FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY
July 21-23, 2000
volume 11, no. 124

LITURGY for Friday-Saturday-Sunday July 21 through 23, 2000

Friday, July 21, 2000

    Friday July 21:
    Weekday in Ordinary Time and
    Feast of Saint Lawrence Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church

    Green or white vestments

      First Reading: Isaiah 38: 1-8, 21-22
      Psalms: Isaiah 38: 10-12, 16
      Gospel Reading: Matthew 12: 1-8
Feast of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church
       Born in Brindisi in the Kingdom of Naples shortly after the Protestant Reformation in 1559, Saint Lawrence of Brindisi was born as Caesare de Rossi. He is one of the few saints who was born and died on the same day - July 22nd. He was educated by the Conventual Franciscans in Naples and also sent for further studies under his uncle at St. Mark's in Venice. At 16 he joined the Capuchin order in Verona and was given the name Lawrence. His keen mind and tremendous zeal earned him the honor of studying at the University of Padua where he mastered several languages from Latin and Greek to Hebrew and Aramaic, not to mention French and German. After his ordination as a Capuchin priest, he became known far and wide as an astute preacher. However his administrative prowess led to his election as Provincial for the Order in Genoa, Tuscany and Venice, in addition to Switzerland where the Reformation had dug in deeply. At the turn of the seventeenth century Lawrence was sent to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II to seek his military support for Naples and join the Catholic League against the Turks. He was successful and joined the troops on the front line as head chaplain with only the Crucifix as his weapon. It was enough as he led the men valiantly into battle at Szekesfehervar where they were victorious for the cause of Christ. A year later he returned to Naples where he was unanimously elected Superior General of the Capuchins. While holding this position of Vicar General he not only established the Order in Austria, Moravia and Tyrol but traveled into the heart of Germany to counter the fall-out effects of Luther's campaign. Rudolph was so impressed with Lawrence that he solicited the saint to recruit the various German rulers to join the Catholic League in their on-going battles with the Turks. In 1605 the Capuchins overwhelmingly chose Lawrence to serve another term but he gratefully declined, to concentrate more on evangelization to other countries. One of these countries included Spain where he convinced the Spanish King Philip III to join the Catholic League and received imperial permission to found a Capuchin house in Madrid. His success prompted the Holy Father Pope Paul V to appoint Lawrence Papal Nuncio. In 1618 he resigned his position and retreated to his beloved homeland of Brindisi in Naples to live out the rest of his life, but God had other plans. At the persistence of the Neapolitan rulers, he was sent to Spain to seek military support against the duke of Osuna, a Spanish subject. Again his mission was successful and the duke was recalled to Spain for a harsh chastising by the king. However, the trip took its toll on Lawrence who had struggled with the sweltering summer heat and became seriously dehydrated. Shortly after his mission had been accomplished he fell into a coma and died in Lisbon on his sixtieth birthday - July 22, 1619. Two hundred and sixty two years later Pope Leo XIII canonized Lawrence and that was topped by Pope John XXIII on July 21, 1959 when he proclaimed Lawrence of Brindisi the distinguished title of Doctor of the Church.

Saturday, July 22, 2000

      First Reading: Micah 2: 1-5
      Psalms: Psalm 10: 1-4, 7-8, 14
      Gospel Reading: John 20: 1-2, 11-18
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, Disciple of the Lord
        One of the greatest examples of Jesus' claim that He came for sinners was hid dear, loyal disciple Saint Mary Magdalene from Magdala near the Sea of Galilee. This beautiful Jewish woman was caught up in the world, the flesh and the devil until she met Jesus. He saw right into her soul and she knew instantly in her heart she needed to totally repent of her life of sin as a prostitute by following Our Lord into the house of a rich man, and, oblivious to the taunts and jeers from others, knelt at His feet and washed His precious feet with her tears and expensive ointment. Jesus was moved at her repentance and cast out seven devils (cf Mark 16: 9, Luke 8: 2) from her body. From that time on The Magdalen was one of the most loyal followers of Jesus. Aside from His Own Blessed Mother, no one stuck by Our Lord through thick and thin more than Mary Magdalene throughout His ministry and at the foot of the Cross. Christ Himself rewarded her for her devotion and persistence by being the first one He appeared to after His Resurrection (cf. John 20: 1-18). After the Ascension, there are some reports that Mary Magdalene retreated to the desert to live out her life in prayer and penance, while Eastern tradition claims Mary Magdalene accompanied the Blessed Mother and Saint John to Ephesus after Pentecost where The Magdalen died peacefully and was buried there. The latter bears believability since her relics were found in Ephesus, transfered to the Monastery of St. Lazarus in Constantinople in 899. Her feast was first celebrated in the 10th Century and spread to the entire Church in the 11th Century.

SUNDAY, July 23, 2000

      First Reading: Jeremiah 23: 1-6
      Psalms: Psalm 23: 1-6
      Second Reading: Ephesians 2: 13-18
      Gospel Reading: Mark 6: 30-34
 Though it is superseded by Sunday Liturgy, July 23rd is the traditional Feast of Saint Bridget of Sweden:

Feast of Saint Bridget of Sweden, Wife, Mother, Mystic and Religious Foundress
          Born in Uppsala, Sweden in 1303, Saint Bridget was married by her parents at the early age of 14 to 18 year-old Prince Ulf Gudmarsson in 1317. The couple had eight children, one of whom being Saint Karen, a Scandinavian derivation of Catherine. God blessed the family with great faith and wisdom and their reputation reached the court of King Magnus II, the young ruler of Sweden who summoned Bridget in 1335 to serve as the lady-in-waiting for Magnus' wife, Blanche of Namur the young queen of Sweden. However, Bridget was greatly distressed by the royals' extravagance and sought unsuccessfully to curb their excesses, but to no avail. It was during this time that she began receiving messages from God. Shortly after the death of Gudmar her youngest son, she and Ulf made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain where the relics of Saint James can be found. It so moved them that they decided to live the rest of their lives in monasteries and live the life of celibacy. Ulf died in a Cistercian monastery in 1344 at the age of 45. This prompted Bridget to put on the penitent garb and live an ascetic lifestyle, but the private revelations grew so intense that Bridget first feared she was being deceived by the evil one. However through prayer and the assurance of a learned Cistercian monk, she realized they were indeed from Heaven. Still befriended by Magnus, he offered financial assistance for her to begin two monasteries and found the Order of the Most Holy Savior which is almost non-existent today except for the Bridgettines. In the Holy Year of 1350 Bridget went to Rome where she remained until her death in 1373. She endeavored tirelessly to bring the Holy Father back to Rome from exile in Avignon and held nothing back in denouncing the wickedness of the nobility in Naples and Cyrus. It was in Rome where Bridget received the "Revelations of St. Bridget" which included the 15 Promises and Secrets and meditations on Christ's Passion, printed in the "Pieta" small booklet distributed everywhere. With one of her sons and her daughter Karen (Catherine) by her side, Bridget died peacefully at the age of 70. With great pomp and circumstance her body was transported back to Sweden and laid to rest at the monastery in Vadstena.

Monday, July 24, 2000

      First Reading: Micah 6: 1-4, 6-8
      Psalms: Psalm 50: 5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
      Gospel Reading: Matthew 12: 38-42

July 21-23, 2000
volume 11, no. 124
DAILY LITURGY


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