Saint Emilina of Boulancourt
Saint Emilina of Boulancourt Read More »
Profile
Emilina joined the Cistercian Abbey of Boulancourt at Longeville, France when she was still very young. She was noted for her deep prayer life, fasts, and austere, sometimes severe self-imposed penances such as wearing a pointed chain under her habit, walking barefooted throughout the year and fasting from food and liquids three days a week. Word of her devotion soon spread, and pilgrims came to consult her about holiness and prayer. She had the gift of prophesy, and sometimes prophesied about visitors before they arrived. She never sought honor or glory for herself from her gifts, but dealt with visitors humbly and patiently, always concerned with their conversion and relationship with God.
Born
Died
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-emilina-of-boulancourt/
Saint Emilina of Boulancourt Read More »
Profile
Alfred was the youngest of five sons of King Ethelwulf of Wessex. Ideal Christian king of Wessex, he came to the throne during a Danish invasion. Alfred defeated the Danes and preserved the growth of the Church in England. Patron of learning, he established a court school, and invited British and foreign scholars to work there. He personally translated several religious works into Anglo-Saxon. His laws made no distinction between British and Welsh subjects, a first.
Born
Died
Canonized
Name Meaning
Patronage
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alfred-the-great/
Saint Alfred the Great Read More »
Profile
Crispin was a member of the imperial Roman nobility. He was the brother of Saint Crispian with whom he evangelized Gaul in the middle 3rd century. They worked from Soissons, France, and preached in the streets by day, made shoes by night. Their charity, piety, and contempt of material things impressed the locals, and many converted in the years of their ministry. He was martyred under emperor Maximian Herculeus, being tried by Rictus Varus, governor of Belgic Gaul and an enemy of Christianity. A great church was built at Soissons in the 6th century in their honor; Saint Eligius ornamented their shrine.
Because of his association with shoes, shoe-making, etc. a shoeshine kit is called a “Saint-Crispin”; an awl is “Saint Crispin’s lance”; and if your shoes are too tight, you are “in Saint Crispin’s prison.”
Died
Canonized
Patronage
Representation
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-crispin/
Anthony Adjutor John Claret y Clara was born in the small town of Sallent, in the Province of Barcelona, Spain. Sallent was primarily an agricultural and textile-based town, where life centered around the local Catholic church. His parents were devout Catholics who raised their children well in the faith. Anthony was the fifth of eleven children, but only five survived to adulthood. His father ran a factory that manufactured thread and cloth, and provided a sufficient income for his family.
As a child, Anthony developed a compassionate heart. He relates in his autobiography that when he was only five, he would often lie down at night and try to ponder eternity. He would then consider those who are miserable in this life and whether they would suffer for eternity. This thought filled him with holy sorrow and a desire to help as many people as possible avoid such a fate.
At the age of six, Anthony was sent to the local school where he excelled in his education. He memorized the entire catechism, even though he didn’t fully understand what it meant. As he matured, he notes that he had regular moments when a light went on, and he would understand a lesson. His parents were excellent teachers of the Catholic faith. Every day his father would read a spiritual book to his children and give them some edifying lessons. Anthony took it all in and not only learned the lessons but grew in virtue. As early as elementary school, Anthony made it known that he wanted to be a priest. He would often make a visit to the parish church in the evening and surrender himself to his Lord. He also grew in a deep devotion to our Blessed Mother from an early age, praying the rosary every day.
During his teenage years, in addition to attending school, Anthony regularly worked in his father’s factory, learning the trade of manufacturing well. He was even put in charge of overseeing all of the workers. At the age of eighteen, his father agreed to send Anthony to Barcelona where he studied manufacturing techniques, design, Castilian, and French grammar. Anthony excelled so greatly that some local businessmen wanted Anthony and his father to start a new factory in Barcelona. Of this time, Anthony later wrote, “My ceaseless preoccupation with machines, looms, and creations had so obsessed me that I could think of nothing else.” However, he declined the offer to start a new business, because he knew something else awaited him.
After four years in Barcelona, Anthony finally realized he needed to leave and pursue his vocation. He wanted to become a Carthusian and live as a hermit. Eventually, his spiritual director convinced him to study philosophy in the diocesan seminary in Vich, about twenty-five miles from his family home. As a seminarian, he was able to shed his obsession for manufacturing that had plagued him for the previous four years. Once purified and able to refocus on his prayer life, he realized that the diocesan priesthood was God’s will, not the Carthusians. He completed his studies there and was ordained a priest on June 13, 1835. His first assignment was in his hometown, where he spent the next four years continuing his theological studies.
In 1839, Father Anthony felt God calling him to become a foreign missionary, so he traveled to Rome to apply for missionary work from the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. After arriving in Rome, he spent some time on retreat with the Jesuits, and his retreat master encouraged him to join their order so that he could work as a missionary with them. He agreed. After a few months, things were going very well. However, one day he had a mysterious pain in his leg. The Jesuit superiors saw it as a sign from God that God wanted him to do something other than become a Jesuit. After consultation, the saintly Superior General stated, “It is God’s will that you go quickly, quickly to Spain. Have no fear. Courage!” That is exactly what Father Anthony did.
