JUNE 2025 ~ OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
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FEAST DAY: June 27th
PATRONESS OF HOPE |
Throughout two millennia, Mary has gone by many names. For sailors she was Star of the Sea; for contemplatives, a Mystical Rose; for students, Good Counsel; and for those in pain, Health of the Sick. No matter what you call Mary, she will always be Perpetual Help. Lately, we have needed her help more than ever before.
Scripture informs us that Jesus’ first miracle was accomplished for desperate newlyweds at their dinner reception. Perhaps before water was blushed into wine, the first miracle was in fact that this couple chose to invite Mary and Jesus into the beginning of their life together.
Mary’s perpetual help offers constant hope. Contemporary spiritual author, Father Ron Rolheiser writes that Mary turns hope into reality. Mary’s hope is not just about optimism or good feelings about the future. Mary’s hope sees beyond world events and life situations into the presence and promise of God.
Mary’s hope comes from her trust in God. In one sense, the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary was incomplete. Mary did not know the full picture, the whole story. All Mary had were two angelic truths: She did not have to be afraid (Do not be afraid, Mary!), and God’s promise would be with her (the Holy Spirit will overshadow you!). Pledged with this comfort, she could and would endure many hardships. And so shall we….
Like Mary, we do not know all the details of our life or the end of our life story. But like Mary we are given gifts from God. God is with us; we do not have to be afraid. This is hope become real.
Whatever the title, whatever our situation, Mary will always be Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and an eternal source of hope.
Prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying.
O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let thy name henceforth be ever on my lips.
Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on you, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on you, ever repeating thy sacred name, Mary, Mary.
O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fill my soul when I pronounce your sacred name, or even only think of you.
I thank God for having given you, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name.
But I will not be content with merely pronouncing your name: let my love for you prompt me ever to hail you, Mother of Perpetual Help. Amen.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help | The Redemptorists
In this novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also known as Our Mother of Perpetual Help from this icon pictured above) we pay tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary in asking for her assistance. This picture of the Blessed Mother with her Divine Son above has helped her provide strength, comfort and even miracles to the faithful for centuries!
Oh Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your powerful name, the protection of the living and the salvation of the dying. Purest Mary, let your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, Blessed Lady, to rescue me whenever I call on you. In my temptations, in my needs, I will never cease to call on you, ever repeating your sacred name, Mary, Mary. What a consolation, what sweetness, what confidence fills my soul when I utter your sacred name or even only think of you! I thank the Lord for having given you so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely uttering your name. Let my love for you prompt me ever to hail you Mother of Perpetual Help. Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for me and grant me the favor I confidently ask of you.
(Then say three Hail Marys).
A Novena To Our Lady Of Perpetual Help: To An Icon Of Strength
Scripture informs us that Jesus’ first miracle was accomplished for desperate newlyweds at their dinner reception. Perhaps before water was blushed into wine, the first miracle was in fact that this couple chose to invite Mary and Jesus into the beginning of their life together.
Mary’s perpetual help offers constant hope. Contemporary spiritual author, Father Ron Rolheiser writes that Mary turns hope into reality. Mary’s hope is not just about optimism or good feelings about the future. Mary’s hope sees beyond world events and life situations into the presence and promise of God.
Mary’s hope comes from her trust in God. In one sense, the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary was incomplete. Mary did not know the full picture, the whole story. All Mary had were two angelic truths: She did not have to be afraid (Do not be afraid, Mary!), and God’s promise would be with her (the Holy Spirit will overshadow you!). Pledged with this comfort, she could and would endure many hardships. And so shall we….
Like Mary, we do not know all the details of our life or the end of our life story. But like Mary we are given gifts from God. God is with us; we do not have to be afraid. This is hope become real.
Whatever the title, whatever our situation, Mary will always be Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and an eternal source of hope.
Prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help
O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying.
O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let thy name henceforth be ever on my lips.
Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on you, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on you, ever repeating thy sacred name, Mary, Mary.
O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fill my soul when I pronounce your sacred name, or even only think of you.
I thank God for having given you, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name.
But I will not be content with merely pronouncing your name: let my love for you prompt me ever to hail you, Mother of Perpetual Help. Amen.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help | The Redemptorists
In this novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also known as Our Mother of Perpetual Help from this icon pictured above) we pay tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary in asking for her assistance. This picture of the Blessed Mother with her Divine Son above has helped her provide strength, comfort and even miracles to the faithful for centuries!
Oh Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your powerful name, the protection of the living and the salvation of the dying. Purest Mary, let your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, Blessed Lady, to rescue me whenever I call on you. In my temptations, in my needs, I will never cease to call on you, ever repeating your sacred name, Mary, Mary. What a consolation, what sweetness, what confidence fills my soul when I utter your sacred name or even only think of you! I thank the Lord for having given you so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely uttering your name. Let my love for you prompt me ever to hail you Mother of Perpetual Help. Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for me and grant me the favor I confidently ask of you.
(Then say three Hail Marys).
A Novena To Our Lady Of Perpetual Help: To An Icon Of Strength
MAY 2025 ~ SAINT PEREGRINE LAZIOSI
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Peregrine Laziosi was born in 1265 in Forli in Italy. As a young man, he led a worldly and dissolute life. In his teens, he joined the enemies of the Pope in his hometown and became a ringleader of rebels.
The story of St. Peregrine, patron saint of persons suffering from cancer Pope Martin IV sent Philip Benizi of the Order of Servites (Servants of Mary) as his personal ambassador to try to bring peace to the angry rebels. While addressing crowds of malcontents one day, he was dragged off the rostrum, beaten with clubs, and pelted with rocks. Peregrine knocked down Benizi with a vicious blow to the face.
Young Peregrine was stricken with remorse. He cast himself at the feet of the bruised and bleeding priest and asked for his forgiveness. Benizi granted it with a smile. From that moment, Peregrine became a staunch champion of Benizi. He heeded Philip’s suggestion and often prayed in Our Lady’s chapel in the Cathedral.
While kneeling in the chapel one day, he had a vision of the Blessed Mother holding in her hands a black habit like the one the Servites wore. “Go to Siena,” Mary told the astonished Peregrine. “There you will find devout men who call themselves my servants. Attach yourself to them.”
St. Peregrine’s Conversion
The Servites warmly welcomed Peregrine, and Benizi himself ceremoniously clothed Peregrine in the religious habit. Daily, Peregrine sought to become a more fervent religious man. To atone for past misdeeds, he treated himself harshly and worked hard for the poor and afflicted. People took to calling him the “Angel of Good Counsel,” grateful for his wise advice so freely given.
After being ordained a priest, Peregrine went to Forli and founded a Servite monastery. A few years later, a cancerous growth appeared on his right foot — so painful that he finally agreed to have the foot amputated. The night before the surgery, Peregrine spent hours in prayer then dozed off and dreamt that Christ was touching him and healing his foot. The thrill of it woke him up and in the dim moonlight he saw that his foot, carefully bandaged a few hours earlier, was completely healed.
St. Peregrine’s Miracles
From that time forward, when Forli people were sick, they appealed to Peregrine’s prayers. Some were cured when he whispered “Jesus” into their ears. The Church has since appointed him patron of persons with cancer, foot ailments, or any incurable disease.
Important Dates for St. Peregrine
Peregrine died in the year 1345 at the age of 85 and was canonized in 1926. St. Peregrine’s Feast Day is May 1.
How to pray to St. Peregrine, patron saint of those suffering from cancer
St. Peregrine,
We come to you confidently to implore your aid with God in our necessity. You were converted instantly from a worldly life by the good example of one holy person. You were cured instantaneously of cancer by God’s grace and unceasing prayer.
As you bow before our Lord in Heaven, speak to Him of our hope for release from pain and suffering, and our unwavering faith in the love of God. Through Christ, our Lord, I ask.
Amen.
St. Peregrine patron saint of cancer - Franciscan Mission Associates
The story of St. Peregrine, patron saint of persons suffering from cancer Pope Martin IV sent Philip Benizi of the Order of Servites (Servants of Mary) as his personal ambassador to try to bring peace to the angry rebels. While addressing crowds of malcontents one day, he was dragged off the rostrum, beaten with clubs, and pelted with rocks. Peregrine knocked down Benizi with a vicious blow to the face.
Young Peregrine was stricken with remorse. He cast himself at the feet of the bruised and bleeding priest and asked for his forgiveness. Benizi granted it with a smile. From that moment, Peregrine became a staunch champion of Benizi. He heeded Philip’s suggestion and often prayed in Our Lady’s chapel in the Cathedral.
While kneeling in the chapel one day, he had a vision of the Blessed Mother holding in her hands a black habit like the one the Servites wore. “Go to Siena,” Mary told the astonished Peregrine. “There you will find devout men who call themselves my servants. Attach yourself to them.”
St. Peregrine’s Conversion
The Servites warmly welcomed Peregrine, and Benizi himself ceremoniously clothed Peregrine in the religious habit. Daily, Peregrine sought to become a more fervent religious man. To atone for past misdeeds, he treated himself harshly and worked hard for the poor and afflicted. People took to calling him the “Angel of Good Counsel,” grateful for his wise advice so freely given.
After being ordained a priest, Peregrine went to Forli and founded a Servite monastery. A few years later, a cancerous growth appeared on his right foot — so painful that he finally agreed to have the foot amputated. The night before the surgery, Peregrine spent hours in prayer then dozed off and dreamt that Christ was touching him and healing his foot. The thrill of it woke him up and in the dim moonlight he saw that his foot, carefully bandaged a few hours earlier, was completely healed.
St. Peregrine’s Miracles
From that time forward, when Forli people were sick, they appealed to Peregrine’s prayers. Some were cured when he whispered “Jesus” into their ears. The Church has since appointed him patron of persons with cancer, foot ailments, or any incurable disease.
Important Dates for St. Peregrine
Peregrine died in the year 1345 at the age of 85 and was canonized in 1926. St. Peregrine’s Feast Day is May 1.
How to pray to St. Peregrine, patron saint of those suffering from cancer
St. Peregrine,
We come to you confidently to implore your aid with God in our necessity. You were converted instantly from a worldly life by the good example of one holy person. You were cured instantaneously of cancer by God’s grace and unceasing prayer.
As you bow before our Lord in Heaven, speak to Him of our hope for release from pain and suffering, and our unwavering faith in the love of God. Through Christ, our Lord, I ask.
Amen.
St. Peregrine patron saint of cancer - Franciscan Mission Associates
april 2025 ~ saint gemma galgani
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Feast Day: April 11
Patron: of Students, Pharmacists, against temptations, against the death of parents, against tuberculosis Birth: 1878 Death: April 11, 1903 Beatified: May 14, 1933 by Pope Pius XI Canonized: May 2, 1940 by Pope Pius XII |
St. Gemma Galgani, also known as the Flower of Lucca, was an Italian mystic often referred to as the "Daughter of Passion," for her intense replication of the Passion of Christ. She was born on March 12, 1878, in a small Italian town near Lucca.
At a very young age, Gemma developed a love for prayer. She made her First Communion on June 17, 1887. Gemma was loved by her teachers and her fellow students, as a student at a school run by the Sisters of St. Zita. Though quiet and reserved, she always had a smile for everyone. Unfortunately, Gemma had to quit school due to her chronic ill health before completing the course of study.
Throughout her life, Gemma was to be chosen with many mystical experiences and special graces. These were often misunderstood by others, causing ridicule. Gemma suffered heartaches in reparation, remembering that Our Lord Himself had been misunderstood and ridiculed.
Gemma had an immense love for the poor and helped them in any way she could. After her father's death, the 19-year-old Gemma became the mother-figure for her seven brothers and sisters. When some of her siblings became old enough to share the responsibility, Gemma went to live briefly with a married aunt.
At this time, two young men proposed marriage to her. However, Gemma refused because she wanted silence, retirement, and more than ever, she desired to pray and speak only to God.
Gemma returned home and almost immediately became very ill with meningitis. Throughout this illness, her one regret was the trouble she caused her relatives who took care of her. Feeling herself tempted by the devil, Gemma prayed for help to the Venerable Passionist, Gabriel Possenti. Through his intercession, Gemma was miraculously cured.
Gemma wished to become a nun, but her poor health prevented her from being accepted. She offered this disappointment to God as a sacrifice.
Gemma predicted that the Passionists would establish a monastery at Lucca; this came to pass two years after her death. Today, Gemma's relics remain at the Passionist monastery in Lucca.
On June 8, 1899, Gemma had an internal warning that some unusual grace was to be granted to her. She felt pain and blood coming from her hands, feet and heart. These were the marks of the stigmata. Each Thursday evening, Gemma would fall into rapture and the marks would appear.
Such marks, called the stigmata in the language of the Catholic Church, refers to the appearance of the wounds of the crucified Jesus Christ appearing on the bodies of some men and women whose lives are so conformed to His that they reflect those wounds of redemptive love for others.
The stigmata remained until Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. When the bleeding would stop, the wounds would close, and only white marks would remain in place of the deep gashes. Gemma's stigmata would continue to appear until her confessor, Reverend Germanus Ruoppolo, advised her to pray for their disappearance due to her declining health. Through her prayers, the phenomenon ceased, but the white marks remained on her skin until her death.
Through the help of her confessor, Gemma went off to live with another family where she was allowed more freedom for her spiritual life than she was at home. She was frequently found in a state of ecstasy and on one occasion she was believed to have levitated. Her words spoken during her ecstasies, were recorded by her confessor and a relative from her adoptive family.
At the end of her ecstasies, she returned to normal and carried on quietly and serenely. Gemma often saw her guardian angel. She sent her guardian angel on errands, usually to deliver a letter or oral message to her confessor in Rome.
St. Gemma Galgani - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
At a very young age, Gemma developed a love for prayer. She made her First Communion on June 17, 1887. Gemma was loved by her teachers and her fellow students, as a student at a school run by the Sisters of St. Zita. Though quiet and reserved, she always had a smile for everyone. Unfortunately, Gemma had to quit school due to her chronic ill health before completing the course of study.
Throughout her life, Gemma was to be chosen with many mystical experiences and special graces. These were often misunderstood by others, causing ridicule. Gemma suffered heartaches in reparation, remembering that Our Lord Himself had been misunderstood and ridiculed.
Gemma had an immense love for the poor and helped them in any way she could. After her father's death, the 19-year-old Gemma became the mother-figure for her seven brothers and sisters. When some of her siblings became old enough to share the responsibility, Gemma went to live briefly with a married aunt.
At this time, two young men proposed marriage to her. However, Gemma refused because she wanted silence, retirement, and more than ever, she desired to pray and speak only to God.
Gemma returned home and almost immediately became very ill with meningitis. Throughout this illness, her one regret was the trouble she caused her relatives who took care of her. Feeling herself tempted by the devil, Gemma prayed for help to the Venerable Passionist, Gabriel Possenti. Through his intercession, Gemma was miraculously cured.
Gemma wished to become a nun, but her poor health prevented her from being accepted. She offered this disappointment to God as a sacrifice.
Gemma predicted that the Passionists would establish a monastery at Lucca; this came to pass two years after her death. Today, Gemma's relics remain at the Passionist monastery in Lucca.
On June 8, 1899, Gemma had an internal warning that some unusual grace was to be granted to her. She felt pain and blood coming from her hands, feet and heart. These were the marks of the stigmata. Each Thursday evening, Gemma would fall into rapture and the marks would appear.
Such marks, called the stigmata in the language of the Catholic Church, refers to the appearance of the wounds of the crucified Jesus Christ appearing on the bodies of some men and women whose lives are so conformed to His that they reflect those wounds of redemptive love for others.
The stigmata remained until Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. When the bleeding would stop, the wounds would close, and only white marks would remain in place of the deep gashes. Gemma's stigmata would continue to appear until her confessor, Reverend Germanus Ruoppolo, advised her to pray for their disappearance due to her declining health. Through her prayers, the phenomenon ceased, but the white marks remained on her skin until her death.
Through the help of her confessor, Gemma went off to live with another family where she was allowed more freedom for her spiritual life than she was at home. She was frequently found in a state of ecstasy and on one occasion she was believed to have levitated. Her words spoken during her ecstasies, were recorded by her confessor and a relative from her adoptive family.
At the end of her ecstasies, she returned to normal and carried on quietly and serenely. Gemma often saw her guardian angel. She sent her guardian angel on errands, usually to deliver a letter or oral message to her confessor in Rome.
St. Gemma Galgani - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
MARCH 2025 ~ saint david of wales
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Feast Day: March 1
Patron Saint of Wales According to tradition, St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St. Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus. Later, he was involved in missionary work and founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in Southwestern Wales was noted for extreme asceticism. David and his monks drank neither wine nor beer - only water - while putting in a full day of heavy manual labor and intense study. Around the year 550, David attended a synod at Brevi in Cardiganshire. His contributions at the synod are said to have been the major cause for his election as
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primate of the Cambrian Church. He was reportedly consecrated archbishop by the patriarch of Jerusalem while on a visit to the Holy Land. He also is said to have invoked a council that ended the last vestiges of Pelagianism. David died at his monastery in Menevia around the year 589, and his cult was approved in 1120 by Pope Callistus II. He is revered as the patron of Wales. Undoubtedly, St. David was endowed with substantial qualities of spiritual leadership. What is more, many monasteries flourished as a result of his leadership and good example. His staunch adherence to monastic piety bespeaks a fine example for modern Christians seeking order and form in their prayer life.His feast day is March 1.
St. David - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
St. David - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
FEBRUARY 2025 - saint paul Miki & companions
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Feast Day: February 6
Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, immediately killing over 37,000 people. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers, and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits, and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans, and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his Church. |
Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross, Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: “The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.”
When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.
Saint Paul Miki and Companions | Franciscan Media
When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.
Saint Paul Miki and Companions | Franciscan Media
JANUARY 2025 ~ sAINT aGNES
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Birth: 291
Death: 304 Patron: of Betrothed couples; chastity; Children of Mary; Colegio Capranica of Rome; crops; gardeners; Girl Guides; girls; rape victims; virgins |
By Kate Quiñones
CNA Staff, Jan 21, 2024 / 04:00 am
The stories surrounding St. Agnes’ life and death are varied. We know the place of her burial, her approximate age, and the place where she was martyred. Much less is known about her life, though there are many stories passed down since her martyrdom in the fourth century.
The Roman Catholic Church celebrates her feast day every Jan. 21, the day of her death. She was only about 12 or 13 year old when she was martyred in 304 A.D., but she has been honored by the Church for more than 1,700 years.
Today, the saint’s skull resides in a side chapel of the church Sant’Agnese in Agone in the Piazza Navona, Rome. Her body was buried in what is now known as the catacomb of St. Agnes, and her bones are still preserved in the Church of St. Agnes Outside the Walls, which was built over the catacomb where she was originally buried.
St. Agnes’ name means “chaste” in Greek and “lamb” in Latin. Both meanings foreshadowed her death as a virgin martyr who died because she defended her chastity and refused to give up her faith.
St. Agnes was born to noble, Christian parents in 291 A.D. in the Roman Empire. She lived during a time of Christian persecution under the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
In the year 302, the emperor resolved to wipe out Christianity. While Agnes was growing up, in 303, Diocletian along with his co-ruler Galerius called for the destruction of churches and the burning of books. Clergy and laity were imprisoned and tortured for refusing to worship the emperor.
There are accounts of her life going back to the late fourth and early fifth century, including one by the Roman Christian poet Prudentius called “The Passion of Agnes.” St. Ambrose and Pope Damusus wrote accounts of her martyrdom as well. Though there are small differences across all, the general story is quite similar.
An anonymous author popularized her story through a biography, “The Life of St. Agnes of Rome: Virgin and Martyr,” written in French in the 1800s and translated to English soon after.
The story goes that as she was returning home one day, Procopius, the son of a Roman prefect Symphronius, fell in love with her and sought to marry her. He brought her many gifts and offered her riches, but she refused, saying she was bound to her spouse — Christ.
When Symphronius learned that she was Christian, he put her on trial.
“My life belongs to him who has chosen me first,” she insisted in response to his threats, refusing to betray her vow to Christ.
Though the prefect at first offered her a chance to preserve her virginity by becoming a priestess of the goddess Vesta, she refused, and so he sent her to a brothel. When he ordered her stripped of her garments, the story goes that her hair unbraided and grew to cover her. As she was paraded through the streets, the onlookers are said to have looked away.
When she reached the brothel, an angel of the Lord surrounded her with a bright light, obscuring her from the eyes of those who intended to rape her. Though many in the brothel fell down in worship, when the son of the prefect approached her, calling the others cowards, he died.
The prefect blamed her for the death of his son, but when she defended herself against his accusations of witchcraft, the prefect said he would believe if she asked the angel to bring him back. After she prostrated herself on the ground in prayer, the son came back to life.
In another version, the son is struck blind, not dead.
Priests and authority figures became concerned about the attention Agnes was getting and condemned her to death. The prefect abandoned her, and she was thrown into a fire in a public area.
But the flame, the story goes, divided in half and did not touch her. In another version, the stake she was tied to would not burn. She praised God and then was executed by beheading.
Because of the nature of her martyrdom, the Church honors St. Agnes as the patron saint of girls, chastity, virgins, and victims of rape.
On the day of her feast day, two lambs are blessed. The lambs are then shorn, and the wool is used to make palliums, liturgical vestments worn by archbishops.
The origins of St. Agnes, child saint and martyr – EWTN Global Catholic Television Network
CNA Staff, Jan 21, 2024 / 04:00 am
The stories surrounding St. Agnes’ life and death are varied. We know the place of her burial, her approximate age, and the place where she was martyred. Much less is known about her life, though there are many stories passed down since her martyrdom in the fourth century.
The Roman Catholic Church celebrates her feast day every Jan. 21, the day of her death. She was only about 12 or 13 year old when she was martyred in 304 A.D., but she has been honored by the Church for more than 1,700 years.
Today, the saint’s skull resides in a side chapel of the church Sant’Agnese in Agone in the Piazza Navona, Rome. Her body was buried in what is now known as the catacomb of St. Agnes, and her bones are still preserved in the Church of St. Agnes Outside the Walls, which was built over the catacomb where she was originally buried.
St. Agnes’ name means “chaste” in Greek and “lamb” in Latin. Both meanings foreshadowed her death as a virgin martyr who died because she defended her chastity and refused to give up her faith.
St. Agnes was born to noble, Christian parents in 291 A.D. in the Roman Empire. She lived during a time of Christian persecution under the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
In the year 302, the emperor resolved to wipe out Christianity. While Agnes was growing up, in 303, Diocletian along with his co-ruler Galerius called for the destruction of churches and the burning of books. Clergy and laity were imprisoned and tortured for refusing to worship the emperor.
There are accounts of her life going back to the late fourth and early fifth century, including one by the Roman Christian poet Prudentius called “The Passion of Agnes.” St. Ambrose and Pope Damusus wrote accounts of her martyrdom as well. Though there are small differences across all, the general story is quite similar.
An anonymous author popularized her story through a biography, “The Life of St. Agnes of Rome: Virgin and Martyr,” written in French in the 1800s and translated to English soon after.
The story goes that as she was returning home one day, Procopius, the son of a Roman prefect Symphronius, fell in love with her and sought to marry her. He brought her many gifts and offered her riches, but she refused, saying she was bound to her spouse — Christ.
When Symphronius learned that she was Christian, he put her on trial.
“My life belongs to him who has chosen me first,” she insisted in response to his threats, refusing to betray her vow to Christ.
Though the prefect at first offered her a chance to preserve her virginity by becoming a priestess of the goddess Vesta, she refused, and so he sent her to a brothel. When he ordered her stripped of her garments, the story goes that her hair unbraided and grew to cover her. As she was paraded through the streets, the onlookers are said to have looked away.
When she reached the brothel, an angel of the Lord surrounded her with a bright light, obscuring her from the eyes of those who intended to rape her. Though many in the brothel fell down in worship, when the son of the prefect approached her, calling the others cowards, he died.
The prefect blamed her for the death of his son, but when she defended herself against his accusations of witchcraft, the prefect said he would believe if she asked the angel to bring him back. After she prostrated herself on the ground in prayer, the son came back to life.
In another version, the son is struck blind, not dead.
Priests and authority figures became concerned about the attention Agnes was getting and condemned her to death. The prefect abandoned her, and she was thrown into a fire in a public area.
But the flame, the story goes, divided in half and did not touch her. In another version, the stake she was tied to would not burn. She praised God and then was executed by beheading.
Because of the nature of her martyrdom, the Church honors St. Agnes as the patron saint of girls, chastity, virgins, and victims of rape.
On the day of her feast day, two lambs are blessed. The lambs are then shorn, and the wool is used to make palliums, liturgical vestments worn by archbishops.
The origins of St. Agnes, child saint and martyr – EWTN Global Catholic Television Network
DECEMBER 2024 ~ SAINT LUCY
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Saint Lucy’s legacy is as luminous as her name, which is derived from “lux,” the Latin word for light. Her story, although veiled in the mists of time, tells of a valiant woman from Syracuse who became a martyr during the early fourth-century Christian persecutions. Despite the scant details about her life, Lucy’s devotion to her faith led to widespread veneration, reaching Rome and gaining recognition across the Christian world by the sixth century. The legends that illuminate Lucy’s life are as inspiring as they are symbolic. One such tale narrates the story of a devout young |
Christian, pledged to a life in Christ’s service, who resisted her mother’s attempts to arrange a marriage with a pagan suitor. Understanding that her mother might not be swayed by a mere vow, Lucy sought a miraculous sign. Her prayers at Saint Agatha’s tomb led to her mother’s miraculous recovery from a long-standing illness, thereby convincing her to respect Lucy’s wishes to dedicate her life to God and to distribute her wealth among the poor.
However, the story takes a tragic turn. The spurned suitor, unable to see the spiritual enlightenment that guided Lucy, denounced her as a Christian to the local governor. According to legend, when the guards attempted to force her into prostitution, they found her immovable, as steadfast as a mountain. Ultimately, Lucy met a martyr’s death, embodying the suffering that many Christians endured under Diocletian’s brutal regime.
Another facet of Lucy’s story links her to the patronage of the blind and those with eye troubles. This association stems from a legend where Diocletian had Lucy’s eyes removed as part of his torture, only for them to be miraculously restored by God. This element of her legend is often depicted in art, showing Lucy holding a dish with two eyes.
While the historical accuracy of these legends might be uncertain, the essence of Lucy’s story is clear and profound. Her unwavering courage in the face of torture and death, her commitment to her faith, and her compassionate deeds shine as a beacon of inspiration. Saint Lucy’s story, enveloped in myth yet rooted in an unshakeable faith, continues to guide and enlighten those on their spiritual journeys, reminding us of the enduring power of conviction and the radiant light of bravery.
Saint Lucy | uCatholic
However, the story takes a tragic turn. The spurned suitor, unable to see the spiritual enlightenment that guided Lucy, denounced her as a Christian to the local governor. According to legend, when the guards attempted to force her into prostitution, they found her immovable, as steadfast as a mountain. Ultimately, Lucy met a martyr’s death, embodying the suffering that many Christians endured under Diocletian’s brutal regime.
Another facet of Lucy’s story links her to the patronage of the blind and those with eye troubles. This association stems from a legend where Diocletian had Lucy’s eyes removed as part of his torture, only for them to be miraculously restored by God. This element of her legend is often depicted in art, showing Lucy holding a dish with two eyes.
While the historical accuracy of these legends might be uncertain, the essence of Lucy’s story is clear and profound. Her unwavering courage in the face of torture and death, her commitment to her faith, and her compassionate deeds shine as a beacon of inspiration. Saint Lucy’s story, enveloped in myth yet rooted in an unshakeable faith, continues to guide and enlighten those on their spiritual journeys, reminding us of the enduring power of conviction and the radiant light of bravery.
Saint Lucy | uCatholic
NOVEMBER 2024 ~ Saint martin de porres
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Feast Day: November 3
Patron: of Mixed Race, Barbers, Public Health Workers, Innkeepers Death: 1639 Beatified: in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI Canonized: in 1962 by Pope John XXIII |
“Father unknown” is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. “Half-breed” or “war souvenir” is the cruel name inflicted by those of “pure” blood. Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised.
He was the son of a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of indigenous stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. His parents never married each other. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father, who finally acknowledged his son after eight years. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Martin was reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society.
When he was 12, his mother apprenticed him to a barber-surgeon. Martin learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood—a standard medical treatment then—care for wounds, and prepare and administer medicines.
After a few years in this medical apostolate, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper,” not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility, led the community to request him to make full religious profession. Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color, race, or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa, and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality, as well as generosity. He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a matter of “blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!” When his priory was in debt, he said, “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me.”
Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry, and infirmary, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals. His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house.
Martin became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent.
Many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave.” He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima.
Reflection
Racism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution, it is a “sin of the world” that is everybody’s responsibility but apparently nobody’s fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness–on the part of those discriminated against—and Christian justice–on the part of reformed racists—than Martin de Porres.
Saint Martin de Porres is the Patron Saint of:
African Americans
Barbers
Hairdressers
Race Relations
Radio
Social Justice
Saint Martin de Porres | Franciscan Media
He was the son of a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of indigenous stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. His parents never married each other. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father, who finally acknowledged his son after eight years. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Martin was reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society.
When he was 12, his mother apprenticed him to a barber-surgeon. Martin learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood—a standard medical treatment then—care for wounds, and prepare and administer medicines.
After a few years in this medical apostolate, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper,” not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility, led the community to request him to make full religious profession. Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color, race, or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa, and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality, as well as generosity. He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a matter of “blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!” When his priory was in debt, he said, “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me.”
Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry, and infirmary, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals. His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house.
Martin became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent.
Many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave.” He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima.
Reflection
Racism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution, it is a “sin of the world” that is everybody’s responsibility but apparently nobody’s fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness–on the part of those discriminated against—and Christian justice–on the part of reformed racists—than Martin de Porres.
Saint Martin de Porres is the Patron Saint of:
African Americans
Barbers
Hairdressers
Race Relations
Radio
Social Justice
Saint Martin de Porres | Franciscan Media
october 2024 ~ Saint John of capistrano
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Born 24 June 1386 · Capestrano, Abruzzi,
Kingdom of Naples Died 23 October 1456 (aged 70) Ilok, Syrmia, Kingdom of Hungary Canonized 16 October 1690 Feast 23 October Patron of Jurists, Belgrade and Hungary
It has been said the Christian saints are the world’s greatest optimists. Not blind to the existence and consequences of evil, they base their confidence on the power of Christ’s redemption. The power of conversion through Christ extends not only to sinful people but also to calamitous events. |
Imagine being born in the 14th century. One-third of the population and nearly 40 percent of the clergy were wiped out by the bubonic plague. The Western Schism split the Church with two or three claimants to the Holy See at one time. England and France were at war. The city-states of Italy were constantly in conflict. No wonder that gloom dominated the spirit of the culture and the times.
John Capistrano was born in 1386. His education was thorough. His talents and success were great. When he was 26 he was made governor of Perugia. Imprisoned after a battle against the Malatestas, he resolved to change his way of life completely. At the age of 30 he entered the Franciscan novitiate and was ordained a priest four years later.
John’s preaching attracted great throngs at a time of religious apathy and confusion. He and 12 Franciscan brethren were received in the countries of central Europe as angels of God. They were instrumental in reviving a dying faith and devotion.
The Franciscan Order itself was in turmoil over the interpretation and observance of the Rule of St. Francis. Through John’s tireless efforts and his expertise in law, the heretical Fraticelli were suppressed and the “Spirituals” were freed from interference in their stricter observance.
John of Capistrano helped bring about a brief reunion with the Greek and Armenian Churches.
When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, John was commissioned to preach a crusade for the defense of Europe. Gaining little response in Bavaria and Austria, he decided to concentrate his efforts in Hungary. He led the army to Belgrade. Under the great General John Hunyadi, they gained an overwhelming victory, and the siege of Belgrade was lifted. Worn out by his superhuman efforts, Capistrano was an easy prey to an infection after the battle. He died on October 23, 1456.
Reflection
John Hofer, a biographer of John Capistrano, recalls a Brussels organization named after the saint. Seeking to solve life problems in a fully Christian spirit, its motto was: “Initiative, Organization, Activity.” These three words characterized John’s life. He was not one to sit around. His deep Christian optimism drove him to battle problems at all levels with the confidence engendered by a deep faith in Christ.
Saint John of Capistrano is Patron Saint of:
Judges
John Capistrano was born in 1386. His education was thorough. His talents and success were great. When he was 26 he was made governor of Perugia. Imprisoned after a battle against the Malatestas, he resolved to change his way of life completely. At the age of 30 he entered the Franciscan novitiate and was ordained a priest four years later.
John’s preaching attracted great throngs at a time of religious apathy and confusion. He and 12 Franciscan brethren were received in the countries of central Europe as angels of God. They were instrumental in reviving a dying faith and devotion.
The Franciscan Order itself was in turmoil over the interpretation and observance of the Rule of St. Francis. Through John’s tireless efforts and his expertise in law, the heretical Fraticelli were suppressed and the “Spirituals” were freed from interference in their stricter observance.
John of Capistrano helped bring about a brief reunion with the Greek and Armenian Churches.
When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, John was commissioned to preach a crusade for the defense of Europe. Gaining little response in Bavaria and Austria, he decided to concentrate his efforts in Hungary. He led the army to Belgrade. Under the great General John Hunyadi, they gained an overwhelming victory, and the siege of Belgrade was lifted. Worn out by his superhuman efforts, Capistrano was an easy prey to an infection after the battle. He died on October 23, 1456.
Reflection
John Hofer, a biographer of John Capistrano, recalls a Brussels organization named after the saint. Seeking to solve life problems in a fully Christian spirit, its motto was: “Initiative, Organization, Activity.” These three words characterized John’s life. He was not one to sit around. His deep Christian optimism drove him to battle problems at all levels with the confidence engendered by a deep faith in Christ.
Saint John of Capistrano is Patron Saint of:
Judges
SEPTEMBER 2024 ~ sAINT pIUS OF pIETRELCINA (pADRE PIO)
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FEAST DAY: September 23
PATRON: of Civil defense volunteers, Adolescents, Pietrelcina, Stress relief, & January blues BIRTH: 1887 DEATH: 1968 CANONIZED BY: Pope John Paul II |
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina’s Story
In one of the largest such ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul’s pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter’s Square and nearby streets. They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity. “This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio’s teaching,” said the pope. He also stressed Padre Pio’s witness to the power of suffering. If accepted with love, the Holy Father stressed, such suffering can lead to “a privileged path of sanctity.”
Many people have turned to the Italian Capuchin Franciscan to intercede with God on their behalf; among them was the future Pope John Paul II. In 1962, when he was still an archbishop in Poland, he wrote to Padre Pio and asked him to pray for a Polish woman with throat cancer. Within two weeks, she had been cured of her life-threatening disease.
Born Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio grew up in a family of farmers in southern Italy. Twice his father worked in Jamaica, New York, to provide the family income.
At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins and took the name of Pio. He was ordained in 1910 and was drafted during World War I. After he was discovered to have tuberculosis, he was discharged. In 1917, he was assigned to the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, 75 miles from the city of Bari on the Adriatic.
On September 20, 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet, and side.
Life became more complicated after that. Medical doctors, Church authorities, and curiosity seekers came to see Padre Pio. In 1924, and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned; Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924. His only other writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was done before 1924.
Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions
until noon. He took a mid-morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take 10 hours a day; penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled. Many of them have said that Padre Pio knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.
Padre Pio saw Jesus in all the sick and suffering. At his urging, a fine hospital was built on nearby Mount Gargano. The idea arose in 1940; a committee began to collect money. Ground was broken in 1946. Building the hospital was a technical wonder because of the difficulty of getting water there and of hauling up the building supplies. This “House for the Alleviation of Suffering” has 350 beds.
A number of people have reported cures they believe were received through the intercession of Padre Pio. Those who assisted at his Masses came away edified; several curiosity seekers were deeply moved. Like Saint Francis, Padre Pio sometimes had his habit torn or cut by souvenir hunters.
One of Padre Pio’s sufferings was that unscrupulous people several times circulated prophecies that they claimed originated from him. He never made prophecies about world events and never gave an opinion on matters that he felt belonged to Church authorities to decide. He died on September 23, 1968, and was beatified in 1999.
Reflection
Referring to that day’s Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) at Padre Pio’s canonization Mass in 2002, Saint John Paul II said: “The Gospel image of ‘yoke’ evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo endured. Today we contemplate in him how sweet is the ‘yoke’ of Christ and indeed how light the burdens are whenever someone carries these with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.”
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina | Franciscan Media
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina’s Story
In one of the largest such ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul’s pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter’s Square and nearby streets. They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity. “This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio’s teaching,” said the pope. He also stressed Padre Pio’s witness to the power of suffering. If accepted with love, the Holy Father stressed, such suffering can lead to “a privileged path of sanctity.”
Many people have turned to the Italian Capuchin Franciscan to intercede with God on their behalf; among them was the future Pope John Paul II. In 1962, when he was still an archbishop in Poland, he wrote to Padre Pio and asked him to pray for a Polish woman with throat cancer. Within two weeks, she had been cured of her life-threatening disease.
Born Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio grew up in a family of farmers in southern Italy. Twice his father worked in Jamaica, New York, to provide the family income.
At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins and took the name of Pio. He was ordained in 1910 and was drafted during World War I. After he was discovered to have tuberculosis, he was discharged. In 1917, he was assigned to the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, 75 miles from the city of Bari on the Adriatic.
On September 20, 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet, and side.
Life became more complicated after that. Medical doctors, Church authorities, and curiosity seekers came to see Padre Pio. In 1924, and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned; Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924. His only other writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was done before 1924.
Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions
until noon. He took a mid-morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take 10 hours a day; penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled. Many of them have said that Padre Pio knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.
Padre Pio saw Jesus in all the sick and suffering. At his urging, a fine hospital was built on nearby Mount Gargano. The idea arose in 1940; a committee began to collect money. Ground was broken in 1946. Building the hospital was a technical wonder because of the difficulty of getting water there and of hauling up the building supplies. This “House for the Alleviation of Suffering” has 350 beds.
A number of people have reported cures they believe were received through the intercession of Padre Pio. Those who assisted at his Masses came away edified; several curiosity seekers were deeply moved. Like Saint Francis, Padre Pio sometimes had his habit torn or cut by souvenir hunters.
One of Padre Pio’s sufferings was that unscrupulous people several times circulated prophecies that they claimed originated from him. He never made prophecies about world events and never gave an opinion on matters that he felt belonged to Church authorities to decide. He died on September 23, 1968, and was beatified in 1999.
Reflection
Referring to that day’s Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) at Padre Pio’s canonization Mass in 2002, Saint John Paul II said: “The Gospel image of ‘yoke’ evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo endured. Today we contemplate in him how sweet is the ‘yoke’ of Christ and indeed how light the burdens are whenever someone carries these with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.”
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina | Franciscan Media
AUGUST 2024 ~ SAINT ROSE OF LIMA
Saint Rose of Lima’s Story
The first canonized saint of the New World has one characteristic of all saints—the suffering of opposition—and another characteristic which is more for admiration than for imitation—excessive practice of mortification.
She was born to parents of Spanish descent in Lima, Peru, at a time when South America was in its first century of evangelization. She seems to have taken Catherine of Siena as a model, in spite of the objections and ridicule of parents and friends.
The saints have so great a love of God that what seems bizarre to us, and is indeed sometimes imprudent, is simply a logical carrying out of a conviction that anything that might endanger a loving relationship with God must be rooted out. So, because her beauty was so often admired, Rose used to rub her face with pepper to produce disfiguring blotches. Later, she wore a thick circlet of silver on her head, studded on the inside, like a crown of thorns.
When her parents fell into financial trouble, she worked in the garden all day and sewed at night. Ten years of struggle against her parents began when they tried to make Rose marry. They refused to let her enter a convent, and out of obedience she continued her life of penance and solitude at home as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. So deep was her desire to live the life of Christ that she spent most of her time at home in solitude.
During the last few years of her life, Rose set up a room in the house where she cared for homeless children, the elderly, and the sick. This was a beginning of social services in Peru. Though secluded in life and activity, she was brought to the attention of Inquisition interrogators, who could only say that she was influenced by grace.
What might have been a merely eccentric life was transfigured from the inside. If we remember some unusual penances, we should also remember the greatest thing about Rose: a love of God so ardent that it withstood ridicule from without, violent temptation, and lengthy periods of sickness. When she died at 31, the city turned out for her funeral. Prominent men took turns carrying her coffin.
Reflection
It is easy to dismiss excessive penances of the saints as the expression of a certain culture or temperament. But a woman wearing a crown of thorns may at least prod our consciences. We enjoy the most comfort-oriented life in human history. We eat too much, drink too much, use a million gadgets, fill our eyes and ears with everything imaginable. Commerce thrives on creating useless needs on which to spend our money. It seems that when we have become most like slaves, there is the greatest talk of “freedom.” Are we willing to discipline ourselves in such an atmosphere?
Saint Rose of Lima | Franciscan Media
The first canonized saint of the New World has one characteristic of all saints—the suffering of opposition—and another characteristic which is more for admiration than for imitation—excessive practice of mortification.
She was born to parents of Spanish descent in Lima, Peru, at a time when South America was in its first century of evangelization. She seems to have taken Catherine of Siena as a model, in spite of the objections and ridicule of parents and friends.
The saints have so great a love of God that what seems bizarre to us, and is indeed sometimes imprudent, is simply a logical carrying out of a conviction that anything that might endanger a loving relationship with God must be rooted out. So, because her beauty was so often admired, Rose used to rub her face with pepper to produce disfiguring blotches. Later, she wore a thick circlet of silver on her head, studded on the inside, like a crown of thorns.
When her parents fell into financial trouble, she worked in the garden all day and sewed at night. Ten years of struggle against her parents began when they tried to make Rose marry. They refused to let her enter a convent, and out of obedience she continued her life of penance and solitude at home as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. So deep was her desire to live the life of Christ that she spent most of her time at home in solitude.
During the last few years of her life, Rose set up a room in the house where she cared for homeless children, the elderly, and the sick. This was a beginning of social services in Peru. Though secluded in life and activity, she was brought to the attention of Inquisition interrogators, who could only say that she was influenced by grace.
What might have been a merely eccentric life was transfigured from the inside. If we remember some unusual penances, we should also remember the greatest thing about Rose: a love of God so ardent that it withstood ridicule from without, violent temptation, and lengthy periods of sickness. When she died at 31, the city turned out for her funeral. Prominent men took turns carrying her coffin.
Reflection
It is easy to dismiss excessive penances of the saints as the expression of a certain culture or temperament. But a woman wearing a crown of thorns may at least prod our consciences. We enjoy the most comfort-oriented life in human history. We eat too much, drink too much, use a million gadgets, fill our eyes and ears with everything imaginable. Commerce thrives on creating useless needs on which to spend our money. It seems that when we have become most like slaves, there is the greatest talk of “freedom.” Are we willing to discipline ourselves in such an atmosphere?
Saint Rose of Lima | Franciscan Media
july 2024 ~ saint bridget of sweden
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FEAST DAY: July 23 Patroness of Sweden, Europe |
Saint Bridget of Sweden’s Story
From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.
She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.
Bridget constantly strove to exert her good influence over Magnus; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order known as the Bridgetines.
In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses.
A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. In 1999, Bridget, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe.
Reflection
Bridget’s visions, rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the years that the legitimate Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon, France. She saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the marketplace.
Saint Bridget of Sweden | Franciscan Media
From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.
She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.
Bridget constantly strove to exert her good influence over Magnus; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order known as the Bridgetines.
In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses.
A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. In 1999, Bridget, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe.
Reflection
Bridget’s visions, rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the years that the legitimate Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon, France. She saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the marketplace.
Saint Bridget of Sweden | Franciscan Media
june 2024 ~ Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
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The Lord can make saints anywhere, even amid the brutality and license of Renaissance life. Florence was the “mother of piety” for Aloysius Gonzaga despite his exposure to a “society of fraud, dagger, poison, and lust.” As a son of a princely family, he grew up in royal courts and army camps. His father wanted Aloysius to be a military hero.
At age 7 Aloysius experienced a profound spiritual quickening. His prayers included the Office of Mary, the psalms, and other devotions. At age 9 he came from his hometown of Castiglione to Florence to be educated; by age 11 he was teaching catechism to poor children, fasting three days a week, and practicing great austerities. When he was 13 years old, he traveled with his parents and the Empress of Austria to Spain, and acted as a page in the court of Philip II. The more Aloysius saw of court life, the more disillusioned he became, seeking relief in learning about the lives of saints.
A book about the experience of Jesuit missionaries in India suggested to him the idea of entering the Society of Jesus, and in Spain his decision became final. Now began a four-year contest with his father. Eminent churchmen and laypeople were pressed into service to persuade Aloysius to remain in his “normal” vocation. Finally he prevailed, was allowed to renounce his right to succession, and was received into the Jesuit novitiate.
Like other seminarians, Aloysius was faced with a new kind of penance—that of accepting different ideas about the exact nature of penance. He was obliged to eat more, and to take recreation with the other students. He was forbidden to pray except at stated times. He spent four years in the study of philosophy and had Saint Robert Bellarmine as his spiritual adviser.
In 1591, a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own. The superior general himself and many other Jesuits rendered personal service. Because he nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, Aloysius caught the disease. A fever persisted after his recovery and he was so weak he could scarcely rise from bed. Yet he maintained his great discipline of prayer,knowing that he would die three months later within the octave of Corpus Christi, at the age of 23.
Reflection
As a saint who fasted, scourged himself, sought solitude and prayer, and did not look on the faces of women, Aloysius seems an unlikely patron of youth in a society where asceticism is confined to training camps of football teams and boxers, and sexual permissiveness has little left to permit. Can an overweight and air-conditioned society deprive itself of anything? It will when it discovers a reason, as Aloysius did. The motivation for letting God purify us is the experience of God loving us in prayer.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga | Franciscan Media
At age 7 Aloysius experienced a profound spiritual quickening. His prayers included the Office of Mary, the psalms, and other devotions. At age 9 he came from his hometown of Castiglione to Florence to be educated; by age 11 he was teaching catechism to poor children, fasting three days a week, and practicing great austerities. When he was 13 years old, he traveled with his parents and the Empress of Austria to Spain, and acted as a page in the court of Philip II. The more Aloysius saw of court life, the more disillusioned he became, seeking relief in learning about the lives of saints.
A book about the experience of Jesuit missionaries in India suggested to him the idea of entering the Society of Jesus, and in Spain his decision became final. Now began a four-year contest with his father. Eminent churchmen and laypeople were pressed into service to persuade Aloysius to remain in his “normal” vocation. Finally he prevailed, was allowed to renounce his right to succession, and was received into the Jesuit novitiate.
Like other seminarians, Aloysius was faced with a new kind of penance—that of accepting different ideas about the exact nature of penance. He was obliged to eat more, and to take recreation with the other students. He was forbidden to pray except at stated times. He spent four years in the study of philosophy and had Saint Robert Bellarmine as his spiritual adviser.
In 1591, a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own. The superior general himself and many other Jesuits rendered personal service. Because he nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, Aloysius caught the disease. A fever persisted after his recovery and he was so weak he could scarcely rise from bed. Yet he maintained his great discipline of prayer,knowing that he would die three months later within the octave of Corpus Christi, at the age of 23.
Reflection
As a saint who fasted, scourged himself, sought solitude and prayer, and did not look on the faces of women, Aloysius seems an unlikely patron of youth in a society where asceticism is confined to training camps of football teams and boxers, and sexual permissiveness has little left to permit. Can an overweight and air-conditioned society deprive itself of anything? It will when it discovers a reason, as Aloysius did. The motivation for letting God purify us is the experience of God loving us in prayer.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga | Franciscan Media
may 2024 ~ Saint Joseph the Worker
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Feast Day: May 1
Patron of: The Catholic Church, among others, fathers, workers, married people, persons living in exile, the sick and dying, for a holy death |
The Story of Saint Joseph the Worker
To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955. This feast extends the long relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers in both Catholic faith and devotion. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, the dignity of human work has long been celebrated as a participation in the creative work of God. By work, humankind both fulfills the command found in Genesis to care for the earth (Gn 2:15) and to be productive in their labors. Saint Joseph, the carpenter and foster father of Jesus, is but one example of the holiness of human labor.
Jesus, too, was a carpenter. He learned the trade from Saint Joseph and spent his early adult years working side-by-side in Joseph’s carpentry shop before leaving to pursue his ministry as preacher and healer. In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II stated: “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.”
Saint Joseph is held up as a model of such work. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work.”
Reflection
To capture the devotion to Saint Joseph within the Catholic liturgy, in 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the patron of the universal Church. In 1955, Pope Pius XII added the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. This silent saint, who was given the noble task of caring and watching over the Virgin Mary and Jesus, now cares for and watches over the Church and models for all the dignity of human work.
Scenes from the life of Joseph give us a glimpse of the virtues of this laborer and upstanding Jewish man, the carpenter who will build something beautiful for the God of his forefathers.
My mother met my father at a wedding reception. She had been saying a novena to Joseph to help her find a spouse, and when she first laid eyes on my father, she knew at once that he was the man God intended for her. And she was right; my parents have been married for 54 years. Even now my mother will gladly tell you that it was Joseph who brought the two of them together.
This amazing man has always been my mother’s favorite saint. He was her patron when she was growing up: her guardian, provider, teacher, and father. St. Joseph quite literally raised her in the faith. As a child, she would go to Mass with only Joseph accompanying her. Through his prodding, she told her parents that she wanted to be confirmed and attend Catholic high school.
Joseph instilled within my mother the courage to explain how important her faith was to her and to confidently express it.
It is little surprise that when our family moved to Orange County, we settled in at Joseph parish. All five of us children attended the grade school; went regularly to Mass, confession, and adoration; and enjoyed what was arguably our second home. Mom would speak openly to Joseph, just as if he was physically with us in the house. She was so at ease with the friendship they shared that I never thought such behavior strange.
It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized that many Catholics don’t live the communion of saints the way my mother does and the way she taught us to.
Through my mother’s relationship with Joseph, I learned that the great fellowship of Christ’s companions that now share life with him are present to us in the mystical body of Christ. They can challenge, encourage, comfort, and care for us to the extent that we let them. These holy men and women of God are real friends to us; their presence in our lives is a great gift of God to which we do well to make recourse. They are alive in Christ, and they share his desire to gather the whole world to him.
Beloved Father
I’ve long wanted to explore the life Joseph. When I first began sharing with people this hope, many of them asked how such a project could be possible. Over and over again I was told, “But he never says a word” and “We know so little about him.” While it’s true that the Scriptures record no spoken words of Joseph, all four Gospel authors make reference to him, and Luke and Matthew speak of him directly.
On two key occasions, Matthew goes so far as to tell us what Joseph is thinking and feeling: He “considered” whether to send his pregnant betrothed away quietly (Matthew 1:20), and “he was afraid to go” back to Judea, a fear that an angel confirmed in a dream as justifiable (Matthew 2:22). Joseph is an icon of our faith precisely because there are no recorded words of his. I believe that words would be a distraction. His love of Our Lady, care for Jesus, obedience, faith, purity, simplicity, courage, and hope speak loudly from the home he built in Nazareth.
Joseph is the headmaster of that home school. And I believe that we know a great deal about Joseph—more than if he had penned a Gospel of his own—from the person he raised, a man we know a great deal about. The descriptions of Joseph’s life and character that follow, while rooted in the Scripture passages that mention him, are chiefly inspired by Jesus’s teachings. For some thirty years Jesus lived, prayed, celebrated, studied, and shared in the home Joseph established. The years in Nazareth were a real foundation upon which Jesus would build his saving ministry. Joseph is best known through Jesus’s words and deeds.
Joseph was the man who risked everything to care for Mary and her son, safeguarding them from harm and cherishing them with the purest love. His life is thus a catechism writ large, a flesh-and-blood testimony of what it means to live according to God’s will, with one’s mind and heart centered on Christ.
Man of Love
And in him we also see a man with a wholesome Marian spirituality. There are three critical moments of Joseph’s life recorded in Scripture: the time of his betrothal to Mary, the moment he learns she is with child, and the revelation in Joseph’s dream about her condition. Each offers a glimpse of the natural virtues of this laborer and upstanding Jewish man, the carpenter who will build something beautiful for the God of his forefathers.
These moments teach us about the transition from the old Law to the new and its resulting hope. They also indicate the shift that must occur in our own lives when God asks us to do the unimagined.
Historically speaking, Joseph is the father of the new covenant of God’s love and thus possesses an insight into the work of God that complements that of Mary. We can say then that Joseph doesn’t merely raise Jesus according to God’s plan: Joseph raises every Christian. He is rightly called the patron of the Universal Church because the attentive care he exercised on behalf of Mary and Jesus he continues to lavish upon us.
He loves the precious bride whom Jesus will one day present to God. He longs to help us live and express our faith. I encourage you to look at St. Joseph, to gaze upon this man who lived in such close proximity to our Lord. You will find a window that opens to the divine in vibrant ways. As my mother knew, St. Joseph has much to teach us.
Saint Joseph the Worker | Franciscan Media
St. Joseph: A Father for the Ages | Franciscan Media
To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955. This feast extends the long relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers in both Catholic faith and devotion. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, the dignity of human work has long been celebrated as a participation in the creative work of God. By work, humankind both fulfills the command found in Genesis to care for the earth (Gn 2:15) and to be productive in their labors. Saint Joseph, the carpenter and foster father of Jesus, is but one example of the holiness of human labor.
Jesus, too, was a carpenter. He learned the trade from Saint Joseph and spent his early adult years working side-by-side in Joseph’s carpentry shop before leaving to pursue his ministry as preacher and healer. In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II stated: “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.”
Saint Joseph is held up as a model of such work. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work.”
Reflection
To capture the devotion to Saint Joseph within the Catholic liturgy, in 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the patron of the universal Church. In 1955, Pope Pius XII added the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. This silent saint, who was given the noble task of caring and watching over the Virgin Mary and Jesus, now cares for and watches over the Church and models for all the dignity of human work.
Scenes from the life of Joseph give us a glimpse of the virtues of this laborer and upstanding Jewish man, the carpenter who will build something beautiful for the God of his forefathers.
My mother met my father at a wedding reception. She had been saying a novena to Joseph to help her find a spouse, and when she first laid eyes on my father, she knew at once that he was the man God intended for her. And she was right; my parents have been married for 54 years. Even now my mother will gladly tell you that it was Joseph who brought the two of them together.
This amazing man has always been my mother’s favorite saint. He was her patron when she was growing up: her guardian, provider, teacher, and father. St. Joseph quite literally raised her in the faith. As a child, she would go to Mass with only Joseph accompanying her. Through his prodding, she told her parents that she wanted to be confirmed and attend Catholic high school.
Joseph instilled within my mother the courage to explain how important her faith was to her and to confidently express it.
It is little surprise that when our family moved to Orange County, we settled in at Joseph parish. All five of us children attended the grade school; went regularly to Mass, confession, and adoration; and enjoyed what was arguably our second home. Mom would speak openly to Joseph, just as if he was physically with us in the house. She was so at ease with the friendship they shared that I never thought such behavior strange.
It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized that many Catholics don’t live the communion of saints the way my mother does and the way she taught us to.
Through my mother’s relationship with Joseph, I learned that the great fellowship of Christ’s companions that now share life with him are present to us in the mystical body of Christ. They can challenge, encourage, comfort, and care for us to the extent that we let them. These holy men and women of God are real friends to us; their presence in our lives is a great gift of God to which we do well to make recourse. They are alive in Christ, and they share his desire to gather the whole world to him.
Beloved Father
I’ve long wanted to explore the life Joseph. When I first began sharing with people this hope, many of them asked how such a project could be possible. Over and over again I was told, “But he never says a word” and “We know so little about him.” While it’s true that the Scriptures record no spoken words of Joseph, all four Gospel authors make reference to him, and Luke and Matthew speak of him directly.
On two key occasions, Matthew goes so far as to tell us what Joseph is thinking and feeling: He “considered” whether to send his pregnant betrothed away quietly (Matthew 1:20), and “he was afraid to go” back to Judea, a fear that an angel confirmed in a dream as justifiable (Matthew 2:22). Joseph is an icon of our faith precisely because there are no recorded words of his. I believe that words would be a distraction. His love of Our Lady, care for Jesus, obedience, faith, purity, simplicity, courage, and hope speak loudly from the home he built in Nazareth.
Joseph is the headmaster of that home school. And I believe that we know a great deal about Joseph—more than if he had penned a Gospel of his own—from the person he raised, a man we know a great deal about. The descriptions of Joseph’s life and character that follow, while rooted in the Scripture passages that mention him, are chiefly inspired by Jesus’s teachings. For some thirty years Jesus lived, prayed, celebrated, studied, and shared in the home Joseph established. The years in Nazareth were a real foundation upon which Jesus would build his saving ministry. Joseph is best known through Jesus’s words and deeds.
Joseph was the man who risked everything to care for Mary and her son, safeguarding them from harm and cherishing them with the purest love. His life is thus a catechism writ large, a flesh-and-blood testimony of what it means to live according to God’s will, with one’s mind and heart centered on Christ.
Man of Love
And in him we also see a man with a wholesome Marian spirituality. There are three critical moments of Joseph’s life recorded in Scripture: the time of his betrothal to Mary, the moment he learns she is with child, and the revelation in Joseph’s dream about her condition. Each offers a glimpse of the natural virtues of this laborer and upstanding Jewish man, the carpenter who will build something beautiful for the God of his forefathers.
