St Andrew Avellino, Confessor

From Fr Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints:

See his life, written five years after his death, by F. John Baptist Castaldo, Pr. of his Order, printed at Naples, 1613. Also Historia Clericorum Regularium, authore Jos. de’ Silos, 3 vols. fol. Rom, 1658, et Historia della Religione de’ Padri Chierici Regolari dal P. Glo. Battista del Tuffo, 2 vols. In fol. Roma. 1609, Likewise the bull of his canonization by Clement XI., published in the Bullar. t.10.

A. D. 1608.

ST. ANDREW AVELLINO was a native of Castro Nuovo, a small town in the kingdom of Naples, and born in 1520. In his infancy he gave early tokens of the most happy dispositions to virtue. At school he had the fear of God always before his eyes, and dreaded the very shadow of the least sin. A beautiful complexion exposed his chastity to several snares and dangers; which he escaped by assiduous prayer, mortification, watchfulness over himself, and care in shunning all dangerous company. To pretend a desire to serve God, and resist the world and vice, without a strenuous application to all the exercises of virtue, especially penance and prayer, he called a vain and foolish illusion. In the strait passage which leads to life we are sure to meet with many temptations and persecutions, which the world and the devil will not fail to raise against us. And, as watermen, who row against the wind and tide, exert their whole strength in plying their oars, so must we strive with all our might to maintain and daily gain ground against our malicious enemies, and the unruly sway of our passions. If any one lets go his hold, his soul, like a boat driven with the tide, will speedily be hurried into the gulf from which he may never be recovered. Andrew never looked back, and never lost sight of the goal to which he strove happily to arrive. After mature deliberation he took the ecclesiastical tonsure, and was sent to Naples to study the civil and canon law. Being there promoted to the degree of doctor in laws, and to the dignity of the priesthood, he began to plead such causes in the ecclesiastical court, as the canons allow clergymen to undertake. This employment, however, en grossed his thoughts, too much dissipated his mind, and insensibly weakened his affection for holy meditation and prayer. A fault into which he fell opened his eyes, and made him see the precipice which lay before him. Once in pleading a cause, in a matter indeed which was of no weight, a lie escaped him; for which, upon reading these words of holy scripture, The mouth that lieth killeth the soul, he was struck with so great remorse and deep compunction, that he resolved immediately to renounce his profession and to give himself up entirely to a penitential life, and to the spiritual care of souls. This he did with so great ardor, that his whole conduct was model of perfect virtue.

The archbishop judging no one more proper than Andrew to be the director of souls that were engaged by the obligations of their state in the career of evangelical perfection, committed to him the care of a certain nunnery in that city. The holy man’s zeal for removing all obstacles to the recollection of those spouses of Christ, in which consists the very essence of their state and virtue, stirred up the malice and rage of certain wicked men in the city, whom he had forbid being ever admitted to the grate to speak to any of the nuns. He once narrowly escaped death, with which they threatened him, and another time received three wounds in his face. These injuries he bore with invincible meekness, being ready with joy to lay down his life for the spiritual interest of souls, and for the defence of justice and virtue. Out of an earnest desire of more readily attaining to a perfect disengagement of his heart from all earthly things, in 1556 he embraced at Naples the rule of the Regular Clerks, called Theatins, in whom flourished at that time, to the great edification of the whole city, the religious spirit and fervor which they had inherited of St. Cajetan, who died there in the convent of St. Paul, in 1547. Our saint, out of the love he bore to the cross, on this occasion changed his name of Lancelot into that of Andrew. By the humiliations and persecutions which he had met with even among his dearest friends, (which trials are always the most severe to flesh and blood,) he learned what incomparable sweetness and spiritual advantages are found in suffering with patience and joy, and in studying in that state to conform ourselves to the holy spirit and sentiments of Christ crucified for us. Nor can it be conceived what improvement a soul makes by this means in experimental perfect meekness, in patience, humility, and the crucifixion of self-love, and all her passions, by which Christ (or his Spirit) begins to live in her, and to establish the reign of his pure love in all her affections. Of this St. Andrew was an example. To bind himself the more strictly to the most fervent pursuit of perfect virtue in all his actions, he made two private vows which only an extraordinary impulse of fervor could suggest, or, even according to the necessary rules of Christian prudence, make allowable or lawful, for fear of sacrilegious transgressions, or scrupulous anxious fears. The first was, perpetually to fight against his own will: the second, always to advance to the utmost of his power in Christian perfection. Wonderful were his abstinence and exterior mortifications, and the indifference with which he treated his body: but much more his love of abjection and hatred of himself, that is, of his flesh and his own will. He bore without the least disturbance of mind the barbarous murder of his nephew; and, not content to withdraw all his friends from prosecuting the assassin, became himself an earnest supplicant to the judges for his pardon. His exactitude in the observance of regular discipline in every point, and his care to promote the same in others, especially while he was superior in his order, were equal to the ardor of his zeal for the divine honor in all things. All the hours that wore free from exterior employments of duty or charity, were by him devoted to prayer and contemplation, and these were the source of his interior eminent spirit of piety and charity, by which his labors in the conversion and direction of innumerable souls were miraculously successful. By the eminent sanctity of many of both religious and secular persons who had the happiness to be his penitents, it appeared visible that saints possess the art of forming saints.*

