Daily Saints

Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, Virgin

1566–1607; Patron Saint of the sick; Canonized by Pope Clement IX on April 28, 1669

“Yes, I will go,” said Sister Mary Magdalene. She had been praying in the garden of her convent with other sisters when she entered into ecstasy and was given an invitation from our Lord to enter Purgatory so that she would better understand Divine Justice and the need to pray for those who suffer from the final purification of their sins. She went with Jesus, descending deeper and deeper into the prisons of turmoil, witnessing the intense suffering of the ignorant, uncharitable, weak, materialistic, impure, and proud souls who had died not yet fully purified by the fire of God’s love. She also saw those who had lived good and holy lives, falling only into venial sin. They suffered, but less so than the others. This was but one of countless visions and mystical experiences that Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi received from our Lord during her forty-one years on earth.

Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was born in Florence, Italy, the only daughter of an exceptionally wealthy and noble family. She was given the name Caterina, in honor of Saint Catherine of Siena, but was often called Lucrezia by her family in remembrance of her grandmother. Caterina was a saintly child, raised in a saintly home. As a child, she grew in an affection for the poor and secretly offered them her food. She loved to pray and to teach other young girls her age to pray. She learned her catechism and always looked for opportunities to share her new knowledge with her friends.

Around the age of eight or nine, Caterina began to deepen her prayer, often spending more than an hour at a time steeped in it. She learned to meditate and was especially drawn to meditate upon the passion of Christ. This moved her heart so closely to a love for our suffering Lord that she joyfully sought out penances she could inflict upon herself. She slept on the floor at times, wore a hairshirt, made a crown of thorns and placed it on her head, and drew ever closer to the sufferings of Christ. At the age of ten, she made her First Holy Communion and by the age of twelve, she experienced her first ecstasy in the presence of her mother. After that ecstasy, she made a private vow of virginity to her Beloved.

At the age of fourteen, Caterina’s father was made the Grand Duke of Cortona, and Caterina was boarded at the convent of Saint John in Florence. During her fifteen-month stay with the sisters, her daily prayer often went on for hours at a time. She prayed in private, so as not to draw attention to herself. Around the age of fifteen, her father undertook arrangements for her to be married, but she explained to him that she couldn’t because of her private vow to Jesus. Her father consented and in 1583, at the age of sixteen, she entered the Carmelite convent of Saint Mary of the Angels in Florence. She picked that convent because the sisters received Holy Communion daily, which was uncommon at that time. Within her first year at the convent, she had a second ecstasy in the chapel while praying before the crucifix. During that ecstasy, the sisters heard her say to her Beloved, “Oh Love, You are neither known nor loved.” Her prayer was leading her to a profound knowledge of her Savior, a knowledge that only mystical prayer could provide.

In 1584, the novice Caterina fell seriously ill and was confined to her bed. She embraced every suffering with so much joy that it seemed she didn’t suffer at all. When one of the nuns asked about her suffering, she responded, “Those who call to mind the sufferings of Christ, and offer their own to God through His passion, find their pains sweet and amiable.” On May 17 of that year, she was permitted to make her first vows from bed, taking the name Sister Mary Magdalene, after the penitent saint of the Bible.

After making her vows, Sister Mary Magdalene began to experience daily ecstasies after receiving Holy Communion, which continued for forty days in a row. As a result, her confessor instructed her to share her experiences with the sisters. She did so, and over the next several years the sisters recorded them in five large volumes.

During one of her ecstasies, Jesus took Sister Mary Magdalene’s heart and hid it in His own Sacred Heart. He told her that He would not return it to her until after it was fully purified. On another occasion, Jesus said to her, “I will take away the feeling of grace, but not the grace. Though I will seem to leave you, I will be closer to you.” At one point, this feeling of abandonment lasted for five years, during which time she experienced intense temptations toward impurity, gluttony, pride, infidelity, and blasphemy. She begged her sisters to pray for her in her weakness and sin. Despite these almost unbearable temptations, she grew strong in charity and remained faithful to her Beloved through intense prayer, fasting, and every sort of penance she could impose upon herself. Finally, in 1590, at the age of twenty-four, her dark night temporarily lifted and she was, once again, filled with the deepest consolations from her Lord.

Sister Mary Magdalene’s prayer often was focused upon consoling Jesus’ Heart and making reparation for the many sacrileges committed against Him. She was keenly aware of how unloved Jesus was and how loved He should be. This holy sorrow drove her to be His consolation and to appease His Divine Justice. Her communications with Jesus were as with her closest friend, spouse, and companion. She begged to suffer with Him, in Him, and for Him. She prayed for the conversion of sinners, and sought always to give God glory in all things.

Throughout her religious life, despite her constant ecstasies and raptures, Saint Mary Magdalene was able to fulfill all her duties with great care and productivity. She trained novices, did menial chores, and served as every other sister. The last three years of her life were filled with much physical suffering. She endured severe headaches, fevers, bodily pains, vomiting of blood, and infected gums that led to the loss of all of her teeth. Her greatest sufferings, however, were interior ones. She lived what Saint John of the Cross calls the dark night of the spirit. Many times God seemed absent and she saw only her wretchedness. But out of that interior annihilation, she willed to love, and she was unwaveringly faithful to God and to prayer for the conversion of sinners.

