Saints, from our Tradition, for our Reflection

“Andrew was Saint Peter’s brother, and was called with him. … the Gospels give us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an apostle. That is enough. He was called personally by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus’ power and to share his life and death. Holiness today is no different. It is a gift that includes a call to be concerned about the Kingdom, an outgoing attitude that wants nothing more than to share the riches of Christ with all people.” [emphasis added]

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

For a complete version of this article, visit the following web link: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-andrew

A co-founder of the Society of Jesus…. he was a companion of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first A co-founder of the Society of Jesus…. he was a companion of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris in 1534.  He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in India…. He also was the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, and other areas. In those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. …. Known as the "Apostle of the Indies" and "Apostle of Japan", he is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since Paul the Apostle. … In 1927, Pope Pius XI published the decree "Apostolicorum in Missionibus" naming Francis Xavier, along with Thérèse of Lisieux, co-patron of all foreign missions.

                                                                             Wikipedia

The 6th December is the memorial of St Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, merchants, repentant thieves, archers, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students.  We know very little about him. He was born (c. 270) into an affluent Greek family in Myra (now Demre, in Turkey) and, after becoming a priest at an early age, became Bishop of that area, where he served his flock until his death c.343.

 
Over the centuries, many tales have been told about his life and miracles, although there is little evidence that support the claims made for him in most of them.  

The most famous story is about how he rescued three sisters from the threat of becoming prostitutes. He heard about a devout man who had lost all his money; his three daughters had no dowry and no prospects of marriage. Instead, they would be sold into prostitution. Rather than humiliate the man by a display of his generosity, Nicholas visited the man’s house over three nights and, on each occasion, threw a bag of gold coins through an external window. This meant that the girls would each have a dowry and could marry. 

From this and other tales, he became renowned for his generosity, modesty and discretion.

St Nicholas’ descendant is, of course, Santa Claus, who “secretly” visits families at Christmas to give them gifts. The commercial world has kidnapped Santa, and Saint Nicholas’ purpose in helping the poor has disappeared under an avalanche of goods.  

This misses the point. St Nicholas was motivated by two things: first, following Christ in aiding the poor; second, following Christ in respecting the poor. So, as you go about giving presents this year, think like St Nicholas, not ‘Santa’, and seek out someone who needs your gift. This doesn’t have to be money. ... A CAFOD World Gift can change the life of a poor person elsewhere. Or again, ten minutes talking to a lonely person may be a bigger, better gift than a box of chocolates. Time spent with others can be more blessed than an iWatch! This is not about doing something ‘nice’ because it is Christmas. Advent begins the Church’s year. Although we are halfway through it, it is not too late to make a New Year’s Resolution to follow Jesus across the coming year by using St Nicholas as a guide.   

Advent and Christmas could be the time when we begin St Nicholas’ journey. He didn’t restrict generosity to this season!  It is not unknown for parents to have to take on the Santa role, given the world-wide jobs commercialisation demands of him. If you are one such parent, why not be St Nicholas as well? You can the children about him and his quiet generosity, seeking God’s blessing on what he did, and not the applause of the crowd. You can tell them what you and the family have done to aid and respect the vulnerable, through prayer, companionship and other gifts. 

                                                                                                TC

“… [St Ambrose] emerges as the man of action who cut a furrow through the lives of his contemporaries…. He publicly admonished Emperor Theodosius for the massacre of 7,000 innocent people. … This was Ambrose, the fighter sent to Milan as Roman governor, and chosen while yet a catechumen to be the people’s bishop…. His sermons, his writings, and his personal life reveal him as an otherworldly man involved in the great issues of his day. Humanity for Ambrose was, above all, spirit.… Ambrose exemplifies … the truly catholic character of Christianity…. this thought runs through Ambrose’s life and preaching: The hidden meaning of the Scriptures calls our spirit to rise to another world….”

--------------------

“Ambrose of Milan spent much of his time listening. He listened to St. Monica as she wept about her sinful son—the future St. Augustine—and Ambrose was able to comfort her. He listened to opposing factions in the Church and was able to make peace. This Doctor of the Church saw himself as a lifelong learner: “In the endeavor to teach, I desire that I may be able to learn,” he said. We only learn if we keep listening—especially when we’re the teachers! Pray with Ambrose to improve your listening skills.”

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

For a complete version of this article, visit the following web link: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-ambrose

“Most of us readily think of Mary, Mother of God, during Advent. After all, Mary is the one closest to Jesus. Two Marian feasts fall during Advent: the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12). From Mary we learn the greatest traits of the Christian: love, humility, justice, openness to God’s grace, and willingness to act.”

