Then (and in many places) NOW, it is a crime merely to bear the name of Christian – it is a CRIME punishable by death!
In spite of this, many became and become Christians and so many went cheerfully to their deaths.
“O miracle of faith!” wrote St Pope Damasus. “Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they flee from the camp of their wicked leader. Professing the faith of Christ, they are happy to witness to its triumph.”
Learn from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish. As the thought-provoking saying goes: “If you were arrested for being Christian, would there be sufficient evidence to convict you?”
As in the case of many early martyrs, the Church clings to its memories though the events are clouded in the mists of history. It is a heartening thing for all Christians to know that they have a noble heritage. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have stood in the same world in which we live—militaristic, materialistic, cruel and cynical—yet transfigured from within by the presence of the Living One. Our own courage is enlivened by the heroes and heroines who have gone before us marked by the sign of faith and the wounds of Christ.
Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras – please pray for us all!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading,
kept in heaven for you………1 Peter 1:3-4
REFLECTION – “You have within you everything that
you need to purchase the kingdom of heaven.
Joy will be purchased by your sorrow,
rest by your labour,
glory by your humiliation
and eternal life by your passing death.”……St Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church (354-430) Doctor gratiae (Doctor of Grace)
PRAYER – Loving Father, teach me how to make very event on earth lay up treasures for me in heaven. Help me to endure my sorrows, labours, humiliations and death willingly so as to attain heaven. Holy Martyrs Sts Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras, Pray for us, amen!
Saint of the Day – 12 May – St Pancras (c290-304) Martyr – Patron against cramps, against false witness or perjury, against headaches, of children, oaths, treaties, diocese of Albano, Italy, 27 cities in Germany and Italy. Attributes – Roman legion armor, martyr’s palm branch, book, quill, sword.
St Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is Greek and literally means “the one that holds everything”.
From an early stage, Saint Pancras was venerated together with Saints Nereus and Achilleus in a shared feast day and Mass formula on 12 May. Since 1969, Saint Pancras has been venerated separately, still on 12 May. He is, traditionally, the second of the Ice Saints. (The Ice Saints is a name given to St. Mamertus (or, in some countries, St. Boniface of Tarsus St. Pancras, and St. Servatius in Austrian, Belgian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, North-Italian, Polish, Slovene and Swiss folklore. They are so named because their feast days fall on the days of May 11, May 12, and May 13 respectively, known as “the black-thorn winter”)
Because he was said to have been martyred at the age of fourteen during the persecution under Diocletian, Pancras would have been born around 290, at a place designated as near Synnada, a city of Phrygia Salutaris, to parents of Roman citizenship. His mother Cyriada died during childbirth, while his father Cleonius died when Pancras was eight years old. Pancras was entrusted to his uncle Dionysius’ care. They both moved to Rome to live in a villa on the Caelian Hill. They converted to Christianity and Pancras became a zealous adherent of the religion.
During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, around 303 AD, he was brought before the authorities and asked to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Diocletian, impressed with the boy’s determination to resist, promised him wealth and power but Pancras refused and finally the emperor ordered him to be beheaded on the Via Aurelia, on 12 May 303 AD.
A Roman matron named Ottavilla recovered Pancras’ body, covered it with balsam, wrapped it in precious linens and buried it in a newly built sepulchre dug in the Catacombs of Rome. Pancras’ head was placed in the reliquary that still exists today in the Basilica of Saint Pancras.
Devotion to Pancras definitely existed from the fifth century onwards, for the basilica of Saint Pancras was built by Pope Symmachus (498-514), on the place where the body of the young martyr had been buried; his earliest passio seems to have been written during this time.
Pope Gregory the Great gave impetus to the cult of Pancras, sending Augustine of Canterbury to England carrying relics of that saint and including his legend in Liber in gloria martyrum (for this reason, many English churches are dedicated to Pancras; St Pancras Old Church in London is one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England). In medieval iconography, Pancras was depicted as a young soldier, due to his association with the paired soldier saints Nereus and Achilleus. By the mid-nineteenth century, pious embroidery set Pancras’s martyrdom in the arena among wild beasts, where the panther refrains from attacking and killing him until the martyr gives the beast permission.
St Pancras Old Church
His image in statue form can be found in many bars, restaurants and other businesses and of course, St. Pancras Railway Station in London is named after him.
St Acheilleus of Terracina (Optional Memorial)
St Nereus of Terracina (Optional Memorial)
St Pancras of Rome (Optional Memorial)
—
St Candida Maria de Jesus
St Crispoldus
St Cyril of Galatz
St Dedë Malaj
St Diomma of Kildimo
St Dionysius of Asia
St Dominic de la Calzada
St Ejëll Deda
St Ephrem of Jerusalem
St Epiphanius of Salamis
St Erc Nasca of Tullylish
St Ethelhard of Canterbury
St Euphrosyna of Terracina
Bl Francis Patrizzi of Siena
Bl Gemma of Goriano
St Germanus of Constantinople
Bl Imelda Lambertini
Bl Jane of Portugal
Bl Juan de Segalars
St Lucien Galan
St Modoald of Trier
St Palladius of Rome
St Philip of Agira
St Richrudis of Marchiennes
St Theodora of Terracina
St Thomas Khampheuane Inthirath
The life of Saint Ignatius reminds us that even the most menial of tasks, if offered to the Lord, are pleasing to Him.
