MMXX
Dominica
XIII. Post Pentecosten

FEAST OF ST ROSE OF LIMA

WELCOME to this fifty-second edition of “The Old Roman” a weekly dissemination of news, views and information for and from around the world reflecting the experience and life of 21C “Old Romans” i.e. western Orthodox Catholics across the globe.
CONTRIBUTIONS… news items, magazine, devotional or theological articles, prayer requests, features about apostolates and parish mission life are ALL welcome and may be submitted via email. Submissions should be sent by Friday for publication the following Sunday.

This this fifty-second edition of The Old Roman closes Volume I and marks the end of our first year! It's been appreciatively received and as a labour of love, we certainly appreciate feedback from our readers. From Old Romans themselves to enquirers, many have commented on the content, particularly the Ordo and liturgical information, and the most enjoyed have been the insights into the lives of the Saints and those editions where we've been able to share news from our own missions. Remember, we're always ready to share any information or news about our contemporary witness!

We have an opportunity as Old Romans to re-build the Church, to form intentional communities of witnessing Christians who by the manner of their living as well as their deeds and words, may themselves be the leaven in the Body of Christ today. But in order to achieve this its perhaps worth recapping some basic principles of discipleship.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

So many people are always chasing, ever learning yet never coming to a knowledge of the truth. It is as if they have had to study very hard to become so confused. Any person who is able to come to grips with truth in all their learning is truly blessed. They are sadly the exception rather than the rule. So often our opinions and intelligence deceive us. Too often miss the truth in all that we know. We will have seen but not have seen. We will have had eyes that could not see.

This is particularly so in these days in which there is much to be known. We are living in a knowledge and information explosion. It seems that for any subject, there will be four opinions for every three people. If we were to ask, "Of what eternal value is most of this learning and expressing of opinions?" The answer would have to be, "Truly nothing".

It is wonderful to know that, despite this knowledge and communication explosion, the truth of the Word of God remains and will remain unaltered. The person to whom Jesus, the everlasting Word, speaks is, therefore, freed from the need to keep up with ideas and trends that are passing and of no eternal value. They are freed from many vain opinions and the need to endlessly be trying to keep up.

Colossians 2:8-10 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Without Christ, no person can claim to know or understand truth nor are they able to make right judgements. In Him, in whom all things exist and who is drawing all things into fulfilment in Himself, any person may quickly be made firm in heart and fully at peace with God.

Many assert that the truth about Jesus is just another of the many ideas and religions that are available to all in this world. They see it as just another plate on the smorgasbord of this world. Nothing could be more in error. Jesus is not just another option of belief, nor is He a stage in the evolution of belief. He is truth Himself. He is the single most important aspect of truth in all of heaven and earth. He is the focus of all knowledge, the fountain of all wisdom. Without Him as the reference point for all our knowledge, ideas and decisions are distorted, and ultimately hollow.

John 17:20-22 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 

When the Lord speaks to our souls, He comes to make us one with Himself and with one another. The more we yield to this and actively seek Him out, the more we will come to see that any knowledge without Christ at its centre is of little value and even a source of frustration and grief. Before Him even the mouths of the learned are stopped and all human effort is empty and futile.

Romans 8:12-14 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

It is important, therefore, in the ordering and planning of our lives to structure things so that we do not become drawn into the love of our busyness. We must not fall in love with activity. We must not become driven by the pressure of circumstances. 
The issues of our lives must proceed from the Spirit of Christ within. We must subject all of our life goals and activities to the will of the Spirit. We must surrender all of our own agendas. If we do this we will find ourselves functioning with right and balanced discernment and reason.

Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Our main battle is to overcome ourselves. It is in self denial and the taking up of our cross. It is not so important that each day we achieve what we set out to do. Our real victories are when when we are able to subordinate our will to the will of God. Each such victory makes us stronger in spirit. Each surrender makes us better from day to day.

Yet each such victory contains some imperfection. Each is not complete. We can never claim to have or know it all. Accepting that this is so even further sets us free. There is no discovery or experience from which we learn that is not also tinged with a little blindness or ignorance. This is why the pathways of human effort can never bring us to complete fellowship with God. 

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Cultivating a humble knowledge of ourselves, that is to be fully free of striving after significance or recognition, is a surer way to knowing God than the search for depth of learning. God is not looking for performance or achievement in us. He is looking for relationship. He is not looking to see how well we can understand good and evil and then live our lives by what we have come to understand. He is looking for those who will love Him and receive His life. He is looking for those who will be transformed by His love and life.

Proverbs 2:3-5 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. Well-ordered learning is, nevertheless, not to be put down. It is good for us, even necessary. It is, however, of little value if through it we do not seek to advance with a clean conscience and a virtuous life. Because some study to know things rather than to have insight into how to live well, they find themselves sliding off into error or producing little fruit in their lives.

Proverbs 2:10-12 When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things We should be more concerned about how to avoid sin and to plant virtue in our souls than to dispute questions and put forward ideas and opinions. Negligence in this has resulted in many who profess even a Biblical faith living dissolute and unconverted lives. Diligence in learning focused on holiness and surrender rather than on knowledge per se is a surer path to victory and a life marked by grace.

Matthew 12:36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. On the day of judgement we will not be asked what we have read or heard but how we have lived and loved. We will not be asked how well we discussed issues of great importance or how well we may have defended our opinions. We will be asked how our lives pleased the Spirit.

Ecclesiastes 1:4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. When we think of all those who have lived and enjoyed great success and significance in the centuries of time past we must ask, "Where are they now"? When alive they thrived, even prospered, in their learning and achievements. Now, others have succeeded them, who scarcely give those who went before them a second thought. The glory of this world fades swiftly along with its deceitful pleasures.

