Tag Archives: Popular saints

Bl. Miguel Pro

Bl. Miguel Pro

Bl. Miguel Pro

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

In 1915, Miguel was sent to a seminary in Spain, where he remained until 1924, when he went to Belgium for his ordination to the priesthood in 1925. Miguel suffered from a severe stomach problem and after three operations, when his health did not improve, his superiors, in 1926, allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the grave religious persecution in that country.

The churches were closed and priests went into hiding. Miguel spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the sturdy Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the works of mercy by assisting the poor in Mexico City with their temporal needs. He adopted many interesting disguises in carrying out his secret mininstry. He would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighboorhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessmam with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies. In all that he did, however, Fr. Pro remained obedient to his superiors and was filled with the joy of serving Christ, his King.

Falsely accused in the bombing attempt on a former Mexican president, Miguel became a wanted man. Betrayed to the police, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process.

On the day of his execution, Fr. Pro forgave his executtioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, “Viva Cristo Rey”, “Long live Christ the King!”

Information courtesy of ProVision and Brother Gerald Muelle

In 1915, Miguel was sent to a seminary in Spain, where he remained until 1924, when he went to Belgium for his ordination to the priesthood in 1925. Miguel suffered from a severe stomach problem and after three operations, when his health did not improve, his superiors, in 1926, allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the grave religious persecution in that country.

The churches were closed and priests went into hiding. Miguel spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the sturdy Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the works of mercy by assisting the poor in Mexico City with their temporal needs. He adopted many interesting disguises in carrying out his secret mininstry. He would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighboorhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessmam with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies. In all that he did, however, Fr. Pro remained obedient to his superiors and was filled with the joy of serving Christ, his King.

Falsely accused in the bombing attempt on a former Mexican president, Miguel became a wanted man. Betrayed to the police, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process.

On the day of his execution, Fr. Pro forgave his executtioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, “Viva Cristo Rey”, “Long live Christ the King!”

Information courtesy of ProVision and Brother Gerald Mueller.

Views: 0

St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

The year was 258 A.D. It was a difficult beginning for what would become the First Christian Millennium. Hostility against the early followers of Jesus Christ was growing. The barbarism and severity of pagan Rome had begun to reach a fever pitch. It would soon lead to a blood lust. The newborn Christian Church, faithful to the One who had given Himself for the life of the world, continued the work of His redemption.

Roman authorities charged Christians of that era with “odium humani generis” [hatred of the human race]. The Romans claimed to be citizens of a great empire, yet they practiced primitive forms of abortion as well as “exposure”, the killing of unwanted newborns.

First and Second century Rome was a challenging mission field for these early Christians. Rome proclaimed itself the shining example to the world of its age while it violated the Natural Moral Law and embraced debauchery. Sound familiar?

The day that Deacon Lawrence experienced his birth from death to life was an ominous and frightful day in ancient Rome. Four days earlier, the great Bishop of Rome, Sixtus, was arrested by soldiers of the emperor Valerian, along with his beloved deacons, and beheaded.

Valerian had issued an edict to the Roman Senate that all the Christian clergy-bishops, priests and deacons-were to be arrested and executed. There were so many holy people among the martyrs of early Rome. That makes it even more remarkable that the life and death of this one humble Deacon-Lawrence-is attributed with all of Rome becoming Christian.

Sentenced to death in the Emperor Valerian’s sweeping condemnation of all Christian clergy, Lawrence offended the Emperor – and endeared himself to all Christians since then – by assembling before Valerian the real gold and silver of the Church, the poor.

According to the Christian tradition, Deacon Lawrence, knowing that the fervor of Valerians’ hatred was extending to all Christians who owned property, began to give it all away. He distributed the money and treasures of the Church to the city’s poor-believing the clear admonition of the Savior that they were blessed and especially loved by Him.

Valerian heard the news and wanted the treasure to satisfy his unbridled lust for worldly power. So, he offered Deacon Lawrence a way out of sure death. If he would show him where the Church’s great gold and silver were located, he would issue an order of clemency, sparing his life so that he could continue his work.

Valerian was delighted when the deacon asked for three days to gather all the gold and silver of the Church together in one central place! His pride and greed filled blinded him from seeing the truth.

For three days, Deacon Lawrence went throughout the city and invited all the beloved poor, handicapped, and misfortunate to come together. They were being supported by a thriving early Christian community who understood the Gospel imperative to recognize Jesus in the poor.

When Valerian arrived, Deacon Lawrence presented him with the true gold and silver of the Church, the poor! The emperor was filled with rage! Beheading was not enough for this Christian Deacon. He ordered Deacon Lawrence to be burned alive, in public, on a griddle. Witnesses recorded the public martyrdom. The deacon cheerfully offered himself to the Lord Jesus and even joked with his executioners!

