Daily Saints

Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Immaculate Heart of Mary was created around 15 BC as a result of the Immaculate Conception, which is a dogma of our faith. As The Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all sin from the first moment of her conception by a singularly unique grace, preemptively bestowed upon her by the merits of her Son’s life, death, and resurrection. From the moment of her Immaculate Conception, Mary remained free from all sin as a result of her own free choice to cooperate with grace. As a result, she was conceived as a suitable instrument for the Incarnation of God, and she remained a suitable instrument throughout her life.

After Jesus’ birth, the Mother of God continued to perfectly cooperate with grace, accompany her Son, stand at the foot of His Cross, jointly offer Him to the Father, experience His Resurrection and His Ascension into Heaven, participate in the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and help give birth to the nascent Church through her motherly care. At the completion of her life, she was taken body and soul into Heaven to be with her Son and to be crowned as the Queen of Heaven and Earth, from which she mediates the love and mercy of God, and will do so for all eternity. The immaculate nature and this full view of our Blessed Mother’s life is the “big picture.” Today, we celebrate one specific aspect of that big picture—her Immaculate Heart.

Honoring the Immaculate Heart of Mary leads us to ponder that which she pondered—her own heart filled with perfect love. We first receive a glimpse of her heart in the Gospel of Luke. After the angels appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem and announced the birth of Christ, they went in haste to where Jesus was born and found Mary, Joseph, and the Child lying in a manger. They told Mary and Joseph about their experience of the angel, “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Twelve years later, Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem from Nazareth for the annual feast of Passover. After completing the customary prayers and sacrifice, they began their journey home, thinking Jesus was in the caravan with relatives. When they discovered He was not, they returned to Jerusalem to find twelve-year-old Jesus talking with the teachers in the temple and asking them questions, and “all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47). After inquiring of Jesus why He remained, He told them He had to be in His Father’s house. Though Mary and Joseph did not fully understand the mystery they were witnessing, “his mother kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51).

Every other encounter between Jesus and His mother in Scripture also reveals a sense of mystery and awe that evoked love and pondering. Most notably, as Jesus hung on the Cross, His mother stood before Him, gazing with love. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted Mary to John, and through John, to the whole Church.

Because the Mother of God was and is the Immaculate Conception, free from all sin throughout her life, then every part of who she was and is remained immaculate, including her heart. Mary’s heart, as with every human heart, is a symbol of every relational virtue that enables one to love. The Mother of God’s human love for her Son was perfect. And that is something worth pondering! Prior to the Mother of God and her Son, the perfection of human love did not exist. From the time of Adam and Eve, human love was mixed with selfishness and sin. From the moment of the Incarnation, the perfect exchange of human love was established between the Mother of God and her divine Son. Today we celebrate that perfect love and are invited to ponder it and share in it.

As a result of Jesus entrusting His mother to John and the whole people of God and her subsequent Assumption into Heaven and coronation as Queen, we also ponder the perfection of human love for us, her children, that flows from Heaven. By God’s will, that perfection of love is bestowed upon the Church and all Her members through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We must not only ponder this glorious reality, we must also do all we can to be receptive sons and daughters of the love of our heavenly mother who loves us with a perfect love and bestows upon us the pure and perfect love of her Son’s divine grace that was instilled in her Immaculate Heart.

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary began in apostolic times and continued through great saints, such as Ephrem the Syrian, Cyril of Alexandria, John Damascene, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, and Jerome. Though they did not make specific reference to the Immaculate Heart, they spoke of the Blessed Mother’s many virtues. These saints especially helped to lay the foundation for proclaiming Mary as the Mother of God (Theotokos) at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

From the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, a number of saints contributed to the deeping of our understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Among them are Saints Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, Mechtilde, Gertrude the Great, Bridget of Sweden, and Bernardino of Siena.

From the sixteenth century to the twentieth centuries, many other saints continued to develop our understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1648, Saint John Eudes, a French priest and founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, instituted a local feast in honor of the Holy Heart of Mary, fostering a realization of the love that the Blessed Mother had for her Son and for all people. This was the first liturgical feast approved by a local ordinary specifically honoring the “Holy Heart of Mary.” After him, Saints Louis de Montfort and Alphonsus Liguori wrote extensively on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which paved the way for the specific title of the Immaculate Heart, and in the early twentieth century, Saint Maximilian Kolbe wrote extensively on the Immaculata.

In 1916, an angel appeared to three children in Fátima, Portugal, speaking of the “infinite merits of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” The following year, the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of “Our Lady of the Rosary,” appeared six times to the children. During the second apparition, Our Lady said that Jesus “wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” In 1925 and 1929, Our Lady appeared again to Lúcia to ask that her Immaculate Heart be honored on the first Saturday of each month.

In 1944, Pope Pius XII instituted the universal feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be celebrated annually on August 22, and in 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration to the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

As we honor the holy, most pure, and Immaculate Heart of Mary, try to ponder that which the Blessed Virgin Mary pondered during her life. Ponder the love she had for her Son. Ponder the mysteries contained within her heart. As you do, especially ponder the love that her heart has for you. Only in Heaven will we fully understand the holiness of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. For now, we must foster devotion to all that is contained within it and seek to open ourselves to the ongoing outpouring of God’s grace that dwells in an immaculate way in that holy sanctuary of love.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/immaculate-heart-of-mary–memorial/

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Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Daily Saints

