The Latin name of today’s feast in the Tridentine Missal and Breviary is “Sancti Petri ad Vincula”, which is translated literally as “the feast of St Peter at the chains”, not “the feast of St Peter’s chains” or “of St Peter in chains.” This title is found in the oldest liturgical books which attest to it, and even earlier, in the list of the station churches given by the lectionary of Wurzburg, from the mid-seventh century. (Stations are kept there on the Mondays of the first week of Lent and the Pentecost octave.)

The beginning of the calendar for August in the Echternach Sacramentary. (895 A.D.; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, Latin 9433) “On the Kalends of August, (the feast of) St Peter at the chains, and the birth of the seven Maccabee brothers with their mother.”

Like many specifically Roman feasts, it began as the dedication feast of a basilica, which in this case is located on the Esquiline hill, within sight of the Colosseum. When a city has more than one church dedicated to the same Saint, they are often distinguished from each other by nicknames; the appellation “at the chains” would therefore serve to distinguish it from the Vatican basilica. Its great antiquity is demonstrated by the fact that it was restored by Pope Sixtus III in the 430s; an inscription which records the restoration mentions that the building was already considered old, and that the Pope re-dedicated it to both Apostolic founders of the See of Rome.

The breviary refers very obliquely to a tradition stated more explicitly in the Golden Legend and elsewhere, namely, that the Romans dedicated the month of August to honoring the Emperor Augustus’ memory, and that this second feast of St Peter was created to supplant this holiday. It is true that the Latin names for the seventh and eighth months of the year were originally “Quintilis” and “Sextilis”, and that the Emperor Augustus renamed the former for his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, and the latter for himself. However, it is not likely that the cult of “the divine Augustus” was so vibrant in the mid-5th century as to require serious opposition from the Church. There are 32 days between June 29th, St Peter’s principal feast day, and August 1st; this perhaps suggests the tradition that Peter was bishop of Antioch for seven years, and bishop of Rome for twenty-five, a total of 32 as the visible head of the Church, one less than the 33 years of Our Lord’s earthly life.

The breviary lessons for the feast day also give the traditional story of the church’s famous relic. When the Empress Eudocia, the wife of Theodosius II, went to Jerusalem in the year 438, she received as a gift the chain by which St Peter was held in prison under King Herod, as narrated in the Epistle of the feast day, Acts 12, 1-11. She then sent it to her daughter Eudoxia in Rome, who in turn presented it to the Pope. When it was exposed for the veneration of the faithful together with the chain by which Peter had been held during his imprisonment in Rome under the Emperor Nero, the two chains were miraculously united, so as to appear to be a single chain.

For more go to:  http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2020/08/liturgical-notes-on-feast-of-st-peters.html#.XyYJPTV7ncs

He was buried in the Bucci family tomb in Corato, where the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta was buried until 1963. On July 3, 1963 Luisa’s body was moved inside the Church Santa Maria Greca, Corato, Italy.

Born in Corato June 15, 1935 – He grew to know Luisa from a young boy and saw many Miracles around her and was prophesied to become a priest by Luisa.

Ordained March 14, 1964 in the Capuchin Church of Triggiano, Italy by his Excellency Mgr. Nicodemo, Archbishop of Bari.

Padre Bucci’s beloved Aunt Rosaria Bucci (1898-1978), for most of her life personally cared for the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. She instrumentally and tirelessly promoted the beginnings of the Cause of Luisa at the Spiritual Direction of St. Padre Pio.  Rosaria personally gave to Padre Bucci Volumes 35 and 36 from the book of Heaven, original Volumes that did not go to the Vatican at the time of confiscation. Fr. Bucci was the first priest to read and study and put into practice the Truths given to Luisa from Jesus.

Our Lady, Santa Maria Greca, The Protectress of Corato, has shown a GREAT LIGHT to us, as he passed on the eve of the Feast of Santa Maria Greca, with his Funeral Mass being offered in Bari on her Feast day. 

Santa Maria Greca

Pray for Padre Bucci, for the Church and all souls! 

Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta

Pray for Padre Bucci, the Church and all souls!

Rosaria Bucci and all Saints and Angels

Pray for the Church and all souls!

 Padre Bucci pray for us! We love you in the Fiat!

