St. Thomas & St. John Catholic Parish

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    • Home
    • Church Services
    • About Us
    • Weekly Newsletter
    • Current Parish Activities
    • The Care of Creation
    • Justice & Peace (NJPN)
    • Ukraine
    • CAFOD
    • The Synodal Process
    • Life & the Family
    • The Church in Our Times
    • Prayer
    • Saints from our Tradition
    • National Cycle of Prayer
    • Covid-19 Church Info
    • Fr Luke's Faith Talks
    • Fr Luke's Lent Talks
    • Fr Luke's Advent Talks
    • Bishop's Letters & Info
    • Our Parish Community
    • Charitable Activities
    • Contact Us
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St. Thomas & St. John Catholic Parish

St. Thomas & St. John Catholic ParishSt. Thomas & St. John Catholic ParishSt. Thomas & St. John Catholic Parish
  • Home
  • Church Services
  • About Us
  • Weekly Newsletter
  • Current Parish Activities
  • The Care of Creation
  • Justice & Peace (NJPN)
  • Ukraine
  • CAFOD
  • The Synodal Process
  • Life & the Family
  • The Church in Our Times
  • Prayer
  • Saints from our Tradition
  • National Cycle of Prayer
  • Covid-19 Church Info
  • Fr Luke's Faith Talks
  • Fr Luke's Lent Talks
  • Fr Luke's Advent Talks
  • Bishop's Letters & Info
  • Our Parish Community
  • Charitable Activities
  • Contact Us
  • Links

Saints, from our Tradition, for our Reflection

St Andrew, Apostle, Patron of Scotland - Commemorated 30 Nov

“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

Saint Francis Xavier – Commemorated 3 Dec

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

ST NICHOLAS - Commemorated 6 Dec

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 Bishop, Mem. – Commemorated 7 Dec

“… [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….”


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“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

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – Commemorated 8 Dec

“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 MARTYRS OF EAST ANGLIA – Commemorated 10 Dec

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/

“St Lucy, Virgin, Martyr – commemorated 13 December

“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/  

ST JOHN OF THE CROSS: FEAST - Commemorated 14 Dec

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


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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.

St Stephen's Day - Commemorated 26 Dec

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 Fursey or Fursa - Commemorated 16 Jan

He was an Irish monk who did much to establish Christianity throughout the British Isles and particularly in East Anglia. Born in Ireland, he established a monastery at Rathmat, on the shores of Loch Corrib, and then journeyed to England where he founded another at Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth. 

St Anthony, Abbot - Commemorated 17 Jan

St Antony is the originator of the monastic life. He was born in Egypt: when his parents died, he listened to the words of the Gospel and gave all his belongings to the poor. He went out into the wilderness to begin a life of penitence, living in absolute poverty, praying, meditating, and supporting himself by manual work.   


He suffered many temptations, both physical and spiritual, but he overcame them. Disciples gathered round him, attracted by his wisdom, moderation, and holiness. He lived to be 105, and died in 356. 

St Francis de Sales, Bishop – Commemorated 24 Jan

“His gentle character was a great asset in winning souls….  


Besides his two well-known books …. he wrote many pamphlets …. For his writings, he has been named patron of the Catholic Press.  His writings, filled with his characteristic gentle spirit are addressed to lay people.  He wants to make them understand that they too are called to be saints….  


“Patron Saint of Authors, Deafness, Journalists, Writers” 


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

St Thomas Aquinas – commemorated 28 Jan

“By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation.  His is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor…. 


“His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings.  The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings….he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished…. 


“We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality and inclusiveness.  We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn and understand.  At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ….  


“Patron Saint of Catholic Colleges and Universities, Educators/Teachers, Philosophers/Theologians, Students” 


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

St Josephine Bakhita — commemorated 8 Feb

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.

Our Lady of Lourdes — commemorated 11 Feb

“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

THE SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS OF THE SERVITE ORDER – Commemorated 17 Feb

“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.

Saint Felix - Bishop - Secondary Patron of the Diocese - - Commemorated 8 Mar

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. 

ST PATRICK, BISHOP, PATRON OF IRELAND – Commemorated 17 Mar

“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. 

