Saint Rafael

Mass is being celebrated today, 12th October, in joy of the Canonisation of the Cistercian Monk,Brother Rafael Arnáiz Barón

of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance

DOCUMENT Papal Homily at Canonization Mass "Jesus Invites His Disciples to the Total Giving of Their Lives" VATICAN CITY, OCT. 11, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered today at the canonization Mass of the following blessed: Bishop Zygmunt Szsczęsny Felińsk, founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary; Dominican Father Francisco Coll y Guitart, founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Father Jozef Damiaan de Veuster of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar; Brother Rafael Arnáiz Barón of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance; Sister Marie de la Croix (Jeanne) Jugan, founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Before the Blessing, the Holy Father addressed the faithful and led them in praying the Angelus Domini. During the Sacred Rite, after the proclamation of the Gospel, the Holy Father gave the homily. Dear brothers and sisters! "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" This is the question that opens the brief dialogue we heard in the Gospel, between a man, identified elsewhere as the rich young man, and Jesus (cf Mk 10:17-30). We do not have very many details about this nameless character: all the same from the little we do have we are able to perceive his sincere desire to attain eternal life by living an honest and virtuous existence on earth. In fact he knows the commandments and has obeyed them since childhood. And yet all of this, while important, is not sufficient -- says Jesus -- there is one thing missing, but it is an essential thing. Seeing then that he is willing, the Divine Master looks at him with love and proposes the qualitative leap, he calls him to the heroism of sanctity, he asks him to abandon everything and follow him: "Sell what you own and give the money to the poor...then come, follow me!" (V. 21). "Then come, follow me!" This is the Christian vocation that flows from a proposal of love by the Lord, and that can be realized only thanks to our loving reply. Jesus invites his disciples to the total giving of their lives, without calculation or personal gain, with unfailing trust in God. The saints welcome this demanding invitation and set about following the crucified and risen Christ with humble docility. Their perfection, in the logic of a faith that is humanly incomprehensible at times, consists in no longer placing themselves at the center, but choosing to go against the flow and live according to the Gospel. This is what was done by the five saints who today, with great joy, are being put forward for veneration by the universal Church: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Francisco Coll y Guitart, Jozef Damiaan de Veuster, Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Marie de la Croix (Jeanne) Jugan. In them we can contemplate the realization of the words of the Apostle Peter: "Look, we have left everything and followed you" (V. 28) and the consoling reassurance of Jesus: "There is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much...and persecutions too, now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life" (VV. 29-30) . . . Brother Rafael Arnáiz Barón of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance Turning to today’s Gospel, to the youthful figure who presents his desires to Jesus, wanting to be something more than a reliably obedient to the duties imposed by the law, he is in contrast with Brother Rafael, canonized today, who died at the age of twenty seven as an Oblate of the Trappists of Saint Isidore de Duenas. He too was from a well-to-do family, as he said himself, with a "slightly dreamy spirit", whose dreams however, did not vanish in front of the attachment to material possessions and other goals that worldliness insists on at times. He said yes to the proposal to follow Jesus, in an immediate and decisive way, without limits or conditions. Thus he set out on his path, which from the moment in the monastery when he realized that he "did not know how to pray ", led him in just a few years to the summit of spiritual life, where he describes with great simplicity and naturalness in many writings. Brother Rafael, still close to us, continues to offer, through his example