It could be said that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was first written about in John’s Gospel when John records that during the Last Supper he leaned back and rested his head on Jesus’ heart. In the thirteenth century, on December 27, the Feast of Saint John the Apostle, the German religious sister and mystic Saint Gertrude the Great had a vision of Saint John with Jesus during which she discussed that moment at the Last Supper. In that vision, Saint John said to Saint Gertrude, “Come, Spouse of my Master, together let us lay our heads on the most tender bosom of the Lord, in which all the treasures of Heaven and earth are enclosed.” As she rested her head on Jesus’ Heart, her soul was deeply stirred with devotion, and she said to Saint John, “…did these harmonious beatings, which rejoice my soul, also rejoice yours when you reposed during the Last Supper on the bosom of the Saviour?” Saint John responded, “Yes, I heard them, and my soul was penetrated with their sweetness even to its very center.” Saint Gertrude inquired, “How come, then, in your Gospel you have spoken so little of the loving secrets of the Heart of Jesus Christ?” Saint John responded, “My ministry, in those early times of the Church, was confined to speaking of the Eternal Word…but to these latter times was reserved the grace of hearing the eloquent voice of the Heart of Jesus. At this voice the time-worn world will renew its youth, be roused from its lethargy, and again be inflamed with the warmth of Divine love” (Revelations of Saint Gertrude the Great).

About 400 years later, on December 27, 1673, the Feast of Saint John the Apostle, a French cloistered Visitation Nun named Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque received the first of four visions that took place over the next eighteen months in which Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart and His desire that a feast be instituted in its honor. Though she had other visions and mystical experiences throughout her life, these visions were directly related to the Sacred Heart.

My Divine Heart is so passionately in love with men that it can no longer contain within itself the flames of its ardent charity. It must pour them out by thy means, and manifest itself to them to enrich them with its precious treasures, which contain all the graces of which they have need to be saved from perdition. I have chosen thee as an abyss of unworthiness and ignorance to accomplish so great a design, so that all may be done by Me (from the first vision).
He was brilliant with glory; His five wounds shone like five suns. Flames darted forth from all parts of His sacred humanity, but especially from His adorable breast, which resembled a furnace, and which, opening, displayed to me His loving and amiable Heart, the living source of these flames (from the second vision).
Behold, this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this sacrament of love. And what is most painful to Me, is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of the Blessed Sacrament be appropriated to a special feast, to honor My Heart by communicating on that day, and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered (from the third vision).

In her visions, Jesus also made twelve promises to those who would honor the Sacred Heart:

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. I will establish peace in their families. I will console them in all their troubles. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy. Tepid souls shall become fervent. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

When Sister Margaret Mary told her superior about her visions, her superior doubted their authenticity and had her meet with a spiritual director who also doubted them. Eventually, Jesuit Father and future saint Claude de la Colombiere became her confessor and spiritual director. He recognized the authenticity of the visions and devoted much energy to the spreading of this devotion.

Just five years before Saint Margaret Mary’s final vision, in another part of France, the future saint Father John Eudes, founder of the Society of Jesus and Mary, composed a Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart. Father Eudes had spent the previous forty-five years of his priesthood spreading an intimate devotion to the love of God and personal conversion. Twenty-two years earlier, he had written a Mass in honor of the Holy Heart of Mary, and in 1670, with the permission of the local bishop, he began celebrating his newly written Mass and Office of the Sacred Heart and continued to promote this devotion until his death ten years later. Though Father John Eudes and Sister Margaret Mary did not know each other, God knew them both and used them both to promote devotion to the burning love in His Sacred Heart.

Toward the end of Sister Margaret Mary’s life, her community began to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. In 1756, seventy-five years after Margaret Mary’s death, Pope Clement XIII approved devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, paving the way for various ecclesiastical provinces throughout Europe to celebrate the feast. It wasn’t until 1856 that Pope Pius IX placed the Feast of the Sacred Heart on the universal Roman Calendar, to be celebrated on the Friday after Corpus Christi.

The central message of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the infinite and compassionate love exploding from the Heart of Jesus for all mankind. It emphasizes our Lord’s sacred Sacrifice for our salvation and invites us to respond to His love. The Sacred Heart also calls us to make reparation for sins, especially human indifference and ingratitude toward Him. The nature of our Lord’s love is that it cannot be contained within His Heart and necessarily bursts forth. When His love is received, He is consoled. When it is ignored, the love in His Heart expands and waits to gush forth in superabundance upon anyone who is willing to receive it.

As we honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, ponder the fact that Jesus’ love must pour forth from His Heart. He needs willing recipients to receive that love. Console His heart by being one of those recipients and by loving Him in return. Doing so will win countless graces for you and for the whole world.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/sacred-heart-of-jesus–solemnity/

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Saint Norbert, Bishop

Daily Saints

c. 1080–1134; Patron Saint of expectant mothers and Bohemia; Canonized by Pope Gregory XIII on July 28, 1582

Saint Norbert did not begin his life as a saint. He was born in the town of Xanten, within the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Germany, to noble parents. Because of his nobility, he was educated at the Church of Saint Victor in Xanten and later became a canon in that church. Though not ordained, he was considered a cleric, receiving the ministry of subdeacon. In his role as a canon, Norbert prayed the Divine Office each day with the other canons and received a salary for this simple duty—the primary reason he accepted the canonry. However, he soon discovered a way to increase his income. He paid someone to take his place praying the Divine Office each day in Xanten and moved to the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne. Soon after, he became a member of the court of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V and was put in charge of distributing the royal alms. The income from his canonry and his position at the court enabled him to live a very comfortable lifestyle.

In the court of King Henry, Norbert witnessed firsthand an ongoing controversy between the pope and the emperor. In 1111, Henry V traveled to Rome to resolve a dispute called “the lay investiture controversy.” The emperor wanted to retain spiritual authority to appoint and invest bishops, to which the pope was opposed. Once negotiations broke down, Henry apprehended the pope and held him captive until the pope agreed to his terms. The pope finally agreed, but once Henry left, the pope excommunicated Henry. Norbert was sympathetic to the pope’s position and was shaken by this controversy.

