predication.net

July 10, commemoration

Position: king and martyr

Deaths: 1086

Patron: Denmark

Attributes: dagger, spear, royal insignia, arrow

BIOGRAPHY

From 1080, he was king of his native Denmark. He had a family, lived a pious life, and sought to spread and strengthen Christian life in his kingdom, where pagan customs still prevailed in some places. His pro-church rule was unpopular with some nobles, led by his treacherous brother Olaf, who longed for power. King Canute (Knut) was assassinated while praying at the altar of a church in Odense.

BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

PIOUS RULER AND PATRON SAINT OF DENMARK

He was born in Denmark around 1040 as the illegitimate son of King Sven III of Denmark and Estrid. He received a Christian upbringing and took the teachings of the Gospel very seriously. Furthermore, he later married Adele, the daughter of Robert, Count of Flanders, and had a son, Charles, who was nicknamed the Pious.

He became king in 1080, at the age of about 40, and his reign lasted only six years. He is often compared to the Czech ruler St. Wenceslas, especially in terms of his piety, love, justice, and martyrdom, in which his brother played a significant role.

From the beginning of his reign, he actively supported the spread of Christianity in the country and sought to eradicate paganism and its customs. Although he was king, he tried to live, fasted strictly, and wore rough penitential clothing under his royal robes like an ascetic. This helped him to maintain a conscious love and a correct attitude towards God and people. Before God, he accepted responsibility for governing the country and leading its people.

He was generous in giving alms to the poor and built hospitals and temples. In his humility, he donated his royal crown to the temple in Roskilde with the words: “This jewel is more fitting to adorn a sacred place than to be used for vanity and worldly pride.” After laying down his royal insignia before the image of the Crucified One, he also issued a declaration in connection with the victory over the enemies who had attacked the country, that he submitted himself and his entire empire to Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, and had no other desire than that the Christian faith should flourish in his country and be preserved for all time.

He set an example of respectful behavior toward the clergy to his subjects and did not allow his courtiers to do anything that would be detrimental to the Church. He removed the clergy from the jurisdiction of secular courts and placed them under the full authority of the bishop and his court. Likewise, he elevated eight bishops to the rank of imperial princes, granting them a prominent seat in the parliament. He sent missionaries to neighboring nations, did not seek conflict, but strove for peace. He defended himself valiantly against pagan attackers and attempted to convert the defeated to Christianity.

Kanut’s apostolic activities also stirred up many enemies within his nation. His brother, Olaf, envied him a place on the throne and coveted the crown. Kanut, eager to ensure the future coverage of the needs of temples and clergy, began to think aloud about introducing church tithes, which aroused opposition and dissatisfaction with the king’s Christian rule among the greedy nobles. His brother, Olaf, was looking for a way to overthrow the king. An opportunity arose when a plea for help against enemies came from England to Denmark in 1085. Knut therefore ordered a navy to be prepared for help and entrusted the high command over it to his brother Olaf. He betrayed and incited the army of which he became the commander against his king, Kanut. The efforts of the conspirators resulted in the dissolution of the military, which ceased to heed the appeals of its monarch.

In his merciful justice, Kanut did not want to punish the conspirators with death under the law; instead, he imposed a conditional fine on them, which they were exempt from paying if they committed to paying church tithes. The magnates rejected the offer, and when the fine they had verbally favored was enforced, they led a general revolt in the country.

Anticipating his killing, King Kanut fled to the island of Funen (Fionia) to Odense, where in the temple of St. Albania he received the sacraments. Then he prayed aloud in front of the altar: “Lord and God! To you I like to sacrifice my life, for honor and glory and for the protection of your Church. Accept my sacrifice and grant the enemies the grace of knowing the truth and regret. Forgive them as I forgive them.” Meanwhile, the attackers tried in vain to pry open the gate, so the stones broke the windows and attacked the king with arrows from their bows and spears from the ladders. They also attacked his brother Benedict and 17 persons loyal to him.

Kanut’s grave was revered for its miracles. In 1101, Kanut was canonized by Pope Paschal II.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

I will pray the tithe of the rosary for the increase of faith in my country.

Almighty, eternal God, grant that, following the example of the holy martyr Kanut, we live with awareness of responsibility to You and striving for the honor of Your name and the Church of which we are a part. We ask this through Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, for he lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout the ages of ages.

