Category: SAINT of the DAY

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 3 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 3 March

At first St Katharine Drexel was going to give only her fortune to the work of the missions but instead, at the suggestion of the Pope, gave herself.   Her long life was spent bringing the faith to others and inspiring others to join her.   God wants more than our generosity – He wants us!   Perhaps we should look around and see how we might serve Him?

Katharine’s vast inheritance was distributed among her father’s twenty-­nine favourite charities. Not a penny went to her own community.    She wanted her sisters to live by faith, trusting God—not money—for everything!

St Katharine Drexel, pray for us!

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quotes/s of the Day – 3 March

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Quotes/s of the Day – 3 March

“My sweetest Joy is to be in the presence of Jesus in the holy Sacrament. I beg that when obliged to withdraw in body, I may leave my heart before the holy Sacrament. How I would miss Our Lord if He were to be away from me by His presence in the Blessed Sacrament!”

“It is a lesson we all need – to let alone the things that do not concern us. He has other ways for others to follow Him; all do not go by the same path. It is for each of us to learn the path by which He requires us to follow Him and to follow Him in that path.”

“Often in my desire to work for others I find my hands tied, something hinders my charitable designs, some hostile influence renders me powerless. My prayers seem to avail nothing, my kind acts are rejected, I seem to do the wrong thing when I am trying to do my best. In such cases I must not grieve. I am only treading in my Master’s steps.”

St Katharine Drexel

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 3 March

He who does not take up his cross and come after me is not worthy of me…………….Matthew 10:38

REFLECTION – “The cross is the greatest gift God could bestow on His elect on earth. There is nothing so necessary, so beneficial, so sweet, or so glorious as to suffer something for Jesus. If you suffer as you ought, the cross will become a precious yoke that Jesus will carry with you.”…………..St Louis Grignion de Montfort
“The patient and humble endurance of the cross whatever nature it may be, is the highest work we have to do.”………..St Katharine Drexel

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, impress upon me that without a cross on earth there will be no crown in heaven. Help me to bear my cross daily for You as You bore Your Cross for me and for all mankind. St Katharine Drexel, pray for us, amen.

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Saint of the Day – 3 March – St Katharine Drexel

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Saint of the Day – 3 March – St Katharine Drexel S.B.S (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament) (1858-1955-AGED 96) – was an American heiress, philanthropist, religious sister, missionary, educator, and foundress. She was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church in 2000; her feast day is observed on March 3. She is the only canonised saint to have been born a United States citizen – Patron of Philanthropy, racial justice

 

 

Francis A. Drexel, a world-­renowned banker and a man of faith, provided his family a life of ease.    And Emma Bouvier, her stepmother, trained Katharine and her two sisters in generous giving.    Mrs. Drexel believed God gave wealth to the family to aid others and regularly involved her daughters in distributing food, medicine, clothing and rent money to the poor.    The experience shaped Katharine’s future.

As a rich girl, Katharine also had a grand debut into society.   But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death and her life took a profound turn.  Both parents died by 1885, leaving Katharine and her sisters to share the annual income from a fourteen-­million-­dollar estate.   Right away Katharine began to donate thousands of dollars to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions for the construction and staffing of schools for Native American children, which became her life’s passion.   Katharine had always been interested in the plight of the Indians, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonour.   While on a European tour, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor.   The pope replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?”   His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities.

Back home, Katharine visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions.

At this time, however, Katharine’s spirit was in turmoil. Bishop James O’Connor, her spiritual director, thought she should remain a single woman serving in the world.   But she wished to become a contemplative nun.   “My heart is very sorrowful, she wrote him in 1886, because like the little girl who wept when she found that her doll was stuffed with sawdust and her drum was hollow, I, too, have made a horrifying discovery and my discovery like hers is true. I have ripped both the doll and the drum open and the fact lies plainly and in all its glaring reality before me: All, all, all (there is no exception) is passing away and will pass away.”

In 1891, Katharine resolved the tension by founding a new religious community, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Coloured People, that combined prayer and social action.   By 1904, 104 sisters had joined her.  After three and a half years of training, Mother Drexel and her first band of nuns–Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Coloured–opened a boarding school in Santa Fe.    A string of foundations followed.   By 1942, she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools.   Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania.   In all, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states.

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Two saints met when Mother Drexel was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her order’s Rule approved in Rome.   Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans.

Katharine established 145 Catholic missions and twelve schools for Native Americans and fifty schools for blacks.   During her lifetime she gave away about twenty million dollars, mostly for these causes.

In 1935, Katharine suffered a severe heart attack.   Two years later she retired and got her heart’s desire—eighteen years of quiet contemplation before she died in 1955 at age ninety-­six.

