ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 20th of August
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
ST BERNARD TOLOMEO, FOUNDER OF THE OLIVETANS
Saint Bernard Tolomeo was the founder of the congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto, born at Siena in Tuscany in 1272; he died in 1348.
He received at baptism the name of Giovanni, but took that of Bernard out of admiration for the saintly Abbot of Clairvaux.
He was educated by his uncle, Christopher Tolorneo, a Dominican, and desired to enter the religious life, but his father’s opposition prevented, and he continued his studies in secular surroundings.
After a course in philosophy and mathematics he devoted himself to the study of civil and canon law, and of theology.
HIS STUDIES
For a time Bernard served in the armies of Rudolph of Hapsburg. After his return to Siena he was appointed by his fellow citizens to the highest positions in the town government.
While thus occupied he was struck with blindness. Having recovered his sight through the intervention of the Blessed Virgin he retired (1313) to a solitary spot about ten miles from Siena, where he led a life of the greatest austerity.
A LIFE OF GREATEST AUSTERITY
The fame of his virtues soon attracted many visitors, and Bernard was accused of heresy. He went to Avignon and cleared himself of this charge before John XXII without difficulty.
Upon his return he founded the congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto, giving it the Rule of St Benedict. The purpose of the new religious institute was a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin.
THEY NURSED PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THE PEST
Guido, Bishop of Arezzo, within whose diocese the congregation was formed, confirmed its constitution, (1319), and many favours were granted by Popes John XXII, Clement VI (1344), and Gregory XI.
Upon the appearance of the pest in the district of Arezzo, Bernard and his monks devoted themselves to the care of the sick without any personal ill effects
THE CONGREGATION BECAME A NURSERY OF SAINTS
After having ruled the religious body he had founded for twenty-seven years Bernard died, at the age of seventy-six.
His death was followed by many miracles and the congregation became a nursery of saints. In 1634 the Congregation of Rites declared that the Blessed Bernard Tolomeo was deserving of veneration among the saints.
(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)
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