January 20 Optional Memorial (Obligatory Memorial in the Italian Provinces)

In a world known for its callous disregard for the poor and downtrodden, the example of Angelo Paoli is a refreshing breath of air. Angelo cared so well for his unfortunate brothers and sisters that he was known as “Father Charity” or “Father of the Poor.” Fortunately, he did more than just act as one kind individual he was an excellent motivator, who set many wheels of benevolence in motion at the dawn of the 18th century.

Humanity was an assumed way of life for young Paoli. He was born September 1, 1642, in the humble Tuscan town of Argigliano, not far north from the stone quarries of Massa Carrara. His parents, Angelo Paoli and Santa Morelli, decided to baptize their son Francesco, in honor of the benevolent saint of Assisi. They were devout peasants who provided a loving home for their seven children, where care for others was the essential element of life. As a young man, Paoli frequently looked for times when he could go off to remote and beautiful places to be alone in prayer. But he was equally zealous in teaching the Christian beliefs and virtues to the young people of his village. It was no surprise to his parents or anyone else when his devotion to Mary led him at age 18 to join the Carmelites at nearby Fivizzano.

He was sent to Siena for his novitiate year, and professed his vows in 1661, taking the religious name of Angelo to honor his father. After studying philosophy and theology in Pisa and Florence, he was ordained a priest in 1667. The first 20 years of his ministry were spent in the ordinary busy tasks of his Tuscan province. As a versatile and reliable friar, he worked in the communities of his native Argigliano, in Pistoia, and in Siena. He served as novice master in Florence, as pastor in Carniola, taught grammar to young students in Montecatini, and served as organist and sacristan in Fivizzano. Throughout this busy period, he continued his regular prayer in remote and beautiful places, and never lost sight of the poorest people who might need his help. He developed a special devotion to the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. He dramatized his devotion to the Cross by setting up several large wooden crosses in his favorite prayer settings, often on beautiful mountain tops. He would later place a large cross in Rome’s ruined Coliseum in memory of the martyrs who died there.

In 1687, his life changed dramatically when the Prior General, Paul of St. Ignatius, called him to Rome to join the community of San Martino ai Monti. The Prior General’s original plan was simply to have Angelo give good example to the community by his fervent observance of the religious life. But once he arrived, he was put in charge of the community’s finances. He immediately began to care for the teeming beggars and poor street people who filled Rome, amid the splendors of the glittering Baroque age. Angelo soon amazed his community members with the vast numbers of poor and hungry people who came to the monastery’s courtyard for their daily food. Some days there were as many as 300 people lining up to be fed. Even more remarkable was how Angelo found enough food, money and clothing to care for everyone who came he shyly claimed that there was always something in his pantry. Some Romans compared his largess with Jesus’ loaves and fish; others simply concluded that he had found secret patrons who wanted to remain nameless.

Angelo also found himself rapidly drawn to care for the sick. Not far from San Martino, there was a busy hospital at St. John Lateran, Rome’s cathedral. According to the custom of the time, the hospital cared primarily for the health and basic feeding of the patient, but such things as additional food, blankets, and clothing were often left to family members of the sick. For the poorest people, there was often no one to supply these needs. So, Angelo began to visit the twin wings of the hospital, one for men, and the other for women. He fed the hungriest patients, comforted, and counseled those in need, emptied bedpans, and saw to the most menial services. His visits increased to twice a day, especially when he was able to find other patrons and donors to support his efforts. He eventually found a location near the Coliseum where he organized and ran Rome’s first convalescent home for those discharged from the hospital, but still unable to care for themselves.

Part of Angelo’ s practical genius flowed from the fact that his strong spiritual life attracted many others to help his charitable works. He was a popular confessor and spiritual advisor to the illustrious members of Roman society. He was eagerly sought by cardinals, ambassadors, Roman officials, including the Pope’s own doctor, and countless members of Europe’s noble families. Sometimes the only way that the rich and powerful could get a word with Angelo was to follow him through a hospital ward with a basket of food or help him as he distributed bread at San Martino. Beyond any doubt, these well-fed patricians were also generous in helping his efforts to feed others.