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

Blessed Brian Lacey (1591, for helping and hiding priests), 

Blessed John Robinson (1588, for being a priest in England), 

Blessed Thomas Tunstall (1616, for being a priest in England), 

Blessed Montford Scott (1591, for being a priest in England), 

Blessed Thomas Hunt (1600, for being a priest in England), and 

Blessed Henry Heath (1643, for being a Franciscan Friar in England). 

All killed for their faith here in East Anglia.

                          https://www.rcdea.org.uk/ignite_blessedmartyrsofeastanglia/

“Every little girl named Lucy must bite her tongue in disappointment when she first tries to find out what there is to know about her patron saint.…The single fact survives that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian, and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily, in the year 304…. If you are a little girl named Lucy…your patron is a genuine authentic heroine, first class, an abiding inspiration for you and for all Christians….”

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more. 

For a complete version of this article, visit the following web link:  https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-lucy/  

On December 14, 1591, just before midnight, John of the Cross was dying. He asked to have "Song of Songs" read to him. While listening, he was heard to say, "So beautiful are the flowers!' And then he died.  

Born in 1541, St. John of the Cross grew up in poverty and was drawn to the contemplative life. His soul so longed for mystical union with God that his piety offended members of his order, including its head. The turning point of his life came in 1567 when he met Teresa of Avila, a kindred spirit who was looking for a partner in her Carmelite reform movement. She appointed him prior of the first community of discalced friars. Later, John of the Cross served as a spiritual director at her convent. John wrote: "Contemplation is nothing else but a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love." In 1577, he was imprisoned for nine months during which he wrote about his "dark night of the soul." He became renowned as a mystic and poet. He celebrated his love for God through glorifying the love between the three persons of the Trinity. In the extract below he sings of the Father’s love for His Son and for those who love his Son:  

“You are the brilliance of my light  

My wisdom and My power divine,  

The figure of my substance bright 

In whom I am well pleased to shine!  

The man who loves you, O my Son,  

To Him Myself I will belong. 

The Love that in Yourself I won  

I’ll plant in him and root it strong,  

Because he loved the very one  

I loved so deeply and so long.”  

                       St John of the Cross: The Poems translated by Roy Campbell • The Harvill Press 21000

                                                                                                                  TC

-------------------------

He is the great mystic of Advent, who says that we are “face-to-face with Love’s own grace.” What wonderful words to ponder! Yet in contrast to John’s lofty poetry, he took for himself the most menial jobs wherever he was. Before he entered religious life he worked in a hospital for people with disgusting diseases. Besides bathing them, he sang songs to cheer them up. Even when he held high administrative posts he took the lowliest tasks. His life reminds us that no matter how soaring our spirituality, it must be grounded in humble day-to-day duties or we miss the whole meaning of the Incarnation.  

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

Stand Up! Kneel! Stand Up!

It is something of an oddity that we celebrate St Stephen’s feast day at Christmas, some thirty years before he was martyred. Yet, it is in the third week of Eastertide where we read of his reproof of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council which had accused him of “speaking against this holy place (The Temple) and the law”.

In his response he turned the tables on his accusers, claiming that they were the ones who, with their ancestors, resisted the Holy Spirit and persecuted prophets. Naturally this did not go down well, and the council members drove him from Jerusalem and stoned him to death.

What Stephen did before the council was to stand up to those who had been responsible for the legal murder of Jesus. You have become his betrayers, his murderers.” [Acts 7,51-8.1] As such it is a message to all Christians to stand up in defence of our Saviour. The stones we face today are the jibes, lies, and objections hurled at Our Lord and at us, his followers, each ‘stone’ intended to hurt with dismissal, denial and claims that our faith has no meaning or goodness.

As the stones rained down on him, Stephen knelt in prayer: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” [Acts ibid.] Even as an agonising death overtook him, he called for mercy on his persecutors, as Christ did on the Cross.

Before this, Stephen had been an active follower standing for Christ, busy in synagogue and meeting places bringing the Good News to fellow Jews and irritating the Establishment to the point where they decided to get rid of him.

In these ways - standing up to Christianity’s opponents, being humble in praying for their salvation and standing amongst non-believers proclaiming the Good News - he is the very model of an active Christian we should all aim to be.
                                                                                                     TC

St Josephine  Bakhita is the Sudanese Saint who at the age of nine was kidnapped and sold into slavery. She suffered terribly at the hands of her kidnappers so much so that she forgot her birth name. Her kidnappers gave her the name ‘Bakhita’ which means ‘Fortunate’.    

Prayer: O God, who led Saint Josephine Bakhita from abject slavery to the dignity of being your daughter and a bride of Christ, grant, we pray, that by her example we may show constant love for the Lord Jesus crucified, remaining steadfast in charity and prompt to show compassion. Roman Missal  

Pray for Victims of Trafficking especially on feast of St Josephine Bakhita.

“Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters.   

“There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: ‘For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.’”

        This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more. 

On this day the Church is asked to pray and give attention to the sick and those who care for them. 

