Bull of Canonization of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria

The Bull’s first English translation

comes on the occasion of

Fr. Augusto M. Pucci’s

70th year of dedicated and faithful service

as a Barnabite priest to God and His people.

Rome, Italy 1939 - 8 IV - 2009- Oakville, Canada

__________________________

From the Introduction to Dilectus Domini nostri, 

Bull of Canonization of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria  

by †Sergio Pagano, CRSP, Titular Bishop of Celene Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives

(....)

The canonization of the Founder of the Barnabites occurred many years following his death (1539). His canonization also followed experiences of various vicissitudes related to the events of history that pertained to the Congregation between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. (...) 

       The ordinary process began in 1802. However, the first stage had already taken place in October 1800 during the provincial chapter of Lombardy. The Barnabite who must be acknowledged as the prime animator behind the future canonization of Anthony Mary Zaccaria was Reverend Father Francesco Fontana (1750–1822). (...)

       Without going into all the merits of the long procedural process, we shall only say that the many efforts of the Barnabites were in the end rewarded. The figure of their Founder was enriched both by the precious circles of contemporary and latter witnesses. This outcome led His Holiness Leo XIII to beatify Anthony Mary Zaccaria on January 3, 1890, given that the Congregation of Rites had already approved three miracles that were attributed to this future saint. This opened the way to canonization as requested by Father Granniello, who adduced an abundance of canonical arguments.

         During the Consistory of May 20, 1897, His Holiness Leo XIII decreed the canonization of Anthony Mary Zaccaria. On May 27, 1897, the pope issued the Bull of Canonization Dilectus Domini nostri. In truth, this Bull had been signed by the pontiff and twenty-three cardinals several days prior to the actual issuance of the Bull. (...)

        On May 27, 1897, St. Peter’s Basilica housed this great ceremony: under the rays of Bernini were the portraits of two future saints, Anthony Mary Zaccaria and Peter Fourier. The basilica was illuminated by 950 chandeliers, and was filled with faithful. In solemnity, His Holiness Leo XIII pronounced the formal act of canonization and, indeed, the Bull bears the very date of the ceremony. The Barnabites in Italy, particularly those in Cremona where Zaccaria was born, and the entire Church could now begin to venerate our Founder as a saint – we could even say, a great saint – who, on the example of the Apostle Paul, dedicated himself tirelessly to the Church until his death at a young age, leaving a fertile legacy.

Vatican City

September 5, 2008

Listening to our Readers..

Hi Fr. Robert,

Greetings in the Lord! Thank you for sharing Sr. Rorivic Ma Israel's reflections on the calendar. She is indeed a real treasure.

While navigating around the blog, I chose theme #3 to read. I was inspired by the choices that St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria made as a youth and how these choices affected his life. These thoughts were particular meaningful to me as I struggle to raise holy children.

The quote at the top of the page "Enter his world and you will be forever changed" made me laugh out loud! WOW! This is so true for the Gambino family. I feel like St. Anthony is a part of our family and, in fact, it's hard to imagine life without him now. Actually, I think the saying could be modified by changing the wording a little...."Enter the world of the Barnabites, (whose founder was Saint Anthony Zaccaria) and you will be forever changed". I am certain that this is what happened to us. Sometimes, it feels like we've been swept up into a spiritual cyclone! The profound and concrete changes that have taken place within each of us are truly remarkable. One really needs an abundance of stamina to keep up! Thanks be to God and thank you, Fr. Robert, for opening this treasure to us. We are eternally grateful!

Your sister in Christ,

Mary

A Daily Lesson in Holines of St. Anthony M. Zaccaria on DISCRETION

April 1. 

Discretion is discernment over the real attribute of things, and over which things are to be kept and which are to be laid aside.

April 2.

 Discretion is the eye of the mind, which in no way will make us err.

April 3.

Discretion, which is the same as prudence, restrain us from licentiousness, and motivates us to goodness.

April 4. 

Discretion keeps us from falling into vices; it rather purifies all vices and transforms them into virtues.

April 5 

It is its nature that discretion weighs up both external and inner virtues.

