Do It Afraid and Saying Yes ~ Rev. Br. Joshua Hatten, OPr

Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,  27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.   28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.   32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.   33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”   34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”   35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.   36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.   37For nothing will be impossible with God.”  38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

As we read in Luke 1:38, Mary says “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  WOW!  Now that has to be the most courageous act of faith I’ve ever read!  I pray for the strength to act like Our Savior’s Mother, the strength to relinquish the wants of MY WILL and honestly and earnestly pray for “THY WILL BE DONE” – less and less of me, more and more of Our Father’s Will.  To always do what is right and good and just and holy in His sight.  But is it that easy?

Here, the Blessed Virgin is truly our example of unwavering faith which she shows by pressing through any fears, worries or anxieties she may have had.  By giving her ‘YES’ to Our Father, by submitting to “let it be with me according to your word” – she shows us that no matter what we may be faced with or feeling,  it is possible to have total faith in God to get us through even the most inexplicable situations.  Just think of some of the trials awaiting Mary simply for submitting to God’s Will.  It could cost her life, being pregnant and unmarried was punishable by death from stoning!  She could have lost her fiancé, Joseph.  She had no idea how he would react to this news!  Can you imagine the looks from her own friends and family she might have received – not to mention the others in her town, from her synagogue, at the market?  I have to believe that at some point these concerns and countless others had to have crossed the Blessed Mother’s mind.  Still, she obeyed. She submitted.  Even if she was terrified, she chose to carry the Son of God, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In Mary lies a profound secret of great faith that none of us should miss.  DO IT AFRAID.

It is very easy for someone outside of our situations, various as they are, to tell us, when we are faced with real fears, worries and anxieties, to ‘give it to God’ or to ‘cast our cares on the Lord – and leave them there’ or to ‘fear not.’  But for the one actively facing those frightful feelings it often does not seem so simple.  It is in these trials, that I meet Mary.  Though the scriptures don’t tell us WHAT the Virgin Mother was feeling when she submitted to God and showed amazing faith, we can well imagine that she must have panicked at some point, or several points!  But she said yes anyway.  She did it afraid.  Often times, we must do the same thing.  We must endure our trial, shaking in our boots, but pressing inward and onward.  Moving through our various situations scared, but faithfully, still pushing ahead.

May we be so bold in our faith in Our Lord, that our souls will also proclaim the greatness of Our God.  When we accept God's word and when we obey his commands, we will realize great joy and an overwhelming peace becomes available to us – even if what we are faced with seems like it is just too much for us to handle.  Our faith allows us to see that we are not alone, that we can get through all of the curve balls lugged at us, even if we’re terrified.  It is written that God will never leave us nor forsake us, that He is with us always.  Not occasionally, not ‘just through the easy and lovely and happy times.’  Always.  And when we flex our muscles of faith, we’re giving our own fiat, our own ‘YES!’, which allows God to expand in us and use us - and give us the joy, peace, hope and love we need for ourselves and that we need to be a light to the world – to everyone we encounter.

The hope of the world rested on Mary’s ‘YES’ – and she obeyed and Jesus was born.  In a similar way as Christians, the hope of our world rests today on us – will we be like her – will we give our ‘YES’ to God’s will in our lives, no matter how afraid we may be?  Will we give birth to God in our thoughts, words and deeds?  Will we obey the Lord and walk in His ways, no matter how frightening the circumstances are or could become?  Or shall we choose our will to be done because it is easier and requires no courageous faith?  The angel Gabriel tells us in verse 37 “For nothing is impossible with God.”  So when we do not answer with a resounding ‘YES’ to allow God’s birth in our lives, we limit what we can ever have or ever do or ever become.  We must meet the Lords knock on the doors of our hearts with a resounding invitation in – then the Holy Spirit can begin the produce the fruit of Christ-like living in our lives – to the point that  the love, joy, peace, patience and prosperity flow out of us an onto each person that crosses our paths.  But we must un-wrap these gifts of the Spirit so we may, first, use them in our lives and then pass them on and share them with our brothers and sisters.  They cannot flow from us if they are not in us.  And it all starts with our yes to God.

