Category: DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES.

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., FATHERS of the Church, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, ONE Minute REFLECTION, St JOSEPH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 March – “Joseph, son of David ” – Matthew 1:20

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One Minute Reflection – 19 March – “The Month of the St Joseph” and his Feast – Tuesday in Passion Week – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6, Matthew 1:18-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Joseph, son of David ” – Matthew 1:20

REFLECTION – “There is no doubt that Joseph was a very holy and trustworthy man, since the Mother of the Saviour was to be his wife. He was the “faithful and prudent servant” (Mt 24:45), for God established him to be His Mother’s support, the foster father of His flesh and the assistant for His plan of salvation.

We must recall, that he was of the House of David. He was son of David, not only by bonds of the flesh but even more, because of his faith, holiness and piety. God found in him, a second David, to whom He could confidently entrust His plans, even the most hidden. He revealed to him, as to another David, the mysteries of His Wisdom and disclosed to him, what no teacher in the world, could know. He allowed him to see and listen, to things that so many kings and prophets had wished to see and hear but which,, in spite of their desire, they had not been able to see or to hear (Mt 13:7), even more,, He made him carry and guide, embrace, nurture and protect Him. Both Mary and Joseph belonged to David’s race; in Mary was fulfilled the promise once made by the Lord to David, while Joseph was the witness of this fulfilment.” – St Bernard (1090-1153) (Surname de Fontaine) Priest, Cistercian Monk, The Last Father and Doctor Mellifluus (Mellifluous Doctor) (Homily on the “Missus est”, 2, 16).

PRAYER – May the merits of Thy most holy Mother’s Spouse help us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that through his intercession we may receive what we cannot obtain by our own efforts. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., FATHERS of the Church, Of BACHELORS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 25 February – Saint Caesarius of Nazianzen (c329-369) Layman

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Saint of the Day – 25 February – Saint Caesarius of Nazianzen (c329-369) Single Celibate Layman, a prominent Physician and Politician, Son of Saint Gregory of Nazianzen the Elder and Saint Nonna, Brother of Saint Gorgonia and Saint Gregory of Nazianzen. Born in c329 in Arianzus, near Nazianzen in modern day Turkey and died in c369 in Constantinople of natural causes. Patronages – of Physicians and bachelors.

It is maintained by historical writers that, while Caesarius and his brother Gregory were very close, they were very different characters. As Gregory pursued a devout religious life, his vivacious, outgoing brother was at home in the world of Byzantine politics. The two were complementary figures; Caesarius relied on his brother to guide him through troubles, while he encouraged Gregory’s literary and rhetorical talents.

The younger son of Gregory the Elder, the Bishop of Nazianzen and his wife, Nonna, Caesarius was born at the family villa of Arianzus, near Nazianzen. He probably studied at Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia in preparation for the elite school of Alexandria in Egypt. His favourite studies there were geometry, astronomy and especially medicine. In the last-named science, he surpassed all his fellow students.[

His fame as a Physician spread quickly and in 355 he travelled to the Imperial Capital of Constantinople. About 3 years later, in 358, Caesarius had already acquired a great reputation for his medical skill in Constantinople, when his brother Gregory, homeward bound from Athens, arrived ther. Caesarius sacrificed a remunerative and honourable post to return with Gregory to their home near Nazianzen.

The Capital, however, soon proved to be too great an attraction for him and he returned there to eventually become an eminent Physician at the Byzantine Court of Emperor Constantius II and then, much to the regret of his family, at that of Julian the Apostate. But Julian failed in his efforts to win him over to briefly restored Paganism. Caesarius, more appreciative of his Faith than of imperial favour, ultimately left the Court but returned to Constantinople after Julian’s death in 363.

Under the Emperor Valens, Caesarius became Quaestor of Bithynia, a position which included the treasury and tax collection responsibilities. After escaping from the earthquake which shook Nicaea (11 October, 368), his brother wrote to him, pleading with him to leave his political position and withdraw to a religious life. However, Caesarius was suddenly killed by the widespread Plague which followed the earthquake, shortly after having received Baptism which he, like many others at the period, had deferred until late in life.

After his death, his very considerable estate was rapidly pillaged by servants and creditors. His brother Gregory insisted that what remained of the estate be distributed to the poor and to surviving relatives. His remains were interred at Nazianzen, where his brother delivered the funeral Sermon in the presence of his parents. In the Sermon, “On His Brother: St Caesarius” St Gregory portrays Caesarius as a model Christian devotion and asceticism, providing the main source for the details of his life and setting the groundwork for his elevation to the honour of Sainthood.

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., EPILEPSY, EYES - Diseases, of the BLIND, MARTYRS, Of a Holy DEATH & AGAINST A SUDDEN DEATH, of the DYING, FINAL PERSEVERANCE, DEATH of CHILDREN, DEATH of PARENTS, Of the SICK, the INFIRM, All ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - HEADACHES, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, SAINT of the DAY, STOMACH DISEASES and PAIN, INTESTINAL DISORDERS

Saint/s of the Day – 8 August – The Fourteen Holy Helpers.

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Saint/s of the Day – 8 August – The Fourteen Holy Helpers.
A group of Saints invoked with special confidence because they have proven themselves efficacious helpers in adversity and difficulties, are known and venerated under the name Fourteen Holy Helpers.

The Notable Martyrs Saints within the Group are:
Acacius, Barbara, Blaise, Christopher, Cyriacus, Catherine of Alexandria, Denis, Erasmus of Formia, Eustace, George, Giles, Margaret of Antioch, Pantaleon and Vitus.

Devotion to these fourteen ,as a group, spread in response to the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349. Among its symptoms were the tongue turning black, a parched throat, violent headache, fever, and boils on the abdomen. It attacked without warning, robbed its victims of reason and killed within a few hour. Many died without the last Sacraments.

Brigands roamed the streets, people suspected of contagion were attacked, animals died, people starved, whole villages vanished into the grave, social order and family ties broke down and the disease appeared incurable. The pious turned to Heaven, begging the intervention of the Saints, praying to be spared or cured. This group devotion began in Germany–the Diocese of Wurzburg having been renowned for its observance.

Pope Nicholas V attached Indulgences to devotion of the Fourteen Holy Helpers in the 16th century.

Saint Christopher and Saint Giles are nvoked against the plague itself.
Saint Denis is prayed to for relief from headache, Saint Blaise for ills of the throat,
Saint Elmo for abdominal maladies,
Saint Barbara for fever and Saint Vitus against epilepsy.
Saint Pantaleon is the Patron of physicians,
Saint Cyriacus invoked against temptation on the deathbed and Saints Christopher, Barbara and Catherine, for protection against a sudden and unprovided death.
Saint Giles is prayed to for a good Confession and Saint Eustace as healer of family troubles.
Domestic animals were also attacked by the plague and so, Saints George, Elmo, Pantaleon and Vitus are invoked for the protection of these animals.
Saint Margaret of Antioch is the Patron of safe childbirth.