These moments teach us about the transition from the old Law to the new and its resulting hope. They also indicate the shift that must occur in our own lives when God asks us to do the unimagined.
Historically speaking, Joseph is the father of the new covenant of God’s love and thus possesses an insight into the work of God that complements that of Mary. We can say then that Joseph doesn’t merely raise Jesus according to God’s plan: Joseph raises every Christian. He is rightly called the patron of the Universal Church because the attentive care he exercised on behalf of Mary and Jesus he continues to lavish upon us.
He loves the precious bride whom Jesus will one day present to God. He longs to help us live and express our faith. I encourage you to look at St. Joseph, to gaze upon this man who lived in such close proximity to our Lord. You will find a window that opens to the divine in vibrant ways. As my mother knew, St. Joseph has much to teach us.
Saint Joseph the Worker | Franciscan Media
St. Joseph: A Father for the Ages | Franciscan Media
aPRIL 2024 ~ sAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
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Born: Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa March 1347
Died: April 29, 1380 (age 33) Beatified: December 29, 1460 Canonized: June 29, 1461 Patron Saint of: Europe, Fire Prevention, Italy |
Saint Catherine of Siena’s Story
The value Catherine makes central in her short life and which sounds clearly and consistently through her experience is complete surrender to Christ. What is most impressive about her is that she learns to view her surrender to her Lord as a goal to be reached through time.
She was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and grew up as an intelligent, cheerful, and intensely religious person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation.
She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer, and austerity. Gradually, a group of followers gathered around her—men and women, priests and religious. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, began to take more and more note of public affairs. Opposition and slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world and speaking with the candor and authority of one completely committed to Christ. She was cleared of all charges at the Dominican General Chapter of 1374.
Her public influence reached great heights because of her evident holiness, her membership in the Dominican Third Order, and the deep impression she made on the pope. She worked tirelessly for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope.
In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes and putting even saints on opposing sides. Catherine spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the cause of Pope Urban VI and the unity of the Church. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. She died surrounded by her “children” and was canonized in 1461.
Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. In 1939, she and Francis of Assisi were declared co-patrons of Italy. Pope Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila doctors of the Church in 1970. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue.
Reflection
Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Siena stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies: a mystical experience at six, childhood betrothal to Christ, stories of harsh asceticism, her frequent ecstatic visions. Still, Catherine lived in an age which did not know the rapid change of 21st-century mobile America. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime.
Catherine Benincasa’s life is both thoroughly medieval and surprisingly modern. She became the “Mamma” of a band of friends and disciples, including some saints in their own right, such as Blessed Raymond of Capua. She was a nurse, a mystic, and one of the most influential women of her time. Through her letters and visits, she advised princes and popes on social and political issues, and is credited with ending the Avignon “captivity” of the papacy in the 14th century. She was a feisty Italian woman, one of the shining lights of the Dominican Order.
Catherine was canonized in 1461, a mere 81 years after she died. In 1939, as the Second World War was breaking out in Europe, she was named co-patron saint of Italy (with St. Francis of Assisi). And in 1970, at the start of the women’s liberation movement, she was declared a Doctor (exemplar and teacher) of the Church, one of the first women (with St. Teresa of Avila and later St. Thérèse of Lisieux) to be accorded that honor.
Catherine was born on another feast day, the Annunciation (March 25) in 1347. She was the 24th of 25 children (her twin sister died at three months), born to Lapa di Puccio di Piacenti, the daughter of a poet, and Giacomo di Benincasa, a prosperous wool dyer. The year after she was born, the plague descended upon Tuscany and the region was plunged into a severe economic depression. Walled, hilltop cities like Siena endured constant military and political struggles during these years.
As a child, Catherine was merry, playful and joyous, and her good humor stayed with her throughout her life. At age six or seven she had a mystical experience. Over the Dominican church in Siena she saw a regally dressed Jesus sitting on a throne, together with Saints Peter, Paul and John the Evangelist. Jesus had smiled upon her and held out his hand to bless her. She decided to vow herself to the service of God as a virgin, at a time when young women married to improve the financial or social status of their families.
She had to convince her parents that she did not want to marry (by cutting her golden brown hair) and endured their displeasure, which relegated her to servile duties within her family. Finally, her father allowed her a room at home for meditation and prayer. Here she began the austere fasting and ascetic practices that marked the rest of her life.
Catherine sought spiritual direction from the Dominican friars. She also endured long periods of feeling abandoned by God. She reportedly once prayed, “O Lord, where were you when my heart was so vexed with foul and hateful temptations?” A voice answered her, saying, “Daughter, I was in your heart, fortifying you by grace.” At the age of 20, while praying in her room, she saw herself being “mystically espoused” to Jesus, who gave her a ring only she could see.
After three years she was allowed to leave her family home and physically live with the Mantellate. These women (mostly widows) devoted themselves to charitable work among the poor in town and followed the Third Order Rule of St. Dominic. From age 21 until her death at 33, she nursed in the primitive hospitals, distributed alms to the poor and visited prisoners.
She attracted followers (Caterinati) and wrote copious letters to her spiritual “family.” Until the last three years of her life, she didn’t even know how to read or write, as was often the case for women in the 14th century. But she dictated hundreds of letters. Her letters grew to encompass popes and princes, priests and soldiers, religious men and women. More than 400 of her letters still exist.
At one point, however, Catherine was denounced as a fake and summoned to a General Chapter of Dominicans to answer charges of hypocrisy and presumption. All were disproved.
Like St. Francis of Assisi, Catherine received the stigmata (the wounds of Christ). While praying in front of a crucifix in a church in Pisa in 1375, she received these signs of her identification with Jesus’ suffering and fainted from the pain. The wounds of Christ remained invisible to others until after her death when all could see them.
In 1376, Catherine went to Avignon to make peace between the people of Florence and Pope Gregory XI, but failed. She did succeed, however, in ending the 74-year-long papacy in Avignon by convincing the pope to return to Rome.
Returning to Siena, she wrote her great spiritual classic The Dialogue, an account of her conversations with God. She calls God “first Gentle Truth” and the “essence of Charity,” a God in love with humanity. She regards Jesus as the bridge between heaven and earth, “a lifeboat to draw the soul out of the tempestuous sea to conduct her to the port of salvation.”
When a rival pope was set up in 1378, initiating the Great Schism, Catherine wrote letter after letter asking European princes to recognize Urban VI in Rome as pope. She also wrote Urban to bolster him in his trials. The pope eventually told her to come to Rome that he might have her advice close at hand.
But she died soon afterward of a stroke in Rome in 1380. She said she was offering herself to God as a victim for the pope and Church unity. The Great Schism did not end until 1415.
St. Catherine of Siena lived during the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the Renaissance. It was a time of change and uncertainty—like today. Catherine had her enemies and even survived assassination attempts. But she preached a message of peace and forgiveness. Her message is one of hope, especially for our Church.
Saint Catherine of Siena | Franciscan Media
St. Catherine of Siena: The Feisty Dominican | Franciscan Media
The value Catherine makes central in her short life and which sounds clearly and consistently through her experience is complete surrender to Christ. What is most impressive about her is that she learns to view her surrender to her Lord as a goal to be reached through time.
She was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and grew up as an intelligent, cheerful, and intensely religious person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation.
She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer, and austerity. Gradually, a group of followers gathered around her—men and women, priests and religious. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, began to take more and more note of public affairs. Opposition and slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world and speaking with the candor and authority of one completely committed to Christ. She was cleared of all charges at the Dominican General Chapter of 1374.
Her public influence reached great heights because of her evident holiness, her membership in the Dominican Third Order, and the deep impression she made on the pope. She worked tirelessly for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope.
In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes and putting even saints on opposing sides. Catherine spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the cause of Pope Urban VI and the unity of the Church. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. She died surrounded by her “children” and was canonized in 1461.
Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. In 1939, she and Francis of Assisi were declared co-patrons of Italy. Pope Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila doctors of the Church in 1970. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue.
Reflection
Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Siena stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies: a mystical experience at six, childhood betrothal to Christ, stories of harsh asceticism, her frequent ecstatic visions. Still, Catherine lived in an age which did not know the rapid change of 21st-century mobile America. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime.
Catherine Benincasa’s life is both thoroughly medieval and surprisingly modern. She became the “Mamma” of a band of friends and disciples, including some saints in their own right, such as Blessed Raymond of Capua. She was a nurse, a mystic, and one of the most influential women of her time. Through her letters and visits, she advised princes and popes on social and political issues, and is credited with ending the Avignon “captivity” of the papacy in the 14th century. She was a feisty Italian woman, one of the shining lights of the Dominican Order.
Catherine was canonized in 1461, a mere 81 years after she died. In 1939, as the Second World War was breaking out in Europe, she was named co-patron saint of Italy (with St. Francis of Assisi). And in 1970, at the start of the women’s liberation movement, she was declared a Doctor (exemplar and teacher) of the Church, one of the first women (with St. Teresa of Avila and later St. Thérèse of Lisieux) to be accorded that honor.
Catherine was born on another feast day, the Annunciation (March 25) in 1347. She was the 24th of 25 children (her twin sister died at three months), born to Lapa di Puccio di Piacenti, the daughter of a poet, and Giacomo di Benincasa, a prosperous wool dyer. The year after she was born, the plague descended upon Tuscany and the region was plunged into a severe economic depression. Walled, hilltop cities like Siena endured constant military and political struggles during these years.
As a child, Catherine was merry, playful and joyous, and her good humor stayed with her throughout her life. At age six or seven she had a mystical experience. Over the Dominican church in Siena she saw a regally dressed Jesus sitting on a throne, together with Saints Peter, Paul and John the Evangelist. Jesus had smiled upon her and held out his hand to bless her. She decided to vow herself to the service of God as a virgin, at a time when young women married to improve the financial or social status of their families.
She had to convince her parents that she did not want to marry (by cutting her golden brown hair) and endured their displeasure, which relegated her to servile duties within her family. Finally, her father allowed her a room at home for meditation and prayer. Here she began the austere fasting and ascetic practices that marked the rest of her life.
Catherine sought spiritual direction from the Dominican friars. She also endured long periods of feeling abandoned by God. She reportedly once prayed, “O Lord, where were you when my heart was so vexed with foul and hateful temptations?” A voice answered her, saying, “Daughter, I was in your heart, fortifying you by grace.” At the age of 20, while praying in her room, she saw herself being “mystically espoused” to Jesus, who gave her a ring only she could see.
After three years she was allowed to leave her family home and physically live with the Mantellate. These women (mostly widows) devoted themselves to charitable work among the poor in town and followed the Third Order Rule of St. Dominic. From age 21 until her death at 33, she nursed in the primitive hospitals, distributed alms to the poor and visited prisoners.
She attracted followers (Caterinati) and wrote copious letters to her spiritual “family.” Until the last three years of her life, she didn’t even know how to read or write, as was often the case for women in the 14th century. But she dictated hundreds of letters. Her letters grew to encompass popes and princes, priests and soldiers, religious men and women. More than 400 of her letters still exist.
At one point, however, Catherine was denounced as a fake and summoned to a General Chapter of Dominicans to answer charges of hypocrisy and presumption. All were disproved.
Like St. Francis of Assisi, Catherine received the stigmata (the wounds of Christ). While praying in front of a crucifix in a church in Pisa in 1375, she received these signs of her identification with Jesus’ suffering and fainted from the pain. The wounds of Christ remained invisible to others until after her death when all could see them.
In 1376, Catherine went to Avignon to make peace between the people of Florence and Pope Gregory XI, but failed. She did succeed, however, in ending the 74-year-long papacy in Avignon by convincing the pope to return to Rome.
Returning to Siena, she wrote her great spiritual classic The Dialogue, an account of her conversations with God. She calls God “first Gentle Truth” and the “essence of Charity,” a God in love with humanity. She regards Jesus as the bridge between heaven and earth, “a lifeboat to draw the soul out of the tempestuous sea to conduct her to the port of salvation.”
When a rival pope was set up in 1378, initiating the Great Schism, Catherine wrote letter after letter asking European princes to recognize Urban VI in Rome as pope. She also wrote Urban to bolster him in his trials. The pope eventually told her to come to Rome that he might have her advice close at hand.
But she died soon afterward of a stroke in Rome in 1380. She said she was offering herself to God as a victim for the pope and Church unity. The Great Schism did not end until 1415.
St. Catherine of Siena lived during the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the Renaissance. It was a time of change and uncertainty—like today. Catherine had her enemies and even survived assassination attempts. But she preached a message of peace and forgiveness. Her message is one of hope, especially for our Church.
Saint Catherine of Siena | Franciscan Media
St. Catherine of Siena: The Feisty Dominican | Franciscan Media
MARCH 2024 ~ SAINTS PERPETUA & FELICITY
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Feast Day: March 7
Died: 203 Saint Perpetua is the Patron Saint of: Widows Mothers of Deceased Sons |
“When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—water pot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.’”
So writes Perpetua: young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus.
Perpetua’s mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22.
In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.”
Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts.
Felicity gave birth to a daughter a few days before the games commenced.
Perpetua’s record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness.
Saints Perpetua and Felicity | Franciscan Media
So writes Perpetua: young, beautiful, well-educated, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus.
Perpetua’s mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22.
In her diary, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.”
Despite threats of persecution and death, Perpetua, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus and Saturninus, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, and the others killed by beasts.
Felicity gave birth to a daughter a few days before the games commenced.
Perpetua’s record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness.
Saints Perpetua and Felicity | Franciscan Media
february 2024 ~ Saint Valentin, martyr on the via Flaminia
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The Roman Martyrology lists not one, but two Valentines, for February 14th. The first reads thus: "On February 14th, on the Via Flaminia in Rome, St Valentine, priest and martyr, after performing various healing miracles, and known for his culture, was killed by decapitation under Claudius Caesar." The second one states: "On February 14th, in Terni, after being severely beaten, St Valentine was imprisoned and since they (his captors) were unable to overcome his resistance, they secretly dragged him out of prison at midnight and beheaded him on the orders of Placidus, the prefect of Rome".
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The Roman Priest
The story of Valentine, the Roman priest, dates back to around AD270, during the persecutions of the Emperor Claudius Gothicus. Valentine was well known for his sanctity and the Emperor, who was intrigued by his fame, invited him to the palace. He offered Valentine his friendship and said he should adore the gods. But Valentino stated courageously and firmly that it was a waste of time worshipping the gods since Jesus Christ had brought the only true hope and the promise of a better world. The Emperor was impressed by Valentine’s faith and entrusted him to a Roman nobleman named Asterius, whom he ordered to convert Valentine using "mellifluous arguments". Asterius had a daughter who had been blind since the age of two. Valentino prayed over her and the girl regained her sight. Faced with this miracle, Asterius converted to Christianity along with his whole family. When he heard about their conversion, the Emperor Claudius condemned Valentine to be beheaded. The execution took place on the Via Flaminia in Rome. He was buried nearby and soon a church was built there in his honor.
The Bishop of Terni
The story regarding the Bishop of Terni takes place about seventy years later: Valentine was invited to Rome by the rhetorician and philosopher Crato, a teacher of Greek and Latin. He had a son named Chaeremon who suffered from a physical deformity that forced him to keep his head between his knees. No doctor had managed to heal him. Crato promised Valentine half of his possessions if he healed his son. But during a long night-time conversation, Valentine explained that it would not be his useless wealth that would heal the boy, but his faith in the one true God. Valentine then prayed over the boy and he regained his health. Moved by this miracle, Crato and his whole family were baptized by the bishop, together with three Greek students, Proculus, Ephebus and Apollonius. Abbondius, another student and son of the Prefect of Rome, Furious Placidus, also embraced Christianity. We know that Placidus held office between 346-347AD, so this is the historical date we associate with Valentine's martyrdom. Placidus was devastated by the conversion of his son. He had Valentine arrested and decapitated on the Via Flaminia in Rome. The execution was performed at night to avoid the reaction of the now numerous Christian component of the city. After a brief burial on the site of his martyrdom, Proculus, Ephebus and Apollonius carried the body of the martyr to Terni and buried him just outside the city. But in Terni, the Consul Lucentius, arrested all three of them and before the populace could free them, had them beheaded as well. When they found out about the execution, the people buried the new martyrs together with Valentine in his tomb.
Patron Saint of Lovers
There are too many connections between the stories of the Valentine of Rome and the Valentine of Terni, including their places of martyrdom and burial, for us not to think they are one and the same person. Both give heroic testimonies of faith, both perform a miraculous healing that causes conversions, and both are martyred by beheading on the Via Flaminia in Rome. It was the Benedictine Order that maintained the church of St Valentine in Terni during the Middle Ages and that spread the cult of Valentine's Day in their monasteries in France and England. The tradition of his being patron saint of lovers finds its origin in an ancient English text by Geoffrey Chaucer, according to whom birds start mating on Valentine's Day. In mid-February, in fact, nature begins to awaken from its winter lethargy, so Saint Valentine has become the saint who announces the coming spring – which is why he is sometimes represented holding the sun in his hand.
St. Valentin - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News
The story of Valentine, the Roman priest, dates back to around AD270, during the persecutions of the Emperor Claudius Gothicus. Valentine was well known for his sanctity and the Emperor, who was intrigued by his fame, invited him to the palace. He offered Valentine his friendship and said he should adore the gods. But Valentino stated courageously and firmly that it was a waste of time worshipping the gods since Jesus Christ had brought the only true hope and the promise of a better world. The Emperor was impressed by Valentine’s faith and entrusted him to a Roman nobleman named Asterius, whom he ordered to convert Valentine using "mellifluous arguments". Asterius had a daughter who had been blind since the age of two. Valentino prayed over her and the girl regained her sight. Faced with this miracle, Asterius converted to Christianity along with his whole family. When he heard about their conversion, the Emperor Claudius condemned Valentine to be beheaded. The execution took place on the Via Flaminia in Rome. He was buried nearby and soon a church was built there in his honor.
The Bishop of Terni
The story regarding the Bishop of Terni takes place about seventy years later: Valentine was invited to Rome by the rhetorician and philosopher Crato, a teacher of Greek and Latin. He had a son named Chaeremon who suffered from a physical deformity that forced him to keep his head between his knees. No doctor had managed to heal him. Crato promised Valentine half of his possessions if he healed his son. But during a long night-time conversation, Valentine explained that it would not be his useless wealth that would heal the boy, but his faith in the one true God. Valentine then prayed over the boy and he regained his health. Moved by this miracle, Crato and his whole family were baptized by the bishop, together with three Greek students, Proculus, Ephebus and Apollonius. Abbondius, another student and son of the Prefect of Rome, Furious Placidus, also embraced Christianity. We know that Placidus held office between 346-347AD, so this is the historical date we associate with Valentine's martyrdom. Placidus was devastated by the conversion of his son. He had Valentine arrested and decapitated on the Via Flaminia in Rome. The execution was performed at night to avoid the reaction of the now numerous Christian component of the city. After a brief burial on the site of his martyrdom, Proculus, Ephebus and Apollonius carried the body of the martyr to Terni and buried him just outside the city. But in Terni, the Consul Lucentius, arrested all three of them and before the populace could free them, had them beheaded as well. When they found out about the execution, the people buried the new martyrs together with Valentine in his tomb.
Patron Saint of Lovers
There are too many connections between the stories of the Valentine of Rome and the Valentine of Terni, including their places of martyrdom and burial, for us not to think they are one and the same person. Both give heroic testimonies of faith, both perform a miraculous healing that causes conversions, and both are martyred by beheading on the Via Flaminia in Rome. It was the Benedictine Order that maintained the church of St Valentine in Terni during the Middle Ages and that spread the cult of Valentine's Day in their monasteries in France and England. The tradition of his being patron saint of lovers finds its origin in an ancient English text by Geoffrey Chaucer, according to whom birds start mating on Valentine's Day. In mid-February, in fact, nature begins to awaken from its winter lethargy, so Saint Valentine has become the saint who announces the coming spring – which is why he is sometimes represented holding the sun in his hand.
St. Valentin - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News
JANUARY 2024 ~ SAINT JOHN BOSCO
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FEAST DAY: January 31
PATRON OF: apprentices, editors and publishers, schoolchildren, magicians, and juvenile delinquents BIRTH: August 16, 1815 DEATH: January 31, 1888 BEATIFIED: June 2, 1929 by Pope Pius XI CANONIZED: April 1, 1934 by Pope Pius XI |
The Life Story of St. John Bosco
(A short story about Don Bosco's life and his Mission To Love)
Part 1: Young John Bosco
God, it is said, sends the world saints when they are most needed-not men and women of "general holiness," but specialized experts who fit into the pattern of the times and are capable of giving God's tone to their century.
And so it was that on August 16, I8I5 when one era was closing in Europe with the exile of Napoleon, and the Industrial Revolution was clanging another open, "a man was sent by God whose name was John." He came to the scrubby stone cottage of Francis and Margaret Bosco on the hills of Becchi, at the foot of the Italian Alps. "A fine healthy baby," the neighbors all agreed, "fit for the soil, to take his father's place on the old homestead." But no one went further than that in predicting the child's future.
Francis died only two years after John's birth, leaving Margaret to raise three boys by herself. She taught them that they each needed to carry his weight and help with the keep of their home and farm. There were house chores to do, firewood to cut and gather, fields to plow, and crops to tend. Little John and his older brother Joseph, supervised by their stepbrother Anthony, tackled the endless work with energy. Margaret taught them that work was a privilege, and that joy would make the work lighter. She was a woman of character and tenderness. All who knew her called her Mama Margaret. Fathomless was the love she showed her sons, not in coddling words but in deeds; innumerable were the lessons in upright living, Christian fortitude, and fear of God, which she taught by her example. A pillar of goodness, she stood before them as sturdy as the very Alps. At her knee John first heard the voice of the Master calling him to a special assignment. It was a low insistent voice, an urge that once in a while manifested itself in a sudden outburst, like the time Margaret and John were walking along the countryside and met one of the local priests.
"Hello, Father," cried the boy, to be acknowledged only by a curt bow of the head. Deeply hurt, he complained that the priest had hurt his feelings.
"When I grow up," he told his astonished mother, "I'm going to be a priest, and I'll talk to children all the time, and I'll do everything for them!"
Again the voice urged John to go among the farm boys, not just as a playmate but as a leader. More than once he came home with a battered cheek or torn shirt and in explanation would say, "But, Mama, those boys aren't really bad. They just don't have a good mother like I have, and they don't know their catechism, and their parents don't take them to church. When I'm with them, they behave better. Please, Mama, may I go with them?"
Soon the child took over completely, as God's plan called for. He learned the tricks of magic from traveling showmen. He juggled. He walked the tightrope. Then he opened his own carnival show. Admission: one rosary to be recited by all spectators; added attraction: the Sunday sermon, repeated by the little ringmaster. The show grounds were the field in front of the house, where Margaret Bosco often watched her son at work and wondered what might come of it all.
Part 2: The Call
When John was nine, the Master called him openly. A mission as important as his could not be left to a mere urge. In a "dream," John found himself fighting a large crowd of rowdy lads who were cursing and carrying on abominably. He tried to stop them, but they refused to listen to him. Suddenly, a Man appeared, who motioned to John and said, "Not with punches will you help these boys, but with goodness and kindness!" "Who are you?" gasped the astonished boy.
Then a Woman appeared. Putting her arms around him, she said, "Watch what I do, John." John looked. The boys changed to a pack of snarling wild animals whose growls sent terror to his heart. Then the woman put out her hand. The beasts changed again, to a frolicking flock of lambs.
"But what does it all mean? I'm just a farm boy. What can I do?" He burst into tears.
The Lady's answer came to him, ever to resound in his heart, to be repeated audibly several times in his life, "This is the field of your work. Be humble, steadfast, and strong!'"
John now knew his vocation. But the priesthood meant studies, and there was no money on the Bosco farm. Even school was almost impossible. Due to the goodness of a farmer who taught him, John learned to read and write and do sums at the age of eight. His first schooling came the next year, when he hiked some three miles every morning to the country school of a priest. But the increasing hostility of his stepbrother, not pacified by John's attempts to put in extra hours on the farm, made life at home unbearable.
And so, for the sake of domestic peace, Margaret Bosco divided the paltry estate left by her husband and allowed her youngest son to go to Castelnuovo to attend public school and board with a good family she knew. Alone in the town, John soon learned the hardships of an orphan's life. He worked after school to support himself. Though he was only 15, he labored in a blacksmith shop, then as a tailor, a waiter, a pin-boy in a bowling alley, a shoemaker--anything to get a few pennies and ease his mother's burden.
At school he did exceptionally well. True, teacher and classmates had looked upon him as a country dolt in the beginning, but his brilliant memory and steadfast application soon won him everyone's respect. In one year he was ready for secondary studies.
As we look back over the records, we find that John did three years of high school in one scholastic year and one summer. How he ever succeeded is quite unimaginable, unless we take into account his exceptional memory and intensive study habits.
Throughout his school work John did not lose sight of his vocation which was now, more than ever, an actual conviction. "I'm going to be a priest," he told his friends, "and I'm going to give my life to the care of boys!"
By 1835, when John was 20, he was ready for the seminary, taking with him an enviable record for excellence in studies, a reputation for solid piety, and the friendship of countless people in many walks of life. Prominent among them was a young priest, Father Cafasso, now St. Joseph Cafasso, John's confessor, who best understood him and helped him to interpret God's plan.
Part 3: John Bosco's Ministry Begins
On June 5, 1841, John was ordained to the priesthood in Turin. He celebrated his first Mass the next day in the church of St. Francis of Assisi. "During my first Mass," he said, "I asked for the gift of efficacy of speech, and I think I got it!"
With ordination came the release of a powerful spiritual energy, which, joined to his rare human gifts, was calculated to exert a lasting influence on modern youth.
The beautiful Lady of his dreams was not slow in showing Don Bosco (Don is the title given to priests in Italy) just what she expected him to do. On the feast of Mary Immaculate, December 8, 1841, the first sign came. While vesting for Mass, the priest heard the sacristan shrieking at a poor young boy who had sneaked into the church to get warm. "Here, call the boy back," cried Don Bosco, "he's my friend!" The boy came over to Don Bosco.
Don Bosco asked, "What is your Name?"
"Bartholomew Garelli" the boy answered.
"How old are you Bartholomew?"
"Sixteen," answered the boy.
"Can you serve Mass?"
"No."
"What do you do?"
"I'm a bricklayer," he responded, head lowered.
"Your mother and father..." Don Bosco continued.
"I'm alone," the boy responded sadly.
"Can you whistle?" Don Bosco broke in.
"Of course I can whistle!" exclaimed Bartholomew laughing.
And that friendship, struck up on the spur of the moment, began Don Bosco's worldwide ministry to bring young people to God. He told Bartholomew to stay for Mass.
After Mass Don Bosco told the boy, "Next Sunday, bring your friends here, and we'll spend the day together."
The next Sunday, four ragged boys, looking badly in need of a meal and warm clothing, came to Don Bosco. They were certainly in very dire spiritual need. And their number multiplied in a few weeks, so that caring for them soon came to be a major problem.
"But my girls!" exclaimed the directress of the girls' orphanage where Don Bosco was chaplain, "What will become of them?"
"You can always find a priest for them," said Don Bosco, "these boys, they need me!"
Part 4: The Wandering Oratory
In the 1840s the slums of Turin were overrun by the poverty that resulted inevitably from sweatshop factories with their hazardous machinery, child labor, and starvation wages. Walking through these slums, Don Bosco came face to face with his mission. As he visited the prisons with Father Cafasso, the conviction of his vocation seemed to shout within him: "These boys are not bad. Take care of them before they fall into crime--that is your task!"
With his heart full of trust in his Lady and his pockets empty, Don Bosco courageously took up the work. From then on, it was only "Give me souls--the souls of young people."
Don Bosco called his weekly band of ragged young people "the Oratory," a term which to his mind suggested prayer and organized recreation. In the beginning it was a floating thing, its membership growing daily in large proportions. There was no one place to meet because in those troublesome times people were afraid of a large group of working boys and besides, who relishes the uproar of some 200 boys enjoying a day's freedom from the imprisonment of a factory?
Every Sunday they would meet in a different place, a city church, a cemetery chapel, or an empty lot.
Don Bosco would hear their confessions and say Mass for them. An hour of religious instruction would follow, plain, simple talks coming from the heart and embodying the solid truths of the faith. Then the priest would take his band of ragged boys into the country for an all-day outing of games. A final talk would close the "Oratory day," and the tired bunch would trail into Turin, scattering to their homes along the way.
During the week, Don Bosco used to tour the city shops, checking on his boys, making sure they had not forgotten his instructions to work hard and work well.
Those were heroic times, "those pioneer days," the saint used to call them. "Days of strenuous work they were, a shiftless existence that threatened to collapse any Sunday, a bankrupt enterprise with no capital, and very little funds." Besides this, the city leaders, worried by the new cries of "freedom for the working classes," eyed Don Bosco's boys as a dangerous, half-baked army of the children of the people, headed by an ambitious priest. Actually this tired, penniless priest sought only a chance to bring God's peace and order to the hearts of restless youth.
In 1846 the first ray of hope broke through the clouds. Don Bosco bought an empty lot and a dilapidated shed in an underdeveloped section of Turin called "Valdocco." True, next door was a saloon and across the street a hotel of shady reputation--but what did it matter? The Oratory ground was sacred, for as he later learned in a "dream," it was the burial ground of the Martyrs of Turin.
With a roof over his head, Don Bosco knew that his Lady had set the permanent basis of his work.
The shed he dug deeper and converted into a chapel, with a tiny anteroom, and every Sunday 500 boys managed quite miraculously to squeeze into it for Mass. "The Oratory of St. Francis de Sales," he called it, because he admired the gentle holiness of this great saint.
The location of the shed-chapel can still be seen today--the tiny nucleus of a worldwide organization that began in poverty with our Lady's blessing.
Part 5: The Orphanage
New fields of endeavor for his boys opened themselves to the saintly priest. Homeless children, many of whom found an undesired home in its squalid prisons, overran Turin. They had to be saved before they fell!
Again, a little boy started the project. One stormy night in 1850, as Don Bosco and his mother were still awake and working, a timid knock came at their door. As Mama Margaret opened it, there he stood, tiny and dripping wet, scared, starved, blinking in the light.
"Please," he whined. "I'm hungry. Can I come in?"
As he devoured a bowl of steaming soup, he told his story: his mother had just died, the farm was taken over by creditors, and he was alone in the world.
"He'll stay with us," Don Bosco stated.
"But where will he sleep?" Mama Margaret asked.
"If necessary, we'll sling a basket from the ceiling for a bed!" laughed the priest. The boy laughed too. He was Don Bosco's first orphan.
Part 6: The Trade School
More orphans came. Don Bosco bought the house adjoining the shed. The boarders used to go to work or school in Turin each day, returning "home" to Don Bosco and Mama Margaret for meals, but Don Bosco soon realized that his makeshift system had too many drawbacks and that he had to have a school of his own.
One day in 1853 he took a corner of Mama Margaret's kitchen and converted it into a cobbler shop; the tiny hallway became a carpenter shop. The teachers? Don Bosco himself and two hired men. Now there was really no quiet place at the Oratory with all the banging of hammers, but in the midst of all the rumpus was born the Don Bosco Trade School. Not that Don Bosco ever called it that, but that is what the movement developed into. Today the congregation of Don Bosco operates professional training centers and college-preparatory schools throughout the world; both in highly developed countries and in many underdeveloped countries.
Part 7: The Preventive System
As Don Bosco's name became famous, more priests came to help him, especially secular priests released by their bishops for this work. Though they came from different sections of Italy, they soon realized that Don Bosco had an educational system of his own, which he called "the preventive system."
Essentially it means to prevent a boy from becoming bad. It is based on Christian charity. Its double foundation is reason and religion: in other words, a sense of understanding between teacher and student, engendered by daily contact, friendly chats, and an interest that is felt; and secondly, a sense of religion fostered by the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. According to the saint, where other systems of education have failed, this system of kind-understanding and mainly sincere religion, has more than succeeded.
The system is not new, though in Don Bosco's hands it achieved a freshness all its own. While it compensates for errors committed by the young, who are often changeable and always forgetful, it does not condone the errors; instead, it uses them as stepping stones to the formation of a solid character, permeated by Christian principles of Christian character.
Part 8: The Salesian Congregation
Don Bosco's times were unsuited to the founding of a new religious congregation. Those already in existence were being torn down by a diabolical campaign of political radicals, self-styled free-thinkers. Yet it was precisely a liberal-minded politician who had closed convent doors who first suggested the idea of a new religious congregation to Don Bosco.
"Start a new order and have you suppress it in its cradle?" smiled the saint.
"No, your case is different. You work for the poor. Your schools really belong to the working classes. No one will resent what you do. Make sure your religious keep their status as citizens, and we won't touch you."
And so, still under his Lady's guidance, Don Bosco set about the task. His own boys were the best material. Little Michael Rua, who idolized him, tough Johnny Cagliero, hardworking Johnny Francesia, self-willed Paul Albera, and several others. They would be the pioneers in this experiment of a new religious congregation.
"Would you like to stay with Don Bosco?" he asked them.
"I'll do the work of four!" was Cagliero's stalwart answer. The others agreed. On the night of December 18, 1859, was born the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales (popularly known today as the "Salesians of Don Bosco" and officially titled the "Society of St. Francis de Sales").
Now came the painstaking work of organization, based on experiment and experience, and of drawing up rules for the Holy See to approve. It required a genius in the delicate art of human relations. Don Bosco was equal to the test, for in 1869 the Congregation was approved, and five years later, so were his Constitutions.
Today Salesian priests and brothers, bound by one rule, inspired by the same spirit of their Founder, are all dedicated to the double task of self-sanctification and the care of youth. Today the Salesians number over 15,700 Brothers and priests.
Part 9: The Salesian Sisters
Rest was out of the question for Don Bosco. Another dream-vision opened a new field of endeavor to him. He found himself in a city square, surrounded by a squealing bevy of girls. They were puny things, unkempt, with starvation in their eyes. "Come to us, Father," they cried, "We need you!"
With that pitiful wail in his ears, Don Bosco looked about for tangible proofs of his Lady's intervention. He found it in a women's sodality in a country parish. As he spoke to these young women at a meeting, he was convinced that they were the answer to a prayer. He was also convinced that their leader, a soft-spoken and utterly spiritual-minded woman of 25, Mary Mazzarello, was to be co-foundress with him of a new religious congregation for women. With his usual humility and courage he set about the task, and in 1875 he received their first vows. He called them "Daughters of Mary Help of Christians." As far as he was concerned, they were the feminine counterpart of his Salesians and a living monument of gratitude to his heavenly Helper.
Today there are more than 16,000 Salesian Sisters.
Part 10: Salesian Missions
As his main work secure, Don Bosco searched the horizon for new fields of labor. Again a dream-vision revealed God's plans to him. He found himself looking down upon a screaming horde of savages who were massacring a band of white men. From the distance approached a few missionaries, wearing the garb of their orders. The natives turned upon them with wild satisfaction.
Terrified by their blood-curdling yells and inhuman cruelty, Don Bosco gasped to see another group of missionaries coming through the jungles, surrounded by children. They were his own Salesians! Certainly they would fare no better than the others, but the yelling ceased. The wild faces became human again. The natives dropped their weapons and sheepishly looked up into the missionaries' faces. Then they bowed their heads in prayer!
The dream began to become a reality in 1875; at the request of Argentina and the Holy See, Don Bosco sent ten missionaries to Buenos Aires to care for Italian immigrants.
Four years later, under the energetic leadership of Fr. John Cagliero (later Cardinal), they penetrated the hinterland of Patagonia down to the icy Strait of Magellan and the Falkland Islands. In ten years, Salesian missions were established in South America from Cape Horn to the lush jungles of Brazil's Rio Negro valley.
The young Salesian Congregation ranks highly in number among the Catholic Church's missionary orders.
Part 11: Man of Action
"First tell the devil to rest, and then I'll rest too," Don Bosco used to say to those who urged him to let up in his activity. Indeed, rarely has the Church seen such a tireless apostle.
Trained to labor from his boyhood, he occupied himself with boys, constantly interesting himself in their activities. On Sundays, after a strenuous day with his Oratory, he often had to be carried home; more than once he fell asleep fully dressed, kneeling at his bedside. For many years he slept only five hours a night, skipping a night each week. After a day of physical work, he would spend the quiet hours of the night penning letters to friends for aid, sending letters of comfort to those who begged for his prayers, and writing books on mathematics, literature, the Bible, and Church history for boys. He began a pamphlet series, the "Catholic Readings," and for some time wrote a pamphlet a month on Catholic faith and morals. Always at the call of the Church, he was a tireless confessor; he was a popular preacher and never refused an invitation to preach a mission or a retreat.
Even when age began creeping up on him, he worked. More than once the people of Turin saw a boy leading him by the hand through the streets, dozing while he stumbled along. As an older man, he lost sight in one eye, and the other was impaired. His legs were swollen to painful proportions. His back was curved by weakness, yet his mind was crystal clear. He never laid down the burden. Besides his youth activities, he interested himself in matters of Church and State, acting even as a mediator for the Pope. He spurred boys on to Catholic action; he favored and worked for retreat movements, mission crusades, the catechetical movement, and foreign missions. Though urged by his personal friend Pius IX to rest, he would answer, "While I have time, I must work."
Part 12: Man of Prayer
While at prayer one time, Don Bosco was interrupted by the visit of a wealthy noble. "Tell him I'll be there soon," he said, and he continued his prayers. Three times he was called. Finally he went. "My dear sir," he said, "you are a good friend of mine, but God comes first." He also used to repeat, "First of all Don Bosco is a priest!"
With such a marvelous sense of values, he was able to temper his activity with deep, ceaseless, and fervent piety. In fact, the energy of his work came from this carefully tended fire of prayer in his soul. And God rewarded him in a wonderful way. Toward the end of his life, his prayers wrought miracles. His blessing carried astonishing powers. Sometimes he was seen rising in ecstasy during the Mass. But, with characteristic humility, he labored to feed his ministry with prayer; so much so that Pope Pius XI said of him that he prayed every moment of his life.
Part 13: Man of Poverty
When Don Bosco planned to build a basilica in Mary's honor in Turin, he drew up the plans and called an architect to start the excavations. "Here is your first payment," he said, handing the astonished man eight cents. "Mary will build her own basilica." This was characteristic of Don Bosco: living in personal poverty while spending millions for God. "When you become a priest," his mother had told him, "if ever you become rich, I shall never enter your house!" Describing his life, he would say, "I am poor, penniless Don Bosco, a shepherd boy of the hills. I have lived poor and shall die poor."
Yet this impoverished priest, who lived on the coarsest of foods and wore the poorest garments (often borrowed), spent millions for his boys, opened large schools, built one basilica to Mary in Turin and another to the Sacred Heart in Rome, and financed great mission expeditions. The faith that God would provide worked miracles in his life.
Part 14: Don Bosco's Holiness
Such generosity of spirit could not go unrewarded by God, for whom this priest slaved the 72 years of his life. Besides providing for his work, God gave him the gift of miracles. With his blessing, Don Bosco cured people disease. After his prayers on their behalf, the deaf heard, the lame walked, and once, a dead boy was raised to life. He had the gift of prophecy. He could read consciences, and used this gift to assist penitents in confession. He could foretell one's vocation, as well as one's future.
All these gifts were so common that Pope Pius XI said, "In Don Bosco the extraordinary becomes ordinary." They were given to him in partial reward for his exceptional self-sacrifice and as a seal of divine approval of his work.
Don Bosco often told his young people that being a saint was easy. His holiness was attractive because it was rooted in charity and exceptional purity that drew people to him. Though he sometimes did extraordinary penances, he would never allow them to his boys. "Sanctity is easy!" he would say. He told his Salesians and the young people that God wants us to be happy and to rejoice in the love of Jesus. Just do your duty in school, at home, at work the best you can. Offer you life to God: the happy times and the sad or challenging things: life sends many opportunities to join in the sufferings of Jesus: bad weather, disappointments, physical illness, sorrow these will make you saints. St. Dominic Savio, one of his students who died at the age of 14, is Don Bosco's proof to the world that holiness is not a monopoly of the monastery or of the desert. It belongs everyone, the young and the old.
The last years were difficult for him. He was old and tired but he kept up with all the activities of his Salesians, inspiring them to greater achievements for youth. But when he took to his bed in December of 1887, he said, "Now I go to my rest; I shall not get up again." Just before his death, he summoned his sons and begged the favor of their prayers. "Do not ever forget these three things: devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Mary Help of Christians, and devotion to (always be in support and come to the defense of) the Holy Father!" On January 31, 1888, Don Bosco's worn-out body finally yielded to nature. With the names of Jesus and Mary on his lips, Don Bosco's soul passed to his God and his Lady as the morning Angelus bell was summoning the faithful to prayer. "Our saint has left us," the people of Turin mourned.
Don Bosco left a legacy. His ideals, his spirit, his constant activity are all still with us in his Salesian priests, brothers, and sisters, who strive to perpetuate his work on earth.
On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934, Pope Pius XI declared Don Bosco a saint; the Pope styled him "a giant of sanctity."
As for himself, Don Bosco would say, as he often told his admirers, "I have been an instrument in the hands of Mary. She has done everything. Had I been a worthier instrument, I would have accomplished a great deal more."
Don Bosco's liturgical feast day is January 31st. St. John Bosco, pray for us and for all the young people in the world!
The original title of this brief story about Don Bosco is "A Man Sent by God." It was written by Fr. Paul Aronica, SDB in 1988 and published by Salesiana Publishers.
This revised web version will occasionally be updated with minor edits as time allows for our Salesian Brothers and Priests.
The Don Bosco quote graphics were designed by Peter D. Le, SDB.
The Life Story of St. John Bosco (Biography of Don Bosco) | Salesian Family of Don Bosco (donboscowest.org)
(A short story about Don Bosco's life and his Mission To Love)
Part 1: Young John Bosco
God, it is said, sends the world saints when they are most needed-not men and women of "general holiness," but specialized experts who fit into the pattern of the times and are capable of giving God's tone to their century.
And so it was that on August 16, I8I5 when one era was closing in Europe with the exile of Napoleon, and the Industrial Revolution was clanging another open, "a man was sent by God whose name was John." He came to the scrubby stone cottage of Francis and Margaret Bosco on the hills of Becchi, at the foot of the Italian Alps. "A fine healthy baby," the neighbors all agreed, "fit for the soil, to take his father's place on the old homestead." But no one went further than that in predicting the child's future.
Francis died only two years after John's birth, leaving Margaret to raise three boys by herself. She taught them that they each needed to carry his weight and help with the keep of their home and farm. There were house chores to do, firewood to cut and gather, fields to plow, and crops to tend. Little John and his older brother Joseph, supervised by their stepbrother Anthony, tackled the endless work with energy. Margaret taught them that work was a privilege, and that joy would make the work lighter. She was a woman of character and tenderness. All who knew her called her Mama Margaret. Fathomless was the love she showed her sons, not in coddling words but in deeds; innumerable were the lessons in upright living, Christian fortitude, and fear of God, which she taught by her example. A pillar of goodness, she stood before them as sturdy as the very Alps. At her knee John first heard the voice of the Master calling him to a special assignment. It was a low insistent voice, an urge that once in a while manifested itself in a sudden outburst, like the time Margaret and John were walking along the countryside and met one of the local priests.
"Hello, Father," cried the boy, to be acknowledged only by a curt bow of the head. Deeply hurt, he complained that the priest had hurt his feelings.
"When I grow up," he told his astonished mother, "I'm going to be a priest, and I'll talk to children all the time, and I'll do everything for them!"
Again the voice urged John to go among the farm boys, not just as a playmate but as a leader. More than once he came home with a battered cheek or torn shirt and in explanation would say, "But, Mama, those boys aren't really bad. They just don't have a good mother like I have, and they don't know their catechism, and their parents don't take them to church. When I'm with them, they behave better. Please, Mama, may I go with them?"
Soon the child took over completely, as God's plan called for. He learned the tricks of magic from traveling showmen. He juggled. He walked the tightrope. Then he opened his own carnival show. Admission: one rosary to be recited by all spectators; added attraction: the Sunday sermon, repeated by the little ringmaster. The show grounds were the field in front of the house, where Margaret Bosco often watched her son at work and wondered what might come of it all.
Part 2: The Call
When John was nine, the Master called him openly. A mission as important as his could not be left to a mere urge. In a "dream," John found himself fighting a large crowd of rowdy lads who were cursing and carrying on abominably. He tried to stop them, but they refused to listen to him. Suddenly, a Man appeared, who motioned to John and said, "Not with punches will you help these boys, but with goodness and kindness!" "Who are you?" gasped the astonished boy.
Then a Woman appeared. Putting her arms around him, she said, "Watch what I do, John." John looked. The boys changed to a pack of snarling wild animals whose growls sent terror to his heart. Then the woman put out her hand. The beasts changed again, to a frolicking flock of lambs.
"But what does it all mean? I'm just a farm boy. What can I do?" He burst into tears.
The Lady's answer came to him, ever to resound in his heart, to be repeated audibly several times in his life, "This is the field of your work. Be humble, steadfast, and strong!'"
John now knew his vocation. But the priesthood meant studies, and there was no money on the Bosco farm. Even school was almost impossible. Due to the goodness of a farmer who taught him, John learned to read and write and do sums at the age of eight. His first schooling came the next year, when he hiked some three miles every morning to the country school of a priest. But the increasing hostility of his stepbrother, not pacified by John's attempts to put in extra hours on the farm, made life at home unbearable.
And so, for the sake of domestic peace, Margaret Bosco divided the paltry estate left by her husband and allowed her youngest son to go to Castelnuovo to attend public school and board with a good family she knew. Alone in the town, John soon learned the hardships of an orphan's life. He worked after school to support himself. Though he was only 15, he labored in a blacksmith shop, then as a tailor, a waiter, a pin-boy in a bowling alley, a shoemaker--anything to get a few pennies and ease his mother's burden.
At school he did exceptionally well. True, teacher and classmates had looked upon him as a country dolt in the beginning, but his brilliant memory and steadfast application soon won him everyone's respect. In one year he was ready for secondary studies.
As we look back over the records, we find that John did three years of high school in one scholastic year and one summer. How he ever succeeded is quite unimaginable, unless we take into account his exceptional memory and intensive study habits.
Throughout his school work John did not lose sight of his vocation which was now, more than ever, an actual conviction. "I'm going to be a priest," he told his friends, "and I'm going to give my life to the care of boys!"
By 1835, when John was 20, he was ready for the seminary, taking with him an enviable record for excellence in studies, a reputation for solid piety, and the friendship of countless people in many walks of life. Prominent among them was a young priest, Father Cafasso, now St. Joseph Cafasso, John's confessor, who best understood him and helped him to interpret God's plan.
Part 3: John Bosco's Ministry Begins
On June 5, 1841, John was ordained to the priesthood in Turin. He celebrated his first Mass the next day in the church of St. Francis of Assisi. "During my first Mass," he said, "I asked for the gift of efficacy of speech, and I think I got it!"
With ordination came the release of a powerful spiritual energy, which, joined to his rare human gifts, was calculated to exert a lasting influence on modern youth.
The beautiful Lady of his dreams was not slow in showing Don Bosco (Don is the title given to priests in Italy) just what she expected him to do. On the feast of Mary Immaculate, December 8, 1841, the first sign came. While vesting for Mass, the priest heard the sacristan shrieking at a poor young boy who had sneaked into the church to get warm. "Here, call the boy back," cried Don Bosco, "he's my friend!" The boy came over to Don Bosco.
Don Bosco asked, "What is your Name?"
"Bartholomew Garelli" the boy answered.
"How old are you Bartholomew?"
"Sixteen," answered the boy.
"Can you serve Mass?"
"No."
"What do you do?"
"I'm a bricklayer," he responded, head lowered.
"Your mother and father..." Don Bosco continued.
"I'm alone," the boy responded sadly.
"Can you whistle?" Don Bosco broke in.
"Of course I can whistle!" exclaimed Bartholomew laughing.
And that friendship, struck up on the spur of the moment, began Don Bosco's worldwide ministry to bring young people to God. He told Bartholomew to stay for Mass.
After Mass Don Bosco told the boy, "Next Sunday, bring your friends here, and we'll spend the day together."
The next Sunday, four ragged boys, looking badly in need of a meal and warm clothing, came to Don Bosco. They were certainly in very dire spiritual need. And their number multiplied in a few weeks, so that caring for them soon came to be a major problem.
"But my girls!" exclaimed the directress of the girls' orphanage where Don Bosco was chaplain, "What will become of them?"
"You can always find a priest for them," said Don Bosco, "these boys, they need me!"
Part 4: The Wandering Oratory
In the 1840s the slums of Turin were overrun by the poverty that resulted inevitably from sweatshop factories with their hazardous machinery, child labor, and starvation wages. Walking through these slums, Don Bosco came face to face with his mission. As he visited the prisons with Father Cafasso, the conviction of his vocation seemed to shout within him: "These boys are not bad. Take care of them before they fall into crime--that is your task!"
With his heart full of trust in his Lady and his pockets empty, Don Bosco courageously took up the work. From then on, it was only "Give me souls--the souls of young people."
Don Bosco called his weekly band of ragged young people "the Oratory," a term which to his mind suggested prayer and organized recreation. In the beginning it was a floating thing, its membership growing daily in large proportions. There was no one place to meet because in those troublesome times people were afraid of a large group of working boys and besides, who relishes the uproar of some 200 boys enjoying a day's freedom from the imprisonment of a factory?
Every Sunday they would meet in a different place, a city church, a cemetery chapel, or an empty lot.
Don Bosco would hear their confessions and say Mass for them. An hour of religious instruction would follow, plain, simple talks coming from the heart and embodying the solid truths of the faith. Then the priest would take his band of ragged boys into the country for an all-day outing of games. A final talk would close the "Oratory day," and the tired bunch would trail into Turin, scattering to their homes along the way.
During the week, Don Bosco used to tour the city shops, checking on his boys, making sure they had not forgotten his instructions to work hard and work well.
Those were heroic times, "those pioneer days," the saint used to call them. "Days of strenuous work they were, a shiftless existence that threatened to collapse any Sunday, a bankrupt enterprise with no capital, and very little funds." Besides this, the city leaders, worried by the new cries of "freedom for the working classes," eyed Don Bosco's boys as a dangerous, half-baked army of the children of the people, headed by an ambitious priest. Actually this tired, penniless priest sought only a chance to bring God's peace and order to the hearts of restless youth.
In 1846 the first ray of hope broke through the clouds. Don Bosco bought an empty lot and a dilapidated shed in an underdeveloped section of Turin called "Valdocco." True, next door was a saloon and across the street a hotel of shady reputation--but what did it matter? The Oratory ground was sacred, for as he later learned in a "dream," it was the burial ground of the Martyrs of Turin.
With a roof over his head, Don Bosco knew that his Lady had set the permanent basis of his work.
The shed he dug deeper and converted into a chapel, with a tiny anteroom, and every Sunday 500 boys managed quite miraculously to squeeze into it for Mass. "The Oratory of St. Francis de Sales," he called it, because he admired the gentle holiness of this great saint.
The location of the shed-chapel can still be seen today--the tiny nucleus of a worldwide organization that began in poverty with our Lady's blessing.
Part 5: The Orphanage
New fields of endeavor for his boys opened themselves to the saintly priest. Homeless children, many of whom found an undesired home in its squalid prisons, overran Turin. They had to be saved before they fell!
Again, a little boy started the project. One stormy night in 1850, as Don Bosco and his mother were still awake and working, a timid knock came at their door. As Mama Margaret opened it, there he stood, tiny and dripping wet, scared, starved, blinking in the light.
"Please," he whined. "I'm hungry. Can I come in?"
As he devoured a bowl of steaming soup, he told his story: his mother had just died, the farm was taken over by creditors, and he was alone in the world.
"He'll stay with us," Don Bosco stated.
"But where will he sleep?" Mama Margaret asked.
"If necessary, we'll sling a basket from the ceiling for a bed!" laughed the priest. The boy laughed too. He was Don Bosco's first orphan.
Part 6: The Trade School
More orphans came. Don Bosco bought the house adjoining the shed. The boarders used to go to work or school in Turin each day, returning "home" to Don Bosco and Mama Margaret for meals, but Don Bosco soon realized that his makeshift system had too many drawbacks and that he had to have a school of his own.
One day in 1853 he took a corner of Mama Margaret's kitchen and converted it into a cobbler shop; the tiny hallway became a carpenter shop. The teachers? Don Bosco himself and two hired men. Now there was really no quiet place at the Oratory with all the banging of hammers, but in the midst of all the rumpus was born the Don Bosco Trade School. Not that Don Bosco ever called it that, but that is what the movement developed into. Today the congregation of Don Bosco operates professional training centers and college-preparatory schools throughout the world; both in highly developed countries and in many underdeveloped countries.
Part 7: The Preventive System
As Don Bosco's name became famous, more priests came to help him, especially secular priests released by their bishops for this work. Though they came from different sections of Italy, they soon realized that Don Bosco had an educational system of his own, which he called "the preventive system."
Essentially it means to prevent a boy from becoming bad. It is based on Christian charity. Its double foundation is reason and religion: in other words, a sense of understanding between teacher and student, engendered by daily contact, friendly chats, and an interest that is felt; and secondly, a sense of religion fostered by the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. According to the saint, where other systems of education have failed, this system of kind-understanding and mainly sincere religion, has more than succeeded.
The system is not new, though in Don Bosco's hands it achieved a freshness all its own. While it compensates for errors committed by the young, who are often changeable and always forgetful, it does not condone the errors; instead, it uses them as stepping stones to the formation of a solid character, permeated by Christian principles of Christian character.
Part 8: The Salesian Congregation
Don Bosco's times were unsuited to the founding of a new religious congregation. Those already in existence were being torn down by a diabolical campaign of political radicals, self-styled free-thinkers. Yet it was precisely a liberal-minded politician who had closed convent doors who first suggested the idea of a new religious congregation to Don Bosco.
"Start a new order and have you suppress it in its cradle?" smiled the saint.
"No, your case is different. You work for the poor. Your schools really belong to the working classes. No one will resent what you do. Make sure your religious keep their status as citizens, and we won't touch you."
And so, still under his Lady's guidance, Don Bosco set about the task. His own boys were the best material. Little Michael Rua, who idolized him, tough Johnny Cagliero, hardworking Johnny Francesia, self-willed Paul Albera, and several others. They would be the pioneers in this experiment of a new religious congregation.
"Would you like to stay with Don Bosco?" he asked them.
"I'll do the work of four!" was Cagliero's stalwart answer. The others agreed. On the night of December 18, 1859, was born the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales (popularly known today as the "Salesians of Don Bosco" and officially titled the "Society of St. Francis de Sales").
Now came the painstaking work of organization, based on experiment and experience, and of drawing up rules for the Holy See to approve. It required a genius in the delicate art of human relations. Don Bosco was equal to the test, for in 1869 the Congregation was approved, and five years later, so were his Constitutions.
Today Salesian priests and brothers, bound by one rule, inspired by the same spirit of their Founder, are all dedicated to the double task of self-sanctification and the care of youth. Today the Salesians number over 15,700 Brothers and priests.
Part 9: The Salesian Sisters
Rest was out of the question for Don Bosco. Another dream-vision opened a new field of endeavor to him. He found himself in a city square, surrounded by a squealing bevy of girls. They were puny things, unkempt, with starvation in their eyes. "Come to us, Father," they cried, "We need you!"
With that pitiful wail in his ears, Don Bosco looked about for tangible proofs of his Lady's intervention. He found it in a women's sodality in a country parish. As he spoke to these young women at a meeting, he was convinced that they were the answer to a prayer. He was also convinced that their leader, a soft-spoken and utterly spiritual-minded woman of 25, Mary Mazzarello, was to be co-foundress with him of a new religious congregation for women. With his usual humility and courage he set about the task, and in 1875 he received their first vows. He called them "Daughters of Mary Help of Christians." As far as he was concerned, they were the feminine counterpart of his Salesians and a living monument of gratitude to his heavenly Helper.
Today there are more than 16,000 Salesian Sisters.
Part 10: Salesian Missions
As his main work secure, Don Bosco searched the horizon for new fields of labor. Again a dream-vision revealed God's plans to him. He found himself looking down upon a screaming horde of savages who were massacring a band of white men. From the distance approached a few missionaries, wearing the garb of their orders. The natives turned upon them with wild satisfaction.
Terrified by their blood-curdling yells and inhuman cruelty, Don Bosco gasped to see another group of missionaries coming through the jungles, surrounded by children. They were his own Salesians! Certainly they would fare no better than the others, but the yelling ceased. The wild faces became human again. The natives dropped their weapons and sheepishly looked up into the missionaries' faces. Then they bowed their heads in prayer!
The dream began to become a reality in 1875; at the request of Argentina and the Holy See, Don Bosco sent ten missionaries to Buenos Aires to care for Italian immigrants.
Four years later, under the energetic leadership of Fr. John Cagliero (later Cardinal), they penetrated the hinterland of Patagonia down to the icy Strait of Magellan and the Falkland Islands. In ten years, Salesian missions were established in South America from Cape Horn to the lush jungles of Brazil's Rio Negro valley.
The young Salesian Congregation ranks highly in number among the Catholic Church's missionary orders.
Part 11: Man of Action
"First tell the devil to rest, and then I'll rest too," Don Bosco used to say to those who urged him to let up in his activity. Indeed, rarely has the Church seen such a tireless apostle.
