SecondHandSaintsblog

Friday of Holy Week is called Good Friday…not only in the Holy Mother Church, but most Christians throughout the world hold special observances in honor of Christ’s suffering and crucifixion on the Cross. In the Catholic Church it is recognized and commemorated as one of the most  somber days of the year. There should be quiet in the home as well as in the Church. For Catholics, it is also a day of fasting and abstaining from meat.

There will be no Mass today, but we will receive the Eucharist that was reserved in the side chapel yesterday evening. It will distributed by the priest or deacon during the Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord. The readings are quite long, but in order for us to enter into a union with Christ, in order for us to join Him on that painful road to Calvary...the long readings are needed...otherwise, how could we enter into the Passion...and leave the hustle of the world outside…

Good Friday devotions are so that we can quiet ourselves down…and focus on the harsh reality of our sins, focus on the awesome gift we received from our Lord, by sending down His only begotten Son. Sometimes, we are like spoiled children, who just have to be told to ‘sit still’ and let the message of God…the message of Christ sink into our thick heads. We need to be reminded  just how much Jesus endured for us, all because He loves us…

For the faithful it is both terrible and wonderful at the same time. It is very moving. And if you have seen the movie The Passion of the Christ, you know it can be a very powerful experience…reading the words…seeing the images in your mind…your heart…it leads us right up to the next devotion.

Veneration of the Cross

After a brief time of prayer, the Crucifix is brought in to the church, it is veiled with a purple cloth. The priest or deacon walk slowly into the Church, pausing and venerating the Cross three times on the way to the altar, the faithful will adore the Cross…falling to our knees each time, symbolizing the three times that Christ fell while carrying the Cross. Once the priest or deacon reaches the altar the Cross will be unveiled and the faithful will take turns kissing the feet of Jesus or kissing the wood of the Cross. We will then pray for a few moments as the priest retrieves the reserved Eucharist. We will then receive the Body of Christ before departing in silence.

In most parishes the Stations of the Cross is begun close to the three o’clock hour…to help the Faithful in their journey of uniting themselves to the Lord’s Passion. In our parish, the priest also offers a meditation upon the Seven Last Words. The devotions are somber…they are intended to help us realize the enormity of our sins…to realize the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice….In order that we must seek out God’s mercy and forgiveness for the sinful way we have lived our lives. These devotions help us to focus on our sorrow…our repentance for our sins, so that we may seek God’s mercy…and forgiveness…which leads us to the final devotion of the day…The Divine Mercy Chaplet.

In recent years…since the year 2000, when Pope John Paul the II instituted it, the faithful have been given yet another means of partaking in God’s unfathomable mercy…The Divine Mercy Chaplet…or more importantly Divine Mercy Sunday, which is the Sunday after Easter. There are many websites with information about the Chaplet and about the Novena which starts today. Here is a link to one of the better sites. Divine Mercy Sunday Novena. The site contains all the information if you would like to begin the novena.

So as the Lenten season officially comes to a close, remember to spend this Good Friday in prayer and devotion to the Lord. Allow yourself to join Him as He travels the road to Calvary…carry whatever crosses He sends you…with a humble and contrite heart, join your suffering with His and you will never be alone. This is the last Friday before Easter…make it a Good one…..

Sometimes, regardless of our best laid plans, something happens to us in our lives that changes everything…that is precisely what happened to Henry Walpole…

Henry was born in 1558, in Docking Norfolk to wealthy parents. He was educated at the finest schools and was studying law, following in the footsteps of his father. He was an ambitious man, who did not concern himself with the welfare of others…he was indifferent to the sufferings of his fellow Englishmen, concerning himself with his worldly success instead.

Walpole had been born into a Catholic family, but he did not devote much time to living out his faith, until  he met a priest named Father Campion who was operating an underground Catholic Missionary group in England, which was now, officially Anglican. The faith and zeal of this courageous priest inspired Walpole. Impressed with the priest’s ability to hold lively discussions with the Anglicans, he spent time with him, listening to the sermons. When Father Campion was sentenced to death in December of 1581, Walpole  attended the execution of the priest and his companions. He stood and watched as this group of holy men were killed for their Faith. He watched the courage these men displayed as they were drawn and quartered.  Some of the priest’s blood splattered onto Henry Walpole….a few drops of the martyr’s blood... mixed with the courage of the priest, stirred a conversion  within him, and changed the ambitious man forever...

The priests’ execution changed his heart…he had witnessed holy men willing to lay down their lives…. to sacrifice their lives … for a Faith that he had yet to embrace…but with his eyes and soul, now stirred by God… he began to feel that there was more to life than what he was seeking…and shortly there after, he allowed God to change the course of his life. He felt God was calling him to the priesthood. He abandoned his legal studies and entered the seminary. In February of 1584, he entered the Society of Jesus. After finishing his studies, he was ordained a priest in Paris on December 17, 1588. Shortly after his ordination he was assigned to be the Chaplin to the English Catholic refugees serving in the Spanish Army in the Low Countries.

In 1589, he was captured by the Calvinists and spent a year in prison. When he was released, he went to work at the English Seminary in Spain. Then in 1593 he was asked to return to England. Due to an outbreak of the plague, the ports in England were closed, so he and several traveling companions traveled on a French vessel to Scotland. After traveling for ten stormy days, they were put ashore in Flamborough,Yorkshire. Father Walpole was separated from his companions and went to rest at a local inn. Another recently released prisoner who had been sailing on the ship, and needed some money, turned the priest in…for a few pieces of gold…He was immediately arrested for the unjust crime of being a priest.