BEAUTIFUL SUFFRAGE THROUGH LUISA…

V12 – 3.14.19 – “Once you did for me a beautiful suffrage.  If you knew the Good you did to me, the Refreshment that I felt, the years that I paid off….”  And I:  ‘I Luisa, don’t remember.  Tell me what it was, and I will repeat it for you.’  And he:  “You Immersed yourself in the Divine Volition, and took Its Power, the Immensity of Its Love, the Immense Value of the Pains of the Son of God and of All the Divine Qualities.  You came over me and Poured them upon me; and as you Poured them, I received the Bath of the Love that the Divine Power contains, the Bath of the Beauty, the Bath of the Blood of Jesus, and of All the Divine Qualities.  Who can tell you the Good you did to me?  They were all Baths which contained a Divine Power and Immensity.  Repeat it for me – repeat it for me.”

V19 – 6.21.26 – This morning, having received Holy Communion, I received It as usual in the Most Holy Will of God, offering It to my dear Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) – not only the Communion, but all the Goods contained in the Most Holy Will of God, for his accidental glory.  Now, while doing this, I saw that all the Goods contained in the Supreme Volition, like many Rays of Light, Rays of Beauty and of multiple Colors, Inundated the dear Saint (Fr. Bucci) , giving him an Infinite glory. 

 V26 – 6.27.29 – Having received Holy Communion, I was offering It for the glory of Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) , and I offered, as a present for him, everything that Our Lord had done in His Divine Will with His Mind, with His Words, Works and Steps, for the accidental glory of Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) on his feast day.  Now, while I was doing this, my Sweet Jesus, Moving in my interior, told me:  “My daughter, a more Beautiful Present you could not give to dear Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) on the day of his feast.  As you were offering your Communion and all My Acts done in My Divine Will, So Many SUNS were Formed for as many Acts as I did in It while being on earth; and these SUNS Invested Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) , in such a way that he received so much accidental glory from the earth, that he could not receive more.  Only the Offerings of Acts done In My Divine Will have the Virtue of Forming their SUNS, because, containing the Fullness of Light, it is no wonder that It Converts into SUNS the human acts done in It.”

FIAT!!!

Let us keep Padre Bucci in our prayers

May he rest in Peace…Amen.

Father Bernardino Giuseppe Bucci was born in Corato on 15 June 1935.

In 1955, he entered the Novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Alessano, in the Province of Lecce and completed his philosophical studies at the Studentate in Scorrano. On 14 March 1964, in the Capuchin church of Triggiano, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Nicodemo of Bari.

He was sent to the International College in Rome to specialize in Missionary Theology. When he returned to his Province, he was appointed Spiritual Director of the Seraphic Seminary of Scorrano. He studied for a licentiate and a doctorate, taking the course at the Ecumenical Faculty of St. Nicholas of Bari; where at the same time, in 1972, he acquired a degree in Literature.

As co-founder of the Association of the Divine Will, he spent many years as the spiritual adviser of the Association which was canonically erected in Corato on March 4, 1987. He was a member of the Tribunal for the Cause for Beatification of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarretta, which was opened on the Feast of Christ the King, 1994, in the main church of Corato by Archbishop Carmello Cassati.

GREATEST GLORY PADRE BUCCI CAN RECEIVE FROM THE EARTH

V19 – 6.21.26
This morning, having received Holy Communion, I received It as usual in the Most Holy Will of God, offering It to my Dear Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) – not only the Communion, but all the Goods contained in the Most Holy Will of God, for his accidental Glory.  Now, while doing this, I saw that all the Goods contained in the Supreme Volition, like many Rays of Light, Rays of Beauty and of Multiple Colors, Inundated the Dear Saint (Fr. Bucci)  , giving him an Infinite Glory. 

V26 – 6.27.29
Having received Holy Communion, I was offering It for the Glory of Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) , and I offered, as a Present for him, everything that Our Lord had done in His Divine Will with His Mind, with His Words, Works and Steps, for the accidental Glory of Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) on his Feast Day.  Now, while I was doing this, my Sweet Jesus, moving in my interior, told me:  “My daughter, a More Beautiful Present you could not give to Dear Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) on the Day of his Feast.  As you were offering your Communion and all My Acts Done in My Divine Will, So Many Suns were Formed for as Many Acts as I Did in It while being on earth; and these Suns Invested Saint Aloysius (Fr. Bucci) , in Such a Way that he Received So Much accidental Glory from the earth, that he could not Receive More.  Only the Offerings of Acts Done in My Divine Will have the Virtue of Forming their Suns, because, containing the Fullness of Light, it is no wonder that It Converts into Suns the human acts Done in It.”

FIAT!!!

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Model of Fidelity Against Religious Persecution

  “Today the Church needs saints. This calls for our combating our attachment to comforts that lead us to choose a comfortable and insignificant mediocrity. Each one of us has the possibility to be a saint, and the way to holiness is prayer. Holiness is, for each of us, a simple duty.” St. Mother Teresa

The true American heroes are not sport or entertainment figures, but Catholic saints. We should turn our “lonely eyes” to them and follow their good examples, virtues and works. They are our true friends and are alive in heaven with God. They are models of holiness for us. They can help us just like friends on earth by their prayerful intercession on our behalf. They give us courage and hope.