The legends of the Fourteen Holy Helpers are replete with the most glorious examples of heroic firmness and invincible courage in the profession of the Faith, which ought to incite us to imitate their fidelity in the performance of the Christian and social duties. If they, with the aid of God’s grace, achieved such victories, why should not we, by the same aid, be able to accomplish the very little which is desired of us? God rewarded His victorious champions with eternal bliss – the same crown is prepared for us, if we but render ourselves worthy of it. God placed the seal of miracles on the intrepid confession of His Servants and a mind imbued with the spirit of faith, sees nothing extraordinary therein because our Divine Saviour, Himself said, “Amen, amen I say to you, he that believes in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do and greater than these shall he do” (John 14:12). In all the miraculous events wrought in and by the Saints, there appears only the victorious omnipotent Power of Jesus Christ and the living faith, in which His Servants operated in virtue of this power.

The histories of the Saints are called Legends.
This word is derived from the Latin,and signifies something that is to be read, a passage the reading of which is prescribed.
Therefore, the Legends of the Saints are the lives of the holy Martyrs and Confessors of the Faith.
Some of them occur in the Roman Breviary which the Catholic Clergy is obliged to read everyday.
(The corruption of this word has occurred in modern times, giving it a meaning of either “unprovable story or celebrity.”)

A little more about the 14 Holy Helpers and a prayer to them by St Alphonsus Liguori here:  https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/25/thought-for-the-day-25-july-the-memorial-of-st-christopher-died-c-251-one-of-the-fourteen-holy-helpers/

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 31 October – St Foillan of Fosses (Died 655)

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Saint of the Day – 31 October – St Foillan of Fosses (Died 655) Bishop, Martyr, Missionary, Abbot. Born in the 7th Century in Ireland and died by murder on 31 October 655 in the forest near Nivelles, Belgium, Patronages – children’s nurses, dentists, Fosses, Belgium, surgeons, truss makers, Diocese of Mechelen and Tournai., Belgium. Also known as – Faelan, Faillan, Faolan, Feuillien, Foalan, Foelan. Additional Memorial – 5 November in the Diocese of Mechelen and Tournai.

Foillan was one of the numerous Irish missionaries who, in the course of the seventh century, evangelised in Europe, bringing the liturgy and sacred vessels, founding prosperous Monasteries and sharing considerably in the propagation of the Faith in these countries. Foillan played a significant part in Frankish ecclesiastical history, as shown by his share in the direction of Nivelles and by the foundation of the Monastery of Fosses-la-Ville.

Foillan was born in Ireland early in the seventh century and was the brother of Saints Ultan and Fursey, the latter a famous Missionary who preached the Faith to the Irish, the Anglo-Saxons and the Franks. Foillan, probably in company with Ultan, went with his brother Fursey, when the latter, fleeing from his country then devastated by foreign invaders, retired to a lonely islands. Fursey soon went among the Anglo Saxons and built a Monastery at Burgh Castle (Cnoberesburg) in Suffolk, between 634 and 650.

Seized again with the desire for solitude, Fursey left the Monastery in the care of Foillan, who remained at the head of the community and had the happiness of once more seeing his brother Fursey, who, having since gone to the kingdom of the Franks, came to visit him about 650. Soon a disastrous war broke out between Penda, the Mercian Chief and Ana, King of the Eastern Anglo-Saxons. Ana, having been put to flight, the Monastery of Cnoberesburg fell into the hand of the enemies. It was pillaged,and its Abbot, Foillan, barely escaped death. He hastened to ransom the captive Monks, recovered the relics, put the holy books and objects of veneration on board ship and departed for the country of the Franks, where his brother Fursey was buried. He and his companions, were well received at Péronne by Erconwald, Mayor of the Palace. But soon, for some unknown reason, Foillan and his companions left Péronne and went to Nivelles, a Monastery founded by St Ita and St Gertrude, wife and daughter of Duke Pepin I.

Foillan, like so many other Irishmen who went to the Continent in the seventh century, was invested with episcopal dignity, having doubtless been a monastic Bishop at Cnoberesburg. He was, therefore ,of great assistance in the organisation of worship and the holy books and relics, which he brought, were great; treasures for St Ita and St Gertrude. As the Monastery of Nivelles was under Irish discipline, the companions of Foillan were well received and lived, side by side, with the holy women, occupying themselves with the details of worship under the general direction of the Abbess. Through the liberality of Ita, Foillan was enabled to build a Monastery at Fosses, not far from Nivelles, in the Province of Namur.

The Church at Fosses

After the death of Ita in 652, Foillan came one day to Nivelles and sang Mass, on the eve of the feast of St Quentin. The ceremony being finished, he resumed his journey, doubtless undertaken in the interests of his Monastery. In the forest of Senege the Saint and his companions fell into a trap set by bandits who inhabited that solitary place. They were slain, stripped, and their bodies concealed. But they were recovered by St Gertrude and when she had taken some relics of the Saint, his body was borne to the Monastery of Fosses, where it was buried in 655.

It is not surprising, after his death and because of his work in the area, that St Foillan should be honoured and venerated both at Nivelles and Fosses and, to find at Le Roeulx (Belgium) a Monastery bearing his name. As late as the twelfth century the veneration in which he was held, inspired Philippe Le Harvengt, Abbot of Bonne-Espérance, to compose a lengthy biography of the Saint. He is the Patron of Fosses, near Charieroi. In the Diocese of Namur his feast is celebrated on 31 October, in the Dioceses of Mechlin and Tournai on 5 November.

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., INCORRUPTIBLES, SAINT of the DAY, St PAUL!

Saint of the Day – 5 July – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria CRSP (1502-1539)

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Saint of the Day – 5 July – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria CRSP (1502-1539) Confessor, Founder of the Barnabites, The Clerics Regular of Saint Paul – The First Order Named after St Paul Apostle. He was an early leader of the Counter Reformation and a promoter of the devotion to the Passion of Christ, the Holy Eucharist, Eucharistic Adoration and the renewal of the religious life among the lay people.   Patron of The Clerics Regular of St Paul (the Barnabites) and the Angelic Sisters of St Paul.,  and of Doctors/Physicians.    His body is incorrupt.  st anthony mary zaccaria lg.jpg

He also founded a congregation of nuns which now no longer exists.   He was a great admirer of St Paul and was himself imbued with the teaching of the great Apostle, whom he gave to his followers as a model and a patron.   He was a zealous and untiring preacher and completely wore himself out at this work – he died at the age of thirty six on 5 July 1539.snip book st anthony mary zaccaria.JPG

Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born of a noble family at Cremona in Lombardy and even in childhood gave signs of his future sanctity.   Very early he was distinguished for his virtues, piety towards God, devotion to the Blessed Virgin and especially mercy towards the poor, who he more than once gave his own rich clothing for their relief.   He studied the humanities at home and then went to Pavia for philosophy and Padua for medicine and easily surpassed his contemporaries both in purity of life and in mental ability. San_Antonio_Maria_Zaccaria After gaining his degree in medicine, he returned home, where he understood that God had called him to the healing rather of souls than of bodies.   He immediately gave himself to sacred studies.   Meanwhile, he never ceased to visit the sick, instruct children in Christian doctrine and exhort the young to piety and the elders to reformation of their lives.