He was imprisoned for sixteen months. Then in 1594 he was transferred to the Tower of London so that the famous priest-torturer, Richard Topcliffe could try his hand at using violence to glean some information from the priest. Topcliffe tortured Father Walpole on many occasions. He was beaten and tortured brutally on the rack, enduring horrendous amounts of pain. He was suspended from his wrists for hours on end…trying to break his spirit…trying to get him to renounce his Faith. He was even offered clemency if he would renounce the pope and take an Oath of Supremacy, which meant agreeing that the queen had authority over all religions…but he refused…and endured the suffering…and with God’s grace, he stood firm. Each time he was tortured, he was pushed just far enough by Topcliffe, but then, brought back from the brink of death to endure more torturing for another day…These sessions were carried out for an entire year before the holy priest was finally condemned to death.

On April 7th, after enduring countless hours of brutal torture, he and another Jesuit priest were led to the gallows. After Father Alexander Rawlins; the other priest who was sentenced to death; was killed, Father Walpole asked the onlookers that were gathered, to pray with him. He prayed that God would enlighten all the Protestants, in the same way he had been enlightened years prior, and he prayed that all would come back to the true Faith…the Holy Catholic Church…and receive the mercy of God…

As he climbed the ladder to the gallows, he led the onlookers in the Our Father prayer, but before he could begin the Hail Mary, the executioner pushed him to his death. His body was immediately removed from the noose and dismembered…spilling the blood of another holy martyr…Enriching the soil…the land…the souls of those gathered there …with the blood of yet, another faithful soldier ….One, who suffered much cruelty at the hands of man and offered his life for the Church… for the conversion of those not yet in union with the Church. With the help of God’s mercy and grace…he had endured all the pain and suffering that this world could muster… Remaining true to the Lord throughout it all...and in return, gained his eternal reward…being carried home to Our Lord in Heaven….

Father Henry Walpole was beatified in 1920, and canonized in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Dear Lord, as you inspired this great Saint to open his heart to Your Words and the Truth of the Holy Catholic Church, help us to imitate his example, and stand firm in our Faith, regardless of the suffering we may have to face. Saint Walpole, pray for us. Amen.

Luigi Scrosoppi was born August 4th in the year 1804, in the small northern city in Italy called Udine. He was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom became priests. His family had money, but were religious people and raised their sons in a atmosphere of faith and Christian charity. By the time young Luigi was 12 years old he was already feeling the call to the priesthood. At the time, the area in which he lived was struck by famine, drought and typhus. It brought out in the young lad a desire to care for the poor and for those in need.

In his late teen years, he entered the same seminary as his older brother and was ordained on March 31, 1827. He was assisted at his first Mass by his two older brothers. He was the director of Pious Union of the Heart of Jesus Christ, which was  a children’s center run by his brother Carlo. With the help of his fellow priests and a group of young teachers, he dedicated himself to caring for young, poor abandoned girls from Udine and the surrounding area. He devoted all of his possessions, his energies and his affections into making sure the young girls were treated with love and kindness. He instructed other women how to care for the young girls and teach them life skills such as sewing and embroidery as well as reading, writing and math.

He was a humble a devout man who did not spare himself from humility. And if the situation called for it, he often went out begging for the children, relying on Divine Providence and trusting in the Lord in all things. He was often chased from places and called bad names. Once a man who was tired of his begging hit him so hard that the humble priest was knocked to the ground. Instead of getting angry the young priest replied, “Thank you. This is for me but won’t you give me something for my orphans?”According to the author, the man was so moved and his conscience must have been pricked, so that from that moment on wards, he became one of the priest’s benefactors.

Father Luigi welcomed into his new home, women of varying ages and backgrounds. In each one he made sure that their love of the Lord was fostered. Under his care, these ‘outcasts’ learned to consecrate themselves to the Lord. In February of 1837, nine women gave up their possessions and chose to live their lives totally dedicated to the Lord, serving Him in poverty. The Congregation of the Sisters of Providence was born. Other sisters came to join the group. Some were rich, others poor. Some were educated, others had no schooling. But regardless of their backgrounds, in the House of Providence everyone who came had the chance to become a sister.

The life he developed in his home was one of spiritual reflection. He  emphasized a life centered on Jesus Christ and the humility and poverty that Christ lived as a young boy in Nazareth. He also developed in his home a focus on the Cross of Calvary and last but not least, he stressed the importance of spending time adoring Jesus in the silence of the Eucharist.

Then after much thought and prayer, St. Luigi joined the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, which is a congregation devoted to charity and learning. Then in 1854 he finished work on the home for abandoned girls which he called ‘Rescue Home.’ He went on to open more homes for the poorest and most neglected of society. Some of the homes flourished, while others served their purpose but were short lived.

As he grew older he realized that he would have to give control over the homes to the sisters, which he did with faith and tranquility. He  continued to keep in touch with the sisters, guiding them with tenderness and love. Fostering within the sisters a deep love and trust in the Lord. As the end of his life grew nearer he wrote to the sisters:

“After my death, your Congregation will have many troubles, but afterwards it will have a new life. Charity! Charity! This is the spirit of your religious family: to save souls and to save them with Charity.”

During the evening of April 3rd, 1884, he passed onto his eternal reward in heaven. Years later when a young man who was studying for the priesthood, was suffering incurable A.I.D.S in Nigeria. The young man found a book about the life of Blessed Luigi, and prayed for his intercession. He asked his family and the people whom he knew to pray for the intercession of  Luigi Scrosoppi as well. Then one  night as the young man slept he had a dream that a crown was placed on the head of Saint Luigi, when the young man awoke, he was totally cured from the disease. After much investigation, it was determined that he had indeed been ‘miraculously’ healed. Saint Luigi was declared a saint in 1991 by Pope John Paul II. Saint Luigi pray for us.