In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach.
Awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai.
The government authorities were reluctant to allow Mother Marianne to be a mother on Molokai. Thirty years of dedication proved their fears unfounded. God grants gifts regardless of human short-sightedness and allows those gifts to flower for the sake of the kingdom.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Poem for Saint Marianne Cope
To the Reverend Sister Marianne,
Matron of the Bishop Home, Kalaupapa.
To see the infinite pity of this place,
The mangled limb, the devastated face,
The innocent sufferers smiling at the rod,
A fool were tempted to deny his God.
He sees and shrinks; but if he look again,
Lo, beauty springing from the breasts of pain!
He marks the sisters on the painful shores,
And even a fool is silent and adores.
Do not grow slack but be fervent in spirit;
he whom you serve is the Lord………….Romans 12:11
REFLECTION – “Let us make the very best use of the precious moments and do all in our power for His dear sake and for His greater honour and glory…………I do not think of reward; I am working for God and do so cheerfully.”….St Marianne Cope (Saint of the Day)
PRAYER – Loving Father, grant me to have a true fervour in Your service. Help me to become a zealous worker for Your honour and glory, in imitation of your Son and of your holy saints. St Marianne Cope, ntercede for us all, that we may go forth unafraid to serve the most needy of our Father’s children. Please pray for us, amen!
[1] O Lord, deprive me not of Your heavenly blessings.
[2] O Lord, deliver me from eternal torment.
[3] O Lord, if I have sinned in my mind or thought, in word or deed, forgive me.
[4] O Lord, deliver me from every ignorance and heedlessness, from pettiness of the soul and stony hardness of heart.
[5] O Lord, deliver me from every temptation.
[6] O Lord, enlighten my heart darkened by evil desires.
[7] O Lord, I, being a human being, have sinned; You, being God, forgive me in Your loving kindness, for You know the weakness of my soul,
[8] O Lord, send down Your grace to help me, that I may glorify Your holy Name.
[9] O Lord Jesus Christ, inscribe me, Your servant, in the Book of Life and grant me a blessed end.
[10] O Lord my God, even if I have done nothing good in Your sight, yet grant me, according to Your grace, that I may make a start in doing good.
[11] O Lord, sprinkle on my heart the dew of Your grace.
[12] O Lord of heaven and earth remember me, Your sinful servant, cold of heart and impure, in Your kingdom.
[13] O Lord, receive me in repentance.
[14] O Lord, leave me not.
[15] O Lord, save me from temptation.
[16] O Lord, grant me pure thoughts.
[17] O Lord, grant me tears of repentance, remembrance of death and the sense of peace.
[18] O Lord, grant me mindfulness to confess my sins.
[19] O Lord, grant me humility, charity and obedience.
[20] O Lord, grant me magnanimity and gentleness.
[21] O Lord, implant in me the root of all blessings, the fear of You in my heart.
[22] O Lord, vouchsafe that I may love You with all my heart and soul and that I may obey in all things Your will.
[23] O Lord, shield me form evil persons and devils and passions and all other lawless matters.
[24] O Lord, who knows Your creation and that which You have willed for it, may Your will also be fulfilled in me, a sinner, for You are blessed forevermore. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 23 January – St Marianne Cope TOSF (1838-1918) also known as Saint Marianne of Molokaʻi- (Born Maria Anna Barbara Koob in 1838-died 1918 aged 80) Virgin, Religious, Missionary to lepers – Patron of Lepers, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, Hawai’i.
St Marianne was a German-born American nun who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York and administrator of its St. Joseph’s Hospital in the city. Known also for her charitable works, in 1883 she relocated with six other Sisters to Hawaiʻi to care for persons suffering Hansen’s Disease on the island of Molokaʻi and aid in developing the medical infrastructure in Hawaiʻi.
In November 1888, Cope moved to Kalaupapa. She cared for the dying Fr. Damien of Molokai (pictured) who was already known internationally for his work in the leper colony and began to take over his burdens. She had met him shortly after her arrival in Hawaii. When St. Damien died on 15 April 1889, the government officially gave Cope charge for the care of the boys of Kalaupapa, in addition to her existing role in caring for the female residents of the colony.
Despite direct contact with the patients over many years, Cope did not contract the disease. She died from natural causes at the age of 80. In 2005 Cope was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI and declared a saint by the same pope on October 21, 2012, along with St. Kateri Tekawitha.