The tradition records massive conversions to the Christian faith as a result of the holy life and death of one Deacon who understood the true heart of his vocation. He was poured out, like his Master, Jesus Christ the Servant, in redemptive love, on behalf of others. It is still said to this day that all of Rome became Christian as a result of the faithful life, and the death, of this one humble deacon. He was buried in a cemetery on the Via Tiburtina. On that spot, Constantine would later build a Basilica.

A special devotion to Lawrence, deacon and martyr, spread throughout the entire Christian community. Early Christians had no doubt that those who had gone to be with the Lord continued to pray for those who still struggled in this earthly life. They saw in Lawrence a great example of how to live, and how to die, faithful to the Gospel.

Years later, St Augustine reflected on the heroism of this great deacon in a sermon preached on his feast day, emphasizing that his life and death were an example for all Christians to emulate: “I tell you again and again my brethren, that in the Lord’s garden are to be found not only the roses of His martyrs. In it there are also the lilies of the virgins, the ivy of wedded couples, and the violets of widows. On no account may any class of people despair, thinking that God has not called them.”

The life and death of Deacon Lawrence speaks the timeless message of the Gospel to all who will listen. Whether we are ever called to shed our blood in what has traditionally been called red martyrdom or simply called to offer our sacrifices daily in a continuous life of poured-out love, traditionally called white martyrdom, we continue the redemptive work of the Lord through our daily Christian lives and participation in the life of the Church.

The Deacon and martyr Lawrence offered himself fully to Jesus Christ – and shows us the way to do the same.

Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, Pray for us

Views: 1

St. Julia

St. Julia

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

St. Julia of Corsica, also known as St. Julia of Carthage or St. Julia of Nonza, was born to noble, aristocratic parents in Carthage. Overtime, Carthage was subject to many barbaric attacks, weakening the city’s defenses.

During an attack by Gaiseric, King of the Vandals, Julia was taken from her family and sold into slavery. She was purchased by a pagan merchant of Syria, named Eusebius.

Even during the most daunting chores, Julia never complained or felt sorry for herself. By being patient and cheerful, Julia was able to find comfort in her place in the world. Julia passionately loved God. When she was not working under her master’s commands, Julia devoted her time toward praying and reading books of piety.

Eusebius, charmed by Julia’s commitment and devotion, felt it was right to bring her along with him during his journey to Gual, where France now stands. Upon reaching the northern part of an island then called Corisca, he anchored his ship to join a pagan idolatrous festival.

Julia was left on her own some distance away from the festival, because she refused to be defiled by the “superstitious ceremonies” she openly hated.

The governor of the island, Felix, was a narrow-minded pagan who needed to have things his way. He noticed Julia outside of the festival and felt she was “insulting the gods.” Eusebius informed Felix that Julia was a Christian and that despite his authority over her, she would not renounce her religion. Eusebius explained he could not bare parting with Julia because she was so diligent and faithful in her work for him.

Felix would not accept this. He offered Eusebius four of his best female slaves in exchange for Julia. Eusebius replied, “No; all you are worth will not purchase her; for I would freely lose the most valuable thing I have in the world rather than be deprived of her.”

Not content, Felix prepared a banquet and waited until Eusebius became intoxicated and fell into a deep sleep to make his next move.

Felix found Julia alone and unprotected. He tried to get her to sacrifice to his gods. He told her he would grant her freedom if she would obey. Julia refused to deny Christ.

“My freedom is to serve Christ,” she said, “whom I love every day in all the purity of my soul.”

Enraged by her response, Felix had Julia struck in the face and her hair torn from her head. Still, during her torture, Julia continued to confess her faith. Finally, he had her hanged on a cross until she died.

Her body was carried off by monks of the isle of Gorgon, but in 763, the King of Lombardy, Desiderius, had her relics moved to Brescia, a city in the northern Italian region of Lombardy where the memory of St. Julia is celebrated with great devotion.

St. Julia is often depicted with the palm of martyrdom and the crucifix. She is the patron saint of Corsica, Livorno, torture victims, and pathologies of the hand and the feet. Her feast day is celebrated on May 23.

Views: 1

St. Anne

St. Anne

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

Also called Euphemianus, a widow, born in Constantinople. From a good family, Anne was forced to marry. When widowed, she assumed a male disguise and the name of Euphemianus. As this male, Anne entered an abbey on Mount Olympus. Revered for holiness, she was asked to become an abbess but remained in an obscure monastery.