While saying his first Mass after his ordination, he is said to have been seen by the amazed congregation in a blaze of heavenly light and surrounded by angels.   He then made it his chief care to labour for the salvation of souls and the reformation of manners.   He received strangers, the poor and afflicted, with paternal charity and consoled them with holy words and material assistance, so that his house was known as the refuge of the afflicted and he himself was called by his fellow-citizens an angel and the father of his country.st anthony mary zaccaria saying mass card.jpg

Thinking that he would be able to do more for the Christian religion if he had fellow labourers in the Lord’s vineyard, he communicated his thoughts to two noble and saintly men, Bartholomew Ferrari and James Morigia and together with them founded at Milan a society of Clerks Regular, which from his great love for the apostle of the Gentiles, he called after St Paul.   It was approved by Clement VII, confirmed by Paul III and soon spread through many lands.   He was also the founder and father of the Angelic Sisters. But he thought so humbly of himself that he would never be Superior of his own Order. So great was his patience that he endured with steadfastness the most terrible opposition to his religious.

Such was his charity that he never ceased to exhort religious men to love God and priests to live after the manner of the apostles and he organised many confraternities of married men.   He often carried the cross through the streets and public squares, together with his religious and by his fervent prayers and exhortations brought wicked men back to the way of salvation.snip - zaccaria 2.JPG

It is noteworthy that out of love for Jesus crucified he would have the mystery of the cross brought to the mind of all by the ringing of a bell on Friday afternoons about vesper time.   The holy name of Christ was ever on his lips and in his writings and as a true disciple of St Paul, he ever bore the mortification of Christ in his body.   He had a singular devotion to the Holy Eucharist, restored the custom of frequent communions and introduced that of the public adoration of Forty Hours. my snip from video - zaccaria and the eucharist.JPG

Such was his love of purity that it seemed to restore life even to his lifeless body.   He was also enriched with the heavenly gifts of ecstasy, tears, knowledge of future things and the secrets of hearts and power over the enemy of mankind.

At length, after many labours, he fell grievously sick at Guastalla, whither he had been summoned as arbitrator in the cause of peace.   He was taken to Cremona and died there amid the tears of his religious and in the embrace of his pious mother, whose approaching death he foretold.   At the hour of his death he was consoled by a vision of the apostles and prophesied the future growth of his Society.   The people began immediately to show their devotion to this saint on account of his great holiness and of his numerous miracles.   The cult was approved by Leo XIII, who solemnly Canonised him on Ascension Day, 1897.st anthony mary medallion founder.jpg

Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger OSB

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., DOMINICAN OP, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 29 April – St Peter of Verona OP (1205–1252)

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Saint of the Day – 29 April – St Peter of Verona OP (1205–1252) also known as St Peter Martyr – Priest and Friar of the Order of Preachers, a celebrated Preacher, Miracle-worker, Marian devotee.   He served as Inquisitor in Lombardy, was murdered by an assassin and was Canonised 11 months after his death, making his, the fastest Canonisation in history. Patronages – inquisitors, midwives, Castelleone di Suasa, Italy, Verona, Italy, Diocese of, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. St Peter is the the first Canonised Martyr of the Dominican Order.st PeterMartyr-400x526

In the English-speaking part of the world especially, all too little is known about this illustrious Friar Preacher.   Possibly this is in part due to the well-known bias in England against the old-time inquisition, which spread thence into the colonies founded by that country, for Saint Peter was closely connected with that institution.   Indeed, by not a few he is considered as a man without a heart.   Yet he was most compassionate.   His character was rounded out by an admirable strength of will and a mind so judiciously balanced that he neither shrank from duty, whatever the sacrifice, or even danger, it involved, nor allowed his heart to control his judgement.

Father Thomas Agni of Leontino, another noted Dominican, archbishop of Cosenza and later patriarch of Jerusalem, was the first to write a life of the blessed martyr.   His testimony should he all the more reliable because he lived for many years with Saint Peter of Verona, had been his superior and was an eye-witness of the principal events in his life.   The work shows no signs of undue predilection.   Agni’s original manuscript was for long years at Saint Mark’s Convent, Florence. Another, with some additions by Father Ambrose Taegio, was preserved in the Convent of Nostra Donna delle Grazie, Milan.

Peter was born in Verona, Italy in 1205, of parents who had embraced the heresy of Cartharism but he did attend a Catholic school.   He was educated at the University of Bologna and was accepted into the Dominican Order by Dominic himself.  st peter martyr beautiful lg

Because the Dominicans were theologically trained preachers, the popes entrusted the Inquisition to them.   In 1234, Pope Innocent IV recognised Peter’s virtues (severity of life and doctrine, talent for preaching, and zeal for the orthodox Catholic faith) and appointed him Inquisitor in Lombardy.   He spent about six months in that office and it is unclear whether he was ever involved in any trials.   His one recorded act was a declaration of clemency for those confessing heresy or sympathy to heresy.   In 1251 his jurisdiction was extended to most of northern Italy. Although he attracted huge crowds with his preaching, as an inquisitor he also made enemies.

Marvellously filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he laboured continually for the propagation and defence of the true faith, being zealous for its promotion among the people.   To this end he established the Association of the Faith and the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   He was a fervent of promoter of community and fraternal life and served the brethren wisely as a prior.   He was also greatly solicitous for the spiritual good of the sisters, lovingly assisting them with his advice and exhortations to their spiritual benefit.

In his sermons he denounced heresy and also those Catholics who professed the Faith by words but acted contrary to it in deeds.   Crowds came to meet him and followed him, conversions were numerous, including many Cathars who returned to orthodoxy.

