Our Lady of Lourdes Mountainside

09/01/2023

Today we remember St. Giles.

Despite the fact that much about Saint Giles is shrouded in mystery, we can say that he was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages. Likely, he was born in the first half of the seventh century in southeastern France. That is where he built a monastery that became a popular stopping-off point for pilgrims making their way to Compostela in Spain, and the Holy Land.

In England, many ancient churches and hospitals were dedicated to Giles. One of the sections of the city of Brussels is named after him. In Germany, Giles was included among the so-called 14 Holy Helpers, a popular group of saints to whom people prayed, especially for recovery from disease, and for strength at the hour of death. Also among the 14 were Saints Christopher, Barbara, and Blaise. Interestingly, Giles was the only non-martyr among them. Devotion to the “Holy Helpers” was especially strong in parts of Germany and in Hungary and Sweden. Such devotion made his popularity spread. Giles was soon invoked as the patron of the poor and the disabled.

The pilgrimage center that once drew so many fell into disrepair some centuries after Giles’ death.
-Franciscan Media

08/31/2023

Today is Thursday so there will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from noon-9PM in the church

08/31/2023

Today we remember St. Raymond Nonnatus.

Raymond was born at Portella, Catalonia, Spain. He was delivered by caesarean operation when his mother died in childbirth. Hence his name non natus (not born). He joined the Mercedarians under St. Peter Nolasco at Barcelona. He succeeded Peter as chief ransomer and went to Algeria to ransom slaves. He remained as hostage for several slaves when his money ran out and was sentenced to be impaled when the governor learned that he had converted several Mohammedans. He escaped the death sentence because of the ransom he would bring, but was forced to run the gauntlet. He was then tortured for continuing his evangelizing activities but was ransomed eight months later by Peter Nolasco. On his return to Barcelona in 1239, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX, but died at Cardona a short distance from Barcelona the next year while on the way to Rome. He was canonized in 1657. He is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives because of the nature of his own birth. Although his mother died in labor, Raymond miraculously survived the ordeal. His feast day is August 31. -catholic.org

08/30/2023

Today we remember St. Rumon.

St. Rumon, also known as Ruan, Ronan, and Ruadan, was probably a brother of Bishop St. Tudwal of Trequier, but nothing else is known of him beyond that he was probably an Irish missionary and many churches in Devon and Cornwall in England were named after him. Some authorities believed he is the same as the St. Ronan (June 1) venerated in Brittany and believed consecrated bishop by St. Patrick, but others believe that he and St. Kea were British monks who founded a monastery at Street Somerset. Feast day is August 30.

08/29/2023

Today, Tuesday, is the memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist.

John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was born approximately six months before the Savior of the World. He was likely born in the small, rural Jewish town of Ein Karem, located in the hill country about five miles west of Jerusalem. The surrounding land would have been utilized for agriculture and herding, centered around a town hub and water well. Uniquely, John was blessed with the presence of both the Son of God and the Mother of God at his birth. Many Catholic theologians, including the Angelic Doctor of the Church, Saint Thomas Aquinas, believe that while John was conceived in Original Sin, he was sanctified in the womb immediately after the Blessed Virgin Mary greeted his mother Elizabeth, several months prior to John’s birth. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb…” (Luke 1:41). This leap in the womb has been interpreted as John’s sanctification by grace before he was born. Jesus would later say of John, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

Not much is known about John’s childhood other than what is stated in the Bible, “The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel” (Luke 1:80). Though he would have been raised devoutly in the Jewish faith by his parents in their hometown, John eventually entered the desert, about twenty miles east of his hometown, to live as a hermit, praying, practicing penance, and preparing for his mission.

John’s first mission was to serve as the precursor of the Lord. As the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first of the New Testament prophets, he bridges the gap to Christ. John’s mission was to precede Jesus “in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). Sometime between the years 27–29, John received inspiration from God in the Judean desert and started to gather disciples whom he taught, called to repentance, and baptized with water. John’s preaching was fierce, branding some a “brood of vipers” and demanding evidence of their conversion. He called tax collectors, soldiers, religious leaders, the average townspeople, and even Herod to repent. Many responded.

John’s life reached its earthly climax when he saw Jesus, the Son of God, approaching him in the desert while he was baptizing. John immediately exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel…Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God” (John 1:29–31; 34). John reluctantly baptized Jesus, after which the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in a visible form and the Voice of the Father thundered, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). With that, John’s life began to recede into the background, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Today, the Church commemorates one of the oldest feasts within the Church, the Memorial of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Just as John preceded Jesus in birth, preaching, and baptizing, so too did he precede Jesus in death, dying as a prefiguration of the one who would give His life sacrificially on the Cross.

