith and hope. Would He conquer there too, given the opportunity? I have seen testimonies of Eucharistic processions; of conversions taking place, or change of Heart and return to the church by some where the walls around their hearts have been torn down by the Lord as He passed by in the streets or cast them a glance as the monstrance was elevated above them. 

Rather than the fortress mentality which leaves churches locked and bolted most of the time with Jesus imprisoned inside; perhaps we could view the hostile surroundings more like Caleb and Joshua did, not without difficulty, but conquerable with Jesus in the lead... just a thought.

St Isidore the Farmer

Saint Isidore the Farmer’s real name was Isidro de Merlo y Quintana. He was born in the year 1070 AD in Madrid. His parents were poor but very devout. Isidore was a hired labourer of Juan de Vargas, a wealthy Madrilenian landowner on his farm near the city.

He was very generous and would share with the poor what he had, including his food. This made his boss, Juan de Vargas, to elevate him to the position of a bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca.

Isidore married Maria Torribia who is also known as Saint Mary de la Cabeza (Santa María de la Cabeza) in Spain.

At one time, their young son fell into a deep well and after they prayed to God the water of the well miraculously rose to ground level and brought the child with it.

Their son later died in his youth. Isidore and Maria saw as if God did not want them to have children and therefore vowed sexual abstinence, lived in separate houses but chastely for the rest of their lives, doing good works.

Miracles of Isidore the Farmer

The number of miracles attributed to Isidore has been counted as 438, but these below are the salient ones:

At one time Isidore was accused by his fellow workers that he was always late for work while attending the daily Morning Mass at a Church nearby in Madrid. He stated that he had no other choice but to follow the ultimate Master. His boss went to investigate the allegation but instead of finding Isidore in the fields ploughing, he found Angels doing the work while he was praying in Church.

Another miracle happened when his master saw angels ploughing on both of his sides. This meant that Isidore’s work was triple that of his fellow field workers.

It is also said that Isidore brought back to life the daughter of his master who had died.

He also caused, from the dry earth, a fountain of fresh water to burst thereby quenching his master’s thirst.

There was a time when going to the mill to grind the wheat, he came across a flock of wood pigeons scratching on the hard surface of the snowy ground looking for food but in vain. He felt sorry for the hungry birds and poured them half of his precious sack of wheat. The onlookers mocked him but he did not mind but when he reached the mill his bag of wheat was full and when the wheat was ground, the flour produced was double what was expected.

Maria, his wife, with the knowledge that her husband, Isidore, would bring home anyone who was hungry, would keep a pot of stew in their kitchen. One day Isidore brought a larger-than-usual number of hungry people home. Maria served several of them until she saw that the stew was no more. She went and told her husband that there was no more stew for everyone. Isidore insisted that she go and check again, and miraculously the pot was full enough for all the hungry people.

There were heavy torrential rains on April 2 1212 in Madrid which exhumed cadavers from cemeteries. His body was found intact in a state of incorruptibility.

It is also said that in 1212 AD, Isidore appeared to Alfonso VIII of Castile, and shown him the secret way by which he ambushed the Moors and took control of Las Navas de Tolosa.

After touching the relics of the Isidore, it is said that King Philip III of Spain was cured of a deadly disease. Consequently, the king replaced the old reliquary (a container for holy relics) with a costly silver one. Thereafter, he mooted Isidore’s beatification This made other members of the royal family to seek curative powers from saint Isidore throughout history

St Michael and the Real Sword in the Stone

The conversion of Galgano Guidotti

Galgano Guidotti was born in 1148 near Siena. According to his noble station in life, he was destined to become a knight. Though Galgano’s parents were religious and devoted, his youth was marked by violence and arrogance, entertainments and pleasure.

While the details of his conversion are vague, what is certain is that he is forever linked to the legend of a sword lodged in a rock, immovable to human hands.

