Daily Saints

Saint Andre Bessette, Religious

Patron saint of family caregivers in Canada Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010

During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). In many ways, these words summarize the life of Saint André Bessette. The only caveat is that Brother André was the one opening the door for countless thousands of others during his life, not having the door opened for him. For forty years, Brother André was the doorkeeper at the Collège Notre-Dame in Côte-des-Neiges, Quebec, while serving as a professed Religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross.

He was born Alfred Bessette in Saint-Grégoire d’Iberville, Quebec, Canada, and was the eighth of twelve children. His father was crushed by a falling tree and died when Alfred was only three. His mother died three years later of tuberculosis, leaving him and his siblings orphans. From birth, Alfred was a sickly child and remained so throughout his life. Most people thought he would die at a young age, but he lived until he was ninety-one!

Alfred had a distinct smile. It was serious, warm, welcoming, pleasant, and calming. He was a hard worker, but his poor health made it difficult for him to maintain a steady job. At the age of twenty-five, Alfred sought spiritual direction from his pastor, who encouraged him to present himself to the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montreal for acceptance into religious life.

The pastor sent along a letter to the superior, which said in part, “I am sending you a saint.” The problem was that Alfred could hardly read, and the order was a teaching order of well-educated men. After some initial hesitation, the superior welcomed him into the novitiate at the encouragement of the bishop.

Upon making his vows, Alfred chose the name Brother André, and his first assignment was one he would keep for the rest of his life—doorkeeper. In addition to minding the door, he spent his time washing floors and windows, cleaning lamps, carrying firewood, and delivering messages. He was a humble servant content to carry out the most menial of tasks.

How does an illiterate doorkeeper become a saint? Brother André’s path of holiness consisted of living the most attractive virtue of humility, of listening attentively to troubled hearts, of showing a compassion that lifted countless burdens, and of showing a gentleness that put even the worst sinner at ease. Above all, Brother André showed a love of God and trust in the intercession of Saint Joseph that was calm, steadfast, and more certain to him than life itself.

In his role of doorkeeper, Brother André had the joy of interacting with countless people for forty years. Over and over, Brother André inspired faith in both the saint and the sinner, the proud and the humble, the well-to-do and the poorest of the poor. Through his lowliness, soul after soul was drawn to God. Every time a life was changed, Brother André gave the credit to Saint Joseph. “Go to Saint Joseph, he will help you,” he would say throughout his life.

Not only was the soul of Brother André filled with the most beautiful virtues, his prayers also worked countless miracles. When people spoke to Brother André and asked for his prayers, a surprising pattern began to emerge—his prayers were answered! The sick were healed, the lame could walk, problems did disappear, and hearts were converted. By the time of his death, the brothers of his order attributed as many as 10,000 miracles to his intercession. But, according to Brother André, it wasn’t he who worked the miracles but Saint Joseph.

At first, word of Brother André’s powerful prayers slowly trickled from person to person, but eventually his renown flowed like a river, roaring from one end of Canada to the other. Lines of people came streaming to him. He prayed for the sick, spent time with those who visited, went out of his way to speak to souls in need, and dispensed mercy and compassion to all. Towards the end of his life, this holy man who struggled with reading received as many as 80,000 letters each year from people asking for his prayers. He entrusted them all to Saint Joseph.

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the best paintings,” Brother André was fond of saying. The artist was God, and Brother André was the smallest and most humble brush. The living work of art God painted with Brother André was on full display at his wake and funeral. It is estimated that a million people paid their respects during the week that his body lay in state outside of St. Joseph’s Oratory!

Brother André’s beautiful legacy was memorialized in a humble chapel he built to Saint Joseph. Over time, that chapel has been transformed and enlarged into the massive St. Joseph Oratory on Mount Royal near the Collège Notre-Dame. The Oratory sits on a hill and towers over its surroundings. It is crowned by one of the largest domes in the world and remains a place of pilgrimage and prayer. On the walls of its crypt hangs a moving testament to Brother André’s healing powers—hundreds of pairs of discarded crutches. The humble are not always exalted in this world, but Brother André truly was.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-6-blessed-andr-bessette-religious-usa-optional-memorial/

Saint Andre Bessette, Religious Read More »

Saint John Neumann, Bishop

Daily Saints

Patron saint of sick children and of immigrants, Canonized by Pope Saint Paul VI on June 19, 1977

Born in Prachatitz, Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic), the young John Neumann received a fine education. Upon completing his childhood schooling, he considered becoming a medical doctor. His mother, however, being a woman of much faith, could see that her son’s true desire was to be a priest, so she encouraged him to apply to the seminary. To his surprise, he was accepted and began his seminary studies for the Diocese of Budweis on November 1, 1831 at the age of twenty.

