9 May – St Pachomius the Great (ca 292-346) Desert Father and founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism Was a zealous defender of orthodoxy against Arianism Is one of the few non-biblical saints venerated by Oriental and Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism and some Protestant Churches Is credited as the first Christian to use and recommend use of a prayer rope as an aid for illiterate monks to accomplish a consistent number of prayers Eastern Orthodox prayer rope of 50 knots and 5 wooden beads. It is employed by monastics (and sometimes by others) to count the number of times one has prayed the Jesus Prayer or, occasionally, other prayers. Among many miracles attributed to him is that though he never learned Greek or Latin (he spoke only Coptic), he sometimes miraculously spoke them His name comes from the Coptic word “pakhom”, meaning “eagle” or “falcon” He is sometimes depicted as a hermit crossing the Nile on the back of a crocodile One of his devotions was praying with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross – a rather popular praying mode at the time Life St Pachomius was born in Egypt to pagan parents who gave him excellent secular education At 20, because of civil war, he was forced to join the Emperor’s army as a soldier Converted to Christianity after witnessing the kindness of Christians towards the soldiers in the city of Thebais while soldiers were kept as prisoners there After his discharge from the army (he was able to leave it without ever having to fight), in 314 after the course of catechumenate, he was baptised From that point on, he began leading an ascetic life, helping the poor and sick who passed his village In 317, finding crowds disturbing in his quest for holiness, he became a disciple of an anchorite named Palemon and took the habit. From then on, he led a life of extreme austerity and total dedication to God, combining manual labour with prayer After studying 7 years with Palemon, he set out to lead the life near St Anthony of Egypt, whose practices he imitated until he heard a voice that told him to build a dwelling for hermits Between 318 and 323, Pachomius established his first monastery at Tabennisi on the banks on Nile, where he lived in a cell, until the death of Palemon According to legend, an angel of God then appeared to him in the form of a schemamonk and gave him a Rule of monastic life St Silvanus in Tabennisi monastery at the time of St Pachomius Soon about 100 monks joined him there and he organised them on principles of community living – thus he was the first monk to organise hermits into groups with common property under the leadership of an abbot or abbess and write down a Rule for them. Until then, Christian asceticism had been solitary or eremitic with males or females living in individual huts or caves At first, he took the community’s administrative tasks upon himself, understanding the administrative pressures would be too much for those acquainted only with the eremitical life. The community members called him “Abba” (father), from which the word “abbot” derives While at first the monks earned their livelihood working for local farmers, this intermingling soon had a negative effect on discipline, and Pachomius later arranged that work be performed for the community only Among the tasks performed in these early monasteries were cultivating the garden, tending the sick and copying books. The monks were not allowed to possess their own money nor accept anything from their relatives. St Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer Among the first dwellers were his own brother John, and later his sister Maria, who at first didn’t like the strict ascetic life. However, she did as his brother had ordered and the monks built her a hut on the opposite site of the River Nile, thus laying the foundation of the first nunnery Later he established 10 other monasteries for men and 2 nunneries for women. From 336 on, St Pachomius spent most of his time at Pabau, in his second monastery Before his death, there were 7000 monks in his houses and his Order in the East survived until the 11th century. Within a generation, cenobic practices spread from Egypt to Palestine, Syria and North Africa Egypt at the time of “Desert Fathers”, depicting the sites of the first three monasteries of St Pachomius – in Tabennesis, Pabau (Phou) and Schenisit (Chenoboscion) as well as the city of Thebaid where he was converted to Christianity Though he sometimes acted as a lector, neither he nor any of his monks became priests. St Athanasius visited and wished to ordain him in 333 but Pachomius fled from him Basil of Caesarea also visited and took many of his ideas to be adapted and implemented in Caesarea. This ascetic rule is still used today by the Eastern Orthodox Church, comparable that of the Rule of St Benedict in the West Both St Basil and St Benedict drew from his Rule in setting forth their own Severe and strict towards himself, with a good work ethic, St Pachomius had great kindness toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks. For instance, one of the monks was eager for martyrdom but St Pachomius turned him from this desire and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience, taming his pride and training him in humility The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought Special love and care he devoted to sick monks whom he visited and cheered, urging them to be thankful to God and putting their hope in His holy will, also relaxing their fasting St Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God’s help and mercy. It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city, at no charge He once learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides. Prostrating himself upon the ground, St Pachomius then wept bitterly, calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them. He heard a Voice answer, “Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God. The monks of the future shall receive a reward, since they too shall have occasion to suffer the life burdensome for the monk.” 10 May – St John of Avila (1500-1569) Parton of Andalusia, Spain, Spanish secular clergy Was the spiritual advisor of St Teresa of Avila, St Francis Borgia, St John of the Cross and many others; he also corresponded with Ignatius of Loyola and John of God Was known for his fiery denunciations of earthly riches and evil, and his many sermons Tried to reform the clergy and catechise the laity, establishing several schools and colleges Left writings that have become Spanish classics, including “Audi, filia”, 82 sermons and spiritual conferences, biblical commentaries, 257 letters, and several treatises on reform Doctor of the Church since 2012 and “Apostle of Andalusia” for his extensive ministry in that region He is especially revered by the Jesuits Avila was beatified in 1893 and canonized in 1970 Life He was born in Spain to a wealthy and pious family of Jewish converso descent At 14, he was sent to the University of Salamanca to study law which he left in 1517 without receiving a degree Returning home, young John spent the next 3 years in austere piety until at the request of a Franciscan friar he resumed his studies in philosophy and theology at the University of Alcala de Henares where his teachers included the famous Dominican De Soto In 1526 he was ordained a priest, and since his parents had died, sold the family property and gave the proceeds to the poor, in preparation to go to Mexico as a missionary He travelled to Seville to wait for his departure scheduled for January 1527. While there, he caught the attention of a local priest with his skills in catechesis and preaching. He was thus recommended to the Archbishop of Seville, and as a result, John gave up his missionary plans There, he began writing his “Audi, filia” and soon disciples started gathering around him John’s first sermon in Seville was preached on 22 July 1529, immediately establishing his reputation. During 9 years of missionary work in Andalusia, crowds packed churches at all his sermons In 1532 he was imprisoned for his denunciation of the behaviour of the aristocracy and their wealth, but was declared innocent and released in 1533 By 1535, John had been incardinated into the Diocese of Cordoba, after which Cordoba became his base of directing his disciples and moving around Andalusia, preaching and establishing schools and colleges in cities of Granada, Baeza, Montilla and Zafra Around 1538 John is believed to have received the title of Master of Sacred Theology In 1538 the University of Baeza was established and John served as its first rector – this institution became a model for seminaries and schools of the Jesuits From 1551 on, his health started to deteriorate, and he began actively encouraging his disciples to join the Jesuits He died on 10 May 1569 and was buried in Cordoba in the Jesuit Church of the Incarnation that now serves as his main shrine 13 May – Our Lady of Fatima Is a Marian apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary that occurred at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917 to three shepherd children: Lucia Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto Lucia Santos with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta (1917) Before the apparitions, in 1916 the children were visited by an “Angel of Peace” on three occasions who taught them prayers, to make sacrifices, and to spend time in adoration of the Lord On 13 May 1917, the Lady appeared for the first time, holding a rosary.