Because of this, a group of Milanese Cathars conspired to kill him.   They hired an assassin, one Carino of Balsamo.   Carino’s accomplice was Manfredo Clitoro of Giussano. On 6 April 1252, when Peter was returning from Como to Milan, the two assassins followed Peter to a lonely spot near Barlassina and there killed him and mortally wounded his companion, a fellow friar named Domenico.SaintPeterTheMartyr'sAssasination.JPG

Carino struck Peter’s head with an axe and then attacked Domenico.   Peter rose to his knees and recited the first article of the Symbol of the Apostles (the Apostle’s Creed). Offering his blood as a sacrifice to God, according to legend, he dipped his fingers in it and wrote on the ground: “Credo in Deum” “I believe in God”, the first words of the Apostles’ Creed.   The blow that killed him cut off the top of his head but the testimony given at the inquest into his death confirms that he began reciting the Creed when he was attacked.   Domenico was carried to Meda, where he died five days afterwards.st peter of verona icon

The murderer Carino, renounced heresy, became a Dominican co-operator brother and died with a reputation for sanctity.  He is the subject of a local cult as Blessed Carino of Balsamo.

Wherever he went, the deaf, the dumb, the blind, the lame and people sick with every kind of ailment were brought to him.   Ordinarily all were benefited by his prayers.  They praised God for the power of healing which He had given His servant.st Peter-of-Verona-Full-e1425844752637-400x454.jpg

Peter of Verona and with reason, was considered a learned doctor.   Yet he ever continued to store his mind with new knowledge, whether through prayer, meditation, or reading the Sacred Writings.   The example which he set his religious brethren showed them by what means they could perfect themselves in their state of life and make themselves useful to the Church.   Never did his degree of Master in Sacred Theology cause him to neglect study.   Study never prevented him from being the first at all the regular exercises.   Well did he know how to combine the practices of the cloister with the labours of the apostolic life.st petermartyr1

In private conversation, just as in his sermons, he stimulated the faithful with his personal sentiments of love for the Blessed Virgin.   Because of his influence in their favour the Servites (they were investigated to ensure their orthodoxy) have ever regarded Peter of Verona in the light of a second founder of their order.   After his Canonisation, they placed him on the list of their holy patrons and protectors.

The Bull of Canonisation was sent at once to all bishops and ecclesiastical superiors, with an order that the feast of Peter of Verona should he celebrated every year on 29 April. This day was chosen for the celebration because that of his martyrdom, 6 April often falls in Holy Week, or within the octave of Easter.   Alexander IV and several of his successors, prescribed that the feast should he of the same obligation as that of Saint Dominic. Finally, Clement X, by a papal decree, ordered that the feast of Saint Peter Martyr should have the rank of a duplex for the whole Church.   This was in 1670 and the practice is in use today, wherever the Roman breviary is recited.

However, veneration of Peter of Verona is especially noteworthy in the Order of Friars Preacher and in that of the Servites.   It is particularly the case in Italy, the land of his birth, the field of his labours and the place of his holy death.   There many are the churches, chapels and confraternities erected in his honour.st peter martyr of verona

The body of the martyr is still preserved and venerated in a magnificent chapel of Saint Eustorgio, Milan.   Princes and noblemen of France, Germany, England and Italy (particularly the archbishops of Milan) imitated the king and queen of Cyprus with their rich gifts for the enshrinement of the saint’s relics.   At each time of their various translations (1253, 1340, 1651 and 1736) many miracles were wrought.   Suffice it to say that the Acta Sanctorum, in the third volume for April, where they treat of our martyr, give a long list of attested wonders worked by him.tomb of st peter martyr 439px-Lombardia_Milano4_tango7174.jpg

Saint Thomas of Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, was an ardent admirer of Peter of Verona.  In 1263 he visited the martyr’s sepulchre.   While at Saint Eustorgio’s Convent, the great theologian and poet wrote the following verses in eulogy of the valiant athlete of the faith, which were afterwards engraved on a marble slab and placed near his tomb, where they may still he read:

Here silent is Christ’s Herald.
Here quenched, the People’s Light.
Here lies the martyred Champion
Who fought Faith’s holy fight.
The Voice the sheep heard gladly,
The light they loved to see
He fell beneath the weapons
Of graceless Cathari.

The Saviour crowns His Soldier.
His praise the people psalm.
The Faith he kept adorns him
With martyr’s fadeless palm.

His praise new marvels utter,
New light he spreads abroad
And now the whole wide city
Knows well the path to God.

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - MENTAL ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - TERTIARIES, SAINT of the DAY, Spinsters - Single LAYWOMEN

Saint of the Day – 22 February – St Margaret of Cortona TOSF (1247–1297)

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Saint of the Day – 22 February – St Margaret of Cortona TOSF (1247–1297) Penitent, Franciscan Tertiary, Mystic, Apostle of Charity, Founder of a charitable Lay Apostolate and an Order of Sisters – born in 1247 at Loviano, Tuscany, Italy and died on 22 February 1297 at Cortona, Italy of natural causes.   Patronages – against insanity or mental illness, against sexual temptation, against temptations, of falsely accused people, beggars and homeless people, against the death of parents, stepchildren, midwives, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, reformed prostitutes, single laywomen, tertiaries, Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, Italy, Diocese of, Cortona, Italy, Diocese of, Cortona, Italy.snip st margaret

Margaret was born of farming parents, in Laviano, a little town in the diocese of Chiusi.  At the age of seven, Margaret’s mother died and her father remarried.   Stepmother and stepdaughter did not like each other.   As she grew older, Margaret became more wilful and reckless and her reputation in the town suffered.   At the age of 17 she met a young man, according to some accounts, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano and she ran away with him.   Soon Margaret found herself installed in the castle, not as her master’s wife, for convention would never allow that but as his mistress, which was more easily condoned.    For ten years, she lived with him near Montepulciano and bore him a son.

When her lover failed to return home from a journey one day, Margaret became concerned.   The unaccompanied return of his favourite hound alarmed Margaret and the hound led her into the forest to his murdered body.

