ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 4th of November
BLESSED TERESA MANGANIELLO, VIRGIN
Blessed Teresa Manganiello was born in the small village of Montefusco, in the Province of Avellino, Southern Italy, in 1849. She was the youngest of eleven children and, like many of the children in this rural area, she was sent to work in the fields and home rather than go to school.
Blessed Teresa expressed her desire at the age of 18 to consecrate her life to God and later she was clothed in the Franciscan tertiary habit and made her religious vows. Her admirable traits included ‘innocence of life, her great devotion to the crucified Lord, in a spirit of penance, in reparation for the sins of the world.’ Blessed Teresa also had the ability to put herself in the place of others, always concerning herself with the poorest, both in the material and spiritual sense.
SHE NEVER REFUSED TO HELP ANYONE
‘She never refused help to anyone who came to her. She distributed bread and clothing and had, by her own initiative, a sort of rudimentary pharmacy with herbs she cultivated for minor illnesses that were spreading at the time… To her door came the poor, the sick, the oppressed of all types and she received them with a smile and a warm word, giving medicine and love; medicines for the healing of the body and the soul.’
NEITHER RAIN, NOR SNOW, NOR UNBEARABLE SUN COULD STOP HER
Blessed Teresa’s time of prayer was her priority over everything else. Neither rain, nor snow, nor unbearable sun would keep her from walking each day the three kilometres to the nearest church. Although she could neither read nor write, Blessed Teresa had great wisdom and remembered things clearly, amazing those who were learned. Blessed Teresa died at the age of 27, having caught tuberculosis. Pope Benedict said of Blessed Teresa, ‘She lived a simple and humble life between house work and the spiritual work of the Church… Like Saint Francis of Assisi, she tried to imitate Jesus Christ, offering up sufferings and penances in reparation for sins, and she was filled with love for her neighbour… Always smiling and sweet, she departed for heaven, where her heart was already living, when she was only 27.'
From: “Spiritual Thought from Fr Chris”, May 2010
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Blessed Teresa may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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