Most of you know how much I love the community of saints. It is one of the things I dearly love about the Catholic faith. I love learning about the saints and reading books about the saints. This week, we have a number of wonderful saints we celebrate on their feast day. Monday is the feast day of the Venerable Bede, Doctor of the Church and Benedictine monk from England from the 7th century. Tuesday, we celebrate Mariana de Jesús, a third order Franciscan from the 17th century who is the patron saint of the country of Ecuador. Tuesday is also the feast day of Philip Neri from the 16th century, a priest who known for his joyful spirit and as the second apostle of Rome. Wednesday we celebrate Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent from his monastery in Rome to preach the Gospel to the people of England in the 6th century. Friday is the feast day of Pope Paul VI, who preached a message of peace in the middle of the 20th century in the midst of the Cold War. I preach about Paul VI and his lasting legacy in my homily in Friday's daily mass.
Today, I would like to share a prayer written by St Anthony of Padua, a Franciscan priest originally from Portugal who was born in the 12th century. He is the patron saint of lost things and lost souls. I found this prayer in a daily book of prayer that I have. I love the emphasis in this prayer on love of God and love of neighbor:
Lord Jesus, bind us to you and to our neighbor with love.
May our hearts not be turned away from you.
May our souls not be deceived nor our talents or minds enticed by allurements of error, so that we may never distance ourselves from your love.
Thus may we love our neighbor as ourselves with strength, wisdom, and gentleness.
With your help, you who are blessed throughout all ages. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment