• Quality is superior to quantity

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Mon Oct 26 10:13:52 2020
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    =C2 Quality is superior to quantity

    =C2 =C2 As good theologians teach,(20) God is more glorified by a sin=
    gle
    act of charity of ten talents than by ten acts of charity of one
    talent each. Likewise a single very perfect just soul pleases God more
    than many others who remain in mediocrity or tepidity. Quality is
    superior to quantity. This is why the plenitude of grace in Mary
    surpassed from the first day of her existence that of all the saints,
    as a single diamond is worth more than a quantity of other precious
    stones.
    =C2 =C2 Charity, therefore, ought by our merits to grow until death. =
    With
    this infused virtue, our aptitude to receive a new increase grows,(21)
    our spiritual heart dilates more and more, and our divine capacity is
    enlarged according to the words of the psalm: "I have run the way of
    Thy commandments, when Thou didst enlarge my heart." (22) St. Paul
    also says: "Our heart is enlarged. . . . Be you also enlarged." (23)

    <<>><<>><<>>
    27 October ' Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza OP
    (also known as Bartholomew of Braganza)

    =C2 (c 1200'1271)
    =C2 Bishop, Confessor, Dominican Friar, renowned Preacher, Defender of
    the Faith, Writer, Theologian, diplomatic peacemaker.

    Bartholomew was born in the city of Vicenza to the noble family of di
    Braganca. He studied at Padua, receiving there the habit of the
    recently founded Order from the hands of St Dominic himself, at about
    the age of twenty. Immediately after his ordination, he was sent to
    Lombardy to preach against the heretics who were leading others away
    from the true faith. As a young priest he founded a military order
    whose purpose was to keep civil peace in towns throughout Italy.

    He was so effective in this, that the Holy Father, Pope Gregory IX
    called him to Rome and appointed him Master of the Sacred Palace (the
    Papal Theologian), which is an office traditionally held by
    Dominicans. Because of the differing needs of the Church, the
    following Pope, Innocent IV, appointed him to become a bishop on the
    Island of Cyprus. For most men, such an appointment is an honour and a
    tribute to their holiness and their demonstrated leadership skills.
    But for Bartholomew, it was a form of exile that had been urged by an
    antipapal group that was only too happy to see him leave for Cyprus.

    Already having become a friend of St Louis the King of France, Bl
    Bartholomew renewed this friendship as St Louis went through Cyprus on
    his way to Egypt during the Seventh Crusade (1248). In 1254, he was
    sent as legate to the courts of England and France and as Henry III of
    England was, at that time, in his realm in the Aquitaine, Bartholomew
    travelled there towards the close of that year, then accompanied the
    English king and queen to Paris. He was, on this occasion, presented
    by the King of France with a relic of the true Cross and a thorn from
    Jesus' Crown of Thorns, worn at His Crucifixion. These he afterward=
    s
    placed in the beautiful Dominican Church built by him at Vicenza which
    is known as the Church of the Crown.

    Two years later, in order to ensure the presence of so distinguished a
    prelate at his own court, Pope Alexander IV made him Bishop of
    Vicenza, his native city. During his tenure of that see, Bartholomew
    was subject to the hostility of the local ruler Ezzelino III, a
    Ghibelline who was noted for the brutality of his rule and who was a
    strong opponent of Papal power. But in Vicenza, he not only continued
    to preach the truths of the faith and free the local Church from the
    errors of the Manicheans but he also established such a sense of peace
    that the people asked him to become their temporal ruler as well. He
    rightfully declined but this shows the great virtue that he not only
    had but also, that he instilled in his people.

    He was venerated by the people and, according to the Bollandists, has
    always been honoured with the title of =E2=80=9CBlessed=E2=80=9D. In recogn= ition of
    this, he was formally Beatified in 1793. He wrote commentaries on
    Scripture, was the reputed author of a commentary on the =E2=80=9CHierarchy= =E2=80=9D
    of St Dionysius the Areopagite, of two volumes of sermons and some
    smaller works.

    By Anastpaul 2019


    <><><><>
    O God, who made Blessed Bartholomew, Your Confessor and Bishop,
    wonderful in leading the enemies of the faith from the darkness of
    error to the light of truth and in bringing back multitudes to peace
    and concord, grant, through his intercession, that Your peace, which
    passes all understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in Christ
    Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with You forever and ever.

    Saint Quote:
    The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great
    things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.
    --Saint Gregory the Great

    Bible Quote:
    =C2 "That is why the promise is to faith, so that it comes as a free gift
    and is secure for all the descendants, not only those who rely on the
    Law but all those others who rely on the faith of Abraham, the
    ancestor of us all (as Scriptures says: 'I have made you the father of
    many nations').=C2 Romans 4:16


    <><><><>
    Prayer to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart:

    Remember, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, what ineffable power thy
    divine Son hath given thee over His own adorable Heart.
    Full of trust in thy merits, we come
    before thee and beg thy protection. O heavenly Treasurer of the Heart
    of Jesus, that Heart which is the inexhaustible source of all graces,
    which thou mayest open to us at thy good pleasure, in order that from
    it may flow forth upon mankind the riches of love and mercy, light and salvation, grant unto us, we beseech thee, the favors which we seek.
    .. . .We can never, never be refused by thee, and since thou art our
    Mother, O our Lady of the Sacred Heart, graciously hear our prayers
    and grant our request. Amen.

    --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
    * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)