Show Notes
It's the Feast of St. Wenceslaus, 3rd Class, with the color of Red. In this episode: the meditation: "Spiritual Paralysis", today's news from the Church: "Jesus, Doctor of Souls", a preview of the Sermon: "The Vocation of Charity: Christ's Blood Changes Everything", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? [email protected] Sources Used Today:
"Spiritual Paralysis" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption
"Jesus, Doctor of Souls" (FSSPX.news) https://fsspx.news/en/news/vienna-holy-name-mary-resounds-streets-61288
"The Vocation of Charity: Christ's Blood Changes Everything" (SSPX Sermons) SSPX YouTube: Sermons Playlist Listen & Subscribe: SSPX Sermons Podcast
The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press) https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop
Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook: Learn more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook
Saint Simon de Rojas became famous for a prayer containing only 2 Latin words.
Ave Maria.
He loved the name of Mary so much that those words seemed to follow him everywhere.
Simon was born in Valladolid, Spain, in 1552. According to tradition, he was unusually slow to begin speaking as a child, which worried his parents. When he finally did speak clearly, the first words attributed to him were "Ave Maria."
Whether that happened exactly as later tradition remembered it or not, it certainly predicted the rest of his life.
Simon entered the Trinitarian Order, the community originally founded to ransom Christians held captive in Muslim territories. He was intelligent, became a priest, studied theology, and eventually taught philosophy and theology himself.
But Simon's real gift was dealing with people.
He became a celebrated preacher and confessor and eventually attracted the attention of the Spanish royal family. King Philip III and later Philip IV trusted him enough that Simon became connected with the royal court and served as spiritual adviser to members of the family.
That's usually where court life gets comfortable.
Simon somehow made it uncomfortable instead.
He used his access to the wealthy to talk constantly about the poor. Money and gifts given to him had a habit of disappearing into the hands of struggling families, prisoners, and people living on the streets of Madrid.
He became especially concerned about poor children and founded charitable works to provide them with food and education.
But the devotion that defined Simon was his love for the Holy Name of Mary.
He wanted people to develop the habit of calling upon Our Lady throughout the day, so he promoted the simple greeting "Ave Maria" everywhere he went. He even founded the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary to spread Marian devotion and care for the poor.
Simon apparently greeted people with "Ave Maria" rather than the ordinary greetings of the day.
Eventually people began calling him the Apostle of the Ave Maria.
There's something wonderfully simple about that.
Simon was a theologian. He advised kings. He held important positions in his religious order.
Yet the message people remembered was basically:
Say Mary's name.
Remember her.
Ask her to lead you to Christ.
Simon died in Madrid in 1624. His reputation for holiness was so strong that enormous crowds came to honor him, including members of the royal court and many of the poor whom he had served.
His story fits beautifully near the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Simon understood that sometimes the shortest prayers are the ones we can carry with us everywhere.
Three words were enough for him.
Saint Simon de Rojas, Apostle of the Ave Maria and friend of the poor, pray for us.
Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>
- - - - - - Explore more:
Subscribe to
More from Traditional Catholic Daily Devotional
It's a Feria, 4th Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: today in Church History: "October 22, 1962 — Vatican II Begins Debating the Sacred Liturgy", the meditation: "The Imitation of Jesus Christ", today's news from the Church: "Cardinal Zuppi: The Reassuring Face of Modernism", a preview of the Sermon: "What Does It Mean to Forgive?", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
It's a Feria, 4th Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: "A Difficult Law", today's news from the Church: "The Cardinals Who Have Lost Their Way", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
It's the Feast of St. John Cantius, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "The Forgiveness of Injuries", today's news from the Church: "Cardinal Roche Rules Out Any Return to Freedom for the Traditional Mass", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
It's the Feast of St. Peter of Alcantara, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "The Bankrupt Servant", today's news from the Church: "Leo XIV Revives the Assisi Scandal of 1986", a preview of the Sermon: "The Miracle of the Sun and the Reality of Hell", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
It's the Feast of XXI Sun of Pentecost / St. Luke, 2nd Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: "Divine Mercy", today's news from the Church: "The Appeal Against the Decree of Excommunication is Ongoing in Rome", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.