Views: 4

St. Scholastica

St. Scholastica

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

St. Scholastica, sister of St. Benedict, consecrated her life to God from her earliest youth. After her brother went to Monte Cassino, where he established his famous monastery, she took up her abode in the neighborhood at Plombariola, where she founded and governed a monastery of nuns, about five miles from that of St. Benedict, who, it appears, also directed his sister and her nuns. She visited her brother once a year, and as she was not allowed to enter his monastery, he went in company with some of his brethren to meet her at a house some distance away. These visits were spent in conferring together on spiritual matters. On one occasion they had passed the time as usual in prayer and pious conversation and in the evening they sat down to take their reflection. St. Scholastica begged her brother to remain until the next day. St. Benedict refused to spend the night outside his monastery. She had recourse to prayer and a furious thunderstorm burst so that neither St. Benedict nor any of his companions could return home. They spent the night in spiritual conferences. The next morning they parted to meet no more on earth. Three days later St. Scholastica died, and her holy brother beheld her soul in a vision as it ascended into heaven. He sent his brethren to bring her body to his monastery and laid it in the tomb he had prepared for himself. She died about the year 543, and St. Benedict followed her soon after. Her feast day is February 10th.

Views: 0

St. Ava

St. Ava

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

Ava was the daughter of King Pepin. She was cured of blindness by St. Rainfredis, became a Benedictine nun at Dinart, Hainault, and later was elected Abbess. Her feast day is April 29th.

Saint Ava is a Roman Catholic saint, the daughter of Pepin II of Aquitaine. She was born on the 29th of April 845 AD. She was cured of blindness by Saint Rainfredis before becoming a Benedictine nun. How she became blind, whether from a birth defect or a childhood illness is unknown. Saint Ava’s feast day is the 29th of April, and she is the patron saint of the blind.

Saint Ava presided as a Benedictine nun dianant in the County of Hainaut in what is now known as Belgium. This would have made her a woman of great spiritual and material standing even without the bolstering influence of Saint Rainfredis having cured her of her blindness.

Saint Ava was an abbess by the time of her death, the highest office a woman could hold within the religious hierarchy of the Catholic faith at that time. Her veneration is now relatively obscure.

Saint Ava’s father, King Pepin II, was rumored to have abandoned Christianity and gone to live among the Vikings, worshiping Woden, or Odin as he is more commonly known. Pepin’s reign was largely disastrous, involving ill-advised alliances with Viking warlords and several failed wars that saw him stripped of much of his power and status before his eventual abdication and death abroad from Aquitaine.

Views: 78

St. Henry

St. Henry

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

St. Henry, son of Henry, Duke of Bavaria, and of Gisella, daughter of Conrad, King of Burgundy, was born in 972. He received an excellent education under the care of St. Wolfgang, Bishop of Ratisbon. In 995, St. Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, upon the death of his cousin, Otho III, he was elected emperor. Firmly anchored upon the great eternal truths, which the practice of meditation kept alive in his heart, he was not elated by this dignity and sought in all things, the greater glory of God. He was most watchful over the welfare of the Church and exerted his zeal for the maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline through the instrumentality of the Bishops. He gained several victories over his enemies, both at home and abroad, but he used these with great moderation and clemency. In 1014, he went to Rome and received the imperial crown at the hands of Pope Benedict VIII. On that occasion he confirmed the donation, made by his predecessors to the Pope, of the sovereignty of Rome and the exarchate of Ravenna. Circumstances several times drove the holy Emperor into war, from which he always came forth victorious. He led an army to the south of Italy against the Saracens and their allies, the Greeks, and drove them from the country. The humility and spirit of justice of the Saint were equal to his zeal for religion. He cast himself at the feet of Herebert, Bishop of Cologne, and begged his pardon for having treated him with coldness, on account of a misunderstanding. He wished to abdicate and retire into a monastery, but yielded to the advice of the Abbot of Verdun, and retained his dignity. Both he and his wife, St. Cunegundes, lived in perpetual chastity, to which they had bound themselves by vow. The Saint made numerous pious foundations, gave liberally to pious institutions and built the Cathedral of Bamberg. His holy death occurred at the castle of Grone, near Halberstad, in 1024. His feast day is July 13th. He is the patron saint of the childless, of Dukes, of the handicapped and those rejected by Religious Order.

Views: 1

St. Catherine Laboure

St. Catherine Laboure

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

St. Catherine Labouré was born in France on May 2, 1806 as the ninth of 11 children to Pierre and Madeleine Labouré.

In 1815, Catherine’s mother passed away, leaving her 9-year-old daughter with the responsibility of caring for the household. After her mother’s funeral, Catherine returned home and picked up a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Holding it close, she said, “Now you will be my mother.”

Growing up, Catherine was known for being a quiet and practical child, though she was extremely devout.