During his daily rounds, Saint Ignatius of Laconi did more than beg, of course. He served as a model of perfect Christian humility and self-denial. He instructed the community children in the tenets of the Christian faith—most of whom were too poor to attend school and instead worked as he had done. He comforted the ill and provided encouragement to those who constantly struggled. Numerous miracles were reported at his pious intercession. Never having been educated himself, Saint Ignatius was illiterate and his words far from polished or eloquent. He recognised his limitations and constantly directed any praise or recognition from himself to the Lord, where all good things originate. The lessons from this Saint are countless, they are difficult for us to attain, most especially in the fast-paced, money-driven society in which we live. Let us always keep in mind and before our eyes God’s love and mercy, that high-paying jobs are not what He requires of us! To those who came to St Ignatius for comfort, he would advise, “Trust God.”
Lord God, You led Saint Ignatius along the way of humility, innocence, and fraternal charity to the heights of sanctity. Help us to imitate his virtues and to practice charity, trust in You and obedience, on earth in word and deed. Amen.
Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb……….Luke 1:42
REFLECTION – “Do you wish to know the most intimate perfections of Jesus and the most hidden attractions of His love?
Then seek them in the heart of Mary!”………..St Peter Julian Eymard Today’s Saint, St Ignatius of Laconi also practised a strong devotion to Our Blessed Mother, praying daily for her intercession. He attributed many miraculous events in his simple life to her grace and assistance.
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, keep ever before me the tried and trusted Christian motto: “To Jesus through Mary.” And let me learn to seek You in her Mother’s heart! St Ignatius of Laconi, please assist us by your intercession to grow in love and trust in the Mother of God, amen!
Saint of the Day – 11 May – St. Ignatius of Laconi, O.F.M. Cap. (1701-1781) Religious Friar (born Vincenzo Peis) Known as “the holy friar,” “the apostle of the streets, “ and “Padre Santo.”
St Ignatius was a Sardinian Capuchin monk. Born into a peasant family, during a serious illness as a young man he vowed that if he recovered his health he would consecrate his life to God in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He did regain his health but put off fulfilling his vow. There is some indication that his parents raised objections to his entering the Franciscans. In 1721 his life was again threatened when a horse which he was riding panicked. Ignatius called upon the assistance of Saint Francis of Assisi and renewed the vow he had previously made. This time his parents did not raise objections to his becoming a Franciscan.
He asked for admission at the Capuchin friary at Cagliari but the superiors there hesitated because of his delicate health. Ignatius then called upon an influential friend who interceded for him and he was finally received into the novitiate. Despite his physical infirmities, his ardour allowed him to attend the spiritual exercises of the community and excel in perfection of his observance of the Rule of Saint Francis.
After being employed in the community for several years at various occupations, he was appointed quester of alms because of his edifying conduct. He had good relations with the citizens of Cagliari, who realized that although Brother Ignatius was begging alms, he was also giving back to them in a spiritual manner. His modest demeanour was seen as a quiet sermon for all who saw him going about. He seldom spoke; but when charity required it, he spoke with exceptional kindness. He would also instruct the children and the uneducated, comfort the sick and urge sinners to be converted and to do penance.
Ignatius was known for punctually obeying his superiors, even when it required the denial of his own will. He was accustomed to pass by the house of an usurer, because he feared that in accepting an alms from him he would share the guilt of this man’s injustices. But when the man complained and the superior commanded, Ignatius accepted alms from the man. On returning to the friary, St. Ignatius opened the sack offered by the usurer and blood flowed out. To those around him the saint said, “This is the blood of the poor squeezed from them by usury.”
Ignatius’ sister had often written to him asking him to pay her a visit, so she could get his advice in certain matters. Ignatius had no mind to heed her request but when his superior ordered him to do so, he at once undertook the journey. But he left again as soon as he had given the required advice.
When his brother was sent to prison, it was hoped that, in view of the reputation of Brother Ignatius, the latter could obtain his brother’s release. His superior sent him to speak to the governor but he asked merely that his brother be dealt with according to justice. Not for anything in the world would Brother Ignatius have kept anyone from doing his duty.
Despite his infirmity, Ignatius persevered in his work until he was 80 years old. Even after he became blind, he continued to make his daily rounds for two years. The veneration of the people increased and many sick persons attributed miraculous healings to him.
He died on May 11, 1781 and many miracles were said to have occurred at his grave. Brother Ignatius was beatified in 1940 and canonized in 1951 by Pope Pius XII.
St Anastasius of Lérida
St Anthimus of Rome
St Bassus of Sabina
St Bertilla
St Criotan of MacReddin
Bl Diego of Saldaña
St Evellius of Pisa
St Fabius of Sabina
St Francis of Girolamo
St Fremund of Dunstable
St Gengulphus of Burgundy
St Gjon Koda
St Gualberto
St Ignatius of Laconi
Bl Illuminatus
St Illuminatus of San Severino
Bl James Walworth
Bl John Rochester
St Maiulo of Hadrumetum
St Majolus of Cluny
St Mamertus of Vienne
St Maximus of Sabina
St Mayeul
St Mozio of Constantinople
St Possessor of Verdun
St Principia of Rome
St Tudy
St Vincent L’Hénoret
Bl Vivaldus
St Walbert of Hainault
—
Martyrs of Camerino: An imperial Roman official, his wife, their children and servants, all of whom were converts and martyrs: Anastasius, Aradius, Callisto, Eufemia, Evodius, Felice, Primitiva, Theopista. They were beheaded in 251 on the Via Lata, outside the east gate of Camerino, Italy and their relics are in Camerino
Robert Louis Stevens and St Damian de Veuster de Molokai (1840-1889)
“The Martyr of Molokai”
Father Damien had become internationally known before his death, seen as a symbolic Christian figure caring for the afflicted natives. His superiors thought Damien lacking in education and finesse but knew him as “an earnest peasant hard at work in his own way for God.” News of his death on 15 April was quickly carried across the globe by the modern communications of the time, by steamship to Honolulu and California, telegraph to the East Coast of the United States and cable to England, reaching London on 11 May. Following an outpouring of praise for his work, other voices began to be heard in Hawaiʻi.
