Saint Paschal Baylon
Hildi
Born in Torre Hermosa, Aragon, Spain, in 1540; died Villareal, Spain, 1592;
beatified in 1618; canonized in 1690; declared patron of all Eucharistic
congresses and confraternities in 1897. Saint Paschal Baylon, son of the
peasants Martin Baylon and Elizabeth Jubera, received his name from the day
on which he was born: Whitsunday. He worked as a shepherd for his father and
others until the age of 24. At 18, after a vision, he had applied to join
the Franciscans at Loreto, 200 miles away, but the monks turned him down,
knowing nothing of him personally. He applied again, a few years later
(1564), and was accepted, and he lived a strict life according to the
recently initiated reforms of Saint Peter of Alcantara.
He served primarily as a doorkeeper at various friaries in Spain. His
intense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is obvious from the long hours he
spent kneeling before the tabernacle, with his clasped hands outstretched.
He was sent to France with a message to Father Christopher de Cheffontaines,
the minister general of the Observants, and traveled wearing his habit
during a dangerous time of religious wars. He was accosted several times and
once narrowly escaped with his life, after he defended the doctrine of the
Real Presence of the Holy Eucharist to a Calvinist preacher and a crowd. He
was stoned by a party of Huguenots and suffered from the injury for the rest
of his life.
This miracle worker died on a Whitsunday, just as the bell was tolling to
announce the consecration at the high Mass.
Saint Paschal Baylon is the patron of shepherds, the Eucharist and
Eucharistic guilds, societies and congresses, and of Italian women (there
seems no obvious explanation of this except that his name-- "Baylonna," in
Italian--rhymes with "donna"). He is portrayed in art in the act of
adoration before the Host; or watching sheep (Attwater2, Benedictines,
White).
Spiritual Bouquet: Rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven.
St. Luke 10:20
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Martyrology
At Aix in Provence, Blessed Andrew Abellon, confessor, of the Order of
Preachers Outstanding for his preaching of the divine Word and for his zeal
in restoring regular observance, he became more famous by the miracles
performed through his intercession after death. A semi-duplex feast.
At Noyon in Gaul, the holy martyrs Heradius, Paul, and Aquilinus with two
others.
At Chalcedon, the holy martyrs Solochan and his fellow-soldiers under the
Emperor Maximian.
At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Adrion, Victor, and Basilla.
On the same day, St. Restituta, virgin and martyr. In the reign of Valerian,
she was tortured in various ways by Proculus the judge in Africa; then she
was placed in a boat filled with pitch and tow, so that she might be burned
alive at sea. When fire was lighted, the flames turned against her
persecutors, and she gave up her spirit in prayer to God. The boat with her
body, by the will of God, was borne to Ischia, an island near Naples in
Campania, where it was received by the Christians with great reverence.
Afterward Constantine the Great erected a basilica at Naples in her honor.
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A prayer to Our Lord's Sacred Heart, for His Church:
Most sacred Heart of Jesus, shower copiously blessings on Thy holy Church,
on the Supreme Pontiff, and on all the clergy; grant perseverance to the
just, convert sinners, enlighten infidels, bless our parents, friends, and
benefactors, assist the dying, liberate the souls of purgatory, and extend
over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.
Traditional indulgence of 300 days -- Pius X 1906 Imprimatur: +John Farley,
Archbishop of New York, Sept 19, 1908.
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Prayer of St. Paschal Baylon
I desire to love you, my Lord, my Light, my Strength, my Deliverer, my God
and my All. What have I in Heaven, O God, and what do I want besides you on
earth? My spirit and my body languish with yearning for your majesty. You
are the God of my heart, you are my portion, my inheritance for eternity.