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The Giving of One’s Life so Another Might Live

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:00:51 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

St. Gianna Molla

Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962)

Gianna Beretta was born in Magenta (Milan) October 4, 1922. Already as a youth she willingly accepted the gift of faith and the clearly Christian education that she received from her excellent parents. As a result, she experienced life as a marvellous gift from God, had a strong faith in Providence and was convinced of the necessity and effectiveness of prayer.

She diligently dedicated herself to studies during the years of her secondary and university education, while, at the same time, applying her faith through generous apostolic service among the youth of Catholic Action and charitable work among the elderly and needy as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. After earning degrees in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949, she opened a medical clinic in Mesero (near Magenta) in 1950. She specialized in Pediatrics at the University of Milan in 1952 and there after gave special attention to mothers, babies, the elderly and poor.

While working in the field of medicine-which she considered a “mission” and practiced as such-she increased her generous service to Catholic Action, especially among the “very young” and, at the same time, expressed her joie de vivre and love of creation through skiing and mountaineering. Through her prayers and those of others, she reflected upon her vocation, which she also considered a gift from God. Having chosen the vocation of marriage, she embraced it with complete enthusiasm and wholly dedicated herself “to forming a truly Christian family”.

She became engaged to Pietro Molla and was radiant with joy and happiness during the time of their engagement, for which she thanked and praised the Lord. They were married on September 24, 1955, in the Basilica of St. Martin in Magenta, and she became a happy wife. In November 1956, to her great joy, she became the mother of Pierluigi, in December 1957 of Mariolina; in July 1959 of Laura. With simplicity and equilibrium she harmonized the demands of mother, wife, doctor and her passion for life.

In September 1961 towards the end of the second month of pregnancy, she was touched by suffering and the mystery of pain; she had developed a fibroma in her uterus. Before the required surgical operation, and conscious of the risk that her continued pregnancy brought, she pleaded with the surgeon to save the life of the child she was carrying, and entrusted herself to prayer and Providence. The life was saved, for which she thanked the Lord. She spent the seven months remaining until the birth of the child in incomparable strength of spirit and unrelenting dedication to her tasks as mother and doctor. She worried that the baby in her womb might be born in pain, and she asked God to prevent that.

A few days before the child was due, although trusting as always in Providence, she was ready to give her life in order to save that of her child: “If you must decided between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child – I insist on it. Save him”. On the morning of April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela was born. Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on the morning of April 28, amid unspeakable pain and after repeated exclamations of “Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you”, the mother died. She was 39 years old. Her funeral was an occasion of profound grief, faith and prayer.

“Conscious immolation”, was the phrase used by Pope Paul VI to define the act of Blessed Gianna, remembering her at the Sunday Angelus of September 23, 1973, as: “A young mother from the diocese of Milan, who, to give life to her daughter, sacrificed her own, with conscious immolation”. The Holy Father in these words clearly refers to Christ on Calvary and in the Eucharist.

Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, during the international Year of the Family.

Homily of John Paul II

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Dec 26 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Sacrificial Nature of Christmas

apostolate — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 16:19:51 +0000

Homily #131226n ( 08min) Play – Fr. Angelo comments on the seeming paradox of how the liturgical celebration of Christmas is extended through an entire week, the Octave of Christmas, but the individual days are dedicated to martyrs. It seems strange that the day following Christmas, today, is dedicated to the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. However, as Father shows us, sacrifice and Christmas are intimately linked, Christ came into this world to sacrifice Himself for our salvation, and the liturgy is showing us we are to imitate His example of self-sacrifice as the 37 Christians killed yesterday in Iraq did. (story here)
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Stephen – The Protomartyr – Feast – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: act 6:8-10, 7, 54-59
Resp: psa 31:3-4, 6, 7, 8, 17, 21
Gsp: mat 10:17-22

Audio (MP3)

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Sep 13 – Homily – Fr Maximilian W: Much Prayer and Profound Suffering

apostolate — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 14:21:28 +0000

Homily #140913n ( 07min) Play – Father comments on the foundation of a spiritual life: faith, much prayer, and profound suffering. In order to be saints, we must be in an intimate relationship with God and self-sacrifice, giving all to God and for God. With this foundation, we are constructed into a spiritual temple, the New Jerusalem.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. John Chrysostom – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Saturday in the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st: 1co 10:14-22
Resp: psa 116:12-13, 17-18
Gsp: luk 6:43-49

Audio (MP3)

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2014 Professions – FINEWS 150

apostolate — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:57:08 +0000

Fi News #150 – ( 18min) >>> Play On September 8th, 2014, Fr. Louis Maximilian received the first profession of vows and the renewal of temporary vows. In this homily, Father speaks of the “reaction” we all owe to God’s “action,” and which is made possible by the “reaction” of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady’s faith and fidelity to God’s will. He asks us, if we don’t love, who will? We must all live out our call to sanctity, and the practice of Marian Consecration is the “quickest, surest, easiest way” of “reacting” to the love of God and becoming saints; IF WE LIVE IT OUT!

