May 19- Blessed Clement of Osimo & Augustine of Tarano

Blessed Clement of Osimo and Augustine of Tarano

Priests

Today we honor the memory of two friars who were associated by their work for the good of the Augustinian Order at its origins, but also by their love for the interior life of prayer and contemplation.

They both served the Order as Prior General and were instrumental in directing and stabilizing the Order shortly after its birth. At the same time, they excelled in the virtue of humility and were held in high regard by their confreres for their holiness.

Clement  was born at the very beginning of the 13th Century in the Italian region known as The Marches of Ancona. As a youth he joined the Hermits of Brettino, one of the congregations which later came to form the Order of Saint Augustine in 1256. Subsequent to the Grand Union he was elected Prior Provincial in 1269 and Prior General in 1271, distinguished for his spirit of fraternal charity, poverty and patience. He resigned from the generalate in 1274 to live a more contemplative life.

In 1284, however, we was unanimously elected Prior General once again, and was re-elected twice more thereafter. He strongly promoted studies among the friars, insisted on religious observance, called for the provision of libraries and archives in monasteries and founded convents of Augustinian Nuns. Clement died on April 8, 1291. His remains are preserved in the chapel of the Order's General Curia in Rome. His cult was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1759.

Augustine Novello was born at Tarano (Rieti), Italy, around 1240 and at baptism was given the name Matthew. In his youth he studied law at the University of Bologna and worked in the chancery of the Kingdom of Sicily at the court of King Manfred. In the Battle of Benevento in 1266, the king was killed and Augustine was wounded. This became the occasion for a change of life for the promising lawyer, who then left Sicily to enter the Augustinian hermitage of Rosia near Siena as a lay brother, taking the name Augustine and concealing his education and background from the community.

Later, when a property dispute arose between the friars and the bishop, Augustine drew up a defense of the community's position and his true identity became known. He was then called to Rome by Prior General Clement of Osimo and ordained priest. He was put to work on the formulation of the Order's Constitutions and named penitentiary in the Roman Curia. He was elected Prior General in 1298 but resigned two years later, spending his remaining years in the hermitage of San Leonardo al Lago near Siena. Augustine was known and respected for his deep humility and love of contemplation.

He was instrumental in the founding of Siena's hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, whose guidelines he composed. He died on May 19, 1309 at San Leonardo and his remains, originally preserved in the Church of Saint Augustine, Siena, were later transferred to Termini Imerese in Sicily, where his statue is found on the façade of the cathedral. Augustine's cult was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1761.

These two friars whose lives are linked closely by history, share in common not only their religious profession and the office of Prior General, but also the mark of sanctity. Both were drawn by temperament to a love for the contemplative life, but were equally engaged in many and important works for the good of the Order in its formative years.  

May 18 - Blessed William of Toulouse

Blessed William of Toulouse

Priest

Today we remember a French Augustinian who excelled in preaching the word of God. By means of his own deep interior life and attentiveness to Scripture, his influence on the people of his day through this ministry as well as through the gift of spiritual direction, was significant and widespread.

He was loved and admired by the people, who recognized his holiness and the power of his intercession.

William was born in Toulouse, France, around the year 1297. At the age of 19 he entered the Augustinian monastery in his native city and was sent to study in Paris where he received the title of lector in theology. Afterwards he devoted himself especially to the ministry of preaching, for which he became well known and respected, and through which he drew many others to embrace the religious life. Except for a brief period when he was Prior in Pamiers, he seems to have spent his whole religious life in Toulouse, in the monastery of Saint'Etienne, where, in 1341, the Order's General Chapter was held.

William died in Toulouse on May 18, 1369 and was buried in the cemetery of his monastery. Not long after, because of the veneration of the people who regarded him as a saint and wonder-worker, his remains were transferred to the chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene where he was accustomed to celebrate Mass. Leo XIII confirmed his cult in 1893.

William's methodology as a preacher was: pray, contemplate, and only then speak of God, otherwise the preacher's words will not touch the heart of his listeners, but become lost in the rafters of the church. As a man of prayer and recollection, he was much sought after as a spiritual director 

October 14 - Blessed Gonzalo of Lagos

Blessed Gonzalo of Lagos

Today's commemoration honors the life of a Portuguese Augustinian, Blessed Gonzalo of Lagos, who dedicated his energies, humbly and joyfully, to the service of the common people of his day.

A man of learning, endowed with many talents, he chose to serve those most in need, both within and outside the monastery, giving evidence of his deep humility and simplicity. He illustrates well the injunction: the gift you have been given, give as a gift.

 Gonzalo was born about the year 1360, in Lagos (Algarve), in the south of Portugal, the son of a fisherman. He joined the Augustinians in Lisbon around 1380 and became a distinguished theologian and preacher. His special interest, however, was to instruct children, laborers, and the uneducated, with whom he always maintained a close rapport.

He was also a gifted artist, and used this talent to illustrate liturgical books for the monasteries of Lisbon and Santarem. Gonzalo was appointed religious superior in several Augustinian communities, some of them extremely poor, where he enjoyed serving his brothers even in the humblest tasks. In 1412 he was named Prior of the friary of Torres Vedras, not far from Lisbon, where he lived for the remainder of his life. There he continued his tireless activity in service to the poor who held him in great reverence.

Gonzalo died in Torres Vedras on October 15, 1422 and his remains were interred in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, once in the care of the Augustinians. Gonzalo is revered as the patron of the youth of the Diocese, as well as of fishermen and sailors. Pius VI declared him Blessed on May 23, 1778. 

Blessed Gonzalo, born to working class parents who earned their livelihood through daily manual labor, never lost touch with his roots. Though he became a learned theologian and notable preacher, he remained always close to the people who shared his background and devoted himself to their service, putting the gifts God had given him to use for their benefit. A man of authentic humility, filled with the simple spirit of generosity, the affection of the people for Gonzalo was the ultimate proof of his own devotion to them.   

October 13 - Commemoration of the Deceased Benefactors of the Order

In the long tradition of our Catholic faith, prayerful remembrance of our departed at the Eucharist holds a special place, inasmuch as this sacrament celebrates the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus and is the promise of eternal life for those whom, by this mystery, he has redeemed. We do not fail to remember at each celebration of the Eucharist those who have gone before us, among whom in a special way, are those to whom we are most indebted for their generosity. 

 The commemoration of deceased benefactors was prescribed by the Ratisbon Constitutions of 1290 in order to remember in prayer those who in various ways have supported the Order in its style of life and its works. Until 1672 this commemoration was joined to that of the deceased relatives of members of the Order. In that year, however, a separate commemoration was instituted for deceased benefactors and was given the date of July 7, while that of deceased relatives was transferred to November 14. Several other changes of date were made over the years before the present day was established in recent times. 

"Each year, in all communities, on the days determined in the calendar of the Order, Mass is to be offered for ... 3) our deceased benefactors. On these days every priest is to celebrate Mass for this intention, and the other friars are to participate in Mass for his intention. Every month in which some anniversary of the Order does not occur, in all communities Mass is to be offered for the deceased brothers and sisters and benefactors of the Order (Const. 101, e., f.).

October 9 - Blessed Anthony Patrizi

October 9 - Blessed Anthony Patrizi

Blessed Anthony Patrizi

Priest

We honor today the memory of a friar whose holiness of life was clear to his contemporaries, though the details of his life are not known to us. To this extent he represents many holy men and women of our Order and of the Church at large whose names, though lost in time, are nonetheless recorded in the Book of Life.

He also represents more specifically those many holy friars who, over many years, were members of the contemplative monastery of Lecceto.

Anthony Patrizi  was born in Siena sometime in the thirteenth century, although the exact date and year are not known. He belonged to the monastery of Lecceto, renowned for its emphasis on contemplative life and the holiness of many of its members. It was here that other well known friars such as Clement of Osimo, Agostino Novello and William Flete also lived at various times. Anthony died in 1311 in our friary at Monticiano where he was staying while on a visit to Friar Peter of the hermitage of Camerata.

In the book A Brief Life of Some Hermit Friars by the Anonymous Florentine, the story of Anthony's death is recounted. It tells of how, on the night on which he died, caregivers of an  elderly and gravely ill couple who lived nearby, were looking out a window of the sick couple's house which faced the monastery. They saw coming from the monastery a brilliant light that appeared to touch the sky. At first they thought that the monastery had caught fire, but as they watched they saw that it was not a fire, but that there must be in the monastery someone whose holiness touched the heavens.

