St. Junipero Serra

St. Junípero Serra, originally named Miguel José, was born on November 24, 1713, in Petra, Majorca, Spain. His parents, Antonio Nadal Serra and Margarita Rosa Ferrer, were farmers. Baptized at St. Peter’s Church in Petra on the same day, Junípero would go on to become a renowned figure in the history of California.

In his early years, Serra attended the primary school run by the Franciscans in Petra. At the age of 15, his parents entrusted him to a cathedral canon in Palma, where he began attending philosophy classes at the Franciscan monastery of San Francisco.

Serra took his first step toward religious life when he became a novice at the Convento de Jesús near Palma on September 14, 1730. A year later, on September 15, he made his profession and chose the name Junípero in honor of St. Francis’ companion. Serra pursued his studies in philosophy and theology at the Convento de San Francisco. The exact date of his ordination to the priesthood remains unknown, but it is believed to have occurred in December 1738. In 1742, he earned his doctorate in theology from the Lullian University in Palma. Shortly after, in January 1749, he was appointed the primary professor of theology at the university and was called to serve as an Indian missionary in America.

Accompanied by Francisco Palóu, Serra set sail for America on April 13, 1749. They arrived in Vera Cruz, Mexico, on December 7, 1749. Instead of using the provided horses, Serra chose to walk the 250 miles from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. On January 1, 1750, they reached San Fernando College, having spent the previous night at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Within six months, Serra responded to an urgent call for volunteers for the Sierra Gorda missions. He joined the mission and spent his time between 1750 and 1758 overseeing the construction of a church, promoting religious and economic development, and learning the Otomí language to effectively teach the Pame Indians. Serra’s leadership led to the building of mission churches in the other four towns as well.

Afterward, Serra was assigned to the college of San Fernando, where he held various positions, including choir director, master of novices, college counselor, and confessor. He also preached missions as a home missionary in different cities in Mexico. In 1767, he was appointed the president of the ex-Jesuit missions of Baja California.

Serra’s enthusiasm and dedication to spreading the faith led him to volunteer for expeditions to Upper California in 1768. He embarked on the journey and reached Loreto on April 1, where he oversaw the establishment of 15 missions, from San José del Cabo to Santa María. Serra’s efforts continued as he founded nine missions in Upper California, including San Diego, San Carlos, San Antonio, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, and San Buenaventura. He also participated in the founding of Presidio Santa Barbara.

Throughout his missionary work, Serra faced health challenges, including leg and foot issues, which required him to be carried on a stretcher during certain parts of his journey. Despite his physical afflictions, he dedicated the next 15 years of his life to evangelizing in Upper California.

Serra passed away on August 28, 1784, at Mission San Carlos, where he was buried in the church he had constructed. By the end of 1784, the number of baptized Indians at the first nine missions had reached 6,736, with 4,646 Christianized Indians residing in them.

Junípero Serra was known for his zeal, optimism, and devotion to his converts. He fought for the freedom of the Church against royal interference and played a significant role in the establishment and expansion of missions in California. His beatification process began in 1934 and concluded in 1949. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988, and later canonized by Pope Francis on September 23, 2015. Junípero Serra is widely recognized as the Apostle of California, with numerous monuments and memorials commemorating his legacy along the Camino Real.

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St. Polycarp

Imagine being able to sit at the feet of the apostles and hear their stories of life with Jesus from their own lips. Imagine walking with those who had walked with Jesus, seen him, and touched him. That was what Polycarp was able to do as a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist.

But being part of the second generation of Church leaders had challenges that the first generation could not teach about. What did you do when those eyewitnesses were gone? How do you carry on the correct teachings of Jesus? How do you answer new questions that never came up before?

With the apostles gone, heresies sprang up pretending to be true teaching, persecution was strong, and controversies arose over how to celebrate liturgy that Jesus never laid down rules for.

Polycarp, as a holy man and bishop of Smyrna, found there was only one answer — to be true to the life of Jesus and imitate that life. Saint Ignatius of Antioch told Polycarp “your mind is grounded in God as on an immovable rock.”

