Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog: Martyr, Psalms 113:1-8, Acts 1:15-26, John 17:11-19, Pope Francis Daily Homily - Don't be a part-time Christian, St Dymphna, Geel Belgium, Catholic Catechism Part Two: THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH - Chapter 3 Sacraments of Service at Communion Article 6:5 The Sacrament of Holy Orders - Who can Confer this Sacrament

Wednesday,  May 15, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:

Martyr, Psalms 113:1-8, Acts 1:15-26, John 17:11-19, Pope Francis Daily Homily - Don't be a part-time Christian, St Dymphna, Geel Belgium, Catholic Catechism Part Two: THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH - Chapter 3 Sacraments of Service at Communion Article 6:5 The Sacrament of Holy Orders -  Who can Confer this Sacrament

Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013

P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.

The world begins and ends everyday for someone.  We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will, make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in Heaven. The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and lost to eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes from this earth to the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013

"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012

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Prayers for Today: Wednesday in Easter

Rosary - Glorious Mysteries

Divine Mercy Chaplet

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 Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)

Pope Francis May 15 General Audience Address :

Egoism leads nowhere. Love, however, frees...

(2013-05-15 Vatican Radio)

In preparation for the Feast of Pentecost and in the context of the Year of Faith catechesis on the Creed, Pope Francis dedicated his Wednesday audience to the action that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in us, in guiding us to the Truth.

He said “In this Year of Faith let us ask ourselves if we have actually taken a few steps to get to know Christ and the truths of faith more, by reading and meditating on the Scriptures, studying the Catechism, steadily approaching the Sacraments. But at the same time let us ask ourselves what steps we are taking so that the faith directs our whole existence. Do not be a ‘part-time” Christian, at certain moments, in certain circumstances, in certain choices, be Christian at all times! The truth of Christ, that the Holy Spirit teaches us and gives us, always and forever involves our daily lives. Let us invoke him more often, to guide us on the path of Christ's disciples”.

Ahead of the audience the Holy father released two white doves into the sky over St Peter’s Square, presented to him by pilgrims.

And in a moment of dialogue with the crowd, estimated at 100 thousand this Wednesday, Pope Francis asked them to pray to Holy Spirit every day. "Will you do it?" he asked, the crowd answered "yes". The Pope was not content however, and again said : "I can’t hear you!", to which the crowd shouted even louder “YES!”.

In his greetings in Italian, finally, Pope Francis announced his desire to visit Cagliari, Sardinia, and in particular the shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria "probably in September'. The Pope also explained that there is a strong bond between the sanctuary and "his" Buenos Aires, due to the fact that the sailors who brought the founder of the city to Argentina were Sardinian and they wanted the city to be named after their Patron Saint, which from Our Lady of Bonaria [Fair Winds] became, over time, Buenos Aires.

Below a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s general audience catechesis Wednesday May 15, 2013:

Dear brothers and sisters, good day!

Today I want to focus on the action that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in guiding the Church and each one of us to the Truth. Jesus says to his disciples: the Holy Spirit, “he will guide you to all truth" (Jn 16:13), he himself being "the Spirit of truth" (cf. Jn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).We live in an age rather skeptical of truth. Benedict XVI has spoken many times of relativism, that is, the tendency to believe that nothing is definitive, and think that the truth is given by consent or by what we want. The question arises: does "the" truth really exist? What is "the" truth? Can we know it? Can we find it? Here I am reminded of the question of the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate when Jesus reveals the profound meaning of his mission: "What is truth?" (Jn 18,37.38). Pilate does not understand that "the" Truth is in front of him, he cannot see in Jesus the face of the truth, which is the face of God yet, Jesus is just that: the Truth, which, in the fullness of time, "became flesh" (Jn 1,1.14), came among us so that we may know it. You cannot grab the truth as if it were an object, you encounter it. It is not a possession, is an encounter with a Person.

But who helps us recognize that Jesus is "the" Word of truth, the only begotten Son of God the Father? St. Paul teaches that "no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3). It is the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Risen Christ, that helps us recognize the Truth. Jesus calls him the "Paraclete", meaning "the one who comes to our aid," who is by our side to support us in this journey of knowledge, and at the Last Supper, Jesus assures his disciples that the Holy Spirit will teach them all things , reminding them of his words (cf. Jn 14:26).