While in the seminary, he was inspired by the missionary journeys of Saint Paul who endured beatings, shipwrecks, stonings, sleepless nights, hunger, and exposure to the elements. Most people would be deterred from missionary work after reading about Saint Paul’s travails, but not Seminarian John Neumann. When he learned about the need for priests in the mission territory of the newly founded United States of America, he made up his mind to cross the ocean to serve there after his ordination.

Upon completing his seminary studies, John’s ordination to the priesthood was initially delayed when his bishop became seriously ill and then ultimately canceled because his diocese had too many priests. The cancellation was John’s sign to imitate Saint Paul, so he immediately boarded a ship to the United States in the hope of finding a bishop to ordain him for service to America’s immigrants. He arrived in New York with one set of clothes and a dollar to his name.

To his surprise and delight, the Bishop of New York, John Dubois, a European immigrant of a previous generation, warmly welcomed him and ordained him only seventeen days after his arrival. The bishop was desperate for German-speaking priests to serve his people.

Father Neumann’s first assignment was near Niagara Falls in northern New York, where his parish covered about a thousand square miles, and his parishioners consisted mostly of poor immigrant farmers. Like Saint Paul, he traveled constantly, celebrating Mass, teaching, visiting homes, and building churches. Father John was tireless. His humble, warm, and thoughtful personality made an impression on many.

Eventually, providence led him to the Redemptorist Order where he took vows and was later appointed the first General Superior of the order’s ten foundations in America. Five years later, he was named the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. In the City of Brotherly Love, he continued to work tirelessly, establishing the diocesan school system, promoting 40 hours devotion, and building many schools and churches. He traveled constantly so that he could be close to his people and shepherd them in person, rather than from behind a desk.

Bishop John Neumann remained in Philadelphia until his death at the age of forty-nine in 1860. In 1977, he became the first American bishop to be canonized a saint. He is one of the first future saints ever to be photographed.

Saint John Neumann’s life should inspire each of us to work diligently to fulfill the mission God has entrusted to us. Oftentimes, zeal and a firm resolve to serve God must come first; then God will show us the way to put that zeal to work. Allow Saint John Neumann’s life to inspire you to deepen your resolve to do all you can for the glory of God and the building up of His Kingdom on Earth.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-5-saint-john-neumann-bishop-usa-memorial/

Saint John Neumann, Bishop Read More »

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious

Daily Saints

Patron Saint of Catholic schools, widows, loss of parents and children, and people ridiculed for their piety, Invoked against in-law problems and those who oppose the Church, Canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first citizen of the United States to be canonized a saint. She was born in New York into a prestigious and loving Anglican family of strong faith just two years before the Declaration of Independence was written. Her father was a well-respected physician. Unfortunately, her mother died when Elizabeth was only three. One of her sisters would die a year later. Her father remarried shortly after, and he and his new wife had seven children.

Elizabeth was very fond of her stepmother and often accompanied her on charitable rounds caring for the poor. Sadly, when her stepmother and her father eventually separated, Elizabeth’s stepmother abandoned her, leaving young Elizabeth without a mother once again.

After a materially comfortable but difficult childhood, Elizabeth entered into a beautiful marriage at the age of nineteen with a wealthy shipping magnate named William Seton, with whom she had five children. While Elizabeth was pregnant with their third child, her father-in-law died, so the couple took William’s six younger siblings into their home to care for them.

Soon after, a shocking event occurred. William’s business went bankrupt and the entire family had to abandon their home and move in with Elizabeth’s father who died shortly afterward in 1801.

By 1803, William was suffering from tuberculosis. At the recommendation of a physician, Elizabeth, her husband, and their eldest daughter spent their last bit of money to travel to the warmer climate of Italy to see if William could regain his health. Shortly after their arrival, William died. Elizabeth, only twenty-nine years old, was now fatherless, twice motherless, widowed, in a foreign land, and far from four of her children, for whom she had no way to provide.