Mother Marianne Cope (in wheelchair) with other nuns and the women and girls of Bishop Home in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, shortly before her death in 1918.
St Marianne Cope
—
St Abel the Patriarch
St Agathangelus
St Amasius of Teano
St Andreas Chong Hwa-Gyong
St Aquila the Martyr
St Asclas of Antinoe
St Clement of Ancyra
St Colman of Lismore
St Dositheus of Gaza
St Emerentiana
St Eusebius of Mount Coryphe
Bl Henry Suso
St Ildephonsus
Bl Joan Font Taulat
St John the Almsgiver/the Mericiful
Bl Juan Infante
St Jurmin
St Lufthild
St St Maimbod
Bl Margaret of Ravenna
Martyrius of Valeria
St Messalina of Foligno
St Ormond of Mairé
St Parmenas the Deacon
St Severian the Martyr
St John Bosco is the Patron of Christian apprentices, editors, publishers, schoolchildren, young people, magicians, juvenile delinquents. Choose ALL young people or your own children. Or simply Pray the 9 days for your own intention.
Novena to St John Bosco
1st Day (January 22) – Love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
O Saint John Bosco,
you loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
and zealously promoted this devotion
by encouraging participation in the Holy Eucharist,
reception of Holy Communion and daily Visits
to Our Lord in the Tabernacle.
Pray for us that, inspired by your example,
we may grow in this love,
so that we may end our days strengthened
and comforted by the Heavenly Food of the Most Holy Eucharist.
Through your intercession
may God grant me the following grace………………….
[mention your intention]
so that together with others
I may assist in bringing all, especially the young,
to the love of Christ in the Eucharist, amen.
Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory to the Father…
St John Bosco, Pray for us!
“Make no mistake, my brothers, if anyone joins a schismatic he will not inherit God’s Kingdom. If anyone walks in the way of heresy, he is out of sympathy with the Passion. Be careful, then, to observe a single Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord, Jesus Christ and one cup of His blood that makes us one and one altar, just as there is one bishop along with the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow slaves. In that way whatever you do is in line with God’s will.”………………St Ignatius of Antioch
LET US PRAY:
Glorious St Paul,
your conversion is a powerful witness to the world
that God loves us and does not give up on us,
no matter how far we stray.
Help me to cling to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament
help me to fully participate at every Holy Mass
help me to understand, that this IS He
who showed us the way
gave us the light to follow it in Holy Mother Church
who is His bride and shows us the only truth.
May every circumstante of my life be an occasion
to change my way of thinking,
to renounce self-will and
to surrender myself to the wisdom and tenderness of Jesus Christ
who is acting to make me His saint.
Pray that I may love God’s will and providence for me.
In this confidence, I entrust to you, St Paul,
these, my intentions
(mention your request)
I ask this through Christ, Our Lord, amen.
St Paul Pray for us!
“One of the greatest proofs of love that Jesus displayed on the cross was putting up with the imperfections of His neighbour. There He showed us that He has a heart that loves us tenderly and watches over us kindly. He even showed His love for those who put Him to death. In those dire moments the Saviour expressed thoughts of love even for his executioners, pardoning them in the very act of sinning! How petty-minded we are when we cannot bring ourselves to forget some injury received, even after a long time! Whoever sincerely pardons another calls down abundant blessings and perfectly imitates Christ.” (St Francis de Sales Spiritual Treatises IV; O. VI, pp. 65-66)
O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially ……………………..
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven
even as I walk each day with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble
in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny: eternal life with God. Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer………………………………
(mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all,
You desired that St. Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.
There is a certain genius that comes from the faith and we saw it in our day in St Mother Teresa. The saints tackle great and difficult things and accomplish wonders because they did NOT and do NOT depend on their OWN strength and effort. They KNOW that all things are possible with and in God – they take Him at His word – they ask for miracles and receive them! They are never disappointed – this is the genius of faith!
“You must be holy in the way that God asks you to be holy.
God does not ask you to be a Trappist monk or a hermit.
He wills that you sanctify the world and your everyday life.”
In him who is the source of my strength, I have strength for everything…………Phil 4:13
REFLECTION – “Remember that the Christian life is one of action; not of speech and daydreams. Let there be few words and many deeds and let them be done well ………….By myself I can do nothing but in union with God, I can do all things. Out of love for God, I want to do all things”
~~~ St Vincent Pallotti (Saint of the Day)
PRAYER – God of all might, grant that I may place myself in Your hands and never despair. Let me not shrink from even the hardest of tasks – for with Your help I can do anything. St Vincent Pallotti, you who accomplished so much for the Glory of the Kingdom of God, please pray for us, amen!