Wisdom is the fruit of living with God. This wisdom transforms him who associates with God. This wisdom will manifest itself outwardly as a life attitude. A wise person begins to understand; he stops criticizing because he’s trying to understand. A wise person listens to others more than they speak. He learns to look for what God wants. It leads a person to accept everything that he cannot change. Wisdom leads a person to equanimity. Wisdom leads a person to become like God. He learns to do what God has put into his life. We can say that meeting God is a cure for our wounded hearts. Through dwelling with God, the Lord leads us out of all the illusions of life. It heals our pride and selfishness. Wisdom teaches us that the center of our lives is not man, but God. Therefore, no humanism can compete with the Christian view of man. Only a fool relies on a person. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Dwelling with the Lord is the remedy for our emptiness because our smallness gives God a chance to do great things. Living with God gives us a whole new lifestyle. This god carries a person who has a god in his heart as an ally. He recognizes that God leads him. To be with God is more than being alone.

Today, we gather to reflect on a profound moment in the life of Jacob, a moment of struggle, transformation, and divine encounter. In Genesis 32:23-33, we witness Jacob wrestling with a figure through the night, an event that would forever alter his identity and destiny. The passage invites us to explore the nature of our struggles and the transformative power of wrestling with God.

To fully appreciate this encounter, we must understand Jacob’s life leading up to this moment. Jacob was a man marked by conflict—his brother Esau, his father Isaac, and even himself.  He was a deceiver, a trickster who had taken his brother’s blessing and fled from his home.  Now, he returns to face the consequences of his past. Jacob is filled with fear and anxiety.

As night falls, Jacob finds himself alone, and it is in this solitude that he encounters the mysterious figure.  The struggle that ensues is not merely physical; it is deeply spiritual. Jacob wrestles not only with the figure but also with his fears, regrets, and identity. How often do we find ourselves in similar places, wrestling with our past, our choices, and our understanding of who we are?

In our own lives, we may grapple with feelings of inadequacy, guilt, or the fear of facing those we have wronged. However, let us remember that these struggles can lead to profound transformation. Jacob’s wrestling is a metaphor for our spiritual journeys-moments when we confront our doubts and seek clarity from God.

As we reflect on Jacob’s wrestling match, let us acknowledge and embrace our struggles. Let us not shy away from the difficult moments in our lives but see them as opportunities for growth and divine encounter. May we be willing to wrestle with God, knowing that through our struggles, we can emerge transformed, blessed, and ready to fulfill the calling He has placed upon our lives.

To give space to this desire is necessarily part of the spiritual life. He who desires nothing cannot grow. The Pharisees blocked themselves in their desire because they were perfect. We have fine examples of this desire in Scripture, like a doe longs for water. Psalm 42,1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you. O God, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 63,1  O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, in a dry and thirsty land, and there is no water. Isaiah 26,9  My soul yearns for you in the night, in the  morning my spirit longs for you. John 7:37-38 On the last and most fantastic day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Jesus wants us to discover more essential things, such as riches, power, and fame. And that’s God. The desire for God was placed in the heart of man by God himself. The question is whether a person is trying to fulfill this desire. If a person does not desire something, he will not achieve it.

BIOGRAPHY

He was from Lombardy, Italy. After two doctorates, he began studying theology and working among the youth. He sought the restoration of the clergy and founded a trio of religious communities with the aim of spiritual renewal in the Church. He died prematurely at the age of 37. The barbarities he founded quickly spread, and in 1625, they also reached Bohemia.

BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

LOMBARD DOCTOR OF SOULS

He was born in 1502 in Carmona, Italy, to a patrician family. He was gifted, having studied medicine in Padua, and already held two doctorates by the age of 22. At first, he worked as a doctor and was zealous as a Christian layman and leader of the spiritual community of friends who met with him because of God’s word. At the age of 26, he finally decided on a spiritual path and received priestly ordination.

At that time, young clergy longed more for prestige than for the salvation of souls, and believers were said to have been neglected for 40 years in their pursuit of salvation. Antonius Zaccaria longed to be a priest, guided by the Heart of Jesus.

After two years of priesthood, in 1530, he decided to found a congregation in which the Gospel would be lived after the example of the first Christians. First, it was the order of “religious clerics of St. Paul”, even though their community was called “Barnabité” because of the settlement at St. Barnabas. Religious were spiritual administrators acting as folk missionaries. Antonius wrote them the rules and led them to humility and self-denial.

The second congregation founded by him with the help of Countess Guastella was the “Angel Sisters of St. Paul’ called Angelica. Their angelic mission was to help girls at risk get back on the right track. He then founded the Third Order, which aimed to instill the evangelical spirit in families, and wished that spouses not only follow but also directly live the life of Christ in the world.