Tragically, there are many who perish daily, who have set their trust in vain learning, achievement and or dedication to a dream. None of these things have any value of their own. Too many of us live our lives and failed to focus their lives on the service and love of God. Too many set their goals on greatness in this world and then, along with their achievements, vanish like smoke in the air.

Matthew 23:11-12 "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The truly great person, then, is one who is little in their own sight, who loves, serves and cares for those around them, who puts little stock in worldly honour, who has surrendered all personal ambition and who forsakes their own will to follow Christ with all of their heart.

New programmes coming soon to Old Roman TV... "Eternal Rome" explores and explains the history of Old Roman Catholicism and "Contra Mundum" a series of conferences looking at the practical application of the Gospel to Christian life.

This lovely flower of sanctity, the first canonized Saint of the New World, was born at Lima, Peru, in 1586. She was christened Isabel, but the beauty of her infant face earned for her the title of Rose, which she thereafter bore. As a child still in the cradle, her silence during a painful surgical operation seemed to foretell the thirst for suffering which would consume her heart.

At an early age she engaged herself as a servant to support her impoverished parents, then worked day and night. In spite of hardships and austerities her beauty ripened with increasing age, and she was openly much admired. Fearing vanity would enter her heart, she cut off her hair, blistered her face with pepper and her hands with lime. She never left the interior of her parents' house in Canta, for four years, not even to walk in an inviting garden just beyond its walls. She finally obtained her parents' permission to be enrolled in the Third Order of Saint Dominic; from her childhood she had taken Saint Catherine of Siena as her model, and she then redoubled her penance. The Blessed Sacrament seemed virtually her only food. Her love for it was intense. Her fasting was near miraculous; during Lent in particular, she denied herself her former single piece of bread each day, to consume only a few orange seeds. Her disciplines were of an almost incredible severity, and her hair shirt reached from her shoulders to her wrists and knees; not satisfied with its rudeness, she armed it with iron nails.

The cell of Saint Rose was a garden hut, her couch a box of broken tiles. Concealed by her veil, a silver crown armed with ninety sharp points encircled her head. More than once, when she shuddered at the prospect of a night of torture, a voice said, My cross was yet more painful. The demon tormented her for fifteen years with insupportable temptations; but God sustained His spouse against them, though she would gladly have died rather than live any longer in their clutches. When a Dutch fleet prepared to attack the city of Lima, Rose took her place before the tabernacle, and wept because she felt unworthy to die in its defense, as she hoped she might; the enemy weighed anchor soon afterwards and departed without attempting a siege. All of Saint Rose's sufferings were offered for the conversion of sinners, and the thought of the multitudes in hell was ever before her soul. She died in 1617, at the age of thirty-one.

Reflection: Rose, pure as driven snow, was filled with deepest contrition and humility, and did constant and terrible penance. Our sins are continual, our repentance passing, our contrition slight, our penance nothing. How will it fare with us?

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

St Rose of Lima, Virgin: Missa “Dilexísti justítiam”

Saint Rose, the first canonized saint of the New World, was born at Lima in 1586. She received the name of Isabella in Baptism, but one day her mother saw a beautiful rose drooping over the baby’s cradle and ever afterwards called her Rose. She was an obedient child; her mortifications were most severe. She prayed worked, and wept for the conversion of sinners; she excelled in her love for holy purity. She lived a life of simplicity and prayer in a small hut in a corner of her father’s garden; the birds would visit her and sing with her the praises of God. The Savior frequently appeared to her. Her devotion to the Passion of Our Lord was remarkable as were her own sufferings. Her bed was strewn with glass shards, with nails and thorns; she wore chafing hair-cloth; her head was crowned with painful thorns skillfully concealed by roses. She died August 26, 1617. Her Office was written by the eminent Cardinal Bona.

There is also a commemoration of the holy martyrs Saint Felix and Saint Adauctus. St. Felix suffered martyrdom in the year 303, and was joined by Adauctus, who shared his martyr crown. There is a painting, which we have not been able to find to scan, from around the sixth century which depicts both of them with the priestly tonsure. Felix is an old man, but Adauctus stands on the right hand side, although he is young and beardless.

Sunday XIII Post Pentecost: Missa “Réspice, Dómine”

The liturgy for the Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost shows us that by faith we put all our hope in Jesus, for He is our Refuge and we ask for the virtue of charity, which renders us lovers of the divine law and practitioners of it. Let us pray for an increase of faith, hope and charity.

The Collect which prays for an increase of this – faith, hope and charity – re-echoes the teaching of the Apostle in the Epistle and that of the Master in the Gospel. The Jews wanted to impose the Mosaic law on Christians; St Paul shows to the Galatians that it is not this law which gives holiness to souls, since, before the law, Abraham, father of the Jewish people, was sanctified by his faith in Jesus. All those, therefore, Jews or pagans, who enter into the Church and put their faith in the merits of the Passion of Christ will be saved.

Our Divine Savior indeed heals all the lepers, Jews or Samaritans, who have recourse to Him. ” Arise,” said Jesus to the latter, ” thy faith hath made thee whole.” It is He Who, through His Church, gives back health to the souls of those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who come to Him, By faith we put in Jesus all our hope (Offertory) for He is our refuge (Alleluia) and we ask for the virtue of charity which makes us love the divine law (Collect) and makes us practice it (Postcommunion).

INTROIT Psalm 44:8

Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Ps 44:2 My heart hath uttered a good word I speak my works to the king; V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

COLLECT

Almighty God, giver of all good gifts, Who didst will that blessed Rose, imbued with the dew of heavenly grace, should bloom in the Indies with the beauty of virginity and patience, grant unto us, Thy servants, that, following the fragrance of her virtues, we may deserve to become a sweet odor of Christ, Who with Thee livest and reignest, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. R.Amen.

