From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   April 12th - St. Alferius OSB (AC)   
   (also known as Alfere, Adalfere, Alpherius, Adalfericus)   
      
   Born in Salerno, Italy, in 930; died 1050; cultus confirmed in 1893. Saint   
   Alferius, born into the Norman Pappacarbone family, was ambassador from the   
   court of Gisulf, duke of Salerno, to France when he fell ill at the abbey of   
   Chiusa, Italy. Upon his recovery, he professed himself at Cluny under Saint   
   Odilo. The duke of Salerno asked him to return home to reform the   
   monasteries of   
   his principality, and Alferius obeyed but the task was beyond his   
   capabilities.   
      
   The saint settled at the picturesque Mount Fenestra near Salerno and there   
   founded the monastery of the Holy Trinity of La Cava under the Cluniac Rule.   
   Soon the abbey had hundreds of affiliated houses and became a potent   
   civilizing   
   influence in southern Italy and Sicily. Alferius governed the abbey until he   
   was   
   age 120. He died on Holy Thursday, alone in his cell after he had celebrated   
   the   
   Mass and washed the feet of his brothers, including the future Pope Victor   
   III.   
   The cults of eleven other abbots of La Cava were confirmed in 1893 and 1928   
   (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Walsh).   
      
      
   Another Version:   
   April 12th - St. Alferius, Ecclesiastic   
      
    (b. AD 930, at Salerno;  d. Holy Thursday, 1050):   
      
   . Born into the noble Pappacarbone family, he entered into the service of   
   Duke   
   Gisulf I of Salerno. In c1006, he was dispatched to France as the duke's   
   emissary to Emperor Otto III. While enroute, however, he became seriously   
   ill   
   and sought refuge at the abbey of S. Michel de Cluse at Chiusa, in the   
   Tyrol.   
   Upon his recovery, he resumed his mission but resolved that, upon its   
   completion   
   to renounce his secular life and devote himself to religion. Once freed from   
   his   
   duty Alferius went to Cluny where he received religious training from Saint   
   Odilio. He was later recalled to Salerno by Gisulf so that he could   
   reorganize   
   and oversee the duchy's monasteries. Despite his best efforts, however, the   
   corruption he found was too much for him to eradicate. Seeking solitude, he   
   left   
   Salerno and, in 1011, and became a hermit on nearby Mount Fenestra. It was   
   there   
   that he his religious reputation brought him a multitude of disciples. In   
   1025,   
   he chose twelve of his followers and founded the Benedictine abbey of the   
   Holy   
   Trinity of La Cava. This abbey would eventually grow to become one of the   
   most   
   important religious forces in southern Italy and Sicily. Alferius remained   
   abbot   
   at La Cava until his death at the reputed age of 120.   
      
   Alferius's cult was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 93. Feast Day: Apr.12.   
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "We have never so much cause for consolation, as when we find ourselves   
   oppressed by sufferings and trials; for these make us like Christ our Lord,   
   and   
   this resemblance is the true mark of our predestination"   
   --St. Vincent de Paul   
      
   No one has understood this great truth so well as St. Andrew the Apostle. At   
   first sight of the cross on which he was to be crucified, he was filled with   
   joy, and broke forth into this exclamation: "O cross so much desired, so   
   much   
   loved, and so much sought by me! behold how I come to thee full of security   
   and   
   joy! Do thou separate me from men, and restore me to my Master, so that by   
   thy   
   means He may receive me, who by thy means redeemed me."   
      
   (Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints".  April - Patience)   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   And he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here,   
   and   
   watch. (Mark 11:34)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS   
   FROM THE PURGATORIAN MANUAL   
    (Imprimatur 1946)   
      
   Twenty-Seventh Day   
      
   THE LORD REWARDS CHARITY TOWARDS THE HOLY SOULS   
      
   "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (Matt. v. 7.)   
   Theologians assert that those who bestow mercy upon the suffering souls,   
   shall   
   themselves find great relief and ,assistance in Purgatory; they consider   
   active   
   charity towards the holy souls a mark of predestination to eternal   
   happiness. It   
   is true, says St. Thomas Aquinas, that he who satisfies for the suffering   
   souls   
   does not satisfy for himself, but, it is also true, adds the saint, that he   
   deserves more than the remission of pain, namely, eternal life. Hence it is   
   that   
   God Himself, by the mouth of the Royal Prophet, expresses Himself; "Blessed   
   is   
   he that under standeth concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will   
   deliver   
   him in the evil day." (Ps, xl. I.)   
      
        The assistance of the holy souls is also experienced in temporal wants,   
   in   
   favor of their benefactors. Bishop Colmar of Mayence writes: "These   
   destitute,   
   suffering souls do not wait until they enter Heaven to exhibit their   
   gratitude   
   towards their benefactors: whilst they still languish in Purgatory, they   
   pray   
   without intermission for the welfare of soul and body, obtain for them   
   recovery   
   from disease, assistance in poverty, help in necessities, counsel and   
   protection   
   on journeys and in danger, preservation and increase of their temporal   
   goods,   
   aid them in the salvation of their souls, and, above all, come to their   
   relief   
   in the agonies of death and before the judgment-seat of God."   
      
   Prayer: We beseech Thee, O Lord! graciously hear the humble and fervent   
   prayers   
   we offer for the souls in Purgatory, and grant that the charity we extend   
   towards our suffering brothers and sisters, may, by their supplications,   
   obtain   
   for us protection and help. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.   
      
   Special Intercession: Pray for the souls who are suffering in Purgatory for   
   their want of gratitude.   
      
   Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon   
   them;   
   may they rest in peace. Amen.        (Three times)   
      
   Practice: In spiritual and temporal wants, take refuge in the holy souls.   
      
   Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!   
      
   See entire 31day prayer at:   
   http://www.faithfuldeparted.net/prayers.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)