Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Nuestra Señora del Fresno / Our Lady of Fresno, Grado, Asturias, Spain (9th Century)

Nuestra Señora del Fresno / Our Lady of Fresno, Grado, Asturias, Spain (9th Century) – 8 and 28 September:

Copy of the original image

The Sanctuary of the Virgen del Fresno is one of the most visited Sanctuaries in the central area of ​​Asturias despite the difficulty of its access. The Sanctuary is located on the Camino de Santiago hence it’s popularity dating from the 9th Century when pilgrims stopped to rest in the hostel provided. They were known as “the Novenarios” as, during their rest, they prayed the St Michael Novena before his Feast Day on 29 September.

In honour of the Virgen del Fresno two festivals are held, one on 8 September and the other 28 of the same month preceded by a Novena that has traditionally started at four in the afternoon.

The current image dates from 1975, since the original was lost in the looting it suffered in 1936. It is made of cedar from Lebanon, made in Madrid. She is dressed and holds the Child in her arms and the Rosary between her fingers. She remain above her Altar and another processional image accompanies the Novena.

The processional Statue

St Wenceslaus (907-935) King of Bohemia, Martyr (Optional Memorial)
About St Wenceslaus here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-st-wenceslaus-907-935-king-of-bohemia/

Bl Aaron of Auxerre
St Alodius of Auxerre
St Annemond of Lyons
St Bardomianus

Blessed Bernardine of Feltre OFM (1439-1494) Franciscan Priest and Friar, Missionary Preacher, Poet, peace-maker, Civil protestor against the practice of usury, defender of the poor. He was a true ‘child prodigy’ – by the time he was 12 he was fluent in Latin and at the age of 15 he composed a poem and read it in the Town Square to celebrate a local peace treaty. He is remembered most especially, in connection with the “Monti di Pietà” “Mount of Piety” of which he was the reorganiser and, in a certain sense, the Founder, together with the Blessed Michele Carcano.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-blessed-bernardine-of-feltre-ofm-1439-1494/

St Chariton of Palestine
Bl Christian Franco
St Conval of Strathclyde
St Eucarpus
St Eustochium
St Exuperius of Toulouse
St Faustus of Riez
Blessed Francesco Piani of Caldarola OFM (1424-1507) Francisan Friar
St John of Dukla
St Laurence of North Africa
St Lioba of Bischofsheim

St Lorenzo Ruiz (1600-1637) First Saint and Protomartyr of the Philippines, Layman, Husband and Father, Marian devotee. (Optional Memorial)
His Life and Death:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-st-lorenzo-ruiz-1600-1637-first-saint-and-protomartyr-of-the-philippines/

St Machan
St Martial of North Africa
St Martin of Moyenmoutier
St Paternus of Auch
St Privatus of Rome
St Salonius of Geneva
St Silvinus of Brescia

St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) , “Father Ave Maria”/ “Apostle of the Ave Maria,” Religious Priest of the Trinitarian Order, Founder of the Lay Apostolate of the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary, Marian Devotee, Theologian, Philosopher, Spiritual Writer, Apostle of Charity, Apostolic Visitor.
About St Simon:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-st-simon-de-rojas-o-ss-1552-1624-father-ave-maria-apostle-of-the-ave-maria/

St Solomon of Genoa
St Stacteus
St Tetta of Wimborne
Bl Thiemo
St Willigod of Moyenmoutier
St Zama of Bologna

Augustinian Martyrs of Japan: The first Augustinian Missionaries arrived in Japan in 1602 and met with immediate success; many were brought to the faith; many of them became Augustinians; and many of them were martyred in the periodic persecutions of Christians.
This memorial commemorates all of them, whether they have a sanctioned Cause for Canonisation or not. They include:
• Blessed Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez
• Blessed Ferdinand Ayala
• Blessed Francisco Terrero de Ortega Pérez
• Blessed Ioannes Mukuno Chozaburo
• Blessed Laurentius Kaida Hachizo
• Blessed Mancius Yukimoto Ichizaemon
• Blessed Martín Lumbreras Peralta
• Blessed Melchor Sánchez Pérez
• Blessed Michaël Ichinose Sukezaemon
• Blessed Pedro de Zúñiga
• Blessed Petrus Sawaguchi Kuhyoe
• Blessed Thomas Jihyoe of Saint Augustine
• Blessed Thomas Terai Kahyoe
• Blessed Vicente Simões de Carvalho
• Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki

Martyrs of Antioch – 37 saints: A group of 30 soldiers and 7 civilians who were murdered together for their faith. The names that have come down to us are – Alexander, Alphinus, Heliodorus, Mark, Neon, Nicon and Zosumus. c 303 at Antioch, Pisidia (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of China – 120 saints: A common memorial for the hundreds of the faithful, lay and clergy, who have died for their faith in the last couple of centuries in China.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Amalia Abad Casasempere de Maestre
• Blessed Francesc Xavier Ponsa Casallach
• Blessed Josep Casas Juliá
• Blessed Josep Casas Ros
• Blessed Josep Tarrats Comaposada
• Blessed María Fenollosa Alcaina

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Matka Boża Leśniańska / Blessed Mother of Leśna, Leśna Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Lublin, Poland (1683) and Memorials of the Saints – 26 September

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matka Boża Leśniańska / Blessed Mother of Leśna, Leśna Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Lublin, Poland (1683) – 26 September:

The Leśnia Sanctuary begins on 26 September 1683. On that day, two shepherds – Miron Makaruk and Aleksander Stelmaszuk – looking for the lost cattle in the bushes, noticed a stone image of the Mother of God hanging on a wild pear tree, which gave an extraordinary glow. Wanting to take the painting off, one of the bravest young men climbed the tree but each time fell to the ground. The local inhabitants, seeing what was happening, began to pray fervently. Soon, Zabłocki’s elders from nearby Bordziłówka arrived and only he, as an unusually prayerful man, took the painting off the tree. Droplets of “sweat” appeared on the image and this phenomenon continued for a long time. Then the painting was taken to the manor in Bukowice. This extraordinary find deeply touched the religious and secular authorities of the time. Soon a wooden Church was erected on the site of the appearance of the Image. On 26 September 1695, a Parish was established in Lesna. From the very beginning, the Image attracted crowds of believers who experienced many favours thanks to the Blessed Mother, especially cures of illnesses. The Bishop of Lutsk, Franciszek Prażmowski, issued a decree in 1700, in which he stated that the appearance of the Image should be considered miraculous.

In the Lesnian Image, Mary is presented, embracing the Child Jesus with her right arm. The Child Jesus is holding the book with his right hand and his left hand is raised up in a gesture of teaching. Mary, standing in half-figure, is facing the viewer. In her left hand she holds an open book, on which, with outstretched wings, a dove – a symbol of the Holy Spirit – is supported. The figure of the Mother of God is covered with a coat.
The image of the Mother of God is a relief carved in field stone. The dimensions of the Image are: width 29.3 cm, height 31.4 cm, thickness 4.6 cm, weighs 9.5 kg.

On the site of the appearance of the Image of the Mother of God in 1718. a small Church was built. It exists to this day and is called the “Chapel of the Appearance of the Miraculous Image.” In 1727, the Parish of Leśna and the care of the Miraculous Image were taken over by the Pauline Fathers from Jasna Góra. They began the construction of a magnificent Church, which was erected in the years 1731 – 1758. It was consecrated under the invocation of the “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul” on 8 September 1758. Huge crowds of the faithful of the Latin and Uniate rite were drawn to the Leśnia Sanctuary.

The situation changed with the partitions of Poland, when Leśna found itself under the Russian partition. After the fall of the January Uprising, the Lesnian Sanctuary found itself in a desperate situation. As part of the repression for helping the insurgents, on the night of 27-28 October 1864 , the Pauline Fathers were deported from Leśna. It was then, that the Bishop of Janów, Beniamin Szymanski, ordered to secretly take out the Miraculous Image and put a copy in its place. It was done in 1865. Soon the tsarist government abolished the Podlasie Diocese. The exiled Bishop took the Miraculous Picture with him to Łomża. He put it in the Church of the Benedictine Sisters. In 1875, the Church in Leśnia was taken over for the purposes of the Orthodox Church. Then the pilgrimages stopped. In 1889, an Orthodox nunnery was established in Lesna. It was to become the centre of Russification of Poles. In 1905 Tsar Nicholas II came to Lesna, whose relative was the superior of the nuns of Leśna. After the outbreak of World War I, the sisters left Leśna and took with them a copy of the painting of the Mother of God, still being firmly convinced that it was the original painting.

On 16 August 1915, the temple in Leśnia returned to Catholic worship. On 25 May 1919 . The Pauline Fathers returned to Lesna and immediately began renovation works in the Sanctuary. First of all, the search for the Miraculous Picture began, which was not found until 5 May 1926 in Łomża. It happened thanks to Fr. Aleksander Łaziński. After the canonical trial conducted by Bishop H. Przeździecki, the Miraculous Image returned
in a triumphant parade from Siedlce to Leśna on 25 September 1927. It was a great celebration for the entire Podlasie Diocese and over 25,000 people attended this event. In the interwar period, the Pauline Fathers decorated the Sanctuary. They looked after the pilgrims who were again in large numbers at the feet of their Lesnian Mother.

In 1939, the difficult time of the Nazi occupation began. In the fall of 1940, the Germans occupied the Monastery and expelled the Pauline Fathers.
After the war, in 1951, under the direction of the Prior – Father Jerzy Tomziński, the Church received a Pulpit and an Organ.

On 18 August 1963 , the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, together with the Bishop of Podlasie, Ignacy Świrski, crowned the Miraculous Image with papal crowns. From 11 to 12 June 1970, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła stayed in Leśna. On 25 September 1977, the 50th anniversary of the return of the Miraculous Image was solemnly celebrated. In 1983, the solemn celebrations of 300 years of the appearance of the Miraculous Image took place and in 1984 the Church in Leśnia was elevated to the rank of a Minor Basilica. In 1992, a break-in was made to the temple in Leśnia and attempts were made to steal the golden crowns from the Miraculous Image. In 1995, the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Parish in Leśna Podlaska was celebrated. This time the ceremony was presided over by the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp. In 1996, works on frescoes and paintings in the Basilica began and they were completed in 2002. On 26 September 2019, the Leśnia Sanctuary celebrated the 100th anniversary of the return of the Pauline Order to Leśna Podlaska. – https://lesnapodlaska.paulini.pl/historia-sanktuarium/

A Bas Relief of the Image

St Cosmas (Optional Memorial)
St Damian (Optional Memorial)
(Died c 286 ) Martyrs. Twin brothers and Physicians, Apostles of Charity, Evangelists – born in the 3rd century, of Arabic descent and died by being tortured, without suffering any injury and finally they were beheaded c 286 in Aegea, Cilicia (modern Ayas, Turkey).
The Martyr twins are remembered in the Roman Canon of the Mass in the prayer known as the Communicantes (from the first Latin word of the prayer). They are also recalled in the Litany of the Saints and in the older form of the Roman rite, in the Collect for Thursday in the Third Week of Lent, as the Station Church for this day is Santi Cosma e Damiano.
Saints Cosmas and Damian:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/26/saints-of-the-day-26-september-saints-cosmas-and-damian-died-c-286-martyrs/

St Amantius of Tiphernum
St Callistratus of Constantinople
St Colman of Elo
St Cyprian of Antioch
St Eusebius of Bologna
St John of Meda Ord.Hum. (1100-1159) Priest, Monk, Abbot
St Justina of Antioch

Blessed Louis Tezza MI (1841-1923) the “Apostle of Lima,” Blessed Louis was an Italian Priest, a professed member of the Camillians and Founder of the Daughters of St Camillus de Lellis M.I. (1550-1614), Apostle of Charity, Spiritual Director, Counsellor, Administrator, Teacher, Reformer, Advisor. An unknown visitor carved the words “Apostle of Lima” on his tomb..
Blessed Louis’ Story:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/26/saint-of-the-day-26-september-blessed-louis-tezza-m-i-1841-1923-the-apostle-of-lima/

St Marie Victoire Therese Couderc
St Meugant

St Nilus the Younger (910-1005) Abbot and Confessor and Founder of Italo-Greek Monasticism in southern Italy.. St Nilus was a charismatic leader and leading spiritual personality of his time.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/26/saint-of-the-day-26-september-saint-nilus-the-younger-910-1005/

St Senator of Albano
St Vigilius of Brescia

Martyrs of Korea – 12 saints: Twelve lay people in the apostolic vicariate of Korea who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred together in the persecutions in Korea.
• Saint Agatha Chon Kyong-Hyob
• Saint Carolus Cho Shin-Ch’ol
• Saint Catharina Yi
• Saint Columba Kim Hyo-Im
• Saint Ignatius Kim Che-Jun
• Saint Iulitta Kim
• Saint Lucia Kim
• Saint Magdalena Cho
• Saint Magdalena Ho Kye-Im
• Saint Magdalena Pak Pong-Son
• Saint Perpetua Hong Kum-Ju
• Saint Sebastianus Nam I-Gwan
They were beheaded September 1839 in Seoul Prison, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Amalia Abad Casasempere de Maestre
• Blessed Andreu Felíu Bartomeu
• Blessed Antonio Cid Rodríguez
• Blessed Josefa Romero Clariana
• Blessed Manuel Legua Martí
• Blessed María Jord´ Botella
• Blessed Pau Castell´ Barber´
• Blessed Teresa Rosat Balasch

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Divina Pastora de las Almas ‘ The Divine Shepherdess of Souls, Cantillana, Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain (1703) and Memorials of the Saints – 25 September

Divina Pastora de las Almas ‘ The Divine Shepherdess of Souls, Cantillana, Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain (1703) – Fourth Saturday of September:

St. Isidore of Seville (560-636) Bishop of Seville, Father and Doctor of the Churrh, spread devotion to the Divine Shepherdess of Souls. The first image of the Divina Pastora in Cantillana was a banner, attributed to the painter Germán Llorente, carried in Rosary.

