Daily Saints

Our Lady of the Rosary

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

Daily Saints

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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Saint Faustina Kowalska

Daily Saints

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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Saint Francis of Assisi

Daily Saints

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 Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs

Daily Saints

c. 1600–1637; Patron Saint of the Philippines, Filipinos, immigrants, the poor, separated families, and altar servers; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 18, 1987

In 1549, Saint Francis Xavier and two Jesuit companions first reached Japanese soil with the Gospel. By the end of the century, Japan had an estimated 300,000 converts to the faith. By the 1580s, the Tokugawa shogun had become suspicious of Western Christianity, fearing that its spread could lead to European colonization. As a result, edicts were issued that outlawed Christianity. This led to thousands of martyrdoms between the years 1597 and 1639. Of those martyrs, twenty-six were canonized as saints in 1862, 205 were beatified in 1867, sixteen were canonized in 1987, two were beatified in 1989, and 188 were beatified in 2008. The saints commemorated today, Saints Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, are those sixteen who were canonized in 1987 by Pope John Paul II.

Lorenzo (Lawrence) Ruiz was born to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother in Binondo, Manila. The city of Binondo was established only six years before Lawrence’s birth by the Spanish governor for Chinese settlers who had converted to Catholicism. It soon became a vibrant and multicultural district, marked by many mixed marriages between Chinese and Filipinos, playing an important role in Manila’s commercial and cultural life. As a child, Lawrence learned Chinese from his father and Filipino from his mother, both of whom were Catholics. He was an altar boy at the local Dominican-run church, where he also received an education. Excelling in penmanship, he became employed as a scrivener, writing official documents, recording transactions, and keeping other written records. As he grew, he continued to be involved in parish life, joined the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, and lived a normal life. In his late teens or early twenties, Lawrence married a woman named Rosario, and they had three children: two sons and a daughter.

During Lawrence’s lifetime, Spanish colonizers ruled the Philippines. Although they brought many benefits to the land, including numerous missionaries, the colonizers also often ruled with injustice. For instance, if a native Filipino killed a Spaniard, the crime would be met with swift retribution and severe punishment, disproportionately harsh towards the natives. Although an established legal system existed, it favored the Spaniards, so when a Filipino was accused of a crime, true and equal justice was not always guaranteed.

Unfortunately, Lawrence’s life took a tragic turn when, in 1636, around the age of thirty-six, he was falsely accused of a crime against a Spaniard, most likely murder, though records aren’t definitive. To escape unjust persecution, Lawrence hid from the authorities and boarded a ship with three Dominican priests, a Japanese priest, and a layman. Although the ship might have been initially destined for a peaceful Japanese port, it landed in Okinawa, Japan, where Catholic persecution was intense.

Shortly after the six arrived, the Tokugawa shogun became aware of their presence and had the group arrested. They were interrogated and informed they must leave Japan, to which they agreed. However, the shogun, unsatisfied with merely having them leave, also demanded they renounce their faith. This was a common tactic in Japan, aimed to eradicate the faith from the land. The belief was that if Christians publicly denounced their faith, other Japanese would see this as a sign of weakness and also abandon the faith. The group refused.

For over a year, this group of six remained imprisoned and were eventually transferred to Nagasaki. Throughout their captivity, they endured unimaginable cruelty. Water was poured down their throats, boards were placed on their abdomens, and they were subsequently jumped on, forcing the water out through their mouths, noses, and ears. They were cut and pricked with sharp bamboo, and endured severe psychological torture. One priest died on September 24, 1637. After that, two others considered renouncing their faith but found their resolve and held firm. Lawrence asked the torturers, “I would like to know if, by apostatizing, they will spare my life?” No answer came, and Lawrence remained resolute in his faith. They were then tightly bound to restrict blood flow and hung over pits. With one arm freed, they were told they merely needed to signal apostasy with that arm. They refused, remaining in that state for three days. Lawrence eventually proclaimed, “I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly accept death for God. Had I many thousands of lives, I would offer them all for Him. Never shall I apostatize. You may kill me if that is what you want. To die for God—such is my will.” Lawrence and his lay companion Lazaro died soon after, with the remaining three priests beheaded. They died on September 28 or 29, 1637.