When one has faith, heavy crosses can elicit much grace, which is what happened to Elizabeth. A month before her beloved William died, Elizabeth wrote in a journal, “Oh well may I love God—well may my whole soul strive to please him, for what but the strain of an Angel can ever express what he has done and is constantly doing for me—While I live—while I have my being in Time and thro’ Eternity let me sing praises to my God.” She was not bitter or resentful; instead, she praised God for all the good He had done for her.

While in Italy, before returning to New York to be reunited with the rest of her children, Elizabeth stayed with a devout Catholic family whose father had been a business partner of her husband. Through their inspiration and example, Elizabeth began to discover the Catholic faith. She visited many churches, discovered the Memorare prayer to the Virgin Mary, experienced the Sacred Liturgy, inquired about Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, and began to understand the Church’s unbroken Apostolic succession.

When she arrived back in New York the following summer, her sister-in-law and closest friend, Rebecca, also died. Though heartbroken, Elizabeth strengthened her faith, deepened her devotion to our Blessed Mother, and continued seeking the will of God. When family and friends learned of her interest in Catholicism, she was shunned. Despite personally experiencing the anti-Catholicism so rampant in that era, Elizabeth persevered and entered the Church the following Ash Wednesday.

The journey that God had in mind for Elizabeth from that point forward would turn out to be monumental. She became a teacher in New York, but when word of her conversion to Catholicism spread, the Episcopalian parents whose children she taught withdrew them. Eventually, in 1809 at the invitation of the Sulpician Order, she moved to Maryland where she founded a congregation of sisters and started the first Catholic grade school in America.

The school offered a free education to poor girls. Elizabeth was elected superior of the congregation and was henceforth called “Mother Seton.” Her daughters were able to live with her and continue their education at the school, and her sons lived and were educated at the nearby boys’ school. She remained superior until her death at the age of forty-six. She continued her childhood love of caring for the poor and inspiring many others to do the same.

Mother Seton faced many challenges in life, but she faced them with faith, with the tenderness of her personality, and with affection, determination, and concern for the poor and outcasts. She was a woman of great personal faith who discovered the true objective faith in the Catholic Church. For these and many other reasons, this poor woman became rich in eternity, while also enriching the lives of many others along the way.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-4-saint-elizabeth-ann-seton-religious-usa-memorial/

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious Read More »

The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Daily Saints

Everything about our divine Lord is holy, including His Name. It was the Archangel Gabriel who first spoke the name of Jesus to His mother, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). The Archangel was only a messenger, so the name of Jesus was given to Him by the Father in Heaven.

Saint Peter was one of the first Apostles to speak with authority in the Holy Name of Jesus when he healed a crippled man saying, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk” (Acts 3:6). Saint Paul also exalted the holy name of Jesus when he said, “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–10). Saint Paul preached with power in the name of Jesus so often that even some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to imitate him by commanding demons, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:13).

Throughout the history of the Church, Jesus’ name has been invoked as an instrument of personal faith in the Son of God, especially to command demons or simply to pray to Jesus in a repetitive and personal way. The liturgical Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus has been celebrated by the Church for many centuries, especially within various religious orders. In the fifteenth century, Saint Bernardine of Siena, a Franciscan friar, went on a preaching mission promoting devotion to the Most Holy Name. He encouraged people to revere Jesus’ name by placing the first three Greek letters of His name on their doors: IHS.

Today, this Greek monogram of Jesus’ name is commonly seen in churches on tabernacles, altars, and in stained glass windows. In the sixteenth century, Saint Ignatius of Loyola had such a strong devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus that he adopted it as his seal as general of his newly founded order of the Jesuits; that monogram remains the Jesuits’ official seal today.

There is great power in the spoken name of Jesus. Repeating His name prayerfully or speaking it aloud brings Him close and gives you strength, provided you recite His name in faith. The name of Jesus casts out fear, arouses trust, and unites your heart to His. Sadly, the Most Holy Name of Jesus is so holy that the evil one often tempts people to invoke it as a curse when angry, without even considering what they are doing.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-3-the-most-holy-name-of-jesus/

The Most Holy Name of Jesus Read More »

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors

Daily Saints

St. Basil: 329–379: Patron Saint of monks, hospital administrators, reformers, and Russia St. Gregory: c. 329–389 Patron Saint of harvests and poets Pre-Congregation canonizations

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzen were among the most devoted defenders of the faith in the fourth century. Both were bishops and both are now saints and doctors of the Church. These two men met while studying in Caesarea Cappadocia and strengthened their tight friendship in Athens. After Basil’s death, Gregory wrote of their bond, “We seemed to have one soul, inhabiting two bodies” (Orationes of Saint Gregory 43:20).