In 1800 a yellow fever epidemic ravaged the area,but Cantillana was largely spared, for which people thanked the Divine Shepherdess of Souls. Soon thereafter, the Hermandad de la Divina Pastora was chartered, a Rosary apostolate or brotherhood. The Brotherhood’s processional image is a seated statue, attributed to Francisco Antonio Ruiz Gijón (1653-1705).

For special occasions, of which there are many, she wears a large sombrero. On 31 August, a grand procession fetches the Statue from its Sanctuary into the Town, for celebrations leading up to the fiesta from 8 September. On the last weekend in September, with equal splendour and devotion, the Divine Shepherdess returns to her Shrine. A procession accompanies her canopied float on Saturday. On Sunday, there is Mass and music and then an all-night exposition of the Statue with devotions lasting into Monday morning.

St Anacharius of Auxerre
St Aurelia of Macerata
St Caian of Tregaian
St Ceolfrid
St Cleopas
St Egelred of Crowland
St Ermenfridus of Luxeuil

St Finbar (c 550– 623) Bishop of Cork and Abbot
About St Finbar:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/25/saint-of-the-day-25-september-saint-finbar-of-cork-c-550-623/

Saint Cleopas (First Century) Disciple of Christ – one of the two Disciples of the Way to Emmaus. Martyr.
St Firminus of Amiens
St Fymbert
St Herculanus the Soldier

Blessed Herman of Reichenau/the Cripple (1013–1054) Benedictine Monk, Confessor, Scholar, Scientist, Writer, Hymnist, Poet, Musical Composer, Teacher. In his own day, the heroic cripple who achieved learning and holiness was called ‘The Wonder of His Age.’.
Composer of the “Salve Regina” Hail Holy Queen, “Veni Sancte Spiritus” Come Holy Spirit and “Alma Redemptoris Mater” amongst many others.
His Amazing Life and Works:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/25/saint-of-the-day-blessed-herman-of-reichenau-the-cripple-osb-1013-1054-the-wonder-of-his-age/

Bl Marco Criado
St Mewrog
St Neomisia of Mecerata
St Paphnutius of Alexandria
St Principius of Soissons
St Sergius of Moscow
St Solemnis of Chartres

St Vincent Strambi CP (1745-1824) Bishop, Priest of the Passionist Order of St Paul of the Cross, Apostle of Charity, Preacher, Teacher, Writer.
Biography here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/25/23731/
AND MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/25/saint-of-the-day-25-september-st-vincent-strambi-c-p-1745-1824/

Martyrs of Damascus: A Christian family of six who were tortured to death in a persecution by Roman authorities. They were: Eugenia, Maximus, Paul, Rufus, Sabinian and Tatta. They were tortured to death in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Jose María Bengoa Aranguren
• Blessed Josep Maria Vidal Segú
• Blessed Juan Agustín Codera Marqués
• Blessed Julio Esteve Flors
• Blessed Pedro Leoz Portillo
• Blessed Rafael Pardo Molina
• Blessed Tomás Gil de La Cal

Feast of the Holy Bishops of Milan – a 1st Century Diocese!

Imagine being part of a Diocese in which 37 of your past Bishops are saints and some are also Doctors of the Church and Popes (and others being considered for sanctity)! The latest addition to this illustrious role-call, is Pope Paul VI.
Today, the Church in Milan commemorates these holy Bishops.
They are:
• Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster
• Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari
• Pope Pius XI
• Saint Ambrose of Milan
• Saint Ampelius of Milan
• Saint Anathalon of Milan
• Saint Antoninus of Milan
• Saint Auxanus of Milan
• Saint Benedict Crispus of Milan
• Saint Benignus of Milan
• Saint Calimerius of Milan
• Saint Castritian of Milan
• Saint Charles Borromeo
• Saint Datius of Milan
• Saint Dionysius of Milan
• Saint Eugene of Milan
• Saint Eusebius of Milan
• Saint Eustorgius II of Milan
• Saint Eustorgius of Milan
• Saint Gaius of Milan
• Saint Galdinus of Milan
• Saint Geruntius of Milan
• Saint Glycerius of Milan
• Saint Honoratus of Milan
• Saint John Camillus the Good
• Saint Lazarus of Milan
• Saint Magnus of Milan
• Saint Mansuetus of Milan
• Saint Marolus of Milan
• Saint Martinian of Milan
• Saint Mirocles of Milan
• Saint Mona of Milan
• Saint Natalis of Milan
• Saint Pope Paul VI
• Saint Protasius of Milan
• Saint Senator of Milan
• Saint Simplician of Milan
• Saint Venerius of Milan

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Our Lady of Walsingham / Virgin of the Sea (1061) , Marian Feasts and Memorials of the Saints – 24 September

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes / Our Lady of Mercy/Ransom, Barcelona, Spain (1218) – 1 August, 24 September:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/08/01/feast-saint-peter-in-chains-the-portiuncula-indulgence-nuestra-senora-de-las-mercedes-our-lady-of-mercy-barcelona-spain-1218-and-memorials-of-the-saints-1-august/

Our Lady of Walsingham / Virgin of the Sea (1061) – 24 September:

The story of the Walsingham Shrine begins in Saxon times. In 1061, the Lady of the Manor, Richeldis de Faverches, was taken in spirit to Nazareth, shown the House where the Annunciation took place and asked by Our Lady, to build a replica in Norfolk. She was promised that ‘Whoever seeks my help there will not go away empty-handed.‘ The simple wooden house that she built soon became the focus of special devotion to Our Lady. The ‘Holy House’ was later encased in stone to protect it from the elements.
In 1153, the Augustinian Canons founded a Priory to care for the spiritual needs of the pilgrims. Their magnificent Priory Church was added in the fifteenth century. Only the ruin of the Priory Arch remains and archaeology has placed the site of the ‘Holy House’ in its shadow.

Walsingham became one of the foremost Shrines of medieval Christendom. Among the pilgrims to the ‘Holy House’ were many royal visitors. Henry III in 1226, Edward I (eleven times), Edward II in 1315, Edward III in 1361, Richard II in 1383, Edward IV in 1469, Henry VI in 1487 (and many other times) and Henry VIII in 1511, in thanksgiving for the birth of his son, Prince Henry.
In 1340, the Slipper Chapel was built at Houghton St Giles, a mile outside Walsingham. This was the final ‘Station’ Chapel on the way to Walsingham. It was here, that pilgrims would remove their shoes to walk the final ‘Holy Mile’ to the Shrine barefoot.

The Slipper Chapel

Erasmus, the Dutch scholar, visited Walsingham in 1513 and was impressed by the splendour of the Shrine. He wrote:

When you look inside, you would say, it is the abode of saints, so brilliantly does it shine with gems, gold and silver … Our Lady stands in the dark at the right side of the Altar … a little image, remarkable neither for its size, material or workmanship.’

This was soon to come to an end. Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and in 1538 the Priory was closed, the ‘Holy House’ burned to the ground and the Statue of Our Lady taken to London to be destroyed.
In 1896 Miss Charlotte Boyd bought the Slipper Chapel, which had seen centuries of secular use. She devoted herself to its restoration. The Statue of the Mother and Child was carved at Oberammergau and based on the design of the original statue – a design found on the medieval seal of Walsingham Priory, an imprint of which is in the British Museum.

The Walsingham seal: around the edges
Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum

The first Mass since the Reformation was offered in the Slipper Chapel on 15 August 1934 and a few days later Cardinal Francis Bourne led a pilgrimage of 10,000 people to the Chapel and declared it to be the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady.

Madonna de Val Camonica, Berzo Inferiore (BS), Italy (1616) – 24 September:

St Anathalon of Milan
St Andochius of Autun
St Anthony Gonzalez

Blessed Anton Martin Slomsek (1800-1862) Bishop, Writer, Poet, Educator, Reformer, Preacher, Founder of schools, a newspaper, Advocate of literacy and the Slovenian culture and language.
Biographical details here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/24/saint-of-the-day-24-september-blessed-anton-martin-slomshek-1800-1862/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/24/saint-of-the-day-24-september-blessed-anton-martin-slomsek-1800-1862/

St Chuniald
Bl Colomba Matylda Gabriel
St Coprio
St Erinhard
St Felix of Autun

St Gerard Sagredo OSB (980-1046) Bishop and Martyr, “The Apostle of Hungary,” Venetian nobleman, Benedictine monk, Prior of San Giorgio, Missionary to Hungary, Adviser to King Saint Stephen, Tutor to Prince Saint Emeric, Hermit, Bishop of Csanád, Writer, Reformerr
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/24/saint-of-the-day-24-september-saint-gerard-sagredo-osb-980-1046-bishop-and-martyr-the-apostle-of-hungary/

St Geremarus
St Gislar
St Isarnus of Toulouse
St Lupus of Lyons

St Pacificus of Severino OFM (1653-1721) Priest, Franciscan Friar, Mystic, Miracle-worker, Missionary, Superior of the Friary of San Severino and joyful sufferer for Christ.
About St Pacificus:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/24/saint-of-the-day-24-september-saint-pacificus-of-severino-ofm-1653-1721/

St Paphnutius of Egypt
Bl Robert Hardesty
St Rusticus of Clermont
St. Rupert of Salzburg
St Terence of Persaro (c 210-c 247) Martyr Layman
St Thyrsus of Autun
St Ysarn of Saint Victor
Bl William Spenser

Martyrs of Chalcedon – (49 saints): Forty-nine Christian choir singers of the church in Chalcedon in Asia Minor who were martyred together in their persecutions of Diocletian in 304.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antonio Pancorbo López
• Blessed Esteban García y García
• Blessed José María Ferrándiz Hernández
• Blessed Juan Francisco Joya Corralero
• Blessed Luis de Erdoiza Zamalloa
• Blessed Manuel Gómez Contioso
• Blessed Melchor Rodríguez Villastrigo
• Blessed Pascual Ferrer Botella
• Blessed Rafael Rodríguez Mesa
• Blessed Santiago Arriaga Arrien

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Nuestra Senora de Valvanera / Our Lady of Valvanera, La Rioja, Spain (9th Century) and Memorials of the Saints – 23 September

Nuestra Senora de Valvanera / Our Lady of Valvanera, La Rioja, Spain (9th Century) – 23 September:

This image is a replica of the original which appears to have dated from the ninth century and is preserved in the Royal Abbey Shrine of Our Lady of Valvanera, or Valvanere, in Rioja, jealously guarded by Benedictine Monks. The oldest documents preserved, dates from the thirteenth century and tells how, according to tradition, the original image was found by a thief who later converted and became a hermit.

There was a thief named Nuno Onez, who was a hardened criminal and a “man of licentious life and dedicated to looting.” One day, however, upon hearing the prayer of a man who was to be his next victim, he was touched by Divine grace and repented of his many crimes, turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary to help him change his life. One day while he was praying, an Angel appeared to him to tell him to go to Valvanera and search for an oak that stood out from the rest, with a fountain that gushed at its feet and surrounded by swarms of bees. There, in the branches of a strong and noble oak, in the presence of a fountain of pure and clear water, the trunk of which was overflowing with the sweetness of honey, he found an image of the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Nuno went to the place with a Priest on the following Sunday and found the image, just as the Angel had said. The Statue had probably been hidden there when the Moslems invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century. In that place, in the last third of the ninth century, he began to build a place of worship that became known as the Chapel of Santo Cristo. Soon there was a small group of hermits who met to pray around this image, men who eventually adopted a regular life inspired by the Rule of Saint Benedict. Thus, this small Shrine is believed to have given rise to the Monastery of Valvanera, where the Virgin is currently venerated.
Valvanera Monastery is surrounded by a forest near the Town of Anguiano in the valley of the Sierra Demand La Rioja. Its name derives from the Latin “Vallis Venaria,” which literally means: “Valley water veins.” The first Abbot was a man named Don Sancho in the year 990.
Our Lady apparently has a preference for oak trees, since this is one of several Statues found in or on an oak tree. On that very spot today is seen the magnificent Church which Alphonsus IV, King of Castile, built in honour of the Mother of God in 1073 and which houses the image.

She, the valiant woman of Scripture, desired her children, her clients and her devotees to share in a spiritual manner, in the strength and the power of this mighty tree, which is certainly a symbol of her.

