-- Ephesians 5:20 --

 -- Ephesians 5:20 --

...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
When you feel down, you may find it difficult to give thanks. Take
heart--in all things God works for our good if we love him and are
called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Thank God, not for your
problems, but for the strength he is building in you through the
difficult experiences of your life. You can be sure that God's perfect
love will see you through.

<<>><<>><<>>
7 July =E2=80=93 St Willibald of Eichstatt

 Bishop of Eichst=C3=A4tt, Prince, Missionary Born on 21 October 700 in
Wessex, England and died on 7 July 781 of natural causes. Also known
as Willebald. Patronages =E2=80=93 Diocese and City of of Eichst=C3=A4tt, G=
ermany.

Information about his life is largely drawn from the Hodoeporicon
(itinerary) of Saint Willibald, a text written in the 8th century by
Sister Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon Nun from Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm who
knew Willibald and his brother personally. The text of the
Hodoeporicon was dictated to Huneberc by Willibald himself, shortly
before he died.

Willibald was born in Wessex on 21 October around the year 700. His
mother, Saint Wuna of Wessex, was a sister of Saint Boniface. His
father,, Saint Richard the Pilgrim, was a |King of Wessex. His brother
was Saint Winibald and his sister was Saint Walburga.

St Walburga here:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/02/25/saint-of-the-day-25-february-st-walburga/
St Winibald here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/18/saint-of-the-day-18-december-saint-winebal=
d-osb-c-701-761/

At the age of three, Willibald suffered from a violent illness. His
parents prayed to God, vowing to commit Willibald to a monastic life
if he was to be spared. Willibald survived and at the age of five
entered the Benedictine monastery at Waldheim) and was educated by
Abbot Egwald.[4] At the monastery he became accustomed to the Irish
and Anglo-Saxon monastic ideal of peregrinatio religiosa, or pious
rootlessness

In 721 Willibald set out on a pilgrimage to Rome with his Father and
Brother. After departing by ship, the group arrived in Rouen, France
visiting Shrines and spending much of their time in prayer. Eventually
they arrived in Lucca, a City in northern Italy. It was here that
Willibald=E2=80=99s Father became gravely ill and died. After burying their
Father, Willibald and Winibald continued on their journey, traveling
through Italy until they reached Rome. Here they visited the Lateran
Basilica and St. Peter=E2=80=99s. They spent some time in Italy, strengthen=
ing
in devotion and discipline but soon the two brothers became ill with
the Black Plague.

Sr Hunebrec recounts the disease and miraculous recovery:

=E2=80=9CThen with the passing of the days and the increasing heat of the
summer, which is usually a sign of future fever, they were struck down
with sickness. They found it difficult to breathe, fever set in and at
one moment they were shivering with cold, the next burning with heat.
They had caught the black plague. So great a hold had it got on them,
that, scarcely able to move, worn out with fever and almost at the
point of death, the breath of life had practically left their bodies.
But God in His never failing providence and fatherly love deigned to
listen to their prayers and come to their aid, so that each of them
rested in turn for one week whilst they attended to each other=E2=80=99s
needs.=E2=80=9C

Willibald left Rome in 724, heading for Naples. From there,
accompanied by two unnamed companions and his Brother, he departed by
sea, visited Sicily and Greece along the way, and eventually arrived
in Asia Minor. Winnebald had, after the departure of his Brother for
Palestine, lived in a Monastery at Rome. In Palestine, Willibald
visited all the Holy places of the life of Christ.

He then visited Constantinople and finally arrived at Monte Cassino
where he joined he Benedictine Monks. Willibald would spend over ten
years (c 729=E2=80=93739) at Monte Cassino, helping Saint Petronax restore =
the
Monastery, learning their monastic discipline and administration and
acting, drying those years as a Sacristan, a porter and an auxiliary
to the Abbot, It happened that in 738 Saint Boniface, visiting Rome,
asked of Pope Gregory III if Willibald might be sent to assist him in
his missions in Germany. The Pope desired to see the Monk, and was
much delighted with the history of his travels and acquainted him with
Boniface=E2=80=99s request.

Upon arriving at Eichst=C3=A4tt, Willibald was Ordained a Priest by
Boniface on 22 July 741and asked to begin missionary work in the area.
A year later, Boniface summoned him to Thuringia. While traveling,
Willibald encountered his brother, Winibald, whom he had not seen for
over eight years.

Shortly thereafter, he returned to Eichst=C3=A4tt to begin his work. In 742
he and Winibald founded the double Monastery of Heidenheim. Winibald
served as the first Abbot. Following his death, Willibald=E2=80=99s sister,
Saint Walburga, was appointed the first Abbess of the Monastery. In
746 Boniface Consecrated Willibald Bishop of Eichst=C3=A4tt.

Eichst=C3=A4tt was the site of Willibald=E2=80=99s most successful missiona=
ry
efforts, although specific details like the means of conversion and
number of converts are not known. The Monastery was one of the first
buildings in the region and served as an important centre, =E2=80=9Cnot onl=
y
for the Diocesan apostolate but also for the diffusion and development
of monasticism.=E2=80=9D Willibald served as the Bishop of the region in
Franconia for over four decades, living in the Monastery and
entertaining visitors, from various countries throughout Europe ,who
would come to hear of his journeys and monasticism.

Willibald died on 7 July 781. His relics are kept in a marble
reliquary urn in Saint Willibald Cathedral, Eichst=C3=A4tt, Germany, which
was completed in 1269. He was Canonised in 938 by Pope Leo VII.

https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/07/


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Salutatio ad Dominum Iesum Christum
(Salutation to the Lord Jesus Christ),
a prayer to the Body and Blood of Christ.

Body of Christ, Hail! Of the holy Virgin born,
Living flesh, Deity entire, true man!

Hail! true salvation, strength, life, redemption of the world,
May Thy right Hand free us from all evil.

Blood of Christ, Hail, Heaven's most holy libation,
River of salvation washing away our crimes.
Hail, Blood! floweth from the Wound of Christ's Side,
River of salvation, hung on the Cross, Hail!

 by St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church