 

 

Blessed Sebastian Maggi, C.O.P.

16 December  Sebastian Maggi lived in a colorful and troubled age, the time of Savonarola; he was, in fact, a friend of the friar of Ferrara and always staunchly defended him.

Sebastian entered the Dominican Order as Brescia as soon as he was old enough. His early years were remarkable only for his devotion to the rule, for the purity of his life, and the zeal with which he enforced religious observance. He was superior of several houses of the order, and finally was made vicar of the reformed congregation of Lombardy, which made him the superior of Jerome Savonarola, the dynamic reformer around whom such a tragic storm was brewing.

Perhaps, if Sebastian Maggi had lived, he might have saved Savonarola from the political entanglements that sent him to his death. Sebastian was his confessor for a long time, and always testified in his favor when anyone attacked the reformer’s personal life. It is hard to say just where he stood politically in the long and complex series of events concerning the separation of Lombard province from the province of Italy. But all that has been written of him conveys the same impression: he was a kind and just superior, who kept the rule with rigid care, but was prudent in exacting it of others.

Several times Sebastian Maggi was sent on missions of reform, and he died on one of these. On his way to a convent for visitation, he became ill at Genoa and died there in 1496. His body is incorrupt at the present time (1963) (Benedictines, Dorcy).

Born: 1414 at Brescia, Italy

Died: 1496 at Genoa, Italy of natural causes; body was still incorrupt in 1963

Beatified: April 15,1760 by Pope Clement XIII (cultus confirmed)

A Word About Christmas Decorations ~ Rev. Br. Terry Elkington, OPr

For this Advent Season let us explore and understand the meaning of the Christmas Tree.  Although I have no reference as to when this story came about. I feel all of us from adults to children will understand it.

The History of the Christmas Tree According to tradition:

The Christmas Tree originated in Riga, Latvia. The Christmas legend says that a monk named Boniface used its triangular shape to to explain the trinity – that God was Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  From that point on, the Germans call the tree “God’s Tree.” By the 16th century they Western Germany in the 16th century, they were used in plays to represent the tree in the garden with Adam and Eve and were decorated with apples. They were called “Paradeisbaum” (Paradise Trees) and were soon brought into homes and still decorated with apples and other fruits to celebrate Christmas. Later, dates, pretzels, and nuts were also used to decorate the tree.  The evergreen was recognised as a symbol of eternal life. Soon candles were soon added the evergreen branches to represent the stars and that Jesus was the light of the world. Besides apples and other fruits, tradition says they also added Communion wafers wrapped in gold and silver foil that represented the fact that Jesus came into the world to save it, that like the communion bread, his body would be broken to save us from sin. Later the wafers were

replaced with cookies cut into the shapes of bells, angels, stars, and hearts.

Gold Christmas Bulb

The Gold Christmas bulb reminds us of Heaven which is filled with the glory of God. The Bible tells us that in Heaven, the streets of the city are pure, clear gold-like glass  (Rev.21:21). God wants you to be with Him in Heaven someday.

Red Christmas Bulb

Red Christmas Bulb The Red Christmas Bulb shows the way God made for you to have your sins forgiven-taken away. God loves you. He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, from Heaven to take the punishment for your sin (John 3:16). Jesus came into the world to save us from punishment for sin. He is called our Savior! “…the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7).

White Christmas Bulb

The white Christmas bulb reminds us that you can be made clean from sin. When we sin, we can tell god about our sin, and ask forgiveness and when we do his blood washes away our sin and makes us white as snow! (I John 1:9).

The Green Christmas Tree

The green Christmas tree reminds us of the new life, everlasting life, we can receive from God.  The Bible tells us to “grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18).

The Blue Christmas Bulb

The blue bulb is the same as water. Jesus, to show he was giving his life to God was baptized in water.Christmas Lights

Jesus was born as a light of the world. He came to bring us out of darkness and into the light. Do you want to walk in the light of Jesus this Christmas?

A Silver or Gold Star

You can add a star at the top of the Christmas tree as a reminder that the wisemen followed the star looking for Jesus. Will you seek Jesus this Christmas?

Now as you look upon a Christmas tree you will appreciate what you see .

A Priest and a Profession!

The Order of Preachers, Reformed is thrilled to announce that Rev. Brother Terry Elkington was ordained into the sacred order of the priesthood this past Saturday.  Immediately following his ordination, Fr. Terry made his Simple Profession as Dominican.  He is now The Reverend Brother, Father Terry Elkington, OPr.  Let us pray for God’s continued Grace in his life, and praise God for the things He is doing!  Thanks be to God!

Gifts

What you are is God’s gift to you.

What you become is your gift to God.

During this time of the year, many of our thoughts turn to gifts: giving and receiving, what we want to give, what we want to receive, what will please those we love, the shopping, the ordering, the wrapping, the general hustle and bustle of the Christmas season centering around gifts ad infinitum, donating to the people with the red kettles and bells so the less fortunate can have gifts…..

And then there’s the practice of ‘re-gifting,’  passing along that unwanted or unusable gift that we were given, to someone else, so that they will have SOMETHING, and so that they too, can possibly pass that pink and orange and green plaid scarf along, re-gifting it themselves to someone else who won’t use it either….and sometimes by some freak chance that unwanted item comes back to us several years later….and not much too worse for the wear….  And is re-gifting, as amusing (and cheap) as it may seem, necessarily a bad thing?

Why all this focus on gift-giving and gift-receiving at this time of year?  The union of Christmas and gift giving was a gradual one; actually, the full story of the bright packages beneath the tree, like most of our Christmas customs, begins in the days before the birth of Christ.  In ancient Rome, gifts were exchanged during the New Year’s celebrations. At first these gifts were simple, such as a few twigs from a sacred grove and small items of food. Many gifts were in the form of vegetables in honor of the fertility goddess Strenia. During the Northern European Yule, (yep, the yuletide season is a pagan thing) fertility was celebrated with gifts made of wheat products, such as bread and alcohol.

Like many of the old and pagan customs, exchanging gifts was difficult to get rid of even as Christianity spread and gained official status. Early church leaders tried to outlaw the custom, but the people cherished it too much to let it go.  St. John Chrysostom urged no compromise with heathen abominations, but he, too, failed in this tenacity of hanging on to the tradition of gift giving.  Since there was no general agreement about the exact date of the birth of Jesus, it must have seemed helpful to have it supersede the Saturnalia, so the rebirth of the sun became instead the birth of the Son of God, and the church leaders looked for a Christian justification for the practice of all this gift giving. This justification was found in the Magi’s act of bearing gifts to the infant Jesus, and in the concept that Christ was a gift from God to the world, bringing in turn the gift of redemption and everlasting life.

What you are is God’s gift to you.

What you become is your gift to God.

Wikipedia defines a gift as the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. By extension the term “gift” can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness.

God’s gifts to us are free and clear.  He has given us the gift of His Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.      He has given us the gift of eternal life:  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV);  The gift of salvation:  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8 (NIV);  And the gifts that are unique to each of us:   “We each of us have our own individual gifts:  But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” 1Corinthians 7:7 (NIV)

Besides the obvious gift of His Son, and the forgiveness that we receive through Him whom we receive by faith, what other gifts has God given specifically to you?  What talents have you received?  What blessings have been given to you?

We learn about the 7 Gifts of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2-3:  “2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;” (NIV)

And more importantly, what are you doing with those gifts?  What are you giving back to God?  What are you “becoming” as you use your gifts and talents?  Which of the gifts that you have been given are you “regifting?”  In other words, when we’ve received a gift from God, do we share that gift with others?  Do we “regift?”  We are told in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (NIV)  Jesus himself addresses this very thing in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.  By using our gifts, they multiply and we bring others to know God, and by recognizing what we have been given and using them for God’s glory, we are giving back to God.

