November 1
Feast of All Saints
November 1
Daily Saints – 1 November.
Feast of All Saints.
This feast is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown. It celebrates all those who have entered heaven, including saints who are recognized by the Church and those who are not.
All Saints’ Day was formally started by Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs on May 13 in 609 AD. Boniface IV also established All Souls’ Day, which follows All Saints.
The holy day was eventually established on November 1 by Pope Gregory III in the mid-eighth century as a day dedicated to the saints and their relics. The May 13 celebration was subsequently abandoned.
Pope Gregory IV extended its observance to the whole Church. It has a vigil and octave, and is a holy day of obligation.
“We can, if we will, become a saint, for God will never refuse to help us to do so.” – St. John Vianney
“Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth, we may be together in Heaven.” – St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
“After seven years in the religious life, I still am weak and imperfect. I always feels, however, the same bold confidence of becoming a great saint because I don’t count on my merits since I have none, but I trust in Him who is Virtue and Holiness.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
“The saints live not after the fashion of the world…The dignity of the saints is so great because they are not of this world, but ‘of the household of God.’” – St. Thomas Aquinas
“One should not wish to become a saint in four days but step by step.” – St. Philip Neri
“A saint was once asked, while playing happily with his companions, what he would do if any angel told him that in a quarter of an hour he would die and have to appear before the judgment seat of God. The saint properly replied that he would continue playing because I am certain these games are pleasing to God.” – St. John Bosco
“All the science of the Saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly.” – St. Francis de Sales
“The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their heart the invitation of Christ.:” – St. Anthony of Padua
“You cannot be half a saint… You must be a whole saint… Or no saint at all!” – St. Therese of Lisieux
“Keep in mind that our community is not composed of those who are already saints, but of those who are trying to become saints. Therefore, let us be extremely patient with each other’s faults and failures.” – Mother Teresa
“There is no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future.” – Saint Augustine
“God’s invitation to become saints is for all, not just a few. Sanctity therefore must be accessible to all. In what does it consist? In a lot of activity? No. In doing extraordinary things? No, this could not be for everybody and at all times. Therefore, sanctity consists in doing good, and in doing this good in whatever condition and place God has placed us. Nothing more, nothing outside of this.” – Blessed Louis Tezza
“Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” – Saint Francis of Assisi
“We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. I will be a saint means I will despoil myself of all that is not God; I will strip my heart of all created things; I will live in poverty and detachment; I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make myself a willing slave to the will of God.” – Blessed Mother Teresa
“Our Lord has created persons for all states in life, and in all of them we see people who achieved sanctity by fulfilling their obligations well.” – St. Anthony Mary Claret
“Holiness is a disposition of the heart that makes us humble and little in the arms of God, aware of our weakness, and confident — in the most audacious way — in His Fatherly goodness.” – St. Therese of the Infant Jesus
“The Solemnity of All Saints is “our” celebration: not because we are good, but because the sanctity of God has touched our life. The Saints are not perfect models, but people through whom God has passed. We can compare them to the Church windows which allow light to enter in different shades of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their heart and have passed it on to the world, each according to his or her own “hue”. But they were all transparent; they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so as to enable the gentle light of God to pass through. This is life’s purpose: to enable God’s light to pass through; it is the purpose of our life too………..Today is the celebration of those who have reached the destination indicated by this map: not only the saints on the calendar, but many brothers and sisters “next door”, whom we may have met and known. Today is a family celebration, of many simple, hidden people who in reality help God to move the world forward. And there are so many of them today! There are so many of them! Thanks to these unknown brothers and sisters who help God to move the world forward, who live among us; let us salute them all with a nice round of applause!…” – pope francis, angelus, Saint Peter’s Square, Wednesday, 1 November 2017
“With great joy, we celebrate today the feast of All Saints. Visiting a nursery garden, one remains taken aback at the variety of plants and flowers, and spontaneously begins to think of the Creator’s fantasy that made the earth a marvelous garden. These same sentiments come to us when we consider the spectacle of holiness: the world appears to us as a “garden,” where the Spirit of God has sustained with remarkable wonder a multitude of saints, male and female, from every age and social condition, of every tongue, people and culture. Each is different from the others, with the uniqueness of their own personality and their own spiritual charism. All, however, were marked by the “seal” of Jesus, the imprint of his love, witnessed upon the Cross. All now are at joy, in a feast without end as, like Jesus, they reached this goal across toil and trial, each one encountering their share of sacrifice to participate in the glory of the resurrection…..On this day let us revive in ourselves an attraction toward Heaven that calls us to carry on in our earthly pilgrimage. Let us lift in our hearts the desire to always unite ourselves to the family of the saints, of which we already have the grace to be a part…..May this beautiful aspiration burn in all Christians and help them to surpass every difficulty, every fear, every tribulation! Let us place, dear friends, our hand in the maternal one of Mary, Queen of All Saints, and let ourselves be led by her toward our heavenly homeland, in the company of the blessed spirits “of every nation, people and language.” – Pope Benedict XVI homily On “All Saints Day” 2008
Feast of All Saints.
This feast is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown. It celebrates all those who have entered heaven, including saints who are recognized by the Church and those who are not.
All Saints’ Day was formally started by Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs on May 13 in 609 AD. Boniface IV also established All Souls’ Day, which follows All Saints.
The holy day was eventually established on November 1 by Pope Gregory III in the mid-eighth century as a day dedicated to the saints and their relics. The May 13 celebration was subsequently abandoned.
Pope Gregory IV extended its observance to the whole Church. It has a vigil and octave, and is a holy day of obligation.
“We can, if we will, become a saint, for God will never refuse to help us to do so.” – St. John Vianney
“Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth, we may be together in Heaven.” – St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
“After seven years in the religious life, I still am weak and imperfect. I always feels, however, the same bold confidence of becoming a great saint because I don’t count on my merits since I have none, but I trust in Him who is Virtue and Holiness.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
“The saints live not after the fashion of the world…The dignity of the saints is so great because they are not of this world, but ‘of the household of God.’” – St. Thomas Aquinas
“One should not wish to become a saint in four days but step by step.” – St. Philip Neri
“A saint was once asked, while playing happily with his companions, what he would do if any angel told him that in a quarter of an hour he would die and have to appear before the judgment seat of God. The saint properly replied that he would continue playing because I am certain these games are pleasing to God.” – St. John Bosco
“All the science of the Saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly.” – St. Francis de Sales
“The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their heart the invitation of Christ.:” – St. Anthony of Padua
“You cannot be half a saint… You must be a whole saint… Or no saint at all!” – St. Therese of Lisieux
“Keep in mind that our community is not composed of those who are already saints, but of those who are trying to become saints. Therefore, let us be extremely patient with each other’s faults and failures.” – Mother Teresa
“There is no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future.” – Saint Augustine
“God’s invitation to become saints is for all, not just a few. Sanctity therefore must be accessible to all. In what does it consist? In a lot of activity? No. In doing extraordinary things? No, this could not be for everybody and at all times. Therefore, sanctity consists in doing good, and in doing this good in whatever condition and place God has placed us. Nothing more, nothing outside of this.” – Blessed Louis Tezza
“Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” – Saint Francis of Assisi
“We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. I will be a saint means I will despoil myself of all that is not God; I will strip my heart of all created things; I will live in poverty and detachment; I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make myself a willing slave to the will of God.” – Blessed Mother Teresa
“Our Lord has created persons for all states in life, and in all of them we see people who achieved sanctity by fulfilling their obligations well.” – St. Anthony Mary Claret
“Holiness is a disposition of the heart that makes us humble and little in the arms of God, aware of our weakness, and confident — in the most audacious way — in His Fatherly goodness.” – St. Therese of the Infant Jesus
“The Solemnity of All Saints is “our” celebration: not because we are good, but because the sanctity of God has touched our life. The Saints are not perfect models, but people through whom God has passed. We can compare them to the Church windows which allow light to enter in different shades of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their heart and have passed it on to the world, each according to his or her own “hue”. But they were all transparent; they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so as to enable the gentle light of God to pass through. This is life’s purpose: to enable God’s light to pass through; it is the purpose of our life too………..Today is the celebration of those who have reached the destination indicated by this map: not only the saints on the calendar, but many brothers and sisters “next door”, whom we may have met and known. Today is a family celebration, of many simple, hidden people who in reality help God to move the world forward. And there are so many of them today! There are so many of them! Thanks to these unknown brothers and sisters who help God to move the world forward, who live among us; let us salute them all with a nice round of applause!…” – pope francis, angelus, Saint Peter’s Square, Wednesday, 1 November 2017
“With great joy, we celebrate today the feast of All Saints. Visiting a nursery garden, one remains taken aback at the variety of plants and flowers, and spontaneously begins to think of the Creator’s fantasy that made the earth a marvelous garden. These same sentiments come to us when we consider the spectacle of holiness: the world appears to us as a “garden,” where the Spirit of God has sustained with remarkable wonder a multitude of saints, male and female, from every age and social condition, of every tongue, people and culture. Each is different from the others, with the uniqueness of their own personality and their own spiritual charism. All, however, were marked by the “seal” of Jesus, the imprint of his love, witnessed upon the Cross. All now are at joy, in a feast without end as, like Jesus, they reached this goal across toil and trial, each one encountering their share of sacrifice to participate in the glory of the resurrection…..On this day let us revive in ourselves an attraction toward Heaven that calls us to carry on in our earthly pilgrimage. Let us lift in our hearts the desire to always unite ourselves to the family of the saints, of which we already have the grace to be a part…..May this beautiful aspiration burn in all Christians and help them to surpass every difficulty, every fear, every tribulation! Let us place, dear friends, our hand in the maternal one of Mary, Queen of All Saints, and let ourselves be led by her toward our heavenly homeland, in the company of the blessed spirits “of every nation, people and language.” – Pope Benedict XVI homily On “All Saints Day” 2008
Close
November 2
Daily Saints – 2 November.
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls).
All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray for our dear ones who have gone for their eternal reward and who are currently in a state of ongoing purification. The tradition of the church is to pray for those who have passed on from this world. This kind of intercession is possible because of the union of all those who belong to Christ, a union that is not broken even by death.
This celebration is associated with the doctrine that the souls of the faithful who at death have not been cleansed from the temporal punishment due to venial sins, and from attachment to mortal sins cannot immediately attain the beatific vision in Heaven. They may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass.
In other wards, when they died, they had not yet attained full sanctification and moral perfection, a requirement for entrance into Heaven. This sanctification is carried out posthumously in Purgatory. Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic sacrifice.
According to Revelation 21:27: “nothing unclean shall enter Heaven.” Holy Scripture (Proverbs 24:16) also teaches that even “the just sin seven times a day.” Since it would be contrary to the mercy of God to punish such souls with venial sins in Hell, they are seen as entering a place or state of purification, called Purgatory, which combines God’s justice with His mercy. This teaching is also contained in the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.
II Maccabees, 12:46 is the main Biblical text incorporating the Jewish belief in the necessity of prayer and sacrifice for the dead. The passage (II Maccabees 12:39-46), describes how Judas, the military commander, “took up a collection from all his men, totaling about four pounds of silver and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering” (II Mc 12:43). The narrator continues, “If he had not believed that the dead would be raised, it would have been foolish and useless to pray for them.”
St. Paul seems to have shared this traditional Jewish belief. At the death of his supporter Onesiphorus, he prayed: “May the Lord grant him mercy on that Day” (II Timothy: 1:18). Other pertinent Bible texts: Matthew 12:32, I Corinthians, 3:15, Zechariah 13:19, Sirach 7:33. “As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
The Church’s official teaching on Purgatory is plain and simple. There is a place or state of purification called Purgatory, where souls undergoing purification can be helped by the prayers of the faithful (Council of Trent). Some modern theologians suggest that the fire of Purgatory is an intense, transforming encounter with Jesus Christ and his fire of love. They also speak of Purgatory as an “instant” purification immediately after death, varying in intensity from soul to soul, depending on the state of each individual.
When we were baptized, our old nature—marred through disobedience and defiled by sin—was joined to Jesus on the cross and died. Through baptism, St. Paul explains, we are buried with Jesus in his grave. Now, we can share in his victory over death. No longer enslaved to sin, we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In our daily lives, however, we often fall short of the life we received in baptism. While tasting the new life of Christ, we act out of our old nature and give in to temptation and sin. This is why All Souls Day is so important.
It reminds us that God, knowing the weakness and frailty of our human nature, has made a way for us to enter his holy presence perfectly cleansed and acceptable to him. As the church teaches, “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030).
The Church formulated her doctrine on Purgatory at the Councils of Florence and Trent and certain Scripture texts also speak of the cleansing fire. (CCC, 958, 1030-32 and 1 Cor. 3:15, 1Pet 1:7)
St. Catherine of Genoa once wrote: “Apart from the happiness of the saints in heaven, I think there is no joy comparable to that of the souls in purgatory” (On Purgation and Purgatory). Purgatory is not an antechamber of hell, one step short of damnation. Rather, it’s the “waiting room” for heaven where we undergo a final cleaning up in order to appear before the all-holy God. We have to remember that the purification of our imperfections begins in this life as we respond to God’s grace.
How do we help the “holy souls”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice and also encourages “almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (CCC #1032). Let us not forget to pray for our dear departed, have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them. God can foresee and apply the merits of our prayers, penances and works of charity, done even years after their death, for our departed dear ones, in favour of our deceased dear ones, at the moment of their deaths.
By virtue of the consoling doctrine of the communion of saints the merits and prayers of each one are able to help all; and the Church is able to join her prayer with that of the saints in heaven and supply what is wanting to the souls in Purgatory by means of the Mass, indulgences and the alms and sacrifices of her children.
The celebration of Mass, the sacrifice of Calvary continued on our altars, has ever been for the Church the principal means of fulfilling towards the dead the great commandment of charity. Masses for the dead are found in the fifth century. But it was St. Odilo, fourth abbot of Cluny, who was responsible for the institution of the general commemoration of all the faithful departed; he instituted it and fixed its celebration on November 2, the day after All Saints. The practice spread to the rest of Christendom.
“This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin. From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.” (CCC # 1032)
In the Church, November is especially dedicated to suffrages made on behalf of the poor souls in Purgatory. The most efficacious prayer, of course, is that of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, followed by the daily Rosary. Still, there are other sacrifices we can offer. One prayer most commonly called “St. Gertrude’s Prayer”, was dictated by Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great, a Benedictine cloistered Nun and Mystic. In the twelfth century, the Lord told the Saint that this prayer releases 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is offered.
Here is the “St. Gertrude Prayer”:
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
“Let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Amen.”
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls).
All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray for our dear ones who have gone for their eternal reward and who are currently in a state of ongoing purification. The tradition of the church is to pray for those who have passed on from this world. This kind of intercession is possible because of the union of all those who belong to Christ, a union that is not broken even by death.
This celebration is associated with the doctrine that the souls of the faithful who at death have not been cleansed from the temporal punishment due to venial sins, and from attachment to mortal sins cannot immediately attain the beatific vision in Heaven. They may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass.
In other wards, when they died, they had not yet attained full sanctification and moral perfection, a requirement for entrance into Heaven. This sanctification is carried out posthumously in Purgatory. Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic sacrifice.
According to Revelation 21:27: “nothing unclean shall enter Heaven.” Holy Scripture (Proverbs 24:16) also teaches that even “the just sin seven times a day.” Since it would be contrary to the mercy of God to punish such souls with venial sins in Hell, they are seen as entering a place or state of purification, called Purgatory, which combines God’s justice with His mercy. This teaching is also contained in the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.
II Maccabees, 12:46 is the main Biblical text incorporating the Jewish belief in the necessity of prayer and sacrifice for the dead. The passage (II Maccabees 12:39-46), describes how Judas, the military commander, “took up a collection from all his men, totaling about four pounds of silver and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering” (II Mc 12:43). The narrator continues, “If he had not believed that the dead would be raised, it would have been foolish and useless to pray for them.”
St. Paul seems to have shared this traditional Jewish belief. At the death of his supporter Onesiphorus, he prayed: “May the Lord grant him mercy on that Day” (II Timothy: 1:18). Other pertinent Bible texts: Matthew 12:32, I Corinthians, 3:15, Zechariah 13:19, Sirach 7:33. “As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
The Church’s official teaching on Purgatory is plain and simple. There is a place or state of purification called Purgatory, where souls undergoing purification can be helped by the prayers of the faithful (Council of Trent). Some modern theologians suggest that the fire of Purgatory is an intense, transforming encounter with Jesus Christ and his fire of love. They also speak of Purgatory as an “instant” purification immediately after death, varying in intensity from soul to soul, depending on the state of each individual.
When we were baptized, our old nature—marred through disobedience and defiled by sin—was joined to Jesus on the cross and died. Through baptism, St. Paul explains, we are buried with Jesus in his grave. Now, we can share in his victory over death. No longer enslaved to sin, we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In our daily lives, however, we often fall short of the life we received in baptism. While tasting the new life of Christ, we act out of our old nature and give in to temptation and sin. This is why All Souls Day is so important.
It reminds us that God, knowing the weakness and frailty of our human nature, has made a way for us to enter his holy presence perfectly cleansed and acceptable to him. As the church teaches, “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030).
The Church formulated her doctrine on Purgatory at the Councils of Florence and Trent and certain Scripture texts also speak of the cleansing fire. (CCC, 958, 1030-32 and 1 Cor. 3:15, 1Pet 1:7)
St. Catherine of Genoa once wrote: “Apart from the happiness of the saints in heaven, I think there is no joy comparable to that of the souls in purgatory” (On Purgation and Purgatory). Purgatory is not an antechamber of hell, one step short of damnation. Rather, it’s the “waiting room” for heaven where we undergo a final cleaning up in order to appear before the all-holy God. We have to remember that the purification of our imperfections begins in this life as we respond to God’s grace.
How do we help the “holy souls”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice and also encourages “almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (CCC #1032). Let us not forget to pray for our dear departed, have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them. God can foresee and apply the merits of our prayers, penances and works of charity, done even years after their death, for our departed dear ones, in favour of our deceased dear ones, at the moment of their deaths.
By virtue of the consoling doctrine of the communion of saints the merits and prayers of each one are able to help all; and the Church is able to join her prayer with that of the saints in heaven and supply what is wanting to the souls in Purgatory by means of the Mass, indulgences and the alms and sacrifices of her children.
The celebration of Mass, the sacrifice of Calvary continued on our altars, has ever been for the Church the principal means of fulfilling towards the dead the great commandment of charity. Masses for the dead are found in the fifth century. But it was St. Odilo, fourth abbot of Cluny, who was responsible for the institution of the general commemoration of all the faithful departed; he instituted it and fixed its celebration on November 2, the day after All Saints. The practice spread to the rest of Christendom.
“This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin. From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.” (CCC # 1032)
In the Church, November is especially dedicated to suffrages made on behalf of the poor souls in Purgatory. The most efficacious prayer, of course, is that of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, followed by the daily Rosary. Still, there are other sacrifices we can offer. One prayer most commonly called “St. Gertrude’s Prayer”, was dictated by Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great, a Benedictine cloistered Nun and Mystic. In the twelfth century, the Lord told the Saint that this prayer releases 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is offered.
Here is the “St. Gertrude Prayer”:
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
“Let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Amen.”
Close
November 2
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
November 3
Daily Saints – 3 November.
Feast of Saint Martin de Porres.
He is the patron saint of Barbers, Race Relations, Radio, Social Justice, bi-racial people, mixed-race people, black people, hair stylists, hairdressers, hotel-keepers, innkeepers, paupers, poor people, public education, public schools, state schools, public health, race relations, racial harmony, television.
Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. He was the illegitimate son of Don Juan de Porres, a Spanish nobleman and adventurer. His mother Ana Velasquez was a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of indigenous stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. His parents never married each other.
Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Ana Velasquez supported her children by taking in laundry.
“Father unknown” is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. “Half-breed” or “war souvenir” is the cruel name inflicted by those of “pure” blood.
Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised.
Martin was reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society. When Martin turned eight, his father had a change of heart and decided to claim his two children (publicly identified as mulatto, a term used for mixed-race children) in spite of the gossip to which it subjected him. He made sure that both were afforded a good education and had enough money for the family not to suffer privation.
At the age of twelve, Martin began an apprenticeship with a barber/surgeon named Marcel de Rivero. Martin learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood—a standard medical treatment then—care for wounds, and prepare and administer medicines. He proved extremely skilful at this trade and soon customers, who at first were sceptical of the young coloured boy, came to prefer and ask for him.
After leaving home, Martin took a room in the house of Ventura de Luna. Always a devoted Catholic who spent much time in church, Martin begged his landlady for some candle stubs. She was curious about his activities and one night spied on him through a keyhole and witnessed Martin in a vigil of ecstatic prayer — a practice he would continue throughout his life.
After a few years, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper,” not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. In Peru, by law, all descendants of African or Indians were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility, led the community to request him to make full religious profession. The prior Juan de Lorenzana decided to disregard the law restricting Martin based on race.
However, not all of the members in the Holy Rosary were as open-minded as Lorenzana; Martin was called horrible names and mocked for being illegitimate and descending from slaves.
Martin continued to practice his old trades of barbering and healing and performed many, many miraculous cures. He also took on kitchen work, laundry, and cleaning. His relationship with his brothers was tinged by their curiosity and occasional pranks. For example, just before the meal was to be served, they would hide the potholders and Martin would have to lift the scalding pots with his bare hands. Yet never once did his fingers get burned!
Martin frequently insisted on performing such hard and menial tasks as caring for the Order’s horses in the evenings, even when informed that servants were available for these chores. He would argue that the servants were tired from their day’s work while he, Martin, had done very little. He also extended his healing gifts — going to the servants’ quarters and treating their ailments.
Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color, race, or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa, and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality, as well as generosity. Over much criticism, he insisted that the school staff be well-paid so that they would give their best service.
He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a matter of “blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!” When his priory was in debt, he said, “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me.”
Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry, and infirmary, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals.
His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house.
Martin became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent. Many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave.”
Martin had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission and thus earn the palm of martyrdom. However, since this was not possible, he made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances. In turn, God endowed him with many graces and wondrous gifts, such as aerial flights and bilocation.
During an epidemic in Lima, many of the friars in the Convent of the Rosary became very ill. Locked away in a distant section of the convent, they were kept away from the professed. However, on more than one occasion, Martin passed through the locked doors to care for the sick. However, he became disciplined for not following the rules of the Convent, but after replying, “Forgive my error, and please instruct me, for I did not know that the precept of obedience took precedence over that of charity,” he was given full liberty to follow his heart in mercy.
He also possessed spiritual wisdom, demonstrated in his solving his sister’s marriage problems, raising a dowry for his niece inside of three days’ time, and resolving theological problems for the learned of his Order and for Bishops.
He lived in self-imposed austerity, never ate meat, fasted continuously, and spent much time in prayer and meditation with a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He was the friend of Saint John de Massias and Saint Rose of Lima.
In January of 1639, when Martin was 60-years-old, he became very ill with chills, fevers and tremors causing him agonizing pain. He would experience almost a year full of illness until he passed away on November 3, 1639.
Nearly all Spanish America calls him the Rats’ Saint because they say that his picture, if placed in the haunts of rats and mice, speedily causes these animals to disappear. In his convent in Peru the sacristan complained that the rats gnawed away his things, and proposed to destroy the disagreeable visitors with poison. Brother Martin dissuaded him from this cruelty. He then called all these little creatures and put a basket which he was holding upon the ground, and when they had all scrambled into the basket he carried them into the garden, promising to look to them every day, if they would cease from ravaging the provisions of the monastery. This is why he is represented with a basket in his hand surrounded by rats, either that he is about to feed them or to take them from the sacristy and gather them in the garden, in order to supply them with the leavings of the house. The Blessed Martin of Porres is invoked against rats.
“Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden and waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if it were offered to God.”
“Compassion is preferable to cleanliness: with a little bit of soap I can clean my bed, but think of the flood of tears I would require to clean from my soul the stain that harshness against this unfortunate would leave.”
Feast of Saint Martin de Porres.
He is the patron saint of Barbers, Race Relations, Radio, Social Justice, bi-racial people, mixed-race people, black people, hair stylists, hairdressers, hotel-keepers, innkeepers, paupers, poor people, public education, public schools, state schools, public health, race relations, racial harmony, television.
Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. He was the illegitimate son of Don Juan de Porres, a Spanish nobleman and adventurer. His mother Ana Velasquez was a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of indigenous stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. His parents never married each other.
Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Ana Velasquez supported her children by taking in laundry.
“Father unknown” is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. “Half-breed” or “war souvenir” is the cruel name inflicted by those of “pure” blood.
Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised.
Martin was reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society. When Martin turned eight, his father had a change of heart and decided to claim his two children (publicly identified as mulatto, a term used for mixed-race children) in spite of the gossip to which it subjected him. He made sure that both were afforded a good education and had enough money for the family not to suffer privation.
At the age of twelve, Martin began an apprenticeship with a barber/surgeon named Marcel de Rivero. Martin learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood—a standard medical treatment then—care for wounds, and prepare and administer medicines. He proved extremely skilful at this trade and soon customers, who at first were sceptical of the young coloured boy, came to prefer and ask for him.
After leaving home, Martin took a room in the house of Ventura de Luna. Always a devoted Catholic who spent much time in church, Martin begged his landlady for some candle stubs. She was curious about his activities and one night spied on him through a keyhole and witnessed Martin in a vigil of ecstatic prayer — a practice he would continue throughout his life.
After a few years, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper,” not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. In Peru, by law, all descendants of African or Indians were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility, led the community to request him to make full religious profession. The prior Juan de Lorenzana decided to disregard the law restricting Martin based on race.
However, not all of the members in the Holy Rosary were as open-minded as Lorenzana; Martin was called horrible names and mocked for being illegitimate and descending from slaves.
Martin continued to practice his old trades of barbering and healing and performed many, many miraculous cures. He also took on kitchen work, laundry, and cleaning. His relationship with his brothers was tinged by their curiosity and occasional pranks. For example, just before the meal was to be served, they would hide the potholders and Martin would have to lift the scalding pots with his bare hands. Yet never once did his fingers get burned!
Martin frequently insisted on performing such hard and menial tasks as caring for the Order’s horses in the evenings, even when informed that servants were available for these chores. He would argue that the servants were tired from their day’s work while he, Martin, had done very little. He also extended his healing gifts — going to the servants’ quarters and treating their ailments.
Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color, race, or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa, and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality, as well as generosity. Over much criticism, he insisted that the school staff be well-paid so that they would give their best service.
He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a matter of “blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!” When his priory was in debt, he said, “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me.”
Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry, and infirmary, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals.
His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house.
Martin became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent. Many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave.”
Martin had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission and thus earn the palm of martyrdom. However, since this was not possible, he made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances. In turn, God endowed him with many graces and wondrous gifts, such as aerial flights and bilocation.
During an epidemic in Lima, many of the friars in the Convent of the Rosary became very ill. Locked away in a distant section of the convent, they were kept away from the professed. However, on more than one occasion, Martin passed through the locked doors to care for the sick. However, he became disciplined for not following the rules of the Convent, but after replying, “Forgive my error, and please instruct me, for I did not know that the precept of obedience took precedence over that of charity,” he was given full liberty to follow his heart in mercy.
He also possessed spiritual wisdom, demonstrated in his solving his sister’s marriage problems, raising a dowry for his niece inside of three days’ time, and resolving theological problems for the learned of his Order and for Bishops.
He lived in self-imposed austerity, never ate meat, fasted continuously, and spent much time in prayer and meditation with a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He was the friend of Saint John de Massias and Saint Rose of Lima.
In January of 1639, when Martin was 60-years-old, he became very ill with chills, fevers and tremors causing him agonizing pain. He would experience almost a year full of illness until he passed away on November 3, 1639.
Nearly all Spanish America calls him the Rats’ Saint because they say that his picture, if placed in the haunts of rats and mice, speedily causes these animals to disappear. In his convent in Peru the sacristan complained that the rats gnawed away his things, and proposed to destroy the disagreeable visitors with poison. Brother Martin dissuaded him from this cruelty. He then called all these little creatures and put a basket which he was holding upon the ground, and when they had all scrambled into the basket he carried them into the garden, promising to look to them every day, if they would cease from ravaging the provisions of the monastery. This is why he is represented with a basket in his hand surrounded by rats, either that he is about to feed them or to take them from the sacristy and gather them in the garden, in order to supply them with the leavings of the house. The Blessed Martin of Porres is invoked against rats.
“Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden and waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if it were offered to God.”
“Compassion is preferable to cleanliness: with a little bit of soap I can clean my bed, but think of the flood of tears I would require to clean from my soul the stain that harshness against this unfortunate would leave.”
Close
November 3
Saint Martin de Porres
November 4
Daily Saints – 4 November.
Feast of Saint Charles Borromeo.
He is the Patron Saint of Catechists, Catechumens, Seminarians, apple orchards, bishops, spiritual directors, spiritual leaders, starch makers and invoked against abdominal pain, against colic, against intestinal disorders, against stomach diseases, against ulcers.
He is also known as Apostle to the Council of Trent and Father of the Clergy. Also known as the Patron Saint of Learning.
St. Charles, of the noble family Borromeo, was born on October 2, 1538 in the castle of Arona at Lake Majiore in Italy. He was born in the family castle, and lived a rather lavish life, entertaining sumptuously as befit a Renaissance court. He personally enjoyed athletics, music, art, and the fine dining that went along with lifestyles of the rich and famous of the sixteenth century.
He received the clerical tonsure at 12, as soon as his age would allow. He studied at Milan and later at the University of Pavia, where he received his doctorate in civil and canon law in 1559. In the same year, his uncle, the Cardinal de Medici, was elected Pope under the title of Pius IV.
As was typical of the times, his uncle-pope made him a cardinal-deacon at age twenty-three and bestowed on him numerous offices. He was appointed papal legate to Bologna, the Low Countries, and the cantons of Switzerland, and to the religious orders of St. Francis, the Carmelites, the Knights of Malta, and others.
When Count Frederick Borromeo passed away, many people thought Charles would give up the clerical life and marry now that he had become head of the Borromeo family. But he did not. He deferred to another uncle and became a priest. Shortly thereafter he was appointed bishop of Milan, a city that had not had a resident bishop for over eighty years.
His endeavors on behalf of the 19th Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1564) were especially meritorious and fruitful. He helped to direct and guide it and bring it to a successful conclusion. He then proceeded to enforce its decrees in the Archdiocese of Milan and thoroughly reformed Catholic life in his See.
He led the reformation of the Church and was active in composing the Roman Catechism, containing the teaching of the Council. Among his many contributions to the Church, he encouraged the proper training of priests by founding several seminaries and colleges. He also supported religious instruction of children and instituted children’s Sunday school.
Although raised to the grand life, Borromeo spent much of his time dealing with hardship and suffering. The famine of 1570 required him to bring in food to feed three thousand people a day for three months. Six years later a two-year plague swept through the region. Borromeo mobilized priests, religious, and lay volunteers to feed and care for the sixty thousand to seventy thousand people living in the Alpine villages of his district.
He personally cared for many who were sick and dying. In the process, Borromeo ran up huge debts, depleting his resources in order to feed, clothe, administer medical care, and build shelters for thousands of plague-stricken people. He once ordered an atonement procession and appeared in it with a rope about his neck, with bare and bloody feet, a cross upon his shoulder—thus presenting himself as an expiatory sacrifice for his people to ward off divine punishment.
As if the natural disasters facing Borromeo were not enough, a disgruntled priest from a religious order falling out of favor with Church authorities attempted to assassinate him. As Charles knelt in prayer before the altar, the would-be assassin pulled a gun and shot him. At first, Charles thought he was dying, but the bullet never passed through the thick vestments he was wearing. It only bruised him.
Borromeo combined the love of the good life with the self-sacrificing zeal one would expect of a Renaissance churchman. Once when he was playing billiards, someone asked what he would do if he knew he only had fifteen more minutes to live. “Keep playing billiards,” he replied.
He died, dressed in sackcloth and ashes, holding a picture of Jesus Crucified in his hands, on 3 November 1584 at the age of forty-six. His last words were, “See, Lord, I am coming, I am coming soon.”
“Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.”
“If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor.”
“Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is saved.”
“We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: “I will pray, and then I will understand.” This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work. In meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in others.”
“If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can.”
“Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.”
“Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart.”
“I admit that we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily. Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time, and so give God more pleasing worship? Listen, and I will tell you. If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can. Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter. If teaching and preaching is your job, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head. We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: “I will pray, and then I will understand.” This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work. In meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men.”
“Let us fear lest the angered judge say to us: If you were the enlighteners of My Church, why have you closed your eyes? If you pretended to be shepherds of the flock, why have you suffered it to stray? Salt of the earth, you have lost your savor. Light of the world, they that sat in darkness and the shadow of death have never seen you shine. You were apostles; who, then, put your apostolic firmness to the test, since you have done nothing but seek to please men? You were the mouth of the Lord, and you have made that mouth dumb. If you allege in excuse that the burden was beyond your strength, why did you make it the object of your ambitious intrigues?”
Feast of Saint Charles Borromeo.
He is the Patron Saint of Catechists, Catechumens, Seminarians, apple orchards, bishops, spiritual directors, spiritual leaders, starch makers and invoked against abdominal pain, against colic, against intestinal disorders, against stomach diseases, against ulcers.
He is also known as Apostle to the Council of Trent and Father of the Clergy. Also known as the Patron Saint of Learning.
St. Charles, of the noble family Borromeo, was born on October 2, 1538 in the castle of Arona at Lake Majiore in Italy. He was born in the family castle, and lived a rather lavish life, entertaining sumptuously as befit a Renaissance court. He personally enjoyed athletics, music, art, and the fine dining that went along with lifestyles of the rich and famous of the sixteenth century.
He received the clerical tonsure at 12, as soon as his age would allow. He studied at Milan and later at the University of Pavia, where he received his doctorate in civil and canon law in 1559. In the same year, his uncle, the Cardinal de Medici, was elected Pope under the title of Pius IV.
As was typical of the times, his uncle-pope made him a cardinal-deacon at age twenty-three and bestowed on him numerous offices. He was appointed papal legate to Bologna, the Low Countries, and the cantons of Switzerland, and to the religious orders of St. Francis, the Carmelites, the Knights of Malta, and others.
When Count Frederick Borromeo passed away, many people thought Charles would give up the clerical life and marry now that he had become head of the Borromeo family. But he did not. He deferred to another uncle and became a priest. Shortly thereafter he was appointed bishop of Milan, a city that had not had a resident bishop for over eighty years.
His endeavors on behalf of the 19th Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1564) were especially meritorious and fruitful. He helped to direct and guide it and bring it to a successful conclusion. He then proceeded to enforce its decrees in the Archdiocese of Milan and thoroughly reformed Catholic life in his See.
He led the reformation of the Church and was active in composing the Roman Catechism, containing the teaching of the Council. Among his many contributions to the Church, he encouraged the proper training of priests by founding several seminaries and colleges. He also supported religious instruction of children and instituted children’s Sunday school.
Although raised to the grand life, Borromeo spent much of his time dealing with hardship and suffering. The famine of 1570 required him to bring in food to feed three thousand people a day for three months. Six years later a two-year plague swept through the region. Borromeo mobilized priests, religious, and lay volunteers to feed and care for the sixty thousand to seventy thousand people living in the Alpine villages of his district.
He personally cared for many who were sick and dying. In the process, Borromeo ran up huge debts, depleting his resources in order to feed, clothe, administer medical care, and build shelters for thousands of plague-stricken people. He once ordered an atonement procession and appeared in it with a rope about his neck, with bare and bloody feet, a cross upon his shoulder—thus presenting himself as an expiatory sacrifice for his people to ward off divine punishment.
As if the natural disasters facing Borromeo were not enough, a disgruntled priest from a religious order falling out of favor with Church authorities attempted to assassinate him. As Charles knelt in prayer before the altar, the would-be assassin pulled a gun and shot him. At first, Charles thought he was dying, but the bullet never passed through the thick vestments he was wearing. It only bruised him.
Borromeo combined the love of the good life with the self-sacrificing zeal one would expect of a Renaissance churchman. Once when he was playing billiards, someone asked what he would do if he knew he only had fifteen more minutes to live. “Keep playing billiards,” he replied.
He died, dressed in sackcloth and ashes, holding a picture of Jesus Crucified in his hands, on 3 November 1584 at the age of forty-six. His last words were, “See, Lord, I am coming, I am coming soon.”
“Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.”
“If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor.”
“Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is saved.”
“We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: “I will pray, and then I will understand.” This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work. In meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in others.”
“If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can.”
“Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.”
“Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart.”
“I admit that we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily. Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time, and so give God more pleasing worship? Listen, and I will tell you. If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can. Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter. If teaching and preaching is your job, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head. We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: “I will pray, and then I will understand.” This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work. In meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men.”
“Let us fear lest the angered judge say to us: If you were the enlighteners of My Church, why have you closed your eyes? If you pretended to be shepherds of the flock, why have you suffered it to stray? Salt of the earth, you have lost your savor. Light of the world, they that sat in darkness and the shadow of death have never seen you shine. You were apostles; who, then, put your apostolic firmness to the test, since you have done nothing but seek to please men? You were the mouth of the Lord, and you have made that mouth dumb. If you allege in excuse that the burden was beyond your strength, why did you make it the object of your ambitious intrigues?”
Close
November 4
Saint Charles Borromeo
November 5
Daily Saints – 5 November.
Feast of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah.
The name Elizabeth means in Hebrew “worshiper of God” and the name Zachariah means “Jehovah hath remembered.”
The Holy Prophet Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. They were descended from the lineage of Aaron: St Zachariah, son of Barach, was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, and St Elizabeth was the sister of St Anna, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The righteous spouses were walking in all the commandments of the Lord (Luke 1:6).
The Gospel of Luke states that though Elizabeth and Zachariah never committed evil in the eyes of God, Elizabeth was barren for most of her life. However they did not move away from God. They remained faithful to their beliefs even though they might have felt disappointed. They might have also felt humiliated because in the Jewish culture, when a couple failed to have a child it meant that one is not blessed by God. God had a plan for this couple!
Elizabeth was advanced in age when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her husband Zachariah in the temple to promise them a son.
St. Elizabeth is most famous for the words of the “Hail Mary,” which she uttered at feeling her child leap in her womb as Mary, then pregnant with Jesus, came to visit cousin. However, there is no further mention of her in the bible after the birth and circumcision of her son John the Baptist.
Zachariah was in the Temple when the angel Gabriel appeared announcing that Elizabeth would bear a son who would “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” When Zachariah expressed doubt at this because of her age, he was struck mute, and upon exiting the Temple it was clear to the people there that he had seen a vision. He remained mute until John’s birth, when he wrote out the newborn’s name.
There are mentions of Elizabeth in the apocryphal works, but these are not within the cannon of the Bible. In the Apocrypha, it mentions that her husband, Zachariah, was murdered in the temple.
When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the new-born Messiah would be among them. Herod knew about John’s unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers. In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (Mt 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.
Feast of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah.
The name Elizabeth means in Hebrew “worshiper of God” and the name Zachariah means “Jehovah hath remembered.”
The Holy Prophet Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. They were descended from the lineage of Aaron: St Zachariah, son of Barach, was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, and St Elizabeth was the sister of St Anna, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The righteous spouses were walking in all the commandments of the Lord (Luke 1:6).
The Gospel of Luke states that though Elizabeth and Zachariah never committed evil in the eyes of God, Elizabeth was barren for most of her life. However they did not move away from God. They remained faithful to their beliefs even though they might have felt disappointed. They might have also felt humiliated because in the Jewish culture, when a couple failed to have a child it meant that one is not blessed by God. God had a plan for this couple!
Elizabeth was advanced in age when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her husband Zachariah in the temple to promise them a son.
St. Elizabeth is most famous for the words of the “Hail Mary,” which she uttered at feeling her child leap in her womb as Mary, then pregnant with Jesus, came to visit cousin. However, there is no further mention of her in the bible after the birth and circumcision of her son John the Baptist.
Zachariah was in the Temple when the angel Gabriel appeared announcing that Elizabeth would bear a son who would “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” When Zachariah expressed doubt at this because of her age, he was struck mute, and upon exiting the Temple it was clear to the people there that he had seen a vision. He remained mute until John’s birth, when he wrote out the newborn’s name.
There are mentions of Elizabeth in the apocryphal works, but these are not within the cannon of the Bible. In the Apocrypha, it mentions that her husband, Zachariah, was murdered in the temple.
When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the new-born Messiah would be among them. Herod knew about John’s unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers. In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (Mt 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.
Close
November 5
Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah
November 6
Daily Saints – 6 November.
Feast of Saint Leonard of Noblac.
He is the patron saint of women in labour, barrel makers, coopers, blacksmiths, captives, prisoners, childbirth, coal miners, coppersmiths, farmers, greengrocers, grocers, horses, locksmiths, miners, porters and against burglaries and against robberies or robbers.
St Leonard of Noblac was born to the Frankish nobility. He was part of the court of the pagan King Clovis I. He was converted to Christianity by Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims.
During a certian invasion which they were losing, the Queen suggested to Leonard that he invoke the help of God to repel the invading army. He did, and the tide of battle turned, naming Clovis victorious.
Saint Remigius, bishop of Rheims then used this miracle to convert the King, Leonard, and a thousand of thier followers to Christianity. Following his conversion, St. Leonard refused the offer of a See from his grandfather, King Clovis I.
He then began a life of austerity, sanctification, and preaching. His desire to know God grew so strong that he decided to enter the monastery at Orleans. His brother, Saint Lifiard, followed his example and, leaving the King’s court, built a monastery at Meun, and lived there.
It is said that while King Clovis was hunting nearby, Clothilde, his wife, went into labour. St Leonard was called to her bedside. He prayed with the King through the night and, through the intercession of his prayers, the Queen and the child were saved. Following safe delivery, Clovis offered him as much land as he could ride around in one day on a donkey. St Leonard used the land to establish a monastery at Noblat near Limoges, where he became Abbot.
However, Leonard desired further seclusion, so he withdrew into the forest of Limousin, converting many on the way, and living on herbs, wild fruits, and spring water. He built himself an oratory, leaving it only for journeys to churches. Others, recognizing his holiness, begged to live with him, and a monastery was formed. Leonard had a great compassion for prisoners, and converted many and obtaining their release. He died of natural causes around 559.
According to legend, prisoners who invoked him from their cells saw their chains break before their eyes. Many came to him afterwards, bringing their heavy chains and irons to offer them in homage. A considerable number remained with him, and he often gave them part of his vast forest to clear and make ready for the labours of the fields, that they might have the means to live an honest life.
Feast of Saint Leonard of Noblac.
He is the patron saint of women in labour, barrel makers, coopers, blacksmiths, captives, prisoners, childbirth, coal miners, coppersmiths, farmers, greengrocers, grocers, horses, locksmiths, miners, porters and against burglaries and against robberies or robbers.
St Leonard of Noblac was born to the Frankish nobility. He was part of the court of the pagan King Clovis I. He was converted to Christianity by Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims.
During a certian invasion which they were losing, the Queen suggested to Leonard that he invoke the help of God to repel the invading army. He did, and the tide of battle turned, naming Clovis victorious.
Saint Remigius, bishop of Rheims then used this miracle to convert the King, Leonard, and a thousand of thier followers to Christianity. Following his conversion, St. Leonard refused the offer of a See from his grandfather, King Clovis I.
He then began a life of austerity, sanctification, and preaching. His desire to know God grew so strong that he decided to enter the monastery at Orleans. His brother, Saint Lifiard, followed his example and, leaving the King’s court, built a monastery at Meun, and lived there.
It is said that while King Clovis was hunting nearby, Clothilde, his wife, went into labour. St Leonard was called to her bedside. He prayed with the King through the night and, through the intercession of his prayers, the Queen and the child were saved. Following safe delivery, Clovis offered him as much land as he could ride around in one day on a donkey. St Leonard used the land to establish a monastery at Noblat near Limoges, where he became Abbot.
However, Leonard desired further seclusion, so he withdrew into the forest of Limousin, converting many on the way, and living on herbs, wild fruits, and spring water. He built himself an oratory, leaving it only for journeys to churches. Others, recognizing his holiness, begged to live with him, and a monastery was formed. Leonard had a great compassion for prisoners, and converted many and obtaining their release. He died of natural causes around 559.
According to legend, prisoners who invoked him from their cells saw their chains break before their eyes. Many came to him afterwards, bringing their heavy chains and irons to offer them in homage. A considerable number remained with him, and he often gave them part of his vast forest to clear and make ready for the labours of the fields, that they might have the means to live an honest life.
Close
November 6
Saint Leonard of Noblac
November 7
Daily Saints – 7 November.
Feast of Saint Engelbert of Cologne.
St. Engelbert, was born in Berg around the year 1185 to Engelbert, Count of Berg and Margaret, daughter of the Count of Gelderland. He studied at the cathedral school of Cologne and, while still a boy, was made provost of the churches of St. George and St. Severin at Cologne and of St. Mary’s at Aachen, as it was a common abuse in the Church at the time to appoint the children of nobles to such positions.
In 1199 he was elected provost of the cathedral at Cologne. He led a worldly and dissolute youth. He was known for his good looks, keen mind, and wild ways. Englebert went to war to support his cousin, Archbishop Adolf, against Archbishop Bruno; for this, and for threatening to attack the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, both Engelbert and Adolf were excommunicated in 1206.
In 1208 Engelbert publicly submitted to the pope’s authority, and was received back into the Church. To atone for his sin, he joined the crusade against the Albigenses in 1212. On Feb. 29, 1216, the chapter of the cathedral elected him archbishop by a unanimous vote.
The mendicant orders of the Franciscans and the Dominicans settled in his realm while he was Archbishop. He was well disposed towards the monasteries and insisted on strict religious observance in them. Ecclesiastical affairs were regulated in provincial synods. He was considered a friend of the clergy and a helper of the poor.
Engelbert exerted a strong influence in the affairs of the empire. Emperor Frederick II, who had taken up his residence permanently in Sicily, gave Germany to his son, Henry VII, then still a minor, and in 1221 appointed Engelbert guardian of the king and administrator of the empire.
When the young king reached the age of twelve he was crowned at Aachen by Engelbert, who loved him as his own son and honoured him as his sovereign. Engelbert watched over the young king’s education and governed the empire in his name, careful to secure peace both within and without of the realm.
Engelbert’s devotion to duty, and his obedience to the pope and to the emperor, were eventually the cause of his ruin. Many of the nobility feared rather than loved him, and he was obliged to surround himself with bodyguards. The greatest danger came from his relatives.
His cousin, count Frederick of Isenberg, the secular administrator for the nuns of Essen, had grievously oppressed that abbey. Honorius III and the emperor urged Engelbert to protect the nuns and their rights. Frederick wished to forestall the archbishop, and his wife incited him to murder.
On November 7, 1225, as he was journeying from Soest to Schwelm to consecrate a church, Engelbert was attacked on a dark evening by Frederick and his associates, was wounded in the thigh, torn from his horse and killed. His body was covered with forty-seven wounds. It was placed on a dung-cart and brought to Cologne four days later. King Henry wept bitterly over the remains, put Frederick under the ban of the empire, and saw him broken on the wheel a year later at Cologne. Frederick died contrite, having acknowledged and confessed his guilt.
Feast of Saint Engelbert of Cologne.
St. Engelbert, was born in Berg around the year 1185 to Engelbert, Count of Berg and Margaret, daughter of the Count of Gelderland. He studied at the cathedral school of Cologne and, while still a boy, was made provost of the churches of St. George and St. Severin at Cologne and of St. Mary’s at Aachen, as it was a common abuse in the Church at the time to appoint the children of nobles to such positions.
In 1199 he was elected provost of the cathedral at Cologne. He led a worldly and dissolute youth. He was known for his good looks, keen mind, and wild ways. Englebert went to war to support his cousin, Archbishop Adolf, against Archbishop Bruno; for this, and for threatening to attack the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, both Engelbert and Adolf were excommunicated in 1206.
In 1208 Engelbert publicly submitted to the pope’s authority, and was received back into the Church. To atone for his sin, he joined the crusade against the Albigenses in 1212. On Feb. 29, 1216, the chapter of the cathedral elected him archbishop by a unanimous vote.
The mendicant orders of the Franciscans and the Dominicans settled in his realm while he was Archbishop. He was well disposed towards the monasteries and insisted on strict religious observance in them. Ecclesiastical affairs were regulated in provincial synods. He was considered a friend of the clergy and a helper of the poor.
Engelbert exerted a strong influence in the affairs of the empire. Emperor Frederick II, who had taken up his residence permanently in Sicily, gave Germany to his son, Henry VII, then still a minor, and in 1221 appointed Engelbert guardian of the king and administrator of the empire.
When the young king reached the age of twelve he was crowned at Aachen by Engelbert, who loved him as his own son and honoured him as his sovereign. Engelbert watched over the young king’s education and governed the empire in his name, careful to secure peace both within and without of the realm.
Engelbert’s devotion to duty, and his obedience to the pope and to the emperor, were eventually the cause of his ruin. Many of the nobility feared rather than loved him, and he was obliged to surround himself with bodyguards. The greatest danger came from his relatives.
His cousin, count Frederick of Isenberg, the secular administrator for the nuns of Essen, had grievously oppressed that abbey. Honorius III and the emperor urged Engelbert to protect the nuns and their rights. Frederick wished to forestall the archbishop, and his wife incited him to murder.
On November 7, 1225, as he was journeying from Soest to Schwelm to consecrate a church, Engelbert was attacked on a dark evening by Frederick and his associates, was wounded in the thigh, torn from his horse and killed. His body was covered with forty-seven wounds. It was placed on a dung-cart and brought to Cologne four days later. King Henry wept bitterly over the remains, put Frederick under the ban of the empire, and saw him broken on the wheel a year later at Cologne. Frederick died contrite, having acknowledged and confessed his guilt.
Close
November 7
Saint Engelbert of Cologne
November 8
Daily Saints – 8 November.
Feast of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity.
She is the patron saint of sick people, against the death of parents, against bodily ills, illness or sickness.
She was born on 18 July 1880 as Élisabeth Catez in the military base at Avord in Cher as the first child of Captain Joseph Catez and Marie Rolland. She was baptized at the camp’s chapel on the following 22 July.
Elizabeth’s father died unexpectedly on 2 October 1887 and as a result the family moved to Dijon. During that same year she made her first confession. Her First Communion was on 19 April 1891 at Saint-Michel, and her Confirmation was at Notre-Dame on the following 8 June.
Elizabeth had a terrible temper as a child. After the early death of her father, Elizabeth’s outbursts of anger increased. However once she experienced for the first time the sacrament of Penance, it brought about what she styled her ‘conversion’. She henceforth began to struggle noticeably against her violent temper.
When she was almost eleven years old, Elizabeth made her First Communion. She was profoundly affected by her first reception of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Her mother later testified, ‘From that day and afterwards there were no more fits of anger’.
She gained more self-control and had a deeper understanding of God and the world. She also gained a profound understanding of the Most Holy Trinity to which she cultivated an ardent devotion. Elizabeth visited the sick, sang in the church choir and taught religion to children who worked in factories.
As she grew older Elizabeth became interested in entering the Discalced Carmelite Order, though her mother strongly advised against it. Men had asked for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, but she declined such offers because her dream was to enter the Discalced Carmelite monastery that was located 200 meters from her home.
Marie, her mother, was horrified at the thought. She did all she could do to prevent it. She sent Elizabeth to parties in hopes that these might distract her and arranged for suitors to pursue her. But she could not in the end resist her daughter’s strong will. She gave up and allowed Elizabeth to enter the Dijon Carmel.
Elizabeth entered the Dijon Carmel on 2 August 1901. Appropriately, she took the name Elizabeth of the Trinity, for the focus of her life became her immersion in the Godhead, or rather the Trinity’s immersion in her.
She said: “I find Him everywhere while doing the wash as well as while praying.” Her time in the convent amongst other Carmelites had some high times as well as some very low times. She wrote of when she felt she needed a richer understanding of God’s great love.
Her spirituality is considered to be remarkably similar to that of her contemporary and compatriot Discalced Carmelite sister, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who was cloistered at the Carmel in Lisieux; the two saints share a zeal for contemplation and the salvation of souls.
In 1903, she contracted Addison’s disease, which in the early 20th century had no treatment. Then and still today, there is no cure. Addison’s disease is a hormone disorder whose side effects are painful and exhausting. As a result of this illness, Elizabeth suffered great fatigue, an inability to digest food, intense abdominal pains and great thirst.
At the end of her life, she began to call herself “Laudem Gloriae.” Elizabeth wanted that to be her appellation in Heaven because it means “praise of glory.” She said: “I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.”