Trained to labor from his boyhood, he occupied himself with boys, constantly interesting himself in their activities. On Sundays, after a strenuous day with his Oratory, he often had to be carried home; more than once he fell asleep fully dressed, kneeling at his bedside. For many years he slept only five hours a night, skipping a night each week. After a day of physical work, he would spend the quiet hours of the night penning letters to friends for aid, sending letters of comfort to those who begged for his prayers, and writing books on mathematics, literature, the Bible, and Church history for boys. He began a pamphlet series, the "Catholic Readings," and for some time wrote a pamphlet a month on Catholic faith and morals. Always at the call of the Church, he was a tireless confessor; he was a popular preacher and never refused an invitation to preach a mission or a retreat.
Even when age began creeping up on him, he worked. More than once the people of Turin saw a boy leading him by the hand through the streets, dozing while he stumbled along. As an older man, he lost sight in one eye, and the other was impaired. His legs were swollen to painful proportions. His back was curved by weakness, yet his mind was crystal clear. He never laid down the burden. Besides his youth activities, he interested himself in matters of Church and State, acting even as a mediator for the Pope. He spurred boys on to Catholic action; he favored and worked for retreat movements, mission crusades, the catechetical movement, and foreign missions. Though urged by his personal friend Pius IX to rest, he would answer, "While I have time, I must work."
Part 12: Man of Prayer
While at prayer one time, Don Bosco was interrupted by the visit of a wealthy noble. "Tell him I'll be there soon," he said, and he continued his prayers. Three times he was called. Finally he went. "My dear sir," he said, "you are a good friend of mine, but God comes first." He also used to repeat, "First of all Don Bosco is a priest!"
With such a marvelous sense of values, he was able to temper his activity with deep, ceaseless, and fervent piety. In fact, the energy of his work came from this carefully tended fire of prayer in his soul. And God rewarded him in a wonderful way. Toward the end of his life, his prayers wrought miracles. His blessing carried astonishing powers. Sometimes he was seen rising in ecstasy during the Mass. But, with characteristic humility, he labored to feed his ministry with prayer; so much so that Pope Pius XI said of him that he prayed every moment of his life.
Part 13: Man of Poverty
When Don Bosco planned to build a basilica in Mary's honor in Turin, he drew up the plans and called an architect to start the excavations. "Here is your first payment," he said, handing the astonished man eight cents. "Mary will build her own basilica." This was characteristic of Don Bosco: living in personal poverty while spending millions for God. "When you become a priest," his mother had told him, "if ever you become rich, I shall never enter your house!" Describing his life, he would say, "I am poor, penniless Don Bosco, a shepherd boy of the hills. I have lived poor and shall die poor."
Yet this impoverished priest, who lived on the coarsest of foods and wore the poorest garments (often borrowed), spent millions for his boys, opened large schools, built one basilica to Mary in Turin and another to the Sacred Heart in Rome, and financed great mission expeditions. The faith that God would provide worked miracles in his life.
Part 14: Don Bosco's Holiness
Such generosity of spirit could not go unrewarded by God, for whom this priest slaved the 72 years of his life. Besides providing for his work, God gave him the gift of miracles. With his blessing, Don Bosco cured people disease. After his prayers on their behalf, the deaf heard, the lame walked, and once, a dead boy was raised to life. He had the gift of prophecy. He could read consciences, and used this gift to assist penitents in confession. He could foretell one's vocation, as well as one's future.
All these gifts were so common that Pope Pius XI said, "In Don Bosco the extraordinary becomes ordinary." They were given to him in partial reward for his exceptional self-sacrifice and as a seal of divine approval of his work.
Don Bosco often told his young people that being a saint was easy. His holiness was attractive because it was rooted in charity and exceptional purity that drew people to him. Though he sometimes did extraordinary penances, he would never allow them to his boys. "Sanctity is easy!" he would say. He told his Salesians and the young people that God wants us to be happy and to rejoice in the love of Jesus. Just do your duty in school, at home, at work the best you can. Offer you life to God: the happy times and the sad or challenging things: life sends many opportunities to join in the sufferings of Jesus: bad weather, disappointments, physical illness, sorrow these will make you saints. St. Dominic Savio, one of his students who died at the age of 14, is Don Bosco's proof to the world that holiness is not a monopoly of the monastery or of the desert. It belongs everyone, the young and the old.
The last years were difficult for him. He was old and tired but he kept up with all the activities of his Salesians, inspiring them to greater achievements for youth. But when he took to his bed in December of 1887, he said, "Now I go to my rest; I shall not get up again." Just before his death, he summoned his sons and begged the favor of their prayers. "Do not ever forget these three things: devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Mary Help of Christians, and devotion to (always be in support and come to the defense of) the Holy Father!" On January 31, 1888, Don Bosco's worn-out body finally yielded to nature. With the names of Jesus and Mary on his lips, Don Bosco's soul passed to his God and his Lady as the morning Angelus bell was summoning the faithful to prayer. "Our saint has left us," the people of Turin mourned.
Don Bosco left a legacy. His ideals, his spirit, his constant activity are all still with us in his Salesian priests, brothers, and sisters, who strive to perpetuate his work on earth.
On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934, Pope Pius XI declared Don Bosco a saint; the Pope styled him "a giant of sanctity."
As for himself, Don Bosco would say, as he often told his admirers, "I have been an instrument in the hands of Mary. She has done everything. Had I been a worthier instrument, I would have accomplished a great deal more."
Don Bosco's liturgical feast day is January 31st. St. John Bosco, pray for us and for all the young people in the world!
The original title of this brief story about Don Bosco is "A Man Sent by God." It was written by Fr. Paul Aronica, SDB in 1988 and published by Salesiana Publishers.
This revised web version will occasionally be updated with minor edits as time allows for our Salesian Brothers and Priests.
The Don Bosco quote graphics were designed by Peter D. Le, SDB.
The Life Story of St. John Bosco (Biography of Don Bosco) | Salesian Family of Don Bosco (donboscowest.org)
december 2023 ~ our lady of guadalupe
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Feast Day: December 12
The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12th is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We take a look at the story behind the indigenous peasant who came across the Patron of the Americas, and how he fought for her message to be heard. By Francesca Merlo |
The Virgin of Guadalupe, like the shroud of Turin, appears on a piece of fabric. Both are sacred objects, hundreds of years old, and both depict an image said to be miraculous. The Virgin of Guadalupe was declared Queen of Mexico and is Patron of the Americas.
First apparition
Our Lady of Guadalupe first introduced herself as the Mother of God and the mother of all humanity when she appeared on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531. An indigenous peasant, Juan Diego, saw a glowing figure on the hill. After she had identified herself to him, Our Lady asked that Juan build her a shrine in that same spot, in order for her to show and share her love and compassion with all those who believe.
Afterwards, Juan Diego visited Juan de Zumárraga, who was Archbishop of what is now Mexico City. Zumárraga dismissed him in disbelief and asked that the future Saint provide proof of his story and proof of the Lady’s identity.
Juan Diego returned to the hill and encountered Our Lady again. The Virgin told him to climb to the top of the hill and pick some flowers to present to the Archbishop.
Winter Bloom
Although it was winter and nothing should have been in bloom, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers of a type he had never seen before. The Virgin bundled the flowers into Juan's cloak, known as a tilma. When Juan Diego presented the tilma of exotic flowers to Zumárraga, the flowers fell out and he recognized them as Castilian roses, which are not found in Mexico.
What was even more significant, however, was that the tilma had been miraculously imprinted with a colorful image of the Virgin herself.
Tilma
This actual tilma, preserved since that date and showing the familiar image of the Virgin Mary with her head bowed and hands together in prayer, represents the Virgin of Guadalupe. It remains perhaps the most sacred object in all of Mexico.
The story is best known from a manuscript written in the Aztec’s native language Nahuatl by the scholar Antonio Valeriano. It was written sometime after 1556.
Over 20 million people visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe each year, now situated on the very same hill on which she appeared.
In 1990, Pope Saint John Paul II visited Mexico and beatified Juan Diego. 10 years later, in the year 2000, he was declared a Saint.
The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Vatican News
First apparition
Our Lady of Guadalupe first introduced herself as the Mother of God and the mother of all humanity when she appeared on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531. An indigenous peasant, Juan Diego, saw a glowing figure on the hill. After she had identified herself to him, Our Lady asked that Juan build her a shrine in that same spot, in order for her to show and share her love and compassion with all those who believe.
Afterwards, Juan Diego visited Juan de Zumárraga, who was Archbishop of what is now Mexico City. Zumárraga dismissed him in disbelief and asked that the future Saint provide proof of his story and proof of the Lady’s identity.
Juan Diego returned to the hill and encountered Our Lady again. The Virgin told him to climb to the top of the hill and pick some flowers to present to the Archbishop.
Winter Bloom
Although it was winter and nothing should have been in bloom, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers of a type he had never seen before. The Virgin bundled the flowers into Juan's cloak, known as a tilma. When Juan Diego presented the tilma of exotic flowers to Zumárraga, the flowers fell out and he recognized them as Castilian roses, which are not found in Mexico.
What was even more significant, however, was that the tilma had been miraculously imprinted with a colorful image of the Virgin herself.
Tilma
This actual tilma, preserved since that date and showing the familiar image of the Virgin Mary with her head bowed and hands together in prayer, represents the Virgin of Guadalupe. It remains perhaps the most sacred object in all of Mexico.
The story is best known from a manuscript written in the Aztec’s native language Nahuatl by the scholar Antonio Valeriano. It was written sometime after 1556.
Over 20 million people visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe each year, now situated on the very same hill on which she appeared.
In 1990, Pope Saint John Paul II visited Mexico and beatified Juan Diego. 10 years later, in the year 2000, he was declared a Saint.
The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Vatican News
november 2023 ~ blessed jose maria of manila
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FEAST DAY: November 6
BIRTH: 1880 DEATH: 1936 BEATIFIED: October 13th, 2013 |
José María of Manila (5 September 1880 – 17 August 1936) was a Filipino-born Spanish Catholic priest and friar of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He was martyred in the early phase of the Spanish Civil War, and is the third Filipino to have been declared blessed by the Roman Catholic Church.
José María was born in Manila, Philippines on 5 September 1880 to Spanish parents Don Eugenio del Saz-Orozco de la Oz, the last Spanish Mayor of Manila, and Doña Felisa Mortera y Camacho. He spent his initial years of education at Ateneo de Manila University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and University of Santo Tomas.
He stayed in the Philippines until he was 16 years old, pursuing further studies in Spain. Despite objections from his parents, according to López, José María fulfilled his desire to become a Capuchin priest. Records also showed that he had his simple profession in Lecaroz in Navarra on 4 October 1905, while his solemn profession was held 18 October 1908. He was ordained a priest on 30 November 1910.
José María "remained a Filipino at heart" throughout his years in Spain, desiring to return to the Philippines to serve the local Philippine Church despite the fall of the Spanish East Indies government in 1898 due to the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish–American War. Circumstances prevented him from returning, and so he resolved to zealously proclaim the Gospel in Spain, which was still suffering from poverty brought about by World War I.
There was a growing tide of anti-Catholicism and anti-clericalism in Spain, as critics accused the Church of conspiring with the government to keep the people poor. The effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and later the Great Depression that pushed the working class to their limits, and military generals took advantage of the situation by staging an uprising in July 1936 that began the Spanish Civil War. Church property was seized or destroyed, and priests and religious were imprisoned. On 17 August 1936, José María was executed at the gardens of the Cuartel de la Montaña, a military building in Madrid.
Beatification
On 27 March 2013, Pope Francis approved the findings of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that José María and 521 other companions were indeed killed because of their Roman Catholic faith, clearing the way for their beatification. These twentieth-century martyrs of the religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War were beatified on 13 October 2013 in Tarragona, Spain. The Beatification Rite and Mass was presided by the cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who read the Apostolic Letter declaring the martyrs "Blessed" and setting their common feast day every 6 November, together with other previously beatified martyrs of the Spanish Civil War.
Bl. Jose Maria of Manila - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
José María was born in Manila, Philippines on 5 September 1880 to Spanish parents Don Eugenio del Saz-Orozco de la Oz, the last Spanish Mayor of Manila, and Doña Felisa Mortera y Camacho. He spent his initial years of education at Ateneo de Manila University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and University of Santo Tomas.
He stayed in the Philippines until he was 16 years old, pursuing further studies in Spain. Despite objections from his parents, according to López, José María fulfilled his desire to become a Capuchin priest. Records also showed that he had his simple profession in Lecaroz in Navarra on 4 October 1905, while his solemn profession was held 18 October 1908. He was ordained a priest on 30 November 1910.
José María "remained a Filipino at heart" throughout his years in Spain, desiring to return to the Philippines to serve the local Philippine Church despite the fall of the Spanish East Indies government in 1898 due to the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish–American War. Circumstances prevented him from returning, and so he resolved to zealously proclaim the Gospel in Spain, which was still suffering from poverty brought about by World War I.
There was a growing tide of anti-Catholicism and anti-clericalism in Spain, as critics accused the Church of conspiring with the government to keep the people poor. The effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and later the Great Depression that pushed the working class to their limits, and military generals took advantage of the situation by staging an uprising in July 1936 that began the Spanish Civil War. Church property was seized or destroyed, and priests and religious were imprisoned. On 17 August 1936, José María was executed at the gardens of the Cuartel de la Montaña, a military building in Madrid.
Beatification
On 27 March 2013, Pope Francis approved the findings of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that José María and 521 other companions were indeed killed because of their Roman Catholic faith, clearing the way for their beatification. These twentieth-century martyrs of the religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War were beatified on 13 October 2013 in Tarragona, Spain. The Beatification Rite and Mass was presided by the cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who read the Apostolic Letter declaring the martyrs "Blessed" and setting their common feast day every 6 November, together with other previously beatified martyrs of the Spanish Civil War.
Bl. Jose Maria of Manila - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
october 2023 ~ saint theresa of Lisieux
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St. Therese had a simple yet powerful message that still resonates in the hearts of millions today.
She died at the age of 24, believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her promised “Shower of Roses” began and has become a torrent in the Church ever since. |
St. Therese’s Parents
On Sunday, October 18, 2015, Pope Francis presided at Mass in St. Peter’s Square which included the Rite of Canonization for Sts. Zelie and Louis Martin. The Martins had been beatified earlier on October 19, 2008.
The Pope stated in his homily, “The holy spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Azelie Guerin practiced Christian service in the family, creating day by day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.” They are the first-ever married couple with children to be canonized in the same ceremony.
Louis Martin – The Watchmaker
Louis Martin (1823 – 1894) was a watchmaker by trade, and quite a successful one. He also skillfully managed his wife’s lace business. But, as with so many men, Louis’ life had not turned out at all the way he had planned.
Born into a family of soldiers, Louis spent his early years at various French military posts. He absorbed the sense of order and discipline that army life engenders. His temperament, deeply influenced by the peculiar French connection between the mystical and the military, tended toward things of the spirit.
Eventually, Louis settled down in Alencon, a small city in France, and pursued his watchmaking trade. He loved Alencon. It was a quiet place and he was a quiet man. It even had a lovely trout stream nearby, offering him the opportunity to pursue his favorite recreation.
At twenty-two, young Louis sought to enter religious life at the monastery of the Augustinian Canons of the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps. The blend of courage and charity the monks and their famous dogs manifested in rescuing travelers in Alpine snows appealed powerfully to Louis Martin.
Unfortunately, the Abbot insisted the young candidate learn Latin. Louis, whose bravery would have carried him to the heights of the Alps in search of a lost pilgrim, got himself lost among the peaks and valleys of Latin syntax and grammar. His most determined efforts failed. He became ill and dispirited, and abandoned his hopes for the monastic life.
Zelie Guerin – The Lace Maker
Most famous of Alencon’s thirteen thousand inhabitants were its lace makers. French people greatly admired the skill and talent required to produce the exquisite lace known throughout the nation as Point d’ Alencon.
Zelie Guerin (1831 – 1877) was one of Alencon’s more talented lace makers. Born into a military family, Zelie described her childhood and youth as “dismal.” Her mother and father showed her little affection. As a young lady, she sought unsuccessfully to enter the religious order of the sisters of the Hotel-Dieu. Zelie then learned the Alencon lace-making technique and soon mastered this painstaking craft. Richly talented, creative, eager, and endowed with common sense, she started her own business and became quite successful. Notable as these achievements were, Zelie was yet to reveal the depths of the strength, faith, and courage she possessed.
On Sunday, October 18, 2015, Pope Francis presided at Mass in St. Peter’s Square which included the Rite of Canonization for Sts. Zelie and Louis Martin. The Martins had been beatified earlier on October 19, 2008.
The Pope stated in his homily, “The holy spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Azelie Guerin practiced Christian service in the family, creating day by day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.” They are the first-ever married couple with children to be canonized in the same ceremony.
Louis Martin – The Watchmaker
Louis Martin (1823 – 1894) was a watchmaker by trade, and quite a successful one. He also skillfully managed his wife’s lace business. But, as with so many men, Louis’ life had not turned out at all the way he had planned.
Born into a family of soldiers, Louis spent his early years at various French military posts. He absorbed the sense of order and discipline that army life engenders. His temperament, deeply influenced by the peculiar French connection between the mystical and the military, tended toward things of the spirit.
Eventually, Louis settled down in Alencon, a small city in France, and pursued his watchmaking trade. He loved Alencon. It was a quiet place and he was a quiet man. It even had a lovely trout stream nearby, offering him the opportunity to pursue his favorite recreation.
At twenty-two, young Louis sought to enter religious life at the monastery of the Augustinian Canons of the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps. The blend of courage and charity the monks and their famous dogs manifested in rescuing travelers in Alpine snows appealed powerfully to Louis Martin.
Unfortunately, the Abbot insisted the young candidate learn Latin. Louis, whose bravery would have carried him to the heights of the Alps in search of a lost pilgrim, got himself lost among the peaks and valleys of Latin syntax and grammar. His most determined efforts failed. He became ill and dispirited, and abandoned his hopes for the monastic life.
Zelie Guerin – The Lace Maker
Most famous of Alencon’s thirteen thousand inhabitants were its lace makers. French people greatly admired the skill and talent required to produce the exquisite lace known throughout the nation as Point d’ Alencon.
Zelie Guerin (1831 – 1877) was one of Alencon’s more talented lace makers. Born into a military family, Zelie described her childhood and youth as “dismal.” Her mother and father showed her little affection. As a young lady, she sought unsuccessfully to enter the religious order of the sisters of the Hotel-Dieu. Zelie then learned the Alencon lace-making technique and soon mastered this painstaking craft. Richly talented, creative, eager, and endowed with common sense, she started her own business and became quite successful. Notable as these achievements were, Zelie was yet to reveal the depths of the strength, faith, and courage she possessed.
The Martins
Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin eventually met in Alencon, and on July 13, 1858, Louis, 34, and Zelie, 26, married and began their remarkable voyage through life. Within the next fifteen years, Zelie bore nine children, seven girls and two boys. “We lived only for them,” Zelie wrote; “they were all our happiness.”
The Martins’ delight in their children turned to shock and sorrow as tragedy relentlessly and mercilessly stalked their little ones. Within three years, Zelie’s two baby boys, a five year old girl, and a six-and-a-half week old infant girl all died.
Zelie was left numb with sadness. “I haven’t a penny’s worth of courage,” she lamented. But her faith sustained her through these terrible ordeals.
In a letter to her sister-in-law who had lost an infant son, Zelie remembered: “When I closed the eyes of my dear little children and buried them, I felt sorrow through and through…People said to me, ‘It would have been better never to have had them.’ I couldn’t stand such language. My children were not lost forever; life is short and full of miseries, and we shall find our little ones again up above.”
The Martins’ last child was born January 2, 1873. She was weak and frail, and doctors feared for the infant’s life. The family, so used to death, was preparing for yet another blow. Zelie wrote of her three month old girl: “I have no hope of saving her. The poor little thing suffers horribly….It breaks your heart to see her.”
But the baby girl proved to be much tougher than anyone realized. She survived the illness. A year later she was a “big baby, browned by the sun.” “The baby,” Zelie noted, “is full of life, giggles a lot, and is sheer joy to everyone.”
Death seemed to grant a reprieve to the Martin household. Although suffering had left its mark on mother and father, it was not the scar of bitterness. Louis and Zelie had already found relief and support in their faith.
The series of tragedies had intensified the love of Louis and Zelie Martin for each other. They poured out their affection on their five surviving daughters; Marie, 12, Pauline, 11, Leonie 9, Celine, 3, and their new-born. Louis and Zelie named their new-born; Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin. A century later people would know her as St. Therese, and call her the “Little Flower.”
Her Early Years
Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873, and baptized two days later on January 4th. “All my life, God surrounded me with love. My first memories are imprinted with the most tender smiles and caresses…Those were the sunny years of my childhood.” Thus Therese, twenty-one years later, described her home life in Alencon, France. “My happy disposition,” she added with characteristic candor, “contributed to making my life pleasing.”
The Baby of the Family
The Martin household was a lively place. Therese’s father, Louis, had a nickname for each of his daughters. Her mother, Zelie, wrote her relatives constantly about the joys each child gave her. Therese was the baby and everyone’s favorite, especially her mother’s.
Due to Therese’s weak and frail condition at birth, she was taken care of by a nurse for her first year and a half. Because of this care, she became a lively, mischievous and self-confident child. But Zelie was not blind to her baby’s faults.
Therese was, she wrote, “incredibly stubborn. When she has said ‘no’, nothing will make her change her mind. One could put her in the cellar for the whole day.” Therese’s candor appeared early and was unusual. The little one would run to her mother and confess: “Mama, I hit Celine (her sister) once-but I won’t do it again.”
Little Therese was blond, blue-eyed, affectionate, stubborn, and alarmingly precocious. She could throw a giant-sized tantrum. Her bubbling laughter could make a gargoyle smile.
In a note, Zelie advised her daughter Pauline: “She (Therese) flies into frightful tantrums; when things don’t go just right and according to her way of thinking, she rolls on the floor in desperation like one without any hope. There are times when it gets too much for her and she literally chokes. She’s a nervous child, but she is very good, very intelligent, and remembers everything.”
Through it all, however, Therese thrived on the love which surrounded her in this Christian home. It was here, where prayer, the liturgy, and practical good works formed the basis of her own ardent love of Jesus – her desire to please Him and the Virgin Mary.
Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin eventually met in Alencon, and on July 13, 1858, Louis, 34, and Zelie, 26, married and began their remarkable voyage through life. Within the next fifteen years, Zelie bore nine children, seven girls and two boys. “We lived only for them,” Zelie wrote; “they were all our happiness.”
The Martins’ delight in their children turned to shock and sorrow as tragedy relentlessly and mercilessly stalked their little ones. Within three years, Zelie’s two baby boys, a five year old girl, and a six-and-a-half week old infant girl all died.
Zelie was left numb with sadness. “I haven’t a penny’s worth of courage,” she lamented. But her faith sustained her through these terrible ordeals.
In a letter to her sister-in-law who had lost an infant son, Zelie remembered: “When I closed the eyes of my dear little children and buried them, I felt sorrow through and through…People said to me, ‘It would have been better never to have had them.’ I couldn’t stand such language. My children were not lost forever; life is short and full of miseries, and we shall find our little ones again up above.”
The Martins’ last child was born January 2, 1873. She was weak and frail, and doctors feared for the infant’s life. The family, so used to death, was preparing for yet another blow. Zelie wrote of her three month old girl: “I have no hope of saving her. The poor little thing suffers horribly….It breaks your heart to see her.”
But the baby girl proved to be much tougher than anyone realized. She survived the illness. A year later she was a “big baby, browned by the sun.” “The baby,” Zelie noted, “is full of life, giggles a lot, and is sheer joy to everyone.”
Death seemed to grant a reprieve to the Martin household. Although suffering had left its mark on mother and father, it was not the scar of bitterness. Louis and Zelie had already found relief and support in their faith.
The series of tragedies had intensified the love of Louis and Zelie Martin for each other. They poured out their affection on their five surviving daughters; Marie, 12, Pauline, 11, Leonie 9, Celine, 3, and their new-born. Louis and Zelie named their new-born; Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin. A century later people would know her as St. Therese, and call her the “Little Flower.”
Her Early Years
Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873, and baptized two days later on January 4th. “All my life, God surrounded me with love. My first memories are imprinted with the most tender smiles and caresses…Those were the sunny years of my childhood.” Thus Therese, twenty-one years later, described her home life in Alencon, France. “My happy disposition,” she added with characteristic candor, “contributed to making my life pleasing.”
The Baby of the Family
The Martin household was a lively place. Therese’s father, Louis, had a nickname for each of his daughters. Her mother, Zelie, wrote her relatives constantly about the joys each child gave her. Therese was the baby and everyone’s favorite, especially her mother’s.
Due to Therese’s weak and frail condition at birth, she was taken care of by a nurse for her first year and a half. Because of this care, she became a lively, mischievous and self-confident child. But Zelie was not blind to her baby’s faults.
Therese was, she wrote, “incredibly stubborn. When she has said ‘no’, nothing will make her change her mind. One could put her in the cellar for the whole day.” Therese’s candor appeared early and was unusual. The little one would run to her mother and confess: “Mama, I hit Celine (her sister) once-but I won’t do it again.”
Little Therese was blond, blue-eyed, affectionate, stubborn, and alarmingly precocious. She could throw a giant-sized tantrum. Her bubbling laughter could make a gargoyle smile.
In a note, Zelie advised her daughter Pauline: “She (Therese) flies into frightful tantrums; when things don’t go just right and according to her way of thinking, she rolls on the floor in desperation like one without any hope. There are times when it gets too much for her and she literally chokes. She’s a nervous child, but she is very good, very intelligent, and remembers everything.”
Through it all, however, Therese thrived on the love which surrounded her in this Christian home. It was here, where prayer, the liturgy, and practical good works formed the basis of her own ardent love of Jesus – her desire to please Him and the Virgin Mary.
“I Choose All”
At the age of twelve, Therese’s sister Leonie felt she had no further use for her doll dressmaking kit, and stuffed a basket full of materials for making new dresses. Leonie then offered it to her six year old sister, Celine, and her two year old sister, Therese.
“Choose what you wish, little sisters,” invited Leonie. Celine took a little ball of wool that pleased her. Therese simply said, “I choose all.” She accepted the basket and all its goods without ceremony. This incident revealed Therese’s attitude toward life. She never did anything by halves; for her it was always all or nothing.
On Sundays, Louis and Zelie Martin would take their daughters on walks. Therese loved the wide open spaces and the beauty of the countryside about Alencon. Frequently, the walks tired little Therese. This would result in “Papa” Martin carrying his daughter home in his arms.
Unfortunately, the pleasant family times would soon come to an end. The shadow of death that had previously occupied the Martin household, once more relentlessly returned. Therese’s mother, Zelie (after an illness of twelve years), died of breast cancer in August, 1877. Therese was only four years old at the time.
The Winter of Great Trial
Shortly after his wife’s death, Louis Martin moved his family of five girls (ranging in ages from four to seventeen) to Lisieux. He rented a home and named it “Les Buissonnets” (“The Hedges”). Therese then entered what she termed “the second” and “most painful” period of her life. Because of the shock of her mother’s death, “my happy disposition completely changed,” she remembered. “I became timid and retiring, sensitive to an excessive degree….
At the age of twelve, Therese’s sister Leonie felt she had no further use for her doll dressmaking kit, and stuffed a basket full of materials for making new dresses. Leonie then offered it to her six year old sister, Celine, and her two year old sister, Therese.
“Choose what you wish, little sisters,” invited Leonie. Celine took a little ball of wool that pleased her. Therese simply said, “I choose all.” She accepted the basket and all its goods without ceremony. This incident revealed Therese’s attitude toward life. She never did anything by halves; for her it was always all or nothing.
On Sundays, Louis and Zelie Martin would take their daughters on walks. Therese loved the wide open spaces and the beauty of the countryside about Alencon. Frequently, the walks tired little Therese. This would result in “Papa” Martin carrying his daughter home in his arms.
Unfortunately, the pleasant family times would soon come to an end. The shadow of death that had previously occupied the Martin household, once more relentlessly returned. Therese’s mother, Zelie (after an illness of twelve years), died of breast cancer in August, 1877. Therese was only four years old at the time.
The Winter of Great Trial
Shortly after his wife’s death, Louis Martin moved his family of five girls (ranging in ages from four to seventeen) to Lisieux. He rented a home and named it “Les Buissonnets” (“The Hedges”). Therese then entered what she termed “the second” and “most painful” period of her life. Because of the shock of her mother’s death, “my happy disposition completely changed,” she remembered. “I became timid and retiring, sensitive to an excessive degree….
Louis Martin and his daughters did all they could to help little Therese who missed her mother so much. They lavished affection and attention upon the motherless child. At Les Buissonnets, under the tutelage of her sisters Marie and Pauline, Therese began her first schooling.
Each day after classes were over she joined her father in his study. Louis called Therese his “little queen.” Eventually the two would go for a walk. They would visit a different church each day and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The bond between father and daughter grew stronger and stronger. “How could I possibly express the tenderness which Papa showered upon his queen?” she later exclaimed. Her sister Celine, nearly four years older, became her favorite playmate.
The passage is all the more remarkable because it revealed the theme of exile which dominated her whole life. Therese maintained the first word she learned to read was “heaven.” From her childhood she interpreted all her world as only the beginning, only a glimpse of a glorious future.
Sundays had tremendous significance. They were days of rest tinged with melancholy because they must end. It was on a Sunday evening this youngster felt the pang of exile of this earth. “I longed,” she explained, “for the everlasting repose of heaven – that never ending Sunday of the fatherland…”
Therese, given the proper occasion, continued to produce extreme temper tantrums. The following is her own account of one of the more sparkling scenes that took place between herself and her poor nurse, Victoire.
“I wanted an inkstand which was on the shelf of the fireplace in the kitchen; being too little to take it down, I very nicely asked Victoire to give it to me. But she refused, telling me to get up on a chair. I took a chair without saying a word, but thinking she wasn’t too nice; wanting to make her feel it, I searched out in my little head what offended me the most. She often called me a ‘little brat’ when she was annoyed at me and humbled me very much.
So before jumping off my chair, I turned around with dignity and said, ‘Victoire, you are a brat!’ Then I made my escape leaving Victoire to meditate on the profound statement I had just made… I thought, if Victoire didn’t want to stretch her big arm to do me a little service, she merited the title ‘brat.'”
Each day after classes were over she joined her father in his study. Louis called Therese his “little queen.” Eventually the two would go for a walk. They would visit a different church each day and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The bond between father and daughter grew stronger and stronger. “How could I possibly express the tenderness which Papa showered upon his queen?” she later exclaimed. Her sister Celine, nearly four years older, became her favorite playmate.
The passage is all the more remarkable because it revealed the theme of exile which dominated her whole life. Therese maintained the first word she learned to read was “heaven.” From her childhood she interpreted all her world as only the beginning, only a glimpse of a glorious future.
Sundays had tremendous significance. They were days of rest tinged with melancholy because they must end. It was on a Sunday evening this youngster felt the pang of exile of this earth. “I longed,” she explained, “for the everlasting repose of heaven – that never ending Sunday of the fatherland…”
Therese, given the proper occasion, continued to produce extreme temper tantrums. The following is her own account of one of the more sparkling scenes that took place between herself and her poor nurse, Victoire.
“I wanted an inkstand which was on the shelf of the fireplace in the kitchen; being too little to take it down, I very nicely asked Victoire to give it to me. But she refused, telling me to get up on a chair. I took a chair without saying a word, but thinking she wasn’t too nice; wanting to make her feel it, I searched out in my little head what offended me the most. She often called me a ‘little brat’ when she was annoyed at me and humbled me very much.
So before jumping off my chair, I turned around with dignity and said, ‘Victoire, you are a brat!’ Then I made my escape leaving Victoire to meditate on the profound statement I had just made… I thought, if Victoire didn’t want to stretch her big arm to do me a little service, she merited the title ‘brat.'”
“Our Lady of the Smile”
During the winter following Pauline’s entrance into the Carmelite monastery, Therese fell seriously ill. Experts have diagnosed her sickness as everything from a nervous breakdown to a kidney infection. She blamed it on the devil. Whatever it was, doctors of her time were unable to either diagnose or treat it.
She suffered intensely during this time from constant headaches and insomnia. As the illness pursued its vile course, it racked poor little Therese’s body. She took fits of fever and trembling and suffered cruel hallucinations. Writing of one bout of delirium, she explained: “I was absolutely terrified by everything: my bed seemed to be surrounded by frightful precipices; some nails in the wall of the room took on the appearance of big black charred fingers, making me cry out in fear. One day, while Papa was looking at me and smiling, the hat in his hand was suddenly transformed into some indescribable dreadful shape and I showed such great fear that poor Papa left the room sobbing.”
None of the treatments helped. Then, on May 13, 1883, Therese turned her head to a statue of the Virgin near her bed, and prayed for a cure. “Suddenly” Therese writes, “…Mary’s face radiated kindness and love.” Therese was cured. The statue has since been called “Our Lady of the Smile.”
It was shortly after Pauline’s departure that Therese decided to join her at Lisieux’s Carmelite Convent. She approached the prioress of the monastery and sought entrance. Carefully little Therese explained she wished to enter, not for Pauline’s sake, but for Jesus’ sake. The prioress advised her to return when she grew up. Therese was only nine years old at the time.
During her long illness, her resolve to join the Carmelites grew even stronger. “I am convinced that the thought of one day becoming a Carmelite made me live,” she later declared. After her illness, Therese was more than ever determined to do something great for God and for others. She thought of herself as a new Joan of Arc, dedicated to the rescue not only of France but of the whole world.
With unbelievable boldness the ten-year-old stated, “I was born for glory.” And thus another great theme of Therese’s life manifested itself. She perceived her life’s mission as one of salvation for all people. She was to accomplish this by becoming a saint. She understood that her glory would be hidden from the eyes of others until God wished to reveal it.
At ten years of age, then, she reaffirmed and clarified her life’s goals. She was intelligent enough to realize she could not accomplish them without suffering. What was hidden from her eyes was just how much she would have to endure to win her glory.
The Price
“Spiritual torment” was to be her lot for years to come, slackening only when she started preparing for her long-awaited First Communion. At the age of eleven, on May 8, 1884, Therese received her first “kiss of love”, a sense of being “united” with Jesus, of His giving Himself to her, as she gave herself to Him.
Her eucharistic hunger made her long for daily communion. Confirmation, “the sacrament of Love,” which she received on June 14, 1884, filled Therese with ecstasy. Shortly thereafter though, the young Martin girl experienced a peculiarly vicious attack of scruples. This lasted seventeen months. She lived in constant fear of sinning; the most abhorrent and absurd thoughts disturbed her peace. She wept often.
“You cry so much during your childhood,” intimates told her, “you will no longer have tears to shed later on!” Headaches plagued her once more. Her father finally removed her from the Abbey school and provided private tutoring for her.
During this time her sister, Marie, became very close with Therese, and helped her to overcome these fears. But Marie in turn, also entered the Lisieux Carmel (on October 15, 1886). This was very hard on Therese, who at the age of thirteen, had now lost her “third” mother.
During the winter following Pauline’s entrance into the Carmelite monastery, Therese fell seriously ill. Experts have diagnosed her sickness as everything from a nervous breakdown to a kidney infection. She blamed it on the devil. Whatever it was, doctors of her time were unable to either diagnose or treat it.
She suffered intensely during this time from constant headaches and insomnia. As the illness pursued its vile course, it racked poor little Therese’s body. She took fits of fever and trembling and suffered cruel hallucinations. Writing of one bout of delirium, she explained: “I was absolutely terrified by everything: my bed seemed to be surrounded by frightful precipices; some nails in the wall of the room took on the appearance of big black charred fingers, making me cry out in fear. One day, while Papa was looking at me and smiling, the hat in his hand was suddenly transformed into some indescribable dreadful shape and I showed such great fear that poor Papa left the room sobbing.”
None of the treatments helped. Then, on May 13, 1883, Therese turned her head to a statue of the Virgin near her bed, and prayed for a cure. “Suddenly” Therese writes, “…Mary’s face radiated kindness and love.” Therese was cured. The statue has since been called “Our Lady of the Smile.”
It was shortly after Pauline’s departure that Therese decided to join her at Lisieux’s Carmelite Convent. She approached the prioress of the monastery and sought entrance. Carefully little Therese explained she wished to enter, not for Pauline’s sake, but for Jesus’ sake. The prioress advised her to return when she grew up. Therese was only nine years old at the time.
During her long illness, her resolve to join the Carmelites grew even stronger. “I am convinced that the thought of one day becoming a Carmelite made me live,” she later declared. After her illness, Therese was more than ever determined to do something great for God and for others. She thought of herself as a new Joan of Arc, dedicated to the rescue not only of France but of the whole world.
With unbelievable boldness the ten-year-old stated, “I was born for glory.” And thus another great theme of Therese’s life manifested itself. She perceived her life’s mission as one of salvation for all people. She was to accomplish this by becoming a saint. She understood that her glory would be hidden from the eyes of others until God wished to reveal it.
At ten years of age, then, she reaffirmed and clarified her life’s goals. She was intelligent enough to realize she could not accomplish them without suffering. What was hidden from her eyes was just how much she would have to endure to win her glory.
The Price
“Spiritual torment” was to be her lot for years to come, slackening only when she started preparing for her long-awaited First Communion. At the age of eleven, on May 8, 1884, Therese received her first “kiss of love”, a sense of being “united” with Jesus, of His giving Himself to her, as she gave herself to Him.
Her eucharistic hunger made her long for daily communion. Confirmation, “the sacrament of Love,” which she received on June 14, 1884, filled Therese with ecstasy. Shortly thereafter though, the young Martin girl experienced a peculiarly vicious attack of scruples. This lasted seventeen months. She lived in constant fear of sinning; the most abhorrent and absurd thoughts disturbed her peace. She wept often.
“You cry so much during your childhood,” intimates told her, “you will no longer have tears to shed later on!” Headaches plagued her once more. Her father finally removed her from the Abbey school and provided private tutoring for her.
During this time her sister, Marie, became very close with Therese, and helped her to overcome these fears. But Marie in turn, also entered the Lisieux Carmel (on October 15, 1886). This was very hard on Therese, who at the age of thirteen, had now lost her “third” mother.
The Christmas Conversion
After midnight Mass, Christmas, 1886, the shadow of self-doubt, depression and uncertainty suddenly lifted from Therese, leaving her in possession of a new calm and inner conviction. Grace had intervened to change her life as she was going up the stairs at her home.
Something her father said provoked a sudden inner change. The Holy Child’s strength supplanted her weakness. The strong character she had at the age of four and a half was suddenly restored to her. A ten year struggle had ended. Her tears had dried up. The third and last period of her life was about to begin. She called it her life’s “most beautiful” period.
Freed from herself, she embarked on her “Giant’s Race.” She was consumed like Jesus with a thirst for souls. “My heart was filled with charity. I forgot myself to please others and, in doing so, became happy myself.”
Now, she could fulfill her dream of entering the Carmel as soon as possible to love Jesus and pray for sinners. Grace received at Mass in the summer of 1887 left her with a vision of standing at the foot of the Cross, collecting the blood of Jesus and giving it to souls. Convinced that her prayers and sufferings could bring people to Christ, she boldly asked Jesus to give her some sign that she was right. He did.
In the early summer of 1887, a criminal, Henri Pranzini, was convicted of the murder of two women and a child. He was sentenced to the guillotine. The convicted man, according to police reports, showed no inclination to repent. Therese immediately stormed heaven for Pranzini’s conversion. She prayed for weeks and had Mass offered for him. There was still no change in the attitude of the condemned man.
The newspaper La Croix, in describing Pranzini’s execution, noted the man had refused to go to confession. Then on September 1, 1887, as the executioner was about to put his head onto the guillotine block, the unfortunate criminal seized the crucifix a priest offered him and, the newspaper noted, “kissed the Sacred Wounds three times.” Therese wept for joy, her “first child” had obtained God’s mercy. Therese hoped that many others would follow once she was in the Carmel.
After midnight Mass, Christmas, 1886, the shadow of self-doubt, depression and uncertainty suddenly lifted from Therese, leaving her in possession of a new calm and inner conviction. Grace had intervened to change her life as she was going up the stairs at her home.
Something her father said provoked a sudden inner change. The Holy Child’s strength supplanted her weakness. The strong character she had at the age of four and a half was suddenly restored to her. A ten year struggle had ended. Her tears had dried up. The third and last period of her life was about to begin. She called it her life’s “most beautiful” period.
Freed from herself, she embarked on her “Giant’s Race.” She was consumed like Jesus with a thirst for souls. “My heart was filled with charity. I forgot myself to please others and, in doing so, became happy myself.”
Now, she could fulfill her dream of entering the Carmel as soon as possible to love Jesus and pray for sinners. Grace received at Mass in the summer of 1887 left her with a vision of standing at the foot of the Cross, collecting the blood of Jesus and giving it to souls. Convinced that her prayers and sufferings could bring people to Christ, she boldly asked Jesus to give her some sign that she was right. He did.
In the early summer of 1887, a criminal, Henri Pranzini, was convicted of the murder of two women and a child. He was sentenced to the guillotine. The convicted man, according to police reports, showed no inclination to repent. Therese immediately stormed heaven for Pranzini’s conversion. She prayed for weeks and had Mass offered for him. There was still no change in the attitude of the condemned man.
The newspaper La Croix, in describing Pranzini’s execution, noted the man had refused to go to confession. Then on September 1, 1887, as the executioner was about to put his head onto the guillotine block, the unfortunate criminal seized the crucifix a priest offered him and, the newspaper noted, “kissed the Sacred Wounds three times.” Therese wept for joy, her “first child” had obtained God’s mercy. Therese hoped that many others would follow once she was in the Carmel.
Her Life at Lisieux Carmel
Marie Martin, the oldest daughter of the family, joined her sister Pauline at the Lisieux Carmel in 1886. Leonie Martin entered the Visitation Convent at Caen the following year. Therese then sought permission from her father to join Marie and Pauline at the Lisieux Convent. Louis was probably expecting the request, but it saddened him nevertheless. Three of his girls had already entered religious life. But, characteristically generous, he not only granted Therese’s request, but worked zealously to help her realize it.
Therese’s Determination
Therese was not yet fifteen when she approached the Carmelite authorities again for permission to enter. Again she was refused. The priest-director advised her to return when she was twenty-one. “Of course,” he added, “you can always see the bishop. I am only his delegate.” The priest did not realize what kind of girl he was dealing with.
To his dying day, Bishop Hugonin of Bayeux never forgot her. She came to his office with her father one rainy day and put her surprising request before him. “You are not yet fifteen and you wish this?” the bishop questioned. “I wished it since the dawn of reason,” young Therese declared.
Marie Martin, the oldest daughter of the family, joined her sister Pauline at the Lisieux Carmel in 1886. Leonie Martin entered the Visitation Convent at Caen the following year. Therese then sought permission from her father to join Marie and Pauline at the Lisieux Convent. Louis was probably expecting the request, but it saddened him nevertheless. Three of his girls had already entered religious life. But, characteristically generous, he not only granted Therese’s request, but worked zealously to help her realize it.
Therese’s Determination
Therese was not yet fifteen when she approached the Carmelite authorities again for permission to enter. Again she was refused. The priest-director advised her to return when she was twenty-one. “Of course,” he added, “you can always see the bishop. I am only his delegate.” The priest did not realize what kind of girl he was dealing with.
To his dying day, Bishop Hugonin of Bayeux never forgot her. She came to his office with her father one rainy day and put her surprising request before him. “You are not yet fifteen and you wish this?” the bishop questioned. “I wished it since the dawn of reason,” young Therese declared.
Louis’ support of her request amazed the bishop. His Excellency had never seen this type of support before. “A father as eager to give his child to God,” he remarked, “as this child was eager to offer herself to him.”
Just before the interview, Therese had put up her hair, thinking this would make her look older. This amused the bishop, and he never spoke about Therese in later years without recounting her ploy.
Although charmed by her, Bishop Hugonin did not immediately grant Therese’s request. He wanted time to consider it, and advised Therese and her father that he would write them regarding his decision.
Therese had planned that, should the Bayeux trip fail, she would go to the Pope himself. Thus in November, 1887, Louis took his daughters, Therese and Celine, to Italy with a group of French pilgrims. Catholics from all over the world were journeying to the Eternal City, to celebrate Leo XIII’s Golden Jubilee as a priest.
In her autobiography, Therese sketched a charming picture of her travels through Southern Europe. In Rome she was enamored of the Coliseum. Its history of Christian martyrdom stirred the very roots of her being.
Once inside the Coliseum, the two sisters ignored regulations prohibiting visitors from descending through the ruined structure to the arena floor, sneaked away from the tour group, climbed across barriers and down the ruins to kneel and pray on the Coliseum floor. Gathering up a few stones as relics, they slipped back to the tour. No one, except their father, noted their absence.
The great day of the audience with Pope Leo XIII came at the end of their week in Rome. On Sunday, November 20, 1887, “they told us on the Pope’s behalf that it was forbidden to speak as this would prolong the audience too much. I turned toward my dear Celine for advice: ‘Speak!’ she said. A moment later I was at the Holy Father’s feet…Lifting tear-filled eyes to his face I cried out: ‘Most Holy Father, I have a great favor to ask you!…Holy Father, in honor of your jubilee, permit me to enter Carmel at the age of fifteen.'”
Father Reverony, the leader of the French pilgrimage, stared stonily at this bold little girl, in surprise and displeasure. “Most Holy Father,” the priest said coldly, “this is a child who wants to enter Carmel at the age of fifteen. The superiors are considering the matter at the moment.”
“Well, my child,” the Holy Father replied, “do what the superiors tell you.” “Resting my hands on his knees,” Therese continued, “I made a final effort, saying, ‘Oh, Holy Father, if you say yes, everybody will agree!’ He gazed at me speaking these words and stressing each syllable: ‘Go – go – you will enter if God wills it.'”
Therese did not want to leave the Holy Father’s presence, so the papal guards had to lift her up and carry the tearful young girl to the door. There they gave her a medal of Leo XIII. Her old nurse, Victoire, probably could have told the Pope he should not have been surprised. Victoire had seen Therese in some rare displays of determination.
Just before the interview, Therese had put up her hair, thinking this would make her look older. This amused the bishop, and he never spoke about Therese in later years without recounting her ploy.
Although charmed by her, Bishop Hugonin did not immediately grant Therese’s request. He wanted time to consider it, and advised Therese and her father that he would write them regarding his decision.
Therese had planned that, should the Bayeux trip fail, she would go to the Pope himself. Thus in November, 1887, Louis took his daughters, Therese and Celine, to Italy with a group of French pilgrims. Catholics from all over the world were journeying to the Eternal City, to celebrate Leo XIII’s Golden Jubilee as a priest.
In her autobiography, Therese sketched a charming picture of her travels through Southern Europe. In Rome she was enamored of the Coliseum. Its history of Christian martyrdom stirred the very roots of her being.
Once inside the Coliseum, the two sisters ignored regulations prohibiting visitors from descending through the ruined structure to the arena floor, sneaked away from the tour group, climbed across barriers and down the ruins to kneel and pray on the Coliseum floor. Gathering up a few stones as relics, they slipped back to the tour. No one, except their father, noted their absence.
The great day of the audience with Pope Leo XIII came at the end of their week in Rome. On Sunday, November 20, 1887, “they told us on the Pope’s behalf that it was forbidden to speak as this would prolong the audience too much. I turned toward my dear Celine for advice: ‘Speak!’ she said. A moment later I was at the Holy Father’s feet…Lifting tear-filled eyes to his face I cried out: ‘Most Holy Father, I have a great favor to ask you!…Holy Father, in honor of your jubilee, permit me to enter Carmel at the age of fifteen.'”
Father Reverony, the leader of the French pilgrimage, stared stonily at this bold little girl, in surprise and displeasure. “Most Holy Father,” the priest said coldly, “this is a child who wants to enter Carmel at the age of fifteen. The superiors are considering the matter at the moment.”
“Well, my child,” the Holy Father replied, “do what the superiors tell you.” “Resting my hands on his knees,” Therese continued, “I made a final effort, saying, ‘Oh, Holy Father, if you say yes, everybody will agree!’ He gazed at me speaking these words and stressing each syllable: ‘Go – go – you will enter if God wills it.'”
Therese did not want to leave the Holy Father’s presence, so the papal guards had to lift her up and carry the tearful young girl to the door. There they gave her a medal of Leo XIII. Her old nurse, Victoire, probably could have told the Pope he should not have been surprised. Victoire had seen Therese in some rare displays of determination.
Carmel
On New Year’s day, 1888, the prioress of the Lisieux Carmel advised Therese she would be received into the monastery, but that she had to be patient and wait a little bit longer. On April 9, 1888, an emotional and tearful, but determined Therese Martin said good-bye to her home and her family. She was going to live “for ever and ever” in the desert with Jesus and twenty-four enclosed companions: she was fifteen years and three months old.
The only cloud on her horizon was the worsening condition of her father, Louis, who had developed cerebral arteriosclerosis. Celine remained at home to care for their father during his long and final illness. The good father was growing senile.
Once in June of 1888, he wandered from his home at Lisieux and was lost for three days, eventually turning up at Le Havre. In August, after a series of strokes, Louis became paralyzed.
Many years earlier, when Therese was a little girl, she would peer out of an attic window. Therese loved reveling in the glory of the day. One day however, while her father was in Alencon on business, she suddenly saw in the garden below the stooped and twisted figure of a man.
She froze in terror. “Papa, Papa” she cried out. Her sister, Marie, who was nearby, heard the unmistakable note of panic in Therese’s cry and ran to her. The figure in the garden disappeared. Marie assured her it was nothing and told her to forget everything that had happened.
But the vision continued to cling like a sad portent in the corner of Therese’s mind for the next fourteen years. Now, with her father paralyzed, the meaning of Therese’s vision in the garden so long ago had became apparent at last.
Louis however, rallied his strength, and managed to attend the ceremonies of Therese’s clothing in the Carmelite habit on January 10, 1889. Shortly thereafter, on February 12th, Louis was taken to the hospital after an attack of dementia.
Seeing her father’s humiliation hurt Therese deeply. “Oh, I do not think I could have suffered more than I did on that Day!!!” With that, Therese began to understand the sufferings of the mocked Christ, the Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah. Therese’s father made one last visit to the Carmel in May, 1892. He died peacefully two years later, in 1894, with Celine at his side. Celine then joined her three sisters at Carmel in September of 1894.
Therese spent the last nine years of her life at the Lisieux Carmel. Her fellow Sisters recognized her as a good nun, nothing more. She was conscientious and capable. Sister Therese worked in the sacristy, cleaned the dining room, painted pictures, composed short pious plays for the Sisters, wrote poems, and lived the intense community prayer life of the cloister. Superiors appointed her to instruct the novices of the community. Externally, there was nothing remarkable about this Carmelite nun.
Therese was affected by the spiritual atmosphere in the community, which was still tainted by Jansenism and the vision of an avenging God. Some of the sisters feared divine justice and suffered badly from scruples. Even after her general confession in May 1888 to Father Pichon, her Jesuit spiritual director, Therese was still uneasy.
But a great peace came over her when she made her profession on September 8, 1890. It was the reading of St. John of the Cross, an unusual choice at the time, which brought her relief. In the “Spiritual Canticle” and the “Living Flame of Love,” she discovered “the true Saint of Love.”
This, she felt, was the path she was meant to follow. During a community retreat in October, 1891, a Franciscan, Father Alexis Prou, launched her on those “waves of confidence and love,” on which she had previously been afraid to venture.
On New Year’s day, 1888, the prioress of the Lisieux Carmel advised Therese she would be received into the monastery, but that she had to be patient and wait a little bit longer. On April 9, 1888, an emotional and tearful, but determined Therese Martin said good-bye to her home and her family. She was going to live “for ever and ever” in the desert with Jesus and twenty-four enclosed companions: she was fifteen years and three months old.
The only cloud on her horizon was the worsening condition of her father, Louis, who had developed cerebral arteriosclerosis. Celine remained at home to care for their father during his long and final illness. The good father was growing senile.
Once in June of 1888, he wandered from his home at Lisieux and was lost for three days, eventually turning up at Le Havre. In August, after a series of strokes, Louis became paralyzed.
Many years earlier, when Therese was a little girl, she would peer out of an attic window. Therese loved reveling in the glory of the day. One day however, while her father was in Alencon on business, she suddenly saw in the garden below the stooped and twisted figure of a man.
She froze in terror. “Papa, Papa” she cried out. Her sister, Marie, who was nearby, heard the unmistakable note of panic in Therese’s cry and ran to her. The figure in the garden disappeared. Marie assured her it was nothing and told her to forget everything that had happened.
But the vision continued to cling like a sad portent in the corner of Therese’s mind for the next fourteen years. Now, with her father paralyzed, the meaning of Therese’s vision in the garden so long ago had became apparent at last.
Louis however, rallied his strength, and managed to attend the ceremonies of Therese’s clothing in the Carmelite habit on January 10, 1889. Shortly thereafter, on February 12th, Louis was taken to the hospital after an attack of dementia.
Seeing her father’s humiliation hurt Therese deeply. “Oh, I do not think I could have suffered more than I did on that Day!!!” With that, Therese began to understand the sufferings of the mocked Christ, the Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah. Therese’s father made one last visit to the Carmel in May, 1892. He died peacefully two years later, in 1894, with Celine at his side. Celine then joined her three sisters at Carmel in September of 1894.
Therese spent the last nine years of her life at the Lisieux Carmel. Her fellow Sisters recognized her as a good nun, nothing more. She was conscientious and capable. Sister Therese worked in the sacristy, cleaned the dining room, painted pictures, composed short pious plays for the Sisters, wrote poems, and lived the intense community prayer life of the cloister. Superiors appointed her to instruct the novices of the community. Externally, there was nothing remarkable about this Carmelite nun.
Therese was affected by the spiritual atmosphere in the community, which was still tainted by Jansenism and the vision of an avenging God. Some of the sisters feared divine justice and suffered badly from scruples. Even after her general confession in May 1888 to Father Pichon, her Jesuit spiritual director, Therese was still uneasy.
But a great peace came over her when she made her profession on September 8, 1890. It was the reading of St. John of the Cross, an unusual choice at the time, which brought her relief. In the “Spiritual Canticle” and the “Living Flame of Love,” she discovered “the true Saint of Love.”
This, she felt, was the path she was meant to follow. During a community retreat in October, 1891, a Franciscan, Father Alexis Prou, launched her on those “waves of confidence and love,” on which she had previously been afraid to venture.
The harsh winter of 1890-1891 and a severe influenza epidemic killed three of the sisters, as well as Mother Geneviere, the Lisieux Carmel’s founder and “Saint”. Therese was spared, and her true energy and strength began to show themselves. Therese was delighted when her sister, Agnes of Jesus (Pauline) was elected prioress in succession to Mother Marie de Gonzague in February of 1893.
Pauline asked Therese to write verses and theatrical entertainment for liturgical and community festivals. Included were two plays about Saint Joan of Arc, “her beloved sister”, which she performed herself with great feeling and conviction. When Celine joined Therese at Lisieux Carmel in September of 1894, she brought her camera. Through this, they were able to enliven their recreation periods, and leave Therese’s picture to posterity.
Therese develops her “Little Way”
Therese was aware of her littleness. “It is impossible for me to grow up, so I must bear with myself such as I am with all my imperfections. But I want to seek out a means of going to heaven by a little way, a way that is very straight, very short and totally new.”
Therese went on to describe the elevator in the home of a rich person. And she continued: “I wanted to find an elevator which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection. I searched then in the Scriptures for some sign of this elevator, the object of my desires and I read these words coming from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: ‘Whoever is a little one let him come to me.’ The elevator which must raise me to heaven is your arms, O Jesus, and for this I have no need to grow up, but rather I have to remain little and become this more and more,” And so she abandoned herself to Jesus and her life became a continual acceptance of the will of the Lord.
The Lord, it seems, did not demand great things of her. But Therese felt incapable of the tiniest charity, the smallest expression of concern and patience and understanding. So she surrendered her life to Christ with the hope that he would act through her. She again mirrored perfectly the words of St. Paul, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” “All things” consisted of almost everything she was called upon to do in the daily grind of life.
Pauline asked Therese to write verses and theatrical entertainment for liturgical and community festivals. Included were two plays about Saint Joan of Arc, “her beloved sister”, which she performed herself with great feeling and conviction. When Celine joined Therese at Lisieux Carmel in September of 1894, she brought her camera. Through this, they were able to enliven their recreation periods, and leave Therese’s picture to posterity.
Therese develops her “Little Way”
Therese was aware of her littleness. “It is impossible for me to grow up, so I must bear with myself such as I am with all my imperfections. But I want to seek out a means of going to heaven by a little way, a way that is very straight, very short and totally new.”
Therese went on to describe the elevator in the home of a rich person. And she continued: “I wanted to find an elevator which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection. I searched then in the Scriptures for some sign of this elevator, the object of my desires and I read these words coming from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: ‘Whoever is a little one let him come to me.’ The elevator which must raise me to heaven is your arms, O Jesus, and for this I have no need to grow up, but rather I have to remain little and become this more and more,” And so she abandoned herself to Jesus and her life became a continual acceptance of the will of the Lord.
The Lord, it seems, did not demand great things of her. But Therese felt incapable of the tiniest charity, the smallest expression of concern and patience and understanding. So she surrendered her life to Christ with the hope that he would act through her. She again mirrored perfectly the words of St. Paul, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” “All things” consisted of almost everything she was called upon to do in the daily grind of life.