Commemoration of the XIIIth Sunday Post Pentecost
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of Faith, Hope and Charity: and that we may deserve to obtain what Thou dost promise, make us to love that which Thou dost command. 

Commemoration Collect of SS Felix and Adauctus
Let us pray. We humbly entreat Thy majesty, O Lord, that as Thou dost continually gladden us with the commemoration of Thy saints, so Thou ever defend us at their petition. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. R.Amen.

EPISTLE 2 Cor 10:17-18; 11:1-2

Lesson from the second letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians. Brothers: He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he who commendeth himself, is approved, but he, whom God commendeth. Would to God you could bear with some little of my folly: but do bear with me. For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God. For I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

GRADUAL/ALLELUIA Psalm 44:5

With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully. Allelúja, allelúja. Ps 44:15-16 After her shall virgins be brought to the king: They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: Allelúja.

GOSPEL St Matthew 25:1-13

In that time Jesus said to the people: shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last come also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answering said: Amen I say to you, I know you not. Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Psalm 44:10

The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.

SECRET

May the offering of Thy consecrated people be accepted by Thee, O Lord, in honor of Thy saints, by whose merits it knoweth that it hath received aid in time of trouble. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. R.Amen.

Commemoration of the XIIIth Sunday Post Pentecost
Look graciously, O Lord, upon Thy people: graciously look upon our gifts,that, being appeased by this offering, Thou mayest both grant us pardon, and give us what we ask. 

Commemoration Secret of SS Felix and Adauctus
Have regard, O Lord, to the sacrifices of Thy people, and let them feel that these profit for their welfare since they do devoutly celebrate them in honor of Thy saints. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. R.Amen.

PREFACE of the Holy Trinity

It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:

COMMUNION ANTIPHON St Matthew 25:4; 25:6

The five wise virgins took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him.

POSTCOMMUNION 

Thou hast filled Thy household, O Lord, with sacred gifts; ever comfort us, we beseech Thee, through her intercession whose festival we celebrate. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, For ever and ever. R. Amen.

Commemoration of the XIIIth Sunday Post Pentecost
We who have received the heavenly Sacraments, beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may increasingly advance towards eternal redemption. 

Commemoration Postcommunion of SS Felix and Adauctus
Let us pray. Filled with Thy sacred gifts, O Lord, we beseech Thee that, by the intercession of Thy saints, we may pass our lives in giving thanks to Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, For ever and ever. R. Amen.

PROPER LAST GOSPEL St Luke 17: 11-19

At that time, as Jesus was going to Jerusalem, He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee: and as He entered into a certain town, there met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off, and lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. Whom when He saw, He said: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God: and he fell on his face before His feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said: “Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to return, and give glory to God, but this stranger.” And He said to him: “Arise, go thy way for thy faith hath made thee whole.”

ON THE DEGREES OF HUMILITY
Consider first, that true humility does not consist in speaking ill of ourselves, by saying we are great sinners, or the like; nor yet in wearing plain apparel, or employing ourselves in mean offices; nor in looking down upon the ground, &c. - we may do all this, and yet be far from being humble; because all this may be done out of pride, either to acquire the esteem of others by this outward show of humility, or to please and applaud ourselves with the conceit of our being humble. True humility consists not in words, nor in the outside; but in the inward sentiments of the heart. 'Humility,' says St. Bernard, 'is a virtue by which a man, out of a most true knowledge of himself, becomes mean and contemptible in his own eye; so that for a man to be truly humble is to have a low opinion of himself, through the deep sense he has of his own unworthiness and of his sins; and therefore to despise himself and to be willing to be despised by all the world' See, my soul, if these be thy dispositions: if not thou art not truly humble.

Consider 2ndly, that the first degree of true humility is that which is expressed in the definition given by St. Bernard, viz., that we should have that knowledge of ourselves, and of all our miseries and sins; such a conviction of our having nothing at all to be proud of, and very many things that make us wretchedly mean and contemptible, as sincerely to despise ourselves: seeing there is nothing in us of good that is our own, and that whatsoever is in us of our own proper growth, or of our own stock, is all good for nothing, yea filthy and abominable. What room then can there be in us for any self-conceit, or self-esteem? How many and how pressing inducements have we to oblige us to think meanly of ourselves, and to despise ourselves? And yet how much does this unhappy pride prevail, in spite of all these humiliations which we carry about with us? Oh! let this misery of ours at least be a motive to despise ourselves the more!

Consider 3rdly, that the second degree of true humility advances us still farther, and makes us not only to despise ourselves, but to be willing and even desirous to be despised by all others; and that all others should have the same mean opinion of us as we pretend to have of ourselves. And indeed since in all things we are even willing to have others to be of the same opinion with ourselves, did we sincerely despise ourselves, we should certainly be glad that all others should have the same way of thinking as we have, and should in like manner despise us also. Alas! how far am I from these dispositions! The third and most sublime degree of humility is that of the saints, who in the midst of the greatest favours and highest elevations and all the supernatural gifts of divine grace are so established in God's truth as to ascribe nothing at all to themselves, but all to God: and by how much the more they are exalted by him, are so much the more mean in their own eyes, by descending so much the deeper into the abyss of their own nothingness. Happy they that in all things know how to distinguish what belongs to God, from that which belongs to themselves, and to reserve to themselves only which is their own, and to give all the rest to God!

Conclude to aim at ascending from step to step, by the help of the knowledge of thyself; and not to rest till thou arrivest at the perfection of humility. She will bring to thee all good things along with her, and conduct thee safe to the kingdom of God. 

