Deeper Truth

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Camillus de Lellis

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Camillus de Lellis 7/18/2024.  At the age of 25 he was converted. He was on his way to Manfredonia in Southern Italy riding horseback when he was so overwhelmed by the sins he had committed and the dissolute life he led, that he fell from his horse. He vowed from this moment to live his life only for God.
By the time of his death, Camillus had established eight hospitals and 15 communities of brothers and priests. His holiness became known through his gifts of prophesy and healings. He died at the age of 64, and was named patron saint of the sick and of nurses. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
We pray that through the loving intercession of St Camillus you would send your Spirit of consolation, encouragement, strength and faith upon those who are burdened by illness, to heal them in mind, body and spirit. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our loving and healing Saviour, Amen.
Three times between 1571 and 1584 his abscessed leg forced him to seek care in a Roman hospital; each time he worked there during and after his treatment. He was disgusted by the bad care in the hospital and decided a religious order devoted to helping the sick was the best way to better physical and spiritual care.
As superior, he devoted much of his own time to the care of the sick. Charity was his first concern, but the physical aspects of the hospital also received his diligent attention. Camillus insisted on cleanliness and the technical competence of those who served the sick.

Deepertruth: Stand in The Gap with us to honor Our Lady of Mount Carmel

“Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Stand in The Gap with us to honor Our Lady of Mount Carmel 7/15/2024.  Growing up in Middle America, I had heard of the Monks who lived on Mount Carmel in the 12th century. Mother Mary became the Patronage of the "Carmelite" Order.
Mount Carmel was the site where the Prophet Elijah challenged the Priests of Baal found in the Bible (1 Kings 18:16-40). I have always loved this story as one of the greatest examples showing who the true God really is.
450 prophets of Ba'al accepted the challenge of Elijah on Mount Carmel as they prepared an altar and sacrificed to their god. All day long the priests called for Ba'al, but not a word. By noon, Elijah had some fun mocking them, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened".

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Stand In The Gap With Us And St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks 7/14/2024.  New York in 1656 was a much different place, the Europeans were firmly planted in the New World.
By 1626, Manhattan was purchased by Dutch Settlers and from that time on, let’s call it progress.
Saint Kateri was born in a small village outside of Auriesville, New York just 30 years later. She was born into the Mohawk tribe that was part of the Iroquois Nations that were populated up in the upper north east United States and Canada.
For centuries, the Mohawks were defenders and guardians of the Iroquois Federation protecting against invasion by neighboring Indian tribes.
The Mohicans called them “Maw Unk Lin” meaning the “Bear Place People”. It was the Dutch that gave them the name “Mohawk”. They were known for being warriors.
There were several Catholic Missionaries such as St. Isaac Jogues, St. John La Lande (Just 18 years old), and others who gave their lives bringing Christ to the New World.

Deepertruth: The Divine Mercy made personal, Jesus I Trust in You

The Divine Mercy made personal, Jesus I Trust in You.  While serving in the Army deployed to Iraq, it was a daily routine in a war zone to handle the dead and wounded. We had to be prepared at any moments notice 24/7.
Sometimes it can happen multiple times a day with many casualties.
A good day would be when we lost no one.
Sometimes the only thing I can do for someone is pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet!
There may not be anything we can do as the wounds were just too catastrophic.
Sometimes, actually most of the time, there is no priest available on the battlefield nor in most of the frontline Aid Stations.
When we recieved causalties, there are so many things happening at once, I might be involved with CPR trying to keep someone alive until the Doc calls it. I would silently pray:
Eternal Father,
I offer you the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity,
of Your Dearly Beloved Son,
Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
in atonement for our sins
and those of the whole world
I would be looking around ensuring that all can be done, making sure that the Casualties are packaged and ready for air transport Medevac if the sky is green. If the sky is red that presents problems getting a ground convoy. Continuing in my mind I would pray:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
I remember the promise Our Good Lord made to St. Faustina consoling her that for the dying, if someone prays the Divine Mercy Chaplet the soul would find peace.
This hits home for me literally as my Mother would be told she had two days to live. She developed a massive blood clot that lodged in her right lower leg causing it to turn blue.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin

“Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin 7/13/2024.  Saints Louis and Zelie Martin are the parents of st teresa of lisieux and patron saints of illness, mental illness, marriage, parenting, and widowers. St Louis Martin, born Louis Joseph Aloys Stanislaus Martin, was the third of five children, but his siblings all died before reaching the age of 30.
In April 1858, Zélie Guérin crosses paths with a young man on the Saint-Léonard bridge whose appearance impresses him… It is Louis Martin, watchmaker. The love she has for her husband is expressed in her letters
Born into a military family in Bordeaux, Louis trained to become a watchmaker. His desire to join a religious community went unfulfilled because he didn’t know Latin. Moving to Normandy, he met the highly-skilled lace maker, Zélie Guérin, who also had been disappointed in her attempts to enter religious life. They married in 1858, and over the years were blessed with nine children, though two sons and two daughters died in infancy.
Louis managed the lace-making business that Zélie continued at home while raising their children. She died from breast cancer in 1877.
The home that Louis and Zélie created nurtured the sanctity of all their children, but especially their youngest, who is known to us as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Louis and Zélie were beatified in 2008, and canonized by Pope Francis on October 18, 2015. The liturgical feast of Saints Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin is celebrated on July 12.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints John Jones and John Wall