 

 

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Saints – 3 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Katharine Drexel (Optional Memorial)
—
St Anselm of Nonantola
St Arthelais of Benevento
Bl Benedetto Sinigardi da Arezzo
St Calupan
St Camilla
St Cele-Christ
St Cunegundes
St Foila
Bl Frederick of Hallum
St Gervinus
Bl Innocent of Berzo
Bl Jacobinus de’ Canepaci
St Lamalisse
St Non
Bl Peter de Geremia
Bl Pierre-René Rogue
St Sacer
St Teresa Eustochio Verzeri
St Titian of Brescia
St Winwallus of Landévennec
—
40 Martyrs in North Africa – A group of Christians martyred together in North Africa, date unknown. No details have survived, but we know these names – Antonius, Artilaus, Asclipius, Astexius, Basil, Bosimus, Carissimus, Castus, Celedonius, Claudianus, Cyricus, Donata, Emeritus, Emeterius, Euticus, Felix, Fortunatus, Frunumius, Gajola, Georgius, Gorgonius, Hemeterus, Isicus, Janula, Julius, Luciola, Luciolus, Marcia, Marinus, Meterus, Nicephorus, Papias, Photius, Risinnius, Sabianus, Savinianus and Solus

Martyrs of Pontus – 3+ saints – A large group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Emperor Maximian Galerius and governor Ascleopiodato. We have some details on three of them – Basiliscus, Cleonicus and Eutropius. 308 in Pontus (in modern Turkey)
Martyrs of Caesarea;
Asterius
Marinus
Martyrs of Calahorra
Cheledonius
Emeterius

Martyrs of Gondar, Ethiopia:
Bl Antonio Francesco Marzorati
Bl Johannes Laurentius Weiss
Bl Michele Pío Fasol

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 2 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 2 March

Sometimes we have to break out of the mold into which others have placed us and hew our own unique pathway to God.   A princess is expected to be a princess but St Agnes saw something more valuable and more important and refused the throne of an empress.   She knew what she wanted and would let nothing stand in her way.   When God calls, we leave all else behind!

St Agnes of Prague, pray for us!

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Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 2 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 2 March

“Happy the soul to whom it is given to attain this life with Christ, to cleave with all one’s heart to Him whose beauty all the heavenly hosts behold forever, whose love inflames our love, the contemplation of whom is our refreshment, whose graciousness is our delight, whose gentleness fills us to overflowing, whose remembrance makes us glow with happiness, whose fragrance revives the dead, the glorious vision of whom will be the happiness of all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.   For He is the brightness of eternal glory, the splendour of eternal light, the mirror without spot.”

St Clare of Assisi to St Agnes of Prague

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(Read the entire letter here: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/bread_on_the_trail/2011/08/a-letter-of-st-clare-to-blessed-agnes-of-prague-on-christian-contemplation.html)

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

May the Lord……make you overflow with love for one another and for all…………1 Thes 3:12

REFLECTION – “Therefore, most beloved sister, or should I say, Lady worthy of great respect because You are the spouse and the mother and the sister of my Lord Jesus Christ and have been adorned resplendently with the sign of inviolable virginity and most holy poverty. Be strengthened in the holy service which You have undertaken out of an ardent desire for the Poor Crucified, Who for the sake of all of us took upon Himself the Passion of the Cross and delivered us from the power of the Prince of Darkness to whom we were enslaved because of the disobedience of our first parents and so reconciled us to God the Father.”………….St Clare of Assisi to St Agnes of Prague

PRAYER – Loving Father, grant me the grace to strive after perfect love. Help me to bring forth frequent acts of love so that I may grow in this greatest of virtues. Help me to be a loving support to all you need me in any way, stranger or friend. Fill my heart with the love You have for me and the unceasing love of Your Divine Son who died for me. St Agnes of Prague, pray for us! Amen

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Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 2 March – St Agnes of Prague/Bohemia

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Saint of the Day – 2 March – St Agnes of Prague/Bohemia (1211-1282) Princess, Nun, Foundress, Abbess, Missionary of Charity and Mercy – Patron of the Czech Republic and Prague

Agnes was born in Prague sometime around the year 1211.   She was the daughter of the Czech King Premysl Ottokar I of Bohemia and Queen Constancia.   Her father promised that she would marry the son of German Emperor Friedrich II, later King Henry VII, Duke of Swabia and sent her to the Austrian Babenberg court to study court manners.   However, Duke Leopold VI of Babenberg persuaded the Emperor to allow his son to marry with his daughter Margaret – so Agnes returned to Bohemia.   She was later engaged to marry the English king Henry and even his father, emperor Friedrich II, who in the meantime had become a widower.   However, when inspired by the holy life of Francis and Clare of Assisi, who left their rich families and lived in smaller monasteries and shared the destiny with the poor, Agnes decided to become a bride of Christ.