John’s death resulted from his bold proclamation of the truth. His call to repentance extended to everyone, including Herod Antipas, the tetrarch, ruler of Galilee and Perea. Although it appears that the area where John was preaching (the Jordan Valley) was not directly governed by Herod, Herod nonetheless was well aware of John’s preaching and his condemnation of him. As a result, Herod was able to have John arrested and imprisoned.

John was most likely imprisoned in a fortress constructed by Herod Antipas’ father, Herod the Great, named Machaerus, northwest of the Dead Sea, in modern-day Jordan. Alternatively, he might have been imprisoned in the Herodium, another palace under Herod’s control just south of Jerusalem.

Two of the Gospels narrate the story of John’s death: Matthew 14:1-12 and Mark 6:14-29. John’s criticism of Herod was specific. He condemned Herod’s unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. Though Herod seemed to fear John and his disciples because of John’s popularity and the power of his words, he decided to appease Herodias’ hatred of John for condemning her and Herod. On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter, traditionally named Salome, performed a dance for Herod and his guests that so pleased him that he promised her anything she asked of him, up to half of his kingdom. Her mother saw her opportunity for revenge and convinced her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. In his weakness, Herod complied.

After John’s death, the Bible tells us that “His disciples came and took away the co**se and buried him; and they went and told Jesus” (Matthew 14:12). The news caused Jesus to withdraw alone in a boat to a deserted place to pray. Jesus not only grieved with human sorrow over the death of his cousin, but he also came face-to-face with the reality of His own fate. Thus, His time of prayer was a period in which He perfectly renewed His fidelity to the Mission on which He was sent, to give His life for the salvation of souls. Traditionally, it is believed that John’s body was buried in the town of Sebaste, about fifty miles north of Jerusalem. Various traditions have evolved over the centuries about what happened to his head. Some say Herodias buried it in a dung heap to hide it from his followers and it was later discovered, buried in the Mount of Olives, and today is preserved in the Church of San Silvestro in Capite, Rome, Italy. This tradition, among many others, is impossible to confirm.

As we honor this man so highly honored by our Lord, we also honor our Lord Himself. John’s life was given to the mission to which he was called. He never wavered and willingly accepted even death, rather than shy away from God’s will. He introduced the Lamb of God to the world and led the way for Jesus by his preaching, baptism of repentance, and death, which prefigured Jesus’ own death. As you ponder Saint John’s life, reflect especially upon the wholehearted commitment he made to selflessly give himself to the mission he received. Where you see hesitancy in your own life, take inspiration from Saint John the Baptist, praying that you will exemplify his courage and resolve to fulfill the will of God.
-My Catholic Life

08/29/2023

Yesterday, Monday, was the memorial of St. Augustine.

On August 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of Saint Augustine of Hippo, the North African educator who became one of history's greatest teachers of the faith after his dramatic conversion.

The story of Augustine's upbringing and conversion is well-known to many through his autobiographical “Confessions.” In that work, Augustine recounts his birth in 354 to his pagan father Patricius and Catholic mother Monica – later St. Monica – in the city of Tagaste. His parents' difficult marriage included a dispute over whether to baptize their children.

Augustine was nearly baptized during a childhood illness, but his father withdrew permission when he recovered. During his adolescence, Monica's Christian influence over her son's life began to wane, giving way to the self-interested pursuit of a secular education and career as well as social acceptance and romantic love.

At age 16, Augustine traveled to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. There, the young student indulged the desires of his heart and flesh, though he later admitted that this way of life brought him pain and torment along with its pleasure and satisfaction. He was, as he later wrote, “scourged with the burning iron rods of jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and strife.”

In 371, Augustine's father became a Catholic and received baptism. In his search for stability and meaning, however, Augustine became an adherent of the Manichaean religion. His entry into this sect, which regarded matter as evil and promoted “liberation” from the physical world, caused his mother intense grief. So too did Augustine's fathering of an illegitimate child.

Haunted by questions about the nature of good and evil, Augustine became disillusioned with Manichaeism. He turned to the later followers of Plato, whose concept of God agreed in some areas with Catholic doctrine. Augustine also turned his ear to the preaching of St. Ambrose of Milan, whose sermons removed some of his difficulties in believing the Bible.

As a professor of the liberal arts, Augustine appreciated these intellectual arguments for God's existence and Church teaching. Ultimately, however, his decision to be baptized would require a deeper conversion of his heart and will. This occurred in 386 when, at age 33, he tearfully agreed to abandon his personal vices and enter the Church.

