Envy comes to us from Hell

Envy, my children, follows pride; whoever is envious is proud. See,
envy comes to us from Hell; the devils having sinned through pride,
sinned also through envy, envying our glory, our happiness. Why do we
envy the happiness and the goods of others? Because we are proud; we
should like to be the sole possessors of talents, riches, of the
esteem and love of all the world! We hate our equals, because they are
our equals; our inferiors, from the fear that they may equal us; our
superiors, because they are above us.
--Saint John Vianney

<<>><<>><<>>
20 May – Blessed Maria Crescencia Perez FMH

 Virgin, Religious Sister of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Garden,
Nursing Sister, Teacher, Catechist. Blessed Maria had a great devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and experienced visions and mystical
union with Jesus – born as María Angélica Pérez on 17 August 1897 in
San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina and died on 20 May 1932 (aged 34)
of natural causes in Vallenar, Atacama, Chile. She was known as
“Sister Sweetness.” Patronage – Nurses. Her body is incorrupt.

María Angélica Pérez was born on 17 August 1897 in Buenos Aires to
Spanish immigrants Augustín Pérez and Ema Rodriguez as the fifth of
eleven children.  She was raised on a farm and helped her father with
work around the farm. She was a pious child, known for her devotion to
the faith, through the untiring dedication of her mother. One of the
families regular devotions was, each day to gather the children and
pray the Holy Rosary together.

And so these children grew up, with that strong mother who taught them
to respond with love to the love of God, by speaking of Him with full understanding and to transform joys and sorrows into moments of grace.
Maria Angelica studied at “Hogar de Jesus,” “House of Jesus” in Pergamino. She also received a degree as a craft Teacher from the same
school.

Her religious vocation, which had been growing throughout all these
years, took a definite course, when on 31 December 1915 she entered
the Novitiate of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Garden, in Buenos
Aires. She received the holy habit and her religious name –Maria
Crescencia- on 2 September 1918, in circumstances of great sorrow as
just before this time, her father, Don Agustín Pérez, had died.

Desiring nothing else than to please God with a holy life, she gave
herself totally to her mission, becoming “All for All” in perfect
obedience and in unlimited charity. According to some witnesses, the outstanding virtue of Maria Crescencia was humility. This allowed her
to live the great demands of fraternal charity and of a perfect life
together, with intimate and serene joy.

During the first years of her religious life, she taught crafts and
Catechesis, first in the Workshop School attached to the Provincial
House and then in “Colegio del Huerto” in the Capital of Buenos Aires.

The second stage of her life is marked with sickness. She was assigned
to serve at Mar del Plata Maritime Sanatorium (Solarium), a place
dedicated exclusively to the hospitalisation and care of children
affected by bone tuberculosis. She stayed there for three years but
was there infected with lung disease. As her frail health began to
decline rapidly and seriously, her superiors decide to send her to a
place where the weather would help her recover. They choose for it
Vallenar, in the Republic of Chile, where the Daughters of Our Lady of
the Garden serve at the Hospital.

In spite of how much it cost her to leave her homeland, her family and
her community, Maria Crescencia clearly saw the will of God in the
words of her Superior and gladly accepted what He asked of her. She
said “For fulfilling the will of God I would go to the end of the
world.” She lived in Vallenar totally dedicated to the service of the
sick people, within the joy of community life and grew unceasingly in
the love of God, to whom she had consecrated her life.

In 1928, Sister María Crescencia visited Pergamino for the last time
to say goodbye to her family forever. Shortly after, accompanied by
the Provincial Superior, she travelled to Chile, where she spent the
last stage of her life.

Given the progress and severity of her illness, she was hospitalised
for three months in a hospital near Vallenar, completely isolated to
avoid infection. She spent the last weeks of her life in Vallenar, in
her community, with the Sisters assisting her and she them, with her
serenity and deep inner peace.

With true piety she received the Holy Viaticum, surrounded by her
Superior and Sisters. While she prayed the prayers of the dying with
those present, she sat up and bowing deeply before the picture of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, repeated the words that Jesus Himself taught
her:  “Heart of Jesus, for the sufferings of Your divine heart, have
mercy on us.”

God had reserved a very special grace for this moment. According to
the chronicles, she received in a vision then, a visit of the Founder,
Saint Antony Mary Gianelli (1789-1846) (His life here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/07/saint-of-the-day-7-june-st-anthony-mary-gianelli-1789-1846/).

From the image of the painting of Our Lady of the Garden that was next
to her bed, Mary blessed her and the Sisters. Baby Jesus moved to
leave the arms of His Mother and Maria Crescencia extended her arms to
receive Him.