The sick couple also came to the window, saw the light, and began to pray, asking that this unknown holy person would heal them of their illness. Immediately they were restored to health. They went to the monastery, told the friars what had happened and asked to see the holy man. The friars went to the room of their guest and discovered that Anthony had died. Pius VII confirmed the cult of Anthony in 1804.

Unfortunately, the details of the lives of many of our brothers and sisters, who in their own time were renowned for holiness, are unknown to us. Nonetheless, the awareness that there has been "a great cloud of witnesses" throughout the ages giving testimony to the validity of the Augustinian way of life continues to be a source of encouragement as well as a challenge to us today. At the same time, the memory of a friar such as Anthony, dedicated to contemplation and the common life, reminds us of essential components of our own vocation. 

September 19 - Saint Alonso de Orozco

Saint Alonso de Orozco

Priest

The life of the saint whom we commemorate today illustrates well the Scriptural teaching that God's ways are not our ways. Saint Alonso, as many of us, had his own idea of how he might best serve God, while God sought his service according to a different, and not always personally attractive plan. By his acceptance of it, nonetheless, Alonso became a fruitful instrument in the lives of many, and grew in holiness as well.

Alonso was born on October 17, 1500 in Oropesa, Toledo, Spain, to deeply Christian parents. When he was still young the family moved to the nearby city of Talavera de la Reina, where he received his schooling.

At the age of 14 Alonso’s parents sent him to the University of Salamanca where his brother Francisco was already a student. At the time, Thomas of Villanova was preaching in Salamanca and many were touched by his words, including a number of young people who were drawn to religious life. Among them were the two Orozco brothers, Francisco and Alonso, who entered the novitiate together in 1522 at the monastery of San Agustin. On June 9, 1523 Alonso made his profession, but his brother was unable to do so because of illness.

He died shortly thereafter, making a deep impression on Alonso who began to suffer physical and spiritual afflictions that lasted for many years. All of these served to purify him, however, for he continued to live religious life with great fidelity. Following ordination he was assigned to preach and served, as well, as prior in various houses of his province. Later he volunteered to go as a missionary to Mexico but on the way he became ill and was ordered to return home.

In 1554 he was named preacher of the royal court, but lived always as a simple friar, in absolute poverty and in the humblest of conditions. Ever attentive to the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, he became known as ‘the saint of San Felipe’. Alonso was also a prolific writer, publishing about 50 books, including a commentary on the Rule, works on Saint Augustine and the saints of the Order, and his own Confessions.

Moved by a desire for reform within the Order, he founded several friaries and convents of contemplative nuns. He died on September 19, 1591. His body is venerated in the church of the Augustinian nuns of Madrid. Alonso was beatified by Leo XIII on January 15, 1882 and canonized on May 19, 2002 by John Paul II. 

Though called to exercise his ministry among the powerful and wealthy of his day, Alonso remained steadfastly faithful to the life of simplicity he had professed. His preference was to serve the poor and the needy, to whom he always remained available, and to use his talents in instructing the common people through his preaching and writings. He was one of the first to use the vernacular in his writings on prayer and contemplation precisely to benefit ordinary people.    

August 27 - Saint Monica

Saint Monica

The Church has set aside today and tomorrow for the celebration of two saints of special significance to us and to each other - a mother and son whose journey to holiness was made together.

Saint Augustine acknowledges that he was brought to faith in the Church through the prayers and tears of his saintly mother who, in turn, was led to confident trust in God through the prayers she offered continually for her wayward son.

Monica was born in Tagaste, present day Algeria, in 331, to a deeply Christian family of some means. She was given in marriage to Patricius, a pagan, who was a small land-owner. Together they had three children, Augustine, Navigius, and a daughter whose name is not known to us.

Strong of character as well as of faith, she sought to guide her family in their human and Christian development most of all by her own example and prayer but, when necessary, also by her persuasive words and diligent actions. Thus she brought her husband to discover the beauty of the Catholic faith, as well as the son of her many tears, Augustine. Monica figures significantly in Augustine's journey all the way through to his eventual conversion, and is remembered in history - according to his own words - as the mother "who brought me to birth, both in her flesh, so that I was born into this temporal light, and in her heart, that I might be born into eternal light" (Conf. 8, 17).