Life in the Carmel had its problems too: the clashes of communal life, the cold, the new diet and the difficulties of prayer (two hours’ prayer and four and a half hours of liturgy). One day, she leaned over the wash pool with a group of Sisters, laundering handkerchiefs.
One of the Sisters splashed the hot, dirty water into Therese’s face, not once, not twice, but continually. Remember the terrible temper that Therese had? She was near to throwing one of her best tantrums, but said nothing! Christ helped her to accept this lack of consideration on the part of her fellow Sister, and she found a certain peace.
Again, in the daily grind of convent life, she was moved by her youthful idealism to help Sister St. Pierre, a crotchety, older nun who refused to let old age keep her from convent activities. Therese tried to help her along the corridors.
“You move too fast,” the old nun complained. Therese slowed down. “Well, come on,” Sister urged. “I don’t feel your hand. You have let go of me and I am going to fall.” And as a final judgment, old Sister St. Pierre declared: “I was right when I said you were too young to help me.” Therese took it all and managed to smile. This was her “little way.”
Another nun made strange, clacking noises in chapel. Therese did not say, but the good lady was probably either toying with her rosary or was afflicted by ill-fitting dentures.
The clacking sound really got to Therese. It ground into her brain. Terrible-tempered Therese was pouring sweat in frustration. She tried to shut her ears, but was unsuccessful. Then, as an example of her ‘little ways’, she made a concert out of the clacking and offered it as a prayer to Jesus. “I assure you,” she dryly remarked, “that was no prayer of Quiet.”
Therese, the great mystic, fell asleep frequently at prayer. She was embarrassed by her inability to remain awake during her hours in chapel with the religious community. Finally, in perhaps her most charming and accurate characterization of the “little way,” she noted that, just as parents love their children as much while asleep as awake, so God loved her even though she often slept during the time for prayers.
To learn more about Therese’s life at Lisieux Carmel, visit this site (written in French with an English tranlastion) Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.
One of the Sisters splashed the hot, dirty water into Therese’s face, not once, not twice, but continually. Remember the terrible temper that Therese had? She was near to throwing one of her best tantrums, but said nothing! Christ helped her to accept this lack of consideration on the part of her fellow Sister, and she found a certain peace.
Again, in the daily grind of convent life, she was moved by her youthful idealism to help Sister St. Pierre, a crotchety, older nun who refused to let old age keep her from convent activities. Therese tried to help her along the corridors.
“You move too fast,” the old nun complained. Therese slowed down. “Well, come on,” Sister urged. “I don’t feel your hand. You have let go of me and I am going to fall.” And as a final judgment, old Sister St. Pierre declared: “I was right when I said you were too young to help me.” Therese took it all and managed to smile. This was her “little way.”
Another nun made strange, clacking noises in chapel. Therese did not say, but the good lady was probably either toying with her rosary or was afflicted by ill-fitting dentures.
The clacking sound really got to Therese. It ground into her brain. Terrible-tempered Therese was pouring sweat in frustration. She tried to shut her ears, but was unsuccessful. Then, as an example of her ‘little ways’, she made a concert out of the clacking and offered it as a prayer to Jesus. “I assure you,” she dryly remarked, “that was no prayer of Quiet.”
Therese, the great mystic, fell asleep frequently at prayer. She was embarrassed by her inability to remain awake during her hours in chapel with the religious community. Finally, in perhaps her most charming and accurate characterization of the “little way,” she noted that, just as parents love their children as much while asleep as awake, so God loved her even though she often slept during the time for prayers.
To learn more about Therese’s life at Lisieux Carmel, visit this site (written in French with an English tranlastion) Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.
Her Illness, Death, and SainthoodIn the InfirmarySt. Therese had her first evidence of tuberculosis, the illness that would eventually end her life, in April 1896. By the following April she was gravely ill. Confined to the infirmary at Carmel, she spent her time, at the request of her Prioress Mother Marie de Gonzague, writing out her life story. This manuscript eventually became part of her book, “Story of a Soul” (L’histoire d’un ame).
St. Therese on the outdoor porch at Carmel during her illnessDeath and SainthoodIt became apparent in the summer of 1897 that Therese would not rally from her illness and she received Extreme Unction in July. Therese passed at 7:20 PM on September 30, 1897 at age 24. She died believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her final words were, “Oh, my God, I love you!”
St. Therese after her passing.
Within months, the Carmelites at Lisieux began to receive reports of “favors and graces” attributed to Therese. “Story of a Soul” had been published in October 1898 and pilgrims began to visit her gravesite at Carmel.
The cause for beatification and canonization grew at the beginning of the twentieth century. Thousands of letters poured into the Carmel monastery in Lisieux. Her canonization took place on May 17, 1925 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with 500,000 crowding St. Peter’s Square.
In 1997, St. Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, making her the second Carmelite nun to receive that distinction after St. Teresa of Avila. Pope John Paul II stated:
Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face is the youngest of all the “Doctors of the Church”, but her ardent spiritual journey shows such maturity, and the insights of faith expressed in her writings are so vast and profound that they deserve a place among the great spiritual masters.
St. Therese’s promised “Shower of Roses” began at her death and has become a torrent in the Church ever since.
Who Is St. Therese - Society of the Little Flower - US
St. Therese on the outdoor porch at Carmel during her illnessDeath and SainthoodIt became apparent in the summer of 1897 that Therese would not rally from her illness and she received Extreme Unction in July. Therese passed at 7:20 PM on September 30, 1897 at age 24. She died believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her final words were, “Oh, my God, I love you!”
St. Therese after her passing.
Within months, the Carmelites at Lisieux began to receive reports of “favors and graces” attributed to Therese. “Story of a Soul” had been published in October 1898 and pilgrims began to visit her gravesite at Carmel.
The cause for beatification and canonization grew at the beginning of the twentieth century. Thousands of letters poured into the Carmel monastery in Lisieux. Her canonization took place on May 17, 1925 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with 500,000 crowding St. Peter’s Square.
In 1997, St. Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, making her the second Carmelite nun to receive that distinction after St. Teresa of Avila. Pope John Paul II stated:
Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face is the youngest of all the “Doctors of the Church”, but her ardent spiritual journey shows such maturity, and the insights of faith expressed in her writings are so vast and profound that they deserve a place among the great spiritual masters.
St. Therese’s promised “Shower of Roses” began at her death and has become a torrent in the Church ever since.
Who Is St. Therese - Society of the Little Flower - US
september 2023 ~ Saint Matthew
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FEAST DAY: September 21 PATRON SAINT OF: Bankers Little is known about St. Matthew, except that he was the son of Alpheus, and he was likely born in Galilee. He worked as a tax collector, which was a hated profession during the time of Christ.
According to the Gospel, Matthew was working at a collection booth in Capernaum when Christ came to him and asked, "Follow me." With this simple call, Matthew became a disciple of Christ. |
From Matthew we know of the many doings of Christ and the message Christ spread of salvation for all people who come to God through Him. The Gospel account of Matthew tells the same story as that found in the other three Gospels, so scholars are certain of its authenticity. His book is the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament.
Many years following the death of Christ, around 41 and 50 AD, Matthew wrote his gospel account. He wrote the book in Aramaic in the hope that his account would convince his fellow people that Jesus was the Messiah and that His kingdom had been fulfilled in a spiritual way. It was an important message at a time when almost everyone was expecting the return of a militant messiah brandishing a sword.
Many years following the death of Christ, around 41 and 50 AD, Matthew wrote his gospel account. He wrote the book in Aramaic in the hope that his account would convince his fellow people that Jesus was the Messiah and that His kingdom had been fulfilled in a spiritual way. It was an important message at a time when almost everyone was expecting the return of a militant messiah brandishing a sword.
It is thought he departed for other lands to escape persecution sometime after 42 AD. According to various legends he fled to Parthia and Persia, or Ethiopia. Nothing is recorded of Matthew's passing. We do not know how he died, if his death was natural or if he was martyred.
Saint Matthew is often depicted with one of the four living creatures of Revelation 4:7, which reads, "The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third living creature had a human face, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle."
Matthew was a tax collector and is therefore the patron saint of bankers. The Church established St. Matthew's feast day as September 21.
St. Matthew Prayer
O Glorious St. Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus as the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant.
Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in his Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven.
St. Matthew - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
Saint Matthew is often depicted with one of the four living creatures of Revelation 4:7, which reads, "The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third living creature had a human face, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle."
Matthew was a tax collector and is therefore the patron saint of bankers. The Church established St. Matthew's feast day as September 21.
St. Matthew Prayer
O Glorious St. Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus as the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant.
Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in his Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven.
St. Matthew - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
august 2023 ~ maximilian kolbe
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Feast Day: August 14
Patron: of drug addicts, prisoners, families, and the pro-life movement Birth: January 8, 1894 Death: August 14, 1941 Beatified: By Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1971 Canonized: By Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982 Father Maximilian Kolbe is a Saint! – Such was the proclamation by Pope Saint John Paul II on October 10, 1982, followed by the tolling of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica in exultation of the martyr of Auschwitz! Met
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by the thunderous applause of thousands in attendance, including some of the surviving prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp – whose minds and hearts are forever branded with the memory of his saintly and heroic self-donation – their former cellmate had now been raised to the Altars of the Church! Once again, Christ reigns! Once again the enemy has been defeated!
Tracing back, however, to the inhumanity of World War II, where a shattering sense of hopelessness pervaded the death camps as the Nazis took over Poland, this place of infamy became the Calvary of the modern times. Anger and hatred filled the heart of every prisoner until one stepped forward from the prisoners of Block 14, among whom ten had been singled out in retribution for one escapee. Not initially selected, this obscure man – Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest – voluntarily took the place of one of the ten, the father of a family, who, along with the others prisoners, had been sentenced to death by starvation.
Following the canonization Mass, the Holy Father emerged from St. Peter’s Basilica with his concelebrants, all garbed in red vestments, publicly proclaiming the Servant of God a martyr: a martyr of faith animated by love: “Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:12). That love, which is so very dear to the Franciscan life, was the summary of the life of St. Francis, the Poverello of Assisi. For this very reason, Pope Paul VI had called Blessed Maximilian the “St. Francis of our times” during his beatification ceremony some years earlier, on October 19, 1971.
The Childhood of a SaintSaints are not born, they are made. A careful look at Maximilian Kolbe’s early years indicates some of the factors that led him to the summit of heroic love and transformation into the image of Christ.
Tracing back, however, to the inhumanity of World War II, where a shattering sense of hopelessness pervaded the death camps as the Nazis took over Poland, this place of infamy became the Calvary of the modern times. Anger and hatred filled the heart of every prisoner until one stepped forward from the prisoners of Block 14, among whom ten had been singled out in retribution for one escapee. Not initially selected, this obscure man – Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest – voluntarily took the place of one of the ten, the father of a family, who, along with the others prisoners, had been sentenced to death by starvation.
Following the canonization Mass, the Holy Father emerged from St. Peter’s Basilica with his concelebrants, all garbed in red vestments, publicly proclaiming the Servant of God a martyr: a martyr of faith animated by love: “Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:12). That love, which is so very dear to the Franciscan life, was the summary of the life of St. Francis, the Poverello of Assisi. For this very reason, Pope Paul VI had called Blessed Maximilian the “St. Francis of our times” during his beatification ceremony some years earlier, on October 19, 1971.
The Childhood of a SaintSaints are not born, they are made. A careful look at Maximilian Kolbe’s early years indicates some of the factors that led him to the summit of heroic love and transformation into the image of Christ.
Born on January 8, 1894, in Zduńska-Wola, Poland, Maximilian lamented the existence of hatred and the political split in Poland. His father Julius Kolbe, a working class citizen, struggled under the effects of this disunity, where the bonds of love and understanding did not prevail among the citizens of Poland, largely due to the occupation of Russia, Prussia, and Austria. His three sons Francis, Raymond (who was later named Maximilian in his religious Order), and Joseph, would experience the same social consequences.
As a child, Raymond dreamed the political reunification of their Motherland would come about through the valorous efforts of some knights of Our Lady of Czestochowa. His courageous and generous soul to undertake great things for his country was intensified by his ardent devotion to the glorious Patroness of Poland. This special dedication to the Mother of God could easily be attributed to the influence of his own virtuous mother, Maria Dabrowska, who formed his early years in the daily recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Rosary, and the Litany to Our Lady.
The practice of these pious Marian devotions, however, would not subdue young Raymond’s natural, mischievous nature. At some point, when the youngster was finally reprimanded by his mother, she raised the question as to what would become of him if he continued his naughty behavior. Tearfully, he presented himself before the Blessed Virgin Mary and humbly asked her the same question of himself.
In response, Our Lady showed him two crowns: one red, the other white. When asked to choose which he preferred, he chose both: to remain pure and undivided in his love for God and the Blessed Virgin, and to be a martyr. Only a saint can make such a generous choice! Saints are the ones who desire to do astounding things for God! Saints have magnanimous ambition, not because they trust in themselves, but because they are urged on by a profound and unbounded love.
In the footsteps of St. Francis as a FriarAt age thirteen, Raymond Kolbe became fascinated by the Franciscan ideals preached by two Conventual Franciscans who conducted a parish mission at his church in Pabianice in 1907. Soon thereafter, he and his elder brother, Francis, entered the Franciscan minor seminary in Lwów. During his formation and study there, the makings of a saint continued to deepen. He fervently sought to draw profit from all the means accessible for his personal sanctification.
As a child, Raymond dreamed the political reunification of their Motherland would come about through the valorous efforts of some knights of Our Lady of Czestochowa. His courageous and generous soul to undertake great things for his country was intensified by his ardent devotion to the glorious Patroness of Poland. This special dedication to the Mother of God could easily be attributed to the influence of his own virtuous mother, Maria Dabrowska, who formed his early years in the daily recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Rosary, and the Litany to Our Lady.
The practice of these pious Marian devotions, however, would not subdue young Raymond’s natural, mischievous nature. At some point, when the youngster was finally reprimanded by his mother, she raised the question as to what would become of him if he continued his naughty behavior. Tearfully, he presented himself before the Blessed Virgin Mary and humbly asked her the same question of himself.
In response, Our Lady showed him two crowns: one red, the other white. When asked to choose which he preferred, he chose both: to remain pure and undivided in his love for God and the Blessed Virgin, and to be a martyr. Only a saint can make such a generous choice! Saints are the ones who desire to do astounding things for God! Saints have magnanimous ambition, not because they trust in themselves, but because they are urged on by a profound and unbounded love.
In the footsteps of St. Francis as a FriarAt age thirteen, Raymond Kolbe became fascinated by the Franciscan ideals preached by two Conventual Franciscans who conducted a parish mission at his church in Pabianice in 1907. Soon thereafter, he and his elder brother, Francis, entered the Franciscan minor seminary in Lwów. During his formation and study there, the makings of a saint continued to deepen. He fervently sought to draw profit from all the means accessible for his personal sanctification.
He took diligent care to assimilate the instructions he received and to put them into immediate action. Never did he shun occasions to make sacrifices and to vigorously uproot all that was inordinate in his being. Prayer, therefore, was the mainstay of his passionate soul, deriving great benefit from his many hours before the Blessed Sacrament. But most of all, he nourished a tender and profound love for the Blessed Virgin Mary whose devotion is at the very heart of Franciscan life as the inseparable reality of its Christ-centeredness.
On September 4, 1910, Raymond Kolbe entered the novitiate of the Conventual Franciscans. Being invested with the Franciscan habit, he was given the new name of “Friar Maximilian Mary.” Just as most saints, Friar Maximilian also underwent countless trials and tribulations; he had scruples and doubts during his years of formation. The largesse of his soul, however, compelled him to do great things for Our Lady, pressing him on to leave the Order and join the military forces in defense of Poland, his Motherland, under Mary’s patronage. It was proven, however, that God’s plan for him was of a different military nature, and he finally came to understand that his mission was to be fought on the spiritual battlefield.
The Militia of the Immaculate Movement
Having been sent to Rome to further his theological studies, his magnanimous soul found its expression in the intensity of his love for the Immaculate! His Franciscan formation augmented his thirst for the Christ-centeredness of the Order’s spirituality and its theological bent, with emphasis on the Primacy of Christ. On the devotional level, this Primacy is equated to the triumph of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On September 4, 1910, Raymond Kolbe entered the novitiate of the Conventual Franciscans. Being invested with the Franciscan habit, he was given the new name of “Friar Maximilian Mary.” Just as most saints, Friar Maximilian also underwent countless trials and tribulations; he had scruples and doubts during his years of formation. The largesse of his soul, however, compelled him to do great things for Our Lady, pressing him on to leave the Order and join the military forces in defense of Poland, his Motherland, under Mary’s patronage. It was proven, however, that God’s plan for him was of a different military nature, and he finally came to understand that his mission was to be fought on the spiritual battlefield.
The Militia of the Immaculate Movement
Having been sent to Rome to further his theological studies, his magnanimous soul found its expression in the intensity of his love for the Immaculate! His Franciscan formation augmented his thirst for the Christ-centeredness of the Order’s spirituality and its theological bent, with emphasis on the Primacy of Christ. On the devotional level, this Primacy is equated to the triumph of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Such emphasis on Christ’s power and redemptive love finds its most perfect fulfillment in the Immaculate; and Friar Maximilian gradually discovered that in order to be a saint, one must be conformed to the likeness of Christ, a likeness which is authenticated in the perfection of the Immaculate. But to be a saint demands a total response to love, made possible only through the help of grace. Mary, being the Immaculate, i.e., full of grace, mediates these graces from God through her spousal bond with the Holy Spirit. This Franciscan intellectual tradition influenced St. Maximilian in founding a movement which had its underlying dogmatic truth on Mary’s role in the economy of man’s sanctification and salvation – a role that ultimately leads one to the fastest, easiest and surest way of becoming like Jesus.
Having obtained permission from his superiors at the Conventual Franciscan Collegio-Serafico in Rome, this movement, named the “Knights of the Immaculate” (“MILITIA IMMACULATAE” or “M.I.”), was founded on the eve of October 16, 1917, a year before Friar Maximilian’s ordination. Along with six other friars, he consecrated himself totally to the Immaculate and drafted the simple M.I. Statutes of this Marian-Franciscan movement. Even to this very day, its goal continues to be the sanctification of as many souls as possible under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Having obtained permission from his superiors at the Conventual Franciscan Collegio-Serafico in Rome, this movement, named the “Knights of the Immaculate” (“MILITIA IMMACULATAE” or “M.I.”), was founded on the eve of October 16, 1917, a year before Friar Maximilian’s ordination. Along with six other friars, he consecrated himself totally to the Immaculate and drafted the simple M.I. Statutes of this Marian-Franciscan movement. Even to this very day, its goal continues to be the sanctification of as many souls as possible under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The City of the Immaculate
When he returned to Poland as a young priest in 1919, he was appointed professor to the Franciscan seminarians in Cracow. However, because of his failing health and having contracted tuberculosis, he was deemed unsuitable for the task. His superiors, therefore, decided to assign him to the office of confessor. Far from helping his already weakened condition, he became increasingly frail, and was subsequently consigned to the sanitarium of Zakopane.
But his zeal for souls, characteristic of a true saint, did not diminish because of his physical ailments. He provided various spiritual services among his sick companions and instilled in them the love of Our Lady. After having recovered from a long confinement – which served as a period of silence and purification for him – he was prepared to launch a new apostolic endeavor, the likes of which had never before been seen in Poland, or in the world:
The City of the Immaculate (Niepokalanów).
It all started in the humble surroundings of the friary in Grodno where Father Maximilian established a printery for the purpose of promoting devotion to the Immaculate. However, the growing number of subscribers to his printing apostolate forced the friars to transfer their location to donated land in Warsaw in 1927, and is where Father Maximilian established the first City of the Immaculate. It was called “city” because the friars numbered almost eight hundred, all working for the Immaculate with the huge mass media apostolate. They lived heroic lives of poverty, continuous prayer, and voluntary penance. They were united in their mission of evangelizing not only Poland, but the whole world! Day and night, the friars spent themselves in promoting Catholic doctrines, particularly those concerning Our Blessed Lady. They did all this in view of cultivating the need for conversion and sanctification of souls, both on the individual and collective levels, via the mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For Father Maximilian Kolbe, sanctification always necessitated the mediation of Mary because, for him, only through her and by means of her, the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of souls, acts in an inseparable way in each individual soul… whether or not that soul acknowledges Mary’s role in this process. But as he explained, the more a soul acknowledges and is conscious of Mary’s important role in the economy of salvation – the surer, easier and faster that soul can become a saint via consecration to her.
Since, unfortunately, there are so few of the faithful who are aware of this wonderful “elevator” to sanctify souls, namely Our Lady ─ there are still fewer working to make her better known and loved. This was the ever-consuming theological and spiritual focus of Kolbe’s apostolic enterprise and, therefore, his reason for launching this work for the cause of the Immaculate, using every possible licit means. Apart from his principal publication, the monthly magazine “Rycerz Niepokalanej” (“Knight of the Immaculate”) that reached its peak of 600,000 copies per issue, he also printed a daily newspaper, the “Maly Dziennik,“ which eventually reached a circulation of one million. Miscellaneous books, magazines, and pamphlets for people in all walks of life were freely circulated by the friars.
What could possibly be the secret of the incredible progress of Kolbe’s work? He himself pointed out to the friars that the true progress of Niepokalanów does not actually consist in constructing more buildings, of adding more printing presses, or of publications becoming more widespread. It consists, rather, in the daily deepening of one’s love for the Immaculate. The success of the work is brought about by Mary’s mediation and assistance. She – seeing the profound love of a soul for her – would eventually reward such love by loving that soul in return; thus generating the fruit of these two loves (i.e., the soul’s and the Immaculate’s): the birth of Jesus in countless souls. This is Kolbe’s dynamic principle of action and reaction.
When he returned to Poland as a young priest in 1919, he was appointed professor to the Franciscan seminarians in Cracow. However, because of his failing health and having contracted tuberculosis, he was deemed unsuitable for the task. His superiors, therefore, decided to assign him to the office of confessor. Far from helping his already weakened condition, he became increasingly frail, and was subsequently consigned to the sanitarium of Zakopane.
But his zeal for souls, characteristic of a true saint, did not diminish because of his physical ailments. He provided various spiritual services among his sick companions and instilled in them the love of Our Lady. After having recovered from a long confinement – which served as a period of silence and purification for him – he was prepared to launch a new apostolic endeavor, the likes of which had never before been seen in Poland, or in the world:
The City of the Immaculate (Niepokalanów).
It all started in the humble surroundings of the friary in Grodno where Father Maximilian established a printery for the purpose of promoting devotion to the Immaculate. However, the growing number of subscribers to his printing apostolate forced the friars to transfer their location to donated land in Warsaw in 1927, and is where Father Maximilian established the first City of the Immaculate. It was called “city” because the friars numbered almost eight hundred, all working for the Immaculate with the huge mass media apostolate. They lived heroic lives of poverty, continuous prayer, and voluntary penance. They were united in their mission of evangelizing not only Poland, but the whole world! Day and night, the friars spent themselves in promoting Catholic doctrines, particularly those concerning Our Blessed Lady. They did all this in view of cultivating the need for conversion and sanctification of souls, both on the individual and collective levels, via the mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For Father Maximilian Kolbe, sanctification always necessitated the mediation of Mary because, for him, only through her and by means of her, the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier of souls, acts in an inseparable way in each individual soul… whether or not that soul acknowledges Mary’s role in this process. But as he explained, the more a soul acknowledges and is conscious of Mary’s important role in the economy of salvation – the surer, easier and faster that soul can become a saint via consecration to her.
Since, unfortunately, there are so few of the faithful who are aware of this wonderful “elevator” to sanctify souls, namely Our Lady ─ there are still fewer working to make her better known and loved. This was the ever-consuming theological and spiritual focus of Kolbe’s apostolic enterprise and, therefore, his reason for launching this work for the cause of the Immaculate, using every possible licit means. Apart from his principal publication, the monthly magazine “Rycerz Niepokalanej” (“Knight of the Immaculate”) that reached its peak of 600,000 copies per issue, he also printed a daily newspaper, the “Maly Dziennik,“ which eventually reached a circulation of one million. Miscellaneous books, magazines, and pamphlets for people in all walks of life were freely circulated by the friars.
What could possibly be the secret of the incredible progress of Kolbe’s work? He himself pointed out to the friars that the true progress of Niepokalanów does not actually consist in constructing more buildings, of adding more printing presses, or of publications becoming more widespread. It consists, rather, in the daily deepening of one’s love for the Immaculate. The success of the work is brought about by Mary’s mediation and assistance. She – seeing the profound love of a soul for her – would eventually reward such love by loving that soul in return; thus generating the fruit of these two loves (i.e., the soul’s and the Immaculate’s): the birth of Jesus in countless souls. This is Kolbe’s dynamic principle of action and reaction.
The Garden of the Immaculate
A saint’s heart can never be constrained to geographical boundaries. He is, by grace, always a missionary. This was especially true of St. Maximilian Kolbe. He loved the Immaculate with the Heart of Jesus, and he loved Jesus with the heart of Mary. It is manifested in a similar, universal desire to win all souls to Jesus and the Immaculate.
With the permission of his superiors, St. Maximilian, considering the need for further expansion, started a mission in Japan with four other friars in 1930. At Nagasaki, they established a new “City of the Immaculate” (Mugenzai no Sono – literally “Garden of the Immaculate”), thereby introducing his ideal, the Immaculate, to the Orient. In spite of problems with local authorities, language, culture, and climate – one month after their arrival, Father Maximilian was, nevertheless, able to publish the first issue of “Seibo no Kishi,” the Japanese version of the magazine “Knight of the Immaculate.”
He wrought numerous conversions among the Japanese; most of them thanked him for his heroic and unconditional sacrifice to draw them to the true Faith. But St. Maximilian recognized that this apostolic success could only be attributed to a pure and undivided love for the Immaculate. Where there is love and charity, there is God.
Life in the City of the Immaculate in Poland
After having initiated the undertaking and seeing it flourish in Japan, his major superiors appointed him as the superior of the Polish City of the Immaculate whose apostolic potentials had peaked at that moment in time. Upon his return to Poland, with somewhat of a prophetic “instinct,” knowing perhaps his end was approaching, he busied himself giving continuous and regular spiritual conferences to the friars, so as to consolidate his spiritual and apostolic legacy.
Such preparation became the spiritual strength of the friars themselves. Shortly afterwards, the Nazis occupied Poland in September, 1939. Father Maximilian and many of the friars were arrested. Their incarceration lasted approximately two months. Upon his release from prison on December 8, 1939, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of his Heavenly Queen, Father Maximilian returned to a ransacked Niepokalanów. The Nazis suppressed his printing and publishing apostolate. Without being disheartened, his zeal remained unabated. Due to the harsh war conditions of the time, Niepokalanów was quickly turned into a refugee center for displaced families, Jews and victims of political unrest. His solicitude for these war victims had no sectarian boundaries; he fostered in them the need to forgive their enemies, and to acknowledge that hatred is destructive and love alone is creative.
On February 17, 1941, Father Maximilian was arrested by the Nazis for a second time. Only hours before the Gestapo arrived, he completed his final and most comprehensive, theological essay on the Virgin Mary’s identity as one who is perfectly united to the Holy Spirit by a bond of love. Soon after, in the concentration camp, Father Maximilian would translate his theological and spiritual insights into practical words and actions for his fellow inmates, by tangibly showing that there is God, and therefore, love and hope exist even in the midst of horrific genocide in the camps of Auschwitz.
Only a saint can stand firm, with constancy and unwavering hope, throughout life’s many difficulties and sufferings. Only a saint can influence others to do the same, because only a saint knows that true and perfect peace is found in God alone. For the saint, trials don’t weaken, they fortify. Serenity and calmness amidst atrocities are not a sign of defeat but of victory, for love is greater than hatred!
In July of 1941, it was reported to the deputy camp commander that a prisoner from St. Maximilian’s barracks had escaped. In order to set an example, and to prevent further escapes, the standard procedure was to have the commander of the barracks single out ten men for the starvation bunker. Father Maximilian, although not among the ten first selected, volunteered, in a heroic act of charity, to be the victim in place of a prisoner who cried out: “My poor wife; my poor children!” The result of this self-offering was that Father Maximilian would be assigned to the infamous starvation bunker where he would slowly but surely die. At this precise moment, the victim Saint attained full conformity to the Victim of the Cross; for there is “no greater love than this, that a man lays down his life for his friend” (Jn 15:12).
The Patron Saint of our Difficult Century
On the vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 14, 1941, Father Maximilian’s two-week ordeal in the starvation bunker was brought to an end by an injection of carbolic acid. Of the ten victims, he was the last to die, very providentially on the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven! His death was the crowing of a lifetime of Marian mysticism. Years later, in June, 1979, Pope John Paul II would visit St. Maximilian’s death chamber in Auschwitz, proclaiming him “Patron Saint of our Difficult Age.”
Biography - St. Maximilian Kolbe (saintmaximiliankolbe.com)
A saint’s heart can never be constrained to geographical boundaries. He is, by grace, always a missionary. This was especially true of St. Maximilian Kolbe. He loved the Immaculate with the Heart of Jesus, and he loved Jesus with the heart of Mary. It is manifested in a similar, universal desire to win all souls to Jesus and the Immaculate.
With the permission of his superiors, St. Maximilian, considering the need for further expansion, started a mission in Japan with four other friars in 1930. At Nagasaki, they established a new “City of the Immaculate” (Mugenzai no Sono – literally “Garden of the Immaculate”), thereby introducing his ideal, the Immaculate, to the Orient. In spite of problems with local authorities, language, culture, and climate – one month after their arrival, Father Maximilian was, nevertheless, able to publish the first issue of “Seibo no Kishi,” the Japanese version of the magazine “Knight of the Immaculate.”
He wrought numerous conversions among the Japanese; most of them thanked him for his heroic and unconditional sacrifice to draw them to the true Faith. But St. Maximilian recognized that this apostolic success could only be attributed to a pure and undivided love for the Immaculate. Where there is love and charity, there is God.
Life in the City of the Immaculate in Poland
After having initiated the undertaking and seeing it flourish in Japan, his major superiors appointed him as the superior of the Polish City of the Immaculate whose apostolic potentials had peaked at that moment in time. Upon his return to Poland, with somewhat of a prophetic “instinct,” knowing perhaps his end was approaching, he busied himself giving continuous and regular spiritual conferences to the friars, so as to consolidate his spiritual and apostolic legacy.
Such preparation became the spiritual strength of the friars themselves. Shortly afterwards, the Nazis occupied Poland in September, 1939. Father Maximilian and many of the friars were arrested. Their incarceration lasted approximately two months. Upon his release from prison on December 8, 1939, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of his Heavenly Queen, Father Maximilian returned to a ransacked Niepokalanów. The Nazis suppressed his printing and publishing apostolate. Without being disheartened, his zeal remained unabated. Due to the harsh war conditions of the time, Niepokalanów was quickly turned into a refugee center for displaced families, Jews and victims of political unrest. His solicitude for these war victims had no sectarian boundaries; he fostered in them the need to forgive their enemies, and to acknowledge that hatred is destructive and love alone is creative.
On February 17, 1941, Father Maximilian was arrested by the Nazis for a second time. Only hours before the Gestapo arrived, he completed his final and most comprehensive, theological essay on the Virgin Mary’s identity as one who is perfectly united to the Holy Spirit by a bond of love. Soon after, in the concentration camp, Father Maximilian would translate his theological and spiritual insights into practical words and actions for his fellow inmates, by tangibly showing that there is God, and therefore, love and hope exist even in the midst of horrific genocide in the camps of Auschwitz.
Only a saint can stand firm, with constancy and unwavering hope, throughout life’s many difficulties and sufferings. Only a saint can influence others to do the same, because only a saint knows that true and perfect peace is found in God alone. For the saint, trials don’t weaken, they fortify. Serenity and calmness amidst atrocities are not a sign of defeat but of victory, for love is greater than hatred!
In July of 1941, it was reported to the deputy camp commander that a prisoner from St. Maximilian’s barracks had escaped. In order to set an example, and to prevent further escapes, the standard procedure was to have the commander of the barracks single out ten men for the starvation bunker. Father Maximilian, although not among the ten first selected, volunteered, in a heroic act of charity, to be the victim in place of a prisoner who cried out: “My poor wife; my poor children!” The result of this self-offering was that Father Maximilian would be assigned to the infamous starvation bunker where he would slowly but surely die. At this precise moment, the victim Saint attained full conformity to the Victim of the Cross; for there is “no greater love than this, that a man lays down his life for his friend” (Jn 15:12).
The Patron Saint of our Difficult Century
On the vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 14, 1941, Father Maximilian’s two-week ordeal in the starvation bunker was brought to an end by an injection of carbolic acid. Of the ten victims, he was the last to die, very providentially on the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven! His death was the crowing of a lifetime of Marian mysticism. Years later, in June, 1979, Pope John Paul II would visit St. Maximilian’s death chamber in Auschwitz, proclaiming him “Patron Saint of our Difficult Age.”
Biography - St. Maximilian Kolbe (saintmaximiliankolbe.com)
july 2023 ~ Saint Joachim and saint anne
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FEAST DAY: July 26 The lives and names of Saints Joachim and Anne, who are known as the parents of Mary and grandparents of Jesus Christ, are derived from non-canonical, or apocryphal, literature. This includes the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, and the Protoevangelium of James. It’s important to note that the earliest version of the Protoevangelium, which seems to be the primary source for the other two, dates back to around 150 AD. However, we should approach its assertions with a degree of skepticism given that they are based solely on this text. |
In the Eastern tradition, the Protoevangelium was highly respected, and parts of it were read during the feasts of Mary by the Greeks, Syrians, Copts, and Arabians. However, the Western Church Fathers initially rejected it until the 13th century when its contents were incorporated into Jacobus de Voragine’s “Golden Legend”. After this point, the story of St. Anne became widely known across the West and she evolved into one of the Latin Church’s most venerated saints.
The Protoevangelium provides the following narrative: Joachim and Anne, a wealthy and devout couple, lived in Nazareth but were childless. On a feast day, when Joachim went to the temple to offer a sacrifice, he was turned away by a man named Ruben, who claimed that childless men were unworthy of admission. This left Joachim feeling deep sorrow, and he retreated to the mountains to lament in solitude.
Meanwhile, Anne learned why her husband had been absent for so long. In her distress, she pleaded with the Lord to lift the curse of barrenness from her, vowing to dedicate her future child to God’s service. Their prayers were heard, and an angel appeared to both of them. The angel told Anne, “The Lord has seen your tears; you will conceive and give birth, and your child will be a blessing for the entire world.” The same promise was given to Joachim, who then returned to his wife. When Anne gave birth to a girl, they named her Miriam, which is another name for Mary.
Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus | uCatholic
The Protoevangelium provides the following narrative: Joachim and Anne, a wealthy and devout couple, lived in Nazareth but were childless. On a feast day, when Joachim went to the temple to offer a sacrifice, he was turned away by a man named Ruben, who claimed that childless men were unworthy of admission. This left Joachim feeling deep sorrow, and he retreated to the mountains to lament in solitude.
Meanwhile, Anne learned why her husband had been absent for so long. In her distress, she pleaded with the Lord to lift the curse of barrenness from her, vowing to dedicate her future child to God’s service. Their prayers were heard, and an angel appeared to both of them. The angel told Anne, “The Lord has seen your tears; you will conceive and give birth, and your child will be a blessing for the entire world.” The same promise was given to Joachim, who then returned to his wife. When Anne gave birth to a girl, they named her Miriam, which is another name for Mary.
Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus | uCatholic
june 2023 ~ Saints marcellinus and peter
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Feast Day: June 2
Died: 304 |
Though we know very little about these two martyrs under Diocletian, there is no question that the early church venerated them. Evidence of the respect in which they were held are the basilica Constantine built over their tombs and the presence of their names in the first eucharistic prayer.
Pope St. Damasus says that he heard the story of these two martyrs from their executioner who became a Christian after their deaths. Marcellinus, a priest, and Peter, an exorcist, (not a fighter of demons, but one whose responsibilities included those of a modern-day usher or warden) died in the year 304. According to a legendary account of their martyrdom, the two Romans saw their imprisonment as just one more opportunity to evangelize and managed to convert their jailer and his family. The legend also says that they were beheaded in the forest so that other Christians wouldn't have a chance to bury and venerate their bodies. Two women found the bodies, however, and had them properly buried.
Sts. Marcellinus and Peter - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
Pope St. Damasus says that he heard the story of these two martyrs from their executioner who became a Christian after their deaths. Marcellinus, a priest, and Peter, an exorcist, (not a fighter of demons, but one whose responsibilities included those of a modern-day usher or warden) died in the year 304. According to a legendary account of their martyrdom, the two Romans saw their imprisonment as just one more opportunity to evangelize and managed to convert their jailer and his family. The legend also says that they were beheaded in the forest so that other Christians wouldn't have a chance to bury and venerate their bodies. Two women found the bodies, however, and had them properly buried.
Sts. Marcellinus and Peter - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
may 2023 ~ Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis
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Feast Day: May 3 Birth: 1840 Death: 1912 Beatified: 11 September 1984 by Pope John Paul II |
Élodie Paradis was born on May 12, 1840, in the village of L’Acadie, Quebec, the third in a family of six children. As she was growing up, a family friend, Camille Lefebvre, joined the Congregation of Holy Cross, which had recently arrived in Canada. He told Élodie about the existence of a community of religious women, the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, whose mission was to serve in institutions established by priests and men religious. She entered their novitiate at the age of 14, taking the name in religion of Sister Marie of Sainte Léonie. She taught in Varennes, in Ville Saint-Laurent, and in Saint-Martin de Laval before being sent, in 1862, to New York, where the Sisters had just accepted responsibility for an orphanage.
In 1870, she was asked to teach French and needlework in the community’s novitiate in Indiana. Then she stayed briefly at Lake Linden, Michigan, before being called, in 1874, to direct a team of novices and postulants at Memramcook College in New Brunswick. The director was her old family friend, now a Holy Cross priest, Father Camille Lefebvre. She felt drawn to offer domestic service in colleges, which were becoming more numerous in the dioceses of Canada and New England.
She opened a sewing workshop for young Acadian women attracted to the consecrated life. The community evolved, and on August 26, 1877, 14 of the young women donned the religious habit. On May 31, 1880, the new community, based on the model of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, was recognized by the Holy Cross Fathers. For nearly 20 years, Mother Marie-Léonie persisted in asking the Most Reverend John Sweeney, Bishop of St. John, New Brunswick, to approve her Institute as an autonomous religious community. In 1895, some of the Sisters went to serve in the diocesan seminary in Sherbrooke. The Most Reverend Paul LaRocque, Bishop of Sherbrooke, welcomed the motherhouse and the novitiate of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and approved the Institute on January 26, 1896.
Mother Marie-Léonie pursued the work of educating and promoting the human and spiritual welfare of the poor illiterate girls who were attracted by the new community. She understood the importance of the service they offered to the diocesan colleges that were struggling to find adequate personnel. She travelled regularly to respond to new needs, but especially to oversee the formation of her Sisters and to resolve the practical problems involved in the management of their communities. In her correspondence, advice on cooking, menu preparation, gardening and building maintenance is given along with advice on spirituality and health. When she died on May 3, 1912, the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family consisted of 38 active foundations in Canada and the United States. Mother Marie-Léonie was beatified in Montreal on September 11, 1984, by Pope (now Saint) John Paul II, during his visit to Canada.
Spirituality
From the earliest days of her life as a member of a religious community, Sister Marie-Léonie was drawn by the idea of giving material and moral support to help priests in the work of educating the young. She intuitively understood the idea of “the common priesthood of the faithful” that would be highlighted at the Second Vatican Council. Inspired by the example of Mary and the faithful women who followed Jesus during his life on earth, she wanted to serve Christ, to be a disciple and a witness, by collaborating with priests in their ministries and by improving the quality of life of the young people who attended the colleges. “It seems to me that priests need auxiliaries in their apostolic work and no one seems to be aware of this. … This thought haunts me without let-up and strangely upsets me,” she wrote.
By ensuring the training of the young women who wanted to collaborate in her work, the founder was also ensuring their well-being. Most of these women came from poor families, and religious life was their hope of contributing something meaningful and getting a better education than their families could provide. As she wrote in 1899 to a priest at Suncook, New Hampshire, “The community of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family was founded to give poor, uneducated young girls the advantages of religious life.”
Mother Marie-Léonie’s faith meant that she saw and served Christ in the person of the priest. She was intelligent and gifted with good judgment and a practical sense. She did not deny that a priest could be a flawed human being. She advised her Sisters not to talk about priests, “for fear of only speaking well of them.” The important thing was the spiritual dimension of the priesthood: “Redouble your courage and generosity in the service of God in the person of his ministers and in their works,” she urged the nuns. “Think of the favour God will deign to give as you collaborate in the beautiful work of education.”
Bishop Paul LaRocque would say that she spent her life giving herself away: “She always had her arms open and her heart was transparent. She was always ready with a hearty, open laugh, welcoming each person as if they were God himself. She was a woman of the heart.” Her generosity was not limited to her religious family. No matter how poor her community might have been, she responded without hesitation to all needs. She helped the sick who came to the door or a family that she met in her travels. She hospitably received several religious who had been forced to leave France. Her missionary spirit was so strong that she adopted a young Berber woman, whose son became the first-ever priest from his ethnic group.
“Our mission in the Church is to help the priest on the temporal and spiritual planes,” she wrote. “But what it really demands as a supreme witness is for us to love one another and to love all people, not with just any love, but with all the love that God wants to give them. We must therefore repeat without tiring that our principal work is to give love.”
Blessed Mother Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840-1912) - Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (cccb.ca)
In 1870, she was asked to teach French and needlework in the community’s novitiate in Indiana. Then she stayed briefly at Lake Linden, Michigan, before being called, in 1874, to direct a team of novices and postulants at Memramcook College in New Brunswick. The director was her old family friend, now a Holy Cross priest, Father Camille Lefebvre. She felt drawn to offer domestic service in colleges, which were becoming more numerous in the dioceses of Canada and New England.
She opened a sewing workshop for young Acadian women attracted to the consecrated life. The community evolved, and on August 26, 1877, 14 of the young women donned the religious habit. On May 31, 1880, the new community, based on the model of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, was recognized by the Holy Cross Fathers. For nearly 20 years, Mother Marie-Léonie persisted in asking the Most Reverend John Sweeney, Bishop of St. John, New Brunswick, to approve her Institute as an autonomous religious community. In 1895, some of the Sisters went to serve in the diocesan seminary in Sherbrooke. The Most Reverend Paul LaRocque, Bishop of Sherbrooke, welcomed the motherhouse and the novitiate of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and approved the Institute on January 26, 1896.
Mother Marie-Léonie pursued the work of educating and promoting the human and spiritual welfare of the poor illiterate girls who were attracted by the new community. She understood the importance of the service they offered to the diocesan colleges that were struggling to find adequate personnel. She travelled regularly to respond to new needs, but especially to oversee the formation of her Sisters and to resolve the practical problems involved in the management of their communities. In her correspondence, advice on cooking, menu preparation, gardening and building maintenance is given along with advice on spirituality and health. When she died on May 3, 1912, the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family consisted of 38 active foundations in Canada and the United States. Mother Marie-Léonie was beatified in Montreal on September 11, 1984, by Pope (now Saint) John Paul II, during his visit to Canada.
Spirituality
From the earliest days of her life as a member of a religious community, Sister Marie-Léonie was drawn by the idea of giving material and moral support to help priests in the work of educating the young. She intuitively understood the idea of “the common priesthood of the faithful” that would be highlighted at the Second Vatican Council. Inspired by the example of Mary and the faithful women who followed Jesus during his life on earth, she wanted to serve Christ, to be a disciple and a witness, by collaborating with priests in their ministries and by improving the quality of life of the young people who attended the colleges. “It seems to me that priests need auxiliaries in their apostolic work and no one seems to be aware of this. … This thought haunts me without let-up and strangely upsets me,” she wrote.
By ensuring the training of the young women who wanted to collaborate in her work, the founder was also ensuring their well-being. Most of these women came from poor families, and religious life was their hope of contributing something meaningful and getting a better education than their families could provide. As she wrote in 1899 to a priest at Suncook, New Hampshire, “The community of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family was founded to give poor, uneducated young girls the advantages of religious life.”
Mother Marie-Léonie’s faith meant that she saw and served Christ in the person of the priest. She was intelligent and gifted with good judgment and a practical sense. She did not deny that a priest could be a flawed human being. She advised her Sisters not to talk about priests, “for fear of only speaking well of them.” The important thing was the spiritual dimension of the priesthood: “Redouble your courage and generosity in the service of God in the person of his ministers and in their works,” she urged the nuns. “Think of the favour God will deign to give as you collaborate in the beautiful work of education.”
Bishop Paul LaRocque would say that she spent her life giving herself away: “She always had her arms open and her heart was transparent. She was always ready with a hearty, open laugh, welcoming each person as if they were God himself. She was a woman of the heart.” Her generosity was not limited to her religious family. No matter how poor her community might have been, she responded without hesitation to all needs. She helped the sick who came to the door or a family that she met in her travels. She hospitably received several religious who had been forced to leave France. Her missionary spirit was so strong that she adopted a young Berber woman, whose son became the first-ever priest from his ethnic group.
“Our mission in the Church is to help the priest on the temporal and spiritual planes,” she wrote. “But what it really demands as a supreme witness is for us to love one another and to love all people, not with just any love, but with all the love that God wants to give them. We must therefore repeat without tiring that our principal work is to give love.”
Blessed Mother Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840-1912) - Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (cccb.ca)
APRIL 2023 ~ OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL
Our Lady of Good Counsel (Latin: Mater boni consilii) is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after a painting said to be miraculous, now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy. Measuring 40 to 45 centimetres (16 to 18 in) the image is a fresco executed on a thin layer of plaster no thicker than an egg shell. Over the centuries, devotions to Our Lady of the Good Counsel grew among saints and Popes, to the extent that a reference to it was added to the Litany of Loreto and the devotion spread throughout the world. Her feast day is 26 April.
Background
In the 5th century, during the reign of Pope Sixtus III, the town of Genazzano, about 48 kilometres (30 mi) south of Rome, had contributed a large portion of its revenue for the Roman basilica now known as Santa Maria Maggiore. In appreciation, a church, called Santa Maria, was built in Genazzano and was later entrusted to the Augustinian Order in 1356. The Genazzano church became a popular place of pilgrimage. Numerous cures were said to take place there. The Augustinian friars were invited to minister to the spiritual needs of the pilgrims. They continue to serve there to this day.
Legend
Our Lady of Good Counsel by Pasquale Sarullo, 19th century.According to tradition, the story is said to have begun in 1467. By then the church was in dire need of repair. A local widow, Petruccia, was dedicated to the restoration project, but ran out of funds before the task was completed.
In the midst of the festivities for the Feast of Saint Mark, the townfolk suddenly heard "exquisite music." A mysterious cloud was then said to have descended on the unfinished wall of the parish church. In front of the people, the cloud dissipated and a beautiful fresco, no thicker than a carte-de-visite and no more than eighteen inches square, of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child was revealed. It was widely believed that it had been miraculously transported from a church in Scutari, Albania just prior to its invasion by the Ottomans.
The picture of Our Lady was at first called "La Madonna del Paradiso" and now better known as "Madonna del Buon Consiglio" (Our Lady of Good Counsel).
Such was the holy image's reputation that Pope Urban VIII made a "glittering" pilgrimage there in 1630, invoking the protection of the Queen of Heaven, as did Pope Pius IX in 1864. On 17 November 1682, Pope Innocent XI had the picture solemnly crowned. Among her noted clients have been St Aloysius Gonzaga, St Alphonsus Liguori, St John Bosco, and Blessed Stephen Bellesini.
Madonna di Buon Consiglio mosaic by Nunzio Monticelli, 20th century.
History
Art experts consulted during a restoration conducted between 1957 and 1959 suggest that the image of the Madonna was once part of a larger fresco that covered the wall and was subsequently covered over with plaster. They believe the fresco is likely the work of the early fifteenth century artist Gentile da Fabriano, probably painted around the time of Pope Martin V (1417-1431).
Veneration
The Augustinian Order contributed to the spread of this devotion internationally. In 1753, Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Leo XIII, who was himself a member of the pious union, was deeply attached to this devotion.
On 22 April 1903, Pope Leo XIII included the invocation "Mater boni consilii" in the Litany of Loreto. In 1939, Venerable Pope Pius XII placed his pontificate under the maternal care of Our Lady of Good Counsel and composed a prayer to her.
Through the years, various institutions have been named in honor of Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel. These institutions include a college, high schools, and churches.
Her Feast is celebrated on 26 April so as not to conflict with that of St. Mark.
The White Scapular
The small Scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel (the White Scapular) was presented by the Hermits of St Augustine to Pope Leo XIII, who, on 19–21 December 1893, approved it and endowed it with indulgences in a Decree of the Congregation of Rites.
On the front panel of the sacramental (to be made of white wool) is the image of the fresco of Our Lady of Good Counsel, with the inscription, "Mater boni consilii [ora pro nobis]." On the second segment is found the papal coat-of-arms, which includes the Triple Tiara and the Keys of Heaven, with the words of Leo XIII: "Fili acquisce consiliis ejus" (Child, listen to her counsels).
Patronage
Our Lady of Good Counsel is the Patroness of the Missionary Sisters of Saint Peter Claver, the National Council of Catholic Women, and of the Catholic Women's League of Canada.
The "Midwest Augustinians" headquartered in Chicago have also adopted Our Lady of Good Counsel as their patroness, having named their Augustinian jurisdiction as the "Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel."
The town Essen in the German Ruhr- Area is under the patronage of the Lady. The High church the Münster of Essen as it is called was given to her after the Ruhrbistum was established.
Our Lady of Good Counsel - Wikipedia
Background
In the 5th century, during the reign of Pope Sixtus III, the town of Genazzano, about 48 kilometres (30 mi) south of Rome, had contributed a large portion of its revenue for the Roman basilica now known as Santa Maria Maggiore. In appreciation, a church, called Santa Maria, was built in Genazzano and was later entrusted to the Augustinian Order in 1356. The Genazzano church became a popular place of pilgrimage. Numerous cures were said to take place there. The Augustinian friars were invited to minister to the spiritual needs of the pilgrims. They continue to serve there to this day.
Legend
Our Lady of Good Counsel by Pasquale Sarullo, 19th century.According to tradition, the story is said to have begun in 1467. By then the church was in dire need of repair. A local widow, Petruccia, was dedicated to the restoration project, but ran out of funds before the task was completed.
In the midst of the festivities for the Feast of Saint Mark, the townfolk suddenly heard "exquisite music." A mysterious cloud was then said to have descended on the unfinished wall of the parish church. In front of the people, the cloud dissipated and a beautiful fresco, no thicker than a carte-de-visite and no more than eighteen inches square, of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child was revealed. It was widely believed that it had been miraculously transported from a church in Scutari, Albania just prior to its invasion by the Ottomans.
The picture of Our Lady was at first called "La Madonna del Paradiso" and now better known as "Madonna del Buon Consiglio" (Our Lady of Good Counsel).
Such was the holy image's reputation that Pope Urban VIII made a "glittering" pilgrimage there in 1630, invoking the protection of the Queen of Heaven, as did Pope Pius IX in 1864. On 17 November 1682, Pope Innocent XI had the picture solemnly crowned. Among her noted clients have been St Aloysius Gonzaga, St Alphonsus Liguori, St John Bosco, and Blessed Stephen Bellesini.
Madonna di Buon Consiglio mosaic by Nunzio Monticelli, 20th century.
History
Art experts consulted during a restoration conducted between 1957 and 1959 suggest that the image of the Madonna was once part of a larger fresco that covered the wall and was subsequently covered over with plaster. They believe the fresco is likely the work of the early fifteenth century artist Gentile da Fabriano, probably painted around the time of Pope Martin V (1417-1431).
Veneration
The Augustinian Order contributed to the spread of this devotion internationally. In 1753, Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Leo XIII, who was himself a member of the pious union, was deeply attached to this devotion.
On 22 April 1903, Pope Leo XIII included the invocation "Mater boni consilii" in the Litany of Loreto. In 1939, Venerable Pope Pius XII placed his pontificate under the maternal care of Our Lady of Good Counsel and composed a prayer to her.
Through the years, various institutions have been named in honor of Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel. These institutions include a college, high schools, and churches.
Her Feast is celebrated on 26 April so as not to conflict with that of St. Mark.
The White Scapular
The small Scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel (the White Scapular) was presented by the Hermits of St Augustine to Pope Leo XIII, who, on 19–21 December 1893, approved it and endowed it with indulgences in a Decree of the Congregation of Rites.
On the front panel of the sacramental (to be made of white wool) is the image of the fresco of Our Lady of Good Counsel, with the inscription, "Mater boni consilii [ora pro nobis]." On the second segment is found the papal coat-of-arms, which includes the Triple Tiara and the Keys of Heaven, with the words of Leo XIII: "Fili acquisce consiliis ejus" (Child, listen to her counsels).
Patronage
Our Lady of Good Counsel is the Patroness of the Missionary Sisters of Saint Peter Claver, the National Council of Catholic Women, and of the Catholic Women's League of Canada.
The "Midwest Augustinians" headquartered in Chicago have also adopted Our Lady of Good Counsel as their patroness, having named their Augustinian jurisdiction as the "Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel."
The town Essen in the German Ruhr- Area is under the patronage of the Lady. The High church the Münster of Essen as it is called was given to her after the Ruhrbistum was established.
Our Lady of Good Counsel - Wikipedia
March 2023 ~ SAINT JOSEPH
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Feast Day: March 19
Patron: of the Universal Church, unborn children, fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants, and a happy death Death: 18 Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him.
We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24). |
Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph's genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He knew women accused of adultery could be stoned to death, so he resolved to send her away quietly to not expose her to shame or cruelty. However, when an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him, 20 "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins," he did as the angel told him and took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:19-25).
When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).
We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)
We know Joseph respected God. He followed God's commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Apocryphal Date for Joseph's birth is 90 BC in Bethlehem and the Apocryphal Date of his death is July 20, AD 18 in Nazareth.
Joseph is the patron saint of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is also patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general.
We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker. March 19 has been the most commonly celebrated feast day for Joseph, and it wasn't until 1955 that Pope Pius XII established the Feast of "St. Joseph the Worker" to be celebrated on May 1. This is also May Day (International Workers' Day) and believed to reflect Joseph's status as the patron of workers.
Many places and churches all over the world are named after St. Joseph, including the Spanish form, San Jose, which is the most commonly named place in the world. Joseph is considered by many to also be the patron saint of the New World; of the countries China, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Peru, Vietnam; of the regions Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol, Sicily; and of several main cities and dioceses.
In art, Joseph is typically portrayed as an older man, with grey hair and a beard, often balding, sometimes appearing frail and a marginal figure next to Mary and Jesus, if not entirely in the background. Some statues of Joseph show his staff topped with flowers. St. Joseph is shown with the attributes of a carpenter's square or tools, the infant Jesus, his lily blossomed staff, two turtle doves, or a spikenard.
There is much we still wish we could know about Joseph -- exactly where and when he was born, how he spent his days, exactly when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).
In His Footsteps:
Joseph was foster father to Jesus. There are many children separated from families and parents who need foster parents. Please consider contacting your local Catholic Charities or Division of Family Services about becoming a foster parent.
Prayer:
Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church, watch over the Church as carefully as you watched over Jesus, help protect it and guide it as you did with your adopted son. Amen
St. Joseph - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He knew women accused of adultery could be stoned to death, so he resolved to send her away quietly to not expose her to shame or cruelty. However, when an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him, 20 "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins," he did as the angel told him and took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:19-25).
When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).
We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)
We know Joseph respected God. He followed God's commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Apocryphal Date for Joseph's birth is 90 BC in Bethlehem and the Apocryphal Date of his death is July 20, AD 18 in Nazareth.
Joseph is the patron saint of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is also patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general.
We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker. March 19 has been the most commonly celebrated feast day for Joseph, and it wasn't until 1955 that Pope Pius XII established the Feast of "St. Joseph the Worker" to be celebrated on May 1. This is also May Day (International Workers' Day) and believed to reflect Joseph's status as the patron of workers.
Many places and churches all over the world are named after St. Joseph, including the Spanish form, San Jose, which is the most commonly named place in the world. Joseph is considered by many to also be the patron saint of the New World; of the countries China, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Peru, Vietnam; of the regions Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol, Sicily; and of several main cities and dioceses.
In art, Joseph is typically portrayed as an older man, with grey hair and a beard, often balding, sometimes appearing frail and a marginal figure next to Mary and Jesus, if not entirely in the background. Some statues of Joseph show his staff topped with flowers. St. Joseph is shown with the attributes of a carpenter's square or tools, the infant Jesus, his lily blossomed staff, two turtle doves, or a spikenard.
There is much we still wish we could know about Joseph -- exactly where and when he was born, how he spent his days, exactly when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).
In His Footsteps:
Joseph was foster father to Jesus. There are many children separated from families and parents who need foster parents. Please consider contacting your local Catholic Charities or Division of Family Services about becoming a foster parent.
Prayer:
Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church, watch over the Church as carefully as you watched over Jesus, help protect it and guide it as you did with your adopted son. Amen
St. Joseph - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
february 2023 ~ saint josephine bakhita
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Feast Day: February 8
Patron: of Sudan Birth: 1869 Death: February 8, 1947 Beatified: May 17, 1992 by Pope John Paul II Canonized: October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II St. Josephine Bakhita - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online |
For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave but her spirit was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed.
Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of 7, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. She was resold several times, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan.
Two years later, he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine.
When the Michielis returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case, the Canossian Sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine’s behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885.