and his works, a fascinating journey, especially for young persons who are not satisfied easily, but who aspire to the full truth, the most inexpressible joy, reached for the love of God. "Life is love... This is the only reason to live," said the new Saint. And he insists: "From the love of God come all things." May the Lord receive one of the last prayers by Saint Rafael Arnáiz, while he gave his entire life up to Him, pleading: "Take me and give Yourself to the world." May he be given to reinvigorate the interior life of Christians today. May he be given so that his Brothers in the Trappists and the monastic centers can continue to be a beacon that reveals the intimate yearning for God which He placed in every human heart. ______________________________________________ Saint Raphael Pictures Gallery http://www.abadiasanisidro.es/rafael/index.html Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists) BLESSED RAFAEL ARNÁIZ BARÓN (1911-1938) Saint. Raphaël Arnáiz Barón Canonized on Sunday October 11, 2009. Biographical Note from: ocso.org Rafael Arnáiz, known in the monastery as Brother María Rafael, was born on 9 April 1911 in the city of Burgos, in north-central Spain. He was the first of four sons born to a well-to-do, deeply Christian and Catholic family. As a boy he went to several schools run by the Jesuit Fathers. By the time of his adolescence it became clear that Rafael had special human, intellectual, artistic and spiritual gifts. These qualities were remarkably well balanced in him, producing an open, positive, joyful attitude to the world of persons and things, characterized by exuberant good humour, respect and humility. His deeper commitment to Christ began in 1930, just after he graduated from Secondary (High) School. As a graduation present, he was allowed to pass his summer vacation with his Uncle Leopoldo and Aunt María, the Duke and Duchess of Maqueda, at their residence near Avila. It marked the beginning of a fruitful spiritual friendship between the nephew and his Uncle and Aunt. At their encouragement, Rafael made his first contact with the Trappist monastery of San Isidoro de Dueñas. It was September 1930. He was seduced by the silent beauty of the monastery and bewitched by the soaring melodies of the Salve Regina at Compline. Three years later, after finishing his architectural studies, he entered as a postulant, then became a novice, convinced that this was his true vocation. He brought nothing with him except "a heart full of joy and the love of God." From that moment on, Rafael’s personal odyssey runs at high speed, for he will live only four more years. The precipitating factor is a violent case of saccharin diabetes which appears four months after his entering the monastery. The saddened, perplexed novice is forced to rest at home for a few months then return to the monastery, which he does three successive times from 1935 through 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War. Rafael is called into the Nationalist Army but is declared unfit for active duty. On his final return to the monastery he is obliged to enter as an oblate, taking the last place and living on the margin of the community, but God’s Providence uses this to show Rafael’s intense vocational commitment and the generosity of his gift of self. He passed away in the monastery’s infirmary at the age of 27, on 26 April 1938. Despite the short time frame of his monastic experience, Rafael embodies the Cistercian grace in a remarkably pure and intense way. It is a mystery of detachment. From beginning to end he let himself be led through a series of bewildering contradictions and perplexities – sickness, war, inability to pronounce his vows, abnormal community relations – until he totally renounces himself, his self-will and his good, but limited, human ideals. Humiliation is his constant companion until he reaches the true life of the vows, which lies on the other side of death. Rafael’s God, his Christ, is not the object of study but the Companion of a transcendental lived experience of absolute Love. His one desire was to live in order to love: love Jesus, love Mary, love the Cross, love his Trappist monastery. This is the outstanding characteristic of his personal spirituality. He is "a crazy Trappist, crazed by the love of God:... God alone!" Rafael was proclaimed as a model for the youth of today by Pope John Paul II and beatified by him in 1992.

