[Mary] did the Father's will.

[Rich]

[Mary] did the Father's will.

"[Mary] did the Father's will. It was this in her that the Lord
magnified, not merely that her flesh gave birth to flesh... When he
said, 'Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it' (Luke
11:28), he was in effect saying: 'My mother whom you have called
blessed is blessed for the reason that she keeps the Word of God, not
that the Word was made flesh in her and dwelt among us (John 1:14),
but that she keeps the very Word of God through which she was made and
which was made flesh in her."
--St. Augustine-- (excerpt from TRACTATE ON JOHN 10.3.2)

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28 April – Saint Vitalis of Ravenna

Martyr, Husband and Father, Confessor. Died in c 171 in Ravenna by
being buried alive. Patronage – Ravenna, Italy and Thibodeaux,
Louisiana. Also known as St Vitalis of Milan.

The Roman Martyrology states of him today: “At Ravenna, the birthday
of St Vitalis, Martyr, father of the Saints Gervasius and Protasius.
When he had taken up and reverently buried the body of blessed
Ursicinus, he was arrested by the ex-consul Paulinus and after being
racked and thrown into a deep pit, was overwhelmed with earth and
stones and by this kind of martyrdom, went to Christ.”

Saint Vitalis was a first century Christian citizen of Milan, a
consular knight (miles consularis) in the time of Nero who got into
trouble when he publicly exhorted a Christian to stand firm under
torture. He was the father of the twin brothers and future Martyrs,
Saints Gervasius and Protasius. He is the principal Patron of Ravenna,
where he was martyred.

As an important military figure, St Vitalis is shown on an impressive
white horse in the picture above. St. Valeria stands at his side,
dressed as a distinguished matron of the 16th century.

Divine providence had conducted him to that city, where he saw come
before the tribunal there, a Christian Physician named Ursicinus, who
had been tortured and who then was condemned to lose his head for his
faith. Suddenly the captive grew terrified at the thought of death and
seemed ready to yield. Vitalis was extremely moved by this spectacle.
He knew his double obligation to prefer the glory of God and the
eternal salvation of his neighbour to his own corporal life; he,
therefore, boldly and successfully encouraged Ursicinus to triumph
over death, saying, “Ursicinus, you who cured others would want to
drive into your soul the dagger of eternal death? Do not lose the
crown the Lord has prepared for you!” Ursicinus was touched and deeply
strengthened – he knelt down in prayer and then asked the executioner
to strike him. After his martyrdom, Saint Vitalis carried away his
body and respectfully interred it.

Saint Vitalis now resigned his post as judiciary and consular
assistant to Paulinus, who had been absent on the occasion of the
sentence of Ursicinus. Paulinus had his former assistant apprehended,
and after having him tortured, commanded that if he refused to
sacrifice to the gods, he be buried alive, which sentence was carried
out.

Afterwards, his wife, Valeria, as she was on her way from Ravenna to
Milan, was beaten by peasants because she refused to join them in an
idolatrous festival and riot. She died two days later in Milan and is
also honoured as a Martyr. Their twin sons, Saints Gervasius and
Protasius, sold their heritage and for ten years before their own
martyrdom, lived a penitential life of prayer.

We are not all called to the sacrifice of martyrdom; but we are all
bound to make our lives a continuing sacrifice of ourselves to God,
and to perform every action, in this spirit of sacrifice. Thus we
shall both live and die to God, perfectly resigned to His holy will in
all He ordains or permits.

These relics were reclaimed from the Catacombs and are believed to be
the body of St Vitalis. They now rest at his Basilica in Ravenna.

The 6th century Basilica of San Vitalis is dedicated to St Vitalis.
The mosaic of him, first image above, is one of the many famous
mosaics in this most important surviving example of early Christian
Byzantine art and Architecture. It is one of eight structures in
Ravenna inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Its
foundational inscription describes the Church as a Basilica, though its
centrally-planned design is not typical of the Basilica form. The
Vatican has designated the building a “basilica”, an honorific title
bestowed on exceptional Church buildings of historic and ecclesial
importance.

https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/28/


Quote/s of the Day – 28 April

“Take advantage of little sufferings
even more than of great ones.
God considers not so much what we suffer,
as how we suffer. . .
Turn everything to profit
as the grocer does in his shop.”

“The salvation of the whole world
began with the “Hail Mary.”
Hence, the salvation of each person
is also attached to this prayer.”
--St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort


The Only Remedy for All Our Ills

“Life is a continual battle….
But, surely there is a remedy for all the evils which afflict us?
God is infinitely good and He has permitted suffering.
Will He not give us the means of enduring it and the medicine to cure it?
In fact, Our Lord has given us a remedy for all our ills, even for the
most distressing.
It is a bitter medicine but, it will heal anyone who has the courage
to swallow it and it will give him perfect peace of soul.
The treatment consists of three stages:
(1) Doing the will of God in all things with complete resignation.
(2) Doing everything for the love of God.
(3) Doing everything and enduring everything for the love of God alone.
When a man reaches this highest peak of the spiritual life, he
acquires that perfect peace of soul, which the Saints possessed.”
--Antonio Cardinal Bacci


Bible Quote:
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is placed
among our members, which defileth the whole body, and inflameth the
wheel of our nativity, being set on fire by hell. [7] For every nature
of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest, is tamed,
and hath been tamed, by the nature of man: [8] But the tongue no man
can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison.
[James 3:6-8] DRV


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Short Prayers

O saving Victim, opening wide
The gate of heaven to man below,
Our foes press on from every side;
Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.

To Thy great Name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, one in three;
Oh, grant us endless length of days
In our true native land with Thee.
Amen.

Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord:
Hosanna in the highest.

Jesu, bread of life, protect us;
Shepherd King, do not reject us;
In Thy happy fold collect us,
And partakers of the bliss elect us,
Which shall never see an end.

Thou, the wisest and the mightiest,
Who us here with food delightest,
Seat us at Thy banquet brightest
With the blessed Thou invitest
An eternal feast to spend.
Amen.