Santos de los Hombres

Santos de la Delincuencia, iii

2010-01-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

Santa Muerte

"Jesucristo vencedor, que en la Cruz fuiste vencido, vece a fulano de tal, que este vencido conmigo en nombre del Senor si eres animal feroz manso como un cordero, como la flor de romero; tienes que venir; pan comiste, de el me diste y por la palabra m.s fuerte que me diste, quiero que me traigas a fulano de tal, que este humillado, rendido a mis plantas a cumplir lo que me ha ofrecido. Santisima Muerte, you te suplico encarecidamente que asi como te formu Dios inmortal con tu grande poder sobre todos los mortales hasta ponerles en la esfera celste donde gozaremos un glorioso dia sin noche por toda la eternidad y en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espiritu Santo, yo te ruego y te suplico que dignes ser mi protectora y me cocedas todos los favores que yo te pido hasta el 'ltimo dia, hora y momento en que su Divina Majestad ordene llevarme ante su presencia. AMEN."

Santa Muerte: The New God in Town

Santa Muerte's precise origins are a matter of debate. Some experts say its roots lie with Aztec spiritual rituals that mixed with Catholicism during Spanish colonial rule. What is clear, however, is that Santa Muerte developed a large following only in the last quarter century among Mexicans who had become disillusioned with the dominant Church and, in particular, the ability of established Catholic saints to deliver them from poverty. Residents of crime-tossed neighborhoods like Mexico City's Tepito began revering Santa Muerte more than Jesus Christ, experts say. Some of its devotees eventually split from the Catholic church and began vying for control of Catholic buildings. That's when Mexico's Catholic church declared it a cult.

"Unlike other saints, Santa Muerte is said to make no distinction between good requests and bad."

"en Dios creo y en ti confío"

Santos de Silencio, I

2009-10-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

St. Bruno of Cologne

"Father, You called Saint Bruno to serve You in solitude. In answer to his prayers help us to remain faithful to You amid the changes of this world We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen."

Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Bruno (1030-1101)

St. Bruno was buried in the little cemetery of the hermitage of St. Mary, and many miracles were worked at his tomb. He had never been formally canonized. His cult, authorized for the Carthusian Order by Leo X in 1514, was extended to the whole church by Gregory XV, 17 February, 1623, as a semi-double feast, and elevated to the class of doubles by Clement X, 14 March, 1674. St. Bruno is the popular saint of Calabria; every year a great multitude resort to the Charterhouse of St. Stephen, on the Monday and Tuesday of Pentecost, when his relics are borne in procession to the hermitage of St. Mary, where he lived, and the people visit the spots sanctified by his presence. An immense number of medals are struck in his honour and distributed to the crowd, and the little Carthusian habits, which so many children of the neighbourhood wear, are blessed. He is especially invoked, and successfully, for the deliverance of those possessed.

. . .

The great figure of St. Bruno has been often sketched by artists and has inspired more than one masterpiece: in sculpture, for example, the famous statue by Houdon, at St. Mary of the Angels in Rome, "which would speak if his rule did not compel him to silence"

Bruno of Cologne

It is difficult to assign the place which Bruno occupied in Rome, or his influence in contemporary events, because it remained entirely hidden and confidential. Lodged in the Lateran with the pope himself, privy to his most private councils, he worked as an advisor but wisely kept in the background, apart from the fiercely partisan rivalries in Rome and within the curia.

. . .

His part in history is effaced.

"Stat crux dum volvitur orbis."

Apocrypha 101: "The Lost Gospels"

2008-09-06T03:23:00.000-07:00

"Written to be deliberately obscure..."

BBC2 Documentary "The Lost Gospels" deals with the excised Gospels and texts (Thomas, for example) from the early period of Christianity. To be considered for an "Apocrypha 101" study program, sampling.

"Anglican priest Peter Owen Jones explores the huge number of ancient Christian texts that didn't make it into the New Testament. Shocking and challenging, these were works in which Jesus didn't die, took revenge on his enemies and kissed Mary Magdalene on the mouth. Pete travels through Egypt and the former Roman Empire looking at the evidence of a Christian world very different to the one we know, and finds over seventy gospels, acts, letters and apocalypses all circulating in the early Church."

The Gospel of Thomas

And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death."

Semper en obscurus.

Santos de la Delincuencia, ii

2008-08-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

Saint Julian l'Hospitalier.

"Julian, our Lord hath sent me to thee, and sendeth thee word that he hath accepted thy penance. And a while after Saint Julian and his wife rendered unto God their souls and departed out of this world."

Medieval Sourcebook: The Life of St. Julian the Hospitaller

"Hold!" says Love, "Do not strike them at all! She used to be your lover and good companion. It was she who made you a count in Spain. Never has she done you wrong. How do you know who lies here now? Wake them at least, rather than putting your hands to strike her."

Speaks Cruelty: "They will cry out and beg you, in God's name, and you for mercy. Strike quickly, kill them both, for you have found them in the deed. And then go off to your own country. Give them what they deserve."

Cruelty wins the blow and the count from whom all reason has flown, strikes. Such is the loveless blow of his sword that he cut them in two and slices the very bed in half.

Gustave Flaubert's "The Legend of Saint-Julian the Hospitaller"

He beheld a valley shaped like a circus and filled with stags which, huddled together, were warming one another with the vapour of their breaths that mingled with the early mist.

For a few minutes, he almost choked with pleasure at the prospect of so great a carnage. Then he sprang from his horse, rolled up his sleeves, and began to aim.