Not the intellect, but God
Not the will, but God
Not the heart, but God
Not taste, but God
Not touch, but God
Not food and drink, but God
Not clothing but God
Not tranquillity, but God
Not the worldly goods, but God.
Not riches, but God.
Not honours, but God.
Not distinction, but God.
Not dignities, but God.
Not advancement, but God.
God in all
God always.
– Saint Vincent Pallotti (written by him before his first Holy Mass)
Saint of the Day – 22 January – St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850) Missionary, Priest, Founder – Patron of the Pallottines and Catholic Action
St Vincent was an Italian ecclesiastic, born in Rome of a noble family. He was the founder of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate later to be known as the “Pious Society of Missions” (the Pallottines). The original name was restored in 1947. He is buried in the church of San Salvatore in Onda. He is considered the forerunner of Catholic Action.
This unpretentious man, Saint Vincent Pallotti, who out of respect for God omnipresent always went bareheaded, is one of the glories of the Catholic clergy, the pillars of the Church in troublesome times and the successful apostles of the people.
From earliest childhood he evinced tender love for the Blessed Mother of God and the decree on the heroic nature of his virtues emphasizes the following facts: “He possessed an exceptional love for poverty and penance and was therefore especially devoted to St Francis of Assisi. Because various obstacles were in the way of his entering the First Order, he desired at least to belong to the Third Order. It was his constant endeavour to imitate and venerate St Francis.”
Vincent became a Tertiary in the Franciscan church of Aracoeli on November 29, 1816. He distinguished himself not only by his piety but also by his brilliant intellect. In time he received the degrees of doctor of philosophy and of theology. He was overwhelmed with joy when on May 16, 1818, he was ordained to the holy priesthood. Then his apostolate began. With prayer and penance, with his labours in the pulpit and the confessional, with his efforts on behalf of the sick and the endangered and especially on behalf of young clerics in the Roman seminary, he did a measureless amount of good. .During the cholera plague in 1837, Pallotti constantly endangered his life in ministering to the stricken. In fact, it is well known that the saint often bi-located so as to be able to reach more souls when necessary.
To his apostolic zeal must be ascribed the foundation of the Pious Society of the Missions, also called the Pallottine Fathers. The purpose of the society was to arouse faith and charity among Catholics and to propagate these virtues among heretics and infidels. Vincent placed his organization under the protection of the Immaculate Mother of God and under perfect submission to the Holy See.
During the Christmas Season, a nativity scene that Saint Vincent made himself is put on display at the Vatican, in the Basilica’s square, before the Christmas tree. Vincent promoted the celebration of the Octave of the Epiphany as an act of unity with his Orthodox brethren who celebrated Christmas on that day.
God glorified His humble servant by the gift of miracles both during his lifetime and after his death in 1850. There was a strange and marvelous scent, a heavenly perfume, that was noted about the saints body and in his room at the time of his death. That scent lingered in the room in which he had died for a month, even through the window to the room was left open. St Vincent Pallotti was comparatively young when he was called to eternity, but in that short span he had accumulated a wealth of merits. He was beatified in 1950, and canonized in 1963.
The body of Saint Vincent Pallotti was exhumed in 1906 and 1950, and his body was found to be completely incorrupt.
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (2017)
St Vincent of Saragossa (Optional Memorial)
St Vincent Pallotti (Optional Memorial)
—
St Anastasius the Persian
St Antonio della Chiesa
Bl Bernard of Vienne
St Blaesilla of Rome
St Brithwald of Ramsbury
St Caterina Volpicelli
St Dominic of Sora
Bl Esteve Santacana Armengol
St Francis Gil de Frederich de Sans
Bl Giuseppe Nascimbeni
St Guadentius of Novara
Bl Ladislao Batthyany-Strattmann
Bl Laura Vicuna
Bl Maria Mancini
St Mateo Alonso de Leciñana
St Valerius of Saragossa
St Vincent Pallotti
Bl Walter of Himmerode
Bl William Joseph Chaminade
Bl William Patenson
—
Martyrs of Puigcerda
Orontius
Victor
Vincent
Various daily acts cause our conversion and ultimately our sanctification to grow: examining our conscience and admitting our faults; undertaking works of penance and reconciliation; receiving the correction others give us with an open and humble heart; reaching out to the poor; standing up for what is right and just; accepting the suffering and persecution that come our way; desiring to better our life (see CCC1435).