Meditations for everyday in the year

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Rose of Lima, as well as commemorating the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost. St. Rose was born in Lima in Peru in 1586. From an early age she discerned a vocation to the religious life. However, her parents were opposed to this. Eventually a compromise was reached whereby she remained living with her parents and did not formally enter the religious life, but her parents allowed her to live in her own quarters in the family home and she became a third order Dominican. She devoted herself to living an ascetic life, to prayer and to charitable works. She died in 1617.

There is much to learn from the life of St. Rose of Lima. Perhaps the most important is the need to combine principle with pragmatism. St. Rose was in a situation where there was a seemingly irresolvable conflict with her family. She had a clear vocation to the religious life, while her parents were equally clear in their opposition to this. How could such a conflict be resolved without her becoming permanently estranged from her parents? After all, “honour thy father and thy mother” was one of the Ten Commandments, but then the first and greatest commandment was “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”. The compromise solution (which was one which neither side ideally wanted) was that she should pursue her religious vocation but remain at home with her family. This was a compromise that was acceptable to both her parents and to her, and prevented what would have otherwise been a potentially disastrous rift with her parents.

It is very difficult to get the balance right between having clear principles, and being pragmatic in their application to the circumstances in which we are in. If we make every issue and disagreement that we have with anyone else a matter of principle we will fall into the error of fighting big battles over small issues. We will find ourselves always at odds with everyone else because we insist that they must agree with us all of the time. On the other hand, if we take the easy way out of any potential conflict, and simply do whatever is necessary to accommodate ourselves to the environment in which we are in, then we will lose our own distinctive identity. We will sacrifice any principles we may have to what is most expedient at the present moment. In order to avoid either of these two extremes we have to find a way of being integrated with our environment, without being fully assimilated to it.

The prophet Jeremiah devoted his life to what in the short term proved a lost cause, calling the Jewish nation to repent. He called them to look to the old paths and they would find rest in their souls, but the nation would not. Their hearts were hardened. When the first exiles were led away into captivity in Babylon there were some who fed them false hopes that they would soon be able to return again to their land. In contrast to this, Jeremiah sent a letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon urging them to build houses and settle down, to seek the welfare of the city, for in its welfare would be their welfare (Jeremiah 29). The situation was too far gone for them to have any hope of a speedy return. Consequently, the exiles had to find a way of being integrated with their new environment without being assimilated to it. The Babylonians were the political enemies of the Jewish nation, and they had won the battle in the short term. The Jewish exiles in Babylon had to find a way of adapting to the new situation, of admitting defeat in the short term, but not abandoning hope in the long term.

The policy Jeremiah advised worked. The Jewish exiles found a way of integrating with their new environment, yet without losing their identity. Decades later, the Babylonians were themselves overthrown by the Persians, and many of the Jews were allowed to return to their land and rebuild their temple. The fashioning of the Jewish commonwealth under Ezra and Nehemiah ensured that the identity of the Jews would be preserved for all time to come. Whereas other nations had lost their identity through conquest and assimilation the Jews survived. They survived because they followed Jeremiah’s advice and were able to combine principle with pragmatism, integrating into a hostile environment, without becoming completely assimilated to it.

Later, when the early Church started to win converts among non-Jews, the new Gentile converts found themselves in a political no man’s land. Whereas Judaism had the status within the Roman Empire of a protected religion and so the Jews were exempt from the imperial cult, the new Gentile Christians had no such legal protection. They were commanded by their faith to renounce idolatry, but they had no legal exemption from the imperial cult. There was always an underlying risk of persecution, even under the more tolerant Roman Emperors. They were seen to lack patriotism because they refused to acknowledge the State religion and worship the Emperor. Despite this they did not teach violent rebellion against the State, though they made it clear that it was not the ultimate authority and they could not participate in the imperial cult. Eventually, the Roman Empire was won over and became Christian. When the Empire eventually fell, first in the West, and then a thousand years later in the East, the Church survived. The Church had found a way of being integrated with the new environment without being assimilated to it.

In the West most people have not been Christians for some time now, but they have often retained many Christian ethical principles, albeit in a secularised form. Today even that has faded and society has returned to open paganism. Having lost any sense of a transcendent authority people have now put their faith in the Government instead as it amasses more and more power and control of a type that used to called totalitarian. In the new paganism promoted by the Government people who oppose the zeitgeist promoted by the Government are seen as selfish and lacking in patriotism to the State (this is essentially a modern version of the charge against the early Christians). The opponents of Christianity who currently control Western governments are in the majority. There is nothing we can do on a political level to alter the situation. It is too far gone for that.

We will have to learn again to follow the advice of the prophet Jeremiah about living in a hostile environment. We must find a way of being integrated without becoming assimilated to the environment in which we find ourselves. If we are not able to do all the things we would like to do, then we still have to do what we can to keep the faith alive in these dark times. On a personal level, we have to find a way of working with our own families and neighbours, as St. Rose of Lima had to find a way of pursuing her own vocation in a way that was acceptable to her family, but without compromising her fundamental convictions.

We are called to do the same in our own time and place. We must hold firm to the faith once delivered to the saints, but also be pragmatic in our application of it in our own time and place. As an early Christian writer put it, “Live in the world, but as strangers, live as strangers, but in the world.” We can take to heart the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews about the removal of those things that can be shaken, so that those things that cannot be shaken may remain.

