Thursday, December 11, 2014

BLESSED ANGELUS OF BORGO OF SANSEPOLCRO


Blessed Angelus of Borgo San Sepolcro,
Also known as
Angelus of Angelus de Scarpetti
Angelus of Sansepolcro

FEAST DAY: 15 February
Born at Borgo San Sepolcro modern Sansepolcro, Italy

Died 1306 at Borgo San Sepolcro modern Sansepolcro, Italy

Beatified 27 July 1921 by Pope Benedict XV


cultus approved in 1921.



Born into the Scarpetti family, Angelus entered the Augustinian Friars and became a fellow-student of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.Missionary to England where he preached and built monasteries. Known as a miracle worker.  He was famed as a wonder-worker: once, it is narrated, he asked pardon for a man condemned to death and was refused this request but after the man's execution he raised him to life again.

BLESSED ANDREW OF CONTI.OFM



Blessed Andrew of Conti, OFM



Also known as
Andrew of Segni
Andrew of Anagni
Andrew of Comitibus

Feast day :February 15
1 February Piglio, Italy
3 February Franciscans
Born 1240 in Anagni, Italy


Died
1 February 1302 at his Mount Scalambra hermitage near Piglio, Italy of natural causes
interred in the church of San Lorenzo of the Mount Scalambra convent
tomb damaged by bombing on 12 May 1944
relics re-enshrined in the same church on 8 February 1945

Beatified
11 December 1724 by Pope Innocent XIII (cultus confirmed)

Patronage against demons
 As he is called from his birthplace, was a nephew of Pope Alexander IV. He became a Franciscan lay-brother and remained in that position although offered a cardinal's hat by Pope Boniface VIII .

   Member of the royal family of Anagni, Italy. Nephew of Pope Alexander IV. Franciscan lay-brother. Hermit in the Apennines mountains in Italy. Known as a mystic, he was routinely visited and attacked by demons his whole life. Pope Boniface VIII wished to make him a cardinal, but Andrew declined, citing his inadequacy and his love of solitude.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

SAINT CLAUDE DE LA COLOMBIERE

St. Claude La Colombiere
St. Claude de la Colombière, S.J.
Feast day: February 15
Religious, priest and confessor
Born 2 February 1641 Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon, Dauphiné, Kingdom of France
Died  15  February 1682
Paray-le-Monial, Duchy of Burgundy, Kingdom of France
Beatified By: Pope Pius XI on June 16, 1929

Canonized By: Pope John Paul II on May 31, 1992



Saint Claude de la Colombire Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon, 2 February 1641 Paray-le-Monial, 15 February 1682 was a Roman Catholic priest and the confessor of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. His feast day is the day of his death, 15 February. He was a missionary and ascetical writer, born of noble parentage at Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon , between Lyon and Vienne, in 1641.


Claude de la Colombiere is best known for his association with St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the devotion of the Sacred Heart, but his life has its own drama. He was sent to England after his spiritual direction of St. Margaret Mary was over and became embroiled in the Titus Oates "Popish Plot," was imprisoned, then banished from England. His story is part of the history of the seventeenth century.

 He was born near Lyons in 1641 and entered the Society of Jesus at Avignon. After his novitiate, he taught grammar and the humanities. Even before his ordination to the priesthood, he gained a reputation as a preacher. After completing his studies in Paris, he became tutor to the sons of Colbert, the financial minister of Louis XIV, but was dismissed from his post and returned to Avignon.


In 1675, after his solemn profession as a Jesuit, he was appointed superior at Paray-le-Monial, in which the convent of St. Margaret Mary was located. Here he became her spiritual director, encouraged her in the spread of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, and was described by our Lord as His "faithful and perfect friend."


Because of his remarkable gifts and judgment, he was sent to England, to be court preacher to the duchess of York, wife of the future James II, and took up residence in London. His radiant personality and splendid gifts were noted by everyone. When the alleged "Popish Plot" to assassinate King Charles II shook the country, Blessed Claude was accused of complicity in the plot and imprisoned. Through the intervention of Louis XIV of France, he was released, then banished from the country. He spent his last years at Paray-le-Monial, his health broken.


Thought for the Day: Blessed Claude was an amazingly gifted man, and he recognized that his gifts should be put at the service of others. He spent himself in the service of Christ and was chosen to direct someone with an important mission to the Church. Let us emulate Claude and place our gifts at the service of others.




SAINT JOSEPH OF ANTIOCH


St. Joseph of Antioch

Joseph of Antioch

Also known as Josippus
Feast day: February 15

Death: unknown


 He is sometimes called Josippus.Saint Joseph was a deacon who, with seven others, is said to have suffered martyrdom at Antioch . 

SAINT FARANNAN

St. Farannan

Feast day: February 15

Death: 590



Abbot and Irish disciple of St. Columba on Iona, Scotland. He returned to Ireland to become a hermit at AllFarannan, now Allernan, Sligo.  He eventually returned to Ireland to lead an eremitical life at All-Farannan, now Allernan, Sligo, where he probably died .

SAINT EUSEBIUS

St. Eusebius
Eusebius of Aschia
Feast day: February 15

Death: 5th century



A hermit in Aschia, Syria. Saint Eusebius is venerated in the East.

SAINT JOVITA

St. Jovita



Feast day: February 15
Born to the nobility in 2nd century Italy, the younger brother of Saint Faustinus. Deacon. Zealous preacher in Brescia, Milan, Rome, and Naples. Tortured and martyred in the persecution of Emperor Hadrian.
Patron of Brescia
Born at Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
Credera Rubbiano, Italy

Died with his brother, he was thrown to the lions, but the animals refused to touch the men
beheaded in 120 at Brescia, Italy
relics reported in Brescia, Rome, Verona, and Bologna
Death: 120



Faustinus and Jovita were brothers, nobly born and natives of Brescia. All the incidents in their reputed "Acts" are of doubtful authority, and we can only be sure of their names and martyrdom. According to the tradition of Brescia, they preached Christianity fearlessly while their bishop lay in hiding. Their zeal excited the fury of the heathens against them, then they were arrested by a heathen lord called Julian. They were tortured and dragged to Milan, Rome and Naples, and then brought back to Brescia. As neither threats nor torments could shake their constancy, the Emperor Hadrian, who happened to be passing through Brescia, commended them to be beheaded. The city of Brescia honors them as its chief patrons and claims to possess their relics.  On April 18 the Roman Martyrology names the martyr St. Calocerus, who figures largely in the legendary history of St. Faustinus and Jovita, whose heroic confession he is said to have witnessed when, as a court official, he accompanied Hadrian to his native city Brescia and was present in the amphitheatre. The constancy of the two confessors and the refusal of the wild beasts to touch them brought about his conversion, and he was baptized by Bishop Apollonius with twelve thousand other citizens. He was tortured and imprisoned in several Italian towns notably in Asti, where he instructed St. Secundus who visited him in gaol. Eventually, we are told, he was taken to Albanga in Liguria and beheaded on the seashore.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

SAINT DOCHOW

St. Dochow
Also known as Dochau, Dogwyn
Feast day: February 15

Death: 473



Monastic founder from Wales, possibly a bishop. Dochow formed a monastery in Cornwall, England. The Ulster Annual describes him as a bishop. In the Ulster Annal, he is styled bishop. 

SAINT CRATON AND COMPANIONS

St. Craton and Companions

Feast day: February 15


 Died . 273.

  Martyr in Rome.  Craton, a philosopher and professor of rhetoric, , converted by St. Valentine, the bishop of Termi, Italy. Caught up in the persecutions, Craton was martyred in Rome togethe with his wife and family.

SAINTS WINAMAN , UNAMAN AND SUNAMAN

Sts. Winaman, Unaman & Sunaman

Feast day: February 15

Death: 1040



With Unaman and Sunaman, martyrs of Sweden. The nephews of St. Sigfrid of Wexiow, they followed in his missionary path, going to Sweden where they were martyred by local pagans.

   This trio of nephews of Saint Sigfrid of Wexlow, followed their uncle to the Swedish mission. The Benedictine monks were martyred at Wexlow (Vaxjo) by beheading. There bodies were buried deep in the forest but the heads, which had been thrown into the nearby lake, were recovered and enshrined in the church at Vasxjo until the Lutherans removed them. These three are venerated in Sweden.

SAINT AGAPE

Agape of Terni
St. Agape

Feast day: February 15

Death: 273
The maiden, Agape, was martyred at Terni, Italy. She belonged to a group of virgins formed by Saint Valentine into a community. From the 6th to the 12th century, there was a church at Terni dedicated to her, and she is listed in early martyrologies.

SAINT WALFRID

St. Walfrid

Walfrid della Gheradesca,
Also known as Gualfredo, Galfrido
Born in Pisa, Italy;
Feast day: February 15

Death: 765

cultus confirmed in 1861.

    Walfrid, the eldest of five children and one of the wealthier citizens of the area, had five or six children of his own. After some years of married life, Walfrid and his wife decided to establish separate Benedictine monasteries on adjoining hills near Pisa. Walfrid was joined by two other married men to found his abbey of Palazzuolo, between Volterra and Piombino, and one for their wives nearby. Novices joined the foundations in large numbers, among them Walfrid's daughter, Rattruda, and his favorite son, Gimfrid, who became a priest.