In her final days, Addison’s disease had emaciated Elizabeth, rendering her unable to eat or drink except for a few drops of water. Difficult thoughts sometimes tormented her as her whole body burned with pain. Yet, throughout everything, she remained devoted to Christ crucified and was completely focused on others. She promised that it would increase her joy in heaven if her friends asked for her help.
In the midst of their own questions and concerns, Elizabeth helped her friends discover the mysterious and transforming ways God discloses himself even surrounded by distress. As she explained, “Everything is a sacrament that gives us God.”
Elizabeth died on 9 November 1906 at the age of 26. Though her death was painful, Elizabeth gratefully accepted her suffering as a gift from God. Her last words were: “I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!”
Her most famous prayer is: “Holy Trinity Whom I Adore”
“One must erase the word discouragement from one’s dictionary of love.”
“By our actions we tell Him of our love.”
“God dwells within you, do not leave Him so often.”
“It is wonderful to recall that, except for the vision of seeing God, we possess God as all the Saints in Heaven do. We can surely be with Him always and no one can take us away from Him. He dwells in our souls!”
“I am going to give you my “secret”: think about this God who dwells within you, whose temple you are; St. Paul speaks in this way, and we can believe it.”
“I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul.”
“Everything is a sacrament that gives us God.”
“We shall not be purified by looking at our miseries, but by gazing on him who is all purity and holiness.”
“Every happening, every event, every suffering as also every joy, is a sacrament that gives God to the soul.”
“Let us ask God to make us true in our love, to make us sacrificial beings, for it seems to me that sacrifice is only love put into action.”
“Believe that He loves you. He wants to help you Himself in the struggles which you must undergo. Believe in His Love, His exceeding Love.”
“Let us ask God to make us true in our love, to make us sacrificial beings, for it seems to me that sacrifice is only love put into action.”
“It seems to me that I have found my heaven on earth, because my heaven is you, my God, and you are in my soul. You in me, and I in you – may this be my motto.”
“By our actions we tell Him of our love.”
“A soul united to Jesus is a living smile that radiates Him and gives Him.”
“I go to him as a baby goes to his mother so that he can fill me and invade all and take me in his arms.”
““May my life be a continual prayer, a long act of love.”
“I can’t find words to express my happiness. Here there is no longer anything but God. He is All; He suffices and we live by Him alone.”
“Make a little cell in your heart for Jesus of the Agony; take refuge there, when you hear Him outraged by men, try to make reparation; you, at least, love Him and keep your heart quite pure for Him. Oh! If you only knew how the good God love pure hearts! It is there that He loves to reign.”
“You will never be commonplace if you are vigilant in love.”
“During painful times, when you feel a terrible void, think how the capacity of your soul is being enlarged so that it can receive God- becoming as it were, infinite as God is infinite.”
“For my heart is always with Him, day and night it thinks unceasingly of its heavenly and divine Friend, to whom it wants to prove its affection. Also within it arises this desire: not to die, but to suffer long, to suffer for God, to give Him its life while praying for poor sinners.”
“I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.”
“We must be mindful of how God is in us in the most intimate way and go about everything with him. Then life is never banal. Even in ordinary tasks, because you do not live for these things, you will go beyond them.”
“I love to penetrate beyond the veil of the soul to this inner sanctuary where we live alone with God. He wants us entirely to himself, and is making there within us a cherished solitude. Listen to everything that is being sung . . . in his heart. It is Love, the infinite love that envelops us and desires to give us a share . . . in all his blessedness. The whole Blessed Trinity dwells in us, the whole of that mystery which will be our vision in heaven. I am “Elizabeth of the Trinity”—Elizabeth disappearing, losing herself, allowing herself to be invaded by the Three…All day long let us surrender ourselves to Love, by doing the will of God, under his gaze, with him, in him, for him alone. . . . And then, when evening comes, after a dialogue of love that has never stopped in our hearts, let us go to sleep still in love. And if we are aware of any faults, let us simply abandon them to Love, which is a consuming fire, and so do our purgatory in his love!”
“[My God,] What a joyous mystery is your presence within me, in that intimate sanctuary of my soul where I can always find you, even when I do not feel your presence. Of what importance is feeling? Perhaps you are all the closer when I feel you less.”
In Carmel, Elizabeth used two biblical texts as guides: “to pray . . . in secret” (Matt. 6:6) and “. . . on judgment day people will be held accountable for every unguarded word they speak . . . “(Matt. 12:36). The first quote identifies the heartbeat of Carmel: Prayer in secret. This type of prayer sustains our intimacy with God and keeps it alive and well. Our love for God is equally an ultimate encounter and an unfathomable mystery experienced primarily in prayer. “Prayer is a rest, a relaxation . . . We must look at him all the time; we must keep silent, it is so simple,” Elizabeth wrote. The last words take us from the first quote to the second.
She passes these words on to us: “O Eternal Word, Word of my God. I want to spend my life in listening to you, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on you always and remain in your great light . . . O my Three, my all, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to you as your prey. Bury yourself in me that I may bury myself in you until I depart to contemplate in your light the abyss of your greatness.”
Feast of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity.
She is the patron saint of sick people, against the death of parents, against bodily ills, illness or sickness.
She was born on 18 July 1880 as Élisabeth Catez in the military base at Avord in Cher as the first child of Captain Joseph Catez and Marie Rolland. She was baptized at the camp’s chapel on the following 22 July.
Elizabeth’s father died unexpectedly on 2 October 1887 and as a result the family moved to Dijon. During that same year she made her first confession. Her First Communion was on 19 April 1891 at Saint-Michel, and her Confirmation was at Notre-Dame on the following 8 June.
Elizabeth had a terrible temper as a child. After the early death of her father, Elizabeth’s outbursts of anger increased. However once she experienced for the first time the sacrament of Penance, it brought about what she styled her ‘conversion’. She henceforth began to struggle noticeably against her violent temper.
When she was almost eleven years old, Elizabeth made her First Communion. She was profoundly affected by her first reception of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Her mother later testified, ‘From that day and afterwards there were no more fits of anger’.
She gained more self-control and had a deeper understanding of God and the world. She also gained a profound understanding of the Most Holy Trinity to which she cultivated an ardent devotion. Elizabeth visited the sick, sang in the church choir and taught religion to children who worked in factories.
As she grew older Elizabeth became interested in entering the Discalced Carmelite Order, though her mother strongly advised against it. Men had asked for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, but she declined such offers because her dream was to enter the Discalced Carmelite monastery that was located 200 meters from her home.
Marie, her mother, was horrified at the thought. She did all she could do to prevent it. She sent Elizabeth to parties in hopes that these might distract her and arranged for suitors to pursue her. But she could not in the end resist her daughter’s strong will. She gave up and allowed Elizabeth to enter the Dijon Carmel.
Elizabeth entered the Dijon Carmel on 2 August 1901. Appropriately, she took the name Elizabeth of the Trinity, for the focus of her life became her immersion in the Godhead, or rather the Trinity’s immersion in her.
She said: “I find Him everywhere while doing the wash as well as while praying.” Her time in the convent amongst other Carmelites had some high times as well as some very low times. She wrote of when she felt she needed a richer understanding of God’s great love.
Her spirituality is considered to be remarkably similar to that of her contemporary and compatriot Discalced Carmelite sister, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who was cloistered at the Carmel in Lisieux; the two saints share a zeal for contemplation and the salvation of souls.
In 1903, she contracted Addison’s disease, which in the early 20th century had no treatment. Then and still today, there is no cure. Addison’s disease is a hormone disorder whose side effects are painful and exhausting. As a result of this illness, Elizabeth suffered great fatigue, an inability to digest food, intense abdominal pains and great thirst.
At the end of her life, she began to call herself “Laudem Gloriae.” Elizabeth wanted that to be her appellation in Heaven because it means “praise of glory.” She said: “I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.”
In her final days, Addison’s disease had emaciated Elizabeth, rendering her unable to eat or drink except for a few drops of water. Difficult thoughts sometimes tormented her as her whole body burned with pain. Yet, throughout everything, she remained devoted to Christ crucified and was completely focused on others. She promised that it would increase her joy in heaven if her friends asked for her help.
In the midst of their own questions and concerns, Elizabeth helped her friends discover the mysterious and transforming ways God discloses himself even surrounded by distress. As she explained, “Everything is a sacrament that gives us God.”
Elizabeth died on 9 November 1906 at the age of 26. Though her death was painful, Elizabeth gratefully accepted her suffering as a gift from God. Her last words were: “I am going to Light, to Love, to Life!”
Her most famous prayer is: “Holy Trinity Whom I Adore”
“One must erase the word discouragement from one’s dictionary of love.”
“By our actions we tell Him of our love.”
“God dwells within you, do not leave Him so often.”
“It is wonderful to recall that, except for the vision of seeing God, we possess God as all the Saints in Heaven do. We can surely be with Him always and no one can take us away from Him. He dwells in our souls!”
“I am going to give you my “secret”: think about this God who dwells within you, whose temple you are; St. Paul speaks in this way, and we can believe it.”
“I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul.”
“Everything is a sacrament that gives us God.”
“We shall not be purified by looking at our miseries, but by gazing on him who is all purity and holiness.”
“Every happening, every event, every suffering as also every joy, is a sacrament that gives God to the soul.”
“Let us ask God to make us true in our love, to make us sacrificial beings, for it seems to me that sacrifice is only love put into action.”
“Believe that He loves you. He wants to help you Himself in the struggles which you must undergo. Believe in His Love, His exceeding Love.”
“Let us ask God to make us true in our love, to make us sacrificial beings, for it seems to me that sacrifice is only love put into action.”
“It seems to me that I have found my heaven on earth, because my heaven is you, my God, and you are in my soul. You in me, and I in you – may this be my motto.”
“By our actions we tell Him of our love.”
“A soul united to Jesus is a living smile that radiates Him and gives Him.”
“I go to him as a baby goes to his mother so that he can fill me and invade all and take me in his arms.”
““May my life be a continual prayer, a long act of love.”
“I can’t find words to express my happiness. Here there is no longer anything but God. He is All; He suffices and we live by Him alone.”
“Make a little cell in your heart for Jesus of the Agony; take refuge there, when you hear Him outraged by men, try to make reparation; you, at least, love Him and keep your heart quite pure for Him. Oh! If you only knew how the good God love pure hearts! It is there that He loves to reign.”
“You will never be commonplace if you are vigilant in love.”
“During painful times, when you feel a terrible void, think how the capacity of your soul is being enlarged so that it can receive God- becoming as it were, infinite as God is infinite.”
“For my heart is always with Him, day and night it thinks unceasingly of its heavenly and divine Friend, to whom it wants to prove its affection. Also within it arises this desire: not to die, but to suffer long, to suffer for God, to give Him its life while praying for poor sinners.”
“I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself.”
“We must be mindful of how God is in us in the most intimate way and go about everything with him. Then life is never banal. Even in ordinary tasks, because you do not live for these things, you will go beyond them.”
“I love to penetrate beyond the veil of the soul to this inner sanctuary where we live alone with God. He wants us entirely to himself, and is making there within us a cherished solitude. Listen to everything that is being sung . . . in his heart. It is Love, the infinite love that envelops us and desires to give us a share . . . in all his blessedness. The whole Blessed Trinity dwells in us, the whole of that mystery which will be our vision in heaven. I am “Elizabeth of the Trinity”—Elizabeth disappearing, losing herself, allowing herself to be invaded by the Three…All day long let us surrender ourselves to Love, by doing the will of God, under his gaze, with him, in him, for him alone. . . . And then, when evening comes, after a dialogue of love that has never stopped in our hearts, let us go to sleep still in love. And if we are aware of any faults, let us simply abandon them to Love, which is a consuming fire, and so do our purgatory in his love!”
“[My God,] What a joyous mystery is your presence within me, in that intimate sanctuary of my soul where I can always find you, even when I do not feel your presence. Of what importance is feeling? Perhaps you are all the closer when I feel you less.”
In Carmel, Elizabeth used two biblical texts as guides: “to pray . . . in secret” (Matt. 6:6) and “. . . on judgment day people will be held accountable for every unguarded word they speak . . . “(Matt. 12:36). The first quote identifies the heartbeat of Carmel: Prayer in secret. This type of prayer sustains our intimacy with God and keeps it alive and well. Our love for God is equally an ultimate encounter and an unfathomable mystery experienced primarily in prayer. “Prayer is a rest, a relaxation . . . We must look at him all the time; we must keep silent, it is so simple,” Elizabeth wrote. The last words take us from the first quote to the second.
She passes these words on to us: “O Eternal Word, Word of my God. I want to spend my life in listening to you, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from you. Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on you always and remain in your great light . . . O my Three, my all, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to you as your prey. Bury yourself in me that I may bury myself in you until I depart to contemplate in your light the abyss of your greatness.”
Close
November 8
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity
November 9
Daily Saints – 9 November
Feast of Saint Theodore Tyro
Saint Theodore Tyro, one of the most celebrated of the oriental martyrs, was born of a noble family in the East, and enrolled while still a youth in the imperial army. Early in 306, when he had just joined the legion and marched with its soldiers into the Pont, the Roman Emperor issued an edict requiring all Christians to offer sacrifice. The young man was faced with the choice between apostasy and death. He declared before his commander that he was ready to be cut in pieces and offer up every limb to his Creator, who had died for him. Wishing to conquer him by gentleness, the commander left him in peace for a while, that he might think over his resolution.
Feast of Saint Theodore Tyro
Saint Theodore Tyro, one of the most celebrated of the oriental martyrs, was born of a noble family in the East, and enrolled while still a youth in the imperial army. Early in 306, when he had just joined the legion and marched with its soldiers into the Pont, the Roman Emperor issued an edict requiring all Christians to offer sacrifice. The young man was faced with the choice between apostasy and death. He declared before his commander that he was ready to be cut in pieces and offer up every limb to his Creator, who had died for him. Wishing to conquer him by gentleness, the commander left him in peace for a while, that he might think over his resolution.
He profited from his liberty to fortify other confessors for martyrdom, and in his ardor for the downfall of idolatry he set fire to a temple dedicated to the goddess Cybel, called the mother of the gods. He did not attempt to conceal his act, but when arrested admitted at once that he was the author of it, and that he had undertaken it to prevent the sacrileges committed every day in that place of abomination. The judge could not persuade him to renounce this crime and adore the empire’s divinities; he therefore had him cruelly whipped and then shut up in a solitary cell with the order to give him nothing to eat and let him die of hunger.
Our Lord visited him during the night and consoled him, and He told his servant He Himself would nourish him invisibly. This visit filled him with such joy that he began to sing; and at the same moment, Angels in white robes appeared in his prison, to sing hymns of joy with him. The jailers and guardians all witnessed this spectacle, as did also the judge Publius who had condemned him, but none of them were touched by it. They gave him an ounce of bread and a flask of water every day, only to prolong his martyrdom. The Saint refused these offerings.
When the authorities made him fine promises and attempted to persuade him to conform, he protested that never would he say one word or make one gesture contrary to the fidelity he owed to his sovereign Lord. He was again beaten and tortured with iron hooks, then burnt with torches, and condemned finally to be burnt alive, to punish him for the fire he had ignited. He made the sign of the Cross, and filled with faith, hope and pure love of God, gave up to Him his beautiful soul, victorious and laden with merits. The year was 304. The Christians saw his soul rise to heaven like a flash of light and fire.
Close
November 9
Saint Theodore Tyro
November 10
Daily Saints – 10 November.
Feast of Pope Saint Leo the Great.
Saint Leo the Great, also known as Pope Saint Leo I, was born into a Roman aristocratic family. His response to the call of the Lord transformed him into one of the greatest popes of Christian history. In fact, he was the first pope to be given the title “the Great.”
Leo’s origins are obscure and his date of birth unknown. His ancestors are said to have come from Tuscany, though the future pope may have been born in that region or in Rome itself. He was a strong student, especially in scripture and theology also eloquent writer and homilist. He became a deacon in Rome in approximately 430, during the pontificate of Pope Celestine I.
During this time, central authority was beginning to decline in the Western portion of the Roman Empire. At some point between 432 and 440, during the reign of Pope St. Celestine’s successor Pope Sixtus III, the Roman Emperor Valentinian III commissioned Leo to travel to the region of Gaul and settle a dispute between military and civil officials.
Pope Sixtus III died in 440 and, like his predecessor Celestine, was canonized as a saint. Leo, away on his diplomatic mission at the time of the Pope’s death, was chosen to be the next Bishop of Rome. Reigning for over two decades, he sought to preserve the unity of the Church in its profession of faith, and to ensure the safety of his people against frequent barbarian invasions.
When Attila marched on Rome, Leo went out to meet him and pleaded for him to leave. As Leo spoke, Attila saw the vision of a man in priestly robes, carrying a bare sword, and threatening to kill the invader if he did not obey Leo; Attila left. As Leo had a great devotion to Saint Peter the Apostle, it is generally believed the first pope was the visionary opponent to the Huns. When Genseric invaded Rome, Leo’s sanctity and eloquence saved the city again.
Leo was widely respected for his love for the Lord, intelligence and persuasive nature. He was also gifted in bringing reconciliation between disputing groups of Christians. That is why he was often sent out to settle disputes, both secular and theological.
He called the Council of Chalcedon to condemn heresies of the day. He fought Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Manichaeism, and Pelagianism. He built churches. He wrote letters and sermons encouraging and teaching his flock, many of which survive today; it is for these writings that Leo was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1574.
Pope St Leo focused heavily on the pastoral care of his people. He inspired and helped to foster charitable work in areas of Rome affected heavily by famine, refugees and poverty. To him, being a Christian was not only about embracing the fullness of the Gospel theologically but living it out in a world filled with hurt, suffering and needs.
Leo died on November 10, 461.
Leo is known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church. His work branched into four main areas, indicative of his notion of the pope’s total responsibility for the flock of Christ.
He worked at length to control the heresies of Pelagianism (overemphasizing human freedom), Manichaeism (seeing everything material as evil) and others, placing demands on their followers so as to secure true Christian beliefs.
A second major area of his concern was doctrinal controversy in the Church in the East, to which he responded with a classic letter setting down the Church’s teaching on the two natures of Christ.
With strong faith, he also led the defense of Rome against barbarian attack, taking the role of peacemaker. In these three areas, Leo’s work has been highly regarded.
His growth to sainthood has its basis in the spiritual depth with which he approached the pastoral care of his people, which was the fourth focus of his work.
He is known for his spiritually profound sermons. An instrument of the call to holiness, well-versed in Scripture and ecclesiastical awareness, Leo had the ability to reach the everyday needs and interests of his people. One of his sermons is used in the Office of Readings on Christmas.
It is said of Leo that his true significance rests in his doctrinal insistence on the mysteries of Christ and the Church and in the supernatural charisms of the spiritual life given to humanity in Christ and in his Body, the Church.
“Those who are not good to others are bad to themselves.”
“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.”
“Let no one be ashamed of the cross by which Christ has redeemed the world. None of us must be afraid to suffer for the sake of justice or doubt the fulfillment of the promises, for it is through toil that we come to rest and through death that we pass to life.”
“The cross of Christ is the true ground and chief cause of Christian hope.”
“Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.”
“Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition.”
“The faith of those who live their faith is a serene faith. What you long for will be given you; what you love will be yours for ever.”
“He that sees another in error and endeavors not to correct it, testifies himself to be in error.”
“Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.”
“The devil is always discovering something novel against the truth.”
Feast of Pope Saint Leo the Great.
Saint Leo the Great, also known as Pope Saint Leo I, was born into a Roman aristocratic family. His response to the call of the Lord transformed him into one of the greatest popes of Christian history. In fact, he was the first pope to be given the title “the Great.”
Leo’s origins are obscure and his date of birth unknown. His ancestors are said to have come from Tuscany, though the future pope may have been born in that region or in Rome itself. He was a strong student, especially in scripture and theology also eloquent writer and homilist. He became a deacon in Rome in approximately 430, during the pontificate of Pope Celestine I.
During this time, central authority was beginning to decline in the Western portion of the Roman Empire. At some point between 432 and 440, during the reign of Pope St. Celestine’s successor Pope Sixtus III, the Roman Emperor Valentinian III commissioned Leo to travel to the region of Gaul and settle a dispute between military and civil officials.
Pope Sixtus III died in 440 and, like his predecessor Celestine, was canonized as a saint. Leo, away on his diplomatic mission at the time of the Pope’s death, was chosen to be the next Bishop of Rome. Reigning for over two decades, he sought to preserve the unity of the Church in its profession of faith, and to ensure the safety of his people against frequent barbarian invasions.
When Attila marched on Rome, Leo went out to meet him and pleaded for him to leave. As Leo spoke, Attila saw the vision of a man in priestly robes, carrying a bare sword, and threatening to kill the invader if he did not obey Leo; Attila left. As Leo had a great devotion to Saint Peter the Apostle, it is generally believed the first pope was the visionary opponent to the Huns. When Genseric invaded Rome, Leo’s sanctity and eloquence saved the city again.
Leo was widely respected for his love for the Lord, intelligence and persuasive nature. He was also gifted in bringing reconciliation between disputing groups of Christians. That is why he was often sent out to settle disputes, both secular and theological.
He called the Council of Chalcedon to condemn heresies of the day. He fought Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Manichaeism, and Pelagianism. He built churches. He wrote letters and sermons encouraging and teaching his flock, many of which survive today; it is for these writings that Leo was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1574.
Pope St Leo focused heavily on the pastoral care of his people. He inspired and helped to foster charitable work in areas of Rome affected heavily by famine, refugees and poverty. To him, being a Christian was not only about embracing the fullness of the Gospel theologically but living it out in a world filled with hurt, suffering and needs.
Leo died on November 10, 461.
Leo is known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church. His work branched into four main areas, indicative of his notion of the pope’s total responsibility for the flock of Christ.
He worked at length to control the heresies of Pelagianism (overemphasizing human freedom), Manichaeism (seeing everything material as evil) and others, placing demands on their followers so as to secure true Christian beliefs.
A second major area of his concern was doctrinal controversy in the Church in the East, to which he responded with a classic letter setting down the Church’s teaching on the two natures of Christ.
With strong faith, he also led the defense of Rome against barbarian attack, taking the role of peacemaker. In these three areas, Leo’s work has been highly regarded.
His growth to sainthood has its basis in the spiritual depth with which he approached the pastoral care of his people, which was the fourth focus of his work.
He is known for his spiritually profound sermons. An instrument of the call to holiness, well-versed in Scripture and ecclesiastical awareness, Leo had the ability to reach the everyday needs and interests of his people. One of his sermons is used in the Office of Readings on Christmas.
It is said of Leo that his true significance rests in his doctrinal insistence on the mysteries of Christ and the Church and in the supernatural charisms of the spiritual life given to humanity in Christ and in his Body, the Church.
“Those who are not good to others are bad to themselves.”
“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.”
“Let no one be ashamed of the cross by which Christ has redeemed the world. None of us must be afraid to suffer for the sake of justice or doubt the fulfillment of the promises, for it is through toil that we come to rest and through death that we pass to life.”
“The cross of Christ is the true ground and chief cause of Christian hope.”
“Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.”
“Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition.”
“The faith of those who live their faith is a serene faith. What you long for will be given you; what you love will be yours for ever.”
“He that sees another in error and endeavors not to correct it, testifies himself to be in error.”
“Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.”
“The devil is always discovering something novel against the truth.”
Close
November 10
Pope Saint Leo the Great
November 11
Daily Saints – 11 November.
Feast of Saint Martin of Tours.
He is the Patron Saint of beggars, cavalry, equestrians, geese, horse men, horses, hotel-keepers, innkeepers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, quartermasters, reformed alcoholics, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners, wine growers, wine makers and against alcoholism, against impoverishment, against poverty.
Martin was born in c.316 at Sabaria, a town in Pannonia (in modern Hungary) of pagan parents. His father was a tribune, which is a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Horse Guard. Martin and his family went with his father when he was assigned to a post at Ticinum, in Northern Italy. It is here that Martin would grow up.
Against the wishes of his parents he associated with Christians and became a catechumen at the age of ten. At the age of fifteen, Martin was forced to follow his father into the cavalry corps of the Roman military.
Once, while on horseback in Amiens in Gaul (modern France), he encountered a beggar. Having nothing to give but the clothes on his back, Martin cut his heavy officer’s cloak in half, and gave it to the beggar. Later he had a vision of Christ wearing the cloak. He heard Jesus say to the angels: “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.” In another version, when Martin woke, he found his cloak restored to wholeness. This incident became iconographic of Martin.
Martin was eighteen years old when he received the sacrament of holy baptism. At the pleading of his superior officer, he remained two years longer in the army. About the age of 20, Martin made clear to his superiors that he would no longer fight, following his formed Christian conscience. He refused his pay prior to a battle and announced he would not join in the combat. He told them that his faith prohibited him from fighting.
He was charged with cowardice and was jailed. When Julian accused him of cowardice Martin answered: “With the sign of the Cross, I shall more certainly break through the ranks of the enemy than if armed with shield and sword.”
His superiors planned to put him in the front of the battle. However, the invaders sued for peace, the battle never occurred, and Martin was released from military service at Worms, Germany.
It was said that he lived more like a monk than a soldier. At 23, he refused a war bonus and told his commander: “I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.” After great difficulties, he was discharged and went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers.
On a visit to Lombardy to see his parents, Martin was robbed in the mountains – but managed to convert one of the thieves. At home he found that his mother had converted, but his father had not.
He was ordained an exorcist and worked with great zeal against the Arians. Martin became a monk, living first at Milan and later on a small island. When Hilary was restored to his see following his exile, Martin returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers. He lived there for 10 years, forming his disciples and preaching throughout the countryside.
The people of Tours demanded that he become their bishop. Martin was drawn to that city by a ruse—the need of a sick person—and was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop. Some of the consecrating bishops thought his rumpled appearance and unkempt hair indicated that he was not dignified enough for the office.
Along with Saint Ambrose, Martin rejected Bishop Ithacius’s principle of putting heretics to death—as well as the intrusion of the emperor into such matters. He prevailed upon the emperor to spare the life of the heretic Priscillian. For his efforts, Martin was accused of the same heresy, and Priscillian was executed after all. Martin then pleaded for a cessation of the persecution of Priscillian’s followers in Spain. He still felt he could cooperate with Ithacius in other areas, but afterwards his conscience troubled him about this decision.