July 14 is the feast of one of our saints of the states, St. Kateri Tekakwitha. Let our nation turn its lonely eyes to her for courage and hope. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her at St. Peter’s square in Vatican City October 21, 2012.

The blood of the martyrs is often the water that sprouts the seed of the Catholic faith. The blood of the only martyrs of the United States, Saints Isaac Jogues, Rene Goupil and Jean de la Lande, watered the seed of the faith in the Mohawk Village at Auriesville, New York. Kateri Tekakwitha was born there in 1656, ten years after they were martyred there.

Kateri’s Baptism

Kateri lived in the Mohawk Village with her uncle, the chief of the Turtle Clan, after her parents died from smallpox when she was four. The smallpox left her disfigured with impaired vision. “Tekakwitha” in Mohawk means “one who puts things in order” or “one who feels her way”, because Kateri had to feel her way with her poor eyesight in the darkened lodges. She often stayed in the Longhouse because the sunlight hurt her eyes.

She fell in love with Jesus and decided to remain a virgin. Virginity was unheard of amongst the Indians and they pressured her to marry and to work on Sunday, but she refused to do so. When they connived to have her lodge visited by a young warrior in the hopes of their union, she turned him out. Then the Indians treated her as a slave and put her to work for the village.

In 1666, the French attacked and burned down Kateri’s village. The Mohawks built a new village on the north side of the Mohawk River at Fonda (Caughnawaga), New York. Here Kateri first  heard of the Catholic faith from Father Jacques de Lamberville, a French Jesuit, who occasionally visited her village at St. Peter’s Mission. He baptized her on April 18, 1676 and she took the name Catherine that the Mohawks pronounced “Kateri”.

The other Mohawks persecuted her for her faith. They mocked her devotion to Our Lady and her recitation of the Rosary. Kateri was not deterred, but to avoid the persecution she escaped in 1677 with some companions from the village to Canada. She trekked north through New York and paddled Lake Champlain to Sault Saint-Louis, a Christian Indian Mission near Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. Her journey took over two weeks, traveling by foot and canoe about three hundred miles through woods, rivers, swamps and lakes.

 The Lily of the Mohawks 

At the Mission, Kateri lived a life dedicated to prayer, penitential practices and care for the sick and aged. Her day at the Mission began at 4 a.m. each morning in church where she remained for several hours of prayer and Masses. She helped the sick and the poor. She formed a group called the Slavery of the Blessed Virgin and they fasted and endured exposure to the cold in the woods as acts of penance. On March 25, 1679, Kateri was permitted to make a vow of perpetual virginity.

Kateri was a half-blind, pockmarked orphan Indian maiden. She was little more than a slave in her own clan, but in God’s eyes she was His pure daughter and a model for her race. Many Indians followed her good example and converted. Kateri received the Eucharist with the greatest devotion. Father Pierre Cholenec, who prepared her for her First Communion said, “Only God knows what passed between Himself and His dear Spouse.”

Kateri attended daily Masses at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and visited the Blessed Sacrament five times daily, after her daily visitations to the sick and the poor. During her own last sickness, she dragged herself to Mass until she could no longer walk. She died at the age of 24 on April 17, 1680 in the presence of Father Cholenec and all of her pox marks disappeared. He said that at the time of her death Kateri’s face “… so disfigured and so swarthy in life, suddenly changed about fifteen minutes after her death, and in an instant became so beautiful and so fair that just as soon as I saw it (I was praying by her side) I let out a yell, I was so astonished.”

Two hundred and ninety three years later on the very same date, April 17, 1973, young Peter McCauley’s hearing was spontaneously restored through Kateri’s intercession. This was the miracle that led to her beatification by Pope John Paul II on June 22, 1980.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized Kateri on October 21, 2012. He called St. Kateri the “protectress of Canada and the first Native American saint” and he entrusted to her “the renewal of the faith in the First Nations and in all of North America.”

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, who is of American Indian descent, said, “I think many young people today are embarrassed about embracing the Catholic faith because they live in a secular culture that’s hostile toward religious experience. St. Kateri also grew up in a place where there was great hostility toward Christianity, but she resisted all efforts to turn her away from her faith, so in some ways she would be a model of fidelity in the face of persecution on religious freedom grounds.”

Kateri’s Feast Day is July 14. Because of her purity, she is known as the “Lily of the Mohawks.”