The intellectually restless convert received Baptism from St. Ambrose on Easter of 387, shortly before the death of his holy and beloved mother Monica. Having abandoned his academic career and sold his possessions, Augustine soon began his work as a Catholic apologist and theologian. Not long after, a group of local believers persuaded him to enter the priesthood, which he did in 391.

From 396 until his death, Augustine served as the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. He led a religious order of men who lived in apostolic poverty without personal possessions. He also led the local Church through challenging times that included the breakdown of Roman imperial authority and widespread confusion about basic Catholic beliefs.

As a bishop, Augustine presented the faith in a compelling and intelligent manner, while warning his flock – both verbally and in writing – about the danger of different heresies. These errors included Arianism, the denial that Jesus is God; Donatism, the belief that corrupt clergy have no authority; and Pelagianism, which denied original sin and taught that humans could achieve their own salvation.

In the last years of his life, Augustine saw the old Roman imperial order undergo a violent and chaotic transition with an uncertain outcome. The Church, too, continued to struggle despite his and other bishops' efforts. In the Vandal-besieged city of Hippo, St. Augustine died on August 28, 430.

After his death, through the legacy of his writings, St. Augustine became the most influential theologian in the history of Western Christianity. Pope Benedict XVI, who once described the saint as his “traveling companion” in life and ministry, has devoted six general audiences to St. Augustine's life and thought since his election.

In August 2010, the Pope spoke of “an important aspect of [Augustine's] human and Christian experience, which is also timely in our day.”

“All too often,” Pope Benedict reflected, “people prefer to live only the fleeting moment, deceiving themselves that it will bring lasting happiness; they prefer to live superficially, without thinking, because it seems easier; they are afraid to seek the truth or perhaps afraid that the truth will find us, will take hold of us and change our life, as happened to St Augustine.”

St. Augustine's life, the Pope observed, teaches all people – even those weak or challenged in their faith – “not to be afraid of the Truth, never to interrupt the journey towards it and never to stop searching for the profound truth about yourselves and other things with the inner eye of the heart. God will not fail to provide light to see by, and warmth to make the heart feel that he loves us and wants to be loved.”
-Catholic News Agency

08/26/2023

In this weekend's Gospel, Jesus is walking along a road with His disciples, heading into Gentile territory. He stops and asks them, "Who do people say that I am?" After they chime in with answers such as John the Baptist, Jesus asks His disciples who do THEY say that He is, which causes the disciples to stop to think. Some say He is a good man, personal savior, and even some type of prophet. At this point, the disciples cannot give a deeper explanation because they may not have developed a personal relationship with Jesus.

What if Jesus asks us, "Who do you say that I am?" What would we say? Where are we in our relationship with Him. We might answer our friend, our brother, or a companion we walk with daily. Whatever we call Jesus, we must realize that each name comes with a commitment from us to do our part in keeping up the relationship. After spending time in contemplation, we might ask Jesus, "Who do you say that I am?" How would Jesus respond. To find out the answer, spend some quiet time with Him, and listen because you may just hear the answer. Jesus wants to be present with us each minute of our lives. Keep Jesus in your thoughts all day. At the end of the day, examine your conscience to see how you lived that day, and then spend some quiet time to see how Jesus felt you did. These are many ways to develop a more intimate relationship with Jesus that is filled with love.

08/26/2023

Be sure to stop by the Eucharistic Miracle poster in the entrance of the church to read about the miracle that took place in Rome. The Men's Group continues to focus on these miracles to show us that the Eucharist is the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. Here is a preview:

This Eucharistic Miracle, whose relic is still preserved in the Benedictine Monastery of Andechs, Germany, is verified by numerous written
sources. The authentication took place in Rome in 595 during a Eucharistic celebration presided by Pope St. Gregory the Great. At the moment of receiving Holy Communion, a Roman noblewoman began to laugh because she had doubts about the Real Presence of Christ in the consecrated
Bread and Wine. The Pope, troubled by her disbelief, decided not to give her
Communion and then the Bread turned into Flesh and Blood.

08/26/2023

The saint we remember today is St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars.

Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Born in Catalonia, Spain, she overcame many difficulties in her youth and eventually became a teacher at Lerida. Desirous to enter the religious life, she failed to win entry into the convent at the advice of her spiritual director, decided to launch her own congregation. On January 27, 1872, at Barbastro, Spain, she began the Little Sisters of the Poor, called the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Age. Considerable zeal, she had founded by the time of death more than fifty houses for her congregation. Beatified in 1958, she was canonized in 1974 by Pope VI.