Cardinal Paul Aresi, bishop of Tortona, the author of many works of piety and ecclesiastical learning, and the Mecnas of his age, had a particular esteem for our saint, and often made use of his advice and assistance in his most important affairs. St. Charles Borromeo did the same, and obtained of him some religious men formed by his hand, and animated with his spirit, for the foundation of a convent of his order, at Milan. That great saint had nothing so much at heart as such a reformation of the clergy, that all among them might be replenished with the spirit of the apostles. For this end so many orders of regular canons and clerks have been instituted, from St. Austin down to our time. Yet into their houses, through the negligence of superiors, and the propensity of the human heart to the gratification of its passions, the spirit of the world has too often found admittance to the aggravation of the scandal. For the same purpose have congregations of secular clergy, living in common without vows, been sometimes erected: among which scarcely any was more famous than that of Windesheim, established by Gerard the Great, or Groot, in Holland, who died in the odor of sanctity in 1384, leaving his plan to be finished by his worthy successor, Dr. Florentius: it was continued in the same spirit by John Cacabus or Kettle.† St. Charles Borromeo had a design of engaging his canons to live in this manner in common without vows; but the execution was prevented by his death. He had, soon after he was made archbishop, pitched upon the Theatins, whom St. Andrew had formed to a perfect ecclesiastical spirit, to set before the eyes of his clergy a model and living example from which they might learn the apostolic spirit of the most perfect disengagement from the world. Our saint founded new convents of his order at Placentia, and in some other places; and was honored by God with the gifts of prophecy and miracles. After having given the world an example of the most heroic virtues, being broken with labors and old age, he was seized with an apoplexy at the altar as he was beginning mass, at those words, Introibo ad altare Dei; which he repeated thrice, and was not able to proceed. He was prepared for his passage by the holy sacraments, and calmly resigned his soul into the hands of his Creator, on the 10th of November, 1608. His body is kept with honor in the church of his convent of St. Paul at Naples; and he was canonized by Clement XI.

This saint was a fit instrument of the Holy Ghost, in directing others in the paths of perfect virtue, because dead to himself, and a man of prayer. He never spoke of himself, never thought of his own actions, except of his weaknesses, which he had always before his eyes in the most profound sense of his own nothingness, baseness, total insufficiency, and weakness. Those who talk often of themselves, discover that they are deeply infected with the disease of the devil, which is pride, or with the poison of vanity, its eldest daughter. They have no other reward to expect, but what they now receive, the empty breath of sinners. Even this incense is only affected hypocrisy. For men, by that base passion which they betray, become justly contemptible and odious to those very persons whose vain applause they seem to court. St. Teresa advises all persons to shun such directors, as pernicious to souls, both by the contagion of self-conceit and vain-glory which they spread, and by banishing the Holy Ghost with his light and blessing; for nothing is more contrary to him than a spirit of vanity and pride. The most perfect disinterestedness, contempt of the world, self-denial, obedience, and charity, are no less essential ingredients of a Christian, and especially an ecclesiastical spirit, than meekness and humility. The vows of Regular Canons, and their strictest rules, only point out what are the duties, and what ought essentially to be the spirit of every clergyman by the obligation of his state, without the tie of particular vows, as he example of Christ and his apostle shows.