Josephine entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery, and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens. She once said, “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”
The first steps toward her beatification began in 1959. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.
Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of 7, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. She was resold several times, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan.
Two years later, he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine.
When the Michielis returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case, the Canossian Sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine’s behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885.
Josephine entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery, and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens. She once said, “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”
The first steps toward her beatification began in 1959. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.
january 2023 ~ saint marguerite bourgeoys
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Feast Day: January 12
Canonized: Pope John Paul II |
Marguerite had survived many threats in the twenty-six years she had been in wilderness of Canada. She had lived through Iroquois attacks, a fire that destroyed her small village, plagues on the ships that she took back and forth to France, but nothing threatened her dreams and hopes more than what her own bishop said to her in 1679. He told her that she had to join her Congregation of Notre Dame with its teaching sisters to a cloistered religious order of Ursulines. This was not the first time she'd heard this command. Whether from a misplaced desire to protect her Sisters or from discomfort in dealing with an active religious order of women, bishops had long wanted to fit her into the usual mold of cloistered orders.
But Marguerite had overcome many challenges to get to this day and was not deterred. In her own native France, she had belonged to a sodality of women who cared for the sick.
The stories of hardships and dangers in Montreal that made other people shiver had awakened a call from God in her to serve the Native Americans and settlers who endured this adversity. She met with the governor of what was then called Ville Marie and convinced him she was the person he was looking for to help start a school for the children of Montreal.
When she arrived in Ville Marie, as it was called then, she found that few children survived to school age. She helped the remarkable Jeanne Mance, who ran the hospital, to change this tragedy. When she finally had children to teach, she had to set to up school in a stable.
So she was not ready to surrender to the bishop. There was too much at stake. She reminded him that the Ursulines because they were cloistered could not go out and teach, as her Sisters had done. The poor and uneducated would not and could not travel to a Quebec cloister over miles of frontier at the risk of their lives.
But her Sisters were more than willing to live in huts in order to fulfill their call from God. She had set up schools all over the territory, not just for children. When the king, in well-meaning ignorance, had sent untrained orphans over to be colonists she had set up a school for the women to teach them how to survive and thrive in Canada.
How could they do the work for God that they had done so well in a cloister?
The bishop replied, "I cannot doubt, Mother Bourgeoys, that you will succeed in moving heaven and earth as you have moved me!" The Congregation remained an active teaching order, one of the very first of its kind for women. Their rule had to go through one more attempt at turning them into a cloister but Marguerite lived to see the triumph when their Rule was made official in 1698. She was canonized in 1982 by Pope John Paul II.
In Her Footsteps:Remember someone who taught you something very important. How did this person change your life? Write a letter or contact this person in some other way to let them know this.
Prayer: Blessed Marguerite Bourgeoys, you survived attacks of all kinds on your faith and service. Help me keep my vocation strong despite the threats of the world and my own doubts. Amen
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
But Marguerite had overcome many challenges to get to this day and was not deterred. In her own native France, she had belonged to a sodality of women who cared for the sick.
The stories of hardships and dangers in Montreal that made other people shiver had awakened a call from God in her to serve the Native Americans and settlers who endured this adversity. She met with the governor of what was then called Ville Marie and convinced him she was the person he was looking for to help start a school for the children of Montreal.
When she arrived in Ville Marie, as it was called then, she found that few children survived to school age. She helped the remarkable Jeanne Mance, who ran the hospital, to change this tragedy. When she finally had children to teach, she had to set to up school in a stable.
So she was not ready to surrender to the bishop. There was too much at stake. She reminded him that the Ursulines because they were cloistered could not go out and teach, as her Sisters had done. The poor and uneducated would not and could not travel to a Quebec cloister over miles of frontier at the risk of their lives.
But her Sisters were more than willing to live in huts in order to fulfill their call from God. She had set up schools all over the territory, not just for children. When the king, in well-meaning ignorance, had sent untrained orphans over to be colonists she had set up a school for the women to teach them how to survive and thrive in Canada.
How could they do the work for God that they had done so well in a cloister?
The bishop replied, "I cannot doubt, Mother Bourgeoys, that you will succeed in moving heaven and earth as you have moved me!" The Congregation remained an active teaching order, one of the very first of its kind for women. Their rule had to go through one more attempt at turning them into a cloister but Marguerite lived to see the triumph when their Rule was made official in 1698. She was canonized in 1982 by Pope John Paul II.
In Her Footsteps:Remember someone who taught you something very important. How did this person change your life? Write a letter or contact this person in some other way to let them know this.
Prayer: Blessed Marguerite Bourgeoys, you survived attacks of all kinds on your faith and service. Help me keep my vocation strong despite the threats of the world and my own doubts. Amen
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
december 2022 ~ Saint juan diego
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Feast Day: December 9
Patron: of Indigenous people Birth: 1474 Death: 1548 Beatified: May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II Canonized: July 31, 2002 by Pope John Paul II |
Saint Juan Diego was born in 1474 as Cuauhtlatoatzin, a native to Mexico. He became the first Roman Catholic indigenous saint from the Americas.
Following the early death of his father, Juan Diego was taken to live with his uncle. From the age of three, he was raised in line with the Aztec pagan religion, but always showed signs of having a mystical sense of life.
He was recognized for his religious fervor, his respectful and gracious attitude toward the Virgin Mary and his Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, and his undying love for his ill uncle.
When a group of 12 Franciscan missionaries arrived in Mexico in 1524, he and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to Catholicism and were among the first to be baptized in the region. Juan Diego was very committed to his new life and would walk long distances to receive religious instruction at the Franciscan mission station at Tlatelolco.
On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was in a hurry to make it to Mass and celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, he was stopped by the beautiful sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the "ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God."
Mary told Juan Diego she was the mother of all those who lived in his land and asked him to make a request to the local bishop. She wanted them to build a chapel in her honor there on Tepeyac Hill, which was the site of a former pagan temple.
When Juan Diego approached Bishop Juan de Zumarraga telling of what happened, he was presented with doubts and was told to give the Bishop time to reflect on the news.
Later, the same day, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary a second time and told her he failed in granting her request. He tried to explain to her he was not an important person, and therefore not the one for the task, but she instead he was the man she wanted.
Juan Diego returned to the Bishop the next day and repeated his request, but now the Bishop asked for proof or a sign the apparition was real and truly of heaven.
Juan Diego went straight to Tepeyac and, once again, encountered the Virgin Mary. After explaining to her what the Bishop asked, she agreed and told him she'd provide him with proof on the next day, December 11.
However, on the next day, Juan Diego's uncle became very sick and he was obligated to stay and care for him. Juan Diego set out the next to find a priest for his uncle. He was determined to get there quickly and didn't want to face the Virgin Mary with shame for missing the previous day's meeting.
But the Virgin Mary intercepted him and asked what was wrong. He explained his situation and promised to return after he found his uncle a priest.
She looked at him and asked "No estoy yo aqui que soy tu madre?" (Am I not here, I who am your mother?) She promised him his uncle would be cured and asked him to climb to the hill and collect the flowers growing there. He obeyed and found many flowers blooming in December on the rocky land. He filled his tilma (cloak) with flowers and returned to Mary.
The Virgin Mary arranged the flowers within his cloak and told him this would be the sign he is to present to the bishop. Once Juan Diego found the bishop, he opened his cloak and the bishop was presented with a miraculous imprinted image of the Virgin Mary on the flower-filled cloak.The next day, Juan Diego found his uncle fully healed from his illness. His uncle explained he, too, saw the Virgin Mary. She also instructed him on her desires to have a church built on Tepeyac Hill, but she also told him she wanted to be known with the title of Guadalupe.
News of Juan Diego's miracle quickly spread, and he became very well-known. However, Juan Diego always remained a humble man.
The bishop first kept Juan Diego's imprinted cloak in his private chapel, but then placed it on public display in the church built on Tepeyac Hill the next year.
The first miracle surrounding the cloak occurred during the procession to Tepeyac Hill when a participant was shot in the throat by an arrow shot in celebration. After being placed in front of the miraculous image of Mary, the man was healed.
Juan Diego moved into a little hermitage on Tepeyac Hill, and lived a solidarity life of prayer and work. He remained there until his death on December 9, 1548, 17 years after the first apparition.
News of Our Lady's apparitions caused a wave of nearly 3,000 Indians a day to convert to the Christian faith. Details of Juan Diego's experience and Mary's words moved them deeply.
During the revolutions in Mexico, at the beginning of the 20th century, nonbelievers attempted to destroy the Image with an explosion. The altar?s marble steps, the flower-holders, and the basilica windows were all very damaged, but the pane of glass protecting the Image was not even cracked.
Juan Diego's imprinted cloak has remained perfectly preserved from 1531 to present time. The "Basilica of Guadalupe" on Tepeyac Hill has become one of the world's most-visited Catholic shrines.
St. Juan Diego was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on July 31, 2002. His feast day is celebrated on December 9 and he is the patron saint of Indigenous people.
St. Juan Diego - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
Following the early death of his father, Juan Diego was taken to live with his uncle. From the age of three, he was raised in line with the Aztec pagan religion, but always showed signs of having a mystical sense of life.
He was recognized for his religious fervor, his respectful and gracious attitude toward the Virgin Mary and his Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, and his undying love for his ill uncle.
When a group of 12 Franciscan missionaries arrived in Mexico in 1524, he and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to Catholicism and were among the first to be baptized in the region. Juan Diego was very committed to his new life and would walk long distances to receive religious instruction at the Franciscan mission station at Tlatelolco.
On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was in a hurry to make it to Mass and celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, he was stopped by the beautiful sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the "ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God."
Mary told Juan Diego she was the mother of all those who lived in his land and asked him to make a request to the local bishop. She wanted them to build a chapel in her honor there on Tepeyac Hill, which was the site of a former pagan temple.
When Juan Diego approached Bishop Juan de Zumarraga telling of what happened, he was presented with doubts and was told to give the Bishop time to reflect on the news.
Later, the same day, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary a second time and told her he failed in granting her request. He tried to explain to her he was not an important person, and therefore not the one for the task, but she instead he was the man she wanted.
Juan Diego returned to the Bishop the next day and repeated his request, but now the Bishop asked for proof or a sign the apparition was real and truly of heaven.
Juan Diego went straight to Tepeyac and, once again, encountered the Virgin Mary. After explaining to her what the Bishop asked, she agreed and told him she'd provide him with proof on the next day, December 11.
However, on the next day, Juan Diego's uncle became very sick and he was obligated to stay and care for him. Juan Diego set out the next to find a priest for his uncle. He was determined to get there quickly and didn't want to face the Virgin Mary with shame for missing the previous day's meeting.
But the Virgin Mary intercepted him and asked what was wrong. He explained his situation and promised to return after he found his uncle a priest.
She looked at him and asked "No estoy yo aqui que soy tu madre?" (Am I not here, I who am your mother?) She promised him his uncle would be cured and asked him to climb to the hill and collect the flowers growing there. He obeyed and found many flowers blooming in December on the rocky land. He filled his tilma (cloak) with flowers and returned to Mary.
The Virgin Mary arranged the flowers within his cloak and told him this would be the sign he is to present to the bishop. Once Juan Diego found the bishop, he opened his cloak and the bishop was presented with a miraculous imprinted image of the Virgin Mary on the flower-filled cloak.The next day, Juan Diego found his uncle fully healed from his illness. His uncle explained he, too, saw the Virgin Mary. She also instructed him on her desires to have a church built on Tepeyac Hill, but she also told him she wanted to be known with the title of Guadalupe.
News of Juan Diego's miracle quickly spread, and he became very well-known. However, Juan Diego always remained a humble man.
The bishop first kept Juan Diego's imprinted cloak in his private chapel, but then placed it on public display in the church built on Tepeyac Hill the next year.
The first miracle surrounding the cloak occurred during the procession to Tepeyac Hill when a participant was shot in the throat by an arrow shot in celebration. After being placed in front of the miraculous image of Mary, the man was healed.
Juan Diego moved into a little hermitage on Tepeyac Hill, and lived a solidarity life of prayer and work. He remained there until his death on December 9, 1548, 17 years after the first apparition.
News of Our Lady's apparitions caused a wave of nearly 3,000 Indians a day to convert to the Christian faith. Details of Juan Diego's experience and Mary's words moved them deeply.
During the revolutions in Mexico, at the beginning of the 20th century, nonbelievers attempted to destroy the Image with an explosion. The altar?s marble steps, the flower-holders, and the basilica windows were all very damaged, but the pane of glass protecting the Image was not even cracked.
Juan Diego's imprinted cloak has remained perfectly preserved from 1531 to present time. The "Basilica of Guadalupe" on Tepeyac Hill has become one of the world's most-visited Catholic shrines.
St. Juan Diego was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on July 31, 2002. His feast day is celebrated on December 9 and he is the patron saint of Indigenous people.
St. Juan Diego - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
NOVEMBER 2022 ~ SAINT CECILIA
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In the fourth century a Greek religious romance on the Loves of Cecilia and Valerian was written in glorification of virginal life with the purpose of taking the place of then-popular sensual romances.
Consequently, until better evidence is produced, we must conclude that St. Cecilia was not known or venerated in Rome until about the time when Pope Gelasius (496) introduced her name into his Sacramentary.
It is said that there was a church dedicated to St. Cecilia in Rome in the fifth century, in which Pope Symmachus held a council in 500.
The story of St. Cecilia is not without beauty or merit. She is said to have been quite close to God and prayed often:
In the city of Rome there was a virgin named Cecilia, who came from an extremely rich family and was given in marriage to a youth named Valerian. She wore sackcloth next to her skin, fasted, and invoked the saints, angels, and virgins, beseeching them to guard her virginity.
During her wedding ceremony she was said to have sung in her heart to God and before the consummation of her nuptials, she told her husband she had taken a vow of virginity and had an angel protecting her. Valerian asked to see the angel as proof, and Cecilia told him he would have eyes to see once he traveled to the third milestone on the Via Appia (Appian Way) and was baptized by Pope Urbanus.
Following his baptism, Valerian returned to his wife and found an angel at her side. The angel then crowned Cecilia with a chaplet of rose and lily and when Valerian's brother, Tibertius, heard of the angel and his brother's baptism, he also was baptized and together the brothers dedicated their lives to burying the saints who were murdered each day by the prefect of the city, Turcius Almachius.
Both brothers were eventually arrested and brought before the prefect where they were executed after they refused to offer a sacrifice to the gods.
As her husband and brother-in-law buried the dead, St. Cecilia spent her time preaching and in her lifetime was able to convert over four hundred people, most of whom were baptized by Pope Urban.
Cecilia was later arrested and condemned to be suffocated in the baths. She was shut in for one night and one day, as fires were heaped up and stoked to a terrifying heat - but Cecilia did not even sweat.
When Almachius heard this, he sent an executioner to cut off her head in the baths.
The executioner struck her three times but was unable to decapitate her so he left her bleeding and she lived for three days. Crowds came to her and collected her blood while she preached to them or prayed. On the third day she died and was buried by Pope Urban and his deacons.
St. Cecilia is regarded as the patroness of music, because she heard heavenly music in her heart when she was married, and is represented in art with an organ or organ-pipes in her hand.
Officials exhumed her body in 1599 and found her to be incorrupt, the first of all incurrupt saints. She was draped in a silk veil and wore a gold embroidered dress. Officials only looked through the veil in an act of holy reverence and made no further examinations. They also reported a "mysterious and delightful flower-like odor which proceeded from the coffin."
St. Cecilia's remains were transferred to Cecilia's titular church in Trastevere and placed under the high altar.
In 1599 Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, nephew of Pope Gregory XIV, rebuilt the church of St. Cecilia.
Consequently, until better evidence is produced, we must conclude that St. Cecilia was not known or venerated in Rome until about the time when Pope Gelasius (496) introduced her name into his Sacramentary.
It is said that there was a church dedicated to St. Cecilia in Rome in the fifth century, in which Pope Symmachus held a council in 500.
The story of St. Cecilia is not without beauty or merit. She is said to have been quite close to God and prayed often:
In the city of Rome there was a virgin named Cecilia, who came from an extremely rich family and was given in marriage to a youth named Valerian. She wore sackcloth next to her skin, fasted, and invoked the saints, angels, and virgins, beseeching them to guard her virginity.
During her wedding ceremony she was said to have sung in her heart to God and before the consummation of her nuptials, she told her husband she had taken a vow of virginity and had an angel protecting her. Valerian asked to see the angel as proof, and Cecilia told him he would have eyes to see once he traveled to the third milestone on the Via Appia (Appian Way) and was baptized by Pope Urbanus.
Following his baptism, Valerian returned to his wife and found an angel at her side. The angel then crowned Cecilia with a chaplet of rose and lily and when Valerian's brother, Tibertius, heard of the angel and his brother's baptism, he also was baptized and together the brothers dedicated their lives to burying the saints who were murdered each day by the prefect of the city, Turcius Almachius.
Both brothers were eventually arrested and brought before the prefect where they were executed after they refused to offer a sacrifice to the gods.
As her husband and brother-in-law buried the dead, St. Cecilia spent her time preaching and in her lifetime was able to convert over four hundred people, most of whom were baptized by Pope Urban.
Cecilia was later arrested and condemned to be suffocated in the baths. She was shut in for one night and one day, as fires were heaped up and stoked to a terrifying heat - but Cecilia did not even sweat.
When Almachius heard this, he sent an executioner to cut off her head in the baths.
The executioner struck her three times but was unable to decapitate her so he left her bleeding and she lived for three days. Crowds came to her and collected her blood while she preached to them or prayed. On the third day she died and was buried by Pope Urban and his deacons.
St. Cecilia is regarded as the patroness of music, because she heard heavenly music in her heart when she was married, and is represented in art with an organ or organ-pipes in her hand.
Officials exhumed her body in 1599 and found her to be incorrupt, the first of all incurrupt saints. She was draped in a silk veil and wore a gold embroidered dress. Officials only looked through the veil in an act of holy reverence and made no further examinations. They also reported a "mysterious and delightful flower-like odor which proceeded from the coffin."
St. Cecilia's remains were transferred to Cecilia's titular church in Trastevere and placed under the high altar.
In 1599 Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, nephew of Pope Gregory XIV, rebuilt the church of St. Cecilia.
september 2022 ~ Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang,
and Companions
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Feast Day: September 20
The evangelization of Korea began during the 17th century through a group of lay persons. A strong vital Christian community flourished there under lay leadership until missionaries arrived from the Paris Foreign Mission Society.
During the terrible persecutions that occurred in the 19th century (in 1839, 1866, and 1867), one hundred and three members of the Christian community gave their lives as martyrs. Outstanding among these witnesses to the faith were the first Korean priest and pastor, Andrew Kim Taegon, and the lay apostle, Paul Chong Hasang. Among the other martyrs were a few bishops and priests, but for the most part lay people, men and women, married and unmarried, children, young people, and the elderly. All suffered greatly for the Faith and consecrated the rich beginnings of the Church of Korea with their blood as martyrs. |
In the late 18th century, Catholicism began to take root slowly in Korea, having been introduced by scholars who visited China and brought back Western books translated into Chinese. In 1836 Korea saw its first consecrated missionaries (members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society) arrive, only to find out that the people there were already practicing Korean Catholics.
Born of Yangban, Kim's parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for practising Christianity, a prohibited activity in heavily Confucian Korea. After being baptized at age 15, Kim studied at a seminary in the Portuguese colony of Macau. He also spent time in study at Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines, where today he is also venerated. He was ordained a priest in Shanghai after nine years (1844) by the French bishop Jean Joseph Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize. During the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity was suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to practise their faith covertly. Kim was one of several thousand Christians who were executed during this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul on the Han River. His last words were:
This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively: if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him.
Before Ferréol, the first bishop of Korea, died from exhaustion on 3 February 1853, he wanted to be buried beside Kim, stating, "You will never know how sad I was to lose this young native priest. I have loved him as a father loved his son; it is a consolation for me to think of his eternal happiness."
On 6 May 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized Kim along with 102 other Korean Martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang, during his trip to Korea. The feast day of Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and companions is celebrated on 20 September.
Born of Yangban, Kim's parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for practising Christianity, a prohibited activity in heavily Confucian Korea. After being baptized at age 15, Kim studied at a seminary in the Portuguese colony of Macau. He also spent time in study at Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines, where today he is also venerated. He was ordained a priest in Shanghai after nine years (1844) by the French bishop Jean Joseph Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize. During the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity was suppressed and many Christians were persecuted and executed. Catholics had to practise their faith covertly. Kim was one of several thousand Christians who were executed during this time. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul on the Han River. His last words were:
This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively: if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him.
Before Ferréol, the first bishop of Korea, died from exhaustion on 3 February 1853, he wanted to be buried beside Kim, stating, "You will never know how sad I was to lose this young native priest. I have loved him as a father loved his son; it is a consolation for me to think of his eternal happiness."
On 6 May 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized Kim along with 102 other Korean Martyrs, including Paul Chong Hasang, during his trip to Korea. The feast day of Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and companions is celebrated on 20 September.
AUGUST 2022 ~ SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY
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C. 975 – 1038
August 16—Optional Memorial Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Hungary and of kings |
Baptized by his pagan father, made King by the Pope, his heirs demolished his legacy
Saint Stephen of Hungary was a warrior king whose silhouette stands proud on a far distant horizon as the sun rises behind him at the dawn of the medieval age. His year of birth can only be guessed, as ancient chronicles give conflicting dates. His father was of that generation of rough pagans who had to confront the new, vibrant force of Catholicism which challenged the old ways of paganism and its local gods who satisfied local needs. The Mediterranean Basin had long been Christian by the tenth century. But daring missionaries had only recently penetrated deep into the wide plains of the Magyars, the Bulgars, and that vast land of the Rus that lay beyond. That Christian dawn in Eastern Europe is when our saint first comes on the scene.
He was born Vaik and baptized Stephen when his father, a duke, converted to Christianity. When he was about twenty-two, he succeeded his father as a Magyar leader and warlord. After consolidating his territory and power through various wars, he sent an emissary to the Pope in Rome to petition for the founding of Church structures in his land. Pope Sylvester II concurred with Stephen’s plans and took him one step further. Tradition holds that the Pope had a crown fashioned for Stephen and sent it to Hungary, where the papal ambassador crowned Stephen king in 1001.
King Stephen took his duties as a Catholic king with utmost seriousness. He founded an enormous Benedictine monastery, numerous dioceses, and mandated one tax-supported parish with a priest for every ten towns. He built a shrine to the Virgin Mary, which became the sacred forum for the coronations, and burials, of the kings of Hungary. He aggressively punished those who practiced the outlawed pagan customs of yesteryear and prohibited marriages between pagans and Christians. Interestingly, he required that all his subjects be married, except for priests and religious.
After sadly familiar intrigues over succession, money, and power, Stephen died on August 15, 1038. Most of his children had died as infants, and his one adult son, his presumptive heir, died in a hunting accident in 1031. Thus Stephen’s efforts to establish a Christian state were placed in jeopardy. Just as Stephen had feared, once the mighty king died, all of his accomplishments were neglected. Chaos and civil war raged for decades after his burial. The two ostensibly pagan kings who succeeded him were apathetic, or even antagonistic, toward Christianity. The fruits of Stephen’s Christian efforts rotted on the tree, and his immediate legacy dissipated.
Eventually, order was restored to Hungary, and Stephen’s greatness was recognized. He was canonized in 1083. He is now a revered saint-founder of the Hungarian nation. The Huns, the Goths, and the Vandals don’t have a nation today. Over time, these pagan tribes were absorbed into the stable cultures they invaded. They melted into the many nations and identities of modern Europe. The Magyars, however, did not disappear, merge with other peoples, or melt away. They have their own nation, language, culture, art, and history. They are the people of Hungary, and they owe their enduring identity to Saint Stephen. He imposed the stability of a first-class religion on a horse-riding clan and so transformed that roaming tribe into a stable nation. Stephen gave his people God. And to God and His Church they were faithful. Hungary matured over the centuries like wine, until it was a refined Christian nation, a defender of Christ and the Church. Neighboring tribes resisted the gospel and dissipated into thin air with the passing of time. Saint Stephen was a model King because he knew that to found a country you have to found a Church along with it.
Saint Stephen, you bear the name of the first martyr of the Church and showed similar courage in battling the enemies of God. May your brave and visionary leadership embolden all civil and church leaders to lay the foundations for a success which flourishes long after they have died.
Saint Stephen of Hungary - My Catholic Life!
Saint Stephen of Hungary was a warrior king whose silhouette stands proud on a far distant horizon as the sun rises behind him at the dawn of the medieval age. His year of birth can only be guessed, as ancient chronicles give conflicting dates. His father was of that generation of rough pagans who had to confront the new, vibrant force of Catholicism which challenged the old ways of paganism and its local gods who satisfied local needs. The Mediterranean Basin had long been Christian by the tenth century. But daring missionaries had only recently penetrated deep into the wide plains of the Magyars, the Bulgars, and that vast land of the Rus that lay beyond. That Christian dawn in Eastern Europe is when our saint first comes on the scene.
He was born Vaik and baptized Stephen when his father, a duke, converted to Christianity. When he was about twenty-two, he succeeded his father as a Magyar leader and warlord. After consolidating his territory and power through various wars, he sent an emissary to the Pope in Rome to petition for the founding of Church structures in his land. Pope Sylvester II concurred with Stephen’s plans and took him one step further. Tradition holds that the Pope had a crown fashioned for Stephen and sent it to Hungary, where the papal ambassador crowned Stephen king in 1001.
King Stephen took his duties as a Catholic king with utmost seriousness. He founded an enormous Benedictine monastery, numerous dioceses, and mandated one tax-supported parish with a priest for every ten towns. He built a shrine to the Virgin Mary, which became the sacred forum for the coronations, and burials, of the kings of Hungary. He aggressively punished those who practiced the outlawed pagan customs of yesteryear and prohibited marriages between pagans and Christians. Interestingly, he required that all his subjects be married, except for priests and religious.
After sadly familiar intrigues over succession, money, and power, Stephen died on August 15, 1038. Most of his children had died as infants, and his one adult son, his presumptive heir, died in a hunting accident in 1031. Thus Stephen’s efforts to establish a Christian state were placed in jeopardy. Just as Stephen had feared, once the mighty king died, all of his accomplishments were neglected. Chaos and civil war raged for decades after his burial. The two ostensibly pagan kings who succeeded him were apathetic, or even antagonistic, toward Christianity. The fruits of Stephen’s Christian efforts rotted on the tree, and his immediate legacy dissipated.
Eventually, order was restored to Hungary, and Stephen’s greatness was recognized. He was canonized in 1083. He is now a revered saint-founder of the Hungarian nation. The Huns, the Goths, and the Vandals don’t have a nation today. Over time, these pagan tribes were absorbed into the stable cultures they invaded. They melted into the many nations and identities of modern Europe. The Magyars, however, did not disappear, merge with other peoples, or melt away. They have their own nation, language, culture, art, and history. They are the people of Hungary, and they owe their enduring identity to Saint Stephen. He imposed the stability of a first-class religion on a horse-riding clan and so transformed that roaming tribe into a stable nation. Stephen gave his people God. And to God and His Church they were faithful. Hungary matured over the centuries like wine, until it was a refined Christian nation, a defender of Christ and the Church. Neighboring tribes resisted the gospel and dissipated into thin air with the passing of time. Saint Stephen was a model King because he knew that to found a country you have to found a Church along with it.
Saint Stephen, you bear the name of the first martyr of the Church and showed similar courage in battling the enemies of God. May your brave and visionary leadership embolden all civil and church leaders to lay the foundations for a success which flourishes long after they have died.
Saint Stephen of Hungary - My Catholic Life!
July 2022: the martyrs of compiegne
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Born: 1715–1765, Various
Died: 17 July 1794, Place du Trône Renversé (modern day Place de la Nation), Paris, France Martyred by: The Committee of Public Safety of the National Convention of Revolutionary France Venerated in: Catholic Church (Carmelite Order) Beatified: 27 May 1906, Saint Peter's Basilica, Kingdom of Italy, by Pope Pius X Feast: 17 July |
The Martyrs of Compiègne were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France: 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). They were executed by the guillotine towards the end of the Reign of Terror, at what is now the Place de la Nation in Paris on 17 July 1794, and are venerated as beatified martyrs of the Catholic Church. Ten days after their execution, Maximilien Robespierre himself was executed, ending the Reign of Terror.[b][1] Their story has inspired a novella, a motion picture, a television movie, and an opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites, written by French composer Francis Poulenc.
june 2022 ~ Saint Justin Martyr
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Born: AD 100 Flavia Neapolis, Judea
Died: 165 (aged 65) Rome, Roman Empire Venerated in: Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodoxy Lutheranism Anglicanism Canonized: Pre-Congregation for the Causes of Saints Feast Day: 1 June Patronage: philosophers Justin Martyr (Greek: Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, romanized: Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165) was an early Christian apologist and philosopher.
Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The First Apology, his most well-known text, passionately defends the morality of the Christian life, and provides various ethical and philosophical arguments to convince the Roman emperor, Antoninus, to abandon the persecution of the Church. Further, he also indicates, as St. Augustine would later, regarding the "true religion" that predated Christianity, that the "seeds of Christianity" (manifestations of the Logos acting in history) actually predated Christ's incarnation. This notion allows him to claim many historical Greek philosophers (including Socrates and Plato), in whose works he was well studied, as unknowing Christians. |
Justin was martyred, along with some of his students, and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and in Anglicanism.
Life
A bearded Justin Martyr presenting an open book to a Roman emperor. Engraving by Jacques Callot.
Justin Martyr was born around AD 100 at Flavia Neapolis (today Nablus) in Samaria. He was Greek but self-identified as Samaritan. His family may have been pagan, since he was uncircumcised, and defined himself as a Gentile. His grandfather, Bacchius, had a Greek name, while his father, Priscus, bore a Latin name, which has led to speculations that his ancestors may have settled in Neapolis soon after its establishment or that they were descended from a Roman "diplomatic" community that had been sent there.
In the opening of the Dialogue, Justin describes his early education, stating that his initial studies left him unsatisfied due to their failure to provide a belief system that would afford theological and metaphysical inspiration to their young pupil. He says he tried first the school of a Stoic philosopher, who was unable to explain God's being to him. He then attended a Peripatetic philosopher but was put off because the philosopher was too eager for his fee. Then he went to hear a Pythagorean philosopher who demanded that he first learn music, astronomy, and geometry, which he did not wish to do. Subsequently, he adopted Platonism after encountering a Platonist thinker who had recently settled in his city.
And the perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy.
Some time afterwards, he chanced upon an old man, possibly a Syrian Christian, in the vicinity of the seashore, who engaged him in a dialogue about God and spoke of the testimony of the prophets as being more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers.
There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things, and of those matters which the philosopher ought to know, provided he has believed them. For they did not use demonstration in their treatises, seeing that they were witnesses to the truth above all demonstration, and worthy of belief; and those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them, although, indeed, they were entitled to credit on account of the miracles which they performed, since they both glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all things, and proclaimed His Son, the Christ [sent] by Him: which, indeed, the false prophets, who are filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do, but venture to work certain wonderful deeds for the purpose of astonishing men, and glorify the spirits and demons of error. But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.
Moved by the aged man's argument, Justin renounced both his former religious faith and his philosophical background, choosing instead to re-dedicate his life to the service of the Divine. His newfound convictions were only bolstered by the ascetic lives of the early Christians and the heroic example of the martyrs, whose piety convinced him of the moral and spiritual superiority of Christian doctrine. As a result, he thenceforth decided that the only option for him was to travel throughout the land, spreading the knowledge of Christianity as the "true philosophy." His conversion is commonly assumed to have taken place at Ephesus though it may have occurred anywhere on the road from Syria Palestina to Rome.
Mosaic of the beheading of Justin Martyr
He then adopted the dress of a philosopher himself and traveled about teaching. During the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161), he arrived in Rome and started his own school. Tatian was one of his pupils.[18] In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, after disputing with the cynic philosopher Crescens, he was denounced by the latter to the authorities, according to Tatian (Address to the Greeks 19) and Eusebius (HE IV 16.7–8). Justin was tried, together with six companions, by the urban prefect Junius Rusticus, and was beheaded. Though the precise year of his death is uncertain, it can reasonably be dated by the prefectoral term of Rusticus (who governed from 162 and 168). The martyrdom of Justin preserves the court record of the trial.
The Prefect Rusticus says: Approach and sacrifice, all of you, to the gods. Justin says: No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety. The Prefect Rusticus says: If you do not obey, you will be tortured without mercy. Justin replies: That is our desire, to be tortured for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so to be saved, for that will give us salvation and firm confidence at the more terrible universal tribunal of Our Lord and Saviour. And all the martyrs said: Do as you wish; for we are Christians, and we do not sacrifice to idols. The Prefect Rusticus read the sentence: Those who do not wish to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the emperor will be scourged and beheaded according to the laws. The holy martyrs glorifying God betook themselves to the customary place, where they were beheaded and consummated their martyrdom confessing their Saviour.
The church of St. John the Baptist in Sacrofano, a few miles north of Rome, claims to have his relics.
The Church of the Jesuits in Valletta, Malta, founded by papal decree in 1592 also boasts relics of this second century Saint.
A case is also made that the relics of St. Justin are buried in Annapolis, Maryland. During a period of unrest in Italy, a noble family in possession of his remains sent them in 1873 to a priest in Baltimore for safekeeping. They were displayed in St. Mary's Church for a period of time before they were again locked away for safekeeping. The remains were rediscovered and given a proper burial at St. Mary's, with Vatican approval, in 1989.
Relics of St. Justin and other early Church martyrs can be found in the lateral altar dedicated to St. Anne and St. Joachim at the Jesuit's Church in Valletta, Malta.
In 1882 Pope Leo XIII had a Mass and an Office composed for his feast day, which he set at 14 April, one day after the date of his death as indicated in the Martyrology of Florus; but since this date quite often falls within the main Paschal celebrations, the feast was moved in 1968 to 1 June, the date on which he has been celebrated in the Byzantine Rite since at least the 9th century.
Life
A bearded Justin Martyr presenting an open book to a Roman emperor. Engraving by Jacques Callot.
Justin Martyr was born around AD 100 at Flavia Neapolis (today Nablus) in Samaria. He was Greek but self-identified as Samaritan. His family may have been pagan, since he was uncircumcised, and defined himself as a Gentile. His grandfather, Bacchius, had a Greek name, while his father, Priscus, bore a Latin name, which has led to speculations that his ancestors may have settled in Neapolis soon after its establishment or that they were descended from a Roman "diplomatic" community that had been sent there.
In the opening of the Dialogue, Justin describes his early education, stating that his initial studies left him unsatisfied due to their failure to provide a belief system that would afford theological and metaphysical inspiration to their young pupil. He says he tried first the school of a Stoic philosopher, who was unable to explain God's being to him. He then attended a Peripatetic philosopher but was put off because the philosopher was too eager for his fee. Then he went to hear a Pythagorean philosopher who demanded that he first learn music, astronomy, and geometry, which he did not wish to do. Subsequently, he adopted Platonism after encountering a Platonist thinker who had recently settled in his city.
And the perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy.
Some time afterwards, he chanced upon an old man, possibly a Syrian Christian, in the vicinity of the seashore, who engaged him in a dialogue about God and spoke of the testimony of the prophets as being more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers.
There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things, and of those matters which the philosopher ought to know, provided he has believed them. For they did not use demonstration in their treatises, seeing that they were witnesses to the truth above all demonstration, and worthy of belief; and those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them, although, indeed, they were entitled to credit on account of the miracles which they performed, since they both glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all things, and proclaimed His Son, the Christ [sent] by Him: which, indeed, the false prophets, who are filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do, but venture to work certain wonderful deeds for the purpose of astonishing men, and glorify the spirits and demons of error. But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.
Moved by the aged man's argument, Justin renounced both his former religious faith and his philosophical background, choosing instead to re-dedicate his life to the service of the Divine. His newfound convictions were only bolstered by the ascetic lives of the early Christians and the heroic example of the martyrs, whose piety convinced him of the moral and spiritual superiority of Christian doctrine. As a result, he thenceforth decided that the only option for him was to travel throughout the land, spreading the knowledge of Christianity as the "true philosophy." His conversion is commonly assumed to have taken place at Ephesus though it may have occurred anywhere on the road from Syria Palestina to Rome.
Mosaic of the beheading of Justin Martyr
He then adopted the dress of a philosopher himself and traveled about teaching. During the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161), he arrived in Rome and started his own school. Tatian was one of his pupils.[18] In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, after disputing with the cynic philosopher Crescens, he was denounced by the latter to the authorities, according to Tatian (Address to the Greeks 19) and Eusebius (HE IV 16.7–8). Justin was tried, together with six companions, by the urban prefect Junius Rusticus, and was beheaded. Though the precise year of his death is uncertain, it can reasonably be dated by the prefectoral term of Rusticus (who governed from 162 and 168). The martyrdom of Justin preserves the court record of the trial.
The Prefect Rusticus says: Approach and sacrifice, all of you, to the gods. Justin says: No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety. The Prefect Rusticus says: If you do not obey, you will be tortured without mercy. Justin replies: That is our desire, to be tortured for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so to be saved, for that will give us salvation and firm confidence at the more terrible universal tribunal of Our Lord and Saviour. And all the martyrs said: Do as you wish; for we are Christians, and we do not sacrifice to idols. The Prefect Rusticus read the sentence: Those who do not wish to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the emperor will be scourged and beheaded according to the laws. The holy martyrs glorifying God betook themselves to the customary place, where they were beheaded and consummated their martyrdom confessing their Saviour.
The church of St. John the Baptist in Sacrofano, a few miles north of Rome, claims to have his relics.
The Church of the Jesuits in Valletta, Malta, founded by papal decree in 1592 also boasts relics of this second century Saint.
A case is also made that the relics of St. Justin are buried in Annapolis, Maryland. During a period of unrest in Italy, a noble family in possession of his remains sent them in 1873 to a priest in Baltimore for safekeeping. They were displayed in St. Mary's Church for a period of time before they were again locked away for safekeeping. The remains were rediscovered and given a proper burial at St. Mary's, with Vatican approval, in 1989.
Relics of St. Justin and other early Church martyrs can be found in the lateral altar dedicated to St. Anne and St. Joachim at the Jesuit's Church in Valletta, Malta.
In 1882 Pope Leo XIII had a Mass and an Office composed for his feast day, which he set at 14 April, one day after the date of his death as indicated in the Martyrology of Florus; but since this date quite often falls within the main Paschal celebrations, the feast was moved in 1968 to 1 June, the date on which he has been celebrated in the Byzantine Rite since at least the 9th century.
may 2022 ~ Saint rita of cascia, Patroness of Impossible causes
Feast Day: May 22
Born: 1381
Death: 1457
Beatified: 1626
Canonized: May 24, 1900
Patron Saint of Lost and Impossible Causes, sickness, wounds, marital problems, abuse, mothers
Born: 1381
Death: 1457
Beatified: 1626
Canonized: May 24, 1900
Patron Saint of Lost and Impossible Causes, sickness, wounds, marital problems, abuse, mothers
May 22 is the feast day of St. Rita, an Augustinian nun from 14th-century Cascia, Italy. She is the patroness of impossible causes and hopeless circumstances because of her difficult and disappointing life.
Through her trials God used her in remarkable ways. Now she assists from heaven those who plead for her intercession for their own seemingly impossible and hopeless circumstances.
THE LIFE OF ST. RITA OF CASCIA
From an early age St. Rita desired to become a nun, but her parents insisted that she marry. Out of obedience to her parents' wishes, St. Rita entered an arranged marriage at the age of twelve. Adding to her disappointment, her husband was cruel and harsh; she spent eighteen years in a very difficult relationship. Her husband eventually became physically abusive, yet Rita met his cruelty with kindness and patience. After many years of prayer, patience, and trust in God, she eventually won her husband over to greater civility and kindness. She also bore two sons whom she loved deeply.
In the 14th century, Italy was rampant with warring families caught in a vicious circle of assassinations and bloody vendettas (think Romeo and Juliet). St. Rita's family was caught up in this strife that was so entrenched in society at that time. Her husband was murdered as a result of the infamous rivalry between the aristocratic families of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. St. Rita mourned her husband's death and interceded for his soul with great earnest.
Rita's two young sons, in keeping with the vice of the day, talked of avenging their father's death. She did all she could to guide her children into forgiveness, but was unable to dissuade them from their evil intentions of violence and revenge. Prayer was her only hope. She pleaded with God that he would prevent the evil swelling up in the hearts of her sons, or allow them to die before they had the chance to commit a mortal sin and be separated from God forever in hell.
God granted her prayers. Both of her sons fell sick and died within a year, and in a state of grace; God intervened and prevented them from following the evil path of their father.
After the death of her husband and her two sons, St. Rita was all alone in the world. She again sought to enter the convent, as had been her desire from childhood. However, she was turned away because of her family's association with the civil strife; some of the sisters living in the convent were family relations of the men who were responsible for killing her husband. To maintain peace in the convent, she was denied entry.
St. Rita, again facing crushing disappointment and yet another impossible situation, had recourse to prayer and the intercession of the saints. St. Rita's sincerity and spirit of charity and forgiveness prevailed, and she was eventually granted entry into the convent. She became known as a holy and prayerful nun, often meditating on the sufferings of the crucified Christ.
One day, while praying before a crucifix, St. Rita received a visible wound on her forehead. This was a mystical yet visible mark (stigmata) of Jesus' wound from the crown of thorns, symbolizing St. Rita's unity with Christ in his sufferings. She also enjoyed many mystical experiences with Christ during the forty years she lived in the convent.
She died on May 22 when she was in her seventies.
LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ST. RITA
St. Rita certainly had a difficult life, yet her heartbreaking circumstances drove her to prayer and helped her to become a holy woman. She began her work of intercession for sinners while she lived, starting with those closest to her heart. Through her love and prayers she won the grace of conversion for her husband and both of her sons.
Although her life was filled with sorrows and disappointments, Rita persevered through her trials and was consoled by closely uniting herself with the sufferings of Christ. And he did not abandon her; rather he granted her profound and intimate graces. Now a saint in heaven, she helps those who are in great need, just as she once was in her earthly life.
St. Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of impossible causes, sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, marriage difficulties, parenthood, widows, the sick, and bodily ills and wounds. She is also one of the Church's incorruptible saints; her body is venerated at the basilica named for her in Cascia, Italy.
If you are facing a difficult or impossible life circumstance, you can have recourse to prayer after the example of St. Rita. Below is a prayer to St. Rita as well as a novena (to be prayed over the course of nine days for a special intention).
You can also find medals, books, and prayer cards associated with St. Rita here, which make great gifts for those similarly facing difficult and heartbreaking life circumstances.
PRAYER TO ST. RITA
O Holy Patroness of those in need, St. Rita, whose pleadings before thy Divine Lord are almost irresistible, who for thy lavishness in granting favors hast been called the Advocate of the Hopeless and even of the Impossible; St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so mortified, so patient and of such compassionate love for thy Crucified Jesus that thou couldst obtain from Him whatsoever thou askest, on account of which all confidently have recourse to thee expecting, if not always relief, at least comfort; be propitious to our petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy suppliant; be lavish to us, as thou hast been in so many wonderful cases, for the greater glory of God, for the spreading of thine own devotion, and for the consolation of those who trust in thee.
We promise, if our petition is granted, to glorify thee by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we pray thee grant that [here mention your request].
By the singular merits of thy childhood,
Obtain for us our request.
By thy perfect union with the Divine Will,
Obtain for us our request.
By thy heroic sufferings during thy married life,
Etc. [repeat Obtain for us our request after each line]
By the consolation thou didst experience at the conversion of thy husband,
By the sacrifice of thy children rather than see them grievously offend God,
By the miraculous entrance into the convent,
By thy severe penances and thrice daily bloody scourgings,
By the suffering caused by the wound thou didst receive from the thorn of thy Crucified Savior,
By the Divine love which consumed thy heart,
By that remarkable devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, on which alone thou didst exist for four years,
By the happiness with which thou didst part from thy trials to join thy Divine Spouse,
By the perfect example thou gavest to people of every state of life.
Pray for us, O holy St. Rita, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY.
O God, Who in Thine infinite tenderness hast vouchsafed to regard the prayer of Thy servant, Blessed Rita, and dost grant to her supplication that which is impossible to human foresight, skill and efforts, in reward of her compassionate love and firm reliance on Thy promise, have pity on our adversity and succor us in our calamities, that the unbeliever may know Thou art the recompense of the humble, the defense of the helpless, and the strength of those who trust in Thee, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Through her trials God used her in remarkable ways. Now she assists from heaven those who plead for her intercession for their own seemingly impossible and hopeless circumstances.
THE LIFE OF ST. RITA OF CASCIA
From an early age St. Rita desired to become a nun, but her parents insisted that she marry. Out of obedience to her parents' wishes, St. Rita entered an arranged marriage at the age of twelve. Adding to her disappointment, her husband was cruel and harsh; she spent eighteen years in a very difficult relationship. Her husband eventually became physically abusive, yet Rita met his cruelty with kindness and patience. After many years of prayer, patience, and trust in God, she eventually won her husband over to greater civility and kindness. She also bore two sons whom she loved deeply.
In the 14th century, Italy was rampant with warring families caught in a vicious circle of assassinations and bloody vendettas (think Romeo and Juliet). St. Rita's family was caught up in this strife that was so entrenched in society at that time. Her husband was murdered as a result of the infamous rivalry between the aristocratic families of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. St. Rita mourned her husband's death and interceded for his soul with great earnest.
Rita's two young sons, in keeping with the vice of the day, talked of avenging their father's death. She did all she could to guide her children into forgiveness, but was unable to dissuade them from their evil intentions of violence and revenge. Prayer was her only hope. She pleaded with God that he would prevent the evil swelling up in the hearts of her sons, or allow them to die before they had the chance to commit a mortal sin and be separated from God forever in hell.
God granted her prayers. Both of her sons fell sick and died within a year, and in a state of grace; God intervened and prevented them from following the evil path of their father.
After the death of her husband and her two sons, St. Rita was all alone in the world. She again sought to enter the convent, as had been her desire from childhood. However, she was turned away because of her family's association with the civil strife; some of the sisters living in the convent were family relations of the men who were responsible for killing her husband. To maintain peace in the convent, she was denied entry.
St. Rita, again facing crushing disappointment and yet another impossible situation, had recourse to prayer and the intercession of the saints. St. Rita's sincerity and spirit of charity and forgiveness prevailed, and she was eventually granted entry into the convent. She became known as a holy and prayerful nun, often meditating on the sufferings of the crucified Christ.
One day, while praying before a crucifix, St. Rita received a visible wound on her forehead. This was a mystical yet visible mark (stigmata) of Jesus' wound from the crown of thorns, symbolizing St. Rita's unity with Christ in his sufferings. She also enjoyed many mystical experiences with Christ during the forty years she lived in the convent.
She died on May 22 when she was in her seventies.
LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ST. RITA
St. Rita certainly had a difficult life, yet her heartbreaking circumstances drove her to prayer and helped her to become a holy woman. She began her work of intercession for sinners while she lived, starting with those closest to her heart. Through her love and prayers she won the grace of conversion for her husband and both of her sons.
Although her life was filled with sorrows and disappointments, Rita persevered through her trials and was consoled by closely uniting herself with the sufferings of Christ. And he did not abandon her; rather he granted her profound and intimate graces. Now a saint in heaven, she helps those who are in great need, just as she once was in her earthly life.
St. Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of impossible causes, sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, marriage difficulties, parenthood, widows, the sick, and bodily ills and wounds. She is also one of the Church's incorruptible saints; her body is venerated at the basilica named for her in Cascia, Italy.
If you are facing a difficult or impossible life circumstance, you can have recourse to prayer after the example of St. Rita. Below is a prayer to St. Rita as well as a novena (to be prayed over the course of nine days for a special intention).
You can also find medals, books, and prayer cards associated with St. Rita here, which make great gifts for those similarly facing difficult and heartbreaking life circumstances.
PRAYER TO ST. RITA
O Holy Patroness of those in need, St. Rita, whose pleadings before thy Divine Lord are almost irresistible, who for thy lavishness in granting favors hast been called the Advocate of the Hopeless and even of the Impossible; St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so mortified, so patient and of such compassionate love for thy Crucified Jesus that thou couldst obtain from Him whatsoever thou askest, on account of which all confidently have recourse to thee expecting, if not always relief, at least comfort; be propitious to our petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy suppliant; be lavish to us, as thou hast been in so many wonderful cases, for the greater glory of God, for the spreading of thine own devotion, and for the consolation of those who trust in thee.
We promise, if our petition is granted, to glorify thee by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we pray thee grant that [here mention your request].
By the singular merits of thy childhood,
Obtain for us our request.
By thy perfect union with the Divine Will,
Obtain for us our request.
By thy heroic sufferings during thy married life,
Etc. [repeat Obtain for us our request after each line]
By the consolation thou didst experience at the conversion of thy husband,
By the sacrifice of thy children rather than see them grievously offend God,
By the miraculous entrance into the convent,
By thy severe penances and thrice daily bloody scourgings,
By the suffering caused by the wound thou didst receive from the thorn of thy Crucified Savior,
By the Divine love which consumed thy heart,
By that remarkable devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, on which alone thou didst exist for four years,
By the happiness with which thou didst part from thy trials to join thy Divine Spouse,
By the perfect example thou gavest to people of every state of life.
Pray for us, O holy St. Rita, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY.
O God, Who in Thine infinite tenderness hast vouchsafed to regard the prayer of Thy servant, Blessed Rita, and dost grant to her supplication that which is impossible to human foresight, skill and efforts, in reward of her compassionate love and firm reliance on Thy promise, have pity on our adversity and succor us in our calamities, that the unbeliever may know Thou art the recompense of the humble, the defense of the helpless, and the strength of those who trust in Thee, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. RITA
O holy protectress of those who art in greatest need, thou who shineth as a star of hope in the midst of darkness, blessed Saint Rita, bright mirror of God's grace, in patience and fortitude thou art a model of all the states in life.
I unite my will with the will of God through the merits of my Savior Jesus Christ, and in particular through his patient wearing of the crown of thorns, which with tender devotion thou didst daily contemplate.
Through the merits of the holy Virgin Mary and thine own graces and virtues, I ask thee to obtain my earnest petition, provided it be for the greater glory of God and my own sanctification.
Guide and purify my intention, O holy protectress and advocate, so that I may obtain the pardon of all my sins and the grace to persevere daily, as thou didst in walking with courage, generosity, and fidelity down the path of life. [Mention your request.]
Saint Rita, advocate of the impossible, pray for us.
Saint Rita, advocate of the helpless, pray for us.
Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be three times each.
O holy protectress of those who art in greatest need, thou who shineth as a star of hope in the midst of darkness, blessed Saint Rita, bright mirror of God's grace, in patience and fortitude thou art a model of all the states in life.
I unite my will with the will of God through the merits of my Savior Jesus Christ, and in particular through his patient wearing of the crown of thorns, which with tender devotion thou didst daily contemplate.
Through the merits of the holy Virgin Mary and thine own graces and virtues, I ask thee to obtain my earnest petition, provided it be for the greater glory of God and my own sanctification.
Guide and purify my intention, O holy protectress and advocate, so that I may obtain the pardon of all my sins and the grace to persevere daily, as thou didst in walking with courage, generosity, and fidelity down the path of life. [Mention your request.]
Saint Rita, advocate of the impossible, pray for us.
Saint Rita, advocate of the helpless, pray for us.
Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be three times each.
april 2022 ~ Saint julie billiart
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Feast Day: April 8
Birth: 1751 Died: 1816 Beatified: May 16, 1906 Canonized: 1969 |
St. Julie (Julia) Billiart was born in 1751 and died in 1816. As a child, playing "school" was Julie's favorite game. When she was sixteen, to help support her family, she began to teach "for real". She sat on a haystack during the noon recess and told the biblical parables to the workers. Julie carried on this mission of teaching throughout her life, and the Congregation she founded continues her work.
Julie was the fifth of seven children. She attended a little one room school in Cuvilly. She enjoyed all of her studies, but she was particularly attracted to the religion lessons taught by the parish priest. Recognizing something "special" in Julie, the priest secretly allowed her to make her First Communion at the age of nine, when the normal age at that time, was thirteen. She learned to make short mental prayers and to develop a great love for Jesus in the Eucharist.
A murder attempt on her father shocked her nervous system badly. A period of extremely poor heath for Julie began, and was to last for thirty years. For twenty-two of these years she was completely paralyzed. All of her sufferings and pain she offered up to God.
When the French Revolution broke out, Julie offered her home as a hiding place for loyal priests. Because of this, Julie became a hunted prey. Five times in three years she was forced to flee in secret to avoid compromising her friends who were hiding her.
At this time she was privileged to receive a vision. She saw her crucified Lord surrounded by a large group of religious women dressed in a habit she had never seen before. An inner voice told her that these would be her daughters and that she would begin an institute for the Christian education of young girls. She and a rich young woman founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
Julie was the fifth of seven children. She attended a little one room school in Cuvilly. She enjoyed all of her studies, but she was particularly attracted to the religion lessons taught by the parish priest. Recognizing something "special" in Julie, the priest secretly allowed her to make her First Communion at the age of nine, when the normal age at that time, was thirteen. She learned to make short mental prayers and to develop a great love for Jesus in the Eucharist.
A murder attempt on her father shocked her nervous system badly. A period of extremely poor heath for Julie began, and was to last for thirty years. For twenty-two of these years she was completely paralyzed. All of her sufferings and pain she offered up to God.
When the French Revolution broke out, Julie offered her home as a hiding place for loyal priests. Because of this, Julie became a hunted prey. Five times in three years she was forced to flee in secret to avoid compromising her friends who were hiding her.
At this time she was privileged to receive a vision. She saw her crucified Lord surrounded by a large group of religious women dressed in a habit she had never seen before. An inner voice told her that these would be her daughters and that she would begin an institute for the Christian education of young girls. She and a rich young woman founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
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At Amiens, the two women and a few companions began living a religious life in 1803. In 1804, Julie was miraculously cured of her illness and walked for the first time in twenty-two years. In 1805, Julie and three companions made their profession and took their final vows. She was elected as Mother General of the young Congregation.
In 1815, Mother taxed her ever poor health by nursing the wounded and feeding the starving left from the battle of Waterloo. For the last three months of her life, she again suffered much. She died peacefully on April 8, 1816 at 64 years of age. Julie was beatified on May 13, 1906, and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1969. Her feast day is April 8th. |
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march 2022 ~ Saint patrick
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Feast Day: March 17
Patron: of Ireland Birth: 387 Death: 461 The field of St. Patrick's labors was the most remote part of the then known world. The seed he planted in faraway Ireland, which before his time was largely pagan, bore a rich harvest: whole colonies of saints and missionaries were to rise up after him to serve the Irish Church and to carry Christianity to other lands. Whether his birthplace, a village called Bannavem Taberniae, was near Dunbarton-on-the-Clyde, or in Cumberland, or at the mouth of the Severn, or even in Gaul near Boulogne, has never been determined, and indeed the matter is of no great moment. We know of a certainty that Patrick was of Romano-British origin, and born about the year 389. His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon, his grandfather a priest, for at this time no strict law of celibacy had been imposed on the Christian clergy. Patrick's own full name was probably Patricius Magonus Sucatus.
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His brief <Confession> gives us a few details of his early years. At the age of fifteen he committed some fault—what it was we are not told—which caused him much suffering for the rest of his life. At sixteen, he tells us, he still "knew not the true God." Since he was born into a Christian family, we may take this to mean that he gave little heed to religion or to the priests. That same year Patrick and some others were seized and carried off by sea raiders to become slaves among the inhabitants of Ireland. Formerly it was believed that his six years of captivity were spent near Ballymena in County Antrim, on the slopes of the mountain now called Slemish, but later opinion names Fochlad, or Focluth, on the coast of Mayo. If the latter view is correct, then Croachan Aigli or Croag Patrick, the scene of his prolonged fast, was also the mountain on which in his youth he lived alone with God, tending his master's herds of swine or cattle. Wherever it was, he tells us him self that "constantly I used to pray in the daytime. Love of God and His fear increased more and more, and my faith grew and my spirit was stirred up, so that in a single day I said as many as a hundred prayers and at night nearly as many, and I used to stay out in the woods and on the mountain. Before the dawn I used to wake up to prayer, in snow and frost and rain, nor was there any such lukewarmness in me as now I feel, because then my spirit was fervent within."
At length he heard a voice in his sleep bidding him to get back to freedom and the land of his birth. Thus prompted, he ran away from his master and traveled to a harbor where a ship was about to depart. The captain at first refused his request for passage, but after Patrick had silently prayed to God, the pagan sailors called him back, and with them he made an adventurous journey. They were three days at sea, and when they reached land they traveled for a month through an uninhabited tract of country, where food was scarce. Patrick writes:
"And one day the shipmaster said to me: 'How is this, O Christian? Thou sayest that thy God is great and almighty; wherefore then canst thou not pray for us, for we are in danger of starvation? Likely we shall never see a human being again.' Then I said plainly to them: 'Turn in good faith and with all your heart to the Lord my God, to whom nothing is impossible, that this day He may send you food for your journey, until ye be satisfied, for He has abundance everywhere.' And, by the help of God, so it came to pass. Lo, a herd of swine appeared in the way before our eyes, and they killed many of them. And in that place they remained two nights; and they were well refreshed and their dogs were sated, for many of them had fainted and been left half- dead by the way. After this they rendered hearty thanks to God, and I became honorable in their eyes; and from that day they had food in abundance."
