From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Of the Good, Peaceable Man:  (2)   
      
      Direct your zeal, therefore, first upon yourself; then you may with   
   justice exercise it upon those about you. You are well versed in   
   coloring your own actions with excuses which you will not accept from   
   others, though it would be more just to accuse yourself and excuse   
   your brother. If you wish men to bear with you, you must bear with   
   them. Behold, how far you are from true charity and humility which   
   does not know how to be angry with anyone, or to be indignant save   
   only against self!   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 3   
      
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   May 8th - St. Magdalene of Canossa: A Woman with a Big Heart   
   (1774-1835)   
      
   Magdalene of Canossa, the Foundress of the Daughters of Charity   
   received from the Spirit the gift of penetrating deeply into the   
   riches of God’s love in its purest and most sublime expression: Jesus   
   Crucified.   
      
   The understanding of this “greatest love” formed within her the heart   
   of a mother and the ardour of an apostle.  St. Magdalene of Canossa   
   was a woman who believed in the love of the Lord Jesus.  Sent by the   
   Holy Spirit among those who are most in need, she served them with the   
   heart of a mother and the zeal of an apostle.  Known for her creative   
   response to the needs of her time, Magdalene initiated her apostolate   
   at the age of 35, after a long and painful search for God’s will which   
   began when she was 17.   
      
   She was born in Verona on March 1, 1774, of a noble and wealthy   
   family, the 2nd of six children. Through painful trials, like the   
   death of her mother for a 2nd marriage, sickness and misunderstanding,   
   the Lord guided her in mysterious ways which Magdalene tried hard to   
   understand.   
      
   At the age of 17 Magdalene felt herself called to the cloister. Twice   
   she tried out her vocation in the Carmel. But she felt very strongly   
   urged by the Spirit of God to dedicate her life to the service of the   
   poor and the needy. As this was not possible in the cloister, she   
   returned to her family. The tragic historical event at the close of   
   the 18th century and the painful family situation prevented her from   
   offering herself totally to God and neighbor. She continued to live in   
   Canossa Palace, to administer the large family patrimony and to take   
   care of her little nephew entrusted to her by her dying aunt.   
      
   From her luxurious palace Magdalene gazed on the misery of the poor   
   living in the slums of Verona, where the French Revolution, the   
   various foreign dominations and the local wars had left behind obvious   
   signs of devastation and human suffering. Amidst her heavy family   
   responsibilities and other charitable activities, Magdalene found the   
   time to intensify her prayer life through the daily contemplation of   
   the love of Jesus Crucified and of the Mother of Sorrows. The love of   
   God spurred her to open herself to the cry of the poor, hungry for   
   bread, for knowledge and for God.   
      
   Faced by so many needs around her, Magdalene felt inadequate. She   
   sought for help and found her first companions who accepted her   
   invitation to share a life a poverty and unconditional charity.   
      
   In 1808, after having overcome the last objections of her family, she   
   left Canossa Palace to start in Verona, what she deeply realized as   
   being God’s Will for her: to serve Christ in the poor. The motivating   
   force of charity, like an ever spreading fire, made Magdalene open her   
   heart to the urgent needs of other cities like Venice, Milan, Bergamo   
   and Trent, where in a few decades, she founded Houses and sent   
   Daughters who had grown in number.   
      
   Magdalene obtained the Pope’s approval of the Rules of the Institute   
   in 1828. Assisted by her Daughters, she died in Verona, as she had   
   foretold, on Passion Friday, April 10, 1835. On December 7, 1941 Pope   
   Pius XII proclaimed her Blessed. On October 2, 1988 Magdalene was   
   officially proclaimed a Saint by His Holiness Pope John Paul II.   
      
   “The spirit of the Daughters of Charity is to be detached from   
   everything and from everybody, to be available to serve the Lord in   
   every country.” Animated by her spirit, the Daughters of Charity in   
   1860, set sail for the Far East to announce to the non-believers that   
   the Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, loves all mankind. Today the   
   Institute of the Daughters of Charity is present in the six Continents   
   and 36 countries.   
      
   There are 2640  Sisters spread in all the continents around the world   
   in 36 countries where they minister for the spreading of the Kingdom   
   of God through the following basic apostolic options: education,   
   evangelization and pastoral activity, assistance to the sick and   
   suffering, formation of the laity and spiritual exercises.   
      
   Magdalene of Canossa is Mother not only to the Daughters but also to   
   the Sons of Charity. For about 100 years, the Sons of Charity managed,   
   in the midst of difficulties to keep alive the ideals of Magdalene,   
   through the survival of one small community. They handed down as their   
   precious heritage, a spirit of humble and generous service to the poor   
   and the youth. Today, the Sons of Charity are on the increase,   
   bringing with them the strength of their priesthood, the name and the   
   love of Christ to their brothers in Italy and overseas.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Let us be leaders; but not of the worldly type, who accomplish by   
   forcing, urging and driving to get things done; rather leaders who   
   lead as Christ did: "Come, follow me!"   
   -- Pope Saint Pius X   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   "The only thing you should owe to anyone is love for one another, for   
   to love the other person is to fulfill he law. All these: You shall   
   not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You   
   shall not covet, and all the other commandments that there are, are   
   summed up in this single phrase: You must love your neighbor as   
   yourself. Love can cause no harm to your neighbor, and so love is the   
   fulfillment of the Law."  [Romans 13:8-10 ]   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   A prayer before bed, of St. Alphonsus Ligouri:   
      
   Jesus Christ my God, I adore Thee and thank Thee for all the graces Thou   
   hast given me this day. I offer Thee my sleep and all the moments of this   
   night, and I beseech Thee to keep me without sin. Wherefore I put myself   
   within Thy sacred Side and under the mantle of our Lord, my Mother. Let   
   Thy holy Angels stand about me and keep me in peace; and let Thy blessing   
   be upon me.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)