St Joseph, Husband of Mary – Commemorated 19 Mar

“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.

St Oscar Romero - Commemorated 24 Mar

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. 

BY GEORGE! - commemorated 23 Apr

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

TWO SAINTS WHOSE INFLUENCE ON THE CHURCH HAS BEEN CRITICAL

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. 


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“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. 


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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) 

More on St Catherine of Siena - commemorated 29 Apr

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

Saint James and St Philip - Apostles - - commemorated 3 May

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 English Martyrs - - commemorated 4 May

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.

Our Lady of Fatima - commemorated 13 May

“Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children–Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos–received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. Mary asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners, and for the conversion of Russia.       


“Mary gave the children three secrets…. [the] first secret … concerned devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  The second secret was a vision of hell…. the third secret … spoke of a “bishop in white” who was shot by a group of soldiers…     


“The message of Fatima is simple: Pray. … Sister Lucia agreed that Pope John Paul II’s public consecration in St. Peter’s Square on March 25, 1984, fulfilled Mary’s request. …     


“Mary is perfectly honored when people generously imitate her response ‘Let it be done to me as you say’ (Luke 1:38). Mary can never be seen as a rival to Jesus or to the Church’s teaching authority, as exercised by the college of bishops united with the bishop of Rome."     


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

SAINT MATTHIAS - commemorated 14 May

St Matthias was elected to replace Judas, after the latter had betrayed Jesus, according to the Acts of the Apostles. Not much is known about him and a number of different names is associated with him. We don’t know when he was born, we do know he died on 80 AD.


The first act of the apostles after the Ascension of Jesus was to find a replacement for Judas. But Jesus had chosen the original twelve. How could they know whom he would choose?

One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, when Peter stood up to propose the way to make the choice.


Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle should be someone who had been a disciple from the very beginning of Christ’s mission, from his baptism by John until the Ascension. The reason for this was simple, the new apostle must become a witness to Jesus' resurrection. He must have followed Jesus before anyone knew him, stayed with him when he made enemies, and believed in him when he spoke of the cross and of eating his body -- teachings that had made others melt away.


Following a period of preaching in Jerusalem, he is thought to have established the faith in Cappadocia and on the shores of the Caspian Sea in what is modern-day Georgia, and he is claimed to have been buried in what is now Sevastopol in 80 AD.


                                                                                 TC                       Sources: Catholic Online. & Wikipedia


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“What was the holiness of Matthias? Obviously, he was suited for apostleship by the experience of being with Jesus from his baptism to his ascension. He must also have been suited personally, or he would not have been nominated for so great a responsibility…. If the apostles are the foundations of our faith by their witness, they must also be reminders, if only implicitly, that holiness is entirely a matter of God’s giving, and it is offered to all, in the everyday circumstances of life….”


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

St Bede, the Venerable (673 – 735) - commemorated 25 May – Patron Saint of Scholars

Born in lands belonging to the twin monastery of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow in present-day Tyne and Wear, Bede was sent to Monkwearmouth at the age of seven and later joined Abbot Ceolfrith at Jarrow. Both survived a plague that struck in 686, an outbreak that killed a majority of the population there. While he spent most of his life in the monastery, St Bede travelled to several abbeys and monasteries across Britain.


He is known as “The Father of English History” for his book The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, although in his time he was known widely as an author, teacher and scholar. He was one of the greatest teachers and writers of the early Middle Ages. He helped popularize the practice of dating forward from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini) which became common practice across Europe until the mid-20 th century.


He is regarded by many historians as the most important scholar of antiquity for the period between 604 and 800 AD.


In 1899, Pope Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church. He is the only native of Great Britain to achieve this designation; Anselm of Canterbury, also a Doctor of the Church, was originally from Italy. Bede was moreover a skilled linguist and translator, and his work made the Latin and Greek writings of the early Church Fathers much more accessible to his fellow Anglo-Saxons, which contributed significantly to English Christianity. Bede's monastery had access to an impressive library which included works by Eusebius, Orosius, and many others. He died in bed in 800, finishing his translation of St John’s Gospel.