At length they arrived at human habitations, whether in Britain or Gaul we do not know. When Patrick was again restored to his kinfolk, they gave him a warm welcome and urged him to stay. But he felt he must leave them. Although there is no certainty as to the order of events which followed, it seems likely that Patrick now spent many years in Gaul. Professor Bury, author of the well-known <Life of St. Patrick>, thinks that the saint stayed for three years at the monastery of Lerins, on a small islet off the coast of modern Cannes, France, and that about fifteen years were passed at the monastery of Auxerre, where he was ordained. Patrick's later prestige and authority indicate that he was prepared for his task with great thoroughness.
We now come to Patrick's apostolate. At this time Pelagianism[1] was spreading among the weak and scattered Christian communities of Britain and Ireland, and Pope Celestine I had sent Bishop Palladius there to combat it. This missionary was killed among the Scots in North Britain, and Bishop Germanus of Auxerre recommended the appointment of Patrick to replace him. Patrick was consecrated in 432, and departed forthwith for Ireland. When we try to trace the course of his labors in the land of his former captivity, we are confused by the contradictory accounts of his biographers; all are marked by a great deal of vagueness as to geography and chronology. According to tradition, he landed at Inverdea, at the mouth of the river Vautry, and immediately proceeded northwards. One chronicler relates that when he was again in the vicinity of the place where he had been a herdboy, the master who had held him captive, on hearing of Patrick's return, set fire to his house and perished in the flames. There is historical basis for the tradition of Patrick's preliminary stay in Ulster, and his founding of a monastic center there. It was at this time that he set out to gain the support and favor of the powerful pagan King Laeghaire, who was holding court at Tara. The stories of Patrick's encounter with the king's Druid priests are probably an accretion of later years; we are told of trials of skill and strength in which the saint gained a great victory over his pagan opponents. The outcome was royal toleration for his preaching. The text of the Senchus More, the old Irish code of laws, though in its existing form it is of later date, mentions an understanding reached at Tara. Patrick was allowed to preach to the gathering, "and when they saw Laeghaire with his Druids overcome by the great signs and miracles wrought in the presence of the men of Erin, they bowed down in obedience to God and Patrick."
King Laeghaire seems not to have become a Christian, but his chief bard and his two daughters were converted, as was a brother, who, we are told, gave his estate to Patrick for the founding of a church. From this time on, Patrick's apostolate, though carried on amid hardships and often at great risk, was favored by many powerful chieftains. The Druids, by and large, opposed him, for they felt their own power and position threatened. They combined many functions; they were prophets, philosophers, and priests; they served as councilors of kings, as judges, and teachers; they knew the courses of the stars and the properties of plants. Now they began to realize that the religion they represented was doomed. Even before the Christian missionaries came in strength, a curious prophecy was current among them. It was written in one of their ancient texts: "Adze-head (a name that the shape of the monk's tonsure might suggest) will come, with his crook-headed staff and his house (the word chasuble means also a little house) holed for his head. He will chant impiety from the table in the east of his house. All his household shall answer: Amen, Amen. When, therefore, all these things come to pass, our kingdom, which is a heathen one, will not stand." As a matter of fact, the Druids continued to exist in Christian Ireland, though with a change of name and a limited scope of activity. They subjected Patrick to imprisonment many times, but he always managed to escape.
In 439 three bishops, Secundinus, Auxilius, and Iserninus, were sent from Gaul to assist Patrick. Benignus, an Irish chieftain who was converted by Patrick, became his favorite disciple, his coadjutor in the see of Armagh, and, finally, his successor. One of Patrick's legendary victories was his overthrow of the idol of Crom Cruach in Leitrim, where he forthwith built a church. He traveled again in Ulster, to preach and found monasteries, then in Leinster and Munster. These missionary caravans must have impressed the people, for they gave the appearance of an entire village in motion. The long line of chariots and carts drawn by oxen conveyed the appurtenances of Christian worship, as well as foodstuffs, equipment, tools, and weapons required by the band of helpers who accompanied the leader. There would be the priestly assistants, singers and musicians, the drivers, hunters, wood-cutters, carpenters, masons, cooks, horsemen, weavers and embroiderers, and many more. When the caravan stopped at a chosen site, the people gathered, converts were won, and before many months a chapel or church and its outlying structures would be built and furnished. Thus were created new outposts in the struggle against paganism. The journeys were often dangerous. Once, Odrhan, Patrick's charioteer, as if forewarned, asked leave to take the chief seat in the chariot himself, while Patrick held the reins; they had proceeded but a short way in this fashion when the loyal Odrhan was killed by a spear thrust meant for his master.
About the year 442, tradition tells us, Patrick went to Rome and met Pope Leo the Great, who, it seemed, took special interest in the Irish Church. The time had now come for a definite organization According to the annals of Ulster, the cathedral church of Armagh was founded as the primatial see of Ireland on Patrick's return. He brought back with him valuable relics. Latin was established as the language of the Irish Church. There is mention of a synod held by Patrick, probably at Armagh. The rules then adopted are still preserved, with, possibly, some later interpolations. It is believed that this synod was called near the close of Patrick's labors on earth. He was now undoubtedly in more or less broken health; such austerities and constant journeyings as his must have weakened the hardiest constitution. The story of his forty-day fast on Croagh Patrick and the privileges he won from God by his prayers is also associated with the end of his life. Tirechan tells it thus: "Patrick went forth to the summit of Mount Agli, and remained there for forty days and forty nights, and the birds were a trouble to him, and he could not see the face of the heavens, the earth, or the sea, on account of them; for God told all the saints of Erin, past, present, and future, to come to the mountain summit-that mountain which overlooks all others, and is higher than all the mountains of the West-to bless the tribes of Erin, so that Patrick might see the fruit of his labors, for all the choir of the saints came to visit him there, who was the father of them all."
In all the ancient biographies of this saint the marvelous is continuously present. Fortunately, we have three of Patrick's own writings, which help us to see the man himself. His <Confession> is a brief autobiographical sketch; the <Lorica>, also known as <The Song of the Deer>, is a strange chant which we have reproduced in the following pages. <The Letter to Coroticus> is a denunciation of the British king of that name who had raided the Irish coast and killed a number of Christian converts as they were being baptized; Patrick urged the Christian subjects of this king to have no more dealings with him until he had made reparation for the outrage. In his writings Patrick shows his ardent human feelings and his intense love of God. What was most human in the saint, and at the same time most divine, comes out in this passage from his <Confession>:
"It was not any grace in me, but God who conquereth in me, and He resisted them all, so that I came to the heathen of Ireland to preach the Gospel and to bear insults from unbelievers, to hear the reproach of my going abroad and to endure many persecutions even unto bonds, the while that I was surrendering my liberty as a man of free condition for the profit of others. And if I should be found worthy, I am ready to give even my life for His name's sake unfalteringly and gladly, and there (in Ireland) I desire to spend it until I die, if our Lord should grant it to me."
Patrick's marvelous harvest filled him with gratitude. During an apostolate of thirty years he is reported to have consecrated some 350 bishops, and was instrumental in bringing the faith to many thousands. He writes, "Wherefore those in Ireland who never had the knowledge of God, but until now only worshiped idols and abominations, from them has been lately prepared a people of the Lord, and they are called children of God. Sons and daughters of Scottish chieftains are seen becoming monks and virgins of Christ." Yet hostility and violence still existed, for he writes later, "Daily I expect either a violent death, or robbery and a return to slavery, or some other calamity." He adds, like the good Christian he was, "I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, for He rules everything."
Patrick died about 461, and was buried near the fortress of Saul, in the vicinity of the future cathedral town of Down. He was intensely spiritual, a magnetic personality with great gifts for action and organization. He brought Ireland into much closer contact with Europe, especially with the Holy See. The building up of the weak Christian communities which he found on arrival and planting the faith in new regions give him his place as the patron of Ireland. His feast day is one of festivity, and widely observed. Patrick's emblems are a serpent, demons, cross, shamrock, harp, and baptismal font. The story of his driving snakes from Ireland has no factual foundation, and the tale of the shamrock, as a symbol used to explain the Trinity, is an accretion of much later date.
St. Patrick | EWTN
At length he heard a voice in his sleep bidding him to get back to freedom and the land of his birth. Thus prompted, he ran away from his master and traveled to a harbor where a ship was about to depart. The captain at first refused his request for passage, but after Patrick had silently prayed to God, the pagan sailors called him back, and with them he made an adventurous journey. They were three days at sea, and when they reached land they traveled for a month through an uninhabited tract of country, where food was scarce. Patrick writes:
"And one day the shipmaster said to me: 'How is this, O Christian? Thou sayest that thy God is great and almighty; wherefore then canst thou not pray for us, for we are in danger of starvation? Likely we shall never see a human being again.' Then I said plainly to them: 'Turn in good faith and with all your heart to the Lord my God, to whom nothing is impossible, that this day He may send you food for your journey, until ye be satisfied, for He has abundance everywhere.' And, by the help of God, so it came to pass. Lo, a herd of swine appeared in the way before our eyes, and they killed many of them. And in that place they remained two nights; and they were well refreshed and their dogs were sated, for many of them had fainted and been left half- dead by the way. After this they rendered hearty thanks to God, and I became honorable in their eyes; and from that day they had food in abundance."
At length they arrived at human habitations, whether in Britain or Gaul we do not know. When Patrick was again restored to his kinfolk, they gave him a warm welcome and urged him to stay. But he felt he must leave them. Although there is no certainty as to the order of events which followed, it seems likely that Patrick now spent many years in Gaul. Professor Bury, author of the well-known <Life of St. Patrick>, thinks that the saint stayed for three years at the monastery of Lerins, on a small islet off the coast of modern Cannes, France, and that about fifteen years were passed at the monastery of Auxerre, where he was ordained. Patrick's later prestige and authority indicate that he was prepared for his task with great thoroughness.
We now come to Patrick's apostolate. At this time Pelagianism[1] was spreading among the weak and scattered Christian communities of Britain and Ireland, and Pope Celestine I had sent Bishop Palladius there to combat it. This missionary was killed among the Scots in North Britain, and Bishop Germanus of Auxerre recommended the appointment of Patrick to replace him. Patrick was consecrated in 432, and departed forthwith for Ireland. When we try to trace the course of his labors in the land of his former captivity, we are confused by the contradictory accounts of his biographers; all are marked by a great deal of vagueness as to geography and chronology. According to tradition, he landed at Inverdea, at the mouth of the river Vautry, and immediately proceeded northwards. One chronicler relates that when he was again in the vicinity of the place where he had been a herdboy, the master who had held him captive, on hearing of Patrick's return, set fire to his house and perished in the flames. There is historical basis for the tradition of Patrick's preliminary stay in Ulster, and his founding of a monastic center there. It was at this time that he set out to gain the support and favor of the powerful pagan King Laeghaire, who was holding court at Tara. The stories of Patrick's encounter with the king's Druid priests are probably an accretion of later years; we are told of trials of skill and strength in which the saint gained a great victory over his pagan opponents. The outcome was royal toleration for his preaching. The text of the Senchus More, the old Irish code of laws, though in its existing form it is of later date, mentions an understanding reached at Tara. Patrick was allowed to preach to the gathering, "and when they saw Laeghaire with his Druids overcome by the great signs and miracles wrought in the presence of the men of Erin, they bowed down in obedience to God and Patrick."
King Laeghaire seems not to have become a Christian, but his chief bard and his two daughters were converted, as was a brother, who, we are told, gave his estate to Patrick for the founding of a church. From this time on, Patrick's apostolate, though carried on amid hardships and often at great risk, was favored by many powerful chieftains. The Druids, by and large, opposed him, for they felt their own power and position threatened. They combined many functions; they were prophets, philosophers, and priests; they served as councilors of kings, as judges, and teachers; they knew the courses of the stars and the properties of plants. Now they began to realize that the religion they represented was doomed. Even before the Christian missionaries came in strength, a curious prophecy was current among them. It was written in one of their ancient texts: "Adze-head (a name that the shape of the monk's tonsure might suggest) will come, with his crook-headed staff and his house (the word chasuble means also a little house) holed for his head. He will chant impiety from the table in the east of his house. All his household shall answer: Amen, Amen. When, therefore, all these things come to pass, our kingdom, which is a heathen one, will not stand." As a matter of fact, the Druids continued to exist in Christian Ireland, though with a change of name and a limited scope of activity. They subjected Patrick to imprisonment many times, but he always managed to escape.
In 439 three bishops, Secundinus, Auxilius, and Iserninus, were sent from Gaul to assist Patrick. Benignus, an Irish chieftain who was converted by Patrick, became his favorite disciple, his coadjutor in the see of Armagh, and, finally, his successor. One of Patrick's legendary victories was his overthrow of the idol of Crom Cruach in Leitrim, where he forthwith built a church. He traveled again in Ulster, to preach and found monasteries, then in Leinster and Munster. These missionary caravans must have impressed the people, for they gave the appearance of an entire village in motion. The long line of chariots and carts drawn by oxen conveyed the appurtenances of Christian worship, as well as foodstuffs, equipment, tools, and weapons required by the band of helpers who accompanied the leader. There would be the priestly assistants, singers and musicians, the drivers, hunters, wood-cutters, carpenters, masons, cooks, horsemen, weavers and embroiderers, and many more. When the caravan stopped at a chosen site, the people gathered, converts were won, and before many months a chapel or church and its outlying structures would be built and furnished. Thus were created new outposts in the struggle against paganism. The journeys were often dangerous. Once, Odrhan, Patrick's charioteer, as if forewarned, asked leave to take the chief seat in the chariot himself, while Patrick held the reins; they had proceeded but a short way in this fashion when the loyal Odrhan was killed by a spear thrust meant for his master.
About the year 442, tradition tells us, Patrick went to Rome and met Pope Leo the Great, who, it seemed, took special interest in the Irish Church. The time had now come for a definite organization According to the annals of Ulster, the cathedral church of Armagh was founded as the primatial see of Ireland on Patrick's return. He brought back with him valuable relics. Latin was established as the language of the Irish Church. There is mention of a synod held by Patrick, probably at Armagh. The rules then adopted are still preserved, with, possibly, some later interpolations. It is believed that this synod was called near the close of Patrick's labors on earth. He was now undoubtedly in more or less broken health; such austerities and constant journeyings as his must have weakened the hardiest constitution. The story of his forty-day fast on Croagh Patrick and the privileges he won from God by his prayers is also associated with the end of his life. Tirechan tells it thus: "Patrick went forth to the summit of Mount Agli, and remained there for forty days and forty nights, and the birds were a trouble to him, and he could not see the face of the heavens, the earth, or the sea, on account of them; for God told all the saints of Erin, past, present, and future, to come to the mountain summit-that mountain which overlooks all others, and is higher than all the mountains of the West-to bless the tribes of Erin, so that Patrick might see the fruit of his labors, for all the choir of the saints came to visit him there, who was the father of them all."
In all the ancient biographies of this saint the marvelous is continuously present. Fortunately, we have three of Patrick's own writings, which help us to see the man himself. His <Confession> is a brief autobiographical sketch; the <Lorica>, also known as <The Song of the Deer>, is a strange chant which we have reproduced in the following pages. <The Letter to Coroticus> is a denunciation of the British king of that name who had raided the Irish coast and killed a number of Christian converts as they were being baptized; Patrick urged the Christian subjects of this king to have no more dealings with him until he had made reparation for the outrage. In his writings Patrick shows his ardent human feelings and his intense love of God. What was most human in the saint, and at the same time most divine, comes out in this passage from his <Confession>:
"It was not any grace in me, but God who conquereth in me, and He resisted them all, so that I came to the heathen of Ireland to preach the Gospel and to bear insults from unbelievers, to hear the reproach of my going abroad and to endure many persecutions even unto bonds, the while that I was surrendering my liberty as a man of free condition for the profit of others. And if I should be found worthy, I am ready to give even my life for His name's sake unfalteringly and gladly, and there (in Ireland) I desire to spend it until I die, if our Lord should grant it to me."
Patrick's marvelous harvest filled him with gratitude. During an apostolate of thirty years he is reported to have consecrated some 350 bishops, and was instrumental in bringing the faith to many thousands. He writes, "Wherefore those in Ireland who never had the knowledge of God, but until now only worshiped idols and abominations, from them has been lately prepared a people of the Lord, and they are called children of God. Sons and daughters of Scottish chieftains are seen becoming monks and virgins of Christ." Yet hostility and violence still existed, for he writes later, "Daily I expect either a violent death, or robbery and a return to slavery, or some other calamity." He adds, like the good Christian he was, "I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, for He rules everything."
Patrick died about 461, and was buried near the fortress of Saul, in the vicinity of the future cathedral town of Down. He was intensely spiritual, a magnetic personality with great gifts for action and organization. He brought Ireland into much closer contact with Europe, especially with the Holy See. The building up of the weak Christian communities which he found on arrival and planting the faith in new regions give him his place as the patron of Ireland. His feast day is one of festivity, and widely observed. Patrick's emblems are a serpent, demons, cross, shamrock, harp, and baptismal font. The story of his driving snakes from Ireland has no factual foundation, and the tale of the shamrock, as a symbol used to explain the Trinity, is an accretion of much later date.
St. Patrick | EWTN
february 2022 ~ BLESSED JULIA RODZINSKA
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BORN: 16 March 1899 in Nawojowa, Malopolskie, Poland
DIED: 20 February 1945 in a Nazi prison camp in Sztutowo (a.k.a. Stutthof), Pomorskie, occupied Poland of typhus VENERATED: 26 March 1999 by Pope John Paul II (decree of martyrdom) BEATIFIED: 13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II
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Second of five children born to Michael Rodzinska and Marianna (née Sekuly). Michael was the church organist, led the parish choir and worked at a local bank. They were a poor but pious family, and though Marianna’s family was wealthy, they refused to help. Marianna died when Stanislawa was eight years old, and the family fortunes deteriorated further as Michael had trouble working and caring for the children; he died of pneumonia when Stanislawa was ten. From that point, she and her sister grew up in a Dominican orphanage.
Stanislawa loved the Dominican Sisters so much that she joined them in 1916 in Tarnobrzegu-Wielowsi, Poland, taking the name Sister Maria Julia and made her profession on 5 August 1924. She served as an exceptional and much loved teacher at Dominican orphanages for 22 years. Superior of the Dominican house in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1934, and ran the orphanage; she became known as the Mother of Orphans for her tireless care of the children, and as an Apostle of the Rosary. She was awarded by the secular government of Vilnius for her work.
However, the government seized the school and orphange, took over running both, and dissolved the monastery; the now homeless and unemployed Dominican sisters where taken in by some local Vincentian sisters. Sister Maria Julia and her sisters tried to support themselves doing odd jobs, but the Nazis invaded, the economy tanked, and the Church effectively went into hiding. Clergy, monks and sisters were arrested, imprisoned or executed, teaching Polish culture was made illegal, so everything about Sister Julia was now against the laws of the invaders. She continued to covertly teach children catechism and regular school studies, and worked to keep elderly priests from starving after they were kicked out into the streets by the Nazis.
Sister Julia was arrested by the Gestapo on 12 July 1943 for her work, and was imprisoned for a year in solitary confinement in a cement cell in the Lukiškes Prison in central Vilnius; it was too small and cramped for her to stretch out. She did not break, however, and continued doing her spiritual exercises. In July 1944 she was loaded into a cattle car and shipped to the Stutthof concentration camp where she was tortured, starved and abused; she responded by forming prayer groups and shared what food she received. She contracted a fatal case of typhus while nursing infected Jewish female prisoners. Martyr.
CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Blessed Julia Rodzinska
Stanislawa loved the Dominican Sisters so much that she joined them in 1916 in Tarnobrzegu-Wielowsi, Poland, taking the name Sister Maria Julia and made her profession on 5 August 1924. She served as an exceptional and much loved teacher at Dominican orphanages for 22 years. Superior of the Dominican house in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1934, and ran the orphanage; she became known as the Mother of Orphans for her tireless care of the children, and as an Apostle of the Rosary. She was awarded by the secular government of Vilnius for her work.
However, the government seized the school and orphange, took over running both, and dissolved the monastery; the now homeless and unemployed Dominican sisters where taken in by some local Vincentian sisters. Sister Maria Julia and her sisters tried to support themselves doing odd jobs, but the Nazis invaded, the economy tanked, and the Church effectively went into hiding. Clergy, monks and sisters were arrested, imprisoned or executed, teaching Polish culture was made illegal, so everything about Sister Julia was now against the laws of the invaders. She continued to covertly teach children catechism and regular school studies, and worked to keep elderly priests from starving after they were kicked out into the streets by the Nazis.
Sister Julia was arrested by the Gestapo on 12 July 1943 for her work, and was imprisoned for a year in solitary confinement in a cement cell in the Lukiškes Prison in central Vilnius; it was too small and cramped for her to stretch out. She did not break, however, and continued doing her spiritual exercises. In July 1944 she was loaded into a cattle car and shipped to the Stutthof concentration camp where she was tortured, starved and abused; she responded by forming prayer groups and shared what food she received. She contracted a fatal case of typhus while nursing infected Jewish female prisoners. Martyr.
CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Blessed Julia Rodzinska
january 2022 ~ Saint André Bessette, Religious, 1845–1937
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Feast Day: January 7
Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of family caregivers He deeply knew and loved the Word of God, though he could not read |
Saint Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans that faith comes by hearing. It’s a good thing it doesn’t come only by reading. Until modern times a relatively small percentage of the population has been able to read. Today’s saint had faith enough to move mountains, yet if he looked at the page of an open book, he saw only impenetrable symbols. André Bessette was functionally illiterate. His faith did not come by reading or study. It came by hearing, by watching, by praying, by listening, and by reflecting. As Catholics we are not a people of the Book. We are a people of the Word.Second of five children born to Michael Rodzinska and Marianna (née Sekuly). Michael was the church organist, led the parish choir and worked at a local bank. They were a poor but pious family, and though Marianna’s family was wealthy, they refused to help. Marianna died when Stanislawa was eight years old, and the family fortunes deteriorated further as Michael had trouble working and caring for the children; he died of pneumonia when Stanislawa was ten. From that point, she and her sister grew up in a Dominican orphanage.
Stanislawa loved the Dominican Sisters so much that she joined them in 1916 in Tarnobrzegu-Wielowsi, Poland, taking the name Sister Maria Julia and made her profession on 5 August 1924. She served as an exceptional and much loved teacher at Dominican orphanages for 22 years. Superior of the Dominican house in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1934, and ran the orphanage; she became known as the Mother of Orphans for her tireless care of the children, and as an Apostle of the Rosary. She was awarded by the secular government of Vilnius for her work.
However, the government seized the school and orphange, took over running both, and dissolved the monastery; the now homeless and unemployed Dominican sisters where taken in by some local Vincentian sisters. Sister Maria Julia and her sisters tried to support themselves doing odd jobs, but the Nazis invaded, the economy tanked, and the Church effectively went into hiding. Clergy, monks and sisters were arrested, imprisoned or executed, teaching Polish culture was made illegal, so everything about Sister Julia was now against the laws of the invaders. She continued to covertly teach children catechism and regular school studies, and worked to keep elderly priests from starving after they were kicked out into the streets by the Nazis.
Sister Julia was arrested by the Gestapo on 12 July 1943 for her work, and was imprisoned for a year in solitary confinement in a cement cell in the Lukiškes Prison in central Vilnius; it was too small and cramped for her to stretch out. She did not break, however, and continued doing her spiritual exercises. In July 1944 she was loaded into a cattle car and shipped to the Stutthof concentration camp where she was tortured, starved and abused; she responded by forming prayer groups and shared what food she received. She contracted a fatal case of typhus while nursing infected Jewish female prisoners. Martyr.
And that Word is an idea and a person long before it is a script. “In the beginning was the Word, … and the Word became flesh,” Saint John’s Gospel begins. Our faith would live and thrive even if the Bible had never been compiled. The Church is a living Word. Saint André’s life witnesses to the primacy of the living Word over the written Word.
Saint André was the eighth child born into a large and desperately poor family from Quebec, Canada. Alfred was his baptismal name. His father died in a logging accident and his mother of tuberculosis by the time he was 12. The many children had to be dispersed to friends and relatives. Our saint then spent the next thirteen years doing manual labor, including factory and farm work, throughout the northeastern United States. After he had wandered enough, he wandered back home by age 25. His perceptive parish priest noted his generosity of spirit and deep faith. He recommended the young man to the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montreal, sending Alfred to them with an almost unbelievably prophetic note stating: “I am sending you a saint.”
Alfred took the name of this same parish priest, André, and after much difficulty was allowed to join the Congregation as a brother. He was given the unremarkable task of minding the door of a boys school. He welcomed guests, delivered mail, and ran errands. But then something happened. And happened again. And then still again. Sick people who came to visit him were cured by his touch and his prayers. Brother André insisted it was God and St. Joseph. But thus began a many decades-long ministry to the sick of Canada who sought out his healing touch. The lines of sick people became so long that he could no longer do his job at the school door. He attended to people all day long. He became famous for all the right reasons. He built a modest shrine to St. Joseph on a hill. The shrine became very popular and grew until it became, and still is today, the most dominant structure in all of Montreal. Our saint did not live to see it completed. But he lived so long and so well that 1 million people filed past his casket when he died. He edified people not by his learning but by his healing and by the warm humanity that animated it.
Saint André, you healed the sick and found time to attend to all who came to you. You encouraged those who sought you to confess their sins and to go to Mass. Intercede for all believers so that we see in Jesus our divine physician, healer of soul and body.
Saint André Bessette - My Catholic Life!
Stanislawa loved the Dominican Sisters so much that she joined them in 1916 in Tarnobrzegu-Wielowsi, Poland, taking the name Sister Maria Julia and made her profession on 5 August 1924. She served as an exceptional and much loved teacher at Dominican orphanages for 22 years. Superior of the Dominican house in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1934, and ran the orphanage; she became known as the Mother of Orphans for her tireless care of the children, and as an Apostle of the Rosary. She was awarded by the secular government of Vilnius for her work.
However, the government seized the school and orphange, took over running both, and dissolved the monastery; the now homeless and unemployed Dominican sisters where taken in by some local Vincentian sisters. Sister Maria Julia and her sisters tried to support themselves doing odd jobs, but the Nazis invaded, the economy tanked, and the Church effectively went into hiding. Clergy, monks and sisters were arrested, imprisoned or executed, teaching Polish culture was made illegal, so everything about Sister Julia was now against the laws of the invaders. She continued to covertly teach children catechism and regular school studies, and worked to keep elderly priests from starving after they were kicked out into the streets by the Nazis.
Sister Julia was arrested by the Gestapo on 12 July 1943 for her work, and was imprisoned for a year in solitary confinement in a cement cell in the Lukiškes Prison in central Vilnius; it was too small and cramped for her to stretch out. She did not break, however, and continued doing her spiritual exercises. In July 1944 she was loaded into a cattle car and shipped to the Stutthof concentration camp where she was tortured, starved and abused; she responded by forming prayer groups and shared what food she received. She contracted a fatal case of typhus while nursing infected Jewish female prisoners. Martyr.
And that Word is an idea and a person long before it is a script. “In the beginning was the Word, … and the Word became flesh,” Saint John’s Gospel begins. Our faith would live and thrive even if the Bible had never been compiled. The Church is a living Word. Saint André’s life witnesses to the primacy of the living Word over the written Word.
Saint André was the eighth child born into a large and desperately poor family from Quebec, Canada. Alfred was his baptismal name. His father died in a logging accident and his mother of tuberculosis by the time he was 12. The many children had to be dispersed to friends and relatives. Our saint then spent the next thirteen years doing manual labor, including factory and farm work, throughout the northeastern United States. After he had wandered enough, he wandered back home by age 25. His perceptive parish priest noted his generosity of spirit and deep faith. He recommended the young man to the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montreal, sending Alfred to them with an almost unbelievably prophetic note stating: “I am sending you a saint.”
Alfred took the name of this same parish priest, André, and after much difficulty was allowed to join the Congregation as a brother. He was given the unremarkable task of minding the door of a boys school. He welcomed guests, delivered mail, and ran errands. But then something happened. And happened again. And then still again. Sick people who came to visit him were cured by his touch and his prayers. Brother André insisted it was God and St. Joseph. But thus began a many decades-long ministry to the sick of Canada who sought out his healing touch. The lines of sick people became so long that he could no longer do his job at the school door. He attended to people all day long. He became famous for all the right reasons. He built a modest shrine to St. Joseph on a hill. The shrine became very popular and grew until it became, and still is today, the most dominant structure in all of Montreal. Our saint did not live to see it completed. But he lived so long and so well that 1 million people filed past his casket when he died. He edified people not by his learning but by his healing and by the warm humanity that animated it.
Saint André, you healed the sick and found time to attend to all who came to you. You encouraged those who sought you to confess their sins and to go to Mass. Intercede for all believers so that we see in Jesus our divine physician, healer of soul and body.
Saint André Bessette - My Catholic Life!
dECEMBER 2021 ~ SAINT BIBIANA
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Feast Day: December 2
The earliest mention of Saint Bibiana in an authentic historical authority occurs in the "Liber Pontificalis,", where the biography of Pope Simplicius (468–483) states that this pope "consecrated a basilica of the holy martyr Bibiana, which contained her body, near the 'palatium Licinianum' " (ed. Duchesne, I, 249). The Basilica of Santa Bibiana still exists.
In the year 363, Julian the Apostate made Apronianus Governor of Rome. St. Bibiana suffered in the persecution started by him. She was the daughter of Christians, Flavian, a Roman knight, and Dafrosa, his wife. |
Flavian was tortured and sent into exile, where he died of his wounds. Dafrosa was beheaded, and their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and left to suffer poverty. However, they remained in their house, spending their time in fasting and prayer.
Apronianus, seeing that hunger and want had no effect upon them, summoned them. Demetria, after confessing her Faith, fell dead at the feet of the tyrant. St. Bibiana was reserved for greater sufferings. She was placed in the hands of a wicked woman called Rufina, who in vain endeavored to seduce her. She used blows as well as persuasion, but the Christian virgin remained faithful.
Enraged at the constancy of this saintly virgin, Apronianus ordered her to be tied to a pillar and beaten with scourges, laden with lead plummets, until she expired. The saint endured the torments with joy, and died under the blows inflicted by the hands of the executioner.
Apronianus, seeing that hunger and want had no effect upon them, summoned them. Demetria, after confessing her Faith, fell dead at the feet of the tyrant. St. Bibiana was reserved for greater sufferings. She was placed in the hands of a wicked woman called Rufina, who in vain endeavored to seduce her. She used blows as well as persuasion, but the Christian virgin remained faithful.
Enraged at the constancy of this saintly virgin, Apronianus ordered her to be tied to a pillar and beaten with scourges, laden with lead plummets, until she expired. The saint endured the torments with joy, and died under the blows inflicted by the hands of the executioner.
november 2021 ~ Saint Charles Borromeo
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Feast Day: November 4
Patron: of bishops, catechists, cardinals, seminarians, spiritual leaders Birth: October 2, 1538 Death: November 3, 1584 Beatified: May 12, 1602 by Pope Paul V Canonized: November 1, 1610 by Pope Paul V |
Saint Charles Borromeo was born on October 2, 1538 at the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore near Milan. His father was the Count of Arona and his mother a member of the House of Medici. He was the third of six children born to the couple.
At the age of 12, the young Count Charles Borromeo dedicated himself to a life of service to the Church. His uncle gave to him the family income from the Benedictine abbey of Saints Gratinian and Felinus. Even as a youth, his integrity was obvious. He was explicit in telling his father that he could only keep the money required for his education and to prepare him for service to the Church. All other funds belonged to the poor of the Church and were to be passed along to them.
The young count suffered from a speech impediment that made him appear slow to those who did not know him. Despite this challenge, he performed well and impressed his teachers. He attended the University of Pavia and learned Latin. He was praised because he was hardworking and thorough.
In 1554 his father passed away and although Charles was a teenager, responsibility for his household fell to him. Charles continued in his studies and earned a doctorate in canon and civil law.
His responsibility for his household resulted in financial difficulties, and Charles earned a reputation for being short of funds.
Life sped up for the young count after his uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici became Pope Pius IV on December 25, 1559. The new pope asked his nephew to come to Rome and appointed him as a cardinal-deacon. With the rank came the job of assisting and advising his uncle full-time. A month later, Pope Pius IV made his nephew a cardinal.
With the new rank came even more duties including the government of the Papal States, the supervision of the Knights of Malta, the Franciscans, and the Carmelites. He was only 23 years old.
The young Borromeo used his leadership role in the Vatican to promote learning and he established a literary academy. He wrote of some of the lessons and lectures in the book, Noctes Vaticanae.
Borromeo was appointed administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan in 1560. Since he would become the ecclesiastical administrator of Milan, he decided that the Lord was calling him to the priesthood.
In 1561, he founded a college at Pavia dedicated to St. Justina of Padua.
In 1562 his brother died and his family urged him to leave the service of the church to preserve the family name.
However, Borromeo refused. He became more insistent upon becoming a good bishop and in compelling others to lead exemplary lives of clerical service.
Borromeo was ordained first to the order of deacon. Then, he was ordained to the holy priesthood on September 4, 1563. Then, he was ordained as a bishop on December 7, 1563. He became Archbishop of Milan in May 12, 1564.
In 1566, Archbishop Borromeo's benefactor and uncle, Pope Pius IV died. Borromeo had already developed a reputation as a young, idealistic reformer in Rome, and he continued that mission in Milan. Milan was the largest diocese in the Catholic Church at the time and corruption was rampant.
The driving out of corruption was a critical matter during Borromeo's time. The Protestant Reformation was spreading throughout northern Europe and constantly threatened to move south. The greatest defense against Protestant doctrinal errors and claims against the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was reform and the restoration of integrity to the Catholic Church. Archbishop Borromeo saw this clearly and he made this his mission.
His strategy was to provide education to many clergy he saw as ignorant. He founded schools and seminaries and colleges for clergy.
He also ended the selling of indulgences, a form of simony (Catholic Catechism #2120, and ordered monasteries to reform themselves. He made a lot of visits to various locations to inspect for himself. He ordered the simplification of church interiors, which was a major point of contention between some Catholics and Protestants. The complex and busy interiors were claimed to be a distraction from the worship of God. This danger was acknowledged during the Council of Trent which Archbishop Borromeo enforced. Even tombs belonging to his own relatives were cleared of inappropriate ornaments and embellishments.
His work of cleaning up the Church also made him enemies. On one occasion a member of a small, decrepit order known as the "Humiliati" attempted to assassinate him with a pistol, but missed.
Many of his subordinates and secular officials complained about the Archbishop throughout his career. However, the existence of these enemies only emboldened Borromeo and served as confirmation that his efforts to eradicate corruption were working.
In 1576 a famine struck Milan followed by the plague, and many of the wealthy and powerful fled the city.
Archbishop Borromeo remained. He used his own fortune to feed the starving people. When that money was spent, he took loans and went deep into debt. He may have fed 70,000 people per day. Eventually, the Archbishop convinced the local governor to return to his post and care for the people.
In 1583, Archbishop Borromeo traveled to Switzerland and began work suppressing heresy there. Protestant heresies, along with witchcraft and sorcery had been widely reported. He founded the Collegium Helveticum to serve and educate Swiss Catholics.
Eventually, the Archbishop's life of work and toil began to take its toll. In 1584, he became ill with a fever. He returned to Milan where his conditioned worsened. When it became obvious he would die, he was given his last Sacraments. He died on November 3, at the age of 46.
He was beatified on May 12, 1602 by Pope Paul V. He was subsequently canonized by Pope Paul V on November 1, 1610.
St. Charles Borromeo's feast day is celebrated on November 4. He is the patron of bishops, catechists, Lombardy, Italy, Monterey, California, cardinals, seminarians, spiritual leaders, and Sao Carlos in Brazil.
St. Charles Borromeo has a beautiful shrine in the Milan Cathedral and is often depicted in art wearing his robes, barefoot, carrying the cross with a rope around his neck and his arm raised in blessing.
At the age of 12, the young Count Charles Borromeo dedicated himself to a life of service to the Church. His uncle gave to him the family income from the Benedictine abbey of Saints Gratinian and Felinus. Even as a youth, his integrity was obvious. He was explicit in telling his father that he could only keep the money required for his education and to prepare him for service to the Church. All other funds belonged to the poor of the Church and were to be passed along to them.
The young count suffered from a speech impediment that made him appear slow to those who did not know him. Despite this challenge, he performed well and impressed his teachers. He attended the University of Pavia and learned Latin. He was praised because he was hardworking and thorough.
In 1554 his father passed away and although Charles was a teenager, responsibility for his household fell to him. Charles continued in his studies and earned a doctorate in canon and civil law.
His responsibility for his household resulted in financial difficulties, and Charles earned a reputation for being short of funds.
Life sped up for the young count after his uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici became Pope Pius IV on December 25, 1559. The new pope asked his nephew to come to Rome and appointed him as a cardinal-deacon. With the rank came the job of assisting and advising his uncle full-time. A month later, Pope Pius IV made his nephew a cardinal.
With the new rank came even more duties including the government of the Papal States, the supervision of the Knights of Malta, the Franciscans, and the Carmelites. He was only 23 years old.
The young Borromeo used his leadership role in the Vatican to promote learning and he established a literary academy. He wrote of some of the lessons and lectures in the book, Noctes Vaticanae.
Borromeo was appointed administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan in 1560. Since he would become the ecclesiastical administrator of Milan, he decided that the Lord was calling him to the priesthood.
In 1561, he founded a college at Pavia dedicated to St. Justina of Padua.
In 1562 his brother died and his family urged him to leave the service of the church to preserve the family name.
However, Borromeo refused. He became more insistent upon becoming a good bishop and in compelling others to lead exemplary lives of clerical service.
Borromeo was ordained first to the order of deacon. Then, he was ordained to the holy priesthood on September 4, 1563. Then, he was ordained as a bishop on December 7, 1563. He became Archbishop of Milan in May 12, 1564.
In 1566, Archbishop Borromeo's benefactor and uncle, Pope Pius IV died. Borromeo had already developed a reputation as a young, idealistic reformer in Rome, and he continued that mission in Milan. Milan was the largest diocese in the Catholic Church at the time and corruption was rampant.
The driving out of corruption was a critical matter during Borromeo's time. The Protestant Reformation was spreading throughout northern Europe and constantly threatened to move south. The greatest defense against Protestant doctrinal errors and claims against the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was reform and the restoration of integrity to the Catholic Church. Archbishop Borromeo saw this clearly and he made this his mission.
His strategy was to provide education to many clergy he saw as ignorant. He founded schools and seminaries and colleges for clergy.
He also ended the selling of indulgences, a form of simony (Catholic Catechism #2120, and ordered monasteries to reform themselves. He made a lot of visits to various locations to inspect for himself. He ordered the simplification of church interiors, which was a major point of contention between some Catholics and Protestants. The complex and busy interiors were claimed to be a distraction from the worship of God. This danger was acknowledged during the Council of Trent which Archbishop Borromeo enforced. Even tombs belonging to his own relatives were cleared of inappropriate ornaments and embellishments.
His work of cleaning up the Church also made him enemies. On one occasion a member of a small, decrepit order known as the "Humiliati" attempted to assassinate him with a pistol, but missed.
Many of his subordinates and secular officials complained about the Archbishop throughout his career. However, the existence of these enemies only emboldened Borromeo and served as confirmation that his efforts to eradicate corruption were working.
In 1576 a famine struck Milan followed by the plague, and many of the wealthy and powerful fled the city.
Archbishop Borromeo remained. He used his own fortune to feed the starving people. When that money was spent, he took loans and went deep into debt. He may have fed 70,000 people per day. Eventually, the Archbishop convinced the local governor to return to his post and care for the people.
In 1583, Archbishop Borromeo traveled to Switzerland and began work suppressing heresy there. Protestant heresies, along with witchcraft and sorcery had been widely reported. He founded the Collegium Helveticum to serve and educate Swiss Catholics.
Eventually, the Archbishop's life of work and toil began to take its toll. In 1584, he became ill with a fever. He returned to Milan where his conditioned worsened. When it became obvious he would die, he was given his last Sacraments. He died on November 3, at the age of 46.
He was beatified on May 12, 1602 by Pope Paul V. He was subsequently canonized by Pope Paul V on November 1, 1610.
St. Charles Borromeo's feast day is celebrated on November 4. He is the patron of bishops, catechists, Lombardy, Italy, Monterey, California, cardinals, seminarians, spiritual leaders, and Sao Carlos in Brazil.
St. Charles Borromeo has a beautiful shrine in the Milan Cathedral and is often depicted in art wearing his robes, barefoot, carrying the cross with a rope around his neck and his arm raised in blessing.
oCTOBER 2021 ~ Marguerite d'Youville
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Feast Day: October 16
Patron: of widows, difficult marriages, death of young children Birth: October 15, 1701 Death: December 23, 1771 Beatified: 1959 by Pope John XXIII Canonized: December 9, 1990, Vatican Basilica, by Pope John Paul II |
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity, the Grey Nuns of Canada. St. Marguerite D'Youville was born at Varennes, Quebec, on October 15, Marie Marguerite Dufrost de La Jemmerais. She studied under the Ursulines, married Francois D'Youville in 1722, and became a widow in 1730. She worked to support herself and her three children, devoted much of her time to the Confraternity of the Holy Family in charitable activities.
In 1737, with three companions, she founded the Grey Nuns when they took their initial vows; a formal declaration took place in 1745. Two years later she was appointed Directress of the General Hospital in Montreal, which was taken over by the Grey Nuns, and had the rule of the Grey Nuns, with Marguerite as Superior, confirmed by Bishop of Pontbriand of Quebec in 1755.
She died in Montreal on December 23, and since her death, the Grey Nuns have established schools, hospitals, and orphanages throughout Canada, the United States, Africa, and South America, and are especially known for their work among the Eskimos. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1959 and canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II.
Marguerite d'Youville (French pronunciation: [maʁɡʁit djuvil]; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II of the Roman Catholic Church in 1990, the first native-born Canadian to be declared a saint.
Early life and marriage
She was born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais in 1701 at Varennes, Quebec, oldest daughter of Christophe du Frost, Sieur de la Gesmerays (1661–1708) and Marie-Renée Gaultier de Varennes. (According to Quebec naming conventions, she would have always been known as Marguerite, not Marie.) Her father died when she was a young girl. Despite her family's poverty, at age 11 she was able to attend the Ursuline convent in Quebec City for two years before returning home to teach her younger brothers and sisters. Marguerite's impending marriage to a scion of Varennes society was foiled by her mother's marriage below her class to Timothy Sullivan, an Irish doctor who was seen by the townspeople as a disreputable foreigner. On August 12, 1722, at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, she married François d'Youville, a bootlegger who sold liquor illegally to Indigenous Peoples in exchange for furs and who frequently left home for long periods for parts unknown. Despite this, the couple eventually had six children before François died in 1730. By age 30 she had suffered the loss of her father, husband and four of her six children, who died in infancy. Marguerite experienced a religious renewal during her marriage. "In all these sufferings Marguerite grew in her belief of God's presence in her life and His tender love for every human person. She, in turn, wanted to make known His compassionate love to all. She undertook many charitable works with complete trust in God, whom she loved as a Father."
Grey Nuns of Montreal
Marguerite d'Youville Sanctuary in Varennes Marguerite and three other women founded in 1737 a religious association to provide a home for the poor in Montreal. At first, the home only housed four or five members, but it grew as the women raised funds. As their actions went against the social conventions of the day, d'Youville and her colleagues were mocked by their friends and relatives and even by the poor they helped. Some called them "les grises", which can mean "the grey women" but which also means "the drunken women", about d'Youville's late husband. By 1744 the association had become a Catholic religious order with a rule and a formal community. In 1747 they were granted a charter to operate the General Hospital of Montreal, which by that time was in ruins and heavily in debt. d'Youville and her fellow workers brought the hospital back into financial security, but the hospital was destroyed by fire in 1765. The order rebuilt the hospital soon after. By this time, the order was commonly known as the "Grey Nuns of Montreal" after the nickname given to the nuns in ridicule years earlier. Years later, as the order expanded to other cities, the order became known simply as the "Grey Nuns".
Slave owner
d'Youville has been described as "one of Montreal's more prominent slaveholders". d'Youville and the Grey Nuns used enslaved laborers in their hospital and purchased and sold both Indian slaves and British prisoners, including an English slave which she purchased from the Indians. The vast majority of the 'slaves' in the hospital were English soldiers and would be better described as prisoners of war. As described in 'The Captors' Narrative: Catholic Women and Their Puritan Men on the Early American Frontier': "These 21 men were not captive freeholders, resentful of their captors' religion and longing to reestablish themselves at home. They were for the most part young soldiers, many of them conscripts, simply wishing to survive their captivity. However strange they may have found the community that held them and the woman who supervised them, they were probably relieved to find themselves in a situation that offered a strong possibility of survival. They knew their fellow soldiers to be dying in nearby prisons -- places notorious for their exposure to the heat and cold and unchecked pestilence. As hard as they must have worked at Pointe-Saint-Charles, the men could easily have regarded their captivity at least as a partial blessing."
Legacy
Marguerite d'Youville died in 1771 at the General Hospital. In 1959, she was beatified by Pope John XXIII, who called her "Mother of Universal Charity", and was canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II. She is the first native-born Canadian to be elevated to sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is October 16. In 1961, a shrine was built in her birthplace of Varennes. Today, it is the site of a permanent exhibit about the life and works of Marguerite. The review process included a medically inexplicable cure of acute myeloid leukemia after relapse. The woman is the only known long-term survivor in the world, having lived more than 40 years from a condition that typically kills people in 18 months.
A large number of Roman Catholic churches, schools, women's shelters, charity shops, and other institutions in Canada and worldwide are named after St. Marguerite d'Youville. Most notably, the renowned academic institution of higher learning, D'Youville College in Buffalo, NY, is named after her. The D'Youville Academy at Plattsburgh, New York was founded in 1860.
Sir Louis-Amable Jetté’s wife, Lady Jetté, wrote a biography of Marie-Marguerite d'Youville.
Final resting place
In 2010, Mother Marie-Marguerite d'Youville's remains were removed from Grey Nuns Motherhouse and relocated to her birthplace of Varennes.
september 2021 ~ Blessed Andre Grasset
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BORN: April 3, 1758
DIED: September 2, 1792 BEATIFIED: October 17, 1926 by Pope Pius XI FEAST DAY: September 2 |
André Grasset was born in Montreal on April 3, 1758. His father was French, from Montpellier, and had arrived in Canada in 1749, when appointed secretary of the new governor general of New France. After the death of his first wife, he married the daughter of a rich merchant, with whom he had five children. André was the second. They lived close to the Chapel of Bon Secours.
After the Treaty of Paris, on February 10, 1763, Mr Grasset decides to sell his property and to return to France. André is six years old. He is sent, together with his brothers, to the Collège Sainte-Barbe in Paris where he finishes his classical studies, before going on to preparing for priesthood. His bishop recognizes his qualities and piety and appoints him as canon of the Cathedral. Two years later, in 1783, he is ordained priest.
When the French Revolution begins, in 1789, André is 31 years old. In 1790 the National Constituent Assembly suppresses the Cathedral Chapters and, in 1791, obliges all members of clergy to sign the “Constitution civile du clergé”. André finds refuge with the Eudist Fathers in Tourettes, Paris. Here, in 1792, he is captured and made prisoner in the Carmelite convent, where today is the Institut Catholique de Paris.
On September 2, 1792, together with other 92 priests and 3 bishops he is asked to answer the question: “Have you signed the Constitution civile du clergé?” By answering “no, my conscience forbids me to do so”, he is thrown down in the garden where guards, with bayonets, swords and spikes, kill him. The pope Pius XI beatified him, together with the other Martyrs of September, on October 17, 1926. André Grasset is the first Canadian to be beatified.
After the Treaty of Paris, on February 10, 1763, Mr Grasset decides to sell his property and to return to France. André is six years old. He is sent, together with his brothers, to the Collège Sainte-Barbe in Paris where he finishes his classical studies, before going on to preparing for priesthood. His bishop recognizes his qualities and piety and appoints him as canon of the Cathedral. Two years later, in 1783, he is ordained priest.
When the French Revolution begins, in 1789, André is 31 years old. In 1790 the National Constituent Assembly suppresses the Cathedral Chapters and, in 1791, obliges all members of clergy to sign the “Constitution civile du clergé”. André finds refuge with the Eudist Fathers in Tourettes, Paris. Here, in 1792, he is captured and made prisoner in the Carmelite convent, where today is the Institut Catholique de Paris.
On September 2, 1792, together with other 92 priests and 3 bishops he is asked to answer the question: “Have you signed the Constitution civile du clergé?” By answering “no, my conscience forbids me to do so”, he is thrown down in the garden where guards, with bayonets, swords and spikes, kill him. The pope Pius XI beatified him, together with the other Martyrs of September, on October 17, 1926. André Grasset is the first Canadian to be beatified.
august 2021 ~ saint philomena
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Feast Day: August 11 Patron: of infants, babies, and youth Birth: c. January 10, 291 Death: c. August 10, 304 Canonized: 1837 |
Little is known about the life of St. Philomena. However, it is believed she was a Greek princess who became a virgin martyr and died at 13-years-old.
Remains of a young lady were discovered in May 1802 at the Catacombs of Priscilla on the Via Salaria Nova with three tiles reading "Peace be to you, Philomena."
All that is known about St. Philomena's life comes from a Neapolitan nun's vision. Sister Maria Luisa di Gesu claims St. Philomena came to her and told her she was the daughter of a Greek king who converted to Christianity. When Philomena was 13-years-old, she took a vow of consecrated virginity.
After her father took his family to Rome to make peace, Emperor Diocletian fell in love with Philomena. When she refused to marry him, she was subjected to torture.
St. Philomena was scourged, drowned with an anchor attached to her, and shot with arrows. Each time she was attacked angels took to her side and healed her through prayer.
Finally, the Emperor had Philomena decapitated. According to the story, her death came on a Friday at three in the afternoon, the same as Jesus.
Two anchors, three arrows, a palm symbol of martyrdom, and a flower were found on the tiles in her tomb, interpreted as symbols of her martyrdom.
The nun's account states Philomena was born on January 10 and was killed on August 10.
Devotion for Philomena began to spread once her bones were exhumed and miracles began to occur. Canon Francesco De Lucia of Mugnano del Cardinale received relics of St. Philomena and had them placed in the Church of Our Lady of Grace in Mugnano, Italy.
Soon after her relics were enshrined, cancers were cured, wounds were healed and the Miracle of Mugnano, when Venerable Pauline Jaricot was cured of a severe heart issue overnight, were all attributed to St. Philomena.
Other Saints began to venerate Philomena and attributing miracles in their lives to the young martyr, including St. John Marie Vianney and St. Peter Louis Marie Chanel.
Although controversy sometimes surrounds the truth behind St. Philomena's life and sainthood, many believers all around the world continue to see her as a miraculous saint, canonized in 1837.
St. Philomena is the patron saint of infants, babies, and youth. She is often depicted in her youth with a flower crown, a palm of martyrdom, arrows, or an anchor.
Her feast day is celebrated on August 11.
Remains of a young lady were discovered in May 1802 at the Catacombs of Priscilla on the Via Salaria Nova with three tiles reading "Peace be to you, Philomena."
All that is known about St. Philomena's life comes from a Neapolitan nun's vision. Sister Maria Luisa di Gesu claims St. Philomena came to her and told her she was the daughter of a Greek king who converted to Christianity. When Philomena was 13-years-old, she took a vow of consecrated virginity.
After her father took his family to Rome to make peace, Emperor Diocletian fell in love with Philomena. When she refused to marry him, she was subjected to torture.
St. Philomena was scourged, drowned with an anchor attached to her, and shot with arrows. Each time she was attacked angels took to her side and healed her through prayer.
Finally, the Emperor had Philomena decapitated. According to the story, her death came on a Friday at three in the afternoon, the same as Jesus.
Two anchors, three arrows, a palm symbol of martyrdom, and a flower were found on the tiles in her tomb, interpreted as symbols of her martyrdom.
The nun's account states Philomena was born on January 10 and was killed on August 10.
Devotion for Philomena began to spread once her bones were exhumed and miracles began to occur. Canon Francesco De Lucia of Mugnano del Cardinale received relics of St. Philomena and had them placed in the Church of Our Lady of Grace in Mugnano, Italy.
Soon after her relics were enshrined, cancers were cured, wounds were healed and the Miracle of Mugnano, when Venerable Pauline Jaricot was cured of a severe heart issue overnight, were all attributed to St. Philomena.
Other Saints began to venerate Philomena and attributing miracles in their lives to the young martyr, including St. John Marie Vianney and St. Peter Louis Marie Chanel.
Although controversy sometimes surrounds the truth behind St. Philomena's life and sainthood, many believers all around the world continue to see her as a miraculous saint, canonized in 1837.
St. Philomena is the patron saint of infants, babies, and youth. She is often depicted in her youth with a flower crown, a palm of martyrdom, arrows, or an anchor.
Her feast day is celebrated on August 11.
july 2021 ~ saint kateri tekakwitha
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Feast Day: July 14
Patron: of the environment and ecology Birth: 1656 Death: April 17, 1680 Beatified: Pope John Paul II Canonized: On 10/21/2012 by Pope Benedict XVI |
St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. She was born in 1656, in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon. Her mother was an Algonquin, who was captured by the Mohawks and who took a Mohawk chief for her husband.
She contracted smallpox as a four-year-old child which scarred her skin. The scars were a source of humiliation in her youth. She was commonly seen wearing a blanket to hide her face. Worse, her entire family died during the outbreak. Kateri Tekakwitha was subsequently raised by her uncle, who was the chief of a Mohawk clan.
Kateri was known as a skilled worker, who was diligent and patient. However, she refused to marry. When her adoptive parents proposed a suitor to her, she refused to entertain the proposal. They punished her by giving her more work to do, but she did not give in. Instead, she remained quiet and diligent. Eventually they were forced to relent and accept that she had no interest in marriage.
At age 19, Kateri Tekakwitha converted to Catholicism, taking a vow of chastity and pledging to marry only Jesus Christ. Her decision was very unpopular with her adoptive parents and their neighbors. Some of her neighbors started rumors of sorcery. To avoid persecution, she traveled to a Christian native community south of Montreal.
According to legend, Kateri was very devout and would put thorns on her sleeping mat. She often prayed for the conversion of her fellow Mohawks. According to the Jesuit missionaries that served the community where Kateri lived, she often fasted and when she would eat, she would taint her food to diminish its flavor. On at least one occasion, she burned herself. Such self-mortification was common among the Mohawk.
Kateri was very devout and was known for her steadfast devotion. She was also very sickly. Her practices of self-mortification and denial may not have helped her health. Sadly, just five years after her conversion to Catholicism, she became ill and passed away at age 24, on April 17, 1680.
Her name, Kateri, is the Mohawk form of Catherine, which she took from St. Catherine of Siena.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012. She is the patroness of ecology and the environment, people in exile and Native Americans.
She contracted smallpox as a four-year-old child which scarred her skin. The scars were a source of humiliation in her youth. She was commonly seen wearing a blanket to hide her face. Worse, her entire family died during the outbreak. Kateri Tekakwitha was subsequently raised by her uncle, who was the chief of a Mohawk clan.
Kateri was known as a skilled worker, who was diligent and patient. However, she refused to marry. When her adoptive parents proposed a suitor to her, she refused to entertain the proposal. They punished her by giving her more work to do, but she did not give in. Instead, she remained quiet and diligent. Eventually they were forced to relent and accept that she had no interest in marriage.
At age 19, Kateri Tekakwitha converted to Catholicism, taking a vow of chastity and pledging to marry only Jesus Christ. Her decision was very unpopular with her adoptive parents and their neighbors. Some of her neighbors started rumors of sorcery. To avoid persecution, she traveled to a Christian native community south of Montreal.
According to legend, Kateri was very devout and would put thorns on her sleeping mat. She often prayed for the conversion of her fellow Mohawks. According to the Jesuit missionaries that served the community where Kateri lived, she often fasted and when she would eat, she would taint her food to diminish its flavor. On at least one occasion, she burned herself. Such self-mortification was common among the Mohawk.
Kateri was very devout and was known for her steadfast devotion. She was also very sickly. Her practices of self-mortification and denial may not have helped her health. Sadly, just five years after her conversion to Catholicism, she became ill and passed away at age 24, on April 17, 1680.
Her name, Kateri, is the Mohawk form of Catherine, which she took from St. Catherine of Siena.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012. She is the patroness of ecology and the environment, people in exile and Native Americans.
june 2021 ~ Saint Rafael Guizar Valencia
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Feast Day: June 6
Birth: 1878 Death: 1938 Beatified: January 29, 1995 by John Paul II Canonized: October 15, 2006, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia (April 26, 1878 - June 6, 1938) was a Catholic bishop who cared for the wounded, sick, and dying in Mexico's 1910-20 Revolution. Named bishop of Veracruz in 1919, he was driven out of his home diocese and forced to live the remainder of his life in hiding in Mexico City. He was also a Knight of Columbus.
May 2021 ~ Blessed Francois de laval
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Feast Day: May 6 Birth: 1623 Death: 1708 Beatified: June 22, 1980, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was the first Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec, appointed when he was 36 years old by Pope Alexander VII.
Laval was a member of the Montmorency family and was one of the most influential men of his day. He was a candidate for canonization by the Catholic Church after his death and was beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II. On 3 April 2014, Pope Francis made him a saint by equipollent canonization.
Laval was a member of the Montmorency family and was one of the most influential men of his day. He was a candidate for canonization by the Catholic Church after his death and was beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II. On 3 April 2014, Pope Francis made him a saint by equipollent canonization.
