Years ago, the Philippines was caught in a sort of apparition mania.  Reports of purported apparitions of the Blessed Mother and the Lord Jesus filled the airwaves and dailies.  I remember the times when Tatay visited me in Manila with anecdotes about sightings of the Blessed Mother's reflection on top of come coconut fronds.  He was among the many who spent their evenings in the purported apparition sight to see the phenomenon.  Addressing this frenzy, a priest, in a homily, told  the people that they did not have to search high and low for miracles because miracles happen daily at Holy Mass.  He was of course referring to the Transubstantiation, the moment when the simple host and wine becomes the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  At Consecration, when the Priest says the word that Jesus Christ said at the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus Himself becomes present Body, Soul and Divinity among His people.   What power has God  bestowed upon His priests that the latter are able to bid Him come.  

Photo Courtesy of Exultati Iusti in Domino

That Jesus Christ Himself is in that humble piece of wafer has great consequences.  For one, no one should just simply go to the Communion rail ignorant of what he/she is receiving.  For receiving that simple wafer, Catholics, in the olden days,  had been called cannibals by those not disposed to it and they died for it.  After all, when we go to Communion, we eat Christ Himself, right?   Yet, knowing Who is being received is not enough.  One who seeks to have communion should be a worthy recipient.  His body should be prepared to receive the Lord, i.e., fasting for at least an hour  (under the New Rules) or  at least three hours (before Vatican II)  before Holy Communion should have been observed.  Somehow, allowing the  Bread of Angels to be digested   with the common burger does not seem very respectful towards Jesus Christ, doesn't it?  Most importantly, the one who aspires to have communion should not be in mortal sin.   Sin and the Lord Jesus just do not go together.  And lest one forgets, having communion is not a right that one can demand of a priest.  God, in His mercy, deigned to feed His people with His own body and blood to help them in their earthly pilgrimage.  Thus, a priest, a faithful Priest, is well within his right to deny one communion when he knows that the latter is not in a state of Grace, that is, is in mortal sin.  His first duty is to Jesus Christ and to make sure that the Lord Jesus is not received unworthily. 

The photo was from Art in the Picture website

St. Paul said - 

"Now this I ordain: not praising you, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.  For first of all I hear that when you come together in the church, there are schisms among you; and in part I believe it.  For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved, may be made manifest among you.  When you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord's supper.  For every one taketh before his own supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry and another is drunk.  What, have you not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the church of God; and put them to shame that have not ? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not.   For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread.  And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me.  In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.  For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.  But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice.  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." (1. Cor. 11: 17-29)

Here is a beautiful Thanksgiving Prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas:

I thank You, O holy Lord,  Father Almighty, eternal God, Who hast vouchsafed, not
for any merits of mine, but solely out of the condenscension of Thy mercy, to
satisfy me a sinner, Thine unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of
Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I pray that this Holy Communion be not a
condemnation unto punishment for me, but a saving plea unto forgiveness. May it be to
me the armor of faith and the shield of  good will. May it be the emptying out of
my vices,  the extinction of all concupiscence and lust,  the increase of charity and
patience, of humility and obedience, and of all virtues; a strong defense against the
snares of all  enemies, visible and invisible; the perfect quieting of all my evil
impulses, both  fleshly and ghostly; a firm cleaving unto Thee,  the one true God; and a  pledge of a blessed destiny.

And I beseech Thee, that Thou would vouchsafe to  bring me, a sinner, to
that ineffable banquet,  where Thou,  with thy Son and the Holy Ghost, art to Thy saints true light, fullness of content,  eternal joy,  gladness without alloy, and
perfect bliss. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Taken from the Latin-English Booklet Missal by the Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei, March 2003)

NOTE:  The pictures in this post are not mine.  I found them in St. Josaphat's Parish blog page and  Art in the Picture , respectively.  The Last Supper was done by Fra Angelico.  I could not have done in even in my wildest dreams.  By posting their pictures, I have no intent to infringe on their right whatsoever.  I will delete the photos once they, the parish and Art in the Picture, hopefully not Fra Angelico,  tell me to. )

--- 1 ---

In observance of Lent, our 6 - year old son has to make certain offerings which are divided into three categories - prayer, good works, and fasting.  For fasting, he was asked to avoid candies and sweets, TV, and online games.  For each day that he accomplished any of the recommended behavior, he gets to color a part of a religious image (divided into 8 major parts, each part divided into 40 little cells), the idea being that, come Easter time, that image will be fully colored. 