A painting inside the Sanctuary

St Padre Pio/ Pius of Pietrelcina OFM Cap (1887-1968) (Memorial) Priest, Franciscan Capuchin Friar, Stigmatist, Mystic, Confessor.
Biography here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/saint-of-the-day-23-september-st-pio-of-pietrelcina-o-f-m-cap/

St Alfonso Burgos
St Adamnan of Iona/Eunan of Iona (c 628-704) Monk, Abbot
Bl Antonio of Tlaxcala
Bl Bernardina Maria Jablonska
St Cissa of Northumbria
St Constantius of Ancona
Bl Cristobal of Tlaxcala
Bl Emilie Tavernier Gamelin
Bl Francisco de Paula Victor
Bl Guy of Durnes
Bl Helen Duglioli
Bl Juan of Tlaxcala

St Pope Linus (c 10 – c 76) Successor to St Peter. Papacy lasted from c 67 to his death. Among those to have held the position of pope, Peter, Linus and Clement are specifically mentioned in the New Testament. Linus is mentioned in the closing greeting of the Second Epistle to Timothy as being with Paul in Rome near the end of Paul’s life.
About St Pope Linus:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/23/saint-of-the-day-23-september-st-pope-linus-c-10-c-76-successor-to-st-peter/

St Peter Acontanto
St Polyxena

St Thecla (1st century) Virgin Martyr, Disciple of St Paul.
Her Life and Death:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/23/saint-of-the-day-23-september-st-thecla-1st-century-virgin-and-martyr/

Bl William Way
St Xantippa

Martyrs of Syracuse – (4 saints): Group of Christians deported from Syracuse, Sicily by invading Saracens and sent to North Africa where they were tortured and executed for their faith. Martyrs. The names that have survived are Andrew, Antony, John and Peter. c900

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Crispulo Moyano Linares
• Blessed María Josefa del Río Messa
• Blessed Norberto Cembranos de la Verdura
• Blessed Purificación Ximénez y Ximénez
• Blessed Sofía Ximénez y Ximénez del Río
• Blessed Vicente Ballester Far

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Madonna di Porto Salvo / Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Lampedusa, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy (1843) and Memorials of the Saints – 22 September

Madonna di Porto Salvo / Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Lampedusa, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy (1843) – 22 September:

The island of Lampedusa lies far south of Sicily, closer to Tunisia than to Italy. Since the time of the Crusades, it has been home to a rural Shrine frequented by mariners both Christian and Muslim in the 1500s and 1600s, who kept an oil lamp burning constantly before the crude stone Statue of the Madonna and Child.

But the island was not inhabited until 22 September 1843, when two steamships of Italian colonists arrived under Governor Bernardo Maria Sanvisente. In Madonna Valley, they found the Chapel dilapidated and the mutilated Statue of the Virgin on the ground. Sanvisente ordered the Chapel and Statue to be restored and a Mass sung every year on 22 September in honour of the Madonna of Porto Salvo and the settlement of the island. During World War II, bombs destroyed the Church, but the Madonna was unhurt and no-one killed.

In 1967, the Virgin and Child were crowned but in 1979 the precious crowns were stolen. The faithful soon raised money for new ones and the Madonna of Porto Salvo was recrowned on 21 September 1980.

She is the Patron of fishermen and her celebration now lasts two weeks. On the first Sunday of September, the Statue processes from its Shrine to the main Church in town, where it is honoured with special services until the big day of the 22nd, when it processes solemnly through the City streets. Of course, the festa is the occasion for general entertainment, games and food as well. On the 23rd, a final procession returns the Madonna to the Sanctuary outside town.

Whilst exploring the story of this veneration of Our Lady, I discovered that on 22 September 2020 the “Key to the Island” was stolen. Below is the report in the local newspaper. Don Carmelo La Magra reassured all the islanders: “Whoever took it, repented, gave it back to me.” Great symbolic value – it is the key to the island in the hands of the Blessed Virgin:

The key of Our Lady has been returned. Whoever took it, repented, gave it back to me anonymously. We thank the Virgin Mary because this story ended well and we pray for each other.” It is with this message that Fr Carmelo La Magra, Priest of Lampedusa, reassured all the islanders last night.

For hours, the alarm had been circulating on social media: “The golden key of the Madonna of Porto Salvo has been stolen“. A key that has a single, important meaning – the key of Lampedusa in the hands of the Blessed Virgin. A theft carried out, according to what was reported yesterday, on her feast day, 22 September. A party that, however, this year, due to the Coronavirus emergency, did not take place. The carabinieri, last night, did not find anything. Neither to those of the company command of Agrigento, nor to those of the Lampedusa station. No complaint had been formalised, nor had there been any interventions in this regard. But the military, having received informal news, immediately took an interest in the “case.”

A case that was resolved, fortunately, quickly and spontaneously. Because that key (which, according to what transpires, is not gold at all) was returned, as guaranteed by the Parish Priest of Lampedusa.

St Augustinus Yu Chin-Kil
St Basilia
St Digna of Rome
St Emerita of Rome
St Emmeramus
St Florentius the Venerable
St Gunthildis of Suffersheim (Died c 1057) Laywoman

St Ignatius of Santhia OFM Cap (1686-1770) Priest and Friar of the Capuchin Franciscans, renowned Spiritual Director, servant of the Confessional, apostle of charity Known as the “Father of Sinners and the Lost
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/22/saint-of-the-day-22-september-saint-ignatius-of-santhia-ofm-cap-1686-1770/

St Irais
St Jonas
Bl Joseph Marchandon
St Lauto of Coutances
St Lindru of Partois
St Maurice & Co
Bl Otto of Freising
St Sadalberga
St Sanctinus of Meaux
St Silvanus of Levroux

St Thomas of Villanueva/Villanova OSA (1488-1555) Archbishop, Religious Priest of the Order of St Augustine, Confessor, Writer, Preacher, Teacher, Apostle of Charity, Mystic, Miracle-Worker often called “the Almsgiver” and “the Father of the Poor“, Reformer.
About St Thomas here:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/22/saint-of-the-day-22-september-st-thomas-of-villanova-o-s-a/

Martyrs of the Theban Legion: Martyrs (c 287)
A Roman imperial legion of 6,600 soldiers, all of whom were Christians; they had been recruited from the area around Thebes in Upper Egypt, were led by Saint Maurice and served under Emperor Maximian Herculeus. Around the year 287, Maximian led the army across the Alps to Agaunum, an area in modern Switzerland, in order to suppress a revolt by the Bagandre in Gaul. In connection with battle, the army offered public sacrifices to the Roman gods; the Theban Legion refused to participate. For refusing orders, the Legion was decimated – one tenth of them were executed. When the remainder refused to sacrifice to the gods, they were decimated again. When the survivors still refused to sacrifice, Maximinian ordered them all killed. Martyrs.
Known members of the Legion include:
• Alexander of Bergamo
• Candidus the Theban
• Chiaffredo of Saluzzo
• Exuperius
• Fortunato
• Innocent of Agaunum
• Maurice
• Secundus the Theban
• Ursus the Theban
• Victor of Agaunum
• Victor of Xanten
• Victor the Theban
• Vitalis of Agaunum
Other profiled saints associated with the Legion include:
• Antoninus of Piacenza (martyred soldier; associated by later story tellers)
• Adventor of Turin (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Cassius (may have been a member)
• Florentius the Martyr (may have been a member)
• George of San Giorio (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Gereon (not a member, but another soldier who was martyred for refusing to make a sacrifice to Roman gods)
• Octavius of Turin (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Pons of Pradleves (escaped the massacre to become an evangelists in northern Italy)
• Secundus of Asti (not a member but linked due to art work)
• Solutor of Turin (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Tiberio of Pinerolo (may have been a member)
• Verena (wife of a member of the Legion)
They were martyred c 287 in Agaunum (modern Saint-Maurice-en-Valais, Switzerland. A basilica was built in Agaunum to enshrine the relics of the Legion.
The full story:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/22/saints-of-the-day-22-september-st-maurice-and-the-martyrs-of-the-theban-legion-martyrs-c-287/

Martyrs of Valencia, Spain – Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Alfonso Lopez
• Blessed Antonio Gil-Monforte
• Blessed Antonio Sáez de Ibarra López
• Blessed Carlos Navarro Miquel
• Blessed Esteban Cobo-Sanz
• Blessed Federico Cobo-Sanz
• Blessed Félix Echevarría Gorostiaga
• Blessed Francisco Carlés González
• Blessed Francisco Vicente Edo
• Blessed Germán Gozalvo Andreu
• Blessed Josefina Moscardó Montalvá
• Blessed Luis Echevarría Gorostiaga
• Blessed María Purificación Vidal Pastor
• Blessed Miguel Zarragua Iturrízaga
• Blessed Simón Miguel Rodríguez
• Blessed Vicente Sicluna Hernández

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, Beata Vergine del Tresto / The Blessed Virgin of Tresto, Ospedaletto Euganeo, Italy (1468) and Memorials of the Saints – 21 September

St Matthew – Apostle and Evangelist (Feast)
About St Matthew here:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/21/feast-of-st-matthew-apostle-and-evangelist/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/21/saint-of-the-day-21-september-the-feast-of-st-matthew-apostle-and-evangelist-2/
AND:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/saint-of-the-day-21-september-the-feast-of-st-matthew-apostle-and-evangelist/

Beata Vergine del Tresto / The Blessed Virgin of Tresto, Ospedaletto Euganeo, Italy (1468) – 21September:

The complex of the Sanctuary of Tresto was built in the place of the miraculous Marian apparition to the boatman Giovanni di Bartolomeo Zielo da Ponso on the night of 21 September 1468, in the locality of Tresto, current fraction of the Municipality of Ospedaletto Euganeo near Padua, from where he was returning. Reaching Este in the evening, the man had stopped to sleep in the boat under the Borini bridge. Around midnight he was awakened by a female voice who called him three times. The man saw two beautiful ladies who enjoined him to follow them.
Strangely finding the drawbridge of the City lowered, they walked towards the countryside where, in the locality of Tresto, one of the two ladies sat on the bank of a ditch and told the other to fetch her a bunch of grapes. Then she asked Giovanni if ​​he knew her. To his negative answer she said that she was Mary, the Mother of God. She then enjoined him not to amend his life and to do his best to have a Church built on that place according to the plan and the measures she illustrated to him.
But Giovanni objected saying that because of his poverty and ignorance, he would not be believed. Then Mary gave him a knife, instructing him to stick it into the ground and then to remove it. Giovanni obeyed and when he removed the blade from the ground, blood gushed. After having blessed him, the Madonna disappeared with her companion. T he next day Giovanni, afraid of not being believed, did not carry out the commands he had received but only confided in three friends. Losing his peace of mind, he eventually went with some people to the site of the apparition, where he tried to stick the knife into the ground, pulling it back wet with blood. Others wanted to try: the incredulous could not move the blade from the ground, while the others withdrew it bloody.

The miraculous event, renewed several times, convinced everyone to work together to erect the required Church. At the halfway point, due to the exceptional drought that had hit the area, there was no water. Everyone then invoked the help of Mary, who caused a spring appear next to the construction site. This spring since then, over the centuries, has been a source of miraculous cures just like the one at Lourdes. The custody of the Church, built in 9 months, was entrusted by the Paduan clergy to a Congregation of Mendicants of whom Giovanni wore the habit in a lay state.

The Sanctuary of Tresto became and remains a site of devotion and pilgrimage with the powerful and healing waters of the miraculous Spring, bringing many sick seeking cures. The Sanctuary preserves several works of art among which the painting on wood depicting the Virgin and Child shown above, stands out, a masterpiece attributed to Jacopo da Montagnana who created it between 1475 and 1480.

St Alexander of the Via Claudia
Bl Diego Hompanera París
St Eusebius of Phoenicia
St Francisco Pastor Garrido
St François Jaccard
St Gerulph
St Herminio García Pampliega
St Iphigenia
St Isaac of Cyprus
Bl Jacinto Martínez Ayuela
St Jacques Honoré Chastán
St Johannes Ri
St Jonah the Prophet
Bl José María Azurmendi Mugarza
Bl Josep Vila Barri
St Landelino of Ettenheim
Bl Manuel Torró García
Blessed Mark Scalabrini of Modena OP (c 1420-1498)
St Maura of Troyes
St Meletius of Cyprus
Bl Nicolás de Mier Francisco
St Pamphilus of Rome
St Pierre Philibert Maubant
St Tôma Tran Van Thien
Bl Vicente Galbis Gironés
Bl Vicente Pelufo Orts

Martyrs of Gaza – 3 saints: Three brothers, Eusebius, Nestulus and Zeno, who were seized, dragged through the street, beaten and murdered by a pagan mob celebrating the renunciation of Christianity by Julian the Apostate. They were burned to death in 362 on a village garbage heap in Gaza, Palestine.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Diego Hompanera París
• Blessed Jacinto Martínez Ayuela
• Blessed José María Azurmendi Mugarza
• Blessed Josep Vila Barri
• Blessed Manuel Torró García
• Blessed Nicolás de Mier Francisco
• Blessed Vicente Galbis Gironés
• Blessed Vicente Pelufo Orts

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Notre-Dame-au-Pied-d’Argent / Our Lady with the Silver Foot), Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France (1284) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 September

Notre-Dame-au-Pied-d’Argent / Our Lady with the Silver Foot), Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France (1284) – 20 September:

At Toul, in Lorraine, there was a Statue, which, according to an ancient tradition, informed a woman on 20 September in the year 1284, of an act of treachery which was being planned against the City.