Each year the Holy Father writes a message.   

Prayer: Accept the prayers we offer for our brothers and sisters who are ill, that, having been anxious for them in their danger, we may rejoice at their recovery of health. cf. Roman Missal

“In 1240, seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God. Their initial difficulty was providing for their dependents, since two were still married and two were widowers.  

 “Their aim was to lead a life of penance and prayer, but they soon found themselves disturbed by constant visitors from Florence. They next withdrew to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario.   

 “In 1244, under the direction of Saint Peter of Verona, O.P., this small group adopted a religious habit similar to the Dominican habit, choosing to live under the Rule of St. Augustine and adopting the name of the Servants of Mary. The new Order took a form more like that of the mendicant friars than that of the older monastic Orders….  

“Community members combined monastic life and active ministry. In the monastery, they led a life of prayer, work and silence while in the active apostolate they engaged in parochial work, teaching, preaching, and other ministerial activities….   

“The time in which the seven Servite founders lived is very easily comparable to the situation in which we find ourselves today. It is “the best of times and the worst of times,” as Dickens once wrote. Some, perhaps many, feel called to a countercultural life, even in religion. All of us are faced in a new and urgent way with the challenge to make our lives decisively centered in Christ.’     

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

Felix of Burgundy, also known as Felix of Dunwich (died 8 March 647 or 648), was the first bishop of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christ-ianity to the kingdom of East Anglia.   Felix travelled from his homeland of Burgundy to Canterbury before being sent by Honorius to Sigeberht of East Anglia's kingdom in about 630. On arrival in East Anglia, Sigeberht gave him a see at Dommoc (possibly Walton, Suffolk or Dunwich in Suffolk). Felix helped Sigeberht to establish a school in his kingdom "where boys could be taught letters". He died on 8 March 647 or 648, having been bishop for seventeen years. His relics were translated from Dommoc to Soham Abbey and then to the abbey at Ramsey. 

“Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.  

 “Details of his life are uncertain. … He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.   

“After six years Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the good news to the Irish.  

“In a dream vision it seemed ‘all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands’ to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north–where the faith had never been preached–obtained the protection of local kings, and made numerous converts….   

“He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ…. 

“Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rock-like belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused. One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate. There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in County Down in Northern Ireland, long the scene of strife and violence….   

“What distinguishes Patrick is the durability of his efforts. When one considers the state of Ireland when he began his mission work, the vast extent of his labors, and how the seeds he planted continued to grow and flourish, one can only admire the kind of man Patrick must have been. The holiness of a person is known only by the fruits of his or her work.”   

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more. 

“The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts….   

“By saying Joseph was ‘just,’ the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.” 

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

On October 14th, 2018, Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (1917 – 1980) was canonised by  Pope Francis. St Oscar lived almost all of his life in El Salvador.  On 23 February 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador. Welcomed by the  government, many priests were disappointed, especially those openly supportive of  liberation theology. Progressive priests feared that his conservative reputation would  negatively affect commitment to the poor.   

However, just 17 days after his appointment, something happened which had a profound effect on him. Fr. Rutilio Grande a personal friend who had been creating self-reliance groups among the poor, was assassinated. St Oscar later said: "When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path.' Romero urged the government to investigate, but they ignored his request. Furthermore, the censored press remained silent.   

He devoted the rest of his life to defending the vulnerable against the violence and cruelty of what became a Civil War. His sermons and broadcast speeches created many enemies in a country where assassination was commonplace. In March 1980 he urged soldiers who were Christians to keep to their faith and not follow orders to unjustly persecute and kill. The next day, saying mass at a hospital chapel, he was shot and killed. The revulsion and demands for justice raised by Salvadorans and the International Community have not yet led to the murderers being identified.   

When he was beatified, Pope Francis said of him: "His ministry was distinguished by his particular attention to the most poor and marginalized.” Hailed as a hero by supporters of liberation theology, St Oscar, according to his biographer, Jesus Delgardo, "was not interested in liberation theology" but faithfully adhered to Catholic teachings on liberation and a preferential option for the poor, desiring a social revolution based on interior reform.   

St Oscar agreed with the Catholic – and not the materialist - vision of liberation theology. A journalist once asked him: 'Do you agree with Liberation Theology' And Romero answered: "Yes, of course. However, there are two theologies of liberation. One is that which sees liberation only as material liberation. The other is that of Paul VI. I am with Paul VI… The most profound social revolution is the serious, supernatural, interior reform of a Christian. The liberation of Christ and of His Church is not reduced to the dimension of a purely temporal project. It does not reduce its objectives to … a material well-being or only to initiatives of a political or social, economic or cultural order. Much less can it be a liberation that supports or is supported by violence."   

A Prayer 

St Oscar Romero, pray for us that we too will model our lives on Christ and have the courage to face evil and work for justice. 

