Jan. 15, 2020
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Visions of the Sacred Heart
For two years between 1673 and 1675, a Visitation nun by the name of Margaret Mary Alacoque had multiple visions. In one of those visions, she said Jesus gave her 12 promises to those who venerated the Sacred Heart.
They include the promise to give them graces they would need in life, bring peace to their families, comfort them in their trials, give them a secure refuge during life and in death, bless their undertakings, bring mercy to sinners, make lukewarm souls more fervent, allow fervent souls to grow in holiness and perfection, bless every place where the image of Sacred Heart is shown, and give priests the gift of influencing hardened hearts, honor in the Sacred Heart those who honor it, and provide eternal happiness. Not everybody believed her, and Margaret Mary endured a lot of skepticism, which is somewhat understandable. Some of the other nuns were hostile to her, theologians who came to visit suggested she was delusional, but she stuck to her guns and eventually they came around.
Born in France in 1647, she served as novice mistress and assistant superior, until her death in 1690, at the age of 43. While being anointed, she said: “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”
She was canonized in 1920.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated on the eighth day of the Feast of Corpus Christi, nineteen days after Pentecost Sunday. You’ll have to look that up.
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We get a little newsletter from a troupe of characters called, "Nuns 4 Fun." They are most famous for their silly plays about growing up Catholic. You may remember, "Late Nite Catechism" or "Bible Bingo" or "Mother Superior's Ho-Ho-Holy Night." They are saterical and funny, and each month they mail us their "St. of the Month," and their "Like 'nun' other"... I thought I would share....
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November: Saint Gall (St. Gallus)
Everybody and everything needs a patron saint. Since this is November and it’s the month of Thanksgiving, we thought we’d feature St. Gall, Patron Saint of turkeys.
Okay, he’s also the Patron Saint of chickens and all manner of birds. We’ll explain that in a minute.
First, a little about St. Gall, who lived from the year 550 until 646 in the areas that are now Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
He was born in Ireland and when he was young he became a monk, and traveled to France, and went all over that area to preach. All that traveling took its toll and he got sick, and decided to rest and restore himself.
Eventually he moved to Switzerland and here’s where things get interesting. Gall joined some other monks living as hermits. He liked to spend time outdoors and birds kept him company.
His most famous miracle involves the exorcism of a woman named Fridiburga, the daughter of a duke. She was engaged to marry Sigebert II, King of the Franks. Right there, you want to know more, right? Well, Fridiburga was possessed by demons. Sigebert had already sent for two bishops to help her, but they couldn’t do anything. Here comes St. Gall. He said a few prayers, laid on some hands, did whatever he needed to do, and then suddenly the demons flew out of Fridiburga's mouth in the form a big black bird.
So now you know why he’s the Patron Saint of birds, including turkeys.
Oh, and what happened to Fridiburga? Well, after Sigebert saw what happened, he decided to pull out of that marriage. She became a nun. Not too bad for both of them.
Another animal miracle is the story of St. Gall’s encounter with a bear in the forest near his monastery. The bear charged him, but St. Gall stopped it. So the bear took off, but then it came back with some firewood it gathered. The bear dropped the wood at the foot of St. Gall, so he and those monks could set a fire. After that, the two stayed fast friends. In fact, the image of St. Gall has him with that bear. We think his name was Hamms, but we're not sure. -
Like 'nun'-other: Sister Clare of Assisi
The daughter of a count and countess, Clare was destined for a different life when she met St. Francis of Assisi while he was preaching in the streets. At the age of 15, she had refused to be married. Taken with this man, Clare began actively following his teachings. They became fast friends. One day she confided that she had a desire to live for God.On Palm Sunday in 1212, her bishop presented Clare with a palm, which she took as a sign. In the middle of the night, when she was 18 years old, Clare ran away from her palace home and entered religious life.
She eventually took the veil from St Francis at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Italy.
After that, Clare founded the Order of Poor Ladies, and led it for 40 years. She wrote their Rule of Life, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman.
Everywhere the Franciscans established themselves throughout Europe, the Poor Clares joined them, eventually opening orders in several countries. Leading lives of prayer and silence, they had no money, and relied upon charity to get by.
To this day, the Poor Clares are a cloistered order of nuns.
Clare died at the age of 59 in 1253, after a long illness. After her death, her followers changed their name from the Order of Poor Ladies to the Poor Clares. Here’s an interesting tidbit. Apparently, when she was too ill to attend Mass, Clare could see and hear Mass on the wall of her bedroom. Remember, this was in 1253.
So when this new-fangled medium of television was invented, Pope Pius XII needed a patron saint, so he turned to Clare. She could see and hear Mass on her wall? Sounded like television to those Vatican researchers. That’s why St. Clare is the patron saint of television [and as time moved on, also the computer and internet].