Author name: sanjose

Blessed Michal Kozal

Blessed Michal Kozal was a Polish Roman Catholic bishop. He was born on September 27, 1893 to the peasants Jan Kozal and Marianna Płaczek.

Kozal commenced his education on 27 April 1905 at Krotoszyn and at one stage participated in a student strike to take action against the forced Germanization and the forced teaching of the German language. He passed his examinations in 1914 and was offered further studies but rejected the offer to instead pursue a path to the priesthood first in Poznan and then in Gniezno for theological and philosophical studies. Kozal was ordained to the priesthood in the Gniezno Cathedral in 1918.On 1 June 1920 he was appointed as the administrator of the Saint Nicholas parish until 1923 and around this time collaborated with the Catholic Action movement and the Polish Red Cross. In 1932 he became titled as a Monsignor after Cardinal Hlond sought papal approval for this.

The outbreak of World War II saw him tend to the wounded victims and those who were displaced due to the war and the Polish invasion. The Gestapo arrested him and 44 other priests and seminarians on 7 November 1939, and he was tortured and jailed in his diocese; he was later moved to Lad before being sent to both Szczeglin and Berlin before the fatal transfer to Dachau, from which he would never again leave. Kozal never shirked from his duties and spent his time in imprisonment ministering to fellow prisoners despite extensive abuse he received from the guards at the camp.

Kozal suffered from typhoid, and his situation grew worse on 17 January 1943; on 26 January the Nazi doctor Joseph Sneiss gave him a lethal injection of phenol in his right arm, and his remains were cremated in the camp’s crematorium on 30 January. His death was announced on Polish radio on 1 February.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micha%C5%82_Kozal
Saints SQPN. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
The Kozal Family. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
Santi e Beati. Retrieved 30 November 2016.

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1 Corinthians 1:18

Verse:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18

A Prayer for a Heart after God

I believe strongly that one thing the devil seeks to do is to sneak in and subtly distract our attention from the purity and simplicity of loving God. He doesn't mind if we exalt revival, healing, or anything else, as long as we lose our focus on the simplicity of heart-level lavish devotion to the Son of God.

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Saint Dwynwen

Saint Dwynwen, also referred to as Saint Dwyn or Donwen, is a Welsh patron saint of lovers. She is believed to have been the daughter of King Brychan and that her mother may have been Rigrawst.

According to the old tales, a young man fell in love with her but she rejected his advances. In another tale, it is she who had fallen in love with a young man but their marriage was forbidden by her father. It is said that Saint Dwynwen turned to God and prayed to him regarding her love. God grants her requests. She remain unmarried and became God’s instrument to look after all true lovers.

Saint Dwynwen retreated to solitude in a small island where she built a church known as Llandwyn. She is also the patron saint of sick animals.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwynwen
Lapa, Dmitry. "Venerable Dwynwen of Llanddwyn Island", Orthodox Christianity
Farmer, D. H., (1978) The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
FAQ on St Dwynwen Archived 27 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine from the Museum of Welsh Life, accessed 31 October 2011

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Proverbs 16:20

Verse:

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” - Proverbs 16:20

An Act of Abandonment

O my God, I thank you and I praise
you for accomplishing your holy
and all-lovable will without any regard for mine.
With my whole heart,
in spite of my heart,
do I receive this cross I feared so much!

It is the cross of Your choice,
the cross of Your love.
I venerate it;
nor for anything in the world
would I wish that it had not come,
since You willed it.

I keep it with gratitude and with joy,
as I do everything that comes from Your hand;
and I shall strive to carry it without letting it drag,
with all the respect
and all the affection which Your works deserve.

Amen.

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Saint Francis de Sales

Saint Francis de Sales was destined by his father to be a lawyer so that the young man could eventually take his elder’s place as a senator from the province of Savoy in France. For this reason Francis was sent to Padua to study law. After receiving his doctorate, he returned home and, in due time, told his parents he wished to enter the priesthood. His father strongly opposed Francis in this, and only after much patient persuasiveness on the part of the gentle Francis did his father finally consent. Francis was ordained and elected provost of the Diocese of Geneva, then a center for the Calvinists. Francis set out to convert them, especially in the district of Chablais. By preaching and distributing the little pamphlets he wrote to explain true Catholic doctrine, he had remarkable success.

