Friday, February 4, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Center photo: The saint's tomb in Leonessa; right photo, a painting by Tiepolo.
ST. GIUSEPPE DA LEONESSA ;Joseph of Leonissa] (Italy, 1556-1612)
Capuchin, Preacher and Missionary
Born Eufranio Desiderio in a small town near Assisi, he joined the Capuchins
at age 17 and spent the first decade of his priesthood preaching to the country
folk in Umbria and the Abruzzo. He lived a very ascetic life, referring to himself
as 'Brother Ass' - "not fit to be treated like a noble horse but content to be
a poor ass". He rose to become prior of his convent but in 1587, he volunteered
to go to Turkey to help tend Christians who had been taken galley slaves by
the Muslims. He was imprisoned because of his preaching and was released
through the intervention of the local Venetian agent. He was rearrested
when he tried to bring his preaching to the Sultan himself. He was condemned
to death and hung on hooks by his left arm and leg with a slow fire underneath.
Miraculously, he was released after three days, and he went back to Italy,
where he was assigned to Naples. and continued preaching to the poor and helping
to reconcile warring families. He asked to go back to Leonessa to die, and
his remains are kept in the Basilica of his native town. He was canonized in 1746.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/020411.shtml
OR today.
PWhy the editor chose the center photo to illustrate the Presentation Vespers is another idiocy: one-third of the space is empty floor and you can hardly make out the figure of the Pope!
Top news today is the continuing anti-Mubarak protest in Cairo, focusing on the bloody encounters Wednesday and Thursday between the demonstrators and pro-Mubarak groups; plus other popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. Papal stories: the Vespers on Wednesday on the Presentation in the Temple and the Day for Consecrated Life; and yesterday's audiences with the new ambassador from Austria and the Emmanuel Community. Other Page 1 news: China fights inflation, and the publishers of Wall Street Journal and the New York Post launch the world's first completely digital full-feature newspaper, The Daily, designed to be accessible even from an iPhone.
PAPAL EVENTS TODAY
The Holy Father met today with
- Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
- Mons. Felix Genn, Bishop of Münster (Germany)
- Mons. Lucas Van Looy, S.D.B., Bishop oF Ghent (Belgium)
- Participants in the Plenary Session of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Address in Italian.
And this afternoon with
- Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (weekly meeting)
Lenten spiritual exercises
for the Pope: March 13-19
Translated from
Lenten spiritual exercises this year for the Holy Father and the Roman Curia will take place at the Vatican's Redemptoris Mater chapel from Sunday, March 13, to Saturday, March 19.
The meditations will be guided by Fr. François-Marie Léthel, of the Discalced Carmelites, Prelate-Secretary of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, whose theme will be: "The light of Christ in the heart of the Church: John Paul II and the theology of the saints".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 04/02/2011 20:24]