SAINT VERONICA GIULIANI-
SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI-
SDAINT VINCENT DE PAUL-


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SAINT VERONICA GIULIANI-
Follower of the Crucified/1660-1727/Feast:July 9-#65

fr:Dear Saint,you are one of a few souls privileged to share the very 
sufferings of our Lord in His Passion -- the Stigmata.
At the same time,your case is an outstanding one in the history of 
mystical phenomena,for we have meticulous records of it kept under 
the watchful care of your Religious Superiors.
*Spiritual theologians can thus examine your life and suffierings in 
detail.
This will contribute to moreknowlege of the entire field of Stigmata ia 
the Chutch and be of help to the spiritual lift of all Catholics by the 
conclusions drawn.

St:Alredy at an early age as a member of a well-to-do Italian family,
I had great devotion to Jesus Crucified.
I had heard of Saint Francis of Assisi who received the Stigmata,
so well expressing his desire to resemble Christ in His suffering.
*Accordingly,I was very happy when I was permitted to enter the 
novitiate of the strict Order of Poor Clares founded by Saint Francis in 
union with Saint Clare.

fr:As you well know,the Church is never eager to accept Stigmatization 
as a fact.
We are not told that you received the Stigmata but it is reported that you 
had a vision of Jesus bearing His Cross and later another vision in which 
you were offered the cup of Christ's sufferings-- which you accepted.

St:I had no desire to receive the Stigmata nor did I pray to have visions 
of our Lord.
After all,Mary did not have the Stigmata yet she underwent so much 
suffering during our Lord's Passion.
*I quickly learned as a Poor Clare how great is the value of obedience 
to lawful authority.
A disobedient Religious is a contradiction in terms.

fr:In spite of your deeply mystical bent,you were also steeped in 
common sense as well as humble obedience.Hence,it is not surprising 
that you remained novice-mistress for twenty-four years.
Because the Nuns had much confidence in you,they made you Abbess 
for eleven years.

St:Perhaps the good influence I exerted on postulants,novices,
and the community as a whole was the result of my enthusiasm for the 
Religious Life in which we bind ourselves to the Divine Bridegroom.
Animated by the Holy Spirit,
I could not help stressing the need for humility,obedience,and an 
all-embracing love.

pr:0 My God,inflame my heart,consume me in the fire of Your love.
O infinite Love of my Savior,come to me that I may love You with 
Your own love.
Come guickly,0 Love,O Love of my God!

fr:Dear Saint,you combined a deep mystical life with a meticulous 
practical life.
Teach us how to remain united with God amid the most pressing tasks of 
everyday existence.
*Help us to bear our crosses with resignation and to remain unwavering 
in our love for our God Who is Love Itself.

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SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI-
Religious Founder and Social Organizer/
1795-1850/Feast:Jan.22-#73

fr:Dear Saint,you were a forerunner of the Catholic Action Movement 
and set in motion a social program that was later elaborated and spelled 
out in a magnificent Encyclical by Pope Leo XIII -- who happened to 
be a boyhood friend of yours.
Born in Rome,you earned doctorates in philosophy and theology and 
taught theology for ten years after your ordination.
Then youbranched out into the pastoral care of the poor,the sick,
and the disadvantaged -- becoming a second Philip Neri.

St:I saw the need for assuaging the material needs of people before 
asking them to listen to spiritual things.
So I spent my day making the rounds of all those places where the 
disadvantaged can be found--streets,hospitals,prisons--preaching and 
hearing confessions into the late hours of the evening.
*I managed to obtain immense amounts of money and spent them for 
the good of the poor and the lonely.
But I always tried to get them to help themselves,and I founded Guilds 
for this purpose.

fr:You knew that when we pray assiduously and with full confidence 
we can accomplish much for God's glory and the salvation of souls.
*You were interested not only in forming Catholics in their Faith but 
also in converting Mohammedans.
The latter unfortunately do not accept Jesus as the eternal Son of God 
nor do they accept to honor the Holy Spirit,the Spouse of Mary.

St:When we are in heaven,we are no longer tempted to commit the sin 
of pride.
There in Cod's presence we realize fully that by the grace of God we are 
what we are.
*When you honor Saints,you honor God Who enabled them to do good.
This fundamental truth was beautifully expressed by Mary when she 
received Elizabeth's praise:"God has done great things to me.
Holy is His Name."

fr:How great an inspiration you are for the Pallottines whom you founded 
and for the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate.
And we must add:the Mill Hill Fathers.

pr:Eternal Father,through Your infinite mercy and through the infinite 
merits of your Divine Son,
Jesus,grant that You may be hnown,loved,and glorified by all souls,
since it is Your holy Will that all should be saved.

fr:Dear Saint,you know that even in our day of mass social welfare there 
are many people suffering and weighed down under inhuman conditions.
Others are afflicted in the spirit.
*Teach us how to assist their material wants so that we can then bring 
them to Christ Who will satisfy their spiritual needs.
Let us know how to combine spiritual and material aid to the 
disadvantaged.

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SDAINT VINCENT DE PAUL-
Outstanding Exemplar of Charity/1581-1660/
Feast:Sept.27-#62

fr:Dear Saint,the mere mention of your name suggests a litany of 
virtues:humility,zeal,mercy,self-sacrifice.
It also recalls your many foundations:
Works of mercy,Congregations,Societies.
Most of all,it suggests a towering figure in the history of charitable 
enterprises.
*Born of a poor family materially speaking,you were rich spiritually,
endowed by your parents with great love for God and for neighbor.
This spiritual wealth made you profligate in dispensing all worldly 
possessions to the poor.

St:Material poverty is not necessarily an obstacle to a truly Christian life,
though it may at times have prevented some from reaching the priesthood.
God was kind to me,however.
Franciscans,followers of the Poor Man of Assisi,gave me my first 
schooling and a generous gentleman enabled me to continue my studies;
so there was no additional burden for my parents.
I studied theology at Toulouse and it was in that city that I was ordained 
a priest at the early age of twenty.

fr:We are told that at a later time you met with great dangers.
You fell into the hands of African pirates and were treated as a slave for 
almost two years.
But God wanted you for a special ministry and enabled you to escape.
*Passing through Rome,you returned to France.For some time,you taught 
the children of the Count de Joigny who was general of the galleys of 
France.

St:I was overjoyed when I was able to preach missions and lay the 
foundations for the Society of the Mission or Lazarists as well as 
the Sisters of Charity.
Our sole intention was to help people.

fr:You are clearly an outstanding symbol of charity,a charity toward all 
classes of people but principally the poor,the neglected and abandoned.
Though extremely active in all those works of charity,you still managed 
to remain prayerful,to live in constant union with Jesus.
You did not become a mere social worker who forgets the 
God Who is Love.

St:You are right in speaking of the danger of over-activity which is 
often an occasion for neglecting prayer.
Faith without works is dead,but work without prayerfulness can lead to 
spiritual death.

pr:0 God,we give ourselves to You for the rest of our lives in order to 
serve our masters-the poor.
We ask this grace of You by Your love for us.

fr:Dear Saint,you know that in our day there are many people involved 
in organized charity.
Grant that they may truly love those whom they care for.
Help us to imitate you and like you be animated by the Holy Spirit to 
provide for the Spiritual or material needs of others,especially the 
disadvantaged.
Above all,
let us do so out of love for Christ.

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