Collect of Ss Tryphon, Respicius, & Nympha, Martyrs ~ Indulgenced on the Saints' Feast

According to the Apostolic Penitentiary, a partial indulgence is granted to those who, on the feast of any Saint, recite in his honour the oration of the Missal or any other approved by legitimate Authority.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray.
Make us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, ever faithful to observe the feast-day of Thy holy Martyrs, Tryphon, Respicius and Nympha, that through their prayers, we may enjoy the bounty of Thy protection.

Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

R. Amen. 

Collect of St Andrew Avellino, Confessor ~ Indulgenced on the Saint's Feast

According to the Apostolic Penitentiary, a partial indulgence is granted to those who, on the feast of any Saint, recite in his honour the oration of the Missal or any other approved by legitimate Authority.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
O God, Who didst make thy blessed Confessor Andrew to settle in his heart to go up wondrously toward thee by a stern vow daily to advance to the utmost of his power in godliness, grant unto us for the same thy servant's sake and at his prayers the like grace, so that we, seeking ever that which is more perfect, may happily attain the crown of thine everlasting glory.

Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

R. Amen. 

Tensions Among Roman Dicasteries Over the Decree of SSPX Excommunication

When the DDF issues an unthought-out Decree, it is only to be expected that the Dicastery for Legislative Texts might have something to say.

From Rorate Cæli

Translated from the French original here, courtesy of FSSPX News.

The schism remains elusive, but divisions are spreading to Rome itself. Four months after the consecrations in Écône, the condemnation of the Society of Saint Pius X is becoming a headache for the Vatican.

The decree of excommunication issued in the wake of the episcopal ordinations in Écône is now causing difficulties within the Roman Curia itself. In an investigation published on October 30, 2026, by the German Catholic daily Die Tagespost, journalist Guido Horst reveals that the Dicastery for Legislative Texts has repeatedly attempted, in collaboration with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, to resolve the legal contradictions contained in the documents of July 2. But these efforts were thwarted by a lack of cooperation from Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who seems unwilling to revise the texts published under his authority.

The matter is becoming all the more embarrassing for Cardinal Fernández as the objections are no longer coming solely from the Society or independent canonists, but from the Roman body responsible for interpreting canon law and ensuring the consistency of ecclesiastical legislation.

Papal Concessions Ignored

One of the main contradictions concerns confessions and marriages celebrated by priests of the Fraternity, the validity of which the explanatory note accompanying the July 2 decree purports to contest—without even taking into account the provisions expressly established a few years earlier by Pope Francis, which, moreover, were in addition to the canonical foundations on which the Fraternity has always relied.

On the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015, he had expressly recognized the right of the faithful to validly and lawfully receive absolution from priests of the Fraternity, a provision initially limited to the Jubilee Year but later extended by the Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera of November 20, 2016, until further notice. While expressing its gratitude to the Supreme Pontiff for this paternal gesture, the Fraternity had recalled that it had always relied, with complete certainty, on the extraordinary jurisdiction provided for by canon law, due to the state of necessity of souls. Francis’s intervention therefore did not alter the validity of the absolution granted by its priests, but allowed Catholics who might still have had some scruples to turn to them without concern, as the General House emphasized at the time.

A few months later, on March 27, 2017, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei published, with the express approval of the Supreme Pontiff, new provisions concerning the marriages of the faithful of the Fraternity, allowing, in particular, diocesan bishops to delegate a priest of the SSPX to receive matrimonial consents. Welcomed by the Society, these measures were intended to put an end to the unfounded challenges to marriages that were fully valid under the provisions of canon law applicable to states of necessity.

Not only have these decisions by Pope Francis never been revoked, but a mere explanatory note issued by a dicastery could not, in any case, nullify the powers granted by the Pope himself. Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, former secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, had in fact reiterated this principle in July, in an interview with the Catholic media outlet AdVaticanum, emphasizing that a faculty granted by pontifical decision could be revoked only by an act of equal authority.

The warnings issued to the faithful who attend the Society’s chapels are no less questionable, since they raise the specter of excommunication for adherence to an alleged schism, whereas the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts itself acknowledged, in an explanatory note dated August 24, 1996, concerning the canonical consequences of the 1988 consecrations, that participation in the services did not constitute formal adherence to the schism. Attending the Society’s chapels cannot be considered a schismatic act today either, since the SSPX has never ceased to profess its membership in the Catholic Church and its recognition of the authority of the Supreme Pontiff.

