St. Philip

 St. James the Minor

Tomb of St. Philip and St. James the Minor

St. Philip, like Sts. Peter and Andrew, was of Bethesda in Galilee.  He died at Hierapolis in Phrygia on the cross, like them.  It is he whom Jesus addresses at the multiplication of the loaves, and it is through him as intermediary that the Gentiles seek to address the Savior.  To him also we owe what the Master said in His discourse at the Last Supper:  “Philip, who sees Me, sees My Father”.  To go to Christ is to go to God, for the works of the Messiah have proved His Divinity.  It is in virtue of His Divine nature that He rose again, and the two apostles whose Feast coincides with the Easter Feasts, by their martyrdom, confirm the truth of which they have been witnesses.

St. James, called the Minor, was of Cana in Galilee.  A cousin of our Lord, he had for brother the apostle Jude, and was made, by Peter, bishop of Jerusalem.  It is of him that St. Paul speaks when he says:  “I did not see any apostle except James the brother of the Lord.”  Called upon by the High Priest to deny Jesus, he was thrown down from the terrace of the Temple and his head was broken by the blow of a club.

Following the example of the Holy Apostles Philip and James, let us confess by a generous life the Divinity of the Risen Christ.

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Sts. Philip and James the less – Apostles
– St. Philip – Symbol: Latin cross, Saint Philip is pictured carrying the Cross of Christ, which was the theme of his preaching. His preaching took him to Phrygia, where he suffered martyrdom.
– St. James the Less – the brother of Saint Jude and a cousin of Jesus. While serving as Jerusalem’s first Bishop, he was arrested by the Jews and killed. Symbol: fuller’s club, after being cast from the Temple roof Saint James was beaten to death with such a club.

 Also Celebrated on this day is the (Historical) Finding of the Holy Cross

Let us pray to the Celestial Queen for each day of the month of May. Click above image.

5/1 – St. Joseph the Workman –“My daughter, see the Order of My Divine Providence:  for the Great Portent of My Incarnation, I Chose and used a Virgin, humble and poor; and the Virgin Saint Joseph as My custodian, who acted as a father to Me, and who was so poor that he needed to work in order to sustain our lives.  See how in the Greatest Works – and the Mystery of the Incarnation could not be Greater – We use people whose outward appearance attracts no attention from anyone, because dignities, scepters, riches, are always fumes which blind the soul, and prevent her from penetrating into the Celestial Mysteries in order to receive a Great Act of God – and God Himself.” – V20 – 1.6.27

      – Our Lady, Queen of the May – “Dearest daughter, I feel the irresistible need to Descend from Heaven to make you My Maternal Visits. If you assure Me of your filial love and faithfulness, I will remain always with you in your soul, to be your Teacher, Model, Example and Most Tender Mother.

            I come to invite you to Enter Into the Kingdom of your Mama— that is, the Kingdom of the Divine Will; and I Knock at the door of your heart, that you may open it to Me. You know? With My Own Hands I bring you this Book as Gift; I Offer it to you with Maternal Care, so that, in your turn, in reading it, you may learn to Live of Heaven and no longer of earth…” – Maternal Appeal – Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will

      – Luisa begins Volume 13 (1921)

The Daily Reading Begins:  31 Days in the Month of May

Excerpt from the Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will

Maternal Appeal of the Queen of Heaven

Dearest daughter, I (Blessed Virgin Mary) feel the irresistible need to descend from Heaven to make you My Maternal visits. If you assure Me of your filial love and faithfulness, I will remain always with you in your soul, to be your Teacher, Model, Example and Most Tender Mother.

I come to invite you to enter into the Kingdom of your Mama— that is, the Kingdom of the Divine Will; and I knock at the door of your heart, that you may open it to Me. You know? With My own hands I bring you this book as gift; I offer it to you with Maternal Care, so that, in your turn, in reading it, you may learn to Live of Heaven and no longer of earth.

This Book is of gold, my daughter. It will form your Spiritual Fortune and your Happiness, also terrestrial. In it you will find the Fount of all Goods: if you are weak, you will acquire Strength; if you are tempted, you will achieve Victory; if you have fallen into sin, you will find the Pitying and Powerful Hand that will lift you up again. If you feel afflicted, you will find Comfort; if cold, the sure means to get Warm; if hungry, you will enjoy the Delicious Food of the Divine Will. With it you will lack nothing; you will no longer be alone, because your Mama will keep you sweet company, and with Her every Maternal Care She will take on the commitment of making you Happy. I, the Celestial Empress, will take care of all your needs, provided that you consent to live united with Me.

