Traudel
2008-07-05 20:12:11 UTC
The Lord Is Within
You, Lord, were within me, while I was outside. It was there that I sought
you. I rushed headlong upon these things of beauty that you had made.
You were with me, but I was not with you. They kept me far from you, those
fair things which,
if they were not in you, would not exist at all!
-Augustine - Confessions 10, 27
<<>><<>><<>>
July 6th - Bl. Maria Ledochowska
Blessed Ursula Ledochowska, foundress of the Ursuline Sisters of the
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, is God's gift to us-a woman open to the prodding
of the Holy Spirit, who fulfilled God's Will and served Him in His Plan of
Salvation, from her birth on April 17, 1865, until her saintly death in Rome
on May 29, 1939. Her strict family environment, consisted of aristocratic
parents, who lived out their marital commitment, as a covenant of love, and
expected their five children to practice self-discipline and to have an
intimate relationship with God. From childhood, Blessed Ursula possessed a
magnetic personality, and was loved by all. Her mother nicknamed her, "my
ray of sunshine" and her siblings share how she put this into a life's plan
of action-Francis, her younger sister remembers "for the youngest children
she was like a second mother; she helped us with our lessons, surprised us,
thought of new games to play, read the Passion of Jesus during Lent, prayed
the Litany of the Saints, on All Saints Day." Her brother Wlodzimierz
recalls, "she was sensitive and especially loved the poor and sick. She
visited their homes, brought them medicine, and evoked laughter, creating an
atmosphere of peace and joy."
Her dynamic apostolic spirit, coupled with deep faith and courage, revealed
a tremendous love of God and neighbor in the Mystical Body of Christ; once
it was suggested that the person who had come to visit her, wait, but
Blessed Ursula replied, "You must never ask Jesus to wait." How should one
love his/her neighbor? Blessed Ursula showed us that we should create an
atmosphere where a person feels good, protected, and at home! One of her
former students Maria Tucholczyna writes, "every word spoken by Mother
Ursula was saturated with a deep love of God and inspired one to take
immediate action. She simply explained to us that through our daily
responsibilities, we can draw closer to God, become saints and attain
heaven. Her great trust in Divine Providence was truly childlike. She saw
God's guiding hand in everything that occurred." The Sisters, too, felt that
she loved them maternally, not only as a group in community, but also
individually; she remembered their problems and worries "carrying them in
her heart." In her Spiritual Testament, she requests, "be good my children,
that is, kind to everyone. Always meet others with a smile of love and a
kind word on your lips. Rejoice if you can be of service to others, even if
this creates work and discomfort for you. Always live in harmony with
everyone. Harbor no grudges. Regard your neighbor as better than
yourself.live as Jesus did for the happiness of others, and become energized
by the words "whatsoever you do the least of my brothers you do unto Me."
Blessed Ursula's vision of love embraced not only Poles, but Danes, Swedes
and Finns. She noticed that the Finnish Protestant community of believers
were neglected spiritually, and states, "what a poor nation, one can apply
the scripture passage from Mt 9:36 to their situation, 'at the sight of the
crowds, His heart was moved with pity for them, because they were troubled
and abandoned like sheep without a Shepherd.'" Bl. Ursula became the
shepherd! She translated and made available a Finnish Catechism; published a
prayerbook and hymnal and opened the convent chapel for ecumenical services
as well as bible study groups.
Even though Blessed Ursula was born in Loosdorf, Austria and her mother was
Austrian, she still possessed a patriotic love for Poland. A diplomat once
asked her about her political stance and she replied, "my political view is
love of God and country." She played a crucial role in the political arena
and delivered 50 powerful speeches to Kings, ambassadors, and politicians
about Poland's basic right to exist as an independent country; and revealed
the plight and injustice suffered by the enslaved Polish nation, erased from
the map of Europe. As a result the conscience of these foreign diplomats was
moved to reach out and come to Poland's aid both morally and politically.
Bl. Ursula taught her Sisters and all who came in contact with her "that it
is not enough to pray, Thy kingdom come, but to work, so that the Kingdom of
God will exist among us today." She sent her Sisters to both the spiritually
and materially impoverished, as teachers, catechists, social workers,
missionaries, and even factory workers in France! She was throroughly
convinced that the Kingdom of God had to be built and nurtured in the family
along with the "civilization of love". She stated at one of her conferences,
"The responsibility of the mother and teacher is to give God to her child.
If you give God, then you have given everything; if you don't give God, you
have given nothing!" She felt that a child's personal relationship with
Jesus in the Eucharist is essential. Consequently, with great fervor, she
founded and promoted the Eucharistic League and Marian Sodality in Poland.