Repeated Approaches to Cardinal Fernández

According to information gathered by Guido Horst, the Dicastery for Legislative Texts has therefore sought on several occasions to work with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to resolve these inconsistencies, without succeeding in obtaining Cardinal Fernández’s cooperation.

The German journalist also reports that a diplomatic mission of the Holy See, in a country where the Society has a particularly strong presence, received clarification from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts stating that Cardinal Fernández’s note did not constitute a revocation of the 2017 matrimonial provisions expressly approved by the Supreme Pontiff.

Despite these efforts, no public clarification has been issued to correct the disputed documents, to the point that Cardinal Fernández’s alleged refusal to cooperate could ultimately necessitate a personal intervention by Leo XIV to resolve this dispute between two Roman dicasteries.

The matter could also have consequences for the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith himself. Guido Horst quotes Ed Condon, co-founder of the American Catholic media outlet The Pillar, who states that the dicastery’s persistent failure to clarify the canonical consequences of the episcopal consecrations could strengthen calls for the early replacement of Cardinal Fernández, whose current term is scheduled to end in 2028.

These revelations come as the Society of St. Pius X continues to pursue its appeals against the July 2 decree. In a statement released in October, the General House confirmed that it had continued to pursue the remedies provided for by canon law, while exercising the discretion necessary for the proceedings to unfold.

Unable to establish the schism it claims to be sanctioning, Rome now finds its own dicasteries divided over the legal consequences of this condemnation, in a cacophony that reveals the impasse in which the Holy See finds itself in this matter.

Struggling to Break Free of the Technopoly

"We don’t need to change everything all at once. If we make that the standard for successful action, we’ll never make any difficult choices."

From Front Porch Republic

By Edward Mason

We don’t need to change everything all at once. If we make that the standard for successful action, we’ll never make any difficult choices.

About a year ago I got a dumb phone. I was at the start of my second year at university, and I decided it was possible. My smartphone had been frustrating me for years (ever since I got one as a teen), and I wanted to go back to a simpler phone. Admittedly, I was an outlier, as my parents didn’t allow me to “upgrade” my dumb phone to a smart one until I was 15. So I had had years of “FOMO,” which I later realized was really years of being protected. Similarly, I didn’t get social media until that age too, and within a couple of months I had already deleted it as I found it so quickly changed my mood. So really, I am a classic example of someone who was always a bit cautious when it came to these things. Eventually I bit the bullet and went back to a dumb phone. It was very freeing, being able to walk around and not be constantly staring at my phone. No one was contacting me, and I loved it!

However, it did mean a lot of frustration. People were contacting me—on WhatsApp. So I had to work around that one (WhatsApp on my laptop). But, it turns out, to exist in the modern world, you need a smartphone. I ended up having to keep my old smartphone in a drawer with WhatsApp on, because it stops working after 14 days without it being used on your smartphone (as I found out the hard way). And church groups, uni societies, etc. are still very much worked through WhatsApp. In all honesty, most other apps were replaceable, although mobile banking was hard to “un-setup” (I had to revert to an old-school card reader that generated codes).

These frustrations revealed the continuing power of what Neil Postman called the “technopoly.” Our world very much cannot operate without the technology we have developed. If I deleted email, logged off of WhatsApp, and went “offline” permanently, I think a lot of things in my life would just not function. Many of my friendships would probably decline or end; it would be much harder to chat with my family (who live over two hours away) regularly; university would basically be impossible to do. Our world really is built around this stuff.

It is also interesting to note how hard it is to get other people to understand why on earth you have a dumb phone. There is a sense growing in “society” at large that something is wrong with how we interact with our precious smartphones, but we aren’t all just throwing them away. It seems we truly cannot live without them. Everyone excuses themselves with, “Oh, but I need it for. . .” or, “It’s not that bad,” or “Only the kids should not have them; I’m not affected or changed by them.” These excuses reveal the emotional denial of the power of technopoly. Even while many of us would nod our heads at what Alan Jacobs has called the “Standard Critique of Technology (SCT),” we still find it hard to imagine bucking the norms of our technological society. Indeed, it is safe to say we are too attached to our phones to accept any change that admitting our attachment would lead to. The technopoly is still a totalizing power over us. And phones make life easier. Everyone else has them, uses them, so why should I be different? The same could be said of when some of us tried to get people to switch away from WhatsApp after Facebook changed their privacy terms, “But everyone else is on it!” Yes. And that’s why I think I have to keep it on my laptop.

