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| Religion Forum Index » Apologetic Forum » October 19th - St. Peter of Alcántara, OFM (RM)... |
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 Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:34 am |
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October 19th - St. Peter of Alcántara, OFM (RM)
Born at Alcántara, Estremadura, Spain, in 1499; died at Arenas, 1562;
canonized
in 1669.
Sixteenth century Spain provided the Church with a wealth of heroes-most of
whom
seemed to know one another. I hope you enjoy this story of a man who truly
fell
in love with God at an early age.
Peter Garavito's father, who was a lawyer and governor of the province, died
in
1513 and two years later, after studying law in Salamanca, 16-year-old Peter
entered the Observant Franciscans at Manxarretes (Manjaretes). At 22 he was
sent
to Badajoz to found a friary.
He was ordained at the age of 25 (1524), and preached missions in Spain and
Portugal. After serving as superior at Robredillo, Plasencia, and
Estremadura,
Peter finally had his request for solitude granted with an appointment to
the
friary at Lapa, though he was also named its superior. For a time he served
as
chaplain to the court of King John III of Portugal. This period of his life
is
uneventful, but all the time he was longing for a yet more rigorous
following of
the Franciscan rule.
After he was elected provincial for Saint Gabriel at Estremadura in 1538, he
was
able to take definite steps to begin the reform, but his efforts were not
well
received during the provincial chapter at Placensia in 1540. So, he resigned
as
minister provincial. For two years (1542-44) he lived as a hermit with Friar
Martin of Saint Mary on Arabida Mountain near Lisbon and was named superior
of
Palhaes community for novices when numerous friars were attracted to their
way
of life. During that period he had become convinced of the need for a
vigorous
Catholic reform, a Counter-Reformation with which to oppose the Protestant
Reformation.
Unable to secure approval for a stricter congregation of friars from his
provincial, his idea was accepted by the bishop of Coria. Finally, with the
approval of Pope Julius III, c. 1556, he founded the Reformed Friars Minor
of
Spain, usually called the Alcatarine Franciscans, which established not only
monasteries but also Houses of Retreat where anyone could go and try to live
according to the Rule of Saint Francis. The friars lived in small groups, in
great poverty and austerity, going barefoot, abstaining from meat and wine,
spending much time in solitude and contemplation.
Three years later, in 1559, the new order was enlarged with the addition of
a
new province, that of Saint Joseph. But the Reformed Franciscans failed to
win
the support of the other Franciscans; Conventuals and Observants, both
jealous
of their privileges, continued to quarrel over the inheritance of Saint
Francis.
At the time of his death in 1562, Saint Peter was still uncertain of the
future
of his work, which had been placed under the Conventuals. But the example
which
he set was followed by Saint Teresa of Ávila and there was thus born Saint
Joseph of Ávila, the first Reformed Carmel in Spain. Even if Peter's work
was
surpassed by that of Saint Teresa, it was instrumental in releasing in
Spain,
and then throughout Europe, a movement of vigorous revival which gave
strength
to the Church at a time when it was sorely needed.
Teresa and Peter were intimate friends for the last four years of her life.
After they met in 1560, he became her confessor, advisor, and admirer. His
ferocious and almost unbelievable asceticism is not myth, but rather
described
by Teresa in a celebrated chapter of her autobiography. She wrote with awe
that
his penances were "incomprehensible to the human mind." They had reduced
him,
she tells us, to a condition in which he looked as if "he had been made of
the
roots of trees."
He practiced asceticism from the age of 16 until his death, opposing a will
of
iron against the doubtlessly acute temptations of his body. He slept for no
more
than two hours each night, and even then he did not lie down, but slept
either
in a hard wooden chair or kneeling against the wall. His cell was no more
than
4- ½ feet long. He ate extremely little, at first going for three days, and
then
for a week without food. When he did eat, he destroyed the taste of the food
by
sprinkling it with ashes or earth. He never drank wine. He never wore shoes,
or
even sandals, and went about barefoot. He never wore a hat or a hood, and
exposed his head to the icy rains of winter or the scorching sun of summer.
He
wore a hair shirt, and though he possessed a cloak, he never wore it in cold
weather. He went everywhere on foot, or at the most would ride on a donkey.
Consumed with fever, he refused a glass of water, saying "Jesus was ready to
die
of thirst on the cross." For three years he never raised his eyes from the
ground. And yet, "With all his holiness," wrote Saint Teresa of Ávila, "he
was
very kindly, though spare of speech except when asked a question, and then
he
was delightful, for he had a keen understanding."
Such asceticism may seem self-centered and excessive to us today. Some may
think
that there are sufficient mortifications in the normal course of life
without
adding to them. But asceticism has been in the Church since the days of the
Desert Fathers, and though the practices of the ascetics might seem
horrible,
unnecessary, or even ridiculous to us, the Church has never reproved them;
indeed, they are to be recommended for the active as well as for the
contemplative. And who is to say that the present unhappy state of the world
would not be greatly changed for the better if people did follow ascetic
practices?
Peter's asceticism, however, is only one aspect of his life of great
holiness
and incessant labor devoted to the restoration in Spain of the primitive
Franciscan rule.
Saint Peter was one of the great Spanish mystics and his Treatise on Prayer
and
Meditation (1926 English translation) was said by Pope Gregory XV to be "a
shining light to lead souls to heaven and a doctrine prompted by the Holy
Spirit." This treatise was used later by Saint Francis de Sales. His
mystical
works, intended purely for edification, follow traditional lines.
"He had already appeared to me twice since his death," wrote Teresa of
Ávila,
"and I witnessed the greatness of his glory. Far from causing me the least
fear,
the sight of him filled me with joy. He always showed himself to me in the
state
of a body which was glorious and radiant with happiness; and I, seeing him,
was
filled with the same happiness. I remember that when he first appeared to me
he
said, to show me the extent of his felicity, 'Blessed be the penitence which
has
brought me such a reward'" (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia,
Underhill).
In art he is depicted as a Franciscan in radiance levitated before the
Cross,
angels carry a girdle of nails, chain, and discipline. Sometimes he is shown
(1)
walking on water with a companion, a star over his head; (2) praying before
a
crucifix, discipline (scourge), and hairshirt; or (3) with a dove at his
ear,
cross and discipline in the picture. He is venerated at Alcántara and
Pedrosa
(Roeder).
In 1862, he was declared the patron of Brazil (Delaney).
Saint Quote:
There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of
the
elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to
desolation, suffering, and trials.
-St. Aloyisus Gonzaga
Bible Quote
For the spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world: and that, which
containeth all things, hath knowledge of the voice. (Wisdom 1:7)
<><><><>
The twelfth prayer of St. Bridget:
O Jesus, mirror of truth, sign of unity, and bond of charity, remember the
multitude of Thy innumerable wounds wherewith Thou wast wounded from the
top of Thy head to the sole of Thy feet, and reddened with Thy most sacred
Blood, which magnitude of pain Thou didst endure on Thy virginal flesh for
us. O merciful Jesus. What more oughtest Thou do, and hast not
done? Engrave, I beseech Thee, O merciful Jesus, all Thy wounds in my
heart with Thy most precious Blood, that in them I may read Thy sorrow and
death, so that I may persevere duly to the end, until I see Thee in
eternity, Thou Who art the treasury of every real good and every joy, which
I beg Thee to grant me, O Sweetest Jesus, in Heaven.
Pater noster... Ave Maria... |
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