Patron of boatmen, carnies, the childless, circus workers, clowns, ferrymen, fiddlers, hospitallers, hunters, innkeepers, jugglers, knights, murderers, pilgrims, shepherds, lodgers, travellers, wandering musicians.

Jean de La Fontaine's "St. Julian's Prayer"

WHO, after this, will doubt the pow'r of prayers?
These silly knaves had banished all their cares;
And when at ease they thought to skip and prance,
Were seized and quickly taught another dance.
On t'other hand, where dire distress prevailed,
And death, in various ways, our spark assailed,
A beauty suddenly his senses charmed,
Who might a prelate's bosom have alarmed.
So truly fortunate, indeed, his lot,
Again his money, baggage, horse he got;
And, thank Saint Julian, howsoever tossed,
He passed a, blissful night that nothing cost.

Saints du Sang, i

2008-08-07T02:53:00.000-07:00

Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney, Curé d'Ars.

"We implore Thee, O Lord, by the intercession of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, who was ever most pleasing to Thy eyes by reason of her eminent purity and the practice of all the virtues, pardon us our sins and grant us all the graces we need. Amen."

The Incorruptibles

By the year 1855, Fr. Vianney was hearing as many as 20,000 confessions a year, spending 13 to 16 hours a day in the confessional. His direction was characterized by common sense, remarkable insight, and supernatural knowledge. As the news continued to spread, the sick were brought to Ars and many were miraculously cured.

During 30 years, Fr. Vianney claimed to experience frequent attacks of the devil. Voices, strange noises, threats, furniture being thrown about and many other demonic assaults took place almost every night. Besides all this external suffering, Fr. Vianney had physical ailments such as severe headaches, rheumatism, toothaches, fever and exhaustion.

Incorruptibility is the property of a body — usually a human body — that does not decompose after death. Such a body is sometimes referred to as incorrupt or incorruptible (adjective) or as an incorruptible (noun). [...] Incorruptible bodies are often said to have the Odour of Sanctity, exuding a sweet aroma.

Saint Philomena

"In an act unprecedented in the history of Catholicism, she became the only person recognized by the Church as a Saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing historical was known of her except her name and the evidence of her martyrdom."

The Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena at Mugnano, Italy

Catholic Encyclopedia > J > St. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney

"His direction was characterized by common sense, remarkable insight, and supernatural knowledge. He would sometimes divine sins withheld in an imperfect confession."

"The greatest miracle of all was his life. He practised mortification from his early youth. and for forty years his food and sleep were insufficient, humanly speaking, to sustain life. And yet he laboured incessantly, with unfailing humility, gentleness, patience, and cheerfulness, until he was more than seventy-three years old."

Santos de la Delincuencia, i

2008-08-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

San Jesús Malverde de Sinaloa.

"Today, prostrate and before your cross, Oh, Malverde, my lord, I beg you for mercy and relief from my pain. You who dwell in Glory and are close to God."

Without God or Law: narcotrafficking and belief in Jesus Malverde.

The most important Mexican drug cartels have deep roots in Sinaloa state. Notorious drug lords (Jefes de Jefes) such as Miguel Félix Gallardo, Ernesto (Don Neto) Fonseca, Rafael Caro Quintero, Amado (El Señor de los Cielos) Carrillo Fuente, José Luis (El Güero) Palma, Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán, Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada and the Arellano Félix brothers all have strong family ties to a specific region of this State. Sinaloan institutions, social customs, and cultural references (material and symbolic) are permeated with drug referents and signifiers. Cultural references to drugs are badly misunderstood by non-Mexicans- especially by formal agents who purport to identify and control the drug trade. Misunderstanding prevails even though some Mexican scholars have described the Sinaloan context (especially Luis Astorga), and have presented cogent analyses of important cultural referents such as narcocorridos (Valenzuela). This essay explores the links between religion and the drug trade, specifically as religious ideas are expressed in the worship of a mythical drug saint named Jesús Malverde. The Capilla de Malverde is located in Culiacán, but other centers exist in Los Angeles, Colombia and Venezuela. Sykes and Matza's older ideas about subterranean values and neutralization are reconsidered in light of Malverde's appeal to specific drug workers such as burreros (smugglers) or productores/gomeros (growers). Worship of Jesús Malverde illustrates limitations of neutralization theory as it has traditionally been interpreted.

The Irony of Broken Windows: The Relationship Between Disorder, Focused Police Crackdowns and Fear of Crime

Living on a street segment at the maximum level of disorder corresponded to having a much higher probability of feeling unsafe than a segment at the minimum level of disorder. This suggests that the relationship between disorder and fear hypothesized by the broken windows literature may exist, and that police may be able to reduce fear of crime by reducing disorder. However, it was also found that the police intervention itself increased the probability of feeling unsafe. Thus any fear reduction benefits resulting from focused police crackdowns on disorder and minor crime may be at least partially offset by the extra police presence itself causing residents to become more fearful.

Mexico's drug smugglers' patron saint, Jesus Malverde, no longer their own

In Mexico, the illegal drug trade has taken control. We are in the middle of a violent civil drug war. On a daily basis we hear of violence, kidnappings, and executions. In a deeply religious country, one wonders how could such hate, bloodbath, and evil exist. The answer may surprise you. Not only our nation’s drug traffickers and cartels, but rich and poor common citizens alike are beginning to have faith, seek intervention, and take refuge behind the drug smuggler’s own patron saint Jesus Malverde.