St. Catherine of Sienna is Patron of Italy, and one of the greatest of Christian mystics.  She began to have mystical experiences at the age of six. She was a Dominican tertiary, and beginning when she was 16, she experienced visions of Christ, Mary, and the Saints interspersed with diabolical visions and periods of spiritual aridity.  She ministered to the ill and condemned prisoners, and was acclaimed for her holiness and abilities as a peacemaker.  St. Catherine received the invisible stigmata, which was clearly apparent at the time of her death, and she has been declared a Doctor of the Church.

 On October 16, 1888, in the presence of the Blessed Virgin and of St. Catherine of Siena, Luisa received a mystical ring from Jesus as a sign of their union.  St. Catherine of Siena assisted at Luisa’s Mystical Wedding by encouraging her, as Luisa wrote in the Book of Heaven, Volume 1:

“The morning of the aforesaid day, Jesus made Himself seen again—all affable, sweet, and majestic—together with His Most Holy Mother and St. Catherine.  First a hymn was sung by the Angels; St. Catherine assisted me, my Mama took my hand, and Jesus put a ring on my finger.  Then we embraced each other and He kissed me, and so also did my Mama . . .”

  
             St. Louis Grignion de Montfort                            St. Peter Chanel

Gospel from John 3:1-8
Nicodemus comes to Our Lord Jesus Christ at Night
“The Spirit breatheth where he will and thou hearest his voice:
but thou knowest not whence he cometh and whither he goeth.
So is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Excerpt from the Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will, Day 30

Oh, how Happy I (the Blessed Virgin Mary) will be if I am able to say: “My daughter is all Mine, because she Lives of Divine Will.” And I (Blessed Virgin Mary) will make the Holy Spirit Descend into your soul, that He may Burn away from you all that is human; and by His Refreshing Breath, He may Rule over you and Confirm you in the Divine Will.

Now, My daughter, listen to your Mama: know that I (the Blessed Virgin Mary) Love you very much, and would like to see your soul filled with My Same Seas. These Seas of Mine are swollen, and want to pour themselves out; but in order for them to do this, you must empty yourself of your will, so that the Divine Will may take the Second Step over you, and constituting Itself as Origin of Life in your soul, It may call the attention of the Celestial Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to pour Themselves upon you with Their Overflowing Seas. But in order to do this, They want to find Their own Will in you, because They do not want to entrust Their Seas of Power, of Wisdom, of Love and of Unspeakable Beauty to your human will.

Luisa’s Dominican Tertiary Cross

Luisa wearing her Dominican Tertiary Cross

Click here for website

“Being a lay Dominican seems to Luisa to be an adequate form of consecration that is recognized by the Church. Thus she became a Dominican tertiary with the name of Sister Magdalena and, up until her final days, she will recite the Divine every day. She is very devoted to St. Dominic and St. Catherine and  she prepares for their feasts with a novena in their honor “. (Maria Rosaria Del Genio, The Sun of My Will Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2014, p.48).

These words, contained in the biography of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta describe Luisa’s membership in the Dominican Third Order. From the testimonies and the documents that have been collected it appears that she was a part of it since her earliest youth, when the Third Order was restored in the city of Corato.

Also Mons. Luigi D’Oria was reporting it. In the biographical profile that he wrote in 1951 he said: “Luisa, as she herself repeatedly reminded her followers and as they attested, became a lay Dominican (…) in 1882, when she was 17 years old. (…)

Five years had passed since Jesus addressed her His heartfelt invitation: “Soul, help me!” Luisa felt the fire of the divine love that burned in her heart and she was all intent on finding “how better” to follow her heavenly Spouse, to imitate His examples, to suffer with Him and, thus, to cooperate with Him in the salvation of souls.

Luisa did not delay in understanding that the Third Dominican Order, like any other third order, bringing to life the religious spirit, led the souls of good will on the purely evangelical path and thus gave the opportunity to live with confidence following Jesus. (…) Moreover, our new daughter of St. Dominic kept faith in the promises and commitments she had made. Luisa, until her last days, recited daily the Office of the Dominican tertiaries , as the members of her family who lived with her until her death, confirmed “.

Luisa herself in her writings did not fail to refer to St. Dominic and St. Catherine from Siena. Witness the rich and profound references contained in the notebook “Aneliti di Santità”, in which some of Luisa’s disciples gathered her thoughts and prayers.

A link, therefore, with the Dominican spirituality, which is to be discovered and valued!

don Sergio Pellegrini