María Marchán R.

Blessed is his name.

[Father V @father_rmv]

Venerable Andreas van den Boer was a Dutch religious brother whose quiet life of fidelity and kindness left a lasting mark on those who knew him. Born Jan van den Boer on 24 November 1841 in the village of Udenhout in the province of North Brabant, he was the youngest of seven children in a simple farming family. From an early age he showed a serious and studious nature that set him apart from many of his peers. Local priests and teachers noticed his vocation, and at thirteen he entered the teacher training college run by the Brothers of Our Lady Mother of Mercy in Tilburg. In 1859 he joined the congregation, receiving the religious name Andreas, and a few years later he made his perpetual profession.

For most of his adult life Brother Andreas worked as a teacher. He first served in primary schools but soon found his place guiding older boys, especially those preparing for the priesthood at the boarding school known as Ruwenberg in Sint-Michielsgestel. Between 1871 and 1900 he taught and directed classes of adolescents. He lacked the natural authority and smooth classroom manner that many educators possessed, yet he won the affection of his students through patience and humanity. In an age when corporal punishment was common, he refused to strike the boys. Instead he spoke with them seriously and treated them with respect, embodying the mercy that stood at the heart of his congregation’s name.

Fellow brothers and pupils alike noticed his meticulous observance of the religious rule. He was never late, attended carefully to every detail of community life, and lived in cheerful obedience. People began to call him the holy brother, a nickname that embarrassed him deeply. He saw it as a burden rather than an honour and tried to withdraw further into ordinary duties so that attention would not rest on him. In his final years declining health forced him to leave teaching. He accepted the limitations of age with quiet humour, learning to write with his left hand when his right failed him. On 3 August 1917 he died of pneumonia in Tilburg at the age of seventy-five.

After his death devotion to Brother Andreas spread quickly. People attributed favours and healings to his intercession, and his grave became a place of prayer. An official process of investigation eventually led the Church to declare him Venerable Servant of God in 2008. The title recognises the heroic virtue of his ordinary life. He remains a model of humble perseverance for teachers, caregivers, and anyone who seeks to live the Gospel in simple daily faithfulness.

[Observer Of Culture @Observeculture_]

Another day filled with beauty

Antwerp, Belgium

[PADRE PÍO DE PIETRELCINA @SanPadrePioPiet]

¡Feliz Lunes 3 de Agosto!

“Pidamos también nosotros a nuestro querido Jesús la humildad, la confianza y la fe de nuestra querida Santa Clara; como ella, oremos fervorosamente a Jesús, entregándonos a Él y alejándonos de los artilugios engañosos del mundo…”

[El 60 a Belén @el60abelen]

"Todos comieron hasta saciarse".
Mateo 14

[Alfa y Omega @alfayomegasem]

✝️ 3 de agosto: san Pedro Julián Eymard, fundador.

👉🏻 Funda la Congregación del Santísimo Sacramento que tiene como fin 🙏🏻 la adoración continua y permanente el Señor presente en la Eucaristía.
https://t.co/OnQJLksw2s

[S.Francisco Sales @FrasesFranSales]

No puede llamarse verdaderamente cristiano aquel que tenga una cabeza sin usarla para razonar,
quien en la fe no considere la totalidad del universo, que es el Verbo.
Ni el que teniendo cabeza no viva conforme a la fe.

+ San Gregorio de Nisa –perf 14

F: @TalmanMadsen
#razónFe

[El 60 a Belén @el60abelen]

"Denles de comer ustedes mismos".
Mateo 14

[FAUSTINA KOWALSKA @f_kowalska]

Jesús pasó haciendo el bien. Su trato estaba lleno de bondad y misericordia. La compasión guiaba sus pasos. A los enemigos les mostraba bondad, amabilidad, comprensión; a los necesitados, ayuda y consuelo. He hecho este propósito: reflejar estos rasgos de Jesús, aunque me cueste.

[Gothic Churches @GothicChurches]

Sainte-Cecile Cathedral of Albi

[María Marchán R. @chachabelga]

@robbertleusink I miss the bells during the mass...

[Observer Of Culture @Observeculture_]

Visited a lot of stunning places today... 👀📸

[PADRE PÍO DE PIETRELCINA @SanPadrePioPiet]

¡Feliz Domingo 2 de Agosto!

“Os digo, además, que améis vuestra bajeza; y amar la propia bajeza, hijas mías, consiste en esto: Si sois humildes, pacíficas, dulces, si no os inquietáis, no os angustiáis, no perdéis la calma por nada, sino que abrazáis estas cruces…”

[Observer Of Culture @Observeculture_]

📸

[St. Padre Pio Quotes @PadrepioSaint]

• St. Padre Pio says:

"Pray to God, talk to God. You can tell Him everything ••••• He is your Father and your dear friend."

[La samaritana @Damihibibere]

Mira este corazón...

(Y luego ya puedes seguir con el scroll o no...)

