BELLUM CONTRA HÆRÉTICOS

Sancte Gregori Nazianzene, Episcope Confessor et Ecclesiæ Doctor, ora pro nobis!

Gregory therefore, having returned home after some time and ordained a priest in 361, was first created bishop of Sasima, then administrator of the church of Nazianzus. In 379 he was then called to Constantinople to rule that church there: there, firm defender of the consubstantiality of the Word, he presided over the Constantinopolitan Council I of 381, proving himself the bitter enemy of the insurgent heresies and herald of the integrity of the Catholic faith. He purged the city of the errors of heresy and brought it back to the Catholic faith, which should have reconciled him with the greatest affection from all and instead attracted the envy of many. And having manifested great dissension among the bishops regarding him, he spontaneously renounced the episcopate, applying the words of the prophet: "Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. " (Jonah 1:12). Then returning to Nazianzus, after giving to Elalius the government of that church, he devoted himself entirely to the contemplation and composition of divine things. He then wrote much, and in prose and verse, with marvelous piety and eloquence; and in the opinion of learned and holy people, nothing is found in these writings that does not conform to the rules of true piety and the Catholic faith, nothing that can be reasonably disputed by anyone. He was always the staunch defender of the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father. And just as he is inferior to none in the sanctity of life, so he easily surpasses all others in the gravity of his style. Busy in reading and composing these things, he lived in the solitude of the countryside as a monk, and, exhausted by old age, he went to heavenly life around the year 390, under the emperor Theodosius. From the X century his body was venerated in Rome. Saint Pius V, in 1568, proclaimed him a Doctor of the universal Church.

SAINT GREGORY NAZIANZEN BISHOP, CONFESSOR AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Gregory, noble Cappadocian, nicknamed the Theologian for his singular science in the divine Letters, he was born in Nazianzus in Cappadocia between 325 and 330, and having educated himself in Athens (between 350 and 358) in all kinds of sciences together with St. Basil the Great, to whom he was always united by the bonds of a holy friendship, he applied himself to the study of the Holy Scriptures; in which they then practiced together in the monastery for some years, interpreting them not according to their own ingenuity, but according to the reasoning and authority of the elders. While they flourished in doctrine and holiness of life, called to the ministry of preaching the evangelical truth, they produced many children to Christ.

“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” ~ Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Sancte Stanislae, Episcope et Martyr, ora pro nobis!

Ut inimicos sanctæ Ecclesiæ humiliare digneris, Te rogamus audi nos

It was then King of Poland Boleslaus II the Bold, who was gravely offended, because he publicly reprehended his well-known libertinage. Therefore in a solemn assembly of the kingdom he had slanderers summon Stanislaus to trial before him, as if he were the illegitimate owner of land, which he had bought instead in the name of his church. But since the bishop could not prove it with documents, and fearing the witnesses to tell the truth, he promised to have Peter, the seller of the land, who had been dead for three years, appear in court within three days. Accepted with laughter, the man of God spent the entire three days in fasting and praying; on the assigned day, after having offered the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, he ordered Peter to come out of the tomb; and the latter, brought to life instantly, followed the bishop to the king's court, and there, in the presence of the king and the others astounded, he deposed that he had sold the land in question and that he had received the agreed price from the bishop, and then fell asleep again in the Lord. But after having frequently admonished Boleslaus in vain for his tyranny and unruliness of morals, as well as ultimately the violation of a Christian woman, Stanislaus finally separated him from the communion of the faithful. Furious, he sent soldiers to the church to slaughter the holy bishop there; these three times tried and three times, by hidden force, were rejected. Finally, the wicked king slaughtered the priest of God with his own hand, while he was offering the immaculate Host on the altar (May 8, 1079). His body, torn to pieces and thrown across the fields to be fed to the dogs by the emissaries of Boleslaus, was admirably defended by eagles against the wild beasts. When night came, the canons of Krakow, with the favor of a celestial light, gathered up the scattered limbs and reassembled them; and they were immediately reunited so that there was no trace of wound; then the canons buried him honourably. God then manifested, after death, the holiness of his Servant with many miracles: prompted by which, Innocent IV, Supreme Pontiff, solemnly inserted him in the group of saints, in Assisi on 17th of Augut 1253. And the Supreme Pontiff Clement VIII inserted the feast of St. Stanislaus in the Roman Breviary, ordering that the memory of the glorious Martyr be celebrated everywhere with a double rite office. St. Stanislaus is the patron saint of Poland.

SAINT STANISLAUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR Stanislaus, born on July 26, 1030 in Szczepanów near Krakow (Poland) of a noble family and pious relatives, who, after thirty years of sterility implanted him with prayers from God, from childhood gave an indication of future holiness. As a teenager he applied himself to the liberal arts, and made great progress in the science of sacred canons and theology. When his parents died, he distributed the large patrimony to the poor, eager for monastic life. But ordained priest and made by divine order canon of the metropolitan chapter of Krakow and preacher of the cathedral by Bishop Lambert Sula, he was succeeded, albeit reluctantly, in the see in 1072, at the request of Pope Alexander II. In which office he distinguished himself for the splendor of every virtue, and especially for his mercy towards the poor.

“Padre Pio had an unpleasant duty to perform. He was talking with a recently-widowed woman. Her husband had once left her & their two children to live with another woman for over 3 years. Unexpectedly cancer had claimed his life. Before his death, after urgent appeals, he had consented to receive the last Sacraments... The woman, short & plain, finally asked the inevitable: ‘Where is his soul, Padre? I haven’t slept, worrying.’ Padre Pio watched her with troubled eyes. He could almost feel her grief filling his own heart. ‘Your husband’s soul is condemned forever,’he whispered. The woman shook her head and her eyes clouded with tears. ‘Condemned?’ Padre Pio nodded sadly. ‘When receiving the last Sacraments he concealed many sins. He had neither repentance nor a good resolution. He was also a sinner against God’s mercy, because he said he always wanted to have a share of the good things in life & then have time to be converted to God.’”(Prophet of the People, A Biography of Padre Pio, p. 158)