St. Stanislaus

Bishop and martyr, born at Szczepanów (hence called Szczepanowski), in the Diocese of Cracow, 26 July, 1030; died at Cracow, 8 May, 1079; feast on May 7 in Roman Martyrology, but on 8 May in Cracow, which has a special feast of the translation of his relics on 27 September; patron of Poland and the city and Diocese of Cracow; invoked in battle.  No contemporary biography of the saint is in existence.

Excerpt from the Seventeenth Hour:  From 9 to 10 AM in the Hours of the Passion

Sorrowful Jesus, my heart faints in seeing You follow Pilate.  You walk with difficulty, bent over, under that horrible crown of thorns.  Your Blood marks Your steps, and as You go out, You hear the tumultuous crowd anxiously awaiting Your condemnation.  Imposing silence, in order to call the attention of all and to be heard by all, Pilate, with repugnance, takes two hems of the purple [rag] that covers Your chest and shoulders.  He lifts it, so that all may see how You are reduced, and says in a loud voice, “Ecce Homo!  [Here is the Man!] Look at Him—He no longer has the features of a man.  Observe his wounds—He can no longer be recognized.  If He has done evil, He has already suffered enough—or rather, too much.  I already regret having made Him suffer so much; therefore, let us set Him free.”