What is then the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the Church to guide us to the truth? First of all, remind and imprint on the hearts of believers the words that Jesus said, and precisely through these words, God’s law - as the prophets of the Old Testament had announced - is inscribed in our hearts and becomes within us a principle of evaluation in our choices and of guidance in our daily actions, it becomes a principle of life. Ezekiel’s great prophecy is realized: "I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. …I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them"(36:25-27). Indeed, our actions are born from deep within: it is the heart that needs to be converted to God, and the Holy Spirit transforms it if we open ourselves to Him

The Holy Spirit, then, as Jesus promises, guides us "into all truth" (Jn 16:13) he leads us not only to an encounter with Jesus, the fullness of Truth, but guides us "into" the Truth, that is, he helps us enter into a deeper communion with Jesus himself, gifting us knowledge of the things of God. We cannot achieve this on our own strengths. If God does not enlightens us interiorly, our being Christians will be superficial. The Tradition of the Church affirms that the Spirit of truth acts in our hearts, provoking that "sense of faith" (sensus fidei), through which, as the Second Vatican Council affirms, the People of God, under the guidance of the Magisterium, adheres unwaveringly to the faith given once and for all to the saints,(113) penetrates it more deeply with right thinking, and applies it more fully in its life (cf. Dogmatic Constitution. Lumen gentium, 12). Let's ask ourselves: are we open to the Holy Spirit, do I pray to him to enlighten me, to make me more sensitive to the things of God? And this is a prayer we need to pray every day, every day: Holy Spirit may my heart be open to the Word of God, may my heart be open to good, may my heart be open to the beauty of God, every day. But I would like to ask a question to all of you: How many of you pray every day to the Holy Spirit? Eh, a few of you I bet, eh! Well, a few, few, a few, but we realise this wish of Jesus, pray every day for the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to Jesus

We think of Mary who "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Lk 2,19.51). The reception of the words and the truths of faith so that they become life, is realized and grows under the action of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, we must learn from Mary, reliving her "yes", her total availability to receive the Son of God in her life, and who from that moment was transformed. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son come to dwell in us: do we live in God and of God, is our life really animated by God? How many things do I put before God?

Dear brothers and sisters, we need to let ourselves be imbued with the light of the Holy Spirit, so that He introduces us into the Truth of God, who is the only Lord of our lives. In this Year of Faith let us ask ourselves if we have actually taken a few steps to get to know Christ and the truths of faith more, by reading and meditating on the Scriptures, studying the Catechism, steadily approaching the Sacraments. But at the same time let us ask ourselves what steps we are taking so that the faith directs our whole existence. Do not be a ‘part-time” Christian, at certain moments, in certain circumstances, in certain choices, be Christian at all times! The truth of Christ, that the Holy Spirit teaches us and gives us, always and forever involves our daily lives. Let us invoke him more often, to guide us on the path of Christ's disciples.

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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: May

Vatican City, 3 April 2013 (VIS)
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father in the month May, 2013:

MAY

18 May, Saturday: 6:00pm, Pentecost Vigil in St. Peter's Square with the participation of ecclesial movements.

19 May, Pentecost Sunday: 10:00am, Mass in St. Peter's Square with the participation of ecclesial movements.

Reference: 

• Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 05/15/2013.

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May 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, I am calling you to love and not to judge. My Son, according to the will of the Heavenly Father, was among you to show you the way of salvation, to save you and not to judge you. If you desire to follow my Son, you will not judge but love like your Heavenly Father loves you. And when it is the most difficult for you, when you are falling under the weight of the cross do not despair, do not judge, instead remember that you are loved and praise the Heavenly Father because of His love. My children, do not deviate from the way on which I am leading you. Do not recklessly walk into perdition. May prayer and fasting strengthen you so that you can live as the Heavenly Father would desire; that you may be my apostles of faith and love; that your life may bless those whom you meet; that you may be one with the Heavenly Father and my Son. My children, that is the only truth, the truth that leads to your conversion, and then to the conversion of all those whom you meet - those who have not come to know my Son - all those who do not know what it means to love. My children, my Son gave you a gift of the shepherds. Take good care of them. Pray for them. Thank you."

April 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World:: "Dear children! Pray, pray, keep praying until your heart opens in faith as a flower opens to the warm rays of the sun. This is a time of grace which God gives you through my presence but you are far from my heart, therefore, I call you to personal conversion and to family prayer. May Sacred Scripture always be an incentive for you. I bless you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call."

April 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I am calling you to be one with my Son in spirit. I am calling you, through prayer, and the Holy Mass when my Son unites Himself with you in a special way, to try to be like Him; that, like Him, you may always be ready to carry out God's will and not seek the fulfillment of your own. Because, my children, it is according to God's will that you are and that you exist, and without God's will you are nothing. As a mother I am asking you to speak about the glory of God with your life because, in that way, you will also glorify yourself in accordance to His will. Show humility and love for your neighbour to everyone. Through such humility and love, my Son saved you and opened the way for you to the Heavenly Father. I implore you to keep opening the way to the Heavenly Father for all those who have not come to know Him and have not opened their hearts to His love. By your life, open the way to all those who still wander in search of the truth. My children, be my apostles who have not lived in vain. Do not forget that you will come before the Heavenly Father and tell Him about yourself. Be ready! Again I am warning you, pray for those whom my Son called, whose hands He blessed and whom He gave as a gift to you. Pray, pray, pray for your shepherds. Thank you." 

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Today's Word:  Martyr  mar·tyr  [mahr-ter]  

Origin:  before 900;  (noun) Middle English marter, Old English martyr  < Late Latin  < Late Greek mártyr,  variant of Greek mártys, mártyros  witness; (v.) Middle English martiren, Old English martyrian,  derivative of noun
 

noun

1. a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her religion.

2. a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause: a martyr to the cause of social justice.

3. a person who undergoes severe or constant suffering: a martyr to severe headaches.

4. a person who seeks sympathy or attention by feigning or exaggerating pain, deprivation, etc.

verb (used with object)

5. to make a martyr of, especially by putting to death.

6. to torment or torture.

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Today's Old Testament Reading -   Psalms 68:29-36

²⁹ from your temple high above Jerusalem. Kings will come to you bearing tribute.

³⁰ Rebuke the Beast of the Reeds, that herd of bulls, that people of calves, who bow down with ingots of silver. Scatter the people who delight in war.

³³ the Rider of the Heavens, the primeval heavens.Pause There he speaks, with a voice of power!

³⁴ Acknowledge the power of God. Over Israel his splendour, in the clouds his power.

³⁵ Awesome is God in his sanctuary. He, the God of Israel, gives strength and power to his people. Blessed be God.

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Today's Epistle -  Acts 20:28-38

²⁸ 'Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the guardians, to feed the Church of God which he bought with the blood of his own Son.

²⁹ 'I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock.

³⁰ Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them.

³¹ So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never slackened in counselling each one of you with tears.

³² And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.

³³ 'I have never asked anyone for money or clothes;

³⁴ you know for yourselves that these hands of mine earned enough to meet my needs and those of my companions.

³⁵ By every means I have shown you that we must exert ourselves in this way to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, "There is more happiness in giving than in receiving." '

³⁶ When he had finished speaking he knelt down with them all and prayed.

³⁷ By now they were all in tears; they put their arms round Paul's neck and kissed him;

³⁸ what saddened them most was his saying they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.

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Today's Gospel Reading - John 17:11b-19

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfill the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.

Reflection

• We are now in the Novena of Pentecost, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given only to those who ask for it in prayer (Lk 11, 13). In the Cenacle, during nine days, from the Ascension to Pentecost, the Apostles persevered in prayer together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Ac 1, 14). This is why they obtained the abundance of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2, 4). Today’s Gospel continues to place before us the Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It is a very, very opportune text to prepare ourselves during these days to the coming of the Holy Spirit in our life.

• John 17, 11b-12: Keep them in your name! Jesus transforms his concern into prayer: “Keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us!” Everything which Jesus does in his life, he does it in the Name of God. Jesus is the manifestation of the Name of God. The Name of God is Yahweh, JHWH. In the time of Jesus, this name was pronounced saying Adonai, Kyrios, Lord. In the discourse of Pentecost, Peter says that Jesus because of his Resurrection was constituted Lord: “For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified”. (Ac 2, 36). And Paul says that this has been done so that “every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God, the Father” (Ph 2, 11). It is the Name which is above all other names” (Ph 2, 9). JHWH or Yahweh, the Name of God, received a concrete face in Jesus of Nazareth! Unity has to be constituted around this name: Keep those you have given me true to your name so that they may be one like us. Jesus wants the unity of the communities, in such a way that they can resist before the world which hates them and persecutes them. The people united around the Name of Jesus will never be conquered!

