21st MARCH 2003 ST.NICHOLAS DE FLUE ( 1417--1487) LIFE: Nicholas was born near the Lake of the four Cantons, in Switzerland.As a young man he was for some years a soldier, fighting for his native Canton and rising to the rank of a captian.He then married Dorothy Wyss & was blessed with an offspring of ten children.A respected citizen , he took an active part in the civil and polictical life of his country and held office as councillor and magistrate --all the while spending whole nights in prayer. At the age of 50, in 1467, after a vision of the Blessed Trinity, he resolved that he must leave all and go away to live entirely for God.Having obtained the consent of his wife and arranged the affairs of the family, he retired to the mountains of solitude of Ranft, where the people soon built him aliitle cell and chapel. Here he spent the last twenty years in prayer and great austerity .Many witnesses have testified that during those years he took neither food or drink, but only Holy Communion. **Brother Klaus ** as he was popularly known, was greatly venerated even beyond the swiss border.People high and low flocked to his cell to seek counsel and prayer. His reputation for sanctity spread, and he attracted spiritual students. In 1481 he was called on to mediate a dispute that threatened civil war in Switzerland. He succeeded in averting the conflict, then retired to his hermitage. He is considered by many to be the father of this country, honored by both Swiss Protestants and Catholics for his wisdom, holiness and work to unify Switzerland. He died on21 March 1487 of natural causes with his wife and children at his side Canonized 1947 by Pope Pius XII PATRONAGE: councilmen, difficult marriages, large families, magistrates, parents of large families, separated spouses, Switzerland REFLECTION:
" O my Lord and my God, take from me all that keeps me from u, O my Lord and my God, give me all that brings me nearer to u, O my Lord and my God, take myself from me and let me possess only u.."" (prayer of St Nicholas) COMMENT: the Holy communion---the Holy Eucharist..!!!! recollect what church says..... 1392 What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh "given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit,"229 preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism. This growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion, the bread for our pilgrimage until the moment of death, when it will be given to us as viaticum. 1393 Holy Communion separates us from sin. The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins." For this reason the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins: 1394 As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins.231 By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him: ( Catechism of catholic church) ** the more ur life unfolds completely at the foot of the tabernacle , in intimate union with Jesus in the Eucharist , the more u grow in holiness**( Our Lady`s message on Aug 21st 1987) --------------------------------- **O Jesus ! Who for love of me, Didst bear Thy Cross to Calvary ; In Thy sweet mercy grant to me To suffer & die with Thee...** S.THOMAS NOTTINGHAM ENGLAND --------------------------------- With Yahoo! Mail you can get a bigger mailbox -- choose a size that fits your needs =============================================================================== This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. For more info on the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet To unsubscribe from the list send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet/join In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===============================================================================