In around 1232, supported by her brother and mother, Agnes founded the Hospital of St. Francis for poor and ill people and established the Hospital Brotherhood that later developed into the Order of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star.   A year later, two monasteries were founded near the Hospital: the male monastery for the Smaller Brothers of St. Francis and the female convent for the Clares.   The three building complex created the first dominating Gothic landmark in Prague which could compete with the residential palace at Hradčany.

Agnes joined the Clares, the female branch of the Franciscans, in 1234, along with another seven girls from wealthy Czech noble families. She became the abbess of the later St. Agnes Convent for a lengthy 47 years maintaining a great friendship through letters with St Clare of Assisi, some which still survive.

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St Clare of Assisi and St Agnes of Prague

Agnes always aimed for peace within the Czech lands.   It was she who negotiated the reconciliation between King Wenceslas I and his son Premysl Ottokar II averting a possible civil war which would otherwise become unavoidable.   In addition, her intervention miraculously prevented a Tatar invasion.

Agnes died in March 1282 in the St. Agnes Convent.   She was spoken of highly due to her education, charity and mercy and she was a very important personality of political, cultural and social life.   Legends about her extraordinary life appeared instantly after her death.

Although Elisabeth of Bohemia and Emperor Charles VI made great effort in terms of Agnes’ beautification, it did not happen until 1874 upon proposal by Prague Archbishop and Cardinal Friedrich Joseph Schwarzenberg.   She was canonised on 12 November 1989 by Pope John Paul II.    The canonisation ceremony in Rome was witnessed by an unbelievable ten-thousand Czech pilgrims.

 

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Saints – 2 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Absolon of Caesarea
St Agnes of Prague/Bohemia
St Angela of the Cross Guerrero
St Basileus the Martyr
Chad of Mercia
Bl Charles the Good
St Cynibild of Laestingaeu
Bl Engelmar Unzeitig
St Felix of Treves
St Fergna the White
Bl Girolamo Carmelo di Savoia
St Gistilian
St Joavan of Brittany
St John Maron
St Jovinus the Martyr
St Lorgius of Caesarea
St Lucius of Caesarea
St Luke Casali
St Quintus the Thaumaturge
St Slebhene
St Troas
St Willeic
—
Martyrs of Campania – Approximately 400 northern Italian Christians martyred for their faith by pagan Lombards. Their story was recorded by Pope Saint Gregory the Great, who reports that they people spent their final days supporting each other with prayer. c579 in Camnpania, Italy.

Martyrs of Porto Romano – 4 saints – Group of Christians martyred in the persecution of Diocletian. The only other information that survives are the names of four of them – Heraclius, Januaria, Paul and Secondilla. c305 at Porto Romano at the mouth of the River Tiber, Rome.

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Saint of the day – 1 March – St David of Wales (c 542-c 601) Bishop

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Saint of the day – 1 March – St David of Wales (c 542-c 601) Bishop in Caerfai, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Bishop, Prince, Monk, Confessor, Missionary, founder.  Died 1 March 589 at St David’s, Pembrokeshire, Wales). Patron of Wales, Pembrokeshire; Naas; vegetarians; poets, doves.

Born to the Welsh royalty, the son of King Sandde, Prince of Powys and of Saint Non, the daughter of a chieftain of Menevia (western Wales). Grandson of Ceredig, Prince of Cardigan.    Uncle of King Arthur.    Priest.   David studied under Saint Paul Aurelian.   Worked with Saint Columbanus, Saint Gildas the Wise and Saint Finnigan. Missionary and founder of monasteries.

Following his contribution to the synod of Brevi in Cardiganshire, he was chosen primate of the Cambrian Church.    Archbishop of Caerleon on Usk, he moved the see to Menevia. Presided at the Synod of Brefi which condemned the Pelagian heresy.   He encouraged the life of austerity and founded monasteries.   David was the first to build a chancel to Saint Joseph of Arimathea’s wattle church at Glastonbury.

After a vision in his monastery in the Rhos Valley, he set out next day with two monks to Jerusalem to aid the Patriarch.    While there his preaching converted anti-Christians. Legend says that once while he was preaching, a dove descended to his shoulder to show he had the blessings of the Spirit and that the earth rose to lift him high above the people so that he could be heard by them all.    Another time when was preaching to a crowd at Llandewi Brefi, people on the outer edges could not hear, so he spread a handkerchief on the ground, stood on it and the ground beneath rose up in a pillar so all could hear.