Representatives of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in Hawaii criticised his approach. Reverend Charles McEwen Hyde, a Presbyterian minister in Honolulu, wrote in August to fellow pastor, Reverend H. B. Gage of San Francisco. Hyde referred to Father Damien as “a coarse, dirty man,” who contracted leprosy due to “carelessness”. Hyde said that Damien was mistakenly being given credit for reforms that were made by the Board of Health. Without consulting with Hyde, Gage had the letter published in a San Francisco newspaper, generating comment and controversy in the US and Hawaiʻi. People of the period consistently overlooked the role of Hawaiians themselves, among whom several had prominent roles of leadership on the island.
Later in 1889 Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his family arrived in Hawaii for an extended stay. He had tuberculosis, then also incurable, and was seeking some relief. Moved by Damien’s story, he became interested in the controversy about the priest and went to Molokaʻi for eight days and seven nights. Stevenson wanted to learn more about Damien at the place where he had worked. He spoke with residents of varying religious backgrounds to learn more about Damien’s work. Based on his conversations and observations, he wrote an open letter to Hyde that addressed the minister’s criticisms and had it printed at his own expense. This became the most famous account of Damien, featuring him in the role of a European aiding a benighted native people.
In his “6,000-word polemic,” Stevenson praised Damien extensively, writing to Hyde:
If that world at all remember you, on the day when Damien of Molokai shall be named a Saint, it will be in virtue of one work: your letter to the Reverend H. B. Gage.
Stevenson referred to his journal entries in his letter:
“…I have set down these private passages, as you perceive, without correction; thanks to you, the public has them in their bluntness. They are almost a list of the man’s faults, for it is rather these that I was seeking: with his virtues, with the heroic profile of his life, I and the world were already sufficiently acquainted. I was besides a little suspicious of Catholic testimony; in no ill sense but merely because Damien’s admirers and disciples were the least likely to be critical. I know you will be more suspicious still; and the facts set down above were one and all collected from the lips of Protestants who had opposed the father in his life. Yet I am strangely deceived, or they build up the image of a man, with all his weakness, essentially heroic and alive with rugged honesty, generosity and mirth.”
Canonisation
In 1977, Pope Paul VI declared Father Damien to be venerable. On 4 June 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified him and gave him his official spiritual title of Blessed. On 20 December 1999, Jorge Medina Estévez, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, confirmed the November 1999 decision of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to place Blessed Damien on the liturgical calendar with the rank of optional memorial. Father Damien was canonised on 11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. His feast day is celebrated on 10 May. In Hawaii it is celebrated on the day of his death, 15 April.
Two miracles have been attributed to Father Damien’s posthumous intercession. On 13 June 1992, Pope John Paul II approved the cure of a nun in France in 1895 as a miracle attributed to Venerable Damien’s intercession. In that case, Sister Simplicia Hue began a novena to Father Damien as she lay dying of a lingering intestinal illness. It is stated that pain and symptoms of the illness disappeared overnight.
In the second case, Audrey Toguchi, a Hawaiian woman who suffered from a rare form of cancer, had remission after having prayed at the grave of Father Damien on Molokaʻi. There was no medical explanation, as her prognosis was terminal. In 1997, Toguchi was diagnosed with liposarcoma, a cancer that arises in fat cells. She underwent surgery a year later and a tumor was removed but the cancer metastasized to her lungs. Her physician, Dr. Walter Chang, told her, “Nobody has ever survived this cancer. It’s going to take you.” Toguchi was surviving in 2008.
In April 2008, the Holy See accepted the two cures as evidence of Father Damien’s sanctity. On 2 June 2008, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican voted to recommend raising Father Damien of Molokaʻi to sainthood. The decree that officially notes and verifies the miracle needed for canonization was promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on 3 July 2008, with the ceremony taking place in Rome and celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii. On 21 February 2009, the Vatican announced that Father Damien would be canonised. The ceremony took place in Rome on Rosary Sunday, 11 October 2009, in the presence of King Albert II of the Belgians and Queen Paola as well as the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, and several cabinet ministers, completing the process of canonisation. In Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama affirmed his deep admiration for St. Damien, saying that he gave voice to voiceless and dignity to the sick.
10 May – The Memorial of St Damian de Veuster de Molokai SS.CC. Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary – Martyr of Molokai – (1840-1889) Religious Priest, Missionary – known as “Martyr of Molokai”, “Martyr of Charity”, “Apostle to the Lepers” – Patron of lepers.
St Joseph de Veuster was born in Belgium on January 3, 1840. While at college, he decided God was calling him to be a priest. He joined the same community his brother had joined and took the name Damien. Damien’s brother had dreamed of being a missionary overseas. But he became ill and was unable to go. Damien offered to go in his place. He traveled to Hawaii and was ordained in Honolulu.
For nine years, Damien served the people in different villages around Hawaii. While working, he heard about a settlement of lepers on the island of Molokai. He was told that life on the island was terrible for the lepers. They were very poor and there was not one doctor or priest on the island. Father Damien thought he was needed there. He went to Molokai to work with the lepers.
