SAINTS OF THE DAY
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2020
1. ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
2. ST. PEREGRINE
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1. ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
(Foster Father of our Lord Jesus Christ)
Apparently in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a much longer history.
In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ.
COMMENT: “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15). The Father created all and asked humanity to continue the work of creation. We find our dignity in our work, in raising a family, in participating in the life of the Father's creation. Joseph the Worker was able to help participate in the deepest mystery of creation. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him lose to Christ, we again today repeat, ‘Go to Joseph'” (see Genesis in closest intimacy and community of family life and work. Thus, if you wish to be c41:44).
QUOTE: In Brothers of Men, René Voillaume of the Little Brothers of Jesus speaks about ordinary work and holiness: “Now this holiness (of Jesus) became a reality in the most ordinary circumstances of life, those of work, of the family and the social life of a village, and this is an emphatic affirmation of the fact that the most obscure and humdrum human activities are entirely compatible with the perfection of the Son of God....this mystery involves the conviction that the evangelical holiness proper to a child of God is possible in the ordinary circumstances of someone who is poor and obliged to work for his living.”
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2. ST. PEREGRINE
(1265-1345)
Peregrine Laziosi was born in Forli, Italy, the only son of well-to-do parents. In his teens he joined the enemies of the Pope in his hometown and soon became a ringleader of rebels.
Pope Martin IV had placed Forli under a spiritual interdict which closed churches in the city, hoping to bring its citizens to their senses. That failing, he sent Philip Benizi, of the Order of Servites (Servants of Mary), as his personal ambassador to try to bring peace to the angry rebels.
No welcome mat was spread for the papal delegate. While addressing crowds of malcontents one day, he was dragged off the rostrum, beaten with clubs and pelted with rocks. Peregrine knocked him down with a vicious blow to the face. Moments after, stricken with remorse, the youth cast himself at the feet of the bruised and bleeding priest and asked for his forgiveness, which was granted with a smile.
Peregrine became a staunch champion of Philip Benizi. He heeded Philip's suggestion and often prayed in Our Lady's chapel in the Cathedral. While kneeling there he had a vision of the Blessed Mother holding in her hands a black habit like the one the Servites wore. “Go to Siena,” Mary told the astonished Peregrine. “There you will find devout men who call themselves my servants. Attach yourself to them.”
The Servites gave him a warm welcome. He was clothed ceremoniously in the religious habit by Philip Benizi himself.
One of Peregrine's slogans as a Servite may well have been: “Better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today!” Daily he sought to become a more fervent religious man. To atone for past misdeeds he treated himself harshly and worked hard for the poor and afflicted.
People took to calling him the “Angel of Good Counsel,” so grateful were they for his wise advice so freely given.
After being ordained a priest he went to Forli to found a Servite monastery. A few years later a cancerous growth appeared on his right foot. It was so painful that he finally agreed with the surgeon who wanted to amputate.
The night before the scheduled surgery, Peregrine spent hours in prayer. Then he dozed off and dreamt that Christ was touching him and healing his foot. The thrill of it woke him up. In the dim moonlight he saw that his foot, carefully bandaged a few hours earlier was completely healed.
The Forlineses appreciated him still more after learning of the miraculous cure. When they were sick they appealed to his prayers. Some were cured when he whispered “Jesus” into their ears.
Peregrine died on May 1st, 1345 and was ranked with the saints in 1726. Thousands of clients pay him special honor on May 1st each year.
PATRON: cancer, foot ailments, or any incurable disease.
PRAYER: St. Peregrine, whom Holy Mother Church has declared Patron of those suffering from Cancer, I confidently turn to you for help in my present sickness. I beg your kind intercession. Ask God to relieve me of this sickness, if it be his Holy Will. Plead with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, whom you loved so tenderly and in union with whom you have suffered the pains of Cancer, that she may help me with her powerful prayers and loving consolation.
But if it should be God's Holy Will that I bear this sickness, obtain for me courage and strength to accept these trials from the loving hand of God with patience and resignation, because he knows what is best for the salvation of my soul. St. Peregrine, be my friend and patron. Help me to imitate you in accepting suffering, and to unite myself with Jesus Crucified and the Mother of Sorrows, as you did. I offer my pains to God with all the love of my heart, for his glory and the salvation of souls, especially my own. Amen.
St. Joseph: Pray for us.
St. Peregrieme: Pray for us