ALWAYS AND EVER OUR MOST BELOVED BENEDICTUS XVI
Monday, March 4, Third Week of Lent
ST. CASIMIR OF POLAND (b Cracow 1458, d Vilnius 1483), Confessor
Patron Saint of Poland and Lithuania, Patron of Young People
He was born in Cracow's Wawel Castle, to King Casimir III of the Jagiellon dynasty, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the
Holy Roman Emperor Albert II Hapsburg. From childhood, he chose to live a higly-disciplined severe life and vowed himself to
lifelong celibacy. When he was 15, the nobles of Hungary were dissatisfied with their king, they asked King Casimir to send his
son to be their king. The young Casimir went eagerly, but the army at his disposal was weak and in no position to withstand
a threatened Turkish invasion. He fled back to Poland, returned to his studies, and vowed never again to be involved in any war.
He served as regent of Poland in 1481-1482 when his father was away, and he was said to have ruled with prudence and justice.
In 1483, while on a visit to Lithuania, of which he was the Grand Duke, he succumbed to a lung disease. He was buried in
Vilnius. Several miracles were quickly ascribed to him, and he was canonized in 1522, and in 1948, Pope Pius XII declared him
a patron saint for young people.
Readings for today's Mass:
usccb.org/bible/readings/030412.cfm
AT THE VATICAN TODAY
The College of Cardinals held their first two geneeral congregations in preparation for the coming Conclave.
143 cardinals were present, including those over 80 who live in Rome. Fr. Lombardi said only 12 of the 115
cardinals eligible to vote and able to come to Rome have yet to arrive. The Archbishop of Jakarta cannot
come because he is too ill, and Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who was Archbishop of Edinburgh, has resigned
because of accusations of sexual improprieties which he admitted in a statement yesterday. He earlier
voluntarily announced he would not be attending the Conclave.
This time last year...
- Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Curia had ended their Lenten retreat the day before. and the Holy Father
made a pastoral visit to the parish of St. Giovanni Battista de la Salle in Rome. Later. at the Sunday Angelus,
he pointed out that as we contemplated Jesus in the desert, exposed to the temptations of Satan, on the first
Sunday of Lent, on this second Sunday, we see him on the mountain, transfigured by his heavenly Father -
both desert and mountain being places of prayer. The Transfiguration, he said, reminds us that Jesus is
our unfailing interior light who guides us even in the darkest night.
And two years ago today...
- Pre-release buzz on JESUS OF NAZARETH, Vol. II, dominated papal news, after the publication of excerpts in which the Pope reiterates Catholic teaching since the Council of Trent that 'the Jews' were not responsible for the execution of Jesus - something most Catholics themselves were not aware of, although it is also in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, it was treated as worldwide big news, and Israeli government leaders thanked the Pope for his statements.
- Shahbaz Bhatti, the Catholic Minister for Minorities of Pakistan, was assassinated on a street in Islamabad. There have been moves since then to propose him for beatification for having been killed 'in odium of the faith'.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 04/03/2013 15:03]