   Walfrid  became a prosperous and honored citizen. He married a wife to whom he was deeply attached, and they had five sons and at least one daughter. After a time, Walfrid and his wife Thesia felt that God was calling them to enter the religious life. Walfrid had two friends - A kinsman named Gunduald and a certain Fortis, a native of Corsica: like him they were living in the world, but were drawn to a closer service of God under monastic discipline. Together they discussed the future, and were led by a dream to choose Monte Verde, between Volterra and Piombino, as the site of their future monastery. They decided to follow the Benedictine Rule of Monte Casino and, besides their own Abbey of Palazzuolo, they built at a distance of about eighteen miles a convent for women, in which their wives and Walfrid's daughter Rattruda took the veil. The new foundation attracted many novices, and before long there were sixty monks including Walfrid's favorite son Gimfrid and Gunduald's only son Andrew, who became the third Abbott and wrote the history of St. Walfrid. Gimfrid was made priest, but in an hour of temptation he flew from the monastery, taking with him men, horses and papers which belonged to the community. Walfrid, greatly distressed, sent a search party after the fugitive. On the third day, when he was praying in the midst of his monks for his son's repentance and return, he besought God also to send Gimfrid a sign which would be constantly before him as a reminder and a warning for the rest of his life. That same day Wimfrid was caught and brought back penitent, but with the middle finger of his right hand so mutilated that he could never use it again. Walfrid ruled the Abbey wisely and well for ten years, and after his death, was succeeded by Gimfrid, who inspite of his earlier lapse became, as Andrew records, a great and good pastor. St. Walfrid's cultus was confirmed in 1861. His feast day is February 15th.

SAINT QUINIDIUS


St. Quinidius
Quinidius of Vaison
Feast day: February 15

Patron of Vaison-la-Romaine

Death: 579

Hermit and bishop. Quinidius was a hermit at Aix, Provence , France, until he was  raised to the episcopacy of the see of Vaison, also in Provence,  France. He is the second patron of Vaison-la-Romaine .

SAINT FAUSTUS

St. Faustus
Faustus of Glanfeuil

Feast day: February 15

Death: 6th century



An abbot believed to be a disciple of St. Benedictine at Monte Cassino, Italy He was the biographer of St. Maurus, according to the legendary Vita Sancti Mauri of Abbot Odo of Glanfeuil

SAINT GEORGIA

St. Georgia

Georgia of Clermont
Feast day: February 15

Death: 500



Young nun who became a hermit near Clermont, Auvergne, France.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

SAINT EUSEUS


Euseus of Serravalle

St. Euseus


Feast day: February 15

Death: 14th century


A good cobbler of the Piedmont and, therefore, patron of shoemakers, Saint Euseus was a hermit who lived and died near Serravalle, Piedmont, Italy. He was a  patron saint of that trade.

SAINT DRUTHMAR

St. Druthmar

Feast day: February 15

Druthmar of Lorsch

Died 1046.
In 1014, Saint Druthmar, a Benedictine of Lorsch, was appointed abbot of Corvey, Saxony,in Germany, by emperor Saint Henry II. Fervor and good observance were marks of his rule.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

SAINT DECOROSUS

St. Decorosus

Decorosus of Capua
Feast day: February 15

Death: 695


Decorosus was bishop of Capua, Italy,in the reign of Pope St. Agatho  for 30 years. He was one of the prelates who assisted at the council of Rome in 680 under Pope Saint Agatho. 

SAINTS SATURNINUS,CASTULUS,MAGNUS AND LUCIUS

Sts. Saturninus, Castulus, Magnus & Lucius

Feast day: February 15

Death: 273



A martyr with Castulus, Magnus, and Lucius. They were disciples of St. Valentine at Terni, Italy.

 They were buried at Passae (Rocca San Zenone) .

Thursday, November 27, 2014

SAINT BERACH

St. Berach
Saint Berach of Kilbarry

Also known as Berach of Termonbarry
Barachias of Termonbarry
Barry of Termonbarry
Berachius of Termonbarry

Feast day: February 15

Martyred in 595



Irish abbot and nephew of St. Freoch. He was raised by his uncle and became a disciple of St. Kevin. Berach, who is sometimes called Barachias or Berachius, founded an abbey at Clusin-Coirpte, in Connaught, Ireland. He is the patron saint of Kilbarry, County Dublin.



Brother of Saint Midabaria. Raised by his uncle, Saint Freoch. Spiritual student of Saint Kevin of Glendalough. Built a church and monastery at Cluain Coirpthe, also known as Termonbarry or Kilbarry, Ireland. Believed to be a martyr. His crosier is in the Dublin Museum.

SAINTS FAUSTINUS AND JOVITA

St. Faustinus and Jovita


Feast day: February 15
Died in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy, c. 121.

Faustinus and Jovita were brothers, nobly born and natives of Brescia. All the incidents in their reputed "Acts" are of doubtful authority, and we can only be sure of their names and martyrdom. According to the tradition of Brescia, they preached Christianity fearlessly while their bishop lay in hiding. Their zeal excited the fury of the heathens against them, then they were arrested by a heathen lord called Julian. They were tortured and dragged to Milan, Rome and Naples, and then brought back to Brescia. As neither threats nor torments could shake their constancy, the Emperor Hadrian, who happened to be passing through Brescia, commended them to be beheaded. The city of Brescia honors them as its chief patrons and claims to possess their relics.  On April 18 the Roman Martyrology names the martyr St. Calocerus, who figures largely in the legendary history of St. Faustinus and Jovita, whose heroic confession he is said to have witnessed when, as a court official, he accompanied Hadrian to his native city Brescia and was present in the amphitheatre. The constancy of the two confessors and the refusal of the wild beasts to touch them brought about his conversion, and he was baptized by Bishop Apollonius with twelve thousand other citizens. He was tortured and imprisoned in several Italian towns notably in Asti, where he instructed St. Secundus who visited him in gaol. Eventually, we are told, he was taken to Albanga in Liguria and beheaded on the seashore.


   Two brothers belonging to the nobility of Lombardy, and zealous preachers of Christianity--in contrast with the bishop of Brescia, who hid during the persecution of Emperor Hadrian. Not much else can be stated authoritatively about them, except that they were beheaded. Their legend relates that Julian, a heathen lord, apprehended them; and the emperor himself passing through Brescia, commanded their execution when neither threats nor torments could shake their constancy. They are the chief patrons of Brescia, where their relics are enshrined and a very ancient church bears their names


 Saints Faustinus and Jovita are depicted as two knightly brothers holding the palms of martyrs. At times: (1) Faustinus may be alone, richly dressed and on horseback; (2) an angel may be shown saving them from drowning; (3) they are pictured together with Bishop . 

BLESSED JORDAN OF SAXONY

Blessed Jordan of Saxony,
 Born in Germany, 1190
Died 1237

Feast day: February 15



Blessed Jordan of Saxony died in 1237. A Saxon named Gordanus or Giordanus, he received his bachelor of divinity degree at Paris. He met St. Dominic there and in 1220, became a Dominican. He was elected prior provincial of Lombardy the next year, and in 1222, on the death of Dominic, was elected second master general of the Dominicans. He expanded the Order, establishing many new foundations in Germany and Switzerland. He sent missionaries to Denmark, and frequently preached at universities to young students. He was a powerful preacher, and St. Albert the Great became a Dominican after hearing one of his sermons. He was on his way to the Holy Land in 1237 when his ship was wrecked on the coast of Syria and all aboard perished. He is the author of a life of St. Dominic that is one of the main sources of information about the founder of the Dominicans. Jordan's cult was approved in 1825.


 Men prayed for strength to resist Jordan's burning eloquence, and mothers hid their sons when Master Jordan came to town. Students and masters warned each other of the fatal magnetism of his
sermons. The sweetness of his character and the holiness of his life shone through his most casual words in a flame that drew youth irresistibly to the ideal to which he had dedicated his own life.
In his 16 years of preaching, Jordan is said to have drawn more than a thousand novices to the Dominican Order, among whom were two future popes, two canonized saints (e.g., Albert the Great), numerous beati, and countless intellectual lights of his dazzling century. Of Jordan's childhood, nothing is known, except that he was born of a noble family. He was drawn to the order in 1220 by the preaching of Blessed Reginald, the beloved son of Dominic, brought  back from death by Dominic's and Our Lady's prayers. Jordan was at  that time about 30, a student at the University of Paris, and his reputation for sanctity had preceded him into the order. He had worn the habit for only two months when he was sent to Bologna as a delegate to the first general chapter of the order.
The following year he was elected provincial of Lombardy, Italy, and on the death of Saint Dominic, succeeded him as master general. The Order of Preachers was only six years old when Jordan became master general. He carried out the yet untried plans of Dominic, who had hurried off to heaven when many of his dreams were just beginning to open out into realization, and still more vistas
beckoned beyond. Under him the new order advanced apace, spreading throughout Germany and into Denmark. Jordan will always be remembered for his work in increasing the manpower of the order,
but his contribution to its quality should never be forgotten. He added four new provinces to the eight already in existence; he twice obtained for the order a chair at the University of Paris and
helped found the University of Toulouse; and he established the first general house of studies of the order. He was a spiritual guide to many, including Blessed Diana d'Andalo; and somewhere in
his busy lifetime he found time to write a number of books, including a life of Saint Dominic. 