Over the next year, Norbert began to have a moral awakening. That awakening came to a head one day as he rode his horse during a violent storm. Lightning struck, knocking him off his horse. In that near-death experience, Norbert sensed God asking him why he was living such a vain life, to which Norbert replied, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” The Lord responded, “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” This experience initiated a profound conversion. He resigned from the emperor’s court and spent the next three years in prayer and penance in the Abbey of Siegburg, just south of Cologne.

After his three-year-long period of prayer and penance, Norbert approached the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne in 1115 and requested priestly ordination, which was granted. He then returned to his hometown, to the church of Saint Victor in Xanten to celebrate Mass and preach. The newly converted Father Norbert was not well received by the younger and worldly canons of that church. His newfound zeal and opposition to worldly living convicted them. They eventually forced him to leave. After leaving, Father Norbert sold all his property and possessions, distributed the money to the poor, and began walking from town to town across Europe, often barefoot, preaching the Gospel, calling for the reform of the Church, and begging for food as he went.

In 1118, controversy with King Henry V continued under the new pope, Gelasius II. Soon after, the pope had to flee Rome for fear of Henry. While the pope was in exile, Father Norbert met up with him in France and sought his direction for his priestly ministry. The pope encouraged Father Norbert and granted him universal faculties to preach and minister anywhere he felt called.

In 1119, after Pope Gelasius died, Father Norbert sought out the counsel of his successor, Pope Calixtus II, who encouraged him to found a religious order. At the invitation of the bishop of the Diocese of Laon, in northern France, Father Norbert and his one companion decided to found their monastery of priests in a remote part of the diocese called Prémontré, a valley within a forest. Upon arriving, they were joined by twelve others. They built small huts around a chapel and later built a larger monastery. They adopted the rule of Saint Augustine and structured their daily life in such a way that they could become true contemplatives so that they could then bring that contemplative union they enjoyed into their priestly ministry to the people. The order was named Canons Regular of Prémontré, or the Premonstratensians. Later, it would become known as the Norbertines after their founder. Within a few years of its founding, women’s branches were established, and more than a dozen monasteries were erected in France, Germany, and Belgium.

Father Norbert continued his traveling, founding, and preaching. While traveling through the city of Antwerp, in modern-day Belgium, Father Norbert came upon a large group of people who had started following a heretical itinerant preacher named Tanchelm. Among his heretical teachings was a denial of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Tanchelm was so fierce that he even had his followers confiscate, desecrate, and discard the Eucharist in hidden places. To combat that heresy, Father Norbert preached powerfully, won over many of Tanchelm’s followers, and then commissioned them to gather up the desecrated hosts. When they found the hosts, they were discovered to be untouched and unsoiled, despite many of them being thrown into dirt and moisture. The hosts were gathered together, and Father Norbert carried them in procession back to the local church. For this reason, sacred art often depicts him carrying a monstrance or ciboria containing the Blessed Sacrament.

In 1126, Father Norbert and his companions traveled to Rome to obtain final papal approval for his new order from Pope Honorius II. On their way home, they traveled through the city of Würzburg, where Father Norbert cured a blind woman. He also cast out demons and restored peace between feuding noble families. The people were so impressed that they and others from Magdeburg rallied to have him appointed as their bishop. The king of the Germans and the papal legate agreed, and the pope appointed him as Archbishop of Magdeburg, a post Norbert reluctantly accepted.

Bishop Norbert served as archbishop for about eight years until his death. As archbishop, he continued to work on reforming the Church by weeding out immoralities among the clergy, resolving schisms, securing the right of the Church to govern itself without the interference of the civil authority, helping the Premonstratensian Order to grow, and preaching to the people, converting many.

Saint Norbert started his life as a worldly cleric, living a lavish lifestyle. After experiencing a profound encounter with God, he entered a period of deep prayer to more clearly discern God’s will. During this time, God took hold of him and never let go, leading him to great fruitfulness for the Church. If you find yourself pursuing worldly goals, let Saint Norbert’s story inspire you. Choose to focus on that which is eternal, and God will begin to work great spiritual transformations within your soul today.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-6—saint-norbert-bishop/

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Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Daily Saints

c. 675–754; Patron Saint of Great Germania; Pre-Congregation canonization

Once Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire in the fourth century, many people in Roman-Britain began to convert. However, in the fifth century, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Britain slowly fell to invasion and conquest by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from modern-day Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. These people brought with them the religious practice of Germanic paganism, which held a polytheistic belief in both major and minor gods who were invoked for war, governance, fertility, prosperity, and many other aspects of human life. These Germanic pagans also practiced ancestor and nature worship; engaged in rituals, festivals, and magical spells; and had a strong oral tradition. At the end of the sixth century, Saint Augustine of Canterbury began a missionary expedition that marked the beginning of the re-Christianization of the British Isles.

Less than a century later, today’s saint, Saint Boniface, a descendant of the Germanic pagans who had conquered Roman Britain just a couple of centuries earlier, was born into one of those recently Christianized kingdoms of England. Later in life, Saint Boniface would return to the lands of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands, from which his ancestors came, to convert the pagans, help organize the Church, and unite it more closely with the pope in Rome.

Saint Boniface (named Wynfrid at birth) was born into a noble family in the Kingdom of Wessex in southern England. As a youth, Wynfrid was raised in the Catholic faith and received a good education. When missionary monks visited his hometown, Wynfrid was inspired to follow their example. His father initially disapproved but eventually gave his consent. Wynfrid was first sent to a nearby Benedictine monastery for seven years and then to the Abbey of Nursling, about 100 miles away.

