#november5alljesuitsaintsandblesseds

[anastpaul]

Today, 5 November, is the feast of all All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus. Together with the global Society of Jesus, let us remember the countless Jesuits who have given of themselves wholeheartedly, not for their own glory but for God’s.   Whether the names of the Saints and Blessed are known to many or only a few, whether official or not, today is a day when we give thanks to God for the lives of countless men who have humbly sought God in all things.   We all have our favourite Jesuit Saint, I have many and am constantly adding to them.

A Litany for the Feast of All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus In honour of the feast day, Jesuits.org is sharing this litany prayer invoking the intercession of the saints and blesseds of the Society of Jesus.

Litany of the Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus

(in an expanded form of that used first by Jesuits in the concentration camp at Dachau)

Prayer here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/feast-of-all-the-saints-and-blesseds-of-the-society-of-jesus/

as well as the list of Jesuit Saints and Blesseds.

(via Feast of all the Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus)

[anastpaul]

Thought for the Day – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus

3 November is the feast of the Jesuit priest, Blessed Rupert Mayer.   He was born in Germany in 1876 and entered the Society of Jesus in 1900, one year after his ordination. Known as the ‘Apostle of Munich’, Blessed Rupert Mayer survived two world wars – the first as chaplain-in-service of those who fought and died and the second as prisoner.   He was imprisoned for his opposition to the Nazi regime which had taken power in his home country and because he refused to remain silent about the atrocities being committed around him.   He was the first chaplain to be awarded the Iron Cross for bravery.   His service in the military ended when his left leg was shattered in a grenade attack and had to be amputated.

After the war Fr Mayer went to Munich where he served the poor and started two Sunday Masses for travellers at the main railroad terminal.   When Hitler rose to power Fr Mayer spoke out against Nazism and in 1937 was ordered by the Gestapo to stop speaking in public.   He continued preaching in church and was arrested three times.   In 1939 he was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentation camp near Berlin.

As the health of the popular sixty-three year old Jesuit war hero began to deteriorate the camp officials, afraid that he would die and be declared a martyr, sent him to a Benedictine monastery.   When World War II ended he returned to Munich and his pastoral work.

On 1 November 1945, while celebrating Mass and in the middle of his homily about how Christians are called to imitate the saints, Fr Mayer collapsed and died.   St Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1983.

Fr Mayer was an extraordinarily generous priest who through his limitless work and love for people was able to find Christ in each person.   Rupert Mayer’s warmth, understanding and unconditional self-giving led each person he met to experience the love of Christ.   Fr Mayer received his strength from the Lord.   He is a perfect example of ‘taking up your cross’, never slowing down, never hesitating to do the will of God.

Blessed Rupert Mayer, Pray for Us!

(via Thought for the Day - 5 November - A Jesuit Blessed of the two wars - Bl Rupert Mayer (1876-1945))

[anastpaul]

Our Morning Offering – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus

Lord, Whatever You Will By Blessed Rupert Mayer SJ (1876-1945) “The Apostle of Munich”

Lord, let happen whatever You will; and as You will, so will I walk, help me only to know Your will! Lord, whenever You will, then is the time, today and always

Lord, whatever You will, I wish to accept, and whatever You will for me is gain, enough that I belong to You. Lord, because You will it, it is right, and because You will it, I have courage. My heart rests safely in Your hands! Amen

Blessed Rupert’s beautiful prayer has been made into a song by the Catholic Filipino group Bukas Palad.   The lyrics are:

Lord, what You will let it be so Where You will, there we will go What is Your will, help us to know

Lord, when You will the time is right In You there’s joy in strife For Your will, I’ll give my life

To ease Your burden brings no pain To forego all for You, is gain As long as I in You, remain REFRAIN: Because You will it, it is best Because You will it, we are blest Till in Your hands, our hearts find rest Till in Your hands, our hearts find rest.

[anastpaul]

One Minute Reflection – 5 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 14:12–14 – Monday of the Thirty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of All Jesuit Saints and Blesseds

“invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind…..You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”…Luke 14:13-14b

REFLECTION – “This means choosing gratuitousness rather than self-seeking and calculating to obtain a reward, seeking interest and trying to increase your wealth. Indeed, the poor, the simple, those who ‘don’t count’, can never reciprocate an invitation to a meal.   In this way Jesus shows His preference for the poor and the excluded, who are the privileged in the Kingdom of God and He launches the fundamental message of the Gospel which is to serve others out of love for God.

Today, Jesus gives voice to those who are voiceless and to each one of us, He addresses an urgent appeal, to open our hearts and to make our own, the sufferings and anxieties of the poor, the hungry, the marginalised, the refugees, those who are defeated by life, those who are rejected by society and by the arrogance of the strong.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 28 August 2016

“He himself had wanted to be born in poverty, to welcome the poor into His company, to serve the poor and put Himself in the place of the poor, to the point of saying that the good and evil we do to the poor, will be held by Him to have been done to His own divine person (Mt 25:40).   What more tender love could He have shown the poor!   And what sort of love could we be showing Him, I ask you, if we don’t love what He loved?   So much so, that loving the poor, is to love Him as He would wish and imitating Him, is to serve Him rightly and honour Him as we ought…”…St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) – Extract from a report concerning the state of the work, 11/07/1657

PRAYER – Lord God, teach us humility, to give and not to count ever the cost to ourselves, to take the lowest part and the back seat – teach us Lord, to strive and not to seek for glory, save for that of Your Kingdom.   Let us see Your Face, His Face, He our Teacher, our Saviour in the face of all those in most need.   May all those great Jesuit Saints standing before that Face, pray for us!   We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who we beg, have mercy on us all, who seek rewards for our own sakes, amen.

(via One Minute Reflection – 5 November - Today's Gospel: Luke 14:12–14 - "Invite the poor...")