The power of the technopoly makes it hard for us to envisage a world without modern technology; in this case, without the smartphone. Many times, I have wondered if I should just give up having a dumb phone and accept the reality that the smartphone is needed to live in modern society today. For us members of Gen Z, this very much seems to be the case. Those of us who are “digital natives” cannot imagine life without the internet, without social media. Those of us who abstain in even small ways are seen as “weird.” And even though I tote my dumb phone around, I’m still very much online. I use my laptop daily, I need it for university work (submitting assignments, reading papers, emailing lecturers). Our lives have been built up on the internet. We grew up with it—it’s always been there. I find it interesting how little my peers read. Even the fact that I would go to the library, for a book, is seen as bizarre. No one “reads” any more. Of course we all read, just not books or anything long; we are constantly skimming instead.

And there seems to be a paralysis, a sense of futility that dogs all efforts to reshape the expectations of technopoly. How do we influence those around us to be more aware of the way tech is shaping us and of the freedom we still possess? How do we invite others to act? Our society is a technopoly. We can’t suddenly change this technopoly. Resisting in small ways seems to change nothing. How can we hope to show those around us the power technology holds over them, and even over us who affirm the Standard Critique of Technology?.

In Children of Dune, Frank Herbert makes a comment about power, which opens up a possible answer:

A large populace held in check by a small but powerful force is quite a common situation in our universe. And we know the major conditions wherein this large populace may turn upon its keepers— One: When they find a leader. This is the most volatile threat to the powerful; they must retain control of leaders. Two: When the populace recognizes its chains. Keep the populace blind and unquestioning. Three: When the populace perceives a hope of escape from bondage. They must never even believe that escape is possible!

One way to help the populace recognize its chains is to be the person who shows that it is plausible to live outside the regnant technological order. In other words, we need to help those around us “believe that escape is possible.” If, within our churches, within our schools, within our workplaces, we show that is possible to live outside the world of social media, of the smartphone, of our “now . . . this” world, others will take notice. We don’t need to change everything all at once. If we make that the standard for successful action, we’ll never make any difficult choices. But even partial refusals can encourage others to reflect on how our technology is shaping us and to make choices that prioritize the health of our communities. Such small refusals remind others that escape is indeed possible.

Bishop Challoner's Meditations ~ November 10th

NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS, MATT. vi. 24

Consider first, this great principle of Christian morality, laid down by our Lord in the gospel, no man can serve two masters; by which he gives us to understand, that there is no such thing as serving him and saving our souls, if at the same time we are serving the world, the flesh, or the devil. For these are enemies to God, and claim a service of us which our great master absolutely disallows; so that we cannot please them, without displeasing him; nor be friends to them, without being enemies to him. Christians, we have all manner of obligations to serve our God. He is our only true master; he is our first beginning, and our last end; he is our creator, and our redeemer; infinitely good in himself and infinitely good to us. He is the source of our very being, and of all our good: we came into the world for nothing else but to serve him: to his service we were solemnly dedicated, when we were first made Christians: the serving him is to make us happy both in time and eternity. But what pretensions can the world, the flesh, or the devil, have to our service? Or what obligations have we to them? They are all of them mortal enemies to our true welfare, and to the eternal salvation of our souls; if we serve them, they will make us miserable for ever. O let us then never be so wretched, so mad, so wicked, as to put them in competition with God, or to withdraw any part of our service from our God, (to whom it is all due,) to bestow it upon these traitors and rebels, who are enemies to all that is good.