As we honor this great mystic, ponder her attraction to the joyful embrace of every suffering. Suffering itself is not from God. God permits us to suffer so that we can love Him in that suffering and so that our love can become pure. Ponder how well you endure your own sufferings in life. Do you run from them? Do you reluctantly accept them? Do you despair? Or do you see them as a means to more fully unite yourself to the God Who suffered the weight of our sins, nailing them to the Cross so as to free us from sin? Imitate this great saint and try to embrace every suffering for the love of God, in imitation of Jesus, and like Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, you, too, will bring consolation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-25—saint-mary-magdalene-de-pazzi-virgin/

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Saint Gregory VII, Pope, Religious

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c. 1020–1085; Invoked against corruption within the Church; Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on May 24, 1728

In the eleventh century, civil interference within the Church caused many problems. Simony, the unfortunate practice of buying and selling positions of power within the Church, was rampant. Emperors and other nobility claimed the right to appoint bishops, including the pope, usurping the pope’s universal authority. This abuse is referred to as lay investiture. Additionally, many clerics failed to keep the vow of celibacy, due to the fact that many of them were political appointees rather than men responding to the will of God in faith. It was principally these abuses that today’s saint sought to reform.

Pope Saint Gregory VII was born as Hildebrand in the town of Sovana in modern-day Tuscany, central Italy. At a young age, Hildebrand was sent to Rome to study at Saint Mary’s Monastery on the Aventine Hill, where his uncle was abbot. In 1032, when Hildebrand was about twelve years old, a young man named Theophylactus of Tusculum became pope through a bribe by his father. Theophylactus, who was only twenty years old, took the name Pope Benedict IX. Pope Benedict was immoral and corrupt. In 1044, the faithful ran him out of Rome, and Pope Sylvester III was elected. Benedict IX returned just a year later and retook the papacy by force. Benedict’s second reign lasted less than two months—until he wanted to marry his cousin. His uncle, a holy priest named Gratian, encouraged him to resign and even paid him money to do so. As a result, Gratian was elected pope, taking the name Gregory VI. After being pope for less than two years, Gregory VI was deposed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III, based on accusations that he bought the papacy from his nephew, even though he paid his nephew to leave the papacy to protect the Church.

During much of this turmoil, Hildebrand had lived a monk’s life in a Benedictine abbey of Cluny, France. After Pope Gregory VI’s resignation, the confusion around the papacy continued. In 1049, Bishop Bruno of Toul, France, was chosen pope with the support of the Holy Roman Emperor. However, this saintly bishop refused to accept the papacy until his election was properly confirmed in Rome, by the clergy and people. Bishop Bruno brought Hildebrand with him to Rome, received Roman consent, and became Pope (later, Saint) Leo IX. Pope Leo ordained Hildebrand as a deacon and named him papal administrator and papal legate to Tours, France, and then to Germany. Deacon Hildebrand continued to serve in the papal household during the pontificates of Pope Saint Leo IX, Victor II, Stephen IX, Nicholas II, and Alexander II. He was eventually made Archdeacon of Rome and was considered one of the most influential persons within the Church, second only to the popes he served.

Archdeacon Hildebrand was especially committed to reform of the Church, making him both loved and hated. Hildebrand worked tirelessly to enforce priestly celibacy, establish peace between the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantines, root out simony, and establish Church law that gave the authority to pick the pope exclusively to the College of Cardinals—not to the civil rulers or nobility. In 1073, around the age of fifty-three, after working closely with five popes, Archdeacon Hildebrand was elected pope himself, taking the name Gregory VII.

The Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, was about twenty-two years old when Pope Gregory VII became pope. In 1075, the pope declared twenty-seven clear and concise declarations of papal authority, elevating the authority of the papacy above every civil ruler, including the emperor. This caused quite a conflict among the pope, the emperor, and other nobility. The emperor responded by spreading false rumors that the pope practiced necromancy, hired assassins, and destroyed the Eucharist. By 1076, the emperor and his supporters were calling for the pope’s resignation. Pope Gregory VII not only refused to resign, he went so far as to excommunicate the emperor, forbidding the faithful to obey him. Word spread like wildfire. Support for Henry IV quickly dwindled and the princes declared that if the emperor did not receive absolution from the pope, he would be deposed.

In humiliation, Henry IV walked penitentially south, across the Swiss Alps, in the middle of winter, to meet the pope and beg him for forgiveness and absolution. The snowy conditions were treacherous, but he arrived at a castle in Canossa on January 25, 1077 where the pope was waiting. For three days, Henry stood at the gate shoeless, freezing, humbled, and begging for mercy. Eventually, the pope invited him in, absolved him, and restored him to communion with the Church. The pope then celebrated Mass for him and gave him Holy Communion.

Though Henry humbled himself in appearance, firsthand testimony describes him as distracted and angry. While he was able to regain the support of most of the nobility and princes, he soon turned on the pope again and was excommunicated a second time. War broke out between the papal army and the emperor’s. Eventually, Pope Gregory VII had to flee Rome, and Henry’s army burned the city to the ground. One year later, the pope died in exile in Salerno in 1085. His final words were recorded as, “I have loved what is good and hated what is evil, therefore, I die in exile.”

Pope Saint Gregory VII was a courageous defender of the divine authority God entrusted to the Church and vigorously sought to reclaim that authority. Confronting the Holy Roman Emperor was no small task, but even his decrees of excommunication were meant to reform hearts and reestablish God’s will for the Church. As you ponder the Church today, know that the Church has always been, and most likely always will be, in some need of reform. Do not lose hope if you see a need for reform. Instead, seek to imitate the courage of Pope Saint Gregory VII by firmly resolving to do whatever God asks of you to be an instrument of the reform that is needed, beginning with your own soul.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-25—saint-gregory-vii-pope/

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Saint Rita of Cascia

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1386–1457; Patron Saint of abuse victims, impossible causes, sickness, wounds, parenthood, and widows; Invoked against marital problems, fighting and discord, and infertility; Canonized by Pope Leo XIII on May 24, 1900

Margherita Lotti (Rita) was born in a small town near Cascia, Italy, to parents who were advanced in age. After years of childlessness, Rita’s parents saw the birth of their only child as an answer to prayer. At a young age, Rita’s faith was so strong that her parents set up a small oratory in their home in which she could pray. As a young girl, Rita begged her parents to permit her to enter a convent. Instead, according to the common practice of that time, her parents gave her away in marriage at the tender age of twelve.

Saint Rita is known as the patron saint of impossible causes, in part, because of the difficult marriage she endured with such love. Her husband was said to have been an angry and cruel man, who was mentally, emotionally, and even physically violent toward her. During their eighteen years of marriage, it is said that her prayers, coupled with the witness of her many virtues, softened his heart and he turned to Christ, at least enough to attain the hope of Heaven. Rita gave birth to two sons, perhaps twins, and raised them within the Catholic faith as a devout mother.

At that time, it was not uncommon for one family in a town to have an ongoing feud with another family. Such was the case with Rita’s husband, who was of the Mancini family. The Mancinis did not get along with the neighboring Chiqui family. The end to this feud was among Rita’s daily prayers. Her prayers were answered, at least on the side of her husband, Paolo. By the eighteenth year of their marriage, Paolo had begun to turn from his anger and to find more peace in God. He resolved to end the feud with the Chiqui family and attempted to restore peace. Rather than accept his overture, a member of the Chiqui family tricked Paolo and stabbed him to death.

At Paolo’s funeral, Rita publicly forgave her husband’s murderer and offered peace. However, Rita’s brother-in-law, Bernardo, was of a different mind. He began to stir up hatred in the hearts of Rita’s two sons to convince them to avenge their father’s death. The boys agreed, and Rita, filled with holy sorrow, tried to convince them to change their plans. When they wouldn’t, Rita turned to prayer. She prayed that God would preserve her sons from the mortal sin of murder, even if it meant taking their lives before they could carry out their plan. Rita’s prayers were answered. Both of her sons died of dysentery within a year, before they could act out their revenge.

Widowed and childless, Rita turned to her childhood desire of entering the convent. She was refused admission because she was previously married and due to the scandal of her husband’s violent death. In response, Rita sought to bring about a reconciliation between her family and the Chiqui family once and for all. She prayed through the intercession of her patrons, Saints John the Baptist, Augustine, and Nicholas of Tolentino. She also sought the prayers of Saint Mary Magdalene, the patroness of the convent she wanted to enter. Rita’s prayers were answered, reconciliation took place, and God opened the door for her to enter the convent of Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia to live the Augustinian rule of life. One pious legend states that while she prayed and levitated, her three patron saints brought her inside the locked doors of the convent. When the sisters saw this, they concluded that it must be God’s will that she enter.

Not much is known about Rita’s forty years as a religious sister. She is said to have lived a profound life of prayer, often praying throughout the night. She joyfully embraced severe penances, ate only once a day, relying primarily on the food of the Most Holy Eucharist as her daily sustenance. Many who came to the convent to ask for her prayers attested to the power of her intercession. Some even attributed miracles to her prayers.

At the age of sixty, while deep in prayer before a crucifix, Sister Rita received the miraculous gift of the stigmata in the form of a wound on her head, inflicted by one of the thorns that pierced Jesus’ brow. This is believed to have taken place shortly after Rita heard a sermon on the Crown of Thorns by Saint James della Marca, a Franciscan friar who was known for his powerful preaching and devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. Sister Rita’s wound was so painful and unsightly that she is said to have remained in seclusion in her convent, even from her fellow sisters, for the last decade of her life. The one exception was a pilgrimage to Rome taken by all the sisters. Just prior to that trip, her wound healed, but it reappeared upon her return to the convent.

Since Rita’s death from tuberculosis at the age of seventy, many miracles have been attributed to her intercession. When her body was exhumed, it was found to be incorrupt and is on display in a glass reliquary at the Basilica of Saint Rita in Cascia. It is said that at times her body levitates and that sweet odors permeate the air.

Saint Rita of Cascia suffered greatly throughout her life. Her desire of becoming a nun was initially thwarted when she was given in marriage at the age of twelve to a violent and cruel man. She endured her marriage with love and suffered the brutal murder of her husband and the death of both her sons. She joyfully inflicted severe penances upon herself as a religious sister, and God joyfully inflicted upon her the suffering of His Crown of Thorns. Through it all, Saint Rita united herself more fully to the sufferings of Christ and won many graces for her soul and the souls of many others. Ponder your own sufferings, especially if you can relate to the ones that Saint Rita endured. As you do, strive to imitate this saint by uniting those sufferings to the sufferings of Christ for the salvation of your soul and the souls of those most in need.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-22—saint-rita-of-cascia/

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Saint Christopher Magallanes, Priest and Martyr and Companions, Martyrs

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1869–1927; Venerated especially in Mexico; Invoked against government persecution; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 21, 2000

“¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!” Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe! This was the cry of the Christeros, mostly peasant Catholics who opposed the fierce political and anti-Catholic oppression inflicted by the Mexican government on its citizens in the early twentieth century.

The Catholic faith arrived in modern-day Mexico in the early 1500’s with Spanish Franciscians. In 1531, the apparition of Our Lady in Guadalupe greatly aided efforts to share the Gospel. Devotion to the Mother of God and conversions to the Catholic faith grew far and wide. By the turn of the nineteenth century, the Catholic Church was a powerful force in the Spanish colony of Mexico. As a result, some ruling parties resented the Church and sought to eradicate Her influence. Anti-Catholic sentiment especially grew once Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810. In 1857, the new Mexican constitution sought to limit the role of the Catholic Church in Mexico. That law resulted in the confiscation of Church property and the beginning of the separation of the Catholic Church from the state. After an initial persecution, there was relative peace until around 1910. In 1917, another constitution was enacted, and in 1926, President Plutarco Elías Calles began to enforce anti-Catholic laws with vigor, especially against Catholic priests. He eliminated the Catholic education of youth, expelled all foreign priests, banned celibacy and religious vows, and confiscated all remaining Church property. The devastation was immense. At the beginning of the century, there were an estimated 4,500 priests serving in Mexico, most of them foreign-born. By 1934, only 334 state-licensed native priests remained for approximately fifteen million Catholics.

In November 1926, Pope Pius XI intervened and issued an encyclical, Iniquis Afflictisque, in which he addressed this new Mexican law: “The most recent law which has been promulgated as merely an interpretation of the Constitution is as a matter of fact much worse than the original law…” In 1934, he followed up with another encyclical, Acerba Animi, in which he said of the Mexican government: “The clearest manifestation of the will to destroy the Catholic Church itself is, however, the explicit declaration, published in some States, that the civil Authority, in granting the license for priestly ministry, recognizes no Hierarchy; on the contrary, it positively excludes from the possibility of exercising the sacred ministry all of hierarchic rank—namely, all Bishops and even those who have held the office of Apostolic Delegates.”

The twenty-five saints we honor today all died at the hands of the government during this period of anti-Catholic turmoil. One died in 1915, and the remaining twenty-four died between 1926–1928. Three of them were laymen; the rest were diocesan priests. Two were hanged in the public square, and the rest were shot to death, most by a firing squad without a trial. Though many of them were falsely accused of supporting armed conflict against the government, the only crime of each priest was secretly ministering to the needs of the people. The three laymen were members of a Catholic action group that worked to oppose the government’s oppression of the Church and encouraged fellow Catholics to remain strong in their faith.

Among these twenty-five martyrs, today’s memorial specifically mentions one by name: Saint Christopher Magallanes. Cristobal Magallanes Jara was born in Totatiche, Jalisco, Mexico to faith-filled parents who were farmers. As a child, Christopher helped work the land and tend the sheep. In 1888, at the age of nineteen, Christopher entered seminary and was ordained a priest eleven years later. He began his priestly ministry as a teacher in Guadalajara but shortly afterwards was appointed parish priest in his hometown where he served for more than twenty years.

As a priest, Father Magallanes not only served the spiritual needs of his parishioners, he also assisted with their intellectual and material needs by founding schools and opening a carpentry shop to employ the locals and build infrastructure for the town. He also evangelized the indigenous people who had not yet heard the Gospel. In 1915, after the government closed the seminary in Guadalajara, Father Christopher opened a secret seminary in his own home, with the support of the bishop. Shortly afterwards he had seventeen seminarians.

Though Father Magallanes did not support armed rebellion, he was accused of assisting the Christeros and was arrested on May 21, 1927 on his way to celebrate Mass at a farm for his clandestine parishioners. Four days later, without receiving a trial, he was shot to death. His last words are recorded as, “I am innocent and die innocent. I absolve with all my heart those who seek my death and ask God that my blood bring peace to a divided Mexico.”

One of the priests assigned to assist Father Magallanes in his secret seminary was Father Agustín Caloca Cortés. Father Cortés was arrested on the same day as Father Magallanes and was imprisoned with him. By God’s grace, the two were able to absolve each other of their sins in preparation for their deaths. Since Father Cortés was only twenty-nine years old, the officers offered to set him free. He refused unless they also set Father Magallanes free, which the guards refused to do. Father Cortés’ last words before being shot were, “For God we lived and for Him we die.”

As we honor these twenty-five heroic martyrs, we are reminded that the Gospel is more important than life itself. It is better to die than to compromise the faith. Though few today face the threat of physical martyrdom, the secular world attacks the faith in many other ways, requiring us to stand as faithful witnesses to Christ. Ponder any ways that you give in to fear in the face of persecution, and pray that the martyrs we honor today will win for you the courage you need to remain faithful until the end.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/21-may-saint-christopher-magallanes-and-companions-martyrs–optional-memorial/

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Saint Bernardine of Siena, Priest

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1380–1444; Patron Saint of public relations, public speaking, and advertisers; Invoked against gambling addictions and chest problems; Canonized by Pope Nicholas V on May 24, 1450

Bernardine was born into a noble family in the town of Massa Marittima, in the Province of Siena, Italy, where his father was governor. Both of Bernardine’s parents died before he reached the age of seven, leaving him to the care of his aunt. His aunt’s devout Catholic faith greatly influenced Bernardine. He especially grew in love for the poor and often preferred to give his food away rather than to refuse a beggar.

When Bernardine was eleven, his uncles sent him to school in Siena to study civil and canon law. During those years of study, he continued in his devotion, fasted every Saturday in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was careful to engage only in dignified and reverent conversations. After completing his schooling at the age of seventeen, Bernardine remained in Siena and joined the Confraternity of Our Lady, whose members assisted at a local hospital that cared for the sick, orphans, the poor, and pilgrims. In the year 1400, when Bernardine was twenty, a plague hit Siena and countless people died, including many of the hospital workers. Courageously, Bernardine gathered twelve young men, just as Jesus gathered twelve apostles. Together, they took over the administration of the hospital and tirelessly devoted themselves to the care of the sick. After four months of hard work, Bernardine fell ill, but not from the plague. He remained bedridden for four months and used that time to deepen his prayer. When he recovered, he spent fourteen months caring for an aunt, who was blind and bedridden, until her death.

Around the age of twenty-two, Bernardine decided to enter into a time of solitude and prayer to discern God’s will for his life. His discernment led him to join the Franciscan Friars of the Strict Observance. Though their life of prayer and penance appeared strict to the outside world, to Bernardine it was the bare minimum. He regularly exceeded the normal disciplines of the order, joyfully imposing upon himself more severe penances and prayer than was expected of him. After completing his novitiate and his first profession of vows, the twenty-four-year-old Bernardine was ordained a priest on his birthday, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Father Bernardine loved our Blessed Mother, was deeply devoted to Christ Crucified, daily grew in humility and virtue, prayed often, engaged in severe penance, and entirely devoted himself to the glory of God. One day while he was praying in front of a crucifix, he sensed Jesus saying to him, “My son, behold me hanging upon a cross. If you love me, or desire to imitate me, be also fastened naked to your cross and follow me. Thus you will assuredly find me.”

Father Bernardine had an insatiable desire for the salvation of souls. He longed to preach the Gospel but struggled with a speech impediment. Through prayer, Father Bernardine understood that preaching was not to be based upon the eloquence or strength of his voice, but upon the interior presence of God. His faith and charity ignited a powerful fire within him by which he started to become a beloved preacher. At that time, Father Bernardine attended a mission preached by the itinerant preacher Saint Vincent Ferrer. During that mission, Saint Vincent prophesied to the congregation that someone present would take up his preaching mantle in Italy. That “someone” was Father Bernardine.

Interiorly confirmed in his mission to preach, Father Bernardine began to be exceptionally effective. He preached not only the words of Christ, he preached Christ Himself, because it was Christ Who lived in Him. Only a few words from his mouth seemed to produce more good fruit than hours of sermons given by other friars. People took note. He once taught, “In all your actions seek in the first place the kingdom of God and his glory; direct all you do purely to his honor; persevere in brotherly charity, and practice first all that you desire to teach others. By this means the Holy Spirit will be your Master, and will give you such wisdom and such a tongue that no adversary will be able to stand against you.”

Over the next thirty-plus years, Father Bernardine preached all over Italy, traveling on foot from town to town. He began in churches, but soon the churches were not big enough, so he preached in the public squares and anywhere that people would listen to him. Civil authorities even invited him to their towns. He would stay for no more than a few weeks in one town and then move on to another.

In Bernardine’s sermons, he directly confronted the sins of that time. He preached against materialism, sexual immorality, indecent conversations, gambling, and every sort of sinful excess. At times he would gather many items of immorality, such as cards, immodest clothing, dice, perfumes, and more, and burn them in the public square in a “bonfire of vanities.” He also fervently promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus through the symbol “IHS,” the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek. Lastly, he constantly sought reconciliation and unity in Christ. Without a strong national government at the time, conflicts between neighboring cities were a serious problem. Through his preaching, people reconciled individually, and entire cities put an end to wars and conflicts with other cities. At times, his preaching was accompanied by miraculous prophecies and healings. He is even said to have raised four people from the dead.

As often happens with saintly preachers, someone accused Bernardine of heretical teaching, and he had to travel to Rome to stand trial. Upon the completion of his trial, the pope declared him innocent of all charges, and Father Bernardine resumed his mission with the blessing of the Holy Father. The Holy Father later said that Bernardine was a second Saint Paul. The Holy Father even offered to make him a bishop three times, but each time Bernadine turned the pope down. Later in life he was appointed Vicar General of his order for a period of five years, during which time he worked hard at reforms. The last two years of his life were spent traveling, preaching, and saving many souls. Six years after his death, Father Bernardine was canonized a saint.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we can take from Saint Bernardine is that the power of our words does not come from earthly learning, the sound of our voices, or the eloquence of our arguments. The true power of our words comes from the depth of our hearts. When our hearts are on fire with the love of God, it is God Himself Who speaks through us and many souls will be touched. Ponder the power, or lack thereof, of your own words. If you find yourself to be ineffective in the proclamation of the Gospel, turn more fervently to a life of prayer and penance. Seek first to glorify God within your own soul, and trust that if you do so, God will effortlessly reach many others through you.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-20—saint-bernardine-of-siena-priest/

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Pope Saint Celestine V

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Peter was the eleventh of twelve children. His father died when he was quite young. When his mother would ask, “Which one of you is going to become a saint?” Peter would answer “Me, Mama! I’ll become a saint!”.

At 20, Peter became a hermit, praying, working, and reading the Bible. He followed the Benedictine Rule, and so many other hermits came to him for guidance, that he founded the Holy Spirit Community of Maiella (Celestines).

Following a two year conclave during which the cardinals could not decide on a pope, Peter came to them with the message that God was not pleased with the long delay; the cardinals chose Peter as the 192nd Pope.

The primary objective of Celestine’s pontificate was to reform clergy, many of whom were using spiritual power to obtain worldly power. Celestine sought a way to bring the faithful to the original Gospel spirit, and he settled on “Pardon” – he called for a year of forgiveness of sins, and return to evangelical austerity and fidelity.

He reigned a mere five months, and the members of the Vatican Curia took advantage of him. This led to much mismanagement, and great uproar in the Vatican. Knowing he was responsible, Celestine asked forgiveness for his mistakes, and abdicated on 13 December 1294, the only pope to do so. His successor, Boniface VIII, kept Celestine hidden for the last ten months of his life in a small room in a Roman palace. Celestine may have appreciated it – he never lost his love of the hermit‘s life, and spent his last days in prayer.

Born

1210 at Isneria, Abruzzi, Italy as Pietro del Morrone

Papal Ascension

5 July 1294

Papal Abdication

13 December 1294

Died

19 May 1296 in Rome, Italy of natural causes
buried in the church of Saint Agatha, Ferentino, Italy
re-interred in the Church of Saint Maria di Collemaggio, Aquila, Italy

Canonized

1313 by Pope Clement V

Patronage

bookbinders
—
in Italy
– Aquila
– Isernia

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-celestine-v/

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Saint John I, Pope and Martyr

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c. Late Fifth Century–526; Invoked against temptations toward false unity and acceptance of heresy; Pre-Congregation canonization

In 451, the Council of Chalcedon taught that Jesus had both a human and divine nature, and those two natures were united in the one Person of Jesus Christ. This doctrine was established in response to the Arian heresy plaguing the Eastern Roman Empire, which taught that Jesus was created by the Father and, therefore, neither co-equal with Him nor divine. After Chalcedon countered this heresy, the Arian clergy and even the Byzantine emperor tried to move closer to acceptance, but many of them didn’t go all the way. Instead, many former Arians fell into other middle-of-the-road heresies that failed to fully accept the two natures of the Son of God. In 482, Byzantine Emperor Zeno issued a document called the Henotikon. This document attempted to find a middle ground between the official Church teaching on the nature of Christ as defined in the Council of Chalcedon, and the Arian view. Emperor Zeno’s successor, Basiliscus, continued in this error of faith.

In 518, Justin I succeeded Emperor Basiliscus as the Eastern Roman Emperor. Shortly afterward, he accepted the position of the pope and the Council of Chalcedon. In 523, Emperor Justin issued an edict mandating the acceptance of the Council of Chalcedon throughout the Eastern Empire, and demanding that all Arians turn their churches over to Catholics. At that time in the West, Rome was under the control of Theodoric the Great, the king of the Ostrogoths. Theodoric was an Arian, which gave rise to ongoing tensions between him and the pope, as well as all orthodox Catholics. Though Theodoric was mostly accommodating of Chalcedon Christians (including the pope), when the Eastern Roman Emperor Justin I issued his edict in 523 against the Arians, Theodoric was outraged. He threatened that if the edict were not rescinded, he would treat all Chalcedon Catholics in the West in the same way that Arians were being treated in the East, even promising bloodshed.

In that same year, a deacon in Rome, Archdeacon John, was elevated to the papacy, becoming Pope John. Shortly after that, the outraged King Theodoric forced Pope John to travel to Constantinople in an effort to convince Emperor Justin to rescind his edict. Pope John reluctantly went, accompanied by a number of bishops and Roman senators. When Pope John arrived in Constantinople, Emperor Justin warmly welcomed him and the two were clearly of the same mind. It is said that the emperor traveled twelve miles outside of the city gate to meet the pope and when they met, the emperor bowed to the ground in homage. On their way into the city, the pope is said to have cured a blind man. Regarding the matter at hand, Pope John might have encouraged the emperor to treat the Arians gently, but in no way did he carry out King Theodoric’s demand to convince the emperor to rescind his edict. Pope John was unwaveringly Catholic and fully accepted the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon.

When word reached King Theodoric that Pope John did not carry out his order, the king was outraged. First, he imprisoned and later executed one of Pope John’s closest friends, the philosopher Boëtius. Then, when Pope John returned to Italy, King Theodoric immediately had him, the other bishops, and senators arrested and jailed in Ravenna, not permitting Pope John to return to Rome. Since Pope John was already quite frail and in ill-health, he did not survive long in the dungeon. Though he was not directly executed by the king, the Church has nonetheless named Pope Saint John I as a martyr for the faith.

If Pope John would have compromised on the faith of the Church, the king would have been grateful and treated him well. But the pope had a duty to proclaim the one true faith, without regard for his own physical well-being. This is what Pope John did, and that is why he is now a saint in the courts of Heaven.

As we honor this holy martyr, consider any ways that you are tempted to compromise your own faith for the sake of “peace at all costs.” The secular world often tempts us to downplay our faith, especially our moral convictions, for the sake of a false unity. There are many objective evils today that are being promoted by the secular world as good: abortion, confusion about sexual identity, materialism, and atheistic socialism to name a few. Allow Pope Saint John I to inspire you so that you will have courage in the face of such temptations. Commit yourself to the truth so that you will be a purer instrument of the saving truths that will lead those most in need to eternal salvation.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-18—saint-john-i-pope-and-martyr/

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Saint Giulia Salzano

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Giulia was the daughter of Adelaide Valentino and Diego Salzano. Her father was a captain in the Lancers of King Ferdinand II of Naples, and died when Giulia was four years old. She was raised and educated by the Sisters of Charity in the Royal Orphanage of Saint Nicola La Strada until age fifteen. She was a school teacher and catechist in Casoria, Naples. She was a friend and co-worker of Blessed Caterina Volpicelli. She was noted for her personal devotion to the Virgin Mary. She encouraged others in devotion to Our Lady and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She was the foundress of the Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1905.

Born

13 October 1846 in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Italy

Died

17 May 1929 in Casoria, Naples, Italy of natural causes

Venerated

23 April 2002 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues)

Beatified

27 April 2003 by Pope John Paul II

Canonized

17 October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-giulia-salzano/

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Saint Pancras, Martyr

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c. 289–c. 304; Patron Saint of children, jobs, and health; Invoked against cramps, false witnesses, headaches, and perjury; Pre-Congregation canonization

When Saint Pancras was born toward the end of the third-century, Diocletian was the emperor of the Roman Empire, sharing ruling authority with three others. In the years prior to Diocletian’s reign, Christianity began to be tolerated within the empire. Emperor Diocletian slowly reversed that trend, beginning the final wide-reaching persecution of Christians before Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity.

One tradition states that around the year 299, Emperor Diocletian and one of his co-rulers, Galerius, took part in a pagan divinization ceremony. The ceremony to predict the future was judged a failure, and the growing number of Christians in the empire was blamed. In order to appease the Roman gods, the cult of Christianity needed to be purged. The purge began by requiring members of the royal court and army to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. In 303, after Diocletian and Galerius consulted an oracle, they published an edict that began a great persecution of Christians. Churches were destroyed, Scriptures were burned, and Christians who failed to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods were killed. A fourteen-year-old boy named Pancras was among them.

Pancras was born in Phrygia, Asia Minor, in modern-day Turkey. His mother is believed to have died while giving birth, and his father is believed to have died when Pancras was around the age of eight. Orphaned, Pancras was entrusted to the care of Denis, his uncle, who took him to live in Rome. In Rome, Pancras and Denis converted to Christianity and lived their faith with deep devotion. In 304, Pancras was among the Christians who were routinely being brought before the authorities to renounce their faith and offer sacrifice to the gods. Though it is uncertain that Diocletian was ever in Rome during that year, tradition states that Pancras was brought before Diocletian and refused to offer sacrifice to the gods. Diocletian was impressed with the fourteen year old’s courage. The emperor tried to persuade Pancras, offering him wealth and honor if he only burned incense to the gods. One thirteenth-century legend places these words on the lips of Pancras in response to the emperor: “Though I am a child in body, my heart is old, and by the virtue of my Lord Jesus Christ, your threats and menaces move me no more than does the painting that I see upon the wall. These gods that you want me to worship are but deceivers of creatures…” The emperor was outraged and ordered that he and his uncle, now Saint Denis, be beheaded on May 12 on the Via Aurelia outside of Rome.

Though Pancras’ death could be seen as a tragedy, God used it for good. After his death, devotion to him began to grow. In the sixth century, Pope Symmachus built a basilica over his tomb. At the end of the sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great sent a Roman monk to England to convert King Æthelberht and to become England’s first bishop. After successfully converting the king and his kingdom, the monk-bishop, now known as Saint Augustine of Canterbury, built the first Church in England and named it after Saint Pancras. Pope Gregory even sent relics of the saint to inspire the people. Devotion to Saint Pancras spread widely throughout England from the very beginning of the kingdom’s Christianization. Eventually, miracles were attributed to Saint Pancras’ intercession by those who prayed at his tomb.

It is also said that at the end of the sixth century, the Archbishop of Tours, France, made the claim that anyone who told a lie at the tomb of Saint Pancras would be attacked by demons or even die. As a result, the saint’s relics continued to be distributed to other churches. Oaths made before his relics were thought to be so binding that they were held up in some courts of law.

Little did this fourteen-year-old boy know that his heroic death would inspire kings and popes, laymen and clergy, throughout the ages. As we honor this child martyr, reflect upon his courage at such a young age. Though young in years, he was wise in spirit. Pray for the same wisdom and courage that this saint had so that you will be able to give proper honor and glory to Christ.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-12—saint-pancras-martyr/

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Saint Isidore

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c. 1070–c. 1130; Patron Saint of Madrid, farms, farmers, bricklayers, and rural communities; Invoked against the death of a child; Canonized by Pope Gregory XV, March 12, 1622

Saint Isidore, whom we honor today, is often called Isidore the Laborer, or Isidore the Farmer. He was an ordinary man, husband, and father who lived a humble and simple life working the fields for a landowner. His extraordinary faith, by which he always sought first the Kingdom of God, sets for us an excellent example of achieving extraordinary sanctity in the ordinary grind of daily work.

Isidore was born into material poverty in Madrid. His parents, however, were rich in virtue and fostered in him a deep faith. At his baptism, he was given the name Isidore, after Saint Isidore of Seville, the great Spanish scholar and bishop of Seville who lived about 500 years earlier. Because of the family’s poverty, Isidore the Laborer did not receive an education. Instead, from a young age, Isidore worked as a hired hand for a wealthy landowner. The landowner grew very fond of Isidore and treated him as a son, even entrusting him with the management of his estate. It is believed that Isidore lived for sixty years as a laborer, but other speculation is that he may have died around the age of forty.

What is it that elevated this humble and simple man to the ranks of the saints of the Church? To begin, Isidore is said to have been exceptionally generous to the poor. Though poor himself, he and his wife regularly distributed the little they had to those who were in even greater need. He is also said to have been a man of deep prayer. He would regularly attend daily Mass before work, putting God first every day. And as a result of his intercession, miracles abounded, not only during his life but also after his death.

Isidore and his wife had one son. One legend states that their infant child fell into a large pit. Isidore and his wife prayed fervently, and suddenly, the water in the pit began to rise. Very soon, the water had carried the boy to the surface, and Isidore and his wife were then able to pull him out.

Another legend states that because Isidore attended Mass each morning, he showed up later to work than the other hired hands. When the landowner received complaints that Isidore was late for work, he decided to investigate. Sure enough, the landowner discovered that Isidore was regularly later than the others. When the landowner went to confront Isidore about this, he was met with a great surprise. As he walked toward Isidore plowing in the field, he saw that there were others plowing alongside him who looked like angels, using angelic-looking oxen. Thus, God rewarded Isidore with the help of angels to accomplish even more work than the others because Isidore put God first every day.

Isidore also cared for all of God’s creatures with great concern. According to one legend, on a winter day, when Isidore was carrying a sack of grain to be milled, he saw some hungry birds and shared some grain with them, prompting criticism from a coworker. But after Isidore’s diminished sack of grain was milled and returned to him, he had twice as much flour as the others.

Other legends describe Isidore as bringing his landowner’s daughter back to life, raising a spring of water in a dry place to give drink to the thirsty, and producing a full pot of food to feed poor, hungry visitors.

Isidore’s wife, Maria, was also believed to be quite saintly. When their only son died at a very young age, the couple made a promise of celibacy and jointly dedicated themselves solely to God. In Spain, Maria is referred to as Santa María de la Cabeza (Saint Mary of the Head). Miracles have been attributed to her, and to this day, the relic of her head is carried in procession. It is believed that, through her intercession on multiple occasions, rain has fallen in the countryside during droughts.

After Isidore’s death, the miracles continued. Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, during a battle with the Muslims, reportedly had a vision of Saint Isidore who directed him and his army down a path of victory in 1212. That same year, after a flood, Saint Isidore’s body was miraculously exhumed from his grave and found to be incorrupt. Centuries later, when Phillip III, King of Spain, touched Saint Isidore’s body, he was miraculously cured of a serious illness. In all, there have been more than 400 miracles attributed to Isidore’s intercession throughout the centuries.

Another great honor given to this simple, poor, and humble farmer came at his canonization by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. He was canonized at the same time, in the same ceremony, with some of the most recognized and beloved saints in the history of the Church: Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila, and Philip Neri.

Saint Isidore is the patron saint of Madrid, and his feast is widely celebrated in that town and throughout Spain. He is also honored in many rural communities in Chile, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, and the United States. Saint Isidore is a saint for the working man. While at work, he prayed continuously, offering his work as an act of love to God. Saint Isidore’s life magnifies the dignity of work, and shows the common laborer the path to sanctity. Daily work and toil have the potential of being a way of honoring God. Saint Isidore put God first in his life. From his faith and love of God, his work, charity, and dignity shone forth.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-15—saint-isidore—usa-optional-memorial/

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Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, Virgin

1566–1607; Patron Saint of the sick; Canonized by Pope Clement IX on April 28, 1669

Saint Gregory VII, Pope, Religious

c. 1020–1085; Invoked against corruption within the Church; Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on May 24, 1728

Saint Rita of Cascia

1386–1457; Patron Saint of abuse victims, impossible causes, sickness, wounds, parenthood, and widows; Invoked against marital problems, fighting and discord, and infertility; Canonized by Pope Leo XIII on May 24, 1900

Saint Christopher Magallanes, Priest and Martyr and Companions, Martyrs

1869–1927; Venerated especially in Mexico; Invoked against government persecution; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 21, 2000

Saint Bernardine of Siena, Priest

1380–1444; Patron Saint of public relations, public speaking, and advertisers; Invoked against gambling addictions and chest problems; Canonized by Pope Nicholas V on May 24, 1450

Pope Saint Celestine V

Saint John I, Pope and Martyr

c. Late Fifth Century–526; Invoked against temptations toward false unity and acceptance of heresy; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Giulia Salzano

Saint Pancras, Martyr

c. 289–c. 304; Patron Saint of children, jobs, and health; Invoked against cramps, false witnesses, headaches, and perjury; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Isidore

c. 1070–c. 1130; Patron Saint of Madrid, farms, farmers, bricklayers, and rural communities; Invoked against the death of a child; Canonized by Pope Gregory XV, March 12, 1622

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