From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   God gives power and strength to those who rely on him alone   
      
   Why does Jesus tell the apostles to travel light with little or no   
   provision? Poverty of spirit frees us from greed and preoccupation   
   with possessions and makes ample room for God's provision. The Lord   
   wants his disciples to be dependent on him and not on themselves. He   
   wills to work in and through each of us for his glory. Are you ready   
   to handle the power and authority which God wishes you to exercise on   
   his behalf? The Lord entrusts us with his gifts and talents. Are you   
   eager to place yourself at his service, to do whatever he bids you,   
   and to witness his truth and saving power to whomever he sends you   
   Luke 9:1-6?   
      
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   October 30th - Blessed Angelo of Acri   
      
   Angelo, who would be the great apostle of South Italy, was born in   
   1669 in Acri, Calabria. He was the son of a manual worker. He entered   
   the Capuchins and was a missionary for 40 years until his death in   
   1739.   
      
   His sermons attracted thousands and the number of conversions he   
   worked was impressive. He received a special grace to combat the evil   
   of the errors of the philosophy of that century. His first sermon was   
   supposed to be preached in Lent, and Angelo spent much time studying   
   and preparing for it, planning its delivery in the florid oratorical   
   style fashionable at the time. When he mounted the pulpit to give it,   
   he forgot the text completely. It was a complete failure.   
      
   He returned to his home monastery and prayed to God to help him know   
   what was expected of him. Then he heard a voice that told him: “I am   
   He Who is. Do not be afraid. I will give you the gift of words, and   
   your works will not be futile. From now on, preach in a simple and   
   colloquial style so that all can understand you.” Angelo burned the   
   sermons he had prepared, and made new ones following this directive.   
      
   His life was filled with fruitful works and miracles. He used to cross   
   rivers and creeks without getting his feet wet; other times he would   
   travel long distances in a miraculously short time to hear confessions   
   of sick persons or to preach in far away villages. He became blind six   
   months before his death, but would recover his sight to celebrate Mass   
   and pray the Divine Office.   
      
   On October 30, 1739, at age 70, he delivered his soul to the Creator,   
   Whom he had served tirelessly.   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   The life of Blessed Angelo of Acri offers us the profile of the   
   Capuchin missionary that became famous, because that Order gave the   
   Church many preachers like him. The Capuchin Order was one of the more   
   avant-garde and efficient armies of the Counter-Revolution in the   
   Church during the 18th century....   
      
   [Y]ou heard that Blessed Angelo, who was himself a man of the people,   
   tried to make a grand, complicated sermon. But Divine Providence gave   
   him a lesson. His well prepared sermon was a complete failure. After   
   he prayed, God told him what he should do. God did not want elaborate,   
   flowery sermons, but simple sermons saying exactly what should be   
   said. He told Blessed Angelo to address the people and say things that   
   they could follow, that is to say, based more on piety than on complex   
   reasoning. God made the apostolate of Blessed Angelo fruitful and many   
   conversions were worked through him. These conversions most probably   
   came more from the example of his sanctity than from his arguments.   
      
   God also gave him the gift of miracles, and he worked extraordinary   
   ones. The world considers it a great miracle – and rightfully so –   
   that the Jews crossed the Red Sea without wetting their feet. Here you   
   see that Blessed Angelo crossed rivers, torrents, and creeks many   
   times without getting wet. You can imagine the impression this made on   
   the little people in the villages and towns. They did not understand   
   his apologetic arguments very well, but seeing him cross the river   
   without getting wet, they would applaud and cry out in admiration:   
   “God is among us!” Then, numerous conversions would take place.   
      
   Other times he would travel enormous distances on difficult roads in a   
   short period of time. That is, he was transported in some miraculous   
   way, probably by the action of Angels. The little people knew that no   
   man on foot or horseback could make that trip in such a time. Again,   
   they were strongly impressed and the word of his sanctity spread. His   
   prestige grew and conversions followed.   
      
   You can imagine the man wearing his simple Capuchin habit,   
   representing his lack of any earthly pretension; on his belt around   
   the waist was the rosary with a small skull to indicate that the   
   Capuchin must always have death before his eyes; on his feet the   
   simple worn sandals. His life followed the severe Capuchin rule that   
   requires fasting and mortifications. He had a long beard and tonsure,   
   both considered ridiculous by the sophisticated men of the 18th   
   century.   
      
   This unpretentious friar enters a town to preach a mission. The people   
   gather in a small church on top of a mountain in a village of Calabria   
   or Sicily. The Mass is being said; there is beautiful singing. Then,   
   at the Gospel, Friar Angelo goes to the pulpit. Before reaching the   
   top of the stairs, he kneels and prays to God to illuminate him. Then   
   he stands up without any airs and starts to speak.   
      
   His words, the selection says, had the strong, virile language that   
   characterized the Capuchins, that is, they did not preach about the   
   good, but attacked the evil: the evil that was infiltrating the   
   customs of the little people. At times, they would stop in the middle   
   of a sermon and say: “You there, my lady, you should not wear that   
   kind of dress showing so much of your neck. Don’t you realize that   
   this is an offense to God?” Or, by a special grace of God, they would   
   read the thoughts of a person in the audience and say: “You, Mr. X,   
   you are thinking this and this, but you are wrong, because it is   
   against the will of God. You cannot hide anything from God, Who is   
   showing me your thoughts even now.”   
      
   After having attacked the defects of the listeners, then a second part   
   of the sermon would follow where they would describe the mercy of God,   
   how He is good and has compassion for us. “Do not despair but confide   
   in Him through the intercession of Our Lady.” This was the great   
   tradition of the Capuchin sermons.   
      
   You can imagine the impact of this kind of sermon over the vivacious   
   southern Italian people: Great contrition, tears, confessions,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)