Saint Raymund Nonnatus was born in Catalonia, Spain, in the year 1204. Motherless from infancy, in his childhood he seemed to find pleasure only in his devotions and serious duties. He chose the Blessed Virgin for his mother, almost as soon as the light of reason made this choice available to him. His father, perceiving in him an inclination to the religious state and unwilling to give up his son, took him from school and sent him to take care of a farm which he owned in the country. Raymund readily obeyed, and, in order to enjoy holy solitude, kept the sheep himself and spent his time in the mountains and forests in holy meditation and prayer. He found there an ancient hermitage containing a portrait of his Blessed Mother, and made this his asylum. There the devil found him and, assuming the disguise of a shepherd, attempted to turn him away from his devotions; but Raymund turned his back on his visitor and called Mary to his assistance. The sole name of the Mother of God caused the demon to disappear, and the hermit prostrated himself and blessed Her for Her assistance.

Some time afterward, he joined the new Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives, and was admitted to profession at Barcelona by the holy founder, Saint Peter Nolasco. Within two or three years after his profession, he was sent into Barbary with a considerable sum of money; in Algiers he purchased the liberty of a great number of slaves. When all his treasure was exhausted, he gave himself up as a hostage for the ransom of others, according to the Rule of his Order. This magnanimous sacrifice served only to exasperate the Moslems, who treated him with uncommon barbarity, until they began to fear that if he died in their hands, they would lose the ransom which had been asked for his deliverance. A crier announced in the streets that anyone who mistreated him would answer for it, if he died.

Therefore he was permitted to go abroad in the streets, which liberty he utilized to comfort and encourage the Christians in chains, and to convert and baptize certain Moslems. Learning of this, their pasha, furious, condemned him to be impaled, but his barbarous sentence was commuted at the insistence of those who had an interest in the ransom payments for the slaves he was replacing. He underwent instead a cruel bastinade, but that torment did not daunt his courage. So long as he saw souls in danger of perishing eternally, he thought he had yet done nothing.

Saint Raymund had no more money to employ in releasing poor captives; and to converse with those of the local beliefs on the subject of religion meant death. He enjoyed sufficient liberty nonetheless to continue the same endeavors, and he did so, hoping either for success or martyrdom. The governor, enraged, ordered our Saint to have his lips pierced and padlocked, then to be imprisoned until his ransom would be brought by members of his Order. He remained in jail for eight months before his brethren arrived with the required sum, sent by Saint Peter Nolasco.

Upon his return to Spain, he was nominated Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX, and the Pope called him to Rome. The Saint was on his way, but had gone no farther than Cardona when he was seized with a violent fever. He died on August 31, 1240, in his thirty-seventh year. His face in death became beautiful and radiant like that of Moses when he descended from the mountaintop, where he had spoken with God. A heavenly fragrance surrounded his body, and cures were effected on behalf of those who came and touched him.

Reflection: This magnanimous Saint gave not only his substance but his liberty, and exposed himself to the most cruel torments and death for the redemption of captives and the salvation of souls. But we, alas! do we not, merely to gratify our prodigality, vanity, or avarice, refuse to give even the superfluity of our possessions to the poor, who for want of it are perishing with cold and hunger? Let us not forget the terrible Judgment of the Last Day, awaiting those who neglect their brethren in need. (Cf. Matt. 25:31-46)

Saint Giles, whose name has been held in great veneration for many centuries in France and England, was born in the year 640 in Athens, and was of noble extraction. Certain remarkable works of medicine and poetry are attributed to him, but his knowledge was primarily that of the Saints.

When as a young man he met a poor beggar who was sick and half-naked, he was moved with compassion and gave him his splendid tunic; the moment the beggar put it on, he found himself in perfect health. By this miracle, Giles understood how pleasing almsgiving is to God, and shortly afterwards, he distributed all his goods to the poor and entered upon a life of poverty, suffering and humility. But Jesus Christ did not let Himself be outdone in generosity, and soon miracles multiplied so greatly in his wake, that the admiration of the world surrounded him. It became impossible for him to profit in his own country from obscurity and retirement, which he desired above all else. He therefore went to France and chose for his hermitage the open spaces of the south, near the mouth of the Rhone.

Soon he was known there, too, by the miracles his kindness brought down from heaven. He moved again, and this time Providence brought him near Saint Veredemus, a hermit of Greek origin like himself; then the two rejoiced in a common life of the love of God. For two years they remained together, until the invasion of their solitude caused Giles to migrate to a deep forest of southeastern France, in the diocese of Nimes.

He passed many years in this intense solitude, living on wild herbs or roots and clear water, and conversing only with God. He was nourished there by a doe of the forest. One day, being pursued by Visigoths hunting in the forests, she fled for refuge to the Saint and lay down at his feet. Moved to tears, he prayed God to spare the life of the innocent animal. An arrow the hunters had sent in her direction came and lodged in his hand, making a wound which would never heal. When the hunters found the animal there and saw the bleeding wound of the gentle hermit, they begged his pardon on their knees, and the chase was ended. The Visigoth king, hearing of this, came to visit this holy hermit, accompanied by the bishop, who afterwards ordained Giles a priest.

The reputation of the sanctity of Saint Giles increased constantly by his many miracles, which rendered his name famous throughout France. He was highly esteemed by the pious king, but could not be prevailed upon to leave his solitude. He accepted several disciples, however, and established excellent discipline in the monastery which the king built for them. Destroyed during the invasions of the Moslems who had entered Spain, it was rebuilt during the lifetime of the founder and his disciples, when they returned after the torment. In succeeding ages, it became a flourishing abbey of the Benedictine Order, which bore his name.

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 10

The fourth Duke of the Huns of Hungary, by the name of Geysa, was converted to the Faith and baptized with his wife and several ministers. With the Christian missionaries, he labored to convince his pagan subjects of the divinity of this religion. His wife saw in a vision the protomartyr Saint Stephen, who told her they would have a son who would perfect the work already begun. This son, born in the year 977, was given the name of Stephen.