• John 17, 13-16: That they may share my joy to the full. Jesus is bidding farewell. In a short time he will go away. The disciples continue in the world, they will be persecuted, they will be afflicted. Because of this, they are sad. Jesus wants that their joy may be full. They want to continue to be in the world without being of or belonging to the world. This means, concretely, to live in the system of the Empire, whether liberal or Roman, without allowing themselves to be contaminated. Like Jesus and with Jesus they should live in the contrary direction of the world.

• John 17, 17-19: As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. Jesus asks that they be consecrated in truth. That is, that they may be capable to dedicate their whole life giving witness of their convictions concerning Jesus and God the Father. Jesus sanctified himself in the measure in which, during his life, he revealed the Father. He asks that the disciples enter into the same process of sanctification. Their mission is the same mission of Jesus. They sanctify themselves in the measure in which, living in love, they reveal Jesus and the Father. To sanctify oneself means to become human like Jesus. Pope Leo the Great said: “Jesus was so human, but so human, as only God can be human”. For this reason we should live contrary to the world, because the system of the world dehumanizes human life and renders it contrary to the intentions of the Creator.

For Personal confrontation

• Jesus lived in the world, but was not of the world. He lived contrary to the system, and because of this, he was persecuted and was condemned to death. And I? Do I live contrary to today’s system, or do I adapt my faith to the system?
• Preparation for Pentecost. To invoke the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who gave courage to Jesus. In this Novena of preparation to Pentecost, it is good to dedicate some time to ask for the gift of the Spirit of Jesus.

Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.

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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Ipad Cases by LitanyLane

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Saint of the Day:  St Dymphna

Feast Day:  May 15

Patron Saint:  neurological disorders, mental illness, psychologists, psychiatrists and neurologists.

Attributes: crown, sword, lily, lamp, princess with a fettered demon at her feet

Saint Dymphna (also: Dympna, Dimpna) was the daughter of a pagan Irish king and his Christian wife in the 7th century AD. She was murdered by her father. The story of St. Dymphna was first recorded in the thirteenth century by a canon of the Church of St. Aubert at Cambrai, commissioned by the Bishop of Cambrai, Guy I (1238–1247 AD). The author expressly states that his writings were based upon a longstanding oral tradition and a persuasive history of inexplicable and miraculous healings of the mentally ill.^[1]

Dymphna was born in Ireland during the 7th century. Dymphna's father Damon, a petty king of Oriel, was pagan, but her mother was a devout Christian. When Dymphna was 14 years old, her mother died. Damon had loved his wife deeply, and in the aftermath of her death his mental health sharply deteriorated. When at length he decided to remarry, Damon sought to find a woman who resembled his deceased wife. When no such woman could be found, Damon began to desire his daughter, because of the strong resemblance she bore to her mother. When Dymphna learned of her father's intentions she fled his court along with her confessor Father Gerebernus and two trusted servants. Together they sailed towards the continent, eventually landing in Belgium, where they took refuge in the town of Gheel.

One tradition states that once settled in Gheel, St. Dymphna built a hospice for the poor and sick of the region. However, Ironically, was through the use of her wealth that her father would eventually ascertain her whereabouts, as some of the coins used enabled her father to trace them to Belgium.^[2] Damon sent his agents to pursue his daughter and her companions. When their hiding place was discovered, Damon traveled to Gheel to recover his daughter. Damon ordered his soldiers to kill Father Gerebernus and tried to force Dymphna to return with him to Ireland, but she resisted. Furious, Damon drew his sword and struck off his daughter's head. She was 15 years old when she died.^[3] After Dymphna and Gerebernus were martyred, the residents of Gheel buried them in a nearby cave. Years later, they decided to move the remains to a more suitable location. According to tradition, when workmen entered the cave to retrieve the two bodies they found that the bones of Dymphna and Gerebernus had been miraculously interred in two stone sarcophagi,^[4] one of which bore a red tile with the inscription "DYMPHNA."

 

Medieval traditions

The historical basis for this story is uncertain. There are variations in the legend and it has counterparts in the folktales of many European countries, such as The King Who Wished to Marry His Daughter and Donkeyskin. The events of Saint Dymphna's life may have become entwined with these myths in the centuries after her death when her story was told orally.