What is the most precious thing we can give to God?  The most precious gift we can give is what God wants the most. God wants us to make the fervent attempt to repent, get right with Him, and not lead a double life, trying to follow two contradictory paths, but living our lives according to His will.  God simply wants us to give ourselves to Him.  This is the best gift we can give!   Our gift to Him is how we respond to the gifts He has given us which are the gifts of life and of grace. We can best do this when we are headed in His direction, following His precepts with a grateful, willing heart and mindset, and by striving to be the best that we can be by becoming what it is that He wants us to be.

Barbara Streisand sings in “The Best Gift:”

The best gift
That I ever got
Didn’t really weigh a lot
It didn’t have a ribbon ’round
And it sometimes made a terrible sound
The best of all it seems to me
It wasn’t ‘neath the Christmas tree
And yet, I guess I’d have to say
That it made all the other presents twice as gay
The best gift that I’ve ever known
I’d always wanted most to own
Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice
I never thought it could be so nice
The best gift that I ever get
Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet
Was usually pink but oftentimes red
As it lay so innocently in it’s bed
The best gift of the year to me
The one I hold most dear to me
A gift that simply drove me wild
Was a tiny new born child…

As we celebrate the birth of THE tiny newborn Child, God’s greatest and best Gift to us, let us strive to make ourselves the best gift we can give to others, and to God.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

A Christmas Tree, from the outside~ by Fr. Bryan

The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all this Advent.

We were challenged by our Father General, to consider a sermon keeping the Christmas tree somewhat in mind when we consider the theme.  There were at first many possibilities, but none that seemed to jump to the front.

I thought of the traditional recollections, of how the Christmas tree came to be. The folklore story of Martin Luther walking back to his church on a winters’ night and pausing to gaze up at the stars twinkling beyond the branches of an evergreen.  How he set up such a tree within his church adorned with candles, which reminded him of that night.

Then I thought of the legend of St. Boniface and how, confronted by the pagans in Germany he was on a mission to convert, he cut down the beloved oak tree they worshipped and built a church to St. Peter with it’s wood.  After winter, an evergreen sprig sprouted from the stump of the oak he’d cut down- an evergreen that would endure winter after winter.

As I wrestled with the thought for an idea to choose, the Spirit spoke to me in the musings of Sister Dollie. She compares herself to a Christmas tree, “nothing special under all [her] glittery adornments, but yet you [we] welcome me [her] as a sister in Christ.”  Dearest child of God, you are indeed an inspiration and worthy of our love.

How we all are like Christmas trees.  We have somewhere to go, someone to see and we will spend hours preparing. We shower, pick out our nicest clothes or compare patterns and colors, then to the mirror to groom. Is my hair perfect? Does this shirt match my pants? Does it make me look fat? Is this bling to much?  Yes, we are adorned Christmas trees. Only when we have judged ourselves perfect, can we be good enough to go out- to be put in front of the window where everyone can see.

True, but they only see us then from the outside.  Like carolers strolling by on a winter night looking at the beautiful Christmas trees beyond the frosty windows.  They never see just the tree.  Those imperfections hidden beneath the strings of lights, ornaments and tinsel- the broken branches,  the twisted trunk and of course those bare spots.

Before God, we are naked Christmas trees.  God sees our broken branches, our twisted trunk and yes, our bare spots.  God adorns us with love and, unlike our own critical review of ourselves- God embraces us with all our imperfections, faults and “bare spots.” God knows that we are indeed special- for God is our Creator and we are his created.  We are the sheep of His flock and He is our shepherd, regardless of the brightness and quality of our wool.

It is as when we chose that naked tree, to become our Christmas tree. We chose it for it’s shape, its size, it’s fullness and most importantly- for it’s potential. Then we bring it home and adorn it with lights, tinsel and a star. It becomes a beautiful Christmas tree- and we place it in front of the window.