To encourage and support him, my Betterhalf and I decided to accomplish the same exercise as he has.  For this, Betterhalf photocopied the picture that our son needs to color and list down our own resolutions.  Not to be left alone, our 5 year old said that he would join the activity too.  Finally, our 2-year old, seeing that he was the only one without anything to color said he would join too.  

Anyway, upon the prodding of the 6-year old (he did not want his younger brother enjoying online games and internet videos when he can't), the 5-year old assumed the same penances as his older brother.   The 2-year old, on the other hand, said that he would refrain from his favorite meal - candy and everything sweet) and pick up his toys. 

So, this post is mostly about three game-loving, sweet toothed little boys deprived of some of their favoritest things in the world.  

--- 2 ---

So, for almost two weeks now, candies and cakes and ice cream and sweet bread have not been available in our house except on Sunday.  On the fourth day of Lent, a Saturday, and just earlier this afternoon, our 2-year old told his Daddy that it was time for him and his brothers to have a haircut. It puzzled us that this little one suddenly thought about  haircuts.  After some thought, we realized that it was not really a haircut that he wanted but the lollipop that the barber doles out to little children after cutting their hair.   Our little boy misses his candy so much that he remembered the barber. 

--- 3 ---

On the other hand, our 6-year old, who is also has a great fondness for sweet gooey treats, savored every last drop of his ice cream last Sunday.  He tipped his bowl over and let the last  of the  melted ice cream  drip on to his spoon.  I guess, when there is not much of something, one learns to appreciate and value it more. Though I wonder now if it was really the last bit of ice cream that he wanted or the fun of scraping the bowl and seeing it drip.  After all, he was not scolded for something that would normally get him a correction.

--- 4 ---

--- 5 ---

To make up for the absence of computer games, we dusted off our tons of board games and let them play with them.  We have Dominion, which they like a lot, and Munchkins, which they like very very much, and Carcassone, which they like as well, among others .  My Better-half, thinking that the games are not young enough to accommodate the 2 year old, bought new ones, three new ones.  Sigh!  Even with our supply of games, the boys still get bored and miss their computer games. 

When weather permits, they play outside.  I have many reasons to thank God for the relatively warm winter, but being able to send the kids out (without the hassle of putting them in thick winter gear) to burn up some of their energy and boredom is one that I am most thankful for. 

--- 6 ---

Because I have lost a 'baby-sitter', ehem - the computer games to keep my children occupied while I do my work, I join them in their board games.  So, each afternoon, after homeschool, I am holding Dominion cards on one hand, and  Snakes with the other.  That way, I can play simultaneously with my older children and the 2-year old.  In between, I try to mind my cooking and the baby in his high chair.  I suppose that, even when I leave a game in a huff because my little children skip me and do not let me have my turn (boo hoo hoo!) (I assure you that I am the adult here , the children are happy to have mommy playing with them.  One night, my 5- year old quipped:  "Mommy, I like not having internet games!" But please don't take him on his words though.  One day,  when he went to Daddy's office, he said that he would watch Youtube videos.  He even brought some books and coloring books to help him pass his time.  But, what do you know?  Almost as soon as they arrived in school, our little boy told Daddy that he needed to watch something to be entertained while they were there. )

--- 7 ---

But even with the complaints, the children are holding their promises the best they can.  They even diligently do their examination of conscience at night with our help.   I am glad that my Betterhalf and I joined our sons in their Lenten exercises.  Whenever they complain about the difficulty, we can tell them that all of us are having our own inconveniences.  Knowing that their parents are with them make them try to be faithful to their lenten resolutions.   They may not be able to color their religious picture completely (as expected, our 2-year old did not even give his picture another glance after it was given him), but they are making strides towards learning and living our faith. 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Thank you for visiting.  Have a blessed Lent.