Veneration

St-Dymphna Church, Geel, Belgium

The remains of Saint Dymphna were later put into a silver reliquary and placed in the Gheel church named in her honor. The remains of Saint Gerebernus were moved to Xanten, Germany.^[5] During the late 15th century the original St. Dymphna's Church in Gheel burned, and necessity obliged the erection of the magnificent "Church of St. Dymphna," which was consecrated in 1532 and now still stands on the site where her body was first buried.^[2]

A phenomenon is said to have occurred immediately after the finding of the tombs. A number of people with epilepsy, mental illnesses and persons under evil influences who had visited at the tomb of Dymphna were cured. Ever since that time, she has been invoked on behalf of such people.^[2]

St. Dymphna's feast day is May 15.^[6]

Patronage

St. Dymphna is the patron saint of the nervous, emotionally disturbed, and mentally ill.^[6]

Legacy

The National Shrine of St. Dymphna is located in Massillon, Ohio.^[4] St. Dymphna's Special School is located in Ballina County Mayo and operates under the patronage of Western Care Association. ^[7] St. Dymphna's Pub is located on St. Mark's Place, New York City.^[8]

References

1. ^ Saint Dymphna: Wonderworker of Gheel, May 15th. Saints Mary and Martha Orthodox Monastery, Wagener, S.C., Newsletter, January 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "St Dymphna", Archdiocese of Atlanta
3. ^ Benedictine Convent Sisters, Clyde, Missouri, "Tabernacle and Purgatory" May 1946
4. ^ ^{a b} National Shrine of St. Dymphna
5. ^ Kirsch, J.P. (1909). "St. Dymphna". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
6. ^ ^{a b} "St. Dymphna", Franciscan Mission Associates
7. ^ St. Dymphna's Special School, Ballina
8. ^ "Nightlife", New York Magazine

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Featured Items Panel from Litany Lane

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Today's Snippet I:  Geel  Belgium

Streets of Geel

Geel is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp which acquired the status of a city in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns : Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the center are the parish-towns of Ten Aard (N), Sas 7 (NE), Bel (E), Winkelomheide (SE), Stelen, Oosterlo and Zammel (S), Punt (SW) and Larum (W). On January 1, 2006 Geel had a total population of 35,189. The total area is 109.85 km² (42 sq mi) which gives a population density of 320 inhabitants per km². Geel’s patron saint, the Irish Saint Dymphna, inspired the town’s unique method of care for the mentally ill. The city is also featured in Ciarán Carson's novel Shamrock Tea (Granta 2001).

History

Origins and Middle Ages

Archeological finds in the area point to iron-age settlements, but the name of Geel, from a Germanic root meaning “yellow”, dates from the early Middle Ages. A hamlet already existed in the mid-13th century, at which time a certain Petrus Cameracencis, canon of Cambrai, wrote the Vita Sanctae Dimpnae (i.e., life of Saint Dymphna) set in Geel according to oral tradition. The cult of the saint attracted numerous pilgrims to the area, leading to a substantial population growth: 2,136 inhabitants in 1374.

In the 12th century, the extended territory around Geel was given to the Grimbergen Abbey. It then became property of one noble family after another throughout medieval times. The noble lords or dames were masters of their community, but pledged feudal allegiance to the Dukes of Brabant. Some form of municipal government was granted to Geel as early as the first half of the 13th century. Throughout the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century, the history of Geel follows that of the Duchy of Brabant. During all this time, the economy of the city depended on the breeding of sheep for the cloth industry, complemented by the cultivation of flax for the manufacture and trade of linen. A cloth hall was built at the beginning of the 15th century, which was later transformed into the city hall. The Eighty Years' War greatly damaged the Geel economy as well as its buildings and churches. The textile industry recovered to last until the early 19th century, but the economy was now mostly supported by agriculture, specifically rye, oat, barley, and buckwheat. Geel was also known at that time for its Latin School, which attracted students from far away to prepare them for entry at the Catholic University of Leuven.

From the French Revolution until today

In 1795, the Duchy of Brabant was dissolved and Geel made part of the French department of Deux-Nèthes, the precursor of the present province of Antwerp. The nobles and clerics of the Ancien Régime gave way to a mayor, who was now answerable to the town’s people. Geel actively participated in the Belgian Revolution of 1830, resulting in the award of an honorary flag from King Leopold II. The 19th century also saw the building of several new churches at the demand of the various parishes. A major occurrence in the history of Geel is the battle of Geel (also referred to as the "Gheel bridghead") in September 1944, one of the heaviest and bloodiest fights during the liberation of Belgium. Eventually the territory of Geel, and the smaller villages around it, were finally liberated on September 23, but it had claimed numerous military and civilian casualties.