Back in Spain, he was assigned to a parish in Viladrau where he soon preached a mission. It was such a success that he preached one in a neighboring village. Each mission he preached was more effective than the previous one, and many people were converting. Additionally, God started performing many miracles through him. He healed many who were sick and cast out many demons. His fame grew far and wide. He heard many confessions, spread devotion to our Blessed Mother, celebrated the Eucharist, and preached the Word of God with great zeal. After eight months in Viladrau, the bishop relieved him of his parish duties, and Father Anthony moved to Vich as a base from which he began traveling from parish to parish giving missions. He was granted the title of “Apostolic Missionary” by the Vatican, granting him faculties to preach in any diocese. His only goals were to glorify God and save souls. From 1843 to 1848, Father Anthony continually walked across Catalonia, preaching, living in poverty, and converting many sinners. During this time, he also wrote pamphlets, prayers, devotions, and other catechetical materials, which he distributed everywhere he went. In 1848, he founded a publishing house which, over the next two decades, distributed millions of books, booklets, and leaflets. Shortly after, he was sent to the Canary Islands where he preached for fifteen months, having the same powerful effect.
For some time, Father Anthony had been prayerfully considering the idea of founding a religious congregation dedicated to the preaching of missions. After returning to Vich in 1849, he founded the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, later known as the Claretian Missionaries, or Claretians. The goal of this new congregation was to train priests specifically for the purpose of preaching missions, evangelizing, and saving souls. However, very shortly after he founded the congregation, he was appointed as Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. It was then that he added “Mary” to his name: Archbishop Anthony Mary Adjutor John Claret y Clara. After his episcopal ordination, he arrived in Cuba in February, 1851, and spent the next six years reforming the clergy, creating new parishes, making pastoral visits on foot to every parish three different times, and renewing the faith of the people in powerful ways. He co-founded the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters; preached against slavery; established schools, hospitals, and credit unions for the poor; continued to write; and won many sinners back to God.
To Bishop Claret’s surprise, Queen Isabel II called him back to Spain to serve as her personal confessor and spiritual director in 1857, so he moved to Madrid. For the next ten years, he accompanied the Queen on her travels, always preaching missions in the towns they visited. He diligently continued to write and publish, and grew even deeper in his prayer. In 1868, due to a revolution in Spain, the queen and her court, including Bishop Claret, had to flee to France for safety. Shortly after, he attended Vatican I where he strongly advocated for papal infallibility. He then returned to France and took refuge in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, near Narbonne, where he spent the final months of his life.
Saint Anthony Mary Claret was a man who continually sought to glorify God and save souls. At the heart of his life was prayer. His prayer drew him into deep union with God, and that union produced an abundance of good fruit. As we honor this saintly priest, missionary, mystic, miracle worker, bishop, writer, confessor, and founder, consider these words from his autobiography, “…whenever I see sinners, I grow restless, I cannot quiet down, I cannot be consoled, my heart goes out to them.” Saint Anthony’s heart burned with a profound love of every sinner, and he dedicated his life to their salvation. Ponder your own attitude toward sinners, especially those who have sinned against you, and seek to imitate Saint Anthony’s example.
Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-24—anthony-mary-claret/
Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop Read More »
John was born in Capistrano, in the Kingdom of Naples, modern-day Italy. He came from a wealthy and prominent family. When he was young, his father died and John’s mother educated him at home. When he was older, she sent him to Perugia where he studied civil and canon law under a distinguished legal scholar. John excelled in his studies, and, in 1412, when John was about twenty-six, King Ladislaus of Naples appointed John as the Governor of Perugia. A wealthy nobleman also gave him his daughter in marriage, as well as a large dowry, making John quite wealthy.
At that time, across what is modern-day Italy, there were constant conflicts between powerful noble families and wars between cities and minor kingdoms. As governor, John attempted to root out corruption but was met with strong opposition. Around 1416, the powerful Malatesta family, with the support of others in Perugia, rejected King Ladislaus’ authority over Perugia. When John tried to broker peace, the Malatesta family imprisoned him.
Though imprisonment seems undesirable, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to John. His harsh imprisonment meant he was often chained and very poorly fed. He had initially expected King Ladislaus to come to his rescue but was abandoned instead. This suffering led him to think more seriously about his own soul and future, coming to realize that the material things of this world and fleeting temporal power could not compare with the spiritual riches we are all called to attain. Tradition holds that, while in prison, John had a dream or a vision of Saint Francis of Assisi, who instructed him to enter the Franciscan order.
Some historical accounts state that his young wife died while he was in prison; other accounts state that since the marriage was never consummated, it was dispensed. Either way, John decided to sell all of his property to pay the ransom for his release and enter the Franciscans, which he did on October 4, 1416, the Feast of Saint Francis.
The Franciscan superior was cautious about permitting John to join them, given his worldly background, so he tested John’s vocation severely. One story relates that the superior ordered him to ride a donkey through town, sitting backwards and poorly dressed, wearing a cap on his head that listed his many sins in large letters. John joyfully embraced this humiliation, proving his determination and spiritual commitment.
Once clothed in the Franciscan habit, John lived a life of continual prayer and penance. He never ate meat, ate only a scanty meal once a day, slept on the ground only a few hours each night, and mortified his flesh in other traditional ways. Brother John’s prayer life flourished. He pondered the Scriptures, spent long hours before the Blessed Sacrament or a crucifix, and believed that he was providentially given the name “John” because his deepest desire was to become the beloved disciple of the Lord.
Saints often know saints. This was the case of Brother John. His close companion in the order was the future Saint James of the Marches. One of his teachers and mentors within the order was the future Saint Bernardine of Siena, and he would later assist Saint Colette with the reform of the Poor Clares. After studying theology under Father Bernardine and accompanying him on many preaching missions, Brother John was ordained a priest in 1425, at the age of thirty-nine, and spent the next thirty-one years traveling from town to town across northern Italy and throughout northern Europe. Like his mentor, he became exceptionally zealous for the conversion of souls. He railed against immorality, converted entire towns, healed the sick, performed miracles, and preached to hundreds of thousands. One time, he drew a crowd of 126,000 attentive listeners. He drew such large crowds that he had to preach in the public square, the church never being large enough. When he arrived in a town for a mission, normal activity would stop, and surrounding villages would often travel to the mission, which could last for weeks.