Antonius Zaccaria gave impetus to 40-hour adorations, frequent Communion, folk missions, and Friday bells to commemorate the death of our Savior. He handed over the organization to collaborators and devoted himself to prayer and spiritual guidance. He preached zealously, conducted interviews, visited hospitals, and showed great love for people everywhere. Furthermore, he died at the age of 37 in his birthplace. His remains were taken to Milan.

Pope Leo XIII. was 3. 1st 1890 beatified and 27th. 5. 1897 canonized.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

According to Antonin Zaccario, the basis facilitating the path to perfection was keeping the commandments, adding that without it the effort was in vain. With this in mind, I will strive to live with Christ in the world.

God, You have called St. Anthony Zaccario to serve Your church by preaching and example, and to show us how to live according to the Gospel; help us, at his intercession, to be faithful to Your call and to follow the path that Christ showed us. We ask this through Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, for he lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout the ages of ages.

BIOGRAPHY

She came from the Spanish royal family. At the age of 12, she was married to King Dionysius of Portugal, with whom she had two children and by whose side she experienced a lot of suffering, not only because of his infidelity. She excelled in patience, love, and the ability to forgive and reconcile. She lived by loving the poor through many acts of mercy and resolving disputes in the community. It was a refuge for the public during the terrible plague. After her husband’s death, she became a tertiary, continued to be a charity, and finally died at the age of 65 as a sister of St. Clare’s.

BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

PEACE ANGEL

She was born in Spain around 1270-1271 as the daughter of the later Aragonese king, Peter III, and his wife, Princess Constance of Sicily. At the baptism, she received the name of her deceased aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. In Spanish, she is called Isabela. Her birth is said to have contributed to Peter’s reconciliation with his father, James I. Elizabeth stayed with him until his death, around the age of five or six. Then she returned to her parents, and they provided her with education by good teachers. She had three brothers: Alfonso, who succeeded his father, Jakub, and Ferdinand, and a sister named Yolanda. Even in her childhood, Elizabeth was characterized by extraordinary piety and a strong interest in charity.

Before the age of 12, she married the young Portuguese king Dionysius, who had ruled since. 1279. She is said to have married him in 1282. She considered royalty and wealth to be entrusted hryvnias and tried to use them for acts of Christian mercy. She became the mother of the poor, the comforter of the suffering, the nurse of the lonely sick, and the protector of the persecuted. She helped impoverished families and orphans. Later, she set up a house for women who had gone astray and a foundling home for abandoned infants.

In her private life, she had a particular order, especially when it came to spiritual activities. She also prayed, attended church, and regularly attended Holy Mass. In her daily schedule, she made a point to remember those who needed her help. More than once, the sick recovered under her touch. E.g., to a woman full of ugly sores, they all suddenly disappeared. On Mandy Thursday, she washed the legs of the beggars and kissed the leg of a sick woman, and she immediately recovered. She was also detained by her husband when she had alms set up in her apron, and he asked her what she was carrying. The queen replied with a smile: “Rose”, thinking that she liked God as a symbol of love. The husband immediately checked the contents of the apron because there was no time for roses, but they were suddenly actually in it, her biographies state.

King Dionysius is said to have been originally good and only later became reckless. He was often unfaithful to his wife, kept two concubines in the yard, and with them had illegitimate children, whom his good wife took in. Alone, she was immensely grieving and crying over her husband’s sins, but she did not complain to people about him. She treated him kindly and forgave him for his infidelity and unkind behavior. She often prayed for him and fasted to convert him.

With him, she had a son, Alfonso, to whom the succession belonged, and a daughter, Constance, who married Ferdinand IV, King of Castile.

Biographies about Elizabeth report an incident involving her squire, whom she commissioned to distribute the alms she had given him to the poor. Another of the king’s servants noticed the queen’s private conversations and accused the squire that Elizabeth was unfaithful to him. The king plotted death for Elizabeth’s squire by burning him in lime. He is said to have ordered the lime keeper to throw the man, who would come in the morning asking if the king’s order had already been carried out, into the furnace. In the morning, the king sent the squire to the limestone with this question, but he stopped at the church for a short prayer. Holy Mass was about to begin, and they needed a minister, so the squire let himself be persuaded. The impatient king wanted to be sure and sent that accuser to find out how his order had been carried out. He was able to arrive before the squire, and no sooner had he uttered whether the king’s order had already been carried out than he found himself in the furnace. The Squire then received a positive answer and returned unscathed. The king later became convinced of his wife’s innocence and behaved better from then on. He saw God’s judgment in the incident.