April 6 

The most sublime and perfect discretion is more of heavenly things than of earthly things.

April 7. 

The eye of discretion is so clear that it sees even the minutest thing; he who does not see it is not discreet.

April 8. 

A discreet person has eyes, front and back, top and bottom, right and left. It is because of discretion that man is a lot similar to God.

April 9. 

A person who grows in discretion grows also in other virtues.

April 10. 

To a discreet person, failure is beneficial, for through it he learns to be more careful. Discretion by itself teaches that one can receive healing from wounds, and he can gain both from failures as well as from successes.

April 11. 

When the devil sees our discretion to be truly firm, he does not dare to assail it.

April 12. 

A person who is truly discreet is far from falling. If he falls, it is because he is indiscreet.

April 13. 

A person who is discreet is hated by those who may seem to have virtues, but who do not actually have.These are the lukewarm and the imperfect. They are like a thorn in his side.

April 14. 

A discreet person is hated by the malicious. However, one can never lightly determine which is worse, the persecution of the malicious or the persecution of the lukewarm.

April 15. 

The persecution of the lukewarm against persons who are discreet is varied and continuous, but the persecution of the malicious is done all at once and is persistent.

April 16. 

As salt is needed for food, so discretion is needed for any action. As food becomes tasteless without salt, so virtue becomes meaningless without discretion.

April 17. 

Discretion can be acquired through careful examination of one’s work and diligence in putting it to completion. 

April 18. 

Discretion often leads us to what is best and towards the highest virtue. A person can never be discreet unless he strives to reach the highest peak of virtue.

April 19. 

You will be able to reach perfect discretion only if you desire harm and insult.

April 20. 

Only a discreet person can hide or show his virtues, or yet extol them, without shame.

April 21. 

He who practices virtue without discretion is like throwing dust to the winds.

April 22. 

These are signs of a discreet person: he knows what steps to make when in doubt; he accepts everything from the hands of God with great tranquility; and he is able to give great and wholesome advice to others.

April 23. 

Many look discreet in certain situations, but when they are in another, they appear to be what they really are, stupid and imprudent.

April 24 

A discreet person knows how to be in want and in abundance. When he does not, he is indiscreet.

April 25. 

A discreet person knows how to give reasons to everything, even the most impossible ones.

April 26. 

A person who is perfectly discreet already overcomes his bad inclinations. He who is still tied up with some passion is not yet perfectly discreet. 

April 27. 

Discretion is not too much or too little. It avoids extreme prudence as well as excessive stupidity.

April 28. 

Extreme prudence does not recognize one’s defects and at the same time does not excuse the defects of others.

April 29. 

Extreme prudence goes beyond what is expected of it. It belittles the deeds of others and criticizes them without diplomacy.

April 30. 

Extreme prudence speaks with pretense and makes new laws that hinder the weak.

St. Anthony Zaccaria's calendar arrives in the Philippines

On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, March 25, 2009 the perpetual calendar of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria reached our Sister Congregation, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, in Marikina, Philippines during the canonical visit  of their Mother General. 

______________

In the picture from left: Sr. Rorivic Israel, A.S.P. (Editor), Mother General, Madre Nur-Elaine Anaissi, A.S.P., and her assistant, Sr. Flor J. Lomibao, A.S.P., with the calendar of St. Anthony M. Zaccaria.

The Angelic Sisters of St. Paul 

display the first copies of 

the Perpetual Calendar 

of St. Anthony M. Zaccaria 

What’s in the Perpetual Calendar of St. Anthony?

By Sr. Rorivic Ma. P. Israel, A.S.P.

It’s a work of two people who showed great confidence in each other’s gift and who trusted in their Holy Founder’s prompting and inspiration. 

Fr. Robert proposed this project to me the other year (2007), to make a perpetual calendar of St. Anthony. Being a simple person, I felt I didn’t have the capability to do such task. So I argued modestly. But his encouraging and brotherly speeches persuaded me to comply with his 

“demands.” Didn’t I also feel undeserving to work with Fr. Robert? Yes, I did.

