Tag: blhenriverges
Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, MARIAN TITLES, MARTYRS, MIRACLES, SAINT of the DAY
The Third Sunday after Easter, Mother's Day! 🌺 – Apparition of St Michael the Archangel at Monte Gargano, Italy (492), Nuestra Señora de Luján, Argentina / Our Lady of Luján (1600s) and Memorials of the Saints – 8 May
Posted on May 8, 2022 May 6, 2022 by AnaStpaul
The Third Sunday after Easter +2022
Mother's Day! 🌺
Apparition of St Michael the Archangel at Monte Gargano, Italy (492)
About this Apparition:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/saint-of-the-day-8-may-apparition-of-michael-the-archangel-at-monte-gargano-italy-492/
Nuestra Señora de Luján, Argentina / Our Lady of Luján: (1600s) – 8 May:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/08/apparition-of-st-michael-the-archangel-at-monte-gargano-italy-492-nuestra-senora-de-lujan-argentina-our-lady-of-lujan-1600s-and-memorials-of-the-saints-8-may-2021/
St Acacius of Byzantium
Bl Aloysius Luis Rabata
St Amatus Ronconi
Bl Angelo of Massaccio
St Arsenio of Mount Scete
St Benedict II, Pope
St Boniface IV, Pope (c 550-615) Bishop of Rome from 608 until his death, Deacon, assistant and disciple of St Pope Gregory the Great, Papal Treasurer under Pope Gregory. In other words, he was the first official in connection with the administration of papal property. he converted the Pantheon into a Church. This was the first pagan temple in Rome to be transformed. On 13 May 609, the Pantheon was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin and all the Christian Martyrs. Boniface ordered 28 cartloads of bones from the Catacombs to be reburied under the high Altar of the new Church.
Saint of the Day – 8 May – Saint Pope Boniface IV (c 550-615)
Bl essed Clara Fey (1815-1894) Religious Sister and Founder of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus.
https://anastpaul.com/2019/05/08/saint-of-the-day-8-may-blessed-clara-fey-1815-1894/
St Desideratus of Bourges
Bl Domenico di San Pietro
St Gibrian
St Helladius of Auxerre
Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr, Religious Brother of the Order of Marist Brothers, Teacher, Missionary, one of the Nineteen Martyrs of Algeria
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/08/saint-of-the-day-8-may-blessed-henri-verges-fms-1930-1994-martyr/
St Ida of Nivelles
St Martin of Saujon
St Metrone of Verona
St Odrian of Waterford
St Otger of Utrecht
St Peter of Besançon
Bl Pietro de Alos
Bl Raymond of Toulouse
Bl Teresa Demjanovich
Bl Ulrika Fransiska Nisch
St Victor Maurus the Moor (Died c 303) Martyr, Layman, ex-Soldier.
St Wiro of Utrecht
Posted in MARIAN TITLES, MARTYRS, MIRACLES, SAINT of the DAY
Apparition of St Michael the Archangel at Monte Gargano, Italy (492), Nuestra Señora de Luján, Argentina / Our Lady of Luján: (1600s) and Memorials of the Saints – 8 May 2021
The Virgin is a two feet tall terracotta Statue of Our Lady. It was made in Brazil and sent to Argentina in May 1630. Its original appearance seemed inspired by Murillo's Immaculates. In 1887, to preserve and protect it, the image was given a solid silver covering.
It is usually clothed with a white robe and sky blue cloak, the colours of the Argentinian flag. Only the dark oval face with big blue eyes and the hands folded in prayer are now visible.
Tradition tells us that a settler ordered the image of Mary Immaculate in 1630 because he intended to create a Shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the Port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya.
When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image were removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive Chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides. A Basilica was built in its honour, where the image now resides above the high Altar.
Among the Popes who have honoured Our Lady of Luján are Clement XI, Clement XIV, Pius VI, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius XI, Pius XII, and John Paul II. In 1824, Fr John Mastai Ferretti, visited the Shrine on his way to Chile. He later became Blessed Pope Pius IX and defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1854.
Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli served as the Papal Legate to the XXXII International Eucharistic Congress ,held in Buenos Aires in October 1934 and visited the Basilica on 15 October. When he became Pope Pius XII, he made a radio address to the pilgrims in Luján on the occasion of the First Marian Congress in Argentina in 1947.
In 1982, during the Falklands War, John Paul II became the first Pope to visit Our Lady of Luján. During this visit the Pope celebrated an outdoor Mass in the square of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján and bestowed upon her the Golden Rose. Both in his homily of 11 June and his Angelus back in Rome reflecting on the trip, he commented on Our Lady's never failing maternal solicitude for the faithful in times of distress. On 11 June 1982, John Paul II personally bestowed a Papal Golden Rose on Our Lady of Luján.
St Boniface IV, Pope (c 550-615) Bishop of Rome fro 608 until his death
St Victor Maurus
Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MARIAN PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY
Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr
Posted on May 8, 2020 by AnaStpaul
Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – The Memorial of Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr, Marist Brothers Missionary and one of the 19 Algerian Martyrs
"… How can one express a spiritual experience?
One can only stammer.
God alone knows the windings of the way,
the path He intends for this one and for that one,
the journeying marked out by our
welcomes and refusals."
"God has simply sent me
to sow the seed in the field chosen by Him –
thus, to sow in peace
and to leave Him
to look after the growth.
Without being surprised
by the presence of the cross,
as in the life of Jesus Himself."
"Let the Peace of Christ
invade me always,
more and more intimately.
Patience, gentleness towards myself,
patience, gentleness towards all,
in particular, the young people
the Lord entrusts to me.
Virgin Mary, make me
an instrument of peace
for the world."
Bl Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr
Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MARTYRS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD
One Minute Reflection – 8 May – 'Hitch up your garment and be ready for action…'
One Minute Reflection – 8 May – "Mary's Month" – Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 13:26-33, Psalm 2:6-11, John 14:1-6 and the Memorial of Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me." … John 14:6
REFLECTION – "Day by day follow God's path, keeping Him closely attached to you by His promise. In fact, He Himself said, through the mediation of His apostles, to all those who seek His will and His testimonies (Ps 118[119]:31 LXX), that He would be with them until the end of the world (Mt 28:20) where paths and footsteps will be unknown (cf, Ps 76:20), as the divine David said in his songs. Yet, in an invisible way, He is present to the eyes of the mind, making Himself seen by those who have a pure heart and conversing with them. So pursue your path ….
Take the wings of the love of God to fly like the clouds (cf. Is 60:8), raised above the obstacles of this earth. Anoint your feet with the oil of joy (cf. Ps 44:8) and temperance. Do not hinder the Lord's narrow way with your dragging feet. If you are thirsty in your pusillanimity, drink the water of patience (cf. Sir 15:3), if you are hungry in your spiritual sluggishness, eat the bread that nourishes and strengthens the heart of man (cf. Ps 103[104]:15), a word of wisdom and courage. Hitch up your garment and be ready for action, look up and don't burden yourself with those oppressive loads which are your evil desires. For anyone who is accomplishing the journey from earth to heaven, it is enough to diligently pursue one's path without assuming extra weight. …
Be strong in the Lord; go up to the mountain of God, to His holy house (Is 2:3) with Isaiah the cantor, the prophet with such a powerful voice. Let none remain behind, none sit down; help one another, everyone rooted in a firm charity." … St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Monk and Theologian at Constantinople – Catechesis 11
PRAYER – "[Lord God] I believe in You, increase my faith. All my hopes are in You, secure my trust. I love You, teach me to love You more each day… I adore You as my first beginning, I long for You as my final end. I praise You as my constant helper and call on You as my loving protector. Guide me by Your Wisdom, correct me with Your Justice, comfort me with Your Mercy, protect me by Your Power… Lord, enlighten my understanding, enflame my will, purify my heart, sanctify my soul. Help me to repent of my past sins and to rise above my human weaknesses and to grow stronger as a Christian…" (from the Universal Prayer by Pope Clement XI (1649-1721) Mary, Mother of our Lord, pray for us! Blessed Henri Vergès (1930-1994) Martyr, pray for us!
