Week at a glanceTuesday June 17 ~
Wednesday June 18 ~
Thursday June 19 ~ Saint Romuald
Friday June 20 ~ SUMMER BEGINS!
Saturday June 21 ~ Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
National Indigenous Peoples Day
Sunday June 22 ~ CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY
1st Communion Sunday
Monday June 23 ~
Tuesday June 24 ~ The Nativity of Saint John
the Baptist
Wednesday June 25 ~
Thursday June 26 ~
Friday June 27 ~ The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Saturday June 28 ~ The Immaculate Heart of Mary
Saint Irenaeus
Sunday June 29 ~ Saint Peter & Saint Paul
The monthly prayer intention of pope francisTHAT THE WORLD MIGHT GROW IN COMPASSION:
Let us pray that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from his Heart, learn to have compassion on the world. Daily Offering Prayer God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen. |
calendar of saintsJune 19 ~ Saint Romuald
Born into a family of the dukes of Ravenna about the year 950, Romuald founded the Camaldolese Benedictines around 1012. The congregation combined monastic community life with the solitary life of hermits. Romuald practised austerity as a monk and travelled about Italy founding hermitages and monasteries, giving counsel to those who sought him out. He died on this day in 1027. June 21 ~ Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-91) is a patron saint of young men. Born a prince in Lombardy, Aloysius began to practise prayer and penance at a young age, rejecting the values of his position and family. Against great resistance, in 1585 he gave up his rights as eldest son and joined the Jesuits, hoping to go to the missions. Instead, in 1591 the plague broke out in Rome, and Aloysius offered himself to serve to sick and dying in the hospital. He caught the plague and died three months later, at just 23 years old. He was canonized in 1726. June 22 ~ Saint Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus was born in Bordeaux around the year 353. A prominent lawyer who held public office while still young, he married a Spanish noblewoman and was baptized in 389, after the death of his infant son. This event changed his life. He and his wife moved to Spain, where they began to divest themselves of their estates for the benefit of the poor. About 394, at the insistence of the people of Barcelona, he was ordained a priest. Moving to Nola, near Naples, Paulinus and his wife used their resources for good works, founding a semi-monastic community with a guest house for pilgrims to the local shrine. In 409 Paulinus became bishop of Nola. He died in 431. He was held in esteem by many of the great saints of the period: Ambrose was his friend and he corresponded with Augustine, Martin of Tours and Jerome. June 22 ~ Saint John Fisher
Born in Yorkshire in 1469, John Fisher was ordained to the priesthood when he was just 22. An eminent theologian, John sought to improve the university's academic standards and advised the hiring of Erasmus to lecture in Greek. John, Erasmus and Sir Thomas More became great friends. In 1504, John was made bishop of Rochester. When Henry VIII began seeking to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, John defended the queen's position, refusing to sign that part of the Act of Succession of 1534 which had the effect of overriding papal authority. Henry counted this as treason. Old and sick, John Fisher was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Several months later, the pope made him a cardinal. This so angered the king that, rather than wait for him to die, Henry had John beheaded. Four hundred years later, along with his friend Sir Thomas More, John was declared a saint. June 22 ~ Saint Thomas More
Thomas More was born in London in 1478. At 18, he was sent to study law and was called to the bar in 1501. Three years later he entered parliament. An enlightened man, he insisted that his three daughters receive the same education as his son. Thomas' diverse achievements were recognized, and Cardinal Wolsey and the king wanted his services at court. In 1532, Wolsey was disgraced and Thomas replaced him as Lord Chancellor. He resigned three years later, openly opposing the king, as did John Fisher. With the passing of the Act of Succession in 1534, he was sought out and required to accept it. He refused twice and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. There he wrote the best of his spiritual works. Nine days after the death of John Fisher, Sir Thomas, met the same death at the age of 57, claiming to be "the King's good servant, but God's first." He is a patron of lawyers, statesmen and politicians. June 24 ~ Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
The birth of John the Baptist was one of the earliest feasts to be named to a particular day on the Church calendar. June 24 was chosen as it is six months before the birth of Christ. With its proximity to the summer solstice, it signifies the waning of the light, while the birth of Jesus near the winter solstice marks the coming of the light. When John was born, his parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, called him John in accordance with an angel's instruction. In disbelief that they would have a son, Zechariah asked for a sign and was made mute, but with the giving of the name his speech was restored. Luke records that he responded with Benedictus, the great hymn of love and thanksgiving still recited in the liturgy of the hours. June 27 ~ Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The heart of Jesus is adored as a symbol of his threefold love: human, spiritual and divine. In the Old Testament, this love is described as a father’s love for his children or a husband’s love for his wife. In the New Testament, the promise of living water, the Holy Spirit, is fulfilled in the pierced heart of the Messiah. Our modern understanding of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been shaped by the visions experienced by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. In modern times, the image of the Sacred Heart in the home has become a sign that the love of Jesus rules over the family. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. June 28 ~ Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is closely linked with that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although popular devotion began in the 17th century, it was in 1805 that permission was given for a feast of the Pure Heart of Mary. In 1944 the feast was instituted in the Western Church. Since then, popes have on numerous occasions consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary’s sanctity and her love as the Mother of God are signified by her immaculate heart. June 28 ~ Saint Irenaeus
Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor, probably between 130 and 135. He went to Lyons as a missionary priest sometime before 177. By 199 he was bishop of Lyons. Through his writings, we know he was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, who was himself a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist; thus Irenaeus was in the direct line of the disciples. His writings refuting heresies helped lay the foundations of the Christian theology and give us a window on the early Church. Perhaps his most important contribution was his assertion that creation is not sinful by nature, but rather distorted by sin. June 29 ~ Saint Peter & Saint Paul
Tradition says these two apostles, honoured since the earliest days, were martyred in Rome. Peter, a fisherman, was chosen by Jesus to be his disciple. After Simon confessed that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter and told him that it was on this rock (petra) that he would build his Church. Acts records that, after the Ascension, Peter was indeed the "chief of the Apostles." From the middle of the 3rd century onward, documents show that the bishops of Rome were recognized as the successors of Peter. Paul was born in Tarsus, a Roman citizen raised and educated as a Pharisee. His experience of the risen Christ resulted in his conversion from a zealous persecutor of Christians to an apostle. In the Acts of the Apostles his friend Luke describes Paul's missionary journeys between the years 45 and 57, his return to Jerusalem, his subsequent arrest and his appeal to Caesar. Here history ends but tradition tells us that Paul was martyred for the faith about the year 66. Paul called himself the "Apostle of the Gentiles." June 30 ~ First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church
This day is dedicated to the Christians martyred under the Emperor Nero. In the year 64, a great fire broke out in Rome. When suspicion fell on Nero, he accused Christians of having set the fire. The historian Tacitus wrote that while no one believed this, countless Christians were seized nevertheless, mocked and put to death in unspeakable ways. |
St. Stephen Catholic Parish
4302 57 Avenue
Olds, AB
403-556-3084
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4302 57 Avenue
Olds, AB
403-556-3084
[email protected]
Facebook: St. Stephen's Catholic Parish - Olds, Alberta