A model of psychiatric care

Geel is well known for the early adoption of deinstitutionalization in psychiatric care.^[2] This practice is based on the positive effects that placement in a host family gives the patient, most importantly access to family life that would otherwise have been denied. The legendary 7th-century Saint Dymphna, who had moved to the Geel area from Ireland, is usually credited for this type of care. The earliest Geel infirmary and the model where patients go into town, interact with the community during the day, and return to the hospital at night to sleep, date from the 13th century.^[3]

Originally, this practice was religiously motivated and organized by a chapter of canons, attached to the church of Saint Dymphna. By the 18th century, however, the placement of patients was mostly done directly, without the intervention of the canons. The number of patients grew in proportion to the growing city’s reputation abroad and the economic benefits flowing to the city provided further motivation to the inhabitants. Attracted by the gentle care of patients, Vincent Van Gogh’s father considered sending his famous son to Geel in 1879. The high point came in 1938, with a total of 3,736 placed patients, compared with only 700 a hundred years earlier.

This novel type of psychiatric care was evaluated by various other institutions around the world (see for instance Eastern State Hospital in Virginia), but often seen as too revolutionary to implement. It is only in the early 20th century that the idea of deinstitutionalization was adopted more widely elsewhere. Today, a modern psychiatric centre stands on the place of the old infirmary, and close to 500 patients are still placed with inhabitants.

Sights

• The market square, facing the Sint-Amands church and bordered by attractive café terraces, is the focal point of the city. The oldest part of the city hall dates from the 17th century. Not far away, the Sint-Dimpna church marks the place where the saint was buried.
• Geel is located along the river Nete, in the Campine region, which offers to its visitors a varied landscape of forests and dunes, and a nature reserve, de Zegge, owned by the Antwerp Zoo.
• Among the city's attractions one counts a field of orchids, a centenary linden tree, three wind mills, a military cemetery, and a handful a museums including a clock museum, a lamp museum, and an old bakery. The Saint-Alexis college is emblazoned with Art Nouveau sgraffiti by Gabriel Van Dievoet.

 

References 

1. ^ Population per municipality on 1 January 2011 (XLS; 322 KB)
2. ^ Roosens, Eugeen. Mental patients in town life: Geel, Europe's first therapeutic community. Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1979. ISBN0-8039-1330-3 - ISBN 0-8039-1331-1
3. ^ Goldstein, Jackie L. and Godemont Marc M. L. (2003). The legend and lessons of Geel: A 1500-year-old legend, a 21st century model. Community Mental Health Journal 39(5), 441-458. 

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Catechism of the Catholic Church

Part Two: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery, 

Section Two: The Seven Sacraments of the Church 

CHAPTER THREE : THE SACRAMENTS AT SERVICE OF COMMUNION

Article 6:5  THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS

SECTION TWO

THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH 

CHAPTER THREE

THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION

1533 Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are sacraments of Christian initiation. They ground the common vocation of all Christ's disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world. They confer the graces needed for the life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland.

1534 Two other sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, are directed towards the salvation of others; if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that they do so. They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the People of God.

1535 Through these sacraments those already consecrated by Baptism and Confirmation LG 10 for the common priesthood of all the faithful can receive particular consecrations. Those who receive the sacrament of Holy Orders are consecrated in Christ's name "to feed the Church by the word and grace of God."LG 11 # 2 On their part, "Christian spouses are fortified and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and dignity of their state by a special sacrament."GS 48  # 2

ARTICLE 6

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS

1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.  (On the institution and mission of the apostolic ministry by Christ, see above, no. 874 ff. Here only the sacramental means by which this ministry is handed on will be treated.)

V. Who Can Confer This Sacrament?

1575 Christ himself chose the apostles and gave them a share in his mission and authority. Raised to the Father's right hand, he has not forsaken his flock but he keeps it under his constant protection through the apostles, and guides it still through these same pastors who continue his work today.Roman Missal, Preface of the Apostles I Thus, it is Christ whose gift it is that some be apostles, others pastors. He continues to act through the bishops.LG 21; ⇒ Eph 4:11

1576 Since the sacrament of Holy Orders is the sacrament of the apostolic ministry, it is for the bishops as the successors of the apostles to hand on the "gift of the Spirit,"21 # 2 The "apostolic line."LG 20 Validly ordained bishops, i.e., those who are in the line of apostolic succession, validly confer the three degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders.DS 794 and Cf. DS 802; ⇒ CIC, can. 1012; CCEO, can. 744; 747

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