Fathers Bernardine and John spread devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus. They encouraged the people to revere Jesus’ name by placing the first three Greek letters of His name on their doors: IHS. This new devotion led some within the Church to accuse them of heresy, and they were ordered to Rome to defend themselves. They were acquitted.
The two future saints were also deeply committed to the reform of the Franciscan order, which was continually in need of reform given the high ideals on which it was founded. At that time, the Conventuals were at odds with the Observants. The Conventuals stressed community life and the recitation of the Divine Office, while the Observants added the need for strict poverty. Though this caused ongoing tensions within the order, these reformers persevered in their work and made great strides forward.
Father John became so well respected by Church leadership, including popes, that he was often called upon to act as a papal legate to resolve disputes, was sent on numerous important diplomatic missions, and weeded out heresy wherever it sprung up.
In 1453, when Father John was sixty-seven years old, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire, threatening all of Christian Europe. In response, Pope Callixtus III called on Father John to preach to the people in support of a crusade to defend Europe. By 1456, as many as 50,000 men had joined the crusade, earning Father John the affectionate title of “Soldier Priest.” He personally led the troops and stopped the Turks from advancing on Belgrade, modern-day Serbia. Though the battle was successful, the living conditions were horrendous, and a plague went through the camp. After the battle, Father John became ill and died a few months later.
Saint John of Capistrano was a man who initially appeared to have all that this world had to offer. God saved him from the world through the suffering he endured during his imprisonment. After his eyes were opened, he radically devoted himself to Christ and the salvation of souls.
As we honor this saintly preacher and reformer, reflect upon any ways that God can use your struggles to deepen your faith. Trials can lead us down the path of despair, or prod us to the heights of holiness. Allow Saint John to inspire you so that you, too, will become a truly beloved disciple of our Lord.
Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-23—st-john-of-capistrano/
Saint John of Capistrano, Priest Read More »
Karol Józef Wojtyła, the future Saint John Paul II, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, the youngest of three children, just two years after Poland regained its independence after 123 years of partitions and foreign rule by the Russian, Austrian, and Prussian empires. As a youth, he was known to his friends as Lolek, an affectionate form of his name Karol (Charles). Though Poland was free as he grew up, Karol suffered many hardships. He never knew his older sister who died just hours after she was born. When Karol was eight, his mother died, and when he was twelve, his older brother died, leaving only Karol and his father, Karol, Sr.. Despite these tragedies, Karol’s father had a profound impact upon his life. He would later say that “his example for me was in some way the first seminary, a sort of domestic seminary.” Karol Sr. taught his son to pray, trust in God, be devoted to the Blessed Virgin, and love his Polish culture. Karol Jr. often saw his father on his knees in their small home, praying his rosary.
Karol Jr. received his early education in his hometown and then attended the Marcin Wadowita High School, a state-run institution. He was active in extracurricular activities, such as drama, sports, and poetry. In 1938, Karol and his father moved to Kraków where he attended the Jagiellonian University, focusing his studies on philosophy and languages. He eventually became fluent in at least eight languages and had a competency in several others. Jagiellonian University was the oldest university in Poland, dating back to its founding in 1364 by King Casimir the Great. After Karol attended the university for a year, Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. On November 6, 1939, the Gestapo gathered 180 professors and staff of the university and arrested them, sending them to concentration camps in an attempt to suppress Polish culture and intellectual life. Jagiellonian University was closed, and all young men were required to work. In response, Karol Wojtyła, along with hundreds of other students, continued their education underground, risking their lives. In addition to his underground studies, Karol worked in a quarry and a chemical factory to avoid deportation by the Nazis.
In 1940, a friend introduced Karol to Carmelite spirituality, and his prayer life began to blossom. On February 18, 1941, Karol’s father died, leaving him without any immediate family members. Though devastated by the numerous hardships he had endured by the age of twenty-one, his prayer life continued to flourish, and he sensed a new calling to the priesthood. A year and a half later, Karol made up his mind, went to talk to Archbishop Adam Stefan Sapieha of Kraków, and was invited to begin studies in a clandestine underground seminary run by the archbishop. On August 6, 1944, an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 Poles, mostly young men of military age, were arrested, detained, and sent to Plaszow concentration camp in an attempt to stop a Polish uprising. Karol hid at his uncle’s house and narrowly escaped. After that, he moved into the archbishop’s residence and remained hidden there until Kraków was liberated by the Soviet Red Army on January 19, 1945, after which time the seminary was reopened.
On November 1, 1946, Karol was ordained a priest by the recently elevated Cardinal Sapieha. The cardinal then sent him to Rome where he received his doctorate in theology from the Angelicum. His thesis was titled, “The Doctrine of Faith in Saint John of the Cross.” During his time in Rome, Father Wojtyła traveled to the Capuchin monastery located in the city of San Giovanni Rotondo, where the famous mystic Padre Pio resided. A close friend of Father Wojtyła later related that during that visit, Father Wojtyła went to Padre Pio for confession, and Padre Pio informed Father Wojtyła that he would one day “ascend to the highest office in the Church.” In 2002, Padre Pio was canonized by none other than Pope John Paul II, his penitent from 1947.
After returning to Poland the following year, Father Wojtyła spent the next ten years engaging in pastoral ministry in parishes, taught ethics at the Jagiellonian University and Catholic University of Lublin, received a second doctorate in philosophy from the Jagiellonian University, and wrote poems, plays, and contemporary faith-based articles. During this period, Father Wojtyła also worked as a university chaplain. He soon began to gather groups of students together for prayer and discussions. His gatherings grew and soon they turned into kayaking and camping trips, called Środowisko. Since priests were not permitted to openly engage in such trips during the time of Communist control of Poland, Father Wojtyła had his friends call him Wujek, which meant “uncle.”