~Imelda 

--1-- 

Lent is a season of love. Out of love, God the Father sent the Son from Heaven into the world to redeem us so that once more, Heaven, closed to us by original sin, shall once again be opened for us. “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting (Jn. 16:16)”. Out of love for the Father and for us, the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, came down to earth, became like us (except for sin), and suffered and died to pay our debts to God. By His death and resurrection, he opened the gates of Heaven for us.

Lent is simply the continuation of Christmas. Both seasons speak of the love of God and ask a corresponding response from us. At Christmas time, however, it is easier to feel and see the love because its subject is a little cuddly baby. It is just easy to fall in love with babies. Moreover, there are many pretty distractions during Christmas. During Lent, love is at its best but suffering takes center stage and sometimes obscures our vision of love. There are no pretty things. Instead, we see Jesus as the very personification of suffering, instead of the adorable Infant of Christmas. The love that caused His Incarnation has been put in a crucible, and our response too is being put in a crucible.

How do we respond?

-- 2 -- 

This season, the Church calls for penance.

Penance. In the course of a relationship, let us say, a marriage, the wife or husband does things that offend the other. The one who committed the wrong should say sorry, and will most likely give the offended spouse a hug or a kiss to make up for the wrong. In addition, the offender will keep in mind the offense that was done and resolve not to repeat it anymore in order to mend the relationship and to please the other spouse. So it is, and with even more reason, regarding our relationship with God. In the course of our lives, we do things that are not pleasing to Him (which is generally called sin). So, we have to say sorry and to resolve not to do that which offended Him. Oftentimes, we need to sacrifice our own desires and habits and inclinations in order to keep the promise. We not only make sacrifices to avoid a sin, we also sometimes make sacrifices so that we can do or give something to God. For example, when one gives alms, he forgoes all the fun stuff that he could get with the money that was given as alms.

Penance stands on the tripod of prayer, fasting, and good works.

 --3--

Fasting. Many among us will fast – from food, from bad habits, from entertainment. Many will do mortifications that we do not usually do. Why? It is not for difficulty's sake. It is a discipline of the body, of the will and of the soul. Fasting helps us conquer our appetites and inclinations and bring our body and soul in line with God's will. “Aw! There is no need to fast. Being kind, doing a little kind deed here and there is enough.” We hear that quite often today. Well, in the first place, Jesus Himself fasted for forty days before He began His public ministry. St. John the Baptist fasted almost all of his life. The people of Nineveh fasted and gained forgiveness from God.

Fasting is very difficult indeed. That is most likely the reason why most of us wish to avoid it and belittle its value. It takes something away from the one who fast. Maybe, that, together with the right spirit, is where its merit lies.

 --4--

Good works. Don't we do good things for the one we love? Sometimes, they entail sacrifices on our part but we do not know it because the sacrifices are not seen as difficulties but acts of love. Consider a suitor trying to win his love's affection. How far would he travel just to see the one he loves. He does not think the trouble of traveling as sacrifice or hardship. Instead, he sees the beloved waiting at the end of the trip.

If somebody says “I love you” and does not follow through with loving acts, can the subject of his 'love' honestly say that he/she is loved? How would a supposed love relationship be if there are no loving acts shown by the parties? It is not just the physical affection, but all other deeds that, taken together, show love, e.g., a father playing with his young children after a hard day's work, a brother sharing his toy to his sibling, a wife listening to her husband, a poor widow giving her last two cents in the donation box, etc.

Our relationship with God requires nothing less. When we say we love God, we need to show it. Doing good works, for the love of God, is the way to show it. For this purpose, one has a choice among the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, e.g., visiting the sick, praying for others, etc.