As bishop, he lived in a hermit’s cell near Tours. Other monks joined him, and a new house, Marmoutier, soon formed. He rarely left his monastery or see city, but sometimes went to Trier, Germany to plead with the emperor for his city, his church, or his parishioners.
Once when he went to ask for lenience for a condemned prisoner, an angel woke the emperor to tell him that Martin was waiting to see him; the prisoner was reprieved.
On one of his numerous visits to the imperial court at Trier, a certain man besought him to help his daughter, “I firmly believe in the Lord that my daughter will be healed through your prayer.” Martin healed the girl with consecrated oil. Tetradius, who witnessed this extraordinary manifestation of divine power, asked for baptism.
Martin himself was given to visions, but even his contemporaries sometimes ascribed them to his habit of lengthy fasts. An extensive biography of Martin was written by Sulpicius Severus. He was the first non-martyr to receive the cultus of a saint.
Martin also possessed the gift of discerning spirits. At one point the devil appeared to him dressed in magnificent robes, encrusted with gold and gems, and announced he was Jesus and that Martin was to adore him. Martin immediately saw the mistake the devil had made (and had to make) and asked, “Where are the marks of the nails? Where the piercing of the spear? Where the crown of thorns? When I see the marks of the Passion I shall adore my Lord.” He continued, “The Lord Jesus Christ never prophesied that He would come in purple robes and royal crown.” The apparition immediately vanished.
Three dead persons he raised to life. While celebrating holy Mass a luminous sphere appeared over his head. He was far advanced in age when he fell into a grievous fever during a visitation at Candes, an outlying parish of his diocese. Unceasingly he begged God to release him from this mortal prison.
As death approached, Martin’s followers begged him not to leave them. He prayed, “Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done.”
It happened that when the bystanders saw that despite his great fever he remained lying on his back, they besought him to change position to alleviate somewhat the pain. But Martin answered, “Brothers, rather let me look toward heaven than to earth so that my soul in its journey home may take a direct flight to the Lord.” Shortly before death he saw the evil spirit. “What do you want, horrible beast? You will find nothing in me that’s yours!” With those words the aged saint breathed forth his soul on November 11, 397, at the age of eighty-one.
Feast of Saint Martin of Tours.
He is the Patron Saint of beggars, cavalry, equestrians, geese, horse men, horses, hotel-keepers, innkeepers, Pontifical Swiss Guards, quartermasters, reformed alcoholics, riders, soldiers, tailors, vintners, wine growers, wine makers and against alcoholism, against impoverishment, against poverty.
Martin was born in c.316 at Sabaria, a town in Pannonia (in modern Hungary) of pagan parents. His father was a tribune, which is a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Horse Guard. Martin and his family went with his father when he was assigned to a post at Ticinum, in Northern Italy. It is here that Martin would grow up.
Against the wishes of his parents he associated with Christians and became a catechumen at the age of ten. At the age of fifteen, Martin was forced to follow his father into the cavalry corps of the Roman military.
Once, while on horseback in Amiens in Gaul (modern France), he encountered a beggar. Having nothing to give but the clothes on his back, Martin cut his heavy officer’s cloak in half, and gave it to the beggar. Later he had a vision of Christ wearing the cloak. He heard Jesus say to the angels: “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.” In another version, when Martin woke, he found his cloak restored to wholeness. This incident became iconographic of Martin.
Martin was eighteen years old when he received the sacrament of holy baptism. At the pleading of his superior officer, he remained two years longer in the army. About the age of 20, Martin made clear to his superiors that he would no longer fight, following his formed Christian conscience. He refused his pay prior to a battle and announced he would not join in the combat. He told them that his faith prohibited him from fighting.
He was charged with cowardice and was jailed. When Julian accused him of cowardice Martin answered: “With the sign of the Cross, I shall more certainly break through the ranks of the enemy than if armed with shield and sword.”
His superiors planned to put him in the front of the battle. However, the invaders sued for peace, the battle never occurred, and Martin was released from military service at Worms, Germany.
It was said that he lived more like a monk than a soldier. At 23, he refused a war bonus and told his commander: “I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.” After great difficulties, he was discharged and went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers.
On a visit to Lombardy to see his parents, Martin was robbed in the mountains – but managed to convert one of the thieves. At home he found that his mother had converted, but his father had not.
He was ordained an exorcist and worked with great zeal against the Arians. Martin became a monk, living first at Milan and later on a small island. When Hilary was restored to his see following his exile, Martin returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers. He lived there for 10 years, forming his disciples and preaching throughout the countryside.
The people of Tours demanded that he become their bishop. Martin was drawn to that city by a ruse—the need of a sick person—and was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop. Some of the consecrating bishops thought his rumpled appearance and unkempt hair indicated that he was not dignified enough for the office.
Along with Saint Ambrose, Martin rejected Bishop Ithacius’s principle of putting heretics to death—as well as the intrusion of the emperor into such matters. He prevailed upon the emperor to spare the life of the heretic Priscillian. For his efforts, Martin was accused of the same heresy, and Priscillian was executed after all. Martin then pleaded for a cessation of the persecution of Priscillian’s followers in Spain. He still felt he could cooperate with Ithacius in other areas, but afterwards his conscience troubled him about this decision.
As bishop, he lived in a hermit’s cell near Tours. Other monks joined him, and a new house, Marmoutier, soon formed. He rarely left his monastery or see city, but sometimes went to Trier, Germany to plead with the emperor for his city, his church, or his parishioners.
Once when he went to ask for lenience for a condemned prisoner, an angel woke the emperor to tell him that Martin was waiting to see him; the prisoner was reprieved.
On one of his numerous visits to the imperial court at Trier, a certain man besought him to help his daughter, “I firmly believe in the Lord that my daughter will be healed through your prayer.” Martin healed the girl with consecrated oil. Tetradius, who witnessed this extraordinary manifestation of divine power, asked for baptism.
Martin himself was given to visions, but even his contemporaries sometimes ascribed them to his habit of lengthy fasts. An extensive biography of Martin was written by Sulpicius Severus. He was the first non-martyr to receive the cultus of a saint.
Martin also possessed the gift of discerning spirits. At one point the devil appeared to him dressed in magnificent robes, encrusted with gold and gems, and announced he was Jesus and that Martin was to adore him. Martin immediately saw the mistake the devil had made (and had to make) and asked, “Where are the marks of the nails? Where the piercing of the spear? Where the crown of thorns? When I see the marks of the Passion I shall adore my Lord.” He continued, “The Lord Jesus Christ never prophesied that He would come in purple robes and royal crown.” The apparition immediately vanished.
Three dead persons he raised to life. While celebrating holy Mass a luminous sphere appeared over his head. He was far advanced in age when he fell into a grievous fever during a visitation at Candes, an outlying parish of his diocese. Unceasingly he begged God to release him from this mortal prison.
As death approached, Martin’s followers begged him not to leave them. He prayed, “Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done.”
It happened that when the bystanders saw that despite his great fever he remained lying on his back, they besought him to change position to alleviate somewhat the pain. But Martin answered, “Brothers, rather let me look toward heaven than to earth so that my soul in its journey home may take a direct flight to the Lord.” Shortly before death he saw the evil spirit. “What do you want, horrible beast? You will find nothing in me that’s yours!” With those words the aged saint breathed forth his soul on November 11, 397, at the age of eighty-one.
Close
November 11
Saint Martin of Tours
November 12
Daily Saints – 12 November.
Feast of Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc.
He was born on 1580 at Volodymyr, Lithuania (modern Ukraine) as John Kunsevyc. His father was a municipal counselor, and his mother known for her piety. He was raised in the Orthodox Ruthenian Church which, on 23 November 1595 in the Union of Brest, united with the Church of Rome.
Trained as a merchant’s apprentice at Vilna, Lithuania, he was offered partnership in the business, and marriage to his partner’s daughter; feeling the call to religious life, he declined both. He became a Monk in the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil (Basilians) in Vilna at age 20 in 1604, taking the name Brother Josaphat. Became a Deacon and was Ordained a Byzantine rite priest in 1609.
Josaphat’s superior, Samuel, never accepted unity with Rome, and looked for a way to fight against Roman Catholicism and the Uniats, the name given those who brought about and accepted the union of the Churches. Learning of Samuel’s work, and fearing the physical and spiritual damage it could cause, Josaphat brought it to the attention of his superiors. The archbishop of Kiev, Ukraine, removed Samuel from his post, replacing him with Josaphat.
He became a famous preacher. He worked to bring unity among the faithful, and bring strayed Christians back to the Church. Josaphat became the Bishop of Vitebsk, Belarus. Most religious, fearing interference with the natively developed liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome. Bishop Josaphat believed unity to be in the best interests of the Church, and by teaching, clerical reform, and personal example Josaphat won the greater part of the Orthodox in Lithuania to the union. Never completely suitable to either side, Roman authorities sometimes raised objection to Josaphat’s Orthodox actions. He was consecrated as Archbishop of Polotsk, Lithuania in 1617.
While Josaphat attended the Diet of Warsaw in 1620, a dissident group, supported by Cossacks, set up an anti-Uniat bishops for each Uniat one, spread the accusation that Josaphat had “gone Latin,” and that his followers would be forced to do the same, and placed a usurper on the archbishop’s chair. Despite warnings, Josaphat went to Vitebsk, a hotbed of trouble, to try to correct the misunderstandings, and settle disturbances. The army remained loyal to the king, who remained loyal to the Union, and so the army tried to protect Josaphat and his clergy.
Late in 1623 an anti-Uniat priest named Elias shouted insults at Josaphat from his own courtyard, and tried to force his way into the residence. When he was removed, a mob assembled and forced his release. Mob mentality took over, and they invaded the residence. Josaphat tried to insure the safety of his servants before fleeing himself, but did not get out in time.
The masses attacked and injured the servants and assistants of the archbishop, and broke into the room where he was alone. One hit him on the head with a stick, another split it with an axe, and when Kuntsevych fell, they started beating him. They looted his house, dragged his body to the plaza, cursed him – even women and children. They dragged him naked through the streets of the city all the way to the hill overlooking the river Dvina river. Finally, after tying stones to the dead body, they threw him into the Dvina river at its deepest, but emerged, surrounded by rays of light, and was recovered, and was buried at Biala, Poland. He was martyred on 12 November 1623 at the age of 43.
His death was a shock to both sides of the dispute, brought some sanity and a cooling off period to both sides of the conflict. His murderers, when sentenced to death, repented their crime and became Catholics. His body found incorrupt five years after death.
Josaphat’s favourite devotional exercise was the traditional Eastern monastic practice of prostrations, in which the head touches the ground, while saying the Jesus Prayer. Never eating meat, he fasted much, wore a hair shirtand a chain around his waist. He slept on the bare floor, and chastised his body until the blood flowed. Throughout his adult life, he was distinguished by his extraordinary zeal in performing the Church services and by extraordinary devotion during the Divine Liturgy. Not only in the church did he preach and hear confessions, but likewise in the fields, hospitals, prisons, and even on his personal journeys. This zeal, united with his kindness for the poor, led great numbers of Eastern Orthodox confession Ruthenians to a religious conversion to the Eastern Catholic confession and Catholic unity.
He told the people, “You people want to kill me. You wait in ambush for me in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, in the marketplace, everywhere. Here I am; I came to you as a shepherd. You know I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for union of the Church under St. Peter and his successor the Pope.”
“Please God I will give my life for the holy union, for the supremacy of Peter and of the Holy Father, his successor… Lord, grant me the grace to shed my blood for the unity of the church and in behalf of obedience to the Holy See.”
Feast of Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc.
He was born on 1580 at Volodymyr, Lithuania (modern Ukraine) as John Kunsevyc. His father was a municipal counselor, and his mother known for her piety. He was raised in the Orthodox Ruthenian Church which, on 23 November 1595 in the Union of Brest, united with the Church of Rome.
Trained as a merchant’s apprentice at Vilna, Lithuania, he was offered partnership in the business, and marriage to his partner’s daughter; feeling the call to religious life, he declined both. He became a Monk in the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil (Basilians) in Vilna at age 20 in 1604, taking the name Brother Josaphat. Became a Deacon and was Ordained a Byzantine rite priest in 1609.
Josaphat’s superior, Samuel, never accepted unity with Rome, and looked for a way to fight against Roman Catholicism and the Uniats, the name given those who brought about and accepted the union of the Churches. Learning of Samuel’s work, and fearing the physical and spiritual damage it could cause, Josaphat brought it to the attention of his superiors. The archbishop of Kiev, Ukraine, removed Samuel from his post, replacing him with Josaphat.
He became a famous preacher. He worked to bring unity among the faithful, and bring strayed Christians back to the Church. Josaphat became the Bishop of Vitebsk, Belarus. Most religious, fearing interference with the natively developed liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome. Bishop Josaphat believed unity to be in the best interests of the Church, and by teaching, clerical reform, and personal example Josaphat won the greater part of the Orthodox in Lithuania to the union. Never completely suitable to either side, Roman authorities sometimes raised objection to Josaphat’s Orthodox actions. He was consecrated as Archbishop of Polotsk, Lithuania in 1617.
While Josaphat attended the Diet of Warsaw in 1620, a dissident group, supported by Cossacks, set up an anti-Uniat bishops for each Uniat one, spread the accusation that Josaphat had “gone Latin,” and that his followers would be forced to do the same, and placed a usurper on the archbishop’s chair. Despite warnings, Josaphat went to Vitebsk, a hotbed of trouble, to try to correct the misunderstandings, and settle disturbances. The army remained loyal to the king, who remained loyal to the Union, and so the army tried to protect Josaphat and his clergy.
Late in 1623 an anti-Uniat priest named Elias shouted insults at Josaphat from his own courtyard, and tried to force his way into the residence. When he was removed, a mob assembled and forced his release. Mob mentality took over, and they invaded the residence. Josaphat tried to insure the safety of his servants before fleeing himself, but did not get out in time.
The masses attacked and injured the servants and assistants of the archbishop, and broke into the room where he was alone. One hit him on the head with a stick, another split it with an axe, and when Kuntsevych fell, they started beating him. They looted his house, dragged his body to the plaza, cursed him – even women and children. They dragged him naked through the streets of the city all the way to the hill overlooking the river Dvina river. Finally, after tying stones to the dead body, they threw him into the Dvina river at its deepest, but emerged, surrounded by rays of light, and was recovered, and was buried at Biala, Poland. He was martyred on 12 November 1623 at the age of 43.
His death was a shock to both sides of the dispute, brought some sanity and a cooling off period to both sides of the conflict. His murderers, when sentenced to death, repented their crime and became Catholics. His body found incorrupt five years after death.
Josaphat’s favourite devotional exercise was the traditional Eastern monastic practice of prostrations, in which the head touches the ground, while saying the Jesus Prayer. Never eating meat, he fasted much, wore a hair shirtand a chain around his waist. He slept on the bare floor, and chastised his body until the blood flowed. Throughout his adult life, he was distinguished by his extraordinary zeal in performing the Church services and by extraordinary devotion during the Divine Liturgy. Not only in the church did he preach and hear confessions, but likewise in the fields, hospitals, prisons, and even on his personal journeys. This zeal, united with his kindness for the poor, led great numbers of Eastern Orthodox confession Ruthenians to a religious conversion to the Eastern Catholic confession and Catholic unity.
He told the people, “You people want to kill me. You wait in ambush for me in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, in the marketplace, everywhere. Here I am; I came to you as a shepherd. You know I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for union of the Church under St. Peter and his successor the Pope.”
“Please God I will give my life for the holy union, for the supremacy of Peter and of the Holy Father, his successor… Lord, grant me the grace to shed my blood for the unity of the church and in behalf of obedience to the Holy See.”
Close
November 12
Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc
November 13
Daily Saints – 13 November.
Feast of Saint Stanislaus Kostka.
He is the patron saint of novices, students, Broken Bones. He is invoked for palpitations of the heart and for dangerous cases of illness.
Stanislaus was born on 28 October 1550 at the castle of Rostkovo (Poland). His father, Jan (John) Kostka, was a senator of the Kingdom of Poland and Lord of Zakroczym; his mother was Malgorzata Kryska from Drobni, the sister and niece of the Dukes of Masovia and the aunt of the celebrated Chancellor of Poland, Feliks Kryski. He was the second of seven children. He has an older brother named Paul. At home, the two brothers were taught with firmness, even severity; its results were their piety, modesty, temperance, and submission.
John Kostka was not pleased with the spiritual inclinations of his second son. He did all he could to discourage Stanislaus’s desire for Christian service. Paul, a brother two years older than he, bullied him and tried to lure him into more worldly pursuits.
He was educated first by a private tutor and then, with his older brother Paul, at the Jesuit college in Vienna. His piety irritated his brother, who bullied and beat him. Stanislaus warned him, “This will end in my running away and not coming back. Then you will have to explain to our father and mother.”
The family tutor who accompanied them did not help matters, and the Lutheran household with whom they lodged would not permit the Blessed Sacrament to be brought to him when he was ill. Stanislaus remembered having read that those who invoked Saint Barbara never died without the Sacraments, and he prayed that she would help him in his danger. St Barbara, accompanied by two angels, entered his room with the Blessed Sacrament.
On his recovery Stanislaus decided to become a Jesuit, but the Austrian provincial did not receive him. they hesitated to receive him, fearing the tempest that would probably be raised by his father against the Society, which had just quieted a storm unleashed by others entering the Order.
Stanislaus set out on a 500-mile walk to Rome to put his case before the Jesuit General. He first went to Dillingen where he met the provincial for Germany, St Peter Canisius, with whom he stayed for a month. Canisius employed the aspirant in a boarding school and tested him by assigning him menial tasks. He then encouraged him to continue his journey to Rome, where some days after his arrival in October 1567 the Jesuit General Francis Borgia admitted him to the novitiate on his seventeenth birthday. Stanislaus did not complete his training. Nine months into his novitiate he again became very sick.
On the evening of the feast of Saint Lawrence, Stanislaus felt a mortal weakness, made worse by a high fever, and clearly saw that his last hour had come. He wrote a letter to the Blessed Virgin begging her to call him to the skies there to celebrate with her the glorious anniversary of her Assumption. His confidence in the Blessed Virgin, which had already brought him many signal favours, was this time again rewarded; on 15 August 1568, towards four in the morning, while he was rapt in pious utterances to God, to the saints, and to the Virgin Mary, he died. Stanislaus was only seventeen years old when he “arrived in his own country to enjoy the vision of God.”
“I want eternity. I was born for greater things.”
“I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms.”
“Consider how hard it is for a person to be separated from any place he has loved deeply. How much harder the soul will find it when the time comes to leave the mortal body, its companion so dear. And the great fear it will experience in that moment because its salvation is at stake and it must stand in the presence of the one it has so offended. If the just man will scarcely be saved, what about me a sinner?”
“But think of the great joy the good will feel at the thought of the service they’ve paid to God. They will be glad because they’ve suffered something for love of him back there and didn’t fix their hope and attention on the things of this world that we leave so soon. Think of the joy that the soul will feel in its escape from the prison of this body. So long has it lived in perpetual exile, expelled from its own heavenly home. How much greater its uncontainable joy and complete satisfaction when it arrives in its own country to enjoy the vision of God with the angels and the blessed.”
“I am so ashamed and confused because I see how many have been lost on account of a single mortal sin, and how many times I have deserved eternal damnation.”
“I shall reflect on myself and ask: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?”
Feast of Saint Stanislaus Kostka.
He is the patron saint of novices, students, Broken Bones. He is invoked for palpitations of the heart and for dangerous cases of illness.
Stanislaus was born on 28 October 1550 at the castle of Rostkovo (Poland). His father, Jan (John) Kostka, was a senator of the Kingdom of Poland and Lord of Zakroczym; his mother was Malgorzata Kryska from Drobni, the sister and niece of the Dukes of Masovia and the aunt of the celebrated Chancellor of Poland, Feliks Kryski. He was the second of seven children. He has an older brother named Paul. At home, the two brothers were taught with firmness, even severity; its results were their piety, modesty, temperance, and submission.
John Kostka was not pleased with the spiritual inclinations of his second son. He did all he could to discourage Stanislaus’s desire for Christian service. Paul, a brother two years older than he, bullied him and tried to lure him into more worldly pursuits.
He was educated first by a private tutor and then, with his older brother Paul, at the Jesuit college in Vienna. His piety irritated his brother, who bullied and beat him. Stanislaus warned him, “This will end in my running away and not coming back. Then you will have to explain to our father and mother.”
The family tutor who accompanied them did not help matters, and the Lutheran household with whom they lodged would not permit the Blessed Sacrament to be brought to him when he was ill. Stanislaus remembered having read that those who invoked Saint Barbara never died without the Sacraments, and he prayed that she would help him in his danger. St Barbara, accompanied by two angels, entered his room with the Blessed Sacrament.
On his recovery Stanislaus decided to become a Jesuit, but the Austrian provincial did not receive him. they hesitated to receive him, fearing the tempest that would probably be raised by his father against the Society, which had just quieted a storm unleashed by others entering the Order.
Stanislaus set out on a 500-mile walk to Rome to put his case before the Jesuit General. He first went to Dillingen where he met the provincial for Germany, St Peter Canisius, with whom he stayed for a month. Canisius employed the aspirant in a boarding school and tested him by assigning him menial tasks. He then encouraged him to continue his journey to Rome, where some days after his arrival in October 1567 the Jesuit General Francis Borgia admitted him to the novitiate on his seventeenth birthday. Stanislaus did not complete his training. Nine months into his novitiate he again became very sick.
On the evening of the feast of Saint Lawrence, Stanislaus felt a mortal weakness, made worse by a high fever, and clearly saw that his last hour had come. He wrote a letter to the Blessed Virgin begging her to call him to the skies there to celebrate with her the glorious anniversary of her Assumption. His confidence in the Blessed Virgin, which had already brought him many signal favours, was this time again rewarded; on 15 August 1568, towards four in the morning, while he was rapt in pious utterances to God, to the saints, and to the Virgin Mary, he died. Stanislaus was only seventeen years old when he “arrived in his own country to enjoy the vision of God.”
“I want eternity. I was born for greater things.”
“I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms.”
“Consider how hard it is for a person to be separated from any place he has loved deeply. How much harder the soul will find it when the time comes to leave the mortal body, its companion so dear. And the great fear it will experience in that moment because its salvation is at stake and it must stand in the presence of the one it has so offended. If the just man will scarcely be saved, what about me a sinner?”
“But think of the great joy the good will feel at the thought of the service they’ve paid to God. They will be glad because they’ve suffered something for love of him back there and didn’t fix their hope and attention on the things of this world that we leave so soon. Think of the joy that the soul will feel in its escape from the prison of this body. So long has it lived in perpetual exile, expelled from its own heavenly home. How much greater its uncontainable joy and complete satisfaction when it arrives in its own country to enjoy the vision of God with the angels and the blessed.”
“I am so ashamed and confused because I see how many have been lost on account of a single mortal sin, and how many times I have deserved eternal damnation.”
“I shall reflect on myself and ask: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?”
Close
November 13
Saint Stanislaus Kostka
November 14
Daily Saints – 14 November.
Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole.
Laurence O’Toole was born around 1128 in County Kildare, Ireland. His father was the chief of Hy Murray, and his mother one of the Clan O’Byrne.
When Laurence was 10 he was given as a hostage to Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster, who treated him with great harshness. The boy was sent in chains to a remote area where he was ill-housed, ill-clothed and ill-fed. For two years, the kings son learned what it was to experience real poverty and oppression.
After two years, Dermot was forced to release Laurence and send him to Glendalough monastery, where his father could reclaim him. When Maurice arrived, he found his son had fallen in love with the life of the monks and he gave him permission to join the community. Laurence was only 25 when he was elected Abbot, and he proved to be the greatest Abbot of Glendalough since St Kevin its founder. He encouraged learning, built new churches and renewed -monastic life by bringing in monks from the continent. He was unfailing in his care for the poor and sold the monastery treasures to feed famine victims.
In 1162 Laurence became the first Irish Archbishop of the Danish city of Dublin. Many of the citizens were no more than nominal Christians and he made it his duty to deepen their faith and reform their lives. He introduced Augustinian monks from France to Christ Church Cathedral to reform the liturgy and he became a member of their community. He continued his works of charity, especially towards homeless children, whom he led and housed in his own residence.
Laurence was a man of prayer. He rose in the early hours to sing the office with the other monks in the cathedral and often stayed on afterwards, deep in prayer. Then he would walk for a time in the graveyard, watching and praying over the city as it woke to another day. When his duties allowed him, he liked nothing better than to escape to Glendalough and spend a few days in solitude in a lakeside hermitage which could be reached only by boat.
The Normans landed in Ireland in 1190. The following year they besieged Dublin under their leader, Strongbow. Laurence met Strongbow to arrange a peace but the Normans attacked while the talks were going on. They seized the city, and began killing the citizens and looting their houses. Laurence saved the lives of many by the sheer force of his presence and he carried the bodies of others in his own arms to be buried. In spite of many setbacks, he was to continue his efforts as peace-maker to the end of his life.
For the last ten years of his life, Laurence was a constant traveller. He often visited England in his efforts to bring about peace between the two countries. Sea travel was hazardous and shipwrecks were common. More than once, his ship was caught in a Violent storm and its safe arrival was attributed to the power of his prayer. Travellers believed that when he was on board, they had nothing to fear. His efforts were not entirely in vain. In 1175 he was one of the signers of the Treaty of Windsor between Englands King Henry II and lrelands High King, Roderick OConnor.
Laurence led the six Irish bishops who attended the Third Lateran Council in Rome in 1179. Pope Alexander III was so impressed that he appointed him Papal Legate to Ireland with the responsibility of reforming the Church in Ireland and defending it against attack. On his return, Laurence summoned a council of the Irish Church at Clonfert which took firm action against the abuses of the time. It was only his death that prevented him from completing his work of reformation.
Laurence left Dublin for the last time in the spring of 1180. His mission was to settle a dispute that had arisen between the English and Irish Kings. Henry II, the man responsible for the murder of St Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, received him badly, abused him roundly and forbade him to return to Ireland.
While approaching the altar to officiate at Mass, the Archbishop was violently attacked by a maniac. Everyone present thought he was mortally wounded, but Saint Laurence came to, asked for some water, blessed it and applied it to his wound. The bleeding immediately stopped and the Archbishop continued to celebrate Mass.
St. Laurence was most widely known for his piety, charity, and prudence, and was respected as a negotiator. He died on November 14, 1180, at Eu in Normandy.
Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole.
Laurence O’Toole was born around 1128 in County Kildare, Ireland. His father was the chief of Hy Murray, and his mother one of the Clan O’Byrne.
When Laurence was 10 he was given as a hostage to Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster, who treated him with great harshness. The boy was sent in chains to a remote area where he was ill-housed, ill-clothed and ill-fed. For two years, the kings son learned what it was to experience real poverty and oppression.
After two years, Dermot was forced to release Laurence and send him to Glendalough monastery, where his father could reclaim him. When Maurice arrived, he found his son had fallen in love with the life of the monks and he gave him permission to join the community. Laurence was only 25 when he was elected Abbot, and he proved to be the greatest Abbot of Glendalough since St Kevin its founder. He encouraged learning, built new churches and renewed -monastic life by bringing in monks from the continent. He was unfailing in his care for the poor and sold the monastery treasures to feed famine victims.
In 1162 Laurence became the first Irish Archbishop of the Danish city of Dublin. Many of the citizens were no more than nominal Christians and he made it his duty to deepen their faith and reform their lives. He introduced Augustinian monks from France to Christ Church Cathedral to reform the liturgy and he became a member of their community. He continued his works of charity, especially towards homeless children, whom he led and housed in his own residence.
Laurence was a man of prayer. He rose in the early hours to sing the office with the other monks in the cathedral and often stayed on afterwards, deep in prayer. Then he would walk for a time in the graveyard, watching and praying over the city as it woke to another day. When his duties allowed him, he liked nothing better than to escape to Glendalough and spend a few days in solitude in a lakeside hermitage which could be reached only by boat.
The Normans landed in Ireland in 1190. The following year they besieged Dublin under their leader, Strongbow. Laurence met Strongbow to arrange a peace but the Normans attacked while the talks were going on. They seized the city, and began killing the citizens and looting their houses. Laurence saved the lives of many by the sheer force of his presence and he carried the bodies of others in his own arms to be buried. In spite of many setbacks, he was to continue his efforts as peace-maker to the end of his life.
For the last ten years of his life, Laurence was a constant traveller. He often visited England in his efforts to bring about peace between the two countries. Sea travel was hazardous and shipwrecks were common. More than once, his ship was caught in a Violent storm and its safe arrival was attributed to the power of his prayer. Travellers believed that when he was on board, they had nothing to fear. His efforts were not entirely in vain. In 1175 he was one of the signers of the Treaty of Windsor between Englands King Henry II and lrelands High King, Roderick OConnor.
Laurence led the six Irish bishops who attended the Third Lateran Council in Rome in 1179. Pope Alexander III was so impressed that he appointed him Papal Legate to Ireland with the responsibility of reforming the Church in Ireland and defending it against attack. On his return, Laurence summoned a council of the Irish Church at Clonfert which took firm action against the abuses of the time. It was only his death that prevented him from completing his work of reformation.
Laurence left Dublin for the last time in the spring of 1180. His mission was to settle a dispute that had arisen between the English and Irish Kings. Henry II, the man responsible for the murder of St Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, received him badly, abused him roundly and forbade him to return to Ireland.
While approaching the altar to officiate at Mass, the Archbishop was violently attacked by a maniac. Everyone present thought he was mortally wounded, but Saint Laurence came to, asked for some water, blessed it and applied it to his wound. The bleeding immediately stopped and the Archbishop continued to celebrate Mass.
St. Laurence was most widely known for his piety, charity, and prudence, and was respected as a negotiator. He died on November 14, 1180, at Eu in Normandy.
Close
November 14
Saint Laurence O’Toole
November 15
Daily Saints – 15 November.
Feast of Saint Albert the Great.
He is the patron saint of medical technicians, natural sciences, philosophers, schoolchildren, scientists, students, theology students.
Albert was born in Germany in 1206. He was the eldest son of a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank. He was educated in the liberal arts. He attended the University of Padua where he learned about Aristotle and his writings. This instruction in philosophy became the foundation of his later work.
Sometime around the year 1223 or so, Albert experienced an encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This encounter moved him so much that he decided to become a member of the Dominican Order. Despite fierce family opposition, he entered the Dominican novitiate. He thereafter studied theology.
His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics. His explanation of learning took 20 years to complete. “Our intention,” he said, “is to make all the aforesaid parts of knowledge intelligible to the Latins.”
He achieved his goal while serving as an educator at Paris and Cologne, as Dominican provincial, and even as bishop of Regensburg for a short time. He defended the mendicant orders and preached the Crusade in Germany and Bohemia.
He taught at the universities of Paris and Cologne. One of his most famous students was St. Thomas Aquinas. We believe that Thomas’ study of philosophy with Albert helped prepare Thomas to write his famous theology books which are still studied today.
Albert also helped Thomas in another important way. Thomas was a large man and very shy. People called him a “dumb ox,” but Albert said that if Thomas was an ox, he was one whose bellow would be heard throughout the world.
Albert helped Thomas to understand that God had given him the gift of intelligence that he could use to help others know and love the Catholic faith. Albert built up Thomas’ self-confidence so that he could believe in his own talents. Albert’s attempt to understand Aristotle’s writings established the climate in which Thomas Aquinas developed his synthesis of Greek wisdom and Christian theology.
Albert deserves recognition on his own merits as a curious, honest, and diligent scholar. Albert was made a bishop in Germany, but he resigned after only a few years. He was an adviser to the pope, but asked to return to science, to learning and teaching. In his later years, Albert became renowned as a mediator. He mediated disputes between individuals as well as resolving a dispute between the people of Colonge and their bishop. He also founded Germany’s oldest university in that city.
Albert died on 15 November 1280 at Cologne, Prussia (part of modern Germany) at the age of 74. St. Albert is called the Great because of his encyclopedic knowledge.
“It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8).”
“The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you will receive all that you ask.”
“The whole world is indebted to Jesus for His passion. Similarly all of us are indebted to our Lady for her compassion.”
“Banish, therefore, from your heart the distractions of earth and turn your eyes to spiritual joys, that you may learn at last to repose in the light of the contemplation of God.”
“Envy upsets everything; an envious man cannot be fair before God.”
“Every science and knowledge proceeds from God. Saying it proceeds from the Holy Ghost is a simple way of expressing oneself. No one can thus say Our Lord Jesus Christ without implying Son of God our Father, by work and grace of the Holy Ghost. In the same manner this science cannot be separated from the One who has communicated it unto me.”
“The aim of natural science is not simply to accept the statements of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature.”
“Do this in remembrance of me.” Two things should be noted here. The first is the command that we should use this sacrament, which is indicated when Jesus says, “Do this.” The second is that this sacrament commemorates the Lord’s going to death for our sake. This sacrament is profitable because it grants remission of sins; it is most useful because it bestows the fullness of grace on us in this life. “The Father of spirits instructs us in what is useful for our sanctification.” And his sanctification is in Christ’s sacrifice, that is, when he offers himself in this sacrament to the Father for our redemption to us for our use. Christ could not have commanded anything more beneficial, for this sacrament is the fruit of the tree of life. Anyone who receives this sacrament with the devotion of sincere faith will never taste death. “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and blessed is he who holds it fast. The man who feeds on me shall live on account of me.” Nor could he have commanded anything more lovable, for this sacrament produces love and union. It is characteristic of the greatest love to give itself as food. “Had not the men of my text exclaimed: Who will feed us with his flesh to satisfy our hunger? as if to say: I have loved them and they have loved me so much that I desire to be within them, and they wish to receive me so that they may become my members. There is no more intimate or more natural means for them to be united to me, and I to them. Nor could he have commanded anything which is more like eternal life. Eternal life flows from this sacrament because God with all sweetness pours himself out upon the blessed.” – from a commentary by Saint Albert the Great on the Gospel of Luke
Feast of Saint Albert the Great.
He is the patron saint of medical technicians, natural sciences, philosophers, schoolchildren, scientists, students, theology students.
Albert was born in Germany in 1206. He was the eldest son of a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank. He was educated in the liberal arts. He attended the University of Padua where he learned about Aristotle and his writings. This instruction in philosophy became the foundation of his later work.
Sometime around the year 1223 or so, Albert experienced an encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This encounter moved him so much that he decided to become a member of the Dominican Order. Despite fierce family opposition, he entered the Dominican novitiate. He thereafter studied theology.
His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics. His explanation of learning took 20 years to complete. “Our intention,” he said, “is to make all the aforesaid parts of knowledge intelligible to the Latins.”
He achieved his goal while serving as an educator at Paris and Cologne, as Dominican provincial, and even as bishop of Regensburg for a short time. He defended the mendicant orders and preached the Crusade in Germany and Bohemia.
He taught at the universities of Paris and Cologne. One of his most famous students was St. Thomas Aquinas. We believe that Thomas’ study of philosophy with Albert helped prepare Thomas to write his famous theology books which are still studied today.
Albert also helped Thomas in another important way. Thomas was a large man and very shy. People called him a “dumb ox,” but Albert said that if Thomas was an ox, he was one whose bellow would be heard throughout the world.
Albert helped Thomas to understand that God had given him the gift of intelligence that he could use to help others know and love the Catholic faith. Albert built up Thomas’ self-confidence so that he could believe in his own talents. Albert’s attempt to understand Aristotle’s writings established the climate in which Thomas Aquinas developed his synthesis of Greek wisdom and Christian theology.
Albert deserves recognition on his own merits as a curious, honest, and diligent scholar. Albert was made a bishop in Germany, but he resigned after only a few years. He was an adviser to the pope, but asked to return to science, to learning and teaching. In his later years, Albert became renowned as a mediator. He mediated disputes between individuals as well as resolving a dispute between the people of Colonge and their bishop. He also founded Germany’s oldest university in that city.
Albert died on 15 November 1280 at Cologne, Prussia (part of modern Germany) at the age of 74. St. Albert is called the Great because of his encyclopedic knowledge.
“It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8).”
“The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you will receive all that you ask.”
“The whole world is indebted to Jesus for His passion. Similarly all of us are indebted to our Lady for her compassion.”
“Banish, therefore, from your heart the distractions of earth and turn your eyes to spiritual joys, that you may learn at last to repose in the light of the contemplation of God.”
“Envy upsets everything; an envious man cannot be fair before God.”
“Every science and knowledge proceeds from God. Saying it proceeds from the Holy Ghost is a simple way of expressing oneself. No one can thus say Our Lord Jesus Christ without implying Son of God our Father, by work and grace of the Holy Ghost. In the same manner this science cannot be separated from the One who has communicated it unto me.”
“The aim of natural science is not simply to accept the statements of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature.”
“Do this in remembrance of me.” Two things should be noted here. The first is the command that we should use this sacrament, which is indicated when Jesus says, “Do this.” The second is that this sacrament commemorates the Lord’s going to death for our sake. This sacrament is profitable because it grants remission of sins; it is most useful because it bestows the fullness of grace on us in this life. “The Father of spirits instructs us in what is useful for our sanctification.” And his sanctification is in Christ’s sacrifice, that is, when he offers himself in this sacrament to the Father for our redemption to us for our use. Christ could not have commanded anything more beneficial, for this sacrament is the fruit of the tree of life. Anyone who receives this sacrament with the devotion of sincere faith will never taste death. “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and blessed is he who holds it fast. The man who feeds on me shall live on account of me.” Nor could he have commanded anything more lovable, for this sacrament produces love and union. It is characteristic of the greatest love to give itself as food. “Had not the men of my text exclaimed: Who will feed us with his flesh to satisfy our hunger? as if to say: I have loved them and they have loved me so much that I desire to be within them, and they wish to receive me so that they may become my members. There is no more intimate or more natural means for them to be united to me, and I to them. Nor could he have commanded anything which is more like eternal life. Eternal life flows from this sacrament because God with all sweetness pours himself out upon the blessed.” – from a commentary by Saint Albert the Great on the Gospel of Luke
Close
November 15
Saint Albert the Great
November 16
Daily Saints – 16 November.
Feast of Saint Gertrude the Great (Gertrude of Helfta)
She is the patron saint of Nuns and travelers and is often invoked for souls in purgatory.
St. Gertrude was born on January 6, 1256 in Germany. Not much is known about her parentage. Historians believe that she may have been a child oblate to the church, just as Hannah offered Samuel to the temple or she may have been an orphan. Gertrude was raised in the Benedictine abbey of Saint Mary of Helfta, Eisleben, Saxony from age five.
When Gertrude was five years old, she was placed in the care of Mechtilde. She became the first teacher of Gertrude. They became close friends, and Mechtildis (Mechtilde), who had mystical experiences of her own, helped Gertrude with her Book of Special Graces (also called The Revelations of St. Mechtildis), and the two Saints collaborated on a series of prayers.
An extremely bright and dedicated student, she excelled in literature and philosophy, and when she was old enough, became a Benedictine nun. She devoted herself to her studies, and received an education in many different subjects. Gertrude was both fluent in Latin and very familiar with scripture and works from the Fathers of the Church, including Augustine.
She admitted in her autobiography that often times, she allowed Christ to take a backseat as she harnessed her skills in philosophy, literature, singing and painting. It eventually led to her feeling lonely and depressed and called her intellectual pursuits a “tower of vanity and curiosity.”
In 1281, 25-year-old Gertrude experienced her first series of visions that would continue until the day she passed away. Her visions altered her life and she saw this moment as her new birth. Her priorities turned away from secular teachings and focuses more on studying Scripture and theology. Her life became full with this awakening and she was an enthusiastic student, writing for the spiritual benefit of others.
She experienced a vision of Jesus on Jan. 27, 1281. He told her: “I have come to comfort you and bring you salvation.”
Gertrude once had a vision on the feast of John the Evangelist, described in Gertrude’s writings. As she rested her head near Jesus’ wound on his side, she could hear the beating of his heart. She asked St. John if he, too, felt the beating of Jesus’ Divine Heart on the night of the Last Supper. He told her he was saving this revelation for a time when the world needed it to rekindle its love.
She went on to become one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Along with St. Mechtilde, she practiced what is known as “nuptial mysticism,” seeing herself as the bride of Christ. She embraced charity for both rich and poor, she was a simple woman with a deep solidarity with those not yet ready for the beatific vision, who are still being purified in the state of repose known as purgatory.
Gertrude assisted at the deathbeds and mourned for the loss of both Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn in 1291 and her dearly loved St. Mechtilde in 1298. Gertrude’s health began to deteriorate, but she continued to only show her love for the Lord.
“Until the age of 25, I was a blind and insane woman… but you, Jesus, deigned to grant me the priceless familiarity of your friendship by opening to me in every way that most noble casket of your divinity, which is your divine Heart, and offering me in great abundance all your treasures contained in it”. In Gertrude’s visions, Jesus speaks to her almost exclusively at Mass and during the Liturgy of the Hours.
St. Gertrude on one occasion asked Our Lord how she ought to prepare for Holy Communion, and He replied: “I ask nothing more than that you should come with an empty heart.”
One night, St. Gertrude was suffering more than usual from a fever; she was anxious about the course of this malady. Jesus appeared to her, carrying health in His right hand and sickness in His left, offering her both that she might choose that which she preferred. Gertrude leaned towards His loving Heart, in which she knew the plenitude of every good resided, and answered: “Lord, I choose nothing, I desire only the good pleasure of Thy Heart.” Then Jesus, causing a fountain, as it were, of grace to spring from His Heart, made it flow into that of Gertrude, saying: “Since thou renouncest thy own will to abandon it entirely unto Mine, I pour into thee all the sweetness and all the joy of My Divine Heart.”
Though acutely aware of her own persistent faults, she also came to understand the depths of God’s mercy. She accepted the illness and pain of her final years in a spirit of personal sacrifice, while recalling the goodness of God that had transformed her life. She meditated on the Passion of Christ which many times brought a flood of tears to her eyes. She had a tender love for Our Lady.
During the long illness of five months from which she would die, she gave not the slightest sign of impatience or sadness; her joy, on the contrary, increased with her pains. When the day of her death arrived, she saw the Most Blessed Virgin descend from heaven to assist her, and one of her Sisters perceived her soul going straight to the Heart of Jesus, which opened to receive it. On November 16, 1301, Gertrude passed away.
To separate her from Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn, Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title, “the Great,” making her the only woman saint to be called, “the Great.”
“Every time we look at the Blessed Sacrament our place in heaven is raised forever.”
“Bodily and spiritual affliction are the surest sign of Divine predilection. Gratitude for suffering is a precious jewel for our heavenly crown… Man should always firmly believe that God sends just that trial which is most beneficial for him.”
“I understand that, each time we contemplate with desire and devotion the Host in which is hidden Christ’s Eucharistic Body, we increase our merits in heaven and secure special joys to be ours later in the beatific vision of God.”
“Let the soul who is desirous of advancing in perfection hasten to My Sacred Heart.”
“Property — the more common it becomes the more holy it becomes.”
“Holy souls in purgatory are our friends. If everyone has to adopt a holy soul to pray for, purgatory would be emptied in no time.”
“O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen.” – Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great
“Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, in union with all the masses said around the world today, for all the Poor Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, in the Universal Church, in my home and in my family. Amen.” – Prayer which was written by her out of compassion for those still on their journey to heaven.
Feast of Saint Gertrude the Great (Gertrude of Helfta)
She is the patron saint of Nuns and travelers and is often invoked for souls in purgatory.
St. Gertrude was born on January 6, 1256 in Germany. Not much is known about her parentage. Historians believe that she may have been a child oblate to the church, just as Hannah offered Samuel to the temple or she may have been an orphan. Gertrude was raised in the Benedictine abbey of Saint Mary of Helfta, Eisleben, Saxony from age five.
When Gertrude was five years old, she was placed in the care of Mechtilde. She became the first teacher of Gertrude. They became close friends, and Mechtildis (Mechtilde), who had mystical experiences of her own, helped Gertrude with her Book of Special Graces (also called The Revelations of St. Mechtildis), and the two Saints collaborated on a series of prayers.
An extremely bright and dedicated student, she excelled in literature and philosophy, and when she was old enough, became a Benedictine nun. She devoted herself to her studies, and received an education in many different subjects. Gertrude was both fluent in Latin and very familiar with scripture and works from the Fathers of the Church, including Augustine.
She admitted in her autobiography that often times, she allowed Christ to take a backseat as she harnessed her skills in philosophy, literature, singing and painting. It eventually led to her feeling lonely and depressed and called her intellectual pursuits a “tower of vanity and curiosity.”
In 1281, 25-year-old Gertrude experienced her first series of visions that would continue until the day she passed away. Her visions altered her life and she saw this moment as her new birth. Her priorities turned away from secular teachings and focuses more on studying Scripture and theology. Her life became full with this awakening and she was an enthusiastic student, writing for the spiritual benefit of others.
She experienced a vision of Jesus on Jan. 27, 1281. He told her: “I have come to comfort you and bring you salvation.”
Gertrude once had a vision on the feast of John the Evangelist, described in Gertrude’s writings. As she rested her head near Jesus’ wound on his side, she could hear the beating of his heart. She asked St. John if he, too, felt the beating of Jesus’ Divine Heart on the night of the Last Supper. He told her he was saving this revelation for a time when the world needed it to rekindle its love.
She went on to become one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Along with St. Mechtilde, she practiced what is known as “nuptial mysticism,” seeing herself as the bride of Christ. She embraced charity for both rich and poor, she was a simple woman with a deep solidarity with those not yet ready for the beatific vision, who are still being purified in the state of repose known as purgatory.
Gertrude assisted at the deathbeds and mourned for the loss of both Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn in 1291 and her dearly loved St. Mechtilde in 1298. Gertrude’s health began to deteriorate, but she continued to only show her love for the Lord.
“Until the age of 25, I was a blind and insane woman… but you, Jesus, deigned to grant me the priceless familiarity of your friendship by opening to me in every way that most noble casket of your divinity, which is your divine Heart, and offering me in great abundance all your treasures contained in it”. In Gertrude’s visions, Jesus speaks to her almost exclusively at Mass and during the Liturgy of the Hours.
St. Gertrude on one occasion asked Our Lord how she ought to prepare for Holy Communion, and He replied: “I ask nothing more than that you should come with an empty heart.”
One night, St. Gertrude was suffering more than usual from a fever; she was anxious about the course of this malady. Jesus appeared to her, carrying health in His right hand and sickness in His left, offering her both that she might choose that which she preferred. Gertrude leaned towards His loving Heart, in which she knew the plenitude of every good resided, and answered: “Lord, I choose nothing, I desire only the good pleasure of Thy Heart.” Then Jesus, causing a fountain, as it were, of grace to spring from His Heart, made it flow into that of Gertrude, saying: “Since thou renouncest thy own will to abandon it entirely unto Mine, I pour into thee all the sweetness and all the joy of My Divine Heart.”
Though acutely aware of her own persistent faults, she also came to understand the depths of God’s mercy. She accepted the illness and pain of her final years in a spirit of personal sacrifice, while recalling the goodness of God that had transformed her life. She meditated on the Passion of Christ which many times brought a flood of tears to her eyes. She had a tender love for Our Lady.
During the long illness of five months from which she would die, she gave not the slightest sign of impatience or sadness; her joy, on the contrary, increased with her pains. When the day of her death arrived, she saw the Most Blessed Virgin descend from heaven to assist her, and one of her Sisters perceived her soul going straight to the Heart of Jesus, which opened to receive it. On November 16, 1301, Gertrude passed away.
To separate her from Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn, Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title, “the Great,” making her the only woman saint to be called, “the Great.”
“Every time we look at the Blessed Sacrament our place in heaven is raised forever.”
“Bodily and spiritual affliction are the surest sign of Divine predilection. Gratitude for suffering is a precious jewel for our heavenly crown… Man should always firmly believe that God sends just that trial which is most beneficial for him.”
“I understand that, each time we contemplate with desire and devotion the Host in which is hidden Christ’s Eucharistic Body, we increase our merits in heaven and secure special joys to be ours later in the beatific vision of God.”
“Let the soul who is desirous of advancing in perfection hasten to My Sacred Heart.”
“Property — the more common it becomes the more holy it becomes.”
“Holy souls in purgatory are our friends. If everyone has to adopt a holy soul to pray for, purgatory would be emptied in no time.”
“O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen.” – Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great
“Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, in union with all the masses said around the world today, for all the Poor Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, in the Universal Church, in my home and in my family. Amen.” – Prayer which was written by her out of compassion for those still on their journey to heaven.
Close
November 16
Saint Gertrude the Great
November 17
Daily Saints – 17 November.
Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (St. Elizabeth of Thuringia).
She is the patron saint of bakers, beggars, brides, charitable societies, charitable workers, charities, countesses, exiles, falsely accused people, hoboes, homeless people, hospitals, lacemakers, lace workers, nursing homes, nursing services, people ridiculed for their piety, tertiaries, tramps, widows and against in-law problems, against the death of children, against toothache.
St. Elizabeth was born in Hungary on July 7, 1207 to the Hungarian King Andrew II and Gertrude of Merania. As soon as her life began, she had responsibilities from being a royal pressed upon her. While Elizabeth was very young, her father arranged for her to be married to Ludwig IV of Thuringia, a German nobleman. Because of this plan, Elizabeth was sent away at the age of four for education at the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia.
Elizabeth’s mother, Gertrude, was murdered in 1213, when Elizabeth was just six-years-old. According to history, the murder was carried out by Hungarian noblemen due to the conflict between Germans and the Hungarian nobles. From this point on, Elizabeth’s perspective on life and death dramatically changed and she sought peace with prayer.
Happiness was returned to her young life in 1221 when she was formally married to Ludwig, whom she deeply loved. Together the couple had three beautiful children, two of whom became members of nobility and the third entering the religious life, becoming abbess of a German convent.
Elizabeth continued to live a life full of prayer and a service to the poor. Ludwig, who was now one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported all of Elizabeth’s religious endeavors even though she was a part of the royal court. She began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity. She used her royal position to advance her mission for charity.
In 1223, Franciscan friars arrived in Thuringia and taught 16-year-old Elizabeth all about Francis of Assisi’s ideals. She then forth decided to live her life mirroring St. Francis.
She wore simple clothing and set aside time every day to take bread to hundreds of poor people in her land. Ludwig and Elizabeth were politically powerful and lived with a remarkable generosity toward the poor.
In 1226, when disease and floods struck Thuringia, Elizabeth took to caring for the victims. It is said she even gave away the royal’s clothing and goods to the afflicted people. Elizabeth had a hospital built and provided for almost a thousand poor people daily. Elizabeth’s life was full of love and faith.
One of her greatest known miracle is the miracle of roses. It is said that during one of her many trips delivering bread to the poor in secret, Ludwig met her and asked her questions to erase everyone’s suspicions that she was stealing treasures from the castle. He asked her to reveal the contents under her cloak, and as she did a vision of white and red roses was seen. To Ludwig, this meant God’s protection was evident. In other versions, it was her brother-in-law who found her. Elizabeth’s story is one of the first of many that associates Christian saints with roses.
Another living miracle involved a leper lying the bed she shared with her husband. Her mother-in-law discovered Elizabeth had placed a leper in the bed, and feeling enraged, she informed Ludwig. Annoyed with the situation, Ludwig removed the bedclothes and instantly the “Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed.”
In 1227, Ludwig marched off to fight. While away, he died of the plague. Elizabeth, who was only 20, was heartbroken. The new king thought she had given too much of the kingdom’s money to the poor, so he forced her to leave her castle. The goods belonging to her as a widow were withheld, she was forced to leave Wartburg. In Eisenach no one dared receive her out of fear of her enemies. Upon much pleading a shepherd of the landgrave permitted her to use an abandoned pig sty. No one was allowed to visit or aid her; with her three children, of whom the youngest was not more than a few months old, she was forced to wander about in the winter’s cold.
When Ludwig’s friends returned from the battle field, they made the new king change his mind. Elizabeth got to come home to the castle and her children. Her uncle tried to force her to marry again, but she had vowed that if anything happened to her husband, she would only serve God.
In 1228, Elizabeth joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Elizabeth, having received her dowry, founded a hospital in honor of St. Francis, where she personally attended to the ill. She retained for herself only a small mud house. All her strength and care were now devoted to the poor and the sick, while she obtained the few things she needed by spinning.
Elizabeth’s life was consumed deeply by her devotion to God and her charitable labor. She passed away at the age of 24, on November 17, 1231 in Marburg, Hesse.
St. Elizabeth has been praised by Pope Benedict XVI as a “model for those in authority.”
“How could I bear a crown of gold when the Lord bears a crown of thorns? And bears it for me!”
