Saint of the day July 21: San Lorenzo de Brindis.  Catholic Saints

Every July 21, the Church celebrates Saint Lawrence of Brindisi (Bríndisi), a Capuchin Franciscan proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Saint John XXIII in 1959.

“Jesus crucified is enough for me” (Saint Lawrence)

Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram

It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:

Giulio Cesare Russi – the saint’s first name – stood out in his studies from a young age thanks to his good memory and the clarity of his reasoning. As a teenager, he knocked on the doors of the Capuchin Franciscans of his city Brindisi and was welcomed by them. Giulio found himself called to follow closely in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Shortly after entering religious life, he had a dialogue with his prior that would remain engraved in his memory forever. The prior wanted to warn him of the harshness and austerity of Franciscan life – upon trying it, the majority of young men gave up even the firmest resolutions. It is said that the dialogue went a little like this:

“Father, will there be a crucifix in my cell?” asked Giulio. “Yes, there will be,” replied the superior. “Well, that’s enough for me. By looking at Christ Crucified I will have the strength to suffer, for love of Him, any suffering,” the boy quickly noted. Giulio had opened his heart wide to the Lord, and He was transforming everything. By receiving the religious habit, Giulio He took the name “Lorenzo.”

Present the Gospel to “our older brothers” (Saint John Paul II)

As a deacon he began to preach insistently in various places. God granted him a special spirit for preaching, and the young friar worked hard to develop that talent. It would not take long for Friar Lawrence to provoke the first conversions among those who heard him. The Franciscan would be ordained a priest in 1583.

Later, Pope Clement VIII entrusted him with a very special ministry: preaching to the Jews and trying to win them to Christ. Very few knew and mastered the Hebrew language like Friar Lawrence, and the Pontiff wanted the Gospel to be announced with closeness and warmth to those who are “our older brothers” (an expression with which Pope John Paul II used to refer to the Jewish people).

Already from his university days in Padua, Lorenzo had demonstrated an unusual ability: he knew almost perfectly Hebrew, Aramaic and Chaldean, in addition to Latin and Greek. The Franciscan also spoke Spanish, Italian, French and German.

The secret of a good homily

One day a priest asked Lorenzo what his “secret” was for preaching so well, to which he responded: “In good part it is due to my good memory. In another good part, it is due to the fact that I dedicate many hours to preparing. But The main cause is that I entrust my preaching a lot to God, and when I start preaching I forget the whole plan I had and I start talking as if I were reading from a mysterious book from heaven.”

Friar Lawrence was also an example of asceticism and sobriety with material things: he slept on boards, got up at night to pray the psalms, fasted on bread and vegetables, fled from honors and did his best to maintain good humor with everyone. .

He traveled to Germany to join forces with Blessed Benedict of Urbino. Both Capuchins dedicated themselves to caring for the victims of the plague that devastated that country towards the last quarter of the 16th century. With the help of the blessed, he founded convents in Prague, Vienna and Gorizia.

Counter-Reformation

Lorenzo wanted to contribute his apostolate to the Counter-Reformation movement. For this purpose, he is inspired by what was done by the Dutchman Pedro Canisio and trains himself in theological dialectics. The result of his disputes with Protestant theologians are, for example, the Lutheranismi hypotyposis (Hypothetical Lutheranism) written in three volumes, and a synthesis of the Discussions by Roberto Bellarmino.

Friar Lorenzo would be elected superior general of his Order, the Minor Capuchin Brothers, serving in that position between 1602 and 1605. After that period he requested not to be re-elected, as he was convinced that God preferred him dedicated to other types of tasks. And boy did God have other plans for the Franciscan!

“Surely he alone would be worth as much as an army” (Pope Clement VIII)

Pope Clement VIII asks Lorenzo to collaborate closely with the German Emperor Rudolf II, and makes him his diplomatic representative. In a very complicated moment for the Germans, the saint had to fight to obtain the support of all the German princes and be able to face an imminent Turkish invasion.

Involved in obedience to the military caste, Friar Lawrence became chaplain of the imperial army.

Thus, before the final battle, the Franciscan harangued the soldiers, standing before everyone and giving instructions in a strong voice. He then goes out in front of the army, on the first line, with his only two weapons: the crucifix and his faith. That day, the Turks suffered a crushing defeat. The Pope, after receiving the news of the triumph, exclaimed: “I am sure that he alone (Lorenzo) would be worth what an army” (Clement VIII).

peace worker

Returning after the victory, the saint remained in the convent of Gorizia. Later the Pope entrusted him with other diplomatic missions in favor of the consolidation of peace in various parts of Europe.

The saint finally retired to the convent of Caserta. There it was common to see him carried away, in ecstasy, during the celebration of Mass.

Saint Lorenzo of Brindisi left for the Father’s House on July 22, 1619, the same day as his birthday. He was canonized in 1881 and, in 1959, Saint John XIII granted him the title of Doctor of the Church.

If you want to know more about San Lorenzo, you can read the following article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Lorenzo_de_Brindis.

More information:

togel

keluaran hk

togel sidney

togel hari ini

By adminn