Careful now, you know what they say about sourcing on Wikipedia... David :)
On Jun 4, 2014, at 4:05 AM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > Wikipedia > > Saint Simón de Rojas O.SS.T. (28 October 1552 - 29 September 1624) was a > Spanish priest of the Trinitarian Order known as the "Apostle of the Ave > Maria", for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.[1] A person of many > abilities, Simón was a theologian and a spiritual writer, as well as a friend > and benefactor of the poor. > > > Born 28 October 1552, in Valladolid, Spain, he lived a childhood steeped in > piety. As a child, Simón was cured of a serious speech impediment through his > devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His very first words were "Ave > Maria",[2] almost foreshadowing his lifelong devotion to the Virgin. At the > age of twelve he entered the Trinitarian monastery at Valladolid and there he > made his religious profession on 28 October 1572, the day of his 20th > birthday. He then went on to study at the University of Salamanca from 1573 > to 1579, during which time he was ordained a priest in 1577. > > > Father Simón taught philosophy and theology at Toledo from 1581 to 1587. From > 1588 until his death he fulfilled the office of superior in various > monasteries of his province and was sent as apostolic visitor twice to his > own province of Castilla, and once to that of Andalusia. His greatest joy was > to visit Marian shrines, to pray to Mary and with Mary, to imitate her > virtues, to sing her praises, to acknowledge her importance in the mystery of > God and of the Church. Through profound theological studies, he came to > understand even better the mission of Mary in cooperation with the Trinity > for the salvation of the human race and the sanctification of the Church. He > lived his religious vows in the imitation of Mary. He held that, for everyone > to be completely of God, as Mary had been, it was necessary to become her > slaves, or better, slaves of God in Mary; for this reason he established the > Congregation of the Slaves of Mary for the greater glory of the Trinity, in > praise of the Virgin, in the service of the poor. For him, to be a slave of > Mary meant belonging totally to her: "Totus tuus" in order to unite oneself > more intimately to Christ and in Him through the Spirit, to the Father. > During this period Father Simón began to serve the Spanish queen, Margaret of > Austria, as confessor. When in 1611 she fell gravely ill following > childbirth, becoming comatose, her husband King Philip III feared that she > would be unable to receive the sacraments before dying. Father Simón then > came to her bedside. After he had greeted her with the words, "Ave Maria, > Señora" ("Hail Mary, my lady"), she instantly became conscious and answered > him, "Gratia plena, Padre Rojas" ("Full of grace, Father Rojas"). Father > Rojas was thereupon able to administer to her the anointing of the sick and > Viaticum before she died. On 14 April 1612 he founded the Congregation of the > Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary.[3] In 1619, he was named tutor to the royal > princes of Spain and on 12 May 1621 he was elected provincial of Castilla. > These two posts were only accepted by Father Simón on the condition that he > be able to continue his work with the poor, and remaining faithful to the > Trinitarian charism. Whilst working in the court Father Simón had thousands > of images of the Most Holy Virgin printed with the inscription: "Ave Maria", > which he also sent abroad. He had rosaries made with seventy-two blue beads > on a white cord, symbols of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception, and > also a reminder that Mary, according to the belief of the time, lived to the > age of 72 years. He sent these rosaries everywhere, even to England (at that > time a Protestant nation). Using his influence at court, he had the angelic > greeting so dear to him, "Ave Maria", engraved in letters of gold on the > facade of the royal palace in Madrid. Later, on 1 January 1622, he was chosen > confessor of Queen Isabel of Borbon. On 5 June 1622, he petitioned the Holy > See for the approval of his liturgical text composed in honour of the Sweet > Name of Mary, which later, Pope Innocent XI extended to the universal Church. > He died in Madrid on 29 September 1624. > > > After his death on 29 September 1624, the honours bestowed on him at his > funeral took on the aspect of an anticipated canonisation. For twelve days, > the most renowned preachers of Madrid exalted his virtues and his holiness. > Impressed with this unanimous veneration, on 8 October 1624, the papal nuncio > ordered the beginning of the process leading to his beatification by the > Church. His heroic virtues were recognised by Pope Clement XII on 25 March > 1735. Father Simón was beatified by Pope Clement XIII on 19 March 1766. On 3 > July 1988, just before the close of the Marian Year, he was finally canonised > by Pope John Paul II. > > > St. Simón is often depicted by painters, with the greeting "Ave Maria" on his > lips. The congregation founded by St. Simón, Congregation of the Slaves of > the Sweet Name of Mary (also known as the Congregation of the Slaves of Mary > or the Congregation of the Most Holy Name of Mary), was intended for the > laity; persons of every social class could join. The members, who included > the king and his children, dedicated themselves to honour Mary by giving > maternal help to her favourite children, the poor. This work still continues > in Spain. St. Simón, who is held to be one of the greatest contemplatives of > his time and who in his work, "The Greatness of Prayer" is clearly a great > instructor of prayerful souls, wanted the contemplative dimension joined to > the active through works of mercy. > > > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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