April 23rd is St George’s Day, an occasion which used to feature a variety of celebratory events, especially in villages and the countryside generally. Games and shows, entertainment from Morris dancing to point-to-point horse races. Such celebrations have dwindled in the last fifty years, and St George has become more and more the patron of nationalists rather than the nation. Doubt also continues as to his existence.

Whether he did or not, whether he was a Roman soldier or a Greek farmer, whether the dragon existed or not – none of this matters. The symbolism of St George’s story rises from his rescue of the Maiden in Distress. This points directly to the duty each of us has to care for others: if that means rescuing a girl from the jaws of a dragon or helping to organise a street party or checking that our nextdoor neighbour is safe and well or helping someone to pick up something they’ve dropped or stopping to chat and cheer up someone who’s down – from the trivial to the fantastic we can honour St George by even small gestures of care for others.

In all of these ways of helping, we imitate Christ and follow him, just as St George did. In his case the reality was torture and death in defence of the faith. We may never be called to make this sacrifice, we can still humbly use the saint as a guide and model for service to Our Lord. 

Prayer

O GOD, you gave Saint George strength and constancy in the various torments which he sustained for our holy faith; we beseech You to preserve, through St. George’s intercession, our faith from wavering and doubt, so that we may serve You with a sincere heart faithfully unto death.Through Christ our Lord.      Amen

St CATHERINE OF SIENA (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380) - commemorated 29 Apr

April 29th celebrates one of the most important women of the Church who played a significant role in the resolution of the Great Schism of the West, which had seen rivals for the papal throne supported by different parties within the Church. She died on 29 April 1380, exhausted by her rigorous fasting. Urban VI celebrated her funeral and burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. 

The devotion around Catherine of Siena developed rapidly after her death. She was canonized in 1461, declared patron saint of Rome in 1866, and of Italy (together with Francis of Assisi) in 1939. ... She was the first woman (along with Teresa of Ávila) to be declared a "doctor of the Church," on 4 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI. She was also proclaimed patron saint of Europe in 1999 by Pope John Paul II. 

-------------------

“Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Siena stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies…. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime.”                    

             This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more. 

===============

St JOSEPH THE WORKER - commemorated 1 May

On the 1st May we celebrate one whose role was to support the Virgin Mary and the early years of Jesus. To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955. In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II stated: “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and societyy. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Saviour of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work.” Saint Joseph is held up as a model of such work, and reverence of him is relevant across the world today.

=================

Today let us say a special prayer for Human Work. The commemoration of St Joseph the Worker on 1 May was instituted by Pius XII in 1955. It proposes the example and intercession of Joseph as worker and provider.   

Prayer  

God our Father, creator and ruler of the universe, in every age you call men and women to develop and use their gifts for the good of others.  With St Joseph as our example and guide, help us to do the work you have asked and come to the rewards you have promised.            Roman Missal (adapted) 

St. Catherine of Siena was born during the outbreak of the plague in Siena, Italy on March 25, 1347. She was the 25th child born to her mother, although half of her brothers and sisters did not survive childhood. Catherine herself was a twin, but her sister did not survive infancy. Her mother was 40 when she was born. Her father was a cloth dyer.  

At the age of 16, Catherine's sister, Bonaventura, died, leaving her husband as a widower. Catherine's parents proposed that he marry Catherine as a replacement, but Catherine opposed this. She began fasting and cut her hair short to mar her appearance. Her parents attempted to resist this move to avoid marriage, but they were unsuccessful. Her fasting and her devotion to her family, convinced them to relent and allow her to live as she pleased. Despite Catherine's religious nature, she did not choose to enter a convent. Instead she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, which allowed her to associate with a religious society while living at home.  

Something changed her when she was 21. She described an experience she referred to as her "mystical marriage to Christ.” Such mystical experiences change people, and St. Catherine was no exception. In her vision, she was told to re-enter public life and to help the poor and sick.  She immediately went into public to help people in need. She often visited hospitals and homes where the poor and sick were found. Her activities quickly attracted followers who helped her in her mission to serve the poor and sick. She was drawn further into the world as she worked, and eventually she began to travel, calling for reform of the Church and for people to confess and to love God totally. She became involved in politics, and was key in working to keep city states loyal to the Pope.  

She died in 1380, aged 33. She is the patroness against fire, illness, and of the United States, Italy,  miscarriages, people ridiculed for their faith, sexual temptation, and nurses.

                                                                                                                      Commemorated on 29th April

Seeing the Son: Seeing the Father

May 3rd - the feast day of two apostles, about whom little is known, Saint James and St Philip. 

This James is known as James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, to avoid confusion with the other James (the Great) son of Zebedee. 