        Jordan was regarded as a menace by the professors of universities where he recruited novices. He emptied classrooms of their most talented students, stole their most noted professors. Young men by the hundreds besieged the order for admittance. Some were mere children, some famous lawyers and teachers, and some were the wealthy young bearers of the most famous names in Christendom. One and all, they were drawn to a life of perfection by this man who preached so well, and who practiced what he preached with such evident relish. All the old writers speak of the kindness and personal charm of Jordan. He had the ability to console the troubled and to inspire the despondent with new hope. At one time, a discouraged student was busily saying the Office of the Dead when Master Jordan sat down beside him and began alternating verses with him. When he came to the end of Psalm 26, Jordan said the verse with emphasis: "Oh, wait for the Lord!" Wherewith the sorrows of the young man departed. Another student was rid of troubled thoughts by the mere imposition of Jordan's hands. To bring peace to the brothers who were being annoyed by the devil, Jordan established the beautiful custom of singing the Salve Regina after Compline each night.

 Jordan was shipwrecked and drowned when returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land .

SAINT PAULIEN

St. Paulien
Feast day: February 14
 Died 660.
St. Paulien French, bishop .First bishop of Frankish birth . 

SAINTS VITALIS,FELICULA AND ZENO

Vitalis, Felicula & Zeno

 Date unknown.
Feast day: February 14

These martyrs are listed in the Roman Martyrology as suffering at Rome but nothing else is known about them, except that the connection of Zeno with Vitalis and Felicula seems slight. Saint Zeno is the patron of an ancient basilica on the Appian Way mentioned by William of Malmesbury.


The earliest information about St Vitalis comes from an inscription [CIL XI 2 4966] that was originally in the church of San Lorenzo, Terzo della Pieve.  It recorded a poem by Bishop Spes (ca. 380-410), in which he commemorated the fact that he had discovered the relics of St Vitalis and dedicated an altar to him.

Bishop Paolo Sanvitale (who probably had a particular veneration for "San Vitale") translated the relics and the inscription to the Duomo in 1597.  The inscription was broken, probably during its translation but it is known from a transcription contained in a letter written by Paolo Sanvitale and from a fragment that is now in the Museo Diocesano and illustrated above:



SPES EPISCOPUS DEI SERVUS SANCTO VITALI MARTYRI

A SE PRIMUM INVENTO ALTARIS HONOREM FECIT

     A                                                                                         W

MARTYRIS HIC LOCVS EST VITALIS NOMINE VERO

QVEM SERVATA FIDES ET CHRISTI PASSIO VOTAT.

SOLVS HIC E NOSTRIS VICTRICIA DONA REPORTANS

AETERNAM CAELO MERVIT PERFERRE CORONAM

HVNC PRECOR VT LVCIS PROMISSAE GAVDIA CARPAM

ET QVAE VIRGO PRECANS POSCIT CALVENTIA PRAESTET

CORPORIS INTACTO PVRI DECORATA PVDORE

PLVSQUE DATVRA FIDE DECORIS QVAM QVOD PIA PATRI

EXHIBET OFFICIA ET PVRO VENERATUR AMORE

VTQVE PROBANTE DEO MANEAT PER SAECLA FIDELIS

PRAEMIA LAETA SIBI CONCESSO MVNERE SVMME[NS]



SANCTIS LAETVS EGO SPES HAEC MVNVSCVLA (DO



SANCTI VITALIS MARTYRIS PASSIONIS NATALIS DIE XVI

The line “ SOLVS HIC E NOSTRIS VICTRICIA DONA REPORTANS” (the only martyr among us) has been taken to mean that no other martyrs were venerated at Spoleto at the time of Bishop Spes.  However, some scholars believe that the reference was to the specific location now known as terzo della Pieve, which might have been the personal property of Bishop Spes.

In the second part of the poem , Bishop Spes commended his daughter Calventia, a virgin consecrated to God.

The last line of the inscription gives the first part of the feast day as “XVI”.  This has been assumed to be the surviving fragment of “XVI KAL MARTIAS” (14th February).  Two saints named Vitalis are recorded in the martyrologies under this date:

   The Hieronymian Martyrology records that St Vitalis was martyred with 84 soldiers at “ Tuscia Spoliti”, near Spoleto .  This probably post-dates the invention of the relics at Terzo la Pieve: it might derive from it, although that hypothesis does not explain the inclusion of the 84 soldiers.


A relic of the tibia of St Vitalis in a reliquary (1597) commissioned by Paolo Sanvitale is now in the Cappella delle Reliquie in the Duomo.




Monday, October 20, 2014

SAINTS PROCULUS ,EPHEBUS AND APOLLONIUS

Proculus, Ephebus & Apollonius
 Died 273.
feast day: February 14
 Sts. Proculus, Ephebus, Apollonius, and the holy virgin Agape. In the time of Totila, the Bishop of Terni, St. Proculus, was killed at Bologna.Protectors of the body of Saint Valentine

According to his untrustworthy acta, martyred by decapitation. The Bollandists have identified this Proculus with the bishop Proculus of Terni .

BLESSED NICHOLAS PALEA

Blessed Nicholas Palea, 
feast day: february14
Also known as Nicholas the Prior
Born: Giovinazzo near Bari, Naples year unknown

Died: in Perugia, Italy, in 1255

 Beatified: Leo XII confirmed his cult in 1828


 Born of a noble Neapolitan family, Nicholas was named for the great wonder-worker who had once lived in the kingdom. At 8 he was already practicing austerities. He would not eat meat, even on 
feast days, because he had been favored by a vision of a young man of great majesty who told him to prepare for a lifetime of mortifications in an order that kept perpetual abstinence.  Sent to Bologna for his studies, he met Saint Dominic and was won by him to the new order. He was the companion of Saint Dominic on several of the founder's journeys to Italy, and warmed his heart at the very source of the new fire which was to mean resurrection to so many souls. 

 Saint Nicholas of Bari had been noted for his astounding miracles,and his young namesake began following in his footsteps while yet a novice. When on a journey with several companions, he 
met a woman with a withered arm. Making the Sign of the Cross over her, he cured her of the affliction.  At one time, as he entered his native Bari, he found a woman weeping beside the body of her child, who had been drowned in a well. He asked the woman the name of the child, and being told it was Andrew, he replied, "After this, it's Nicholas. Nicholas, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, arise!" The little one revived, alive and well. The child of his sister Colette, mute from birth, brought her famous uncle a basket of bread. "Who sent the bread, child?" Nicholas asked her. "My mother," she replied, and from then on she was cured. 

 As provincial of the Roman province, Nicholas was wise, prudent, and kind. He established priories in Perugia in 1233 and Trani in 1254. He received many novices and did much of his work among the young religious. Once he was called to the assistance of a novice who had been deceived by the devil and would not go to confession. He showed the young man the true state of his soul and undid the 
work of the evil one.  Nicholas earned great fame as a preacher. 

On one occasion, when he was preaching in the cathedral of Brescia, two irreverent young men began disturbing the congregation and soon made such a commotion that Nicholas could not make himself heard. Nicholas left the cathedral to a neighboring hill and there called to the birds to come to listen to him. Like the birds in the similar story of Saint Francis, flocks of feathered creatures fluttered down at his feet and listened attentively while he preached. At the end of the sermon they flew away singing. 

 After a lifetime of preaching and miracles, Nicholas, forewarned of is death by a visit from a brother who had been dead many years, went happily to receive the reward of the faithful. Miracles continued to occur at his tomb and through his intercession. Among these was the miracle by which life was given to a baby born dead. His parents had promised to name the baby Nicholas if the favor were granted, and to their great joy their child lived . 

SAINT LEONE OF POITIERS


Lienne (Leone) of Poitiers

Feast day: February 14
 4th century.
Died.308
Confidant of Saint Hilary .

SAINT JOHN BAPTIST OF THE CONCEPTION

John Baptist of the Conception,  Trinitarian
Also known as Saint John Garcia

Feast day: February 14


 Born in Almodovar, Toledo, Spain, 1561;
Died 1613;
Beatified in 1819.
John Garcia entered the Trinitarian Order at Toledo and 17 years later joined the party of reform in that order. As superior, he inaugurated such a revival at Valdepeñas in 1597. The reform,
called the Discalced Trinitarians, was approved by Rome and John had to endure on that account the bitter opposition of the 'unreformed.' At the time of his death, 34 houses had adopted the reform .

The reform of the Trinitarian Order was the work of St. John Baptist of the Conception 1561-1613. In Valdepeñas Ciudad Real - Spain he established the first community of the discalced Trinitarians. With the Brief Ad Militantes Ecclesiae, Pope Clement VIII gave ecclesial validity to the Congregation of the reformed and discalced brothers of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, instituted to observe with all its vigor the Rule of St. John of Matha.

John Baptist of the Conception founded 18 convents of religious and one of cloistered Sisters. He lived and transmitted to his sons an intense spirit of charity, prayer, recollection, humility and penance, placing special interest in keeping alive the solidarity delivery to the captives and to the poor. The relation of the Trinitarians with the Trinity, as a vital center and source of redemptive charity, is a central theme in his life and teachings.

