From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   May 19th - Pope St. Peter Celestine   
      
   This was a saint remarkable for running from glory during his life. He is   
   called the Phoenix of the Church, and was truly unique in his role: a   
   solitary religious suddenly placed on the Throne of St. Peter who   
   spontaneously abdicated from that glorious situation even though none   
   disputed his position.   
      
   Miracles illustrated his life, simplicity illustrated his soul. He was born   
   in the Abruzzi, Italy, the eleventh of twelve children of peasant parents.   
   Seeing his inclination to piety, his mother saw to it that he received a   
   good literary education.   
      
   In his daily prayers Peter used to receive the visit of Angels, Saints and   
   the Virgin Mary. He recounted everything with simplicity to his mother.   
   Later, he became a hermit and the fame of his sanctity spread.   
      
   He built a church, Santa Maria di Collemaggio, in Aquila, whose consecration   
   was made by the Angels. He founded a monastery on the top of Mount Morrone,   
   and later these monks would become known as Celestines. However, fleeing   
   glory, he did not remain there, but after it was established, retired to a   
   more solitary place.   
      
   In 1274, Peter went to Rome to defend his foundation that had been   
   threatened. With the help of a miracle, he received the approbation of Pope   
   Gregory X for his religious Order. As he prepared to say Mass before the   
   Pontiff, he had the desire to have his dignified, but poor and simple   
   vestments that he had left behind. Immediately Angels appeared and delivered   
   them into his hands. After receiving the approbation, he retuned to his   
   solitude.   
      
   Upon the death of Nicholas IV, the see of Rome remained vacant two years and   
   three months. Finally, on an inspiration, the Cardinals assembled at Perugia   
   proposed Peter's name, and he was unanimously elected.   
      
   Alarmed at hearing this news, Peter betook himself to flight in the company   
   of one of his monks, but was intercepted. He returned to Mount Morrone,   
   where the Kings of Hungary and Naples came to implore him to accept the   
   Papacy for the good of the Church. Peter agreed. This hermit who had   
   hesitated to say the Holy Mass was elevated to the Supreme Priesthood on   
   August 29, 1294.   
      
   When he was still a young man, he had considered himself unworthy of   
   celebrating Mass, and he only changed his mind after hearing a Divine Voice   
   that convinced him. "I am not worthy of offering the Holy Sacrifice," he   
   protested. The Voice replied: "And who is worthy of such a thing? Celebrate   
   it, despite your unworthiness, but offer it in fear."   
      
   In the Pontifical See, Peter conformed himself to the will of God, but could   
   not stop thinking that this was not his vocation. He continued his former   
   austerities and lived in solitude among the crowds that surrounded him.   
   Finally, he decided to abdicate. When his decision became public, many   
   vigorously opposed the motion, but no solicitations or motives could change   
   his resolution. Therefore, on December 13, 1294 clothed in full pontifical   
   vesture, he read before the Cardinals this act of his great renunciation:   
      
       "Inspired by many legitimate reasons, desiring a more humble state and a   
   more perfect life, fearing to compromise my conscience and seeing my   
   weakness and incapacity, considering the malice of men and yearning for the   
   rest and spiritual consolation I enjoyed before I was raised to this   
   position, I, Celestine V, Pope, do hereby freely and voluntarily renounce   
   the Sovereign Pontificate and abandon the dignity and position to which I   
   was raised."   
      
   And then Peter returned to his solitude to die.   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   The first fact that strikes our attention when we hear this report is the   
   innocence of St. Peter Celestine's life when he was a boy. He had constant   
   contact with the Angels and reported every single thing to his mother, who   
   would also accept it naturally.   
      
   We can imagine the scene, a simple peasant woman, cleaning the house,   
   washing the family's clothes or kneading dough to make bread, listening to   
   the narration of the boy about his relations with the Angels. It is a   
   charming dialogue of the innocence of childhood with the benevolence of   
   motherhood.   
      
   Second, it is also interesting to notice how the solitary and saintly life   
   of a hermit attracted the masses. Many persons sought out Peter to ask   
   counsel and orientation in their lives. He was a man who turned his back on   
   the values of the world, showing that they were worth nothing to him, and   
   retired to a solitary place to speak only with God. This caused a frisson of   
   admiration in the multitudes that went to visit him, ask his advice and pray   
   for him. St. Peter did not need to wear the clothing of the layman or go to   
   night clubs to attract people, as monks and priests have done since Vatican   
   II. He did the opposite. He abandoned everything, which from a pagan   
   perspective seems madness, and was rewarded by the grace of God and   
   attracted large crowds.   
      
   Third, he built a church and when he had completed it, the Angels were so   
   pleased that they came themselves to consecrate it. No human hand was   
   necessary, but Angels made the consecration of his church. This shows how   
   blessed the work of those solitary hermits habitually was.   
      
   In Rio, there was a hermit who lived on top of the Hill of Glory [Outeiro da   
   Glória], called this because he build a small chapel to Our Lady of Glory   
   there. He also lived alone in that magnificent place. It was a site of grace   
   and peace with a sole hermit praying to Our Lady, irradiating a supernatural   
   ambience over the whole small Rio de Janeiro of times past. When we see   
   priests and religious men today coming and going on motorcycles and we   
   compare them to the life of that simple hermit, it grates on our souls.   
      
   Fourth, the scene of St. Peter preparing to say Mass for the Pope is also   
   impressive. He had probably been provided with beautiful vestments to wear.   
   But to the general surprise of those assisting at his Mass, he appeared   
   clothed in his very simple vestments. He said his Mass, and at the end, the   
   Pontiff may have commented: "So, Friar Peter, you preferred to wear your   
   simple vestments. I didn't know that you brought them with you." His answer:   
   "Your Holiness is correct. I did not have them, but the Angels brought them   
   to me." The Pope, amazed, remarked: "Oh, I see." No wonder his fame for   
   holiness was widespread, and that the Cardinals chose him to be Pope.   
      
   Fifth, the scene of the Kings of Hungary and Naples insisting that he accept   
   the Papacy is also interesting. In his relation with those Kings, St. Peter   
   Celestine had the simplicity of a man who did not need anything from them.   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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