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FEASTS OF NOVEMBER
Saint Martin de Porres Lesson From Butler's Lives Among the people to whom the epithet "half-caste" is often given as a term of contempt, the first of whom it is recorded that he practiced heroic Christian virtue is the Dominican lay-brother, Martin de Porres. He was born in Lima, Peru in 1579, the natural child of John de Porres, a Spanish knight, and a black freed-woman from Panama, Anna by Baptism. Martin inherited his mothers features and complexion, a matter of vexation to his noble father, who nevertheless acknowledged the boy and his sister as his children, but eventually left Martin to the care of his mother. At twelve he was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon; but three years later he was admitted to the Rosary convent of the Order of Preachers at Lima, eventually becoming a professed lay-brother. Martin served his Dominican brothers as barber, surgeon, wardrobe keeper, and infirmarian; often holding more than one post simultaneously. Martin's charity extended outside the convent to the sick and poor of the city. He established a foundling hospital and an orphanage, and was responsible for the monastery's daily distribution of food to the poor. He took it upon himself to aid those brought to Peru in slavery from Africa. His continuous charitable activities were matched only by the intensity of his spiritual life; in his lifetime he was known for his penance, levitation, bilocation, and other such supernatural gifts. He died in the Dominican priory of the Rosary on November 3rd, 1639. Beatified in 1837, he was canonized only in 1962, by Pope John XXIII.
Ss. Zachary and Elizabeth Zachary was a priest of the Old Testament, and his wife was of the family of Aaron: both were "well approved in God's sight, following all the commandments and the law without reproach." They were without children, and perhaps beyond the normal age for generation, when Zachary, officiating in the Temple, had a vision of an angel who told him that in response to their prayers they should have a son, "to whom thou shalt give the name John," who should be filled with the Holy Ghost even in his mother's womb, and who should bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. The coming to pass of these things is detailed in Saint Luke's Gospel: the visitation of our Lady to Elizabeth; the babe leaping in her womb on receiving the Holy Ghost; Elizabeth greeting Mary, "full of grace"; her response, "My soul magnifies the Lord"; and Zachary's canticle when he spoke for the first time after the Baptist's birth, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel." Nothing else is recorded in the Scriptures, but it was held by many of the Fathers that Zachary died a martyr, killed by Herod "between the porch and the altar" of the Temple because he refused to disclose his son's whereabouts. He is named among the saints in the Mass of the Mozarabic rite.
Saint Leonard of Noblac It is generally presumed that Leonard was an important man among the tribe of the Franks, converted to the Catholic Faith from paganism by Saint Remigius; with Clovis himself serving as God-father. Refusing to accept the episcopate, he joined the monastery of Micy in Orleans, and later entered the eremitical life in the forest of Limoges. It is said that through Leonard's prayers, Clovis' wife was delivered of a dangerous and painful childbirth, which prompted him to reward Leonard with as much land as he could ride around on a mule in one night. On this ground was raised the abbey of Noblac, often identified with the town of Saint-Léonard. Leonard is considered a patron of women in childbirth. He is also held in esteem by prisoners, in accord with a legend that Clovis promised to release every prisoner Saint Leonard visited.
Saint Wilibrord, Bishop Willibrord was born in Northumbria in the year 658, and placed in the monastery at Ripon before his seventh birthday. He spent several year in Ireland at the monastic schools, where he became acquainted with monks anxious to evangelize northern Germany. At thirty-one, a priest for but one year, he was permitted to begin the mission in the company of eleven other monks. At Utrecht they were urged to preach in lower Friesland, recently conquered by the Frank, Pepin of Herstal. Willibrord obtained permission for this mission from Pope Saint Sergius I, who provided him with numerous relics for the consecration of churches. After meeting with considerable success, Willibrord was sent back to Rome with Pepin's request that he be consecrated bishop, which was accomplished in Saint Cecilia's church on her feast day in 695. Willibrord's mission was expanded to include the more hostile territories of upper Friesland and Denmark. Driven by the weather to the island of Heligoland, considered sacred by the pagans, he demonstrated the impotence of their false gods by killing and eating forbidden game, and by drawing and baptizing with water from a forbidden spring. One of his companions was martyred on this occasion, and he barely escaped death himself at the hands of a pagan priest, enraged when he destroyed an idol. In 714 he baptized Charles Martel's son Pepin the Short, prophesying accurately that the child would surpass the glory of his ancestors. After temporary setbacks, Willibrord consolidated his efforts in Friesland and Germany, assisted by Saint Boniface. He died in the monastery he had founded at Echternach, at the age of eighty-one, on November 7th, 739
Four Crowned Holy Martyrs The four Pannonian martyrs Severus, Severian, Carpophorus, and Victorinus were stone masons, sometimes confused with five martyrs of the city of Albano who died on this same day. The four were beaten to death with lead tipped whips under Diocletian after they refused to produce statues of the pagan gods. Their bodies were simply dumped into the public sewer, but were recovered and given honorable burial by Pope Melchiades and Saint Sebastian. During the middle ages they were held in high esteem and venerated as patrons by those who worked in stone.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Frances Xavier was born in the town of Sant' Angelo in the
diocese of Lodi. Even from her early years she adopted a way of life that
centered on God. At the age of thirteen she vowed her virginity to the Most
Sacred Heart of Jesus. She twice attempted to enter the religious life, but
because of her delicate health her petitions were not accepted. She taught
school at Lodi until the bishop put her in charge of an orphanage. He also urged
her to found a new religious missionary congregation. Accordingly, when she was
thirty years old she instituted the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart at
the chapel of our Lady of Grace in Codogno. In doubt as to which direction to
go, she accepted as God's will the directions of Pope Leo XIII to sail
westward to the Americas, and eventually she crossed the ocean twenty-four
times. In North America she earned the name, "Mother of the Italians."
