On the Teaching of Truth (1)

On the Teaching of Truth (1)
Happy the man who is instructed by Truth itself, not by signs and
passing words (Num 12:8), but as It is in itself. Our own conjectures
and observations often mislead us, and we discover little. Of what
value are lengthy controversies on deep and obscure matters, when it
is not by our knowledge of such things that we shall at length be
judged? It is supreme folly to neglect things that are useful and
vital, and deliberately turn to curious and harmful things. Truly, we
have eyes and see not (Jer. 5:21; John 12:40; Rom 11:8): for what
concern to us are such things as genera and species?
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 1, Ch 3

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November 13th - Saint Didacus, Franciscan Confessor
(Also known as Diego)
(d. 1463)

Saint Didacus was born in Andalusia in Spain, towards the beginning of
the fifteenth century. He was remarkable from childhood for his love
of solitude, and for conversations concerning holy things. When still
young he retired to live with a hermit not far from his village, where
he spent several years in vigils, fasting, and manual work. Like the
Fathers of the desert, he made baskets and other objects with willow
branches and gave them to those who brought alms to the two hermits.

God inspired him to enter into the Order of the seraphic Saint
Francis; he did so at the convent of Arrizafa, not far from Cordova.
He did not aspire to ecclesiastical honors, but to the perfection and
inviolable observance of his Rule — an admirable ideal, the practice
of which, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, is equivalent to
martyrdom in merit. He made himself the servant of all his brethren.
Any occupation was his choice. All his possessions were a tunic, a
crucifix, a rosary, a prayer book and a book of meditations; and these
he did not consider as his own and wanted them to be the most worn of
all that were in the house. He found ways to nourish the poor who came
to the convent, depriving himself of bread and other food given him,
and if unable to do so consoled them with such gentle words that they
left with profit nonetheless.

At one time he was sent by his superiors to the Canary Islands, and
went there joyfully, hoping to win the crown of martyrdom. Such,
however, was not God’s Will. After making many conversions by his
example and holy words, he was recalled to Spain. He was assigned to
the care of the sick and when he went to Rome for the Jubilee year of
1450, with 3,800 other religious of his Order, most of whom fell ill
there, he undertook to care for them, succeeding in procuring for them
all they needed even in that time of scarcity.

Saint Didacus one day heard a poor woman lamenting, and learned that
she had not known that her seven-year-old son had gone to sleep in her
large oven; she had lighted a fire, and lost her senses when she heard
his cries. He sent her to the altar of the Blessed Virgin to pray and
went with a large group of persons to the oven; although all the wood
was burnt, the child was taken from it without so much as a trace of
burns. The miracle was so evident that the neighbors took the child in
triumph to the church where his mother was praying, and the Canons of
the Church dressed him in white in honor of the Blessed Virgin. Since
then, many afflicted persons have invoked the Mother of Heaven there.

After a long and painful illness, Saint Didacus ended his days in
1463, embracing the cross which he had so dearly loved during his
entire life. He died having on his lips the words of the hymn, Dulce
lignum [Sweet wood - a chant of Good Friday]. His body remained
incorrupt for several months, exposed to the devotion of the faithful,
ever exhaling a marvelous fragrance. He was canonized in 1588; Philip
II, king of Spain, had labored to obtain that grace after his own son
was miraculously cured in 1562 by the relics of the Saint, when he had
fallen from a ladder and incurred a mortal wound on his head.

Reflection: If God be in your heart, He will be also on your lips; for
Christ has said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh.”

Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul
Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13; Little Pictorial Lives
of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and
other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York,
1894).


Saint Quote:
Dear brothers and sisters, I pray God may open your eyes and let you
see what hidden treasures he bestows on us in the trials from which
the world thinks only to flee. Shame turns into honor when we seek
God's glory. Present affliction become the source of heavenly glory.
To those who suffer wounds in fighting his battles God opens his arms
in loving, tender friendship. That is why he (Christ) tells us that if
we want to join him, we shall travel the way he took. It is surely not
right that the Son of God should go his way on the path of shame while
the sons of men walk the way of worldly honor: "The disciple is not
above his teacher, nor the servant greater than his master."
—from a letter by Saint John of Avila

Bible Quote:
In all things give thanks; for this is the Will of God. I Thess. 5:18


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THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS
FROM THE PURGATORIAN MANUAL
(Imprimatur 1946)


Third Day

DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY

The destiny awaiting us at death is not the same for all men: "He
will render to every man according to his works." (Matt. xvi. 27.)
Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory are the three places into which the souls
of the departed are received. Heaven is the happy destination of
perfectly pure and holy souls only; Hell the final doom of the
reprobate; Purgatory, temporarily for the just, who are not as yet
entirely purified. There God completes the punishment due to their
faults, which were not sufficiently atoned for on earth; there He
submits these holy souls to the last purgation, to cleanse them from
the least stain, and, by fire, to bring them to that degree of
perfected purity, which is necessary for them before being admitted to
eternal bliss.

Hence there are two classes of souls in Purgatory:

1. Those who depart this life, stained by venial sins and
imperfections.

2. Those who have repented sincerely 'of their mortal sins and
confessed them, if possible, without having done sufficient penance
for them. Judging from our lives, experience teaches us that most men
deserve Purgatory for both causes.

Prayer: Graciously hear, O God, the fervent prayers we offer Thee for
the suffering souls in Purgatory, who, not having satisfied Thy divine
justice, confide in Thine infinite mercy and our intercessions. Extend
unto them Thy consolations, and redeem them, through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of those who suffer in
Purgatory for little faults.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine
upon them; may they rest in peace. Amen. (Three times)

Practice: Be conscientious and faithful in the performance of little
duties, and offer the inconvenience for the suffering souls.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

See 31day prayer at:
http://www.faithfuldeparted.net/prayers.html
.

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