SAINTS CYRION ,BASSIAN,AGATHO AND MOSES

Cyrion, Bassian, Agatho, and Moses

Date unknown.
Feast day: February 14

These Alexandrian martyrs are listed together because all perished at the stake. Cyrion was a priest, Bassian a lector, Agatho an exorcist, and Moses a layman .... martyr by burning

SAINTS BASSUS ,ANTONY AND PROTOLICUS



Bassus, Antony, & Protolicus
 Feast day: February 14
Date unknown.
These martyrs were cast into the sea at Alexandria, Egypt. Some ancient accounts add nine fellow-sufferers to this group .

SAINT NOSTRIANUS

St. Nostrianus

Nostrianus of Naples
Feast day: February 14

Died . 450


Bishop Nostrianus of Naples valiantly opposed Arianism and Pelagianism

SAINTS DIONYSIUS AND AMMONIUS

Sts.Dionysius and Ammonius

Feast day: February 14

Death: unknown



Martyrsof Egypt Dionysius and Ammonius were beheaded, probably at  Alexandria, Egypt

SAINT THEODOSIUS


St. Theodosius
Theodosius of Vaison
Feast day: February 14
 Died 554. Bishop of Vaison in France and predecessor of Saint Quinidius . 

SAINT ANTONINUS OF SORRENTO


St. Antoninus of Sorrento

Feast day: February 14


Birth: 555

Death: 625



Antonius was a Benedictine monk in one of the daughter houses of Monte Cassino. When he was forced to leave his monastery because of the wars raging in the country around him, he became a
hermit until he was invited by the people of Sorrento to live among them. He did so as an abbot of Saint Agrippinus.

Benedictine abbot and patron of Sorrento, Italy. While serving as a monk, Antoninus had to leave his monastery when local wars threatened. He became a hermit recognized by the local people as a man of holiness. The people of Sorrento invited him to become the abbot of St. Agrippinus Monastery. While on Monte Angelo as a hermit, he lived with St. Catellus, former bishop of Castellamare. St. Michael the Archangel visited him on the mountain. He repelled an attack by the Saracens on Sorrento by a miracle after his death.

SAINT MARO


Maro of Beit-Marun, Abbot
Also known as Maron
St. Maro

Feastday: February 14

Death: 410 OR 435

 Saint Maro was a hermit on a mountain in Syria near the Orontes River, where he had a little hut covered with sheep skins to shelter him from the weather, but lived in a spirit of mortification in the open air most of the time. When he found a pagan temple nearby, he dedicated it to God and made it his  oratory. In 405 Maro was ordained to the priesthood.


St. Maro chose a solitary abode not far from the city of Cyrrhus in Syria, and there in a spirit of mortification, he lived mainly in the open air. He had indeed a little hut covered with goatskins to shelter him in case of need, but he very seldom made use of it. Finding the ruins of the heathen temple, he dedicated it to the true God, and made it his house of prayer. St. John Chrysostom, who had a great regard for him, wrote to him from Cucusus, the place of his banishment, and, recommending himself to his prayers, begged to hear from him as often as possible. Maro was a disciple of St. Zebinus. He drew great crowds by his spiritual wisdom. He trained many hermits and monks and founded three monasteries. It is believed the Maronites take their name from Bait-Marun monastery near the source of the Orantes river, where a church was erected over his tomb.
 Saint John Chrysostom had a singular regard for Maro. During one of his banishments, John wrote from Cucusus and commended himself to Maro's prayers and begged to hear from him at every opportunity Chrysostom's epistle 36.

 Under the direction of Saint Zebinus, Maro learned to pray without ceasing. Zebinus surpassed all the solitaries of his time in his assiduity to prayer to which he devoted whole days and nights
without any weariness or fatigue. His ardor for prayer seemed to increase, rather than slacken with time. Zebinus gave advice to those who sought it in as few words as possible in order to spend
more time in heavenly contemplation.

 Maro imitated Zebinus's constancy in prayer, yet he not only received all visitors with great tenderness but also encourage them to stay with him. Few, however, were willing to pass the night
standing in prayer. God rewarded Maro's charity and constancy with abundant graces including the gift of healing. He prescribed admirable remedies against all vices, which drew crowds to him.
 So great were the number of people drawn to God by Maro's words and

 Upon Maro's death, a pious contest ensued among the neighboring provinces about his burial. A spacious church was built over his tomb adjoining the monastery of Saint Maro in the diocese of Apamea between Apamea and Emesa /Homs. The people in Lebanon and Syria called Maronites A rite united to the Universal Church are said to derive their name from this monastery, Bait-Marun, and look on

Saint Maro as their patriarch and patron saint .

Sunday, October 19, 2014

BLESSED VICENTE VILAR DAVID

Bl. Vicente Vilar David
Blessed Vincenzo David Vilar
Feast day: February 14
Born: 28 June 1889 at Manises, Valencia, Spain

Died : shot on 14 February 1937 in Manises, Valencia, Spain

Venerated: 6 July 1993 by Pope John Paul II decree of martyrdom

Beatified: 1 October 1995 by Pope John Paul II


Blessed Vincenzo David Vilar, secular, during religious persecution housed the priests and religious in his home , and preferred to die rather than renounce the faith of Christ. John Paul II beatified him on October 1, 1995.
Youngest of eight children. Educated by the Piarists, and studied engineering in Valencia, Spain. Married to Isabel Rodes Reig, the main witness to his life and martyrdom, and who died in 1993. Spread a Christian outlook and morality among his peers, and known for charity to the poor. He worked as an industrial engineer in the family ceramics firm, and held several important municipal posts in which he put the Church‘s social teaching into practice. Always involved in parish activities and Catholic youth groups. Against the anti-religious sentiment of 1930’s Spain, he worked to save persecuted priests and religious. As he was taken away to his martyrdom for supporting his faith, his wife said, “See you tomorrow!”, and he answered, “Until tomorrow or in heaven!”. Those who’ve studied his case believe he had a cause for canonization based solely on his life, not just his martyrdom.

Roman Martyrology: At Valencia in Spain, blessed Vilar David Vincent, martyr, during the persecution of religion in his house welcomed the priests and religious and preferred to die rather than renounce his faith.

Even businessmen go to heaven. Especially if the conduct of their business and relationship with the workers manages to embody the social doctrine of the Church; they know and put in first place solidarity, justice and cooperation. A businessman came to the glory of the altars on October 1, 1995 is Vincenzo David Vilar.

Born June 28, 1889 in Spain, in the province of Valencia, the last of eight children of a deeply Christian family, owner of a ceramics factory that has now acquired international fame. Cheerful, outgoing, with a strong faith that is reflected in concrete works of charity, Vincent graduated in Industrial Engineering and after the premature death of his parents, along with three of his brothers in the conduct of the family and now stands out for the way in which the original heads. In this factory, relations were guided by a sense of justice and solidarity that can overcome conflict and division. Employees were treated as true friends, helping them when possible andandoli to find when they were sick.

After all, Vincent was not that other sow love at work as always is doing in the group of his friends and among the poor of the parish. What was going against it demonstrates the disputes and difficulties he would meet on his path, but could not back off one inch from his convictions and his commitment remained firm and clear, despite all the measures to taken for his workers In his commitment to the parish catechesis of young people in the various clubs and associations he directed. He did not pull back even before the administrative obligations that were proposed for seven years and was vice president of the Municipal Corporation of the city, leaving the example of a person of integrity who seeks the true good of his people.

For 33 years he was married to Isabella Rodes Reig, a woman who shared his ideals and his commitment and from that moment became the most valuable collaborator of his activities in the parish and his works of charity. On a cultural level he was involved in the foundation of the Patronato Parish Social Action for Catholic education of children is the way to challenge and counter the anti-action that the early thirties to the Spanish Government was implementing. At the outbreak of the revolution of 1936 anti-Vincent was a person too with a view and too involved to go unnoticed. And he was too bold.

He became the shadow of his pastor, to help and defend him until they will be murdered, in his house were welcomed priests and religious seeking to save their lives, continuing undeterred in his actions as ever despite the threats and the more or less explicit warnings. It was inevitable, therefore, that this very committed Christian and inconvenient man would be arrested. Before the Court, where he could deny his religious beliefs to save lives, he showed everything in one piece, happy and peaceful for how he lived so far and what has worked. He forgave his persecutors just a few moments before they shot him, February 14, 1937.

His employees closed the factory for three days as a sign of mourning and resisted all pressures of the authorities who wanted an immediate re-opening, because, they said, Vincent was not only a manager but a father to each of them. His beatification has raised a holy impresario, who probably would have earned the glory of the altars without martyrdom, however, that was the culmination of a life steeped in all justice, charity and faith courageously lived
As he was taken away, his wife said to him: "See you tomorrow!", and he answered, "Until tomorrow or in heaven!". A few minutes later shots were heard. He was an exemplary Christian and, had he not been martyred, his cause for beatification could have begun with the canonical process to recognize the heroism of his virtues.