Both saints came from families of saints. Basil’s maternal grandmother was a martyr; his paternal grandmother, his parents, and three of his siblings are also saints. Gregory’s father was converted to Catholicism by his wife. After his conversion, he was ordained a priest and then consecrated as Bishop of Nazianzen. He served as bishop for about forty-five years, living into his nineties. These saintly parents had three children, all of whom became saints.

At the time that Saints Gregory and Basil lived, the Church, the body of Christ, was suffering from the pandemic of Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. This heresy was like a disease infecting the Church. Arianism entered the bloodstream of Christ’s body and weakened every limb and muscle, causing convulsions, violent outbursts, and deep divisions among both bishops and the faithful.

The clear teaching and brave episcopal leadership of Saints Basil and Gregory helped the Church to heal, to eradicate this heresy, and to restore unity of faith in the East. But not all warmly welcomed their efforts. They both suffered greatly. From the emperor, many bishops, and other clergy and laity, they received many abuses, calumnies, physical attacks, and threats.

Through it all, they remained faithful to their preaching and calm and focused in their resolve, restoring a deeper and more ancient unity to Christ’s faithful. Today, their voluminous writings are among the most inspiring, insightful, and convincing teachings of the early Church, particularly as they pertain to Christ’s divinity and the Most Holy Trinity.

These two men did not become saints simply because they were smart. They were also holy. And their holiness came from a life of deep prayer. After they both received an excellent education at the finest universities, they mutually sought to live as hermits, with Basil leading the way by forming what would become the model for monasticism in the East. They both spent years in solitude and prayer at different stages of their lives. Their interior communion with God through prayer, more than anything else, prepared them for their common mission.

Consider following the example of these two great saints by turning to God in prayer. Though you might not be called to become a hermit, you can certainly set aside time every day to focus on a deeper life of prayer. As you do so, you will discover God calling you to approach Him more closely, and then entrusting you with some greater mission to be accomplished for His glory.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/2-january-saints-basil-the-great-and-gregory-nazianzen-bishops-and-doctors-memorial/

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors Read More »

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God–The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord

Daily Saints

Only a mother could begin to understand the great mystery and beauty of motherhood. But only one mother could begin to understand the unfathomable beauty of being the mother of the Son of God. After the birth of Jesus, the shepherds came to adore her Child and recounted how a multitude of heavenly hosts appeared to them, revealing that Mary’s Child was the Messiah.

As Mary heard those words, she pondered them, reflected upon them, and kept them in her heart. This was but the first time we are told of Mary’s pondering heart after the birth of her Son, but we can be certain that she pondered Him over and over, entering ever more deeply into the mystery of her motherhood of the Son of God.

As the Mother of God, Mary’s prayerful pondering was beyond our comprehension. The bond she shared with her divine Son far surpassed a mere human bond. Jesus was not only her Son, He was also her Savior. Therefore, she adored Him as a mother loves her child, but also as a servant worships her God. The relationship between this unique mother and Son is infinitely awe-inspiring.

Our Blessed Mother is given the unique title of “Mother of God” first and foremost to express our faith in the divinity of Jesus. Jesus was both human and divine, but in Him these two natures were perfectly united. Therefore, one cannot say that Mary was only the mother of the humanity of Jesus, she was the mother of the Person. And that one Person was, at the same time, God and man.

Recall that once Jesus began His public ministry and was teaching, there was a woman in the crowd who cried out, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” Jesus corrected her by saying, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:27). At first read, one could conclude that Jesus was downplaying the role of His own mother, but He was actually doing the opposite. Jesus was actually highlighting the most unifying aspect of His relationship with His mother.

Mary was not His mother only in a biological sense. She wasn’t blessed only because she bore Him in her womb. Rather, her deepest union with her divine Son came from her spiritual union with His will and that of the Father in Heaven. She said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

She heard the word of God and observed it perfectly. She did that at the Annunciation, she continued to do so as she raised her Child, and she did it most perfectly as she stood before the Cross, offering her dying Son to the Father for the salvation of the world. Mary’s motherhood was one that encompassed her whole being. It was one that united her to her Son in ways we will never fully comprehend.

