"Detach your heart from all things, seek only God and in this way you will find Him."

Counsel 2

 

Today is the feast of St. Anne.  She is one of my favorite saints and coincidentally is my patron saint.  My middle name is Anne which is quite appropriate since I have 7 children and 10 grandchildren.  However, today is also an anniversary of the death of one of my dearest friends in the world.  Her name was Roxine and she was in a wheel chair and was a brittle diabetic.  Young people should take a page out of her book because that wheel chair and that disease  did not stop her from doing anything. 

She had to take a special van to get to church on Sunday.  She lived on the 7th floor of a very run down building in a dangerous area of the city.  Every Sunday without fail she showed up for Mass.  In those days our church was at the top of a long, winding  set of steps and she relied on many strong young men to carry her up.  I loved her so much that I chose her to be the Godmother of my youngest child Christopher.  I can tell you that no one outside of his parents loved Christopher more than her!  She would scooter her way to the store every week and buy him little trinkets but she never forgot the rest of the family either. 

 One time she surprised me with a set of dishes that were being given away week by week at a grocery store if you purchased a certain amount.  I'll never forget the beautiful look on her face when she gave them to me.  She was so happy and proud to be able to "pay" me back for my friendship.  The only thing is that I should have been paying her because I was getting a much better bargain than she was!  One time we were having a little financial difficulty which is common in large families from time to time.  I made an off comment about paying the phone bill.  Something to the effect of  "we better get some money to pay this bill or they will shut off our phone".  The very next day this saintly woman got on her scooter, drove to the Wisconsin Bell office on 35th Street and paid our phone bill!  She called me and said "there I paid it - I could never, ever live without hearing your voice!"  

After she died, we found a can of money - $500 - which she had saved out of her meager monthly pittance.  Her request was that Christopher be given that money on his 18th birthday.  She figured he would need it for school or a car and even though it wasn't much, it was the "widow's mite" for her!

People often say to me how terrible it was that I lost my mother so young - and it was!  But God, in His wisdom always  made sure there was someone wonderful to take her place.  Roxine was that person until July 26, 1999 at St. Joseph's Hospital.  I was there and so were our parish priests praying over her.  If charity covers a multitude of sins, and Our Lord said it does, then this awesome woman went straight to heaven.  Just in case though, I pray for her daily and think of her often.  I try to emulate her any way I can and hope that by sharing this story with you, you will emulate her charitable ways as well!

 
Virgin and Child with a Rosary (circa 1650-1655), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

"By aridity and temptation Our Lord proves those who love Him and even if these trials were to last a  lifetime, we should never abandon prayer.  A time will come when there shall be full compensation for them."  

Life of St. Teresa

 

Over the centuries, we can still hear Monica’s last words: “Son, for myself I have no longer any pleasure in anything in this life. Now that my hopes in this world are satisfied, I do not know what more I want here or why I am here. There was indeed one thing for which I wished to tarry a little in this life, and that was that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. My God hath answered this more than abundantly, so that I see you now made his servant and spurning all earthly happiness. What more am I to do here?”

 
Crux sancta sit mihi Lux. St. Francis in Meditation (1635-1639), Francisco de Zurbarán

THE MOST HOLY SEPULCHRE OF OUR LORD
JULY 15

The ardent love of Francis of Assisi for Christ crucified, drew his attention daily to that blessed place where our divine Lord shed His Blood to expiate the sins of humanity.  Thirsting for the salvation of souls, and filled with the desire for martyrdom, with Brother Illuminatus he left for the Holy Land in 1219, and from thence went into Egypt.  He was received there by the Moslems with a great show of sympathy.  Since he was forced to return to Europe to attend to the affairs of the Order, he soon left the East, leaving a number of his friars who had joined him there.  The latter continued without respite their mission of peace and charity among the Christians.

When the Crusaders left, the Friars Minor took possession of the Holy Places in the name of the Church.  In 1273, a firman of the Sultan gave sanction to their rights over the Holy Sepulchre and other sanctuaries.  In 1333, they were solumnly assured of the legal ownership of the Holy Places by a contract signed between the Soudan of Egypt and Robert of Naples.  Meanwhile, the Popes in various Bulls gave final ratification to the possession of the sanctuaries in Palestine by the Franciscan Order.

The Friars Minor have kept guard over the Holy Sepulchre for about seven centuries, at the price of much hardship, and many dangers.  They have paid with their blood for this glorious privilege on many occasions. 
Taken from the Franciscan Supplement

Augustine reports, in his Confessions: “I became evil for no reason. I had no motive for my wickedness except wickedness itself. It was foul, and I loved it. I loved the self-destruction, I loved my fall, not the object for which I had fallen but my fall itself. My depraved soul leaped down from Your firmament to ruin. I was seeking not to gain anything by shameful means, but shame for its own sake. “

"I certainly believe that if we approach the Holy Eucharist with great faith and love, one communion will suffice to make us very rich, what may we not then with still greater reason expect from such a great number of communions."

Conceptions of Divine Love, Ch iii