With her mind always fixed on God and her heart always trusting in Him, she used
to address the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of her congregation. Her
institute enjoyed a remarkable growth; she herself founded sixty-seven houses.
Finally, at Chicago, on the 22nd of December, 1917, she "finished the
course." Later her body was transferred to New York. Pope Pius XI
declared her among the Blessed, and Pius XII enrolled her among the virgin
saints.
Prayer:
Our Lady Mother of Divine Providence † The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John. St. Bernard, Abbot Here the wine sometimes fails, that is the grace of devotion, the fervor of love. How often have I, brethren, after your miserable complainings, had to implore the Mother of Mercy that she remind her most gentle Son that you had no wine? And if she, I declare to you, beloved Brethren. devoutly is implored by us, then we shall not be lacking in our necessities; for she is merciful and the Mother of mercy. For if she had compassion on the embarrassment of those who invited her to the wedding, much more will she have compassion on us if we devoutly beseech her. For she is pleased with our nuptials, and they concern her more closely than theirs; since it was from her womb, as from His chamber, that the heavenly Bridegroom came forth. At Lauds & Vespers: [R] Blessed are those who guard My ways. Antiphon: Wisdom xiv: 3 Collect:
St. Clement, P., M., Clement was a Roman by birth, son of Faustinus who dwelt
in the region of Monte Coelio. He was a disciple of blessed Peter; and is
mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians, in these words: I
entreat thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have labored with
me in the Gospel, with Clement and the rest of my fellow laborers, whose names
are in the book of life. He divided Rome into seven regions, appointing a notary
for each, who was to ascertain and record with the greatest care the acts and
sufferings of the martyrs. He wrote may useful and learned works, such as did
honor to the Christian name.
Lesson ii
He converted many to the Faith of Christ by his learning
and holiness of life, and on that account was banished by the emperor Trajan to
the desert of Cherson beyond the Black Sea. Here he found two thousand
Christians, likewise banished, who were employed in quarrying marble. Seeing
them suffer from want of water, Clement betook himself to prayer, and then
ascended a neighboring hill , on the summit of which he saw a Lamb, pointing out
with his right foot a spring of sweet water. At this source they all quenched
their thirst; and man infidels were converted by the miracle, and began to
revere Clement as a saint.
Lesson iii
On hearing this Trajan was enraged, and sent officers with orders to cast Clement into the sea with an anchor tied to his neck. After the execution of this sentence, as the Christians were praying on the shore, the sea began to recede for the distance of three miles; on approaching they found a small building of marble, in the form of a temple, wherein lay the martyr's body in a stone coffin, and beside it the anchor with which he had drowned. The inhabitants of the country were so astounded by this miracle that they were led to embrace the Christian Faith. The holy body was translated to Rome under Pope Nicholas I, and deposited in the church of St. Clement. A church was also built and dedicated in his honor, on that spot in the island, where the miraculous fountain had sprung up. He held the pontificate nine years, six months, and six days. In two ordinations in the month of December, he made ten priests, two deacons, and fifteen bishops for divers places.
St. John of the Cross, C., D.C., John of the Cross was born to pious parents at Fontiveros
in Spain. From his infancy it was evident how dear he would be to the Virgin
Mother of God, for at five years of age, having fallen down a well, he was held
up by our Lady in her arms, so that he sustained no injury. So great was his
penitence that when he was but nine years old he discarded his soft bed and
began sleeping on charred sticks. As a young man, he devoted himself to the
service of the sick in the hospital of Medina del Campo. Here he showed the
ardor of his charity by undertaking the vilest offices; and his example incited
others to devote themselves to the same charitable deeds. But as God called him
still higher, he entered the order of the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel,
where he was made priest in obedience to his superiors; and in his ardor for
more severe discipline and a more austere manner of life, he obtained their
leave to observe the primitive rule of the Order. Being ever mindful of our
Lord's Passion, he declared war against his own inclinations as his worst enemy;
and by watchings, fasting, iron disciplines, and every kind of penance, he soon
crucified his flesh together with its vices and concupiscences; so theat St.
Teresa considered him worthy to be among the holiest and purest souls then
adorning God's Church.