After an encounter with St. Michael the Archangel, Galgano changed his life. St. Michael the Archangel appeared to him, admonishing him to become a Knight of God, part of the celestial militia under his protection.

In another vision, Galgano followed the archangel over a bridge and water mill toward Montesiepi (Mt. Siepi). There Galgano had a vision of Jesus and the saints, who exhorted him to take on a life of penance as a hermit.

The legend of the sword in the stone

Here the legend of the sword begins. Galgano wished to make a cross on the spot, but was unable to cut wood with his sword. When he threw his sword on the ground in frustration, it entered the rock. No one was able to extract it.

In another version of the legend, after the saints told him to renounce material things and convert from all licentiousness, the future saint replied, “It would be easier to cut stone with this sword than to do that.” To prove his point, he thrust his sword into the rock, into which it sank as smoothly as a knife in warm butter.

Galgano transformed his knightly cloak into a religious tunic and began living as a hermit and penitent.

The legend of the sword continues. While Galgano was away on pilgrimage to Rome, envious monks tried to extract the sword from the stone. Failing to do so, they became enraged and tried to break it. The legends say that one fell into a river and drowned, another was struck by lightning, and a third was attacked by a wolf, from which he was saved by invoking Galgano’s name.

Devotion to St. Galgano

Galgano died on December 3, 1181. Three years later a chapel was built around the sword in Montesiepi. It became known as the “Rotonda della Spada” (Rotunda of the Sword) due to the chapel’s circular shape.

Devotion to St. Galgano spread rapidly in the chivalrous milieu of the High Middle Ages. Knights and soldiers – such as the Lombards, the Franks, and the Crusaders – built churches in honor of him, as well as St. Michael the Archangel, the angelic warrior and victor, and prayed for their intercession.

An Italian professor, Mario Moiraghi, researched the comparison of St. Galgano to the legend of Arthur. He published his work in The Enigma of San Galgano.

He suggested that the British Arthurian legend of Excalibur was inspired by St. Galgano’s sword in the stone in Tuscany. He noted that though the legend of King Arthur dates to ancient times, the story of the sword of Excalibur and the stone appeared only after St. Galgano’s death in 1181. Moiraghi also studied the sword and confirmed that it was from the 12th century.

St. Galgano’s feast is celebrated on December 3. He was canonized a saint by Pope Lucius III in 1185.

Today on Montesiepi there stands the Chapel of St. Galgano (the Rotonda della Spada) where St. Galgano lived as a hermit. The sword can still be seen inside it.

Nearby are the ruins of a Gothic Cistercian abbey. The abbey was instituted around the site of the former hermitage of San Galgano.

St Michael's Apparition

That the blessed Archangel Michael, whose name means Who is like unto God?, is the prince of the faithful Angels who opposed Lucifer and his followers in their revolt against God. Since the devil is the sworn enemy of God’s holy Church, Saint Michael is given to it by God as its special protector against the demon’s assaults and stratagems.

Various apparitions of this powerful Angel have proved the protection of Saint Michael over the Church. We may mention his apparition in Rome, where Saint Gregory the Great saw him in the air sheathing his sword, to signal the cessation of a pestilence and the appeasement of God’s wrath. Another apparition to Saint Ausbert, bishop of Avranches in France, led to the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel in the sea, a famous pilgrimage site. May 8th, however, is destined to recall another no less marvelous apparition, occurring near Monte Gargano in the Kingdom of Naples.

In the year 492 a man named Gargan was pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the mountain, where at first it could not be found. When its hiding place in a cave was discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound the one who had sent it. Faced with so mysterious an occurrence, the persons concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of fasting and prayers. After three days, the Archangel Saint Michael appeared to the bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under his protection, and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name and in honor of all the Holy Angels.

Accompanied by his clergy and people, the bishop went to that cavern, which he found already designed in the form of a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great miracles. To thank God’s adorable goodness for the protection of the holy Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted by the Church in his honor.