                                                                           TC             Source: Wikipedia


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“Bede [c. 672- May 25, 735] is one of the few saints honored as such even during his lifetime. His writings were filled with such faith and learning that even while he was still alive, a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches.   


“At an early age, Bede was entrusted to the care of the abbot of the Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow. The happy combination of genius and the instruction of scholarly, saintly monks, produced a saint and an extraordinary scholar, perhaps the most outstanding one of his day. He was deeply versed in all the sciences of his times: natural philosophy, the philosophical principles of Aristotle, astronomy, arithmetic, grammar, ecclesiastical history, the lives of the saints and especially, holy Scripture.   


“From the time of his ordination to the priesthood at 30—he had been ordained a deacon at 19—till his death, Bede was ever occupied with learning, writing, and teaching. Besides the many books that he copied, he composed 45 of his own, including 30 commentaries on books of the Bible.   


“His Ecclesiastical History of the English People is commonly regarded as of decisive importance in the art and science of writing history. A unique era was coming to an end at the time of Bede’s death: It had fulfilled its purpose of preparing Western Christianity to assimilate the non-Roman barbarian North. Bede recognized the opening to a new day in the life of the Church even as it was happening.   


“Although eagerly sought by kings and other notables, even Pope Sergius, Bede managed to remain in his own monastery until his death. Only once did he leave for a few months in order to teach in the school of the archbishop of York. Bede died in 735 praying his favorite prayer: ‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As in the beginning, so now, and forever.’…   


“Though his History is the greatest legacy Bede has left us, his work in all the sciences, especially in Scripture, should not be overlooked. During his last Lent, Bede worked on a translation of the Gospel of Saint John into English, completing it the day he died. But of this work ‘to break the word to the poor and unlearned’ nothing remains today.”


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

St AUGUSTINE of CANTERBURY - commemorated 27 May – Patron Saint of England

Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church. We celebrate him on May 27th.


Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission to Britain to convert Æthelberht and his Kingdom of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was probably chosen because Æthelberht had married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Charibert I the King of Paris, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Gregory urged them on, and in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury.


King Æthelberht converted and allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them land to found a monastery outside the city walls. Augustine was consecrated as a bishop and converted many of the king's subjects, including thousands during a mass baptism on Christmas Day in 597. Pope Gregory sent more missionaries in 601, along with encouraging letters and gifts for the churches, although attempts to persuade the native British bishops to submit to Augustine's authority failed. Roman bishops were established at London, and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. Augustine also arranged the consecration of his successor, Laurence of Canterbury He probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint. As well as his lasting memory, he left behind advice relevant still today: “He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps,notleaps.” 

                                                                                       TC                                        Source: Wikipedia


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“In the year 596, some 40 monks set out from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. Leading the group was Augustine, the prior of their monastery. Hardly had he and his men reached Gaul when they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and of the treacherous waters of the English Channel. Augustine returned to Rome and to Gregory the Great—the pope who had sent them—only to be assured by him that their fears were groundless.  


 “Augustine set out again. This time the group crossed the English Channel and landed in the territory of Kent, ruled by King Ethelbert, a pagan married to a Christian, Bertha. Ethelbert received them kindly, set up a residence for them in Canterbury and within the year, on Pentecost Sunday 597, was himself baptized. After being consecrated a bishop in France, Augustine returned to Canterbury, where he founded his see. He constructed a church and monastery near where the present cathedral, begun in 1070, now stands. As the faith spread, additional sees were established at London and Rochester.   


“Work was sometimes slow and Augustine did not always meet with success. Attempts to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon Christians with the original Briton Christians—who had been driven into western England by Anglo-Saxon invaders—ended in dismal failure. Augustine failed to convince the Britons to give up certain Celtic customs at variance with Rome and to forget their bitterness, helping him evangelize their Anglo-Saxon conquerors. 


“Laboring patiently, Augustine wisely heeded the missionary principles—quite enlightened for the times—suggested by Pope Gregory: purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs; let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts; retain local customs as far as possible. The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after his arrival, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of England. Augustine of Canterbury can truly be called the ‘Apostle of England.’…  


 “Augustine of Canterbury comes across today as a very human saint, one who could suffer like many of us from a failure of nerve. For example, his first venture to England ended in a big U-turn back to Rome. He made mistakes and met failure in his peacemaking attempts with the Briton Christians. He often wrote to Rome for decisions on matters he could have decided on his own had he been more self-assured. He even received mild warnings against pride from Pope Gregory, who cautioned him to ‘fear lest, amidst the wonders that are done, the weak mind be puffed up by self-esteem.’ Augustine’s perseverance amidst obstacles and only partial success teaches today’s apostles and pioneers to struggle on despite frustrations and be satisfied with gradual advances.”


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

SAINT EPHREM -- Commemorated 8 June – “Poet, teacher, orator, and defender of the faith…

“Many Catholics still find singing in church a problem, probably because of the rather individualistic piety that they inherited. Yet singing has been a tradition of both the Old and the New Testaments. It is an excellent way of expressing and creating a community spirit of unity as well as of joy. An ancient historian testifies that Ephrem’s hymns ‘lent luster to the Christian assemblies.’ We need some modern Ephrems—and cooperating singers—to do the same for our Christian assemblies today.”

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

St BARNABAS, APOSTLE - -- Commemorated 11 June

St Barnabas born Joseph, was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Named an apostle in Acts 14:14, he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They travelled together making more converts (c. 45–47), and participated in the Council of Jerusalem (c. 50). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia.


Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles. Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church.


Acts 11:24 describes Barnabas as "a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith". He certainly seems to be the right man to accompany Paul, especially during Paul’s persecutions. A saint for your prayers when one is down and feeling stressed by others or the responsibilities of one’s faith: e.g. St Barnabas will always get you to church when you feel more like staying in bed!      

                                                                                                                       TC

Saints: June 22nd - 24th

22 June: SS John Fisher (1469 – 1535) & Thomas More (1478 – 1535)
Both were martyred for opposing Henry VIII’s decision to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and pronouncing himself head of the Church of England. Both were very senior and important people in the government of England. St John was the Archbishop of Canterbury and St Thomas was Henry’s Chancellor. Their stories have been told and retold many times, sometimes with accuracy, at other times as unfounded attempts to prove that these saints were rogues.   

23 June: Saint Etheldreda (636-679)
Also known as Æthelthryth or Audrey, Born in Exning, she was an East Anglian princess, a Fenland and Northumbrian queen and Abbess of Ely Her father was King Anna of East Anglia, and her sisters were SS Wendreda and Seaxburh both of whom eventually founded abbeys.

Etheldreda founded a double monastery in Ely. These were destroyed in 870 by invading Danes.  

24 June: The Nativity of St John the Baptist
The Nativity of John the Baptist is one of the oldest festivals of the Christian church, being listed by the Council of Agde in 506 as one of that region's principal festivals, where it was a day of rest and, like Christmas, was celebrated with three Masses: a vigil, at dawn, and at midday.  

The Nativity of John the Baptist on June 24 comes three months after the celebration on March 25 of the Annunciation, and six months before the Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus. The purpose of these festivals is not to celebrate their exact dates, but simply to commemorate them in an interlinking way. The Nativity of John the Baptist anticipates the feast of Christmas.

ST IRENAEUS, BISHOP, MARTYR, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, MEM. – commemorated 28 June

“The Church is fortunate that Irenaeus was involved in many of its controversies in the second century. He was a student, well trained no doubt, with great patience in investigating, tremendously protective of apostolic teaching, but prompted more by a desire to win over his opponents than to prove them in error. 


“As bishop of Lyons he was especially concerned with the Gnostics, who took their name from the Greek word for ‘knowledge.’ Claiming access to secret knowledge imparted by Jesus to only a few disciples, their teaching was attracting and confusing many Christians. After thoroughly investigating the various Gnostic sects and their ‘secret,’ Irenaeus showed to what logical conclusions their tenets led. These he contrasted with the teaching of the apostles and the text of Holy Scripture, giving us, in five books, a system of theology of great importance to subsequent times. Moreover, his work, widely used and translated into Latin and Armenian, gradually ended the influence of the Gnostics. 


“The circumstances and details about his death, like those of his birth and early life in Asia Minor, are not at all clear. However in 2022, Pope Francis named Saint Irenaeus a Doctor of the Church….