It looked like the dream wasn’t coming true. Days passed, and months passed, nothing had been started yet. Did St. Anthony become impatient with us? And mind you, St. Anthony was a person of fervor, and he does things without “irresoluteness”! 

It must be St. Anthony’s plan to send me back to the Philippines. So this actually prompted Fr. Robert and me to roll up our sleeves and begin the work. Before I ever leave the U.S., I have to complete this work with Fr. Robert. That must be in the mind of our Holy Founder.

We sat together before the computer and read over the lines of the writings of St. Anthony. We decided together the quotations. In short, it was a rather taxing job – and for days! And yet, the work was not finished until I flew back to my homeland. But there was no losing hope, for all the while, St. Anthony prepared the arena for me. 

Only few days after I arrived in the Philippines, my superior decided to buy a new computer for the community. PLUS! Connected to the Internet. 

Didn’t I wonder why all these things were taking place? Exactly, St. Anthony wanted me to finish the job! 

So I would exchange ideas with Fr. Robert through the net. To make the story short we were able to complete the CALENDAR! 

Thanks to St. Anthony. It was indeed a great pleasure working with him and for him. Thanks also for my Bro., Fr. Robert who believed in my talents in “correcting errors” and “making comments”! It wasn’t easy, by the way. 

I won’t end without saying that Fr. Robert had been so diligent in doing his part. How many “sleepless nights” and “empty stomachs” did you have Father?

Together, Fr. Robert and I both say to our layout artist, Greg Gambino: Great job, Greg! And to Mr. Mike McKay: Thank you for being so generous! May God bless you!

Feb 20, 2009 - St. Anthony Mary's 480th Anniversary Priestly Ordination

In 1529, February 20, at age 26, he was ordained. God’s deep love for Anthony Mary was shown by the following miracle. It was recorded by all the contemporary Cremonese historians and attested in the process of canonization.

            It was the custom in those days, as it is now, that a priest's first mass should be celebrated with great pomp and solemnity and that a banquet should then be given in the house of the newly-ordained. Anthony Mary, who disliked all show and pomp, requested that all exterior solemnities be avoided, for he longed to be alone to celebrate for the first time in quiet and recollection the Divine Mysteries. Absorbed in meditating on the great Sacrifice and his heart burning with love for God, he went to the foot of the altar. A profound and religious silence prevailed among those present, and all eyes were turned on him, a sign of the great event about to take place. At the solemn moment of consecration, a marvelous light encircled him and a multitude of Angels descended, and surrounding him, assisted reverently at the Mass. This heavenly vision lasted until the end of Communion. The joy and astonishment of those present can only be imagined. The report of the miracle quickly spread through the city and each one thanked God in his heart, sure that the new priest must be the angel sent from heaven for the salvation of the people and so, indeed, it proved to be.

Novena To Saint Anthony M. Zaccaria

From the Foreword to the Novena to St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria 

In the first half of the fifteenth century in Italy shone the luminous figure of Anthony Mary Zaccaria. This young saint, full of passion for God’s love, was a great reformer of religious customs of the clergy and the Christian people. Above all, he was the founder of the Clerics Regular of St. Paul (Barnabites), the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, and the Laity of St. Paul.

Anthony Mary Zaccaria, born in Cremona, Italy in 1502, was a student and graduate in medicine from the University of Padua; a doctor of body and soul in his native city; a fervent catechist and a zealous priest in Milan and elsewhere. For a decade his apostolate was characterized by an intense devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar (he was the promoter of the Forty Hours Devotion), and by a passionate love of the cross and the crucified Christ (he instituted the ringing of bells on Friday afternoon to commemorate Christ’s death). Anthony Mary was guided by an extraordinary zeal of St. Paul, chosen by him to be his master and model on earth, and his special patron in heaven.

Exhausted from his pastoral work, Anthony Mary died at only 36 years old, leaving behind admirable examples of penance and of spirituality. In the novena here presented, his ascetic-mystic thought continuously emerges. This thought can be found in his six Sermons and eleven Letters, which remained as his testament and a mirror of his soul and his missionary call: in these writings resounds an unceasing appeal against vices, and toward holiness.

