Skip to main content

BL. MICHAEL THE FLORENTINE, HERMIT - 21 JANUARY

 

 ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 21st of January

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.

BL. MICHAEL THE FLORENTINE, HERMIT 

Blessed Michael is nicknamed "the Florentine" because the city of Florence is commonly referred to as his birthplace. However, the modern Bollandists state that he saw the light of day in Siena, in 1445.

His father was Ventura di Pino. When Michael was 24 years old, his father introduced him to the court of the famous Laurence de Medici, where he rendered faithful service for a long time.

THE NAME "MICHAEL"

It is uncertain whether he adopted the name Michael when he made his profession in Camaldoli or whether he had already received it in his baptism.

HE ENTERED RELIGIOUS LIFE AROUND 1501

He entered the monastery around 1501 and took his vows on March 24, 1502. To those who visited him in Camaldoli he seemed like another Jerome. He followed in the footsteps of the old hermits, diligently read their biographies and prayed incessantly. If there was dryness in the contemplation, he took refuge in the Holy Rosary. Through this he acquired, although not formally instructed in the sciences, great wisdom and world experience, so that he attained an unusual eloquence, especially in exhortations to godliness. 

GREAT WISDOM AND EXPERIENCE

He also became a priest and offered daily the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. From this he drew, according to his own testimony, a strong sweetness of spirit. 

After living in community for about four years, he asked for permanent confinement, which he was granted. 

THE "CROWN OF THE LORD"

Bl. Michael is particularly remembered for the prayer of the "Crown of the Lord", which the Italians call capellina and the Spaniards call camaldolo. For a long time this devotion and the Rosaries made for it were held in high esteem by the faithful of both high and low station. 

To commemorate the 33 years of the Lord's life, 33 Our Fathers were prayed and 5 Ave Marias were added to commemorate the 5 wounds of Our Lord. Later the latter were expanded with special references to mysteries from the life of the holy Virgin Mary. (About the same time a similar devotion arose in the Minorite Order under the same name, at which 33 Our Fathers and as many Ave Marias were said in honour of the 33 years then ascribed to Christ's lifetime. The latter devotion also received ecclesiastical Confirmation by Pope Leo X on September 14, 1517.)

THE SPREAD OF THIS DEVOTION

As early as 1506, Bl. Michael had tried to spread the word about his "Crown of the Lord". So he, not Blessed Peregrinus, who lived in the 13th century, was the originator of this devotion, and for this he received confirmation from the Pope on February 18, 1516 with several indulgences. Confraternities came into existence which made it their business to carry out and spread this devotion. 

His blessed death took place on Jan. 21, 1522. His veneration is indisputable and confirmed by the Church.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WELCOME

  Please pick your saints: January - Saints by date  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17   18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30    31   February - Saints by date  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17 18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29   March - Saints by date: 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17   18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30    31   April - Saints by date: 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17   18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30   May - Saints by date: 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17   18    19    20    21    22    23    24    25    26    27    28    29    30   

ST JOHN BERCHMANS, RELIGIOUS - 13 AUGUST

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST Saints celebrated on the 13th of August WELCOME! SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS, RELIGIOUS   (Patron Saint of Altar Servers.) The eldest boy of a poor cordwainer, in a small Belgian town, John was ever a dutiful, prayerful, and studious child. Our Lord called him when but young to leave his father and his father’s house, to serve Him in the Society of Jesus.  And because he was so good a son, it cost his father much to give him up to God; but he was too good a Christian to refuse outright.  HE WAS SENT TO ROME John had hardly taken his religious vows when he was sent to the centre of Christendom, the holy city of Rome. His modesty, his purity, shone out as great virtue always does; and the young laymen who attended the lectures would come to gaze upon his beautiful and holy face, and go away the better for the sight. GREAT VIRTUE Three short years, and his last sickness found him sighing for heaven, and three days before the great feast of Mary’s Assumption in 1

ST LAURA OF CORDOBA, WIDOW AND MARTYR - 19 OCTOBER

  WELCOME! SAINT LAURA OF CORDOBA, WIDOW AND MARTYR   Laura, a widow and martyr of Cordoba in Spain, is mentioned in the Spanish martyrology of Tamajode Salazar, who refers to Luitprand, where it says the following: St Laura is said to have been of a noble family, and  according to the wishes of her parents she married an equally noble man and gave birth to two daughters.  After the death of her husband and her daughters, she went to the monastery of St Aurea, named St-Maria de Cuteclara, and after her martyrdom led the same for nine years as her successor.  After she had made wonderful progress in all virtues, she was finally summoned to renounce the faith before a Saracen judge. But since she remained steadfast, she was first beaten very cruelly and then thrown into a bath of boiling pitch, where she remained in praise of God for three hours and then flew to heaven on October 19, 864.   St Laura is of the 48 Martyrs of Cordoba. PRAYER: Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that we who