“A deep and genuine concern for other people will remind us that the discovery of truth is not to be a victory for some and a defeat for others. Unless all can claim a share in that victory, truth itself will continue to be rejected by the losers, because it will be regarded as inseparable from the yoke of defeat. And so, confrontation, controversy and the like might yield to a genuine united search for God’s truth and how it can best be served.” 


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

                        https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-irenaeus  

Display theiSt OLIVER PLUNKETT - Archbishop. Martyr – commemorated 1 July

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/

St Withburga, Abbess (died 743) – commemorated 8 July

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

Ss Augustine Zhao Rong and his Companions – commemorated 9 July

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

Saint Benedict (c. 480-c. 547), Abbott, Patron of Europe – commemorated 11 July

“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.

St Bonaventure - commemorated 15 July

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.

Feast of St Mary Magdalene - commemorated 22 July

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

St Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373), Patron of Europe – Mystic and Saint - commemorated 23

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

St Martha - commemorated 29 July

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)

St Ignatius Loyola - commemorated 31 July

“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)

St John Vianney - Patron Saint of Parish Priests - commemorated 4 Aug

“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  

“Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – [October 12, 1891 - August 9, 1942] commemorated 9 Aug

“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 – Deacon, Martyr, Feast - commemorated 10 Aug

“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

“Clare of Assisi – (16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) - commemorated 11 Aug

“Clare of Assisi … was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. [1] She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote their Rule of Life, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honour as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares. Her feast day is on 11 August.”

                                                                                                                                              Wikipedia


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“Contemporary accounts glow with admiration of Clare's life in the convent of San Damiano in Assisi. She served the sick and washed the feet of the begging nuns. She came from prayer, it was said, with her face so shining it dazzled those about her. …


“The 41 years of Clare’s religious life are scenarios of sanctity: an indomitable resolve to lead the simple, literal gospel life as Francis taught her; courageous resistance to the ever-present pressure to dilute the ideal; a passion for poverty and humility; an ardent life of prayer; and a generous concern for her sisters."


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

“Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - commemorated 15 Aug

“On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith …

Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s assumption into heaven. Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as God’s people. …


“In the light of the Assumption of Mary, it is easy to pray her Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) with new meaning. In her glory she proclaims the greatness of the Lord and finds joy in God her savior. God has done marvels to her and she leads others to recognize God’s holiness. She is the lowly handmaid who deeply reverenced her God and has been raised to the heights. From her position of strength she will help the lowly and the poor find justice on earth, and she will challenge the rich and powerful to distrust wealth and power as a source of happiness.”


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

St John Eudes - Commemorated 19 Aug

"(14 November 1601 – 19 August 1680)

“…was a French Roman Catholic priest and the founder of both the Order of Our Lady of Charity in 1641 and Congregation of Jesus and Mary also known as The Eudists in 1643. He was … the author of the proper for the Mass and Divine Office of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Eudes … preached missions across France, including Paris and Versailles, while earning recognition as a popular evangelist and confessor.”

                                                                                                                                          Wikipedia

St Pius X, Pope - Commemorated 21 Aug

"(2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914)

“… head of the Catholic Church from August 1903 to his death in 1914. …


“He advanced the Liturgical Movement by formulating the principle of participatio actuosa (active participation) of the faithful in his motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini (1903), he encouraged the frequent reception of Holy Communion, and he lowered the age for First Communion, which became a lasting innovation of his papacy.”

                                                                                                                                            Wikipedia

ST BARTHOLOMEW APOSTLE – Commemorated 24 Aug

“[On Aug. 24th]… we celebrate the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles. He travelled extensively to spread the Word of God and visited places such as India, Ethiopia, Lycaonia (modern Turkey), Parthia (modern Iran) and Armenia. It is there in Armenia that the apostle is said to have been martyred by flaying and beheading at the command of the Armenian King Astyages….


“Saint Bartholomew was stripped of his skin, his ultimate sacrifice in order to bear witness to God. He teaches us how in order to serve God we ultimately might get stripped of everything before meeting Our Maker…”

            With permission, Independent Catholic News https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/40302


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“Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles…. 


"[W]e know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth….


