From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   June 1st - Saint Angela Merici, Seer, Foundress   
      
   (1474-1540)   
      
   Saint Angela was the youngest of her virtuous parents' five children; she   
   was   
   born in Italy, near Brescia, in 1474. The grace which filled her soul made   
   her   
   beauty a trial for her, and as a young girl she already rejected all   
   vanities.   
   Every evening at home the parents read to the children from the lives of the   
   Saints, and Angela wished to imitate them. She and her sister made an   
   oratory in   
   their room and retired there every day to pray and sing. She added to this   
   service of God harsh austerities, sleeping on the floor while her sister   
   slept   
   profoundly. "We are the children of the Saints," she would say to her, "and   
   we   
   must turn all our affection towards the One who dwells in heaven. Oh! what   
   torments, what disgrace and privations the solitaries and virgins have   
   endured,   
   to win the crown of immortality! We must suffer and die to ourselves."   
      
   Saint Angela made a vow of virginity before she was ten years old and   
   persuaded   
   her older sister to do the same. The children soon afterwards lost both   
   their   
   parents. A wealthy uncle took the two little girls into his home, but soon   
   the   
   sister of Angela followed her parents by a sudden death. At the age of   
   thirteen   
   Angela still had not received Holy Communion, according to the regrettable   
   delays of those days. She begged to be admitted to the Holy Table, and as   
   soon   
   as her request was granted, resolved to take this heavenly nourishment   
   often.   
   For that purpose she entered the Third Order of Saint Francis, and then,   
   with   
   her director's permission, was able to receive her Eucharistic Lord every   
   day.   
      
   In 1596 at the age of 22, Angela returned, after the death of her good   
   uncle, to   
   the paternal residence in her native village. There several others began to   
   imitate her pious life. She was persuaded that the ills of society resulted   
   from   
   the scarcity of Christian mothers, and that this in turn was the effect of a   
   lack of good education for young girls. She prayed that God would help her   
   remedy this deficiency, and a heavenly vision assured her that before she   
   died   
   she would establish a Congregation of virgins. She and her companions began   
   to   
   assemble the little girls of the area and teach them Christian doctrine. And   
   with them they visited the poor and the sick, and distributed most of the   
   alms   
   by which they themselves lived. Angela became an angel of consolation for   
   all in   
   the region, and though she had not studied, her mind was so clear that   
   preachers   
   and theologians came to consult her.   
      
   It was not until 1535 that Saint Angela was able to establish her Community;   
   she   
   was then 61 years old. During the intervening years, she made pilgrimages to   
   the   
   Holy Land and to Rome. Her devotion to the Passion of our Saviour was always   
   increasing, and her piety inspired that of many others. One night in a   
   vision,   
   however, she saw a severe figure, a lash in His hand, look threateningly at   
   her;   
   it was Jesus, who reproached her for her delay in founding an Order which   
   was   
   destined to do a much-needed good. She asked pardon and immediately began to   
   draw up plans and inform her companions of them. These co-workers were still   
   living each in her own house, but all promised to follow the rules. They   
   visited   
   prisons and hospitals, instructed the poor and assisted them, and all of   
   them   
   brought together young girls in their various houses, for instruction. At   
   first   
   this was a simple association, but soon Angela gave her companions the name   
   of   
   Ursulines, in honor of the virgin martyr of chastity and her companions.   
   Saint   
   Angela encouraged her Ursulines to make a voluntary vow of chastity only.   
   She   
   died in January of 1540. It was in France some sixty years later that the   
   group   
   became a regularized Community under Madame Frances de Bermond; thereafter   
   the   
   Institute spread widely. The Foundress was canonized in 1807 by Pope Pius   
   VII.   
      
   Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin   
   (Bloud et   
   Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 6.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   If one yields ground on any single point of Catholic doctrine, one will   
   later   
   have to yield later in another, and again in another, and so on until such   
   surrenders come to be something normal and acceptable. And when one gets   
   used to   
   rejecting dogma bit by bit, the final result will be the repudiation of it   
   altogether.   
   --St Vincent of Lerins   
      
   Bible quote:   
   Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit   
   unto   
   unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure   
   heart   
   fervently.  (1 Peter 1:22)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Night Prayers   
      
   Our Father...Hail Mary...Creed...Glory be to the Father...   
      
   Behold me at thy feet. Oh! my God I thank Thee for keeping me   
   safe today. I made good resolutions this morning and promised   
   Thee much. I am ashamed of myself when I think how badly I   
   have kept these promises. More than once have I saddened   
   Thee by my thoughtless actions. Have pity on my weakness.   
   Oh dear Jesus forgive my faults. I am truly sorry for them.   
   Help me I beseech Thee. Make me better. All I desire is to   
   belong to Thee. I commend my soul and my body to Thee during   
   my sleep. Deign to give me a good night. Holy Mary protect me.   
   My good Angel be near to me all this night.   
   The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary and she conceived of the Holy   
   Ghost.   
   Hail Mary etc.   
   Behold the Handmaid of the Lord. May it be done unto me   
   according to Thy Word.   
   Hail Mary etc.,   
      
   And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us.   
   Hail Mary etc.   
      
   Pray for us Oh Holy Mother of God that we may be made worthy   
   of the promises of Christ. Out of the depths I have cried to Thee   
   Oh Lord hear my prayers. Let thy Ears be attentive to the voice   
   of my supplications.   
      
   If thou oh Lord will mark iniquities, Lord who shall stand?   
   For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness and by reason of   
   Thy Love, I have waited for Thee Oh Lord. My soul has relied on   
   His word, my soul has hoped in the Lord. From the morning   
   watch until night let Israel hope in the Lord. Because with the   
   Lord there is mercy and with Him plentiful redemption.   
   And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.   
      
   Eternal rest give to him Oh Lord and let perpetual light shine   
   upon them. May they rest in Peace. Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)