On the Desire for Eternal Life

On the Desire for Eternal Life
 and the Wonder of God's Promises [IV]

CHRIST.
You must still be proved in this life, and many trials await you.
Consolation will sometimes be granted you, but not in its fullness. So
be strong and courageous, (Joshua 1:7) both in doing and enduring what
by nature is repugnant to you. It is necessary for you to become a new
man, (Eph. 4:24) and to be changed into another person. (1 Sam. 10:6)
It is often your duty to act against your own inclination, and to set
aside your own wishes. The affairs of others may prosper, while your
own wishes are frustrated. The words of others will be listened to,
while yours will be disregarded. Others will ask and receive their
request, while you ask and receive nothing. Others will be highly
commended, while you remain unrecognized. Others will be entrusted
with this or that office, while you are not considered suitable for
anything. Your nature will cry out at this treatment, but it will be a
great achievement if you remain silent, for in these and similar ways
the faithful servant of our Lord is tested, that he may learn to deny
and subdue himself in everything.
--Thomas =C3=A0 Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3 Ch 49

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July 26th - St. Bartholomea Capitanio

Born in Lovere (near Brescia), Lombardy, Italy, 1807; died July 26,
1833; canonized in 1950; feast day was July 27. Bartholomea Capitanio,
together with Saint Vincentia Gerosa, founded the Institute of the
Sisters of Charity (Suore della carit=C3=A0) of Lovere, their native town.
Bartholomea was the daughter of a rough corn-farmer, who was an
alcoholic, and a virtuous mother who, together with the sisters of her
convent school, taught the young girl to strive for Christian
perfection.

Her parents forbade her to become a nun, so she took a vow of
perpetual chastity and decided to devote herself to teaching. For that
reason, she earned a diploma to teach elementary school. In this way
she consecrated her life to the apostolate of the young, and organized
a sodality of Saint Aloysius (Lovere is near his birthplace), which
spread to other districts.

Despite her extreme youth, she was the prime force behind the creation
of the Sisters of Charity during her lifetime. She saw the need to
perpetuate the good that was being done through the sodality by
creating a religious institute. She joined forces with (Catherine)
Vincentia Gerosa, who was also moved by the state of ignorance and
neglect in which so many people lived.

Although the two women were very different, they melded their talents
well. Vincentia was already 40 when she got to know Bartholomea, and
the latter was only 26 when she died. Catherine's main interest was in
nursing the sick poor for whom she had already founded a hospital,
taking on the heaviest burdens herself; while Bartholomea's interest
was education. Nevertheless, it was a partnership of persons of
remarkable determination and selflessness.

Their congregation was designed to teach the young and nurse the sick.
Its rule is based on the principles of Saint Vincent de Paul. With the
help of their bishop, who encouraged them from the beginning, the
institute was approved by the pope in 1840, and their foundation,
which has spread widely, now has 500 to 600 communities.

Bartholomea also achieved fame as a writer on spiritual subjects. She
never spared herself, even when dying of consumption. Her endless
correspondence and outside activities left her no time for leisure.
Four months before her death, she finally obeyed her doctor's order to
stop writing letters, but she was already too ill to be saved
(Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Walsh).


Saint Quote:
It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found--not hidden away in
corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although
we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be
incomparably the greater.
--St. Teresa of Avila

Bible Quote
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
charity, if any society of the spirit, if any bowels of commiseration:
2. Fulfil ye my joy, that you may be of one mind, having the same
charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment. 3. Let nothing be
done through contention, neither by vain glory: but in humility, let
each esteem others better than themselves: 4. Each one not considering
the things that are his own, but those that are other men's. 5. For
let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
(Philippians 2:1-5) DRB


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Sts. Joachim and Anne, A Family Prayer

Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Your Blessed
Mother Mary and Good St. Joseph we ask You to bless,
protect and guide our family. Humbly we approach Your
Eucharistic throne of grace and pray that You mold us into a
Holy Family.  By the power of the Holy Spirit please help us
to do the will of Our Heavenly Father, during our earthly
sojourn, for Your honor and glory and the salvation of souls.
Help us to lead others to You in the Most Blessed
Sacrament.  At the end of our journey please gather us
together, again, that we may be a family in Your heavenly
paradise and with the angels and saints sing Your praises
for eternity.
(From the book Family Hours of Adoration)