Consider 2ndly, the particular application which our Lord makes of this principle, to warn us against the love and service of mammon, that is of worldly riches, of filthy lucre, of money, and of all the other perishable goods, as we call them, of this deluded and deluding world: you cannot serve, said he, both God and mammon. No man has any inclination to serve the devil, for his own sake, or out of any love that he can have for this filthy monster; but this wicked enemy makes use of the mammon of the world, and of the allurements of the flesh, as baits, to draw poor unthinking souls to him, and to engage them in his slavery for the sake of these perishable toys, which he points out to them as if they were solid goods, so as to fix their affections upon them, to the prejudice of the love and service of their maker. Therefore both here and in many other places of Holy Writ, we are warned against these baits of Satan, and especially against the love and service of this mammon of iniquity, as inconsistent with the love and service of God, and destructive of the salvation of our souls; because 'tis setting up an idol in opposition to the living God; and loving and serving the creature, instead of the creator, who is blessed for evermore. Dear Lord, preserve us from being ever guilty of any such treason.

Consider 3rdly, that as we cannot serve both God and mammon, so we cannot serve both God and pleasure; we cannot serve both God and pride; we cannot serve both God and our impure affections, or our unhappy self-love, which is the source of all our evils. And so in general, with regard to everything else - the love of which takes us off from the love and service of the living God - it always holds good, that we cannot serve both the creator and the creature. Our God is a jealous lover; he will allow of no love but what is quite regular and orderly, and kept in subjection to the love of him. He declares against a divided heart; Osea x. 2, 'Their heart is divided,' said he, 'now they shall perish.' He claims the whole heart as his own due. He will allow of no rival there. He expects to reign there without a partner. See, my soul, upon what conditions God will accept of thee. Thou must be wholly his without reserve, or he will not receive thee. In the offering thou makest of thyself to his divine service, thou must take care not to keep back, by fraud, any part, like Ananias and Saphira, Acts v., lest thou fall under the like judgment that they did. 

Conclude to admit of no other master of thy heart and affection but the God that made thy heart for himself, and all things else for thee. None but he can fill thy heart: all other things are just nothing at all when compared with him. Fear him alone: love him alone: give thy whole self to him alone: thus shalt thou be wholly his and he holly thine, for all eternity.

10 November, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

Prayer, Work, and Leisure

1. The pattern of our lives should be a combination of prayer, work, and leisure. There should be no room, however, for idleness.
“Prayer.” Prayer is most essential. The life of a Christian should be a continual prayer. As Jesus commanded, we “must always pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1)

How can we achieve this? St. Paul has told us. “Whatever you do in word or in work,” he says, “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17) If we follow his instructions, our lives will really be a prayer. Before we begin our day's work we shall turn to God and offer Him our labours and our difficulties. During our work we shall raise our minds to God from time to time as Jesus, Mary and Joseph must have done in the home and in the workshop at Nazareth. Whenever we speak, we should remember that we are in the presence of God. Then our conversation and our behaviour will be free from defect and will edify those who are with us. The grace of God can illumine the most ordinary conversations and actions which are in themselves quite indifferent. It is enough to live in a spiritual atmosphere of our own and to keep our thoughts turned towards God while we are living and  walking on this earth. If we can aspire to such a spiritual height, then our work will become a prayer pleasing to God, whether it is mental or manual, pleasant or burdensome. God will grant us interior peace, moreover, for we shall be no longer working alone, but Jesus Christ will be working with us by His grace. This is the way the Saints worked, and this is how their lives were a prayer.

2. “Work.” Work is a duty commanded by God, Who after the sin of Adam told him and his descendants: “In the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread.” (Gen. 3:19) So work became an obligation and a means of expiation. We are all obliged, therefore, to engage in some kind of work, mental or manual, whether we are rich or poor. Idleness has been condemned by God as the father of all the vices. “Idleness,” warns the Holy Spirit, “is an apt teacher of mischief.” (Ecclus. 33:29) It is impossible for a man who works and prays to commit sin, both because he lacks the time and because he is close to God. A man who is close to God will certainly never offend Him, whereas the mind of a man who is lazy and inactive is open to the attractions of sin. Let us shun idleness, therefore, and love hard work as a means of making reparation for our sins and of gaining merit before God.