LET US PRAY:
Glorious St Paul,
your conversion is a powerful witness to the world
that God loves us and does not give up on us,
no matter how far we stray.
Help me to live a life of ongoing conversion.
True conversion means converting my life to the
design of God, the plan He has for me right now.
Pray for me, that I may be filled with passion
for the evangelisation of all those around me,
that my life may be a beacon of the light of Christ.
May the witness of my life inspire other sinners to conversion.
May faith move me to believe that God can
and will change the things in me that seem impossible to rectify.
In this confidence, I entrust to you, St Paul,
these, my intentions ………………..
(mention your request)
I ask this through Christ, Our Lord, amen.
St Paul Pray for us!
“Our intellect is ordinarily full of ideas, opinions and considerations suggested by self-love. This is the root of many conflicts within the soul, putting before us all sorts of reasons dictated by human prudence to justify our pretensions. People who make use of this false prudence, instead of enlightening their intellect, obscure it. They reject advice given to them and let those reasons prevail in their minds which support their own opinions, even wrong ones. Make use of the virtue of prudence because it is good but make good use of it. Employ it only rarely, with simplicity and solely for the glory of God.” (St Francis de Sales – Sermons 30; O. IX, pp. 297-298)
O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially …………………..
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven
even as I walk each day with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble
in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny:
eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer.
(mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all, You desired that St. Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.
St. Agnes’s death was “a new kind of martyrdom!” (St Ambrose). She taught us adults the meaning of valor while she was still a child. Agnes hurried to the place of her execution more joyfully than a bride goes to her wedding. And she was adorned not with plaited hair, but with Christ himself. Agnes is a symbol that holiness does not depend on length of years, experience, or human effort. It is a gift God offers to all.
After I have been with you all this time, you still do not know me?……….John 14:9
REFLECTION – Jesus Christ is very little known by those who claim to be His friends.
We observe them seeking in Him – not His sorrows – but their own consolation……St John of the Cross
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You. Grant me the grace to follow You in Your sorrows, accepting all the sorrows of my life for Your sake. Help me to learn from this child Martyr, Agnes, who understood so much more than I do, who joined her pain to Yours, accepting them for love of You. St Agnes, teach me and pray for us all, amen!
O Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ,
source of all virtues, lover of virgins,
most powerful conqueror of demons,
deign to cast Your eyes upon my weakness
and through the intercession of Mary
most blessed, Mother and Virgin
and of Your beloved spouse St. Agnes,
glorious virgin and martyr,
grant me the aid of Your heavenly grace,
in order that I may learn to despise all earthly things
and to love what is heavenly;
to oppose vice and to be proof against temptation;
to walk firmly in the path of virtue,
not to seek honours,
to shun pleasures,
to bewail my past offenses,
to keep far from the occasions of evil,
to keep free from bad habits,
to seek the company of the good
and persevere in holiness,
so that, by the assistance of Your grace,
I may deserve the crown of eternal life,
together with St. Agnes and all the saints,
forever and ever, in Your kingdom. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 21 January – St Agnes of Rome (c291-c304) VIRGIN and MARTYR – Patron of affianced couples, betrothed couples, bodily purity, chastity, Children of Mary, Colegio Capranica of Rome, crops, engaged couples, gardeners, Girl Scouts, girls, Manresa, Spain, rape victims, Rockville Centre, New York, diocese of, virgins
“A new kind of martyrdom!” exclaimed St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan. The assembly cheered and applauded. He was celebrating St. Agnes because she was a virgin, a martyr—and a child. She was executed at Rome in 304 during the Emperor Diocletian’s vicious persecution. Here are Ambrose’s observations on her death:
“St. Agnes is said to have suffered martyrdom at age 12. The cruelty that did not spare so young a child was hateful but the power of faith in the child was greater. Was there room for a wound in that small body? The sword could barely strike her, yet she had the inner strength to strike back. Girls of her age usually can’t even bear a parent’s angry glance. They cry at needles’ pricks as though they were wounds. Agnes, however, faced her persecutors fearlessly. When they attempted to force her to worship at the pagan altars, she stretched out her hands and made the sign of the cross over the sacrificial fires. She was not fazed by the heavy weight of the chains they wrapped around her. And she freely offered her body to the executioner’s sword.