The six martyrs included two laymen: Lawrence Ruiz and Lazaro of Kyoto; two Spanish Dominican priests, Fathers Antonio González and Miguel González de Aozaraza de Leibar; French priest Father Guillaume Courtet; and Japanese Dominican Father Vincentius Shiotsuka. Also honored today are five priests, two religious brothers, and three laypeople who were martyred in 1633 and 1644. The priests were Fathers Dominic Ibáñez de Erquicia Pérez de Lete, Jordan Ansalone, Luke of the Holy Spirit Alonso Gorda, Jacobo Kyushei Gorōbyōe Tomonaga de Santa María, and Thomas Rokuzayemon. The religious brothers were Francis Shōyemon and Matthew Kohioye. The laypeople were Marina of Omura, Magdalene of Nagasaki, and Michael Kurobioye.

As we honor these heroic witnesses to the Catholic faith, ponder the fact that their lives concluded with exceptional pain and suffering. Still, their eternal lives in Heaven are now celebrated with the highest praises. Saint Lawrence Ruiz, memorialized in today’s commemoration, was the first Filipino martyr, making his witness greatly revered among Filipino Catholics who seek his intercession. Saint Lawrence, along with the numerous other Japanese martyrs from the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, did more for the faith by courageously sacrificing their lives than they could have by living comfortably. Love is sacrificial, and while we might not be called to be martyrs in blood, we must nurture a faith so profound that it bears the same witness, sacrificially dedicating our lives for Christ and the salvation of souls in whatever ways we are called.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-28—saint-lawrence-ruiz-and-companions-martyrs/

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Guardian Angels

Daily Saints

“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

Daily Saints

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 Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Daily Saints

c. 340s–420; Patron Saint of archeologists, archivists, Bible scholars, librarians, libraries, schoolchildren, students, and translators; Pre-Congregation canonization; Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in 1724

Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus, later known as Jerome, was born in the town of Stridon, somewhere in the Balkans. Thirty years before Jerome’s birth, Emperor Constantine legalized the practice of Christianity in the Roman Empire, but many still clung to Roman and Greek religions and philosophies. Jerome had at least one brother, and the two were raised by good Christian parents who believed in the importance of education.

While Jerome was in his mid- to late-teens, his parents sent him to Rome to study language, grammar, rhetoric, theology, and philosophy. He learned Greek, in addition to the Latin he had known since childhood, and engrossed himself in the classics: Virgil, Cicero, and Terence. Though Jerome had been raised a Christian, his morals lapsed in Rome, and he fell into sins of the flesh. This left him filled with guilt, and he would spend many Sundays visiting the catacombs to remind himself of death and the possibility of hell. As was the custom of that time, he had not been baptized as a child, so before he departed Rome, he chose to be baptized and began a conversion.

Around the age of thirty, after his baptism, Jerome traveled to various historic Christian sites. He traveled to Aquileia, in modern-day northern Italy where he spent time with a fervent Christian community under the leadership of Bishop Valerian. He then traveled to the Desert of Chalcis, south of modern-day Aleppo and Antioch in Syria, and became a hermit for several years. In the desert, he prayed, studied Greek further, and began to learn Hebrew. He also translated various Christian books into Latin. During this time, he had a vision in which he was “caught up in the spirit and dragged before the judgment seat of the Judge.” The Judge asked him who he was. Jerome replied, “I am a Christian.” Unsatisfied with the answer, the Judge said to him, “You lie, you are a follower of Cicero and not of Christ. For ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’” This profoundly affected Jerome, for he realized that he was still more attached to pagan literature than he was to Christ and His sacred Word. With that realization, Jerome committed himself more fully to Christ and to a life of celibacy, vowing to devote himself solely to the Word of God and God’s will, and to turn away from his interest in secular literature. After several years in the desert, he returned to Antioch where he was ordained a priest.

Once ordained, Jerome traveled to Constantinople where he spent a few years studying under the future saint, Archbishop Gregory of Nazianzus. In Constantinople, his knowledge of the orthodox faith enshrined in the Nicene Creed grew immensely. He continued translating works into the common Latin language and entered more deeply into the life of prayer.

Around the year 382, Father Jerome was summoned to Rome by Pope Damasus to become the pope’s secretary and counselor. The Holy Father encouraged him to prepare a new translation of the Bible from the Greek and Hebrew translations. At that time, there were many versions of the Bible in Latin that had been translated poorly. The pope wanted one good version, and Father Jerome rose to the occasion. He began with the New Testament, translating it from Greek into Latin.

