- St. Ivo (Yves) (1303). Patron or Patroness, Priest. Patron of Lawyers. (Historical)
- St. Peter Celestine (Celestine V) (1296). Founder or Foundress, Pope, Religious. (Traditional) Founded the Celestines
- St. Pudentiana (160). Virgin. (Traditional)
AS a child, Peter had visions of our Blessed Lady, and of the angels and saints. They encouraged him in his prayer, and chided him when he fell into any fault. his mother, though only a poor widow, put him to school, feeling sure that he would one day be a saint. At the age of twenty, he left his home in Apulia to live in a mountain solitude. Here he passed three years, assaulted by the evil spirits and beset with temptations of the flesh, but consoled by angels’ visits. After this, his seclusion was invaded by disciples, who refused to be sent away; and the rule of life which he gave them formed the foundation of the Celestine Order. Angels assisted in the church which Peter built; unseen bells rang peals of surpassing sweetness, and heavenly music filled the sanctuary, when he offered the Holy Sacrifice. Suddenly he found himself torn from his loved solitude by his election to the Papal throne. Resistance was of no avail. He took the name of Celestine, to remind him of the heaven he was leaving and for which he sighed, and was consecrated at Aquila. After a reign of four months, Peter summoned the cardinals to his presence, and solemnly resigned his trust. St. Peter built himself a boarded cell in his palace, and there continued his hermit’s life; and when, lest his simplicity might be taken advantage of to distract the peace of the Church, he was put under guard, he said, “I desired nothing but a cell, and a cell they have given me.” There he enjoyed his former loving intimacy with the saints and angels, and sang the Divine praises almost continually. At length, on Whit Sunday, he told his guards he should die within the week, and immediately fell ill. He received the last Sacraments; and the following Saturday, as he finished the concluding verse of Lauds, “Let every spirit bless the Lord!” he closed his eyes to this world and opened them to the vision of God.
REFLECTION: “Whoso,” says the Imitation of Christ, “withdraweth himself from acquaintances and friends, to him will God draw near with His holy angels.”
WORD OF THE DAY
HERALDRY, ECCLESIASTICAL. Study of armorial bearings applied to seals and coats-of-arms of religious corporations and to emblems attributed to particular saints. The earliest of such ecclesiastical seals bore the device of a bishop or abbot, and by the fourteenth century English religious houses were ordered to have a common seal. It developed later into an impersonal coat-of-arms for each community. The miter, the crosier, and hat appeared as emblems in the fourteenth century, and by the seventeenth century the cardinal’s hat was almost universal. The rank of the prelate was shown by the number of tassels. The heraldic miter is now placed above the other symbols by those entitled to wear it. Another external ornament to the shield is the crosier, a sign of episcopal dignity. Also used armorially is the cross: two-barred for the primate, and treble traverse on the papal cross. The bourdon, or knobbed staff, often appeared behind the shield or a prior or prioress. The Armenians are the only non-Catholic Eastern ecclesiastics who use heraldic devices. The arms of Vatican City are a tiara above two crossed keys, gold on red.
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
May, Month of the Immaculate Heart
Maria Magnificata. Short Meditations for May, the Month on Our Lady’s Life. 19th Day — Mary’s loss of Jesus for three days.