"Their holiness was … a gift that they had to share with others…. “  


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

Saint Monica (c. 332 – 387) - Commemorated 27 Aug

"... an early African Christian saint and the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering caused by her husband's adultery, and her prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions. Popular Christian legends recall Saint Monica weeping every night for her son Augustine."

                                                                                                                                          Wikipedia

St JUNIPERO SERRA - Commemorated 28 Aug

Spanish missionary in America: born on the island of Majorca, 24 Nov. 1713; died Monterey, California, 28 Aug. 1784. He became a member of the Franciscan order in 1729, in 1750 arrived In Mexico City as a missionary and in 1750-69 was active among the native tribes. In 1769 he went to the site of San Diego, Cal., where he founded a mission. He gathered about him a band of 16 of his order and these missionaries converted over 3,000 Indians, of whom Junipero himself is said to have baptized more than 1,000. He instructed the natives in the arts of civilization and the colonies which assembled about the mission stations constituted the first settlements in California. His headquarters were at Monterey, but he founded several other missions.

                                                                                                              The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)

ST GREGORY THE GREAT, POPE, DOCTOR, FEAST. – Commemorated 3 Sep

“Pope Gregory I (… c. 540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian Mission, to convert the then-pagan Anglo-Saxons in England to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope….


“A Roman senator's son and himself the prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory lived in a monastery he established on his family estate before becoming a papal ambassador and then pope. Although he was the first pope from a monastic background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator. During his papacy, he greatly surpassed with his administration the emperors in improving the welfare of the people of Rome….


“Throughout the Middle Ages, he was known as "the Father of Christian Worship" because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day….


“He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.”

                                                                                                                                                       Wikipedia

Saint Vincent de Paul - Commemorated 27 Sep

... was a French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the superior of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the "Vincentians" (in France known as "Lazaristes"). These priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. Vincent was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when there was great laxity, abuse, and ignorance among them. … 


Saint Vincent de Paul has a charity named after him by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam.

                                                                                                                                        Wikipedia

St Therese of the Child Jesus VD. Mem. -- Commemorated 1 Oct

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

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary - Commemorated 7 Oct

... 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

St John Henry Newman, Priest, Feast - Commemorated 9 Oct

(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

ST TERESA OF AVILA - Commemorated 15 Oct

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

ST LUKE – Evangelisst, Beloved Physician - Commemorated 18 Oct - Feast

“…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


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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.

St John Paul II, Pope - Commemorated 22 Oct

“… 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

THE FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE - Commemorated 28 Oct

“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.


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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

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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.

St Charles Borromeo, Bishop – Commemorated 4 Nov

…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

St Leo the Great, Pope, Doctor of the Church - Commemorated 10 Nov

“… 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

“St Martin of Tours, Bishop - Commemorated 11 Nov

"… 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

St Josaphat, Bishop, Martyr - Commemorated 12 Nov

“…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

Saint Albert the Great, commemorated 15 November

“Albert the Great was a 13th-century German Dominican who decisively influenced the Church’s stance toward Aristotelian philosophy brought to Europe by the spread of Islam. …[He was] the master of Thomas Aquinas… Albert deserves recognition on his own merits as a curious, honest, and diligent scholar…. His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, …”


“Albert, a Doctor of the Church, is the patron of scientists and philosophers.”

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


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Saint Margaret of Scotland, [Queen to King Malcolm] commemorated 16 November

“[She] was a truly liberated woman … she was free to be herself. For her, that meant freedom to love God and serve others.


“Margaret tried to improve [Scotland] by promoting the arts and education. … Her private life was austere. She had certain times for prayer and reading Scripture. She ate sparingly and slept little in order to have time for devotions…. She was always surrounded by beggars in public and never refused them. It is recorded that she never sat down to eat without first feeding nine orphans and 24 adults…. Margaret’s outstanding virtue was her love of the poor. …“


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Ss Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions - Commemorated 24 Nov

"Andrew Dung-Lac, a Catholic convert ordained to the priesthood, was one of 117 people martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. Members of the companions group gave their lives for Christ in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and received beatification during four different occasions between 1900 and 1951. All were canonized during the papacy of Saint John Paul II."


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