I will try to be unruffled, no matter what happens.

[Rich]

I will try to be unruffled, no matter what happens.

I will try to be unruffled, no matter what happens. I will keep my
emotions in check, although others about me are letting theirs go. I
will keep calm in the face of disturbance; keep that deep, inner calm
through all the experiences of the day. In the rush of work and worry,
the deep, inner silence is necessary to keep me on an even keel. I
must learn to take the calm with me into the most hurried days.
I pray that I may be still and commune with God. I pray that I may
learn patience, humility, and peace.
—From Twenty-Four Hours a Day

==============
September 3rd - Bl. Andrew Dotti of Borgo San Sepolcro

d. 1315
Andrew Dotti was born at Borgo San Sepolcro in Tuscany about the year
1250. His family was distinguished (Andrew's brother was a captain in
the bodyguard of King Philip the Fair), and the young man was brought
up accordingly, with no thought of the religious life. When he was
seventeen he became a secular tertiary of the Servites, and when, a
few years afterwards, a general chapter of that order was held at
Borgo San Sepolcro, Andrew naturally went to hear the prior general,
St Philip Benizi, preach. His text was, "Every one of you that doth
not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be my disciple", and his
eloquence and fire touched Andrew's heart; he offered himself to St
Philip, was accepted, and became a Servite friar. After he was
ordained he was attached to a monastery governed by St Gerard
Sostegni, one of seven founders of the order, and from thence he
preached with success throughout the surrounding country and
accompanied St Philip Benizi on several of his missionary journeys.
Bl. Andrew prepared a number of hermits who were living a rather
go-as-you-please life at Vallucola to affiliate themselves to the
Servites and submit to their discipline, and over these he was
appointed superior, until his services were again required for
preaching and as prior of various houses. In 1310 he was present at
the death of St Alexis Falconieri, the principal founder of the
Servites, at Monte Senario, and so great was the impression made on
him that he asked permission to retire to a hermitage and prepare for
his own end, though he was barely sixty.

Bl. Andrew lived with great penance and was the recipient of many
visions, including a forewarning of his own death; when the day came
he was apparently in good health, and he went out to a certain rock
where he was wont to give conferences to his brethren. When they
assembled there they found their beloved father kneeling motionless on
the rock apparently in ecstasy; but he was dead. He was buried in
the church at Borgo San Sepolcro, where the popular veneration for his
holiness was confirmed by miracles, and in 1806 Pope Pius VII approved
the ancient cultus.

A full account is given in A. Giani, Annales Ordinis Servorum B.V.M.,
vol. i, especially pp. 230-231; see also DHG., vol. ii, c. 1663; and
P. Battini, Vita del b. Andrea Dotti (1808).


Saint Quote:
Not to oppose error is to approve it, and not to defend truth is to
suppress it, and indeed to neglect to confound evil men when we can do
it, is no less a sin than to encourage them
--Pope Felix III

Saint Quote
“As Scripture says,
“Those who instruct many in justice
will shine as stars for all eternity.”
They will attain this more easily,
if they make a covenant of perpetual obedience
and strive to cling to Christ
and please Him alone
because, in His words,
“What you did to one of the least
of my brethren, you did to me.”
--St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648)


REFLECTION
“Mary is the stem of the beautiful flower on which the Holy Spirit
rests with the fullness of His gifts. Hence, those who want to obtain
the seven gifts of the Spirit must seek the flower of the Holy Spirit
on the stem (Mary).
We go to Jesus through Mary and through Jesus we find the grace of the
Holy Spirit.”…St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, You made Mary the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Help me
through Mary and Jesus to reach the Spirit and obtain His surpassing
gifts. Holy Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, be my companion
and my guide. Amen