At 35, he became bishop of Geneva. While administering his diocese he continued to preach, hear confessions, and catechize the children. His gentle character was a great asset in winning souls. He practiced his own axiom, “A spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrelful of vinegar.”

Besides his two well-known books, the Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God, he wrote many pamphlets and carried on a vast correspondence. For his writings, he has been named patron of the Catholic Press. His writings, filled with his characteristic gentle spirit, are addressed to lay people. He wants to make them understand that they too are called to be saints. As he wrote in The Introduction to the Devout Life: “It is an error, or rather a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman…. It has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world.”

In spite of his busy and comparatively short life, he had time to collaborate with another saint, Jane Frances de Chantal, in the work of establishing the Sisters of the Visitation. These women were to practice the virtues exemplified in Mary’s visit to Elizabeth: humility, piety, and mutual charity. They at first engaged to a limited degree in works of mercy for the poor and the sick. Today, while some communities conduct schools, others live a strictly contemplative life.

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-francis-de-sales/

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Acts 2:38

Verse:

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:38

Prayer for the Forgiveness of Sins

O Lord, Jesus Christ, Redeemer and Saviour, forgive my sins, just as You forgave Peter's denial and those who crucified You. Count not my transgressions, but, rather, my tears of repentance. Remember not my iniquities, but, more especially, my sorrow for the offenses I have committed against You. I long to be true to Your Word, and pray that You will love me and come to make Your dwelling place within me. I promise to give You praise and glory in love and in service all the days of my life.

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Saint Marianne Cope

Mother Marianne’s generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, called her life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.”

On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. The girl was named after her mother. Two years later the Cope family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school.
Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii.

Elected provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881. Two years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls.

In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach.

Awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai.

Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918, was beatified in 2005, and canonized seven years later.

Sources:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-marianne-cope/

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Is 8:23-9:3

First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali;
but in the end he has glorified the seaward road,
the land west of the Jordan,
the District of the Gentiles.
Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness:
for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14

Response– The Lord is my light and my salvation

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R– The Lord is my light and my salvation

One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R– The Lord is my light and my salvation

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R– The Lord is my light and my salvation

Second Reading: 1 Cor 1:10-13,17

I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

Alleluia:

Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom and cured every disease among the people. Alleluia, alleluia!

Gospel: Mt 4: 12-23 or 4:12-17

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from:

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Micah 6:8

Verse:

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8

A Prayer for Peace Making

Jesus, rightful Advocate of peace, Elegant Champion of reconciliation, Your victories echo harmoniously. You taught me the way towards peace, My assurance of congenial oneness. Teach me to carry the torch of peace, That it may reside within my heart And radiate in my surroundings. Through the Grace of Your power, Transform the world into a Heaven. You are the only hope of mankind: You are the most gracious Peace Maker!

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Saint Blaesilla

Saint Blesilla was a Roman widow at the age of 18 and a disciple of Jerome. She was born into a wealthy senatorial family in Rome, the eldest daughter of Paula of Rome and sister of Eustochium, who were members of a group of wealthy Christian women who followed the teachings of Jerome.

After a life-threatening fever, became “a changed woman” and a severe ascetic, practicing fasting as a spiritual discipline. Her fasts dramatically weakened her, and she died within four months, at the age of 20. Blaesilla’s death caused “bitter controversy” in Rome; many Romans blamed Jerome for her death and demanded that he be removed from Rome. Eventually, Jerome left Rome, with Blaesilla’s mother and sister, to live as an ascetic in the Holy Land.

Most of the knowledge about Blaesilla’s life comes from the writings of Jerome, in which he described her piety and virtue. She also inspired Jerome to translate the book of Ecclesiastes.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaesilla
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1797
Cruz, Joan Carroll (2015). Lay Saints: Ascetics and Penitents. Charlotte, North Carolina: TAN Books. ISBN 978-0-89555-847-3. OCLC 958120637.
Hooper, Finley; Schwartz, Matthew (1991). Roman Letters: History from a Personal Point of View. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. p. 206.

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