Those who could walk came to meet Father Damien’s boat. They wanted to see this priest who had come to work with them. They were sure he wouldn’t stay long when he saw what life there was like. Lepers often have unpleasant sores and even lose fingers and toes. Because there were no laws or police on the island, many who were not very ill lived wild lives.
Father Damien got busy right away. He cleaned up huts, nursed those who were very sick and tried new medicines. Those able to help were put to work building better houses. Father Damien preached and offered Mass but he also built roads, water systems, orphanages and churches. He even started a choir and a band. He made the lepers feel that they were people with dignity. They learned to better respect themselves and one another.
Father Damien always began his homily with “My dear lepers.” One Sunday he stood before his congregation and began his homily by saying “My fellow lepers.” At first, it was very quiet. Then people began to sob. Their beloved Father Damien had gotten the disease. Even though he was ill, Father Damien carried on his work. Eventually, a group of Franciscan sisters from New York, under the leadership of St Marianne Cope, came to help. Father Damien died when he was 49 years old.
St Damien on his deathbedSt. Marianne Cope standing beside Father Damien’s funeral bier (image reversed)The leprosy patients of Molokaʻi gathered around Father Damien’s grave in mourning
“A single ‘Blessed be God!’ when things go wrong, is of more value than a thousand acts of thanksgiving, when things are to our liking.”
“Turn yourself round like a piece of clay
and say to the Lord:
I am clay, and you, Lord, the potter.
Make of me what you will.”
“Your life consists in drawing nearer to God.
To do this you must endeavour to detach yourself
from visible things and remember that
in a short time they will be taken from you.”
St John of Avila – Doctor of the Church
“The Blessed Sacrament is indeed
the stimulus for us all,
for me as it should be for you,
to forsake all worldly ambitions.”
Thought for the Day – 10 May – the Memorial of St John of Avila (1499-1569) Doctor of the Church
St Teresa of Ávila, herself a Doctor of the Church, praised John of Ávila for his mastery of elements of the spiritual life. While he remains a little known and quoted figure, one saint celebrated among many, Master Ávila stands before us today as a witness to the need for continual reform, a commitment to reflection and renewal within the Church and for each one of us as followers of Jesus.
He understood that it is only through a spirit-filled engagement with the Word of God and a steadfast commitment to the pursuit of virtue that individual Christians would be able to fulfil the demands of the Gospel. In one of his sermons for Pentecost, John of Ávila asked his hearers, “What effect did the coming of the Holy Ghost have on the Church? What did the Holy Ghost accomplish in the hearts of those believers to whom He came? He gave them life, gave them gifts of infinite value, strengthened them and brought them near perfection.” St John of Ávila, in his life, his teachings and in his legacy, reveals that the Holy Spirit remains at work in the Church and, in this lesser known saint (sadly one who needs to be studied by all) of more than four centuries ago we discover a man, a saint, whose heart burned so purely with the fire of this same Spirit that he remains a light for us today. (BROTHER HENDERSON, O.S.B., is a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey.)
And to help us along the way, that is the only way, the way of the Cross of Christ, perhaps this practical bit of advice left us by St John of Avila, will be of assistance in our spiritual growth. St John of Avila, please pray for us for we all wish to join you as Saint in heaven!
This Doctor and Teacher of our Faith, St John of Avila divides the week into stages of the Passion of Christ:
• Monday think of our Lord’s agony in the garden and what passed in the house of Annas and Caiphas
• Tuesday, of the accusations, the removal from judge to judge, and the flagellation
• Wednesday, of the crowning with thorns and the mockery
• Thursday, of the washing of the feet, and the Blessed Eucharist
• Friday, of the sentence, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion and death
• Saturday, of the piercing of the side, the taking down from the cross, the burial, and the grief of the Blessed Virgin
• Sunday, of the resurrection and the state of future glory.
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” ………Luke 9:23-25
REFLECTION – “Dear brothers and sisters, I pray God may open your eyes and let you see what hidden treasures He bestows on us in the trials from which the world thinks only to flee. Shame turns into honour when we seek God’s glory. Present affliction become the source of heavenly glory. To those who suffer wounds in fighting His battles God opens His arms in loving, tender friendship. That is why He (Christ) tells us that if we want to join Him, we shall travel the way He took. It is surely not right that the Son of God should go His way on the path of shame while the sons of men walk the way of worldly honour: “The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant greater than his master.” – from a letter by Saint John of Avila
PRAYER – Holy God, teach me to accept my cross and to follow Your Son’s way wihout fear or weakess. Grant me he couage to accept the trails I face for the glory of Your Kingdom. Let me learn and understand that in the persecution You allow, You show me Your love! St John of Avila pray for the whole Church, pray for us all, amen.
Saint of the Day – 10 May – St John of Avila (1499-1569) – Priest, Doctor of the Church, known as the Apostle of Andalusia, Mystic, Author, Preacher, Scholastic teacher, Founder of Schools and Universities – Patron of Andalusia, Spain, Spain, Spanish secular clergy, World Youth Day 2011. His Relics are interred in the Jesuit church at Montilla, Spain.
St John was born in Almodóvar del Campo, in the Province of Ciudad Real, to Alfonso de Ávila, of Jewish converso descent and Catalina Xixón (or Gijón), a wealthy and pious couple. At the age of fourteen, in 1513, he was sent to the University of Salamanca to study law; he withdrew in 1517, however, without receiving a degree.