A couple of years after her mother’s death, Catherine experienced a dream of an old priest motioning her to a room of sick people. “It is a good deed to look after the sick. God has designs on you. Do not forget it.”

Years later, during a visit to the Daughters of Charity hospital, Catherine saw a picture of the old priest on the wall. She discovered it was of their founder, St. Vincent de Paul. Catherine immediately knew she would become a member of St. Vincent’s order.

In January 1830, Catherine Labouré entered the novitiate of the Daughters of Charity.

Months later, on July 19, 1830, Catherine woke from her sleep after hearing a child’s voice calling her to the chapel as the Blessed Virgin Mary was waiting for her.

As Catherine approached the chapel, the door swung open revealing a brilliant light. The Blessed Virgin told Catherine she would be given a mission with all the graces necessary to complete it.

Our Lady said, “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.”

In November 1830, the Blessed Mother visited Catherine a second time during evening meditations. She showed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe with rays of light coming from her hands toward the globe. Around the frame were the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Mary asked Catherine to take these images to her father confessor, Father Jean Marie Aladel, telling him they should be placed on medallions. “All who wear them will receive great graces.”

At first, the priest did not believe Catherine, but after two years, he brought her story to the Archbishop. The Archbishop ordered 2,000 medals struck.

The medals were dispersed so rapidly and effectively it was said to be miraculous.

Catherine Labouré spent the next 40 years of her life caring for the elderly, sick and disabled.

On December 31, 1876, Catherine passed away at 70-years-old. Her body was encased in glass beneath the side altar in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris.

Her body was discovered to be incorrupt after being exhumed in 1933. She was beatified by Pope Pius XI on May 28, 1933 and canonized by Pope Pius XII on July 27, 1947.

St. Catherine Labouré is often shown with the Daughters of Charity habit and the Miraculous Medal.

St. Catherine Labouré is the patron saint of the elderly, infirmed people and the Miraculous Medal. Her feast day is celebrated on November 28.

Views: 0

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church St. Bernard was born of noble parentage in Burgundy, France, in the castle of Fontaines near Dijon. Under the care of his pious parents he was sent at an early age to a college at Chatillon, where he was conspicuous for his remarkable piety and spirit of recollection. At the same place he entered upon the studies of theology and Holy Scripture. After the death of his mother, fearing the snares and temptations of the world, he resolved to embrace the newly established and very austere institute of the Cistercian Order, of which he was destined to become the greatest ornament. He also persuaded his brothers and several of his friends to follow his example. In 1113, St. Bernard, with thirty young noblemen, presented himself to the holy Abbot, St. Stephen, at Citeaux. After a novitiate spent in great fervor, he made his profession in the following year. His superior soon after, seeing the great progress he had made in the spiritual life, sent him with twelve monks to found a new monastery, which afterward became known as the celebrated Abbey of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was at once appointed Abbot and began that active life which has rendered him the most conspicuous figure in the history of the 12th century. He founded numerous other monasteries, composed a number of works and undertook many journeys for the honor of God. Several Bishoprics were offered him, but he refused them all. The reputation of St. Bernard spread far and wide; even the Popes were governed by his advice. He was commissioned by Pope Eugene III to preach the second Crusade. In obedience to the Sovereign Pontiff he traveled through France and Germany, and aroused the greatest enthusiasm for the holy war among the masses of the population. The failure of the expedition raised a great storm against the saint, but he attributed it to the sins of the Crusaders. St. Bernard was eminently endowed with the gift of miracles. He died on August 20, 1153. His feast day is August 20.

Views: 0

Sts. Joachim and Anne

Sts. Joachim and Anne

Feast dayJanuary 20
Death 250

St. Joachim (sometimes spelled “Joaquin,” pronounced “wal-keem”) and Anne, are the parents of the Virgin Mary. There are no mentions of them in the Bible or Gospels, what we know comes from Catholic legend and the Gospel of James, which is an unsanctioned, apocryphal writing form the second century AD. We do know from scholarship that the Gospel of James was not written by James, the Brother of Jesus, despite its claim to be so authored.

Even the early Church fathers expressed skepticism about the Gospel of James in their writings. There are about 150 copies of the ancient manuscript which often have different titles, but tell the same story, that Mary was promised to Joachim and Anne by an angel, was consecrated to God, and she remained a virgin all her life.

Naturally, there is plenty of room for scholarly debate about these saints. We have no true primary sources that prove they even existed, but certainly we can agree that Mary had parents. Likewise, we can agree that.

Mary had good, faithful parents who raised her with a love and devotion to God like none other except Jesus Christ Himself.

Joachim and Anne serve as role models for parents and both deserve to be honored and emulated for their devotion to God and Our Lady Mary, the Mother of God.

Views: 1