Father Jerome continued to live a prayerful and ascetical life and was not shy about confronting the corruption he saw within the Roman clergy and society. Some biographers claim he had a fierce temper, but others see it as the passion with which he preached against sin and called people to repentance. He also gathered around himself a group of holy women—noblewomen, widows, and virgins—with whom he shared his knowledge of the Scriptures. Because he spent so much time with these women, others accused him of inappropriate behavior with them, especially some of the Roman clergy who took personal offense at him. When Pope Damasus died, the accusations only got worse and included criticism of Jerome’s translations of the New Testament. As a result of the hostility, Jerome decided it was time to leave Rome, and some of the holy women left with him.

After Rome, Jerome traveled back to Antioch and then to the Holy Land. He arrived in Bethlehem, where he would spend the rest of his life. He became a hermit in the caves near the Church of the Nativity and continued his prayer, study, translations, and numerous other writings. He formed a monastery for men, and the women who accompanied him established a convent nearby.

In Bethlehem, Jerome continued his work of translating the Bible into Latin. He spent about eight years translating the New Testament from the original Greek and then spent about fifteen years translating the Old Testament from the original Hebrew manuscripts, something that had never been done before. The completed work received acceptance from scholars within the Western Church because of its accuracy and clarity. His translation was referred to as the “Vulgate,” meaning the common translation, because it had the goal of presenting the Bible in a way that was easily understood and clear to the common people, in their own language. Over the next millennium, it became more widely used. Finally, after the Protestant Reformation, in 1546, the Council of Trent declared Saint Jerome’s Vulgate to be the official Latin translation of the Church.

With his deep knowledge of Scripture, Father Jerome also wrote commentaries on many books of the Bible, especially offering insights gained from his work of translation. He wrote on the lives of the saints, leaving some of the earliest historical documentation about their heroic lives. He wrote extensively upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the value of virginity, combated heresies, and left behind many lengthy letters that reveal deep spiritual and historical insights.

After about thirty-eight years in Bethlehem, Father Jerome died, but his writings continue to live. Shortly after his death, he was recognized as a saint through popular consent, which was the method of canonization in the early Church. Though he has had a profound impact upon the Church ever since, he was not declared a Doctor of the Church until 1724.

Saint Jerome was a devout Christian, theologian, priest, and monk. He preached the truth, even when people objected or took offense. His dedication to the Holy Scriptures is second to none, and the impact of his translations and writings continues to be felt today.

As we honor this early saint, ponder your own commitment to a prayerful reflection on the Word of God. Saint Jerome should inspire us to devote more of our attention to a better love for God’s Word through study, reflection, and prayer. Commit yourself to this ideal, and seek Saint Jerome’s intercession as you do.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-30–st-jerome-doctor/

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Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

Daily Saints

Patron Saints of soldiers, police, paramedics, and the sick and dying (Michael); messengers, postal workers, broadcasters, and expectant mothers (Gabriel); travelers, the blind, medical workers, and matchmakers (Raphael)

In the fifth or sixth century, an important Church theologian, given the name Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, used the many references in the Sacred Scriptures to clearly articulate what has become the traditional understanding of the hierarchy of angels. In the thirteenth century, Saint Thomas Aquinas built upon that teaching. Both taught that there are nine choirs in the hierarchy. The nine choirs are further divided into three triads. The three highest, comprising the first triad (Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones), is devoted exclusively to the service of God, worshiping Him continuously. The second triad (Dominions, Virtues, and Powers) is tasked with the governance of the created world and the entire Universe. The third triad (Principalities, Archangels, and Angels) is closest to humanity, acting as mediators between God and man. It is the Archangels whom we honor today.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, there are numerous mentions of the heavenly spirits. In the Old Testament, they stood at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, directed Abraham, stayed his hand at the sacrifice of Isaac, destroyed Sodom and protected Lot, spoke to and wrestled with Jacob, went before Moses and the Israelites, and interacted with Israel’s kings and prophets. In the New Testament, the Archangel Gabriel announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus often spoke of the workings of angels in His preaching. They ministered to Him during His agony in the garden, were present at His Resurrection, and helped set Peter free from prison. Saint Paul spoke about the hierarchy of angels several times.

Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that every human being is assigned a guardian angel. The archangels are next in the hierarchy of angelic spirits and serve humanity directly, performing the most important tasks. The three Archangels we honor today are the only three mentioned in the Bible. However, earlier Jewish traditions name seven archangels, and some speculate that there might be a whole host of archangels whom God uses to assist with the most important aspects of our lives. Raphael describes himself as one of the seven who stand before God.

Michael, whose name means “Who is like God?”, is mentioned several times in the Bible. The Book of Daniel speaks of him as the prince who stands up for the people of Israel in a protective way (Daniel 10:13, 10:21, and 12:1). The Letter of Jude speaks of Michael fighting against Satan in a dispute over the body of Moses, “Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him but said, ‘May the Lord rebuke you!’” (Jude 1:9). The Book of Revelation also reveals Michael’s battle with Satan, casting him from Heaven, “Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Revelation 12:7–8). Based on these passages, Michael is seen as the great defender against Satan and his demons, the protector of the Church, and the Prince of the Angels. Though Saint Thomas assigns him to the second lowest level of the hierarchy of the choirs of angels, others (Saints Basil, Robert Bellarmine, and Bonaventure) have speculated that he directs the entire host of angels, taking the former place of Lucifer, the light-bearer, who was a Seraphim of the highest realm. The prayer to Saint Michael, who defends us in battle, was written by Pope Leo XIII and was prayed thereafter at the end of every Mass until the reforms after Vatican II. Today, it is still prayed in many churches and widely in private devotion.

Gabriel, whose name means “God is my strength” or “Strong man of God,” appears several times in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel appears to interpret Daniel’s vision (Daniel 8:15–27; 9:20–27). In the New Testament, Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the Temple to reveal the birth of his son, John the Baptist (Luke 1:5–20), and to the Blessed Virgin Mary to announce the birth of the Messiah (Luke 1:26–38). It might have also been Gabriel who spoke to Saint Joseph in a dream, dispelling his fear about taking Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:18–25). For these reasons, Gabriel often appears in sacred art blowing a trumpet for his role in conveying divine messages, guiding prophets, and participating in significant events that shape human history.

Raphael, whose name means “God has healed,” is mentioned by name only in the Book of Tobit. Tobit was a wealthy and devout Israelite who had been deported from his home to Nineveh by the Assyrian king. While in exile, he suffered from blindness and sent his son, Tobias, to his homeland to gather his money. On the way, Raphael appeared to Tobias in human form, using the name Azariah. Raphael protected him on the journey and led him to a woman named Sarah who lost seven husbands on the night of their weddings, due to a demon’s attack. The archangel united them in marriage, expelled the demon, and accompanied them back to Tobit, whom he healed. He then revealed to them, “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and serve before the Glory of the Lord” (Tobit 12:15). It is speculated that Raphael is also one of the seven angels in the Book of Revelation who each receives one of the seven trumpets, “And I saw that the seven angels who stood before God were given seven trumpets” (Revelation 8:2).

Though great mystery surrounds the full nature and function of these glorious angelic spirits, what is abundantly clear is that God has used them throughout the course of salvation history. Today, we can confidently assert that God continues to pour forth His grace upon us through the mediation of the angels, especially Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. For some reason, God specifically revealed the names of these spirits to us, and that invites us to call upon their mediation. As mediators, they do more than pray for us. They are entrusted with the duty of implementing God’s will.

As we honor these three archangels today, call upon their intercession, seek their mediation, and trust that they will accomplish the duties they are given. Through Michael, seek God’s protection. Through Gabriel, seek God’s revelation. And through Raphael, seek God’s healing. They will not let you down.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/september-29st-michael-archangel/

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Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr

Daily Saints

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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Our Lady of the Rosary

Saint Bruno, Priest

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

Saint Faustina Kowalska

1905–1938; Patron Saint of The Divine Mercy devotion; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 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 Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs

c. 1600–1637; Patron Saint of the Philippines, Filipinos, immigrants, the poor, separated families, and altar servers; Canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 18, 1987

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

Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

c. 340s–420; Patron Saint of archeologists, archivists, Bible scholars, librarians, libraries, schoolchildren, students, and translators; Pre-Congregation canonization; Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in 1724

Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

Patron Saints of soldiers, police, paramedics, and the sick and dying (Michael); messengers, postal workers, broadcasters, and expectant mothers (Gabriel); travelers, the blind, medical workers, and matchmakers (Raphael)

Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr

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

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