At Nursling, Wynfrid excelled in his studies and prayer life, made vows as a Benedictine monk, and was ordained a priest at the age of thirty. As a young priest, Father Wynfrid quickly became known as an excellent preacher and teacher with a profound understanding of Sacred Scripture, as well as an excellent administrator, organizer, and diplomat.

During the first several years of Father Wynfrid’s priestly ministry, he kept sensing a call to evangelize the people of his ancestral homeland. Though he had no personal connection with the people, he did share their language, or at least a dialect of that same language. In 716, after being a priest for about ten years, Father Wynfrid began to realize his missionary calling by obtaining permission from his abbot to travel north to Frisia, modern-day Netherlands, to assist a missionary priest in that territory. At the time, the local pagan king was at war with the Christian Frankish king, which made missionary activity difficult. The pagans were unlikely to convert to the religion of those they were fighting. Father Wynfrid also observed that the Frankish Church needed reform, organization, and stability if it was going to flourish.

After what could be seen as a failed mission to Frisia, Father Wynfrid returned home to his monastery in Nursling. In the fall of 718, he traveled to Rome to consult with the Holy Father regarding his desire to evangelize the Germanic pagans. Pope Gregory II received him, evaluated his motives, and on May 15, 719, sent him north to evangelize the pagans. The pope also changed Wynfrid’s name to Boniface, which means “doer of good.” Despite expected challenges, within three years there was much good fruit, and the pope called Father Boniface to Rome for an update and new orders.

In Rome, in 722, Pope Gregory II was so pleased with Father Boniface that he ordained him a bishop. The pope named Boniface the regional bishop of all of Germany and sent him back with letters to the Frankish king and the clergy of the various dioceses, instructing them that Bishop Boniface was now in charge. With this new authority, Bishop Boniface went to work to better organize the Frankish Church, build new monasteries and churches, and improve relations between the Catholics and pagans.

Legend has it that Bishop Boniface won the esteem of many of the pagans one day when he felled a huge oak tree considered sacred by the locals. It is said that after striking the tree with an ax, a powerful wind came and blew it over. The people were so surprised that Thor, the god of thunder, didn’t strike Boniface down that they began to inquire more about the Catholic faith. Bishop Boniface then used the wood of that tree to build a chapel and monastery under the patronage of Saint Peter.

Over the next thirty years, Bishop Boniface was a powerhouse of evangelization, organization, and reform. He built monasteries and churches, called synods in which clear ecclesiastical laws of governance for the Frankish church were established, worked with the Frankish kings and local authorities, served under four popes, and continued to create the foundational framework for the important mission of evangelization of the pagans.

At the age of seventy-nine, after being satisfied with his organization of the various dioceses throughout Germany, Bishop Boniface decided to return to Frisia, where it all had started, to preach and convert the remaining pagans. After much success, while preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for the new converts, Bishop Boniface and dozens of his companions were murdered, most likely by common thieves. When the murderers pillaged through their belongings, they found nothing of value to them, mostly books and letters that they threw in the forest, since they didn’t know how to read. Those books and letters were later found and are preserved, including a Bible believed to have been used as a shield by Bishop Boniface as he was slain by a sword. The bishop and his companions died with courage, not fighting back. The bishop’s last words are recorded as, “Cease, my sons, from fighting, give up warfare, for the witness of Scripture recommends that we do not give an eye for an eye but rather good for evil. Here is the long awaited day, the time of our end has now come; courage in the Lord!”

Saint Boniface is known as the “Apostle of Germany.” Early in his life, he heard God calling him to be a missionary, and he generously responded. As a result, God did powerful things through him for the good of his ancestral home and beyond. His impact was so great that the seeds he planted in Germany greatly contributed to the shaping of modern-day Europe. As you ponder the great fruit born by Saint Boniface’s courage and zeal, prayerfully offer your own life to God, vowing to serve Him and His Church in any way He calls.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-5—saint-boniface-bishop-and-martyr/

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Saint Pacificus of Cerano

Daily Saints

Profile

Pacificus was orphaned very young. He was educated at the Benedictine monastery in Novara, Italy. He joined the Franciscan Friars Minor in 1445. He received a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and was considered one of the most learned men of his day. Pacificus was ordained in 1452 and preached missions throughout Italy from 1452 through 1471. He was sent by Pope Sixtus IV to Sardinia as an evangelist and reformer. He founded a monastery in Vigevano, Italy and used it as a base for his teaching and preaching. In 1480, Pacificus was sent to Sardinia to preach the Franciscan Crusade to Turkey.

Born

c.1424 at Cerano, Novara, Lombardy, Italy

Died

14 June 1482 in Sassari, Sardinia, Italy of natural causes
relics at Cerano, Italy

Beatified

7 July 1745 by Pope Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)

Patronage

Cerano, Italy

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pacificus-of-cerano/

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Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs

Daily Saints

1860–1886; Patron Saints of African youth, converts, and torture victims; Canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964

Every year, millions of pilgrims from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, and other African nations gather at the Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine in Uganda for what has become one of the largest annual gatherings of Catholics in the world. The celebration is held at the site of the martyrdom of Saint Charles Lwanga and his twenty-one young companions on June 3 each year, the day that most of the boys were killed.