Saint Agnes by Domenchino
The executioner used both threats and allurements to try to change her mind. He encouraged young men to beg her to marry them. But she answered, “I already have a spouse and I will not offend Him by pretending that another might please me. I will give myself only to Him who first chose me. So, executioner, what are you waiting for? Destroy this body that unwanted eyes desire.”
Agnes stood and prayed. Then she bent down her neck. The executioner trembled as though he himself had been condemned. His right hand shook and his face grew pale, but the virgin showed no fear at all.
So in one victim we have a twofold martyrdom of purity and faith, for Agnes both remained a virgin and also obtained martyrdom. Historians say that legends have embroidered the few facts we know about Agnes. But the stories are rooted in actual events and convey kernels of truth about her. These legends tell that Agnes was a beautiful and soon-to-be-marriageable young woman. Many eager young men pursued her but she rebuffed them because she had consecrated her virginity to Christ.
One spurned suitor took revenge by reporting to the authorities that Agnes was a Christian. She was brought before a judge who tried to persuade her to recant. He threatened her with fire and torture, but she did not flinch. Then he had her stripped at a brothel and urged young men to seduce her. “You may stain your sword with my blood,” she said, “but you will never profane my body that I have consecrated to Christ.” All were so stunned by her presence that only one boy tried to touch her. Legend says he was struck blind and that Agnes prayed that his sight be restored.
Jacopo Tintoritto – The Miracle of St Agnes
Exasperated and egged on by her first accuser, the governor ordered her execution. Agnes was taken to the Stadium of Domitian, where she courageously faced a nervous soldier who hacked her to death with his sword. Over the centuries the little virgin martyr became one of the most popular saints in Christian history.
St Agnes of Rome (Memorial)
Our Lady of Altagracia – Also known as: Our Lady of Grace – Our Lady of High Grace – Protector and Queen of the hearts of the Dominicans – Tatica from Higuey – Virgen de la Altagracia – Virgin of Altagracia
—
St Agnes of Aislinger
St Alban Bartholomew Roe
St Anastasius of Constantinople
St Aquila of Trebizond
St Brigid of Kilbride
St Candidus of Trebizond
Bl Edward Stransham
St Epiphanius of Pavia
St Eugenius of Trebizond
Bl Franciscus Bang
St Gunthildis of Biblisheim
Bl Ines de Beniganim
St John Yi Yun-on
St Lawdog
St Maccallin of Waulsort
St Meinrad of Einsiedeln
St Nicholas Woodfen
St Patroclus of Troyes
St Publius of Malta
Bl Thomas Reynolds
St Valerian of Trebizond
St Vimin of Holywood
St Zacharias the Angelic
—
Blessed Martyrs of Laval – 19 beati
Martyrs of Rome – 30 saints
Martyrs of Tarragona: Augurius, Eulogius, Fructuosus
“Conversion to Christ,” says Pope Benedict XVI, “ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and of God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship.”
LET US PRAY:
Glorious St Paul,
your conversion is a powerful witness to the world
that God loves us and does not give up on us,
no matter how far we stray.
May every circumstante of my life be an occasion
to change my way of thinking,
to renounce self-will and
to surrender myself to the wisdom and tenderness of Jesus Christ
who is acting to make me His saint.
Pray that I may love God’s will and providence for me.
In this confidence, I entrust to you, St Paul,
these, my intentions
(mention your request)
I ask this through Christ, Our Lord, amen.
St Paul Pray for us!
Day SIX “Do not pay any attention to the kind of work you do, but rather to the honour that it brings to God, even though it may seem quite trivial. Desire only to do the Divine Will, following Divine Providence, which is the disposition of Divine Wisdom. In a word, if your works are pleasing to God and recognized as such, that is all that matters. Work hard every day at increasing your purity of heart, which consists in appraising things and weighing them in the balance of God’s will.” (St Francis de Sales Letters 280; O. XIII, p. 53)
O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially …………….
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven even as I walk each day
with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny:
eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer.
(mention your particular need)
O God, for the salvation of all, you desired that St. Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we, infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.
Many saints, like St Sebastian, are merely names in history and little is known of their lives and their deaths. But something of their example remained aglow in the memories of their contemporaries, who passed on their stories to future Christians. They are remembered for their heroic witness to Christ – that is what is treasured – they express the very substance of the faith, and their names are immortal.
“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others.
It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.
It has eyes to see misery and want.
It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.
That is what love looks like.”