The Statue was called Our Lady with the Silver Foot, or Notre-Dame au pied d’argenth. The faithful keep the memory of this stone Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was located just inside the entrance of the Church and placed over a sculpted clam. In those days there would be a lamp burning before it on feast days and almost every day, the faithful offered small candles which they lit and rested on a circular iron candlestick that was placed before the Statue. It was well known that several people who prayed before this Statue were cured of various diseases but the devotion and respect of the people toward this image, grew more than ever at the time of the Bishop Conrad because of the miracle that occurred in the following manner:

A woman named Helwide was in the Cathedral Saint-Etienne de Toul praying to the Blessed Virgin for consolation and the repose of the souls of her husband and daughter who had recently died. It was about midnight, when the Canons were praying Matins, that the Blessed Virgin Mary suddenly appeared to her.
The Virgin Mary ordered Helwide to go immediately to find a man named Rimbert, who was the guardian of “The Door to the Chair.” The Door to the Chair gave access to the Castrum, a little entrance to the City near Tanner Street. Helwide was urged to go quickly, for an enemy proposed to enter the City by the door to set their homes on fire and fill the streets with blood.
Regaining her senses after the vision, Helwide got up feeling very puzzled. She was hesitant about what she should do, though as Rimbert’s home was not far distant and was on her way home anyway, she decided she would indeed go there.
No sooner had Helwide stepped out of the Church, than she met the night-watch on patrol. She told them the tale of her vision and they responded by mocking her and making derogatory jokes. Despite this, two of them still decided to follow and actually see what would happen if Helwide could find the porter she sought.
The pair arrived with Helwide at the house and simply thrust the door open. Rimbert sat on his bunk, seeming startled, yet as if expecting the visit. Helwide briefly stated the purpose of her visit and Rimbert exclaimed, “I had precisely the same vision and the same warning! I do not know if it occurred in my sleep or in the state of wakefulness but I have been told that the Statue will move her foot in testimony of the truth!
At these words, all those present were seized with a great desire to see such a prodigy. With a rush they ran to the Cathedral and removed the candles and all that stood before the image. To their disappointment they found that the Virgin’s feet remained mostly hidden beneath the folds of the clothing of the Statue as before.
In the interim, several scholars and some laymen who were called to see the wonder, arrived on the scene. Seeing that nothing was apparently going to happen, they began cursing all the rest as senseless interpreters of dreams. As they stood not far from the Statue, many of them fell silent as they saw the Statue suddenly move as an entire foot of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared from beneath the folds of her garment.
Terrified, but convinced, this time they all agreed to announce the peril which they now knew actually threatened them. Quickly rendering their thanks to Mary, they agreed to defend the City and call for reinforcements. They arrived just in time to take up their positions to defend the entrance to the City with the assistance of the Episcopal palace guards.
A tremendous struggle occurred when the invaders broke down the door and entered the courtyard, but the defenders were committed to the fight and held their own. When reinforcements arrived, the invaders fell to the last man.

To perpetuate the memory and recognize the protection granted to them by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the people of Toul had a shoe of pure silver made to cover the foot on the Blessed Virgin’s Statue. From that time on the Statue was known as Our Lady with the Silver Foot. They also hung on the wall of the cathedral a picture which represented the heavenly vision and Mary was declared Patroness of the City.

The image of Our Lady with the Silver Foot was venerated in the City and the surrounding areas and in case of the threat of any public calamity, the Blessed Virgin was invoked and ,henceforth, the Statue would be carried in procession throughout the streets of the City. The Governors themselves considered it an honour to take the Statue upon their own shoulders. Pilgrimages were made to Our Lady of the Silver Foot; prayers answered, graces bestowed and miracles wrought.

The original Statue of Our Lady with the Silver Foot was destroyed during the ravages of the French Revolution and was replaced later by a modern statue that was stolen in the 1980’s. The Gothic Cathedral was repaired after being damaged during the French Revolution but still awaits repair after the damage caused when it was struck during an aerial bombardment in the Second World War. There was once also a Monastery at Toul,but no trace of it remains.

A photography of the stolen Statue

Vigil of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
St Agapitus of Rome
St Candida of Carthage
St Dionysius of Phrygia
St Dorimedonte of Synnada
St Eusebia of Marseilles

St Eustachius, Wife and Sons – Martyrs (Died c 188) St Eustachius is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – Patronages – against fire, difficult situations, fire prevention, firefighters, hunters, hunting, huntsmen, Madrid, torture victims, trappers.
The Biography of this family of Martyrs:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/20/saint-of-the-day-20-september-st-eustachius-wife-and-sons-martyrs-died-c-188/

St Evilasius of Cyzicum
St Fausta of Cyzicum
Bl Francisco Martín Fernández de Posadas
St Glycerius of Milan
St John Charles Cornay
Bl John Eustace

Saint Jose Maria de Yermo y Parres (1851–1904) Priest, Founder of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/20/saint-of-the-day-20-september-saint-jose-maria-de-yermo-y-parres-1851-1904/

St Lawrence Mary Joseph Imbert
St Paul Chong Hasang
St Priscus
St Susanna of Eleutheropolis (Died 362) Virgin Martyr
Bl Thomas Johnson

Martyrs of Korea: St Andrew Kim Taegon, St Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati. The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the 19th century in Korea. At least 8,000 (as many as 10,000) adherents to the faith were killed during this period. (Memorial)
Their Story:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/20/saints-of-the-day-20-september-martyrs-of-korea-st-andrew-kim-taegon-st-paul-chong-hasang-companions-103-saints-and-beati/

Martyrs of Constantinople – 3 saints: A priest and two bishops who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred for the defense of icons in the iconoclast persecutions of emperor Leo the Isaurian. – Andrea, Asiano and Hypatius. They were martyred in 735 in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) and their bodies were thrown to the dogs.

Martyrs of Pergen – 6 saints: A group of lay people martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Elagabalus. The names that have come down to us are Dionysius, Dioscorus, Philippa, Privatus, Socrates and Theodore. They were crucified c 220 at Pergen, Pamphylia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Cristobal Iturriaga-Echevarría Irazola
• Blessed Santiago Vega Ponce
• Blessed Juan Antonio López Pérez

Posted in MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES

Quote of the Day – 19 September – Keeping Sunday Holy … Our Lady of la Salette

Quote of the Day – 19 September – The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette

“If my people will not submit,
I shall be forced to let fall
the arm of my Son.
It is so strong, so heavy,
that I can no longer withhold it.
… ‘Six days I have given you to labour,
the seventh I have kept for Myself –
and they will not give it to Me.’
It is this which makes
the arm of my Son so heavy.”

Our Lady of la Salette
19 September 1846
To Maximin Giraud (11)
and Melanie Calvat (14)

Posted in "Follow Me", FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 September – ‘Christian simplicity makes childhood its own.’

One Minute Reflection – 19 September – Readings: Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20; Psalm 54: 3-8; James 3: 16 – 4: 3; Mark 9: 30-37 – The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette

Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.” – Mark 9:37

REFLECTION – “We Christians are Christ’s body and members, the Apostle Paul says (1Cor 12,27). At Christ’s Resurrection all His members were raised with Him and, as He passed from hell to earth, He made us pass from death to life. The word “Pasch” in Hebrew means “passover” or “passage”. Isn’t this mystery, a mystery concerning the passage from evil to good? And what a passing over it is! From sin to righteousness, from vice to virtue, from age to infancy. I’m speaking here about the infancy that pertains to simplicity, not to age. For virtues, too, belong to their age. Yesterday the decrepitude of sin was sending us downhill. But the Resurrection of Christ brings us to rebirth into the innocence of children. Christian simplicity makes childhood its own.

Children are without malice; they do not know deceit; they dare not strike. Thus this Christian child does not fall into a rage if he is insulted, nor defend himself if he is stripped, nor hit back if he is struck. Our Lord even requires him to pray for his enemies, relinquish both tunic and cloak to the thief and turn the other cheek to those who strike him (Mt 5,29f.).

Christ’s infancy surpasses human infancy… The latter owes its innocence to weakness, the former to virtue. Moreover, it is worthy of far greater praise: His hatred of evil comes from His Will, not His powerlessness.” – St Maximus of Turin (?-c 420) – Bishop (Sermon 58 ; PL 57, 363)

PRAYER – Grant us Lord, a true knowledge of salvation, so that, freed from fear and from the power of our foes, we may serve You faithfully in love and sorrow for our sins. May we, through the love You grant us, extend our love to all we meet and may the tears of the Holy Virgin of la Salette and of Sorrows, not reject our prayers but intercede for us, obtain for us the grace to love and follow our Lord Jesus above all else. May we console you by a holy life and so come to share the eternal life Christ gained by His Cross. Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever,amen.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de la Salette / Our Lady of La Salette), La Salette-Fallavaux, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France(1846) and Memorials of the Saints – 19 September

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Notre-Dame de la Salette / Our Lady of La Salette), La Salette-Fallavaux, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France
(1846) 19 September:
Mary appeared to two small children, Melanie Mathieu and Maximin Giraud, on the mountain of La Salette in the French Alps. She was crying and around her neck was a crucifix, with a hammer and pincers on either side – 19 September 1846. Approved by the Diocesan Bishop in 1851.
Read the story here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/feast-of-our-lady-of-la-salette-19-september/

St Januarius of Naples Martyr (Died c 304) (Optional Memorial)
About St Januarius here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/saint-of-the-day-19-september-st-januarius

St Alonso de Orozco Mena OSA (1500 – 1591) Augustinian Priest, Preacher, Writer, Apostle of Charity, Spiritual Director, Marian Devotee, Ascetic.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/19/saint-of-the-day-19-september-st-alonsus-de-orozco-mena-o-s-a-1500-1591/
St Arnulph of Gap
St Carolus Hyon Song-Mun
St Constantia of Nocera
St Desiderius of Pozzuoli

St Emilie de Rodat (1787–1852) Nun and Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, Mystic. Venerable Pope Pius XII Beatified her on 9 June 1940 and Canonised her on 23 April 1950.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/19/saint-of-the-day-19-september-saint-emily-de-rodat-1787-1852/

St Eustochius of Tours
St Felix of Nocera
St Festus of Pozzuoli
St Goeric of Metz
St Maria de Cervellón OdeM (1230 – 1290) Virgin, Second Order of the Mercedarians.
Please watch this video if you are able to spare the time. It is absolutely beautiful.

St Pomposa
St Sequanus
St Sosius of Puzzuoli
St Theodore of Canterbury
St Trophimus of Synnada

Martyrs of Antioch – (3 saints): Christians imprisoned, tortured and executed in various ways in the persecutions of Emperor Probus; some names have come down to us – Dorymedon, Sabbatius and Trophimus. c 277 at Antioch (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of Phunon – (4 saints): Four bishops in Egypt who were sentenced to forced labour in a rock quarry and martyred in the persecution of Diocletian. Noted for celebrating Mass in prison. – Elias, Nilus, Patermuzio and Peleus. They were burned to death in 310 at Phunon, near Petra in Palestine.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Consuelo Aguiar-Mella Díaz
• Blessed Herman José Fernández Sáenz
• Blessed Juan Pérez Rodrigo
• Blessed Lucas Martín Puente
• Blessed María de La Encarnación de La Yglesia de Varo
• Blessed María Dolores Aguiar-Mella Díaz
• Blessed Miguel Faúndez López
• Blessed Sebastián Obeso Alario

Posted in CATHOLIC TIME, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 18 September – O Mother of Sorrows, Stand by Me in My Last Agony

Our Morning Offering – 18 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” and Mary’s Saturday

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou did stand at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with your tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother,
when the moment of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did.
Beg Him to receive me into His kingdom of glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Santa Maria della Querce / Our Lady of the Oak, Lucignano, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy (1417) and Memorials of the Saints – 18 September

Santa Maria della Querce / Our Lady of the Oak, Lucignano, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy (1417) – Third Sunday of September, 8 August :

The Story:
https://anastpaul.com/?s=our+lady+of+the+oak

Blessed Ambrosio María de Torrent (Salvador Chuliá Ferrandis) TC (1866-1936) Priest and Martyr, Friar and Priest of The Amigonian Friars. He was a man of deep piety, a devotee of the Eucharist, a great apostle of the confessional and a competent director of souls.
His Life and Death:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/18/saint-of-the-day-18-september-blessed-ambrosio-maria-de-torrent-salvador-chulia-ferrandis-tc-1866-1936-priest-and-martyr/

St Ariadne
St Eumenius Thaumaturgus
St Eustorgius of Milan (Died c 349) Bishop
St Ferreolus the Tribune
St Ferreolus of Limoges
St Hygbald
St Irene of Egypt

St Joseph of Cupertino OFM Conv. (1603-1663) Religious Priest of the First Order of St Francis and Friar, Mystic, Confessor, Miracle-worker.
If ever a tiny child began life with nothing in his favour it was Joseph of Cupertino; he had only one hopeful and saving quality—that he knew it. … – Read on and be ashamed, for this is a Saint before the Throne of God!
All about the this holy Flying Saint here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/saint-of-the-day-18-september-st-joseph-of-cupertino-o-f-m-conv-1603-1663/

St Józef Kut

St Juan Macias OP (1585-1645) Dominican Lay Friar, Mystic, Apostle of Charity and Prayer, MiracleWorker.
About St Juan:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/18/saint-of-the-day-18-september-st-juan-macias-o-p-1585-1645/

St Oceano of Nicomedia

St Richardis (839-c 895) Holy Roman Empress, Benedictine Abbess.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/18/saint-of-the-day-18-september-saint-richardis-839-c-895/

St Sophia of Egypt

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Ambrosio María de Torrent (Salvador Chuliá Ferrandis)
• Blessed Carlos Eraña Guruceta
• Blessed Fernando García Sendra
• Blessed Jacinto Hoyuelos Gonzalo
• Blessed Jesus Hita Miranda
• Blessed José García Mas
• Blessed José María Llópez Mora
• Blessed Justo Lerma Martínez
• Blessed Salvador Fernández Pérez
• Blessed Vicente Gay Zarzo
• Blessed Vicente Jaunzarás Gómez

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Nuestra Señora de las Lajas / Our Lady of the Flagstones, Potosí, Caldas, Colombia (1754) and Memorials of the Saints – 16 September

Nuestra Señora de las Lajas / Our Lady of the Flagstones, Potosí, Caldas, Colombia (1754) – 16 September:

In 1754, Maria Mueses de Quinones, an Indian woman from the village of Potosi, Colombia and her deaf-mute daughter, Rosa, were caught in a very strong storm. They sought refuge in a cave in the gigantic Lajas mountains. To Maria’s surprise, her mute daughter, Rosa exclaimed with her first words “the mestiza is calling me…” Maria did not see the figures of a woman and child that the girl described and fearfully ran back with her daughter to Ipiales and told the townspeople. After later returning to the spot, the woman saw an apparition of Our Lady and Child. Some months later, Rosa died and was returned to life when her mother prayed again at the cave. The townspeople came to see this place and encountered the miraculous image burned into the rocks!