SAINT ELEUCHADIUS

St. Eleuchadius
Eleuchadius of Ravenna
Feast day: February 14

Death: 112

    A Greek, Eleuchadius succeeded St. Adheritus as bishop about 100. Born in Greece. Saint Eleuchadius was converted by Saint Apollinaris, first bishop of Ravenna. In his absence Eleuchadius
governed the church there. He succeeded Saint Adheritus as the third bishop of Ravenna .

SAINT CONRAN

St. Conran

Feast day: February 14

Died 7th century.

     A traditional figure, believed to have served as bishop of the Orkney Islands, Scotland. No details of his life have survived.The legend of an apostle and holy bishop of the Orkney Islands especially of Kirkwall by this name lacks any historical basis. There are no place names or church dedications connected with him there, although there are several to Saint Columba.His legend still connects him with Saints Palladius and Sylvester .

SAINT AUXENTIUS OF BITHYNIA

St. Auxentius of Bithynia

Feast day: February 14
St. Auxentius, Hermit


Born in Syria;
Died on Mount Skopa on February 14, 473. Auxentius,
Career soldier and equestrian guard of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, he was known to preach to his fellow guards. He eventually left the service to become a hermit on Mount Oxia near Constantinople. Accused and cleared of Eutychianistic heresy. Archimandrite in Bithynia. Active in the Council of Chalcedon. Hermit on Mount Sinope  near Chalcedon.


Hermit and founder. The son of a Persian named Addas, Auxentius was a member of the entourage of Emperor Theodosius II in Constantinople. He retired from military service to become a hermit at Mount Oxia near Constantinople. He was accused of heresy by the Council of Chalcedon but cleared himself. He then went to Mount Skopa, near Chalcedon and attracted many disciples to his hermitage. Auxentius also formed a congregation of women on Mount Skopa.



HE was a holy hermit in Bithynia, in the fifth age. In his youth he was one of the equestrian guards of Theodosius the Younger; but this state of life, which he discharged with the utmost fidelity to his prince, did not hinder him from making the service of God his main concern. All his spare time was spent in solitude and prayer; and he often visited holy hermits, to spend the nights with them in tears and singing the divine praises, prostrate on the ground. The fear of vain-glory moved him to retire to the desert mountain of Oxea, in Bithynia, eight miles from Constantinople. After the council of Chalcedon, where he appeared upon summons by order of the emperor Marcian, against Eutyches, he chose a cell on the mountain of Siope, near Chalcedon, in which he contributed to the sanctification of many who resorted to him for advice; he finished his martyrdom of penance, together with his life, about 470. Sozomen commended exceedingly his sanctity whilst he was yet living.  St. Stephen the Younger caused the church of his monastery to be dedicated to God, under the invocation of our saint; and mount Siope is called to this day Mount St. Auxentius. See his life, written from the relation of his disciple Vendimian, with the remarks of Henschenius.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

SAINT ABRAHAM OF CARRHAE

St. Abraham of Carrhae

Feast day: February 14

Death: 422


Also known as Abraham of Charres
Hermit, bishop, and missionary who was born in Cyrrhus, Syria. He became a recluse in the desert near Mount Lebanon and tried to convert the local people. Reviled for his efforts, Abraham continued his apostolate, eventually winning over his neighbors to the faith. Unable to pay their taxes, the locals were saved by Abraham, who used his own funds to settle their debts. He was named the bishop of Carrhae, in Mesopotamia, where he again converted the local people. While visiting Emperor Theodosius II in Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey, Abraham died.

Abraham of Charres was a Syrian hermit and bishop of Harran. He was born and educated at Carrhae modern Harran in Syria, and preached the Gospel in the valley of Mount Lebanon, where he lived as a hermit. He was later elected bishop of Harran, where he worked vigorously to reduce the existing abuses. He died in Constantinople in 422 after going there to consult with Theodosius II, although some argue that it may have instead occurred in 390 under Theodosius II's predecessor, Theodosius I. His body was transferred back to Harran. 

SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS

Saints. Cyril and Methodius
Bishops and Confessors; Equals to the Apostles; Patrons of Europe; Apostles to the Slavs
Born 826 or 827 and 815 Thessalonica, Byzantine Empire present-day Greece
Died 14 February 869 and 6 April 885


Feast day: February 14

Saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers who brought Orthodoxy to the Slavic peoples of central Europe in the ninth century. In preparation for their mission to the Slavs they devised the Glagolitic alphabet to translate the Holy Scriptures and other Christian writings into what is now called Old Church Slavonic. Glagolitic later developed into the Cyrillic alphabet which is now used in a number of Slavic languages. The two brothers have been recognized as saints, equals to the apostles, for their missionary work. Many details of their lives have been obscured by the legends that have arisen about them.
Constantine later Cyril and Michael later Methodius were born early in the 9th century in Thessalonika into a senatorial family. The years of their birth are uncertain. Constantine, the elder of the two, may have been born in 826, while Methodius is believed to have been born in 827. Their father, Leon, was Drungarios of the Byzantine Roman Thema of Thessalonika, whose jurisdiction included the Slavs of Macedonia. Their mother is believed to have been Slavic. Being raised in an area with both Greek and Slavic speakers endowed the brothers with a good knowledge of the two languages. As befitting their family's position, they were well educated.

At a young age the brothers lost their father and they were raised under the protection of their uncle Theoctistos, who was a powerful official in the Byzantine government, responsible for postal services and the diplomatic relations of the empire. In 843, he invited Constantine to Constantinople to continue his studies at the university there. He was ordained a deacon in Constantinopole. As Constantine was knowledgeable in theology and had a good command of the Arabic and Hebrew languages, his first state mission to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil was to discuss the principle of the Holy Trinity with Arab theologians and thus improve the Empire's diplomatic relations with the Abbasid Caliphate.

Theoctistos also arranged a position as an official in the Slavic administration of the empire for Michael. He soon went to the monastery at Mount Olympus where he was tonsured with the name Methodius.

In 860, Emperor Michael III and Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, sent the brothers to the Khagan of the Khazars on a missionary expedition in an attempt to forestall the Khagan from embracing Judaism. The mission was unsuccessful as the Khagan chose Judaism for his people, but many people embraced Christianity. Upon their return, Constantine was appointed professor of philosophy in the university.

Then in 862 the two brothers were invited by Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia to preach Christianity in his domains. This request was a fallout of the efforts of the Slavic princes in central Europe attempting to maintain their independence from their Germanic neighbors. Rastislav was looking for Christian missionaries to replace those from the Germans. In the end this mission would continue for the rest of the brothers' lives, as the brothers were dedicated to the idea that Christianity should be presented to the people in their native languages as was the practice in the East. To accomplish their work they developed the Glagolitic alphabet, the precursor of the Cyrillic alphabet, and began the translation of the Scriptures and Christian literature into the Slavic language.

The German clergy had used their liturgical language, Latin, as a measure to maintain their influence in Moravia and therefore were unhappy with the work of Constantine and Methodius, and they used this difference to attack the brothers. After laboring for about four years, the brothers were called by Nicholas I to appear in Rome to defend their work. The area in which they worked was within the jurisdiction of Rome. However, before their arrival, in 869 Nicholas died and was succeeded by Adrian II. After Adrian was convinced of the orthodoxy of the brothers, he approved their use of Slavonic in their church services and commended their work. He then consecrated Methodius bishop. Constantine took monastic vows in a Greek monastery in Rome. He was given the name Cyril, the name by which he is now commonly known. Cyril was not to return to Moravia as he died shortly thereafter. The date of Cyril's death is uncertain, but appears to have been shortly after his consecration, both perhaps in February 869, with his death most probably on February 1

Cyril and Methodius must have often wondered, as we do today, how God could bring spiritual meaning out of worldly concerns. Every mission they went on, every struggle they fought was a result of political battles, not spiritual, and yet the political battles are forgotten and their work lives on in the Slavic peoples and their literature.

Tradition tells us that the brothers Methodius and Constantine (he did not take the name Cyril until just before his death) grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, it is assumed Constantine and Methodius were familiar with the Slavic language. Methodius, the older of the two brothers, became an important civil official who would have needed to know Slavonic. He grew tired of worldly affairs and retired to a monastery. Constantine became a scholar and a professor known as "the Philosopher" in Constantinople. In 860 Constantine and Methodius went as missionaries to what is today the Ukraine.

When the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, Methodius and Constantine were the natural choices; they knew the language, they were able administrators, and had already proven themselves successful missionaries.

But there was far more behind this request and the response than a desire for Christianity. Rastislav, like the rest of the Slav princes, was struggling for independence from German influence and invasion. Christian missionaries from the East, to replace missionaries from Germany, would help Rastislav consolidate power in his own country, especially if they spoke the Slavonic language.

Constantine and Methodius were dedicated to the ideal of expression in a people's native language. Throughout their lives they would battle against those who saw value only in Greek or Latin. Before they even left on their mission, tradition says, Constantine constructed a script for Slavonic  a script that is known today as glagolithic. Glagolithic is considered by some as the precursor of cyrillic which named after him.

Arriving in 863 in Moravia, Constantine began translating the liturgy into Slavonic. In the East, it was a normal procedure to translate liturgy into the vernacular. As we know, in the West the custom was to use Greek and later Latin, until Vatican II. The German hierarchy, which had power over Moravia, used this difference to combat the brothers' influence. The German priests didn't like losing their control and knew that language has a great deal to do with independence.

So when Constantine and Methodius went to Rome to have the Slav priesthood candidates ordained (neither was a bishop at the time), they had to face the criticism the Germans had leveled against them. But if the Germans had motives that differed from spiritual concerns, so did the pope. He was concerned about the Eastern church gaining too much influence in the Slavic provinces. Helping Constantine and Methodius would give the Roman Catholic church more power in the area. So after speaking the brothers, the pope approved the use of Slavonic in services and ordained their pupils.

Constantine never returned to Moravia. He died in Rome after assuming the monastic robes and the name Cyril on February 14, 869. Legend tells us that his older brother was so griefstricken, and perhaps upset by the political turmoil, that he intended to withdraw to a monastery in Constantinople. Cyril's dying wish, however, was that Methodius return to the missionary work they had begun.

He couldn't return to Moravia because of political problems there, but another Slavic prince, Kocel, asked for him, having admired the brothers' work in translating so much text into Slavonic. Methodius was allowed by the pope to continue saying Mass and administering baptism in the Slavonic tongue. Methodius was finally consecrated bishop, once again because of politics -- Kocel knew that having a Slavonic bishop would destroy the power of the Salzburg hierarchy over his land. Methodius became bishop of Sirmium, an ancient see near Belgrade and given power over Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Moravian territory.

The German bishops accused him of infringing on their power and imprisoned him in a monastery. This lasted until Germany suffered military defeats in Moravia. At that time the pope intervened and Methodius returned to his diocese in triumph at the same time the Germans were forced to recognize Moravian independence. There was a loss involved to appease the Germans a little, the pope told Methodius he could no longer celebrate liturgy in the vernacular.

In 879 Methodius was summoned to Rome to answer German charges he had not obeyed this restriction. This worked against the Germans because it gave Methodius a chance to explain how important it was to celebrate the liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading, and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.

The criticism never went away, but it never stopped Methodius either. It is said that he translated almost all the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church into Slavonic before he died on April 6 in 884.

Within twenty years after his death, it would seem like all the work of Cyril and Methodius was destroyed. Magyar invasions devastated Moravia. And without the brothers to explain their position, use of the vernacular in liturgy was banned. But politics could never prevail over God's will. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius who were driven out of Moravia didn't hide in a locked room. The invasion and the ban gave them a chance to go to other Slavic countries. The brothers' work of spreading Christ's word and translating it into Slavonic continued and laid the foundation for Christianity in the region.

SAINT STEPHEN OF RIETI


Saint Stephen of Rieti
Feast day :13 February
Died . 590.
HE was abbot of a monastery near the walls of Rieti in Italy, and a man of admirable sanctity. Pope Saint Gregory the Great describes him as “rude of speech, but cultured of life”. Stephen devoted himself almost wholly to prayer, and was known for his concern with the spiritual lives even of those who wronged him.


 who despised all things for the love of heaven. He shunned all company to employ himself wholly in prayer. So wonderful was his patience, that he looked upon them as his greatest friends and benefactors, who did him the greatest injuries, and regarded insults as his greatest gain. He lived in extreme poverty, and a privation of all the conveniences of life. His barns, with all the corn in them, the whole subsistence of his family, were burned down by wicked men. He received the news with cheerfulness, grieving only for their sin by which God was offended. In his agony angels were seen surrounding him to conduct his happy soul to bliss .

BLESSED STEPHEN OF LYONS

Stephen of Lyons
Feast day :13 February
 Died 512.
Bishop of Lyons in France, was active in converting the Arian Burgundians to the Catholic faith .

BLESSED PAUL LOC

Blessed Paul Loc
Feast day : 13 February

Born in An Hon, Vietnam., in 1831;
Died in Saigon, 1859;
Beatified 1909.
          Shortly after his ordination to the priesthood, Paul was beheaded for the faith . Vietnamese martyr. He converted to the Catholic faith and was later ordained a priest. Soon after his ordination he was seized and beheaded in Saigon . He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul

Thursday, October 9, 2014

BLESSED PAUL LIEOU


Blessed Paul Lieou
Feastday: Februry 13

Death: 1818

Canonized By: Pope John Paul II

Beatified in 1900. A Chinese layman, Paul was martyred by strangulation for his faith .
Chinese martyr. He was put to death by strangulation by government officials, enemies of the Church. He was beatified in 1900.

SAINT GILBERT OF MEAUX


Saint Gilbert of Meaux
Feast day :13 February
Born Vermandois, France
Died 1009.  Meaux, France of natural causes
Relics enshrined in the cathedral of Meaux in 1491
Relics enshrined in the cathedral of Meaux in 1545
Relics destroyed by Huguenots in 1562

Studied at Saint Quentin. Archdeacon and then bishop of Meaux, France in 995.
Gilbert of Meaux died 13 February 1015, later known as Saint Gilbert of Meaux, was originally from Vermandois. He was the first canon in Saint-Quentin and then became bishop of Meaux.

He subscribed to a charter for the abbey of Saint-Denis. He gave donations to several other monasteries in Ile de France.

Gilbert was appointed bishop in 995 on the death of Archanrad who had appointed him archdeacon of the church. He appended his seal on a charter for the Abbey of St. Denis 998 and 1008, on a charter from King Robert in favor of the abbey of St. Peter of Melun 1005 and shared the property of the Church of Meaux between the bishop and his chapter.

 Several miracles were purported to have taken place at his tomb he was buried in front of the high altar of Meaux Cathedral. His relics were desanctified by the Huguenots in 1562.

SAINT FULCRAN OF LODEVE

The Miracle of Saint Fulcran, by Francois Matet 1805

Saint Fulcran of Lodeve

Feast day :13 February
Died 1006.
Penitent bishop of Lodeve, Languedoc, Fulcran was famous for his energetic rule. He was consecrated in 949 and ruled his diocese for more than a half century .

Pious youth who early decided on a life in the Church. Priest. Bishop of Lodeve, France for 57 years, consecrated on 4 February 949. Rebuilt many churches and convents. Founded the monastery of Saint Sauveur, and several hospitals for the poor. Untiring reformer and supporter of the spiritual life of his clergy, known for his personal asceticism.


The Body of Saint Fulcran Desecrated by Protestants
After his death he was buried in Lodeve Cathedral and honoured as a saint. His body, which had been preserved intact, was burned by the Huguenots in 1572, and only a few particles of his remains were saved.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

BLESSED CHRISTINA CAMOZZI

Blessed Christina of Spoleto

Also known as Christina Camozzi
Christina Visconti (a mispelling that has been perpetuated in several accounts)


Feast day :13 February




Born 1435 at Lake Lugano, Italy as Christina Camozzi

Died 1458 of natural causes

Beatified 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI cultus confirmed



Physician‘s daughter. A dissolute youth, she had a sudden and complete conversion, and imposed severe austerities on herself as penance for her earlier life. After a few years of frivolity, Christina embraced a life of extreme bodily mortification leading to her death at age 23

Agostina Camozzi was the daughter of a well-known doctor in Ostenso in the Italian province of Como. A graceful and attractive young woman, she married at an early age but within a short time was left widowed. In a second relationship she suffered the loss of her only child, a son. A subsequent marriage left her widowed again, this time at the hands of a jealous rival. In about 1450 Agostina underwent a serious conversion, became an Augustinian Tertiary, and changed her name to that of Christine. Her life now was to be one of penance, prayer, and the works of mercy. She lived in various Augustinian convents, moving from one to another, in order to remain in obscurity as best she could. In 1457 she undertook a pilgrimage with the intention of visiting Assisi, Rome and Jerusalem. Together with another tertiary she arrived in Spoleto in the province of Perugia where she devoted herself to the care of the sick and where she died on February 13, 1458, not yet 30 years of age. Her body was interred in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto, which at the time belonged to the Augustinians. Her reputation as a woman of holiness and a worker of numerous miracles caused devotion to Christine to spread quickly and widely. Gregory XVI confirmed her cult in 1834, proclaiming her blessed.

SAINT CASTOR


Castor
Born Probably Aquitaine

 Died 389. OR 400 Karden
First monk of Germany .


Castor of Karden



Saint Castor of Karden .German: Kastor von Karden was a priest and hermit of the 4th century who is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Castor was a pupil of Maximinus of Trier around 345 AD, and was ordained as a priest by Maximinus. Like his teacher, Castor may have come from the region of Aquitaine. At his ordination, Castor settled at Karden on the Moselle as a hermit with various companions, where they dedicated themselves to an ascetic life and established a small religious community.

Castor’s companions there included the Aquitanian pilgrim Saint Potentinus, and Potentinus’ two sons Felicius and Simplicius.

Castor died at Karden at an advanced age.


By the year 791 AD, there was already a reliquary dedicated to Castor, which was translated to the Paulinuskirchen at Karden. In 836, the relics were translated to what became the Basilica of St. Castor at Koblenz by Archbishop Hetto of Trier.