In 1879, the White Fathers, a French Roman Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1868, arrived at the court of King Mutesa I of Buganda, modern-day Uganda, and received permission to establish a mission to teach the Catholic faith. At that time, Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims were all seeking converts in the Kingdom of Buganda. This was not popular among the native pagan priests. However, King Mutesa, who had eighty-seven wives and ninety-eight children, was tolerant of all three faiths. When King Mutesa died in 1884, one of his sons from his tenth wife, Mwanga II, took up the throne at the age of sixteen. Though initially tolerant, Mwanga eventually became convinced that the Christians were a threat to his throne and his sexually perverted way of life.

It was common practice for the kings of Buganda to have many young boys in their court, known as “pages,” to carry out the daily duties of the king’s household. Among the expectations that King Mwanga had of these young boys, some as young as thirteen, was consent to his sexual advances. When some of the boys refused to consent on the grounds that they were Christian and the king’s requests were immoral, the king became infuriated and feared that Christians would overtake his kingdom and become a threat to his throne.

On October 29, 1885, Anglican bishop James Harrington and some of his companions were murdered by King Mwanga after being accused of plotting against the kingdom. After their martyrdom, twenty-five-year-old Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, the head of the king’s household, rebuked the king for his actions. Joseph was a Catholic catechist responsible for teaching many of the boys in the king’s court the Catholic faith. On November 5, 1885, the king beheaded Joseph and had his Catholic followers arrested. He then appointed the catechumen Charles Lwanga as head of his household. Charles knew he might be next, so he sought and received baptism by the White Fathers that same day, along with many of the boys he had been catechizing.

On May 25, 1886, King Mwanga murdered two more Christian members of his court. Catechist Charles Lwanga, fearing for the eternal salvation of the boys who were still catechumens, baptized the rest of the boys himself. Later that day, the king called all the members of his household together and ordered them all to renounce the Christian faith or face torture and death. Charles courageously professed his faith in Christ, and many of the boys did so with him. The outraged king ordered their execution to take place at Namugongo, the traditional site for public executions.

Namugongo was a two-day journey on foot. As the boys traveled under the cruel direction of the executioners, many of them were beaten as they walked, bound together with ropes. Three boys were killed along the way, one being slain by his own father for refusing to renounce the faith. After reaching the site of execution on May 27, the boys waited seven days as the preparations were made. During that time, they were starved, beaten, and bound hand and foot, awaiting their death. Charles was cruelly and painfully killed first. His executioners lit only a small fire under his feet so he would suffer longer. It is reported that Charles said to his executioners, “You’re burning me, but it’s like water you’re pouring to wash me. Please repent and become a Christian like me.” As the flames consumed him, just before he died, Charles cried out in imitation of our Lord, “My God! My God!” Soon after, the rest of the boys were tortured and killed in the same manner. They died praying aloud the Lord’s Prayer. In all, twenty-two young men and boys were martyred and later declared saints in the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, twenty-three Anglicans were martyred with them.

At the time of their martyrdoms, twenty-six-year-old Charles Lwanga and his young companions never could have imagined that one day, at the place of their execution, millions of people would gather every year to honor them and to seek their intercession. King Mwanga initially thought he could stamp out Christianity by killing one Christian. That only inspired others to convert. After Mwanga killed dozens more, the flames that burned them turned into flames of faith that inspired countless others. Uganda and many other African countries are Christian countries today, thanks in large part to the witness of faith given by these young men and boys. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.“ In the case of the Ugandan Martyrs, their deaths worked for the good. Their burning flesh became a sweet odor that covered that pagan nation, drawing many to faith in Christ.

As we honor these heroic young martyrs, call to mind the truth that God can use every evil and suffering you endure for good when you unite them to the sufferings of Christ. Allow these martyrs, and the aftermath of their deaths, to inspire you and to convince you that all things do work for the good when we love God and embrace His holy will.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-3—saints-charles-lwanga-and-companions-martyrs/

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Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs

Daily Saints

Mid-Third Century–c. 304; Invoked by those enduring hardships in life; Pre-Congregation canonization

On February 23, 303, Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict that initiated a fierce persecution of Christians. The edict mandated the destruction of Christian churches and scriptures, revoked all legal rights of Christians, and called for the confiscation of their property. In 304, Diocletian ordered the arrest of clergy, forcing them to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods or face imprisonment, torture, and death. These abuses continued under Diocletian and his co-emperors until 311 when Galerius issued an edict of toleration toward Christians. The exact number of Christians who suffered martyrdom during this period is unknown, but it might have been in the thousands. Today’s saints were among the first Christians to receive the crown of martyrdom during that period.

There is very little information available about Marcellinus and Peter. It is believed that both were Roman clergy, with Marcellinus being a priest and Peter an exorcist. Both are included in the Roman Canon of the Mass, alongside other early martyrs and saints.

The little we know about these martyrs comes to us from Saint Damasus I, who served as pope from 366–384. As a child, Damasus heard the story of the martyrdom of Saints Marcellinus and Peter from the mouth of one of the executioners who later became a Christian. After their arrest, Marcellinus and Peter were likely given a sham trial, found guilty, and then offered the chance to gain their freedom by burning incense to the Roman gods. They refused. While in prison, the two men preached the Gospel to other prisoners and jailers. To put an end to their evangelization, orders were given to take them to a secret location in a nearby forest, where they were ordered to dig their graves. They did so joyfully, and were then beheaded and buried in that secret location to prevent other Christians from venerating their tombs.

After Marcellinus’ and Peter’s deaths, their stories became well known. Some time later, through divine providence, two holy women named Lucilla and Firmina were directed to the burial site. They took the saints’ bodies and buried them in what is today called the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter. These catacombs hold thousands of graves, primarily of Christians, and once also served as a secret place of Christian worship.