Via these organizations, she wanted the children and youth to become
involved in the life of the Church and serve society. Because of her
inclusive approach the laity was not overlooked! She invited young women to
give one or two years of their life to serve the poorest of the poor in
Eastern Poland.
"Holiness," she repeated, "does not demand anything great, beyond the
ability of the person. It depends on God's Love; every daily act can be
transformed into an act of love." Bl. Ursula's love for the Agonizing Heart
of Jesus was reciprocated by her entire life and can be summarized in her
own words, "I am to love my neighbor as Jesus loved me. Take and utilize my
time, efforts, skills and talents, because they are at your disposition.
Take my heart, so that it may enlighten your life. I am yours, just as
Christ is mine."
On June 20, 1983, Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Ursula in Poznan,
Poland. Her incorruptible body was transferred from the Generalate in Rome,
and brought to rest in the Motherhouse in Pniewy, Poland on May 29, 1989.
We invite you to please pray with us for the canonization of our beloved
Mother Foundress and intercede for her with your personal petitions.
This Version Taken From:
http://www.catholicyouth.freeservers.com/saints/bl_ursula.htm
Saint Quote
Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Here is the true token of a soul
absolutely perfect: when one has succeeded in leaving behind his own will to
such a degree as no longer to seek, to aim, or to desire to do what he would
will, but only what God wills.
-St. Bernard
Bible Quote
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be
compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. For he beheld
himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.
(James 1:22-24)
<><><><>
Prayer For the Baptism 0f Aborted Babies
(Jesus said: "Today the blood of innocent children has filled Heaven. Their
number is too great, too great; the wrath of the Eternal Father is about to
fall on mankind-Their blood disturbs My Agonizing Heart and increases My
agony-Through this prayer, large numbers of innocent unborn babies will be
saved; pray it daily and make it known to the world. Anyone who teaches it
will not be lost. Innocent souls in Heaven will not let them become lost. I,
with My Love and Mercy, will protect them from falling into mortal sin.")
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Your love is eternal. In Your ocean of love, You saved the
world through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Now look at Your only
Son on the Cross Who is constantly bleeding for love of His people, and
forgive Your world. Purify and baptize aborted children with the Precious
Blood and Water from the Sacred Side of Your Son, Who hung dead on the Cross
for their salvation, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. May they, through the Holy Death of Jesus Christ gain
everlasting life, through His Wounds be healed, and through His Precious
Blood be freed. There to rejoice with the Saints in Heaven. Amen.
You, Lord, were within me, while I was outside. It was there that I sought
you. I rushed headlong upon these things of beauty that you had made.
You were with me, but I was not with you. They kept me far from you, those
fair things which,
if they were not in you, would not exist at all!
-Augustine - Confessions 10, 27
<<>><<>><<>>
July 6th - Bl. Maria Ledochowska
Blessed Ursula Ledochowska, foundress of the Ursuline Sisters of the
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, is God's gift to us-a woman open to the prodding
of the Holy Spirit, who fulfilled God's Will and served Him in His Plan of
Salvation, from her birth on April 17, 1865, until her saintly death in Rome
on May 29, 1939. Her strict family environment, consisted of aristocratic
parents, who lived out their marital commitment, as a covenant of love, and
expected their five children to practice self-discipline and to have an
intimate relationship with God. From childhood, Blessed Ursula possessed a
magnetic personality, and was loved by all. Her mother nicknamed her, "my
ray of sunshine" and her siblings share how she put this into a life's plan
of action-Francis, her younger sister remembers "for the youngest children
she was like a second mother; she helped us with our lessons, surprised us,
thought of new games to play, read the Passion of Jesus during Lent, prayed
the Litany of the Saints, on All Saints Day." Her brother Wlodzimierz
recalls, "she was sensitive and especially loved the poor and sick. She
visited their homes, brought them medicine, and evoked laughter, creating an
atmosphere of peace and joy."
Her dynamic apostolic spirit, coupled with deep faith and courage, revealed
a tremendous love of God and neighbor in the Mystical Body of Christ; once
it was suggested that the person who had come to visit her, wait, but
Blessed Ursula replied, "You must never ask Jesus to wait." How should one
love his/her neighbor? Blessed Ursula showed us that we should create an
atmosphere where a person feels good, protected, and at home! One of her
former students Maria Tucholczyna writes, "every word spoken by Mother
Ursula was saturated with a deep love of God and inspired one to take
immediate action. She simply explained to us that through our daily
responsibilities, we can draw closer to God, become saints and attain
heaven. Her great trust in Divine Providence was truly childlike. She saw
God's guiding hand in everything that occurred." The Sisters, too, felt that
she loved them maternally, not only as a group in community, but also
individually; she remembered their problems and worries "carrying them in
her heart." In her Spiritual Testament, she requests, "be good my children,
that is, kind to everyone. Always meet others with a smile of love and a
kind word on your lips. Rejoice if you can be of service to others, even if
this creates work and discomfort for you. Always live in harmony with
everyone. Harbor no grudges. Regard your neighbor as better than
yourself.live as Jesus did for the happiness of others, and become energized
by the words "whatsoever you do the least of my brothers you do unto Me."