In 1958, while on a two-week camping trip with his friends, “Wujek” received a letter from the local post office summoning him immediately to the Primate, Cardinal Wyszynski, in Warsaw. After kayaking back, hitching a ride from a milk truck, and putting on his cassock, Father Wojtyła appeared before Cardinal Wyszynski who informed him that Pope Pius XII had named him an auxiliary bishop in Krakow. At the age of thirty-eight, he was to become the youngest bishop in the history of Poland. After spending hours in prayer at a nearby convent and a midnight train ride, Wujek made it back to his friends in time to offer Sunday Mass for them. When he informed them of the appointment, they were shocked and asked what they should now call him. He responded, “Don’t worry, Wujek will remain Wujek.” As a new bishop, Bishop Wojtyła continued to live simply, maintained his friendships, and lived out his ministry—just as he had for the previous ten years.
In 1962, Bishop Wojtyła became the temporary administrator of the Archdiocese of Kraków after the archbishop died. He also took part in the Second Vatican Council, making important contributions. In 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Kraków and made him a cardinal in 1967.
After Pope Paul VI died on August 6, 1978, Cardinal Wojtyła joined the other cardinals in electing John Paul I. However, the new pope only lived for thirty-three days. After the funeral and much disagreement in the next conclave over two Italian choices, the cardinals turned their eyes to a new choice, the fifty-eight-year-old cardinal of Kraków. He was elected on October 16, 1978, taking the name Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Padre Pio’s prophecy had come true.
When Pope John Paul II first appeared to the people gathered at Saint Peter’s Basilica, he said to the largely Italian crowd, “…the cardinals have called for a new bishop of Rome. They called him from a faraway land—far and yet always close because of our communion in faith and Christian traditions.” In his inaugural homily, Pope John Paul II spoke words that would echo throughout his papacy, “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To His saving power, open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development…” This young, energetic, prayerful, charismatic, and brilliant theologian, philosopher, linguist, pastor, and friend was about to make an indelible mark on the Church and world.
Pope John Paul II made trips to 129 countries during his pontificate, gathering some of the largest crowds in human history. He met with heads of state, held massive open-air Masses in stadiums, initiated World Youth Day celebrations, met with religious leaders of other faiths, survived an assassination attempt, and commanded a powerful and endearing presence everywhere he went, almost always speaking in the native language.
In 1979, Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to his homeland. When he arrived, a movement was sparked that could not be stopped and led to the downfall of communism in Poland and across Europe within a decade. When he arrived, he kissed the ground and spoke directly to his people. He was a Pole, and they were Poles, and he encouraged them to never forget that. He spoke of solidarity with one another, and what came to be known as the Solidarity Movement began. Over the next year, an underground workers’ union called “Solidarity” formed and grew rapidly. By September 1981, about one-third of Poland’s working-class population were members. In 1983, Lech Wałęsa, the president of the Solidarity movement was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1990, Wałęsa became the first President of Poland to be elected by popular vote, leading to an end of the Soviet Union and opening the door for the expansion of democracies across Eastern Europe.
Pope John Paul II was the most prolific writer in the history of the papacy. The Church was still trying to find its way after Vatican II, and Pope John Paul II guided it at every turn. He wrote on morality, dogma, spirituality, mariology, sexuality, family life, marriage, the dignity of the person, the economy, society as a whole, and much more. He wrote fourteen encyclicals, fourteen apostolic exhortations, forty-five apostolic letters, eleven apostolic constitutions, thirty motu proprio, many catecheses, homilies, plays, and books. He reformed the Church’s Code of Canon Law and promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II was also prolific in his canonizations, canonizing more saints than all of predecessors combined. He canonized 482 and beatified 1,338. His canonizations were also new in that they sought to honor people of every walk of life. One of his most significant canonizations was that of Saint Faustina Kowolska, a Polish nun entrusted with the message of Divine Mercy. During her canonization in the year 2,000, the pope instituted the Solemnity of Divine Mercy Sunday on the second Sunday of the octave of Easter, in accord with the private revelations that Jesus gave to Saint Faustina.
Pope John Paul II not only lived well, he also died well. After suffering with Parkinson’s disease in public view for years, unable to walk and barely able to talk, he died on April 2, 2005, on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.
Saint John Paul II was one of the most visible figures in the history of the world. He navigated the Church through a tumultuous period, becoming the third longest-reigning pope in history. As we honor him today, ponder the effect that this saint had upon your own life. There is no doubt that Saint John Paul II has affected you in ways that you will only comprehend in Heaven. Give thanks to God for the gift of his life, and seek his prayers this day.
Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-22—st-john-paul-ii-pope/
Saint John Paul II, Pope Read More »
Profile
Ursula was a legendary princess and the daughter of a Christian British king and Saint Daria. She traveled Europe in company of either 11 or 11,000 fellow maidens; the 11,000 number probably resulted from a misreading of the term “11M” which indicated 11 Martyrs, but which a copyist took for a Roman numeral. Ursula and her company were tortured to death to get them to renounce their faith, and old paintings of them show many of the women being killed in various painful ways. She was the namesake for the Ursuline Order, founded for the education of young Catholic girls and women.