In later years, the Queen made multiple reconciliation efforts in disputes that shook the Portuguese kingdom.

In the last years of King Dionysius, the queen clung to her son Alfonso, and the aging king was more inclined to one of his illegitimate sons, Sancho. From this arose the suspicion that, against the laws and law of the land, the king wanted to hand over the throne to Sancho. Alfonso, who married Beatrice, began to rule with her in Coimbra. Dionysius’ advisors incited the king to limit his son’s power, and his son was in turn exhorted by his friends to rebel against his father, so that he could deprive him of his succession.

Elizabeth tried to ask both of them for the gift of conciliation, but the situation escalated, and the king decided to raise an army against his son, Alfonso. He then marched with him to the city of Sintra to capture him. Elizabeth sent messengers to her son with a warning to flee. The king found out and terminated his wife’s position on the advice of bad advisors, stripping her of all pensions. She carried it patiently, but not her friends. They grumbled with remorse against the king that he was at war with his son and had banished his wife. It led, perhaps, to him at least accepting her back.

The father’s enmity with his son was again exacerbated by the siege of his father’s army at Coimbra. Elizabeth visited her husband and son in their encampment, but only a four-day truce was reached. She prayed, wept, and begged for them to stop the war, which she finally succeeded in doing. Before long, the discord over the Ranches was repeated, and the queen reconciled the two armies with great effort at Lisbon and prevented a bloody clash a second time. Father and son broke up. Dionysius fell seriously ill not long after, and the queen proved her noble and good heart not only by taking care of his physical needs, but also by reconciling with her son, who came to beg her father at her request.

The king died repentant. 1325. The words of Scripture have proven themselves to be true: “an unbelieving man is sanctified by marriage with a believing woman” (1 Corinthians 7:14). Elizabeth still made a barefoot penitential pilgrimage to Compo stela to the tomb of the apostle James, but perhaps already in tertiary robes. There, as a notum, she presented the bishop with her crown and royal jewels.

In Lisbon, she built the first shrine of the Immaculate Virgin Mary in the history of the Church.

In Coimbra, she decided to enter the monastery of the Order of St. Clary, whose construction she had only just completed. However, she was persuaded to continue living in a world where she was greatly needed. Elizabeth settled in the abode attached to the monastery, lived the life of a tertiary, and did a great deal of good. She used widows’ pensions to build temples, hospitals, almshouses, and, where necessary, bridges.

She proved herself again as a conciliator when her son Alfonso IV was going to war with her daughter’s husband, King Ferdinand of Castile. Sick of the flu, she set out to prevent war. In the city of Extreme on the Castilian border, she managed to secure peace, but in her fever, she recognized her impending end. It is said that she still made a religious vow then, and finally died in the hands of her son and daughter-in-law, invoking the heavenly Mother. She was called the “Angel of peace” and honored as a saint from the moment of her death.

She was buried in Coimbra, and her grave became a destination for pilgrimages and a place of extraordinary graces. In 1516, the canonization process began. Leo X then allowed her to be venerated in Coimbra. In 1612, her grave was opened, and the body was found intact, with no signs of any decay. The ceremonial canonization took place on the 25th. 2.1625 by Pope Urban VIII, who tightened the canonization procedure.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

I will learn to forgive Elizabeth and show love, even with the necessary sacrifices. When examining my conscience, I will think about what God expects of me.

God, You gave Your servant Elizabeth of Portugal the knowledge of the right Christian life, enabling her to triumph over evil with love and reconcile opposing sides. We ask You: teach us to know Your will, and give us the strength, so that we, like her, may live an exemplary life. Through Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, for He lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout all the ages of ages. 

Go all over the world and proclaim the Gospel …

Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles. He is best known for what happened after Jesus’ resurrection, for not believing the testimony of the other apostles, and for wanting to see and touch the wounds of the Risen One himself. Because of this, he is often referred to as „infidel Thomas“. However, today’s Gospel reveals more than just his doubt. It shows us a path of faith that is true, human, and inspiring. 

Thomas didn’t want to believe blindly. He was seeking certainty, truth, and wanted to see for himself. And it is in this sincere search that he is very close to us. Maybe we would behave the same in his place. But what is essential is that he eventually met Jesus. And not only did he believe, but he confessed one of the deepest sentences of the entire Bible: „My Lord and my God!“ (John 20,28)

Christ does not reproach Thomas for his doubt, but leads him to faith. And then he utters words that concern each of us: „Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed“. This sentence is an invitation to mature faith —a faith born from listening, trust, and openness to God’s word. A faith that may meet with doubts but will never stop there. 