God is good

The Risen Young Man

"God is good". Mt. 19:17 (R. Knox translation)

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28^th Sunday (B) Homily, Fr. Aelred

Mark 10: 17-27

In today’s Gospel a man comes to Jesus and asks him what we must do to gain everlasting life. It is clearly a genuine and deeply felt question, because Jesus looks at him with love. Though it does not say so in the text, Jesus may be feeling sadness too, since he knows that the man is going to find what is asked of him extremely difficult.

Basically the man has kept all the rules that he has been taught from childhood outwardly, he has done what he feels has been asked of him. But Jesus knows that inwardly the man’s heart is set, not on God, but on money. And the man cannot give it up, not even for God. Jesus tells him that in order to follow him, it is necessary to make an incredibly difficult choice – either to see his money as his security, or to trust in God. Like in the parable of the fool and his barns, the man has not been able to see that everything he has is given to him as a gift from God. Instead of responding to God’s generosity by being generous himself, and sharing what he has, he holds on to what he has got. His treasure is a collection of material goods, not the true treasure of faith, love and wisdom.

Jesus gives us so many reminders of the dangers of wealth in his parables, because the call of money, status and security is so attractive and alluring that it can easily take our minds and hearts away from God and make us selfish and unloving, hoarding instead of generous.

Money in itself, is neither good not bad. It can be hoarded for selfish use, it can be spent excessively and showily for status reasons, or it can be shared with those who have less than we do. What we decide to do with what we have is one way of telling where our heart truly lies.

Archbishop Kaigarna of Jos, in Nigeria, recently said on a visit to the UK that there is a terrible poverty in Nigeria, but there is also great wealth. He said that this wealth is concentrated in the few who have benefited from Nigeria oil - the rich elite. But he went on: “There is also the wealth of those who live in poverty – the wealth that comes from living in solidarity with each other and acknowledging our dependence on God. People who are poor know what it means to depend on God and trust in one another”.

Whatever our material means, or lack of them, let us all pray that we may give God first place in our lives, not only during this Eucharist, but in all we say and do and are.

Raphael San Isidoro

During Mass this morning we honoured the Cistercian SAINT, Raphael of San Isidoro. Abbot Mark represented Sancat Maria Abbey at the Canonisation in Rome.
We await the details to replace the older Notice of the Consistory.

Sunday 11 October 2009 - ROME Canonization of Blessed Br. Raphaël Br. Rápale Arnaiz Baron Cistercian Monastery, San Isidoro, Spain On Saturday February 21, 2009, in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at 11 a.m., the Holy Father presided at an ordinary public consistory for the causes of canonisation of ten Blesseds. At the end of the ceremony, the Pope announced that the canonisation of Blesseds Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski, Francesc Coll y Guitart, Jozef Damian de Veuster, Rafael Arnaiz Baron, and Mary of the Cross (Jeanne) Jugan will take place on Sunday 11 October.

Welcome the Word Peter Damian

Mass Intro. Saturday, October 10, 2009 "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." As Christ is in the womb of Mary, Christ is in our hearts. “It is true of the Virgin Mary that she conceived Christ in her womb, but all who are chosen share in carrying him in their heart with love”. Saint Peter Damian goes on in that one thought in this brief passage. “We too are blessed when we are mindful of carrying him constantly in our heart”. Commentary of the day : (http://www.dailygospel.org) Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072), hermit then Bishop, Doctor of the Church Sermon 45, PL 144, 747 Blessed are they who welcome the Word of God Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:27-28. While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." It is true of the Virgin Mary that she conceived Christ in her womb, but all who are chosen share in carrying him in their heart with love. Blessed, yes, very blessed the woman who carried Jesus in her womb for nine months (Lk 11:27). We too are blessed when we are mindful of carrying him constantly in our heart. Certainly, Christ's conception in Mary's womb was a great marvel, but it is no less of a marvel to see him become the guest of our heart. That is the meaning of John's testimony: «Here I stand knocking at the door. If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me.» (Rev 3:20) ... Here again, my brothers, let us consider our dignity and our resemblance to Mary. The Virgin conceived Christ in her womb of flesh, and we carry him in the womb of our heart. Mary nourished Christ by giving his lips milk from her breast, and we can offer him a varied meal with the good works, which delight him.

The Mass Luke 11:27-28 leads on Harmony of the Gospels (Ronald Knox Translation)

PUBLIC LIFE - FIRST PERIOD (DISPUTE WITH PHARISEES)

MATTHEW	MARK	LUKE
Matthew 12:46-50 46 While he was still speaking to the multitude, it chanced that his mother and his brethren were standing without, desiring 47 speech with him. And someone told him, Here arc thy mother and thy brethren 48 standing without, looking for thee. But he made answer to the man that brought him the news, Who is a mother, who are brethren, 49 to me? Then he stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, Here are my 50 mother and my brethren! If anyone does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.	Mark 3: 31-35 31 Then his mother and his brethren came and sent a message to him, calling him to 32 them, while they stood without. There was a multitude sitting round him when they told him, Here are thy mother and thy 33 brethren without, looking for thee. And he answered them, Who is a mother, who are 34 brethren, to me? Then he looked about at those who were sitting around him, and said, 35 Here are my mother and my brethren! If anyone does the will of God, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.	Luke 11 :27-28 27 than the first. When he spoke thus, a woman in the multitude said to him aloud, Blessed is the womb that bore thee, the breast which 28 thou hast sucked. And he answered, Shall we not say, Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it? 8: 19-21 19 And his mother and brethren came to visit him, but could not reach him because 20 of the multitude. So word was given him, Thy mother and thy brethren are standing 21 without, asking to see thee. But he answered them, My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.