 --5--

One more word about good works – they fill the space left empty by fasting. With fasting, we remove something from our life. The resulting space should now be filled by something worthwhile lest something worse than that which was removed takes its place. For example, when one gives up mindless web surfing during Lent, that freed time should be used for something useful such as spending more time with family members.

 --6--

Prayer. Communication is key to all loving relationships. Prayer is the way we communicate with God. Many saints have considered a sigh, or a look directed at Heaven as prayer. There are those too who considered work (honorable work) as prayer. There are many, many ways to pray. I suppose the key is keeping God in one's thoughts and heart constantly and doing everything with consideration of what God's love desires for us.

--7--

Because I need a seventh entry to make this post a 7 Quick Takes Post, let me close with this quote from St. PAul of the Cross - 

'"The true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth." (John iv. 23.) Note these words well, because they contain all the elements of prayer; its perfection consists not in the joys and sensible delights which it may produce, but in the spirit- that is, in a true, pure, and simple nakedness and poverty of spirit, detached from all sensible consolation, so that the spirit reposes, purely and simply, in the infinite Spirit of God. Our Lord adds: "and in truth " - that is to say, we must have a full consciousness of our nothingness, so as not to rob God of one iota of His glory.'

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Have a blessed Lent.

~Imelda 

To celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, I dedicate these posts about several Marian Apparitions.  I wonder, how would it be like to be a visionary? a victim soul?  What I know is that most of the visionaries experienced immediate conversion, and if they were already faithful to begin with, their faith got deeper.  Also, in most cases, they went through a life of penance.  Having seen a slice of heaven, everything in this world was as though nothing compared to the glories of heaven.  Therefore, the penances they offered and suffered for many were 'insignificant' compared to the triumphs that awaited a soul in grace in heaven.  

The sources of the information in this post are linked to the titles.

Anyway....

-1-

OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL

The blessed Mother appeared to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1254.

Earlier, St. Simon Stock went on a pilgrimage to Holy Land. There, he met some hermits from Mt. Carmel (the same Mt. Carmel that was referred to in the Old Testament) who claimed to be followers of the prophet Elijah. The latter returned to St. Simon Stock to England when the situation in Palestine became dangerous because of the incursion by the Saracens. These group became known as the mendicant order of Carmelites. As the group grew, St. Simon encountered problems, one of which involved the 'solitary hermits' being confronted with a 'communal life'. St. Simon retreated in prayer and on July 16, St. Simon had the vision of the Blessed Mother appearing and offering to him the Brown Scapular with the words - “Take, beloved son this scapular of thy order as a badge of my confraternity and for thee and all carmelites, a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment will not suffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant”.

-2- 

OUR LADY OF KNOCK

The apparition occurred in Knock, Ireland on August 21, 1879. That evening, Mary MacLoughlin, the parish housekeeper, and Mary Byrne were on their way home when they saw a vision of the Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph and Saint John standing out to the west of the Church gable. The Blessed Mother was standing upright and was looking up to heaven. Some other people, about 15 of them all, witnessed the occurrence. Some witnesses claimed that the vision seemed to retreat whenever the people got nearer. One older lady tried to touch the feet of the Blessed Mother but the latter seemed to be always beyond reach. Meanwhile, those who were in the fields noticed that the Church was bathe in light. Nothing was said during this apparition which lasted for about three hours.

In 1971, the apparition was approved by the Church as quite probable.

-3-

OUR LADY OF BANNEAUX/THE VIRGIN OF THE POOR

The Blessed Mother appeared to a young lady, Mariette Beco, several times from January 15, 1933 to February 20, 1933. During these apparitions, the Blessed Mother introduced herself as the Virgin of the Poor. She led the young woman to a spring about which She said - “This spring is reserved for all the nations to relieve the sick.”

Here are the words that Our Lady said during the course of the apparitions:

"This stream is reserved for me, Good evening."

"Push your hands into the water."

"I am the Virgin of the poor. "

"This spring is reserved for all the nations - to relieve the sick."