In 313, Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity and calling for benevolent treatment of Christians. As part of his efforts to help Christianity grow, Constantine sent his mother, Saint Helena, on a journey to the Holy Land to bring back relics of Christ’s Passion. Constantine also built many churches in various holy places. One of those churches is the Basilica of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, built over their catacombs. When Saint Helena died, Constantine built a mausoleum for her next to the basilica, which became her resting place for centuries. As a result, devotion to Saints Marcillinus and Peter became widespread.

At the start of the ninth century, a German monk named Eginhard, who had previously been a secretary to Emperor Charlemagne, requested relics of martyrs from Pope Gregory IV. In response, Pope Gregory sent the relics of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, and a monastery was constructed in their honor in Seligenstadt. After they were buried there, many miracles were said to have taken place.

Although we know little about the details of their lives, the veneration of these early saints has been widespread, and their names continue to be invoked today every time the Roman Canon is used in the Mass. What is certain is that the courage of these saints in the face of death has inspired countless Christians for many centuries. As Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). In many ways, everyone who has been inspired by the martyrdom of Saints Marcellinus and Peter can be considered their friends. Though they died long ago, the “friendship” of their witness endures.

As we honor these martyrs, ponder your own call to lay down your life selflessly for others. Dying to yourself—living sacrificially and selflessly—is no easy task. But when the grace of God is alive in your life, you will discover that you are given the courage you need to be a witness to Christ. Pray for the same courage that Marcellinus and Peter had, so that your sacrificial love will make you friends to others who need your witness.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-3—saints-marcellinus-and-peter-martyrs/

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Saint Justin Martyr

Daily Saints

c. 100–c. 165; Patron Saint of philosophers, lecturers, and apologists; Pre-Congregation canonization

“Justin, the son of Priscos, son of Baccheios, of Flavia Neapolis, in Palestinian Syria” is the way today’s saint describes himself in his Apologies, or “defenses,” of the faith. His hometown was in Samaritan territory, near Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritans continue to offer sacrifice today. It is also the location of Jacob’s well, where the Gospel story of the Woman at the Well took place. The city was largely populated by Roman pagans, and Justin was most likely raised as a pagan himself, being of Roman descent. He was well educated in Greek philosophy, in which he greatly excelled.

As a student of Greek philosophy, Justin moved from one teacher to another, trying to absorb all the wisdom he could. He took a special interest in Plato’s philosophy. Plato focused on immaterial “forms” as the basis of reality. Of this philosophy, he stated, “The perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato’s philosophy.” Though he referred to philosophy as “the greatest possession, and most honorable before God,” he also discovered that philosophy alone—without revelation—was insufficient to arrive at the fullness of truth.

Justin’s conversion to Christianity began one day when he took a long walk to reflect on all he had learned from his philosophical studies. As he walked, an old man came up from behind and surprised him. The two began to converse, and the old man asked him what philosophy and happiness were. Justin responded, “Philosophy, then, is the knowledge of that which really exists, and a clear perception of the truth; and happiness is the reward of such knowledge and wisdom.” The old man then asked about Justin’s understanding of God. Justin replied that God was “That which always maintains the same nature, and in the same manner, and is the cause of all other things…” But the old man pressed him further, asking how philosophers can know God if they have never seen Him. After a lengthy conversation, the old man convinced Justin that his philosophy was insufficient to know God if it did not include revelation. This revelation began with the Old Testament prophets and was fulfilled in the Son of God made flesh. The old man concluded his conversation with Justin by saying, “But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.” The conversation with the old man kindled a flame in Justin’s soul. He resolved to study the prophets and felt as though he had discovered the true reason for philosophy. Philosophy, used in conjunction with the revelation of the prophets and the Christ of God, would help people arrive at truth and come to know God Himself, Who is Truth. In that way, they could achieve eternal salvation, the only true happiness.

After his conversion, Justin used his keen mind to defend Christians against persecution by the Roman authorities. He founded a school of philosophy in Rome and regularly debated with the pagan Roman philosophers in public. Several of his writings still exist and are among the most articulate and valuable theological writings of the early Church.

Justin wrote his “First Apology” directly to Emperor Antoninus Pius. Although Antoninus Pius was relatively tolerant of Christians, persecutions continued on a local level throughout the empire. Since the emperor was the son of a philosopher and a philosopher himself, Justin used his philosophical knowledge to persuade the emperor to put an end to Christian persecution. Justin refuted the accusation that Christians were atheists because they refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, and he presented Christianity as a noble and true religion with morally upright followers. Additionally, he provided a beautiful description of Christ and why Christians worship Him as God, as well as one of the earliest descriptions of Christian worship. This description is of great importance to the theology of the Mass, as it highlights the unbroken tradition and correlation of liturgical celebration from the early Church to today.

Justin addressed his “Second Apology” to the Roman Senate and continued to defend Christians against false accusations, such as claims of cannibalism and sexual immorality. He attributes those lies to demons. After giving a strong defense, he goes on to proclaim Christianity as the true faith, the practice of worship of the true God, and the way to Heaven.