Centred by St. Peter Damien’s commentary to Luke 11:27-28, the question is whether the Synoptic parallels correspond accurately.

Is this an isolated Pericope, “Jesus tells a woman about obeying God’s word”?

Peter Damien speaks beautifully to the heart of Jesus word. Can he go further see that though extend to the words of Matthew and Mark, so close to each other.

It is an interesting study, as has not come my way before!

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Bernard to Monks

TWENTY -SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - FRIDAY The Vigils Reading passes me past, and at the best, it is the readings from St. Bernard need more accessibility. Maybe it takes therapeutic reading and begins to yield to the full relish of Bernard. It is a basic contemplative spontaneity so completely amazing to the mind so immersed in the life of Bernard’s activities See here the BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH from the Lectionary for the following Reading. How did the monks listen to the Abbot in the Chapter while Bernard was also thinking about the so many public engagements in this brief reference? Bernard, Saint (1090-1153) Bernard entered the monastery of Citeaux with thirty companions in 1112. He received his monastic training under the abbot, Saint Stephen Harding, who sent him in 1115 to make a foundation at Clairvaux in France. Soon one of the most influential religious forces in Europe, Bernard was instrumental in founding the Knights Templar and in the election of Pope Innocent I in 1130.He was a strenuous opponent of writers such as Abelard, Gilbert de la Porree, and Henry of Lausanne.Above all, Bernard was a monk; his sermons and theological writings show an intimate knowledge of scripture, a fine eloquence, and an extraordinarily sublime mysticism Second Reading From a sermon by Saint Bernard Human beings experienced constant benefits but the benefactor was hidden from them. He reached indeed from end to end mightily, arranging all things pleasantly, but humankind did not perceive him. They enjoyed the Lord's blessings but were utterly ignorant of the Lord of Hosts because he ruled all things so silently. They were from him but not with him; they had life through him but did not live for him; they had understanding from him but did not know him, for they were estranged, ungrateful, foolish. In the end they attributed existence, life, and understanding not to the author of these but to nature or even, much more stupidly, to fortune; many also conceitedly claimed that much was the result of their own diligence and abilities. Think of all that seductive spirits arrogated to themselves, and all that was attributed to sun and moon or earth and water or even things made by mortal hands! Deference was paid to plants and trees and the tiniest most contemptible seeds as to divinities. Thus, alas, did men and women lose their true glory, exchanging him for the image of a bull that eats grass. But taking pity on them in their errors, God graciously came from his shaded, thickly wooded mountain and placed his tent in the sun. To those who knew only the flesh he offered his flesh that through it they might learn to perceive the spirit. For while in the flesh he did works through the flesh that were not of the flesh but of God: commanding nature, conquering fate, showing human wisdom to be folly, and vanquishing tyrannous demons. He openly showed himself to be the one through whom these things, whenever they occurred, had all been prepared at one and the same time. In the flesh and through the flesh he worked miracles openly and mightily, spoke a saving message, endured undeserved suffering, and made it clear that he is the one who mightily but invisibly created the world, rules it wisely, and safeguards it benevolently. Finally, when he preached the good news to the ungrateful, offered signs to unbelievers, and prayed for his crucifiers, did he not clearly show himself to be the one who with his Father daily makes his sun rise upon the good and the wicked and the rain fall on the just and the unjust? He himself said as much: If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me. .. Responsony - Ti 3:4; Mt 1:21 .When the kindness and generosity of God our Saviour dawned upon the world, it was not because of any good deeds of ours but from compassion that + he saved us through the cleansing water of rebirth and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit which he generously poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. V. You shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. + He saved us ... . (The Lectionary, disappointingly, omits the reference to this writing).