The little prince was baptized by Saint Adalbert, bishop of Prague, who preached to the Hungarians for a time, and was educated under the care of that bishop and a pious count of Italy.

When he was fifteen years old, his father gave him the commandment of his armies, seeing his virtue and Christian ardor. Already Stephen was beginning to root out idolatry and transform the pagan customs still existing among the people. At twenty years of age, he succeeded his good father, who died in 997. He suppressed a rebellion of his pagan subjects, and founded monasteries and churches all over the land. He sent to Pope Sylvester, begging him to appoint bishops to the eleven sees he had endowed, and to bestow on him, for the greater success of his work, the title of king. The Pope granted his requests, and sent him a cross to be borne before him, saying that he regarded him as the true apostle of his people.

Saint Stephen's devotion was fervent. He placed his realms under the protection of our Blessed Lady, and kept the feast of Her Assumption with great affection. He established good laws, and saw to their execution. Throughout his life, we are told, he had Christ on his lips, Christ in his heart, and Christ in all he did. His only wars were wars of defense, and in them he was always successful. He married the sister of the Emperor Saint Henry, who was a worthy companion for him. God sent him many grievous trials amid his successes; one by one his children died.

He often went out in disguise to exercise his charities; and one day a troop of beggars, not satisfied with the alms they received, threw him down, tore out handfuls of his hair and beard, and took his purse. He prayed to the Lord and thanked Him for an insult he would not have suffered from enemies, but accepted gladly from the poor who, he said to Him, are called Your own, and for whom I can have only indulgence and tenderness. He bore all reversals with perfect submission to the Will of God.

When Saint Stephen was about to die, he summoned the bishops and nobles, and told them to choose his successor. He urged them to nurture and cherish the Catholic Church, which was still a tender plant in Hungary, to follow justice, humility, and charity, to be obedient to the laws, and to show at all times a reverent submission to the Holy See. Then, raising his eyes towards heaven, he said: O Queen of Heaven, August Restorer of a prostrate world, to Thy care I commend the Holy Church, my people, and my realm, and my own departing soul. It was on his favorite feast day, the Assumption, that he died in peace, in the year 1038.

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 10

Lawrence, born in 1381, from his childhood longed to be a Saint, and when he was nineteen years of age he was given a vision of the Eternal Wisdom, in the form of a beautiful and noble Lady who told him to seek the only repose he would ever know in Her, the Eternal Wisdom of God. All earthly things paled in his eyes before the ineffable beauty of this sight, and as it faded away a void was left in his heart which none but God could fill. Refusing the offer of a brilliant marriage, at the age of nineteen he fled from his home in Venice and joined the Canons Regular of Saint George in their monastery, situated on a little island about a mile from Venice, where his uncle was a priest.

When Lawrence first entered religion, a nobleman went to dissuade him from the folly of thus sacrificing every earthly prospect. The young monk listened patiently to his friend's affectionate appeal, which soon changed into scorn and violent abuse. Calmly and kindly he then replied. He pointed out the shortness of life, the uncertainty of earthly happiness, and the incomparable superiority of the prize he sought, to any pleasures his friend had named. The latter could make no answer; he felt in truth that Lawrence was wise, and he himself was the fool. And he too left the world, became a fellow-novice with the Saint, and eventually died a holy death.

As a monk, the mortification of Saint Lawrence was exemplary; he never drank outside of meals, and when urged to do so replied: If we cannot endure a little heat on earth, how will we bear that of Purgatory? He underwent two painful operations without saying any word except the holy name of Jesus. Before the second intervention, when the surgeon's hand trembled, he said, Cut with vigor; your instrument cannot match the iron hooks used to tear the sides of the martyrs.

Ordained a priest, then elected Superior and General of his Order, Saint Lawrence strengthened his brethren. Humility keeps silent and does not become inflated in prosperity, whereas in adversity it is elevated, magnanimous, full of joy and an invincible courage. Few know what this virtue is; it is possessed only by those to whom God has given it by infusion, as a reward for their persevering efforts and their spirit of prayer. He encouraged frequent Communion, saying that the person who does not strive to become united with Him as frequently as possible has very little love for Jesus Christ. When he was consecrated bishop of his diocese in 1433, in the face of slander and insult he thoroughly reformed his see. He founded fifteen monasteries and many churches, and his cathedral became a model for all of Christendom. His door was never closed to the poor, but he himself lived like a poor monk.

His zeal led to his being appointed the first Patriarch of Venice, but he remained in heart and soul a humble priest, thirsting for the vision reserved for heaven. He had just finished writing his last work, The Degrees of Perfection, when finally the eternal day began to dawn. Are you preparing a bed of feathers for me? he said. No, my Lord was stretched on a hard and painful tree. Laid upon straw, he exclaimed in rapture, Good Jesus, behold, I come. He died in 1455, at the age of seventy-four.

Reflection: Ask Saint Lawrence Justinian to obtain for you such a sense of the perfections of God, that you too may have recourse to Him in all your needs and be at rest.

Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 10; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

The Coronavirus Policy document [above] mentions specifically consideration pastorally of those in isolation, whether self-isolating i.e. a person or someone in their household has symptoms, or quarantined i.e. positively infected and required to convalesce at home or receive treatment in hospital. As the guidance posits, those who are hospitalised are unlikely to be permitted visitors, but in the section "Pastoral Care of the Isolated" those who are in isolation at home may require regular contact and communication as well as occasional practical assistance e.g. to get supplies.

STAYING IN TOUCH
The Policy suggests that parishioners and clergy... 