My almighty Creator. You see me as I am. Naked, I kneel before you in all my imperfection. I am like that evergreen tree- broken, twisted and bare.  Make me into a Christmas tree, almighty God- so that I might radiate your love and bring  joy to all those that I meet on this journey through life. Make me worthy of their friendship, and of your love and promise of eternal life.  I kneel before you, my Lord Jesus, as you lay in the manger. I adore and worship you. May the joy, peace, hope and promise of Christmas never end!  Amen.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given- and the government will be upon his shoulders; and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” [Isaiah 9:6]

The Holy Innocents ~ by Fr. Bryan Wolf

This year, the joy of Christmas has been tempered by great sadness. The unfathomable horror of the shootings within an elementary school in Connecticut, have shaken us all to the foundations of our faith.

We can take some small comfort, in the knowledge that as Christmas passes we approach The Feast of the Holy Innocents within the Catholic church calendar. This year that is December 28,2012. This day commemorates a similar tragedy that occurred around the birth of Jesus. (The Catholic Encyclopedia states: “It is impossible to determine the day or year of the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. All we know is that the infants were slain within two years of the apparition of The Star to The Wise Men.)

When Jesus was born, King Herod became afraid that the ancient prophesy foretelling of the birth of a King of the Jews had come true. The Magi had entered his kingdom, telling of the star they had been following and inquired if Herod had knowledge of the birth. Herod consulted with his chief priests and teachers. “He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” [Matthew 2:8]

But as we know, the Wise Men did not return to Herod- because as we know, Herod did not have worship in his heart. Warned in a dream not to return, the Magi traveled another route home. “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or younger.’ [Matthew 2:16]

I do not dare to compare the massacre of The Holy Innocents to those unfortunate targeted victims of a crazed gunmen, but we can take comfort in a quote of Saint Augustine as he commented in his day on the former. “The death of these children is precious in the sight of God. For already at the beginning of their lives, they pass on. The end of this present life is for them, the beginning of glory. Those who [Herod] cruely tore from their mother’s bosom, are now justly hailed as infant martyr flowers- the church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during a winter of unbelief.”

We can interpret that these children from Connecticut, much like those Holy Innocents of biblical times, are now at peace in God’s loving embrace. “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for it is to such as these, that the kingdom of God belongs.” [Mark 10:14]

God did not cause these terrible things to happen. Mankind has been given his glorious gift of freewill. To accept and seek God, not for fear of God, but because of a desire to love God; to please God and be with God. When these horrific things happen, God to is saddened. He joins with us in his tears and invites us to lay our grief and burden at the foot of his cross. The only place in times like this, where it can be left.

In the history of all of Christmas, there is only one Christmas Carol know to have been written to tell of the grief of The Holy Innocents. The Coventry Carol, written sometime in the sixteenth century, reflects a mother’s lament for the death of her child.
“That woe is me, poor child for thee- and ever mourn and sigh.
For thy parting is neither say or sing. Bye, bye, lully- lullay.”

Most merciful God, we cry out to you through tears. Just now, we celebrate the glory of your birth and are abruptly silenced by the evil that is brought upon us. Only in reflecting upon your promise of eternal life, can we once again secure a sense of happiness in such chaos. We pray you accept and embrace these littlest innocent lambs of your flock, for they truly are too- Holy Innocents. Grant your grace and comfort upon all who suffer from this senseless act, the parents and families, the community and those who responded to help. Reassure us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, that your are God. Amen.

Blessed John of Vercelli, C.O.P.

1 December   John Garbella was born early in the 13th century, somewhere near Vercelli. He studied at Paris and was ordained priest before 1229. He taught canon law at the University of Paris. While he was professor there, Jordan of Saxony (who was a friend of Saint Albert the Great) came to Paris, and John saw one after another of his best pupils desert their careers to join the Dominicans. He seems to have considered them quite objectively, without reference to himself, until one day he had an interior voice that spoke to him that it was God’s will for him to join the Dominicans. No one can say that John did not respond with alacrity; he dropped everything and ran down the street. (“Let me go; I am on my way to God!”) Jordan received him happily and gave him the habit.