“We are made loveless by our possessions.”
Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (St. Elizabeth of Thuringia).
She is the patron saint of bakers, beggars, brides, charitable societies, charitable workers, charities, countesses, exiles, falsely accused people, hoboes, homeless people, hospitals, lacemakers, lace workers, nursing homes, nursing services, people ridiculed for their piety, tertiaries, tramps, widows and against in-law problems, against the death of children, against toothache.
St. Elizabeth was born in Hungary on July 7, 1207 to the Hungarian King Andrew II and Gertrude of Merania. As soon as her life began, she had responsibilities from being a royal pressed upon her. While Elizabeth was very young, her father arranged for her to be married to Ludwig IV of Thuringia, a German nobleman. Because of this plan, Elizabeth was sent away at the age of four for education at the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia.
Elizabeth’s mother, Gertrude, was murdered in 1213, when Elizabeth was just six-years-old. According to history, the murder was carried out by Hungarian noblemen due to the conflict between Germans and the Hungarian nobles. From this point on, Elizabeth’s perspective on life and death dramatically changed and she sought peace with prayer.
Happiness was returned to her young life in 1221 when she was formally married to Ludwig, whom she deeply loved. Together the couple had three beautiful children, two of whom became members of nobility and the third entering the religious life, becoming abbess of a German convent.
Elizabeth continued to live a life full of prayer and a service to the poor. Ludwig, who was now one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported all of Elizabeth’s religious endeavors even though she was a part of the royal court. She began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity. She used her royal position to advance her mission for charity.
In 1223, Franciscan friars arrived in Thuringia and taught 16-year-old Elizabeth all about Francis of Assisi’s ideals. She then forth decided to live her life mirroring St. Francis.
She wore simple clothing and set aside time every day to take bread to hundreds of poor people in her land. Ludwig and Elizabeth were politically powerful and lived with a remarkable generosity toward the poor.
In 1226, when disease and floods struck Thuringia, Elizabeth took to caring for the victims. It is said she even gave away the royal’s clothing and goods to the afflicted people. Elizabeth had a hospital built and provided for almost a thousand poor people daily. Elizabeth’s life was full of love and faith.
One of her greatest known miracle is the miracle of roses. It is said that during one of her many trips delivering bread to the poor in secret, Ludwig met her and asked her questions to erase everyone’s suspicions that she was stealing treasures from the castle. He asked her to reveal the contents under her cloak, and as she did a vision of white and red roses was seen. To Ludwig, this meant God’s protection was evident. In other versions, it was her brother-in-law who found her. Elizabeth’s story is one of the first of many that associates Christian saints with roses.
Another living miracle involved a leper lying the bed she shared with her husband. Her mother-in-law discovered Elizabeth had placed a leper in the bed, and feeling enraged, she informed Ludwig. Annoyed with the situation, Ludwig removed the bedclothes and instantly the “Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed.”
In 1227, Ludwig marched off to fight. While away, he died of the plague. Elizabeth, who was only 20, was heartbroken. The new king thought she had given too much of the kingdom’s money to the poor, so he forced her to leave her castle. The goods belonging to her as a widow were withheld, she was forced to leave Wartburg. In Eisenach no one dared receive her out of fear of her enemies. Upon much pleading a shepherd of the landgrave permitted her to use an abandoned pig sty. No one was allowed to visit or aid her; with her three children, of whom the youngest was not more than a few months old, she was forced to wander about in the winter’s cold.
When Ludwig’s friends returned from the battle field, they made the new king change his mind. Elizabeth got to come home to the castle and her children. Her uncle tried to force her to marry again, but she had vowed that if anything happened to her husband, she would only serve God.
In 1228, Elizabeth joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Elizabeth, having received her dowry, founded a hospital in honor of St. Francis, where she personally attended to the ill. She retained for herself only a small mud house. All her strength and care were now devoted to the poor and the sick, while she obtained the few things she needed by spinning.
Elizabeth’s life was consumed deeply by her devotion to God and her charitable labor. She passed away at the age of 24, on November 17, 1231 in Marburg, Hesse.
St. Elizabeth has been praised by Pope Benedict XVI as a “model for those in authority.”
“How could I bear a crown of gold when the Lord bears a crown of thorns? And bears it for me!”
“We are made loveless by our possessions.”
Close
November 17
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
November 18
Daily Saints – 18 November.
Happy feast of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne.
She is invoked for perseverance amid adversity and opposition of Church authorities.
She was born on 29 August 1769 in Grenoble, then the capital of the ancient Province of the Dauphiné in the Kingdom of France and to a family with wealth and political connections; her father, Pierre Francois Duchesne, was a lawyer, businessman, and prominent civic leader in Grenoble, France, and her mother, Rose Perier, was a member of a leading family from the Dauphine region of France.
From age eight Rose had a desire to evangelize in the Americas, sparked by hearing a Jesuit missionary speak of his work there. She received a basic education at home from tutors, and religious education from her mother. Educated from age 12 at the convent of the Visitation nuns in Grenoble, she joined them in 1788 at age 19 without the permission or knowledge of her family who were violently opposed to her choice, but finally gave in.
Religious communities were outlawed during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, and Rose’s convent was closed in 1792. She spent the next ten years living as a lay woman again, but still managed to act like a good member of her Order. She established a school for poor children, provided care for the sick, and hid priests from Revolutionaries.
When the Terror ended, she reclaimed her convent and tried to re-establish it with a group of sisters she had maintained in Grenoble. However, most of the sistes were long gone. In December 1804, she met St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, who in 1800 had founded the Society of the Sacred Heart. Philippine immediately turned over Sainte Marie d’en Haut and entered the Society. A deep friendship formed between these two remarkable women of such different temperaments. For 12 years, the patient wisdom of Sophie molded the ardent, steadfast Philippine into a religious called to glorify the Heart of Jesus.
In 1815 Mother Duschene was assigned to found a Sacred Heart convent in Paris, France. On 14 March 1818 at age 49 she and four sisters were sent as missionaries to the Louisiana Territory to establish the Society’s presence in America. Diseases contracted during the trip to America nearly killed her, and after she recovered in New Orleans, the trip up the Mississippi nearly killed her again.
She established her first mission at Saint Charles, Missouri, a log cabin that was the first free school west of the Mississippi River. She eventually six other houses in America which included schools and orphanages. She ran into some opposition as her teaching methods were based on French models, and her English was terrible; her students, however, received a good education, and her intentions were obviously for their best.
She was ever concerned about the plight of Native Americans, and much of her work was devoted to educating them, caring for their sick, and working against alcohol abuse. Finally able to retire from her administrative duties at age 71, Mother Duchesne evangelized the Pottowatomies, and taught young girls of the tribe. This work, however, lasted but a year as she was unable to master the Pottowatomi language. She was known to the tribe as “Woman Who Prays Always”.
The severe winters and the lack of proper food sapped her health and she was sent back to St. Charles. Here she spent the last decade of her life, praying “for her Indians” and for the Society which she had established and which was growing rapidly. She died on November 18, 1852, at the age of 83.
“Preach by example of your lives rather than by words. Example is the very best sermon.”
“If you have no earthly consolation, why do you not seek consolation in the Heart of Jesus? To love him is truest joy.”
“We cultivate a very small field for Christ, but we love it, knowing that God does not require great achievements but a heart that holds back nothing for self.”
“The truest crosses are those we do not choose ourselves.”
“He who has Jesus has everything.”
“It fills me with joy to realize that I can lay down my life daily for God, that I can sacrifice it willingly for Him. I may not be a martyr for the faith, but I can be a martyr of charity.”
“Do not look back to the past, nor forward to the future. Claim only the present, for it holds God’s will.”
“How very beautiful and consoling our faith is! For the little work we do here on earth it promises in return all the joys of assured happiness.”
“Love aright and you will never be sad. Embrace God’s will and you will be filled with joy and peace.”
“Let us bear our cross and leave it to God to determine the length and the weight.”
“Humility is the virtue that requires the greatest amount of effort.”
“Strength of character is certainly needed to face life in the world and to stand by right principles, especially in the age in which we live.”
“The worst defect in the world would be to consider yourself free from faults. Being too greatly saddened by one’s faults can come from having one’s pride humiliated.”
“God alone and the desire of His glory – nothing else matters.”
“Profit by the little trials that come to you, for through them we make real progress.”
Happy feast of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne.
She is invoked for perseverance amid adversity and opposition of Church authorities.
She was born on 29 August 1769 in Grenoble, then the capital of the ancient Province of the Dauphiné in the Kingdom of France and to a family with wealth and political connections; her father, Pierre Francois Duchesne, was a lawyer, businessman, and prominent civic leader in Grenoble, France, and her mother, Rose Perier, was a member of a leading family from the Dauphine region of France.
From age eight Rose had a desire to evangelize in the Americas, sparked by hearing a Jesuit missionary speak of his work there. She received a basic education at home from tutors, and religious education from her mother. Educated from age 12 at the convent of the Visitation nuns in Grenoble, she joined them in 1788 at age 19 without the permission or knowledge of her family who were violently opposed to her choice, but finally gave in.
Religious communities were outlawed during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, and Rose’s convent was closed in 1792. She spent the next ten years living as a lay woman again, but still managed to act like a good member of her Order. She established a school for poor children, provided care for the sick, and hid priests from Revolutionaries.
When the Terror ended, she reclaimed her convent and tried to re-establish it with a group of sisters she had maintained in Grenoble. However, most of the sistes were long gone. In December 1804, she met St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, who in 1800 had founded the Society of the Sacred Heart. Philippine immediately turned over Sainte Marie d’en Haut and entered the Society. A deep friendship formed between these two remarkable women of such different temperaments. For 12 years, the patient wisdom of Sophie molded the ardent, steadfast Philippine into a religious called to glorify the Heart of Jesus.
In 1815 Mother Duschene was assigned to found a Sacred Heart convent in Paris, France. On 14 March 1818 at age 49 she and four sisters were sent as missionaries to the Louisiana Territory to establish the Society’s presence in America. Diseases contracted during the trip to America nearly killed her, and after she recovered in New Orleans, the trip up the Mississippi nearly killed her again.
She established her first mission at Saint Charles, Missouri, a log cabin that was the first free school west of the Mississippi River. She eventually six other houses in America which included schools and orphanages. She ran into some opposition as her teaching methods were based on French models, and her English was terrible; her students, however, received a good education, and her intentions were obviously for their best.
She was ever concerned about the plight of Native Americans, and much of her work was devoted to educating them, caring for their sick, and working against alcohol abuse. Finally able to retire from her administrative duties at age 71, Mother Duchesne evangelized the Pottowatomies, and taught young girls of the tribe. This work, however, lasted but a year as she was unable to master the Pottowatomi language. She was known to the tribe as “Woman Who Prays Always”.
The severe winters and the lack of proper food sapped her health and she was sent back to St. Charles. Here she spent the last decade of her life, praying “for her Indians” and for the Society which she had established and which was growing rapidly. She died on November 18, 1852, at the age of 83.
“Preach by example of your lives rather than by words. Example is the very best sermon.”
“If you have no earthly consolation, why do you not seek consolation in the Heart of Jesus? To love him is truest joy.”
“We cultivate a very small field for Christ, but we love it, knowing that God does not require great achievements but a heart that holds back nothing for self.”
“The truest crosses are those we do not choose ourselves.”
“He who has Jesus has everything.”
“It fills me with joy to realize that I can lay down my life daily for God, that I can sacrifice it willingly for Him. I may not be a martyr for the faith, but I can be a martyr of charity.”
“Do not look back to the past, nor forward to the future. Claim only the present, for it holds God’s will.”
“How very beautiful and consoling our faith is! For the little work we do here on earth it promises in return all the joys of assured happiness.”
“Love aright and you will never be sad. Embrace God’s will and you will be filled with joy and peace.”
“Let us bear our cross and leave it to God to determine the length and the weight.”
“Humility is the virtue that requires the greatest amount of effort.”
“Strength of character is certainly needed to face life in the world and to stand by right principles, especially in the age in which we live.”
“The worst defect in the world would be to consider yourself free from faults. Being too greatly saddened by one’s faults can come from having one’s pride humiliated.”
“God alone and the desire of His glory – nothing else matters.”
“Profit by the little trials that come to you, for through them we make real progress.”
Close
November 18
Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne
November 19
Daily Saints – 19 November.
Feast of Saint Barlaam of Antioch.
St. Barlaam was an elderly, uneducated peasant jailed for his Christian faith in Caesarea as part of the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He was not a member of the clergy or a religious order. He was an ordinary peasant, an isolated country laborer, without education or wealth. His vows to Christ were those he made in the stillness of his own heart. His heroic fortitude is all the more awe-inspiring because of these circumstances.
When his trial arrived he was scourged, racked, and tortured for days in an attempt to force him to apostatize. After each inhumane trial he was asked to renounce his Christian faith. He refused.
The judge became frustrated with Barlaam’s refusal to capitulate and renounce his faith. He contrived a plan to trick him into rejecting Christ, then release him from captivity upon this public denial of his faith. This would both show the masses the generosity of Diocletian if only they would forsake Christianity, as well as weaken the Christian cause by showing that a stalwart supporter had embraced idol gods.
The judge placed Barlaam in front of a pagan altar, covered his right hand with incense, and held his hand over burning coals (in another account, it was a red-hot censer that was placed in his hand). The judge’s plan was to force Barlaam’s hand to flinch with the pain of the scorching heat. Any movement from his hand would cause the incense to fall on the coals, and the judge could then proclaim it as a public act of sacrifice to the idols. Instead, Barlaam endured the pain in perfect stillness. His faith never faltered, and his hand never flinched! He held still until his hand burned off completely. Irate, the judge ordered his immediate death. St. Barlaam was martyred in 304 A.D at Caesarea, Cappadocia.
Feast of Saint Barlaam of Antioch.
St. Barlaam was an elderly, uneducated peasant jailed for his Christian faith in Caesarea as part of the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He was not a member of the clergy or a religious order. He was an ordinary peasant, an isolated country laborer, without education or wealth. His vows to Christ were those he made in the stillness of his own heart. His heroic fortitude is all the more awe-inspiring because of these circumstances.
When his trial arrived he was scourged, racked, and tortured for days in an attempt to force him to apostatize. After each inhumane trial he was asked to renounce his Christian faith. He refused.
The judge became frustrated with Barlaam’s refusal to capitulate and renounce his faith. He contrived a plan to trick him into rejecting Christ, then release him from captivity upon this public denial of his faith. This would both show the masses the generosity of Diocletian if only they would forsake Christianity, as well as weaken the Christian cause by showing that a stalwart supporter had embraced idol gods.
The judge placed Barlaam in front of a pagan altar, covered his right hand with incense, and held his hand over burning coals (in another account, it was a red-hot censer that was placed in his hand). The judge’s plan was to force Barlaam’s hand to flinch with the pain of the scorching heat. Any movement from his hand would cause the incense to fall on the coals, and the judge could then proclaim it as a public act of sacrifice to the idols. Instead, Barlaam endured the pain in perfect stillness. His faith never faltered, and his hand never flinched! He held still until his hand burned off completely. Irate, the judge ordered his immediate death. St. Barlaam was martyred in 304 A.D at Caesarea, Cappadocia.
Close
November 19
Saint Barlaam of Antioch
November 20
Daily Saints – 20 November.
Feast of Saint Edmund of East Anglia.
He is the patron saint against plague, kings, torture victims, wolves.
Edmund was born on Christmas Day, 841 AD of Saxon stock and was brought up a Christian. One Offa was king of the East-Angles, who, being desirous to end his days in penance and devotion at Rome, resigned his crown to Saint Edmund. He was a most virtuous prince, and descended from the old English-Saxon kings of this isle. The saint was placed on the throne of his ancestors, as Lydgate, Abbo, and others express themselves, and was crowned by Hunbert, bishop of Elman, on Christmas-day in 855, at Burum, a royal villa on the Stour.
Edmund was only about fifteen years old when crowned. Though very young, he was by his piety, goodness, humility, and all other virtues. Edmund showed himself a model ruler from the first, treating all his people with equal justice, and known as refusing to listen to flatterers and informers. In his eagerness for prayer he retired for a year to his royal tower at Hunstanton in Norfolk where he learned the whole Psalter by heart, so he could afterwards recite it regularly.
He was the father of his subjects, particularly of the poor, the protector of widows and orphans, and the support of the weak. Religion and piety were the most distinguishing part of his character.
In 870 two Danish chiefs Hinguar and Hubba invaded his kingdom and at first he drove them back. They withdrew to Northumbria but soon returned with greater numbers, and pressed terms upon him which as a Christian he felt bound to refuse. The conditions of surrender the Vikings offered involved the betrayal of his people and the rejection of his Christian faith, so he refused. In his desire to avert a fruitless massacre, he disbanded his troops and retired towards Framlingham in Suffolk.
In his flight he was overtaken and surrounded by his enemies. He concealed himself for some short time, but, being discovered, was bound with heavy chains, and conducted to the general’s tent. Terms were again offered him equally prejudicial to religion and to his people, which the holy king refused to confirm, declaring that religion was dearer to him than his life, which he would never purchase by offending God.
Edmund was tied to a tree and whipped at Hoxne in Suffolk. He bore this torture patiently, calling on the name of Jesus. At last worn out by his constancy, the Vikings began to shoot arrows at him until his body looked like that of a hedgehog. At this stage, Hinguar commanded his head to be cut off. Edmund died on 20 November 870 at the age of 29.
Feast of Saint Edmund of East Anglia.
He is the patron saint against plague, kings, torture victims, wolves.
Edmund was born on Christmas Day, 841 AD of Saxon stock and was brought up a Christian. One Offa was king of the East-Angles, who, being desirous to end his days in penance and devotion at Rome, resigned his crown to Saint Edmund. He was a most virtuous prince, and descended from the old English-Saxon kings of this isle. The saint was placed on the throne of his ancestors, as Lydgate, Abbo, and others express themselves, and was crowned by Hunbert, bishop of Elman, on Christmas-day in 855, at Burum, a royal villa on the Stour.
Edmund was only about fifteen years old when crowned. Though very young, he was by his piety, goodness, humility, and all other virtues. Edmund showed himself a model ruler from the first, treating all his people with equal justice, and known as refusing to listen to flatterers and informers. In his eagerness for prayer he retired for a year to his royal tower at Hunstanton in Norfolk where he learned the whole Psalter by heart, so he could afterwards recite it regularly.
He was the father of his subjects, particularly of the poor, the protector of widows and orphans, and the support of the weak. Religion and piety were the most distinguishing part of his character.
In 870 two Danish chiefs Hinguar and Hubba invaded his kingdom and at first he drove them back. They withdrew to Northumbria but soon returned with greater numbers, and pressed terms upon him which as a Christian he felt bound to refuse. The conditions of surrender the Vikings offered involved the betrayal of his people and the rejection of his Christian faith, so he refused. In his desire to avert a fruitless massacre, he disbanded his troops and retired towards Framlingham in Suffolk.
In his flight he was overtaken and surrounded by his enemies. He concealed himself for some short time, but, being discovered, was bound with heavy chains, and conducted to the general’s tent. Terms were again offered him equally prejudicial to religion and to his people, which the holy king refused to confirm, declaring that religion was dearer to him than his life, which he would never purchase by offending God.
Edmund was tied to a tree and whipped at Hoxne in Suffolk. He bore this torture patiently, calling on the name of Jesus. At last worn out by his constancy, the Vikings began to shoot arrows at him until his body looked like that of a hedgehog. At this stage, Hinguar commanded his head to be cut off. Edmund died on 20 November 870 at the age of 29.
Close
November 20
Saint Edmund
November 21
Daily Saints – 21 November.
Feast of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This feast commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child in the Temple where, according to tradition, she was educated. As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature: not in the New Testament, but in the apocryphal ‘Infancy Narrative of James’.
According to that text, Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, who had been childless, received a heavenly message that they would have a child. In thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, they brought her, when still a child, to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her to God. According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel.
Later versions of the story (such as the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary) tell us that Mary was taken to the Temple at around the age of three in fulfillment of a vow. Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Tradition held that she was to remain there to be educated in preparation for her role as Mother of God. Mary remained in the Temple until her twelfth year, at which point she was assigned to Joseph as guardian.
According to Coptic tradition, her father Joachim died when Mary was six years old and her mother when Mary was eight.
Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond. From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God’s saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They—we—too are temples of God and sanctified in order that we might enjoy and share in God’s saving work.
What we celebrate on this day is the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way. In response, Mary placed her whole self at the service of God. Every moment since our Baptism, God invites us to be open to his grace and dedicate ourselves to him, as Mary did.
The feast originated in the Orient probably about the 7th century and is found in the constitution of Manuel Comnenus (1166) as a recognized festival. It was introduced into the Western Church in the 14th century, abolished by Pope Pius V, but re-established by Pope Sixtus V in 1585. Its observance by the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the day of their origin led to the devotion of Mater Admirabilis.
“To present a child to God, either in a formal ritual or in a private dedication, is to lay that child on a symbolic altar and to say to God: “You create. We procreate. My child is Your child. Do with this child as You will.” Such humble and antecedent submission to the will of God is not an abdication of the duty to form a child in human and religious virtue. It is just to be realistic. Children are gifts, not metaphorically but actually. A child is not a piece of property or an object a parent has a right to possess. No one understands this like the infertile couple. When parents consecrate a child to God, whether at baptism or otherwise, even informally, they are manifesting a willingness to return a gift to its remote source, to please the Maker by giving Him what He already possesses, life itself and all who share in it.”
Feast of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This feast commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child in the Temple where, according to tradition, she was educated. As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature: not in the New Testament, but in the apocryphal ‘Infancy Narrative of James’.
According to that text, Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, who had been childless, received a heavenly message that they would have a child. In thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, they brought her, when still a child, to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her to God. According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel.
Later versions of the story (such as the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary) tell us that Mary was taken to the Temple at around the age of three in fulfillment of a vow. Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Tradition held that she was to remain there to be educated in preparation for her role as Mother of God. Mary remained in the Temple until her twelfth year, at which point she was assigned to Joseph as guardian.
According to Coptic tradition, her father Joachim died when Mary was six years old and her mother when Mary was eight.
Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond. From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God’s saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They—we—too are temples of God and sanctified in order that we might enjoy and share in God’s saving work.
What we celebrate on this day is the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way. In response, Mary placed her whole self at the service of God. Every moment since our Baptism, God invites us to be open to his grace and dedicate ourselves to him, as Mary did.
The feast originated in the Orient probably about the 7th century and is found in the constitution of Manuel Comnenus (1166) as a recognized festival. It was introduced into the Western Church in the 14th century, abolished by Pope Pius V, but re-established by Pope Sixtus V in 1585. Its observance by the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the day of their origin led to the devotion of Mater Admirabilis.
“To present a child to God, either in a formal ritual or in a private dedication, is to lay that child on a symbolic altar and to say to God: “You create. We procreate. My child is Your child. Do with this child as You will.” Such humble and antecedent submission to the will of God is not an abdication of the duty to form a child in human and religious virtue. It is just to be realistic. Children are gifts, not metaphorically but actually. A child is not a piece of property or an object a parent has a right to possess. No one understands this like the infertile couple. When parents consecrate a child to God, whether at baptism or otherwise, even informally, they are manifesting a willingness to return a gift to its remote source, to please the Maker by giving Him what He already possesses, life itself and all who share in it.”
Close
November 21
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
November 22
Daily Saints – 22 November.
Feast of Saint Cecilia.
She is the patron saint of music, musicians, musical instrument makers, poets, singers, hymns, composers, luthiers, martyrs and also for bodily purity.
Cecilia was born in Rome on the Campus Martius in the second part of the second century, in the northwestern part of the city. She was brought up a Christian. Though her father was a pagan, she probably had a Christian mother. She belonged to a noble patrician family, whose ancestors were illustrious in Roman history.
Though very rich and distinguished, Cecilia lived a life of prayer and penance. She wore a coarse garment beneath the clothes of her rank, fasted several days a week, and was determined to remain a virgin for the love of God. When she was very young, her father gave her in marriage to a youthful pagan patrician named Valerian, who took her to his palace in the present Trastevere quarter of Rome.
On the day of the marriage, amid the music and rejoicing of the guests, Cecilia sat apart, singing to God in her heart and praying for help in this difficult situation.
When they retired to their room, she told her husband she had taken a vow of virginity and had an angel protecting her. Valerian asked to see the angel as proof, and Cecilia told him he would have eyes to see once he traveled to the third milestone on the Via Appia (Appian Way) and was baptized by Pope Urbanus.
Following his baptism, Valerian returned to his wife. He found Cecilia in her little room lost in prayer, and next to her the angel of the Lord was standing. When Valerian saw the angel, he was seized with great terror. The angel handed to them a bouquet of fiery red roses and snow-white lilies as a reward for Cecilia’s love of chastity.
The angel then offered to grant Valerian any request that he might make. All that Valerian asked for was that the grace of baptism should also be given to his brother Tiburtius. Upon arriving to congratulate the newlyweds, Tiburtius was astounded by the unspeakably beautiful roses and lilies. As soon as he was informed regarding their origin, he too asked for the waters of baptism. After the baptism, both brothers together dedicated their lives to burying the saints who were murdered each day by the prefect of the city, Turcius Almachius.
Both brothers were eventually arrested and brought before the prefect where they were executed after they refused to offer a sacrifice to the gods. As her husband and brother-in-law buried the dead, St. Cecilia spent her time preaching and in her lifetime was able to convert over four hundred people, most of whom were baptized by Pope Urban.
Cecilia was later arrested and condemned to be suffocated in the baths. She was shut in for one night and one day, as fires were heaped up and stoked to a terrifying heat – but Cecilia did not even sweat. When Almachius heard this, he sent an executioner to cut off her head in the baths.
At the sight of the saint, the executioner lost courage. With trembling hand he struck the three blows which the law allowed but failed to cut off the head of Cecilia. She fell to the floor. For two days and nights she lay on the pavement of her bath, alive and fully conscious, with her head half-severed.
The Christians rushed in after the hasty departure of the executioner and with linen cloths wiped up the blood flowing from her wounds, but did not raise her from the floor. Of the third morning the venerable Bishop Urban came to take leave of Cecilia. As she lay dying, she requested that her palace be made into a church and that the poor she had always loved should be cared for. She was lying on her right side, her hand as if crossed in prayer before her. She turned her face to the floor that no one might disturb her last secret communing with God, and thus expired. The position of her fingers – three extended on her right hand and one on the left – were her final silent profession of faith in the Holy Trinity.
