 23/07/2010 14:37 |
|
| | | OFFLINE | | Post: 20.653
Post: 3.291 | Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009 | Administratore | Utente Master | |
|
See preceding page for earlier entries posted 7/23/10.
Friday, July 23, 16th Week in Ordinary Time
ST. BIRGITTA (BRIDGET) OF SWEDEN (b Sweden 1303, d Rome 1373), Widow, Mystic, Franciscan Tertiary, Founder of the Bridgettines
Born to descendants of the Swedish royal family, Birgitta's father was one of the wealthiest landowners in the country. The girl started having visions of the Lord, particularly the Crucifixion, when she was 7. At age 13, she entered an arranged marriage to a local prince, with whom she had four sons and four daughters (the oldest, Catherine, would become a saint herself). She was a friend and counselor to many priests and theologians of her day, as well as adviser to King Magnus II. Her husband died in 1344 shortly after they came back from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. She joined the Franciscan lay order and lived as a penitent. In 1346, she founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior (Bridgettines) which was confirmed by Pope Urban V in 1370 and survives today with a few houses. In 1360, she left for Rome on pilgrimage and never returned to Sweden. She counseled Popes Clement Vi, Gregory XI and Urban VI, urging them all to return to Rome from Avignon. Meanwhile, she wrote down the revelations given to her in her continuing visions and her spiritual reflections; the books became hugely popular in the Middle Ages. She encouraged everyone to meditate on the Passion of Christ and on the Crucified Christ. She died in Rome after a pilgrimage to Holy Land which was marked by shipwreck and the death of a son. She was canonized in 1391, and in 1436, the Council of Basel confirmed the orthodoxy of her writings. In 1999, she was named by John Paul II as a co-patron of Europe, along with Benedict of Norcia, Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena, and Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein).
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/072310.shtml
No papal stories in today's OR. Page 1 news is on the stress test to which 91 European banks will be subjected to test their viability; Obama signs an ambitious reform of the US financial system - and surprisingly, the brief article points out its major shortcomings and loopholes; Baghdad hit with a terror attack on a Shiite mosque, killing at least 30 and wounding 50 more. In the inside pages, at least five articles on German theologian Erik Peterson on the 50th anniversary year of his death; he worked in Rome from 1930-1960 since he converted to Catholicism and is best known for a massive work Ekklesia on the Catholic Church and its ecclesiology.
No announcements from the Vatican so far.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 23/07/2010 16:53] |
| |
|
| |
|
|