08/25/2023

08/25/2023

Today we celebrate the memorial of 2 saints- St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz.

St. Louis was born to King Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, at Poissy on April 25th 1215. Louis was made King at only 11 years of age, and was the father of 11 children. He led an exemplary life, bearing constantly in mind his mother's words: "I would rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin." His biographers have written of the long hours he spent in prayer, fasting, and penance, without the knowlege of his people.

The French king was an avid lover of justice, who took great measures to ensure that the process of arbitration was carried out properly. All of 13th century Christian Europe willingly looked upon him as an international judge.

He was renowned for his charity. "The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor," he would say. Beggars were fed from his table; he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Felles-Dieu for reformed prostitutes, the Quinze-Vingt for 300 blind men (1254), as well as hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, Compiégne.

St. Louis was a patron of architecture. The Sainte Chappelle, an architectural gem, was constructed in his reign as a reliquary for the Crown of Thorns, and it was under his patronage that Robert of Sorbonne founded the "Collège de la Sorbonne," which became the seat of the theological faculty of Paris, the most illustrious seat of learning in the medieval period.

St. Louis died of the plague near Tunis, August 25th, 1270, during the Second Crusade. He is the patron of masons and builders.
-Catholic News Agency.

St. Joseph: From Aragon where he was born in 1556, to Rome where he died 92 years later, fortune alternately smiled and frowned on the work of Joseph Calasanz. A priest with university training in canon law and theology, respected for his wisdom and administrative expertise, he put aside his career because he was deeply concerned with the need for education of poor children.

When he was unable to get other institutes to undertake this apostolate at Rome, Joseph and several companions personally provided a free school for deprived children. So overwhelming was the response that there was a constant need for larger facilities to house their effort. Soon, Pope Clement VIII gave support to the school, and this aid continued under Pope Paul V. Other schools were opened; other men were attracted to the work, and in 1621 the community—for so the teachers lived—was recognized as a religious community, the Clerks Regular of Religious Schools—Piarists or Scolopi. Not long after, Joseph was appointed superior for life.

A combination of various prejudices and political ambition and maneuvering caused the institute much turmoil. Some did not favor educating the poor, for education would leave the poor dissatisfied with their lowly tasks for society! Others were shocked that some of the Piarists were sent for instruction to Galileo—a friend of Joseph—as superior, thus dividing the members into opposite camps. Repeatedly investigated by papal commissions, Joseph was demoted; when the struggle within the institute persisted, the Piarists were suppressed. Only after Joseph’s death were they formally recognized as a religious community. His liturgical feast is celebrated on August 25.

08/23/2023

Today is the memorial of St. Rose of Lima.

Historians remember St. Rose of Lima for her piety and chastity. Born in 1586 in Lima, Peru to Spanish colonists, and named Isabel Flores de Olivia, she was exceptionally beautiful.

Her beauty was so great that she was nicknamed "Rose," a name that remains with her to this day. According to legend, a servant had a vision where her face turned into a rose. At her confirmation in 1597, she officially took the name of Rose.

From an early age, Rose wanted to become a nun. She often prayed and fasted in secret. She performed secret penances, some of which were painful and severe. She performed daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and took daily communion.

As a young woman, her beauty began to attract suitors. To deter these men, St. Rose marred her face, rubbing it with pepper to make it blister. She cropped her hair short.

Her parents opposed her plan to take a vow of chastity. This resulted in a clash of wills, because her parents wanted her to marry. Her father eventually relented and gave her a room to herself.

St. Rose kept herself cloistered in her room, spending long periods in prayer. It was said she slept only two hours per night so as to have more time for prayer.

She quit eating meat altogether, an extreme dietary restriction for that time.

When she turned 20, she was permitted to join the Third Order of St. Dominic. She continued a life of extreme prayer, fasting and penance. On one occasion she burned her hands as a self-imposed act of penance.

She was known to wear a heavy silver crown, with spikes that could pierce her flesh. The spikes reminded her of the Crown of Thorns. At one point, one of the spikes become so lodged in her skull that the crown was removed with great difficulty.

St. Rose died in on August 25, 1617, at the age of 31. According to legend, she accurately predicted the date of her death. Her funeral was a major event attended by all the city's authorities.

Pope Clement IX beatified her in 1667 and Pope Clement X recognized her as a saint, canonizing her in 1671. Her feast day is August 23 around the world, although some countries, like Peru, celebrate her on August 30.

St. Rose is the patroness of embroiderers, gardeners, florists, those who suffer ridicule for their piety, and people who suffer family problems. -catholic.org