The congregation celebrated the first Mass in the Pastarán river cave – it was 16 September 1754 and they built a straw grotto. With the endorsement of the ecclesiastical authorities, who declared the event as a miracle on 15 September 1754. Very soon, the image began to be venerated with great fervour and many miraculous events occurred there.
Around the image the faithful devotees have erected four successively larger Churches, until culminating in the current Sanctuary whose construction lasted 30 years and was completed in 1949.
In 1952 , Pope Pius XII granted the image the canonical coronation and in 1954 he granted the Sanctuary, the title of Minor Basilica.

St Pope Cornelius (Martyred in 253) (Memorial)
St Cyprian of Carthage (190-Martyred in 258) (Memorial)
Saints Cyprian and Cornelius:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/saints-of-the-day-16-september-st-pope-cornelius-and-st-cyprian-of-carthage-martyrs/

St Abundantius of Rome
St Abundius of Rome
St Andrew Kim Taegon
St Cunibert of Maroilles
St Curcodomus
Bl Dominic Shobyoye
St Dulcissima of Sutri
St Edith of Wilton
St Eugenia of Hohenburg
St Euphemia (c 290-c 305) Virgin Martyr
St Geminianus of Rome
St John of Rome

Blessed Luigi Ludovico Allemandi (c 1390-1450) Bishop and Cardinal, called “The Cardinal of Arles.” Blessed Luigi was a Priest driven by immense love for the Holy Mother of God and for the Church. His involvement in various Councils and Papal dissentions, were the result of his great desire to maintain the purity of the Chair of Peter. He was Beatified in 1527 by Pope Clement VII.
His Life;

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/16/saint-of-the-day-blessed-luigi-ludovico-allemandi-c-1390-1450/

St Lucy of Rome
St Ludmila
St Marcian the Senator
Bl Martin of Huerta
Bl Michael Himonaya

St Ninian (Died 432) “Apostle to the Southern Picts,” Bishop, Missionary, Monastic Founder, Wonderworker.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/16/saint-of-the-day-16-september-st-ninian-c-360-died-432-apostle-to-the-southern-picts/

Bl Paul Fimonaya
St Priscus of Nocera
St Rogellus of Cordoba
St Sebastiana
St Servus Dei
St Stephen of Perugia

Blessed Pope Victor III OSB (1027-1087) Known as “the Gentle Pope,” Prince, Benedictine Abbot, Monk, Advisor, diplomat, reformer – Papal ascension – elected 24 May 1086 and enthroned on 9 May 1087 – until his death. Few have been more reluctant to accept the Papacy than the humble Monk and Hermit, who became Victor III.
About Pope Victor III:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/16/saint-of-the-day-16-september-blessed-pope-victor-iii-1027-1087/
St Vitalis of Savigny

Martyrs of the Via Nomentana: Four Christian men martyred together, date unknown – Alexander, Felix, Papias and Victor. They were martyred on the Via Nomentana outside Rome, Italy.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antonio Martínez García
• Blessed Ignasi Casanovas Perramón
• Blessed Manuel Ferrer Jordá
• Blessed Pablo Martínez Robles
• Blessed Salvador Ferrer Cardet

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRACE, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – When Mary Weeps

Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and Memorial of the Seven Sorrows of our Mother

“Let my heart languish
and my soul melt away
and be consumed with love of You,
my beloved Saviour Jesus
and my dear Mother Mary!
But because I cannot love You
unless You give me grace,
then give me grace,
O Jesus and Mary —
by Your merits, not mine —
to love You as You deserve to be loved.
O God, lover of humankind,
You loved sinful human beings
to the point of death.
Will You deny Your love and Your Mother’s
to anyone who begs for it?”

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“During the entire course of her life,
the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
never deviated in the slightest
from the precepts and examples of her Divine Son.
This was true both in the most sweet joys Mary experienced
and in the cruel sufferings she underwent,
which made the the Queen of Martyrs.”

Venerable Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)

When Mary Weeps
By Father Frederick M Lynk (1881-unknown)

When Mary weeps, her mother’s heart
Is full to overflowing.
When Mary weeps, pain’s piercing dart
Stabs Him beyond all knowing,
Who is by sinners Crucified,
Blasphemed, forsaken and denied.

When Mary weeps, God’s holy wrath
Is kindling cruel fires.
When Mary weeps, poor mankind’s path
Leads through war’s blood-soaked mires
And makes all human mothers moan
In love and pity for their own.

When Mary weeps, it’s time to pray
To have our sins forgiven.
When Mary weeps, each night and day
By sorrow must be riven,
Until His and her children will

Once more seek peace on Calvary’s hill.
When Mary weeps, we all must try
To dry her tears of sorrow.
When Mary weeps, we too must cry
To glimpse a brighter morrow,
When her Son’s name is recognised
And all, in love adore the Christ.

Amen

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/15/quote-s-of-the-day-15-september-our-lady-of-sorrows-and-of-st-catherine-of-genoa/

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, SAINT of the DAY, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS

Saint of the Day – 15 September – Our Sorrowful Mother Mary – The Seven Sorrows

Saint of the Day – 15 September – Our Sorrowful Mother Mary –

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Also known as:
• Septem Dolorum.
• Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens
• Beata Vergine Addolorata
• Dolorosa
• Maria Santissima Addolorata
• Mater Dolorosa
• Mother of Sorrows
• Our Lady of the Seven Dolours
• Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows
• Sorrowful Mother

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

The Prophecy of Simeon at the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple:
Forty days after Christ’s birth, Mary presented Him in the temple. The aged Simeon, a just and devout servant of the Lord, took Jesus into his arms and inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaimed:

Behold, this child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel and for a sign that shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35

The Flight Into Egypt:
No sooner did the heartless Herod hear that Jesus, the Infant King of the Jews, had been born, than he sought His life. But an Angel of the Lord appeared to Saint Joseph in a dream and warned:

Arise, take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt and remain there until I tell thee.” – Matthew 2:13

The Loss of Child Jesus for 3 Days:
The third sword that pierced Our Lady’s heart was the three-day loss in the temple. At the age of twelve, Jesus went with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem. Only when Mary and Joseph were travelling home, realise that Jesus was not with them. They hurried back and for three days sought Him among friends and relatives in Jerusalem. Finally, they found Him in the temple, listening and discussing with the teachers there , who were amazed at his knowledge and wisdom.

The Meeting of Jesus on the Way of The Cross:
Mary’s fourth great sorrow we remember in the fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary and also the fourth Station of the Cross. Mary meets Jesus carrying His Cross to Calvary. What a mournful meeting. Imagine the pain in Mary’s heart to see her Jesus groaning and staggering under the cruel Cross. What an anguish to see the One she loved so dearly, being tortured by the taunts of the crowd, as well as the weight of the wood. And there is nothing she is able to do to help Him.

The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus:
But the sword will plunge still deeper. She must see Him shamefully stripped of His garments, rudely thrown upon the Cross and then hear the sickening strokes of the hammer. Helplessly and heartbroken, she must stand beneath His cross watching Him writhe in torture, listening to His parting words, listening for His parting breath.

The Pieta – Jesus Is Laid In The Arms Of His Mother:
And now comes the moment when they take Him down from the Cross. As each nail and each thorn was pulled from His body, it was a new blow to the heart of His Mother. How she must have hugged Him to her heart!

Jesus is Laid in The Tomb:
The seventh sword was to witness that broken body laid in the grave. It was a Mother putting her child to bed. What a grief-stricken good-night that was. Mary must have wished that she could bury her heavy heart with Him.

During Passiontide, on the Friday before Palm Sunday, a second feast of Mary’s Dolors is held, which emphasises particularly, the four last mentioned of the seven sorrows above.

Thus the Church reflects on the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The prayers of the Mass and the Office are indicative of her sorrows.

The first trace of the feast, St Alphonsus Liguori tells us, is found in Germany towards the beginning of the fifteenth century. Archbishop Theodoric’s ordered the keeping of this day at an assembly convened at Cologne in 1413 to wage battle against heresies of the iconoclast “Hussites,” who were very active in destroying images and pictures of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Before the sixteenth century the feast was observed only in the Diocese of North Germany, Scandinavia and Scotland but by the end of the sixteenth century, it extended over the south of Europe. In 1506 the celebration was granted the Friday before Passion Sunday as the feast of the Sorrows of Mary. To the whole German Church this last date was later assigned. On 22 April 1727, Pope Benedict XIII, extended it to the entire Latin Church under the title “Septem dolorum.”

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, SAINT of the DAY, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS

The Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin and Memorials of the Saints – 15 September

The Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin – Our Lady of Sorrows (Memorial)
About this Sorrowful and Glorious Memorial:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/15/memorial-of-our-lady-of-sorrows-15-september/
AND here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/15/memorial-of-our-lady-of-sorrows-15-september-2/

St Aichardus
St Albinus of Lyon
Bl Anton Maria Schwartz
St Aprus of Toul
St Bond of Sens

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) Married laywoman, Mystic, Apostle of the sick, the poor and the needy, Writer. Her body is incorrupt and rests in a glass reliquary at the Capuchin Church in Genoa.
Catherine’s writings were examined by the Holy Office and declared to contain doctrine that would alone be enough to prove her sanctity and she was accordingly Beatified in 1675 by Pope Clement X and Canonised in 1737 by Pope Clement XII. Her writings also, became sources of inspiration for other religious leaders such as Robert Bellarmine and Francis de Sales and Cardinal Henry Edward Manning. Pope Pius XII declared her Patroness of the hospitals in Italy.
Her Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/15/saint-of-the-day-15-september-st-catherine-of-genoa-1447-1510/

Bl Camillus Constanzo
St Emilas of Cordoba
St Eutropa of Auvergne
St Hernan
Bl Jacinto de Los Ángeles and Bl Juan Bautista
St Jeremias of Cordoba
St Joseph Abibos
St Mamillian of Palermo
St Melitina
St Mirin of Bangor
St Nicetas the Goth
St Nicomedes of Rome

Blessed Paolo Manna PIME (1872-1952) “A Burning Soul” Priest, Missionary in Burma (Myanmar), Superior General of the P.I.M.E., Founder of the Pontifical Missionary Union, Evangeliser, Founder of various Newspapers and Movements to promote the missions.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/15/saint-of-the-day-15-september-blessed-paolo-manna-pime-1872-1952-a-burning-soul/

St Porphyrius the Martyr
St Ribert
St Ritbert of Varennes
Bl Rolando de Medici
Bl Tommasuccio of Foligno
St Valerian of Châlon-sur-Saône
St Valerian of Noviodunum
St Vitus of Bergamo
Bl Wladyslaw Miegon

Martyrs of Adrianopolis – 3 saints: Three Christian men martyred together in the persecutions of Maximian – Asclepiodotus, Maximus and Theodore. They were martyred in 310 at Adrianopolis (Adrianople), a location in modern Bulgaria.

Martyrs of Noviodunum – 4 saints: Three Christian men martyred together, date unknown – Gordian, Macrinus, Stratone and Valerian.
They were martyred in Noviodunum, Lower Moesia (near modern Isaccea, Romania).

Mercedarian Martyrs of Morocco – 6 beati: A group of six Mercedarians who were captured by Moors near Valencia, Spain and taken to Morocco. Though enslaved, they refused to stop preaching Christianity. Martyrs. – Dionisio, Francis, Ildefonso, James, John and Sancho. They were crucified in 1437 in Morocco.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Antonio Sierra Leyva
Bl Pascual Penades Jornet

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Nossa Senhora de Nazaré / Our Lady of Nazareth, Portugal (1182) and Memorials of the Saints – 14 September

Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Feast) This feast was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century. It commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mount Calvary by St Helena.
About this great Feast:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/14/feast-of-the-exaltation-of-the-holy-crosstriumph-of-the-holy-cross-14-september/
AND by St Augustine:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/14/feast-of-the-exaltation-of-the-holy-cross-14-september-let-me-not-boast-except-in-the-cross-of-our-lord-jesus-christ/

Nossa Senhora de Nazaré / Our Lady of Nazareth, Portugal (1182) -14 September:

The chronicles of old Portugal report this episode that took place in the year 1182, on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Dom Fuas Roupinho, a Knight and vassal of King Afonso Henriques, was out hunting on a foggy day. He was pursuing a deer when it came to an unexpected precipice and fell to its death into the sea below.

The horse, which was in close pursuit, reared on the very edge of the cliff and it seemed certain that Dom Fuas would follow the deer to his death. Knowing that a little distance to his left was a cave with the Statue of the Virgin of Nazareth, Dom Fuas immediately invoked her protection. He was saved and in thanksgiving he built a small “Chapel of memory” (Ermida da Memória) over the cave in her honour.

According to a document found with it, the little Statue of the Virgin had been venerated in Nazareth in the times of early Christianity. When the iconoclast heresy started in Constantinople and the heretics were destroying all the Statues, a Monk called Ciriaco took it to a Monastery in Spain in the proximity of Merida.

In 714, when the Saracens invaded the Iberian Peninsula, King Rodrigo fled with Friar Germano to the Atlantic coast, bearing the Statue with them. They hid the Statue in a small cave off the coast of the site that was later to become Nazaré, where it remained until it was found by a shepherd in 1179.