"I shall pray for you. Au Revoir."
"I come to relieve suffering."

"Believe in me, I will believe in you. Pray much. Au Revoir."

"My dear child, pray much. Au Revoir."

"I am the Mother of the Saviour, Mother of God, Pray much. Adieu."

This apparition was approved by the Church in 1949.

-4-

OUR LADY OF BEAURAING/THE LADY WITH THE GOLDEN HEART

The Blessed Mother appeared to five children – Fernande and Albert Voison, Gilberte Voison, Andree and Gilberte Degeimbre several times from November 29, 1932 to January 3, 1933.

The first time that the children saw the Blessed Mother was when the four went to fetch Gilberte Voison from the convent where she was studying. The children saw the Blessed Mother floating above a bridge and walking on air. They were shocked and afraid and asked the nun who opened the door of the convent for help. The nun, however, did not notice anything amiss and thought that the children were just being their usual silly self. At home, the children were scolded severely by their parents for inventing such things. In any case, apparitions occurred several more times in the course of that winter. In the last days of the apparitions, the children saw the Blessed Mother with the golden heart. The Blessed Mother spoke individually to each child. Here is a list of the words that the Blessed Mother said in the course of the apparitions:

"Always be good."

Mary indicated that she was the Immaculate Virgin when questioned, and told the children to return on 8 December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

When asked by Fernande if she wanted a chapel built, she replied, "Yes," before disappearing. Mary again asked for a chapel.

"My last apparition will take place soon."

"Pray, pray very much."

"Pray always"
Mary told the children that she would speak to each of them separately and gave each a secret before bidding them farewell.

"Goodbye." (to Gilberte Degeimbre)

"I will convert sinners. Goodbye." (to Gilberte Voisin)

"Goodbye." (to Albert Voisin)

"I am the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven. Pray always, Goodbye." (to Andree Degeimbre)

Mary appeared later and spoke to Fernande Voisin asking her if she loved her Son and herself; when Fernande replied that she did, the response was: "Then sacrifice yourself for me." "Goodbye."


-

The children of Beauraing.

-5-

OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

On September 19, 1846, the Blessed Mother appeared to two young herders, Melanie Mathieu and Maximin Giraud in the mountains in the Parish of La Salette. The Blessed Mother told the children that if the people did not repent, she would be compelled to let go of her Son's hand which was just about ready to deal punishment on the world for the loss of piety and blasphemy. The Blessed Mother underscored the people's failure to observe the holiness of Sundays and for their blasphemy.
“If my people will not obey”, she said, I shall be compelled to loose my Son's arm. It is so heavy, so pressing that I can no longer restrain it. How long have I suffered for you! If my Son is not to cast you off, I am obliged to entreat Him without ceasing. But you take no least heed of that. No matter how well you pray in future, no matter how well you act, you will never be able to make up to me what I have endured in your behalf.

I have appointed you six days for working. The seventh I have reserved for myself. And no one will give it to me. This it is that causes the weight of my Son's arm to be so crushing.

The cart drivers cannot swear without bringing in my Son's name. These are the two things that make my Son's arms so burdensome.”

-6-

OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS

In 1635, the Blessed Mother appeared to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres in Quito, Ecuador. During these apparitions, the Blessed Mother underscored the importance of monasteries and convents saying that 'in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils...”; the importance of the Sacrament of Penance - “x x x it is the only sure means of salvation after one had lost his baptismal innocence.” She lamented how people, especially the ministers of Jesus Christ, have come to regard the Sacrament with indifference and ignore this precious and valuable treasure. The Blessed Mother prophesied that in the 19th and 20th century, the devil would rule almost completely because of the Masonic Sect, helped by unfaithful religious who in the guise of virtue and unspirited zeal would mislead people; the faithful would esteem Extreme Unction less and less and thus many would die without its consolations and graces; the Sacrament of Matrimony would be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word; there will be a decrease in vocations as the effects of secular education increased; the Sacrament of Holy Orders would be oppressed, ridiculed, and despised; many of the priest would be corrupted thereby scandalizing the Christians and non-Christians alike; there would be unbridled luxury that would conquer innumerable souls; innocence among children could hardly be found, nor modesty in women.  Her other prophecies included the Proclamation of the Dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility, respectively (both of which were fulfilled hundreds of years later); the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the assassination of a truly Catholic President, Gabriel Garcia Moreno.  Click here for more.