Several other of Justin’s works have survived, such as his “Dialogue with Trypho.“ Trypho was a Jewish rabbi whom Justin tried to convince to convert to Christianity. He explained that Jesus was the Messiah and the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. The conversation becomes quite animated, and Justin’s philosophical approach is grounded in sound reasoning and articulate explanations. In all of his writings, Justin clearly loves the pursuit of truth, finding the fullness of Truth in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Justin’s strong, clear, and bold defense of the Christian faith caused such a commotion that he was arrested and put on trial during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius had appointed his revered teacher, Junius Rusticus, as prefect of the city of Rome. As prefect, Rusticus fiercely persecuted Christians. Around the year 165, Justin engaged in a public debate with a Greek philosopher named Crescens. Crescens was so outraged by their debate that he reported Justin and six of his companions to Rusticus, who had Justin and his companions arrested and put on trial. An eyewitness beautifully preserved the discourse between Rusticus and Justin. After being interrogated by Rusticus and threatened with torture and death, Justin responded, “We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and so be saved. For this will bring us salvation and confidence as we stand before the more terrible and universal judgment-seat of our Lord and Savior.” At that, Rusticus pronounced the sentence on Justin and his companions, “Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the command of the emperor be scourged and led away to suffer capital punishment according to the ruling of the laws.” With that, Justin and his companions were beheaded.

Saint Justin Martyr heroically defended the Christian faith, using his natural intellectual gifts in conjunction with revealed theological truths. He was bold, articulate, determined, and evangelistic. He did not fear death; he only feared the continuance of ignorance. His burning desire was that everyone would come to the full knowledge of Jesus Christ, his Lord, and God. As we ponder this great saint, let us consider our own depth of commitment to proclaiming the Gospel in a confused world. Let us pray that we will also have the wisdom and courage that Saint Justin had, so that through us, others will know and love the saving message of the Gospel.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-1—saint-justin-martyr–memorial/

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Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Daily Saints

Toward the end of the fourteenth century, the Church suffered from an internal conflict known as the Western Schism. In 1378, two men claimed to be the pope. Pope Urban VI resided in Rome, and the anti-pope Clement VII resided in Avignon, France. This division raged on until 1417 when the Council in Constance resolved the issue once and for all. Pope Urban VI instituted today’s feast, the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in 1389 as a way of asking the universal Church to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary for unity and peace.

Though the immediate reason for the institution of this feast was internal Church conflict, its inspiration is the glorious story that Saint Luke recounts in the first chapter of his Gospel. After the Annunciation, God became man. Divinity united to humanity within the womb of the Blessed Mother. Most likely, Mary traveled to be with Elizabeth, her cousin, within a month of conceiving the Savior of the World. Thus, she traveled as a tabernacle of the Most High. Note that Luke tells us that she traveled “in haste.” On a spiritual level, we can see within this line a twofold action. First, though the Savior was but a tiny child within Mary’s womb, He was also God. He had divine knowledge. Thus, within His divinity, God the Son desired that His virginal mother not only go to Elizabeth to assist her in her pregnancy, but that she also go to her because the Son of God desired to sanctify John the Baptist within his mother’s womb. The first thing we see, therefore, in this journey “in haste” is the revelation of the Son of God’s desire to pour forth His sanctifying grace upon His precursor, John, within the womb. It was Jesus, within the womb, Who inspired His mother to make the journey so as to fulfill His divine will.

The “haste” also affected our Blessed Mother. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and carried the Eternal God within her womb. Therefore, her motherly heart would have sensed the longing of the will of her Divine Son within her womb to bestow His first gift of sanctifying grace upon John. As a result, she was compelled to travel quickly to Elizabeth so that her Son could fulfill His will.

When Mary reached Elizabeth, Elizabeth cried out, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” She went on to call Mary “the mother of my Lord” and to reveal that at the moment Mary greeted her, something amazing and spiritual took place within the child in her womb. John leapt for joy. Spiritual joy is a reaction to grace, and John encountered grace in that moment. Saint Thomas Aquinas holds the position that John the Baptist was delivered from Original Sin at that moment. In fact, he goes so far as to speculate that divine grace may have accelerated his use of human reason within the womb: “Perhaps also in this child the use of reason and will was so far accelerated that while yet in his mother’s womb he was able to acknowledge, believe, and consent, whereas in other children we have to wait for these things till they grow older: this again I count as a miraculous result of the divine power” (Summa Theologica 3.27.6).

In addition to the Visitation being a revelation to us about Saint John the Baptist and the Son of God’s desire to sanctify him in the womb, it also reveals much to us about the Blessed Mother. Immediately after her exchange with Elizabeth, Mary sings her Magnificat, in which she not only glorifies God for His greatness and perfect plan, but she also reveals the beauty of her own soul. The Blessed Mother speaks of her “lowliness” (humility) and the fact that “all ages” will call her blessed. She reveals that God has done “great things” for her because she had the gift of holy fear of the Lord. She goes on to reveal that in her lowly state, God will exalt her, as He will exalt all who humble themselves before Him.

As we celebrate this glorious feast, ponder first the great need the Church has for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the Mediatrix of Grace, as Vatican II called her. She is the instrument through which grace entered the world in the Person of her Son. Just as Pope Urban VI saw a need to heal the Church through Mary’s intercession in the fourteenth century, so the Church is also in great need of healing today. Call upon her intercession for the Church as we honor her Visitation today.

Ponder, also, the expediency with which Mary traveled to Elizabeth to introduce her cousin and the child in her womb to the Savior. Too often, we take a lackadaisical approach to evangelization. We hesitate, remain uncertain and uncommitted, and lack zeal. Reflect upon the holy drive within Mary’s heart as she traveled to Elizabeth, and seek to imitate that same drive in your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to not only inspire you to share the love of Christ with others, but to also fill you with a sense of holy urgency. God’s Heart burns with a desire to be known, loved, and adored by His people. He wants to use you, as He did Mary, to become the instrument by which this happens in the hearts of those to whom God is sending you.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-31—visitation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/

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The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Daily Saints

Of the greatest and most valuable treasures one could obtain in this world, nothing is more precious, more sacred, and more valuable than the Most Holy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Sovereign and Eucharistic Lord. Millions, billions, or even hundreds of trillions of dollars do not come close to the infinite value and transforming power of the Body and Blood of Christ. No amount of earthly wealth can buy happiness, but the Eucharist bestows it freely. No amount of money can purchase Heaven, but the Eucharist transforms you into a member of the Body of Christ Whom you consume, leading you to Heaven. At the end of our lives, when we stand before the Just Judge, we will realize the transforming power of this Gift. Those who adored Him and received Him faithfully in Communion will be forever grateful they did.