That crime shocked Margaret into a life of prayer and penance.    Margaret returned to his family all the gifts he had given her and left his home.   With her child, she returned to her father’s house but her stepmother would not have her.   Margaret and her son then went to the Franciscan friars at Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar.   She fasted, avoided meat and subsisted on bread and vegetables.36952739804_18fa72f735_b.jpg

In 1277, after three years of probation, Saint Margaret joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and chose to live in poverty.   Following the example of St Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread.   She pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona and there established a hospital for the sick, homeless and impoverished.   To secure nurses for the hospital, she instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as “le poverelle” (Italian for “the little poor ones”).italian-school-roman-(17)-saint-margaret-of-cortona-kneeling-before-a-crucifix

While in prayer, Margaret heard the words, “What is your wish, poverella?” (“little poor one?”) and she replied, “I neither seek nor wish for anything but You, my Lord Jesus.”   She also established an order devoted to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy.Giovanni-Lanfranco-Ecstasy-of-St-Margaret-of-Cortona-2-

On several occasions, St Margaret participated in public affairs.   Twice, following divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, in whose diocese Cortona lay, because he lived and warred like a prince.   She moved to the ruined Church of St Basil, now Santa Margherita and spent her remaining years there, she died on 22 February 1297.Calvi_J._A._Estasi_di_santa_Margherita.jpg

After her death, the Church of Santa Margherita in Cortona was rebuilt in her honour.  In the church of Santa Margherita you can view her incorrupt body of Saint Margaret. Hundreds of reports of miracles, both physical and spiritual, were reported by those who come here to venerate her.   Saint Margaret was Canonised by Pope Benedict XIII on 16 May 1728.Cortona-bodyof-st-margaret-of-cortona.jpg

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Posted in Against BREAST Cancer, BRIDES and GROOMS, DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, PATRONAGE - HAPPY MARRIAGES, of MARRIED COUPLES, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 6 February – St Dorothy of Caesarea (Died 311) Virgin, Martyr

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 6 February – St Dorothy of Caesarea (died 311) – Virgin, Martyr – also known as Dora, Dorothea – Patronages – horticulture, brewers, brides, florists, gardeners, midwives, newlyweds, love, Pescia in Italy.  Franz_Ittenbach_Hl_Dorothea.jpg

St Dorothy is a 4th-century virgin martyr who was executed at Caesarea Mazaca. Evidence for her actual historical existence or acta is very sparse.   She is called a martyr of the Diocletianic Persecution, although her death occurred after the resignation of Diocletian himself.   She should not be confused with another 4th-century saint, Dorothea of Alexandria.   She and St Theophilus the Lawyer are mentioned in the Roman Martyrology as martyrs of Caesarea in Cappadocia, with a feast day on 6 February.   She is thus officially recognised as a saint but because there is scarcely any non-legendary knowledge about her, she is no longer (since 1969) included in the General Roman Calendar.

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St Dorothy and the Child by Edward Burne Jones

St Dorothy was a young virgin, celebrated at Cæsarea, where she lived, for her angelic virtue.   Her parents seem to have been martyred before her in the Diocletian persecution and when the Governor Sapricius came to Cæsarea he called her before him and sent this child of martyrs to the home where they were waiting for her.

She was stretched upon the rack and offered marriage if she would consent to sacrifice, or death if she refused.   But she replied that “Christ was her only Spouse and death her desire.”   She was then placed in charge of two women who had fallen away from the faith, in the hope that they might pervert her but the fire of her own heart rekindled the flame in theirs and led them back to Christ.

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St Dorothy by Francisco de Zubaran

When she was set once more on the rack, Sapricius himself was amazed at the heavenly look she wore and asked her the cause of her joy.   “Because,” she said, “I have brought back two souls to Christ and because I shall soon be in heaven rejoicing with the angels.”

Her joy grew as she was buffeted in the face and her sides burned with plates of red-hot iron.   “Blessed be Thou,” she cried, when she was sentenced to be beheaded,-“blessed be Thou, O Thou Lover of souls!   Who dost call me to Paradise and invitest me to Thy nuptial chamber.”

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St Dorothy by Lucas Cranach the Elder

St Dorothy suffered in the dead of winter and it is said that on the road to her passion a lawyer called Theophilus, who had been used to calumniate and persecute the Christians, asked her, in mockery, to send him “apples or roses from the garden of her Spouse.”

The Saint promised to grant his request and, just before she died, a little child stood by her side bearing three apples and three roses.   She bade him take them to Theophilus and tell him this was the present which he sought from the garden of her Spouse.  Santa_Dorotea_e_Teofilo_E.jpg

St Dorothy had gone to heaven and Theophilus was still making merry over his challenge to the Saint when the child entered his room.   He saw that the child was an angel in disguise and the fruit and flowers of no earthly growth.   He was converted to the faith and then shared in the martyrdom of St Dorothy.

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St Dorothy by Girolamo Donnini

She is regarded as the patroness of gardeners.   On her feast trees are blessed in some places.

Posted in BREWERS, CATHOLIC PRESS, DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., Of Catholic Education, Students, Schools, Colleges etc, Of TRAVELLERS / MOTORISTS, PATRONAGE - NUNS, Religious SISTERS, Consecrated VIRGINS, PATRONAGE - SPOUSAL ABUSE / DIFFICULT MARRIAGES / VICTIMS OF ABUSE, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – St Brigid of Ireland/Kildare (c 453-523)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 1 February – St Brigid of Ireland/Kildare (c 453-523) Virgin, Abbess, Apostle of Charity and foundress of several Monasteries of Nuns, including that of Kildare in Ireland, which was famous and was greatly revered – born in 453 at Faughart, County Louth, Ireland and died on 1 February 523 at Kildare, Ireland of natural causes.   Patronages – Ireland, babies, blacksmiths, sailors, brewers, cattle, chicken farmers, children whose parents are not married, children with abusive fathers, children born into abusive unions, Clan Douglas, dairy workers, Florida, fugitives, Leinster, midwives, Nuns, poets, the poor, printing presses, students, travellers. st brigid painting.jpg

Next to the glorious St Patrick, St Brigid, whom we may consider his spiritual daughter in Christ, has ever been held in singular veneration in Ireland.

Historians say we know a lot more about St Brigid than we have facts, a polite way of saying that legends swirl about Ireland’s most celebrated woman.   But even legends may have cores of truth.   And some miracle stories are not legends at all but true accounts of God’s interventions.

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St Bride (Brigid) Carried By Angels, a painting by Scottish artist, John Duncan, 1913.

Brigid was the daughter of a slave woman and a chieftain, who liberated her at the urging of his overlord.   As a girl she sensed a call to become a nun and St Mel, bishop of Armagh, received her vows.   Before Brigid, consecrated virgins lived at home with their families.   But the saint, imitating Patrick, began to assemble nuns in communities, a historic move which enriched the church in Ireland.st brigid.jpg

In 471, Brigid founded a monastery for both women and men at Kildare.   This was the first convent in Ireland and Brigid was the abbess.   Under her leadership Kildare became a centre of learning and spirituality.   Her school of art fashioned both lovely utensils for worship and beautifully illustrated manuscripts.   Again following Patrick’s model, Brigid used Kildare as a base and built convents throughout the island.  The renown of Brigid’s unbounded charity drew multitudes of the poor to Kildare, the fame of her piety attracted thither many persons anxious to solicit her prayers or to profit by her holy example.   In course of time the number of these so much increased that it became necessary to provide accommodation for them in the neighbourhood of the new monastery and thus was laid the foundation and origin of the town of Kildare.stbrigid-bigstbrigidglass

Brigid’s hallmark was uninhibited, generous giving to anyone in need.   Many of the saint’s earliest miracles seem to have rescued her from punishment for having given something to the poor that was intended for someone else.   For example, once as a child she gave a piece of bacon to a dog and was glad to find it replaced when she was about to be disciplined.   Brigid exhibited this unbounded charity all her life, giving away valuables, clothing, food—anything close by—to anyone who asked.

