You Must Sleep No Longer

“So take a lesson from the true father and shepherd. For you see that
now is the time to give your life for the little sheep who have left
the flock. You must seek and win them back by using patience and
war–by war I mean by raising the standard of the sweet blazing cross
and setting out against the unbelievers. so you must sleep no longer,
but wake up and raise that standard courageously. I am confident that
by God’s measureless goodness you will win back the unbelievers and
[at the same time] correct the wrongdoing of Christians, because
everyone will come running to the fragrance of the cross, even those
who have rebelled against you most.”
--Excerpt from Writings of Saint Catherine of Siena

==============
5 March – Saint Piran

(Died 480)
Abbot, Hermit, Missionary, miracle-worker. Died on 5 March 480 of
natural causes. Patronages – Cornwall, England, miners, Piran,
Slovenia, tin miners, tinners. He is also known as Pyran, Peranus,
Peran.

Piran’s family origins are obscure; tradition says he was born in
Ireland but spent his youth in south Wales where he founded a Church
in Cardiff. He received religious schooling at the Monastery of Saint
Cadog at Llancarfon, where he met Saint Finnian of Clonard. The two
returned together to Ireland where Finnian founded six Monasteries,
including his most famous one at Clonard. Piran lived there before
visiting Saint Enda on Aran Island and then Saint Senan on Scattery
Island. He founded his own community at Clonmacnoise, known as
“Ireland’s University.”

Cornish legend says Piran was captured in his middle years by pagan
Irish, jealous of his miraculous powers, especially his ability to
cure many illnesses. They tied a millstone around his neck and threw
him off a cliff into the sea during a storm. As Piran hit the water
the storm abated and the millstone bobbed to the surface like a cork.
On his stone raft, Piran sailed for Cornwall, landed at Perran Beach,
built a small Chapel on Penhale Sands and made his first converts – a
badger, a fox and a bear. He lived there for years as a Hermit,
working miracles for the locals.

Piran founded Churches at Perran-Uthno and Perran-Arworthal, a Chapel
at Tintagel and a holy-well called the “Venton-Barren” at Probus. He
made trips to Brittany, France, where he worked with Saint Cai.
Arthurian tradition from Geoffrey of Monmouth, says he was Chaplain to
King Arthur as well as being appointed as the Archbishop of York after
Saint Samson was exiled by Saxon invasions, though it is doubtful he
ever took up his See.

Piran’s Patronage of Cornwall derives from his popularity with the
Cornish tin-miners. Legend says that Piran discovered tin in Cornwall
when he used a large black rock to build a fireplace and found that
the heat made a trickle of pure white metal ooze from the stone. He
shared this discovery with the locals, providing the Cornish with a
lucrative living. The people were so delighted that they held a
sumptuous feast where the wine flowed like water. Piran was fond of
the odd tipple, resulting in the Cornish phrase “As drunk as a
Perraner.” The trickle of white metal upon a black background remains
as the White Cross of Saint Piran on the Cornish National flag.

Piran died at his little Hermitage near the beach. His relics were a
great draw to pilgrims but, due to being inundation by the sands, they
were moved inland to the Parish Church of Perran-Zabulo, built to
house them.

St Piran’s Day is popular in Cornwall and the term ‘Perrantide’ has
been coined to describe the week prior to this day. The largest St
Piran’s Day event is the pilgrimage across the dunes to St Piran’s
Cross which hundreds of people attend, generally dressed in black,
white and gold, and carrying the Cornish Flag and a Crucifix.

There are many Churches and even towns and villages Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours/Our Lady of Good Help, Montreal, Canada
(1657) – 5 March: dedicated to St Piran in both Cornwall and Brittany.

https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/05/


Riches and Poverty

“There is a striking contrast between the luxurious living of wealthy
people who waste their money on pleasure and amusement and the abject
poverty of those who are without food, clothing and shelter.
This is in complete contradiction of the Gospel message which has
proclaimed that we are all brothers.
Extravagance is always self-centred, whereas Christianity, is the
creed of love….
It was, in this sense, that Jesus blessed the poor and condemned the rich.
He is referring to the poor man who has enough to supply his needs, is
detached from worldly possessions, uses his poverty to assist him in
his journey towards Heaven and, is happy or, at any rate, content.
But He condemns the rich man who squanders his wealth on selfish
amusement and is deaf to the entreaties of those in need.
After twenty centuries of Christianity, the violent contrast still
exists in modern society.
If we have any reason to reproach ourselves, let us try now, to make
up for our deficiencies.
--Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Bible Quote:
My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of
his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a
father the son in whom he delighteth. (Proverbs 3:11-12) DRB

<><><><>
PRAYER TO MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

Father, source of light in every age,
the virgin conceived and bore Your Son
Who is called Wonderful God,
Prince of Peace.
May her prayer,
the gift of a mother's love,
be Your people's joy through all ages.
May her response,
born of a humble heart,
draw Your Spirit to rest on Your people.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Meditation for troubled times:

The power of God's spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Our
conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest
of wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little
in the end. But he who conquers himself is greater than he who
conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But God's spirit
is eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of
the power of God's spirit.
--From Twenty-Four Hours a Day

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