After Our Lady miraculously saved the life of Dom Fuas, the devotion to Our Lady of Nazareth spread throughout the country and was the source of countless graces for the people. In 1377 King Fernando ordered a large Church to be built near the little Chapel, and the Statue is venerated there now.

St Aelia Flaccilla

St Albert of Jerusalem (1149-1215) also known as St Albert of Vercelli – Bishop, Canon Lawyer, Diplomat and Peacemaker and is regarded as a Co-Founder of the Carmelite Order.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/14/saint-of-the-day-14-september-st-albert-of-jerusalem-1149-1214/

St Caerealis
Bl Claude Laplace
St Cormac of Cashel
St Crescentian of Carthage
St Crescentius of Rome
St Generalis of Carthage
St Giulia Crostarosa
St Jean Gabriel Taurin du Fresse
St Maternus of Cologne (Died c 325) Bishop

St Peter of Tarentaise O.Cist (1102-1174) Cistercian Monk, Archbishop of Tarentaise from 1141 until his death, Abbot, Apostle of Charity, Miracle-worker.
There are two men named Saint Peter of Tarentaise who lived one century apart. The man we honour today is the younger Peter, born in France in the early part of the 12th century. The other man with the same name became Pope Innocent the Fifth.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/14/saint-of-the-day-14-september-saint-peter-of-tarentaise-o-cist-1102-1174/

Bl Pedro Bruch Cotacáns
St Rosula of Carthage
St Sallustia
St Victor of Carthage

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Beata Vergine delle Grazie / Blessed Virgin of Grace, Chieri, Torino, Piedmont, Italy (1630) and Memorials of the Saints – 13 September

Beata Vergine delle Grazie / Blessed Virgin of Grace, Chieri, Torino, Piedmont, Italy (1630) – Second Monday of September:

The Bubonic Plague that swept Europe in 1630 was especially deadly in northern Italy. The City of Turin lost over 70 percent of its population. The neighbouring City of Chieri appointed a commission to control the epidemic. In the absence of reliable medical solutions, the commission’s first action was to seek divine help, vowing on 26 June to build a Chapel to the Blessed Virgin of Graces in Chieri’s main Church, Santa Maria della Scala (St. Mary of the Stair). Chieri had lost 40 percent of its population. The survivors built the Chapel, where a wooden Statue of the Madonna and Child by Piedmontese sculptor, Pietro Botto, was installed in 1642. The Blessed Virgin of Graces became the Patron Saint of Chieri, which celebrates her with a Novena of special Masses and prayers and a secular program of music, dancing and food, culminating in her festa on the second Monday in September.

St John Chrysostom (347-407) “Golden Mouthed” Father & Doctor of the Church (Memorial) Feast Day 27 January, after 1969 today.
Full biography here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/saint-of-the-day-13-september-st-john-chrysostom-347-407-father-and-doctor-of-the-church-golden-mouthed/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/13/saint-of-the-day-13-september-st-john-chrysostom-347-407-father-and-doctor-of-the-church-golden-mouthed-2/

Dedication of the Basilicas of Jerusalem: Commemoration of the dedications of the Basilicas built on Mount Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

St Aigulf

St Amatus OSB (c 560-c 627) Monk, Abbot, Hermit, Penitent, miracle-worker, together with St Romaric, he founded Remiremont Abbey.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/13/saint-of-the-day-13-september-saint-amatus-c-560-c-627/

St Barsenorius
Bl Claude Dumonet
St Columbinus of Lure
St Emiliano of Valence
St Evantius of Autun
St Gordian of Pontus
Bl Hedwig of Hreford
St Julian of Ankyra
St Ligorius
St Litorius of Tours
St Macrobius
St Marcellinus of Carthage
Bl María López de Rivas Martínez

St Maurilius of Angers (c 336-426) Bishop of Angers, Cantor for Saint Ambrose, (Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church), Disciple of St Martin of Tours.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/13/saint-of-the-day-saint-maurilius-of-angers-c-336-426/

St Nectarius of Autun

St Notburga (c 1265-1313) Virgin
St Philip of Rome
St Venerius of Tino

Martyrs of Ireland:
• Blessed Edward Stapleton
• Blessed Elizabeth Kearney
• Blessed James Saul
• Blessed Margaret of Cashel
• Blessed Richard Barry
• Blessed Richard Butler
• Blessed Theobald Stapleton
• Blessed Thomas Morrissey
• Blessed William Boyton

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War including the Martyrs of Pozo de Cantavieja – 11 beati:
• Blessed Bienvenido Villalón Acebrón
• Blessed Emilio Antequera Lupiáñez
• Blessed Florencio Arnáiz Cejudo
• Blessed Francisco Rodríguez Martínez
• Blessed Joaquín Gisbert Aguilera
• Blessed José Álvarez-Benavides de La Torre
• Blessed José Cano García
• Blessed José Román García González
• Blessed Juan Capel Segura
• Blessed Juan Ibáñez Martín
• Blessed Luis Eduardo López Gascón
• Blessed Manuel Alvarez y Alvarez
• Blessed Manuel Martínez Giménez
• Blessed Pío Navarro Moreno
• Blessed Ramiro Argüelles Hevia
• Blessed Sabino Ayastuy Errasti
• Blessed Teófilo Montes Calvo

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY NAME of MARY

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (1683) and Memorials of the Saints – 12 September

The 16th Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (1683 ) – 12 September:
Feast of the entire Latin Church. It was first observed at Cuenca, Spain in 1513, then extended to the universal Church and assigned to its present place and rank by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving to God and the Blessed Virgin for the liberation of Vienna, France and the signal victory over the Turks on 12 September 1683. It is the titular feast of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Blessed Mother Mary:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/12/blessed-memorial-of-the-most-holy-name-of-mary-12-september/

St Ailbe (Died 528) Bishop “The Patrick of Munster,” Confessor, Evangelist – Saint Ailbe is venerated as one of the four great Patrons of Ireland.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/12/saint-of-the-day-12-september-saint-ailbe-died-528-the-patrick-of-munster/

Blessed Apolinaris Franco Garcia OFM (1575-1622) Priest, Martyr

St Autonomous
St Curonotus
St Dominic Magoshichi
St Eanswida
St Francis of Saint Bonaventure
St Franciscus Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan

St Guy of Anderlecht (c 950–1012) Hermit and Pilgrim known as “the Poor Man of Anderlecht”
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/12/saint-of-the-day-12-september-saint-guy-of-anderlecht-c-950-1012/

St Juventius of Pavia

Bl Maria Luisa Angelica/Gertrude Prosperi (1799-1847)
St Mancius of Saint Thomas
St Paul of Saint Clare
Bl Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge
St Sacerdos of Lyon
St Silvinus of Verona
St Tomás de Zumárraga Lazcano

Martyrs of Alexandria – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Hieronides, Leontius, Sarapion, Seleusius, Straton and Valerian. They were drowned c 300 at Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Phrygia – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred for destroying pagan idols. We know little more than their names – Macedonius, Tatian and Theodolus. They were burned to death in 362 in Phrygia (modern Turkey).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Fortunato Arias Sánchez
• Blessed Francisco Maqueda López
• Blessed Jaume Puigferrer Mora
• Blessed Josep Plana Rebugent
• Blessed Julián Delgado Díez

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The FIVE FIRST Saturdays, THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS DEVOTION

Our Morning Offering – 11 September – Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy

Our Morning Offering – 4 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and always Mary’s Saturday

Catholic Time,Saturday: Our Lady – There are a number of theological reasons Saturdays are dedicated to Our Lady, perhaps the most significant is that on Holy Saturday, when everyone else had abandoned Christ in the tomb, she was faithful to Him, confidently waiting for His Resurrection on the first day of the week
On Saturdays, we make the “First Saturdays Devotion” which entails going to Mass and receiving Communion and going to Confession, for the first Saturday of the month for 5 consecutive months in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady promises those who make the 5 First Saturdays to be with them at the hour of their death.

Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy
By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculate Mother of God,
who endured a martyrdom of love and grief,
beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus!
Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption
by thy innumerable afflictions
and by offering to the Eternal Father,
His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust
and victim of propitiation for my sins.
I thank thee for the unspeakable love
which led thee to deprive thyself
of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner.
Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession
of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son,
that I may steadfastly amend my life
and never again crucify
my loving Redeemer by my sins
and that, persevering till death in His grace,
I may obtain eternal life
through the merits of His Cross and Passion.
Amen
Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us!

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto / Our Lady of La Leche, St Augustine, Florida, USA , 16th century and Memorials of the Saints – 11 September

Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto / Our Lady of La Leche, St Augustine, Florida, USA , 16th century – First Saturday after The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

On 8 September 1565, Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed at St Augustine, Florida and claimed it for Spain. At the Mission of Nombre de Dios here, Spanish missionaries installed a Statue of the nursing Madonna, Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto – Our Lady of Milk and Good Childbirth.

This first Shrine to Our Lady in what is now the United States is still an active place of devotion, as well as a tourist attraction. On the Saturday closest to 8 September, Holy Mass is celebrated at an outdoor rustic Atar to accommodate the large numbers who attend the commemoration of the Anniversary of the First Mass and the founding of the Mission.

Interior view of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, located on the grounds of Mission Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine. The shrine was established in 1609, a devotion brought to the U.S. by the Spanish explorers and missionaries.

St Adelphus of Remiremont
St Almirus
Bl Baldassarre Velasquez

Blessed Bonaventure of Barcelona OFM (1620-1684) Franciscan Friar, Reformer, Papal Adviser, Founder of Retreat houses.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/11/saint-of-the-day-11-september-blessed-bonaventure-of-barcelona-ofm-1620-1684/

Blessed Carlo (Charles) Spinola SJ (1564-1622) Priest, Martyr, Missionary to Japan.
His Life and Death:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/11/saint-of-the-day-11-september-blessed-charles-spinola-sj-1564-1622/

St Deiniol of Bangor
St Didymus of Laodicea
St Diodorus of Laodicea
Bl Dominic Dillon
St Elijah Speleota OSBM (863-960) Basilian Monk and Hermit
St Emilian of Vercelli
St Essuperanzio of Zurich
St Felix of Zurich
Bl Francesco Giovanni Bonifacio
Bl Franciscus Takeya
Bl François Mayaudon
Bl Gaspar Koteda
St Gusmeo of Gravedona sul Lario
St Hyacinth of Rome

St John Gabriel Perboyre/Jean Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840) Priest, Martyr, Missionary.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/11/saint-of-the-day-11-september-st-john-gabriel-perboyre-c-m-1802-1840-priest-martyr-of-the-congregation-of-the-mission/

Bl John Bathe
St Leudinus of Toul
St Matthew of Gravedona sul Lario
St Paphnutius of Thebes
St Patiens of Lyon
Bl Peter Taaffe
Bl Petrus Kawano
St Protus of Rome
St Regula of Zurich
Bl Richard Overton
St Sperandea
St Theodora the Penitent
Bl Thomas Bathe

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed José María Segura Panadés
• Blessed José Piquer Arnáu
• Blessed Josep Pla Arasa
• Blessed Lorenzo Villanueva Larrayoz

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Beata Vergine Maria della Vita / Our Lady of Life (1289) and Memorials of the Saints – 10 September

Beata Vergine Maria della Vita / Our Lady of Life (1289) 10 September:
Patronage – hospitals in the Diocese of Bologna, Italy.

The cult of the Madonna della Vita is connected with the hospital of the same name founded in 1289 by the Compagnia dei Battuti, present in Bologna since 1261. In the Sanctuary dedicated to her, between 1370 and 1380, Simone dei Crocefissi frescoed the image of the Blessed Virgin, which remained covered during the renovations in the years 1454-1502 and accidentally found among the exultation of the Bolognese people on 10 September 1614. It depicts Mary Mother and Queen as she rests her face to the cheek of Jesus, according to the iconography of the Mother of Tenderness.
The close link between the original hospital activity and the devotion of the brothers, was also expressed by the motto inscribed under the double Cross: “Vitam dat nobis crux tua, Christe Jesu” “Your Cross gives us life, Christ Jesus.”

St Agapius of Novara
St Alexius Sanbashi Saburo

St Ambrose Edward Barlow OSB (1585-1641) Priest, Martyr.
His Life and Death:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/10/saint-of-the-day-10-september-saint-ambrose-edward-barlow-osb-1585-1641-martyr/

St Autbert of Avranches
St Barypsabas
St Candida the Younger
St Clement of Sardis
St Finnian of Moville
St Frithestan
Bl Jacques Gagnot

St Nicholas of Tolentino OSA (1245-1305) known as the Patron of Holy Souls, Priest, Augustinian Friar Monk, Confessor, Mystic.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/10/saint-of-the-day-10-september-st-nicholas-of-tolentino-patron-of-holy-souls/

Blessed Oglerio O.Cist (c 1136-1214) Cistercian Monk, Abbot, Mediator and peace-maker, Reformer, Penitent, Writer.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/10/saint-of-the-day-blessed-oglerio-o-cist-c-1136-1214/

St Peter Martinez
St Pulcheria (399-453) Empress, Widow
St Salvius of Albi
St Sosthenes of Chalcedon
St Theodard of Maastricht
St Victor of Chalcedon

Martyrs of Bithynia – 3 sister saints: Three young Christian sisters martyred in the persecutions of emperor Maximian and governor Fronto: Menodora, Metrodora, Nymphodora. They were martyred in 306 in Bithynia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of Japan – 205 beati: A unified feast to memorialise 205 missionaries and native Japanese known to have been murdered for their faith between 1617 and 1637.