There are other saints closely associated with Ursula and her story –
Died
Canonized
Patronage
Representation
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ursula/
Paulo Francesco Danei, now known as Saint Paul of the Cross, was born in Ovada, in what is today northwestern Italy. In a family of sixteen, he was the oldest of the six children who survived infancy. His parents were devout Catholics who instilled their faith in their children. His father, a merchant and man of great faith, was more concerned about God and the lives of the saints than he was about worldly goods. Paul’s devout mother introduced her children to a devotion to the Blessed Mother and used to tell them about Christ’s Passion and the lives of the saints, especially the desert hermits. This sparked a great faith in Paul and a desire for prayer and solitude, a desire that never left him. He would later say of his mother, “If I am saved, as I hope through God’s mercy I will, it will be due to the training of my mother.” As a child, his prayer life grew deep, he loved to engage in mortification, and he often tearfully meditated on the Passion of Christ.
At the age of seven, Paul and his family relocated to the nearby town of Cremolino, where he received elementary education from Carmelite priests. He was a hardworking student who balanced his time of prayer and study, attending daily Mass and receiving Holy Communion as often as he could. When he turned sixteen, his family moved again, and Paul was sent to live with a host family in Genoa to complete his education.
When Paul was around twenty, he heard a sermon by his parish pastor, at which time a sudden and clear light shone in his soul that illuminated the depth of his misery. He would later refer to that moment as his conversion. Profoundly aware of his sin, he made a general confession to his parish priest, seeking to be cleansed of every sin, attachment, and disordered desire he had. This led to an increase in virtue and a desire for more prayer and penance. His penances became severe—scourging himself, sleeping on a board, fasting, and striving to enter more fully into the Passion of Christ. He said of this time in his life, “In those first years, our Lord filled me with hunger for two things: for Holy Communion and for suffering.”
As his prayer life profoundly deepened, so did his temptations. He saw the battle within himself raging, and he knew he had to be a soldier for Christ. In 1715, Pope Clement XI encouraged young men to assist the Venetian Republic in its war against the Ottoman Empire. Paul decided to join them, thinking this might be the way for him to fight for Christ. Once enlisted, he remained fervent in his prayer and virtue. One day, while waiting for deployment, he entered a Church in the town of Crema where God clearly and emphatically made it known to Paul that the battle He was calling him to fight was of a much higher and more noble purpose. As a result, he received an honorable discharge from his duties as a soldier and began his journey home. In the town of Novello, he stayed with a wealthy elderly couple who were childless. The couple became so fond of Paul that they decided to make him their heir. Paul, however, refused, since he desired nothing of this world.
Back home, Paul submitted himself to spiritual direction by his parish priest. Seeing Paul as an unusually devout young man, the priest put him through a series of tests. He showed him great severity in Confession, publicly humiliated him at times, and treated him as the worst of sinners. One day, he decided to impose an even more severe trial on Paul by ordering him to participate in a local town dance. Paul was completely opposed to the idea but obeyed. When he stepped onto the floor, however, all the strings of the instruments broke at once, bringing an end to the dance. This convinced the parish priest that Paul did, indeed, have a very special calling from God.
Since his family was of modest means, with his father always struggling to provide, Paul’s uncle, Father Christopher Danei, came up with a plan. With the permission of Paul’s parents, he found a wealthy and virtuous young woman with whom he offered to arrange a marriage. His uncle also informed Paul’s parents that he would leave all his money to Paul, so he could help provide for the family. Everyone loved the idea, except Paul. His uncle insisted, so Paul reluctantly met with her, but he knew marriage was not for him. Afterwards, his entire family continued to plead with him to wed for the family’s sake and to carry on the family name as the eldest son. Paul turned to prayer and shortly after, before any arrangements were made, his uncle suddenly died. Paul was already named the heir, but he renounced the entire inheritance, choosing only to keep his uncle’s prayerbook, leaving the rest to his family.
At the age of twenty-four, Paul was elected president of the local Confraternity at which he gave well-received regular spiritual exhortations. Soon afterward, many in the town flocked to listen to him. Around this time, he also taught catechism to children and formed an association of young men whom he would take on long walks to discuss the faith, especially the Passion of Christ, inspiring many of these young men to enter religious life. Paul also began caring for the poor and infirm, showing much devotion to those who were dying and seeing to it that they received a proper burial. He continued his apostolic works on many levels, and God gifted him with great charisms. He was given the ability to read souls and compassionately tell penitents their sins, leading to conversions and humble confessions. Paul especially worked to convert the young men who were hardened in their sins, prophesying their fate to them if they did not repent. His prophecies always came true. This won the admiration and holy fear of the townspeople, who began to consider him a living saint.
Around the age of twenty-six, Paul was introduced to three new spiritual directors who helped him immensely. His prayer was reaching the highest heights of contemplation, and God was continually speaking directly to his heart, slowly revealing His plan for Paul. One day, when Paul was returning from church, he had a vision, “Suddenly, I saw myself clothed in a tunic; a white cross on the breast; under the cross also in letters of white, the Holy Name of Jesus…” At another time, Paul had a vision of the Blessed Mother who held out to him a habit with the words, “JESU XPI PASSIO,” which means “The Passion of Jesus Christ.” Some time later, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Paul again, clothed in the habit she had shown to Paul previously. “My child! You see how I am clothed in mourning. It is because of the sorrowful Passion of my beloved Son, Jesus. You are to found a congregation in which all the members will clothe themselves in black and mourn continually for the Passion and Death of my dear Son.” Paul related all of these things to his bishop at the advice of his spiritual director, and the bishop, after consulting others, agreed that these inspirations and visions came from God. Soon after, Paul bid farewell to his family and went to the bishop’s private chapel where the bishop clothed him in the black habit, but without the emblem on the breast which would eventually mark the Passionist Congregation. The bishop then ordered him to write the Rule of the new congregation. Paul wrote the Rule during a forty-day retreat and then presented it to the bishop. After the bishop sought the advice of another priest, he approved the Rule for the new diocesan congregation of the “Poor of Jesus.”