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saints John Jones and John Wall 7/12/2024.  John Jones was born to a Catholic family in Clymag Faur in the county of Canaervon in Wales around the year 1530. In his youth Queen Mary Tudor accomplished the restoration of the Catholic Church after the brief reign of Edward VI had taken the Church of England into the Calvinist fold.
Mary's accession had allowed the English friars who had fled into exile to Flanders and Scotland to return and in April 1555 the friary at Greenwich, in which Mary and Elizabeth had been baptised, was reopened. John joined the friary and took the name Godfrey Maurice, becoming known for his piety.
At Mary's untimely death in 1558, however, her half-sister Elizabeth assumed the throne and it was not long before Catholics were once more persecuted in England. John Jones, although still a novice was forced to flee to France. The English Observant Franciscans fled to a friary in Pontoise where John was professed and trained. He was probably ordained a priest at Rheims, where there was another friary of the exiled English Province.
John Wall was born in 1620, near Preston in Lancashire. As a young man he entered the English College in Douai where he was taught by the famous Dr. Kellison. In 1641 he transferred to the English College in Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1645., near Preston in Lancashire. As a young man he entered the English College in Douai where he was taught by the famous Dr. Kellison. In 1641 he transferred to the English College in Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1645.1620, near Preston in Lancashire. As a young man he entered the English College in Douai where he was taught by the famous Dr. Kellison. In 1641 he transferred to the English College in Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1645.
These two friars were martyred in England in the 16th and 17th centuries for refusing to deny their faith.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Benedict

“Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Benedict 7/11/2024.  Benedict was born into Roman nobility in Nursia, central Italy, roughly 100 miles northeast of Rome. His father was a prefect for the Western Roman Empire, which had fallen to the barbarians a decade prior to his birth. He had a twin sister named Scholastica, who also became a saint. As a youth, Benedict was sent to Rome for studies. However, he quickly became disillusioned by the prevalent immorality and disorder, particularly among his classmates.
Benedict is the twin brother of St. Scholastic.
At the age of twenty, to find peace in his soul and avoid the traps that had ensnared many of his peers, he moved to the countryside of the town of Affile, about forty miles from Rome. Accompanying him was his nurse who cared for him like a mother. They moved in with some virtuous men in the Church of Saint Peter. While there, his nurse accidentally broke a dish used to sift wheat and was distraught. Witnessing this, Benedict miraculously mended the dish and returned it to her. News of this miracle spread quickly, and Benedict became the talk of the town.
As we honor this important figure in Church and world history, reflect on his humble beginnings. He witnessed the immoralities of his day and fled from those temptations to embrace a life of holiness. At that time, it would have been difficult for him to comprehend the influence he would have had on all of Europe and, in fact, upon the whole world for many centuries to come.
Reflect on the fact that God also calls you to flee from sin and embrace a life of holiness. When that happens, 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Veronica Giuliani

“Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Veronica Giuliani 7/10/2024  Veronica was very devoted to the Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart. She offered her sufferings for the missions, died in 1727, and was canonized in 1839. Her Liturgical Feast Day is July 9.
She was the youngest of seven sisters, three of whom embraced the monastic life. It is told that at the age of three years Giuliani supposedly began to show great compassion for the poor. She would set apart a portion of her food for them, and even part with her clothes when she met a poor child scantily clad. Her mother died when Ursula was seven years of age.
At the age of 16, she experienced a vision which correctedher imperfections of character: she saw her own heart as a "heart of steel". In her writings she confesses that she took a certain pleasure in the more stately circumstances which her family adopted when her father was appointed superintendent of finance at Piacenza.
When Giuliani came of age, her father believed she should marry, and so he desired her to take part in the social activities of the young people. But she pleaded so earnestly with her father that, after much resistance, he finally permitted her to choose her own state in life.
Veronica’s desire to be like Christ crucified was answered with the stigmata.

Deepertruth: Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.  “Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.”
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, splendor of the Father,
Jesus, brightness of eternal light,
Jesus, King of glory,
Jesus, sun of justice,
Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Augustine Zhao Rong Companions

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions 7/9/2024.  Augustine Zhao Rong, a Chinese diocesan priest. Having first been one of the soldiers who had escorted Monsignor Dufresse from Chengdu to Beijing, he was moved by his patience and had then asked to be numbered among the neophytes. Once baptized, he was sent to the seminary and then ordained a priest.
He was arrested in 1814 and condemned to exile in Tartary, where he remained for almost twenty years. Returning to his homeland he was again arrested, and was strangled on 17 May 1834. Blessed Joachim Ho, a Chinese lay catechist. He was baptised at the age of about twenty years.
The Dominican Martyrs of China died between 1648 and 1748. They bore heroic witness to the Truth of the Gospel. Through enduring the tortures and cruelties they suffered, they showed that there was something deeper and more important to seek than worldly comfort.
Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 600s. Depending on China’s relations with the outside world, Christianity over the centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly.
The 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930. Eighty-seven of them were born in China, and were children, parents, catechists, or laborers, ranging in age from nine years to 72. This group includes four Chinese diocesan priests. The 33 foreign-born martyrs were mostly priests or women religious, especially from the Order of Preachers, the Paris Foreign Mission Society, the Friars Minor, Society of Jesus, Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians), and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.