Mary is the Mother of God and, therefore, is the mother of all of God’s children, including you. Honor and love your heavenly mother today and rejoice as you reflect upon this glorious queen and holy mother. As we celebrate this greatest saint in the history of the world, ponder the ponderer. Ponder her love for her Son. Ponder her obedience to His divine will. Ponder Him as her Savior. Ponder every human and divine aspect of their loving relationship.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-1—octave-day-of-christmas-solemnity-of-mary-mother-of-god/

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God–The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord Read More »

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Daily Saints

It is amazing that God chose to enter our fallen human condition by becoming Incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was born of her, raised by her and Saint Joseph, acquired human knowledge through their teaching, worked with His hands, experienced the fullness of human society, and did so within the context of an earthly family. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph made up a sacred family, the Holy Family. Today’s feast continues our Christmas Day celebration. This feast falls within the octave of Christmas that culminates January 1 with the Solemnity of the Mother of God.

Though the earthly life shared by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph has always been a source of prayer and inspiration, the feast we celebrate today is relatively new. In 1890, Pope Leo XIII issued his encyclical Sapientiae Christianae (On Christians as Citizens) in which he emphasized the duties of Christians as citizens in a changing world.

At that time, the holy father was concerned about the negative impact that the Industrial Revolution, secularism, and new political ideologies—such as communism—were having upon Christian citizens and the family in particular. He feared that the desire for economic advancement and the communistic separation of God from the political structures would result in the breakdown of the family, the fundamental building block of society. In that encyclical, the Holy Father stated:

“This is a suitable moment for us to exhort especially heads of families to govern their households according to these precepts, and to be solicitous without failing for the right training of their children. The family may be regarded as the cradle of civil society, and it is in great measure within the circle of family life that the destiny of the States Is fostered. Whence it is that they who would break away from Christian Discipline are working to corrupt family life, and to destroy it utterly, root and branch.”

In 1892, Pope Leo XIII issued an apostolic letter, Breve Neminem Fugit, in which he highlighted the importance of the Holy Family for the world as a model for every virtue necessary for human growth.

“To all fathers of families, Joseph is verily the best model of paternal vigilance and care. In the most holy Virgin Mother of God, mothers may find an excellent example of love, modesty, resignation of spirit, and the perfecting of faith. And in Jesus, who was subject to his parents, the children of the family have a divine pattern of obedience which they can admire, reverence, and imitate.”

In 1893, Pope Leo XIII instituted the Feast of the Holy Family as a liturgical celebration to be celebrated in any diocese that requested it. The feast continued to spread, bringing about a renewed appreciation for the sacredness of family life. In 1921, three years after the end of World War I, Pope Benedict XV, sharing the concerns of his predecessor Pope Leo XIII, added the Feast of the Holy Family to the universal Church calendar.

In 1964, while making an apostolic visit to the Holy Land, Pope Paul VI gave a beautiful speech in Nazareth on the Holy Family. This speech is now included in the Office of Readings for the Feast of the Holy Family. He begins by saying, “Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand his Gospel.

Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God’s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning.” In that speech, the Holy Father wanted to help make Jesus’ family life, culture, and daily interactions as a child tangible and relatable to all so that His childhood, along with the role of His parents, would be a source of reflection for the strengthening of the family.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), reinforced the concept of the family as the “domestic church” with its role in fostering prayer, teaching the faith, and nurturing Christian virtues. He highlighted that in the family, the Christian faith is first proclaimed to children, making the family vital to the mission of the Church, and the most fundamental institution in the world.

As we honor the Holy Family, one of the best ways to do so is to prayerfully ponder the daily life that the Holy Family shared. Because Scripture does not record many of their family interactions in Nazareth, much is left to our prayerful imagination. What we do know is that human familial virtue within the Holy Family, especially between mother and Son, was at a level of perfection. The kindness, respect, obedience, unity, charity, and every other Christian virtue that they lived must become the model for Christian living and for family life.

The Holy Family began with apparent scandal when Mary became pregnant while betrothed to Joseph. Mary and Joseph suffered through the gossip and misunderstandings this miraculous pregnancy brought with it. Though Joseph learned of this conception from an angel in a dream, it was his faith and righteousness that empowered him to remain faithful to Mary and love her with a pure heart.

Their family began in Bethlehem, in poverty and rejection. They then fled to Egypt to protect their Child from the paranoia and cruelty of Herod. They later returned to Nazareth and lived faithfully with family and friends. Jesus learned the trade of woodworking from Joseph, grew in wisdom and knowledge, spoke with the elders in the Temple at the age of twelve, and remained obedient to his earthly parents.

Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches us that Jesus had direct knowledge of the Beatific Vision from the moment of His conception and had the fullness of infused knowledge. But He also grew in acquired knowledge, learning with a human mind through sensory experience and conceptual understanding. Mary and Joseph watched this growth, participated in it, grew from it themselves, and Mary “pondered all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51).

As you ponder their inner family dynamics, relationships, and charity, use them as a model of how best to relate to your own family. Some families more fully imitate those sacred virtues; others fall gravely short. Look into your own heart and ask the Holy Family to teach you how to show greater love to those in your family. Though you will never arrive at perfection, you can receive inspiration from their lives, leading to greater growth and unity, making your own family a greater source of strength for your Christian living.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph–feast

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Read More »

Saint Egwin of Worcester

Daily Saints

Profile

Egwin came from English nobility, and the descendant of Mercian kings. He was consecrated to God in his youth. He was a Benedictine monk and the Bishop of Worcester, England from 692 to 711.

There was a need in his diocese for some reform, but Egwin let it get out of hand, and he was charged with being too severe with his priests. To answer the charges, and show his repentance for any harm done, he made a penitial pilgrimage to Rome. Legend says that he locked his feet in shackles and threw the key into the River Avon; when he arrived in Rome the key was miraculously found in the belly of a fish he bought in the market.

Egwin founded the Benedictine monastery of Evesham, England; the site was chosen because of an apparition of the Virgin Mary to a local herdsman. It became one of the great Benedictine houses of the Middle Ages.

Born

7th century England

Died

30 December 717 of natural causes
buried at the monastery at Evesham, England
relics translated for veneration in 1039
relics translated again in 1077 when they were taken on tour throughout the region which drew enough donations to rebuild the monastery church

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Representation

bishop holding a fish and a key

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-egwin-of-worcester/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egwin_of_Evesham#/media/File:Evesham,_St_Lawrence’s_church_window_(38248535402).jpg

Saint Egwin of Worcester Read More »

Saint Thomas Beckett, Bishop and Martyr

Daily Saints

Patron Saint of clergy, Canonized by Pope Alexander III on February 21, 1173

In December 1154, twenty-one-year-old Henry II became King of England. At that time, England and Normandy had just ended a period of civil war, referred to as “The Anarchy.” As a result, England was politically divided and weakened. The new young king urgently needed a capable and strong chancellor to help him as he worked to reunite the kingdom, assert control, and implement legal and administrative reforms.

For this daunting task, Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury recommended his archdeacon, Thomas Becket, for the job. The king accepted his recommendation, and Archdeacon Thomas Becket became the second most powerful civil authority in England.

As chancellor, Thomas oversaw the administration of the royal chancery, including the creation and issuance of official documents. He served as an important legal advisor to the king, held responsibility for the highest court of appeals, was the chief diplomat, represented the king in foreign and Church matters, and assisted in the kingdom’s financial matters.

Chancellor Thomas Becket and King Henry II not only worked well together in the administration and reformation of the kingdom, they also became close friends. They enjoyed riding together, hunting, indulging in a luxurious lifestyle, and every form of comradery. Becket’s administrative skills helped the king reassert his control over the kingdom and even portions of the Church.

The two fought side by side in battles and were said to be of one mind and heart in all that they did. Although Chancellor Becket retained his status as a deacon, his lifestyle was notably secular. Despite this, he was widely recognized as a man of faith and purity, even amidst his indulgences and various excesses.

In 1161, six years after Deacon Thomas became Chancellor of England, Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury died. The Archdiocese of Canterbury was the most important diocese in England, and the archbishop was considered the senior English bishop. Desirous of exerting even more influence and control over the Church in England, King Henry wanted his close friend, Chancellor Thomas Becket, to become archbishop.

Henry presumed that Thomas would continue to act as his chancellor, helping the king to make further inroads into the Church’s governance. Thomas, however, was staunchly opposed to the idea. He knew of Henry’s intentions for the Church, and Becket also knew that if he were the archbishop, he would have to fulfill that role with the same strength as he had fulfilled the role of chancellor.

In other words, he knew he would have to defend the Church against King Henry. The king appointed him anyway, and the pope confirmed his appointment. In June 1162, Becket was first ordained as a priest and, the very next day, consecrated as a bishop, assuming the role of Archbishop of Canterbury.