Saint of the Day – 8 May – Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr
Saint of the Day – 8 May – Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr, Religious Brother of the Order of Marist Brothers, Teacher, Missionary, one of the Nineteen Martyrs of Algeria – born on 15 July 1930 in Matemale, Pyrénées-Orientales, France and died by two shots to the head on 8 May 1994 in the Archdiocese library in Algiers, Algeria.
Henri was born in France in 1930 and studied from the age of twelve with the Marists Brothers, who left a great impression on this pious youth. He entered the Marist Novitiate and where he made his perpetual vows at the age of twenty-two. From 1958 to 1966, he was sub-master of novices at Notre-Dame de Lacabane.
Henri had dreamed of being a Missionary, perhaps in Latin America or Madagascar but then he was sent to Algeria – it was a bit of a shock, he had dreamed of more exotic location bu,t submitting to the will of God, off he went. When he arrived in Algiers on 6 August 1969, he immediately began studying Arabic. He was then 39 years old.
He was director of the Saint-Bonaventure school in Algiers from 1969 to 1976, during which time he worked in close collaboration with the parents of the pupils. In 1976, the Catholic schools and institutions were nationalised and the Brothers returned to France. On the appeal of the Archbishop of Algiers, Br Henri remained and became a French Teacher at the state secondary school at Sour-El-Ghozlane, 120 km from Algiers.
He lived alone for several years, forming close bonds with the Moslem pupils, parents and fellow teachers. He led a life of intense prayer and profound dialogue with his Moslem friends. Brother Jesus Marcos joined him in 1983. Then, another trial was imposed on them when they lost the right to teach. Archbishop Tessler suggested that they take on the running of a Library for senior secondary pupils, which had formerly been administered by the White Fathers, in a working class suburb of Algiers. From 1988 to 1994, they ran this library along with Sr Paul Hélène, a French nun of the Little Sisters of the Assumption.
In addition to his ministry to young people, he was a very active member of Ribât al-Salaam, an Algerian organisation that promotes dialogue and reconciliation between Christians and Moslems.
In 1991, the Algerian Civil War broke out, in which roughly fifty thousand people were killed over the course of ten years. Foreigners, who remained in Algeria, were threatened with death from 1993. During this time, Br Henri's library was filled with children and young people everyday, for whom the library was a safe place and a refuge from the chaos in the country.
Still, Br Henri applied for Algerian citizenship. Along with the priests and other religious still in the country, they lived in close solidarity with the Algerian people, never showing fear or distress in the atmosphere of mounting tension and hostility to foreigners.
Despite the violence, Br Henri was passionately convinced of the importance of the Church and the Gospel message in Algiers, in a land more and more destabilised by fundamentalism.
In 1991, on the centenary of the occasion of the arrival of the Brothers in Algieria, he said:
"One hundred years of travelling with the Church in Algieria, sharing her limits but also her humble liability to the call of the Lord and to the call of the people, in a patient dialogue and attentive to thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit and to Mary, in an untroubled openness to the future.
… What is in store for us in this second century, which is beginning? God alone knows! It is enough for us to go in faith, like Abraham who did not have much idea of where God was leading him!"
From stage to stage, he went on ….
Until on 8 May 1994 he and Sr Paul, were both gunned down in the library by the GIA, a militant Islamist group.
He was buried in Algiers on 12 May 1994 and Beatified together with Sr Paul Hélène and 17 other Martyrs on 8 December 2018 at the Notre-Dame de Santa Cruz, Oran, Algeria by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciuby on behalf of Pope Francis.
Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY
Feast of Our Lady of Luján, Apparition of St Michael the Archangel at Monte Gargano and Memorials of the Saints – 8 May
Our Lady of Luján: The Virgin is a two feet tall terracotta statue of Our Lady. It was made in Brazil and sent to Argentina in May 1630. Its original appearance seemed inspired by Murillo's Immaculates. In 1887, to preserve and protect it, the image was given a solid silver covering. It is usually clothed with a white robe and sky blue cloak, the colours of the Argentinian flag. Only the dark oval face with big blue eyes and the hands folded in prayer are now visible.
St Boniface IV, Pope
Bl Clara Fey (1815-1894)
Blessed Henri Vergès FMS (1930-1994) Martyr