3. “Leisure.” Some of the Saints made it one of their resolutions to take about an hour's recreation every day. They were thinking in terms of rest, however, not of inactivity. Rest is the reward of labour and is necessary for frail human nature. Idleness, on the other hand, is a vice and the source of sin. We should take our repose only after our work and in consequence of it. Even during recreation we should continue to live in the presence of God and to think of Him from time to time. If we enjoy our leisure in the open air, everything speaks to us of God, for we are surrounded by the flowers and the birds. When St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus was going for a walk one day, she stopped to admire a tiny flower. Enraptured by its beauty, she exclaimed aloud: "How good you are, O God !" Our recreation can be the source of increased sanctification.

Byzantine Saints: Erastus, Olympas, Herodion, Sosipater, Quartus, & Tertius

Eastern Rite ~ Feasts of 10 November AM 7534

Today is the Feast of the Holy Apostles Erastus, Olympas, Rodion and Those with Them.

✠✠✠✠✠

The holy Apostles Erastus, Sosipater (April 28), Olympas (January 4), Rodion (April 8), Quartus and Tertius (October 30) were disciples of Saint Paul. They all lived during the first century.

The Apostle to the Gentiles speaks of them in the Epistle to the Romans, “And Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, a brother” (Rom 16: 23).

Saint Sosipater, a native of Achaia, was Bishop of Iconium, where he also died. Saint Paul mentions him in Romans 16:21.

Saint Olympas was mentioned by the holy Apostle Paul (Rom 16:15). He was also a companion of the Apostle Peter. Saint Rodion (Herodion), was a kinsman of the Apostle Paul (Romans 16:11), and left the bishop’s throne at Patras to go to Rome with the Apostle Peter. Saints Rodion and Olympas were beheaded on the very day and hour when Saint Peter was crucified.

Saint Quartus endured much suffering for his piety and converted many pagans to Christ, dying peacefully as a bishop in the city of Beirut.

Saint Tertius is mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans, “I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord” (Rom 16:22). Saint Tertius, to whom Saint Paul dictated the Epistle to the Romans, was the second Bishop of Iconium, where also he died.

Troparion — Tone 3

Holy Apostles, Erastus, Olympas, Herodion, Sosipater, Quartus and Tertius, / entreat the merciful God, / to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.

Kontakion — Tone 2

Illumined by divine light, O holy apostles, / you wisely destroyed the works of idolatry. / When you caught all the pagans you brought them to the Master / and taught them to glorify the Trinity.

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 10 NOVEMBER – SAINT ANDREW AVELLINO (Confessor)

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 10 NOVEMBER – SAINT ANDREW AVELLINO (Confessor):   Andrew Avellino, formerly called Lancelot, was born at Castro Nuovo, a small town in Sicily, in 1521. While still an infant he gave evid...

10 November, The Chesterton Calendar

NOVEMBER 10th

Old happiness is grey as weAnd we may still outstrip her;If we be slippered pantaloonsO let us hunt the slipper!

The old world glows with colours clear,And if, as saith the saint,The world is but a painted show,O let us lick the paint!

Far, far behind are morbid hoursAnd lonely hearts that bleed;Far, far behind us are the daysWhen we were old indeed.

Behold the simple sum of thingsWhere, in one splendour spun,The stars go round the Mulberry Bush,The Burning Bush, the Sun.
'Grey Beards at Play.'

10 November, The Holy Rule of St Benedict, Patriarch of Western Monasticism

CHAPTER XXXIII. Whether Monks ought to have anything of their own

11 Mar. 11 July. 10 Nov.

The vice of private ownership is above all to be cut off from the Monastery by the roots. Let none presume to give or receive anything without leave of the Abbot, nor to keep anything as their own, either book or writing-tablet or pen, or anything whatsoever; since they are permitted to have neither body nor will in their own power. But all that is necessary they may hope to receive from the father of the Monastery: nor are they allowed to keep anything which the Abbot has not given, or at least permitted them to have. Let all things be common to all, as it is written: “Neither did anyone say that aught which he possessed was his own.” But if any one shall be found to indulge in this most baneful vice, and after one or two admonitions do not amend, let him be subjected to correction.