To reward his lavish care for the poor, Pope Innocent XII wanted to make Angelo a cardinal, but he refused on the grounds that he could not maintain his level of charity with such an encumbrance. Another offer of a red hat by Pope Clement XI was also refused. Angelo had no wish to be a prince of the Church, since he was busy enough just being a good friar. He did, however, convince the Popes to halt the pilfering of stone from the ruined Coliseum, and to erect a large cross there in memory of the martyrs. One of the high points of Angelo’s impact occurred in 1708. He raised three wooden crosses on Mount Testaccio, an artificial hill created by a huge quantity of ancient rubble from broken pottery. He celebrated the Way of the Cross with a sermon on Jesus’ passion and death, as a sign of his love for all people. Then he distributed bread and sausage to all present to continue the celebration.

Angelo Paoli died peacefully in 1720 and was buried in the church of San Martino. Many people spoke of his ability to foretell future events, and to cure the sick. But his simple works of mercy spoke even more eloquently of his solid spirituality, and his love of God. He had told his rich patrons, Whoever wants to love God must search for him among the poor. Truly, a fitting epitaph!    (by Leopold Gluckert, O. Carm.)

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INITIUM NOVITIATUS
06-01-24  Iuliana Ciceu (CAR) Carpinento Romano, Italia
07-01-24  Any Marcela de la Sagrada Familia Gómez Cárdenas (COR) Córdoba, ES
07-01-24. M^a Alejandra del Amor Crucificado Ocampo Murcia (COR) Córdoba, ES

PROFESSIO TEMPORANEA
21-11-23  Mary Josephine of Nativity  (MAC)  Machakos, Kenya
21-11-23  Mary Neema of St. John of the Cross  (MAC)  Machakos, Kenya
21-11-23  Mary Margaret of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (MAC) Machakos, Kenya
14-12-23  Mary Agnes Ndinda Mutie (JUJ)  Juja, Kenya
04-01-24. Frayman Quiroga (Ita-Col)  Lurín, Perú
04-01-24. Ronal Álvarez (Ita-Col)  Lurín, Perú
04-01-24  Luis Fernando Lainez Palacio (PCM)  Lurín, Perú
04-01-24  Raul Sharley Chafloque Orozco (PCM-Perú)  Lurín, Perú
04-01-24  Bernardo Soriano Rosales  (PCM)  Lurín, Perú
04-01-24. Rafael Flórez  (Ita-Col). Lurín, Perú
04-01-24. Jorge Salazar  (Ita-Col)  Lurín, Perú
04-01-24  Salomón Santana  (Ita-Col)  Lurín, Perú

ORDINATIO DIACONALIS
15-12-23  Roberto Reyes (PCM)  Washington, DC, USA
30-12-23  Itamar dos Santos Neri (Pern) Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brasil

On Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 6 p.m., at the Centro Internazionale Sant'Alberto (Rome), the volume L'attività di padre Serafino Maria Potenza (1697-1763) attraverso i documenti d'Archivio, by Simona Durante, published by Edizioni Carmelitane, will be presented.

Father Serafino Maria Potenza's importance to the Carmelite Order is particularly reflected during his work as postulator general and in having dedicated his life to collecting documents related to the history of the Order.

Fr. Vincenzo Criscuolo, ofmcap, Relator General, dicastery of the Causes of Saints, and Prof. Luca Carboni, archivist, from the Vatican Apostolic Archives, will speak at the presentation.

The author, Dr. Simona Durante, will also intervene.

For further study and purchase of the publication, see the Edizioni Carmelitane website.

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Called to be a living Gospel
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January 9 Feast

The Generous Life of St. Andrew Corsini

"He administered the office entrusted to him like a saint. He is rightly held up to all the pastors of the Church as a model of an outstanding bishop... He was so kind and helpful to the poor and needy that he could only think of them in tears. It is well-known that no poor person ever left him sad." These words of Bishop Francis Venturi (Rome 1629) refer to St. Andrew Corsini. He lived the words of Jesus in an exemplary way: "Inasmuch as you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it to me."

