Today's devotion: Saint Leopold Mandic, the Holy confessor
30 JULY
SAINT LEOPOLD MANDIC
Castelnovo di Cattaro (Croatia), 12 May 1866 - Padua, 30 July 1942
Born on May 12, 1866 in Castelnuovo, in southern Dalmatia, at sixteen he joined the Capuchins of Venice. Small in stature, bent and unhealthy, he is one of the most recent saints of the Catholic Church. Joined among the Capuchins, he collaborates in reunification with the Orthodox Church. However, his desire is not fulfilled, because in the monasteries where he is assigned other assignments are entrusted to him. He devoted himself above all to the ministry of confession and in particular to confessing other priests. Since 1906 he carries out this task in Padua. It is appreciated for its extraordinary mildness. His health gradually deteriorates, but as long as possible he does not cease to absolve in the name of God and to address words of encouragement to those who approach him. He died on July 30, 1942. His tomb, opened after twenty-four years, reveals its completely intact body. Paul VI beatified him in 1976. Finally, John Paul II canonized him in 1983. (Avvenire)
PRAYERS IN SAN LEOPOLDO MANDIC
O God our Father, who in Christ your Son, dead and risen, redeemed all our pain and wanted Saint Leopold's paternal presence of consolation, infuse our souls with the certainty of your presence and your help. For Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory to the Father.
San Leopoldo, pray for us!
O God, who through the grace of the Holy Spirit pour out the gifts of your love on believers, through the intercession of Saint Leopold, grant our relatives and friends the health of the body and the spirit, so that they love you with all your heart and perform with love what is pleasing to your will. For Christ our Lord. Amen.
San Leopoldo, pray for us!
O God, who manifests your omnipotence above all in mercy and forgiveness, and you wanted St. Leopold to be your faithful witness, for his merits, grant us to celebrate, in the sacrament of reconciliation, the greatness of your love.
For Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory to the Father.
San Leopoldo, pray for us!
NOVENA IN SAN LEOPOLDO MANDIC
O Saint Leopold, enriched by the Eternal Divine Father with so many treasures of grace in favor of those who come to you, we ask you to obtain a living faith and ardent charity, for which we always keep united with God in his holy grace. Glory to the Father ...
O Saint Leopold, made by the divine Savior the perfect instrument of his infinite mercy in the sacrament of penance, we ask you to obtain the grace to confess us often and well, in order to always have our soul free from all guilt and to achieve perfection in us. which He calls us. Glory to the Father ...
O San Leopoldo, the chosen vessel of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, abundantly transfused by you in many souls, please obtain us to be freed from so many pains and afflictions that oppress us, or to have the strength to bear everything patiently to complete in us what is missing from the passion of Christ. Glory to the Father ...
O Saint Leopold, who during your mortal life nurtured a very tender love for Our Lady, our sweet mother, and you were reciprocated with many favors, now that you are happy close to her, pray to her for us to look at our miseries and always show ourselves ours merciful mother. Ave Maria…
O St. Leopold, who always had so much compassion for human suffering and consoled so many afflicted, come to our aid; in your goodness do not abandon us, but console us too, obtaining the grace we ask for. So be it.
SAID OF SAN LEOPOLDO MANDIC
«We have a Mother's Heart in heaven. Our Lady, our mother, who at the foot of the Cross suffered as much as possible to a human creature, understands our pains and comforts us ».
"Wedding ring! have faith! God is a doctor and a medicine ».
"In the darkness of life, the torch of faith and devotion to Our Lady guide us to be very strong in hope".
"I marvel at all the moments how man can endanger the salvation of his soul for absolutely futile and labile reasons."
Divine and human mercy
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy"; this word "mercy" is very sweet, dear brothers, but if the name is already sweet, how much more is reality itself. Although everyone wants mercy to be used against them, not everyone behaves in a way that deserves it. While everyone wants mercy to be used towards them, few people use it towards others.
O man, with what courage do you dare to ask what you refuse to give to others? Whoever wishes to obtain mercy in heaven must grant it on this earth. Therefore, since all of us, dear brothers, desire that mercy be done to us, let us try to make it protective in this world, so that it may be our liberator in the other. There is in fact a mercy in heaven, which is reached through the mercies exercised here on earth. The Scripture says in this regard: O Lord, your mercy is in heaven (cf. Ps 35: 6).
There is therefore an earthly and a heavenly mercy, a human and a divine mercy. What is human mercy? The one who turns to look at the miseries of the poor. What is divine mercy instead? That, without a doubt, that grants you the forgiveness of sins.
All that human mercy gives during our pilgrimage, divine mercy returns it to our homeland. In fact, on this earth God is hungry and thirsty in the person of all the poor, as he himself said: "Every time you have done these things to one of these younger brothers of mine, you have done it to me" (Mt 25, 40 ). That God who deigns to reward himself in heaven wants to receive here on earth.
And who are we that when God gives we want to receive and when he asks he does not want to give? When a poor person is hungry, it is Christ who is hungry, as he himself said: "I was hungry and you did not feed me" (Mt 25:42). Therefore, do not despise the misery of the poor if you want to confidently hope for the forgiveness of sins. Christ, brothers, is hungry; he deigns to be hungry and thirsty in all the poor; what he receives on earth returns him to heaven.
What do you want, brothers, and what do you ask for when you come to church? Certainly nothing but the mercy of God. Therefore give the earthly one and you will obtain the heavenly one. The poor ask you; you too ask God; asks for a piece of bread; you ask for eternal life. It gives to the poor to deserve to receive from Christ. Listen to his words: "Give and it will be given to you" (Lk 6, 38). I don't know with what courage you expect to receive what you don't want to give. Therefore, when you come to church, do not deny the poor a handout, even if small, according to your possibilities.