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It’s the Feast of St. Andrew Avellino, 3rd Class, with the color of White, and a commemoration of Sts. Tryphon, Respicius and Nympha, Martyrs. In this episode: today in Church History: “Notre-Dame Becomes a Temple of Reason (1793)”, the meditation: “Raising a Child From the Dead”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
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Sources Used Today:
- “Raising a Child From the Dead” — From the Assumption to Advent
- Spiritual Journey — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
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A priest once told a lie while arguing a case for a friend. He might have dismissed it as something said in the heat of the moment. Then he opened Scripture and read, “The mouth that belieth killeth the soul.” He gave up his legal career.
That priest was Saint Andrew Avellino, whose feast we celebrate today, November tenth, on the traditional Roman calendar. And if you caught something unusual in the Collect, there’s a reason. The Church remembers Andrew for making a vow to grow in holiness every single day.
He was baptized Lancelotto and trained in both civil and canon law. After leaving the courtroom, he found that the work of reform could be considerably more dangerous. The archbishop of Naples asked him to restore discipline in a convent. Some men who had been accustomed to meeting the nuns secretly took badly to his interference. One night Andrew was attacked and badly wounded.
He recovered with the Theatines, the community Saint Cajetan had helped found. He eventually joined them and took the name Andrew out of devotion to the cross. In time he trained novices, helped establish new houses, and became a trusted adviser to Saint Charles Borromeo. One of his disciples, Lorenzo Scupoli, went on to write The Spiritual Combat.
The vow in today’s Collect makes more sense when you remember that courtroom. Andrew knew how easily a man could excuse one small departure from what he knew was right. He chose to pay attention to those little decisions. And the Church asks for a share of the same grace in the Collect. It’s a rather personal thing to pray at Mass. Where, today, could I take one step closer to God?
On November tenth, 1608, Andrew was beginning Mass when he suffered a sudden stroke. He received Holy Communion as Viaticum before he died. That final scene has stayed with Catholics. In Assisi, an altarpiece depicts his death at the altar. In Naples, where he spent much of his life, his remains are venerated at San Paolo Maggiore. Catholics have long asked his intercession for protection against a sudden death and for the grace to receive the sacraments at the end.
The young lawyer had once stopped at a line of Scripture and changed direction. The old priest was still turning toward God when his last day came.
Saint Andrew Avellino, pray for us.
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The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
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The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.
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