From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   May 1st - St. Peregrine Laziosi   
      
   St. Peregrine was born in 1260 and grew up in Forli, in Romagna. His family   
   was moderately wealthy, and as a young man Peregrine was involved in   
   politics. The city of Forli tended to belong to the anti-papal party in   
   Italian politics. At one point, during a period of civil unrest, the pope   
   sent St. Philip Benizi to act as a mediator. During a riot Peregrine struck   
   Benizi in the face, to which Benizi responded by turning the other cheek.   
   This had an immense impact on Peregrine, who from that point on repented and   
   began to reform his life. He spent a great deal of time in prayer, and   
   developed a special devotion to Mary. A vision from our Lady inspired   
   Peregrine to travel to Siena and join the Servite order, the same order   
   which Philip Benizi himself belonged to.   
      
   Saint Peregrine spent some years in Siena, where he was renowned as one   
   tireless in the pursuit of virtue. During this time he became a priest, and   
   was equally fervent in celebrating the liturgy, preaching, and ministering   
   to the people. At the behest of his superiors he returned to Forli to found   
   a new house for the order. It was while he was working on this project that   
   St. Peregrine contracted a cancer of the foot, which caused him both   
   excruciating pain as well as rejection by others due to its unpleasant   
   appearance. He bore these burdens for some time, as the cancer resisted all   
   treatments. At last the physicians decided that the only thing to do was to   
   amputate the foot. St. Peregrine spent the night before the operation in   
   prayer, entrusting his fate to God. Toward morning he fell into a light   
   sleep, and awoke completely cured; the doctors could find no remaining trace   
   of the cancer. Peregrine went on to live to 80, dying in 1345.   
      
    (Based on information in Butler's Lives of the Saints)   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and   
   protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary,   
   Joseph's wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at   
   last God called him, saying 'Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy   
   of your Lord.'   
   --Saint Bernardine of Siena   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   If seven times in the day your brother sins against you, and seven times in   
   the day turns back to you, saying, "I repent," forgive him.  (Luke 17:4)   
      
      
   Also Today   
   May 1st - St. Joseph the Worker   
      
   On May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII granted a public audience to the Catholic   
   Association of Italian Workers, whose members had gathered in Saint Peter's   
   Square to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their society. They were   
   solemnly renewing, in common, their promise of loyalty to the social   
   doctrine of the Church, and it was on that day that the Pope instituted the   
   liturgical feast of May 1st, in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker. He assured   
   his audience and the working people of the world: "You have beside you a   
   shepherd, a defender and a father" in Saint Joseph, the carpenter whom God   
   in His providence chose to be the virginal father of Jesus and the head of   
   the Holy Family. He is silent but has excellent hearing, and his   
   intercession is very powerful over the Heart of the Saviour.   
      
   We can conclude from the role for which Saint Joseph was chosen and named by   
   Heaven that he was a man of tried virtue and consummate holiness. No other   
   mortal man would ever hold a higher office. Saint Joseph surpassed all the   
   Saints of the Old Law in sanctity; in him the virtue of his ancestors   
   reached its culmination and perfection. Like Abraham, he was a man of faith   
   and obedience; like Isaac, one of prayer and vision; like Jacob, he was   
   patient and self-sacrificing; like Joseph of Egypt, his chastity was   
   inviolable. And like David, of whom he is the direct descendant, he is a   
   royal intercessor according to the heart of God. Ite ad Joseph - Go to   
   Joseph; to Joseph of Egypt, the pharaoh told the needy to go for assistance   
   to receive the grain that would save their lives. To the new Joseph, the   
   just man to whom the Son of God Himself was subject as to a father, all   
   Christians can go with confidence, and he will see to their spiritual and   
   temporal needs with paternal goodness.   
      
   Source: Heavenly Friends: a Saint for each Day, by Rosalie Marie Levy,   
   (Saint Paul Editions: Boston, 1958).   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   A Prayer to St. Peregrine for Sick Relatives and Friends   
      
   O great St. Peregrine, you have been called   
   "The Mighty", the "The Wonder Worker"   
   because of the numerous miracles   
   which you obtained from God for those   
   who have turned to you in their need.   
   For so many years you bore in your own flesh   
   this cancerous disease that destroys the   
   very fiber of our being.   
   You turned to God when the power   
   of human beings could do no more,   
   and you were favored with the vision of   
   Jesus coming down from His cross   
   to heal your affliction.   
   I now ask God to heal these sick persons   
   whom I entrust to you:   
   (Here mention their names)   
   Aided by your powerful intercession,   
   I shall sing with Mary a hymn of gratitude   
   to God for His great goodness and mercy.   
   Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)