Early Life
Laval was born on 30 April 1623 in Montigny-Sur-Avre in the ancient Province of Perche, now the Department of Eure-et-Loir. His father, Hugues de Laval, a member of the House of Laval, was the Seigneur of Montigny, Montbaudry, Alaincourt and Revercourt. His mother, Michelle de Péricard was from a family of hereditary officers of the Crown in Normandy. Despite his noble descent, his parents were not considered to be wealthy. Montigny was considered equivalent to a good-sized market-town. Laval had five other brothers and two sisters; two of these siblings would also pursue religious paths in life. His youngest brother, Henri, entered the Benedictine Order and his sister, Anne Charlotte, entered the Congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Throughout his life, Laval's mother continuously served as an example of piety and encouraged him to be charitable to those who were less fortunate. Often described as destined for an ecclesiastical lifestyle, Laval was quickly recognized as a clear-sighted and intelligent boy. As a result, he was admitted into the "privileged ranks of those who comprised the Congregation of the Holy Virgin." This was a society founded by the Jesuits, who aimed to inspire young people to adopt religious lifestyles, and encouraged regular prayer and spiritual practices. At the age of eight, Laval received the tonsure and took minor orders, which then allowed him to enter the College of La Flèche in 1631. This institution was attended by the sons of the elite families in France; hence, Laval was guaranteed a good education. Moreover, it was during this period that Laval came into contact with reports of the Jesuit missions amongst the Huron in Canada, which influenced his desire to become a missionary, like his patron saint, Francis Xavier. In 1637, Laval was appointed a canon of the Cathedral of Évreux by the Bishop of Évreux.
This position proved to be of key importance after the death of Laval's father in September 1636, which left his family in a precarious financial situation. It allowed him to receive revenue from the prebend attached to the position, without which he would have been unable to continue his education. Once he completed his classical education at the age of nineteen, Laval left La Flèche to further pursue his education in philosophy and theology at the College de Clermont in Paris.
Laval's plans were put on hold due to the death of his two eldest brothers; one having fallen at Freiburg and the other at Nordlingen, which effectively made him the head of the family At this point, Laval was faced with the decision of abandoning his ecclesiastical career to take over his father's estate: "bringing him [...] together with a great name, a brilliant future." In fact, his mother, the Bishop of Évreux, and his cousin all attempted to convince him to leave Paris and return home. Nonetheless, Laval would not succumb to his family's pressure. Laval helped his mother set the family's affairs in order and arranged for a full renunciation of his rights of primogeniture, which would then be transferred to his brother Jean-Louis.
Once this was complete, Laval returned to Paris where he delved into his studies and began the process of preparing himself to receive holy orders. On 1 May 1647, at the age of twenty four, Laval was ordained a priest. Soon after this, the Bishop of Évreux began to feel remorse for his previous attempt to convince Laval to abandon his ecclesial path; hence, he decided to appoint him as the archdeacon of his diocese in December 1647. This post required Laval to oversee the affairs of 155 parishes and four chapels. Laval was said to approach this task with fervour and enthusiasm. In the following years, he devoted himself to establishing order in the parishes, providing relief for the poor, caring for the sick and engaging in different kinds of charitable activities. This same behaviour would be seen later on in his life, on a completely different continent.
Laval had dreamt of becoming a missionary to travel and preach the Gospel. When he was presented with the possibility of serving as a missionary in Asia, he resigned from his post as archdeacon in 1654. Indeed, the noted Jesuit missionary, Alexandre de Rhodes, was looking for the Pope's permission to appoint candidates as Vicars Apostolic in Tonkin and Indochina. He was sent to Rome where he remained for fifteen months. Opposition by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which oversaw the missionary work of the Catholic Church, and that of the Portuguese royal court jeopardized the mission which led to the project being discarded in 1654.
Laval was now freed from all responsibility, and thus made the decision to prepare himself "by prayer, for the designs which God might have for him." He traveled to Caen to stay at a spiritual retreat known as the Hermitage, operated by Jean de Bernières de Louvigny, who, though a layman, was a leader in the reform of the Catholic Church in France. He also made the acquaintance of the founder's nephew, Henri de Bernières, who would later be an invaluable assistant in his work.
Laval remained there for three years, devoting himself to prayer and charitable activity. It is also during this time that he took on the responsibility of reforming a monastery whose morals were thought to be too lax, as well as becoming the administrator of two monasteries of nuns. His dedication to these projects earned him commendation from François de Servien, the Bishop of Bayeux, who described him as a priest of great piety, prudent and of unusually great competence in business matters, [who had set] fine examples of virtue. Laval was now well known in the religious community and ready to take the next step in his life.
Father of the Canadian Church
François de LavalLaval's nomination as a bishop for New France was the result of increasing tensions regarding the ecclesiastical state of the colony. New France had been left without a bishop for the first 50 years of its settlement. During this time, spiritual matters were often left up to the colony religious officials to regulate, with authority moving from the Recollects to the Jesuits. Only in 1646, due to pressures from Rome, did the Archbishop of Rouen become officially recognized as the immediate authority over the Church in New France. Even with this recognition, the archbishop's authority continued to extend only so far as granting faculties to clergy traveling to the colony. By this time it had already become clear that New France was in need of a more immediate ecclesiastical presence.
Appointing a bishop proved difficult; it was a contentious issue, particularly between the Jesuits and the newly arrived Sulpicians. The Jesuits, who by this time were quite accustomed to working independently, feared being controlled by a Sulpician bishop. Their uneasiness stemmed from beliefs that a Sulpician bishop would undermine their control, and eventually lead to the subordination of the Church to the Crown. While the Sulpicians were busy proposing one of their own, Gabriel Thubières de Levy de Queylus, as bishop, the Jesuits turned their support to Laval. With the assistance of the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, obtaining royal approval provided little challenge.
What remained an obstacle for the Jesuits and Laval was procuring a papal confirmation. The Holy See remained reserved regarding Laval's nomination. Much of Rome's delay in coming to a decision involved the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. They agreed with the Jesuits that a bishop was needed, however, they feared that Laval as bishop would enable the Jesuits to once again hold a monopoly over the colony. In a compromise between the Jesuits and the Holy See, Laval would be appointed the Apostolic Vicar of New France. Making New France into an apostolic vicariate, rather than a diocese, guaranteed that the head, in this case Laval, answered to the pope rather than the leaders of the Church in France, giving the pope some jurisdiction in the colony. Along with being made vicar apostolic, Laval would be ordained a bishop in partibus, giving him the power he needed to build the Church in Canada.
On 3 June 1658 in Rome, the papal bulls appointing Laval as vicar apostolic were signed. Laval became the Bishop of Petraea in partibus infidelium ("in the lands of the unbelievers"). On 8 December 1658, in the church of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, Laval was consecrated the Vicar Apostolic of Quebec by the papal nuncio, Cardinal Celio Piccolomini. Laval took an oath of loyalty to the king and sailed from La Rochelle for New France on 13 April 1659. On 16 June of that year he arrived at Quebec. Immediately upon his arrival Laval began his work; on the same day his ship docked, he baptized a young Huron and gave a dying man his last sacraments.
While small in size, the colony still provided a number of challenges to Laval. He found himself having to make concessions where he never thought to before to a population that, while scarce, was spread out, and was less inclined to continue under strict church discipline. Additionally, he had to deal with the Sulpician Abbé de Queylus, who had already been operating in the colony as Vicar General, under the authority of the Archbishop of Rouen, who continued to claim complete ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the colony. Queylus continued to assert his own authority for nearly two years, during which time Laval repeatedly had to appeal both to the king and to the Holy See for support. In 1674, fifteen years after his arrival to New France, Laval asked that the territory be made into a fully independent diocese. His request was granted, and he was appointed the first Bishop of Quebec.
Laval and State Relations
Laval struggled a great deal throughout his career to defend the church's power against state intrusion. Upon his arrival, Laval was adamant in asserting his primacy over the governor. He was immediately in opposition with Governor d’Argenson, particularly regarding ceremony and protocol. Also, the issue of selling alcohol to the natives further fueled their feud. Laval believed that intoxicated natives were an embarrassment to the colony and endangered the lives of those around them. He quickly imposed the threat of excommunication on those who continued to deal in this trade. Governor D’Argenson abhorred this action, deeming it an intrusion of church into state affairs. D’Argenson soon resigned and was replaced by d’Avaugour, who, in order to avoid any conflict with Laval, decreed harsh penalties against anyone caught selling alcohol to the natives. Again, Laval was displeased, believing that excommunication was a far more humane consequence. When alcohol was again being sold freely to natives, in a moment of despair over the state of New France, Laval departed for France in August 1662 to consult with Louis XIV on the matter. Laval succeeded in bringing about d’Avaugour's recall the following year.
When Laval returned to New France he had increased powers. King Louis XIV had assured Laval that he would have a future appointment as bishop, requested that he establish a Sovereign Council in Quebec, and even asked Laval to choose New France's next governor. For governor, Laval chose Chevalier de Mézy, a friend from his time at the Hermitage of Caen. In the developing Sovereign Council, which held its first session 18 September 1663, Mézy represented the first figure of authority, followed by Laval, and Gaudais-Dupon, commissioner. Laval appointed Mézy hoping to have an ally among high-ranking state official. In the trade of alcohol to the natives he did find in Mézy an ally; together the two forbade the trading of alcohol. However, constituting the Sovereign Council revealed that the two represented conflicting interests in matters of church and state. Soon, another conflict between Laval and governor ensued, leading Laval to take to the streets with drums to tell his version of the feud. Upon Mézy's death, the Sovereign council was reorganized. Intendant Jean Talon was added, and immediately assumed the functions previously exercised by Laval. With this change in the council Laval began to attend the council's meetings less frequently; from then on Laval retreated somewhat from state affairs and focused purely on ecclesiastical matters.
The one issue Laval never relented with, however, was the trade of alcohol to the natives. Once he was appointed bishop, he revisited his original cause. In 1675, Laval, despite Governor Frontenac's resistance on the matter, proceeded to excommunicate all who sold alcohol to the natives. On 24 May 1679 Laval succeeded in obtaining a royal decree banning the trade.
The Séminaire de Québec
As bishop, Laval was arguably one of the ultimate sources of authority in New France. However, his dream was not only to expand the Catholic Church in New France, but also to train and teach its future leaders. On 26 March 1663, the Grand Séminaire was opened in Quebec, and thus the Séminaire de Quebec was born. Its main goal was to train missionary priests and it was affiliated with Laval's own institution, the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères, in Paris. A few years later, in October 1668, Laval also attached a petit séminaire to this institution. It was meant to train boys, amongst whom would be chosen those with vocations to priesthood and natives were welcome. When it opened, only eight French students and six Huron were present, due to a lack of teachers. However, shortly after its opening, a considerable number of French missionaries arrived in the colony, especially Sulpicians, whose commitment was to providing this education. Laval wanted these teachers to spread the word that his institution was to establish a sense of charity and love for religion in the colony and not another source of law or authority.
Laval's view of the Grand Séminaire was greater than a mere teaching academy. He hoped that it would become a home for all parochial priests. Laval encouraged them to see it as their true home and as a place to which they may turn to in sickness or old age. Furthermore, he wanted the seminary to become a paymaster for all priests and parishes, which meant that it had to be well funded. In order to accomplish this feat, Laval donated most of his own fortune to the seminary since it had now become his home as well. He also convinced the king, Louis XIV, to give him the income of three different abbeys in France. Moreover, since his institution was expected to pay off all priests, Laval thought it would be normal to receive the incomes levied by their parishes. This idea was however met with a lot of resistance from the population, which was not accustomed to contributing to the upkeep of religious institutions. His original goal of demanding a tax worth one-thirteenth of the produce of farms was met with violent resistance, which forced him to reduce it to one-twenty-sixth.
After firmly establishing his seminary, Laval did share a large part of his administrative work with other religious figures, thus slowly developing the church. He appointed his young companion from France, Henri de Bernières, the pastor of Quebec, at the head of the seminary, thus closely linking it with the Parish of Quebec. Furthermore, he also appointed five other directors who would form the bishop's advisory body. In 1668 he appointed the previously troublesome de Queylus as the first Superior of a new seminary in Ville-Marie.
Laval also took interest in practical education for craftsmen and farmers, founding a school of arts and crafts at Saint-Joachim.
Later Years
Since his arrival in the colony of New France, Laval insisted on establishing and organizing a parochial system, on top of training priests in the colony itself. In 1678, he had obtained an edict from the king stating that permanent curacies will be set up in the colony. A few years later, in 1681, Laval drew up the boundaries of parishes in an attempt to permanently solidify the Church's position. Often visiting each parish, Laval eventually realised that his health was declining and that he could no longer run his large diocese, which extended from Acadia to Lake Michigan. As a result, in 1688, he passed on his responsibilities as a bishop to Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier.
Laval continued to collaborate with the colony's high religious authorities, until his last days. He helped the poor with his presence and his gifts of charity. He never missed a Mass or a day of fasting, despite his ever declining health. By 1707, he had developed an ulcer which eventually took his life on 6 May 1708. His body was placed in a coffin in the cathedral; however his heart was kept in the chapel of the seminary to which he had dedicated most of his life and fortune.
Veneration
Laval's remains have been entombed in a shrine for personal veneration in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Quebec, which he had founded. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. He was granted equipollent canonization on 3 April 2014 by Pope Francis.
Université Laval, founded 1852, was named in his honor. The city of Laval, Quebec, north of Montreal, is also named after him.
Laval was born on 30 April 1623 in Montigny-Sur-Avre in the ancient Province of Perche, now the Department of Eure-et-Loir. His father, Hugues de Laval, a member of the House of Laval, was the Seigneur of Montigny, Montbaudry, Alaincourt and Revercourt. His mother, Michelle de Péricard was from a family of hereditary officers of the Crown in Normandy. Despite his noble descent, his parents were not considered to be wealthy. Montigny was considered equivalent to a good-sized market-town. Laval had five other brothers and two sisters; two of these siblings would also pursue religious paths in life. His youngest brother, Henri, entered the Benedictine Order and his sister, Anne Charlotte, entered the Congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Throughout his life, Laval's mother continuously served as an example of piety and encouraged him to be charitable to those who were less fortunate. Often described as destined for an ecclesiastical lifestyle, Laval was quickly recognized as a clear-sighted and intelligent boy. As a result, he was admitted into the "privileged ranks of those who comprised the Congregation of the Holy Virgin." This was a society founded by the Jesuits, who aimed to inspire young people to adopt religious lifestyles, and encouraged regular prayer and spiritual practices. At the age of eight, Laval received the tonsure and took minor orders, which then allowed him to enter the College of La Flèche in 1631. This institution was attended by the sons of the elite families in France; hence, Laval was guaranteed a good education. Moreover, it was during this period that Laval came into contact with reports of the Jesuit missions amongst the Huron in Canada, which influenced his desire to become a missionary, like his patron saint, Francis Xavier. In 1637, Laval was appointed a canon of the Cathedral of Évreux by the Bishop of Évreux.
This position proved to be of key importance after the death of Laval's father in September 1636, which left his family in a precarious financial situation. It allowed him to receive revenue from the prebend attached to the position, without which he would have been unable to continue his education. Once he completed his classical education at the age of nineteen, Laval left La Flèche to further pursue his education in philosophy and theology at the College de Clermont in Paris.
Laval's plans were put on hold due to the death of his two eldest brothers; one having fallen at Freiburg and the other at Nordlingen, which effectively made him the head of the family At this point, Laval was faced with the decision of abandoning his ecclesiastical career to take over his father's estate: "bringing him [...] together with a great name, a brilliant future." In fact, his mother, the Bishop of Évreux, and his cousin all attempted to convince him to leave Paris and return home. Nonetheless, Laval would not succumb to his family's pressure. Laval helped his mother set the family's affairs in order and arranged for a full renunciation of his rights of primogeniture, which would then be transferred to his brother Jean-Louis.
Once this was complete, Laval returned to Paris where he delved into his studies and began the process of preparing himself to receive holy orders. On 1 May 1647, at the age of twenty four, Laval was ordained a priest. Soon after this, the Bishop of Évreux began to feel remorse for his previous attempt to convince Laval to abandon his ecclesial path; hence, he decided to appoint him as the archdeacon of his diocese in December 1647. This post required Laval to oversee the affairs of 155 parishes and four chapels. Laval was said to approach this task with fervour and enthusiasm. In the following years, he devoted himself to establishing order in the parishes, providing relief for the poor, caring for the sick and engaging in different kinds of charitable activities. This same behaviour would be seen later on in his life, on a completely different continent.
Laval had dreamt of becoming a missionary to travel and preach the Gospel. When he was presented with the possibility of serving as a missionary in Asia, he resigned from his post as archdeacon in 1654. Indeed, the noted Jesuit missionary, Alexandre de Rhodes, was looking for the Pope's permission to appoint candidates as Vicars Apostolic in Tonkin and Indochina. He was sent to Rome where he remained for fifteen months. Opposition by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which oversaw the missionary work of the Catholic Church, and that of the Portuguese royal court jeopardized the mission which led to the project being discarded in 1654.
Laval was now freed from all responsibility, and thus made the decision to prepare himself "by prayer, for the designs which God might have for him." He traveled to Caen to stay at a spiritual retreat known as the Hermitage, operated by Jean de Bernières de Louvigny, who, though a layman, was a leader in the reform of the Catholic Church in France. He also made the acquaintance of the founder's nephew, Henri de Bernières, who would later be an invaluable assistant in his work.
Laval remained there for three years, devoting himself to prayer and charitable activity. It is also during this time that he took on the responsibility of reforming a monastery whose morals were thought to be too lax, as well as becoming the administrator of two monasteries of nuns. His dedication to these projects earned him commendation from François de Servien, the Bishop of Bayeux, who described him as a priest of great piety, prudent and of unusually great competence in business matters, [who had set] fine examples of virtue. Laval was now well known in the religious community and ready to take the next step in his life.
Father of the Canadian Church
François de LavalLaval's nomination as a bishop for New France was the result of increasing tensions regarding the ecclesiastical state of the colony. New France had been left without a bishop for the first 50 years of its settlement. During this time, spiritual matters were often left up to the colony religious officials to regulate, with authority moving from the Recollects to the Jesuits. Only in 1646, due to pressures from Rome, did the Archbishop of Rouen become officially recognized as the immediate authority over the Church in New France. Even with this recognition, the archbishop's authority continued to extend only so far as granting faculties to clergy traveling to the colony. By this time it had already become clear that New France was in need of a more immediate ecclesiastical presence.
Appointing a bishop proved difficult; it was a contentious issue, particularly between the Jesuits and the newly arrived Sulpicians. The Jesuits, who by this time were quite accustomed to working independently, feared being controlled by a Sulpician bishop. Their uneasiness stemmed from beliefs that a Sulpician bishop would undermine their control, and eventually lead to the subordination of the Church to the Crown. While the Sulpicians were busy proposing one of their own, Gabriel Thubières de Levy de Queylus, as bishop, the Jesuits turned their support to Laval. With the assistance of the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, obtaining royal approval provided little challenge.
What remained an obstacle for the Jesuits and Laval was procuring a papal confirmation. The Holy See remained reserved regarding Laval's nomination. Much of Rome's delay in coming to a decision involved the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. They agreed with the Jesuits that a bishop was needed, however, they feared that Laval as bishop would enable the Jesuits to once again hold a monopoly over the colony. In a compromise between the Jesuits and the Holy See, Laval would be appointed the Apostolic Vicar of New France. Making New France into an apostolic vicariate, rather than a diocese, guaranteed that the head, in this case Laval, answered to the pope rather than the leaders of the Church in France, giving the pope some jurisdiction in the colony. Along with being made vicar apostolic, Laval would be ordained a bishop in partibus, giving him the power he needed to build the Church in Canada.
On 3 June 1658 in Rome, the papal bulls appointing Laval as vicar apostolic were signed. Laval became the Bishop of Petraea in partibus infidelium ("in the lands of the unbelievers"). On 8 December 1658, in the church of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, Laval was consecrated the Vicar Apostolic of Quebec by the papal nuncio, Cardinal Celio Piccolomini. Laval took an oath of loyalty to the king and sailed from La Rochelle for New France on 13 April 1659. On 16 June of that year he arrived at Quebec. Immediately upon his arrival Laval began his work; on the same day his ship docked, he baptized a young Huron and gave a dying man his last sacraments.
While small in size, the colony still provided a number of challenges to Laval. He found himself having to make concessions where he never thought to before to a population that, while scarce, was spread out, and was less inclined to continue under strict church discipline. Additionally, he had to deal with the Sulpician Abbé de Queylus, who had already been operating in the colony as Vicar General, under the authority of the Archbishop of Rouen, who continued to claim complete ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the colony. Queylus continued to assert his own authority for nearly two years, during which time Laval repeatedly had to appeal both to the king and to the Holy See for support. In 1674, fifteen years after his arrival to New France, Laval asked that the territory be made into a fully independent diocese. His request was granted, and he was appointed the first Bishop of Quebec.
Laval and State Relations
Laval struggled a great deal throughout his career to defend the church's power against state intrusion. Upon his arrival, Laval was adamant in asserting his primacy over the governor. He was immediately in opposition with Governor d’Argenson, particularly regarding ceremony and protocol. Also, the issue of selling alcohol to the natives further fueled their feud. Laval believed that intoxicated natives were an embarrassment to the colony and endangered the lives of those around them. He quickly imposed the threat of excommunication on those who continued to deal in this trade. Governor D’Argenson abhorred this action, deeming it an intrusion of church into state affairs. D’Argenson soon resigned and was replaced by d’Avaugour, who, in order to avoid any conflict with Laval, decreed harsh penalties against anyone caught selling alcohol to the natives. Again, Laval was displeased, believing that excommunication was a far more humane consequence. When alcohol was again being sold freely to natives, in a moment of despair over the state of New France, Laval departed for France in August 1662 to consult with Louis XIV on the matter. Laval succeeded in bringing about d’Avaugour's recall the following year.
When Laval returned to New France he had increased powers. King Louis XIV had assured Laval that he would have a future appointment as bishop, requested that he establish a Sovereign Council in Quebec, and even asked Laval to choose New France's next governor. For governor, Laval chose Chevalier de Mézy, a friend from his time at the Hermitage of Caen. In the developing Sovereign Council, which held its first session 18 September 1663, Mézy represented the first figure of authority, followed by Laval, and Gaudais-Dupon, commissioner. Laval appointed Mézy hoping to have an ally among high-ranking state official. In the trade of alcohol to the natives he did find in Mézy an ally; together the two forbade the trading of alcohol. However, constituting the Sovereign Council revealed that the two represented conflicting interests in matters of church and state. Soon, another conflict between Laval and governor ensued, leading Laval to take to the streets with drums to tell his version of the feud. Upon Mézy's death, the Sovereign council was reorganized. Intendant Jean Talon was added, and immediately assumed the functions previously exercised by Laval. With this change in the council Laval began to attend the council's meetings less frequently; from then on Laval retreated somewhat from state affairs and focused purely on ecclesiastical matters.
The one issue Laval never relented with, however, was the trade of alcohol to the natives. Once he was appointed bishop, he revisited his original cause. In 1675, Laval, despite Governor Frontenac's resistance on the matter, proceeded to excommunicate all who sold alcohol to the natives. On 24 May 1679 Laval succeeded in obtaining a royal decree banning the trade.
The Séminaire de Québec
As bishop, Laval was arguably one of the ultimate sources of authority in New France. However, his dream was not only to expand the Catholic Church in New France, but also to train and teach its future leaders. On 26 March 1663, the Grand Séminaire was opened in Quebec, and thus the Séminaire de Quebec was born. Its main goal was to train missionary priests and it was affiliated with Laval's own institution, the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères, in Paris. A few years later, in October 1668, Laval also attached a petit séminaire to this institution. It was meant to train boys, amongst whom would be chosen those with vocations to priesthood and natives were welcome. When it opened, only eight French students and six Huron were present, due to a lack of teachers. However, shortly after its opening, a considerable number of French missionaries arrived in the colony, especially Sulpicians, whose commitment was to providing this education. Laval wanted these teachers to spread the word that his institution was to establish a sense of charity and love for religion in the colony and not another source of law or authority.
Laval's view of the Grand Séminaire was greater than a mere teaching academy. He hoped that it would become a home for all parochial priests. Laval encouraged them to see it as their true home and as a place to which they may turn to in sickness or old age. Furthermore, he wanted the seminary to become a paymaster for all priests and parishes, which meant that it had to be well funded. In order to accomplish this feat, Laval donated most of his own fortune to the seminary since it had now become his home as well. He also convinced the king, Louis XIV, to give him the income of three different abbeys in France. Moreover, since his institution was expected to pay off all priests, Laval thought it would be normal to receive the incomes levied by their parishes. This idea was however met with a lot of resistance from the population, which was not accustomed to contributing to the upkeep of religious institutions. His original goal of demanding a tax worth one-thirteenth of the produce of farms was met with violent resistance, which forced him to reduce it to one-twenty-sixth.
After firmly establishing his seminary, Laval did share a large part of his administrative work with other religious figures, thus slowly developing the church. He appointed his young companion from France, Henri de Bernières, the pastor of Quebec, at the head of the seminary, thus closely linking it with the Parish of Quebec. Furthermore, he also appointed five other directors who would form the bishop's advisory body. In 1668 he appointed the previously troublesome de Queylus as the first Superior of a new seminary in Ville-Marie.
Laval also took interest in practical education for craftsmen and farmers, founding a school of arts and crafts at Saint-Joachim.
Later Years
Since his arrival in the colony of New France, Laval insisted on establishing and organizing a parochial system, on top of training priests in the colony itself. In 1678, he had obtained an edict from the king stating that permanent curacies will be set up in the colony. A few years later, in 1681, Laval drew up the boundaries of parishes in an attempt to permanently solidify the Church's position. Often visiting each parish, Laval eventually realised that his health was declining and that he could no longer run his large diocese, which extended from Acadia to Lake Michigan. As a result, in 1688, he passed on his responsibilities as a bishop to Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier.
Laval continued to collaborate with the colony's high religious authorities, until his last days. He helped the poor with his presence and his gifts of charity. He never missed a Mass or a day of fasting, despite his ever declining health. By 1707, he had developed an ulcer which eventually took his life on 6 May 1708. His body was placed in a coffin in the cathedral; however his heart was kept in the chapel of the seminary to which he had dedicated most of his life and fortune.
Veneration
Laval's remains have been entombed in a shrine for personal veneration in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Quebec, which he had founded. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. He was granted equipollent canonization on 3 April 2014 by Pope Francis.
Université Laval, founded 1852, was named in his honor. The city of Laval, Quebec, north of Montreal, is also named after him.
april 2021~ saint kateri tekakwitha
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St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. She was born in 1656, in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon. Her mother was an Algonquin, who was captured by the Mohawks and who took a Mohawk chief for her husband.
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She contracted smallpox as a four-year-old child which scarred her skin. The scars were a source of humiliation in her youth. She was commonly seen wearing a blanket to hide her face. Worse, her entire family died during the outbreak. Kateri Tekakwitha was subsequently raised by her uncle, who was the chief of a Mohawk clan.
Kateri was known as a skilled worker, who was diligent and patient. However, she refused to marry. When her adoptive parents proposed a suitor to her, she refused to entertain the proposal. They punished her by giving her more work to do, but she did not give in. Instead, she remained quiet and diligent. Eventually they were forced to relent and accept that she had no interest in marriage.
At age 19, Kateri Tekakwitha converted to Catholicism, taking a vow of chastity and pledging to marry only Jesus Christ. Her decision was very unpopular with her adoptive parents and their neighbors. Some of her neighbors started rumors of sorcery. To avoid persecution, she traveled to a Christian native community south of Montreal.
According to legend, Kateri was very devout and would put thorns on her sleeping mat. She often prayed for the conversion of her fellow Mohawks. According to the Jesuit missionaries that served the community where Kateri lived, she often fasted and when she would eat, she would taint her food to diminish its flavor. On at least one occasion, she burned herself. Such self-mortification was common among the Mohawk.
Kateri was very devout and was known for her steadfast devotion. She was also very sickly. Her practices of self-mortification and denial may not have helped her health. Sadly, just five years after her conversion to Catholicism, she became ill and passed away at age 24, on April 17, 1680.
Her name, Kateri, is the Mohawk form of Catherine, which she took from St. Catherine of Siena.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012. She is the patroness of ecology and the environment, people in exile and Native Americans.
Kateri was known as a skilled worker, who was diligent and patient. However, she refused to marry. When her adoptive parents proposed a suitor to her, she refused to entertain the proposal. They punished her by giving her more work to do, but she did not give in. Instead, she remained quiet and diligent. Eventually they were forced to relent and accept that she had no interest in marriage.
At age 19, Kateri Tekakwitha converted to Catholicism, taking a vow of chastity and pledging to marry only Jesus Christ. Her decision was very unpopular with her adoptive parents and their neighbors. Some of her neighbors started rumors of sorcery. To avoid persecution, she traveled to a Christian native community south of Montreal.
According to legend, Kateri was very devout and would put thorns on her sleeping mat. She often prayed for the conversion of her fellow Mohawks. According to the Jesuit missionaries that served the community where Kateri lived, she often fasted and when she would eat, she would taint her food to diminish its flavor. On at least one occasion, she burned herself. Such self-mortification was common among the Mohawk.
Kateri was very devout and was known for her steadfast devotion. She was also very sickly. Her practices of self-mortification and denial may not have helped her health. Sadly, just five years after her conversion to Catholicism, she became ill and passed away at age 24, on April 17, 1680.
Her name, Kateri, is the Mohawk form of Catherine, which she took from St. Catherine of Siena.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 21, 2012. She is the patroness of ecology and the environment, people in exile and Native Americans.
March 2021 ~ Saint Gertrude of Nivelles
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Feast Day: March 17 Patron: Cats, gardeners, mental illness, travelers, and widows Birth: 626 Death: 659 St. Gertrude of Nivelles, the patron saint of cats, lived from 626 to 659 in Belgium.
Sailors--who were crossing a sea while on business for Gertrude's monastery--were caught in a ferocious storm and threatened by a large sea animal who they feared would capsize their boat. After one of the sailors prayed to God for mercy because they were doing business for Gertrude's ministry work, they said that the storm miraculously stopped right away and the sea creature swam away from them. |
Gertrude Becomes a Nun
Gertrude was born into a noble family who lived at King Dagobert's court in Belgium. Her father served as mayor of Dagobert's palace. When Gertrude was 10 years old, King Dagobert tried to arrange a marriage between her and the son of an Austrasian duke in order to form a political alliance, but Gertrude refused to marry him because she wanted to become a nun in the church instead, saying that she would only be married to Jesus Christ.
Gertrude did become a nun, and she worked with her mother to start a monastery at Nivelles, Belgium. Gertrude and her mother both served as co-leaders there. Gertrude helped build new churches and hospitals, and she took care of travelers and local people in need (such as widows and orphans). She also spent lots of time in prayer vigils.
Cats and Mice
Since Gertrude was known for offering hospitality (to people as well as animals), she was kind to the cats that hung around her monastery, offering them food and affection. Gertrude is also associated with cats because she often prayed for the souls of people in purgatory, and artists of the time symbolized those souls as mice, which cats like to chase. Therefore, Gertrude came to be linked with both cats and mice and now serves as the patron saint of cats.
Gertrude was born into a noble family who lived at King Dagobert's court in Belgium. Her father served as mayor of Dagobert's palace. When Gertrude was 10 years old, King Dagobert tried to arrange a marriage between her and the son of an Austrasian duke in order to form a political alliance, but Gertrude refused to marry him because she wanted to become a nun in the church instead, saying that she would only be married to Jesus Christ.
Gertrude did become a nun, and she worked with her mother to start a monastery at Nivelles, Belgium. Gertrude and her mother both served as co-leaders there. Gertrude helped build new churches and hospitals, and she took care of travelers and local people in need (such as widows and orphans). She also spent lots of time in prayer vigils.
Cats and Mice
Since Gertrude was known for offering hospitality (to people as well as animals), she was kind to the cats that hung around her monastery, offering them food and affection. Gertrude is also associated with cats because she often prayed for the souls of people in purgatory, and artists of the time symbolized those souls as mice, which cats like to chase. Therefore, Gertrude came to be linked with both cats and mice and now serves as the patron saint of cats.
February 2021 ~ Saint Blaise
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Feast Day: February 3 Patron: of throat illnesses, animals, wool combers, and wool trading Death: 316 |
Saint Blaise was the bishop of Sebastea and a doctor. The first known record of the saint's life comes from the medical writings of Aëtius Amidenus, where he is recorded as helping with patients suffering from objects stuck in their throat. Many of the miraculous aspects of St. Blaise's life are written of 400 years after his martyrdom in the "Acts of St. Blaise."
Saint Blaise is believed to begin as a healer then, eventually, became a "physician of souls." He then retired to a cave, where he remained in prayer. People often turned to Saint Blaise for healing miracles.
In 316, the governor of Cappadocia and of Lesser Armenia, Agricola, arrested then-bishop Blaise for being a Christian. On their way to the jail, a woman set her only son, who was chocking to death on a fish bone, at his feet.
Blaise cured the child, and though Agricola was amazed, he could not get Blaise to renounce his faith. Therefore, Agricola beat Blaise with a stick and tore at his flesh with iron combs before beheading him.
In another tale, Blaise was being led to the prison in Sebastea, and on the way came across a poor old woman whose pig had been stolen by a wolf. Blaise commanded the wolf return the pig, which it did -alive and uninjured - to the amazement of all.
When he reached Sebastea, the woman came to him and brought two fine wax candles in an attempt to dispel the gloom of his darkened cell.
In the Middle Ages, Blaise became quite popular and his legend as a beast tamer spread. He was then referred to as the "saint of the wild beast."
Many German churches are dedicated to Saint Blaise, sometimes called Saint Blasius.
In Great Britain, the village of St. Blazey got its name from Saint Blaise, and a church dedicated to the saint can be found in Decon hamlet of Haccombe, near Newton Abbot.
There is a Saint Blaise's Well in Kent, and the water is believed to have medicinal properties. A Blessing of the Throats ceremony is held every February 3 at Saint Etheldreda's Church in Londan and Balve, Germany.
A Catholic middle school was named after Saint Blaise in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The name was decided upon when the link between Bradford and the woolen industry was connected to the way St. Blaise was martyred: with woolcomb.
Saint Blaise is often depicted holding two crossed candles in his hand, or in a cave with wild animals. He is also often shown with steel combs. The similarity of the steel combs and the wool combs made a large contribution to Saint Blaise's leadership as the patron saint of wool combers and the wool trade.
Saint Blaise is believed to begin as a healer then, eventually, became a "physician of souls." He then retired to a cave, where he remained in prayer. People often turned to Saint Blaise for healing miracles.
In 316, the governor of Cappadocia and of Lesser Armenia, Agricola, arrested then-bishop Blaise for being a Christian. On their way to the jail, a woman set her only son, who was chocking to death on a fish bone, at his feet.
Blaise cured the child, and though Agricola was amazed, he could not get Blaise to renounce his faith. Therefore, Agricola beat Blaise with a stick and tore at his flesh with iron combs before beheading him.
In another tale, Blaise was being led to the prison in Sebastea, and on the way came across a poor old woman whose pig had been stolen by a wolf. Blaise commanded the wolf return the pig, which it did -alive and uninjured - to the amazement of all.
When he reached Sebastea, the woman came to him and brought two fine wax candles in an attempt to dispel the gloom of his darkened cell.
In the Middle Ages, Blaise became quite popular and his legend as a beast tamer spread. He was then referred to as the "saint of the wild beast."
Many German churches are dedicated to Saint Blaise, sometimes called Saint Blasius.
In Great Britain, the village of St. Blazey got its name from Saint Blaise, and a church dedicated to the saint can be found in Decon hamlet of Haccombe, near Newton Abbot.
There is a Saint Blaise's Well in Kent, and the water is believed to have medicinal properties. A Blessing of the Throats ceremony is held every February 3 at Saint Etheldreda's Church in Londan and Balve, Germany.
A Catholic middle school was named after Saint Blaise in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The name was decided upon when the link between Bradford and the woolen industry was connected to the way St. Blaise was martyred: with woolcomb.
Saint Blaise is often depicted holding two crossed candles in his hand, or in a cave with wild animals. He is also often shown with steel combs. The similarity of the steel combs and the wool combs made a large contribution to Saint Blaise's leadership as the patron saint of wool combers and the wool trade.
www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=28
january 2021 ~ Saint john neumann
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This American saint was born in Bohemia in 1811. He was looking forward to being ordained in 1835 when the bishop decided there would be no more ordinations. It is difficult for us to imagine now, but Bohemia was overstocked with priests. John wrote to bishops all over Europe but the story was the same everywhere no one wanted any more priests. John was sure he was called to be a priest but all the doors to follow that vocation seemed to close in his face. |
But John didn't give up. He had learned English by working in a factory with English-speaking workers so he wrote to the bishops in America. Finally, the bishop in New York agreed to ordain him. In order to follow God's call to the priesthood John would have to leave his home forever and travel across the ocean to a new and rugged land.
In New York, John was one of 36 priests for 200,000 Catholics. John's parish in western New York stretched from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania. His church had no steeple or floor but that didn't matter because John spent most of his time traveling from village to village, climbing mountains to visit the sick, staying in garrets and taverns to teach, and celebrating the Mass at kitchen tables.
Because of the work and the isolation of his parish, John longed for community and so joined the Redemptorists, a congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to helping the poor and most abandoned.
John was appointed bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. As bishop, he was the first to organize a diocesan Catholic school system. A founder of Catholic education in this country, he increased the number of Catholic schools in his diocese from two to 100.
John never lost his love and concern for the people -- something that may have bothered the elite of Philadelphia. On one visit to a rural parish, the parish priest picked him up in a manure wagon. Seated on a plank stretched over the wagon's contents, John joked, "Have you ever seen such an entourage for a bishop!"
The ability to learn languages that had brought him to America led him to learn Spanish, French, Italian, and Dutch so he could hear confessions in at least six languages. When Irish immigration started, he learned Gaelic so well that one Irish woman remarked, "Isn't it grand that we have an Irish bishop!"
Once on a visit to Germany, he came back to the house he was staying in soaked by rain. When his host suggested he change his shoes, John remarked, "The only way I could change my shoes is by putting the left one on the right foot and the right one on the left foot. This is the only pair I own."
John died on January 5, 1860 at the age of 48.
In New York, John was one of 36 priests for 200,000 Catholics. John's parish in western New York stretched from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania. His church had no steeple or floor but that didn't matter because John spent most of his time traveling from village to village, climbing mountains to visit the sick, staying in garrets and taverns to teach, and celebrating the Mass at kitchen tables.
Because of the work and the isolation of his parish, John longed for community and so joined the Redemptorists, a congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to helping the poor and most abandoned.
John was appointed bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. As bishop, he was the first to organize a diocesan Catholic school system. A founder of Catholic education in this country, he increased the number of Catholic schools in his diocese from two to 100.
John never lost his love and concern for the people -- something that may have bothered the elite of Philadelphia. On one visit to a rural parish, the parish priest picked him up in a manure wagon. Seated on a plank stretched over the wagon's contents, John joked, "Have you ever seen such an entourage for a bishop!"
The ability to learn languages that had brought him to America led him to learn Spanish, French, Italian, and Dutch so he could hear confessions in at least six languages. When Irish immigration started, he learned Gaelic so well that one Irish woman remarked, "Isn't it grand that we have an Irish bishop!"
Once on a visit to Germany, he came back to the house he was staying in soaked by rain. When his host suggested he change his shoes, John remarked, "The only way I could change my shoes is by putting the left one on the right foot and the right one on the left foot. This is the only pair I own."
John died on January 5, 1860 at the age of 48.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=70
december 2020 ~ saint nicholas
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The great veneration with which St. Nicholas has been honored for many ages and the number of altars and churches all over the world that are dedicated in his memory are testimonials to his wonderful holiness and the glory he enjoys with God. As an episcopal see, and his childhood church falling vacant, the holy Nicholas was chosen bishop, and in that station became famous by his extraordinary piety and zeal and by his many astonishing miracles. The Greek histories of his life agree he suffered an imprisonment of the faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Dioletian, and that he was present at the Council of Nicaea and there condemned Arianism. It is said that St. Nicholas died in Myra, and was buried in his cathedral.
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St. Nicholas' episcopate at Myra during the fourth century is really all that appears indubitable authentic, according to Alban Butler, an English Roman Catholic priest from the 1700s. This is not for lack of material, beginning with the life attributed to the monk who died in 847 as St. Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Nevertheless, the universal popularity of the saint for so many centuries requires that some account of the legends surrounding his life should be given.
St. Nicholas, also known as "Nikolaos of Myra," was a fourth century saint and Greek bishop of Myra. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire as an only child to Christian parents. Nicholas would take nourishment only once on Wednesdays and Fridays, and that in the evening according to the canons. "He was exceedingly well brought up by his parents and trod piously in their footsteps. The child, watched over by the church, enlightened his mind and encouraged his thirst for sincere and true religion." Both of his parents tragically died during an epidemic when he was a young man, leaving him well off, but to be raised by his uncle - the Bishop of Patara.
Nicholas was determined to devote his inheritance to works of charity, and his uncle mentored him as a reader and later ordained him as a presbyter (priest).
An opportunity soon arose for St. Nicholas and his inheritance. A citizen of Patara had lost all his money, and needed to support his three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty; so the wretched man was going to give them over to prostitution. Nicholas became informed of this, and thus took a bag of gold and threw it into an open window of the man's house in the night. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl and she was soon duly married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the second and the third; at the last time the father was on the watch, recognized his benefactor and overwhelmed Nicholas with his gratitude. It would appear that the three purses represented in pictures, came to be mistaken for the heads of three children and so they gave rise to the absurd story of the children, resuscitated by the saint, who had been killed by an innkeeper and pickled in a brine-tub.
Coming to the city of Myra when the clergy and people of the province were in session to elect a new bishop, St. Nicholas was indicated by God as the man they should choose. This was during the time of persecutions in the beginning of the fourth century and "as he [Nicholas] was the chief priest of the Christians of this town and preached the truths of faith with a holy liberty, the divine Nicholas was seized by the magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown into prison with many other Christians. But when the great and religious Constantine, chosen by God, assumed the imperial diadem of the Romans, the prisoners were released from their bonds and with them the illustrious Nicholas, who when he was set at liberty returned to Myra."
St. Methodius asserts that "thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as death-dealing poison," but says nothing of his presence at the Council of Nicaea in 325.
According to other traditions St. Nicholas was not only there during the Council of Nicaea in 325, but so far forgot himself as to give the heresiarch Arius a slap in the face. The conciliar fathers deprived him of his episcopal insignia and committed him to prison; but our Lord and His Mother appeared there and restored to him both his liberty and his office.
As against Arianism so against paganism, St. Nicholas was tireless and often took strong measures: among other temples he destroyed was that of Artemis, the principal in the district, and the evil spirits fled howling before him. He was the guardian of his people as well in temporal affairs. The governor Eustathius had taken a bribe to condemn to death three innocent men. At the time fixed for their execution Nicholas came to the place, stayed the hands of the executioner, and released the prisoners. Then he turned to Eustathiujs and did not cease to reproach him until he admitted his crime and expressed his penitence.
St. Nicholas' presence was found in a separate occasion involving three imperial officers simply on their way to duty in Phrygia. When the men were back again in Constantinople, the jealousy of the prefect Ablavius caused them to be imprisoned on false charges and an order for their death was procured from the Emperor Constantine. When the officers heard this they remembered the example they had witnessed of the powerful love of justice of the Bishop of Myra and they prayed to God that through his merits and by his instrumentality they might yet be saved. That night St. Nicholas appeared in a dream to Constantine, and told him with threats to release the three innocent men, and Ablavius experienced the same thing. In the morning the Emporer and the prefect compared notes, and the condemned men were sent for and questioned. When he heard they had called on the name of the Nicholas of Myra who appeared to him, Constantine set them free and sent them to the bishop with a letter asking him not to threaten him any more, but to pray for the peace of the world. For a long time, this has been the most famous miracle of St. Nicholas, and at the time of St. Methodius was the only thing generally known about him.
The accounts are unanimous that St. Nicholas died and was buried in his episcopal city of Myra, and by the time of Justinian, there was a basilica built in his honor at Constantinople.
An anonymous Greek wrote in the tenth century that, "the West as well as the East acclaims and glorifies him. Wherever there are people, in the country and the town, in the villages, in the isles, in the furthest parts of the earth, his name is revered and churches are built in his honor. Images of him are set up, panegyrics preached and festivals celebrated. All Christians, young and old, men and women, boys and girls, reverence his memory and call upon his protection. And his favors, which know no limit of time and continue from age to age, are poured out over all the earth; the Scythians know them, as do the Indians and the barbarians, the Africans as well as the Italians." When Myra and its great shrine finally passed into the hands of the Saracens, several Italian cities saw this as an opportunity to acquire the relics of St. Nicholas for themselves. There was great competition for them between Venice and Bari.
Bari won and the relics were carried off under the noses of the lawful Greek custodians and their Mohammedan masters. On May 9, 1087 St. Nicholas' relics safetly landed in Bari, a not inappropriate home seeing that Apulia in those days still had large Greek colonies. A new church was built to shelter the relics and the pope, Bd. Urban II, was present at their enshrining.
Devotion to St. Nicholas has been present in the West long before his relics were brought to Italy, but this happening greatly increased his veneration among the people, and miracles were as freely attributed to his intercession in Europe as they had been in Asia.
At Myra "the venerable body of the bishop, embalmed as it was in the good ointments of virtue exuded a sweet smelling myrrh, which kept it from corruption and proved a health giving remedy against sickness to the glory o f him who had glorified Jesus Christ, our true God." The translation of the relics did not interrupt this phenomenon, and the "manna of St. Nicholas" is said to flow to this day. It was one of the great attractions that drew pilgrims to his tomb from all parts of Europe.
The image of St. Nicholas is, more often than any other, found on Byzantine seals. In the later middle ages nearly four hundred churches were dedicated in his honor in England alone, and he is said to have been represented by Christian artists more frequently than any saint, except our Lady.
St. Nicholas is celebrated as the patron saint of several classes of people, especially, in the East, of sailors and in the West of children. The first of these patronage is most likely due to the legend that during his lifetime, he appeared to storm tossed mariners who invoked his aid off the coast of Lycia and brought them safely to port. Sailors in the Aegean and Ionian seas, following a common Eastern custom, had their "star of St. Nicholas" and wished one another a good voyage in the phrase "May St. Nicholas hold the tiller."
The legend of the "three children" is credited to his patronage of children and various observances, ecclesiastical and secular, connected there with; such were the boy bishop and especially in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the giving of presents in his name at Christmas time.
This custom in England is not a survival from Catholic times. It was popularized in America by the Dutch Protestants of New Amsterdam who converted the popish saint into a Nordic magician (Santa Claus = Sint Klaes = Saint Nicholas) and was introduced into this country by Bret Harte. It is not the only "good old English custom" which, however good, is not "old English," at any rate in its present form. The deliverance of the three imperial officers naturally caused St. Nicholas to be invoked by and on behalf of prisoners and captives, and many miracles of his intervention are recorded in the middle ages.
Curiously enough, the greatest popularity of St. Nicholas is found neither in the eastern Mediterranean nor north-western Europe, great as that was, but in Russia. With St. Andred the Apostle, he is patron of the nation, and the Russian Orthodox Church even observes the feast of his translation; so many Russian pilgrims came to Bari before the revolution that their government supported a church, hospital and hospice there.
He is also the patron saint of Greece, Apulia, Sicily and Loraine, and of many citiesand dioceses (including Galway) and churches innumerable. At Rome the basilica of St. Nicholas in the Jail of Tully (in Carcere) was founded between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh centuries. He is named in the preparation of the Byzantine Mass. St. Nicholas became recognized as a saint long before the Roman Catholic Church began the regular canonizing procedures in the late 10th century. Therefore, he does not have a specific date of canonization, rather records of him exist in a gradual spread until his stories became widley known and celebrated. St. Nicholas' feast day is December 6.
St. Nicholas, also known as "Nikolaos of Myra," was a fourth century saint and Greek bishop of Myra. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire as an only child to Christian parents. Nicholas would take nourishment only once on Wednesdays and Fridays, and that in the evening according to the canons. "He was exceedingly well brought up by his parents and trod piously in their footsteps. The child, watched over by the church, enlightened his mind and encouraged his thirst for sincere and true religion." Both of his parents tragically died during an epidemic when he was a young man, leaving him well off, but to be raised by his uncle - the Bishop of Patara.
Nicholas was determined to devote his inheritance to works of charity, and his uncle mentored him as a reader and later ordained him as a presbyter (priest).
An opportunity soon arose for St. Nicholas and his inheritance. A citizen of Patara had lost all his money, and needed to support his three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty; so the wretched man was going to give them over to prostitution. Nicholas became informed of this, and thus took a bag of gold and threw it into an open window of the man's house in the night. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl and she was soon duly married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the second and the third; at the last time the father was on the watch, recognized his benefactor and overwhelmed Nicholas with his gratitude. It would appear that the three purses represented in pictures, came to be mistaken for the heads of three children and so they gave rise to the absurd story of the children, resuscitated by the saint, who had been killed by an innkeeper and pickled in a brine-tub.
Coming to the city of Myra when the clergy and people of the province were in session to elect a new bishop, St. Nicholas was indicated by God as the man they should choose. This was during the time of persecutions in the beginning of the fourth century and "as he [Nicholas] was the chief priest of the Christians of this town and preached the truths of faith with a holy liberty, the divine Nicholas was seized by the magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown into prison with many other Christians. But when the great and religious Constantine, chosen by God, assumed the imperial diadem of the Romans, the prisoners were released from their bonds and with them the illustrious Nicholas, who when he was set at liberty returned to Myra."
St. Methodius asserts that "thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as death-dealing poison," but says nothing of his presence at the Council of Nicaea in 325.
According to other traditions St. Nicholas was not only there during the Council of Nicaea in 325, but so far forgot himself as to give the heresiarch Arius a slap in the face. The conciliar fathers deprived him of his episcopal insignia and committed him to prison; but our Lord and His Mother appeared there and restored to him both his liberty and his office.
As against Arianism so against paganism, St. Nicholas was tireless and often took strong measures: among other temples he destroyed was that of Artemis, the principal in the district, and the evil spirits fled howling before him. He was the guardian of his people as well in temporal affairs. The governor Eustathius had taken a bribe to condemn to death three innocent men. At the time fixed for their execution Nicholas came to the place, stayed the hands of the executioner, and released the prisoners. Then he turned to Eustathiujs and did not cease to reproach him until he admitted his crime and expressed his penitence.
St. Nicholas' presence was found in a separate occasion involving three imperial officers simply on their way to duty in Phrygia. When the men were back again in Constantinople, the jealousy of the prefect Ablavius caused them to be imprisoned on false charges and an order for their death was procured from the Emperor Constantine. When the officers heard this they remembered the example they had witnessed of the powerful love of justice of the Bishop of Myra and they prayed to God that through his merits and by his instrumentality they might yet be saved. That night St. Nicholas appeared in a dream to Constantine, and told him with threats to release the three innocent men, and Ablavius experienced the same thing. In the morning the Emporer and the prefect compared notes, and the condemned men were sent for and questioned. When he heard they had called on the name of the Nicholas of Myra who appeared to him, Constantine set them free and sent them to the bishop with a letter asking him not to threaten him any more, but to pray for the peace of the world. For a long time, this has been the most famous miracle of St. Nicholas, and at the time of St. Methodius was the only thing generally known about him.
The accounts are unanimous that St. Nicholas died and was buried in his episcopal city of Myra, and by the time of Justinian, there was a basilica built in his honor at Constantinople.
An anonymous Greek wrote in the tenth century that, "the West as well as the East acclaims and glorifies him. Wherever there are people, in the country and the town, in the villages, in the isles, in the furthest parts of the earth, his name is revered and churches are built in his honor. Images of him are set up, panegyrics preached and festivals celebrated. All Christians, young and old, men and women, boys and girls, reverence his memory and call upon his protection. And his favors, which know no limit of time and continue from age to age, are poured out over all the earth; the Scythians know them, as do the Indians and the barbarians, the Africans as well as the Italians." When Myra and its great shrine finally passed into the hands of the Saracens, several Italian cities saw this as an opportunity to acquire the relics of St. Nicholas for themselves. There was great competition for them between Venice and Bari.
Bari won and the relics were carried off under the noses of the lawful Greek custodians and their Mohammedan masters. On May 9, 1087 St. Nicholas' relics safetly landed in Bari, a not inappropriate home seeing that Apulia in those days still had large Greek colonies. A new church was built to shelter the relics and the pope, Bd. Urban II, was present at their enshrining.
Devotion to St. Nicholas has been present in the West long before his relics were brought to Italy, but this happening greatly increased his veneration among the people, and miracles were as freely attributed to his intercession in Europe as they had been in Asia.
At Myra "the venerable body of the bishop, embalmed as it was in the good ointments of virtue exuded a sweet smelling myrrh, which kept it from corruption and proved a health giving remedy against sickness to the glory o f him who had glorified Jesus Christ, our true God." The translation of the relics did not interrupt this phenomenon, and the "manna of St. Nicholas" is said to flow to this day. It was one of the great attractions that drew pilgrims to his tomb from all parts of Europe.
The image of St. Nicholas is, more often than any other, found on Byzantine seals. In the later middle ages nearly four hundred churches were dedicated in his honor in England alone, and he is said to have been represented by Christian artists more frequently than any saint, except our Lady.
St. Nicholas is celebrated as the patron saint of several classes of people, especially, in the East, of sailors and in the West of children. The first of these patronage is most likely due to the legend that during his lifetime, he appeared to storm tossed mariners who invoked his aid off the coast of Lycia and brought them safely to port. Sailors in the Aegean and Ionian seas, following a common Eastern custom, had their "star of St. Nicholas" and wished one another a good voyage in the phrase "May St. Nicholas hold the tiller."
The legend of the "three children" is credited to his patronage of children and various observances, ecclesiastical and secular, connected there with; such were the boy bishop and especially in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the giving of presents in his name at Christmas time.
This custom in England is not a survival from Catholic times. It was popularized in America by the Dutch Protestants of New Amsterdam who converted the popish saint into a Nordic magician (Santa Claus = Sint Klaes = Saint Nicholas) and was introduced into this country by Bret Harte. It is not the only "good old English custom" which, however good, is not "old English," at any rate in its present form. The deliverance of the three imperial officers naturally caused St. Nicholas to be invoked by and on behalf of prisoners and captives, and many miracles of his intervention are recorded in the middle ages.
Curiously enough, the greatest popularity of St. Nicholas is found neither in the eastern Mediterranean nor north-western Europe, great as that was, but in Russia. With St. Andred the Apostle, he is patron of the nation, and the Russian Orthodox Church even observes the feast of his translation; so many Russian pilgrims came to Bari before the revolution that their government supported a church, hospital and hospice there.
He is also the patron saint of Greece, Apulia, Sicily and Loraine, and of many citiesand dioceses (including Galway) and churches innumerable. At Rome the basilica of St. Nicholas in the Jail of Tully (in Carcere) was founded between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh centuries. He is named in the preparation of the Byzantine Mass. St. Nicholas became recognized as a saint long before the Roman Catholic Church began the regular canonizing procedures in the late 10th century. Therefore, he does not have a specific date of canonization, rather records of him exist in a gradual spread until his stories became widley known and celebrated. St. Nicholas' feast day is December 6.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=371
November 2020 ~ blessed anthony baldinucci
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Feast Day: November 7
Birth: 1665 Death: November 7, 1717 Beatified: April 23, 1893 by Pope Leo XIII |
At the age of thirty, Anthony Baldinucci, of Florence, Italy, was ordained a Jesuit priest. Two years later, he undertook the apostolate of giving parish missions in central Italy. On his way to each parish, he would always walk barefoot as a penance with the intent "that God may be moved by my sufferings to touch the hearts of my hearers," as he once explained. During these missions, he allotted all his time to preaching, hearing confessions, catechizing children, visiting the sick, and continuing his own prayer life. Father Baldinucci was deeply devoted to the Eucharist, the Passion of Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He highly revered an image of the Blessed Virgin with the title, "Refuge of Sinners," attributing numerous conversions and miraculous cures to its veneration. When in 1717 Father Baldinucci fell ill with his final illness, he asked to be placed in his room this image of Mary, before which he repeatedly prayed, "Show yourself to be a Mother." As his end neared, he gazed sometimes heavenward, sometimes toward the picture, uttering the aspiration, "Jesus and Mary, my hope."
Baldinucci was born in Florence, the son of the art historian and biographer Filippo Baldinucci. He attended the Jesuit school of Florence and was drawn to the priesthood. Initially he considered following his older brother into the Dominican Order, but he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus on April 21, 1681, and was ordained as a priest on October 28, 1695. He was then sent to study theology at the Roman College. He carried out his regency teaching at the Jesuit schools in Terni and Rome. He was admitted to the fourth vow of the Society on 15 August 1698.
Baldinucci had wanted to become a missionary in Asia, but his poor health kept him from that path. Instead, he worked in central Italy, specifically in the cities of Frascati and Viterbo. He would continue to work in this area for the rest of his life. For four months of every year he would conduct missions. Between 1697 and 1717 he visited 30 dioceses and gave an average of 22 missions per year. The missions were generally centered on meditations from the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.