Martyrs of Sigum – 8 saints: A group of Nicomedian martyrs, condemned for their faith to be worked to death in the marble quarries of Sigum. There were priests, bishops and laity in the group but only a few names have come down to us: Dativus, Felix, Jader, Litteus, Lucius, Nemesian, Polyanus, Victor. They were worked to death c 257 in Sigum.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Félix España Ortiz
• Blessed Leoncio Arce Urrutia
• Blessed Tomàs Cubells Miguel

Posted in JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Santa María la Antigua / St Mary the Ancient, Panama City, Panama , 16th century and Memorials of the Saints – 9 September

Santa María la Antigua / St Mary the Ancient, Panama City, Panama , 16th century, Patron of the Republic of Panama – 9 September:

In 1510 Martín Fernández de Enciso and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa founded a Town in Chief Cémaco’s territory on the west shore of the Gulf of Urabá, initially named La Guardia and a few months later renamed Santa María la Antigua, fulfilling a vow they made to the Virgin if they emerged alive from the confrontation with the natives.

Chief Cémaco’s house was converted into a Chapel in honour of St Mary the Ancient, named for the Madonna in the Cathedral in Fernández de Enciso’s home town of Seville, Spain. A Christian community developed there composed of native converts and Spaniards.

On 9 September 1513, Pope Leo X created the first mainland Diocese with the bull “Pastoralis Officii Debitum,” transforming the little Chapel of St Mary the Ancient into a Cathedral under the Archdiocese of Seville. Later the see moved to the newer City of Panama, whose Cathedral was dedicated to Santa María la Antigua on 4 April 1796. In 2001 the Vatican confirmed St. Mary the Ancient as Patron of the Republic of Panama, setting 9 September as her feast day for the country.

St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) (Memorial) Priest of the Society of Jesus, Missionary, Confessor, Patron of the missions to African peoples and Human Rights Defender, Apostle of Charity. Also known as “The Apostle of Cartagena” and “The Slave of the Slaves.”
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/09/saint-of-the-day-9-september-st-peter-claver-s-j/

St Alexander of Sabine

Blessed Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” Married layman, Literary scholar, Lawyer, Journalist, Professor of Law and of Foreign Literature, Apostle of Charity, Writer and Equal Rights Advocate, Doctor of Letters. He founded, with colleagues, the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.
About:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/09/saint-of-the-day-9-september-blessed-antoine-frederic-ozanam-1813-1853/

St Basura of Masil
St Bettelin
St Dorotheus of Nicomedia
Bl Gaudridus
Bl George Douglas
St Gorgonio of Rome
St Gorgonius of Nicomedia
St Isaac the Great
Bl Jacques Laval
St Joseph of Volokolamsk
St Kieran the Younger (c 516-c 550) Monk, Abbot, One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.
Bl Maria Eutimia Uffing
Bl Mary de la Cabeza
St Omer
St Osmanna
Bl Pierre Bonhomme
St Rufinian
St Rufinus
Bl Seraphina Sforza
St Severian
St Straton
St Teódulo González Fernández
St Tiburtius
St Valentinian of Chur
St Wilfrida
St Wulfhilda

Posted in Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, To JESUS through MARY, Uncategorized

Thought for the Day – 8 September – Mary, Mother of God

Thought for the Day – 8 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, Mother of God

“The near-infinite greatness of Mary, flows from the fact, that she is the Mother of God.
The Eternal Word of the Father, consubstantial with Him in nature and equal to Him in majesty, willed to become man in order to set us free from the slavery of sin and to regain Heaven for us.
He became man in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary.
He took a human body and soul and was born of her, as the God-Man.
For this reason, there is attributed to His Divine Person, the title of Son of Mary and to Mary, the title of Mother of God.

There is a relationship between Mary and each of the three Divine Persons, for she is the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of the Holy Spirit by whose power the Word became incarnate in her and the mother of the Word made Man.
She is, moreover, in the words of Dante, the “termine fisso di eterno consiglio” (Paradiso 33:1-3).
In other words, she is the centre of the eternal plan which God established for the redemption of the human race.
It was God’s eternal design to reunite creation to the Uncreated, by means of Mary.
She became the mother of the Eternal Word, in whom the divine and human natures were indissolubly united.
He redeemed us by His infinite merits but, in this work of redemption, He employed the co-operation of His holy Mother.
All the graces, privileges and virtues of Mary, flow from this great mystery of her divine Motherhood.
As befitted the future Mother of God, she was conceived free from the stain of original sin and full of grace.
Her mortal life was a continuous ascent towards the highest peak of sanctity.
When she died, she was assumed body and soul into Heaven, where she was crowned in glory, as Queen of Angels and Queen of Saints.
When we consider the sublime nobility of Our Lady, we should be moved to love and venerate her.
This love and veneration does not subtract in the slightest from God’s glory, because, she is the Mother of God.
In fact, it is a great advantage to us, to imitate her and to call on her to intercede for us.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian Feasts in Cuba, Spain, India, Andora and Memorials of the Saints – 8 September

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – 8 September (Feast)
On this Marian Feast Day:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/08/feast-of-the-nativity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-8-september/

Nuestra Senora de la Virgen de la Caridad / Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba (1612)- 8 September:
The Story:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/08/feast-of-our-lady-of-charity-of-el-cobre-cuba-8-september/

Nuestra Senora de la Covadonga, also named “La Santina” / Our Lady of Covadonga (720) – 8 September:

This is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name of a Marian Shrine devoted to her at Covadonga, Asturias. The Shrine in northwestern Spain rose to prominence following the Battle of Covadonga in about 720, which was the first defeat of the Moors during their invasion of Spain. A Statue of the Virgin Mary, secretly hidden in one of the caves, was believed to have miraculously aided the Christian victory.
Our Lady of Covadonga is the Patron of Asturias, and a Basilica was built to house the current Statue. Our Lady of Covadong’s east day is 8 September.

Our Lady of Health of Vailankanni (16th Century) – 8 September:

This is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by people as she twice appeared in the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India, in the 16th to 17th centuries. The Feast of the Nativity of Mary, is also commemorated as the feast of Our Lady of Good Health. The celebration starts on 29 August and ends on the day of the feast. The feast day prayers are said in Tamil, Marathi, East Indian, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani, Hindi and English.

Nuestra Senora de la Meritxell / Our Lady of Meritxell (12th Century) – 8 September:

This is an Andorran Roman Statue depicting an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of Meritxell is the Patron Saint of Andorra. On 6 January in the late 12th century, villagers from Meritxell, Andorra were going to Mass in Canillo. Though it was winter, they found a wild rose in bloom by the roadside. At its base was a Statue of the Virgin and Child. They placed the Statue in a Chapel in the Church in Canillo. The next day the Statue was found sitting under the wild rose again. Villagers from Encamp took the Statue to their Church but the next day the Statue had returned to the rose bush. Though it was snowing, an area the size of a Chapel was completely bare and the villagers of Meritxell took this to mean that they should build a Chapel to house the Statue and so they did. On 8-9 September 1972 the Chapel burned down and the Statue was destroyed, a copy now resides in the new Meritxell Chapel.
The feast day of Our Lady of Meritxell is 8 September and the Andorran National Day.

St Adam Bargielski
St Adela of Messines
Bl Alanus de Rupe

St Corbinian (c 670–c 730) First Bishop of Freising and Founder of the Diocese, Hermit, Missionary, Confessor.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/08/saint-of-the-day-8-september-saint-corbinian-c-670-c-730/

St Disibod of Disenberg
St Ethelburgh of Kent
St Faustus of Antioch
St Isaac the Great
St István Pongrácz
St Kingsmark
St Peter of Chavanon
Bl Seraphina Sforza
St Pope Sergius I (c 650–701)

St Thomas of Villanova OSA (1488 – 1555) Bishop, Religious Priest of the Order of St Augustine, Confessor, Writer, Preacher, Teacher, Apostle of Charity, Mystic, Miracle-Worker often called “the Almsgiver” and “the Father of the Poor“, Reformer.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/22/saint-of-the-day-22-september-st-thomas-of-villanova-o-s-a/

St Timothy of Antioch
Bl Wladyslaw Bladzinski

Martyrs of Alexandria – (5 saints)
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ammon, Dio, Faustus, Neoterius and Theophilus. Martyred in Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Japan – (21 beati):
A group of 21 missionaries and converts who were executed together for their faith.
• Antonio of Saint Bonaventure
• Antonio of Saint Dominic
• Dominicus Nihachi
• Dominicus of Saint Francis
• Dominicus Tomachi
• Francisco Castellet Vinale
• Franciscus Nihachi
• Ioannes Imamura
• Ioannes Tomachi
• Laurentius Yamada
• Leo Aibara
• Lucia Ludovica
• Ludovicus Nihachi
• Matthaeus Alvarez Anjin
• Michaël Tomachi
• Michaël Yamada Kasahashi
• Paulus Aibara Sandayu
• Paulus Tomachi
• Romanus Aibara
• Thomas of Saint Hyacinth
• Thomas Tomachi
Died on 8 September 1628 in Nagasaki, Japan
Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius XI

Martyred in England:
Bl John Norton
Bl Thomas Palaser

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Adrián Saiz y Saiz
• Blessed Apolonia Lizárraga Ochoa de Zabalegui
• Blessed Bonifacio Rodríguez González
• Blessed Dolores Puig Bonany
• Blessed Eusebio Alonso Uyarra
• Blessed Ismael Escrihuela Esteve
• Blessed Josefa Ruano García
• Blessed Josep Padrell Navarro
• Blessed Mamerto Carchano y Carchano
• Blessed Marino Blanes Giner
• Blessed Miguel Beato Sánchez
• Blessed Pascual Fortuño Almela
• Blessed Segimon Sagalés Vilá
• Blessed Tomàs Capdevila Miquel

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de la Cordon / Our Lady of the Cord, Valenciennes, France (1008) and Memorials of the Saints – 6 September

Notre-Dame de la Fontaine / Our Lady of the Fountain, Valenciennes, France (1008) – 6 September:

Procession du millenaire du miracle du Saint-Cordon a Valenciennes. En 1008, la Vierge est apparue et a delivre Valenciennes de la peste.

Valenciennes is a City in northern France on the Scheldt River and Our Lady of the Fountain was located half a league from the City in the year 1008.
According to tradition, there was a terrible famine that preceded the Plague in that fateful year of 1008. It is recorded that the City of Valenciennes was so ravaged by the plague that nearly 8,000 people died in only a few days, so that the chronicles of the time tell us that it seemed “the dead outnumber the living.” The people grieved profoundly at the spectacle of death which constantly surrounded them,and having no other recourse, went in great crowds to their Churches to take refuge at the feet of Our Mother of Mercy and beg for her intercession.
A holy hermit named Bertholin, who lived nearby Our Lady of the Fountain, was touched by the misfortune of his brothers and redoubled his austerities and prayers. He prayed for the people of Valenciennes, saying, “O Mary! Rescue these afflicted who have cried out to you! Will you let this people die who have called upon you for rescue and who confide their cares to you? Will you be invoked in vain?
The Blessed Virgin appeared to the hermit Bertholin while he was fervently praying on the night of the 5th of September. The pious hermit was suddenly dazzled by the brilliance of a light purer than the sun, while at the same time the Mother of Mercy appeared to him with an air of kindness. She commanded Bertholin to tell the inhabitants to fast on the following day and then pass the night in prayer to bring an end to the Plague. “Go to my people of Valenciennes. On the eve of my nativity they will see the guarantee of protection that I want to give them.

The response was overwhelming. The people of Valenciennes did as they were told,and on the eve of the Nativity, the 7th of September, the people of Valenciennes stood upon the ramparts and towers of the City excitedly awaiting the fulfilment of the heavenly promise. Their confidence was not in vain, for suddenly the night seemed to turn into day and they witnessed the Queen of Heaven descending to earth in majesty, sparkling like a light of heaven, brighter than the sun. Accompanied by a host of Angels, Our Lady seemed to gird the town all round with a cord.
Nothing can convey the feelings of joy and devotion with which the people of Valenciennes were seized at this sight. At one point they all bowed and asked the Blessed Virgin’s blessing. Their Heavenly Mother did indeed bless them and those who were sick recovered their health and the inhabitants of Valenciennes have been forever freed from the plague.
The Blessed Virgin instructed the hermit to tell the people that they were to make a solemn procession, and then to do so every year. The people were eager to fulfill this desire of their Heavenly Mother and left the City singing praises to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Since that time the procession of Our Lady of Saint-Cordon, or the Tour of the Holy Cordon, takes place every year, always along the same route where the holy cord had been placed. The cord of the Blessed Virgin was locked up in a Shrine at a beautiful Gothic Church, Notre-Dame-la-Grande.
This cord, the Abbot Orsini related, was still preserved at Valenciennes while he was alive. That is no longer the case, as it disappeared during the Terror that was the French Revolution. The Church was sold at auction and then razed to the ground, and the reliquary sent to the mint. Of the Holy Cord nothing is now known, although no one witnessed its destruction when it disappeared in the year 1793.