When faced with heresy, he showed the “candid face” that Ignatius admired and that imitated Jesus’ response to the Pharisees. Marcion, the leader of the Marcionites who followed a dualistic heresy, confronted Polycarp and demanded respect by saying, “Recognize us, Polycarp.” Polycarp responded, “I recognize you, yes, I recognize the son of Satan.”

On the other hand when faced with Christian disagreements he was all forgiveness and respect. One of the controversies of the time came over the celebration of Easter. The East, where Polycarp was from, celebrated the Passover as the Passion of Christ followed by a Eucharist on the following day. The West celebrated Easter on the Sunday of the week following Passover. When Polycarp went to Rome to discuss the difference with Pope Anicetus, they could not agree on this issue. But they found no difference in their Christian beliefs. And Anicetus asked Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in his own papal chapel.

Polycarp faced persecution the way Christ did. His own church admired him for following the “gospel model” — not chasing after martyrdom as some did, but avoiding it until it was God’s will as Jesus did. They considered it “a sign of love to desire not to save oneself alone, but to save also all the Christian brothers and sisters.”

One day, during a bloody martyrdom when Christians were attacked by wild animals in the arena, the crowd became so mad that they demanded more blood by crying, “Down with the atheists; let Polycarp be found.” (They considered Christians “atheists” because they didn’t believe in their pantheon of gods.) Since Polycarp was not only known as a leader but as someone holy “even before his grey hair appeared”, this was a horrible demand.

Polycarp was calm but others persuaded him to leave the city and hide at a nearby farm. He spent his time in prayer for people he knew and for the Church. During his prayer he saw a vision of his pillow turned to fire and announced to his friends that the dream meant he would be burned alive.

As the search closed in, he moved to another farm, but the police discovered he was there by torturing two boys. He had a little warning since he was upstairs in the house but he decided to stay, saying, “God’s will be done.”

Then he went downstairs, talked to his captors and fed them a meal. All he asked of them was that they give him an hour to pray. He spent two hours praying for everyone he had every known and for the Church, “remembering all who had at any time come his way — small folk and great folk, distinguished and undistinguished, and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world.” Many of his captors started to wonder why they were arresting this holy, eighty-six-year-old bishop.

But that didn’t stop them from taking him into the arena on the Sabbath. As he entered the arena, the crowd roared like the animals they cheered. Those around Polycarp heard a voice from heaven above the crowd, “Be brave, Polycarp, and act like a man.”

The proconsul begged the eighty-six-year-old bishop to give in because of his age. “Say ‘Away with the atheists'” the proconsul urged. Polycarp calmly turned to the face the crowd, looked straight at them, and said, “Away with the atheists.” The proconsul continued to plead with him. When he asked Polycarp to swear by Caesar to save himself, Polycarp answered, “If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar, you do not know who I am. Let me tell you plainly, I am a Christian.” Finally, when all else failed the proconsul reminded Polycarp that he would be thrown to the wild animals unless he changed his mind. Polycarp answered, “Change of mind from better to worse is not a change allowed to us.”

Because of Polycarp’s lack of fear, the proconsul told him he would be burned alive but Polycarp knew that the fire that burned for an hour was better than eternal fire.

When he was tied up to be burned, Polycarp prayed, “Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and powers, of the whole creation and of the whole race of the righteous who live in your sight, I bless you, for having made me worthy of this day and hour, I bless you, because I may have a part, along with the martyrs, in the chalice of your Christ, to resurrection in eternal life, resurrection both of soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. May I be received today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, among those who are in you presence, as you have prepared and foretold and fulfilled, God who is faithful and true. For this and for all benefits I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be to you with him and the Holy Spirit glory, now and for all the ages to come. Amen.”

The fire was lit as Polycarp said Amen and then the eyewitnesses who reported said they saw a miracle. The fire burst up in an arch around Polycarp, the flames surrounding him like sails, and instead of being burned he seemed to glow like bread baking, or gold being melted in a furnace. When the captors saw he wasn’t being burned, they stabbed him. The blood that flowed put the fire out.

The proconsul wouldn’t let the Christians have the body because he was afraid they would worship Polycarp. The witnesses reported this with scorn for the lack of understanding of Christian faith: “They did not know that we can never abandon the innocent Christ who suffered on behalf of sinners for the salvation of those in this world.” After the body was burned, they stole the bones in order to celebrate the memory of his martyrdom and prepare others for persecution. The date was about February 23, 156.