One of the most appealing things told of Brigid is her contemporaries’ belief that there was peace in her blessing.   Not merely did contentiousness die out in her presence but just as by the touch of her hand she healed leprosy, so by her very will for peace she healed strife and laid antiseptics on the suppurating bitterness that foments it.

In the ninth century, the country being desolated by the Danes, the remains of St Brigid were removed in order to secure them from irreverence and, being transferred to Down-Patrick, were deposited in the same grave with those of the glorious St Patrick.   Their bodies, together with that of St Columba, were translated afterwards to the cathedral of the same city but their monument was destroyed in the reign of King Henry VIII.   The head of St Brigid is now kept in the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon.brigid-stained-glass

Saint Brigid’s Cross
A special type of cross known as “Saint Brigid’s cross” is popular throughout Ireland. It commemorates a famous story in which Brigid went to the home of a pagan leader when people told her that he was dying and needed to hear the Gospel message quickly.   When Brigid arrived, the man was delirious and upset, unwilling to listen to what Brigid had to say.   So she sat with him and prayed and while she did, she took some of the straw from the floor and began weaving it into the shape of a cross. Gradually the man quieted down and asked Brigid what she was doing.   She then explained the Gospel to him, using her handmade cross as a visual aid.   The man then came to faith in Jesus Christ and Brigid baptised him just before he died.
Today, many Irish people display a Saint Brigid’s cross in their homes, since it is said to help ward off evil and welcome good.  Brigid died in 523 and after her death people began to venerate her as a saint, praying to her for help seeking to heal from God, since many of the miracles during her lifetime related to healing.
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Blessing of St Brigid’s Crosses

Father of all creation and Lord of Light,
You have given us life and entrusted Your creation to us, to use it and to care for it.
We ask You to bless these crosses made of green rushes in memory of holy Brigid,
who used the cross to recall and to teach Your Son’s life, death and resurrection.
May these crosses be a sign of our sharing in the Paschal Mystery of your Son
and a sign of Your protection of our lives, our land and its creatures,
through Brigid’s intercession, during the coming year and always.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

The crosses are sprinkled with holy water:

May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be on these crosses and on the places where they hang
and on everyone who looks at them.
Amen

Posted in BREWERS, DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, Of BACHELORS, Of LAWYERS & CANON Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors, Barristers, Notaries, Para-Legals, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Saint of the Day – 18 October – St Luke the Evangelist

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 18 October – St Luke the Evangelist

St Luke, the inspired author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, was a native of Antioch in Syria and a physician and one of the early converts from paganism. He accompanied St Paul on a considerable part of his missionary journey.   He was also his companion while in prison at Rome on two different occasions.   His account of these events, contained in the Acts, is first hand history.   His symbol is a Winged Ox anticipated by Ezekiel.    The ox, recognised as the animal of sacrifice, was applied to St Luke because his Gospel emphasises the atonement made by Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on the Cross.   His name means “bringer of light” (= luke).Saint Luke 1407x1409

Luke’s Gospel is, above all, the Gospel of the Merciful Heart of Jesus.   It emphasises the fact that Christ is the salvation of all men, especially of the repentant sinner and of the lowly.   Legend says that Luke painted the Blessed Virgin’s portrait.   It is certainly true that he painted the most beautiful word-picture of Mary ever written.

St Luke came from Antioch, was a practising physician and was one of the first converts to Christianity.   He accompanied St Paul, who converted him, on his missionary journeys and was still with him in Rome when St Paul was in prison awaiting death.   We hear no more of him afterwards and nothing is known of his last years.   The Church venerates him as a Martyr.St+luke+wow web

St Luke’s Gospel is principally concerned with salvation and mercy – in it are preserved some of our Lord’s most moving parables, like those of the lost sheep and the prodigal son.   Dante calls St Luke the “historian of the meekness of Christ.”   It is also St Luke who tells us the greater part of what we know about our Lord’s childhood.bronzino-saint-luke-header

“According to tradition he was an artist, as well as a man of letters and with a soul alive to all the most delicate inspirations, he consecrated his pencil to the holiest use and handed down to us the features of the Mother of God.   It was an illustration worthy of the Gospel which relates to the divine Infancy and it won for the artist a new title to the gratitude of those who never saw Jesus and Mary in the flesh.   Hence St Luke is the patron of Christian art.” …-Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

St Luke did not personally know our Lord and like St Mark, the author of the second Gospel, he is not included among the apostles.   For this reason the Gospel chosen for their feast is the account of the sending forth of the seventy-two disciples.   According to St Jerome, St Luke died in Achaia (Greece) at the age of 84 and it is unknown whether or not he died a martyr’s death. st luke evangelist.2

His symbol is a Winged Ox anticipated by Ezekiel.    The ox, recognised as the animal of sacrifice, was applied to St Luke because his Gospel emphasises the atonement made by Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on the Cross.  His name means “bringer of light” (= luke).st luke - glass 2

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., EUCHARISTIC Adoration, INCORRUPTIBLES, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 July – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria C.R.S.P. (1502-1539)

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Saint of the Day – 5 July – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria CRSP. (1502-1539) – Confessor, Priest, Founder, Philosopher, Doctor of Medicine/Physician, Renewal of the Forty Hours’ Adoration Devotion, Preacher, Administrator, one of the  early leader of the Counter Reformation.  Founder of the The Clerics Regular of St Paul (the Barnabites) and the Angelic Sisters of St Paul., both of whom he is the Patron and of Doctors/Physicians.   His body is incorrupt.7_5_Saint_-Anthony_-Mary_Zaccaria-659-x-517

Today we celebrate the life of Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria.   A renowned preacher and promoter of Eucharistic Adoration, he founded the order of priests now known as the Barnabites.

In 2001, the future Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, wrote the preface for a book on St Anthony Mary Zaccaria, praising the saint as “one of the great figures of Catholic reform in the 1500s,” who was involved “in the renewal of Christian life in an era of profound crisis.”   “St Anthony”, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote, “deserves to be rediscovered” as “an authentic man of God and of the Church, a man burning with zeal, a demanding forger of consciences, a true leader able to convert and lead others to good.”Header - Sebastiano del Piombo, Portrait of Saint Anthony Maria Zaccaria, 1537

Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born into an Italian family of nobility in Cremona during 1502.   His father Lazzaro died shortly after Anthony’s birth and his mother Antonietta – though only 18 years old – chose not to marry again, preferring to devote herself to charitable works and her son’s education.   Antonietta’s son took after her in devotion to God and generosity toward the poor.   He studied Latin and Greek with tutors in his youth and was afterward sent to Pavia to study philosophy.   He went on to study medicine at the University of Padua, earning his degree at age 22 and returning to Cremona.