We know a little more about Philip, who is mentioned frequently in the Gospels. He was from Bethsaida, as were Peter and Andrew. He probably first heard of Jesus through being a disciple of John the Baptist. Jesus seemed to trust him greatly. Selecting him to find food for the multitude.  

“I am forever grateful to St Philip for some of his questions to Jesus, because it is in Philip’s request, “Lord show us the Father” that Jesus elaborates on his relationship to his Father, one of the most beautiful texts in the Gospel of John.  

Jesus said to him “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”                     John 14: 8-9, 11  

“Often, when at prayer, I seem to get nowhere. I then glance at the large ikon of Christ, the Pantocrator, in our chapel and reflect on Jesus’ response to Philip….  

“I know I cannot comprehend God, that his mystery is beyond me, but I know that in the Ikon I see Jesus. Trusting his words, I know in an inexplicable way that in seeing Jesus I also see the Father.”                                                                 

                                                             Blessings of the Daily Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette  

St James is the patron saint of apothecaries; pharmacists; dying people; fullers; pastry chefs. 

St Philip is the patron saint of hatters and pastry chefs.

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of Catholic lay and religious, men and women, executed between 1535 and 1679 for treason and related offences under various laws enacted by Parliament during the English Reformation. Their names are listed below. They died for the Faith as did many Protestants under Queen Mary. 

 • Saint John Almond  

• Saint Edmund Arrowsmith  

• Saint Ambrose Barlow  

• Saint John Boste  

• Saint Alexander Briant  

• Saint Edmund Campion  

• Saint Margaret Clitherow  

• Saint Philip Evans  

• Saint Thomas Garnet  

• Saint Edmund Gennings  

• Saint Richard Gwyn  

• Saint John Houghton  

• Saint Philip Howard  

• Saint John Jones  

• Saint John Kemble  

• Saint Luke Kirby  

• Saint Robert Lawrence  

• Saint David Lewis  

• Saint Anne Line  

• Saint John Lloyd  

• Saint Cuthbert Mayne  

• Saint Henry Morse  

• Saint Nicholas Owen  

• Saint John Payne  

• Saint Polydore Plasden  

• Saint John Plessington  

• Saint Richard Reynolds  

• Saint John Rigby  

• Saint John Roberts  

• Saint Alban Roe  

• Saint Ralph Sherwin  

• Saint Robert Southwell  

• Saint John Southworth  

• Saint John Stone  

• Saint John Wall  

• Saint Henry Walpole  

• Saint Margaret Ward  

• Saint Augustine Webster  

• Saint Swithun Wells  

• Saint Eustace White    

                                                                                                                     Commemorated on 4th May

More on the English Martyrs:

They were men and women executed for treason during the English Reformation between 1534 and 1680, and recognised as martyrs by the Church. Nine were executed during Henry VII’s rule. The persecution of protestants under the rule of Queen Mary then served to solidify enmity between Catholics and Protestants.

Upon Elizabeth I's accession to the throne, an Act of Supremacy denied papal authority over the English church; but only a decade later, in February 1570, did Pope Pius V excommunicate Elizabeth and any who obeyed her, issuing the bull Regnans in Excelsis, which purported to "release [ Elizabeth I's] subjects from their allegiance to her". This fuelled discontent in the North of England, leading to rebellion and later fear that England would be invaded by an alien power. In turn these developments led to assumptions that all Catholics were – or were likely to be – traitors inimical to the English throne. Thus, although executions of Catholics had been few during the first year of Elizabeth’s rule, persecution, imprisonment and executions became common place.

Between 1534 and 1680, 311 Catholics were executed for their faith. Of these 40 have been canonised, 242 beatified and 29 declared venerable. More people than that suffered for the faith, through imprisonment or other forms of punishment.

As we pray for them, we should remember also the protestants who were similarly persecuted and executed for what they believed. Let us pray that Christ, with the prayers of his Mother, will bring all christians together to convert England and restore Mary’s Dowery.                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                TC
You can go online in a search engine/web browser and find out more about them. Some are Welsh, when Wales was considered part of England.

Born in Co Meath, Ireland, in 1625, at a time when penal laws against Catholics were very severe, St Oliver studied with the Jesuits in Rome and became professor of theology at the Propaganda College.  In 1669 he was made Bishop of Armagh at Ghent and returned to Ireland. The church had become very neglected because of years of persecution and the shortage of bishops. Within his first months of office, he confirmed more than 10,000 people and set about reorganising the clergy, liturgy and education. … St Oliver was canonised in 1975 - becoming the first new Irish saint for almost 700 years.  He is Patron of Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland.  

Watch a short film about St Oliver Plunkett from Sancta Familia Media: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCQ6A8pyqd4

                        With permission, Independent Catholic News, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/

An East Anglia saint, princess and abbess who was possibly a daughter of Anna of East Anglia, located in present-day England. She founded a monastery at Dereham in Norfolk. A traditional story says that the Virgin Mary sent a pair of female deer to provide milk for her workers during the monastery's construction. Withburga's body is supposed to have been uncorrupted when discovered half a century after her death: it was later stolen on the orders of the abbot of Ely. A spring appeared at the site of the saint's empty tomb at Dereham.