Lesson ii
Besides his singular austerity of life, John was equipped
for the spiritual combat with the armor of all the virtues. He devoted himself
assiduously to the contemplation of divine things, in which he frequently
experienced long and wonderful ecstasies; and his heart burned with such love of
God that this divine fire could not be contained within, but would break forth
and light up his countenance. He was exceedingly zealous for his neighbors'
salvation and devoted himself to preaching the word of God and administering the
Sacraments. Enriched with all these merits, and kindled with the desire of
promoting stricter discipline, he was given by God as a companion to St. Teresa,
that as she had restored the primitive observance among the sisters of the Order
of Carmel, she might with John's help do the same among the brethren. In
carrying out this divine work, he, together with than handmaid of God, underwent
innumerable labors; and fearing neither sufferings nor dangers, he visited all
the monasteries founded by this holy virgin in Spain, and himself erected
others, propagating in all the restored observance and strengthening it by his
words and example. He has thus every right to be called, after St. Teresa, the
first professed and the father of the Discalced Carmelites.
Lesson iii
He preserved his virginity intact, and not only repulsed
impudent women who tried to ensnare him, but even gained them for Christ. The
Holy See has declared that, like St. Teresa, he was divinely inspired in
explaining the mysteries of God; and that the books which he wrote on mystical
theology are full of wisdom. When asked one day by Christ what reward he desired
for so many labors, he replied: Lord, sufferings, and contempt, for Thy sake! He
was renowned for his power over the devils, whom he often cast out of the
possessed; and also for the gifts of discernment of spirits and prophecy; while
such was his humility that he often begged our Lord to let him die in a place
where no one knew him. His prayer was granted, and after a cruel malady, and the
patient endurance of five ulcers in his leg, sent him to satisfy his love of
suffering, he fell asleep in our Lord at Ubeda, having received the last
Sacraments of the Church in the holiest dispositions, and embracing the image of
Christ crucified, whom he had ever had in his heart and on his lips. His last
words were: Into Thy hands I commend my spirit. His death took place on the day
and at the hour he had foretold, in the year of salvation 1591, the forty-ninth
of his age. A brilliant globe of fire received his departing soul; while his
body gave forth a most sweet perfume, and is still preserved incorrupt at
Segovia. As he was renowned for many miracles, both before and after his death,
Pope Benedict XIII enrolled him among the saints.
St. Chrysogonus, Martyr Rome honors today one of her own illustrious sons, Chrysogonus, who gave his life for Christ at Aquileia during the reign of Diocletian. His splendid church in the Travestevere, which possess his venerable head, was first built at the time of the triumph of the Faith over idolatry. Chrysogonus instructed in that holy Faith the blessed martyr Anastasia, whose memory is so touchingly united with that of our Savior's birth, the Aurora Mass on Christmas Day having been from time immemorial celebrated in her church. The names of both Chrysogonus and his spiritual daughter are daily pronounced in the Holy Sacrifice.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Our Blessed Lady appearing in the year 1830 to St. Catherine Labouré, a Sister of Charity, showed her the pattern of the medal now universally known as the "Miraculous Medal," because of the many wonders which it has pleased almighty God to work by its means in His Church. The proper name of the Medal is the Medal of the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine is symbolically portrayed in the representation of Mary crushing the head of the serpant, a reference to Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for thy heel." It is specifically mentioned in the golden letters which formed round the Virgin: "O Mary, conceived without sin...." There can be no doubt that the apparition of the Medal hastened the definition of the Immaculate Conception. It was indeed the "great sign" that "appeared in the heavens," an indication that time was ripe for the vindication of Mary's glorious privilege. Pius IX himself asserted that the impetus for his pronouncement came from France.
Saint Catherine Laboré, Virgin Catherine Labouré was born on May 2, 1806. She entered the community of the Daughters of Charity, rue de Bac, Paris, where our Lady revealed to her in 1830 the Miraculous Medal of the Immaculate Conception. She was afterwards placed in the Hospice of Enghien, Faubourg Saint-Antoine, where she apent forty-five years, performing the humblest tasks in perfect obedience, devotion, and silence. She died on Secember 30, 1876; and was canonized by Pius XII on July 27, 1947. Her incorrupt body lies beneath an altar built on the spot where Our Lady appeared to her.
St. Saturninus, Martyr The aged Saturninus and Sisinnius, the deacon were beheaded on this day at Rome on the Salarian Way under the Emperor Maximian. After they had been weakened by a long imprisonment, the prefect of the city ordered them to be put on the rack and stretched, beaten with rods and scourges, scorched with fire, and taken down from the rack and beheaded. Saint Saturninus is said, in an epitaph by Pope St. Damasus to have been a priest who came to Rome from Carthage; he was buried in the cemetery of Thraso on the Via Salaria Nova. Another Saturninus, a missionary who served as the first bishop of Toulouse. He was martyred by the pagan priests who blamed him for the silence of their oracles. They tied him to a bull, who dragged him about until at last his skull was broken and his brains dashed out. His relics were enshrined in the church of St. Serin.
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