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About Today: Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church

“What meekness of divine love! What patience of the Father’s kindness! How deep and unfathomable the secret of the eternal mind!”[1]

St. Anthony was the son of a wealthy Portuguese family in the 13th century. At fifteen, he became a canon regular at the Abbey of St. Vincent. Later, he studied theology at the prestigious Abbey of the Holy Cross in Coimbra, Portugal.

In his role as guestmaster at the abbey, St. Anthony befriended Franciscan friars who were soon martyred in Morocco. Inspired by their tragic heroism, he became Franciscan and was sent to Morocco as a missionary. In Africa, he became very ill and left to go to Italy. There he met St. Francis and was called to preaching. This supreme gift took him all the way to the papal court, where he served under Pope Gregory IX and was commissioned to write a collection of sermons. He died at 36 and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. [2][3]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] Anthony of Padua, Quinquagesima, www.basilica.org/pages/ebooks.
[2] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “St. Anthony.”
[3] Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, The Martyrology of the Monastery of the Ascension, 2008.
Offices at http://divineoffice.org/?date=20130613#

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http://divineoffice.org/?date=20130611#

About Today: Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out among the multitude, crying, ‘Men, why are you doing this? We also are men, of like nature with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them’” (Acts 14:14).[1]

St Barnabas, named Joseph at the time of his birth, was a Levite and one of the first to embrace the Christian way. Although he was not one of the Twelve, St. Luke refers to him as an “apostle.” After hearing the apostles’ testimony in Jerusalem, he sold a field that he owned and laid the money down at their feet. St Barnabas was a friend to St Paul and brought him to the apostles, when Paul went to Jerusalem and wanted to redeem his reputation. Next, St Barnabas was commissioned to go to Antioch to shepherd the Gentile converts. He invited St Paul and they met with the city’s infant church and instructed them for a year. Afterwards, he traveled through Asia Minor and was a respected missionary and advisor. St. Luke describes St Barnabas as encourager, “… a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 4:36, 11:24). [2][3]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] Revised Standard Version, s.v., “The Acts of the Apostles.”
[2] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “St. Barnabas.”
[3] Revised Standard Version, s.v., “The Acts of the Apostles.”
Offices at http://divineoffice.org/?date=20130611#

About Today: Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

“…an unending spring of life, giving hope to every person, has streamed precisely from the Heart of God’s Son, who died on the Cross. From the Heart of Christ crucified is born the new humanity redeemed from sin. The man of the year 2000 needs Christ’s Heart to know God and to know himself; he needs it to build the civilization of love.”[1]

Today is the solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The feast dates back to the 11th century, but prior to the 17th century the devotion was embraced mainly by mystics such as St. Bernard of Claivaux and Gertrude of Helfta. In 1673, Margaret Mary Alacoque, received a vision of Jesus’ compassionate heart, pierced by the sins of the world, which gave impetus to the devotion. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated humanity to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He explained the Sacred Heart as both, “a symbol and living image of the infinite love of Christ.” [2][3]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
[1] L’Osservatore Romano English edition, 15 June 1994, p. 3.
[2] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
[3] John Paul II, 100th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Human Race to the Divine Heart of Jesus, 1999.
Offices at http://divineoffice.org/?date=20130607#

About Today: Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

St. Boniface lived from 680 – 754 A.D. The son of noble parents, he was educated at a monastery near Exeter in southwest England and entered monastic life at an early age at Nursling near Winchester. There he became a popular teacher and wrote a Latin grammar. When he was about 35, he left his familiar world to become a missionary in Frisia (in the north of modern-day The Netherlands). That mission failed. Pope Gregory II then sent Boniface to consolidate the missions in Germany. Boniface established a number of monasteries there and recruited helpers and material support from Europe and was very successful in this missionary apostolate. He was made bishop and later papal legate. He was also put in charge of reorganizing the Frankish Church. When he was almost 80, he resigned his positions and returned to Frisia as a missionary. There he was martyred while he was reading a book. His body and the blood-stained book were taken to Fulda, which has been the center of devotion to Boniface ever since. [1][2]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] His Holiness Benedict XVI, “General Audience,” March 11, 2009.
[2] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “St. Boniface.”
Offices at http://divineoffice.org/?date=20130605#