From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   This is a Hard Saying:   
      
       We read in the gospel that when the Lord was teaching his   
   disciples and urged them to share in his passion by the ministry of   
   eating his body, some said: This is a hard saying; and from that time   
   they no longer followed him. When he asked the disciples whether they   
   also wish to go away, they replied: Lord, to whom shall we go? You   
   have the words of eternal life. I assure you my brothers that even to   
   this day it is clear to some that the words which Jesus speaks are   
   spirit and life, and for this reason they follow him. To others these   
   words seem hard, and so they look elsewhere for some pathetic   
   consolation. Yet wisdom cries out in the streets, in a broad  and   
   spacious way that leads to death, to call back those who take this   
   path.   
   -- St Bernard   
      
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   February 5th – Bl. Elizabeth Canori-Mora   
    (1774-1825)   
      
   Elizabeth Canori-Mora was born in Rome on November 21, 1774, from a   
   well-to-do family and was given a good Christian education. As a   
   teenager, she loved fine clothes and socializing as well as spending   
   time in prayer and making small sacrifices to help the poor. At 19,   
   she attracted the attention of a young lawyer, Christopher Mora, and   
   the two were married on January 10, 1798. She embraced marriage as her   
   God-given vocation and vowed to live it as a sacrament of salvation   
   for herself, her husband and whatever children God would give them.   
      
   Marriage, however, proved to be a cause of much suffering for   
   Elizabeth when, a few years later, she discovered that Christopher had   
   a mistress and was squandering the family resources on her. She   
   offered herself to God for the conversion of her husband, who also   
   became a compulsive gambler, a heavy drinker and a shady businessman.   
   Elizabeth’s inner pain was as deep as her conviction that the divine   
   law of wedded fidelity admitted no exceptions. As a good mother, she   
   totally dedicated herself to the Christian upbringing of her two   
   daughters, Marianna and Lucina, whom she urged to pray for their   
   father and guided in the choice of their vocations in life. The   
   irresponsible behavior of Christopher resulted in the financial ruin   
   of the family. Christopher abandoned and refused to support them for a   
   time.  To remedy the situation, Elizabeth undertook to work as a   
   seamstress.   
      
   Elizabeth, to pay creditors and to safeguard the good name of her   
   husband, was compelled to sell her jewelry and, even, her wedding   
   garments. She continued to care for her daughters and the daily chores   
   of the home with utmost care. She also dedicated much time to prayer,   
   to the service of the poor and assisting the sick. She dedicated   
   special care to families in need. She was ridiculed by Christopher for   
   her “pious” behavior, but continued to pray for him.   
      
   In the midst of her marital and financial difficulties Elizabeth found   
   inner peace and strength in prayer and a deep trust in God. Attracted   
   by the charitable spirit of the Trinitarian Order, she became a   
   Tertiary member in 1807, and found time to help the poor, to visit the   
   sick and to counsel married couples in crisis. She often reminded her   
   husband to straighten up his life. Once she said to him: “It may seem   
   unbelievable, but one day you will celebrate Mass for me!” “It is good   
   for me to have spent two hours in prayer!” she wrote. “God gave me so   
   much strength that I was ready to give my life rather than to offend   
   my Lord.”   
      
   Friends and even her confessor advised Elizabeth to separate, but   
   Elizabeth never lost heart. For the sake of Christ, Elizabeth   
   considered the salvation of her husband and of her daughters and used   
   this misfortune for spiritual profit. Elizabeth was convinced that   
   “nobody can be saved all alone, and God has entrusted to everyone the   
   responsibility of the salvation of others in order to carry out his   
   project of love”. This is the story of a woman betrayed, however,   
   Elizabeth understood what it meant to be a Christian. She knew that   
   God entrusted Christopher to her through the Sacrament of Marriage and   
   that she had the responsibility to carry this cross to salvation. She   
   could not leave it, because God had entrusted it.   
      
   At age 50, she developed dropsy. The condition incapacitated her.   
   Miraculously, it caused Christopher to return. During her final weeks,   
   he rarely left her. On her last night on earth, however, he was with   
   his mistress. Upon returning, he found her dead. Seeing her cold   
   corpse, he wept furiously for the sins he had committed.  Elizabeth   
   died on February 5, 1825. Christopher rushed to her death bed to utter   
   these words: “Today we have lost a great bride and mother.” Her fame   
   of holiness attracted many priests, religious, noble men and women,   
   and a large crowd of common people to her funeral. Being closely   
   associated with the Trinitarian Third Order, she was buried in the   
   crypt of the Trinitarian Church of San Carlino in Rome.   
      
   After a series of miraculous cures were ascribed to her intercession,   
   the Holy See reviewed her life and declared that she had lived all   
   Christian virtues to an heroic degree. Pope John Paul II proclaimed   
   her Blessed on April 24, 1994.   
      
   After her death, daughter Lucina joined the Sisters of St. Philip,   
   Marianna married, and Christopher began to be seen praying in   
   churches. Often he spoke remorsefully about the sufferings he had   
   inflicted on his saintly wife. He first became a Trinitarian Tertiary,   
   then he entered the Conventual Franciscans, professed the religious   
   vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, and after completing a course   
   of theological studies, was ordained a priest at the age of 61,   
   fulfilling Elizabeth’s prophecy.   
      
   He died eleven years later, at the age of 72.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   A pure soul is one freed from passions and constantly delighted by divine love.   
   --St. Maximos the Confessor   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: but he that   
   seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true, and there is no   
   injustice in him.  (John 7:18)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Divine Mercy   
      
   Eternal God,   
   in whom mercy is endless   
   and the treasury of compassion   
   - inexhaustible,   
   look kindly upon us   
   and increase Your mercy in us,   
   that in difficult moments   
   we might not despair   
   nor become despondent,   
   but with great confidence   
   submit ourselves to Your holy will,   
   which is Love and Mercy itself.   
      
   Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)