                                                                                                                                            Wikipedia, 2 July 1021

The Martyr Saints of China  are 120 saints of the Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries from the mid-17th century to 1930 were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatize.  Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which anti-colonial peasant rebels slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.  

                                                                                                          Wikipedia

“It is unfortunate that no contemporary biography was written of a man who has exercised the greatest influence on monasticism in the West….Benedict was born into a distinguished family in central Italy, studied at Rome, and early in life was drawn to monasticism. At first he became a hermit, leaving a depressing world—pagan armies on the march, the Church torn by schism, people suffering from war, morality at a low ebb.

“He soon realized that he could not live a hidden life in a small town any better than in a large city, so he withdrew to a cave high in the mountains for three years. Some monks chose Benedict as their leader for a while, but found his strictness not to their taste. Still the shift from hermit to community life had begun for him. He had an idea of gathering various families of monks into one “Grand Monastery” to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, and permanent worship in one house. Finally he began to build what was to become one of the most famous monasteries in the world—Monte Cassino, commanding three narrow valleys running toward the mountains north of Naples.

“The Rule that gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor, and living together in community under a common abbot. Benedictine asceticism is known for its moderation, and Benedictine charity has always shown concern for the people in the surrounding countryside.  In the course of the Middle Ages, all monasticism in the West was gradually brought under the Rule of St. Benedict.  Today the Benedictine family is represented by two branches: the Benedictine Federation encompassing the men and women of the Order of St. Benedict; and the Cistercians, men and women of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance….

“The Church has been blessed through Benedictine devotion to the liturgy, not only in its actual celebration with rich and proper ceremony in the great abbeys, but also through the scholarly studies of many of its members.”

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

Friar, Cardinal Bishop of Albano, Doctor of the Church, Teacher of the Faith

Bonaventure entered the Franciscan Order in 1243 and (later as head of the order) steered the Franciscans on a moderate and intellectual course that made them the most prominent order in the Catholic Church until the coming of the Jesuits. His theology was marked by an attempt completely to integrate faith and reason. He thought of Christ as the "one true master" who offers humans knowledge that begins in faith, is developed through rational understanding, and is perfected by mystical union with God.

                                                                                               Wikipedia.

St Mary Magdalene was one of the most maligned of Christ’s followers. Her name may refer to the town of Magdala a fishing village in Galilee, and she is mentioned in all four of the Gospels. In fact, she is mentioned by name twelve times, more than most of the apostles, and any other non-family women. Luke’s gospel (8:2-3) describes her as one of the followers of Jesus, contributing to his ministry out of their own pockets. This suggests that she was probably well-off.  Both St Luke and St Mark write that seven demons had been driven out of her. In all four gospels she witnessed Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. As a messenger who brought news of the risen Christ to the apostles, she became known as the apostle of the apostles.  

In later centuries, numerous myths and false accounts of her life and relationship to Jesus destroyed her reputation, regardless of the testimony of the Gospels. A central theme in the later story of Mary Magdalene was that she had been a prostitute (and, therefore, an object of scandal). This was reinforced by Pope Gregory I’s error in confusing her with Mary of Bethany and the unnamed ‘sinful woman’ who washed Christ’s feet (Luke 7:36-50) These falsehoods were refuted by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and Pope Francis raised her memorial to the status of a Feast in the Calendar in 2016.  

Nonetheless her status as a promiscuous woman has remained in popular culture to the present day.  For example, the 2011 Film Resurrection portrays her as an experienced prostitute. It seems that bad-naming women and destroying reputations is an older game than social media trolls could ever have imagined.  

Let us then celebrate St Mary Magdalene’s Feast, rejoicing in the fact that she followed Christ and was trusted as the first to bring news of His Resurrection to the apostles and the world. Let us pray, too, for all those women who have suffered loss of dignity, abuse and degradation.                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                             TC

Founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks, she is one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein.  She developed the idea of establishing a religious community which was to become the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, or the Brigittines. … One distinctive feature of the houses of the Order was that they were double monasteries, with both men and women forming a joint community (headed by an abbess), though with separate cloisters. They were to live in poor convents and to give all surplus income to the poor. However, they were allowed to have as many books as they pleased.

                                                                                                         Wikipedia

Martha was the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany. Jesus gently reproved her when she complained about Mary not helping with the cooking when he came to visit (Luke 10: 38-42). In the Gospel of John, Martha appears at the Raising of Lazarus. It is also recorded that Martha served Jesus at supper six days before the Passover. (John 12: 1-2).  