Paul was sent to a remote hermitage to begin his new life but soon after was moved by the bishop to the church of Saint Stephen. The bishop knew Paul’s life was to be more than a life of prayer and personal sanctity: it was also to be apostolic. Once at Saint Stephen, two others joined Paul, one being his brother, John Baptist. Paul began to teach catechism at the order of the bishop and then started preaching. His preaching drew many, and conversions were plentiful. Miracles were worked, the townspeople began to turn from sin, and the Passion of Christ was ever on Paul’s lips.
In September of 1721, less than a year after Paul finished writing his Rule, he decided to travel to Rome to see the Holy Father, thinking that just like Saint Francis he would walk right into the papal palace and receive permission to found his new community. He arrived in Rome and presented himself at the papal palace, but because his poverty was evident from his clothing and exhaustion, the guards didn’t even let him pass the gate. They treated him roughly, told him that vagabonds arrived all day, and that he should go away. He then proceeded to Saint Mary Major, stopping at a fountain on the way and sharing his last loaf of bread with a beggar. At Saint Mary Major, before an ancient icon of the Blessed Mother, he made a vow to promote devotion to and grateful remembrance of the Passion of Jesus. It was through that experience of rejection, which he united with Jesus through the intercession of the Mother of God, that the Passionists’ charism became clearer to him. Soon after, he returned home to his hermitage with his brother.
In 1725, Paul and his brother went to Rome and lived in the Hospice of Saint Gallican where they tended to the suffering and dying. This experience of severe suffering became their primary source of inspiration for what would happen next. The cardinal who oversaw the hospice had a great affection for Paul and his brother. One day, the cardinal informed them that he believed they should be ordained priests, so he ordered them to prepare for ordination out of obedience. Over the next several months they intensely studied theology under a Franciscan and were ordained priests on June 7, 1727, at Saint Peter’s Basilica by Pope Benedict XIII.
Over the next fifteen years, Father Paul cared for the sick, preached missions, and lived a life of deep prayer, allowing God to work numerous miracles through him. Slowly, others joined him and his brother, and in 1741 Pope Benedict XIV gave final approval to their Rule, establishing them as the Congregation of the Discalced Clerks of the Most Holy Cross and Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Passionists). From that time on, Father Paul and the Passionists continued to grow. By the time of his death in 1775, there were hundreds of brothers and priests dedicated to a life of prayer and preaching centered on the Passion of Christ. There were twelve monasteries, or “Retreats” as they called them, and there was also a monastery for contemplative Passionist nuns. In addition to leaving a written Rule, Saint Paul wrote an estimated 2,000 letters in which his spiritual advice and profound insights into Christ’s Passion are most evident.
Saint Paul of the Cross was drawn to the Passion of Christ from an early age. He discovered that his own sufferings were the most precious gift he could receive when he united those sufferings to Christ. He had a profound love for the Eucharist, his “Sacramental Spouse,” Whom he received frequently in Holy Communion, an uncommon practice at that time. His bold preaching of the Cross, flowing from his deep prayer, drew many to Christ, bringing about many conversions. Throughout his ministry, he taught on the Divine Indwelling, by which one retreats to the interior desert, in order to speak to God and lose oneself in Him. He endured fifty years of spiritual darkness but united that darkness with the sufferings of Christ, drawing him into an intimate solidarity with, and compassion for, both Jesus Crucified and the sinners He came to save. This charism forged the foundation of the whole Passionist edifice.
As we honor this great saint, mystic, and founder, ponder the simple fact that Saint Paul discovered great joy in suffering because he found Christ in suffering. This discovery was of supernatural origin and can only be understood through the light of faith. Ponder your own view of suffering and seek to discover what Saint Paul discovered, so that you, too, will come to know our Crucified Lord more deeply.
Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/-st-paul-of-the-cross/
Saint Paul of the Cross, Priest Read More »
In the early seventeenth century, Dutch explorers made first contact with the Iroquois Confederacy in modern-day Albany, New York. The Confederacy was a political and military alliance of six Iroquoian-speaking native tribes located primarily in modern-day New York State. It was formed for inter-tribal security, diplomacy, and governance based on the tribes’ Great Law of Peace. The participating tribes were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The Dutch, and later British, engaged in fur trading in exchange for European items, such as metal tools, firearms, and alcohol.
Around the same time, French explorers came into contact with the Huron-Wendat Confederacy, who were continually at war with the Iroquois. Tensions between the two native confederacies centered around disputes over hunting grounds and trade routes associated with their new European alliances. The French were unique among the European settlers in that—in addition to establishing trade, political, and military alliances—they also sought to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the natives. The Jesuits were the driving force behind that work of evangelization. Though the French did establish some relations with the Iroquois Confederacy, their alliance with the Huron-Wendat Confederacy led the Iroquois to distrust the French and remain at war with the Huron-Wendat tribes.
When French Jesuits began arriving in North America, their first mission was at Port-Royal, Acadia, modern-day Nova Scotia. In 1613, a mission was established on the Mount Desert Island of modern-day Maine. In 1625, Notre-Dame-des-Anges was established near modern-day Quebec City, and in the same year, a mission was established at the mouth of the Saguenay River in Quebec. Among the first Jesuits to arrive was Father Jean de Brébeuf, one of more than 100 Jesuits who would arrive in the seventeenth century, eight of whom would die as martyrs.