Saint-Cordon bASILICA

St Arator of Verdun
St Augebert of Champagne
St Augustine of Sens
St Beata of Sens
St Bega

Blessed Bertrand de Garrigues OP (c 1195-1230) “The Second Dominic,” Dominican Priest, Preacher, Evangeliser, Confessor.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/06/saint-of-the-day-6-september-blessed-bertrand-de-garrigues-op-c-1195-1230/

St Cagnoald
St Consolata of Reggio Emilia
St Cottidus of Cappadocia

St Eleutherius the Abbot (Died c 585) Monk and Abbot. A wonderful simplicity and spirit of compunction were the distinguishing virtues of this holy sixth century Abbot.
His Lifestory:

ttps://anastpaul.com/2020/09/06/saint-of-the-day-saint-eleutherius-the-abbot-at-spoleto-died-c-585/

St Eugene of Cappadocia
St Eve of Dreux
St Faustus of Alexandria
St Faustus of Syracuse
St Felix of Champagne
St Frontiniano of Alba (Died 311) Deacon Martyr
St Gondulphus of Metz
St Imperia
St Liberato of Loro Piceno
St Macarius of Alexandria
St Maccallin of Lusk

St Magnus of Füssen (Died c 666) Religious Priest, Monk, Abbot, Missionary, Spiritual student of Saint Columban and Saint Gall.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/06/saint-of-the-day-6-september-st-magnus-of-fussen/

St Mansuetus of Toul
St Onesiphorus
St Petronius of Verona
St Sanctian of Sens
St Zacharius the Prophet

Martyrs of Africa – 6 saints: There were thousands of Christians exiled, tortured and martyred in the late 5th century by the Arian King Hunneric. Six of them, all bishops, are remembered today; however, we really know nothing about them except their names and their deaths for the faith – Donatian, Fusculus, Germanus, Laetus, Mansuetus and Praesidius.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Diego Llorca Llopis
• Blessed Felipe Llamas Barrero
• Blessed Pascual Torres Lloret
• Blessed Vidal Ruiz Vallejo

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame, Folgoët / Our Lady of Folgoët Finistère, Brittany, France (1650) and Memorials of the Saints – 5 September

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost +2021
Twenty third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Notre-Dame, Folgoët / Our Lady of Folgoët Finistère, Brittany, France (1650) – First Sunday or the First Week of September:

Known as the “the fool of the woods,St Salaün (Died1358 – Memorial on1 November) lived in a forest clearing near a spring, over which he enjoyed hanging from an oak branch, immersed to his shoulders, singing O Maria.” He lived by begging: “Ave Maria! Salaün could eat some bread!” After he died in 1358, aged 48, in the woods near the spring, people found a white lily with “Ave Maria” in gold lettering on its petals — growing from the mouth of the dead fool buried beneath.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame du Folgoët was begun on the spot in 1365, completed in 1419 and consecrated in 1423. Its main Altar is over the spring, channeled into a basin behind the Church. In 1888, a dark stone Virgin was crowned Our Lady of Folgoët, replacing a polychrome wooden Statue which was moved to a side Altar. The Black Virgin is standing, holding the Child with her left arm; both wear large crowns. Her back is flat; the statue may have been on the exterior of the Church before the Revolution, when some Statues were damaged and removed for safekeeping from the marauding mobs of the French Revolution.

Basilica ceiling

In the late 1500s, the big pilgrimage date was 15 August Feast of the Assumption. Three hundred years later, the celebration moved to 8 September, Nativity of the Virgin. Since 1970 the Grand Pardon has been held the first weekend in September, with a succession of processions and Masses in the Breton language.

St Albert of Butrio

St Alvito de León (Died 1063) Bishop. Alvito was the Confessor to King Fernando I of León, a Monk and the Benedictine Abbot of the Sahagún Monastery.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/05/saint-of-the-day-5-september-saint-alvito-de-leon-osb-died-1063/

Bl Anselm of Anchin
St Anseric of Soissons

St Bertin the Great (c 615-c 709) Benedictine Monk and Abbot, Missionary.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/05/saint-of-the-day-5-september-saint-bertin-the-great-c-615-c-709/

St Charbel
Bl Florent Dumontet de Cardaillac
St Genebald of Laon
Bl Gendtilis
Bl Gerbrand of Dokkum
St Guise Hoang Luong Canh
Blessed John the Good OSA (c 1168-1249) Bishop
Bl Jordan of Pulsano
St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455) Bishop
St Obdulia
St Phêrô Nguyen Van Tu
St Romulus of Rome

St Mother Teresa of Calcutta MC (1910-1997) Founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, Apostle of Charity, Missionary, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1978, Anti-Abortion Activist .
Full Biography here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/saint-of-the-day-5-september-st-mother-teresa-of-calcutta-mc/
And her story from the Vatican here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/05/saint-of-the-day-5-september-st-teresa-of-calcutta-m-c-1910-1997/

St Victorinus of Amiterme
St Victorinus of Como
Bl William Browne

Martyrs of Armenia – 1,000 saints: A group of up to 1,000 Christian soldiers in the 2nd century imperial Roman army of Trajan, stationed in Gaul. Ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused and were transferred to Armenia. Ordered again to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused again. Martyrs. We know the names of three of them, but nothing else – Eudoxius, Macarius and Zeno.

Martyrs of Capua – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together. Long venerated in Capua, Italy. We know their names, but little else – Arcontius, Donatus and Quintius. They were martyred in Capua, Italy.

Martyrs of Nicomedia – 80 saints: A group of 80 Christians, lay and clergy, martyred together in the persecutions of Valens. We know little more than the names of three of them – Menedemo, Teodoro and Urbano. They were locked on a boat which was then set on fire on the shore of Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey) c 370.

Martyrs of Porto Romano – 4+ saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius. We know little more than their names – Aconto, Herculanus, Nonno and Taurino. c180 at Porto Romano, Italy.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Madonna della Consolazione / Our Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, (1436) and Memorials of the Saints – 4 September

Madonna della Consolazione / Our Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, (from the Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum): (1436) – 4 September

It is found in the Litany of Loreto.
The feast of Our Lady of Consolation is one of the solemnities not inscribed in the General Roman Calendar but which are observed in particular places, regions, churches or religious institutes.
Augustinians and many regions, observe today 4 September, the Benedictines 5 July.

More about Our Lady of Consolation here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/04/4-september-feast-of-our-lady-of-consolation/

And about The Augustinians, Our Lady of Consolation and The “Augustinian Rosary”
The “Corona (or Crown) of Our Mother of Consolation.”

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/04/second-thought-for-the-day-4-september-the-augustinians-our-lady-of-consolation-and-the-augustinian-rosary/

St Ammianus the Martyr
St Caletricus of Chartres
St Candida of Naples
St Candida the Elder
St Castus of Ancyra

Blessed Catherine of Racconigi OP (1486-1547) Third Order Dominican, Mystic, Stigmatist.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/04/saint-of-the-day-4-september-blessed-catherine-of-racconigi-op-1486-1547/

St Fredaldo of Mende
St Hermione

St Ida of Herzfeld (c 770-825) Laywoman, Widow, Apostle of the poor.
About St Ida:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/04/saint-of-the-day-4-september-saint-ida-of-herzfeld-c-770-c-825/

St Irmgard of Süchteln
St Julian the Martyr
St Magnus of Ancyra
St Marcellus of Chalon-sur-Saône
St Marcellus of Treves
St Maximus of Ancyra
St Monessa
St Moses the Prophet
Bl Nicolò Rusca
St Oceanus the Martyr
Bl Peter of Saint James
St Rebecca of Alexandria
St Rhuddlad
St Rosalia (c 1130-c 1160) Virgin, Recluse, known as “La Santuzza” – “The Little Saint.

St Rose of Viterbo TOSF (c 1233 – 1251) Virgin, Preacher – Member of the Franciscan Third Order, Recluse, Miracle-Worker.
Her Story:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/04/saint-of-the-day-4-september-st-rose-of-viterbo-c-1233-1251/

St Rufinus of Ancyra
St Salvinus of Verdun
Bl Scipion-Jérôme Brigeat Lambert
St Silvanus of Ancyra
St Sulpicius of Bayeux
St Thamel
St Theodore the Martyr
St Ultan of Ardbraccan
St Victalicus

Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek:
The Eleven Nuns of Nowogródek or Blessed Mary Stella and her Ten Companions were a group of members of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, a Polish Roman Catholic religious congregation, executed by the Gestapo in August 1943 in occupied Poland (present-day Navahrudak, Belarus).

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre Dame de Brebières / Mother of the Divine Shepherd, France (also known as Le Divine Bergère – The Divine Shepherdess) and Memorials of the Saints – 3 September

Notre Dame de Brebières / Mother of the Divine Shepherd, France (also known as Le Divine Bergère – The Divine Shepherdess) – 3 September:

The original Statue

Our Lady, Mother of the Divine Shepherd, or Notre Dame de Brebières, is located in the small town of Albert in the Diocese of Amiens, France. At one time, probably sometime in the 12th century and according to local tradition, a shepherd was grazing his sheep at Brebières when he observed that many of the animals were staying in the same area to eat, ripping the grass out by the roots. It must have seemed very odd to the shepherd, who decided that the sheep were trying to uncover something, so he started to dig in the very spot himself. In a short time he uncovered a Statue of the Blessed Virgin sculpted from a single piece of solid stone.

The Statue was fairly large, nearly 1,22 metres tall and represented the Blessed Mother holding the Divine Child in her arm. There was a sheep depicted quietly reclining at Mary’s feet. As has happened so often throughout history, the finding of the Statue increased the enthusiasm and affection of the local populace toward the Mother of God. A small Chapel was built at the site to honour the Statue and receive the pilgrims who had already begun coming to Albert to visit the Holy Mother.
Saint Colette can be credited for helping to spread the fame of Our Lady, Mother of the Divine Shepherd. At age fourteen, she was somewhat short and had a delicate constitution. Seeking a remedy through the favour of the Blessed Virgin, Saint Colette prayed to Our Lady of Brebières She not only obtained vigour and good health, she also found that several inches were miraculously added to her height!

In 1637 the Sanctuary was partially burned and IN 1727 the miraculous image was moved to the Parish Church of Albert. During the French Revolution the Church was made into a pagan temple to the goddess of Reason, while the image of the Mother of God was hidden until 1802 when the horrors of the Terror during this supposed time of reason subsided.

This feast is celebrated in a number of places and by certain religious communities and congregations: Capuchins, Marists and others, on widely different dates. It is a special festival of the Shrine of Our Lady of Brebières a very old Sanctuary near Albert in France, formerly much resorted to by the shepherds.

The pilgrimage here was revived after 1870 and a beautiful Basilica was completed in 1887. The Statue was crowned in 1901 and miraculously survived the devastation of both world wars. The Basilica has again been rebuilt.
The collect of the Mass prays that by following the Good Shepherd on earth, we may reach the pastures of eternal life with Mary in heaven.

The Raising to the Pontificate of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor of the Church (Memorial)- Pre 1969 Feast Day – 12 March the day of his death. All about this Great Holy Father: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/saint-of-the-day-3-september-st-pope-gregory-the-great-540-604-father-doctor-of-the-church/

And The Eucharistic Miracle of St Pope Gregory:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/03/saint-of-the-day-3-september-st-pope-gregory-the-great-540-604-father-doctor-of-the-church-father-of-the-fathers/

St Pope Pius X (1835-1914) “Pope of the Blessed Sacrament” Feast Day pre-1969 today, the date of his election to the Pontificate
St Pius X:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/08/21/saint-of-the-day-21-august-st-pope-pius-x-1835-1914-pope-of-the-blessed-sacrament/

St Aigulphus of Lérins
St Ambrose of Sens
St Ammon of Heraclea
Bl Andrew Dotti
St Auxanus
St Balin
St Basilissa of Nicomedia

Blessed Brigida of Jesus Morello (1610-1679) Religious Sister and Founder of the Ursuline Sisters of Mary Immaculate, Widow.
Her Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/03/saint-of-the-day-3-september-blessed-brigida-of-jesus-morello-1610-1679/

St Chariton
St Chrodegang of Séez
St Frugentius the Martyr
Bl Guala of Brescia
St Hereswitha
Bl Herman of Heidelberg
St Macanisius
St Mansuetus of Toul
St Marinus (Died c 366)
St Martiniano of Como
St Natalis of Casale

St Phoebe (1st Century) Disciple of St Paul – Deaconess at Cenchrese, Matron and possibly a widow. She is mentioned by the Apostle St Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, verses 16:1-2.
About St Phoebe:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/03/saint-of-the-day-3-september-st-phoebe-1st-century/

St Regulus of Rheims
St Remaclus
St Sandila of Cordoba
St Vitalian of Capua (Died 699) Bishop

Martyrs of Aquileia – 4 saints: Four young women, variously sisters and cousins, who were born to the nobility, the daughters of the pagans Valentinianus of Aquileia and Valentius of Aquileia. Each woman converted and made private vows, dedicating themselves to God. They were arrested, tortured and martyred by order of Valentius for becoming a Christian. We know little else but their names – Dorothy, Erasma, Euphemia and Thecla. They were martyred by beheaded in the 1st century in Aquileia, Italy and their bodies were thrown into a nearby river.

Martyrs of Nagasaki – 6 beati: A group of priests and clerics, native and foreign, murdered together in the anti-Christian persecutions in Japan. They were scalded in boiling water and then burned alive on 3 September 1632 in Nishizaka, Nagasaki, Japan and Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

• Anthony Ishida
• Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez
• Francisco Terrero de Ortega Pérez
• Gabriel Tarazona Rodríguez
• Jerome of the Cross de Torres
• Vicente Simões de Carvalho

Martyrs of Seoul – 6 saints: A group of Christian lay people martyred together in the persecutions in Korea. They were beheaded on 3 September 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II.
• Agnes Kim Hyo-Ch’u
• Barbara Kwon Hui
• Barbara Yi Chong-hui
• Ioannes Pak Hu-jae
• Maria Pak K’Un-agi
• Maria Yi Yon-hui

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Andrea Calle González
• Blessed Concepción Pérez Giral
• Blessed Dolores Úrsula Caro Martín
• Blessed Joaquim Balcells Bosch
• Blessed Pius Salvans Corominas