Wednesday of the Thirty-second week in Ordinary Time

Letter to Titus

Beloved: Remind them to be under the control of magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise.
They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, exercising all graciousness toward everyone.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.
But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Psalms

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for His names's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him
and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini((1850-1917))

SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI Virgin and Foundress (1850-1917) Frances Cabrini was born and baptized on July 15, 1850, in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Northern Italy. Her pious family guided her and demonstrated models of human and supernatural virtue. The Lord led her to the heights of sanctity as a religious and foundress. The turning point in her life was entering the House of Providence in Codogno. She received the religious habit, and while keeping the name Frances, later added Xavier to it in memory of the great Jesuit missionary and patron of the missions. Thanks to Bp. Domenico Maria Gelmini's encouragement and support, Sr. Frances Xavier left the House of Providence with seven companions and founded an institute. It was first called the Salesian Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, which received diocesan approval in 1881. Mother Cabrini asked her sisters for evangelical obedience, mortification, renunciation, vigilance of the heart and interior silence as necessary virtues for conforming their lives to Christ. Vocations surprisingly blossomed, and the institute rapidly expanded in Lombardy and beyond the region. The first house was opened in Rome, with papal approval of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on March 12, 1888, scarcely 8 years after its foundation. Pope Leo XIII asked Mother Cabrini to care for poor Italian immigrants. She longed to go to China, but the pope's words, "Not to the East, but to the West" gave her new energy and direction. The invitation of Christ's Vicar directed Mother Cabrini toward immigrants who often crossed to the United States in extreme poverty. Mother Cabrini's tireless apostolic work was more and more inspired by her desire to bring salvation to all. She used to say, "The Heart of Jesus does things in such a hurry that I can barely keep up with Him." With a group of sisters, she left for New York on the first of many voyages. As a messenger of hope, she achieved ever new goals in her tireless apostolate: Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina, in addition to France, Spain and England. Armed with remarkable boldness, Mother Cabrini started schools, hospitals and orphanages for the masses who ventured into the new world in search of work. Not knowing the language and lacking the wherewithal to find a respectable place in American society, they were often victimized. Mother Cabrini reached out to them everywhere: in hovels, prisons and mines. She was never intimidated by toil or distance, and traveled from New York to New Jersey, from Pennsylvania to Illinois, from California to Louisiana and Colorado. Even today, she is still called Mother Cabrini in the United States. Mother Cabrini was beatified just 21 years after her death in Chicago on December 22, 1917. In 1946, she was canonized by Pope Pius XII. In the Holy Year of 1950, he proclaimed her the patroness of immigrants.

St. Agostina Livia Pietrantoni((1864-1894))

