30 April, Friday – Being Faithful

30 Apr – Memorial for St. Pius V, pope

Antonio Ghislieri (1504-1572) was born to impoverished Italian nobility, the son of Paolo Ghislieri and Domenica Augeria. He worked as a shepherd as a boy, and received an excellent education in piety and holiness, including a scholastic education from a Dominican friar. He joined the Order in 1518, taking the name Michele. He studied in Bologna, Italy, and was ordained in 1528 in Genoa.

He was appointed teacher of philosophy and divinity in Genoa, and was a professor of theology in Pavia for 16 years. He was the Master of novices and prior of several Dominican houses, and he worked for stricter adherence to the Order’s rule.

He was an inquisitor in Como and Bergamo, and the commissary general of the Roman Inquisition in 1551. On Sep 4, 1556, he was ordained Bishop of Nepi and Sutri against his will. He was Inquisitor in Milan and Lombardy in the same year, and created cardinal on Mar 15 the following year, made Grand Inquisitor on Dec 14, 1558, and was part of the conclave of 1559. He was appointed Bishop of Mondovi, Italy on Mar 17, 1560. As bishop, he worked to lead his flock with words and examples, and served as a continual messenger encouraging personal piety and devotion to God.

He became the 225th pope in 1566, and immediately faced the task of enacting the reforms of the Council of Trent. New seminaries were opened, a new breviary, new missal, and new catechism were published. Foundations were established to spread the faith and preserve the doctrine of the Church. He spent much time personally working with the needy. He built hospitals and used the papal treasury to care for the poor. He faced many difficulties in the public forum, both in the implementation of the Tridentine reforms and interaction with other heads of state. He created 21 cardinals. At the time of his death, he was working on a Christian European alliance to break the power of the Islamic states.

• Patron Saint Index

Acts 13:26-33
Jn 14:1-6

“Do not let your hearts be troubled”

I often joke with people that I have done a full tour of the education system. In my life, I had gone through primary and secondary schools, polytechnic and university. I have even gone through night classes for a professional diploma (although I never did qualify for the diploma!)

Having been brought up by a relative, I found my early life very challenging. I was worried about finances throughout the course of my education and had to work hard to earn enough. I would often wonder why I had such a difficult life, when my classmates seemed to coast through.

As the late Steve Jobs once said, you can only connect the dots with hindsight. My experiences revealed to me my resilience and, more importantly, where God was in the darkest moments of my early life. It was only after the fact that I realised that I was gifted with many friends and loving relatives to help me on the journey. These experiences made me the person I am today and I would not trade them for anything in the world!

Our Lord, in the gospel today, assures us by telling us not to be troubled. He has come to prepare the way, and to show us the way. God is with us all the time, and our responsibility is to fully trust in Him.

When Jesus went through the Passion and was crucified for all to see, the situation was at its bleakest. To all, it appeared that He had failed and yet this was His greatest victory!

Let us all keep our eyes on our Lord and our God. We just need to keep the faith!

(Today’s Oxygen by Paul Wee)

Prayer: Father, we pray that our faith will continue to endure and be stronger! Help us to always keep close to You in prayer and remember that You love and sustain us! Always!

Thanksgiving: We thank you God, for sending us your Son, Jesus, to show us the way. Thank you for Your promise of eternal faithfulness and for not abandoning us in spite of our sinful nature. We praise and thank You for the grace that you have given us.