A medieval legend claims that Martha, Mary and Lazarus evangelised Provence. Her supposed relics were placed at the church in Tarascon in 1187.  

She is a patron of housewives and lay sisters. She is often depicted with a ladle, a broom or a bunch of keys. She is represented in a Romanesque sculpture of the Raising of Lazarus at Chichester Cathedral.

                       Independent Catholic News, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/ (With permission)

“The saint whose feast is celebrated on 31 July … offers us … insights which, at this time, might help us face the fluid and fragile situation in which we find ourselves. … “Ignatius invites us, first and foremost, to seek God's will before anything else. His challenge to indifference is not suggesting that we should be uncaring or apathetic or not listen. It is an invitation to see what is most important, real and authentic. He says that we cannot make good life decisions if we are weighed down by desires that do not come from our true selves.”

                        Independent Catholic News, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/ (With permission)

“He is often referred to as the ‘Curé d'Ars’ (i.e. the parish priest of Ars), internationally known for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish in Ars, France, because of the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings. Catholics attribute this to his saintly life, mortification, persevering ministry in the sacrament of confession, and ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

                                                                                           Wikipedia  

“A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Saint Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

“Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau, Germany—now Wroclaw, Poland—Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology--an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922, when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis.

“After living for four years in the Cologne Carmel, Sister Teresa Benedicta moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands, in 1938. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.

“Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in 1987 and canonized her 12 years later.

“Reflection

“The writings of Edith Stein fill 17 volumes, many of which have been translated into English. A woman of integrity, she followed the truth wherever it led her. After becoming a Catholic, Edith continued to honor her mother’s Jewish faith. Sister Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D., translator of several of Edith’s books, sums up this saint with the phrase, ‘Learn to live at God’s hands.’”

Patron Saint of Europe and Converts to Christianity

 This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

“Saint Lawrence or Laurence (… 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome, Italy, under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman Emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

"After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. St. Ambrose is the earliest source for the narrative that Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the indigent as possible, so as to prevent its being seized by the prefect. On the third day, … he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to deliver the treasures of the Church he presented the indigent, the crippled, the blind, and the suffering, and declared that these were the true treasures of the Church [italics added]. One account records him declaring to the prefect, ‘The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor.’ This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom ….

“On 10 August, Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, and therefore, the ranking Church official, suffered a martyr's death.”

                                                                                                                                           Wikipedia

Also known as ‘Thérèse of Lisieux’ and ‘The Little Flower’, “born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897) …

“Therese has been a highly influential model of sanctity for Catholics and for others because of the simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life. Together with Francis of Assisi, she is one of the most popular saints in the history of the church. Pope Pius X called her ‘the greatest saint of modern times’….

“In her quest for sanctity and in order to attain holiness and to express her love of God, she believed that it was not necessary to accomplish heroic acts or great deeds. She wrote, Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.

“The little way of Therese is the foundation of her spirituality.”

                                                                                                                                            Wikipedia

... formerly known as Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary, is a feast day of the Roman Catholic Church, celebrated on 7 October, the anniversary of the decisive victory of the combined fleet of the Holy League of 1571 over the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto.

According to Dominican tradition, in 1206, St. Dominic was in Prouille, France, attempting to convert the Albigensians back to the Catholic faith. The young priest had little success until one day he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin, who gave him the rosary as a tool against heretics.   While Mary's giving the rosary to St. Dominic is generally acknowledged as a legend, the development of this prayer form owes much to the followers of St. Dominic, including the 15th-century priest and teacher, Alanus de Rupe.                                                                                                                             Wikipedia

(21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890)  [He] was an English theologian, scholar and poet, first an Anglican priest and later a Catholic priest and cardinal, who was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s, and was canonised as a saint in the Catholic Church in 2019.                                                 Wikipedia

On October 15th , we celebrate St Teresa’s life and service to God.

Born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus 28 March 1515 – 4 or 15 October 1582*), was a Spanish noblewoman who felt called to the convent. Carmelite nun, religious reformer, author, theologian of the contemplative life and of mental prayer, she earned the rare distinction of being declared a Doctor of the Church, but not until over four centuries after her death. Active during the Catholic Reformation, she reformed the Carmelite Orders of both women and men. The movement she initiated was later joined by the younger Spanish Carmelite friar and mystic John of the Cross. It led eventually to the establishment of the Discalced Carmelites. A formal papal decree adopting the split from the old order was issued in 1580.  

Her written contributions, which include her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus and her seminal work The Interior Castle, are today an integral part of Spanish Renaissance literature. Together with The Way of Perfection, her works form part of the literary canon of Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practice, and continue to attract interest from people both within and outside the Catholic Church.

*She died in the hours when the Julian calendar was exchanged for the Gregorian calendars - and days were 'skipped'..                                                                                                                             Wikipedia

“…patron saint of artists, physicians, bachelors, surgeons, students and butchers….”