Wounds of Christ

TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - THURSDAY

As I later read the Vigils passage from John Lauder, it resounded in harmony with the familiar prayer from the Argus “Corner of Prayer”. See below.

Wounds of Christ

By His wounds we are healed!
I kiss the wounds in your sacred head
With sorrow deep and true
May every thought of mine today,
Be a million acts of love for you
I kiss the wounds in your sacred hands
With sorrow deep and true
May everything I touch today,
Be a million acts of love for you
I kiss the wounds in your sacred feet
With sorrow deep and true
May every step of mine today,
Be a million acts of love for you
I kiss the wounds in your sacred Heart
With sorrow deep and true
May every beat of my heart today,
Be a million acts of love for you
(Composed by Fr. Ignatius Gibney C.P. 1889-1952)

Second Reading From a conference by John Tauler . . . Master Hugh said: "People can no more live without loving that they can live without souls." It is up to all of us to see for ourselves what we love, because if one sort of love is to enter our hearts, the other must go out. Saint Augustine said: "Empty yourselves so that you may be filled." In another place our Lord said that he is the door through. which we must pass. When we pray we must knock on three places on this door if we are to be truly let in. We must knock with all devotion upon the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, the heart that was opened to us in love, the side that was pierced. We must go in there with all devotion, acknowledging that we are the poorest of the poor, that we are nothing; and like the poor man Lazarus before the rich man's gate, we must beg for the crumbs of grace. He will give us his grace divinely and supernaturally. Next we must knock upon the holy open wounds of his sacred hands, and pray to him to give us knowl­edge of himself, to enlighten us and lift us up to him. Lastly we must knock upon the door of his sacred feet, and ask him for a love that is divine and true, a love that will unite us with him completely, so that we are submerged and wrapped up in him. May our loving God help us all so to ask, seek and knock that we may be let in. Responsory Mt 7:7.11 Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; + knock and the door will be opened to you. V. If you who are evil know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. + Knock and the door will be opened to you.

Rosary of Our Lady

7^th. October

The Rosary

Benedict XVI

Together we confirm that the holy rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the rosary is experiencing a new springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary.

In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said.

When reciting the rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the center of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow, and glory.

May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can "water" society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God.

The rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each "Hail Mary."

POPE BENEDICT XVI

His Holiness Benedict XVI was elected

to the See of Saint Peter in 2005.

Our Lady of the Rosary

http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/ourLadyRosary.html

There are two basic types of Our Lady of the Rosary image. In the older type, from the 16th through the 18th centuries, the Virgin Mary gives the Rosary to St. Dominic alone or to him and other saints, as at left.

The second type is the one that prevails today. The Virgin Mary stands alone or with the Christ Child and holds a rosary in her hand. There is very little consistency in images of this style, beyond the fact that the Virgin usually holds a rosary and wears blue and white.

By the 18th century (the time of the painting shown) the Rosary had evolved into the shape it retained until the 21st century: 15 sets of ten recitations of the "Hail Mary" prayer, each set preceded by the "Our Father" (the "Lord's Prayer") and followed by the "Glory Be."

Since the 15th century the 15 sets have been associated with 15 events from the stories of Mary and Jesus. Moving clockwise in the painting and starting with the roundel above the head of the putto on the right, the 15 sets are as follows:

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Later COMMENT:
"Is it worth mentioning Fr Donald that the late Pope our beloved John Paul II introduced the Mysteries of Light. I just wondered if at any time, are they going to be added to a new Rosary with 20 Mysteries.

Thanks for the meditation

B. . . "

To fill out the picture, here a CB Booklet Illustration of "The Holy Rosary"

John Paul II has added the 5 Mysteries of Light to the Rosary of Our Lady.

"· .. Announcing each mystery, and perhaps even using a sui­table icon to portray it, is as if it were to open up a scenario on which to focus our attention. The words direct the imagination and the mind towards a particular episode or moment in the life of Christ ...". JnP II.