Saturday, August 25, 2018

ST. LOUIS OF FRANCE

Revelation, Chapter 11, Verse 10-11

¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and be glad and exchange gifts because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth. ¹¹ But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them. When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them.

The two great witnesses as mentioned here are the spirits of righteousness and truth. The world delights in destruction and will pay almost any price to avoid the truth. Yet, if a man aligns himself with the one who had risen on the third day, the breath of life from God will enter him. A man resurrected in the risen Lord is a fearful thing for he cannot be brought, and he is clothed in the power of God: All the world fears a man that will stand on his feet.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD –for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

  

St. Louis of France[1]

Reigning from 1226 to 1270, Louis IX showed how a saint would act on the throne of France. He was a lovable personality, a kind husband, a father of eleven children, and at the same time a strict ascetic. To an energetic and prudent rule Louis added love and zeal for the practice of piety and the reception of the holy sacraments. He was brave in battle, polished at feasts, and addicted to fasting and mortification. His politics were grounded upon strict justice, unshatterable fidelity, and untiring effort toward peace. Nevertheless, his was not a weakly rule but one that left its impress upon following generations. He was a great friend of religious Orders, a generous benefactor of the Church. The Breviary says of him: "He had already been king for twenty years when he fell victim to a severe illness. That afforded the occasion for making a vow to undertake a crusade for the liberation of the Holy Land. Immediately upon recovery he received the crusader's cross from the hand of the bishop of Paris, and, followed by an immense army, he crossed the sea in 1248. On the field of battle Louis routed the Saracens; yet when the plague had taken large numbers of his soldiery, he was attacked and taken captive (1250). The king was forced to make peace with the Saracens; upon the payment of a huge ransom, he and his army were again set at liberty." While on a second crusade he died of the plague, with these words from the psalm upon his lips: "I will enter Thy house; I will worship in Thy holy temple and sing praises to Thy Name!" (Ps. 5). It was his mother's supreme desire that her son should become a kind, pious and just ruler. She was wont to say to him: "Never forget that sin is the only great evil in the world. No mother could love her son more than I love you. But I would rather see you lying dead at my feet than know that you had offended God by one mortal sin." These words remained indelibly impressed upon his mind. St. Louis was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis and so is included in the family of Franciscan saints.

Things to Do:

·         From the Catholic Culture library, St. Louis, King of France

·         Learn about the origin and meaning of the Fleur-de-lis.

New Orleans Founded 1718[2]

St. Louis Cathedral, the country’s oldest continuously operating cathedral, faces Jackson Square. Melding French, Spanish, Italian, and Afro-Caribbean cultures, New Orleans is a city that is at once elegant and debauched. And while it was gravely impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Big Easy has shown formidable resilience. Many of the city’s myriad pleasures are packed within the lively grid of streets that make up the Vieux Carré (aka the French Quarter). It is New Orleans’s most touristy area, yet also its heart. The French laid out the Quarter’s 90 blocks of narrow streets in the 1720s, and the Spanish—who ruled during the mid- to late 18th century—further developed it. Indeed, despite its name, the neighborhood looks more Spanish than French. Wherever you stroll, you risk sensory overload, from jazz on boisterous Bourbon Street to the smell of café au lait and beignets (deep-fried dough dusted with powdered sugar) wafting from Café du Monde in Jackson Square. Decatur Street offers souvenir stands, offbeat boutiques, and charming restaurants. It’s also home to Central Grocery, an old-fashioned Italian deli whose claim to fame is having perfected (some say invented) one of the city’s classic sandwiches, the muffuletta. Royal and Chartres streets are your best bets for upscale shopping. Be sure to pop into the tacky but fun Pat O’Brien’s to sample their Hurricane, a fruity—and potent—rum cocktail in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp. Charming Soniat House is comprised of 30 antiques-filled rooms in a cluster of three 19th-century Creole town houses overlooking an interior courtyard garden where guests breakfast on warm biscuits and homemade preserves. For a big-hotel experience, and a big dose of history, it’s hard to beat the lavish 600-room 1886 Hotel Monteleone. Stop by its revolving circus-themed Carousel Bar for a Sazerac cocktail before dinner. The Windsor Court, arguably the finest hotel in the Big Easy, is known for its palatial accommodations, award-winning restaurant, the Grill Room, and museum-quality art collection—yes, that’s a Gainsborough.

Visitor info: www.neworleansonline.com.

The Way[3]

"Read these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in the end you will be a more worthy soul."

55.  A Director. You need one. So that you can give yourself to God, and give yourself fully..., by obedience. A Director who understands your apostolate, who knows what God wants, who can effectively second the work of the holy Spirit in your soul, without taking you from your place, filling you with peace, and teaching you how to make your work fruitful.

Daily Devotions

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Please Pray for Senator McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to intercede.

·         Pray our Democratic leaders confirm the new Supreme Court Judge.

·         Pray the 54 Day Rosary

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[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2018-08-25

[2]Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: Revised Second Edition

[3]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm