Daily Saints

Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin

1905–1938; Patron Saint of The Divine Mercy devotion; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000

Helen Kowalska was born the third of ten children in the village of Glogowiec, Poland, which was then under the control of the Russian Empire. Poland regained its independence thirteen years later, in 1918, after World War I. The Kowalskas were quite poor, but they had a rich Catholic faith and held onto their vibrant Polish culture in the face of Russian attempts to eliminate it. As a child, Helen received only three years of schooling but loved to pray, was pious, obeyed her parents, and was sensitive to human suffering. She would later write in her Diary, “From the age of seven, I experienced the definite call of God, the grace of a vocation to the religious life.” At that time, she relates that she first heard God speak to her in her soul and sensed “an invitation to a more perfect life.” When she asked her parents about becoming a nun, they repeatedly refused. At the age of fourteen, Helen left her family home and became a housemaid in the nearby city to help financially support her family. After her parents refused her permission to enter religious life again when she was eighteen, she relates “I turned myself over to the vain things of life, paying no attention to the call of grace, although my soul found no satisfaction in any of these things.” Despite her refusals of grace, Jesus was persistent.

One day, in her eighteenth year, she was at a dance with her sisters. Everyone was having fun at the dance, but Helen was experiencing “deep torments.” As she started to dance, she suddenly had a vision of Jesus at her side—bloodied, beaten, racked with pain, and stripped of His clothing. Jesus said to her, “How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off?” Soon after, Helen sneaked away to the Cathedral of Saint Stanislaus Kostka where she fell prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament and begged God for direction. As she prayed, she heard these words, “Go at once to Warsaw; you will enter a convent there.” She went home, told her sister to say goodbye to her parents, and took the train seventy-five miles to Warsaw with only the dress on her back.

Once Helen got off the train, she prayed to the Mother of God who directed her to a small town where she was given lodging for the night. The next day, while praying in a nearby church, she heard Jesus tell her, “Go to that priest and tell him everything; he will tell you what to do next.” The priest arranged for Helen to stay with a holy woman of the parish for the time. During her brief stay, Helen began knocking on the door of every convent she could find, but they all turned her down. Finally, she knocked on the door of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy where the mother superior sent her to the chapel to pray and ask Jesus if He accepted her. Helen then went to the chapel to pose the question to Jesus, and He responded, “I do accept; you are in My Heart.” When Mother Michael asked Helen what Jesus’ response was, Helen told her Jesus accepted her. Mother Michael then responded, “If the Lord has accepted, then I also will accept.” To test Helen’s vocation, Mother Michael sent her away for a year to make some money for her wardrobe. Mother Michael later wrote about this encounter in her diary, stating that Helen “was no one special.” After a year of working as a housemaid near Warsaw, Helen returned to the convent on August 1, 1925, and at the age of twenty was accepted into the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Of that day, she later wrote, “I felt immensely happy; it seemed to me that I had stepped into the life of Paradise. A single prayer was bursting forth from my heart, one of thanksgiving.”

Within a few weeks, however, Helen was frustrated with the convent’s busy schedule and lack of prayer time, so she decided to leave. The night before she was going to tell Mother Michael of her decision, Jesus appeared to her in her cell, beaten and bloody. When she asked Jesus who did this to Him, He responded, “It is you who will cause Me this pain if you leave this convent. It is to this place that I called you and nowhere else; and I have prepared many graces for you.” With that, she changed her mind, went to Krakow to finish her novitiate, and on April 30, 1926, she received the habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.

Sister Faustina spent the next twelve years of her life in various convents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw, Vilnius, Płock, and Kraków. It was in Kraków where she died on October 5, 1938, at the age of 33. Throughout her time as a religious sister, Sister Faustina worked primarily as a cook, gardener, and doorkeeper. Her daily duties were intertwined with incredible mystical experiences, in which Jesus regularly appeared to her to deliver to her His message of The Divine Mercy. Under obedience to her superiors, beginning in 1934, she diligently wrote down these visions and private revelations in six notebooks. These private revelations are now contained in a single book called The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul. The book and the devotions contained within it are among the most prominent devotions within the Church today.

In her diary, Saint Faustina articulates several ways that Jesus wants devotion to His Mercy to spread. The first way is by meditating upon the image of Divine Mercy. This image is of Jesus, with two rays of light shining from His Heart, one blue and one red, signifying the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Jesus ordered that this image be painted and honored throughout the world, with the inscription “Jesus, I Trust in You” on the bottom. The second way is by instituting the Solemnity of Divine Mercy on the eighth day of Easter. Pope John Paul II added this solemnity to the universal calendar of the Church in the year 2000, when he canonized Saint Faustina. The third way is by praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which Jesus Himself taught to Saint Faustina. The goal of this chaplet is to obtain mercy, trust in Christ’s mercy, and show mercy to others. The fourth way is by honoring the three o’clock hour every day, the hour in which our Lord died and poured forth His Mercy. Finally, Jesus wanted to raise up many apostles of Mercy, who both live mercifully toward others and help spread devotion to His Mercy.

Within two decades after Sister Faustina’s death, the messages of Divine Mercy spread far and wide. Her spiritual director, Father Michael Sopoćko, played a significant role in the initial spread. New religious congregations were founded to spread devotion to Divine Mercy, the image and prayers in the diary extended to other continents, and her diary became exceptionally popular across Poland. Today, the official biography of Saint Faustina, released by the Vatican at the time of her canonization, states, “The years she had spent at the convent were filled with extraordinary gifts, such as: revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, participation in the Passion of the Lord, the gift of bilocation, the reading of human souls, the gift of prophecy, or the rare gift of mystical engagement and marriage.” However, the Vatican actually banned her diary and every devotion attached to it in 1959, stating it had “serious theological reservations” because the diary had “an excessive focus on Faustina herself.” In 1965, then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyła received permission from the Vatican to open an initial informative process into Kowalska’s life and virtues, and submitted his positive findings two years later. However, it wasn’t until 1978, the year that Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope John Paul II, that the Vatican lifted its ban on Saint Faustina’s writings, and the process of her canonization was initiated, culminating in her canonization on the eighth day of Easter, 2000, the first universal Church celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday.

For reasons we will only understand in Heaven, God chose this poor, simple, devout, and humble young woman to deliver a message to the world that would become one of the most central and important messages ever delivered. The Divine Mercy of God must be accepted, pondered, lived, and given to others. Mercy is God’s love; it is everything and all things.

As we honor this great saint, ponder the fact that the message God gave to us through her was not for some previous generation; it is for today. Reflect upon your own devotion to The Divine Mercy. Do you pray the Chaplet, venerate the image, honor the three o’clock hour, participate in Divine Mercy Sunday, and seek to spread this sacred devotion as an apostle of Divine Mercy? Know that this is a universal invitation from God; it is an invitation and exhortation given to you. Commit yourself to the truths of Divine Mercy and allow that abundant Mercy to flood your soul.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/saint-faustina-kowalska/

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St. John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church

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1801–1890; Patron Saint of Newman Centers; Canonized by Pope Francis on October 13, 2019

John Henry Newman, born in London, England, was the eldest of three sons and had three sisters. His father was a banker, and his mother’s family were engravers and papermakers. His early education was given by his Anglican mother who was descended from French Calvinist Huguenots. As a child, he became well versed in the Bible, although his religious convictions were not definitive. At the age of seven, he was sent to Great Ealing School, a boarding school considered to be the best private school in England at that time. John was a serious student who loved to read, devouring everything from Arabian tales to philosophical and theological works. He especially loved stories that sparked his imagination.

When John Henry was fifteen, during his final year at Ealing, he went through a profound conversion. Of that conversion, he later wrote, “I fell under the influences of a definite creed, and received into my intellect impressions of dogma, which, through God’s mercy, have never been effaced or obscured” (Apologia #3). His conversion came through reading Evangelical books in which he came to a personal conviction about eternal glory. That year he continued to read and was introduced to Saint Augustine and other Church Fathers, though most of his reading was in Evangelical theology. His reading even led him to conclude that the “Pope was the Antichrist predicted by Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John.” Finally, he sensed that his life mission would require him to remain celibate, perhaps so he could be a missionary or for some other reason.

After his personal conversion, John Henry continued his studies at Trinity College, Oxford. Because he struggled, he graduated without distinctions. Desiring to continue with his intellectual pursuits, he began working as a private tutor and preparing for a fellowship at Oriel College, Oxford, which he received in 1822 at the age of twenty-one. In 1824, he was ordained an Anglican deacon and became a priest in 1825. After his Anglican ordination, he became curate of Saint Clement’s Church, Oxford. As curate, he assisted the parish priest with various pastoral duties, which gave him time to reflect upon his theological concepts within the context of real life with real people. His time as a curate won him much respect, and in 1828, he was appointed Vicar of the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Oxford. He remained in this position until 1843.

In the early 1830s, some leaders within the Church of England were growing increasingly concerned about what appeared to be a laxity of faith among the Anglican community, as well as state interference in the Anglican Church. On July 14, 1833, an Anglican priest named John Keble preached a sermon at the University of Oxford that caught the interest of a number of Anglican leaders, including John Henry Newman. This sermon sparked what became known as the Oxford Movement. Over the next several years, John Henry and others began to write and publish “Tracts for the Times.” These tracts were a series of pamphlets that defended Anglican apostolic succession and argued for a return to the liturgical traditions with a renewed interest in the Church Fathers. Little by little, however, his writings appeared to sound more like Catholic teaching than Anglican. Though this caused controversy, John Henry continued to develop his doctrinal convictions.

It was Newman’s study and articulation of the teachings of the Church Fathers that had the biggest impact upon him. In 1842, he retired from his positions at Oxford and retreated to Littlemore, where he spent the next few years living a quasi-monastic life of prayer, study, and writing. After a thorough study of the Church Fathers and the development of the doctrines he deeply believed in, he was convinced that the Roman Catholic Church was the Church instituted by Christ. Despite the shock and disapproval of those close to him, on October 9, 1845, he was received into the Catholic Church in a small ceremony at Littlemore by Blessed Dominic Barberi. He then traveled to Rome for further studies, was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847, and returned to Birmingham, England, to form the Birmingham Oratory of St. Philip Neri in 1848.

In the years that followed, Father Newman helped found the Catholic University of Ireland and published the Apologia Pro Vita Sua, a theological defense of his personal conversion. He also published several other works, including The Idea of a University, in which he especially articulates the purpose of a university. He argued that a university was not just to teach useful knowledge but to cultivate the mind in its pursuit of knowledge, ultimately arriving at “a great and firm belief in the sovereignty of Truth.” It is for this reason that Catholic chaplaincies at colleges are called Newman Centers.

Before his death, Father Newman received two important honors. In 1877, he was given an honorary fellowship at Trinity College as a way of reconciling him with Oxford and his former colleagues. An even greater honor came in 1879 when Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal, despite the fact that he was not a bishop.

Saint John Henry Newman could have lived a comfortable life as an Anglican priest and scholar. However, he chose to follow the convictions of faith that God planted in his mind and heart.

As we honor Saint John Henry Newman, ponder his process of personal discovery and conversion. We all need ongoing conversion and transformation. Allow Saint John Henry Newman’s courage to inspire you to always seek out the fullness of the truth and go wherever it leads you.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/saint-john-henry-newman/

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Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, Virgin

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1811–1849: Patron Saint of sick people and those who have lost a parent; Beatified by Pope John Paul II May 23, 1982

Eulalie Mélanie Durocher was the tenth of eleven children born into a well-to-do and devotedly Catholic farming family in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, an agricultural village located in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada, about thirty miles northwest of Montreal. Three of her siblings died young, one of her sisters became a nun, and three of her brothers became priests. Though her village had been under British rule since 1763, it maintained a strong French-Catholic identity, with the local church the social, educational, and spiritual gathering place.

As a child, Eulalie manifested a strong Catholic faith, good morals and judgment, and was friendly and well loved by those who knew her. Until the age of ten, she was homeschooled by her grandfather. When her grandfather died, she was sent to a boarding school run by the Congregation of Notre Dame in Saint Denis, just across the river. At age twelve, after receiving her First Holy Communion, she was once again tutored at home by a local priest for about four years, due to poor health. During that time, her sister Séraphine had moved to Montreal to attend a boarding school run by the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, with the intent of entering their congregation when she completed her schooling. Eulalie, desiring to follow in her sister’s footsteps, went to the same boarding school at the age of sixteen. Though Séraphine ultimately entered the congregation, Eulalie struggled with chronic illness and had to return home after two years, ending her opportunity to enter the congregation as a religious sister. Though heartbroken, she maintained her strong faith and good character.

In 1830, shortly after Eulalie returned home from Montreal, her mother died, and Eulalie was thrust into the position of maintaining the household at the age of nineteen. A year later, when her brother, Father Théophile, became pastor of Saint-Mathieu parish in Belœil, fifteen miles south of the family home, he convinced his father and siblings to move in with him. For the next twelve years, Eulalie not only cared for the family, she also worked for the parish as her brother’s secretary, was attentive to the poor and sick, and helped organize many parish activities, including the education of the young. Her time working in this busy parish was fruitful in many ways. She saw firsthand the many issues facing the people of the parish and wider communities, especially the grave lack of formal education. This filled her heart with an ongoing desire to, once again, try to enter religious life. She especially became aware of the need for sisters who would dedicate themselves to the education of children, including the poor and those in rural communities. For her first ten years at the parish, her desire to fulfill this vocation grew within her.

In 1841, Eulalie was made aware of an attempt by the neighboring pastor in Longueuil to bring the teaching order of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary from France to the diocese. Eulalie saw this as her opportunity, and she and a friend offered to join the congregation as soon as they arrived. However, the sisters ultimately declined the invitation, deciding to remain in France.

Since the need for teaching sisters remained a high priority, the bishop of Montreal decided to start his own congregation. After meeting Eulalie, he was convinced that she would be an excellent first candidate. Eulalie agreed, and she and two other young women formed the beginning of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Quebec. They not only used the same name as the congregation in France, they also adopted their rule of life.

On February 28, 1844, at the age of thirty-three, Eulalie became a novice, was clothed in the habit, and took the name Sister Marie-Rose. Joining her were two other women who took the names Sister Agnes and Sister Marie-Madeleine. They spent the next several months in formation under their spiritual director, Father Jean-Marie François Allard, a member of the Oblates of Mary who had recently arrived from France. On December 8, 1844, the novices took their first vows, and the bishop appointed Sister Marie-Rose as mother superior.

For the next six years, Mother Marie-Rose navigated many difficulties, including local church politics and calumnies, but remained steadfast in her commitment to raise up a congregation of sisters who would provide for the needs of the youth. She saw education and religious formation as the most pressing needs at that time and helped guide other young women in that mission.

At the time of her death, in 1849, from chronic ill-health, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary numbered thirty teachers, seven novices, and seven postulants in four convents where they taught 448 students. After Mother Marie-Rose’s death, the order continued to expand. In 1944, a century after its founding, there were 3,367 teaching sisters in 212 institutions around the world, serving 57,299 students. In 1927, the informative process for the Cause of Mother Marie-Rose began, and in 1979, Pope John Paul II beatified her, paving the way for a future canonization.

Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher saw a need within her local community, sensed God calling her to address it, and acted upon His will once the time was right. Though she might have seen her initial inability to join the Congregation of Notre Dame as a roadblock, God used it as an opportunity to found a new religious order that would share the faith across Canada, the United States, and around the world.

As we honor this holy woman, ponder any roadblock you have experienced in life that, at first, was a disappointment. Entrust it to our Lord, and know that this might be nothing other than a detour to a more glorious way in which God wants to use you for His glory and the salvation of souls.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-6—blessed-marie-rose-durocher-virgin/

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Our Lady of the Rosary

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In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Albigensian heresy was flourishing in southern France. The Albigensians were Christian dualists who believed the Old Testament God was the source of the material world, which was evil, and the New Testament God was the source of the spiritual realm that was good. They rejected the sacraments and promoted extreme asceticism as a way of rejecting the material world.

In 1203, Saint Dominic was traveling through southern France on a diplomatic mission when he encountered this grave heresy. In the two decades to follow, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to rooting out this heresy through preaching and debates. Legend has it that at some point, frustrated with the difficulties he was facing in that mission, he retreated for a few days of prayer and fasting to beseech Our Lady for guidance. Our Lady appeared to him, giving him the Rosary, revealing the mysteries to be meditated upon during the fifteen decades, and exhorting him to preach the mysteries and to pray the decades as a spiritual weapon. The word “Rosary” comes from the Latin rosarium, which means “rose garden.” Each Hail Mary is a spiritual rose; together, they make up the garden of roses. Saint Dominic did as Our Lady instructed him and became quite successful in converting the heretics.

Today’s feast of Our Lady of the Rosary has its roots in a feast named Our Lady of Victory. In the late sixteenth century, the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire were expanding into southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region. In 1571, Pope Pius V, who was a Dominican, formed an alliance between the Papal States, Spain, Venice, and several other smaller Christian states, called the Holy League, in order to stop Ottoman aggression. On October 7 of that year, the Holy League confronted the Ottoman navy in the Mediterranean, and the pope called upon all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. Victory was achieved. In gratitude, Pope Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory to be celebrated on the first Sunday of October every year. Two years later, Pope Gregory XIII changed the name to the Feast of the Holy Rosary. In 1671, the feast was extended to all of Spain, and in 1716, after another important victory against the Muslims, the feast was extended to the entire Church. In 1913, Pius X changed the date from the first Sunday in October to October 7 to preserve the Sunday celebration. Today, this feast is celebrated under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary as a mandatory memorial on the Roman Calendar.

Though war is always gravely unfortunate and should be avoided if at all possible, defense of one’s family and nation is a moral duty when an unjust aggressor attacks. In this case, prayer is the greatest weapon of war, and after the Mass, the Rosary is the greatest prayer to be prayed.

In addition to physical war to protect one’s nation, the Rosary is among the greatest spiritual weapons to fight against every form of evil. Often, even during times of national peace, spiritual chaos ensues. Today, due to instant worldwide communication technologies, we are well aware of the many spiritual evils that plague societies and peoples everywhere: wars, corruption, immoral living, flamboyant sins of the flesh, murders, thefts, crimes of hate, moral decay, poverty, and so much more. Rather than just criticizing and condemning such evils, praying the Rosary for those intentions is the best way to combat them.

As we celebrate this feast in honor of the holy Rosary and Our Lady, seek to renew your trust in her intercession, using this powerful spiritual weapon. Every crime, abuse, cruelty, hatred, and evil of any kind is first and foremost a spiritual defect. It is a sin. The greatest remedy for sin is repentance. The greatest method of winning over sinful hearts to repentance is through prayer, and one of the greatest forms of prayer is the Rosary. The Church, in its popes, bishops, and saints, has held up the Rosary throughout the centuries. Countless saints prayed its beads every day, offering a spiritual bouquet to Our Lady so she could, in turn, lavish the spiritual roses of that bouquet upon the world.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-7—our-lady-of-the-rosary/

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Saint Bruno, Priest

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1030–1101; Patron Saint of possessed people; Equivalent canonization by Pope Leo X in 1514

Saint Bruno is believed to have been born into the wealthy and influential Hardebüst family in the city of Cologne, in modern-day Germany. His family’s status would have ensured him a good education and a successful career. As a teenager, he was sent to the prestigious Cathedral School of Rheims, in the Kingdom of France, about 200 miles from his hometown. After completing his studies, he returned to Cologne where he was made a canon at Saint Cunibert Church. It is most likely at that time that he was ordained a priest. In 1056, when Canon Bruno was about twenty-six years old, he was called back to Rheims by the bishop, given a canonry at the Cathedral, taught at the School of Rheims, and was later made rector of the school. These distinctions speak to his character, holiness, and intelligence. Canon Bruno spent the next twenty-plus years in this capacity, after which time he was made chancellor of the Archdiocese of Rheims.

While he was chancellor, a corrupt and worldly man named Manassès of Gournay was made Archbishop of Rheims. The honest canons firmly opposed the archbishop’s ways, and Canon Bruno led the way. The archbishop was deposed by a local council, but he appealed to the pope and became violent toward his opposition. Around this time, Bruno left Rheims, probably for Rome, until the matter was resolved. Finally in 1080, the pope deposed the archbishop, and there was a cry from the clergy and laity to appoint Bruno as the next archbishop. Bruno, however, had other plans. He resigned from his prestigious positions in Rheims and set out to answer God’s call to a new life.

Bruno is believed to have first traveled about 100 miles south to Molesme where he met with a monk and future founder of the Cistercian order, Saint Robert. After a short stay, he decided to travel farther south with six companions to found a new order under the authority of Bishop Hugh of Châteauneuf, Bishop of Grenoble. Bishop Hugh welcomed Bruno and his companions and told them about a dream he had in which he saw God build a house in the desert for His glory with seven stars showing the way. The bishop believed the seven men were the stars in his dream, so he enthusiastically supported their new mission. With the bishop’s support, Bruno and his companions traveled into the mountain country called Chartreuse, where they built hermitages and embraced a radical life of prayer, study, and manual labor. Peter the Venerable, an abbot of Cluny, later described their early life this way: “There, they continue to dwell in silence, reading, praying, and also undertaking manual work, especially in the copying of books. Within their cells, at the signal given by the church bell, they perform part of the canonical prayer. For Vespers and Matins, they all gather in church. On certain days of celebration they depart from this pace of life…They then have two meals, they sing in church all the regular hours and all, without exception, take their meal in the refectory.”

Bruno enjoyed about six years of solitude in Chartreuse when, in 1090, he was called to Rome by the pope. Pope Urban II, who was elected pope in 1088, found himself in serious conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor and Antipope Clement III. Pope Urban was Bruno’s former student and called on him to become a counselor to assist with the chaos. Bruno obediently went to the aid of Pope Urban, serving him quietly and personally within the Lateran Palace in Rome. Shortly after his arrival, however, the Holy Roman Emperor took Rome by force, and Bruno and Pope Urban had to flee.

Around the year 1091, Pope Urban wanted to make Bruno the Archbishop of Reggio, but Bruno once again opposed the idea, and the pope chose another. After pleading to return to his hermitage in Chartreuse, the pope agreed to allow him to found a new hermitage in Italy so he was closer and could be called upon if needed. He and some companions settled in the wilderness of Calabria where they built a hermitage named Sainte-Marie-de-la-Tour. Of this new life, Bruno wrote in a letter, “I am living in the wilderness of Calabria far removed from habitation. There are some brethren with me, some of whom are very well educated and they are keeping an assiduous watch for their Lord, so as to open to him at once when he knocks.” Bruno died in this hermitage a decade later.

Though Bruno never formally wrote a rule for his newly founded order, he did leave them a way of life. Twenty-six years after his death, statutes were written down that guided their monastic-hermitical vocation. Bruno was quickly considered a saint, but in keeping with their hidden vocation, the order never formally petitioned the pope to canonize him. Over the next five hundred years, the Carthusians grew to 198 monasteries with about 5,600 members. In 1514, during a general chapter of the order, a request was made to Pope Leo X to confirm Bruno’s merits and authorize a liturgical feast for the order. The pope approved and granted an equipollent (equivalent) canonization, which required no lengthy process, but was done solely on the pope’s authority. In 1623, that Carthusian feast was extended to the entire Church and placed on the Roman Calendar.

It is often said that the Carthusian Order is the only order that has never needed to be reformed. The hermit-monks have stayed true to their statutes from the beginning, and remain so today. They live the most radical form of religious life in the Church. They accept no visitors, exist in absolute solitude together, live contemplative lives, embrace penances, intercede for the Church and world, and seek perfect union with God.

“Our principal endeavor and our vocation is to devote ourselves to the silence and solitude of the cell. It is holy ground, the place where God and his servant frequently converse, as between friends. There, the faithful soul is often united to the Word of God, the bride with her Spouse, earth is joined to heaven and the human to the divine” (Statutes 4.1). Furthermore, they live solitude in community: “The grace of the Holy Spirit gathers solitaries together to form a communion in love, as an image of the Church, which is one, though spread throughout the world” (Statutes 21.1). They gather several times a day in their chapel for communal prayer, in addition to long periods of private prayer in their hermitages. Though the monks refrain from talking during the week, they go for a two-hour walk on Sunday during which they freely converse. Though separated from the world, their lives are dedicated to ongoing prayer for the Church and world, and they give a silent witness to the world of that which is most important: union with God.

As we honor Saint Bruno today, we also call to mind the radical life of solitude and prayer that he and so many Carthusians have lived after him. Allow their witness to call you to a life of deeper prayer and solitude. Ponder the ways that the busyness of life and the anxieties of the world need to be purged from your life. Consider spending more time alone, in prayer, detached from all that distracts you. Many hermits have discovered the infinite joy of union with God in prayer and solitude. Once this union is discovered, it sheds light on the foolishness of a worldly life and the shallowness it presents. Allow Saint Bruno to speak to you by the witness of his life so that you will be among those who discover what he discovered.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-6–st-bruno/

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Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest

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1819–1867; Invoked against cancer; Beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 9, 2000

Francis Xavier Seelos was born in the town of Füssen, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, modern-day Germany, into a family of twelve children, nine of whom survived into adulthood. His parents were deeply devout and had him baptized the same day he was born. His father later became the sacristan of the local parish church, and Francis assisted him as an altar boy. From an early age, Francis manifested a strong faith and devotion to God, often playing priest with his friends. At the age of five, he began his education in a one-room schoolhouse for boys. At the age of twelve, he completed his primary school, receiving marks of excellence for diligence, conduct, religion, reading, and handwriting. It was then that he expressed a sincere interest in becoming a priest. When the local pastor learned of this, he helped arrange for him to attend secondary school at the Institute of Saint Stephen in Augsburg, about eighty miles north of their hometown. Around the age of twenty, Francis went to the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich where he studied philosophy and theology for three years. During this time, he became acquainted with the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and was admitted to that order at age twenty-two.

The Redemptorists were founded in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori for the purpose of evangelization and pastoral care. Their ministry was especially devoted to the poor and abandoned, and all who were materially or spiritually marginalized. They also preached parish missions, preaching in down-to-earth and practical ways, helping people to encounter a personal relationship with Christ their Redeemer, through catechesis, preaching, confession, and spiritual direction.

Francis especially felt drawn to minister to the spiritual needs of the German-speaking people of the United States. At that time, there were many first-generation German-speaking Catholics in the U. S. who formed close bonds among themselves, centered around German-speaking churches. These newly established communities were quite different from the well-established communities the immigrants had known in Europe. After reading about the needs of these immigrants, Francis requested and received permission to travel to the United States to complete his studies. After a month-long journey by ship, he arrived in the port of New York in 1843, completed his studies, and was ordained a priest in Baltimore on December 22, 1844, at the age of twenty-five. He celebrated his first Mass on Christmas Day.

As a newly ordained priest, Father Seelos was assigned to the Redemptorist Church of Saint Philomena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as an assistant. The pastor of that parish was none other than Father John Neumann, who was also the superior of the Redemptorists. Eight years after Father Seelos arrived, Father Neumann became the Bishop of Philadelphia, and later the first American bishop to be canonized a saint. Father Seelos’ time with Father Neumann taught him much about pastoral ministry and filled him with an active zeal for souls, helping him to become a good spiritual director and confessor.

In 1851, Father Seelos became pastor of Saint Philomena and Rector of the local Redemptorist community. A year later, he was assigned as pastor of the massive parish of Saint Alphonsus in Baltimore, Maryland, where he served for a few years before illness led to a transfer to a smaller parish. For the next nine years, Father Seelos served in a variety of parishes in Maryland and also was appointed as the Redemptorist novice master to oversee the seminarians.

Throughout the first nineteen years of ministry, Father Seelos became well known and well loved as a good pastor and compassionate confessor. While he drew his own parishioners to Christ, many people from neighboring parishes also flocked to him. His homilies were rich in biblical themes, practical, and understandable by all. He was manifestly sincere, always showed a deep concern for the poor, sick, and marginalized, and formed those same pastoral virtues in his seminarians. He was generous with his time, always more concerned with the needs of his people than his own. He was an excellent shepherd to the youth, whom he saw as the future of the Church, making their formation the highest priority.

Around the age of forty-one, the bishop of Pittsburgh recommended Father Seelos for the episcopacy. Father Seelos, however, wrote to the Holy Father and stated that it would be a “calamity” if he were to be made a bishop. The Holy Father respected his wishes and passed him over.

In 1863, two years after the start of the Civil War, the United States Congress passed the Enrollment Act, a law that required every able-bodied man between the ages of twenty and forty-five to register for military service. Being far more concerned about the spiritual welfare of the people than the demands of warfare, Father Seelos personally met with President Abraham Lincoln to request an exemption for Redemptorist seminarians, which was warmly granted.

In that same year, a fellow Redemptorist accused Father Seelos of not being firm enough with the seminarians, as was the custom in Europe. As a result, Father Seelos saw an opportunity to serve God in a new way. Between the years of 1863 to 1866, he dedicated himself to the parish missions, a central ministry of the Redemptorists. He preached at both English- and German-speaking parishes across Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

After two years as an itinerant preacher of parish missions, and after a year as a simple priest in a parish in Detroit, Father Seelos was assigned to Saint Mary of the Assumption Church in New Orleans. As a parish priest once again, Father Seelos threw himself into his ministry. His smile, joyful and welcoming demeanor, and pastoral zeal made a powerful impact. He especially showed deep concern for the poor and marginalized, and many sought out his spiritual guidance and prayers. A year later, when yellow fever broke out in the city, Father Seelos selflessly ministered to the sick, without concern for himself. As a result, he contracted the disease and died on October 4, 1867, at the age of forty-eight.

In many ways, Father Seelos’ life was not extraordinary. He did not become a bishop, found a new order, write profound theological treatises, or die a martyr. What made him extraordinary was that he lived as an ordinary shepherd of souls with extraordinary diligence and love. He was a pastor at heart, and the people of God were profoundly affected by his priestly ministry. One hundred and thirty-three years after his death, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II during the jubilee year of 2000, leaving many in hopeful anticipation of a future canonization.

As we honor this holy priest who was extraordinary in his ministry, ponder the fact that we are all capable of living extraordinary lives within the ordinary rhythm of life. Sanctity is not about doing great things; it’s about doing our daily duty with great love, one moment at a time, loving one soul at a time. If you see your life as one that reflects the ordinary, allow Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos to inspire you to live that ordinary life with extraordinary love and virtue, touching lives in every way God inspires you to do so.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/usaoctober-5—blessed-francis-xavier-seelos-priest/

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Saint Francis of Assisi

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1182–1226; Patron Saint of animals, ecologists, families, lacemakers, merchants, needleworkers, peace, and zoos; Invoked against dying alone and fire; Canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228

Saint Francis of Assisi is perhaps the most known and loved saint within the Catholic Church. Though many flock to him because of his portrayal as one who loved animals and nature, he became one of the greatest saints in history for one simple reason: he was a true servant of the Most High God.

Francis of Assisi was most likely born in the year 1181 in the small town of Assisi, Italy, about 100 miles north of Rome. He was born into the merchant class, his father being a seller of fine silk. As a youth, Francis was known to be quite lively, often the center of attention among friends. As a teenager, he enjoyed parties and singing and was quite worldly.

His father wanted Francis to join him in the family business, which Francis did with disinterest. He was far more interested in his friends and in having a good time than he was in work. This caused tensions at home on a regular basis.

As a young adult, Francis had dreams of doing great things. However, the “great things” he dreamt of had much more to do with obtaining worldly honors than with honoring God. One of his chief desires was to become a great knight. His family also desired he become a knight so that their societal status would be elevated.

Around the year 1202, Francis’s dream of becoming a great knight began to move forward. He was fitted with fine armor, a sword, and a horse and sent into battle against the neighboring town of Perugia. Success in that battle would prepare him to one day become a Crusader in the pope’s army, hopefully earning him the dignity of a knight. But the battle of Perugia was short and ended in Francis’ capture and imprisonment. As Francis waited a year for his father to pay the ransom for his release, he suffered greatly with the other men who were imprisoned.

After his release, Francis spent months with a serious illness. Both his imprisonment and illness affected him greatly, and he began to reevaluate his life. Despite that, in 1205 he set off for another battle in the army of the Count of Brienne, once again well fitted with a horse, sword, and armor. Before he arrived, however, Francis had a vision that would change his life. In that vision, Francis heard a voice say to him, “Who can do more for you? The master or the servant? The rich man or poor man?” Francis quickly answered, “The rich master!” The voice then asked, “Then why do you leave the Lord for the servant and the God of infinite riches for the poor mortal?” This vision was enough for Francis to turn around and return to Assisi in search of God’s will.

Over the next year, Francis and his father regularly were at odds. Francis began to pray and seek God’s will for his life, while his father continued to insist that Francis become a knight or work in the family business. During that year, Francis grew in his love for the poor and even served the lepers at a nearby hospital. While praying one day in the dilapidated Church of San Damiano, Francis heard a voice from Heaven say to him, “Go, repair my house which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin.” With that, he began to physically repair that church, live in solitude, and pray continually.

The family conflict between Francis and his father came to a head in 1206 when Francis was twenty-five years old. He and his father formally parted ways in the presence of the Bishop of Assisi when Francis renounced his inheritance, choosing only God as his Father. Over the next three years, Francis began to live his new life of poverty, prayer, and service of God.

At first, most of the townspeople thought Francis was out of his mind, and they ridiculed him. But as time passed, Francis began to attract some followers. He and his followers spent much time praying, listening to the voice of God, serving the poor and lepers, and working with their hands to repair abandoned churches.

By the year 1209, Francis and his followers numbered twelve. They decided to write a new Rule for their common life and made a pilgrimage to Rome to get papal approval for their Rule. Once the pope verbally approved their Rule, Francis and his companions returned to Assisi and took up residence in a small church called the Portiuncula. From there, Brother Francis and his Friars Minor began their life of prayer and missionary preaching. Now, instead of rebuilding physical churches, they began to rebuild God’s Church, the spiritual Body of Christ.

Over the next ten years, the Order of Friars Minor grew from only twelve to about five thousand. They took up residence across Europe and began to have a powerful effect upon many people. Francis continued to preach and was also the instrument of countless miracles. In 1223, the pope approved the final and definitive Rule of the Friars Minor in writing, and Francis entered into the final years of his life.

In 1224, while on a forty-day retreat, Francis was gifted with the stigmata, the visible wounds of Christ in his hands, feet, and side. Those final two years were also marked with much suffering from various illnesses and the loss of his sight.

On October 4, 1226, after being unable to find a cure for his many illnesses, Saint Francis died surrounded by his brothers in Assisi at the Portiuncula where his life as a Friar Minor began. Just two years later, Pope Gregory IX canonized him as a saint, and his legacy continued to grow.

Saint Francis was unquestionably one of the greatest saints to ever live. The way he accomplished this greatness is worth studying and imitating. Though it is hard to imagine ourselves ever reaching the heights of sanctity that Saint Francis achieved, know that it is possible for us all. Saint Francis embraced the will of God with a radical abandonment and ongoing zeal. This resulted in his becoming one with Christ and doing great things for God and His Church in a very short period of time.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-4–st-francis-of-assisi/

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Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr

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c. 907–929; Patron Saint of brewers, Czech Republic, Bohemia, and Slovakia; Pre-Congregation canonization

In the early ninth century, Germanic priests and missionaries began arriving in Great Moravia. These German-speaking priests celebrated the Liturgy exclusively in Latin and struggled to communicate the faith to the Slavic people in their native language. Consequently, Prince Rastislav of Moravia asked the Holy Roman Emperor to send Slavic missionaries. In response, two brothers raised by a Slavic mother, Saints Cyril and Methodius, were sent. To evangelize the Slavs, they created an alphabet for the previously unwritten Slavic language and translated the Latin Scriptures and liturgical texts into written Slavic. Among their converts were Duke Bořivoj I and his wife, Duchess Ludmila. Bořivoj and Ludmila were from neighboring Bohemia. After their baptism in Great Moravia, the couple introduced the Catholic faith to Bohemia. Upon Duke Bořivoj’s death, his son Vratislaus I assumed the role of Duke of Bohemia. Although Vratislaus was Catholic, his wife, Princess Drahomíra, was a pagan from a Slavic tribe. The couple bore at least two children: Wenceslaus and Boleslaus.

Wenceslaus, the saint we honor today, was born in Bohemia, present-day western Czech Republic, during a transitional period. Christian conversions caused tensions with those clinging to traditional pagan and Slavic practices. This division was palpable even within the duke’s household. Duchess Drahomíra, Wenceslaus’ mother, staunchly opposed Christianity, in contrast to her Christian mother-in-law, husband, and sons. Of them all, Ludmila was exceptionally devout and ensured that both her son and grandson, Wenceslaus, were nurtured in the Catholic faith.

Upon Duke Vratislaus’ death, thirteen-year-old Wenceslaus became duke. Given his youth, he needed guidance until he was old enough to govern on his own. His pious grandmother, Ludmila, eagerly undertook this role, persistently encouraging her grandson to bolster the Catholic faith, much to Drahomíra’s chagrin. According to one legend, within a few years of Wenceslaus’ ascension, Drahomíra clandestinely orchestrated the assassination of her mother-in-law, Ludmila, to curtail her influence over Wenceslaus’ religious beliefs. Ludmila was reportedly strangled with a scarf at Tetín Castle. Shortly thereafter, she was canonized, by popular demand of the people.

With Ludmila eliminated, Drahomíra initiated a persecution of the Catholic faith. Catholics were ousted from public positions, churches were shut, and Catholic teachings prohibited. However, this oppression was short-lived. As Wenceslaus matured, Catholic nobles pressed him to exert control and counter his mother’s directives. Heartbroken by his mother’s actions towards his grandmother, Wenceslaus still accorded her respect, but he began to dismantle her anti-Catholic mandates, ultimately banishing her.

Duke Wenceslaus was a profoundly devout Catholic. He yearned for the entirety of Bohemia to embrace Christianity and sought to fulfill this mission by fervent prayers. Diligent in his daily duties, he would frequently devote entire nights to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He practiced regular penances, beautified the church, and took joy in preparing bread for the Mass, which he attended daily.

