[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: May 28, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and that your Church may rejoice, untroubled in her devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

ACTIVITIES

• ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
• Ave Maria Dear
• Beautiful, Glorious
• Mary Garden
• Salve Regina
• Stella Matutina

PRAYERS

• Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)
• May Devotion: Blessed Virgin Mary
• Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loretto)

Ordinary Time: May 28th

Monday of the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Augustine of Canterbury, archbishop and confessor; St. Bernard of Montjoux, priest (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury. He was sent by St. Gregory the Great to the Anglo-Saxons and is the great Apostle of England and the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He died in 604. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on May 27.

Historically today is the feast of St. Bernard of Montjoux, an Italian churchman, founder of the Alpine hospices of Saint Bernard. His life was spent working among the people of the Val d'Aosta. He is the patron of mountaineers.

---

St. Bernard of Montjoux
Bernard may have been the son of Count Richard of Menthon. It seems more likely though that he was of Italian birth. Nothing is really known of his parentage and early life.

Tradition reports that a marriage was being arranged for young Bernard and he fled so as to be free to give his life to God. We do know that he was ordained to the priesthood and that he was appointed Vicar General of the diocese of Aosta, Italy. For approximately forty-two years he traveled throughout the country, visiting the remotest Alpine villages. He would sometimes extend his missionary journeys into the neighboring dioceses of Geneva, Novara and Tarentaise. Bernard had the reputation for enforcing clerical discipline and he built several schools.

He is probably most famous for the hospices he built on the summits of passes over the Alps. Many pilgrims from France and Germany would travel over the Alps on their way to Rome, but it was always a possibility that one would die from freezing along the way. In the 9th century a system of hospices had been attempted, but had lapsed long before Bernard's time. Bernard's hospices in the 11th century were placed under the care of clerics and laymen and were well equipped for the reception of all travelers. Eventually these caretakers became Augustinian a monastery was built close by, still exists today

At some point in time Bernard traveled to Rome to receive formal recognition of the hospices and community and to obtain permission to accept novices. Bernard lived to the age of eighty-five and is believed to have died on May 28, 1081 at St. Lawrence Monastery in Novara, Italy.

A now-famous breed of dogs, known for its endurance in high altitude and cold, was named in honor of this saint. Bernard's life has been the focus of many romantic plays and stories. Many of us may remember childhood stories of St. Bernard dogs coming to the rescue of stranded or injured victims on Alpine slopes. The dogs almost always seem to have a cask of Brandy attached to their collars and when the victims were revived by a good drink the dogs would lead them to safety.

However romance was not what Bernard's life was about. He was strongly committed to the ideals taught by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Bernard dedicated his life to bring the message of Christ to all and to correct the abuses of clerical life which he saw. He was deeply concerned for the care of the poor and disadvantaged. Living his life in the Alps he knew the dangers present and did what he could to relieve them. He is a model, not of romance, but of deep love and compassion, in imitation of God whom he loved and served with all his heart.reprimanded.

— Excerpted from Christ in the Desert

Patron: Alpinists; mountain climbers; mountaineers; skiers; travelers in the mountains.

Symbols: Man in a mountain setting holding a bishop's crozier; white dog.

Things to Do:

• Read History of the Grand St Bernard pass for background.

• If you like dogs you might find this history of the Saint Bernard Dog interesting.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: 1 Peter 1:3-9

“… A new birth to a living hope.” (1 Peter 1:3)

“Yes,” your doctor says. “The test results confirm it. You are preg­nant.” The excitement you feel on hearing these words is indescribable. You’re having your first child!

As the months progress, you find yourself focusing less on yourself and more on the little person you are carrying. It’s all about the baby now. At fleeting moments you may think about the pain of childbirth or the nighttime feedings or the other ways your life will change. But these thoughts never last long. Why? Because you are looking for­ward in anticipation to the miracle of a new child. Someone new will come into your life—a completely new person created by God and conceived in love.

In today’s first reading, St. Peter speaks of another birth—a spiritual birth into Jesus’ own death and res­urrection. It’s a birth into a “living hope” and “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfad­ing” (1 Peter 1:3,4). It’s the birth of an eternal, heavenly life in our own mortal hearts, the birth of a new relationship with Almighty God, and the birth of a new identity for us: child of God and coheir with Christ.

So here’s a question: If the com­ing birth of a new child fills us with joy and eager expectation, why does the world often look at the spiritual life as a list of chores? It can be easy for anyone with a worldly philosophy to reduce this new life to a matter of obeying commandments, fit­ting in prayer times, and avoiding condemnation.

Don’t let that happen to you! God has called you to share in his glory. Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and human minds have not conceived all the wonders that your heavenly Father has in store for you. And these wonders are not meant just for heaven. Even today, your heart can be filled with love. Right now, you can lay your burdens at the feet of the Lord. All this week, you can move in confidence and peace, knowing that your Redeemer is with you always.

We have so much to rejoice in, because our God is faithful and lov­ing and true!

“Father, I praise you for your great mercy! Your salvation leaves me filled with awe!”

Psalm 111:1-2,5-6,9-10; Mark 10:17-27