In 1232, John was sent to Vercelli to establish a convent there. He built this and several other convents in Lombardy as houses of regular observance. While provincial of Lombardy, he also became inquisitor. It was a particularly difficult moment. His brother in religion, Peter of Verona, had just been killed by the heretics in Como. The entire countryside was in a state of war, with roving bands of heretics and robbers. It was the task of the new inquisitor to try to bring order out of this chaos, and what John did was remarkable, considering the situation. In spite of his heavy labors, which included the supervision of 600 friars in 28 different cities (he reached them only by walking), John of Vercelli established the ideals of study and regular observance in all of his houses.

It was the good fortune of John of Vercelli to live in an age that was well peopled by saints. He formed a close friendship with Saint Louis, the king of France. Several of his tasks in the order, particularly the Commission on the Program of Studies, he shared with Saint Albert the Great, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Peter of Tarentaise (the future Pope Innocent V). In such company one would need to have a superior set of talents; John did.

In 1264 the chapter of the order met at Paris. Blessed Humbert had resigned as master general of the order. John went to the chapter hoping that he could resign as provincial of Lombardy. Instead of escaping one office, he fell heir to a still more difficult one. He was elected master general in 1264 and served in that capacity until 1283. John was then a man in his sixties and was, moreover, handicapped by a crippled leg. However, he accepted the office which would require him to walk, not only all over Lombardy, but all over Europe. It took a brand of courage and obedience that was little short of heroic.

During the generalate of John of Vercelli, the relics of Saint Dominic were transferred to the new tomb that had been prepared for it by Nicholas of Pisa. When the transfer was made, John of Vercelli fixed his seal on the tomb; the seals were still intact on their examination in 1946. During the translation of the relics, according to the account in the Vitae Fratrum, when the body of Saint Dominic was exposed to view, the head was seen to turn towards John of Vercelli. John, embarrassed, moved to another part of the church and gave his place to a cardinal. Whereupon, the head of Saint Dominic was seen by all to turn again in John’s direction.

On the death of Clement IV, John of Vercelli was very nearly elected pope. Being warned of the possibility, he fled in fright. However, his good friend Cardinal Visconti, was elected and took the name Gregory X. He appointed John as legate on several different missions.

He was commissioned by the pope to draw up the Schema for the second ecumenical council of Lyons in 1274–that council to which Saint Thomas Aquinas was hurrying when death found him on the road. At the council John distinguished himself for his assistance by offering to the council the talents of his best men. At the council, he accepted for the Dominican Order the special commission of promoting reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus and fighting blasphemy, which was, in that day as in ours, a prevalent vice. He can thus be considered the founder of the Holy Name Society, even though the Confraternity was not formed until 1432.

Several precious relics were suitably enshrined by John of Vercelli. These included several thorns from the Crown of Our Lord, which had been given him by Saint Louis of France. The cord of Saint Thomas, with which he had been guided by the angels and which he had worn until death, was given into the care of the master general, who gave it to the convent of Vercelli for safe keeping.

John’s career was rapidly reaching its end. In 1279, he presided over the famous chapter of Paris at which the order made the doctrine of Saint   Thomas officially its own. The following year he laid the foundations of the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. One of his last official acts was to provide for a work on the instruction of novices (Benedictines, Dorcy).

Born: 1205 at Mosso Santa Maria, Italy as John Garbella

Died: September 1283 at Montpelier, France of natural causes; buried at the Dominican convent at Montpelier; his tomb was desecrated by Calvinists in 1562, and his body disappeared.

Beatified: 1903 by Pope Pius X (cultus confirmed), 1909 elevated him to the honors of the altar

Blessed James Benefatti

Blessed James Benefatti, James is known as the Father of the Poor.  He was a Dominican at Mantua, Italy in 1290, and was a  Doctor of theology and a priest. He was also a friend and brother friar of Nicholas Boccasino who later became Pope Benedict XI, and for whom James held several support offices including papal legate.  He was the Bishop of Mantua in 1303, and noted for his devotion to the poor. James rebuilt his cathedral and refurbished churches and was appointed Papal legate for Pope John XXII.  He died 19 November 1332 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes.  His body was found incorrupt when exhumed both in 1480 and 1604.  He was beatified in 1859 by Pope Pius IX.