Her great joy was to witness the baptism of Augustine, after his long and restless journey to the faith of the Church, by Bishop Ambrose in Milan in 387. Some months later, as mother and son, together with Augustine's own son and a small group of friends were making their way back to North Africa to begin living a monastic life, Monica died at Ostia while awaiting the ship. There she was buried and in time the site of her burial was lost. Later, however, it was rediscovered and her remains were transferred to the Basilica of Saint Augustine in Rome where they are now venerated. 

Monica is that wise and prudent woman about whom Scripture speaks, not afraid to live her faith openly nor to share it with others. It would not be fair to characterize her, however, as an over-bearing and meddling woman. Just as she knew how to win the heart of her husband through silence and patience, she learned how to touch that of her son through her words and persistent attention. 

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To view more artwork of St. Monica and participate in her novena, click here.

August 28 - Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine

Bishop and Doctor

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Augustine, one of the great founders of monasticism in the Western Church, bishop, theologian, preacher, writer and doctor of the Church. None of these titles, though accurate, would please him, however, as much as the simple one he used to describe himself: 'servant of God'.

For whatever we achieve in life, whatever gifts and talents we have been given, are of little value unless they lead us, as they did Augustine, to know, love, and serve God ever more deeply.

Augustine was born in Tagaste, Souk-Ahras, Algeria on November 13, 354 to Patricius, a pagan, and Monica, a fervent Catholic. He was endowed with abundant human and intellectual gifts as well as an inquisitive mind and a passionate spirit, all of which brought him great pain at times, while leading him to great discoveries about himself, life, and God, as well.

Through the generosity of a family friend he was able to do studies beyond the basic course in his hometown, and became an accomplished rhetorician and teacher in Africa and later in Rome and Milan. Though he had been admitted to the catechumenate of the Catholic Church by his mother as a child, he did not find satisfaction in the Church during adolescence and young adulthood, and instead was drawn to other forms of spiritual expression, especially in the Manichean sect and later in astrology. Finally, he embraced skepticism.

In retrospect, however, he was able to discern various moments of spiritual growth or conversion until a final climactic moment when he decided to embrace Christ fully in the Catholic Church. He had already separated from the woman with whom he had lived for many years and who bore him a son, and was preparing for marriage with another, but his conversion, he felt, required that he abandon altogether any possibility of marriage and commit himself instead to a life of chastity as a celibate 'servant of God'.

Following baptism in Milan in 387, together with his son and some friends, he returned with them to his hometown of Tagaste to begin a monastic life. Against his personal wishes, he was ordained priest in Hippo in 391, and became bishop of that See in 397, all the while continuing in his monastic lifestyle.

Augustine was a prolific writer, an accomplished preacher, a monastic leader, a theologian, pastor, contemplative, and mystic. He died on August 28, 430 at almost 76 years of age, as North Africa was being invaded by the Vandals and the Church there was being devastated. His remains were taken to Sardinia and later to Pavia, Italy, where they are now preserved in the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro.      

August 2 - Blessed John of Rieti

Blessed John of Rieti

Religious

Holiness is not achieved according to the length of one's life, but through the depth of one's love. Blessed John of Rieti ended his earthly pilgrimage while still a teenager and at the very beginning of his life as a friar.

Nonetheless, he was an individual who had learned early on the wisdom of Gospel truths, and lived them with simplicity and joy.

John was born in Castel Porchiano, near the city of Amelia, in the region of Umbria, Italy, around the year 1318. He entered the Order in his teenage years and was sent to Rieti where he remained until his death. The Augustinian historian, Jordan of Saxony, described John as: "simple, humble and always cheerful; he was always friendly and social, and acted no differently from others in eating, drinking, and the other things that regard the common life of the friars; but he was unique with regard to his interior life.

He was filled with love for his fellow religious and treated them with such charity that he was never heard to say or do anything contrary to fraternal love. He was reverential toward everyone, and especially toward the sick and visitors, showing them the goodness of his generous heart."

John died in 1336 at the age of 18, and immediately reports circulated of graces received through his intercession. He was buried in the Church of Saint Augustine in Rieti and his cult was confirmed by Gregory XVI in 1832. He is the patron of young professed friars of the Order.

 John is an example of holiness achieved, not through exceptional accomplishments or practices, but in the ordinary things of life. Thus he is an example to people of every state of life in following the principles of Gospel spirituality, particularly generosity, simplicity and Christian joy.