In His Footsteps:
When faced with challenges to your Christian life, try a version of Polycarp’s prayer of martyrdom: “Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and powers, of the whole creation and of the whole race of the righteous who live in your sight, I bless you, for having made me worthy of this day and hour, I bless you, because I may have a part, along with the martyrs, in the chalice of your Christ, to resurrection in eternal life, resurrection both of soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. For this and for all benefits I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be to you with him and the Holy Spirit glory, now and for all the ages to come. Amen.”

Prayer:
Saint Polycarp, sometimes Christ seems so far away from us. Centuries have passed since he and the apostles walk the earth. Help us to see that he is close to us always and that we can keep him near by imitating his life as you did. Amen

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St. Jerome Emiliani

St. Jerome Emiliani, a remarkable saint who dedicated his life to caring for the vulnerable and abandoned. 🌟

• Birth and Early Life:
• St. Jerome Emiliani, also known as Gerolamo Emiliani, was born in Venice around 1486.
• Initially, he led a careless and irreligious life as a soldier for the city-state of Venice. However, his path took an unexpected turn.
• Conversion and New Calling:
• Captured during a skirmish, Jerome was imprisoned and chained in a dungeon. In that dark place, he found solace in prayer and gradually learned to seek God.
• Upon escaping, he returned to Venice, where he took charge of his nephews’ education and began his own studies for the priesthood.
• Compassion in Action:
• Plague and famine struck northern Italy, and Jerome responded by caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense.
• His heart turned toward abandoned children, and he founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes, and a hospital.
• Founding the Clerks Regular of Somasca:
• Around 1532, Jerome, along with two other priests, established the Clerks Regular of Somasca. This congregation was dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth.
• Their mission was to serve those in need, especially abandoned children.
• Legacy and Canonization:
• St. Jerome Emiliani died in 1537 from a disease he contracted while tending to the sick.
• He was canonized in 1767.
• In 1928, Pope Pius XI declared him the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children.
• Reflection:
• Jerome’s life teaches us that sometimes it takes a form of “imprisonment” to free us from self-centeredness. When we’re caught in challenging situations, we discover the liberating power of God.
• Let us learn from St. Jerome Emiliani’s example—to become a source of compassion and care for those around us.

St. Jerome Emiliani, pray for us! 🙏🌟

¹: Franciscan Media
²: Saint for a Minute
³: Wikipedia
⁴: Catholicireland.net

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 03/09/2024
(1) Saint Jerome Emiliani | Franciscan Media. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-jerome-emiliani/.
(2) Saint Jerome Emiliani – Catholic Saint | Saint for a Minute: Saints …. https://www.saintforaminute.com/saints/saint_jerome_emiliani.
(3) Gerolamo Emiliani – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerolamo_Emiliani.
(4) Feb 8 – St Jerome Emiliani (1481-1537) – Catholicireland.net. https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-jerome-emiliani/.

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St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori

St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori, born on September 27, 1696, in Marianella, Italy, was a remarkable figure in the Catholic Church. He was a bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, philosopher, and theologian¹². Here are some key aspects of his life:

Early Life and Education

• Noble Birth: Alphonsus was born into a noble family and was the eldest of seven children¹.
• Education: He was highly educated, earning doctorates in civil and canon law by the age of 16¹.

Religious Life

• Priesthood: After practicing law for eight years, Alphonsus was ordained a priest in 1726².
• Founder of the Redemptorists: In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), dedicated to parish and foreign missions².

Contributions and Legacy

• Moral Theology: Alphonsus is renowned for his work in moral theology, particularly his book “Theologia Moralis”².
• Devotional Writings: He authored many devotional and ascetical works, including “The Glories of Mary” and “The Way of the Cross”¹.
• Bishop: In 1762, he was appointed Bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti, a position he held until 1775¹.
• Canonization and Titles: He was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1871 by Pope Pius IX¹². He is the patron saint of confessors and moral theologians³.

Feast Day

• Feast Day: St. Alphonsus’s feast day is celebrated on August 1st³.

St. Alphonsus’s life and works continue to inspire many in their faith journey.

¹: Wikipedia ²: Britannica ³: My Catholic Life

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