Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted."  Matthew 5:4.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."  Matthew 5:3.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Bernardino was born in 1530 in Capri, Italy.  At the age of 34, he became acquainted with priests of the Society of Jesus and made an eight-day retreat with them. During this retreat, he felt a strong call to religious life and asked to be admitted to the Jesuits. He was accepted and ordained a priest in 1567. For ten years he served in Naples, preaching, teaching catechism, visiting the sick, the poor and those in prison. He was eventually sent to Lecce, Italy. Bernardino was well-known and loved for his work in Leece. He was a model confessor, a powerful preacher, a diligent catechist to the youth, as well as a Rector of the Jesuit college and Superior of the Community there. His charity to the poor and the sick knew no bounds and his kindness brought about the end of vendettas and public scandals. St. Bernardino died in 1616, speaking the names of Jesus and Mary with his last breath. He was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1895 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947. His feast day is celebrated on July 2nd.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org In the Acts of the Apostles, the Bible says that the apostles of Jesus needed helpers to care for widows and the poor. They ordained seven deacons to that task, and St. Stephen is the most famous of these. He is described as a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, who worked great miracles among the people. Stephen preached forcefully and with wisdom about Jesus, telling all who would listen that Jesus is the Savior that God had promised to send. He scolded local Jewish authorities for not believing in Jesus. At that rebuke, they rose up in great anger and accused Stephen of blasphemy. They dragged him outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned him to death. The saint prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell to his knees and begged God not to punish his enemies for killing him. St. Stephen is often depicted with stones, a Gospel Book, a miniature church and a martyr's palm frond. He is the patron saint of altar servers, bricklayers, casket makers and deacons. His feast day is celebrated on December 26.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Julia was a pious Carthaginian girl who, after being captured from her city, was sold as a slave to a pagan merchant. She accepted her slavery without complaint and remained fervent in her devotion to God. One day while accompanying her master on a trip to France, Julia refused to attend a pagan festival, saying she wanted nothing to do with those superstitious ceremonies. The governor of that region was very angry with her for not joining in the pagan feast. "Who is that woman who dares to insult our gods?" he cried. Julia's master answered that she was a Christian and, although she would not give up her religion, Julia was an exemplary servant. The governor attempted to trade other slaves for Julia, but her master refused. When the merchant was asleep, however, the wicked governor tried to force Julia to make a sacrifice to the gods. Although the governor promised to set her free, Julia refused. She said she was as free as she wanted to be as long as she could serve Jesus. The governor, in great anger, had her tortured and put to death. St. Julia’s feast day is May 23rd.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org This week’s broadcast is the story of Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy, a pious and charitable ruler. Amadeus was the son of Duke Louis I of Savoy. He was born in 1435 in Thonon, Savoy and betrothed as an infant to Princess Yolanda, the daughter of Charles VII of France. They were married in 1451, and Amadeus succeeded his father as Duke of Savoy. Duke Amadeus proved to be a wise and fair ruler who strived for peace and was known for his compassion and generosity to the poor. On one occasion when a visiting ambassador bragged to Amadeus of all the fine hunting dogs that his monarch possessed, the Duke replied by pointing to a terrace filled with tables at which the hungry were being fed. "These," he said, "are my packs and my hunting dogs. It is with the help of these poor people that I chase after virtue and hunt for the kingdom of heaven."  Duke Amadeus was a lifelong victim of epilepsy. Around 1471, his seizures became so incapacitating that he entrusted the rule of his duchy to his wife Yolanda. His subjects became discontented and started a revolution, imprisoning the Duke. Only the intervention of King Louis XI of France, his brother-in-law, secured his release.  Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy died on March 30, 1472 at the age of 37. In 1677, Pope Innocent XI proclaimed the generous ruler "blessed."

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Born into a peasant family at Riva, Italy, young Dominic joined St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians, as a student at the Oratory in Turin at the age of 12. He impressed John Bosco with his desire to be a priest and to help him in his work with neglected boys. A peacemaker and an organizer, young Dominic founded a group he called the Company of the Immaculate Conception which, besides being devotional, aided John Bosco with the boys and with manual work. As a youth, Dominic spent hours rapt in prayer during which he would experience visions. Even in play, he said that at times, “It seems heaven is opening just above me. I am afraid I may say or do something that will make the other boys laugh.” Dominic would say, “I can’t do big things. But I want all I do, even the smallest thing, to be for the greater glory of God.” Dominic’s health, always frail, led to lung problems and he was sent home to recuperate. As was the custom of the day, he was bled in the thought that this would help, but it only worsened his condition. He died on March 9, 1857, after receiving the Last Sacraments. Some thought that Dominic was too young to be considered a saint. Saint Pius X declared that just the opposite was true, and went ahead with his cause. Dominic was canonized in 1954. His feast day is celebrated on May 6.

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Rose Hawthorne was born on May 20, 1851, in Lenox, Massachusetts, to American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia. Rose married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1871. In 1876, they had a son, Francis, who lived only until the age of 5. The couple eventually separated. George Lathrop died in 1898. Rose’s search for meaning in life inspired her extensive charity work. The death of a dear friend from cancer moved Rose to work with people with incurable illnesses. In the summer of 1896, she trained as a nurse at the New York Cancer Hospital, the first institution in the United States to provide training in treating cancer while general hospitals in the city did not admit patients with cancer. Later that year, she founded a charitable organization named after Saint Rose of Lima, Sister Rose's Free Home, to care for impoverished cancer patients. In 1900, she founded a new religious order, the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer. Rose became its first Mother Superior, taking the name Mother Mary Alphonsa. The order, now known as the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, opened a facility called St. Rose's Home on Water Street in Manhattan. The facility was later moved north of New York City to what is now Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne. Mother Mary Alphonsa died in her sleep on July 9, 1926. She was buried on the grounds of the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters in Hawthorne, N.Y. In 2003, Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, approved the movement for her canonization. Mother Mary Alphonsa now has the title "Servant of God" in the Catholic Church.