There are three things...

[Rich]

There are three things...

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm,
devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer,
fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy
receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they
give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the
lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be
separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have
nothing.
So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your
petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close
your ear to others you open God's ear to yourself.
-- Saint Peter Chrysologus

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February 19th - St. Lucy Yi Zhenmei and Comp., Martyrs
1815 - 1862

Lucy Yi Zhenmei, a native of Mainyang in Sichuan, was born a Catholic
on December 9, 1815, and was the youngest member in her family. Even
as a child she was very pious, making a vow of chastity at the age of
12. She loved to read classics and at the age of 20, she fell gravely
ill, but quickly recovered with a remedy her brother prescribed.
Continuing her studies, she became more spiritually devout, spending
hours in daily prayer, much like a religious. Her mother taught her
how to spin, which also became part of her daily life. After her
father died, she lived with her brother and mother, using part of her
leisure time to teach the faith to children nearby. The parish priest,
who asked her to teach at the school in Mianyang, noticed her devotion
and reliable knowledge of her faith. After four years, her brother
went to Chongqing to practice medicine, and Lucy and her mother moved
with him. In Chongquing, the priest also asked her to help teach the
women in the parish. When she was offered money for her work, she
refused to take it and offered her work to God.

A few years later, her brother moved back to Guiyang, and soon after
her mother died. Full of enthusiasm for spreading the Gospel, she went
on doing missionary work. However, for her own safety she decided to
stay at the convent of lay virgins. Shortly after, her failing health
forced her to move back home again. In 1861, Bishop Hu asked her to
teach once more at the convent. In spite of opposition from relatives,
she returned to work there.

In 1862, she went with Fr. Wen Nair to open a mission in Jiashanlong,
but just then the administrator of Guizhou Province, Tian Xingshu,
began to stir up hatred against Christians, which the local magistrate
supported. As a result, Zhang Tienshen, Wu Shuesheng, Chen Xianheng
and Father Wen were all imprisoned and sentenced to death without a
formal trial. On February 18, the day of their execution, they met Yi
Zhenmei on the road. She was also jailed and put on trial that very
day and sentenced to death as she refused to renounce her faith. The
following day at noon, February 19, 1862, she was beheaded. Brave
believers took the bodies of all five martyrs to the Liuchonnguan
seminary grounds for burial.

Pope Pius X proclaimed all five of them "Blessed" on May 2nd, 1909 and
Pope John Paul II canonized them on October 1st, 2000.


Saint Quote:
Humility is the mother of many virtues. From it spring obedience,
holy fear, reverence, patience, modesty, mildness, and peace; for,
whoever is humble easily obeys all, fears to offend any, maintains
peace with all, shows himself affable to all, is submissive to all,
does not offend or displease any, and does not feel the insults which
may ensue.
--St. Thomas of Villanova

Bible Quote:
"There is another example of the same kind: Rahab the prostitute, was
she not justified by her deeds because she welcomed the messengers and
showed them a different way to leave? As a body without a spirit is
dead, so is faith without deeds." James 2:25-26

Bible Quote:
"The patient man is better than the valiant; and he that ruleth his
spirit, than he that taketh cities." [Proverbs 16: 32.]

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A Prayer for Zeal
by St. Augustine

O Lord, our God, we believe in Thee, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. As
far as I have been able, as much as Thou hast given me the power to do
so, I have sought for Thee. I have desired to see that in which I
believe; much have I striven and labored.

Lord, my God, my only hope, let me never tire of seeking Thee, but
make me seek Thy face with constant ardor. Give me the strength to
seek after Thee--Thou Who hast made me find Thee, Who hast given me
more and more the hope of finding Thee.

Thou seest my strength and my weakness; do Thou sustain the one and
heal the other; Thou seest my strength and my ignorance. Where Thou
hast opened to me, come make me welcome; where Thou hast opened to me,
come make me welcome; where Thou hast closed to me, open to my plea.
Give me to remember, understand, and love Thee.