Baldinucci’s preaching was simple, vivid and dramatic. He organized processions which would start from various areas of the country to the place where he was holding the mission. Many of the people in these processions would wear crowns of thorns and scourge themselves. Given the size of these processions, Baldinucci often employed a number of laymen (whom he called deputati) to help manage the crowd. Many of these "deputati" were drawn from the people he thought might otherwise be tempted to disrupt the processions.
Baldinucci himself walked barefoot to each mission assignment, often carried a cross during his preaching, and often wore heavy chains. He would also walk through the assembled people scourging himself to the point of drawing blood and beyond. He would often finish these missions with the burning of various possible instruments of vice, including cards, dice, musical instruments, and the like, in the public square. People were reported to also lay their daggers and pistols at his feet at this time. His appearances were so popular and well attended that he often found crowds covering the walls of city when he arrived to deliver a mission.
Baldinucci had a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, and made sure that a copy of miraculous picture of her as the Refuge of Sinners from the Church of the Gesu (Frascati) was carried with him in his travels. He also worked diligently to spread Marian devotions in his travels.
In addition to his preaching, Baldinucci also wrote two courses of sermons for Lent, gathered material for many more, composed a number of discourses, and maintained a long correspondence list.
After suffering from a myocardial infarction in the course of one of his preaching tours, brought on by fatigue, Baldinucci died in the village of Pofi, in the ancient region of Lazio, then part of the Papal States.
The process leading to Baldinucci's beatification began in 1753. He was declared Venerable in 1873, and was beatified on April 23, 1893. He is still under consideration for canonization.
The Jesuit Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Florence still preserves the crucifix he wore during his missions.
Baldinucci had wanted to become a missionary in Asia, but his poor health kept him from that path. Instead, he worked in central Italy, specifically in the cities of Frascati and Viterbo. He would continue to work in this area for the rest of his life. For four months of every year he would conduct missions. Between 1697 and 1717 he visited 30 dioceses and gave an average of 22 missions per year. The missions were generally centered on meditations from the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.
Baldinucci’s preaching was simple, vivid and dramatic. He organized processions which would start from various areas of the country to the place where he was holding the mission. Many of the people in these processions would wear crowns of thorns and scourge themselves. Given the size of these processions, Baldinucci often employed a number of laymen (whom he called deputati) to help manage the crowd. Many of these "deputati" were drawn from the people he thought might otherwise be tempted to disrupt the processions.
Baldinucci himself walked barefoot to each mission assignment, often carried a cross during his preaching, and often wore heavy chains. He would also walk through the assembled people scourging himself to the point of drawing blood and beyond. He would often finish these missions with the burning of various possible instruments of vice, including cards, dice, musical instruments, and the like, in the public square. People were reported to also lay their daggers and pistols at his feet at this time. His appearances were so popular and well attended that he often found crowds covering the walls of city when he arrived to deliver a mission.
Baldinucci had a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, and made sure that a copy of miraculous picture of her as the Refuge of Sinners from the Church of the Gesu (Frascati) was carried with him in his travels. He also worked diligently to spread Marian devotions in his travels.
In addition to his preaching, Baldinucci also wrote two courses of sermons for Lent, gathered material for many more, composed a number of discourses, and maintained a long correspondence list.
After suffering from a myocardial infarction in the course of one of his preaching tours, brought on by fatigue, Baldinucci died in the village of Pofi, in the ancient region of Lazio, then part of the Papal States.
The process leading to Baldinucci's beatification began in 1753. He was declared Venerable in 1873, and was beatified on April 23, 1893. He is still under consideration for canonization.
The Jesuit Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Florence still preserves the crucifix he wore during his missions.
www.catholic.org
October 2020 ~ Saint Faustina Kowalska
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Feast Day: October 5 Patron: of Mercy Birth: 1905 Death: 1938 Beatified: Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1993 Canonized: Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000 |
Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament was born as Helena Kowalska, in Glogowiec, Leczyca County, north-west of Lódz in Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of 10 children to a poor and religious family.
Faustina first felt a calling to the religious life when she was just seven-years-old and attended the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. After finishing her schooling, Faustina wanted to immediately join a convent. However, her parents refused to let her.
Instead, at 16-years-old, Faustina became a housekeeper to help her parents and support herself.
In 1924, Faustina experienced her first vision of Jesus. While at a dance with her sister, Natalia, Faustina saw a suffering Jesus and then went to a Cathedral. According to Faustina, Jesus instructed her to leave for Warsaw immediately and join a convent.
Faustina packed her bags at once and departed the following morning. When she arrived in Warsaw, she entered Saint James Church in Warsaw, the first church she came across, and attended Mass.
While in Warsaw, Faustina approached many different convents, but was turned away every time. She was judged on her appearances and sometimes rejected for poverty.
Finally, the mother superior for the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy decided to take in Faustina on the condition that she could pay for her own religious habit. Working as a housekeeper, Faustina began to save her money and make deposits to the Convent.
On April 30, 1926, at 20-years-old, she finally received her habit and took the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and in 1928, she took her first religious vows as a nun.
Over the next year, Faustina traveled convents as a cook. In May 1930 she arrived in Plock, Poland. Soon after, she began to show the first signs of her illness and was sent away to rest. Several months later, Faustina returned to the convent.
On February 22, 1931, Faustina was visited by Jesus, who presented himself as the "King of Divine Mercy" wearing a white garment with red and pale rays coming from his heart. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world.
In her diary, Faustina writes:
"In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, 'paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'"
Faustina first felt a calling to the religious life when she was just seven-years-old and attended the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. After finishing her schooling, Faustina wanted to immediately join a convent. However, her parents refused to let her.
Instead, at 16-years-old, Faustina became a housekeeper to help her parents and support herself.
In 1924, Faustina experienced her first vision of Jesus. While at a dance with her sister, Natalia, Faustina saw a suffering Jesus and then went to a Cathedral. According to Faustina, Jesus instructed her to leave for Warsaw immediately and join a convent.
Faustina packed her bags at once and departed the following morning. When she arrived in Warsaw, she entered Saint James Church in Warsaw, the first church she came across, and attended Mass.
While in Warsaw, Faustina approached many different convents, but was turned away every time. She was judged on her appearances and sometimes rejected for poverty.
Finally, the mother superior for the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy decided to take in Faustina on the condition that she could pay for her own religious habit. Working as a housekeeper, Faustina began to save her money and make deposits to the Convent.
On April 30, 1926, at 20-years-old, she finally received her habit and took the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and in 1928, she took her first religious vows as a nun.
Over the next year, Faustina traveled convents as a cook. In May 1930 she arrived in Plock, Poland. Soon after, she began to show the first signs of her illness and was sent away to rest. Several months later, Faustina returned to the convent.
On February 22, 1931, Faustina was visited by Jesus, who presented himself as the "King of Divine Mercy" wearing a white garment with red and pale rays coming from his heart. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world.
In her diary, Faustina writes:
"In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, 'paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'"
Faustina also describes during that same message, Jesus explained he wanted the Divine Mercy image to be "solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy."
Faustina, not knowing how to paint, asked around her Plock convent for help but was denied. It wasn't until three years later, in 1934, that the first painting of the image was created by Eugene Kazimierowski.
In 1932, Faustina returned to Warsaw. On May 1, 1933 she took her final vows in Lagiewniki and became a perpetual sister of Our Lady of Mercy.
After taking her vows, Faustina was transferred to Vilnius, where she met Father Michael Sopocko, the appointed confessor to the nuns. During her first confession with Sopocko, Faustina told him about her conversations with Jesus and his plan for her. Father Sopocko insisted she be evaluated by a psychiatrist. Faustina passed all the required tests and was determined sane, leading Sopocko to support her religious efforts.
Sopocko encouraged her to start keeping a diary and to record all of her conversations with Jesus. Faustina told Sopocko about the Divine Mercy image and it was Sopocko who introduced her to Kazimierowski, the artist of the first Divine Mercy painting.
According to Faustina's diary, on Good Friday, April 19, 1935, Jesus told her he wanted the Divine Mercy image publically honored. On April 26, 1935, Father Sopocko delivered the very first sermon on the Divine Mercy.
In September 1935, Faustina wrote about her vision of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, used to obtain mercy, trust in Christ's mercy and to show mercy to others.
During the following year, Faustina attempted to set up a new congregation for Divine Mercy, but was reminded that she was perpetually vowed to her current order and sent back to Warsaw. She reported Jesus said to her, "My Daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My Divine Mercy, I will make up for what you lack."
In 1936, Faustina fell ill again. She moved to the sanatorium in Pradnik, Krakow and continued to spend most of her time in prayer.
In July 1937, the first holy cards with the Divine Mercy image were created and Faustina provided instructions for the Novena of Divine Mercy, which she reported was a message from Jesus. Throughout the rest of 1937, the Divine Mercy image continued to be promoted and grow in popularity.
Faustina's health significantly deteriorated by the end of 1937. Her visions intensified and she was said to be looking forward to the end of her life. On October 5, 1938, Faustina passed away. She was buried on October 7 and currently rests at the Basilica of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland.
Her entire life, in imitation of Christ's, was to be a sacrifice - a life lived for others. At the Divine Lord's request, she willingly offered her personal sufferings in union with Him to atone for the sins of others. In her daily life she was to become a doer of mercy, bringing joy and peace to others, and by writing about God's mercy, she was to encourage others to trust in Him and thus prepare the world for His coming again.
Her special devotion to Mary Immaculate and to the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation gave her the strength to bear all her sufferings as an offering to God on behalf of the Church and those in special need, especially great sinners and the dying.
The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; her diary, Divine Mercy in my Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to the Divine Mercy.
In 1965, Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, who would later become Pope John Paul II, opened up the first investigations into Faustina's life and virtues. He submitted a number of documents on her life to the Vatican and requested the official beatification process to start.
One of his documents noted the case of Maureen Digan of Massachusetts. In March 1981, Digan reported she was healed from Lymphedema after praying at Faustina's tomb. She explained, while there, she heard a voice saying "ask for my help and I will help you," and her pain stopped. After returning to the United States, five different doctors all reported she was healed with no medical explanation. In 1992, the Vatican declared Digan's case miraculous.
St. Faustina Kowalska was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized on April 30, 2000, both by Pope St. John Paul II. Her feast day is celebrated on October 5 and she is the patron saint of Mercy.
Her special devotion to Mary Immaculate and to the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation gave her the strength to bear all her sufferings as an offering to God on behalf of the Church and those in special need, especially great sinners and the dying.
The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; her diary, Divine Mercy in my Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to the Divine Mercy.
In 1965, Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, who would later become Pope John Paul II, opened up the first investigations into Faustina's life and virtues. He submitted a number of documents on her life to the Vatican and requested the official beatification process to start.
One of his documents noted the case of Maureen Digan of Massachusetts. In March 1981, Digan reported she was healed from Lymphedema after praying at Faustina's tomb. She explained, while there, she heard a voice saying "ask for my help and I will help you," and her pain stopped. After returning to the United States, five different doctors all reported she was healed with no medical explanation. In 1992, the Vatican declared Digan's case miraculous.
St. Faustina Kowalska was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized on April 30, 2000, both by Pope St. John Paul II. Her feast day is celebrated on October 5 and she is the patron saint of Mercy.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=510
September 2020 ~ saint jerome
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Feast Day: September 30
Patron: of archaeologists, Biblical scholars, librarians, students and translators Birth: 342 Death: 420 |
Before he was known as Saint Jerome, he was named Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus. He was born around 342 AD, in Stridon, Dalmatia. Today, the town, which ceased to exist in Jerome's time, would likely be in Croatia or Slovenia.
The young Jerome was educated by Aelius Donatus, who was a famous Roman grammarian. From him, the young Jerome learned Latin and Greek. Little else is known of his childhood other than his parents were probably well-to-do and Christian. Despite their efforts to raise Jerome properly, the young man behaved as he chose.
Around the age of 12 or so, Jerome traveled to Rome to study grammar, philosophy and rhetoric. It is likely that due to his training in rhetoric, he may have considered a career in law. By his own admission, he quickly forgot his morals. While he was not studying, Jerome pursued pleasure. In particular, he pursued women, even though he knew his behavior was wrong.
To alleviate the feelings of guilt he often felt afterwards, Jerome would visit the crypts in Rome and imagine himself in hell. He did so every Sunday, even though he was not a Christian. Jerome succeeded in frightening himself, but not in changing his ways.
Fortunately, Jerome had as a companion, Bonosus, who was a Christian influence. His influence is part of what persuaded Jerome to become a Christian and change his ways for the better.
In or around the year 366, Jerome decided to become a Christian and was baptized by Pope Liberius.
Now interested in theological matters, Jerome set aside secular matters to pursue matters of the faith. He traveled with Bonosus to Trier where there were schools for him to gain ecclesiastical training.
In 370, he traveled close to home, ending up in a monastery at Aquileia. The monastery was overseen by Bishop St. Valerian, who had attracted some of the greatest minds in Christendom. While in Aquileia, Jerome met Rufinus and the two men became friends. Rufinis was a monk who became renown for his translations of Greek works into Latin. Jerome himself was developing his skills as a translator, a skill he developed during his time in the Roman catacombs, translating the inscriptions on the tombs.
Following his time in Aquileia, Jerome traveled next to Treves, Gaul where he began to translate books for his own use. His goal was to build a personal library.
After a time in Gaul, he returned to Aquileia in 373. While there, Jerome and his friend Bonosus had a falling out and decided to part ways. Bonosus departed for an island in the Adriatic where he would live as a hermit for a time.
The young Jerome was educated by Aelius Donatus, who was a famous Roman grammarian. From him, the young Jerome learned Latin and Greek. Little else is known of his childhood other than his parents were probably well-to-do and Christian. Despite their efforts to raise Jerome properly, the young man behaved as he chose.
Around the age of 12 or so, Jerome traveled to Rome to study grammar, philosophy and rhetoric. It is likely that due to his training in rhetoric, he may have considered a career in law. By his own admission, he quickly forgot his morals. While he was not studying, Jerome pursued pleasure. In particular, he pursued women, even though he knew his behavior was wrong.
To alleviate the feelings of guilt he often felt afterwards, Jerome would visit the crypts in Rome and imagine himself in hell. He did so every Sunday, even though he was not a Christian. Jerome succeeded in frightening himself, but not in changing his ways.
Fortunately, Jerome had as a companion, Bonosus, who was a Christian influence. His influence is part of what persuaded Jerome to become a Christian and change his ways for the better.
In or around the year 366, Jerome decided to become a Christian and was baptized by Pope Liberius.
Now interested in theological matters, Jerome set aside secular matters to pursue matters of the faith. He traveled with Bonosus to Trier where there were schools for him to gain ecclesiastical training.
In 370, he traveled close to home, ending up in a monastery at Aquileia. The monastery was overseen by Bishop St. Valerian, who had attracted some of the greatest minds in Christendom. While in Aquileia, Jerome met Rufinus and the two men became friends. Rufinis was a monk who became renown for his translations of Greek works into Latin. Jerome himself was developing his skills as a translator, a skill he developed during his time in the Roman catacombs, translating the inscriptions on the tombs.
Following his time in Aquileia, Jerome traveled next to Treves, Gaul where he began to translate books for his own use. His goal was to build a personal library.
After a time in Gaul, he returned to Aquileia in 373. While there, Jerome and his friend Bonosus had a falling out and decided to part ways. Bonosus departed for an island in the Adriatic where he would live as a hermit for a time.
Jerome traveled to the east, bound for Antioch by way of Athens.
In 374, Jerome finally reached Antioch, after making several lengthy stops along the way. While in that city, Jerome began writing his first work, "Concerning the Seven Beatings."
During that same year, disease made Jerome ill while taking the lives of some of his companions. It is unclear what disease was responsible, or if different illnesses had taken his friends. During his illness, Jerome had visions which made him even more religious.
Jerome went into the desert to live for four years, living as a hermit southwest of Antioch. He was frequently ill during this time.
After he emerged from his hermitage, Jerome was quickly embroiled in conflicts within the Church at Antioch. This was not something Jerome wanted to be associated with. Jerome made clear that he did not want to become a priest, preferring instead to be a monk or a hermit. But Church officials in Antioch as well as Pope Damasus wanted him to be ordained. Jerome relented on the condition he would not be expected to serve in any ministry and would still be allowed to pursue his monastic life. He was subsequently ordained.
Making the most of his freedom as a priest, Jerome traveled to Constantinople where he studied under St. Gregory of Nazianzus, who was renown as a great theologian.
After St. Gregory left Constantinople in 382, Jerome traveled to Rome for a council of the Church and met Pope Damasus. Following the council, Pope Damsus kept Jerome in Rome and made him his secretary.
While serving as secretary to the pope, Jerome also promoted the ideal of asceticism to everyone around him. Included in this group were women of the city of Rome who wanted to live saintly lives.
Pope Damasus died in 384, and this exposed Jerome to criticism and controversy. Jerome was a sarcastic man of great wit. He became unpopular because of his attitude and made a number of enemies. While Pope Damasus was alive, he could shield Jerome from criticism, but now Jerome faced the vengeance of the enemies he made. Both prominent pagans who resented his promotion of the faith and fellow Christians who lacked his wit attacked him with vicious rumors. Among the rumors were accusations that he was behaving inappropriately with the woman we now know as Paula. At that time, she was one of his students in asceticism.
In 374, Jerome finally reached Antioch, after making several lengthy stops along the way. While in that city, Jerome began writing his first work, "Concerning the Seven Beatings."
During that same year, disease made Jerome ill while taking the lives of some of his companions. It is unclear what disease was responsible, or if different illnesses had taken his friends. During his illness, Jerome had visions which made him even more religious.
Jerome went into the desert to live for four years, living as a hermit southwest of Antioch. He was frequently ill during this time.
After he emerged from his hermitage, Jerome was quickly embroiled in conflicts within the Church at Antioch. This was not something Jerome wanted to be associated with. Jerome made clear that he did not want to become a priest, preferring instead to be a monk or a hermit. But Church officials in Antioch as well as Pope Damasus wanted him to be ordained. Jerome relented on the condition he would not be expected to serve in any ministry and would still be allowed to pursue his monastic life. He was subsequently ordained.
Making the most of his freedom as a priest, Jerome traveled to Constantinople where he studied under St. Gregory of Nazianzus, who was renown as a great theologian.
After St. Gregory left Constantinople in 382, Jerome traveled to Rome for a council of the Church and met Pope Damasus. Following the council, Pope Damsus kept Jerome in Rome and made him his secretary.
While serving as secretary to the pope, Jerome also promoted the ideal of asceticism to everyone around him. Included in this group were women of the city of Rome who wanted to live saintly lives.
Pope Damasus died in 384, and this exposed Jerome to criticism and controversy. Jerome was a sarcastic man of great wit. He became unpopular because of his attitude and made a number of enemies. While Pope Damasus was alive, he could shield Jerome from criticism, but now Jerome faced the vengeance of the enemies he made. Both prominent pagans who resented his promotion of the faith and fellow Christians who lacked his wit attacked him with vicious rumors. Among the rumors were accusations that he was behaving inappropriately with the woman we now know as Paula. At that time, she was one of his students in asceticism.
Paula was a widow with four children who deeply mourned the loss of her husband. Jerome provided counseling and instruction to her and she became a lifelong friend and follower of Jerome, assisting him in his work.
Eventually, Jerome decided to return to the Holy Land to escape the calumny in Rome. He headed east and arrived in Antioch in 386. Shortly after, Jerome was met by Paula, her daughter, and several other followers. The group went first to Jerusalem, then on to Alexandria, Egypt. They settled in Bethlehem and had a monastery built there which included dormitories for women.
Jerome was a hard worker and he wrote extensively defending the virginity of Mary, which some clerics dared to question. He also engaged in several debates against various other heresies including a lengthy battle with his old friend Rufinus. Jerome was easily upset, and even the venerable St. Augustine exchanged words with him.
Eventually, Jerome and Augustine repaired their relationship and were able to correspond as friends and colleagues.
Of all the things that made Jerome famous, nothing was so legendary as his translation of the Bible. Jerome began work while he was still in Rome under Pope Damasus. He spent his entire life translating the scriptures from Hebrew and Old Latin.
In the year 404 Paula died, later to become a saint of the Church. Rome was sacked by Alarc the Barbarian in 410. These events distressed Jerome greatly. Violence eventually found its way to Bethlehem disrupting Jerome's work in his final years.
Jerome died on September 30, 420. His death was peaceful and he was laid to rest under the Church of the Nativity. His remains were later transferred to Rome.
Saint Jerome is the patron saint of archaeologists, Biblical scholars, librarians, students and translators.
His feast day is September 30.
Eventually, Jerome decided to return to the Holy Land to escape the calumny in Rome. He headed east and arrived in Antioch in 386. Shortly after, Jerome was met by Paula, her daughter, and several other followers. The group went first to Jerusalem, then on to Alexandria, Egypt. They settled in Bethlehem and had a monastery built there which included dormitories for women.
Jerome was a hard worker and he wrote extensively defending the virginity of Mary, which some clerics dared to question. He also engaged in several debates against various other heresies including a lengthy battle with his old friend Rufinus. Jerome was easily upset, and even the venerable St. Augustine exchanged words with him.
Eventually, Jerome and Augustine repaired their relationship and were able to correspond as friends and colleagues.
Of all the things that made Jerome famous, nothing was so legendary as his translation of the Bible. Jerome began work while he was still in Rome under Pope Damasus. He spent his entire life translating the scriptures from Hebrew and Old Latin.
In the year 404 Paula died, later to become a saint of the Church. Rome was sacked by Alarc the Barbarian in 410. These events distressed Jerome greatly. Violence eventually found its way to Bethlehem disrupting Jerome's work in his final years.
Jerome died on September 30, 420. His death was peaceful and he was laid to rest under the Church of the Nativity. His remains were later transferred to Rome.
Saint Jerome is the patron saint of archaeologists, Biblical scholars, librarians, students and translators.
His feast day is September 30.
August 2020 ~ saint dominic
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Feast Day: August 8
Lived: c. 1170-2021 Patron: Dominican Republic, Astronomers, Scientists, and the Falsely Accused Canonized: 1234 A one man army for God; long practice taught him how to preach the Truth
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Saint Dominic and Saint Francis of Assisi were close contemporaries. They both founded influential religious orders, collaborated with the same popes and cardinals, and were canonized soon after their deaths. Francis remains a rich, technicolor, three-dimensional figure even many centuries after his death. Dominic, on the contrary, is a shadow. Francis jumps off the page. Dominic is found between the lines. No cult of personality developed around Dominic as it did around Francis. Yet whereas Francis was unsuited to leadership and perplexed by organizational necessities, Dominic quietly excelled in every area. Because of Dominic’s skills, his well-structured order had none of the grave problems that almost doomed Franciscanism. Dominic’s personality retreats behind the hum and whistle of the order that embodied his vision.
Dominic, born in Spain, spent many years dedicated to his university studies before accompanying a local bishop on a royal errand that took them across Europe, including through Southern France. In the city of Toulouse, France, Dominic had his first encounter with the Cathars, a heretical sect of rigorist purists on the margins of Christianity. Dominic would spend the better part of ten years of his short life strategically contemplating and implementing a pastoral plan to bring the Cathars back into the arms of Mother Church.
Dominic concluded very early on in this missionary endeavor that the witness of priests had to be more authentic for them to be effective among the Cathars. No more traveling by horse. No more nice meals. No more inns. No more beds. No more shoes. The priests who went to the Cathars must beg like the Cathar holy men. They must walk, not ride, like the Cathar holy men. They must go barefoot, fast, pray, be humble, wear simple clothes, and live strict chastity and celibacy like the Cathar holy men. Then, and only then, would the Cathars listen to the priests. The Cathars listened to Dominic. He had been practicing these things rigorously and joyfully for many years. He was the very icon of an authentic priest. Dominic, in short, had credibility, and his learning was self-evident in his preaching. Nonetheless, Dominic’s pastoral efforts, in the end, had to cede to the religious violence so common to the time. Church and state authorities ran out of patience, and the Cathars were ruthlessly crushed in their vice.
His many years of heading a band of educated preachers amidst a difficult pastoral situation equipped Dominic for leadership and gave him a strong sense of how sound theology impacted pastoral practice. Loving God was not like going on a blind date. The Church provided the faithful with the tools to know God, not just know about Him. The Church gave the faithful concrete means to love God, not just to talk vaguely about loving Him. Dominic knew the truth and how to present it, by word and example, effectively. By 1215 he had received papal permission to lead his own group of preachers. That same year, he attended the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome to solidify his canonical position.
From 1215 until his death, Dominic traveled, organized, recruited, and planned. He was driving the foundations of his order deep into theological and canonical bedrock. Amidst this tornado of activity, he lived perfect poverty, chastity, obedience, humility, and charity. He was known to often say “Whoever governs the passions is master of the world. We must either rule them, or be ruled by them. It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.” He shared the fruits of his contemplation in every conversation and encouraged his brothers to do the same. His poverty was such that when he died in Bologna, in his early fifties, he lay in someone else’s bed, because he didn’t have one of his own, wearing another’s habit, because his own had fallen to pieces. The Dominican order exploded with growth during his lifetime. It is still today one of the Church’s preeminent, and truly global, orders dedicated to scholarship, preaching, education, publishing, and evangelization. If causes are known by their effects, Saint Dominic was a relentless, one man, army for God.
Dominic, born in Spain, spent many years dedicated to his university studies before accompanying a local bishop on a royal errand that took them across Europe, including through Southern France. In the city of Toulouse, France, Dominic had his first encounter with the Cathars, a heretical sect of rigorist purists on the margins of Christianity. Dominic would spend the better part of ten years of his short life strategically contemplating and implementing a pastoral plan to bring the Cathars back into the arms of Mother Church.
Dominic concluded very early on in this missionary endeavor that the witness of priests had to be more authentic for them to be effective among the Cathars. No more traveling by horse. No more nice meals. No more inns. No more beds. No more shoes. The priests who went to the Cathars must beg like the Cathar holy men. They must walk, not ride, like the Cathar holy men. They must go barefoot, fast, pray, be humble, wear simple clothes, and live strict chastity and celibacy like the Cathar holy men. Then, and only then, would the Cathars listen to the priests. The Cathars listened to Dominic. He had been practicing these things rigorously and joyfully for many years. He was the very icon of an authentic priest. Dominic, in short, had credibility, and his learning was self-evident in his preaching. Nonetheless, Dominic’s pastoral efforts, in the end, had to cede to the religious violence so common to the time. Church and state authorities ran out of patience, and the Cathars were ruthlessly crushed in their vice.
His many years of heading a band of educated preachers amidst a difficult pastoral situation equipped Dominic for leadership and gave him a strong sense of how sound theology impacted pastoral practice. Loving God was not like going on a blind date. The Church provided the faithful with the tools to know God, not just know about Him. The Church gave the faithful concrete means to love God, not just to talk vaguely about loving Him. Dominic knew the truth and how to present it, by word and example, effectively. By 1215 he had received papal permission to lead his own group of preachers. That same year, he attended the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome to solidify his canonical position.
From 1215 until his death, Dominic traveled, organized, recruited, and planned. He was driving the foundations of his order deep into theological and canonical bedrock. Amidst this tornado of activity, he lived perfect poverty, chastity, obedience, humility, and charity. He was known to often say “Whoever governs the passions is master of the world. We must either rule them, or be ruled by them. It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.” He shared the fruits of his contemplation in every conversation and encouraged his brothers to do the same. His poverty was such that when he died in Bologna, in his early fifties, he lay in someone else’s bed, because he didn’t have one of his own, wearing another’s habit, because his own had fallen to pieces. The Dominican order exploded with growth during his lifetime. It is still today one of the Church’s preeminent, and truly global, orders dedicated to scholarship, preaching, education, publishing, and evangelization. If causes are known by their effects, Saint Dominic was a relentless, one man, army for God.
Saint Dominic, your dedication to the truths of the Catholic faith gives beautiful witness to the faithful. Help us to emulate your poverty, charity, and chastity in our daily lives, and to strive to obtain your erudition and verve in evangelizing others in our words and deeds.
july 2020 ~ saint maria goretti
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Feast Day: July 6
Patron: of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape Birth: October 16, 1890 Death: July 6, 1902 Beatified: by Pope Pius XII on April 27, 1947 Canonized: by Pope Pius XII in 1950 |
Born on October 16 1890 in Corinaldo, in the Ancona Province in Italy, her farmworker father moved his family to Ferrier di Conca, near Anzio. When he died of malaria, Maria's mother had to struggle to feed her children.
Maria's mother, brothers, and sisters worked in the fields while she cooked, sewed, kept the house clean, and watched her youngest sister Teresa. Though the family's circumstances were extremely difficult, they were very close and loved God.
On July 5, 1902, Maria was sitting outside the steps of her home sewing her 18-year-old brother or neighbor -it is unclear which - Alessandro's shirt while he threshed beans in the barnyard. As she concentrated on her sewing, Alessandro surprised her and grabbed her from her steps. When he tried to rape her, Maria cried that it was a mortal sin and warned he would go to hell.
When Alessandro persisted, she fought him and screamed, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" At her words, Alessandro began to choke her and she said she would rather die than submit. Upon hearing her words, Alexander pulled out a knife and stabbed her eleven times. When she attempted to reach the door, he stabbed her three more times then fled.
Teresa woke to the sounds of her sister's cries and began to cry. Maria's family returned home and found her bleeding on the floor. They quickly took her to the nearest hospital in Nettuno, where she underwent surgery without anesthesia.
Unfortunately, her wounds were beyond the surgeon's ability to help. Halfway through the surgery, the man asked her, "Maria, think of me in Paradise."
As she lay on the table, she looked up at him and said, "Well, who knows which of us is going to be there first?"
She did not realize how terrible her situation was, and the surgeon replied, "You, Maria."
She said, "Then I will think gladly of you." She also mentioned concerns for her mother. The next day, Maria forgave Alessandro and said she wanted to see him in Heaven with her. She died that day while looking upon an image of the Virgin Mary and holding a cross to her chest.
Shortly after Maria's family discovered her, Alexander was captured and questioned. He admitted Maria was a physical virgin as he was unable to assault her and he was sentenced to thirty years. He also admitted he had attempted to persuade her to accompany him to bed on several occasions in the past and had attempted to rape her before.
Alessandro remained unrepentant for his actions until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him lilies, which immediately burned in his hands. When he woke, he was a changed man. He repented his crime and living a reformed life. When he was released 27-years-later, he went directly to Maria's mother and begged her forgiveness, which she gave, saying, "If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness?"
Maria Goretti was beatified by Pope Pius XII in a ceremony at Saint Peter's Basilica on April 27, 1947.
Three years later, on June 24, 1950, Maria was declared a saint and Alessandro was present in the St. Peter's crowd to celebrate her canonization. He later became a lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, where he lived in a monastery and worked as its receptionist and gardener until his death.
Saint Maria is called a martyr because she fought against Alessandro's attempts at sexual sin; however, the most important aspects of her story are how she forgave her attacker - her concern for her enemy extending even beyond death - and the miracle her forgiveness produced in his life.
Saint Maria's body can be found in the crypt of the Basilica of Nostra Signora delle Grazie e Santa Maria Goretti in Nettuno. Though several claim her body is incorrupt, she has been proven to be corrupt. Her body is kept in a statue which lies beneath the altar and has been mistaken to be all of her remains.
Images of Saint Maria often represent her with wavy hair dressed in either white or farm clothes and is often depicted holding lilies.
Maria's mother, brothers, and sisters worked in the fields while she cooked, sewed, kept the house clean, and watched her youngest sister Teresa. Though the family's circumstances were extremely difficult, they were very close and loved God.
On July 5, 1902, Maria was sitting outside the steps of her home sewing her 18-year-old brother or neighbor -it is unclear which - Alessandro's shirt while he threshed beans in the barnyard. As she concentrated on her sewing, Alessandro surprised her and grabbed her from her steps. When he tried to rape her, Maria cried that it was a mortal sin and warned he would go to hell.
When Alessandro persisted, she fought him and screamed, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" At her words, Alessandro began to choke her and she said she would rather die than submit. Upon hearing her words, Alexander pulled out a knife and stabbed her eleven times. When she attempted to reach the door, he stabbed her three more times then fled.
Teresa woke to the sounds of her sister's cries and began to cry. Maria's family returned home and found her bleeding on the floor. They quickly took her to the nearest hospital in Nettuno, where she underwent surgery without anesthesia.
Unfortunately, her wounds were beyond the surgeon's ability to help. Halfway through the surgery, the man asked her, "Maria, think of me in Paradise."
As she lay on the table, she looked up at him and said, "Well, who knows which of us is going to be there first?"
She did not realize how terrible her situation was, and the surgeon replied, "You, Maria."
She said, "Then I will think gladly of you." She also mentioned concerns for her mother. The next day, Maria forgave Alessandro and said she wanted to see him in Heaven with her. She died that day while looking upon an image of the Virgin Mary and holding a cross to her chest.
Shortly after Maria's family discovered her, Alexander was captured and questioned. He admitted Maria was a physical virgin as he was unable to assault her and he was sentenced to thirty years. He also admitted he had attempted to persuade her to accompany him to bed on several occasions in the past and had attempted to rape her before.
Alessandro remained unrepentant for his actions until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him lilies, which immediately burned in his hands. When he woke, he was a changed man. He repented his crime and living a reformed life. When he was released 27-years-later, he went directly to Maria's mother and begged her forgiveness, which she gave, saying, "If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness?"
Maria Goretti was beatified by Pope Pius XII in a ceremony at Saint Peter's Basilica on April 27, 1947.
Three years later, on June 24, 1950, Maria was declared a saint and Alessandro was present in the St. Peter's crowd to celebrate her canonization. He later became a lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, where he lived in a monastery and worked as its receptionist and gardener until his death.
Saint Maria is called a martyr because she fought against Alessandro's attempts at sexual sin; however, the most important aspects of her story are how she forgave her attacker - her concern for her enemy extending even beyond death - and the miracle her forgiveness produced in his life.
Saint Maria's body can be found in the crypt of the Basilica of Nostra Signora delle Grazie e Santa Maria Goretti in Nettuno. Though several claim her body is incorrupt, she has been proven to be corrupt. Her body is kept in a statue which lies beneath the altar and has been mistaken to be all of her remains.
Images of Saint Maria often represent her with wavy hair dressed in either white or farm clothes and is often depicted holding lilies.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=78
june 2020 ~ Saint Anthony of padua
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Lived from 1195 - 1231 Feast Day: June 13 Canonized: Pope Gregory IX 1232 Patron Saint of Lost Articles |
Saint Anthony of Padua is a famous Franciscan saint especially honored at an impressive shrine in Padua, in Northern Italy. But he was not born as Anthony, was an Augustinian priest before he became a Franciscan, and was from Lisbon, Portugal, not Italy. Saint Anthony, along with Saint Bonaventure, another early Franciscan, lent theological heft to the somewhat esoteric movement founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis was uniquely sensitive and eccentric, unsuited to leadership, and vexed by the need to exercise authority. It was Saints Anthony and Bonaventure who gave the Franciscan Order credibility, who anchored it in sound theology, and who assured its survival and continued growth.
Today’s saint was baptized Fernando and grew up in a privileged environment in Lisbon. He received a superior education and entered the Augustinian Order as an adolescent. While living in the city of Coimbra, he met some Franciscan brothers who had established a poor hermitage outside of the city named in honor of Saint Anthony of the Desert. Young Father Fernando was very attracted to their simple way of life. From these friars, he also heard about the martyrdom of five Franciscan brothers at the hands of Muslims in North Africa. These martyrs’ bodies were ransomed and returned for burial in Father Fernando’s own abbey in Coimbra. Their deaths and burials were a life-changing moment. The Augustinian Father Fernando asked, and received, permission to join the Franciscans and then adopted a new name—Anthony—taken from the patron saint of the hermitage where he had first come to know the Franciscans.
The newly christened Father Anthony then set out to emulate his martyr heroes. He sailed for North Africa to die for the faith or to ransom himself for Christians held captive by Muslims. But it was not to be. Anthony became gravely ill, and, on the return voyage, his ship was providentially blown off course to Sicily. From there he made his way to Central Italy, where his education, mastery of Scripture, compelling preaching skills, and holiness brought him deserving renown. Paradoxically, it was because Anthony received excellent training as an Augustinian that he became a great Franciscan. Saint Francis himself soon came to know Father Anthony, a man whose learning legitimized the under-educated Franciscans. Saint Francis had been skeptical of scholarship, even prohibiting his illiterate followers from learning how to read. Francis feared they would become too prideful and then abandon their radical simplicity and poverty. Saint Francis only reluctantly, several years after founding his Order, allowed some of his brothers to be ordained priests. He had originally relied exclusively on diocesan priests to minister to his non-ordained brothers, and he distrusted his followers who aspired to the honor of the Priesthood. The presence of Anthony, and later Bonaventure, changed all that.
In time, Father Anthony became a famous preacher and teacher to Franciscan communities in Northern Italy and Southern France. His knowledge of Scripture was so formidable that Pope Gregory IX titled him the “Ark of the Testament.” In Anthony’s Shrine in Padua, a reliquary holding his tongue and larynx recall his fame as a preacher. These organs had not disintegrated even long after the rest of his body had returned to dust. Saint Anthony is most often shown either holding the Child Jesus in his arms or holding a book, a lily, or all three. His intercession is invoked throughout the world for the recovery of lost items and for assistance in finding a spouse.
Anthony died at the age of just thirty-five in 1231, about five years after Saint Francis had died. He was canonized less than one year later. In 1946 Saint Anthony was declared a Doctor of the Church due to the richness of his sermons and writings. He was conscious as he succumbed to death. In his last moments, the brothers surrounding his bed asked him if he saw anything. Saint Anthonye said simply, “I see the Lord.”
Saint Anthony of Padua, we seek your powerful intercession to have the right words on our lips to inspire the faithful and to correct and guide the ignorant. Through your example, may our words also be buttressed by our powerful witness to Christ.
Saint Anthony of Padua, we seek your powerful intercession to have the right words on our lips to inspire the faithful and to correct and guide the ignorant. Through your example, may our words also be buttressed by our powerful witness to Christ.
https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-13--st-antony-of-padua/
mAY 2020 ~ SAINT MATTHIAS
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Feast Day: May 14
Patron Saint of carpenters, tailors, those with smallpox and is invoked in prayers for perseverance and for hope How does one qualify to be an apostle?
The first act of the apostles after the Ascension of Jesus was to find a replacement for Judas. With all the questions, doubts, and dangers facing them, they chose to focus their attention on finding a twelfth apostle. Why was this important? Twelve was a very important number to the Chosen People: twelve was the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. If the new Israel was to come from the disciples of Jesus, a twelfth apostle was needed. |
But Jesus had chosen the original twelve. How could they know whom he would choose?
One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, when Peter stood up to propose the way to make the choice.
Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle be someone who had been a disciple from the very beginning, from his baptism by John until the Ascension. The reason for this was simple, the new apostle would must become a witness to Jesus' resurrection. He must have followed Jesus before anyone knew him, stayed with him when he made enemies, and believed in him when he spoke of the cross and of eating his body -- teachings that had made others melt away.
Two men fit this description -- Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas. They knew that both these men had been with them and with Jesus through his whole ministry. But which one had the heart to become a witness to his resurrection. The apostles knew that only the Lord could know what was in the heart of each. They cast lots in order to discover God's will and Matthias was chosen. He was the twelfth apostle and the group was whole again as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
That's the first we hear of Matthias in Scripture, and the last. Legends like the Acts of Andrew and Matthias testify to Matthias' enthusiastic embrace of all that being an apostle meant including evangelization, persecution, and death in the service of the Lord.
How does one qualify to be an apostle?
Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy. Jesus chooses all of us in the same way. What does Jesus want you to become?
In His Footsteps: Have you ever felt like an afterthought, a latecomer? Or have you ever resented someone new who was added to your group? Try to see your community as not complete without the newcomer, whether you or someone else. Welcome any newcomers to your parish, work, or family community this week as someone chosen by God.
Prayer: Saint Matthias, pray that we may become worthy witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus in the way we live the eternal life we have right now.
One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, when Peter stood up to propose the way to make the choice.
Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle be someone who had been a disciple from the very beginning, from his baptism by John until the Ascension. The reason for this was simple, the new apostle would must become a witness to Jesus' resurrection. He must have followed Jesus before anyone knew him, stayed with him when he made enemies, and believed in him when he spoke of the cross and of eating his body -- teachings that had made others melt away.
Two men fit this description -- Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas. They knew that both these men had been with them and with Jesus through his whole ministry. But which one had the heart to become a witness to his resurrection. The apostles knew that only the Lord could know what was in the heart of each. They cast lots in order to discover God's will and Matthias was chosen. He was the twelfth apostle and the group was whole again as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
That's the first we hear of Matthias in Scripture, and the last. Legends like the Acts of Andrew and Matthias testify to Matthias' enthusiastic embrace of all that being an apostle meant including evangelization, persecution, and death in the service of the Lord.
How does one qualify to be an apostle?
Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy. Jesus chooses all of us in the same way. What does Jesus want you to become?
In His Footsteps: Have you ever felt like an afterthought, a latecomer? Or have you ever resented someone new who was added to your group? Try to see your community as not complete without the newcomer, whether you or someone else. Welcome any newcomers to your parish, work, or family community this week as someone chosen by God.
Prayer: Saint Matthias, pray that we may become worthy witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus in the way we live the eternal life we have right now.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5
april 2020 ~ saint gianna beretta molla
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Feast Day: April 28
Patron: of mothers, physicians, and unborn children Birth: October 4, 1922 Death: April 28, 1962 Beatified: April 24, 1994 by Pope John Paul II Canonized: May 16, 2004 by Pope John Paul II |
St. Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian pediatrician born in Magenta in the Kingdom of Italy on October 4, 1922. She was the tenth of thirteen children in her family.
At three-years-old, Gianna and her family moved to Bergamo, and she grew up in the Lombardy region of Italy.
As a young girl, Gianna openly accepted her faith and the Catholic-Christian education provided to her from her loving parents. She grew up viewing life as God's beautiful gift and found the greatest necessity and effectiveness in prayer.
In 1942, Gianna began her study of medicine in Milan. She was a diligent and hardworking student, both at the university and in her faith.
As a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Gianna applied her faith in an apostolic service for the elderly and needy.
She received degrees in both medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949, and in 1950 she opened a medical office in Mesero, near her hometown of Magenta.
In 1952, Gianna specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan and from there on, she was especially drawn toward mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.
Gianna considered the field of medicine to be her mission, and treated it as such. She increased her generous service to Catholic Action, a movement of lay Catholics dedicated to living and spreading the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in the broader culture. The Catholic Action movement is still at work today, throughout the world.
Gianna hoped to join her brother, a missionary priest in Brazil, where she intended to offer her medical expertise in gynecology to poor women.
However, her chronic ill health made this impractical, and she continued her practice in Italy.
She chose the vocation of marriage and considered this to be a gift from God. Gianna embraced this gift with all her being and completely dedicated herself to "forming a truly Christian family."
In December 1954, Gianna met Pietro Molla, an engineer who worked in her office. They were officially engaged the following April, and married in September 1955, making Gianna a happy wife.
Gianna wrote to Pietro, "Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women."
In November 1956, Gianna became a mother to her first child, Pierluigi. Their second child, Maria Zita, in December 1957, and their third, Laura, in July 1959.
Gianna handled motherhood with grace and was able to harmonize all aspects of her demanding life.
In 1961, Gianna became pregnant with her fourth child. Toward the end of her second month of pregnancy, Gianna was struck with an unimaginable pain.
Her doctors discovered she had developed a fibroma in her uterus, meaning she was carrying both a baby and a tumor.
After examination, the doctors gave her three choices: an abortion, which would save her life and allow her to continue to have children, but take the life of the child she carried; a complete hysterectomy, which would preserve her life, but take the unborn child's life, and prevent further pregnancy; or removal of only the fibroma, with the potential of further complications, which could save the life of her baby.
Catholic teaching affirms what medical science, the Natural Law, the Bible and unbroken Christian tradition affirm, the child in the womb has a fundamental Human Right to Life. Wanting to preserve her child's life, Gianna opted for the removal of only the fibroma.
In fact, she was willing to give her own life to save the life of her child.
Gianna pleaded with the surgeons to save her child's life over her own. She sought comfort in her prayers and her living faith.
The child's life was saved, for which Gianna graciously thanked the Lord.
After the operation, complications continued throughout her pregnancy, but Gianna spent the remainder of her pregnancy with an unparalleled strength and insistent dedication for her tasks as a mother and a doctor.
A few days before the baby was to be born, Gianna prayed the Lord take any pain away from the child. She recognized she may lose her life during delivery, but she was ready.
Gianna was quite clear about her wishes, expressing to her family, "If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child?I insist on it. Save the baby."
On April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla successfully delivered by Caesarean section.
The doctors tried many different treatments and procedures to ensure both lives would be saved. However, on April 28, 1962, a week after the baby was born, Gianna passed away from septic peritonitis. She is buried in Mesero.
Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, and officially canonized as a saint on May 16, 2004. Her husband and their children, including Gianna Emanuela, attended her canonization ceremony, making this the first time a husband witnessed his wife's canonization.
In 2003, mother-to-be Elizabeth Comparini experienced a tear in her placenta when she was 16-weeks pregnant. Her womb was drained of all amniotic fluid. She was told the chances of her baby's survival was little to none.
Elizabeth is said to have prayed to Gianna Molla and asked for her intercession. Elizabeth was able to give birth to a healthy baby.
During Gianna's canonization ceremony, John Paul II described her as, "a simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love."
St. Gianna is the inspiration behind the first pro-life Catholic healthcare center for women in New York, the Gianna Center.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla is the patron saint of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Her feast day is celebrated on April 28.
At three-years-old, Gianna and her family moved to Bergamo, and she grew up in the Lombardy region of Italy.
As a young girl, Gianna openly accepted her faith and the Catholic-Christian education provided to her from her loving parents. She grew up viewing life as God's beautiful gift and found the greatest necessity and effectiveness in prayer.
In 1942, Gianna began her study of medicine in Milan. She was a diligent and hardworking student, both at the university and in her faith.
As a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Gianna applied her faith in an apostolic service for the elderly and needy.
She received degrees in both medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949, and in 1950 she opened a medical office in Mesero, near her hometown of Magenta.
In 1952, Gianna specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan and from there on, she was especially drawn toward mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.
Gianna considered the field of medicine to be her mission, and treated it as such. She increased her generous service to Catholic Action, a movement of lay Catholics dedicated to living and spreading the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in the broader culture. The Catholic Action movement is still at work today, throughout the world.
Gianna hoped to join her brother, a missionary priest in Brazil, where she intended to offer her medical expertise in gynecology to poor women.
However, her chronic ill health made this impractical, and she continued her practice in Italy.
She chose the vocation of marriage and considered this to be a gift from God. Gianna embraced this gift with all her being and completely dedicated herself to "forming a truly Christian family."
In December 1954, Gianna met Pietro Molla, an engineer who worked in her office. They were officially engaged the following April, and married in September 1955, making Gianna a happy wife.
Gianna wrote to Pietro, "Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women."
In November 1956, Gianna became a mother to her first child, Pierluigi. Their second child, Maria Zita, in December 1957, and their third, Laura, in July 1959.
Gianna handled motherhood with grace and was able to harmonize all aspects of her demanding life.
In 1961, Gianna became pregnant with her fourth child. Toward the end of her second month of pregnancy, Gianna was struck with an unimaginable pain.
Her doctors discovered she had developed a fibroma in her uterus, meaning she was carrying both a baby and a tumor.
After examination, the doctors gave her three choices: an abortion, which would save her life and allow her to continue to have children, but take the life of the child she carried; a complete hysterectomy, which would preserve her life, but take the unborn child's life, and prevent further pregnancy; or removal of only the fibroma, with the potential of further complications, which could save the life of her baby.
Catholic teaching affirms what medical science, the Natural Law, the Bible and unbroken Christian tradition affirm, the child in the womb has a fundamental Human Right to Life. Wanting to preserve her child's life, Gianna opted for the removal of only the fibroma.
In fact, she was willing to give her own life to save the life of her child.
Gianna pleaded with the surgeons to save her child's life over her own. She sought comfort in her prayers and her living faith.
The child's life was saved, for which Gianna graciously thanked the Lord.
After the operation, complications continued throughout her pregnancy, but Gianna spent the remainder of her pregnancy with an unparalleled strength and insistent dedication for her tasks as a mother and a doctor.
A few days before the baby was to be born, Gianna prayed the Lord take any pain away from the child. She recognized she may lose her life during delivery, but she was ready.
Gianna was quite clear about her wishes, expressing to her family, "If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child?I insist on it. Save the baby."
On April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla successfully delivered by Caesarean section.
The doctors tried many different treatments and procedures to ensure both lives would be saved. However, on April 28, 1962, a week after the baby was born, Gianna passed away from septic peritonitis. She is buried in Mesero.
Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, and officially canonized as a saint on May 16, 2004. Her husband and their children, including Gianna Emanuela, attended her canonization ceremony, making this the first time a husband witnessed his wife's canonization.
In 2003, mother-to-be Elizabeth Comparini experienced a tear in her placenta when she was 16-weeks pregnant. Her womb was drained of all amniotic fluid. She was told the chances of her baby's survival was little to none.
Elizabeth is said to have prayed to Gianna Molla and asked for her intercession. Elizabeth was able to give birth to a healthy baby.
During Gianna's canonization ceremony, John Paul II described her as, "a simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love."
St. Gianna is the inspiration behind the first pro-life Catholic healthcare center for women in New York, the Gianna Center.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla is the patron saint of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Her feast day is celebrated on April 28.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=6985
MARCH 2020 ~ Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig
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Born: 1 March 1911 in Czech Republic as Hubert Unzeitig
Died: 2 March 1945 in Dachau, Oberbayern, Germany of typhoid fever Beatified: 24 September 2016 by Pope Francis • beatification celebrated in the Cathedral of Sankt Kilian, Würzburg, Germany, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato Also Known As: • Angel of Dachau • Hubert Unzeitig |
Professed priest in the Congregation of Missionaries of Mariannhill, ordained in 1939 and taking the name Engelmar. Parish priest in Glöckelberg, Czech Republic. Arrested by the Gestapo on 21 April 1941 for the crime of being a priest and preaching against the teachings of the Nazis, he was sent to the Dachau concentration camp where he ministered to other prisoners. He learned Russian so he could minister to prisoners from Eastern Europe. He volunteered to tend to prisoners suffering from typhoid and died of the disease himself.
FEBRUARY 2020 ~ Blessed Michal Sopocko
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Born ~ 1 November 1888 in Juszewszczyzna, Ashmyany, Poland
Died • 15 February 1975 in Bialystock, Poland of natural causes • buried in Bialystock • re-interred in the Church of Divine Mercy in Bialostoczek, Poland in 1988 Beatified • 28 September 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI • beatification celebrated at the Square of the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Bialystok, Poland by Cardinal Angelo Amato Patron Saint of Bialystok, Poland Feast Day: February 15 |
Michal began his studies at the seminary in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1910, and was ordained a priest in 1914. Parish priest in Vilnius, and military chaplain in World War I from 1914 to 1918, assigned to Vilnius and to Warsaw, Poland. He earned his doctorate in theology in 1926. Spiritual director of the seminary in Vilnius. Professor of pastoral theology at Stefan Batory University in Vilnius in 1928. Beginning in mid-1933, he became the spiritual director and confessor of Saint Faustina Kowalska. He arranged for Eugeniusz Kazimirowski to paint the Divine Mercy image in 1934, in 1935 began preaching on the Divine Mercy, and in 1936 wrote the first booklet about it. From 1942 to 1944, Father Michal was one of many who went into hiding to avoid the occupying Nazi forces. Founded the Zgromadzenie Sióstr Jezusa Milosiernego (Sisters of Merciful Jesus) based on the Divine Mercy messages received by Saint Faustina. In 1959 the Vatican forbade the Divine Mercy devotion and censured Sopocko, but in 1965 Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Kraków, Poland (future Pope John Paul II) re-opened the investigation of the vision and messages which led to the reversal of the ban and censure in 1978. During the period of the re-investigation, Father Michael wrote the four-volume Milosierdzie Boga w dzielach Jego (Mercy of God in His works).
JANUARY 2020 ~ Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin
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Life: 1838–1918 Feast Day: January 23 Patron Saint of lepers, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, Hawaiʻi. |
This month's saint was a model female Franciscan who emulated Saint Francis’ heroic example of personally caring for those outcasts of all outcasts—lepers. Saints are not born, of course; they are made. And Saint Marianne Cope came from a specific time, place, and family. She could have developed her abundant talents in many directions and used them for many purposes, but she re-directed what God loaned her to serve and honor Him, His Church, and mankind. The Church, the Franciscans, and Hawaii were the arenas in which this elite spiritual athlete exercised her skills. She was asked for much and gave even more. She became a great, great woman.
Marianne Cope was born in Germany and was brought to New York state by her parents when she was still a baby. She was the oldest of ten children. Her parents lived, struggled, and worked for their kids. She saw generosity in action at home everyday. She quit school after eighth grade to work in a factory to financially support her ailing father, her mother, and her many siblings. The challenges inherent to migration, a new culture, illness, a large family, and poverty turned Marianne into a serious, mature woman when she was just a teen. She fulfilled her long delayed desire to enter religious life in 1862. Once professed, she moved quickly into leadership positions. She taught in German-speaking Catholic grade schools, became a school principal, and was elected by her fellow Franciscans to positions of governance in her Order. She opened the first hospitals in her region of central New York, dedicating herself and her Order to the time-honored religious vocation of caring for the sick, regardless of their ability to pay for medical services. She was eventually elected Superior General. In her early forties she was already a woman of wide experience: serious, administratively gifted, spiritually grounded, and of great human virtues. But this was all preparation. She now began the second, great act of her drama. She went to Hawaii.
In 1883 she received a letter from the Bishop of Honolulu begging her, as Superior General, to send sisters to care for lepers in Hawaii. He had written to various other religious Orders without success. Sister Marianne was elated. She responded like the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8). She not only sent six sisters, she sent herself! She planned to one day return to New York but never did. For the next thirty-five years, Sister Marianne Cope became a type of recluse on remote Hawaii, giving herself completely to the will of God.
Sister Marianne and her fellow Franciscans managed one hospital, founded another, opened a home for the daughters of lepers, and, after a few years of proving themselves, opened a home for women and girls on the virtually inaccessible island of Molokai. Here her life coincided with the final months of Saint Damien de Veuster. Sister Marianne nursed the future saint in his dying days, assuring him that she and her sisters would continue his work among the lepers. After Father Damien died, the Franciscans, in addition to caring for the leprous girls, now cared for the boys as well. A male Congregation eventually relieved them of this apostolate.
Sister Marianne Cope lived the last thirty years of her life on Molokai until her death in 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and canonized by him in 2012. She loved the Holy Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, and the Church. And because she loved God first, she loved those whom God loves, her brothers and sisters in Christ. She sacrificed for them, left home and family for them, put her health at risk for them, and became a saint through them.
Saint Marianne Cope, help us to be as generous as you were in serving those on the margins, those who need our help, and those who have no one else to assist them. You were a model Franciscan in dying to self. Help us to likewise die so that we might likewise live.
Marianne Cope was born in Germany and was brought to New York state by her parents when she was still a baby. She was the oldest of ten children. Her parents lived, struggled, and worked for their kids. She saw generosity in action at home everyday. She quit school after eighth grade to work in a factory to financially support her ailing father, her mother, and her many siblings. The challenges inherent to migration, a new culture, illness, a large family, and poverty turned Marianne into a serious, mature woman when she was just a teen. She fulfilled her long delayed desire to enter religious life in 1862. Once professed, she moved quickly into leadership positions. She taught in German-speaking Catholic grade schools, became a school principal, and was elected by her fellow Franciscans to positions of governance in her Order. She opened the first hospitals in her region of central New York, dedicating herself and her Order to the time-honored religious vocation of caring for the sick, regardless of their ability to pay for medical services. She was eventually elected Superior General. In her early forties she was already a woman of wide experience: serious, administratively gifted, spiritually grounded, and of great human virtues. But this was all preparation. She now began the second, great act of her drama. She went to Hawaii.
In 1883 she received a letter from the Bishop of Honolulu begging her, as Superior General, to send sisters to care for lepers in Hawaii. He had written to various other religious Orders without success. Sister Marianne was elated. She responded like the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8). She not only sent six sisters, she sent herself! She planned to one day return to New York but never did. For the next thirty-five years, Sister Marianne Cope became a type of recluse on remote Hawaii, giving herself completely to the will of God.
Sister Marianne and her fellow Franciscans managed one hospital, founded another, opened a home for the daughters of lepers, and, after a few years of proving themselves, opened a home for women and girls on the virtually inaccessible island of Molokai. Here her life coincided with the final months of Saint Damien de Veuster. Sister Marianne nursed the future saint in his dying days, assuring him that she and her sisters would continue his work among the lepers. After Father Damien died, the Franciscans, in addition to caring for the leprous girls, now cared for the boys as well. A male Congregation eventually relieved them of this apostolate.
Sister Marianne Cope lived the last thirty years of her life on Molokai until her death in 1918. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and canonized by him in 2012. She loved the Holy Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, and the Church. And because she loved God first, she loved those whom God loves, her brothers and sisters in Christ. She sacrificed for them, left home and family for them, put her health at risk for them, and became a saint through them.
Saint Marianne Cope, help us to be as generous as you were in serving those on the margins, those who need our help, and those who have no one else to assist them. You were a model Franciscan in dying to self. Help us to likewise die so that we might likewise live.
https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-23-saint-marianne-cope-virgin-usa-optional-memorial/