True Health in Immortality
Waldtraud
From the time of our birth we are under the necessity of dying.
"This sickness must end in death." So say the physicians when they examine
the sick.
When therefore is true health found? Only when real immortality is reached.
And there is no
need for food there! So do not prepare your stomach but your spirit.
--Sermon 77, 14
Prayer. Lord, you are our Physician, healing the ills of all. You reduce the
swelling of pride,
renew wasted life, and excise what is superfluous. You preserve what is
necessary, restore
what has been lost, and cure what has been corrupted.
--Christian Combat, 11, 12
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November 24th - Dominican Martyrs by King Tu-Duc in Vietnam
1856-1862
Christians who died in the persecution conducted by King Tu-Duc in Central
Tonkin, Vietnam. Five martyrs were beatified in 1906. The following were
canonized in 1988: Joseph Diaz Sanjurjo, Meichior Garcia Sampedro, Dominic
Ninh,
Laurence Ngon, Dominic An-Kham, Luke Cai-Thin, Joseph Cai-Ta, Dominic Mao,
Vincent Tuong, Dominic Nguyen, Andrew Tuoung Dominic Nhi, Peter Da, Joseph
Tuan,
Peter Dung, Peter Tuan, Vincent Duong, Dominic Mau, Dominic Toai, Dominic
Huyen,
Joseph Tuan, Dominic Cam, Thomas Khuong, Paul Duong and Joseph Tuc. Some
were
ordained priests and others Dominican tertiarie
Through the missionary efforts of various religious families beginning in
the
sixteenth century and continuing until 1866, the Vietnamese people heard the
message of the gospel, and many accepted it despite persecution and even
death.
On June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized 117 persons martyred in the
eighteenth century. Among these were ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven
missionaries
born in Spain and belonging to the Order of Preachers, and ten French
missionaries belonging to the Paris Foreign Mission Society.
Among these saints are eight Spanish and French bishops, fifty priests
(thirteen
European and thirty-seven Vietnamese), and fifty-nine lay people. These
martyrs
gave their lives not only for the Church but for their country as well. They
showed that they wanted the gospel of Christ to take root in their people
and
contribute to the good of their homeland.
On June 1, 1989, these holy martyrs were inscribed in the liturgical
calendar of
the Universal Church on November 24th.
Another Version:
Martyrs of Vietnam
Several groups of martyrs called the Martyrs of Annam who were slain for the
faith in Vietnam from 1798 until 1861.
Between 1798 and 1853, sixty-four were martyred, receiving beatification in
1900. Those who died in a second group, between 1859 and 1861, were
beatified in
1909. There were twenty-eight courageous men and women who died for the
faith
during a long period of persecution.
A Portuguese missionary arrived in Vietnam, once called Annam, Indo-China,
Cochin-China, and Tonkin, in 1533. An imperial edict in Vietnam forbade
Christianity, and it was not until 1615 that the Jesuits were able to
establish
a permanent mission there, in the central region of the country. In 1627, a
Jesuit went north to establish another mission. By the time this missionary,
Father Alexander de Rhodes, was expelled from the land in 1630, he had
baptized
6,700 Vietnamese. In that same year the first Christian martyr was beheaded,
and
more were executed in 1644 and 1645 . Father Rhodes returned to Vietnam but
was
banished again in 1645. He then went to Paris, France, where the Paris
Seminary
for Foreign Missions was founded. Priests arrived in Vietnam, and the faith
grew. Between 1798 and 1853, a period of intense political rivalry and civil
wars, sixty-four known Christians were executed. These were beatified in
1900.
In 1833, all Christians were ordered to renounce the faith, and to trample
crucifixes underfoot. That edict started a persecution of great intensity
that
was to last for half a century. Some twenty-eight martyrs from this era were
beatified in 1909. The bishop, priests, and Europeans were given "a hundred
wounds," disemboweled, beaten, and slain in many other grisly fashions. For
a
brief period in 1841 the persecution abated as France threatened to
intervene
with warships. However, in 1848, prices were placed on the heads of the
missionaries by a new emperor. Two priests, Father Augustin Schoffier and
Father
Bonnard, were beheaded as a result. In 1855, the persecution raged, and the
following year wholesale massacres began. Thousands of Vietnamese Christians
were martyred, as well as four bishops and twenty-eight Dominicans. It is
estimated that between 1857 and 1862, 115 native priests, 100 Vietnamese
nuns,
and more than 5,000 of the faithful were martyred. Convents, churches, and
schools were razed, and as many as 40,000 Catholics were dispossessed of
their
lands and exiled from their own regions to starve in wilderness areas. The
martyrdoms ended with the Peace of 1862, brought about by the surrendering
of
Saigon and other regions to France and the payment of indemnities to France
and
Spain. It is now reported that the "Great Massacre," the name given to the
persecution of the Church in Vietnam, resulted in the following estimated
deaths:
Eastern Vietnam - fifteen priests, 60 cathechists, 250 nuns, 24,000 Catholic
lay
men and women. Southern Vietnam - ten priests, 8,585 Catholic men and women.
Southern Tonkin region - eight French missionaries, one native priest, 63
cathechists, and 400 more Christians slain - in all, an estimated 4,799 were
martyred and 1,181 died of starvation. Some 10,000 Catholics were forced to
flee
the area. Pope John Paul II canonized 117 Martyrs of Vietnam on June
19,1988.
Saint Quote:
No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does
you
harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.
-St. Francis of Assisi
Bible Quote
And they sung to thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with one accord thy
victorious hand. For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the
tongues
of infants eloquent. (Wisdom 10:20-21)
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THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS
FROM THE PURGATORIAN MANUAL
(Imprimatur 1946)
Tenth Day
THE DURATION OF PURGATORY
Concerning the duration of Purgatory, the Church simply tells us that
it is
not a place of eternal pain, but will end at the last judgment; neither are
we
informed of the length of time required for the purification of a soul.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the soul, to be reunited to her Creator in
Heaven, must be in the state of primitive innocence which adorned her when
she
proceeded from His hand. The image of God must be entirely restored within
her,
commensurate to the degree of glory awaiting her in Heaven.
From this it is evident that the suffering souls cannot enter Heaven
until
perfectly cleansed, either by their pains or by the suffrages of the
faithful.
With the royal Prophet they cry out in plaintive voice: "As the hart panteth
after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after Thee, O God! When
shall I
come and appear before the face of God ?" (Ps. xli. 2-3.) They suffer until
entirely purified, until the last farthing of their debt is discharged.
Increased and intensified pain will probably supply the want of time for the
souls who shall not have rendered full satisfaction by the last day of
universal
judgment.
Prayer: O Gad, the Dispenser of pardon, and Friend of human salvation, we
implore Thee, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all Thy
saints, grant to the souls of our brethren, relatives, benefactors, and all
the
faithful departed, the joys of eternal bliss. Through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Special Intercession: Pray for the souls who are most desirous of obtaining
help
from you.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon
them;
may they rest in peace. Amen. (Three times)
Practice: Mortify your curiosity.
Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!
Also see 31day prayer at:
http://www.faithfuldeparted.net/prayers.html