Returning home, Ávila spent the next three years in the practice of austere piety. His sanctity impressed a Franciscan friar journeying through Almodóvar, on whose advice he resumed his studies. Thereafter, he undertook the study of philosophy and theology, in which he was fortunate to have as his teacher the noted Dominican friar Domingo de Soto. It appears that Ávila earned his bachelor’s degree during his years at Alcalá and then left without completing requirements for the licentiate degree.
Both his parents died while Ávila was still a student, and after his ordination in spring 1526, he celebrated his first Mass in the church where they were buried. He then sold the family property and gave the proceeds to the poor. He saw in the severing of natural ties a vocation to foreign missionary work and prepared to go to Mexico. He, therefore, traveled to Seville to await departure for the Indies in January 1527 with the Dominican friar, Julián Garcés, appointed the first Bishop of Tlaxcala. While waiting in Seville, his unusually great devotion in celebrating Mass and his skills in catechesis and preaching, attracted the attention of Hernando de Contreras, a local priest, who mentioned him to the Archbishop of Seville and Inquisitor General, Alonso Manrique de Lara. The archbishop saw in the young cleric a powerful instrument to stir up the faith in Andalusia, and after considerable persuasion Juan was induced to abandon his journey to America.
The basement of the family home of John of Ávila in Almodóvar del Campo, Ciudad Real, Spain
John seems to have lived in the initial years after 1526 in a small house in Seville with another priest, probably Contreras and disciples gathered around him, in a loosely structured fraternal life. It was at the request of the younger sister of one of these disciples, Sancha Carrillo, that he began in 1527 to write the Audi, filia (Listen, Daughter), a work he continued expanding and editing until his death.
Apostle of Andalusia
John’s first sermon was preached on 22 July 1529 and immediately established his reputation. During his nine years of missionary work in Andalusia, crowds packed the churches at all his sermons. However, his strong pleas for reform and his denunciation of the behaviour of the aristocracy meant that he was denounced to the office of the Inquisition in Seville in 1531 and put in prison in the summer of 1532. He was charged with exaggerating the dangers of wealth and with closing the gates of heaven to the rich. The charges were refuted and he was declared innocent and released in July 1533.
Around the end of 1534 or the beginning of 1535, John of Ávila was incardinated into the Diocese of Córdoba, from which he received a small benefice. This city became his base for directing his disciples and moving around Andalusia, preaching and establishing schools and colleges in various neighbouring cities such as Granada, Baeza, Montilla and Zafra. It is thought that during this time Ávila received the title of Master of Sacred Theology, probably in Granada around 1538.
Of special importance was the University of Baeza, established in 1538 by a papal bull of Pope Paul III. Ávila served as its first rector and it became a model for seminaries and for the schools of the Jesuits.
Ávila stayed in Granada from 1538-9, where it appears some kind of community was taking shape. Likewise, during the years 1546 to 1555, John lived with about 20 disciples in Córdoba, making it seem that he intended to begin some kind of formal foundation of apostolic priests. However, the foundation and fast expansion of the Jesuits meant that these ideas never came to fruition; from early 1551, when Ávila began to experience poor health, he began actively encouraging his disciples who so desired to join the Jesuits (around 30 in total seem to have joined).
From early 1551 Ávila was in constant ill-health. He spent the last years of his life in semi-retirement in the town of Montilla, in the Province of Córdoba. He died there on 10 May 1569 and in accordance with his wishes was buried in that city, in the Jesuit Church of the Incarnation, which now serves as the sanctuary to his memory.
St John of Ávila was declared Venerable by Pope Clement XIII on 8 February 1759 and beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 15 November 1893. On 31 May 1970 he was canonized by Pope Paul VI.
Pope Benedict XVI named him a Doctor of the Church on 7 October 2012, the Feast of the Holy Rosary. The proclamation of the two new Doctors of the Church was made by Pope Benedict before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square. During his homily, Pope Benedict said that John of Ávila was a “profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church”.
St Joseph de Veuster – St Damian of Molokai (Optional Memorial)
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St Alphius of Lentini
Bl Amalarius of Metz
Bl Antonio of Norcia
St Aurelian of Limoges
Bl Beatrix d’Este the Elder
St Blanda of Rome
St Calepodius of Rome
St Catald of Taranto
St Comgall of Bangor
St Cyrinus of Lentini
St Dioscorides of Smyrna
St Epimachus of Rome
St Felix of Rome
Bl Giusto Santgelp
St Gordian the Judge
Bl Ivan Merz
St Job the Patriarch
St Palmatius of Rome
St Philadelphus of Lentini
St Quartus of Capua
St Quintus of Capua
St Simplicius of Rome
St Solange of Bourges
St Thecla
Bl William of Pontnoise
Sts Philip and James left all to follow Jesus, to become His heralds to the whole world. They faced only difficulties, opposition and – finally – death by violence. We cannot avoid the difficulties that come with professing our faith and we are all called to be apostles. Let us pray for the courage to face our task with the same courage with which the Apostles faced theirs. As in the case of the other apostles, we see in James and Philip human men who became foundation stones of the Church and we are reminded again that holiness and its consequent apostolate are entirely the gift of God, not a matter of human achieving. All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. “You will be clothed with power from on high,” Jesus told Philip and the others. Their first commission had been to expel unclean spirits, heal diseases, announce the kingdom. They learned, gradually, that these externals were sacraments of an even greater miracle inside their persons—the divine power to love like God.