Then she breaks into a fervent prayer: “Heart of Jesus bless me and
bless my Sisters, give them strength to fight with courage and seek
the salvation of souls in these difficult times. Bless our Institute,
from which I received so much good and in which, in these moments, I
consider myself the happiest creature in the world. I ask You Most
Holy Heart of Jesus that You send many good vocations to our
Institute, oh Heart of Jesus, I ask You a special blessing for Chile
and since it is Your will that I die here happy, I offer You this
sacrifice for the peace and tranquillity of this nation.”

It seems that the Heart of Jesus made her see the prize that He had
prepared for her, because she continues,  “When, Lord, have I deserved
that? What are the sufferings of this world compared to the happiness
of heaven? I am more than a miserable creature, the smallest of all, I
am less than a worm of the earth, where did I deserve so much
happiness? Heart of Jesus I do not deserve all that. Everything is the
work of Your Heart, Jesus.”

Her desire to join Jesus was vehement, so she exclaims “Do not stop me anymore … Do not stop me anymore … Yes, let all go to the Most Holy
Heart of Jesus, there you will find the salvation of your soul”.
Finally she says smiling, “Father … into your hands I entrust my
spirit.” Thus she died on 20 May 1932.

Shortly after her death, at “Colegio del Huerto” in Quillota, 600 km distant from Vallenar, the Sisters together perceive a fragrance
similar to the perfume of violets, which remains several days within
the walls of the school. Because of this inexplicable fact, the
Superior says, “Sister Crescencia has died.” Immediately a telegram
arrived announcing her death.

When the community left Vallenar, the population did not want them to
take the body of what they called “La santita,” “The little saint.” So her body remained there for 35 years. On 8 November 1966, the
Congregation ordered the transfer of her remains to Quillota. Provided
with a small urn, they opened the coffin to reduce her remains but
they found her body and her holy habit intact and in perfect
preservation. The whole city of Vallenar gathered to verify this
singular fact. The wake was celebrated again and then she was taken to
Quillota where she rested for 17 years in the vault of the Sisters.

In 1983 her body was moved to the Church of the Sisters in Pergamino
until 26 July 1986 when, on the occasion of the opening of the
Diocesan process for her Beatification, it was transferred to the
Chapel of Our Lady of the Garden School. On 3 October 1990, the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints opened the process in Rome.

Her tomb is today ceaselessly visited by numerous pilgrims from all
over the country and surrounding countries, who come to venerate her
remains, to ask for help, or to thank for favours. These are the facts
God uses to communicate His message and tell us of His designs about
Sister Maria Crescencia. In Pergamino, on Saturday, 17 November 2012,
at 11 o’clock, she was Beatified. The recognition was celebrated by
Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. Let us pray for her
Canonisation!

https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/20/

Saint Quote:
By word of mouth, by letters, by miracles, and by the example of his
own life, Saint Paul bore the name of Jesus wherever he went. He
praised the name of Jesus "at all times," but never more than when
"bearing witness to his faith."
-- Saint Bernardine of Siena from one of his sermons

Bible Quote:
He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath
sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them;
and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall
forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they
are retained.  (John 20:21-23)


<><><><>
A prayer to Our Lord's Sacred Heart, for His Church:

Most sacred Heart of Jesus, shower copiously blessings on Thy
holy Church, on the Supreme Pontiff, and on all the clergy;
grant perseverance to the just, convert sinners, enlighten
infidels, bless our parents, friends, and benefactors, assist the
dying, liberate the souls of purgatory, and extend over all
hearts the sweet empire of Thy love.  Amen.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Envy comes to us from Hell

Envy, my children, follows pride; whoever is envious is proud. See,
envy comes to us from Hell; the devils having sinned through pride,
sinned also through envy, envying our glory, our happiness. Why do we
envy the happiness and the goods of others? Because we are proud; we
should like to be the sole possessors of talents, riches, of the
esteem and love of all the world! We hate our equals, because they are
our equals; our inferiors, from the fear that they may equal us; our
superiors, because they are above us.
--Saint John Vianney

<<>><<>><<>>
26 June - Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad OFM Cap
Also known as
Ya‘Qub of Ghazir
Yaaqub El-Haddad

(1875-1954)
Priest, Religious of the Order of Friars Minor as a Capuchin Friar,
Founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Cross of which he is the
Patron, noted Preacher and founder of many orphanages and schools
across Lebanon, Apostle of Charity. Called the “St Vincent de Paul of Lebanon,”  “the Apostle of the Cross” and “the Apostle of Lebanon.”

