From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   - Proverbs 28:13-14 -   
      
       He who conceals his sins does not prosper,   
       but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.   
       Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord,   
       but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.   
   ________________________________________________________________   
      
   It is human nature to hide our sins or overlook our mistakes. But it is hard   
   to   
   learn from a mistake you don't acknowledge making. And what good is a   
   mistake if   
   it doesn't teach you something? To learn from an error you need to admit it,   
   confess it, analyze it, and make adjustments so it doesn't happen again.   
   Everybody makes mistakes, but only fools repeat them.   
      
      
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   October 4th - Bl. Gianna Beretta Molla   
      
   (1922-1962)   
      
   Gianna Beretta was born in Magenta (Milan) October 4, 1922. Already as a   
   youth   
   she willingly accepted the gift of faith and the clearly Christian education   
   that she received from her excellent parents. As a result, she experienced   
   life   
   as a marvellous gift from God, had a strong faith in Providence and was   
   convinced of the necessity and effectiveness of prayer.   
      
   She diligently dedicated herself to studies during the years of her   
   secondary   
   and university education, while, at the same time, applying her faith   
   through   
   generous apostolic service among the youth of Catholic Action and charitable   
   work among the elderly and needy as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul   
   Society.   
   After earning degrees in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pavia   
   in   
   1949, she opened a medical clinic in Mesero (near Magenta) in 1950. She   
   specialized in Pediatrics at the University of Milan in 1952 and thereafter   
   gave   
   special attention to mothers, babies, the elderly and poor.   
      
   While working in the field of medicine-which she considered a "mission" and   
   practiced as such-she increased her generous service to Catholic Action,   
   especially among the "very young" and, at the same time, expressed her joie   
   de   
   vivre and love of creation through skiing and mountaineering. Through her   
   prayers and those of others, she reflected upon her vocation, which she also   
   considered a gift from God. Having chosen the vocation of marriage, she   
   embraced   
   it with complete enthusiasm and wholly dedicated herself "to forming a truly   
   Christian family".   
      
   She became engaged to Pietro Molla and was radiant with joy and happiness   
   during   
   the time of their engagement, for which she thanked and praised the Lord.   
   They   
   were married on September 24, 1955, in the Basilica of St. Martin in   
   Magenta,   
   and she became a happy wife. In November 1956, to her great joy, she became   
   the   
   mother of Pierluigi, in December 1957 of Mariolina; in July 1959 of Laura.   
   With   
   simplicity and equilibrium she harmonized the demands of mother, wife,   
   doctor   
   and her passion for life.   
      
   In September 1961 towards the end of the second month of pregnancy, she was   
   touched by suffering and the mystery of pain; she had developed a fibroma in   
   her   
   uterus. Before the required surgical operation, and conscious of the risk   
   that   
   her continued pregnancy brought, she pleaded with the surgeon to save the   
   life   
   of the child she was carrying, and entrusted herself to prayer and   
   Providence.   
   The life was saved, for which she thanked the Lord. She spent the seven   
   months   
   remaining until the birth of the child in incomparable strength of spirit   
   and   
   unrelenting dedication to her tasks as mother and doctor. She worried that   
   the   
   baby in her womb might be born in pain, and she asked God to prevent that.   
      
   A few days before the child was due, although trusting as always in   
   Providence,   
   she was ready to give her life in order to save that of her child: "If you   
   must   
   decided between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child-I insist   
   on   
   it. Save him". On the morning of April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela was born.   
   Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on the morning of   
   April   
   28, amid unspeakable pain and after repeated exclamations of "Jesus, I love   
   you.   
   Jesus, I love you", the mother died. She was 39 years old. Her funeral was   
   an   
   occasion of profound grief, faith and prayer. The Servant of God lies in the   
   cemetery of Mesero (4 km from Magenta).   
      
   "Conscious immolation", was the phrase used by Pope Paul VI to define the   
   act of   
   Blessed Gianna, remembering her at the Sunday Angelus of September 23, 1973,   
   as:   
   "A young mother from the diocese of Milan, who, to give life to her   
   daughter,   
   sacrificed her own, with conscious immolation". The Holy Father in these   
   words   
   clearly refers to Christ on Calvary and in the Eucharist.   
      
   Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, during the   
   international Year of the Family.   
      
      
   7. Gianna Beretta Molla was a simple, but more than ever, significant   
   messenger   
   of divine love. In a letter to her future husband a few days before their   
   marriage, she wrote: "Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put   
   into   
   the soul of men and women".   
      
   Following the example of Christ, who "having loved his own... loved them to   
   the   
   end" (Jn 13: 1), this holy mother of a family remained heroically faithful   
   to   
   the commitment she made on the day of her marriage. The extreme sacrifice   
   she   
   sealed with her life testifies that only those who have the courage to give   
   of   
   themselves totally to God and to others are able to fulfil themselves.   
      
   Through the example of Gianna Beretta Molla, may our age rediscover the   
   pure,   
   chaste and fruitful beauty of conjugal love, lived as a response to the   
   divine   
   call!   
   -John Paul Ii   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made   
   known to   
   the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of   
   the   
   Father would come from heaven and take from her womb the real flesh of our   
   human   
   frailty. Though he was wealthy beyond reckoning, he still willingly chose to   
   be   
   poor with his blessed mother. And shortly before his passion he celebrated   
   the   
   Passover with his disciples. Then he prayed to his Father saying: "Father,   
   if it   
   be possible, let this cup be taken from me."   
      
   Nevertheless, he reposed his will in the will of his Father. The Father   
   willed   
   that his blessed and glorious Son, whom he gave to us and who was born for   
   us,   
   should through his own blood offer himself as a sacrificial victim on the   
   altar   
   of the cross. This was to be done not for himself through whom all things   
   were   
   made, but for our sins. It was intended to leave us an example of how to   
   follow   
   in his footsteps. And he desires all of us to be saved through him, and to   
   receive him with pure heart and chaste body.   
      
   Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and   
   humility.   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)