FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD | MEMORIAL OF SAINT MARIA FRANCESCA RUBATTO, RELIGIOUS ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 6TH: Today is the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration when we recall Christ’s divinity showing forth on Mount Tabor. On this day, we also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Maria Francesca Rubatto, Religious. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary on this special feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We also pray for those going through difficulties especially during these challenging times, for the poor and the needy. And we continue to pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world.🙏🏾

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD: The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord takes place on August 6th, an event mentioned in all three synoptic Gospels.The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is when we recall Christ’s divinity showing forth on Mount Tabor. We celebrate the occasion on which Christ, as He was beginning to teach His disciples that He must die and rise again, revealed Himself in shining splendor to Peter, James, and John. Moses and Elijah were present, and are taken to signify that the Law and the Prophets testify that Jesus is the promised Messiah. God the Father also proclaimed Him as such, saying, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” (Matthew 17:5). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that the voice of God was heard, confirming Jesus as His son (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:6, Luke 9:35). Peter and John make specific reference to the event in their writings, as confirming Jesus’ divinity and His status as the Messiah (2 Peter 1:17, John 1:14). This event foreshadowed the glorious Resurrection and Ascension of Christ that would occur after His death on the Cross. This is the beginning of a 40 day before until the Feast of the Holy Cross. The Transfiguration anticipates the glory of heaven, where we shall see God face to face. Through grace, we already share in the divine promise of eternal life. “The purpose of the Transfiguration was to encourage and strengthen the Apostles who were depressed by their Master’s prediction of His own Passion and Death. The Apostles were made to understand that His redeeming work has two phases: The Cross, and glory—that we shall be glorified with Him only if we first suffer with Him.”

This feast in the West was observed after the ninth century by some monastic orders, and became widespread in the West in the 11th century. In 1457 Pope Callistus III ordered its general observance in the Roman calendar to commemorate the victory over Islam in Belgrade. Before that, the feast day was mainly celebrated only in the Syrian, Byzantine, and Coptic rites. In his address before the Angelus on August 6, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI described how the events of the transfiguration display Christ as the “full manifestation of God’s light.” This light, which shines forth from Christ both at the transfiguration and after His resurrection, is ultimately triumphant over “the power of the darkness of evil.” The Pope stressed that the feast of the Transfiguration is an important opportunity for believers to look to Christ as “the light of the world,” and to experience the kind of conversion which the Bible frequently describes as an emergence from darkness to light. “In our time too,” Pope Benedict said, “we urgently need to emerge from the darkness of evil, to experience the joy of the children of light!” Patron Saint of pork butchers; Borgomasino, Italy.

PRAYER: O God, who in the glorious Transfiguration of your Only Begotten Son confirmed the mysteries of faith by the witness of the Fathers and wonderfully prefigured our full adoption to sonship, grant, we pray, to your servants, that, listening to the voice of your beloved Son, we may merit to become co-heirs with him. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever… Amen🙏🏾

SAINT MARIA FRANCESCA RUBATTO, RELIGIOUS: On this special Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Maria Francesca Rubatto. St. Maria Francesca Rubatto (1844– 1904) is the religious name for Anna Maria Rubatto, an Italian Roman Catholic nun. She was the founder of the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto. Most of her work was done in Uruguay where she died at the age of 59 in 1904. She was canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022, and is Uruguay’s first canonized saint. St. Maria Francesca of Jesus Rubatto was born on St. Valentine’s day, February 14, 1844, Carmagnola, Italy, one of eight children from an Italian family. St. Maria Francesca was only four years old when her father died, and when she was a teenager, Anna Maria received an offer of what would have been a comfortable marriage to a local notary. She turned him down, however, because as a child, she had made a vow of virginity and was determined to keep it. When she was 19, her mother also died and Anna Maria, now alone, moved about 18 miles south to the city of Turin. There she befriended an Italian noblewoman named Marianna Scoffone, who recognized the girl’s goodness and soon became her patroness. Though Anna Maria had received little formal education, she was nonetheless an intellectually gifted individual and, with the support of Scoffone, began to teach catechism to the children in the local parishes. She also visited the sick in the Cottolengo Hospital and generally tended to the needs of the suffering and neglected in Turin.Anna Maria remained with Scoffone for the next 19 years until the latter died in 1882. Now 38 years old, Anna Maria’s next vocation would make itself known in a rather unusual way. One morning after Mass at the Capuchin church in Loano, Italy, Anna Maria was startled by a cry from a nearby convent that was under construction. A stone had fallen on the head of a young worker and, because of her experience helping with the sick, Anna Maria was able to clean the wound and tend to the young man and gave him money so that he could recover from his injury. The sisters of the convent took notice of Maria for this act of charity and desired that she join their community. As it happened, the religious sisters who were to live in the building were looking for a spiritual guide and leader. They discerned that the incident with the young man was the sign they were looking for and a Capuchin priest convinced Anna Maria to enter their community. A year later she did and took the name Sister Maria Francesca of Jesus. The local bishop, Bishop Filippo Allegro, soon made her the superior of the order, which became known as the Institute of the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto. Under her leadership, the congregation grew, both in Italy and in the New World. St. Maria Francesca had a desire to serve in the overseas missions, and in 1892 left Italy and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to South America. They established a mission in Montevideo, Uruguay, as well as in Argentina and deep within the rain forests of Brazil. In all, Mother Rubatto crossed the Atlantic seven times in order to support her sisters in both Europe and South America and was responsible for opening 18 Capuchin houses in 20 years. Mother Maria Francesca Rubatto died of natural causes in Uruguay on August 6, 1904, Montevideo, Uruguay. She is buried in Montevideo where she had given so much of herself to the poor. St. Maria Francesca Rubatto was canonized on May 15, 2022, Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis. Her feast day is August 6th.Saint Maria Francesca Rubatto, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏🏾