Alas, my dear brethren

[Rich]

Alas, my dear brethren

Alas, my dear brethren, the man who lives according to the direction
of his passions and abandons the service of God is both unhappy and
capable of so little! Put an army of one hundred thousand men around a
dead man and let them employ all their power to bring him back to
life. No, no, my dear children, he will not come to life again. But
let someone who is despised by the world, but who enjoys the
friendship of God, command this dead man to take up life again;
immediately you will see him arise and walk. We have other proofs of
this too. If it were necessary to be wealthy or to be very learned to
serve God, a great many people would be unable to do it. But, no, my
dear children, extensive learning or great wealth are not at all
necessary for the service of God. On the contrary, they are often a
very big obstacle to it. Yes, my dear brethren, let us be rich or
poor, in whatever state we may be, learned or otherwise, we can please
God and save our souls.
-- Excerpt from sermon of St. John Vianney

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August 31st - Saint Raymund Nonnatus
Religious of Our Lady of Mercy and Cardinal

Saint Raymund Nonnatus was born in Catalonia, Spain, in the year 1204.
Motherless from infancy, in his childhood he seemed to find pleasure
only in his devotions and serious duties. He chose the Blessed Virgin
for his mother, almost as soon as the light of reason made this choice
available to him. His father, perceiving in him an inclination to the
religious state and unwilling to give up his son, took him from school
and sent him to take care of a farm which he owned in the country.
Raymund readily obeyed, and, in order to enjoy holy solitude, kept the
sheep himself and spent his time in the mountains and forests in holy
meditation and prayer. He found there an ancient hermitage containing
a portrait of his Blessed Mother, and made this his asylum. There the
devil found him and, assuming the disguise of a shepherd, attempted to
turn him away from his devotions; but Raymund turned his back on his
visitor and called Mary to his assistance. The sole name of the Mother
of God caused the demon to disappear, and the hermit prostrated
himself and blessed Her for Her assistance.

Some time afterward, he joined the new Order of Our Lady of Mercy for
the redemption of captives, and was admitted to the profession at
Barcelona by the holy founder, Saint Peter Nolasco. Within two or
three years after his profession, he was sent into Barbary with a
considerable sum of money; in Algiers he purchased the liberty of a
great number of slaves. When all his treasure was exhausted, he gave
himself up as a hostage for the ransom of others, according to the
Rule of his Order. This magnanimous sacrifice served only to
exasperate the Moslems, who treated him with uncommon barbarity, until
they began to fear that if he died in their hands, they would lose the
ransom which had been asked for his deliverance. A crier announced in
the streets that anyone who mistreated him would answer for it, if he
died.

Therefore he was permitted to go abroad in the streets, which liberty
he utilized to comfort and encourage the Christians in chains, and to
convert and baptize certain Moslems. Learning of this, their pasha,
furious, condemned him to be impaled, but his barbarous sentence was
commuted at the insistence of those who had an interest in the ransom
payments for the slaves he was replacing. He underwent instead a cruel
bastinade, but that torment did not daunt his courage. So long as he
saw souls in danger of perishing eternally, he thought he had yet done
nothing.

Saint Raymund had no more money to employ in releasing poor captives;
and to converse with those of the local beliefs on the subject of
religion meant death. He enjoyed sufficient liberty nonetheless to
continue the same endeavors, and he did so, hoping either for success
or martyrdom. The governor, enraged, ordered our Saint to have his
lips pierced and padlocked, then to be imprisoned until his ransom
would be brought by members of his Order. He remained in jail for
eight months before his brethren arrived with the required sum, sent
by Saint Peter Nolasco.

Upon his return to Spain, he was nominated Cardinal by Pope Gregory
IX, and the Pope called him to Rome. The Saint was on his way, but had
gone no farther than Cardona when he was seized with a violent fever.
He died on August 31, 1240, in his thirty-seventh year. His face in
death became beautiful and radiant like that of Moses when he
descended from the mountaintop, where he had spoken with God. A
heavenly fragrance surrounded his body, and cures were effected on
behalf of those who came and touched him.


Reflection: This magnanimous Saint gave not only his substance but his
liberty, and exposed himself to the most cruel torments and death for
the redemption of captives and the salvation of souls. But we, alas!
do we not, merely to gratify our prodigality, vanity, or avarice,
refuse to give even the superfluity of our possessions to the poor,
who for want of it are perishing with cold and hunger? Let us not
forget the terrible Judgment of the Last Day, awaiting those who
neglect their brethren in need. (Cf. Matt. 25:31-46)

Bible Quote:
There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all
sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in
all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God
who is working in all of them.  (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 )

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Meditation for the Day

   Keep in mind the goal you are striving for, the good life you are
trying to attain. Do not let little things divert you from the path.
Do not be overcome by the small trials and vexations of each day. Try
to see the purpose and plan to which all is leading. If, when climbing
a mountain, you keep your eyes on each stony or difficult place, how
weary is your climb. But if you think of each step as leading to the
summit of achievement from which a glorious landscape will open out
before you, then your climb will be endurable and you will achieve
your goal.