Universalis
Monday 8 May 2023    (other days)
Saint Stanisław (Stanislaus), Bishop, Martyr, chief patron of Poland 
Solemnity

Using calendar: Poland. You can change this.

The Lord is the king of martyrs: come, let us adore him.

Year: A(I). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Red.

St Stanisław (1036 - 1079)

He was born in Szczepanów in Poland in about 1036. He studied at Liège, was ordained, and in 1072 became bishop of Kraków. He ruled the church as a good shepherd, gave help to the poor, and performed annual visitations to supervise the clergy. He reproached King Bolesław II for his crimes and vices and at length excommunicated him. Bolesław sought him out, and murdered him as he was celebrating Mass on 8 May 1079.
  See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.

Other saints: Blessed Catherine of Saint Augustine (1632 - 1668)

Canada
Catherine de Longpré was born May 3, 1632 at Saint-Sauveur, France. Following the advice of Saint John Eudes, she entered the Augustinian Hospitaller Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus in 1644. She volunteered to go to her community’s mission in Quebec. Her family was strongly opposed to the idea, but she prevailed, and arrived there in 1648.
  She spent her life ministering to the poor and sick in Quebec, and died there at the age of 36.

Other saints: Blessed John Sullivan (1861-1933)

8 May (where celebrated)
John Sullivan (1861 – 1933) was born into a wealthy Dublin family and baptized in the Church of Ireland. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1896, at the age of thirty-five. Four years later, he entered the Jesuits. He was known for his life of deep spiritual reflection and personal sacrifice; he is recognised for his dedicated work with the poor and afflicted; during his lifetime, cures were attributed to his intercession, though he himself did not accept this. He spent much of his time walking and riding his bike to visit those who were troubled or ill in the villages around Clongowes Wood College school where he taught from 1907 until his death.

Other saints: Bl Aloysius Rabatà (c.1443-1490)

8 May (where celebrated)
Aloysius was born at Erice, near Trapani, Sicily, around the year 1443. Little is known of his early life. Accounts from the canonical process of beatification identify him as the prior of the Carmelite Community of St Michael in Randazzo, Sicily. Brother Aloysius is remembered as a model Carmelite prior, living the care, concern and responsibility of a prior as outlined in the Carmelite Rule. His simple, virtuous and exemplary life was a model for the other brothers of his community. He shared in all aspects of work in the community, including the humbler tasks such as begging for the community’s bread. His welcome, hospitality and spiritual counsel were well remembered by visitors to the community. As well, his generosity of spirit overflowed into his care for the poor of Randazzo.
  Toward the end of his life, while out collecting wood for the community, he was assaulted and wounded on the forehead and suffered for a long time as a consequence. In iconography Aloysius is often represented with a palm in his hand and an arrow driven into his forehead, believed to be the cause of his death. According to tradition, an unknown assailant had wounded Aloysius because he thought Aloysius had been excessive in reproving a brother for immoral conduct. He would never reveal who had hurt him and when questioned would only reply, “I pray that God will pardon him, and will be glorified by what has happened.”
  Brother Aloysius died at Randazzo and was buried there in the church. Devotion to the memory of the Christ-like care Aloysius lived out brought healing to many at his tomb following his death.
MT

Other saints: Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the entire Order of Preachers

8 May (where celebrated)
It has been customary for the Church to invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary under titles such as Mediatrix, thereby indicating the continuing saving role of her maternity in the order of grace, for “by her many acts of intercession she continues to gain for us gifts of eternal salvation.” (Lumen gentium, 62)
  Blessed Humbert of Romans declares that “the Blessed Virgin was of great help in beginning the Order ... and it is to be hoped that she will bring it to a good end.” (Opera II, 70-71) From its foundation the Order has not hesitated to acknowledge the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin, to continuously experience it and to commend it to the hearts of the brothers and sisters, so that encouraged by this maternal help they might adhere more closely to their Mediator and Redeemer as they labor to carry out their mission of salvation in the world. (See Lumen gentium, 62)
  Until the recent restoration of the liturgical calendar, the Order celebrated the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 22, the anniversary of the approval of the Order by Pope Honorius III (December 22, 1216). Keeping in mind the special character of the weekdays of Advent which take precedence over all other memorials, it is suggested that the commemoration of this Patronage be celebrated on May 8 – during the month which is specially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and on the day when she is honored under similar titles in other proper liturgical calendars.

About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings:

Second Reading: St Cyprian (210 - 258)

Cyprian was born in Carthage and spent most of his life in the practice of the law. He was converted to Christianity, and was made bishop of Carthage in 249. He steered the church through troubled times, including the persecution of the emperor Decius, when he went into hiding so as to be able to continue looking after the church. In 258 the persecution of the emperor Valerian began. Cyprian was first exiled and then, on the 14th of September, executed, after a trial notable for the calm and courtesy shown by both sides.
  Cyprian’s many letters and treatises shed much light on a formative period in the Church’s history, and are valuable both for their doctrine and for the picture they paint of a group of people in constant peril of their lives but still determined to keep the faith.

Liturgical colour: red

Red is the colour of fire and of blood. Liturgically, it is used to celebrate the fire of the Holy Spirit (for instance, at Pentecost) and the blood of the martyrs.

Mid-morning reading (Terce)Apocalypse 2:10-11 ©
Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you: I tell you, the devil is going to send some of you to prison to test you, and you must face an ordeal for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize.

Noon reading (Sext)Apocalypse 3:21 ©
Those who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I was victorious myself and took my place with my Father on his throne.

Afternoon reading (None)Apocalypse 19:7,9 ©
Let us be glad and joyful and give praise to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!

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Scripture readings taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. For on-line information about other Random House, Inc. books and authors, see the Internet web site at http://www.randomhouse.com.
 
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