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Monday of the nineteenth week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of Saint Joan of Arc, nun
Other memorial days: St. Euplius, Martyr (RM)
TRADE FAIR READINGS
August 12, 2024 (readings on the USCCB website)
COLLECTING PRAYERS
Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time: Almighty, ever-living God, whom we call our Father as we are taught by the Holy Spirit, may we perfect in our hearts the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters, so that we may be worthy to inherit the inheritance you have promised us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
Optional monument to Saint Joan of Arc: O God, who caused Saint Joan of Arc to shine with outstanding merits in various walks of life, grant us through her intercession that, faithfully following our calling, we may always be examples of radiant light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
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Today is the Optional monument to Saint Joan of Arc (1572-1641). Saint Joan was a married woman and mother of seven children from Dijon, France. Her husband was killed in a hunting accident. In 1604, she was deeply moved by the preaching of Francis de Sales and asked him to be her spiritual mentor. In 1610, she founded the Visitation nuns. She worked tirelessly for the sick and convinced local political rulers to make special provisions for the sick and bereaved. In the last years of her life, she experienced times of spiritual drought. By the time she died in 1641, she had founded 85 monasteries.
The Roman Martyrology reminds St. Euplius (d. 304)a deacon, was tortured under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian for owning a copy of the Gospels. When he was arrested, his copy of the Holy Scriptures was taken away from him. When asked in court if he had any other copies, he began to recite them from memory. He was flogged and beheaded in 304 AD.
Saint Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc Fremiot de Chantal was the founder of the Order of the Visitation of Mary. She was born in 1572 into a noble family. In 1592 her father gave her as his wife to the Baron of Chantal. As a mother, she taught her children with the greatest zeal in the ways of virtue and piety and in the observance of all divine commandments. She supported the poor with great generosity and took particular joy in seeing how divine providence often blessed and increased the smallest of larders. For this reason she vowed never to turn away anyone who asked for alms in the name of Christ.
She bore the death of her husband, who was accidentally shot while hunting (1601), with Christian serenity and forgave the murderer wholeheartedly; then she became godmother to one of his children in order to publicly show her forgiveness. There was a holy friendship between her and her spiritual director, Francis de Sales; with his consent, she left father and children and founded the Visitation nuns.
So it should be with us too – firm and yet forgiving, in the right place and in the right measure. Our zeal must not make us hard and fanatical; nor must love degenerate into sentimentality. In principles, faith and commandments we must be firm and unshakable, with no trace of tolerance; but in our dealings with people we must be patient, forgiving, tender and forgiving. The Christian should be firm and determined like a father, gentle and self-sacrificing like a mother. We find this tension between complementary virtues exemplified on a heroic scale in Saint Joan of Arc.
—Excerpt from The Church’s Year of GracePius Parsch.
“Love! Love! Love! My daughters; I know nothing else.” Thus Joan of Chantal, the glorious collaborator of St. Francis in founding the Visitation of St. Mary, often exclaimed in her later years. “Mother,” said one of the sisters, “I will write to our houses that your charity is growing old, and that you, like your godfather, St. John, can only speak of love.” To which the saint replied: “My daughter, do not make such a comparison, for we must not profane the saints by comparing them with poor sinners; but you will give me joy if you tell these sisters that if I went according to my own feelings, followed my inclination, and had no fear of tiring the sisters, I would never speak of anything but charity; and I assure you, I hardly ever open my mouth to speak of holy things without intending to say: Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself.”
Patronage: Forgotten people; problems with in-laws; loss of parents; separation of parents and children; widows.
Highlights and activities:
- Read more about St. Jane:
- Learn more about the Visitation Nuns founded by Saint Joan of Arc.
- Consider hiring a spiritual mentor.
- Saint Francis de Sales explains the spirit of the Institute he founded with Saint Joan that it is “a spirit of deep humility towards God and great gentleness towards our neighbour, because the less severity there is towards the body, the gentler the heart must be.” And because “this Congregation was founded in such a way that no great severity can prevent the weak and infirm from joining it and devoting themselves to the perfection of divine love,” he adds jokingly: “If there is a sister who is so generous and courageous that she wants to reach perfection in a quarter of an hour by doing more than the community, I would advise her to humble herself and be content to become perfect in three days by following the same path as the others. Because in all things a great simplicity must always be maintained: to walk simply is the true path for the Daughters of the Visitation, a path that is extremely pleasing to God and very safe.”
- The remains of Saint Joan and Saint Francis de Sales are located in the Basilica of the Visitation in Annecy, France. Read the description of their resting place.
- Read the Treatise on the Love of God written by Saint Francis de Sales for Saint Joan and her sisters.
- Donate food to your church’s food bank and, if you have extra time, volunteer to help.
- Read some letters from Saint Joan of Arc.
- Saint Joan of Arc was willing to change her plans when God asked her to. Devotion to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade online or buy a copy; try to become aware of God’s will in the small contradictions you experience every day.
- Say the devotional prayer composed by the Saint.
- Saint Joan of Arc helped the poor and sick. Have your children make a collage of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy (they can draw the pictures if there are none in magazines).
St. Euplius
On August 12, 304 A.D., during the persecution of Diocletian in Catania, Sicily, a deacon named Euplius was brought into the governor’s hall and steadfastly confessed his faith. With the book of the Gospels in hand, he was called before the governor Calvisianus and instructed to read from it. The saint read the passage: “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Then Euplius read the passage: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” When the governor asked him what this meant, the young man replied: “It is the law of my Lord, which was delivered to me.” Calvisianus asked: “By whom?” Euplius replied: “By Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.” The governor then ordered him to be taken away to be tortured. At the height of his agony, Euplius was asked if he still believed in Christianity. The holy youth replied: “I repeat what I have already said: I am a Christian and I read the Holy Scriptures.” The governor realized that he would never give up his faith and ordered him to be beheaded. Saint Euplius died on April 29, 304 AD, praising God.
Patronage: Catania, Sicily, Italy; Francavilla di Sicilia, Italy; Trevico, Italy
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