Author name: sanjose
Saint Ignatius of Laconi
Saint Ignatius of Laconi was a Roman Catholic professed religious born in Sardinia, and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He suffered a serious illness that made him vow that he would consecrate himself to God and join the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin if he managed to recover from it.
He asked for admission at the convent in Cagliari but the superiors there hesitated because of his delicate health. He made his profession on 10 November 1722. He was known for his strict and total obedience to his superiors, even when it required the denial of his own will.
He mingled with all people he met and was generous towards those who were ill. His modest demeanor was seen as a quiet sermon for all who saw him going about, which made him a noted figure. He spoke with exceptional kindness and great affection.
Despite poor health and infirmities he continued his work, however arduous. Even after he became blind in 1779, he continued to work for the benefit of those around him. He became known as a wonder worker and it was claimed that he had performed 121 miracles during his life. He died on 11 May 1781.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Laconi
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1 John 4:9
Verse:
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” - 1 John 4:9
Prayer For God's Love And Mercy
Christ Jesus, through you, all my sins have been wiped away. You have paid all my debts and I now stand free with no one to point a finger at me. It is your mercy that made you obey your Father that you may save a wretch like me. You gave yourself wholly so that I may live. Thank you, Jesus, for your unending love and mercy. Pour upon me your grace and strength to stand in faith even in trying times. May I be more like you, Amen.
Saint Damien of Molokai
Saint Damien of Molokai, also known as Father Damien, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was recognized for his ministry, which he led from 1873 until his death in 1889.
Saint Damien was forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm. His father sent him to a college at Braine-le-Comte to prepare for a commercial profession, but as a result of a mission given by the Redemptorists in 1858, Joseph decided to pursue a religious vocation.
Because he learned Latin well from his brother, his superiors decided to allow him to become a priest. During his religious studies, Damien prayed daily before a picture of St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionaries, to be sent on a mission. Three years later when his brother Father Pamphile (Auguste) could not travel to Hawaiʻi as a missionary because of illness, Damien was allowed to take his place.
He taught the Catholic faith to the people of Hawaii. Father Damien also cared for the patients and established leaders within the community to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He dressed residents’ ulcers, built a reservoir, made coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate poi with them, providing both medical and emotional support.
After eleven years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, Father Damien contracted leprosy. He continued with his work despite the infection but finally succumbed to the disease on 15 April 1889. Father Damien has been described as a “martyr of charity”.
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Psalm 51:1-2
Verse:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” - Psalm 51:1-2
Prayer For Redemption
Lord, I was told that Jesus did this for me and that all I have to do to receive Your forgiveness is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and I will be saved, eternally saved, and given a new life in Christ. Lord, a lot of this is hard for me to understand but I do believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that He rose again on the third day, has ascended into heaven and is sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that one day He will come back to take all who have trusted in Him into heaven to be with Him forever.
Amen.
Saint Pachomius the Great
Saint Pachomius the Great is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. At age 21, Pachomius was swept up against his will in a Roman army recruitment drive, a common occurrence during this period of turmoil and civil war. With several other youths, he was put onto a ship that floated down the Nile and arrived at Thebes in the evening.
After studying seven years with Palaemon, Pachomius set out to lead the life of a hermit near St. Anthony of Egypt, whose practices he imitated until Pachomius heard a voice in Tabennisi that told him to build a dwelling for the hermits to come to.
Pachomius established his first monastery between 318 and 323 at Tabennisi, Egypt. His elder brother John joined him, and soon more than 100 monks lived nearby. Pachomius set about organizing these cells into a formal organization.
Saint Pachomius continued as abbot to the cenobites for some forty years. During an epidemic (probably plague), Saint Pachomius called the monks and strengthened their faith. By the time Pachomius died, eight monasteries and several hundred monks followed his guidance. His reputation as a holy man has endured.
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James 1:5
Verse:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” - James 1:5
Prayer For Wisdom
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word, which reminds us of the importance of asking You for godly wisdom when we feel that we are lacking in understanding or discernment, for You have promised to give generously to all who ask in faith.
Saint Peter of Tarentaise
Saint Peter of Tarentaise was born in 1102 on a farm near Saint-Maurice-l’Exil, not far from the Cistercian Bonnevaux Abbey. He was a Cistercian monk who served as the archbishop of Tarentaise (as Peter II) from 1141 until his death.
In 1132, Saint Peter, his abbot, and twelve other monks founded Tamié Abbey in a defile of the Bauges mountains, as a daughter house of Bonnevaux. Once Abbot John was satisfied that the monks had adequate shelter, he returned to Bonnevaux, leaving Saint Peter as abbot of the new monastery. In 1142, at the insistence of his superiors including Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter reluctantly accepted the position as the Archbishop of Tarentaise.
In his episcopal role he applied the Cistercian principles he had learned as an abbot to restore the diocese and met with a good deal of success since the diocese’s management had declined and discipline lax. He removed corrupt priests (and elevated good priests to important pastoral positions) and promoted education for all the faithful
He rebuilt a hospice in poor repair at Little St. Bernard Pass. He also founded a charity which distributed food to farms in the surrounding hills. This would become known as pain de Mai and became a tradition continued in the region until the French Revolution.
He longed for the simple and pious life of a monk. In 1155 he disappeared and was later found as a lay brother in a remote convent in Switzerland. After about a year, when the monks discovered who he was, they alerted the archdiocese. Saint Peter was reluctant to emerge from his newfound solitude but was welcomed back into his archdiocese with much enthusiasm on the part of the people.
Saint Peter of Tarentaise died in 1174 as he attempted to mediate between feuding monarchs after a serious but brief illness. Miracles were reported at his tomb after his death and this led Pope Celestine III to canonize Peter as a saint in mid-1191.
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1 Chronicles 16:11
Verse
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” - 1 Chronicles 16:11
Prayer For Strength In Loss
Lord, it was You that made us in Your image, with emotions and feelings, and I am hurting so much because of this loss. Lord, I feel utterly bewildered by all that has gone on and hardly know which way to turn. I just need Your strength to uphold me in this time of such enormous loss and such overwhelming grief.
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Saint Rose Venerini
Saint Rose was born at Viterbo in Italy, the daughter of a doctor. Following the death of her fiancé she entered a convent, but soon returned home to care for her newly widowed mother. Meanwhile, Saint Rose invited the women of the neighborhood to recite the rosary in her home, forming a sort of sodality with them.
As she looked to her future under the spiritual guidance of a Jesuit priest, Saint Rose became convinced that she was called to become a teacher in the world rather than a contemplative nun in a convent. Clearly, she made the right choice: She was a born teacher, and the free school for girls she opened in 1685 was well received.
Soon the cardinal invited her to oversee the training of teachers and the administration of schools in his diocese of Montefiascone. As Saint Rose’s reputation grew, she was called upon to organize schools in many parts of Italy, including Rome. Her disposition was right for the task as well, for Rose often met considerable opposition but was never deterred.
She died in Rome in 1728, where a number of miracles were attributed to her. She was beatified in 1952 and canonized in 2006. The sodality, or group of women she had invited to prayer, was ultimately given the rank of a religious congregation. Today, the so-called Venerini Sisters can be found in the United States and elsewhere, working among Italian immigrants.
Sources:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-rose-venerini/
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