Human dignity demands that we show respect to one another, reverencing the presence of God in each person as a living tabernacle of the Lord. However, we do not bow down before God’s presence in others, nor do we kneel before them in adoration and worship. In this world, the only One Whom we worship and adore, in hidden yet physical form, is our Lord Who is fully present in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not only a fraternal meal we share with one another, it’s a communion with God Himself that unites us with Him. It is that union with God that also unites us with every other person who is united to God through the sharing of the Most Holy Eucharist.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi originated with a mystic named Saint Juliana of Cornillon. She was born near Liège, Belgium around the year 1191. At the age of five, she and her sister were orphaned and entrusted to the care of Augustinian nuns. Within that convent, Juliana grew in her faith, participated in Eucharistic adoration, and frequented Holy Communion. She eventually joined the Augustinians and became a nun herself.

At the age of sixteen, she had a mystical vision during Eucharistic adoration in which she saw the moon with a dark stripe. By divine intuition, she understood that the moon symbolized the Church’s life on earth, and the dark stripe symbolized the absence of a feast that was specifically dedicated to the Body and Blood of Christ. In the convent, she had the same vision several more times but kept it to herself for twenty years.

Around the age of thirty-six, she shared her vision with two friends, one a local hermit and the other a fellow nun. Together, these holy women grew deep in their love of Christ in the Eucharist, especially adoring His hidden presence and receiving Him frequently in Holy Communion. After sharing her vision with the bishop, he reluctantly approved a local annual feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, and some other bishops followed. However, as word spread about Juliana’s visions, her superior and some clergy opposed her. She had to leave the convent, taking refuge in various Cistercian monasteries for ten years.

In 1258, around the age of sixty-seven, Juliana was adoring Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament in her cell when she died and was taken into the unveiled presence of God in Heaven. Prior to her death, the local Archdeacon in Lièges, Jacques Pantaléon of Troyes, had become familiar with Juliana and believed that her visions were from God and that a universal feast of Corpus Christi was God’s will. In 1261, Archdeacon Jacques Pantaléon was elected pope and took the name Pope Urban IV.

In 1263, a Eucharistic miracle took place in Bolsena, Italy, about ten miles from where Pope Urban was residing in Orvieto in the Papal States, modern-day Italy. A German priest named Father Peter of Prague stopped at the church in Bolsena to offer Mass during a pilgrimage at the tomb of Saint Christina, a fourth-century martyr. By his own admission, he was struggling to believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During the consecration, the host he was holding began to bleed and flow onto his hands and the linen corporal on the altar. He immediately went to Orvieto to reveal the miracle and his lack of faith to Pope Urban. Pope Urban absolved him and then sent a delegation to investigate the miracle. They brought the corporal back to the cathedral in Orvieto with great solemnity where it remains enshrined today.

In 1264, Pope Urban instituted the universal Solemnity of Corpus Christi and asked the renowned theologian Father Thomas Aquinas to compose the liturgical texts for the feast. Among the texts the future saint and doctor of the Church composed are the revered and frequently sung hymns, “Pange Lingua,” “Tantum Ergo,” “Panis Angelicus,” and “O Salutaris Hostia.” The Thursday after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity was chosen for the annual feast in honor of the day that the Eucharist was instituted.

After the death of Pope Urban IV, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi was removed from the universal calendar for about fifty-three years until Pope John XXII added it back in 1317. Since that time, the solemnity has grown and become an important annual celebration that often includes Eucharistic processions, adoration, and Mass. In many locations where it is not a holy day of obligation, the solemnity is moved to the following Sunday so as to extend the celebration to the entire people of God. In 1869, Pope Pius IX canonized Saint Juliana of Lièges, adding even greater credence to her miraculous visions and solidifying the importance of this holy solemnity.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, spend time pondering the profound mystery of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As we kneel before Him, we truly kneel before His throne in Heaven, despite the reality being veiled from our eyes. As we consume the Blessed Sacrament, we truly consume Christ Himself—Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity—and receive Him into our souls. Though we might not feel Him with our bodily senses, we must allow our spiritual sense of faith to grow so that our love for Him in this Most Precious Gift exponentially increases. Let’s conclude with the “Tantum Ergo,” which is taken from the last two verses of the beautiful hymn of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the “Pange Lingua:”

Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail; Lo! o’er ancient forms departing, newer rites of grace prevail; faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail. To the everlasting Father, and the Son who reigns on high, with the Holy Ghost proceeding forth from Each eternally, be salvation, honor, blessing, might and endless majesty. Amen. Alleluia.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/corpus-christi—body-and-blood-of-christ–solemnity/

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Immaculate Heart of Mary

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Saint Norbert, Bishop

c. 1080–1134; Patron Saint of expectant mothers and Bohemia; Canonized by Pope Gregory XIII on July 28, 1582

Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

c. 675–754; Patron Saint of Great Germania; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Pacificus of Cerano

Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs

1860–1886; Patron Saints of African youth, converts, and torture victims; Canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964

Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs

Mid-Third Century–c. 304; Invoked by those enduring hardships in life; Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Justin Martyr

c. 100–c. 165; Patron Saint of philosophers, lecturers, and apologists; Pre-Congregation canonization

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

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