Early Bohemian biographers note an episode in which a neighboring prince aimed to annex Bohemia to obliterate the Catholic faith. Passionate about defending the faith, Wenceslaus led his army to confront the prince. As they clashed, Wenceslaus proposed a duel, with the victor ruling Bohemia. The prince consented, but as they charged, Wenceslaus was shielded by two enormous angels, sending fear into the prince and prompting him to immediately repent.

Throughout his rule, Wenceslaus invited numerous Germanic priests into Bohemia. Although Saints Cyril and Methodius had introduced the liturgy in Slavic, Wenceslaus favored Latin, encouraging its revival and widespread adoption. This preference impacted Bohemia’s liturgical customs, with the Latin rite prevailing over the Eastern rites of the Byzantine Empire.

Wenceslaus’ reign was tragically short. In his twenties, his mother, who preferred power to maternal affection, orchestrated his assassination, designating her younger son as the executioner. Boleslaus invited Wenceslaus to a meal and then slew his own brother. Wenceslaus’ last words are recorded as, “May God forgive you, brother.” Shortly after, Wenceslaus was venerated as a martyr and saint, inspiring biographies and becoming a beacon of virtue for future monarchs. Though Wenceslaus died as a duke, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I posthumously crowned him king, earning him the title “Good King Wenceslas.” Moved by the admiration for Wenceslaus and the miracles attributed to his intercession, his assassin-brother Boleslaus the Cruel sought penance. No records indicate Drahomíra’s remorse.

Saint Wenceslaus epitomizes the supremacy of divine love over earthly allurements. His life, marked by devout prayer, resolute leadership, and boundless compassion—even towards adversaries—attests to the primacy of God’s love over the worldly pursuits of power, prestige, or wealth. He serves as an exemplary figure for both leaders and followers. Allow him to inspire you today so that you will make the Gospel the central focus of your life.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-28–st-wenceslas-martyr/

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Guardian Angels

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“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father” (Matthew 18:10). Jesus speaks these words immediately before He teaches the Parable of the Lost Sheep that shows Jesus’ deep love for each and every person, for each of the “little ones.” Not only does He seek out the lost and straying sheep, He also gives them their own guardian angels, who always look upon the face of God, and whose sole task is to care for us, to get us to Heaven. It is these angelic beings whom we honor today.

The fact that every person is assigned a personal guardian angel is deeply rooted not only in Scripture but also in the writings of the saints and the teachings of the Church. In the Psalms we read, “For he commands his angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go. With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11–12). Saint Jerome, in commenting on the above-mentioned passage from the Gospel of Matthew, says, “The worth of souls is so great that from birth each one has an angel assigned to him for his protection.” Saint Thomas Aquinas says, “Each man has an angel guardian appointed to him. This rests upon the fact that the guardianship of angels belongs to the execution of Divine providence concerning men” (Summa Theologiae 1.113.2). More recently, Pope Saint John Paul II taught, in a General Audience on August 6, 1986, “God has entrusted to the angels a ministry in favor of people. Therefore the Church confesses her faith in the guardian angels, venerating them in the liturgy with an appropriate feast and recommending recourse to their protection by frequent prayer, as in the invocation “Angel of God.” Finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting Saint Basil, says, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” (CCC #336).

Though the reality of guardian angels is often spoken of to children as a comfort to them when they face fears, the guardian angels are for all of us, and we ought not forget about our own. Angels are not only intercessors, they are mediators. This means that God entrusts them with His divine power, to act in His name and on His behalf, to deliver His grace, reveal His Truth, direct us down the right path, and protect us from evil. Though God is fully capable of distributing His grace Himself, it is His will that all He bestows upon us come to us through mediators who are instruments, cooperating with His divine plan.

The memorial that we celebrate today did not become a universal feast until the latter part of the seventeenth century, when Pope Clement X placed it on the Roman Calendar. Pope Leo XIII elevated the feast and emphasized its importance in the late nineteenth century. Around the time he did so, he also composed the “Saint Michael the Archangel” prayer and mandated that it be prayed at the end of every Mass. The feast of the Archangels is celebrated September 29, and a few days later, the memorial for all the guardian angels. These two feasts emphasize the fact that God uses some angels for specific purposes that affect all people and that He uses guardian angels to care for each of our specific needs.

Based upon the Old and New Testaments, the teachings of early Church Fathers, and the detailed teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Church generally accepts that there is a hierarchy of angels consisting of nine choirs that are further divided into three triads. The first triad consists of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. Their duty is exclusively the service of God, worshiping Him continuously. The second triad consists of the Dominions, Virtues, and Powers. These three choirs are tasked with the governance of the created Universe. The third triad consists of the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. These beings are closest to humanity and act as mediators between God and man. Thus, though Saint Thomas defined the guardian angels as the lowest of the choirs of angels, this should only be understood to mean that their direct concern is the care of humanity. Nonetheless, they continually behold the Beatific Vision.

Regarding the function of the guardian angels, Saint Thomas Aquinas gives the most detail (See Summa Theologiae 1.113). As mentioned, he teaches that every person receives an angel at birth. This means that guardian angels are not tied to baptism but to human activity in this world, specifically human activity that begins at birth. These angels are not recycled, so to speak, but are assigned to one person and one person alone. The guardian angels can act upon our senses and imaginations, inspiring us one way or another. They can put ideas before our minds to direct us toward God’s will, but they cannot control our wills. By working upon our senses, they can cause us to feel what is right or wrong and urge us to make the right choices. They act contrary to the fallen angels, or demons, who tempt us through false reasoning and base sensate delights. Finally, in Heaven, the guardian angel’s role of leading us to salvation will be complete. Saint Thomas believed that even in Heaven they will have the role of communicating with us and will continue to enlighten us with God’s never-ending and deepening Truth.

As we honor the celestial hosts of the guardian angels, ponder your own angel today. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in the Spiritual Exercises, gave us a detailed map for how they communicate with us. Consider reading his wisdom. In Heaven, we will enjoy an eternal face-to-face relationship with our angels. That relationship will be perfectly steeped in the love of God, and our union with them will be unbreakable. While on earth, we often pay little attention to our angels, but they are forever attentive to us. Though we might not always speak prayerfully to our intercessors and mediators, try to do so. Our angels daily communicate to us. Do you listen? Do you hear? Work to discern your angel’s actions in your life, so that this angelic mission can be better fulfilled. Have confidence that you have a mediator who stands before God and does nothing other than plead on your behalf, continuously working to bring you to eternal salvation.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/guardian-angels/

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Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor

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1873–1897; Patron Saint of foreign missions and missionaries, AIDS patients, air crews, florists, flower growers, and sick people; Invoked against illness, tuberculosis, and loss of parents; Canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925

For more than a century, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as “The Little Flower,” has captivated countless minds and hearts. Her simple and pure heart burned with a deep love for our Lord, and that love overflowed into the lives of many. She daily inspired those who knew her, and she continues to inspire those who read her story.

Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin was born on January 2, 1873, in Rue Saint-Blaise, Alençon, France, to Marie-Azélie Guérin (Zélie), and Louis Martin, a jeweler and watchmaker. Her mother, who often called Thérèse her “little angel,” died from breast cancer only a few months before Thérèse’s fifth birthday. But those early years with her mother had such an impact upon Thérèse that, in many ways, her mother remained with her, in her heart and mind, throughout her life. The love that mother and daughter shared was eternal.

Her father, Louis Martin, who called Thérèse his “little queen,” daily manifested his profound love for her, and she looked up to him as her “king.” As a child, Thérèse would spend hours with her father as he worked in the garden, desiring to be near him as often as she could. She would regularly accompany him on daily walks that always included a visit to the Blessed Sacrament at the nearby convent in Lisieux. She loved being in his presence and found the satisfaction of the love of God in his fatherly embrace. At age sixty-six, Louis suffered from two strokes, resulting in paralysis. He spent the next three years in a hospital and the final two years of his life at home in the care of his family. His daughters Céline and Léonie were his primary caregivers at home until June 24, 1893, when Léonie entered the Visitation Convent in Caen in a second attempt at religious life. Céline faithfully cared for their father during the last year of his life with the help of their uncle, a maid, and a male assistant until his death on July 29, 1894.

Thérèse had four living sisters and four siblings who died at an early age (three as infants and Hélène at age five). Her living sisters all entered religious life, three of them entering the same Carmelite convent in Lisieux as Thérèse. Marie became a Carmelite in Lisieux, taking the name Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart. Pauline became Mother Agnes of Jesus in the Lisieux Carmel. Léonie became Sister Françoise-Thérèse, Visitandine at Caen. Her life of saintly virtue is currently under study for possible canonization. Céline also became a Carmelite in Lisieux, taking the name Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face.

The relationship that Thérèse had with her sisters was both typical and unique. The girls played together and sometimes fought with one another. Yet, the depth of their love and affection for one another transfigured what was otherwise a normal sibling relationship. Thérèse adored her sisters and loved being with them, and her love was reciprocated.

Thérèse’s entire family shared tender, affectionate, and unwavering love for one another. Their home was a true “school of love,” and the lessons of love were learned and lived in their home each and every day. In many ways, Thérèse learned about the love of God first and foremost through the love she experienced within her family.

Just before her fifteenth birthday, after overcoming many obstacles, Thérèse received permission from the Bishop of Bayeux to be received into the Carmelite convent. She formally entered as a postulant on April 9, 1888, at the age of fifteen. She embraced religious life and lived it with fervor and devotion, making her temporary vows on January 10, 1889, and her final vows on September 24, 1890. For the next seven years, Sister Thérèse lived the hidden and holy life of a Carmelite nun.

Just three years before she was to die, Sister Thérèse began to write her autobiography when she was twenty-one years old, under obedience to her sister Pauline who had recently been elected as Mother Superior, Mother Agnes of Jesus. This autobiography, The Story of a Soul, captures the beauty and profundity of her family life, offers beautiful insights into her vocation as a Carmelite nun, and reveals how devoted she was to Jesus, longing to be with Him forever in Heaven, even from the earliest moments of her childhood.

The first manuscript in The Story of a Soul includes Sister Thérèse’s childhood memories, as well as those from her first years as a religious sister. At age twenty-three, Sister Thérèse contracted tuberculosis and spent more than a year suffering greatly. It was during this time that Sister Thérèse added two more manuscripts to her autobiography. One was written for her sister Marie, Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, who desired to hear more about Sister Thérèse’s spirituality. The final manuscript detailed her life as a religious sister and was written at the request of Mother Agnes of Jesus. Sister Thérèse wrote the final manuscript during the last year of her life after she contracted tuberculosis. She never finished this manuscript due to her diminishing health, but her sister, Sister Agnes of Jesus, kept a detailed notebook of Sister Thérèse’s last months, which was printed in a separate book called, Her Last Conversations. Also available in print is Letters of Sister Thérèse of Lisieux, much of which was first published under the title, General Correspondence. Lastly, Sister Thérèse was an avid writer of poetry, prayers, and plays, many of which are published in various formats.

Sister Thérèse died on September 30, 1897, surrounded by three of the Martin sisters as well as all of her religious sisters in the Carmelite convent of Lisieux. Her final words were, “Oh!… I love Him!… My God, I…love…Thee!”

As we honor this saint who has captivated the hearts and minds of so many, ponder the importance of family life. Some families are broken and divided; others are graced as schools of love. Saint Thérèse was blessed to be raised in a family that formed her deeply in the love of God and others. She was widely unknown outside of her family and religious community when she died, but God shared her precious soul with the world through her detailed autobiography and numerous letters. Allow her soul to touch yours by getting to know her through her writings. Seek her intercession so that she can fulfill her promise that her “Heaven will be spent doing good on earth.”

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-1—st-therese-of-lisieux-religious-and-doctor-of-the-church/

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Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin

1905–1938; Patron Saint of The Divine Mercy devotion; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000

St. John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church

1801–1890; Patron Saint of Newman Centers; Canonized by Pope Francis on October 13, 2019

Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, Virgin

1811–1849: Patron Saint of sick people and those who have lost a parent; Beatified by Pope John Paul II May 23, 1982

Our Lady of the Rosary

Saint Bruno, Priest

1030–1101; Patron Saint of possessed people; Equivalent canonization by Pope Leo X in 1514

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest

1819–1867; Invoked against cancer; Beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 9, 2000

Saint Francis of Assisi

1182–1226; Patron Saint of animals, ecologists, families, lacemakers, merchants, needleworkers, peace, and zoos; Invoked against dying alone and fire; Canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228

Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr

c. 907–929; Patron Saint of brewers, Czech Republic, Bohemia, and Slovakia; Pre-Congregation canonization

Guardian Angels

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor

1873–1897; Patron Saint of foreign missions and missionaries, AIDS patients, air crews, florists, flower growers, and sick people; Invoked against illness, tuberculosis, and loss of parents; Canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925

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