May the Lord….make you overflow with love for one another and for all……….1 Thes 3:12
REFLECTION – “The means for attaining perfect love is to accomplish frequent acts of love.
Fire is kindled by the wood that we cast into it and love is enkindled by acts of love.”……..St Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER – Loving Father, grant me the grace to strive after perfect love. Help me to bring forth frequent acts of love so that I may grow in this greatest of virtues, even if, like St Sebastian, through my love for others, I should suffer and die for You. St Sebastian Pray for us, amen!
Our Morning Offering – 20 January
I love You, O my God
and my only desire is to love You
until the last breath of my life.
I love You, O my infinitely lovable God,
and I would rather die loving You,
than live for an instant without loving You.
I love you, O my God
and I desire only to go to heaven
to have the happiness of loving You perfectly.
I love You, O my God
and my only fear is to go to hell
because one will not have
the sweet solace of loving You there.
O my God,
if my tongue cannot say at all times that I love You,
at least I want my heart to repeat it to You as I breathe.
Ah! Do me the grace to suffer while loving You,
to love You while suffering.
And, that when I die, I not only will love You
but experience it in my heart.
I beg You that the closer I come to my final end,
You will increase and perfect my love for You, amen.
Saint/s of the Day – 20 January – Fabian & Sebastian
Fabian was a pope, and Sebastian was believed to be a soldier. Both were faithful to Christ until death. The traditional story told about Saint Sebastian is that he was an army officer who was condemned to death for his belief in Jesus. His fellow soldiers shot him with arrows. Surviving this, he was clubbed to death.
More is known about Saint Fabian (born c200-250) who was pope in 236 during unstable political times. Philip, an ambitious and ruthless man, killed Emperor Maximus and made himself emperor. Later, he regretted his behavior and changed the government policy from persecution of Christians to tolerance for them. For the first time, being a Christian was legal but peace for the Christians did not last long. Philip was killed by his lieutenant, Decius, who became the next emperor. Decius believed that his empire could be saved only if the pagan customs of ancient Rome were restored. He sent an edict that commanded the death penalty for all who would not give up their following of Christ. Pope Fabian eagerly died for the faith. Following his example, many Christians died as martyrs, though many others denied their faith in Christ.
St Sebastian (c256-287) – Captain of the Praetorian Guard, Roman Soldier and Martyr – Patron of against cattle disease, against plague, diseased cattle, dying people, plague victims, against enemies of religion, of archers, rmourers, arrowsmiths, athletes, bookbinders, letchers, gardeners, gunsmiths, hardware stores, ironmongers, lace makers, lace workers, lead workers, masonary workers, police officers, racquet makers,
soldiers, stone masons, stonecutters, Pontifical Swiss Guards, World Youth Day 2013,
Bacolod, Philippines, diocese of Tarlac, Philippines, 21 cities
St Sebastian is one of the great heroes of the early Church and has been venerated since his death during the Great Persecution of Diocletian. According to St Ambrose, he was born in Narbonne, in France but was raised in Milan. The persecution began under Decius continued under Diocletian and the days were difficult for Christians. This was in the final throes of the Roman Empire to stamp out Christianity and it failed, in fact is strengthened.
Andrea Boscoli
Little is known with certainty about Sebastian’s life except that he came from Milan, the fact that he was a soldier and some of the details of his martyrdom. An early account of his martyrdom is that he was shot with arrows by his fellow soldiers but recovered through the ministrations of fellow Christians, in particular St Irene. Once he regained health, Sebastian stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians. This freedom of speech and from a person whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly astonished the emperor; but, recovering from his surprise, he gave orders for his being seized and beat to death with cudgels and his body thrown into the common sewer. A pious lady, called Lucina, admonished by the martyr in a vision, got it privately removed and buried it in the catacombs at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus, where now stands the Basilica of St. Sebastian.
Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Il Sodoma, c. 1525
Sebastian was said to be a defense against the plague. The Golden Legend transmits the episode of a great plague that afflicted the Lombards in the time of King Gumburt, which was stopped by the erection of an altar in honour of Sebastian in the Church of Saint Peter in the Province of Pavia.
An ancient window in the Cathedral of Strasbourg shows him as a knight with a sword and shield and he has long been invoked as the patron of soldiers, with St Martin of Tours. Because of the legend of his being pierced with arrows, he is the patron of archers.
His name has always been linked with that of St Fabian, Pope and Martyr.
AnaStpaul 
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