Officials exhumed her body in 1599 and found her to be incorrupt, the first of all incurrupt saints. She was draped in a silk veil and wore a gold embroidered dress. Officials only looked through the veil in an act of holy reverence and made no further examinations. They also reported a “mysterious and delightful flower-like odor which proceeded from the coffin.” St. Cecilia’s remains were transferred to Cecilia’s titular church in Trastevere and placed under the high altar.
Feast of Saint Cecilia.
She is the patron saint of music, musicians, musical instrument makers, poets, singers, hymns, composers, luthiers, martyrs and also for bodily purity.
Cecilia was born in Rome on the Campus Martius in the second part of the second century, in the northwestern part of the city. She was brought up a Christian. Though her father was a pagan, she probably had a Christian mother. She belonged to a noble patrician family, whose ancestors were illustrious in Roman history.
Though very rich and distinguished, Cecilia lived a life of prayer and penance. She wore a coarse garment beneath the clothes of her rank, fasted several days a week, and was determined to remain a virgin for the love of God. When she was very young, her father gave her in marriage to a youthful pagan patrician named Valerian, who took her to his palace in the present Trastevere quarter of Rome.
On the day of the marriage, amid the music and rejoicing of the guests, Cecilia sat apart, singing to God in her heart and praying for help in this difficult situation.
When they retired to their room, she told her husband she had taken a vow of virginity and had an angel protecting her. Valerian asked to see the angel as proof, and Cecilia told him he would have eyes to see once he traveled to the third milestone on the Via Appia (Appian Way) and was baptized by Pope Urbanus.
Following his baptism, Valerian returned to his wife. He found Cecilia in her little room lost in prayer, and next to her the angel of the Lord was standing. When Valerian saw the angel, he was seized with great terror. The angel handed to them a bouquet of fiery red roses and snow-white lilies as a reward for Cecilia’s love of chastity.
The angel then offered to grant Valerian any request that he might make. All that Valerian asked for was that the grace of baptism should also be given to his brother Tiburtius. Upon arriving to congratulate the newlyweds, Tiburtius was astounded by the unspeakably beautiful roses and lilies. As soon as he was informed regarding their origin, he too asked for the waters of baptism. After the baptism, both brothers together dedicated their lives to burying the saints who were murdered each day by the prefect of the city, Turcius Almachius.
Both brothers were eventually arrested and brought before the prefect where they were executed after they refused to offer a sacrifice to the gods. As her husband and brother-in-law buried the dead, St. Cecilia spent her time preaching and in her lifetime was able to convert over four hundred people, most of whom were baptized by Pope Urban.
Cecilia was later arrested and condemned to be suffocated in the baths. She was shut in for one night and one day, as fires were heaped up and stoked to a terrifying heat – but Cecilia did not even sweat. When Almachius heard this, he sent an executioner to cut off her head in the baths.
At the sight of the saint, the executioner lost courage. With trembling hand he struck the three blows which the law allowed but failed to cut off the head of Cecilia. She fell to the floor. For two days and nights she lay on the pavement of her bath, alive and fully conscious, with her head half-severed.
The Christians rushed in after the hasty departure of the executioner and with linen cloths wiped up the blood flowing from her wounds, but did not raise her from the floor. Of the third morning the venerable Bishop Urban came to take leave of Cecilia. As she lay dying, she requested that her palace be made into a church and that the poor she had always loved should be cared for. She was lying on her right side, her hand as if crossed in prayer before her. She turned her face to the floor that no one might disturb her last secret communing with God, and thus expired. The position of her fingers – three extended on her right hand and one on the left – were her final silent profession of faith in the Holy Trinity.
Officials exhumed her body in 1599 and found her to be incorrupt, the first of all incurrupt saints. She was draped in a silk veil and wore a gold embroidered dress. Officials only looked through the veil in an act of holy reverence and made no further examinations. They also reported a “mysterious and delightful flower-like odor which proceeded from the coffin.” St. Cecilia’s remains were transferred to Cecilia’s titular church in Trastevere and placed under the high altar.
Close
November 22
Saint Cecilia
November 23
Daily Saints – 23 November.
Feast of Pope Saint Clement I.
He is the patron saint of boatmen, mariners, sailors, watermen, marble workers, sick children, stonecutters.
The details of Clement’s life, before his conversion and even afterward, are largely unknown. Tradition suggests that Clement was the son of a Roman named Faustinus, and that he joined the Church in Rome during its early years through the preaching of Saint Peter or Saint Paul. He went on to share in the missionary journeys of the apostles, and may even have assisted the first Pope in running the Church on a local level. He is known to have been a leading member of the church in Rome in the late 1st century.
After the deaths of St. Peter’s first two successors, the canonized Popes Linus and Cletus, Clement took up St. Peter’s position of primacy in the Church. Clement was said to have been consecrated by Saint Peter, and ruled the Church from c. 92 to 102. It is thought that the Clement whom Saint Paul praises as a faithful fellow-worker, whose name is written in the Book of Life [Philippians 4:3], was Clement.
One of his most important tasks, during nearly 10 years as Pope, was to resolve serious problems in the Church of Corinth, which St. Paul had also struggled to discipline. Pope St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, which is one of the most ancient and precious documents surviving from early Christian times. It shows his profoundly religious spirit, wholly imbued with the mystery of the things of God and love of Christian unity. It offers an important look at the role of authority and charity in the early Church. Its introduction suggests that Pope Clement composed it while his own local Church faced persecution from the Roman Emperor Domitian.
According to apocryphal acta dating to the 4th century at earliest, Clement was banished from Rome to the Chersonesus during the reign of the Emperor Trajan and was set to work in a stone quarry. Finding on his arrival that the prisoners were suffering from lack of water, he knelt down in prayer. Looking up, he saw a lamb on a hill, went to where the lamb had stood and struck the ground with his pickaxe, releasing a gushing stream of clear water. This miracle resulted in the conversion of large numbers of the local pagans and his fellow prisoners to Christianity. As punishment, Saint Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea.
“Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints.”
“Love admits no schisms: love gives rise to no seditions: love does all things in harmony.”
“Charity unites us to God. There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect.”
“A companion is but another self; wherefore it is an argument that a man is wicked if he keep company with the wicked.”
“We should let God be the One to praise us and not praise ourselves. For God detests those who commend themselves. Let others applaud our good deeds.”
“This world and the world to come are two enemies. We cannot therefore be friends to both; but we must decide which we will forsake and which we will enjoy.”
“Filthy talk makes us feel comfortable with filthy action. But the one who knows how to control the tongue is prepared to resist the attacks of lust.”
“God hates those who praise themselves.”
“Let us teach the young in the school of the fear of the Lord.”
“Let us give up vain and fruitless cares, and approach to the glorious and venerable rule of our holy calling.”
“Let us attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of him who formed us.”
“He who is chaste in flesh should not be proud, for he should know that he owes the gift of continence to another.”
“How blessed and amazing are God’s gifts, dear friends Life with immortality, splendor with righteousness, truth with confidence, faith with assurance, self-control with holiness. And all these things are within our comprehension.”
“And we, too, being called by His will to Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
“It was through jealousy and envy that the greatest and most upright pillars of the Church were persecuted and struggled unto death. Let us set before our eyes the good apostles. First of all, Peter, who because of unreasonable jealousy, suffered not merely once or twice but many times, and, having thus given his witness, went to the place of glory that he deserved. It was through jealousy and conflict that Paul showed the way to the prize for perseverance. He was put in chains seven times, sent into exile, and stoned; a herald both in the east and the west, he achieved a noble fame by his faith. He taught justice to all the world and, when he had reached the limits of the western world, he gave his witness before those in authority; then he left this world and was taken up into the holy place, a superb example of endurance. Around these men with their holy lives there gathered a great throng of the elect, who, though victims of jealousy, gave us the finest example of endurance in the mist of many indignities and tortures. We are writing this, beloved, not only for your admonition but also as a reminder to ourselves; for we are placed in the same arena, and the same contest lies before us. Hence we ought to put aside vain and useless concerns and should consider what is good, pleasing and acceptable in the sight of him who made us. Let us fix our gaze on the blood of Christ, realizing how precious it is to his Father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.” – from a letter to the Corinthians by Pope Saint Clement I
Feast of Pope Saint Clement I.
He is the patron saint of boatmen, mariners, sailors, watermen, marble workers, sick children, stonecutters.
The details of Clement’s life, before his conversion and even afterward, are largely unknown. Tradition suggests that Clement was the son of a Roman named Faustinus, and that he joined the Church in Rome during its early years through the preaching of Saint Peter or Saint Paul. He went on to share in the missionary journeys of the apostles, and may even have assisted the first Pope in running the Church on a local level. He is known to have been a leading member of the church in Rome in the late 1st century.
After the deaths of St. Peter’s first two successors, the canonized Popes Linus and Cletus, Clement took up St. Peter’s position of primacy in the Church. Clement was said to have been consecrated by Saint Peter, and ruled the Church from c. 92 to 102. It is thought that the Clement whom Saint Paul praises as a faithful fellow-worker, whose name is written in the Book of Life [Philippians 4:3], was Clement.
One of his most important tasks, during nearly 10 years as Pope, was to resolve serious problems in the Church of Corinth, which St. Paul had also struggled to discipline. Pope St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, which is one of the most ancient and precious documents surviving from early Christian times. It shows his profoundly religious spirit, wholly imbued with the mystery of the things of God and love of Christian unity. It offers an important look at the role of authority and charity in the early Church. Its introduction suggests that Pope Clement composed it while his own local Church faced persecution from the Roman Emperor Domitian.
According to apocryphal acta dating to the 4th century at earliest, Clement was banished from Rome to the Chersonesus during the reign of the Emperor Trajan and was set to work in a stone quarry. Finding on his arrival that the prisoners were suffering from lack of water, he knelt down in prayer. Looking up, he saw a lamb on a hill, went to where the lamb had stood and struck the ground with his pickaxe, releasing a gushing stream of clear water. This miracle resulted in the conversion of large numbers of the local pagans and his fellow prisoners to Christianity. As punishment, Saint Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown from a boat into the Black Sea.
“Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints.”
“Love admits no schisms: love gives rise to no seditions: love does all things in harmony.”
“Charity unites us to God. There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect.”
“A companion is but another self; wherefore it is an argument that a man is wicked if he keep company with the wicked.”
“We should let God be the One to praise us and not praise ourselves. For God detests those who commend themselves. Let others applaud our good deeds.”
“This world and the world to come are two enemies. We cannot therefore be friends to both; but we must decide which we will forsake and which we will enjoy.”
“Filthy talk makes us feel comfortable with filthy action. But the one who knows how to control the tongue is prepared to resist the attacks of lust.”
“God hates those who praise themselves.”
“Let us teach the young in the school of the fear of the Lord.”
“Let us give up vain and fruitless cares, and approach to the glorious and venerable rule of our holy calling.”
“Let us attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of him who formed us.”
“He who is chaste in flesh should not be proud, for he should know that he owes the gift of continence to another.”
“How blessed and amazing are God’s gifts, dear friends Life with immortality, splendor with righteousness, truth with confidence, faith with assurance, self-control with holiness. And all these things are within our comprehension.”
“And we, too, being called by His will to Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
“It was through jealousy and envy that the greatest and most upright pillars of the Church were persecuted and struggled unto death. Let us set before our eyes the good apostles. First of all, Peter, who because of unreasonable jealousy, suffered not merely once or twice but many times, and, having thus given his witness, went to the place of glory that he deserved. It was through jealousy and conflict that Paul showed the way to the prize for perseverance. He was put in chains seven times, sent into exile, and stoned; a herald both in the east and the west, he achieved a noble fame by his faith. He taught justice to all the world and, when he had reached the limits of the western world, he gave his witness before those in authority; then he left this world and was taken up into the holy place, a superb example of endurance. Around these men with their holy lives there gathered a great throng of the elect, who, though victims of jealousy, gave us the finest example of endurance in the mist of many indignities and tortures. We are writing this, beloved, not only for your admonition but also as a reminder to ourselves; for we are placed in the same arena, and the same contest lies before us. Hence we ought to put aside vain and useless concerns and should consider what is good, pleasing and acceptable in the sight of him who made us. Let us fix our gaze on the blood of Christ, realizing how precious it is to his Father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.” – from a letter to the Corinthians by Pope Saint Clement I
Close
November 23
Pope Saint Clement I
November 24
Daily Saints – 24 November.
Feast of Saints Flora and Mary of Cordoba.
St. Flora is the patron saint of abandoned people, betrayal victims, converts, martyrs, single laywomen.
Flora and María were the first two of nine female Christian Martyrs of Córdoba.
Flora was born to a Christian mother and a Muslim father. Her father died when she was still very young, and Flora was brought up as a Christian. Her Muslim older brother tried in vain to convert Flora to Islam, eventually surrendering his sister to the authorities. Flora was imprisoned and a Muslim scholar was appointed to teach her about Islam, But she managed to escape and fled towards the Christian settlements.
María was born to a Christian father and Muslim mother. Her mother was baptised some time after she got married. Fearing charges of apostasy, the couple and their two children left their home in the town of Elche and moved to the village of Fronianus. María lost her mother at a young age, and her father sent her to convent in Cuteclara. The convent’s abbess, Artemia, told María how she witnessed the execution of her two sons by the Muslim rulers thirty years prior. The story had a long-lasting impression on the girl.
María’s older brother, Walabonsus, also received a religious education at the monastery of Saint Felix. The siblings, who were separated when María was sent to the convent and Walabonsus to the monastery, met again when Walabonsus was appointed one of the supervisors of María’s convent. Walabonsus was executed by Muslim authorities on 16 July 851, and his martyrdom along with Artemia’s story drove María to follow in her brother’s footsteps.
Flora and María met at the church of Saint Acisclus and decided to denounce Islam together. They did so before a Qadi (Islamic judge) and were subsequently imprisoned.
In jail, Flora was offered a full pardon if she “returned” to Islam, but she explained that the only beliefs she had ever held were Christian. This explanation was not accepted because according to Islamic law, a child born to even one Muslim parent should have adopted Islam as their religion. Sabigotho used to visit Flora and María in jail and once spent a night in their cell “as if she herself were shackled, not only to console the two soldiers, but to confide in them her own intention to die”.
In accordance with Shari’a law, Flora and María were found guilty of two different crimes: Flora was executed for apostasy, and María for blasphemy. Before the executions, the young women were threatened “with being thrown upon the streets as prostitutes”, which was an unbearable punishment for virgins.
Saints Flora and Mary were placed in a brothel, but refused to participate in the licentious activities that took place, maintaining their purity in the eyes of the Lord, praying, and witnessing to those present. Eventually, they were sentenced to execution by beheading. They were beheaded on 24 November 851.
Feast of Saints Flora and Mary of Cordoba.
St. Flora is the patron saint of abandoned people, betrayal victims, converts, martyrs, single laywomen.
Flora and María were the first two of nine female Christian Martyrs of Córdoba.
Flora was born to a Christian mother and a Muslim father. Her father died when she was still very young, and Flora was brought up as a Christian. Her Muslim older brother tried in vain to convert Flora to Islam, eventually surrendering his sister to the authorities. Flora was imprisoned and a Muslim scholar was appointed to teach her about Islam, But she managed to escape and fled towards the Christian settlements.
María was born to a Christian father and Muslim mother. Her mother was baptised some time after she got married. Fearing charges of apostasy, the couple and their two children left their home in the town of Elche and moved to the village of Fronianus. María lost her mother at a young age, and her father sent her to convent in Cuteclara. The convent’s abbess, Artemia, told María how she witnessed the execution of her two sons by the Muslim rulers thirty years prior. The story had a long-lasting impression on the girl.
María’s older brother, Walabonsus, also received a religious education at the monastery of Saint Felix. The siblings, who were separated when María was sent to the convent and Walabonsus to the monastery, met again when Walabonsus was appointed one of the supervisors of María’s convent. Walabonsus was executed by Muslim authorities on 16 July 851, and his martyrdom along with Artemia’s story drove María to follow in her brother’s footsteps.
Flora and María met at the church of Saint Acisclus and decided to denounce Islam together. They did so before a Qadi (Islamic judge) and were subsequently imprisoned.
In jail, Flora was offered a full pardon if she “returned” to Islam, but she explained that the only beliefs she had ever held were Christian. This explanation was not accepted because according to Islamic law, a child born to even one Muslim parent should have adopted Islam as their religion. Sabigotho used to visit Flora and María in jail and once spent a night in their cell “as if she herself were shackled, not only to console the two soldiers, but to confide in them her own intention to die”.
In accordance with Shari’a law, Flora and María were found guilty of two different crimes: Flora was executed for apostasy, and María for blasphemy. Before the executions, the young women were threatened “with being thrown upon the streets as prostitutes”, which was an unbearable punishment for virgins.
Saints Flora and Mary were placed in a brothel, but refused to participate in the licentious activities that took place, maintaining their purity in the eyes of the Lord, praying, and witnessing to those present. Eventually, they were sentenced to execution by beheading. They were beheaded on 24 November 851.
Close
November 24
Saints Flora and Mary of Cordoba
November 25
Daily Saints – 25 November.
Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
she is the patron of a great many professions and causes. Her patronage includes apologists, craftsmen who work with a wheel, archivists, attornies, barristers, lawyers, jurists, dying people, educators, teachers, girls, knife grinders, knife sharpeners, librarians, libraries, maidens, unmarried girls and women, mechanics, millers, nurses, old maids, philosophers, potters, preachers, scholars, schoolchildren, students, scribes, secretaries, spinners, stenographers, tanners, theologians, turners, wheelwrights and many more as well as many places around the world.
According to the traditional narrative, Catherine was the daughter of Constus, the governor of Egyptian Alexandria during the reign of the emperor Maximian (286–305). From a young age she devoted herself to study. At the age of eighteen, she surpassed all her contemporaries in science. A vision of the Madonna and Child persuaded her to become a Christian.
When the persecutions began under Maxentius, she went to the emperor and rebuked him for his cruelty and with convincing reasons demonstrated the need of Christian faith in order to be saved. Astounded by her wisdom, the Emperor ordered her to be kept confined. The emperor summoned 50 of the best pagan philosophers and orators to dispute with her. He promised them magnificent rewards if they could confound the virgin and turn her from belief in Christ.
However, Catherine was moved by the power of the Holy Spirit and spoke eloquently in defense of her faith and won the debate. Several of her adversaries, conquered by her eloquence, declared themselves Christians. Inflamed with the love of Jesus Christ, they were ready to offer their lives for the Gospel. It is said that they were at once put to death.
Then the Emperor attempted to win her by flattery and by promises, but his efforts proved equally fruitless. Unable to defeat her rhetorically or to intimidate her into giving up her belief, the emperor ordered her to be tortured and imprisoned. She was scourged so cruelly and for so long, that her whole body was covered with wounds, from which the blood flowed in streams.
The spectators wept with pity; but Catherine, strengthened by God, stood with her eyes raised to heaven, without giving a sign of suffering or fear. He ordered her to be imprisoned without food, so she would starve to death. During the confinement, angels tended her wounds with salve. Catherine was fed daily by a dove from Heaven and Christ also visited her, encouraging her to fight bravely, and promised her the crown of everlasting glory.
During her imprisonment, over 200 people came to see her, including Maxentius’ wife, Valeria Maximilla; all converted to Christianity and were subsequently martyred. Twelve days later, when the dungeon was opened, a bright light and fragrant perfume filled it, and Catherine came forth even more radiant and beautiful.
Upon the failure of Maxentius to make Catherine yield by way of torture, he tried to win the beautiful and wise princess over by proposing marriage. The saint refused, declaring that her spouse was Jesus Christ, to whom she had consecrated her virginity.
The furious emperor condemned Catherine to death on a spiked breaking wheel, but, at her touch, it shattered. Maxentius ordered her to be beheaded. Catherine herself ordered the execution to commence. A milk-like substance rather than blood flowed from her neck.
According to a legend, Angels transported her body to the highest mountain (now called Mt. Saint Catherine) next to Mount Sinai, where God gave His Law. In 850, her incorrupt body was discovered by monks from the Sinai Monastery. The monks found on the surface of the granite on which her body lay, an impression of the form of her body. Her hair still growing, and a constant stream of the most heavenly fragranced healing oil issuing from her body. This oil produced countless miracles. She is one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers.”
Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
she is the patron of a great many professions and causes. Her patronage includes apologists, craftsmen who work with a wheel, archivists, attornies, barristers, lawyers, jurists, dying people, educators, teachers, girls, knife grinders, knife sharpeners, librarians, libraries, maidens, unmarried girls and women, mechanics, millers, nurses, old maids, philosophers, potters, preachers, scholars, schoolchildren, students, scribes, secretaries, spinners, stenographers, tanners, theologians, turners, wheelwrights and many more as well as many places around the world.
According to the traditional narrative, Catherine was the daughter of Constus, the governor of Egyptian Alexandria during the reign of the emperor Maximian (286–305). From a young age she devoted herself to study. At the age of eighteen, she surpassed all her contemporaries in science. A vision of the Madonna and Child persuaded her to become a Christian.
When the persecutions began under Maxentius, she went to the emperor and rebuked him for his cruelty and with convincing reasons demonstrated the need of Christian faith in order to be saved. Astounded by her wisdom, the Emperor ordered her to be kept confined. The emperor summoned 50 of the best pagan philosophers and orators to dispute with her. He promised them magnificent rewards if they could confound the virgin and turn her from belief in Christ.
However, Catherine was moved by the power of the Holy Spirit and spoke eloquently in defense of her faith and won the debate. Several of her adversaries, conquered by her eloquence, declared themselves Christians. Inflamed with the love of Jesus Christ, they were ready to offer their lives for the Gospel. It is said that they were at once put to death.
Then the Emperor attempted to win her by flattery and by promises, but his efforts proved equally fruitless. Unable to defeat her rhetorically or to intimidate her into giving up her belief, the emperor ordered her to be tortured and imprisoned. She was scourged so cruelly and for so long, that her whole body was covered with wounds, from which the blood flowed in streams.
The spectators wept with pity; but Catherine, strengthened by God, stood with her eyes raised to heaven, without giving a sign of suffering or fear. He ordered her to be imprisoned without food, so she would starve to death. During the confinement, angels tended her wounds with salve. Catherine was fed daily by a dove from Heaven and Christ also visited her, encouraging her to fight bravely, and promised her the crown of everlasting glory.
During her imprisonment, over 200 people came to see her, including Maxentius’ wife, Valeria Maximilla; all converted to Christianity and were subsequently martyred. Twelve days later, when the dungeon was opened, a bright light and fragrant perfume filled it, and Catherine came forth even more radiant and beautiful.
Upon the failure of Maxentius to make Catherine yield by way of torture, he tried to win the beautiful and wise princess over by proposing marriage. The saint refused, declaring that her spouse was Jesus Christ, to whom she had consecrated her virginity.
The furious emperor condemned Catherine to death on a spiked breaking wheel, but, at her touch, it shattered. Maxentius ordered her to be beheaded. Catherine herself ordered the execution to commence. A milk-like substance rather than blood flowed from her neck.
According to a legend, Angels transported her body to the highest mountain (now called Mt. Saint Catherine) next to Mount Sinai, where God gave His Law. In 850, her incorrupt body was discovered by monks from the Sinai Monastery. The monks found on the surface of the granite on which her body lay, an impression of the form of her body. Her hair still growing, and a constant stream of the most heavenly fragranced healing oil issuing from her body. This oil produced countless miracles. She is one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers.”
Close
November 25
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
November 26
Daily Saints – 26 November.
Feast of Saint Leonard of Port Maurice.
Patron saint of parish missions, parish missionaries.
Leonard was born in 1676 at Port Maurice, a seaport near Genoa, the son of Dominic Casanova, a ship captain. Dominic raised his children with so much care that three of his sons entered the Franciscan Order, and his only daughter took the veil.
When Leonard was thirteen years old, he went to Rome to enter the renowned Roman college where St Aloysius once pursued his studies. There he so distinguished himself by piety, diligence, and good works that he was called another Aloysius. After completing his college studies he thought of entering the medical profession. But he soon perceived that God was calling him to another state of life.
He happened to visit the church connected with the Franciscan convent of St Bonaventure in Rome when the choir intoned the verse at Compline, “Converte nos Deus, salutaris noster! – Convert us, O God, our salvation!” The young man was strangely impressed by these words and took them as a call from heaven to enter the order and devote himself to God’s service.
On October 2, 1697, his request for the holy habit was granted, and eventually he became the glory of the friary of St Bonaventure. His exact observance of the rule was admirable; likewise his fervor at prayer, his burning love of Jesus and Mary, his rigorous penance, his humility, and his tireless charity toward his neighbor.
It was his ardent desire to preach the Gospel to the pagans in China and to shed his blood for the Faith. But his delicate constitution for a while even prevented him from preaching. Consumption seemed to have claimed him as a victim; but, at the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, he was miraculously restored to health.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice now devoted himself with renewed zeal to parish missions. Amid great hardships and dangers, he spent twenty-four years as a missionary, covering every section of Italy and the island of Corsica, which was then notorious for lawless inhabitants. The power of his words made a deep impression because of his strict life; and he converted innumerable sinners.
Meanwhile he did not forget himself. For his benefit and that of his brethren engaged in preaching missions, he built a retreat house at Incontro near Florence, where the missionaries could withdraw for a time in order to prepare themselves for future activities by a life of seclusion and penance. During his sojourns there, Saint Leonard of Port Maurice scourged his body without compassion in order to obtain mercy for himself and for poor sinners. Then he wrote down his well-known resolutions, which he kept until his death.
In Rome Saint Leonard of Port Maurice founded several pious confraternities, especially that of the Sacred Heart. He taught the people frequently to say the little ejaculation: “My Jesus, mercy!” Wherever he went, he spread the devotion of the Way of the Cross and perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In a special manner he also fostered devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; and to the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin he attributed all the good he had ever received or done in his life.
Pope Benedict XIV held Father Leonard in high esteem. The pope secured the promise from him not to die in any other city but Rome, and Father Leonard kept his promise. Returning to Rome from a mission in Bologna, Saint Leonard of Port Maurice died in the convent of St Bonaventure, November 26, 1751.
“If the Lord at the moment of my death reproves me for being too kind to sinners, I will answer, ‘My dear Jesus, if it is a fault to be too kind to sinners, it is a fault I learned from you, for you never scolded anyone who came to you seeking mercy.'”
