That the desires of the heart are to be examined and governed

“My Son, thou hast still many things to learn, which thou hast not
well learned yet.”
What are they, Lord?
“To place thy desire altogether in subjection to My good pleasure,
and not to be a lover of thyself, but an earnest seeker of My will.
Thy desires often excite and urge thee forward; but consider with
thyself whether thou art not more moved for thine own objects than for
My honour. If it is Myself that thou seekest, thou shalt be well
content with whatsoever I shall ordain; but if any pursuit of thine
own lieth hidden within thee, behold it is this which hindereth and
weigheth thee down.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 3, Chapter 11

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May 18th - St. Felix of Cantalice

d. 1587
ST FELIX was born at Cantalice, near Città Ducale in Apulia. His
parents were devout peasants and he himself early evinced such piety
that his little companions when they saw him approach would cry out,
“Here comes Felix the saint!” As a child he acted as cowherd and
often, after driving his cattle to some quiet pasturage, he would
spend much time praying at the foot of a tree in the bark of which he
had cut a cross. At the age of 12 he was hired out, first as a
shepherd and afterwards as a ploughman, to a well-to-do landowner of
Città Ducale, named Mark Tully Pichi or Picarelli.

When still quite young, Felix taught himself to meditate during his
work, and he soon attained to a high degree of contemplation. In God,
in himself, and in all creatures round him, he found a perpetual fund
of religious thoughts and affections. ...He was still in doubt as to
his future vocation when the question was decided for him through an
accident. He was ploughing one day with two fresh young bullocks when
his master unexpectedly entered the field. His sudden appearance or
something else scared the animals and they bolted, knocking down Felix
as he tried to hold them in. He was trampled upon; the plough passed
over his body, but in spite of this he arose unhurt. In gratitude for
this deliverance he promptly betook himself to the Capuchin monastery
of Città Ducale, where he asked to be received as a lay-brother. The
father guardian, after warning him of the austerity of the life, led
him before a crucifix, saying, “See what Jesus Christ has suffered for
us!” Felix burst into tears, and impressed the superior with the
conviction that a soul which felt so deeply must be drawn by God.

During the novitiate, which he passed at Anticoli, Felix appeared
already filled with the spirit of his order, with a love of poverty, humiliations and crosses. Often he would beg the novice-master to
double his penances and mortifications and to treat him with greater
severity than the rest who, he declared, were more docile and
naturally more inclined to virtue. Although he thought everyone in the
house better than himself, his fellow religious, like the children of Cantalice, spoke of him amongst themselves as “The saint”.

In 1545, when he was about 30, he made his solemn vows. Four years
later he was sent to Rome where for 40 years, practically until his
death, he filled the post of questor, with the daily duty to go round
begging for food and alms for the sustenance of the community. The
post was a trying one, but Felix delighted in it because it entailed humiliations, fatigue, and discomforts, and his spirit of recollection
was never interrupted. With the sanction of his superiors, who placed
entire confidence in his discretion, he assisted the poor liberally
out of the alms he collected; and he loved to visit the sick, tending
them with his own hands, and consoling the dying.

St. Felix chastised himself with almost incredible severity and
invariably went barefoot, without sandals. He wore a shirt of iron
links and plates studded with iron spikes. When he could do so without singularity, he fasted on bread and water, picking out of the basket
for his own dinner the crusts left by others. He tried to conceal from
notice the remarkable spiritual favours he received, but often when he
was serving Mass he was so transported in ecstasy that he could not
make the responses. For everything that he saw, for all that befell
him, he gave thanks to God, and the words “Deo gratias” were so
constantly on his lips that the Roman street-urchins called him
Brother Deogratias. When he was old and was suffering from a painful
complaint, their cardinal protector, who loved him greatly, told his
superiors that he ought to be relieved of his wearisome office. But
Felix asked to be allowed to continue his rounds, on the ground that
the soul grows sluggish if the body is pampered. He died at the age of
72, after being consoled on his death-bed by a vision of our Lady.
There is record of a great number of miracles worked after his death,
and he was canonized in 1709.

The Bollandists, in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iv, have published a considerable selection of materials presented in the beatification
process, a process which was begun only a short time after Brother
Felix’s death, when witnesses were still available who had lived with
him and had been the spectators of his virtues. There is no lack of
other biographies...


Saint Quote:
God is more pleased to behold the lowest degree of obedience, for His
sake, than all other good works which you can possibly offer to Him.
--St. John of the Cross

Bible Quote:
For as the body is one and hath many members; and all the members of
the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body: So also is Christ.
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or
Gentiles, whether bond or free: and in one Spirit we have all been
made to drink. [1 Cor 12:12-13 DRB]


<><><><>
Let Me Love Your Jesus
By St Ildephonsus (c 607-670)

Virgin Mary, hear my prayer,
through the Holy Spirit,
you became the Mother of Jesus,
from the Holy Spirit,
may I too have Jesus.
Through the Holy Spirit,
your flesh conceived Jesus,
through the same Spirit,
may my soul receive Jesus.
Through the Holy Spirit,
you were able to know Jesus,
to possess Jesus
and to bring Him into the world.
Through the Holy Spirit,
may I too come to know your Jesus.
Imbued with the Spirit, Mary, you could say
“I am the handmaid of the Lord,
be it done unto me according to your word,”
in the Holy Spirit, lowly as I am,
let me proclaim the great truths about Jesus.
In the Spirit, you now adore Jesus as Lord
and look on Him as Son,
in the same Spirit, Mary,
let me love your Jesus.
Amen

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