What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon
and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life
for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it……….1 John 1:1-2
REFLECTION – “Two of the favoured witnesses of our beloved Jesus’ Resurrection come before us today. Sts. Philip and James are here, bearing testimony to us that their Master is truly risen from the dead, that they have seen Him, that they have touched Him, that they have conversed with Him during these forty days. And, that we may have no doubt as to the truth of their testimony, they hold in their hands the instruments of the martyrdom they underwent for asserting that Jesus, after having suffered death, came to life again and rose from the grave.”………………..Abbot/Dom Prosper Guéranger
PRAYER – O God, who gladden us each year with the feast day of the Apostles Philip and James, grant us, through their prayers, a share in the Passion and Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son, so that we may merit to behold You for eternity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Blessed Feast Day of Sts Philip and James, Apostles of Jesus Christ
ST PHILIP
The Apostle Philip was one of Christ’s first disciples, called soon after his Master’s baptism in the Jordan. The fourth Gospel gives the following detail: “The next day Jesus was about to leave for Galilee and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him: Follow Me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the Son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him: Come and see” (John 1:43ff). — The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patronages: Hatters; Luxembourg; pastry chefs; Uruguay, 37 cities. Attributes: basket; basket and Tau cross or letter Tau; two or three loaves and a cross; patriarchal cross and spear; knotted cross; broken idols; inverted cross; tall column; dragon; carpenter’s square and cross; long staff and spear; tall cross and book.
On Wednesday, 27 July 2011, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that archaeologists had unearthed a tomb that the project leader claims to be the Tomb of Saint Philip during excavations in Hierapolis close to the Turkish city Denizli. The Italian archaeologist, Professor Francesco D’Andria stated that scientists had discovered the tomb within a newly revealed church. He stated that the design of the Tomb and writings on its walls, definitively prove it belonged to the martyred Apostle of Jesus.
ST JAMES THE LESSER
Also known as: Jacobus Minor, James the Just, James the Less, James the Younger, James, son of Alphaeus. James, Son of Alphaeus: We know nothing of this man except his name and, of course, the fact that Jesus chose him to be one of the 12 pillars of the New Israel, His Church. He is not the James of Acts, son of Clopas, “brother” of Jesus and later bishop of Jerusalem and the traditional author of the Letter of James. James, son of Alphaeus, is also known as James the Lesser to avoid confusing him with James the son of Zebedee, also an apostle and known as James the Greater.
Patronage: dying people, apothecaries, druggists, pharmacists, fullers, hatmakers, hatters, milliners, Uruguay, 8 cities in Italy. Attributes: fuller’s club, man holding a book, square rule
Today’s Mass tells us that the example of the Apostles is the most certain and direct path to heaven. They suffered and were persecuted but they placed their confidence in God and now they rejoice in heaven. We too must have confidence in God and not be troubled in our adversities. In our Father’s house there are many mansions and if we follow the way indicated by Him, Christ will come at the end of our life and take us to Himself.
St James the Lesser (Feast)
St Philip the Apostle (Feast)
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St Adalsindis of Bèze
Bl Adam of Cantalupo in Sabina
St Ahmed the Calligrapher
St Aldwine of Peartney
St Pope Alexander I
St Alexander of Constantinople
Bl Alexander of Foigny
St Alexander of Rome
Bl Alexander Vincioli
St Ansfrid of Utrecht
St Antonina of Constantinople
St Diodorus the Deacon
Bl Edoardo Giuseppe Rosaz
St Ethelwin of Lindsey
St Eventius of Rome
St Fumac
St Gabriel Gowdel
St Juvenal of Narni
Bl Maria Leonia Paradis
St Maura of Antinoe
St Peter of Argos
St Philip of Zell
Bl Ramon Oromí Sullà
St Rhodopianus the Deacon
St Scannal of Cell-Coleraine
Bl Sostenaeus
St Stanislas Kazimierczyk
St Theodolus of Rome
St Timothy of Antinoe
Bl Tommaso Acerbis
Bl Uguccio
Bl Zechariah
The Athanasian Creed, also known as Pseudo-Athanasian Creed or Quicunque Vult (also Quicumque Vult), is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. The Latin name of the creed, Quicunque vult, is taken from the opening words, “Whosoever wishes”. The creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century. It is the first creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is explicitly stated. It differs from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan and Apostles’ Creeds in the inclusion of anathemas, or condemnations of those who disagree with the creed (like the original Nicene Creed).
Widely accepted among Western Christians, including the Roman Catholic Church and some Anglican churches, Lutheran churches (it is considered part of Lutheran confessions in the Book of Concord) and ancient, liturgical churches generally, the Athanasian Creed has been used in public worship less and less frequently.
It was designed to distinguish Nicene Christianity from the heresy of Arianism. Liturgically, this Creed was recited at the Sunday Office of Prime in the Western Church; it is not in common use in the Eastern Church. The creed has never gained acceptance in liturgy among Eastern Christians since it was considered as one of many unorthodox fabrications that contained the Filioque clause. Today, the Athanasian Creed is rarely used even in the Western Church. When used, one common practice is to use it once a year on Trinity Sunday.
At certain periods in Church history, it is one man who saves the Church for orthodoxy, one human instrument that Goduses to further His work. Athanasius suffered many trials while he was bishop of Alexandria. He was given the grace to remain strong against what probably seemed at times to be insurmountable opposition. Athanasius lived his office as bishop completely. He defended the true faith for his flock, regardless of the cost to himself. In today’s world we are experiencing this same call to remain true to our faith, no matter what. We should all realise how important we are to the good of others and that, without us, certain people would never hear of God or come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. Upon our orthodoxy and fidelity may well depend the growth in faith of many others – what a thought! Therefore, we need to learn and know the truth as St Athanasius said “You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed by his progress.”