“…one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, which would mean Luke contributed over a quarter of the text of the New Testament, more than any other author. Prominent figures in early Christianity such as Jerome and Eusebius later reaffirmed his authorship, although a lack of conclusive evidence as to the identity of the author of the works has led to discussion in scholarly circles, both secular and religious." 

                                                                                                                                           Wikipedia

--------------------

The great evangelist, as he is also known, was a citizen of Antioch in Syria, is said to have been one of Jesus’ first seventy two apostles and was a close friend of St Paul, who thought a lot of him and refers to him in the letter to the Colossians and in other letters.    

He is, of course, known to us as the writer of one of the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. He is the only one who gives us the parable of the prodigal son and so gives us this clear and moving example of God’s love and mercy.    

St Paul tells us he was a physician (Colossians) and no doubt his professional skills were of great service to Christ’s followers, both in treating ailments and, through private practice on the wealthy, as a source of income.    

In present times, doctors and other healthcare workers are absolutely vital to us as we face the threats not only of Covid-19, but the myriad other ailments from corns to cancer than afflict us. May we then remember St Luke and think of our doctors as respected and beloved physicians.

“… born Karol Józef Wojtyła … 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005….

“John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. He maintained the Church's previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conservative in their interpretation. He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 and canonised 483 people, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated many of the world's bishops, and ordained many priests. 

                                                                                                                     Wikipedia

“Jude is so named by Luke and Acts. Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except of course where all the apostles are mentioned. Scholars hold that he is not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name, it was shortened to ‘Jude’ in English.

“Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called ‘the Zealot.’ The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them, the messianic promise of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent nation. God alone was their king, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—the very domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees, carrying on their ideals of religion and independence. But many were the counterparts of modern terrorists. They raided and killed, attacking both foreigners and ‘collaborating’ Jews. They were chiefly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70….

“As in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two ‘sons of thunder,’ and a man named Judas Iscariot.

“It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort, or achievement. It is entirely God’s creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: Only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us.

“Saint Jude is the Patron Saint of:  Desperate Situations”

This “Saint of the Day” material is reprinted with permission from Franciscan Media. Visit www.FranciscanMedia.org for more.

------------------------

Simon the Zealot was one of the most obscure among the apostles of Jesus. … According to tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that [St Jude] is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon….                                   

                                                                                          Wikipedia

----------------------------

Both Simon and Jude were ordinary men who were chosen by Jesus himself to teach others about God’s love and to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Their lives help us to understand that even the most average people can become saints when they decide to follow Jesus. Both of these men were known by other names during their lives. Simon was often called “the Zealot.” A zealot is a person who is strongly committed to something. In Simon’s case, he firmly believed in the importance of people following Jewish law. Once he met Jesus, his life was changed. Simon is the patron saint of woodcutters, tanners and sawyers. 

Jude was also known as “Jude Thaddeus.” People used this formal title so that he was not confused with Judas, the Iscariot. Jude is the patron saint of hopeless cases and desperate situations. People often pray to Jude when they feel that there is no one else to turn to. They ask Jude to bring their problem to Jesus.  

Simon and Jude travelled together to teach others about Jesus. Because of their eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ miracles and his death and Resurrection, many people became believers and were baptized. Simon and Jude died for their faith on the same day in Beirut. Jude’s body was later returned to Rome where it was buried in a crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica.

…the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat against the Protestant Reformation together with Ignatius of Loyola and Philip Neri. In that role he was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church, with a feast day on November 4.

                                                                                                                                                              Wikipedia

“… bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy ‘was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history.’

“He was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been called ‘the Great’. He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuaded him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. He is also a Doctor of the Church, most remembered theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was a major foundation to the debates of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourthecumenical council. That meeting dealt primarily with Christology and elucidated the orthodox definition of Christ's being as thehypostatic union of two natures, divine and human, united in one person, ‘with neither confusion nor division’.”                                                                  Wikipedia

"… 316 – 8 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the patron saint of the Third Republic, and is patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe. … He is best known for the account of his using his military sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter. His shrine in Tours became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. His cult was revived in French nationalism during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1, and as a consequence he was seen as a patron saint of France during the French Third Republic.”                                                                           Wikipedia

“…was a Polish–Lithuanian monk and archeparch (archbishop) of the Ruthenian Catholic Church, who on 12 November 1623 was killed by an angry mob in Vitebsk, Vitebsk Voivodeship, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Belarus). He is "the best-known victim" of anti-Catholic violence related to implementing the Union of Brest,… His death reflects the conflict among Christian Orthodox and Catholics that had intensified after the Ruthenian Orthodox Church (Kiev Metropolitanate) confirmed its communion with the Roman Catholic Church through the 1596 Union of Brest.”                                                                                                      Wikipedia