Within a year of his consecration, Archbishop Thomas began a profound spiritual transformation. He shed the luxuries he was accustomed to, devoted himself to prayer, fasted, and did penance. While the king wanted Thomas to remain as Chancellor of England so as to unite the two roles in one person at the service of the king, the archbishop refused and resigned his chancellorship. This angered the king, and their close friendship immediately began to suffer.

Over the next year and a half, King Henry and Archbishop Thomas began to clash. The archbishop attempted to regain church property that had been seized by the king, asserted the independence of the Church, and argued that clerics who violated the law could only be tried in Church courts, not civil. In response, Henry began to harass the archbishop, impose arbitrary fines on him, and make false accusations of embezzlement.

In January 1164, King Henry issued sixteen decrees, known as the Constitutions of Clarendon, that sought to limit the powers of the Church and expand state authority. He required the bishops to consent to these decrees. While some bishops acquiesced, Archbishop Thomas Becket staunchly opposed them. In October of that same year, the king formalized his accusations and put Archbishop Thomas on trial in Northampton Castle.

In a sham trial, Becket was found guilty of contempt of royal authority and misappropriation of funds during his time as Chancellor. With a guilty verdict, the king demanded Becket resign his archbishopric, which he refused to do. Instead, he hid and sailed to France where he took refuge in the court of King Louis VII. Shortly afterwards, Becket traveled to Sens, France, where Pope Alexander III was living in exile. The pope offered Archbishop Thomas his full support and permitted him to live in the Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny in Burgundy while negotiations took place with King Henry.

Over the next four years, negotiations among King Henry II, Pope Alexander III, and Archbishop Thomas Becket continued but made little progress. The archbishop continued to firmly oppose the Constitutions of Clarendon, and the king continued to insist on them. Archbishop Thomas did make some minor concessions, but it wasn’t until the pope sent a delegation to Henry that Henry finally agreed to permit Becket to return to Canterbury.

The faithful were overjoyed at the return of their archbishop, but soon after, tensions flared when Archbishop Becket excommunicated three bishops. These bishops had crowned King Henry’s son as the future king, an act traditionally reserved for the Archbishop of Canterbury, thus infringing upon his rights. When King Henry learned of the excommunication, he sent four knights to bring the archbishop to Winchester where he was to defend his actions.

One tradition states that as the king gave his orders to the knights, he angrily said, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” The knights confronted the archbishop in his cathedral, but the archbishop refused to go with them. They then gathered their weapons and charged into the church saying, “Where is Thomas Becket, traitor to the King and country?”

As soon as they reached him, the knights began to split open his skull while he clung to a pillar in the cathedral as the monks sang Vespers. His final words were, “For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church, I am ready to embrace death.” His brains spilled upon the cathedral floor, and a cleric who accompanied the knights then stepped upon Becket’s neck saying, “We can leave this place, knights, he will not get up again.”

Archbishop Becket was immediately praised as a martyr, and veneration of him quickly spread across England. Three years after Thomas Becket’s death, Pope Alexander III declared him a saint. Four years after Thomas Becket’s death, King Henry visited the saint’s tomb and did public penance for the role he played in his death. Saint Thomas Becket’s tomb became a popular place of pilgrimage in Europe, and numerous miracles were attributed to his intercession.

As we honor this heroic archbishop and saint of God, ponder the firm resolve that Saint Thomas had in defense of the Church. Guided by divine inspiration, he knew in his heart the necessity to resist the king’s unjust intrusion into the Church’s governance and administration. Honor Saint Thomas by invoking his intercession, praying fervently for the universal right to worship God freely, and for the Catholic Church’s liberty to spread the Gospel and administer the Sacraments unhindered.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/29-december-saint-thomas-becket-bishop-and-martyr–optional-memorial

Saint Thomas Beckett, Bishop and Martyr Read More »

Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Daily Saints

Patron Saints of babies, abandoned babies, children’s choirs, students, and altar servers Invoked against ambition, jealousy

Herod the Great, King of Judea, was gripped by paranoia and insecurity. He jealously clung to his power and ruthlessly attacked anyone whom he saw as a threat, including his immediate family. In 35 BC, he drowned his brother-in-law who was the High Priest at that time, fearful of his popularity and influence over the people, making it look like an accident.