“The Word who became all things for us, is close to us, our Lord Jesus Christ who promises to remain with us always. He cries out, saying: See, I am with you all the days of this age. He is himself the shepherd, the high priest, the way and the door and has become all things at once for us.”
“Christians, instead of arming themselves with swords, extend their hands in prayer.”
“Let us remember the poor and not forget kindness to strangers; above all, let us love God with all our soul and might and strength and our neighbour as ourselves.”
“But what is also to the point, let us note that the very tradition, teaching and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning was preached by the Apostles and preserved by the Fathers. On this the Church was founded – and if anyone departs from this, he neither is, nor any longer ought to be called, a Christian.”
St Athanasius (297-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER TO MARY, MOTHER OF GRACE
By St Athanasius (297-373)
It is becoming for you, O Mary,
to be mindful of us,
as you stand near Him who bestowed upon you all graces,
for you are the Mother of God and our Queen.
Come to our aid for the sake of the King,
the Lord God and Master who was born of you.
For this reason you are called “full of grace.”
Be mindful of us, most holy Virgin and bestow on us gifts
from the riches of your graces, O Virgin full of grace.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 2 May – St Athanasius (c295-373) – Father and Doctor of the Church Bishop, Confessor, known as “Father of Orthodoxy” and Athanasius of Alexandria, Athanasius of Egypt, Athanasius the Great, Champion of Christ’s Divinity, Champion of Orthodoxy, Greek Doctor of the Church, Holy Hierarch, Pillar of the Church – Attributes: Bishop arguing with a pagan; bishop holding an open book; bishop standing over a defeated heretic.
Athanasius was born of Christian parents in Alexandria, Egypt, about 295. As a young man, he spent four years in prayer and solitude in the desert. There he met Anthony the hermit, who influenced him. After he left the desert, Athanasius became a priest and was appointed secretary to Alexander, bishop of Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Arius had begun preaching that Jesus was not truly God. At a church council at Nicaea in 325, Arius and his ideas were condemned and the bishops composed the Nicene Creed.
Conflict with Arius and Arianism as well as successive Roman emperors shaped Athanasius’ career. In 325, at the age of 27, Athanasius began his leading role against the Arians as a deacon and assistant to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria during the First Council of Nicaea. Roman emperor Constantine the Great had convened the council in May–August 325 to address the Arian position that the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, is of a distinct substance from the Father. Three years after that council, Athanasius succeeded his mentor as archbishop of Alexandria. In addition to the conflict with the Arians (including powerful and influential Arian churchmen led by Eusebius of Nicomedia), he struggled against the Emperors Constantine, Constantius II, Julian the Apostate and Valens. He was known as “Athanasius Contra Mundum” (Latin for Athanasius Against the World).
Nonetheless, within a few years after his death, Gregory of Nazianzus called him the “Pillar of the Church”. His writings were well regarded by all Church fathers who followed, in both the West and the East, who noted their rich devotion to the Word-become-man, great pastoral concern and profound interest in monasticism. Athanasius is counted as one of the four great Eastern Doctors of the Church in the Roman Catholic Church – he is labeled as the “Father of Orthodoxy”.
Bl. John Henry Newman described him as a “principal instrument, after the Apostles, by which the sacred truths of Christianity have been conveyed and secured to the world”.[Letters..]
Historian Cornelius Clifford says: “His career almost personifies a crisis in the history of Christianity; and he may be said rather to have shaped the events in which he took part than to have been shaped by them.”
The greater majority of Church leaders and the emperors fell into support for Arianism, so much so that Jerome, 340–420, wrote of the period: “The whole world groaned and was amazed to find itself Arian”. He, Athanasius, even suffered an unjust excommunication from Pope Liberius (325–366) who was exiled and leant towards the Arians, until he was allowed back to the See of Rome. Athanasius stood virtually alone against the world.
St Athanasius of Alexandria (Memorial)
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St Alpin de Châlons
Bl Bernard of Seville
St Bertinus the Younger
Bl Boleslas Strzelecki
Bl Conrad of Seldenbüren
St Cyriacus of Pamphylia
St Eugenius of Africa
St Exsuperius of Pamphylia
St Felix of Seville
St Fiorenzo of Algeria
St Gennys of Cornwall
St Germanus of Normandy
St Gluvias
St Guistano of Sardinia
St José María Rubio y Peralta
St Joseph Luu
Bl Juan de Verdegallo
St Longinus of Africa
St Neachtain of Cill-Uinche
St Theodulus of Pamphylia
St Ultan of Péronne
St Vindemialis of Africa
St Waldebert of Luxeuil
St Wiborada of Saint Gall
Bl William Tirry
St Zoe of Pamphylia
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Martyrs of Alexandria – 4 saints: A group of Christians marytred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Celestine, Germanus, Neopolus and Saturninus. 304 in Alexandria, Egypt
Prayer to St Joseph the Worker
By St Pope John XXIII
Saint Joseph, guardian of Jesus and chaste husband of Mary,
you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty.
You supported the holy family of Nazareth with the work of your hands.
Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you.
You know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes.
They look to you because they know you will understand and protect them.
You too knew trial, labour and weariness.
But amid the worries of material life,
your soul was full of deep peace and sang out in true joy
through intimacy with God’s Son entrusted to you and with Mary,
His tender Mother.
Assure those you protect that they do not labour alone.