Here are some images of the professions, more may be found here.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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Sep 16 – Homily – Fr Maximilian W: The Vocation to Sacrifice

apostolate — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 13:57:35 +0000

Homily #140916n ( 05 min) Play – Our Lord shows His compassion for His people in today’s Gospel by driving out demons and ordering His followers to implore God for more ministers to labor in the harvest — that is, in the care of souls. Fr. Maximilian notes the divinity of Christ as shown by his power over evil spirits, and then reflects on how necessary are vocations to the priesthood and religious life. This is a difficult calling, entailing great self-sacrifice. Today’s martyrs, Cornelius and Cyprian, martyrs of the early Church, show us how to answer this call of Christ in a radical way, even to the point of giving up their lives. Let us imitate their spirit of sacrifice, and pray for more faithful souls who will do the same.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Sts Cornelius and Cyprian – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Tuesday in the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
1st: 1co 12:12-14, 27-31
Resp: psa 100:1-2, 3, 4, 5
Gsp: luk 7:11-17

Audio (MP3)

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Oct 23 – Homily – Fr Maximilian W: Blaze of Self-Sacrificing Love

apostolate — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 12:55:17 +0000

Homily #141023n ( 05min) Play – Father comments on the readings, telling us that it was the blazing love that Jesus has for us that impelled Him to sacrifice Himself for our sake, so that we to make be kindled with an intense love for God and for our neighbor. Our world, the family, and ourselves are scarred by the effects of selfishness, so let us allow ourselves to be set ablaze with self-sacrificial love!
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. John of Capistrano – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Thursday in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
1st: eph 3:14-21
Resp: psa 33:1-2, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19
Gsp: luk 12:49-53

Audio (MP3)

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Dec 14 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: St. John, Lover of the Cross

apostolate — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 12:03:49 +0000

Fr. Ignatius on the various graces and charisms that the various saints have been given by Our Lord and how St. John of the Cross was given the gift to embrace the Cross of Christ which involves self-sacrifice and how this relates to love of God and neighbor.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. John of the Cross – Mem

Audio (MP3)

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Jan 16 – Homily – Fr Matthias: True Friars Minor – St. Berard & Companion Protomartyrs

apostolate — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 13:12:30 +0000

St. Francis called St. Berard and his fellow martyrs true Friars Minor – they humbled themselves to the point of imitating Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, and thus perfectly fulfilled their Franciscan vocation.

Mass: Sts. Berard and Companions Martyrs – Memorial

Readings:
1st: 1 Cor 4:9-13
Resp: Ps 126:1-6 0
Gsp: Mt 10:16-22

Audio (MP3)

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Nov 14 – Homily – Fr Alan: Martyrdom and the Courage of Charity

apostolate — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 13:35:36 +0000

The memorial of Sts. Nicholas Tavelic and companion martyrs is a good occasion to reflect on the charity that underlies the courage of the martyrs. Faith and hope alone probably wouldn’t have sufficed to motivate the martyrs to preach to hostile enemies of the faith, but identification with Christ and with His love for souls led these Franciscan martyrs to lay down their lives and face torture for the sake of witnessing to the Saracens in 14th Century Jerusalem.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Nicholas Tavelic and companions – Mem
Readings: Tuesday 32nd Week of Ordinary Time

1st: Wis 2:23-3:9
Resp: Ps 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19
Gsp: Lk 17:7-10

Quote taken from Daniel McInerny’s “The Sinister Theology of Endo’s SILENCE,”a review of Martin Scorcese’s film “Silence” based on the book by Shusaku Endo (https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2014/07/14/the-sinister-theology-of-endos-silence/).

Excerpt of St. James’ epistle 2:18-20,26 taken from the Didache Bible.

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Catholic Manhood – May 01 – Homily – Fr Matthias

apostolate — Tue, 01 May 2018 13:09:09 +0000

On the Feast of St. Joseph Worker (May 01), Fr. Matthias focuses in the homily on how St. Joseph’s life is an eloquent example of Catholic manhood and fatherhood.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Joseph the Worker – Opt Mem

Readings: Tuesday 5th Week of Easter
1st: Act 14:19-28
Resp: Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 21
Gsp: Jn 14:27-31

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1066&r=1802

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