-7-

THE APPARITION OF TRE FONTANE/VIRGIN OF THE REVELATION

The Blessed Mother appeared to Bruno Cornacchiola and his three children in a cave in Tre Fontane in the afternoon of April 12, 1947. She introduced herself to Bruno as the “Virgin of the Revelation”. She talked to him for an hour and twenty minutes.

Prior to this date, Bruno Cornacchiola was a, should we say, fallen away Catholic, who harbored a hatred for the Catholic Church, especially the Pope. He hated the Pope so much that he planned to assassinate him. For this purpose, Bruno bought a dagger in Spain while he was still serving the Nationalist side during the Spanish Civil war. He had caused the inscription of the words “Death to the Pope” on the dagger.

During the apparition, the Blessed Mother told him “I am she who is related to the Divine Trinity. I am the Virgin of Revelation. You have persecuted me, now is the time to stop! X x x The nine Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart, which your faithful wife persuaded you to observe before you walked down the road of lies, has saved you.”

Needless to say, Bruno experienced an immediate conversion.

The cult of the Virgin of Revelation has been approved and the prayer to the Virgin of Revelation has been given the imprimatur by the Vicariate in Rome. However, no definitive judgment, either positive or negative, has been made regarding this apparition.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Thank you all for dropping by.  Have a blessed day. 

~Imelda 

Lawyers.  We would not find it surprising to hear the words of the Gospel changed to say - "It would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a lawyer to enter heaven".  After all, that goes well with the many jokes, mostly disparaging,  there are about lawyers.    Lawyering and Goodness just seem to be diametrically opposed to each other. But these saints have proven that lawyers do go to heaven,  and that God has a great use for that lawyerly skill and intellect.  So, my lawyer friends, take heart.  All is not lost for us. ;-) 

Just let me add that this topic is so close to my heart.  Once upon a long time ago, before I met my husband and married him, I was a lawyer. Many of my friends I hold dear are in the legal profession. :-) 

-1-

St. Theophilus

The legend of St. Theophilus the Lawyer was closely interwoven with that of St. Dorothy's.

St. Dorothy was a Christian during the time of the persecutions. St. Theophilus was then a pagan lawyer who, along with some colleagues, was in charge of prosecuting St. Dorothy for her refusal to worship the Roman gods. She held on to her faith. Consequently, a judgment for her execution by beheading by sword was made. She thanked the court for the judgment because she would soon be with her Spouse, Jesus, in Paradise. St. Theophilus ridiculed her by asking for some of its fruits and flowers. To this 'request', St. Dorothy gladly obliged.

When she was brought to the place for her execution, she knelt and prayed at the last step. A child, about four years old and carrying a cloth with fruits and roses, appeared.  St. Dorothy instructed him to present the fruits and flowers to St. Theophilus and to say “here are the fruits and flowers from paradise which you asked for”.

Meanwhile, St. Theophilus was then with his colleagues and making fun of St. Dorothy. Amidst this raucus, the child came in and presented the gifts to St. Theophilus, saying "These are the fruits and flowers you asked the holy Dorothy to send you. I have brought them at her request from the garden of her divine spouse." Then the child disappeared. St. Theophilus experienced an immediate conversion, a conversion that he hung on to despite his companions' arguments. He said - "It is midwinter, there are no fruits or flowers like these in February.  Our gardens are bare and our fruit trees leafless." Eventually, he himself suffered a martyr's death. (Please click here for the source.)

-2- 

St. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre

He was an excellent lawyer. His eloquence put him in the good graces of the Emperor who not only gave to him in marriage one of the great ladies of the court but also made him the Duke of Burgundy, one of the six dukes who governed Gaul for Rome. He settled in his own town of Auxerre and enjoyed a magnificent court.