Teach them to find Jesus near them
and to watch over Him faithfully as you have done. Amen
As the Church of Christ is prefigured in the rites and ceremonies of the Old Law, so the chief personages who centre round Our Lord in the redemption of the world are foreshadowed in the Old Testament. We trace the outlines of Our Lady’s graces in Esther, Jahel, Bethsabee, Judith. So, too, Saint Joseph’s place in the new dispensation is anticipated in the place of the patriarch Joseph at the court of Pharao. Thus it is that God in His love for His chosen ones paves the way for them centuries before. From the beginning He has prepared their work, and the throne they are to earn in heaven by their labors and sufferings for Him.
In the life of the patriarch Joseph there was throughout a correspondence to the life of the foster-father of Jesus Christ. The troubles and persecutions of his early life; his long time of servitude and obscurity; his wondrous purity, his time of patient expectation; his glorious exaltation; his omnipotence with the king; his power to save all who came to him – all these were repeated, or rather were fulfilled, in Saint Joseph. Reflect on each of these, and consider how Saint Joseph is a model to us.
We read of the patriarch, Joseph, that the king of Egypt made him lord of his house. So God made Saint Joseph lord of that earthly tabernacle of flesh in which He dwelt on earth. Joseph ruled Our Lord in His sacred humanity. He made him lord, too, of another house in which He sojourned, of the sacred house that Wisdom built for Himself in the form of His holy Mother. If Saint Joseph was thus lord of Jesus and Mary, what may we not expect from Him? In our lives on the ‘narrow road’, on our way home, in our difficulties, in our labour and our toil!?
To capture the devotion to Saint Joseph within the Catholic liturgy, in 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the patron of the universal Church. In 1955, Pope Pius XII added the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. This silent saint, who was given the noble task of caring and watching over the Virgin Mary and Jesus, now cares for and watches over the Church and models for all the dignity of human work.
“What emanates from the figure of Saint Joseph is faith. Joseph of Nazareth is a “just man” because he totally “lives by faith.” He is holy because his faith is truly heroic. Sacred Scripture says little of him. It does not record even one word spoken by Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth. And yet, even without words, he shows the depth of his faith, his greatness. Saint Joseph is a man of great spirit. He is great in faith, not because he speaks his own words but above all because he listens to the words of the Living God. He listens in silence. And his heart ceaselessly perseveres in the readiness to accept the Truth contained in the word of the Living God. We see how the word of the Living God penetrates deeply into the soul of that man, that just man. And we, do we know how to listen to the word of God? Do we know how to absorb it into the depths of our human personalities? Do we open our conscience in the presence of this word?”
“He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of His greatest treasures, namely: His divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.’
– from a sermon by Saint Bernardine of Siena
Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo The Holy Family 1637
• 19 March • 1 May (Joseph the Worker) • 3rd Wednesday after Easter (patronage of Saint Joseph of the Universal Church) • 3 January on some local calendars • 29 October (Armenian) • 20 July (Coptic)
Patronages – against doubt, against hesitation, accountants, attornies, barristers, bursars, cabinetmakers, carpenters, cemetery workers, children, civil engineers, confectioners, craftsmen, dying people, educators, emigrants, exiles, expectant mothers, families, fathers, furniture makers, grave diggers, happy death, holy death, house hunters, immigrants, interior souls, joiners, laborers, lawyers, married people, orphans, people in doubt, people who fight Communism, pioneers, pregnant women, social justice, solicitors, teachers, travellers, unborn children, wheelwrights, workers, working people, Catholic Church, Oblates of Saint Joseph, for protection of the Church, Universal Church, Vatican II, Americas, Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Canada, China, Croatian people, Korea, Mexico, New France, New World, Peru, Philippines, Vatican City, Viet Nam, Canadian Armed Forces, Papal States, 46 dioceses, 26 cities, states and regions.
St. Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19—Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1—Joseph, the Worker.
“Saint Joseph is a man of great spirit. He is great in faith, not because he speaks his own words but above all because he listens to the words of the Living God. He listens in silence. And his heart ceaselessly perseveres in the readiness to accept the Truth contained in the word of the Living God,” Pope John Paul II had once said.
There is very little about the life of Joseph in Scripture but still, we know that he was the chaste husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, a carpenter and a man who was not wealthy. We also know that he came from the royal lineage of King David.
We can see from his actions in scripture that Joseph was a compassionate man and obedient to the will of God. He also loved Mary and Jesus and wanted to protect and provide for them.
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph had probably died before Jesus entered public ministry.
Joseph is the patron of many things, including the universal Church, fathers, the dying and social justice.
St Joseph the Worker (Optional Memorial)
Madonna of Giubino
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St Aceolus of Amiens
St Acius of Amiens
St Aldebrandus of Fossombrone
St Amator of Auxerre
St Ambrose of Ferentino
St Andeolus of Smyrna
Bl Arigius of Gap
St Arnold of Hiltensweiler
St Asaph of Llanelwy
St Augustine Schöffler
St Benedict of Szkalka
St Bertha of Avenay
St Bertha of Kent
St Brieuc of Brittany
St Ceallach of Killala
St Cominus of Catania
Evermarus of Rousson
Bl Felim O’Hara
St Grata of Bergamo
St Isidora of Egypt
St Jeremiah the Prophet
St John-Louis Bonnard
Bl Klymentii Sheptytskyi
St Marculf
St Orentius of Auch
St Orentius of Loret
St Patientia of Loret
St Peregrine Laziosi
Bl Petronilla of Moncel
St Richard Pampuri
St Romanus of Baghdad
St Sigismund of Burgundy
St Theodard of Narbonne
St Thorette
St Torquatus of Guadix
Bl Vivald of Gimignano
AnaStpaul 
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