"Online is the only place I can really make friends, so that helps obviously. For people who cannot get out to socialise, the internet is a link to the outside world. It IS a social life of sorts."

If you're worried about loneliness

Try to keep active
 

Keep your mind stimulated

• Keep your brain occupied and challenged. Set aside time in your routine for this. Read books, magazines and articles. Listen to podcasts, watch films and do puzzles.
• There are lots of apps that can help you learn things, such as a foreign language or other new skills.

Barbara, Brighton, United Kingdom

Angelo, Turin, Italy

Christopher, Ohio, USA

Maricel, Cavite, Philippines

Célestine, Bordeaux, France

John-Paul, Cavite, Philippines

Virgina, Laguna, Philippines

James, Bristol UK

Raphael, Texas USA

Krista, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Old Roman Catholicism In the History Of The One True Catholic and Apostolic Church
NEW serialisation 
Chapter Four
It was in 1592 that the Jesuits first entered the country; and the difference between their policy and that of Vosmeer and the national clergy, which ultimately led to the separation, began at once.
The Roman Catholics of Holland had their own diocesan organization; the Chapters had the right to elect bishops and present them to the Pope for confirmation. They regarded the Pope as their lawful superior, but held that he was bound to respect their canonical rights. A parallel may be drawn, perhaps, between their attitude towards their ecclesiastical and their civil ruler. They recognized the King of Spain as their sovereign, but held that he was bound to respect the privileges of the provinces; they regarded the Pope also as a constitutional sovereign, bound to respect the canonical rights of local churches. But neither King no Pope would recognize these limitations. Both were convinced believers in the Renaissance ideal of absolute monarchy; both demanded blind obedience to their edicts.
The Jesuits were the new papal militia, vowed to absolute obedience to their General. Their conception of the Church left no room for local rights, or for diocesan organizations. Their policy was to abolish the hierarchy and the dioceses, and to secure that the Roman Catholic mission in the Netherlands should be controlled entirely by the Congregation de Propaganda Fide at Rome - that is, in practice, by them.
With this object, the Jesuits did their utmost, from the moment of their arrival in the country to prevent the Bishoprics from being filled. They held that the bishop who was needed for ordination and confirmation should be only a Vicar Apostolic appointed by the Pope and removable at his direction; not a diocesan bishop with canonical rights of his own and power to hinder the designs of their Society.
The Chapters, on the other hand, and the majority of the clergy and people, while perfectly loyal to the Pope, did not want to be directly controlled from Rome. They valued their ancient rights, and were determined to maintain them. They detested what they regarded as the moral laxity of the Jesuits. And they thought that their countrymen were more likely to return to the Church if the ancient constitution and the ancient type of piety were retained, and the bishops were elected by their clergy, than if the Church were entirely administered by Jesuits, whose moral teaching and exotic piety were alike repugnant to the Dutch. Moreover, the Jesuits, who were believed to be in favour of political assassination, were particularly odious to the government.
This was the real cause of the dispute, which began more than forty years before the publication of Jansen's Augustinus.
The accusation of Jansenism was brought against the Chapter of Utrecht much later, on the principle of "Give a dog a bad name and hang him". But from the first to last the real issue was the rights of the Chapters; and, behind it, the claim of the Papacy to unlimited obedience.
As early as 1598 the Jesuits successfully prevented the appointment of Vosmeer to the See of Haarlem. In 1602 he went to Rome to protest against the intrusion of the Jesuits on the rights of the secular clergy, and to ask for the appointment of an archbishop. The Archduke Albert, who had married the daughter of Philip II, and to whom the sovereignty of the Netherlands had been left by the King's will [Philip died in 1598], believed [mistakenly] that he had the right to nominate the Archbishop of Utrecht under an edict of Charles V. He nominated Vosmeer, who was also elected archbishop by the Chapter, and, much against his will, was consecrated at Rome, September 22, 1602,with the title of Archbishop of Philippi [in order not to offend the Dutch Government], but with the condition that he might assume the real title of Archbishop of Utrecht when circumstances would permit.
Neale, History of the Church of Holland, Appendix 2, gives the evidence that he was indeed Archbishop of Utrecht at length. The following are some examples of it. On January 11, 1603, the archbishop wrote to his brother, Tilman Vosmeer [who had been suggested for the See of Haarlem]: "The Pope wished to promote me by a foreign title: but he gave me the people of Saint Willibrord, that I may be truly called Archbishop of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht". In 1609 he wrote to Gravius, his agent at Rome, that the Archduke had nominated him as Archbishop of Utrecht, but the Pope, in giving him the title of Archbishop of Philippe, and said to him, "You may change your title as soon as your Archduke pleases". [From the standpoint of the Roman Catholic clergy, the Archduke was the lawful sovereign of the whole of the Netherlands and the Dutch Government mere 'insurgents'.] In 1613 Vosmeer told Gravius that his title of Philippe referred, not to Philippi in Macedonia, but to King Philip!
He was banished by the government for having sought and accepted nomination to the Archbishopric of Utrecht from the Archduke Albert: which was naturally regarded as high treason by the Republic. [Dr. Neale thinks the Jesuits themselves denounced him to the government]. Moreover, the Jesuits ordinarily addressed him as Archbishop of Utrecht - e.g., Louis Makeblyd, August 6, 1611, Gerard Contonnel, September 18, 1613. He himself used the title regularly, often in the form Archiepiscopus Ultrajectenis et Philippensis. Besides his 'ordinary' jurisdiction as archbishop, he had his special jurisdiction, as Vicar Apostolic of the Pope; these two separate forms of authority are carefully distinguished in his official documents.
Having been banished from the United Provinces, Vosmeer had to govern his diocese from abroad, first from the Spanish Netherlands, later from Cologne, though he visited it when he could at the risk of his life. He had continually to struggle against the intrusion of the Jesuits and the mendicant orders; he once wrote to his brother, "The inconvenience caused by the Protestants is less than the trouble due to the Jesuits". There were only eight Jesuits in the country in 1609, but in that year the republic agreed to a truce with Spain for twelve years, and the Jesuits were able to enter the country more easily.
By every means in their power they encouraged the clergy and people to ignore the authority of the archbishop, with the object of increasing the power and wealth of their own order. They complained to the internuncios at Brussels that the archbishop was hindering their work; but, as Vosmeer's correspondence shows, they left the really labourious and dangerous work of ministering in the villages to the parish priests.
On December 16, 1609, the archbishop formally inhibited the Jesuits and the mendicant orders from the administration of the Sacraments and from preaching, and forbade the people to have recourse to them. The Jesuits complained to the Pope, who deprived Vosmeer of his Vicariate Apostolic, but the archbishop made a complete defence of himself and the Pope gave way.