BLESSED BEATRIX OF D' ORNACIEUX

Blessed Beatrix of Ornacieux
Blessed Beatrix of d'Ornacieux,


Born. 1260 in Ornacieu, France

Also known as Beatrice
Feast day: February13  .27 November in the diocese of Grenoble, France
Died.1306 November 25,at the monastery at Eymieux, France of natural causes

Beatified 15 April 1869 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmed)



Carthusian nun. Founded a Carthusian house at Eymieux, France(Esmue convent). Known for her devotion to the Passion of Christ; said to have driven a nail through her left hand to help realize the sufferings of the Crucifixion.
For many years she had remarkable mystical experiences as well as .

SAINT AIMO OF MEDA

Aimo of Meda
Also known as Aimonius
 Died . 790.
Feast day: February13
Saint Aimo Founder of convent of St  Saint Victor at Meda in the archdiocese of Milan, Italy.



Friday, September 26, 2014

SAINT MODOMNOC O'NEIL B

Modomnoc O'Neil B
Also known as Domnoc, Dominic, Modomnock

St. Modomnoc

Feast day: February 13

Death: 550



Irish bishop and a disciple of St. David of Wales. Sometimes called Domnoc or Dominic, he was a member of the royal Irish family of ONeil and ended his years as a hermit at Tibraghny in Kilkenny When Modomnoc returned to Ireland after studying with St. David, swarms of bees left Wales to follow him, thus supposedly being introduced to Ireland.


The story goes that Modomnoc, descended of the Irish royal line of O'Neil, had to leave Ireland to train for the priesthood, since he was a student before the creation of the great Irish monasteries. He crossed the English Channel to be educated under the great Saint David at Mynyw Menevia, now Saint David'sMonastery in Wales. All the pupils had to work in the fields, garden, or in building, in addition to attending to their studies.

 Modomnoc was given charge of the bees and he loved it. And so did everyone else--they all loved honey, but few like taking charge of the hives. Modomnoc liked the bees almost more than he liked their honey. He cared for them tenderly, keeping them in straw skeps in a special sheltered corner of the garden, where he planted the kinds of flowers best loved by the bees.

 Every time they swarmed, he captured the swarm very gently and lovingly and set up yet another hive. He talked to the bees as he worked among them and they buzzed around his head in clouds as if they were responding. And, of course, they never stung him. At the end of summer, they gave him loads and loads of honey, so much that Modomnoc needed help carrying it all inside. The monks
never seemed to run out of honey for their meals or making mead to drink. The good Modomnoc thanked God for his success, and he also thanked the bees. He would walk among the skeps in the evening and talk to them, and the bees, for their part, would crowd out to meet
him. All the other monks carefully avoided that corner of the monastery garden because they were afraid of being stung.
As well as thanking the bees, Modomnoc did everything he could to care for them in cold and storm. Soon his year's of study ended, and Modomnoc had to return to Ireland to begin his priestly
ministry. While he was glad to be returning home, he knew he would be lonely for his bees. On the day of his departure, he said good- bye to David, the monks, and his fellow students. Then he went down to the garden to bid farewell to his bees.

 They came out in the hundreds of thousands in answer to his voice and never was there such a buzzing and excitement among the rows and rows of hives. The monks stood at a distance watching the commotion in wonder, "You'd think the bees knew," they said. "You'd think they knew that Modomnoc was going away."  Modomnoc resolutely turned and went down to the shore and embarked the ship. When they were about three miles from the shore, Modomnoc saw what looked like a little black cloud in the sky in the direction of the Welsh coast. He watched it curiously and as it approached nearer, he saw to his amazement that it was a swarm of bees that came nearer and nearer until finally it settled on the edge of the boat near him. It was a gigantic swarm--all the bees
from all the hives, in fact. The bees had followed him! This time Modomnoc did not praise his friends. "How foolish of you," he scolded them, "you do not belong to me but to David's monastery! How do you suppose the monks can do without honey, or mead? Go back at once, you foolish creatures!" But if the bees understood what he said, they did not obey him. They settled down
on the boat with a sleepy kind of murmur, and there they stayed. The sailors did not like it one bit and asked Modomnoc what he intended to do.

 He told them to turn the boat back for Wales. It was already too far for the bees to fly back, even if they wanted to obey him. He could not allow his little friends to suffer for their foolishness.
But the wind was blowing the boat to Ireland and when they turned back, the sail was useless. The sailors had to furl it and row back to the Welsh coast. They did it with very bad grace, but they were
too much afraid of the bees to do anything else.

 David and the monks were very surprised to see Modomnoc coming back and looking rather ashamed. He told them what had happened. The moment the boat had touched land again, he bees had made straight for their hives and settled down contentedly again. "Wait until tomorrow," advised the abbot, "but don't say farewell to the bees again. They will be over the parting by then."

 Next morning, the boat was again in readiness for Modomnoc and this time he left hurriedly without any fuss of farewell. But when they were about three miles from the shore, he was dismayed to see
again the familiar little black cloud rising up over the Welsh coast. Everyone recognized the situation and the sailors turned back to shore immediately.

 Once more the shamefaced Modomnoc had to seek out David and tell his story. "What am I to do?" he pleaded. "I must go home. The bees won't let me go without them. I can't deprive you of them. They are so useful to the monastery."  David laughed and said, "Modomnoc, I give you the bees. Take them with my blessing. I am sure they would not thrive without you anyhow. Take them. We'll get other bees later on for the monastery."

 The abbot went down to the boat and told the sailors the same story. "If the bees follow Modomnoc for the third time, take them to Ireland with him and my blessing." But it took a long time and a
great deal of talking to get the sailors to agree to this. They did not care who had the bees as long as they weren't in their boat. Bees, they explained, were the kind of passengers they never
wanted. If they gave trouble on the boat and no one could sail it, they might all be drowned. Anything but bees, they said. Wild animals, okay; bee, no.

The abbot assured the sailors that the bees would give no trouble as long as Modomnoc was around. The sailors asked, if that were so, why the bees did not obey Modomnoc's command to return to the
monastery. After much back and forth, the sailors were finally persuaded into starting out again.
 For the third time the boat set sail, Modomnoc praying hard that the bees would have the sense to stay in their pleasant garden rather than risking their lives at sea. For the third time he saw the dreaded little black cloud rising up in the distance, approaching nearer and nearer until he saw it was the same swarm of bees again. It settled on the boat once more. This time it did not turn back. Modomnoc coaxed his faithful friends into a sheltered corner of the boat, where they remained quietly throughout the journey, much to the sailors' relief.

 When he landed in Ireland, he set up a church at a place called Bremore, near Balbriggan, in County Dublin, and here he established the bees in a happy garden just like the one they had in Wales. The
place is known to this day as "the Church of the Beekeeper." Some say that he became a hermit at Tibraghny in Kilkenny and later bishop .

SAINT LICINIUS OF ANGERS

St. Lezin
Licinius of Angers
Also known as Lesin, Lucinus

Feast day: February 13

Birth: 540

Death: 609 OR 618



French bishop. A member of the Frankish aristocracy, he gave up worldly Concerns and entered the Church. Known for his sanctity, he later became bishop of Angers.



Feast day formerly November 1. When Licinus was about 20, he was sent to the court of his cousin King Clotaire I. His prudence and valor distinguished him both in the court and in the army, and he carried out all his Christian duties with diligently. Fasting and prayer were familiar to him, and his
heart was always raised to God. After King Chilperic made him count of Anjou, about 578, Licinus consented to take a wife. On their wedding day, the lady contracted leprosy. He immediately decided to renounce the world and entered holy orders two years later.

 Licinus found true joy within a community of ecclesiastics, engaging in the exercises of piety, austere penance, and meditaton on the holy scriptures. The people, clergy, and the court of Clotaire II all concurred that Licinus should assume the episcopacy of Angers when Bishop Audouin died. Overcoming his own humility, he was consecrated by Saint Gregory of Tours.  As bishop, his time and his substance were divided in feeding the hungry, comforting and releasing prisoners, and curing the bodies and souls of his people. Though he was careful to keep up exact discipline in his diocese, he was more inclined to indulgence than rigor, in imitation of the tenderness which Jesus Christ showed for sinners. He won souls, not simply by strong preaching, but more through an exemplary life, miracles, and daily prayer for the souls in his care. He longed for greater solitude, and tried to resign his bishopric, but his priests, people, and fellow bishops refused to entertain such a thought. So he spent the rest of his life tending his flock--doing God's will and not his own. His patience
was perfected by continual infirmities in his last years.
 Licinus was buried in the monastery church of St. John Baptist, which he had founded for his frequent retreats. It is now a collegiate church, and enriched with his relics. At Angers he is commemorated on June 8 the day of his consecration and on June 21 when his relics were translated or taken up, 1169, in the time of Henry II, king of England, count of Anjou. His vita, based on the
testimony of his disciples, was written soon after his death; and again by Marbodius, archdeacon of Angers, afterwards bishop of Rennes, both in Bollandus .





BLESSED JOHN LANTRUA OF TRIORA OFM

Bl. John Lantrua of Triora OFM


Feast day: February 13
Born in Triora, Liguria, Italy, 1760;
Death:in China, 1816;

Beatified in 1900.
Franciscan martyr of China. He was born at Triora, in Liguria, Italy, in 1760, and became a Franciscan at the age of seventeen. John volunteered for the Chinese missions. After working in China with great success from 1798, he was arrested, imprisoned, and strangled on February 7.



