Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

October is the month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary

November is the month dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory

Readings from the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 22 The Sleeping Arrangements of the Monks - Ch 28 Those Who Refuse to Amend after Frequent Reproofs

Praised be the Lord, I exclaim.

MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS,

MARY, REFUGE OF SOULS,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

For I am compassionate.

(Ex 22:26)

Welcome to the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time. Jesus gives us a tall order in today's Gospel, that is, You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And, love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:37-39). Do not be daunted. Instead, go to Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (13:1-13) and Saint Benedict's Tools for Good Works found in Chapter 4 of the Holy Rule, for help. Just say no resounding gongs or clashing cymbals (see 1 Cor 13:1). 

So faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

(1 Cor 13:13)

Never lose hope in God's mercy.

(Rule of Saint Benedict 4:74)

I learned about a new saint last Thursday. I was especially thinking of him yesterday when we commemorated Saints Simon and Jude. It occurred to me that Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes (and desperate situations, forgotten causes, hospital workers, hospitals, impossible causes, and the diocese of Sr. Petersburg, Florida!) was certainly busy working on Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1946). And what a story (see reference below *). In short, our dear Bartolo grew up in a family of faith who prayed the Rosary together daily. Then, Bartolo sort of wandered from the fold, to say the least. After his mother's death, Bartolo not only fell in with a paganic group, they "ordained" him as Satanist priest. He participated in all sorts of extracurricular activities - please read for yourself. In any case, Bartolo ultimately experienced a mental breakdown, and with help from his dead father's voice, "Return to God! Return to God!", and Dominican priest who heard Bartolo's confession, Bartolo returned to God and His Church. In 1871, Bartolo became a Third Order Dominican, took the name of Br. Rosario in honor of the Rosary, married a local widow on the advice Pope Leo XIII, and all this goes on to lead to the Basilica of the Most Holy Rosary in Pompeii. I am telling you that you have to read the story for yourself. Pope Saint John Paul II beatified Bartolo on October 26, 1980, calling him the "Apostle of the Rosary." And it is said that over 30,000 people attended the ceremony. There will more to this story as our faith unfolds. All told, with God, ALL things are possible. Give God the praise!

In this week when we say farewell to October and welcome to November, our first three voices speak to us of the Most Holy Rosary, and the following honor saints, including some we commemorate this week, or those who preached on the most holy days we celebrate this week. And something to keep in mind throughout the whole of the liturgical year are the words of Blessed Columba Marmion: "We should be by grace what Jesus was by nature, a child of God and a child of Mary." Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

If I ever come to the end of the day without having said the rosary, I confess that I feel disappointed. There are some people who say: "The rosary is a good thing for women and children." Granted. But what does the Lord say? Unless you become as little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven-and for my part, I want to go there!

(Blessed Columba Marmion, 1858-1923)

By its nature the recitation of the rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of Her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are unfolded.

(Pope Saint Paul VI, 1897-1978, Marialis Cultus, 47) 

The rosary is not a devotion to the Blessed Virgin, it is the devotion to Mary!

(Blessed Pauline Jaricot, 1799-1862)

Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints ...

we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession.

(From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot, in Office of Readings, November 1)

Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire. Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die. Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God's gaze is upon you, wherever you may be.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:46-49)

The example of Martin's life is ample evidence that we can strive for holiness and salvation as Christ Jesus has shown us: first, by loving God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and second, by loving your neighbor as yourself ...

Saint Martin, always obedient and inspired by his divine teacher, dealt with his brothers with that profound love which comes from pure faith and humility of spirit. He loved men because he honestly looked on them as God's children and as his own brothers and sisters. Such was his humility that he loved them even more than himself and considered them to be better and more righteous than he was.

(From a homily at the Canonization of Saint Martin de Porres by Pope John XXIII, in Office of Readings, November 3)

If you wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new ardor.

(Saint Charles Borromeo, 1538-1584)

And finally, we join Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan (1928-2002) in prayer, and at the same time remember that "Whenever one person does something good for another, there God is especially near. Whenever someone opens himself for God in prayer, then he enters into His special closeness."**

Lord, give to our world many saints. I may produce material goods, but you alone, Lord, can give us saints.

(Venerable Francis Xavier Van Thuan)

BLESSED BARTOLO LONGO, APOSTLE OF THE ROSARY,

POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II,

BLESSED CHIARA LUCE BADANO,

THE BLESSED MARTYRS OF DOUAI COLLEGE,

SAINT COLMAN MACDUAGH,

SAINT MARCELLUS,

THE BLESSED MARTYRS OF WINCHESTER,

SAINT THOGER,

BLESSED DOMINIC COLLINS,

BLESSED MARIA TAUSCHER,

SAINT ALPHONSO RODRIGUEZ,

SAINT WOLFGANG AND THE 14 HOLY HELPERS,

POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II,

SAINT GIANNA MOLLA,

SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES,

SAINT WINEFRIDE,

SAINT MALACHY,

BLESSED JOHN BODY,

BLESSED RUPERT MAYER,

SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO,

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,

SAINT BENEDICT,

PRAY FOR US. 

* See Angelo Stagnaro, "Blessed Bartolo Longo, the ex-Satanist Who Was Freed Through the Rosary," in National Catholic Register, December 12, 2016.

**Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God and the World: A Conversation with Peter Seewald (Ignatius, 2002).

Today's photo: Acadia National Park, in the woods near Long Pond, Bar Harbor, Maine, The Pine Tree State. Thank you, beloved Marshall family.

© Gertrude Feick 2023