Revd Fr Charles T Brusca

For health & well-being…
Christopher, Lyn B, Simon G, Dagmar B, Karen K, Debbie G, Finley G, Diane C, Paul, +Rommel B, Penny E, Colin R, John, Ronald, Lilian & family, Ruth L, David G, David P, Fr Graham F, S&A, +Charles of Wisconsin, Fr Terrence M, +Guo Xijin, +John P, Karl R-W, Fr Kristopher M & family, Mark Coggan, Fr Nicholas P, Ounissa, Ronald Buczek, Rik C, Juanita Alaniz & family, Fr A Cekada, Shirley & Selwyn V, Trayanka K, Amanda A, Evelyn B, Matt & Bethan, Ros R, Ralph S, Brenda M, Carmen, Tony, Marie, Ryan, Eva, Tello, Olive S, David, Joyce T, Ray & Ruth M, Diane & Rebecca, Czarina, William H., Zofia K., Sean H., Laura P, +Andrew Vellone, Marvin, Rene, Czarina, Hunter, Audrey, Susie, Ed Julius De Leon, Trayanka, Bayani Antonio, Jovita Villanueva, Migdelio, Tomas, Divina Dela Paz Labayen, Patrick H, Katherine G, Angela & Claire D, 

For those vocationally discerning…
James, Breandán, Manuel, Vincent, Darren, Akos, Roger, Criostoir, James, Adrian, Carlos, Thomas, Yordanis, Nicholas, Tyler, Micha, Michael, Pierre, Bryan, Abel, Neil, Austin, Dan, David

To be Ordained Priest this Sunday, August 2nd: Criostoir MacanBhanbh (St Anne's Mission, Chicago)

For the faithful departed…
Lauretta (21.01.19), Clive Reed (23.01.19), Fr John Wright (24.01.19), Shelley Luben (11.12.18), Mick Howells (13.12.18), Daniel Callaghan (13.02.19), Alfie (Hub guest), Père Pierre Fournier (08.02.19), Jill Lewis (24.02.19), Cynthia Sharpe Conger (28.02.19), Richard (Ricky) Belmonte (10/03/19), Fr Leo Cameron OSA (29.03.19), Fr John Corbett (30.03.19), Deacon Richard Mulholland (Easter Day), Peter, Bernard Brown (27.06.19), Peter Ellis (01.08.19), Petronila Antonio (10.09.19), Fr Mark Spring (13.09.19), Jean Marchant (15.09.19), Mary Kelly (15.10.19), John Pender (23.10.19), Fr David Cole (17/12/20), Fr Graham Francis (03.01.20), Pauline Sheila White (06/01/20), Wendy Lamb (04/03/20), Sister Sienna O.P. 02.04.20 (COVID19), David Harvey 05.04.20 (COVID19), Fr Antonio Benedetto OSB, Pam Finch, Alejandro Garcia, Mrs Hayes, Kevin Browne, +Amadeus Dion Batain, Anthony Page, Ravi Zacariah, Jeniffer Basbas Lopoz, Amelia Santos Mcasera, Evelyn Tantay Batitis, Teroy Ambrad, Escolastico Ibanez, Angelita Lachica Morales, Amadeus Dion Batain, Fr Beaumont Brandie, Pjerin, Tom, Ambrocio Cruz, Natividad Cruz, Anita Cruz, Alice Juan, Officer Sutton, Peter Sheriff (05.06.20), Walenty Kolosionsek (30.06.20), Fr Bill Scot, Emmanuel Narciso, Remedios Legaspi, Robin Plummer (15.07.20), Eunice Banag (09.08.20)

For those who mourn…
Barbara R & family, Brenda W & family, Joseph S, Catherine L & family, Rev George C & family, Jean C, Margaret & Bonita C, Debbie M & family, Phil E & Family, Adrian Kelly & family, Fr Nicholas Pnematicatos & family, Fr Andrew White & family, Richard Cole & family, the Francis Family, the White family, the Finch Family, the Garcia Family, the Hayes Family, the Browne Family, the Zachariah Family, the Brandie Family, the Manghera Family, the Cruz Family, the Hounsome Family, the Sheriff Family, The Banag Family

For those defending the faith...
Aid to the Church in Need (supporting persecuted Christians)
Association of Christian Teachers (Christians who work in – or care about – education)
Centre for Bio-ethical Research (pro-life) UK / USA
Christian Hacking (pro-life)
Christian Legal Centre (safeguarding the legal freedom of Christians)
Barnabus Fund (supporting persecuted Christians)
Jerusalem Merit (supporting the Iraqi refugee community in Jordan)
40 Days for Life (pro-life)