John joined the Franciscans when he was 17. He could have continued to live a happy little life as the guardian of Velletri near Rome, but instead he volunteered for the Chinese missions though he knew a fierce persecution was raging. He arrived in China in 1799 and worked with success in spite of many obstacles. Eventually, he was seized and martyred by strangulation at Ch'angsha Fu . John was beatified in 1900.

SAINT GOSBERT

St. Gosbert

Gosbert of Osnabruck,
Feast day: February 13

Death: 859



   Benedictine bishop and friend of St. Angsar. Gosbert was the Fourth bishop of Osnabruck, Germany and a disciple of Saint Ansgar. His was a particularly laborious episcopate . 

SAINT DYFNOG

St. Dyfnog
 7th century.

Feast day: February 13



Welsh confessor of the Caradog family. He was venerated in Clwyd, Wales.He was formerly held in local veneration in Denbighshire.

BLESSED ARCHANGELA GIRLANI

Bl. Archangela Girlani

Born in Trino, Monferrato, Italy,1460 OR 1461;
Died 1494;
Feast day: February 13
cults confirmed 1864.

 Archangela became a Carmelite in Parma and, at the request of the Gonzagas, was sent to found a new Carmel at Mantua. She was its first prioress, a living pattern of perfection .




 She was born in Trino, in northern Italy, in 1460, baptized Eleanor. Though planning to become a Benedictine nun, she was thwarted in her desire by her horse - the animal refused to carry her to the convent. She then became a Carmelite in Parma, Italy, taking the name Archangela, being professed in 1478. Named prioress of the convent, Archangela founded a new Carmel in Mantua. She was gifted with ecstasies and levitation and was reported to have performed miracles. Archangela died on January 25, 1494.

SAINT CATHERINE DE RICCI

St. Catherine de Ricci

Feast day: February 13

Birth: 1522
Born in Florence, Italy, April 23, 1522;
Died in Prato near Florence, February 2, 1590;

 Beatified by Clement XII in 1732;

canonized in 1747 by Benedict XIV; feast day formerly February 2.


St. Catherine baptismal name was Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine upon entering religion. From her earliest infancy she manifested a great love of prayer, and in her sixth year, her father placed her in the convent of Monticelli in Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun. After a brief return home, she entered the convent of the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year. While very young, she was chosen Mistress of Novices, then subprioress, and at twenty-five years of age she became perpetual prioress. The reputation of her sanctity drew to her side many illustrious personages, among whom three later sat in the chair of Peter, namely Cerveni, Alexander de Medicis, and Aldo Brandini, and afterward Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI respectively. She corresponded with St. Philip Neri and, while still living, she appeared to him in Rome in a miraculous manner.She is famous for the "Ecstacy of the Passion" which she experienced every Thursday from noon until Friday at 4:00 p.m. for twelve years. After a long illness she passed away in 1589.






Alexandrina dei Ricci was born of a patrician family, but Catharine Bonza died leaving her motherless in her infancy. She was trained in virtue by a very pious godmother. The little girl took
Our Lady as her mother and had for her a tender devotion. The child held familiar conversations with her guardian angel, who taught her a special manner of saying the rosary and assisted her in the
practice of virtue.

 As soon as Alexandrina was old enough to go away from home age 6 or 7, she was sent to the convent school of Monticelli, where her aunt, Louisa dei Ricci, was the abbess. Besides learning her
lessons for which she was sent, the little girl developed a great devotion to the Passion. She prayed often before a certain picture of Our Lord, and at the foot of a crucifix, which is still treasured as "Alexandrina's crucifix." Returning from the monastery when her education was completed according to the norm for girls, she turned her attention to her vocation.

 In her plans to enter a monastery of strict observance, she met with great opposition from her father Peter. She loved the community life that had allowed her to serve God without impediment
or distraction. She continued her usual exercises at home as much as she was able, but the interruptions and dissipations that were inseparable from her station, made her uneasy.

 Finally, Peter allowed her to visit St. Vincent's convent in Prato, Tuscany, which had been founded by nine Third Order Dominicans who were great admirers of Savonarola. Alexandrina begged to remain with them; however, her father took her away, promising to let her return. He did not keep his promise, and the girl fell so ill that everyone despaired of her life. Frightened into agreement, her father gave his consent; Alexandrina, soon recovering, entered the convent of Saint Vincent.

 In May 1535, Alexandrina received the habit from her uncle, Fr. Timothy dei Ricci, who was confessor to the convent. She was given the name Catherine in religion, and she very happily set about imitating her beloved patron. Lost in celestial visions, she was quite unaware that the sisters had begun to wonder about her qualifications for the religious life: for in her ecstasies she
seemed merely sleepy, and at times extremely stupid. Some thought her insane. Her companions did not suspect her of ecstasy when she dozed at community exercises, spilled food, or broke dishes.
 Neither did it occur to Sister Catherine that other people were not, like herself, rapt in ecstasy. She was about to be dismissed from the community when she became aware of the heavenly favors she
had received. From then on there was no question of dismissing the young novice, but fresh trials moved in upon her in the form of agonizing pain from a complication of diseases that remedies seemed only to aggravate. She endured her sufferings patiently by constantly meditating on the passion of Christ, until she was suddenly healed. After her recovery, she was left in frail health.

Like Saint John of Egypt and Saint Antony, Catherine met Philip Neri in a vision while he was still alive and in Rome. They had corresponded for a long time and wanted to meet each other but were
unable to arrange it. Catherine appeared to Philip in a vision and they conversed for a long time. Saint Philip, who was also cautious in giving credence to or publishing visions, confirmed this. This
blessed ability to bilocate, like Padre Pio, was confirmed by the oaths of five witnesses. Also like those desert fathers, Antony and John, she fasted two or three times weekly on only bread and water,
and sometimes passed an entire day without taking any nourishment.  Like Saint Catherine of Siena, she is said to have received a ring from the Lord as a sign of her espousal to him--a mysterious ring
made of gold set with a diamond, invisible to all except the mystic. Others saw only a red lozenge and a circlet around her finder.

 Sister Catherine was 20 when she began a 12-year cycle of weekly ecstasies of the Passion from noon each Thursday until 4:00 p.m. each Friday. The first time, during Lent 1542, she meditated so heart-rendingly on the crucifixion of Jesus that she became seriously ill, until a vision of the Risen Lord talking with Mary Magdalene restored her to health on Holy Saturday. She received the sacred stigmata, which remained with her always. In addition to the five wounds, she received, in the course of her Thursday-Friday ecstasies, many of the other wounds which our Lord suffered. Watching her face and body, the sisters could follow the course of the Passion, as she was mystically scourged and crowned with thorns. When the ecstasy was finished, she would be covered with wounds and her shoulder remained deeply indented where the Cross had been laid.

 Soon all Italy was attentive and crowds came to see her. Skeptics and the indifferent, sinners and unbelievers, were transformed at the sight of her. Soon there was no day nor hour at which people
did not come, people in need and in sin, people full of doubt and tribulation, who sought her help, and, of course, the merely curious. Because of the publicity that these favors attracted, she and her entire community asked our Lord to make the wounds less visible, and He did in 1554.

 Her patience and healing impressed her sisters. While still very young, Catherine was chosen to serve the community as novice- mistress, then sub-prioress, and, at age 30, she was appointed
prioress in perpetuity, despite her intense mystical life of prayer and penance. She managed the material details of running a large household were well, and became known as a kind and considerate superior. Catherine was particularly gentle with the sick. Troubled people, both within the convent and in the town, came to her for advice and prayer, and her participation in the Passion exerted a
great influence for good among all who saw it. Three future popes Cardinals Cervini later known as Pope Marcellus II, Alexander de Medici Pope Leo XI, and Aldobrandini Pope Clement VIII were
among the thousands who flocked to the convent to beseech her intercession.  Of the cloister that Catherine directed, a widow who had entered it observed: "If the world only knew how blessed is life in this cloister, the doors would not suffice and the thronging people would clamber in over all the walls."

 A contemporary painting of Catherine attributed to Nardini at the Pinacoteca of Montepulciano shows a not unattractive, though relatively plain woman. Her eyes protrude a bit too much and her
nose is too flared to account her a classic beauty, but she possessed high cheekbones, dark hair, widely spaced eyes, and full lips. Her mein is that of a sensitive woman who has experience pain
and now has compassion.  Catherine's influence was not confined within the walls of her convent. She was greatly preoccupied by the need for reform in the Church, as is apparent from her letters, many of them addressed to highly-placed persons. This accounts, too, for her reverence for the memory of Savonarola, who had defied the evil-living Pope Alexander VI and been hanged in Florence in 1498. Saint Catherine was in touch with such contemporary, highly-orthodox reformers as Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Pius V. After Catherine's long and painful death in 1589, many miracles were performed at her tomb. Her cultus soon spread from Prato throughout the whole of Italy and thence to the whole world. The future Pope Benedict XIV, the "devil's advocate" in Catherine's cause for canonization, critically examined all relevant claims. As in the case of her younger contemporary, Saint Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi, canonization was not granted because of the extraordinary phenomenon surrounding her life, but for heroic virtue and complete union with Christ .