Fr Jacques Ghazir Haddad was born on 1 February 1875, in Ghazir,
Lebanon, the third of five children. He attended school in Ghazir and
then the College de la Sageese in Beirut, where he studied Arabic,
French and Syriac.

In 1892 he went to Alexandria, Egypt, to teach Arabic at the Christian Brothers’ College, and there he felt the call to the priesthood. He
entered the Capuchin Convent in Khashbau the next year. He was
ordained a priest on 1 November 1901 in Beirut, Lebanon. As an
itinerant preacher from 1903 to 1914 he walked all over Lebanon
proclaiming the Word of God and was given the name “the Apostle of Lebanon”. He was also seen preaching in Syria, Palestine, Iraq and
Turkey. In 1919 he bought a piece of land on the hill of Jall-Eddib,
north of Beirut, where he built a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the
Sea. Nearby he erected a great Cross.

Fr Jacques was tireless, he would help anyone in need following in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi. In 1920, to assist him in this
mission to help the sick and the poor, he founded the Franciscan
Sisters of the Holy Cross of Lebanon.  Sister Marie Zougheib was his
first collaborator and aided him in setting up his new congregation.
He set out in the rule of his order with the insistence, above all
else, that the works of mercy never be neglected in the pursuit of the order’s work. He had been titled as the “Vincent de Paul of Lebanon”.

The modest work of Fr Jacques aroused the people’s admiration, many
poor and sick people began to go to the “Cross” and Fr Jacques would welcome them all. In 1950 the “Cross” became exclusively a psychiatric hospital, one of the most modern in the Near East. The movement of
charity began to spread throughout Lebanon and Fr Jacques and his
Sisters multiplied their works of social assistance.

In 1933 he opened the House of the Sacred Heart in Deir el-Kamar, a
girls’ orphanage, which later became an asylum for the chronically
ill. In 1948 he opened the Hospital of Our Lady for the aged, the
chronically ill and the paralysed. In 1949 St Joseph’s Hospital became
one of the most important medical centres of the capital. It was
followed in 1950 by St Anthony’s House in Beirut for beggars and
vagabonds whom the police found on the streets and Providence House
for homeless girls. Even though Fr Jacques was very busy with the
hospital mission, he and his Sisters carried on the important work of
education and opened several schools as well as an orphanage for 200
girls.

Fr Jacques was worn out by vigils, fatigue and travel. Although he
suffered from numerous illnesses, became almost completely blind and
was stricken with leukemia, he did not stop blessing God and working.
He was lucid to the end, at dawn on the day of his death, he said
“Today is my last day!” His last hours were an uninterrupted series of prayers invoking the Cross and the Virgin Mary until he died on 26
June 1954 in Lebanon.

His cause for Beatification was introduced in February 1979, on 24
February 1979, His Holiness St Pope John Paul II signed the Decree of Introduction of the Cause for Beatification. On Sunday, 22 June 2008,
he was Beatified during a special Mass in Beirut by Cardinal José
Saraiva Martins, C.M.F., Prefect of Congregation for the Causes of
Saints.

Since Blessed Haddad’s death, additional hospitals have opened to
assist those injured during the war and to assist the Kabr-Chemoun
region where medical services were scarce…Vatican.va

Father al-Haddād received from President Émile Eddé the Palm Medal of Lebanese Merit on 5 January 1938 while President Bechara El Khoury
awarded him the Golden Medal of Lebanese Merit on 2 June 1949 and then
the Officer Degree of the Lebanese Cedars Medal on 26 November 1951.

https://anastpaul.com/2019/06/26/


Saint Quote:
“One ounce of a Cross
is much better
than a ton of books
of prayer.”
--Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad

“Anyone who seeks heaven
but without suffering,
is like someone
who wants to buy goods,
without paying.”
--Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad

“Prayer without trust,
is like a letter in one’s pocket.
It never reaches its destination!”
--Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad

“Honouring Mary,
no matter how sacred,
is only the door
leading to Jesus.
Mary is the means,
Jesus is the end.
Mary is the road,
Jesus is the destination.”
--Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad


<><><><>
Meditation for the Day

   When I let personal piques and resentments interfere with what I
know to be my proper conduct, I am on the wrong track and I am undoing
all I have built up by doing the right thing. I must never let
personal piques interfere with living the way I know God wants me to
live. When I have no clear guidance from God, I must go forward
quietly along the path of duty. The attitude of quiet faith will
receive its reward as surely as acting upon God's direct guidance. I
must not weaken my spiritual power by letting personal piques upset
me.
   I pray that I may not let myself become too upset. I pray that I
may go quietly along the path I have chosen.
—From Twenty-Four Hours a Day

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)