[Father V @father_rmv]

Pierre-Lucien Claverie was born on 8 May 1938 in Bab-el-Oued, a working-class district of Algiers in what was then French Algeria. He came from a family of French settlers known as pieds-noirs whose roots in the country stretched back several generations, and as a child and young man he lived largely within the insulated world of the European community. That insulated existence later became a source of deep personal reckoning for him, for he came to see that he had grown up almost blind to the lives, language, and faith of the vast Muslim majority around him.

In his teenage years he joined a scout troop guided by Dominican friars. After secondary studies in Algiers he left for France in 1957 to study science at the University of Grenoble. There the call to religious life took hold. He entered the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, and pursued philosophical and theological formation at the order’s house of studies outside Paris. Ordained a priest, he chose to return to Algeria rather than remain in Europe. He set himself to learning Arabic thoroughly and to building friendships across the religious and cultural divide that had once been invisible to him.

In 1981 he was appointed bishop of Oran. For the next fifteen years he worked to keep the small Christian community present and open in a predominantly Muslim society. He encouraged the building of libraries, centers for the handicapped, and schools that served both Christians and Muslims. Above all he insisted on dialogue: not a polite exchange of ideas from a safe distance, but a patient, respectful encounter that recognized the other as a genuine partner. He spoke often of the necessity of living side by side without fear or superiority, convinced that the Gospel called Christians to remain in Algeria even when the political climate grew dangerous.

That climate darkened sharply in the 1990s during Algeria’s civil conflict. Many foreign religious left the country, yet Claverie stayed. On the evening of 1 August 1996 a bomb exploded at the entrance of the bishop’s residence in Oran. The blast killed him and his young Muslim driver and friend, Mohamed Bouchikhi. The attack was claimed by Islamic extremists. Claverie was fifty-eight years old.

In 2018 the Church declared him blessed, recognizing him and eighteen companions who had been killed in Algeria between 1994 and 1996 as martyrs. His life is remembered less for dramatic gestures than for a steady, costly fidelity to friendship across the lines that once separated him from his neighbors.

[Father V @father_rmv]

Little Things

1. Very few people are destined to great things by Almighty God. Most of us must offer ourselves in the relatively unimportant walks of life in which we have been placed by Providence. Only some of the Saints were endowed with exceptional virtues and miraculous powers which attracted the attention and admiration of the world. In the normal course of events Christian perfection must be acquired little by little through the practice of ordinary virtues and unspectacular good actions. There is always scope for these. An upsurge of anger can be suppressed from the motive of the love of God and of our neighbour. We can behave courteously towards people who are unsympathetic towards us or who offend us by their unmannerly conduct. We can combat pride by acts of humility and egoism by acts of charity. We can mortify ourselves in speech, in behaviour, and at table, and we can give alms to the poor, good advice to the ignorant, and comfort to the afflicted.

All these virtuous actions are insignificant in the eyes of men, but they are great in the sight of God. The blades of grass and the flowers in the meadow are tiny things, but joined together they constitute the pasture which provides nourishment for the herds and flocks. Let us perform these small actions every day and so cultivate the ordinary virtues. We shall attract the attention and favour of God, Who will help us to advance step by step towards the peak of Christian perfection.

2. Just as there are very ordinary acts of virtue, so there are very ordinary sins. But it would be rash to regard acts of deception, vanity and impatience as insignificant. Every deliberate sin is an offence against God, our highest good and our Redeemer.

How can God be indifferent to these ungrateful violations of His law? After all, even as He has assured us that a cup of cold water given in His name to a thirsty man will have its reward (Cf. Mt. 10:42), so He has assured us that not even the slightest trace of sin can enter into eternal glory. We shall not be condemned to Hell for venial sins alone, but we shall suffer a decline in grace and shall be obliged to expiate our sins either in this life or in Purgatory.

3. Our eternal salvation will probably be determined by these ordinary acts of virtue and these ordinary sins. Jesus compared the kingdom of Heaven to a mustard-seed which grows into a tree. Similarly, many Saints began their spiritual ascent by following up one simple inspiration, and many souls, perhaps, have found themselves condemned as a result of having neglected the commonplace virtues and inspirations.

Ordinary virtue may develop into heroic virtue, but if a man has neglected to train himself to act well in small matters, how will he behave in a time of great spiritual trial? Experience also teaches us that smaller vices can develop into great vices. “He who wastes the little he has will be stripped bare.” (Ecclus. 19:1) A man who is not faithful to God in little things will not be faithful in greater things. We are either going up or down in the way of perfection; it is almost impossible to stand still. If we sincerely wish to make progress, let us resolve to avoid the least suggestion of sin and to enrich ourselves daily by tiny acts of virtue. (Antonio Cardinal Bacci)

[Observer Of Culture @Observeculture_]

📸

[Mafalda Oficial @MafaldaDigital]

#QuinoterapiaDigital

Sesión #35: La desigualdad. 🛶

🗓 Próxima sesión: viernes 31 de julio.

[Mafalda Oficial @MafaldaDigital]

#QuinoterapiaDigital

Sesión #36: La cotidianidad.🧽

🗓 Próxima sesión: viernes 14 de agosto.