St. Andrew was born in Florence around 1300 as one of twelve children of Niccolò Corsini and his wife Gemma. He was probably of noble birth and as a young man, like his peers, is said to have cultivated a very worldly lifestyle.

However, the warnings of his pious mother caused him to change his mind and Andrea entered the Carmel of his hometown. The date of his profession is unknown, as is the date of his ordination as a priest. In 1338, he is mentioned as a member of the convent in Florence, which at the time comprised fifty-two religious. In 1348, the year of the plague, the General Chapter of the Order in Metz elected him the first provincial of Tuscany.

On October 13 of the following year, Pope Clement VI appointed him Bishop of Fiesole near Florence. According to legend, the Mother of God appeared to Andrew and made him promise to accept the office of bishop. During his first holy mass, the young Carmelite is also said to have had a vision of the Madonna, as indicated by a marble relief in the Corsini Chapel of the Carmelite Church in Florence by G. B. Foggini from the 17th century.

He led his diocese with prudence and zeal. He was a true shepherd of his flock, which flourished under him. He had churches and monasteries renovated, endeavored to restore and embellish the cathedral, which was threatened by collapse, built apartments for the canons and repaired the bishop's house.

But he was not only concerned with external renewal. He strove to settle disputes between the citizens and often pointed out in his sermons the need for good neighborly coexistence and the obligation to Christian charity. People from near and far flocked to hear his words, not only because he was a good preacher, but also because he had a reputation for holiness. He admonished the clergy of his diocese to carry out their official duties, for there was much that was amiss. Andrew was not afraid to remove those unworthy of their office.

He also set himself this strict standard for an exemplary lifestyle: extreme frugality and modesty were a matter of course for him, and even in old age he practiced an ascetic lifestyle despite his sickliness. He was particularly fond of the poor, none of whom ever went away without a gift. The bishop often sat at the gate of his house and handed out bread himself. Not only the people in his diocese experienced his willingness to help, but also the inhabitants of his hometown and its surroundings, where he provided the needy with grain and clothing in particular. Andrew thus embodied the ideal of Christian poverty and testified to a deep faith that was not exhausted in words, but came alive in good deeds.

Andrea Corsini died on January 6, 1374, and was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine, the Carmelite church in Florence, in the so-called Corsini Chapel. His corpse has still not yet been buried.

Pope Eugene IV permitted his public veneration as early as 1440, following the victory of the Florentines at Angiari. Andrew is said to have appeared to the Florentine troops at the time and promised them victory. Corsini has been listed in the Carmelite Breviary since 1462. He was canonized on 29 April 1629.

In 1734, Pope Clement XII (Corsini) built a chapel in S. Giovanni in the Lateran in Rome in honor of the saint, which has since become world-famous. Scenes from the life of the saint are reproduced in marble.

The Carmelite bishop is usually depicted with a wolf or lamb or both, which probably goes back to a legend according to which Andrew was once in danger of being attacked by a wolf. The Mother of God then transformed the wolf into a lamb in order to save him. Another legend tells of Mary announcing the bishop's imminent death on the Christmas Night of 1374 and leading him to God on the night before Epiphany, as the star once led the Magi. A miraculous scent was said to have emanated from his corpse, which healed the sick.

(from Helga-Maria M. Jaeger, Gott lebt! Sie sind seine Zeugen)

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January 8 Feast

Born in Perigod, France, around 1305, Saint Peter Thomas joined the Carmelite Order when twenty years of age. He was Procurator General of the Order at the Papal Curia at Avignon and also an official preacher to the Curia there.

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January 3 Optional Memorial in the regions of India

Saint Kuriakos Elias Chavara, co-founder and first prior general of the congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, was born at Kainakary in Kerala, India, on 10 February 1805. He entered the seminary in 1818 and was ordained priest in 1829. He made his religious profession in 1855, in the congregation he founded.

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"Lectio divina," a Latin term, means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk called Guigo, described the stages which he saw as essential to the practice of Lectio divina. There are various ways of practicing Lectio divina either individually or in groups but Guigo's description remains fundamental.

God is with us!
(Matthew 1:18-25)

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