In 29 BC, Herod began to suspect his beloved wife, Mariamne, of infidelity and plotting to take over the throne. She stood trial and was executed. Mariamne’s mother and grandfather were also executed. In 7 BC, Herod executed two of his own sons, Aristobulus and Alexander, and in 4 BC, Herod killed his son Antipater. Every execution was the result of Herod’s paranoid delusion that the person was plotting against him and seeking his throne.

Shortly after Jesus’ birth, the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew relates the story of the Magi, the flight into Egypt, the Massacre of the infants, and the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth. We read, “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage’” (Matthew 2:1–2). Given Herod’s propensity for violence toward those whom he saw as a threat, he was the last person with whom the Magi should have shared their news regarding the “newborn king of the Jews.”

Upon hearing about the newborn king, Herod became greatly troubled and gathered the chief priests and scribes to learn from them where the promised king would be born. They answered him, “In Bethlehem of Judea…” (Matthew 2:5). Herod then set his wicked plan into motion. He called the Magi back, asked when the star first appeared, and ordered them to find the child and bring the babe to him so he could also do Him homage. The Magi did seek out and find the Christ Child, prostrated themselves before Him, did Him homage, and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Afterward, the Magi were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their homeland in the East by a different route.

Foiled in his attempt to kill the newborn king, Herod had to move to a more drastic plan. “When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi” (Matthew 2:16).

According to the early liturgies of the Eastern Churches, between 14,000 and 144,000 boys were massacred. However, those high numbers might only be symbolic. Given the fact that Bethlehem was a small town, possibly with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, the number of boys under the age of two might have been closer to a couple of dozen. One legend states that Herod even killed one of his own sons at that time. The same legend continues that when the Roman Emperor Augustus heard of the act, he stated, “It is better to be Herod’s pig than son.”

Regardless of the actual number of boys killed, they are now honored as the first martyrs for Christ. The early deacon Saint Stephen, whose feast we celebrated two days ago, still retains the title of the first Christian martyr, given his baptism. But these children were the first to die on account of Christ.

Of these infants, Saint Augustine said, “Herod accordingly kills many little children, in his determination to bring about the death of just one. And while he carried out this most celebrated and cruel slaughter of so many innocents, he was himself the first one he slew by such an utterly wicked deed” (Sermon 373). Within the wisdom and power of God, Herod will forever be condemned by his deed, and these children will forever be exalted.

As we continue our octave of Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ and yet acknowledge the great suffering that surrounded His earthly life. The devil and his fallen angels did everything they could to try to destroy God’s perfect plan of salvation. They stirred up hatred, jealousy, paranoia, and every other vile sin imaginable in an attempt to destroy our Lord’s mission. Their attack began at the time of Jesus’ birth and continued during his public ministry. In the end, Jesus’ apparent defeat turned into His glorious triumph. So also with these innocent children. Their cruel and tragic deaths have been transformed by God, and they will forever be honored in Heaven.

These Christmas martyrdoms speak to us today. Though peace and joy should ideally permeate this season, we must face the reality of hardships, persecutions, and other forms of suffering. Jesus’ birth does not remove suffering from our lives, but it does transform it, enabling us to share in the glorious sufferings of Saint Stephen, these Holy Innocents, and all saints who have united themselves most fully to Christ.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/28-december-holy-innocents-martyrs–feast

Holy Innocents, Martyrs Read More »

Saint Andre Bessette, Religious

Patron saint of family caregivers in Canada Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010

Saint John Neumann, Bishop

Patron saint of sick children and of immigrants, Canonized by Pope Saint Paul VI on June 19, 1977

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious

Patron Saint of Catholic schools, widows, loss of parents and children, and people ridiculed for their piety, Invoked against in-law problems and those who oppose the Church, Canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975

The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors

St. Basil: 329–379: Patron Saint of monks, hospital administrators, reformers, and Russia St. Gregory: c. 329–389 Patron Saint of harvests and poets Pre-Congregation canonizations

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God–The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Saint Egwin of Worcester

Saint Thomas Beckett, Bishop and Martyr

Patron Saint of clergy, Canonized by Pope Alexander III on February 21, 1173

Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Patron Saints of babies, abandoned babies, children’s choirs, students, and altar servers Invoked against ambition, jealousy

Ways to Donate

Paypal

Using Zelle

Mail a Check

Quick Links

Contact us

Location:

Contact #

Email:

Quick Links

Contact us

Location:

Contact #

Email:

Ways to Donate

Using Zelle

Mail a Check

Paypal