From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   August 1st - Saint Agrippina Di Mineo   
   (Celebrated in Boston in 2008 on August 1-3)   
      
   Saint Agrippina Di Mineo was a beautiful blond princess who was unmercifully   
   tortured to death by the Emperor Valerian in 256 AD. After her death, her body   
   was taken from Rome to Mineo, Sicily, by three holy women; Bassa, Paula and   
   Agatonica.   
      
   The Greeks also honor her and claim to have relics of her. Sant' Agrippina is   
   the patron saint of thunderstorms, leprosy and evil spirits. Her Feast day is   
   celebrated on the first weekend in August.   
      
   Each year since 1914 a group of devoted people come together to renew their   
   faith in her in Boston's North End, as was the custom in the land of origin,   
   Mineo, Sicily. Each year everyone is invited to witness the respect and honor   
   that is bestowed on this young, beautiful martyred saint.   
      
   The story of the journey of the martyred body of St. Agrippina from Rome to   
   Mineo, Sicily is full of the miraculous.   
      
   The fragrance that accompanied the body of St. Agrippina wherever it went, the   
   veneration of the sailors and the farmers, the miraculous light weight of the   
   reliquary so that the three young girls could carry it, the quickness of the   
   voyage from Rome to Sicily, the miraculous cloud that covered the girls and   
   transported them and the relics at certain times of danger in the journey, the   
   angels that protected them from harm, the devils that were defeated and swept   
   out at the sight of the sacred relics, and the miracle of Teogonia-these are   
   all   
   signs that it was the will of God that Agrippina should be the Saint of this   
   blessed city of Mineo.   
      
   As the sacred tradition affirms, the relics of St. Agrippina arrived in Mineo   
   on   
   Wednesday, May 17, in the year 261. Her feast day is celebrated on the first   
   weekend in August in Boston. Each year for the past 86 years, groups of devoted   
   people come together in Boston's North End to renew their faith in Saint   
   Agrippina, as was the custom in Mineo, Sicily. Each year everyone is invited to   
   witness the respect and honor that is bestowed on this young, beautiful   
   martyred   
   Saint.   
      
   Feast Day Celebrations   
      
   Since 1914, members of the St. Agrippina Di Mineo Society gather in Boston's   
   North End to honor the Saint and raise money to help keep the churches in good   
   repair. This is a tradition that can be traced back to Mineo, Sicily, the city   
   where she was buried.   
      
   Posters advertising the event proclaim that "twenty devoted men" will carry a   
   one-ton statue of the saint for several hours. The statue is decked with   
   ribbons, to which those at the festival pin dollar bills. First, a priest says   
   a   
   brief prayer, and unveils the statue amid fireworks and music. When the signal   
   is given, the devoted men lift the statue on their shoulders and begin the   
   procession. The twenty devoted men stop frequently and set the statue down,   
   both   
   to give themselves a rest from carrying it, and to give onlookers a chance to   
   pin their money on the statue. Each time they set the statue down, the twenty   
   devoted men yell out "Viva Agrippina!" several times. Sometimes they would even   
   sing the words, "Viva Saint Agrippina!" to the tune "Deep in the Heart of   
   Texas." The Roma Band then plays a several songs while money is pinned on the   
   statue. The devoted men then pick up the statue again, walk for about 20 feet,   
   and then set the statue down again and repeat the whole procedure.   
      
      
   Saint Quote   
   We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study   
   of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them, and let our thoughts   
   now and then glance upon them: that knowledge which shows us heaven, will not   
   bring us to the possession of it, and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if   
   it remain slight, weak, and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation it   
   must be concocted, digested, and turned into the nourishment of our affections,   
   before it can be powerful and operative enough to change them, and produce the   
   necessary fruit in our lives. For this all the saints affected solitude and   
   retreats from the noise and hurry of the world, as much as their circumstances   
   allowed them.   
   -St. Apollinaris   
      
   Bible Quote   
   But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself   
   in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and   
   ground of the truth.  (1 Tim 3:15)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST   
      
   This is the prototype of all novenas. It commemorates the nine days between the   
   Ascension of Our Lord and the descent of the Holy Ghost on the first Pentecost   
   Sunday. During this time Our Lady and the twelve Apostles prayed in the Cenacle   
   for the coming of the Paraclete. Our Lord Himself instituted this novena, and   
   it   
   is celebrated every year by the whole Church.   
      
      
   Primary Intention: Like the Apostles, we pray that the Holy Ghost will come   
   into   
   our lives and set the Church and faithful on fire with true Apostolic zeal.   
      
   Secondary Intention: On Pentecost Sunday every year, we renew our consecration   
   to Jesus through Mary as prescribed by Saint Louis Marie de Montfort. On this   
   solemn occasion, we pray that we may be true to our consecration and live it   
   ever more faithfully during the year to come. Every member of the Crusade   
   should   
   feel that he or she has a special obligation to make this novena.   
      
   Form for the novena: State the intentions given above, and then open your heart   
   to God the Holy Ghost in this prayer:   
      
   O Holy Ghost, O my God, I adore Thee, and acknowledge, here in Thy divine   
   presence, that I am nothing and can do nothing without Thee. Come, great   
   Paraclete, Thou father of the poor, Thou comforter the best, fulfil the promise   
   of our blessed Savior, Who would not leave us orphans, and come into the mind   
   and the heart of Thy poor, unworthy creature, as Thou didst descend on the   
   sacred day of Pentecost on the holy Mother of Jesus and on His first disciples.   
   Grant that I may participate in those gifts which Thou didst communicate to   
   them   
   so wonderfully, and with so much mercy and generosity. Take from my heart   
   whatever is not pleasing to Thee, and make of it a worthy dwelling-place for   
   Thyself. Illumine my mind, that I may see and understand the things that are   
   for   
   my eternal good.  Inflame my heart with pure love of Thee, that I may be   
   cleansed from the dross of all inordinate attachments, and that my whole life   
   may be hidden with Jesus in God.  Strengthen my will, that I may be made   
   comfortable to Thy divine will, and be guided by Thy holy inspirations. Aid me   
   by Thy grace to practice the divine lessons of humility, poverty, obedience,   
   and   
   contempt of the world, which Jesus taught us in His mortal life.   
      
   Oh, rend the heavens, and come down, consoling Spirit!  That inspired and   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)