May 18

Spiritual Bouquet: I praise Thee, Father... that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones. St. Matthew 11:25

SAINT FELIX of CANTALICE
Confessor
(1513-1587)

It was in a small village at the foot of Mount Appenine named Cantalice, that Saint Felix was born in 1513 of pious but poor parents, whose names were Saint and Sainte. It was not long before the little boy, when he approached the other children, was hailed by them: “Here comes Felix, the Saint!” He showed a predilection for solitary prayer from his earliest youth, and as a little shepherd used to retire to a quiet place to kneel there and meditate on the Passion of Jesus.

When he was a little older, he resolved to take the habit of the Capuchin Friars. The rigor of their rule could not deter him, but his obligations could; he was employed as a laborer. When his life was spared in an accident, during which two runaway bulls and a trailing plow should have killed him, the man for whom he was working saw the hand of God in his preservation and permitted him to leave, to enter religion. He was at that time nearly thirty years old, but the Superiors, observing his fervor, placed no obstacles.

In 1545 he pronounced his vows and was sent to Rome, where for forty years he begged for the community. His characteristic words to his companion were: “Let us go, my Brother, with rosary in hand, our eyes to the ground and our spirit in heaven.” He was of an exquisite politeness, extreme gentleness and great simplicity. The sick persons he visited at night became attached to him, and for his part, he sought them out everywhere in Rome, insofar as obedience permitted.

One day on the street he met two duelists with sword in hand. He begged them to repeat after him, “Deo gratias!” which finally they did, and after taking him as arbiter of their quarrel, they separated as good friends. Saint Felix met Saint Philip Neri in Rome, and they became friends who wished one another all possible torments for the love of Jesus Christ. They sometimes remained together without speaking for considerable periods, seemingly transported with joy.

Saint Felix had a great devotion to the most Blessed Virgin, reciting Her rosary with such tenderness that he could not continue at times. He loved the Holy Name of Jesus, and invited the children he would meet to say it with him. He slept only for about two hours, going afterwards to the church and remaining there in prayer until the office of Prime; then he would serve the first Mass and receive Communion every day.

When he was sick and was given the last Sacraments, he saw the Blessed Virgin and a beautiful troop of Angels coming to fortify him in this last journey. He cried out in joy, and gave up his soul peacefully to his Creator in 1587. He was canonized by Pope Clement XI in 1712. His body is in the Capuchin Church of Rome; a plenary indulgence is granted to those who, fulfilling the ordinary conditions, visit a church of his Order on his feast day.

Reflection. Saint Felix did not have what the world esteems; his education was not brilliant. But he knew five red letters — the wounds of the divine crucified One, and one white one — the Virgin Mary, from whom he one day miraculously received the divine Child in his arms.

Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 5; Méditations séraphiques, II^e série: Saint François et les Saints de l’Ordre Séraphique, by Rev. Jean de Ste-Eulalie, O.F.M. (Imprimerie Franciscaine Missionnaire: Quebec City, 1919).

SAINT VENANTIUS of CAMERINO
Martyr
(†250)

Saint Venantius, born at Camerino in Italy, during the persecution of Decius was taken into custody at the age of fifteen years as a Christian who was preaching Christ to others. His history is one of the most miraculous in the annals of the early martyrs.

Having learned that he was about to be arrested, he presented himself to the governor of Camerino, Antiochus, at the city gates, and said to him that the lives of the gods were filled with every kind of crime, that there was only one God, whose unique Son had become a man to deliver his fellow humans from the tyranny of sin. When it was found impossible to shake his constancy either by threats or promises, he was condemned to be scourged, but was miraculously saved by an Angel. He was then burnt with torches and suspended over a low fire that he might be suffocated by the smoke. The judge’s secretary, while admiring the steadfastness of the Saint, saw an Angel robed in white, who stamped out the fire and again set free the youthful martyr. This man proclaimed his faith in Christ and was baptized with his whole family. Shortly afterwards he won the martyr’s crown.

Venantius was summoned to appear before Antiochus. Unable to make him renounce his faith, the governor cast him into prison with an apostate soldier, who strove in vain to tempt him. Antiochus, furious, then ordered his teeth and jaws to be broken and had him thrown into a furnace, from which the Angel once more delivered him. The Saint was sent to a city magistrate to be condemned, but this judge after hearing his defense of Christianity, fell headlong from his seat and expired, saying, “The God of Venantius is the true God; let us destroy our idols.”

When this circumstance was told to Antiochus, he ordered Venantius to be thrown to the lions. These brutes, however, forgetting their natural ferocity, crouched at the feet of the Saint. Then, by order of the tyrant, the young martyr was dragged through a heap of brambles and thorns and retired half-dead, but the next day he was cured; God had manifested the glory of His servant once more. On behalf of soldiers who had dragged him outside the city over stones and rocks, and were suffering from thirst, the Saint knelt on a rock and signed it with a cross; immediately a jet of clear, cool water welled up from the spot. This miracle converted many of those who beheld it. The rock remained imprinted by his knees and was placed in a church in Camerino, where it still remains.

The governor finally had Venantius and his converts beheaded on the same day, in the year 250. The bodies of these martyrs are kept in the same church at Camerino. The Acts of Saint Venantius’ martyrdom have been carefully studied and declared authentic by the Church.

Reflection. Love of suffering marks the most perfect degree in the love of God. Our Lord Himself was consumed with the desire to suffer, because He burnt with the love of God. We must begin with patience and detachment, and eventually we shall learn to love the sufferings which conform us to the Passion of our Redeemer.

Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 5; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).