Feast of Saint Leonard of Port Maurice.
Patron saint of parish missions, parish missionaries.
Leonard was born in 1676 at Port Maurice, a seaport near Genoa, the son of Dominic Casanova, a ship captain. Dominic raised his children with so much care that three of his sons entered the Franciscan Order, and his only daughter took the veil.
When Leonard was thirteen years old, he went to Rome to enter the renowned Roman college where St Aloysius once pursued his studies. There he so distinguished himself by piety, diligence, and good works that he was called another Aloysius. After completing his college studies he thought of entering the medical profession. But he soon perceived that God was calling him to another state of life.
He happened to visit the church connected with the Franciscan convent of St Bonaventure in Rome when the choir intoned the verse at Compline, “Converte nos Deus, salutaris noster! – Convert us, O God, our salvation!” The young man was strangely impressed by these words and took them as a call from heaven to enter the order and devote himself to God’s service.
On October 2, 1697, his request for the holy habit was granted, and eventually he became the glory of the friary of St Bonaventure. His exact observance of the rule was admirable; likewise his fervor at prayer, his burning love of Jesus and Mary, his rigorous penance, his humility, and his tireless charity toward his neighbor.
It was his ardent desire to preach the Gospel to the pagans in China and to shed his blood for the Faith. But his delicate constitution for a while even prevented him from preaching. Consumption seemed to have claimed him as a victim; but, at the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, he was miraculously restored to health.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice now devoted himself with renewed zeal to parish missions. Amid great hardships and dangers, he spent twenty-four years as a missionary, covering every section of Italy and the island of Corsica, which was then notorious for lawless inhabitants. The power of his words made a deep impression because of his strict life; and he converted innumerable sinners.
Meanwhile he did not forget himself. For his benefit and that of his brethren engaged in preaching missions, he built a retreat house at Incontro near Florence, where the missionaries could withdraw for a time in order to prepare themselves for future activities by a life of seclusion and penance. During his sojourns there, Saint Leonard of Port Maurice scourged his body without compassion in order to obtain mercy for himself and for poor sinners. Then he wrote down his well-known resolutions, which he kept until his death.
In Rome Saint Leonard of Port Maurice founded several pious confraternities, especially that of the Sacred Heart. He taught the people frequently to say the little ejaculation: “My Jesus, mercy!” Wherever he went, he spread the devotion of the Way of the Cross and perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In a special manner he also fostered devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; and to the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin he attributed all the good he had ever received or done in his life.
Pope Benedict XIV held Father Leonard in high esteem. The pope secured the promise from him not to die in any other city but Rome, and Father Leonard kept his promise. Returning to Rome from a mission in Bologna, Saint Leonard of Port Maurice died in the convent of St Bonaventure, November 26, 1751.
“If the Lord at the moment of my death reproves me for being too kind to sinners, I will answer, ‘My dear Jesus, if it is a fault to be too kind to sinners, it is a fault I learned from you, for you never scolded anyone who came to you seeking mercy.'”
Close
November 26
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice
November 27
Daily Saints – 27 November.
Feast of Saint Laverius.
He was born on 3rd century Acerenza, Ripacandida or Teggiano (records vary), Italy. He was the son of Achille and was raised in a pagan family. He served as a soldier in the imperial Roman army.
He was converted to Christianity and began preaching in the streets of Teggiano, Italy. By order of the prefect Agrippa, Laverius was arrested, tortured, put on display for public abuse and ridicule, and ordered to make sacrifice to pagan gods; he refused. He was then thrown to wild animals in the amphitheatre, but instead of attacking him, they knelt in front of him.
Laverius was thrown back into this cell, but an angel freed him during the night and ordered him to travel to Grumentum (modern Grumento Nova, Italy). He arrived on 15 August 312 and began immediately to preach and to baptize converts. Agrippa sent soldiers after him.
Laverius was captured, flogged, and when he would not stop preaching Christ even while being beaten, he was executed. He was beheaded on 17 November 312 at the confluence of the Agri and Sciaura Rivers outside Grumentum. His body was abandoned by the soldiers where it fell, but a Roman matron came later and gave him a Christian burial.
Feast of Saint Laverius.
He was born on 3rd century Acerenza, Ripacandida or Teggiano (records vary), Italy. He was the son of Achille and was raised in a pagan family. He served as a soldier in the imperial Roman army.
He was converted to Christianity and began preaching in the streets of Teggiano, Italy. By order of the prefect Agrippa, Laverius was arrested, tortured, put on display for public abuse and ridicule, and ordered to make sacrifice to pagan gods; he refused. He was then thrown to wild animals in the amphitheatre, but instead of attacking him, they knelt in front of him.
Laverius was thrown back into this cell, but an angel freed him during the night and ordered him to travel to Grumentum (modern Grumento Nova, Italy). He arrived on 15 August 312 and began immediately to preach and to baptize converts. Agrippa sent soldiers after him.
Laverius was captured, flogged, and when he would not stop preaching Christ even while being beaten, he was executed. He was beheaded on 17 November 312 at the confluence of the Agri and Sciaura Rivers outside Grumentum. His body was abandoned by the soldiers where it fell, but a Roman matron came later and gave him a Christian burial.
Close
November 27
Saint Laverius
November 28
Daily Saints – 28 November.
Feast of Saint Catherine Labouré.
She is the patron saint of infirmed people, the elderly, pigeon fanciers, pigeons.
Catherine (Zoé) was born on May 2, 1806, in the Burgundy region of France. She was the daughter of Pierre Labouré, a farmer, and Madeleine Louise Gontard and was the ninth of 11 living children. Catherine’s mother died on October 9, 1815, when Catherine was nine years old. It is said that after her mother’s funeral, Catherine picked up a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and kissed it saying, “Now you will be my mother.” Her father’s sister offered to care for his two youngest children, Catherine and Marie Antoinette (Tonine). After he agreed, the sisters moved to their aunt’s house at Saint-Rémy, a village nine kilometers from their home.
After living a year in Paris with her Aunt Margaret, Catherine came back to her father’s home to supervise the household. She was her father’s favorite child, and this efficient, stern, upper middle class farmer depended on her. On January 25, 1818, Catherine received her First Holy Communion. From that day on she arose every morning at 4:00 a.m., walked several miles to church in order to assist at Mass, and to pray.
One day she had a dream in which she saw an old priest say Mass. After Mass, the priest turned and beckoned her with his finger, but she drew backwards, keeping her eye on him. The vision moved to a sick room where she saw the same priest, who said: “My child, it is a good deed to look after the sick; you run away now, but one day you will be glad to come to me. God has designs on you—do not forget it.” Later, she awoke, not knowing the significance of the dream.
Sometime later, while visiting a hospital of the Daughters of Charity, she noticed a priest’s picture on the wall. She asked a sister who he might be, and was told: “Our Holy Founder Saint Vincent de Paul.” Catherine had seen this same priest in the dream.
In January of 1830, Catherine Laboure became a postulant in the hospice of the Daughters of Charity at Catillon-sur-Seine. Three months later, she was again in Paris, this time to enter the Seminary at the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity. Shortly after she entered her new home, God was pleased to grant her several extraordinary visions. On three consecutive days she beheld the heart of Saint Vincent above the reliquary in which his relics were exposed, each time under a different aspect. At other times, she beheld our divine Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament; this would occur especially during Mass when he would appear as he was described in the liturgy of the day.
On the eve of the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, July 19, the Sister Superior spoke to the novices about the virtues of their Holy Founder and gave each of them a piece of cloth from his surplice. Catherine earnestly prayed to Saint Vincent that she might see the mother of God with her own eyes. She was convinced that she would see the Blessed Virgin Mary that very night. In her conviction, Catherine fell asleep.
Before long, a brilliant light and the voice of a child awakened her. “Sister Labouré, come to the Chapel; the Blessed Virgin awaits you.” Catherine replied: “We shall be discovered.” The little child smiled, “Do not be uneasy; it is half past eleven, everyone is sleeping… come, I am waiting for you.” She rose quickly and dressed. The hall lights were burning. The locked chapel door swung open at the angel’s touch. Amazed, Catherine found the Chapel ablaze with lights as if prepared for midnight Mass. Quickly she knelt at the communion rail, and suddenly, she heard the rustle of a silk dress… the Blessed Virgin, in a blaze of glory, sat in the director’s chair. The angel whispered: “The Blessed Mother wishes to speak with you.”
Catherine rose, knelt beside the Blessed Mother and rested her hands in the Virgin’s lap. Mary said: “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.” A pain crossed the Virgin’s face. “Come to the foot of the altar. Graces will be shed on all, great and little, especially upon those who ask for them. You will have the protection of God and Saint Vincent. I always will have my eyes upon you. There will be much persecution. The cross will be treated with contempt. It will be hurled to the ground and blood will flow.” Then after speaking for some time, the Lady like a fading shadow was gone.
Led by the child, Catherine left the chapel, marched up the corridor, and returned to her place in the dormitory. The angel disappeared and as Catherine went to bed, she heard the clock strike two in the morning.
On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned to her during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, rays of light came out of her hands in the direction of a globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary underneath. Asked why some of the rays of light did not reach the Earth, Mary reportedly replied “Those are the graces for which people forget to ask.” Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions. “All who wear them will receive great graces.”
Sister Catherine did so, and after two years of investigation and observation of Catherine’s normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine’s identity. The request was approved and the design of the medallions was commissioned through French goldsmith Adrien Vachette. They proved to be exceedingly popular. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception had not yet been officially promulgated, but the medal with its “conceived without sin” slogan was influential in popular approval of the idea.
Sister Catherine spent the next forty years caring for the aged and infirm. For this, she is called the patroness of seniors. She never sought praise and recognition from the people; rather, she fled from it. She wanted to be left alone to carry out her humble duties as a Daughter of Charity. She spent her every effort in caring for the aged and infirm, not revealing to those about her that she had been the recipient of our Lady’s medal. The Sisters with whom she lived held her in the highest esteem, and each one longed to be her companion.
In 1876, Catherine felt a spiritual conviction that she would die before the end of the year. Mary Immaculate gave Catherine leave to speak, to break the silence of forty-six years. To her Sister Superior, Catherine revealed the fact that she was the sister to whom the Blessed Mother appeared. On the last day of December 1876, Saint Catherine died at the age of seventy.
Today her beautiful remains still lie fresh and serene. When her body was exhumed in 1933, it was found as fresh as the day it was buried. Though she had lived seventy years and was in the grave for fifty-seven years, her eyes remained very blue and beautiful; and in death her arms and legs were as supple as if she were asleep. Her incorrupt body is encased in glass beneath the side altar at 140 Rue du Bac, Paris, beneath one of the spots where our Lady appeared to her. St. Catherine’s feast day is celebrated on Nov. 27, the day of the apparition.
“One must see God in everyone.”
“See the Face of God in everyone.”
“Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to Him, ‘Lord, here I am. Tell me what You would have me do.’ If He gives me some task, I am content and I thank Him. If He gives me nothing, I still thank Him since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that. And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart. I tell Him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen. If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you approach Him plainly and simply.”
“I knew nothing; I was nothing. For this reason, God picked me out.”
Feast of Saint Catherine Labouré.
She is the patron saint of infirmed people, the elderly, pigeon fanciers, pigeons.
Catherine (Zoé) was born on May 2, 1806, in the Burgundy region of France. She was the daughter of Pierre Labouré, a farmer, and Madeleine Louise Gontard and was the ninth of 11 living children. Catherine’s mother died on October 9, 1815, when Catherine was nine years old. It is said that after her mother’s funeral, Catherine picked up a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and kissed it saying, “Now you will be my mother.” Her father’s sister offered to care for his two youngest children, Catherine and Marie Antoinette (Tonine). After he agreed, the sisters moved to their aunt’s house at Saint-Rémy, a village nine kilometers from their home.
After living a year in Paris with her Aunt Margaret, Catherine came back to her father’s home to supervise the household. She was her father’s favorite child, and this efficient, stern, upper middle class farmer depended on her. On January 25, 1818, Catherine received her First Holy Communion. From that day on she arose every morning at 4:00 a.m., walked several miles to church in order to assist at Mass, and to pray.
One day she had a dream in which she saw an old priest say Mass. After Mass, the priest turned and beckoned her with his finger, but she drew backwards, keeping her eye on him. The vision moved to a sick room where she saw the same priest, who said: “My child, it is a good deed to look after the sick; you run away now, but one day you will be glad to come to me. God has designs on you—do not forget it.” Later, she awoke, not knowing the significance of the dream.
Sometime later, while visiting a hospital of the Daughters of Charity, she noticed a priest’s picture on the wall. She asked a sister who he might be, and was told: “Our Holy Founder Saint Vincent de Paul.” Catherine had seen this same priest in the dream.
In January of 1830, Catherine Laboure became a postulant in the hospice of the Daughters of Charity at Catillon-sur-Seine. Three months later, she was again in Paris, this time to enter the Seminary at the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity. Shortly after she entered her new home, God was pleased to grant her several extraordinary visions. On three consecutive days she beheld the heart of Saint Vincent above the reliquary in which his relics were exposed, each time under a different aspect. At other times, she beheld our divine Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament; this would occur especially during Mass when he would appear as he was described in the liturgy of the day.
On the eve of the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, July 19, the Sister Superior spoke to the novices about the virtues of their Holy Founder and gave each of them a piece of cloth from his surplice. Catherine earnestly prayed to Saint Vincent that she might see the mother of God with her own eyes. She was convinced that she would see the Blessed Virgin Mary that very night. In her conviction, Catherine fell asleep.
Before long, a brilliant light and the voice of a child awakened her. “Sister Labouré, come to the Chapel; the Blessed Virgin awaits you.” Catherine replied: “We shall be discovered.” The little child smiled, “Do not be uneasy; it is half past eleven, everyone is sleeping… come, I am waiting for you.” She rose quickly and dressed. The hall lights were burning. The locked chapel door swung open at the angel’s touch. Amazed, Catherine found the Chapel ablaze with lights as if prepared for midnight Mass. Quickly she knelt at the communion rail, and suddenly, she heard the rustle of a silk dress… the Blessed Virgin, in a blaze of glory, sat in the director’s chair. The angel whispered: “The Blessed Mother wishes to speak with you.”
Catherine rose, knelt beside the Blessed Mother and rested her hands in the Virgin’s lap. Mary said: “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.” A pain crossed the Virgin’s face. “Come to the foot of the altar. Graces will be shed on all, great and little, especially upon those who ask for them. You will have the protection of God and Saint Vincent. I always will have my eyes upon you. There will be much persecution. The cross will be treated with contempt. It will be hurled to the ground and blood will flow.” Then after speaking for some time, the Lady like a fading shadow was gone.
Led by the child, Catherine left the chapel, marched up the corridor, and returned to her place in the dormitory. The angel disappeared and as Catherine went to bed, she heard the clock strike two in the morning.
On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned to her during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, rays of light came out of her hands in the direction of a globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary underneath. Asked why some of the rays of light did not reach the Earth, Mary reportedly replied “Those are the graces for which people forget to ask.” Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions. “All who wear them will receive great graces.”
Sister Catherine did so, and after two years of investigation and observation of Catherine’s normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine’s identity. The request was approved and the design of the medallions was commissioned through French goldsmith Adrien Vachette. They proved to be exceedingly popular. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception had not yet been officially promulgated, but the medal with its “conceived without sin” slogan was influential in popular approval of the idea.
Sister Catherine spent the next forty years caring for the aged and infirm. For this, she is called the patroness of seniors. She never sought praise and recognition from the people; rather, she fled from it. She wanted to be left alone to carry out her humble duties as a Daughter of Charity. She spent her every effort in caring for the aged and infirm, not revealing to those about her that she had been the recipient of our Lady’s medal. The Sisters with whom she lived held her in the highest esteem, and each one longed to be her companion.
In 1876, Catherine felt a spiritual conviction that she would die before the end of the year. Mary Immaculate gave Catherine leave to speak, to break the silence of forty-six years. To her Sister Superior, Catherine revealed the fact that she was the sister to whom the Blessed Mother appeared. On the last day of December 1876, Saint Catherine died at the age of seventy.
Today her beautiful remains still lie fresh and serene. When her body was exhumed in 1933, it was found as fresh as the day it was buried. Though she had lived seventy years and was in the grave for fifty-seven years, her eyes remained very blue and beautiful; and in death her arms and legs were as supple as if she were asleep. Her incorrupt body is encased in glass beneath the side altar at 140 Rue du Bac, Paris, beneath one of the spots where our Lady appeared to her. St. Catherine’s feast day is celebrated on Nov. 27, the day of the apparition.
“One must see God in everyone.”
“See the Face of God in everyone.”
“Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to Him, ‘Lord, here I am. Tell me what You would have me do.’ If He gives me some task, I am content and I thank Him. If He gives me nothing, I still thank Him since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that. And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart. I tell Him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen. If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you approach Him plainly and simply.”
“I knew nothing; I was nothing. For this reason, God picked me out.”
Close
November 28
Saint Catherine Labouré
November 29
Daily Saints – 29 November.
Feast of Saint Saturninus of Toulouse.
He is the patron of bullfighters and against ants, against bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scrape or mad cow disease, death anxiety, against fraud, against headaches, against nausea, against pain, against plague, against smallpox; smallpox patients, against syphilis.
Saturninus (also known as Sernin) was born to the third century Roman nobility. He was a missionary to Gaul, the Pyrenees, and the Iberian peninsula, and worked with Saint Papoul. He converted many, including the farmer now known as Saint Honestus who joined him as a missionary. Because of his missionary work, he was imprisoned in Carcassone by the prefect Rufinus. Saturninus and his group were freed by an angel. He became the first bishop of Toulouse, where he teamed with Saint Martial to perform miraculous healings. He converted and baptized Saint Firminus of Amiens who was later bishop of Amiens.
In Toulouse there was a temple dedicated to the pagan gods. Everyday St. Saturninus used to have to pass in front of it to go to the church where the Christians would gather. The devils, unable to bear the presence of the man of God, abandoned the idols, which stopped giving the counsels and prophecies they used to speak. The pagan priests offered all kinds of sacrifices, but the idols remained mute. An enemy of the Christians discovered the cause of the silence of the idols.
One day, as St. Saturninus was passing and the pagan priests were preparing to offer the sacrifice of a bull in honor of Jupiter, the man shouted: “This man is the enemy of our gods, the one who prevents them from making oracles. But now the gods have delivered him into our hands so that we might avenge the grievances made against them.”
The crowds seized the Bishop and dragged him before the pagan altar to oblige him to sacrifice to the false gods. But St. Saturninus addressed the people and said: “I adore the one true God, and only to Him do I offer my homage and sacrifices. In face of this, your idols have become silent. Your gods are devils who fear the true God and are more delighted with deceiving your souls than receiving the sacrifices of your bulls. They tremble before me because I represent the true God.”
Furious over his answer, the pagan priests tied St. Saturninus to the feet of a wild bull, which dashed through the city and killed him, tearing him to pieces. His remains were collected by two young women who did not fear facing the furor of the people. Saturninus was thought to have been martyred around the year 257 AD.
Feast of Saint Saturninus of Toulouse.
He is the patron of bullfighters and against ants, against bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scrape or mad cow disease, death anxiety, against fraud, against headaches, against nausea, against pain, against plague, against smallpox; smallpox patients, against syphilis.
Saturninus (also known as Sernin) was born to the third century Roman nobility. He was a missionary to Gaul, the Pyrenees, and the Iberian peninsula, and worked with Saint Papoul. He converted many, including the farmer now known as Saint Honestus who joined him as a missionary. Because of his missionary work, he was imprisoned in Carcassone by the prefect Rufinus. Saturninus and his group were freed by an angel. He became the first bishop of Toulouse, where he teamed with Saint Martial to perform miraculous healings. He converted and baptized Saint Firminus of Amiens who was later bishop of Amiens.
In Toulouse there was a temple dedicated to the pagan gods. Everyday St. Saturninus used to have to pass in front of it to go to the church where the Christians would gather. The devils, unable to bear the presence of the man of God, abandoned the idols, which stopped giving the counsels and prophecies they used to speak. The pagan priests offered all kinds of sacrifices, but the idols remained mute. An enemy of the Christians discovered the cause of the silence of the idols.
One day, as St. Saturninus was passing and the pagan priests were preparing to offer the sacrifice of a bull in honor of Jupiter, the man shouted: “This man is the enemy of our gods, the one who prevents them from making oracles. But now the gods have delivered him into our hands so that we might avenge the grievances made against them.”
The crowds seized the Bishop and dragged him before the pagan altar to oblige him to sacrifice to the false gods. But St. Saturninus addressed the people and said: “I adore the one true God, and only to Him do I offer my homage and sacrifices. In face of this, your idols have become silent. Your gods are devils who fear the true God and are more delighted with deceiving your souls than receiving the sacrifices of your bulls. They tremble before me because I represent the true God.”
Furious over his answer, the pagan priests tied St. Saturninus to the feet of a wild bull, which dashed through the city and killed him, tearing him to pieces. His remains were collected by two young women who did not fear facing the furor of the people. Saturninus was thought to have been martyred around the year 257 AD.
Close
November 29
Saint Saturninus of Toulouse
November 30
Daily Saints – 30 November.
Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle.
He is the patron saint of anglers, fishermen, boatmen, mariners, sailors,watermen, butchers, farm workers, fish dealers, fish mongers, happy marriages, miners, pregnant women, rope makers, sail makers, single lay women, singers, textile workers, unmarried women, water carriers, women who wish to become mothers and against convulsions, against fever, against gout, against neck pain, against sore throats, against whooping cough.
The name “Andrew” means in Greek: “manly, brave”.
Andrew was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee during the early first century. He was one of the first Apostle and the brother to St. Peter. He was the son of Jonas or John, a fisherman of that town. Much like his younger brother, Simon Peter, Andrew was also a fisherman. They had afterwards a house at Capharnaum, where Jesus lodged when he preached in that city. Andrew was known for having good social skills. He was also a disciple of John the Baptist.
In the Gospel of Matthew, it is said Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Simon Peter fishing. It is then he asked the two to become disciples and “fishers of men.”
In the Gospel of Luke, Andrew is not initially named. It describes Jesus using a boat, believed to be solely Simon’s, to preach to the multitudes and catch a large amount of fish on a night that originally was dry. Later, in Luke 5:7, it mentions Simon was not the only fisherman on the boat, but it is not until Luke 6:14 that there is talk of Andrew being Simon Peter’s brother.
However, the Gospel of John tells a separate story, stating Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by one day, John the Baptist stated, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” It is then that Andrew and another made the decision to follow Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day” (John 1:38-39a).
Little else is said about Andrew in the Gospels. He was the one who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus, saying, “We have found the Messiah” (Jn 1: 41). It was he who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes (John 6: 😎. When Philip wanted to speak to Jesus about Greeks seeking him, he spoke to Andrew first (John 12: 20-26). Andrew was also present at the last supper.
Another occasion was at Jerusalem. As he left the city, a disciple drew Jesus’ attention to the sight of the massive walls that supported the Temple. The Teacher’s response was surprising: he said that of those walls not one stone would be left upon another. Then Andrew, together with Peter, James and John, questioned him: “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?” (Mk 13: 1-4).
Per Christian tradition, Andrew went on to preach the Good News around the shores of the Black Sea and throughout what is now Greece and Turkey. Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras. He was bound, rather than nailed, to a cross, as is described in the Acts of Andrew. He was crucified on a cross form known as “crux decussata,” which is an X-shaped cross or a “saltire.” Today this is commonly referred to as “St. Andrew’s Cross.” It is believed Andrew requested to be crucified this way, because he deemed himself “unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus.”
“After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother Peter. Notice what Andrew said to him: “We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ.” Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce to great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, loving kinship and sincere affection.” – from a homily on the Gospel of John by Saint John Chrysostom
Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle.
He is the patron saint of anglers, fishermen, boatmen, mariners, sailors,watermen, butchers, farm workers, fish dealers, fish mongers, happy marriages, miners, pregnant women, rope makers, sail makers, single lay women, singers, textile workers, unmarried women, water carriers, women who wish to become mothers and against convulsions, against fever, against gout, against neck pain, against sore throats, against whooping cough.
The name “Andrew” means in Greek: “manly, brave”.
Andrew was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee during the early first century. He was one of the first Apostle and the brother to St. Peter. He was the son of Jonas or John, a fisherman of that town. Much like his younger brother, Simon Peter, Andrew was also a fisherman. They had afterwards a house at Capharnaum, where Jesus lodged when he preached in that city. Andrew was known for having good social skills. He was also a disciple of John the Baptist.
In the Gospel of Matthew, it is said Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Simon Peter fishing. It is then he asked the two to become disciples and “fishers of men.”
In the Gospel of Luke, Andrew is not initially named. It describes Jesus using a boat, believed to be solely Simon’s, to preach to the multitudes and catch a large amount of fish on a night that originally was dry. Later, in Luke 5:7, it mentions Simon was not the only fisherman on the boat, but it is not until Luke 6:14 that there is talk of Andrew being Simon Peter’s brother.
However, the Gospel of John tells a separate story, stating Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by one day, John the Baptist stated, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” It is then that Andrew and another made the decision to follow Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day” (John 1:38-39a).
Little else is said about Andrew in the Gospels. He was the one who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus, saying, “We have found the Messiah” (Jn 1: 41). It was he who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes (John 6: 😎. When Philip wanted to speak to Jesus about Greeks seeking him, he spoke to Andrew first (John 12: 20-26). Andrew was also present at the last supper.
Another occasion was at Jerusalem. As he left the city, a disciple drew Jesus’ attention to the sight of the massive walls that supported the Temple. The Teacher’s response was surprising: he said that of those walls not one stone would be left upon another. Then Andrew, together with Peter, James and John, questioned him: “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?” (Mk 13: 1-4).
Per Christian tradition, Andrew went on to preach the Good News around the shores of the Black Sea and throughout what is now Greece and Turkey. Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras. He was bound, rather than nailed, to a cross, as is described in the Acts of Andrew. He was crucified on a cross form known as “crux decussata,” which is an X-shaped cross or a “saltire.” Today this is commonly referred to as “St. Andrew’s Cross.” It is believed Andrew requested to be crucified this way, because he deemed himself “unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus.”
“After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother Peter. Notice what Andrew said to him: “We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ.” Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce to great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, loving kinship and sincere affection.” – from a homily on the Gospel of John by Saint John Chrysostom
Close
November 30
Saint Andrew the Apostle