Praised be Jesus and Mary. In the
Franciscan calendar today we celebrate
the feast of Saint Felix of Cantilice.
He was born in the year 1515 of humble
and pious parents and as a boy he tended
cattle and later became a farm laborer
and his hard work didn't make him coarse
and worldly minded as sometimes happens
but you know he was always gentle and
kind to everyone. When he came home at
night all tired out he still spent much
of his time
in his room at prayer and he was
grieved that he he wasn't able to attend
Holy Mass on weekdays. He would have
gladly consecrated himself his whole
life to the service of God but he
couldn't see any way in carrying out his
desire until one day there was a an
accident.
That gave him that opportunity. He had
to break in a team of young oxen to the
plow and they were very wild and the
oxen shied and when Felix tried to stop
him, stop them, they ran him down dragging
the sharp plowshare across his body and
the peasants ran over to the scene
certain that they would find him dead.
but he got up unharmed with only his jacket torn,
and he went straight to the employer
and begged to be released from his service.
And the little he possessed, he gave to the poor
and went to the nearest Capuchin friary
where he begged for admission.
And after a trial period, his request was granted.
And now he felt newly born,
as if heaven itself had opened up to him.
But as novitiate, he was to experience the burden
and the burden of the world.
The struggles of this earthly life.
The devil attacked him with violent temptations of all kinds,
and he was also seized with a lingering illness
which made it appear that he was unfit for community life.
But his patience and self-control and prayer,
and his openness toward his superiors,
helped him to be admitted to vows,
which he took with great fervor.
And soon afterwards, they sent him
to the Capuchin friary in Rome,
where he was appointed to the task of gathering alms,
which he did for the next 42 years.
And he went about so humbly and reserved that he,
he had to fight everyone.
He had a, when he received an alms,
he had such a heartfelt way of saying Deo gratius,
that the people called him Brother Deo gratius.
And poverty was his favorite virtue
because our Holy Father, Saint Francis,
loved Lady Poverty so much.
And Saint Francis forbade his friars
to accept money in any form.
And Brother Felix could never be prevailed upon
to accept money under any circumstances.
And once, when leaving a house,
he slung the sack over his shoulder,
but felt it weighed so heavily upon him,
it almost crushed him.
And he searched for it, and he found it, and he found it.
And he searched for it, and he found it, and he found it.
And he searched for it, and he found it, and he found it.
And he searched for it, and he found it.
And he searched for it, and he, he searched the sack
and found a coin that someone
had secretly slipped into it.
And he, he threw it away with disgust
and he easily took up his sack again.
So Almighty God granted Saint Felix
some very extraordinary graces.
As many sick people were restored to health
with the sign of the cross.
With the sign of the cross.
With the sign of the cross.
With the sign of the cross.
there was a dead child that he gave back alive to its mother
and in the most
puzzling cases he was able to give helpful
advice. He died while
catching sight of Our Lady who invited him
to the joys of heaven. That was on the
Feast of Pentecost, May 18th
1587. Pope
Urban VIII beatified him in 1625
and Pope Clement IX canonized
him in 1712.
So let us
pray to St. Felix, a very humble
lay brother who loved God
and Our Lady.
Let us ask him to help us do the same.