Dear brothers and sisters, today’s holiday falls on the first Thursday of the month – the day we pray for new priestly and religious vocations. It is highly symbolic because St. Thomas can serve as a role model for those on the path of vocation. Every true calling begins with an encounter with Jesus Christ. Not with an idea or rules, but with a living Lord. And it was this meeting that also transformed Thomas – from a person who doubted to an apostle who, according to tradition, brought the Gospel to India, and was willing to lay down his life for Christ. 

In the first reading, we heard the words of St. Paul: „You are like a building that has apostles and prophets as its foundations, and its cornerstone is Christ“. The Church stands on the testimony of the apostles, and St. Thomas is one of those who testified to us that Christ the Lord has risen from the dead, and that he has the power to transform the life of man. 

Today, let us pray especially that even in our time, young people will rise up who will hear God’s voice and answer it. So that they are not afraid to admit their doubts, but at the same time are willing to seek, know, and follow Christ with heart and life. And let us also pray for ourselves that we too confess every day as St. Thomas: „My Lord and My God“. 

 After the layer of childhood comes the layer of youth, then the layers of family life, work, and social life, until we reach the layer of the senior, and we expect what will happen next. Miners can drill deep into the ground. The cosmonaut must pass through several layers before reaching orbit. One realizes that living means passing through the layers to the future.

Religious holiday  of: Visiting the Virgin Mary in Ain Karem is an opportunity to look into some layers of her life and derive timeless wisdom from them. For example, in Mary’s layer of youth we find a willingness to fulfill God’s law, his will, which is expressed by the words: „ Behold the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word“ (Lk 1, 38). When she learned that Elizabeth, her relative, had conceived a son in her old age, she did not hesitate to visit and rushed to the Judean city in the mountainous region (compare Lk 1, 36-39). In the family life layer, we see Mary in Nazareth shopping, washing, cleaning, cooking, sewing, and doing everything to support the child’s growth. She also experienced a layer of pain and misunderstanding, because she saw what they were doing to her son – they were nailing him to the cross.

It was painful, Maria. Later, we see her with the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection, and that is already a layer of joy. Even after two thousand years, we remember the glorified layer of Mary’s life, because God did not let her body remain on earth and decay; He glorified the alley with body and soul in heaven, as John Damascene writes about it (650-749).  There is something familiar to all layers. It was like that in Maria’s life as well. It is openness to God’s wisdom, which, with its presence, can illuminate every layer of life and inspire service. The fruit of this cooperation is Mary’s joy: „ My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior“ (Lk 1,46-47). What does that mean?

We are talking about the Magnificat in Latin. Magnificat means to make big. In her approach to God, Mary makes it clear that she considers him great, powerful, important, and generous. Not everyone considers God necessary, incredible, or powerful. Mary’s mind is different: Magnificat means, ‘God, you are great, powerful, and glorious.’ She felt in herself how big things he had done to her.  Every person glorifies God to the extent that they accept him. As much as he knows how to do Magnificat, he gives God the right place in his life. Day after day, decisions must be made: Who do I consider God? Is it essential or not? Will I go to church or not? Shall I keep the commandments, or shall I make a dispensation? Will I be human or cruel? Do I have a sense of service and dedication? The experience of the current layer of life depends on it. We cannot remain oblivious, because through God’s kindness, the correct orientation towards the future develops in our lives.

Paul aptly wrote in the Letter to the Ephesians: „God prepared heaven for us in Christos“ (Ef 2, 6). Therefore, it is worth doing everything to make the Magnificat a part of yourself. The magnitude of mercy is illustrated by the following example: A mother and a teenage son made an appointment in front of a shopping center. They were supposed to go see the new cell phones for Mom together. But Mom was a quarter of an hour late. When she arrived, the gloomy son growled: „ I’ve been waiting for you here for fifteen minutes!“ Mom hugged him, apologized, looked him in the eye with love, and said with a smile: „ My boy, I’ve been waiting for you for nine wonderful months.“

Of course, she should have been accurate, and come on time. However, life presents situations in which we sometimes wait for others, and at other times, they wait for us. A boy will be an adult only when he figures out for himself: What is fifteen minutes against nine months? Only then does the Magnificat gush out of his heart. May we manage to experience gratitude towards God for the gift of existence and for the future that shines through the individual layers of life.