-- James 1:13-15 --

 -- James 1:13-15 --

    When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot b=
e
tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by
his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives
birth to death.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
It is easy to blame others and make excuses for evil thoughts and wrong
actions. Excuses include (1) it's the other person's fault; (2) I couldn't
help it; (3) everybody's doing it; (4) it was just a mistake; (5) nobody's
perfect; (6) the devil made me do it; (7) I was pressured into it; (8) I
didn't know it was wrong; (9) God is tempting me. A person who makes
 excuses is trying to shift the blame from himself or herself to something
or someone else. A Christian, on the other hand, accepts responsibility
for his or her wrongs, confesses them, and asks God for forgiveness.


How we should Bless God in all Trouble: [II]

And now, in this trouble, this shall be my prayer, `Thy will be
done.'(Matt.6:10) I have fully deserved this trouble, and must bear
it. Let me bear it patiently, until the storm is past and better days
return. I know that Thy almighty power can remove even this trial from
me and lessen its violence, so that I am not completely crushed by it.
Often in times past, my God and my Mercy, Thou have done this for me.
And the harder it is for me, the easier it is for Thee to change my
way (Ps. 77:10) O God most high.
--Thomas =C3=A0 Kempis --Imitation of Christ, Bk 3, Ch 29

<<>><<>><<>>
January 31st - Saint Francesco Saverio Maria Bianchi
(Also known as Apostle of Naples, Francis Xavier Bianchi)
d. 1815

St. FRANCIS BIANCHI was born in 1743 at Arpino, in what was then the
kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and was educated as an ecclesiastical
student at Naples, receiving the tonsure when he was only 14. His
father, however, would not hear of his entering a religious order, and
the boy had to pass through a period of great mental anguish in the
conflict between duty to his parents and what seemed the call of God.
Taking counsel at last with St. Alphonsus Liguori, to whom he found
access during one of the saint=E2=80=99s missions, Francis became sure of h=
is
vocation, and overcoming all opposition he entered the Congregation of
Clerks Regular of St. Paul, commonly called Barnabites. In consequence
probably of the ordeal through which he had passed, he then fell
seriously ill and suffered acutely for 3 years, but he recovered
eventually, and was able to make great progress in his studies,
distinguishing himself particularly in literature and science. He was
ordained priest in 1767, and the trust which his superiors reposed in
his virtue and practical ability was shown not only by his being
deputed to hear confessions at an early age, a rare concession in
Italy, but also by his appointment as superior to two different
colleges simultaneously, a charge which he held for 15 years.

Many important offices were conferred upon him in the order, but his
soul seems to have felt more and more the call to detach himself from
external things, and to devote all his energies to prayer and the work
of the ministry. He began to lead an extremely mortified and austere
life, spending also long hours, in the confessional, where his advice
was sought by thousands. His health suffered, and his infirmities
became so great that he could hardly drag himself from place to place
nevertheless he persisted, and his unflinching resolution in placing
himself at the service of all who needed his help seems to have lent a
wonderful efficacy to his words and his prayers, so that he was
universally regarded as a saint, At the time when the religious orders
were dispersed and driven from their houses in Naples, Father Bianchi
was in a most pitiable condition. His legs were terribly swollen and
covered with sores, and he had to be carried to the altar. Some
advantage, however, came to him from his very afflictions, for he was
allowed to retain his habit and remain in the college where, all
alone, he lived a life of the strictest religious observance.

There are many stories of his miraculous and prophetic powers. Two
very remarkable cases of the multiplication of inadequate sums of
money put aside in a drawer to meet a debt were recounted in the
process of beatification, and it was also affirmed that in 1805, when
Vesuvius was in eruption, Father Bianchi, at the earnest petition of
his fellow townsfolk, had himself carried to the edge of the lava
stream, and blessed it, with the result that the flow was stayed.
Towards the end of his days the veneration he inspired in Naples was
unbounded. =E2=80=9CThere may have been a Neri (black) in Rome=E2=80=9D, th=
e people
said, =E2=80=9Cbut we have our Bianchi (white) who is just as wonderful.=E2=
=80=9D

Many years previously, a penitent of his, now known as St. Mary
Frances of Naples, who went to God in 1791, had promised Father
Bianchi that she would appear to him 3 days before his death. The good
priest was convinced that she would keep her word, and we are told
that this visit actually took place 3 days before January 31, 1815,
when he breathed his last. He was canonized in 1951.

See P. Rudoni, Virtu e meraviglie del yen. Francesco S. M. Bianchi
(1823) C. Kempf, The Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth Century
(1916), pp. 96-97 Analecta Ecclesiastica, 1893, pp. 54 seq.


Saint Quote:
For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that
whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life
everlasting.
-- Saint John the Apostle from The Gospel of John 3:16

Bible Quote
Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath
not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures.
(Ecclesiasticus 31:8)


<><><><>
IN TIME OF DEBT

    Almighty, everlasting God,
    we beg of You to help us soon to pay off our debts to our fellowmen.
    Give us strength and courage to persevere until the last penny is paid.
    Give patience to those to whom we are in debt,
    and let them not treat us unjustly.
    Help us have great confidence in You and in the workings of Your provid=
ence,
    trusting that You will always direct things to our greatest good.

    Make us also fully realize that no debt to our fellowmen
    can begin to equal the debt that we owe You on account of our sins,
    to say nothing of the immense debt we owe You
    for the gifts of Your Divine grace.
    These we could never pay at all but for the coming of Your Son,
    our Lord, Jesus Christ.
    To Him be all honor and thanksgiving, now and forever.
    Amen.