Blessed Ursula's vision of love embraced not only Poles, but Danes, Swedes
and Finns. She noticed that the Finnish Protestant community of believers
were neglected spiritually, and states, "what a poor nation, one can apply
the scripture passage from Mt 9:36 to their situation, 'at the sight of the
crowds, His heart was moved with pity for them, because they were troubled
and abandoned like sheep without a Shepherd.'" Bl. Ursula became the
shepherd! She translated and made available a Finnish Catechism; published a
prayerbook and hymnal and opened the convent chapel for ecumenical services
as well as bible study groups.
Even though Blessed Ursula was born in Loosdorf, Austria and her mother was
Austrian, she still possessed a patriotic love for Poland. A diplomat once
asked her about her political stance and she replied, "my political view is
love of God and country." She played a crucial role in the political arena
and delivered 50 powerful speeches to Kings, ambassadors, and politicians
about Poland's basic right to exist as an independent country; and revealed
the plight and injustice suffered by the enslaved Polish nation, erased from
the map of Europe. As a result the conscience of these foreign diplomats was
moved to reach out and come to Poland's aid both morally and politically.
Bl. Ursula taught her Sisters and all who came in contact with her "that it
is not enough to pray, Thy kingdom come, but to work, so that the Kingdom of
God will exist among us today." She sent her Sisters to both the spiritually
and materially impoverished, as teachers, catechists, social workers,
missionaries, and even factory workers in France! She was throroughly
convinced that the Kingdom of God had to be built and nurtured in the family
along with the "civilization of love". She stated at one of her conferences,
"The responsibility of the mother and teacher is to give God to her child.
If you give God, then you have given everything; if you don't give God, you
have given nothing!" She felt that a child's personal relationship with
Jesus in the Eucharist is essential. Consequently, with great fervor, she
founded and promoted the Eucharistic League and Marian Sodality in Poland.
Via these organizations, she wanted the children and youth to become
involved in the life of the Church and serve society. Because of her
inclusive approach the laity was not overlooked! She invited young women to
give one or two years of their life to serve the poorest of the poor in
Eastern Poland.
"Holiness," she repeated, "does not demand anything great, beyond the
ability of the person. It depends on God's Love; every daily act can be
transformed into an act of love." Bl. Ursula's love for the Agonizing Heart
of Jesus was reciprocated by her entire life and can be summarized in her
own words, "I am to love my neighbor as Jesus loved me. Take and utilize my
time, efforts, skills and talents, because they are at your disposition.
Take my heart, so that it may enlighten your life. I am yours, just as
Christ is mine."
On June 20, 1983, Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Ursula in Poznan,
Poland. Her incorruptible body was transferred from the Generalate in Rome,
and brought to rest in the Motherhouse in Pniewy, Poland on May 29, 1989.
We invite you to please pray with us for the canonization of our beloved
Mother Foundress and intercede for her with your personal petitions.
This Version Taken From:
http://www.catholicyouth.freeservers.com/saints/bl_ursula.htm
Saint Quote
Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Here is the true token of a soul
absolutely perfect: when one has succeeded in leaving behind his own will to
such a degree as no longer to seek, to aim, or to desire to do what he would
will, but only what God wills.
-St. Bernard
Bible Quote
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be
compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. For he beheld
himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.
(James 1:22-24)
<><><><>
Prayer For the Baptism 0f Aborted Babies
(Jesus said: "Today the blood of innocent children has filled Heaven. Their
number is too great, too great; the wrath of the Eternal Father is about to
fall on mankind-Their blood disturbs My Agonizing Heart and increases My
agony-Through this prayer, large numbers of innocent unborn babies will be
saved; pray it daily and make it known to the world. Anyone who teaches it
will not be lost. Innocent souls in Heaven will not let them become lost. I,
with My Love and Mercy, will protect them from falling into mortal sin.")
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Your love is eternal. In Your ocean of love, You saved the
world through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Now look at Your only
Son on the Cross Who is constantly bleeding for love of His people, and
forgive Your world. Purify and baptize aborted children with the Precious
Blood and Water from the Sacred Side of Your Son, Who hung dead on the Cross
for their salvation, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. May they, through the Holy Death of Jesus Christ gain
everlasting life, through His Wounds be healed, and through His Precious
Blood be freed. There to rejoice with the Saints in Heaven. Amen.