Saint Agostina Livia Pietrantoni (1864-1894) Virgin Congregation of the Sisters of the Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret Once there was, and still is, but with a new face now, a village named Pozzaglia in the Sabina hills. There, in a blessed house, a cosy nest filled with childrens' voices, lived Olivia: who later was called Livia and took the name Agostina in religious life. Her life, although short, was remarkable, and inspired Pope Paul VI to call her "simple, transparent, pure, loving..." She was born and baptized on March 27, 1864, in the little village of Pozzaglia Sabina, at an altitude of 800 meters, in a beautiful area bordered by Rieti, Orvinio and Tivoli. She was the second of eleven children. Her parents, Francesco Pietrantoni and Caterina Costantini, were farmers and worked their small plot of land along with a few added plots that they leased. Livia's childhood and youth were imbued with the values of an honest, hard-working and religious family, in a blessed house where "all were careful to do good and where they often prayed." Around 1876, Livia received her first Holy Communion with extraordinary awareness of God's substance and presence in the Eucharist. Very early on, in her large family, where everyone seemed to be a beneficiary to her time and help, she learned from her mother, Caterina, the thoughtfulness and maternal gestures that she showed with such gentleness towards her many younger brothers and sisters. She worked in the fields and looked after the animals before games or school, but was so remarkable that she earned the title of "teacher" from her classmates.Work and pride At the age of 7, along with other children, Livia began transporting sacks of stone and sand by the thousands for the road from Orvinio to Poggio Moiano. At the age of 12, she left with other young seasonal workers to harvest olives in Tivoli. She was precociously wise and took on the moral and religious responsibility for her young companions. She supported them in this tough work far from their families, and proudly and courageously stood up to arrogant and unscrupulous bosses.Vocation and detachment Livia's wisdom, respect for others, generosity and beauty motivated her mother to find a suitable match. However, Livia chose a religious vocation instead of marriage. To those in the village who attempted to dissuade her, she replied, "I wish to choose a Congregation in which there is work both day and night." Everyone was certain that these words were genuine. A first trip to Rome in the company of her uncle, Fra Matteo, ended in bitter disillusionment; they refused to accept her. A few months later, however, the mother general of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret told Livia that she was expecting her at the generalate. Livia understood that this time she was saying farewell forever. With emotion, she took leave of the village people, all the loved corners of her land, her favorite prayer places, the parish and the Virgin of Rifolta. She kissed her parents goodbye, received Uncle Domenico's blessing, "kissed the door of her house, traced the sign of the cross on it and left hurriedly..."Formation and mission Livia was 22 when she arrived in Rome on March 23, 1886, at Via S. Maria in Cosmedin. A few months as a postulant and novice proved that she had the makings of a Sister of Charity, that is of a "servant of the poor," in the tradition of Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Jeanne-Antide. Thanks to her family, she had a particularly solid spiritual foundation. When she received the religious habit and was given the name of Sister Agostina, she had the premonition that it fell to her to become the saint bearing this name. Sister Agostina was sent to the Hospital of Santo Spirito. Seven hundred years of glorious history had led it to be called "the school of Christian charity." In the wake of the saints who had preceded her, amongst whom were Charles Borromeo, Joseph Casalanz, John Bosco and Camillus de Lellis, Sister Agostina made her personal contribution. In this place where many suffered, she expressed charity to the point of heroism.Silence, prayer and goodness The hospital's atmosphere was hostile to religion because of the Roman question. The Capuchin fathers had been expelled and the Crucifix and all other religious signs were prohibited. The hospital administrators only kept the sisters because they feared becoming unpopular. Hence, the sisters' lives were made impossible and they were forbidden to speak about God. Sister Agostina did not need to "cry out for God," but through her life proclaimed the Gospel. First, in the childrens' ward, and later in the tuberculosis ward: a place of despair and death, where she caught the mortal contagion of which she was miraculously healed. She showed total dedication and concern for each sick person, above all for those most difficult, violent and obscene. In secret, in a small hidden corner of the hospital, Sister Agostina commended them to the Holy Virgin and promised Our Lady more vigils and greater sacrifices for their conversion. How many times she offered Joseph Romanelli to Our Lady! He was vulgar and insolent to Sister Agostina, who was attentive toward him and welcomed his blind mother with great kindness during visits. When, after the umpteenth provocation at the expense of the women working in the laundry, the Director expelled Joseph Romanelli from the hospital, the latter sought a target for his fury, and poor Agostina was the victim. Several times, Romanelli sent Sister Agostina death threats scrawled on little notes. He was not joking in fact. When Romanelli caught Sister Agostina unaware, and struck her to death on November 13, 1894, her lips uttered nothing but invocations to the Holy Virgin Mary and words of forgiveness.

St. Stanislaus Kostka((1551-1568))

SAINT STANISLAUS KOSTKA (1551-1568) St. Stanislaus was from a noble Polish family. At 14 years old, he went with his elder brother Paul to the Jesuits' College in Vienna. Though Stanislaus was sweet-tempered, his austerities were felt as a reproach by Paul, who maltreated him. The abuse and penances of Stanislaus brought on a dangerous illness, but he was at a Lutheran house and could not send for a priest. He remembered that his patroness, St. Barbara, never permitted her devotees to die without the Holy Viaticum. Stanislaus devoutly appealed to her, and she appeared with two angels and gave him the Sacred Host. When Stanislaus was cured by Our Lady, she bade him enter the Society of Jesus. Stanislaus avoided opposition by departing Vienna. At the Jesuit house, Stanislaus cheerfully performed the most menial tasks. He was then admitted to the Jesuit novitiate in Rome. There, he lived for ten short months: demonstrating rare piety, obedience and devotion. Stanislaus passed away, as he had prayed, on the Feast of the Assumption in 1568, at the age of 17. God brought his soul to heaven after he gave his life for Jesus' sake (Mt. 16:25). Let us follow his example and never be lukewarm in our piety.

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