Despite his noble background and secular profession, the young doctor had no intention of either marrying or accumulating wealth.   While caring for the physical conditions of his patients, he also encouraged them to find spiritual healing through repentance and the sacraments.   He also taught catechism to children, and went on to participate in the religious formation of young adults.   He eventually decided to withdraw from the practice of medicine and with the encouragement of his spiritual director, he began to study for the priesthood.

Ordained a priest at age 26, Anthony is experienced a miraculous occurrence during his first Mass, being surrounded by a supernatural light and a multitude of angels during the consecration of the Eucharist.   Contemporary witnesses marvelled at the event and testified to it after his death.st anthony - ordination altar

Church life in Cremona had suffered decline in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The new priest encountered widespread ignorance and religious indifference among laypersons, while many of the clergy were either weak or corrupt.   In these dire circumstances, Anthony Mary Zaccaria devoted his life to proclaiming the truths of the Gospel both clearly and charitably.   Within two years, his eloquent preaching and tireless pastoral care is said to have changed the moral character of the city dramatically.

In 1530, Anthony moved to Milan, where a similar spirit of corruption and religious neglect prevailed.   There, he decided to form a priestly society, the Clerics Regular of St. Paul.   Inspired by the apostle’s life and writings, the order was founded on a vision of humility, asceticism, poverty, and preaching.   After the founder’s death, they were entrusted with a prominent church named for St Barnabas and became commonly known as the “Barnabites.”Saint_Anthony_Mary_Zaccaria

St Anthony also founded a women’s religious order, the Angelic Sisters of St Paul and an apostolate, the Laity of St Paul, geared toward the sanctification of those outside the priesthood and religious life.   He pioneered the “40 Hours” devotion, involving continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.beautiful holy eucharist - st anthony mary zaccaria

In 1539, Anthony became seriously ill and returned to his mother’s house in Cremona. The founder of the Clerics Regular of St Paul died on 5 July during the liturgical octave of the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, at the age of only 36.

Nearly three decades after his death, St Anthony Mary Zaccaria’s body was found to be incorrupt.   He was beatified by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1849 and declared a saint by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.   His body is now enshrined at the Church of St Barnabas in Milan, Italy.   More about St Anthony and all about the 40 hour devotion, here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/05/saint-of-the-day-5-july-st-anthony-mary-zaccaria-b-or-c-r-s-p/

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Church of St Barnabas, Rome

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Tomb of St Anthony Mary Zaccaria

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Altar and Tomb

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St Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Posted in BREWERS, DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, Of BACHELORS, Of LAWYERS & CANON Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors, Barristers, Notaries, Para-Legals, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Saint of the Day – St Luke the Evangelist – 18 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – St Luke the Evangelist – 18 October – Physician,Ddisciple of St Paul, Evangelist, Author of the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.   Tradition says he was an Artist too.  He was born at Antioch and Died in c 74 in Greece.   Some say he was Martyred, others that he died of natural causes.  His relics reside at Padua, Italy.   Patronages – artists, bachelors, bookbinders, brewers, butchers, doctors, glass makers, glassworkers, glaziers, gold workers, goldsmiths, lacemakers, lace workers, notaries, painters, physicians, sculptors, stained glass workers, surgeons, 2 cities.   Attributes – Evangelist, Physician, a Bishop, a book or a pen, a man accompanied by a winged ox/winged calf/ox, a man painting an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a brush or a palette (referring to the tradition that he was a painter).   St Luke is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical Gospels.   The early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts of the Apostles, which would mean Luke contributed over a quarter of the text of the New Testament, more than any other author.   Prominent figures in early Christianity such as Jerome and Eusebius later reaffirmed his authorship.   The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times and the Pauline epistle to the Colossians refers to him as a physician (from Greek for ‘one who heals’);  thus he is thought to have been both a physician and a disciple of Paul. Christians since the faith’s early years have regarded him as a saint.   He is believed to have been a martyr, reportedly as having been hanged from an olive tree, though some believe otherwise.

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Luke came from the large metropolitan city of Antioch, a part of modern-day Turkey.   In Luke’s lifetime, his native city emerged as an important center of early Christianity. During the future saint’s early years, the city’s port had already become a cultural center, renowned for arts and sciences.   Historians do not know whether Luke came to Christianity from Judaism or paganism, although there are strong suggestions that Luke was a gentile convert.SOD-1018-SaintLuke-790x480

Educated as a physician in the Greek-speaking city, Luke was among the most cultured and cosmopolitan members of the early Church.   Scholars of archeology and ancient literature have ranked him among the top historians of his time period, besides noting the outstanding Greek prose style and technical accuracy of his accounts of Christ’s life and the apostles’ missionary journeys.LUKE!!!luke

Other students of biblical history adduce from Luke’s writings that he was the only evangelist to incorporate the personal testimony of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose role in Christ’s life emerges most clearly in his gospel.   Tradition credits him with painting several icons of Christ’s mother and one of the sacred portraits ascribed to him – known by the title “Salus Populi Romano – Salvation of the Roman People”– survives to this day in the Basilica of St Mary Major.

Some traditions hold that Luke became a direct disciple of Jesus before His ascension, while others hold that he became a believer only afterward.   After St Paul’s conversion, Luke accompanied him as his personal physician– and, in effect, as a kind of biographer, since the journeys of Paul on which Luke accompanied him occupy a large portion of the Acts of the Apostles.   Luke probably wrote this text, the final narrative portion of the New Testament, in the city of Rome where the account ends.

Luke appears in Acts during Paul’s second journey, remains at Philippi for several years until Paul returns from his third journey, accompanies Paul to Jerusalem and remains near him when he is imprisoned in Caesarea.   During these two years, Luke had time to seek information and interview persons who had known Jesus.   He accompanied Paul on the dangerous journey to Rome where he was a faithful companion   After the martyrdom of St Paul in the year 67, St Luke is said to have preached elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean and possibly died as a martyr.   However, even tradition is unclear on this point.   Fittingly, the evangelist whose travels and erudition could have filled volumes, wrote just enough to proclaim the gospel and apostolic preaching to the world.