Cardinal Ratzinger wrote: “I have to say that the image of this saint is dear to me because he is one of the great figures of Catholic reform… an authentic man of God and of the Church, a man burning with zeal, a demanding forger of consciences, a true leader able to convert and lead others to good.”

Like all the saints, Zaccaria is a figure of permanent relevance: an encounter with him symbolizes an invitation to return to a charism of a unique vocation, a return desired by the Second Vatican Council, as an indispensable element of true renewal. The Church venerates the saints and honors their images. Celebrating their names and their memory, she proclaims Christ’s marvels in his servants and proposes to the faithful examples to imitate (Sacrosantum Concilium, 11).

The saints manifest the face and the presence of God in the world. They contribute to the spiritual life of the Church on earth, and form with us one mystical body. As friends and coheirs of Christ, they intercede for us. As our brothers and benefactors, they teach us the way to reach heaven. (Lumen Gentium, 49-50)

Anthony Mary Zaccaria merits to be known and followed in his teachings: he counts among the category of priests, who in the course of centuries, have left a splendid example of holiness. As a spiritual master, he continues to spread and proclaim the Word of God and to teach the “sublime wisdom of Jesus Christ” (Liturgy of July 5)

Bishop Andrea M. Erba, CRSP

Bishop Emeritus of Velletri-Segni,

Rome, 15 November 2008

Solemnity of Mother of Divine Providence

Day 1  of the Novena – for FAITH

“It is necessary that you always trust in God’s help and come to know by experience that you are never to be without it.”  

(St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Constitutions XVII)

 Opening Prayer

Gracious Father,

fount of holiness,

with hearts full of confidence

and loving obedience to your will,

we pray, together with

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria,

for the grace of a life of virtue,

in imitation of Christ, your Son.

Incline our hearts

to the promptings of the Holy Spirit,

so that He may guide us

and keep us in the path that leads to you.

And by His help may we become

genuine disciples of your

immeasurable goodness

and unfathomable love for all.

This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

First Reading

From the letter of St. Paul to the Romans (1:8-12)

I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the world. God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in proclaiming the

gospel of his Son, that I remember you constantly, always asking in my prayers that somehow by God’s will I may at last find my way clear to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith, yours and mine.

 Second Reading

From the letter of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria to the Reverend Father Bartolomeo Ferrari (Letter VI)

Dearly beloved in Christ, why do you entertain any doubts? Haven’t you experienced in this undertaking that you never lacked the necessary means to help those in need? Nothing is more certain and reliable than experience. Those who love you do not possess the wealth either of a Paul or of a Magdalene; they do, however, trust in the One who enriched them both. Thus as a result of both your faith and theirs God will provide for any person under your care. You can be sure that, before you speak and in the very moment of speaking, Jesus Crucified will anticipate and accompany, not only every word of yours, but your every holy intention.Don’t you see that He Himself has opened the doors for you with His own hands? Who, then, will hinder you from entering the hearts of people and from changing them so completely as to renew them and beautify them with holy virtues? Nobody, of course − neither the devil nor any other creature.

 Invocations

• St. Anthony, precursor of Catholic reform…Pray for us.
  
• St. Anthony, faithful administrator of the divine mysteries…Pray for us.
  
• St. Anthony, priest solicitous in making gain in others…Pray for us.
  

 Prayer

Christ, our Savior, you endowed St. Anthony Mary with the light and flame of a solid faith.Increase our faith, so that we may learn to love the living true God. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be… 

Closing Prayer

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria,
continue your work as doctor and priest
by obtaining from God healing
from my physical and moral sickness,
so that free from all evil and sin,
I may love the Lord with joy,
fulfill with fidelity my duties,
work generously for the good of my brothers and sisters,
and for my sanctification.
I also beg of you to secure for me
the special favor I seek in this novena…
(State your intention here.)
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

____________________

To receive a copy of the Novena please write to :

Barnabite Spiritual Center  

4301 Hecktown Road

Bethlehem, PA 18020

Donation of $ 1.00 is greatly appreciated to cover the mailing expenses.