I plagiarise this piece from the most splendid and useful Wall Calendar of the Papa Stronsay Redemptorists, who draw attention to the fact that January 16 is the festival of these Holy Martyrs, whose Triumph was accomplished on January 18 800 years ago.
"The glorious martyrdom of STS BERARDUS, PETER, OTTO, ACCURSIUS AND ADJUTUS. Sent by St Francis to evangelise the Muslims of the West, these friars travelled from Italy to Aragon then to Coimbra in Portugal, to Seville and finally to Morocco, where they were beheaded. Berardus, Peter and Otto were priests, Adjutus and Accursius lay-brothers."
What a privilege it would have been to be invited to preach coram Romano Pontifice on this wonderful 800th anniversary!
It could also provide ideas for those giving addresses during this Octave of Prayer.
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St Francis was immensely proud of these friars. He had sent six but one got sick in Spain and had to stay behind. They began in the Muslim part of that country and might have been martyred there but the advisors to the local Muslim king got him to send them on to North Africa where they endured a gruesome martyrdom. Of course nowadays those who are 'enlightened' would tend to blame the martyrs for attempting to convert the Muslims and not the Muslims for murdering the martyrs!
St Ramon Lull spent his life trying to promote goodwell between Catholics and Muslims. He was eventually murdered in North Africa.
Which Francis? Pope Francis post Pachamama? The Muslims are immune to Pachamama as well as Changp AKA St. Jerome and Yamama the Yoruba sea goddess AKA St. Barbara. These gods long tolerated in the Americas received Pope Franscis' final endorsement. So dream on! I don't think if this is the Francis who plans to convert Muslims. But to tell the truth the Roman Catholic Church looks more and more like a bad dream. I'm so sorry I became involved with it. However, being a child it was beyond my control. I think Father Hunwicke must be happy, since he was raised in the C of E which raised contradiction and folly to a fine art. By swimming the Tiber looks like he jumped from the frying pan to the fire. He thinks the Ordinariate can reverse the tide that led to the cultus of Pachamama.
It is sad that Pope Francis does not want to convert the world to the holy Catholic faith. He prefers the moslems to remain in their darkness as evidenced by his Abu Dahbi declaration.
Interesting that there are Catholic churches today in Morocco, divided into 2 archdioceses and attended by about 50,000 Catholics in the country. Apparently the Muslim majority there are more tolerant than the Wahabi fanatics we are familiar with in Saudi Arabia and such places.
This is true. The Wahhabis are considered to be heretics by orthodox muslims. This heresy arose in the 18th century and has spread to take in most of the muslim world just as Vatican Two Conciliarism as spread with us. Indeed it is part of the same movement to completely eliminate spirituality. For us this is to reduce Catholicism to a moralism centred on the ethics of bodily behaviour and reduce human life to the reproductive years. Reduced in that manner the eternal life and the Kingdom ofGod is removed.Cardinal Suenens described Vatican II as the Catholic version of the French Revolution. Pope Benedict XVI agreed with his in his famous address before the Curia in 2005. He of course eliminated the Terror from the Revolution but assimilated 1789 to 1776 the American Revolution. Of course the Americans danced in the streets when news of the French Revolution reached them. The Wahhabi revolution against the Ottoman government had a similar effect. Then Napoleon arrived in Egypt. He issued a proclamation recorded in Arabic by the historian al-Jabarti—We read it in university. He said that he was a Muslim and advised the Egyptians to revolt against the Ottoman government and accept him, the conveyor of the post-Terrorist French Revolution. To say that today's Pope Francis wishes to convert Muslim to Islam is beside the point. Both he and the majority of today's "Muslim" are part of the same historical phenomenon: elimination of the inward life, where the Christ located the Kingdom of God and the reduction of humankind to external bodily practices, e.g., worship of Pachamama. Karl Rahner in his book on the Trinity said "despite their orthodox confession of the Trinity, Christians are, in their practical life, almost mere "monotheists." He continues: "We must be willing to admit that, should the doctrine of the Trinity have to be dropped as false, the major part of religious literature could well remain virtually unchanged." I.e. Catholic confession of the Trinity is the external mouthing of formulae. When challenged about the Trinity and its spiritual significance, most will say it is a "mystery." Of course that the Trinity is a mystery does not relieve us of the duty of penetrating Its glorious reality from within. And unless we do, our faith's object is a static and abstract monolith, in short, an idol of the mind.
Brilliant observation. And I think is so true. The first step must be the restoration of the liturgy. Then we will better participate in trinitarian worship.
Father, rather mysteriously my Papa Stronsay 2020 wall calendar says for Jan. 16th 'St Marcellus/ Pope & Martyr/ III Class', nothing more and is entirely silent on the subject of St Berardus et al. Did you perhaps consult some other calendar or Ordo?
I see their feast day is celebrated 'within the Franciscan Order'.
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