Even though he was a Christian, he did not live a Christian life. He loved to hunt and to put his trophies on a tree that was in a place once held sacred by the pagans. The Bishop, Bishop Amator, asked St. Germain to stop that practice because it could cause confusion among the simpler folks. People who did not understand Christianity might not see much difference between Christianity and the pagan practices. St. Germain refused.

One day, when St. Germain was away, Bishop Amator had the tree cut down and all the hunting trophies on it burnt. This made St. Germain very angry. With several of his men, he went to the Church with the intention of dragging the Bishop from the Church and killing him. Bishop Amator was, however, able to convince St. Germain to go inside the Church all by himself. Once St. Germain was inside, the Bishop, with the prior consent of his superiors, ordered that the doors be barred. Then, he laid his hand on St. Germain and ordained him a deacon, saying - “Now you must live as one who will be Bishop of Auxerre when I am dead.”

St. Germain came out of the Church a changed man. He distributed his great wealth to the poor (after providing for his family) and thereafter devoted himself to a life of prayer and penance. Later, he did become the Bishop of Auxerre.

Ten years later, when the Church in Britain was being plagued by the Pelagian heresy, the Church asked the Pope to send someone to help it fight the attacks. Who would the Pope send to debate with the heretics and set straight people's thinking? Bishop Germain, the eloquent lawyer. (Source:  The Young People's Book of SAINTS, by Hugh Ross Williamson, @ Sophia Institute Press)

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St. Ivo of Kermartin

He had a degree in Canon Law and Civil Law. When he returned to his native Brittany after his education, he was appointed by the Archdeacon as diocesan official, i.e., judge of the cases that came before the ecclesiastical court. "In this capacity, he protected the orphans, defended the poor and administered justice with impartiality and kindness that gained for him the goodwill even of the losing side.” Later, his own diocese appointed him as official to the Bishop of Treguier. His championship of the poor won for him the name of “Poor Man's Advocate”. He was not only a just judge but, outside of the court that he presided in, he advocated for the helpless before other courts, often paying for their expenses and visiting them in prison. He did not accept bribes or presents and he made the people compromise, if possible, so that they would avoid costly litigation and unnecessary lawsuits. Later he was ordained priest and soon thereafter, he resigned his legal office to focus on parish work where he continued to be known for his charitable work.  (Please click here for the source.)

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St. Catherine of Alexandria 

It was dangerous to debate with her, for one would surely lose his head.  Literally!

She was not a lawyer but I included her in this selection because of her great skill at debating which is, in a way, a very lawyerly skill. St. Catherine was a pagan princess who was converted to Christianity during her teens.   She was renowned for her intelligence and, as mentioned earlier, debating skills.  This skill she used to advocate one great cause - the Christian faith.  

"As a young adult, she visited her contemporary, the Roman Emperor Maxentius, and attempted to convince him of the moral error in persecuting Christians for not worshipping idols. The emperor arranged for a plethora of the best pagan philosophers and orators to dispute with her, hoping that they would refute her pro-Christian arguments, but Catherine won the debate and succeeded in converting all of them to Christianity, for which the philosophers and orators were executed by an enraged Maxentius. Catherine was then scourged and put in prison, during which time over two hundred people came to see her, including Maxentius' wife the empress, all of whom converted to Christianity and were thereforemartyred. [7] Upon the failure of Maxentius to make Catherine yield by way of torture, he tried to win the beautiful and wise princess over by proposing marriage to her, at which point in time the Saint declared that her spouse was Jesus Christ, to whom she had consecrated her virginity. The furious emperor condemned Catherine to death on the spiked breaking wheel, an instrument of torture. The wheel was miraculously destroyed, however, in answer to St. Catherine's prayer, and so Maxentius had to settle for beheading her."(Please click here for the source.)