In 1642, a layman named René Goupil was working as a medic for the Jesuit Missionaries near Quebec and was invited to accompany Father Isaac Jogues and a group of forty others, including Huron-Wendat chiefs, on a missionary expedition. While traveling, the group was attacked by Mohawk members of the Iroquois Confederation and taken to the village of Ossernenon near modern-day Auriesville, New York. Upon being seized by the Mohawks, René cried out to Father Jogues, “O my father, God be blessed; He has permitted it, He has willed it—His holy will be done. I love it, I desire it, I cherish it, I embrace it with all the strength of my heart.” Once captured, they were cruelly tortured, their fingers crushed and fingernails torn out. Father Jogues continually encouraged his companions, baptizing an elder Huron, hearing René’s confession, and preparing them for death. Years earlier, René had entered the Jesuit novitiate but had to leave because he suffered from deafness. Once captured, however, René made the Jesuit profession and was received into the order as a lay brother by Father Jogues on the spot.
Over the next six weeks, the tortures continued with beatings to the point of disfigurement. The captives’ fingers were cut off, and they were abused every day by numerous Mohawks within the camp. On September 29, Father Jogues and Brother René were walking in the village when two young Iroquois men told them to follow them. They did so, sensing this was the end. Suddenly, one of the Iroquois men turned and tomahawked Brother René in the head. He was the first Jesuit to be martyred. Father Jogues later learned that Brother René was killed because an Iroquois elder witnessed Brother René making the sign of the Cross on the forehead of an Iroquois child, and ordered his execution.
After more than a year in captivity, Father Jogues was able to escape and make his way back to France with the help of a sympathetic Mohawk and Dutch settlers. He was given a hero’s welcome in France, and Pope Urban VIII gave him permission to celebrate Mass, despite losing his fingers. At that time, the Blessed Sacrament could only be touched by the thumb and forefinger. In 1644, after being back in France for a year and a half, Father Jogues returned to the missions, desiring to continue the work and to accept martyrdom if God willed it. In 1646, he returned to the place of his previous captivity with Jesuit lay brother Jean de Lalande. Father Jogues’ desire was to establish peace with the Iroquois so that the Jesuits could continue their work of evangelization. He believed he was in a unique position to establish that peace. As they journeyed, they were captured and brought back to the same village of Ossernenon. This time, the Iroquois only kept them captive for a short period of time before Father Jogues was tomahawked in the head and beheaded on October 18, 1646. The next day, when Brother Jean de Lalande went to tend to his body, he was also martyred.
The other martyrs we honor today are Saints Antoine Daniel, Gabriel Lalemant, Jean de Brébeuf, Charles Garnier, and Noël Chabanel. Father Jean de Brébeuf arrived in New France and settled near Quebec in 1625 where he learned the Huron language and wrote a catechism in Huron, as well as a French–Huron dictionary for use by other Jesuits. In 1639, Father de Brébeuf, along with other French Jesuits, settlers, and soldiers, traveled farther west, down the Saint Lawrence River, deeper into Huron-Wendat territory and settled on the eastern side of Lake Huron, near the town of Midland, Ontario, Canada, to establish a Jesuit mission named Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. It was the first European settlement in modern-day Ontario. Sainte-Marie served as a central Jesuit mission to the Huron-Wendat Confederacy and as a headquarters for Jesuit activities in the area. From it, smaller missions were established in the area.
Each of the five remaining Jesuits was martyred in 1648–1649 at the missions served by Sainte-Marie. Father Antoine Daniel was captured at the Saint-Joseph mission on July 4, 1648, just after celebrating the Holy Mass. He was still in his vestments when he was shot with arrows and then burned in the chapel. Fathers Gabriel Lalemant and Jean de Brébeuf were serving at the Huron-Wendat village of Saint-Louis when it was attacked by the Iroquois on March 16, 1649. After several hours of extreme torture, including having hot coals placed on their bodies and being scalped, they died. On June 14, the remaining Jesuits and settlers abandoned and burned the Sainte-Marie Mission, to keep it from being desecrated by the Iroquois, and so they could flee to smaller and safer locations to continue their work. Fathers Charles Garnier and Noël Chabanel fled to Saint-Jean mission, and, despite the deaths of their fellow Jesuits, they continued their work. On December 7, 1649, their mission was attacked, and Father Garnier was shot with arrows and tomahawked to death. Father Chabanel was tracked down and killed; his body was never recovered.
These heroic saints helped lay the foundation of faith not only for the native peoples but also for the European settlers who arrived and populated North America. They epitomize a selfless desire to lay down their lives for others, even those who acted in excessively brutal ways. The torture they received did not lead to bitterness but to praise and thanksgiving to God that they were found worthy to imitate Christ’s death.
As we honor the North American Martyrs, ponder your own depth of sacrifice you are willing to make for the good of those around you. Family, friends, community, or workplace, we must continually look out for the good of others in a selfless way. Seek inspiration from today’s saints and strive to follow in their footsteps, through the unique form of martyrdom God asks of you.
Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-19—saints-jean-de-brbeuf-isaac-jogues-and-companions/
Saints Jean de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs; and their Companions, Martyrs Read More »
In the first century, the city of Antioch was the capital of the Roman province of Syria and one of the most important cities in the eastern Mediterranean. For centuries, its ancient remains could be found in Antakya, Turkey, until a February 2023 earthquake obliterated many treasured religious sites. In the first century, Antioch was a central trade route in the Roman Empire, a culturally diverse city, mostly Greek-speaking, and an intellectual hub with a massive library. Antioch was also one of the earliest Christian communities, initially evangelized by Saints Paul and Barnabas, and whose first bishop was Saint Peter, “and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). Today’s exceptionally important saint, Saint Luke the Evangelist, was most likely born, raised, and discovered the faith in this city.
Luke is credited with writing the Gospel of Saint Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. According to the fourth-century historian, Eusebius, Luke “was of Antiochian parentage and a physician by profession, and…was especially intimate with Paul and well acquainted with the rest of the apostles” (3.4). Saint Paul identifies Luke in several of his epistles as being his close companion and as a physician (see Colossians 4:14; Philemon 1:24; 2 Timothy 4:11).
The fact that Luke was a faithful companion of Saint Paul is also revealed in the Acts of the Apostles when the narrative of Saint Paul’s journeys moves to the first-person plural, to “we,” implying Luke is part of the missionary activity he describes. The “we” passages begin in Acts 16:10–17 when Saint Paul receives a vision to go to Macedonia while in Troas. It appears that from this trip onward, Luke accompanied Saint Paul. The travels included Macedonia and Greece, Antioch, Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus, back through Macedonia and Greece, and to Jerusalem, where Saint Paul was arrested and sent to Rome, spending two years there before being executed. It appears from Saint Paul’s writings that Saint Luke remained with him until the end—“Try to join me soon, for Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:9–11). The second letter to Timothy was most likely written just before Saint Paul was executed.
Based on the prologue of his own Gospel, Luke was not an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry from the beginning; rather, he accurately investigated everything anew and wrote down his findings in an orderly sequence (see Luke 1:1–4). Saint Paul mentions Mark, the author of the first Gospel, next to Luke in his epistles, clearly indicating that Mark and Luke knew each other well. Luke’s Gospel was written after Mark’s, suggesting that Luke used Mark’s Gospel as a source.
Most scholars believe that Luke was a Gentile convert. This conviction is largely based on Colossians 4:10–14, in which Saint Paul does not include Luke in his greetings by those “who are of the circumcision,” meaning those who are Jews. He includes Luke after that in the grouping of the Gentiles. Furthermore, Luke’s Gospel and the Acts give special attention to the Gentile converts, holding them in an important position. Thus, Luke was most likely the only one of the four Gospel writers who was not of Jewish origin. This is further evidenced by the fact that Luke’s Gospel appears to have been written in Greek. His Greek grammar and structure are excellent, suggesting he is well educated in Greek language, literature, and culture.
Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume single work. Both are written for a man named “Theophilus.” In the prologue to the Gospel we read, “I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus…” (Luke 1:4). In the prologue to Acts we read, “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up…” (Acts 1:1–2). Scholars have varying opinions about who Theophilus is. He might be Saint Paul’s lawyer, and Luke’s writings might have been created for Saint Paul’s defense before the Roman authorities. Theophilus might also be a wealthy benefactor who commissioned and paid for Luke’s written accounts. However, many have suggested a spiritual interpretation rather than a literal one. The name “Theophilus” can mean “Friend of God.” Thus, Luke could be writing broadly to everyone who is a friend of God.
The Gospel according to Luke, the longest of the four gospels, is sophisticated in its literary form and offers a depth of moral teaching. Luke includes a number of parables and events that are not included in the other Gospels. The events include: Annunciation to Zechariah (Luke 1:5–25); Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38); Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth and the Magnificat (Luke 1:39–56); Birth of John the Baptist with Zechariah’s Canticle (Luke 1:57–80); Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:22–38); Jesus at the age of Twelve in the Temple (Luke 2:41–52); Jesus’ Rejection at Nazareth (Luke 4:16–30); The Widow at Nain (Luke 7:11–17); A Sinful Woman Forgiven (Luke 7:36–50); Jesus Sends Out Seventy-two Disciples (Luke 10:1–24); Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38–42); and Zacchaeus the Tax Collector Climbs a Tree (Luke 19:1–10).
Additionally, there are several parables only found in Luke: Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37); Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5–13); Rich Fool (Luke 12:13–21); Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6–9); Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3–7); Lost Coin (Luke 15:8–10); Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32); Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–13); Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31); Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1–8); Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18:9–14); and Ten Coins and Servants (Luke 19:11–27).
It should be noted that only Luke includes details from the life of our Blessed Mother. Her Magnificat, experience at the Annunciation, and Presentation in the Temple suggest he either had an intimate knowledge of these events directly from the Blessed Mother or was privileged to receive a reliable and detailed account of them from another source. There is also an ancient tradition that Saint Luke was an artist who painted the first icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus.
Early tradition states that Saint Luke died at the age of eighty-four in Boeotia, Greece. It is also an ancient belief that he died a martyr, though records are unreliable. His writings, however, are reliable. Together, the Gospel of Saint Luke and the Acts of the Apostles make up a significant portion of the New Testament. God clearly used this intelligent and well-educated man when the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write a thorough, definitive, and orderly account of God’s life-saving actions in the Person of Jesus Christ and the early Church. Saint Luke did the writing, but the Holy Spirit guided the pen, using Saint Luke’s human experience and talent as the instrument.
As we honor this great evangelist, ponder the fact that while he wrote down this orderly account of the life of Christ and the early Church, little did Luke know that his writings would be among the most widely distributed writings in the history of the world and would be one of the primary instruments of the salvation of countless souls.
Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/october-18–st-luke/
Saint Luke the Evangelist Read More »
Add San Jose Filipino Ministry as a new recipient, Send your donation using"[email protected]"
Payable to - San Jose Filipino Ministry
Address - 1235 S Magnolia Ave Anaheim, CA 92804-5115
1235 S.Magnolia Ave. Anaheim, CA 92804-5115
1235 S.Magnolia Ave. Anaheim, CA 92804-5115
Add San Jose Filipino Ministry as a new recipient, Send your donation using"[email protected]"
Payable to - San Jose Filipino Ministry
Address - 1235 S Magnolia Ave
Anaheim, CA 92804-5115
San Jose Filipino Ministry. All rights reserved. 2021 © Powered by Phoenix Virtual Solutions
Sponsored by EverClear Hospice and Palliative Care