Luke’s unique character may best be seen by the emphases of his Gospel, which has been given a number of subtitles:
1) The Gospel of Mercy
2) The Gospel of Universal Salvation
3) The Gospel of the Poor
4) The Gospel of Absolute Renunciation
5) The Gospel of Prayer and the Holy Spirit
6) The Gospel of Joy

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Posted in Against Unexplained FEVER or HIGH Temperatures, DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., PATRONAGE - NEWBORN BABIES, YOUNG CHILDREN l, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, PREGNANCY, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 31 August – St Raymond Nonnatus O.deM. (1204-1240)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 31 August – St Raymond Nonnatus O.deM (1204-1240). Priest, Confessor, Cardinal, Friar of the Mercedarian Order.  He was delivered by Caesarean operation when his mother died in childbirth; hence the name non natus = not born. Born in  1204 at Portella, diocese of Urgel, Catalonia, Spain and died on 31 August 1240 at Cardona, Spain of a fever.   He was buried at the Chapel of Saint Nicholas near his family farm he was supposed to have managed.   He was Beatified on 5 November 1625 by Pope Urban VIII (cultus confirmed) and Canonised on 1657 by Pope Alexander VII.   Patronages – against gossip, of silence, against fever, of babies, infants, childbirth, children, pregnant women, falsely accused people, midwives, obstetricians, Baltoa, Dominican Republic, San Ramon, Costa Rica.  

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From the time he was very young, he manifested a great devotion to the Most Holy Virgin.   He prayed the Rosary every day in the hermitage of St. Nicholas of Mira  . Once Our Lady appeared to him and promised him her protection.   Afterward he was strongly tempted to sin against chastity but did not fall.   He went to thank his Patroness and consecrated his virginity to her.   Mary appeared to him again, showing her satisfaction and advising him to enter the Order of the Mercedarians (Order of Mercy), whose foundation she had inspired St. Peter Nolasco to make only shortly before, in 1218.

He was ordained a Priest and dedicated himself to the redemption of captives until 1231. He liberated 140 captives in Valencia, 250 in Argel and 28 in Tunis.   It was in this last city that he had the occasion to fulfill the special fourth vow of the Mercedarians to offer themselves to remain in captivity in the place of Catholic prisoners.   Since he was unable to pay the ransom demanded by the slave dealers in Tunis, Raymond offered himself to take the place of some prisoners.

The trade was made and he began a hard captivity.   To prevent him from speaking about Our Lord, for his engaging words were converting numerous Muslims, the Arabian slave masters pierced his lips with a red-hot iron and closed them with a padlock.   This padlock was only opened for him to eat.   After eight months of this torment, other Mercedarians arrived from Spain bringing the demanded ransom.

The last ten years of his life were spent in Rome, where he became the representative of his Order and in traveling throughout different countries to preach the Crusade.   As a cardinal representative of Pope Gregory IX he was sent to meet with St Louis of France and encourage him to go on the Crusade, which actually took place 10 years later.

St. Raymond Nonnatus died in Cardona, a Spanish village close to Barcelona, on August 31, 1240. He was only 37-years-old.

One particular devotion is centered around the padlock that is part of his martyrdom. Locks are placed at his altar representing a prayer request to end gossip, rumours, false testimonies and other sins of the tongue.   The locks are used as a visible sign of such prayer request, which first and foremost must take place interiorly, a prayer to God through St. Raymond’s intercession.

The Mercedarians – Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy:

The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy is an international community of priests and brothers who live a life of prayer and communal fraternity.   In addition to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, their members take a special fourth vow to give up their own selves for others whose faith is in danger.

The Order, also called the Mercedarians, or Order of Mercy, was founded in 1218 in Spain by St Peter Nolasco to redeem Christian captives from their Muslim captors.   The Order exists today in 17 countries, including Spain, Italy, Brazil, India and the United States.

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St Peter Nolasco & St Raymond Nonnatus and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, friars of the Order of Mercy continue to rescue others from modern types of captivity, such as social, political, and psychological forms.   They work in jails, marginal neighborhoods, among addicts and in hospitals.

The spiritual and communal life of the friars include prayer, meditation, Holy Mass, recreation and apostolate.   Their life is based on the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Order.

Overall, the Order of Mercy commits itself to give testimony to the same Good News of love and redemption that it has shown since the beginning of its history.

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 27 July – St Pantaleon (Died c 305) Martyr

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 27 July – St Pantaleon (Died c 305) – Martyr, Lay Physician, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.   He was Martyred in c 305.   Patronages – against consumption or tuberculosis, bachelors, doctors, physicians, midwives, torture victims.   A phial of his blood is preserved at Constantinople and is reported to become liquid and bubble on his feast day.   Some of his relics are enshrined at the church of Saint Denis in Paris, France and others at Lyons, France.

St Pantaleon

According to ltradition he was the son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia and had been instructed in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula.   He became estranged from Christianity for a while as a young man.
He studied medicine and became physician to the Emperor Maximinianus.

He returned to the faith when he encountered a zealous priest, Hermolaus who by prudent exhortation awakened Pantaleon’s conscience to a sense of his guilt, and brought him back into the faith of the Church.   Henceforth he devoted himself ardently to the advancement of the spiritual and temporal welfare of his fellow citizens.  First of all he sought to convert his father, who was still a heathen and had the consolation to see him die a Christian.   As a physician, he was intent on healing his patients both by physical and by spiritual means.   Christians he confirmed in the practice and confession of the Faith” and the heathens he sought to convert.   Many suffering from incurable diseases were restored to health by his prayer and the invocation of the holy name of Jesus.   His presence was everywhere fraught with blessings and consolation.   Upon the death of his father he came into possession of a large fortune, which he divied amongst the poor and the sick.   Envious colleagues denounced him to the emperor during the Diocletian persecution.   The emperor wished to save him and sought to persuade him to apostasy.   Pantaleon, however, openly confessed his faith and as proof that Christ is the true God, he healed a paralytic.   Notwithstanding this, he was condemned to death by the emperor, who regarded the miracle as an exhibition of magic.

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Pantaleon’s flesh was first burned with torches; upon this Christ appeared to all in the form of Hermolaus to strengthen and heal Pantaleon.   The torches were extinguished.   Then a bath of liquid lead was prepared, Christ in the same form stepped into the cauldron with him, the fire went out and the lead became cold.   He was then thrown into the sea but the stone with which he was loaded floated.   He was thrown to the wild beasts but these fawned upon him and could not be forced away until he had blessed them.   He was bound on the wheel but the ropes snapped and the wheel broke.   An attempt was made to behead him but the sword bent and the executioners were converted.   Pantaleon implored Heaven to forgive them, for which reason he also received the name of Panteleemon (the all-compassionate).   It was not until he himself desired it that it was possible to behead him, nailed to a tree.    The priest Hermolaus and the brothers Hermippos and Hermocrates suffered death with him, in the year c 305.