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St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More, a lawyer, was the Chancellor of King Henry VIII when the latter decided to divorce his wife so that he could marry another woman.  King Henry, unable to obtain the Pope's permission to do as he wished, decided to establish himself as the head of the Church in England.  He made the people take an oath of allegiance under pain of death. While many of the people in the Church saw no problem with the King's proclamation and took the required oath, St. Thomas More  refused to swear allegiance to the King.  To him,  'it was impossible for the whole Church in England to make its own particular laws which the rest of the Church did not agree with as it would be for  the City of London to make one of its rules an Act of Parliament which should be lawful for the whole country.'

Because of his disobedience to the King, St. Thomas More was imprisoned in the Tower of London, tried, and condemned to death.  Before he was executed, he made a short speech (in obedience to the King's message asking him to say little) which ended with "I die the King's faithful servant, but God's first." (Source: The Young People's Book of SAINTS, by Hugh Ross Williamson, @ Sophia Institute Press)

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St. Alphonsus Liguori

St. Alphonsus Liguori became a Doctor of Laws  when he was only 16 years old at a time when the general practice was to admit a person to the bar  when he was  at least 20 years old.  His lawyer robes were so big on him that people laughed at him.  But that did not last too long.  By his early 20's, he had distinguished himself as on of the leading lawyers in Naples.  

In 1723, there was a celebrated property dispute between the Duke of Tuscany and a nobleman from Naples.  St. Alphonsus, who was known for not having lost a single case, was the counsel for one of the parties. He  made a brilliant opening argument for his client.  The opposing counsel decided that he would not make any arguments nor present any evidence in favor of his client at all.  Why?  The opposing counsel said - "Your arguments are a waste of breath. You have overlooked a document which destroys your whole case."  St. Alphonsus  was very familiar with the document.  He read it many times before.  But, he missed the point of the document and during the trial, saw for the first time that the document proved the opposite of what he thought it meant previously.  St. alphonsus conceded the case.  He was shamed and humiliated, but he realized that God allowed that to happen to break his pride.  St. Alphonsus turned to God in prayer and sough His will.  One day, while visiting the sick in the Hospital of Incurables, he found himself surrounded by a mysterious light and heard a voice in his heart saying - "Leave the world and give yourself to Me."   

He became a priest when he was 30 years old.  In between his pastoral works, he managed to write book after book and hymns for the honor and glory of God.   (Source:  The Young People's Book of SAINTS, by Hugh Ross Williamson, @ Sophia Institute Press)

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St. Raymond of Penafort

St. Raymond was born to a noble family in Spain.  He obtained a doctorate in Canon Laws and Civil Laws in 1216.  A few years later, he entered the Dominican Order.

"Knowing Raymond's reputation in the juridical sciences, Pope Gregory IX summoned him to Rome in 1230 to help in the rearranging and codifying of canon law. Canon laws, which were previously found scattered in many publications, were to be organized into one set of documents. In particular papal decretal letters had been changing the law over the course of the previous 100 years since the publication of the Decretum of Gratian. Being pleased with Raymond's efforts, the pope announced the new publication in a Bull directed to the doctors and students of Paris and Bologna in 1231, commanding that the work of Raymond alone should be considered authoritative, and should alone be used in the schools. His collection of canon law, known as the Liber extra or Decretals of Gregory IX, became a standard for almost 700 years. When Raymond completed his work, the pope appointed him Archbishop of Tarragona, but he declined the honour. Raymond followed this with the publication of a work on penitential discipline, Summa casuum, which is widely considered an authoritative work on the subject. Canon law was finally fully codified by 1917." (Please click here for the source.)

All of the pictures in this post are linked to the pages where I found them.  There are certainly so much more to say about the above Saints.  However, for purposes of this article, focus was made on their legal work.  

Thank you for dropping by.  Please feel free to leave any comments.  If I do not reply in a timely manner, my apologies.  Rest assured that all comments are appreciated and acknowledged sooner or later. For more Quick Takes, please visit Conversion Diary. 

Have a blessed day.

Best regards,

Imelda