11 November, The Roman Martyrology

Tértio Idus Novémbris Luna prima. Anno Dómini 2026

November 11th 2026, the 1st day of the Moon, were born into the better life:
At Tours, in Gaul, (in the year 397,) the blessed Confessor Martin, Bishop of that see. His life was remarkable for extraordinary miracles he raised three persons from the dead.
At Cotyaeus, in Phrygia, the glorious passion of the holy Egyptian soldier Mennas. During the persecution under Diocletian he cast away his military belt, and served the King of Heaven in secret in the desert then he went forth, and freely declared himself to be a Christian. He was first examined with horrid tortures, then as he was kneeling in prayer, giving thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, he was beheaded, (in the year 305.) After his death he was famous for many miracles.
At Ravenna, the holy martyrs Valentine, Felician, and Victorine, who were crowned in the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian.
In Mesopotamia, in the persecution under the same Diocletian and Eleusius the President, the holy martyr Athenodorus. He was tormented with fire and other torments, and then condemned to be beheaded but the executioner fell to the earth, and no other dared to smite him with the sword, and as he prayed he fell asleep in the Lord.
At Lyon, the holy Bishop Veran, whose life was illustrious for his faith and other graces.
Likewise at Constantinople, holy Theodore, of the monastery which is called the Studium who contended mightily for the Catholic faith against the Iconoclasts, and became famous throughout the whole Catholic Church, (a.d. 759-826.)
In the monastery of Grotta-Ferrata, near Frascati, (in the year 1054,) the holy Abbot (of Grotta-Ferrata,) Bartholomew, a companion of blessed Nilus, and the writer of his life.
In the province of Samnium, the blessed hermit, Mennas, whose graces and miracles are recorded by holy Pope Gregory.
℣. And elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Meme of the Moment

 Today is the 406th anniversary of her birth.

Traditional Catholic Evening Prayers in English | November

Traditional Catholic evening devotional prayers to close your day with your mind, heart, tongue, and soul on our Lord! The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Begin and end each day with prayer.  This video is a compilation of many traditional evening prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office evening prayers.

Compline

From St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary. You may follow the Office at Divinum Officium.

Byzantine Saints: Venerable Theoktίstē of the Isle of Lesbos

St Vitonius, Bishop of Verdun: Butler's Lives of the Saints

Vespers for the Feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour

From the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem. You may follow the Office at Divinum Officium.

Summa Contra Gentiles, Book III: XL Man’s Happiness Doesn’t Consist in the Knowledge of God by Faith

From Contemplating History

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274), was a Doctor of the Church, Philosopher, Theologian, Jurist, Dominican Friar, and Priest. Known as Doctor Angelicus "Angelic Doctor," and the Doctor Communis "Universal Doctor" his writings serve as a defense and proof of the validity of Christ's authority over all. The Summa contra Gentiles (also known as Liber de veritate catholicae fidei contra errores infidelium, "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers"). The Summa contra Gentiles consists of four books. The structure of Saint Thomas's work is designed to proceed from general philosophical arguments for monotheism, to which Muslims and Jews are likely to consent even within their own respective religious traditions, before progressing to the discussion of specifically Christian doctrine.

Book III discusses providence and the human condition, that is good and evil acts, human fate and intellect and the relation of created beings to the creator. Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of religion, or simply curious about the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the world, this playlist is designed to provide an informative and engaging journey through its captivating past. Subscribe to the Contemplating History channel for more educational content and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history.

Transhumanism: "The World's Most Dangerous Idea"

From Philosophy Tube, a secular source.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/...

The Holy Rosary

Monday, the Joyful Mysteries, in Latin with Cardinal Burke.

Royal Anthem of Norway: Kongesangen

From Duke of Canada

I
God bless our good king!
Bless him with strength and courage,
bless home and castle!
Guide him with your Spirit,
forge with your strong Hand
holy bonds of allegiance
around people and king! 

II
Loudly pledge men of Norway
each in his calling, his station,
loyalty to his king.
Loyal in life and death,
courageous in war and distress,
always our Norway obeyed
God and its king. 

"Kongesangen" ("King's Song") is Norway's royal anthem. The lyrics come in several versions. The first version ("Gud sign vår Konge god, gi ham i farer mod") was written by N. Vogtmann around 1800, but the version used today was written by Gustav Jensen for the coronation of Haakon VII and Maud of Wales in 1906 and later used in his Landstads reviderte salmebok. It was inspired by the British royal and national anthem and set to the tune of "God Save the King"; Henrik Wergeland wrote a translation of "God Save the King" in 1841, dedicated to King Carl Johan of Norway and Sweden.