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Though the exact date of his death is not certain, tradition holds that it was on March 1, which is the date now marked as Saint David’s Day.   The two most common years given for his death are 601 and 589.   The monastery is said to have been “filled with angels as Christ received his soul.”   His last words to his followers were in a sermon on the previous Sunday.    The Welsh Life of St David gives these as, “Lords, brothers and sisters, Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed, and do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. And as for me, I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.”   “Do ye the little things in life”  is today a very well known phrase in Welsh.   The same passage states that he died on a Tuesday, from which attempts have been made to calculate the year of his death.

David was buried at St David’s Cathedral at St Davids, Pembrokeshire, where his shrine was a popular place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages.   During the 10th and 11th centuries the Cathedral was regularly raided by Vikings, who removed the shrine from the church and stripped off the precious metal adornments.   In 1275 a new shrine was constructed, the ruined base of which remains to this day which was originally surmounted by an ornamental wooden canopy with murals of David, Patrick and Denis. The relics of David and Justinian of Ramsey Island were kept in a portable casket on the stone base of the shrine. It was at this shrine that Edward I came to pray in 1284.   During the reformation Bishop Barlow (1536–48), a staunch Protestant, stripped the shrine of its jewels and confiscated the relics of David and Justinian.

David was officially recognised at the Holy See by Pope Callixtus II in 1120, thanks to the work of Bernard, Bishop of St David’s.  Over 50 churches in South Wales were dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days.

In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, David is listed under 1 March with the Latin name Dávus.   He is recognised as bishop of Menevia in Wales who governed his monastery following the example of the Eastern Fathers.   Through his leadership, many monks went forth to evangelise Wales, Ireland, Cornwall and Armorica (Brittany and surrounding provinces).

Welsh tradition says that during a battle against the Anglo-Saxons, David advised the Welsh warriors each to wear a leek in his hat or armour so that the warriors might distinguish themselves from their enemies.   Ever since then, the Welsh wear leeks every March 1 in memory of David.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints 1 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Ash Wednesday (2017)
—
St Abdalong of Marseilles
St Adrian of Numidia
St Agapios of Vatopedi
St Agnes Cao Guiying
St Albinus of Angers
St Albinus of Vercelli
St Amandus of Boixe
St Antonina of Bithynia
Bl Aurelia of Wirberg
Bl Bonavita of Lugo
St Bono of Cagliari
Bl Christopher of Milan
Bl Claudius Gabriel Faber
St David of Wales
St Domnina of Syria
St Donatus of Carthage
St Eudocia of Heliopolis
St Felix III, Pope
Bl George Biandrate
Bl Giovanna Maria Bonomo
Bl Gonzalo de Ubeda
St Hermes of Numidia
St Jared the Patriarch
St Leo of Rouen
St Leolucas of Corleone
St Lupercus
St Marnock
St Monan
Bl Pietro Ernandez
Bl Roger Lefort
St Rudesind
St Seth the Patriarch
St Simplicius of Bourges
St Siviard
St Swithbert
St Venerius of Eichstätt

Martyrs of Africa – A group of 13 Christians executed together for their faith in Africa. The only details about them to survive are ten names – Abundantius, Adrastus, Agapius, Charisius, Donatilla, Donatus, Fortunus, Leo, Nicephorus and Polocronius. c290

Martyrs of Antwerp – A group of Christians martyred together, buried together and whose relics were transferred and enshrined together. We know nothing else but their names – Benignus, Donatus, Felician, Fidelis, Filemon, Herculanus, Julius, Justus, Maximus, Pelagius, Pius, Primus, Procopius and Silvius. Died in the 2nd Century in Rome. They are buried in the St Callistus Catacombs and their relics were enshirned in the Jesuit Church in Antwerp on 28 February 1600.

Martyrs of the Salarian Way – A group of 260 Christians who, for their faith, were condemned to road work on the Salarian Way in Rome, Italy during the persecutions of Claudius II. When they were no longer needed for work, they were publicly murdered in the amphitheatre. Martyrs. c269 in Rome.

Martyrs Under Alexander – A large but unspecified number of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Alexander Severus and the praefect Ulpian who saw any non-state religion to be a dangerous treason. c219

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 28 February

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Quote of the Day – 28 February

“Those on earth who contemplate the wounds of My Face

shall in heaven behold it radiant with glory.”

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Jesus to Sr Mary of St Peter in 1844 and dictated The Golden Arrow Prayer

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Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 28 Februa

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One Minute Reflection – 28 February

Whoever wishes to be my follower
must take up his cross each day
and follow in my footsteps…………..Luke 9:23

REFLECTION – Let the primary desire of your heart be to stir up in yourselves an ardent and affectionate desire to imitate Jesus in all your works.
Strive to do everything as the Lord Himself would do……………St John of the Cross

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, help me to pattern my life after You.  Grant that I may imitate You completely – in all my thoughts, words and deeds.  May Your Holy Face be before my eyes in every moment, in every word, in every deed.    Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!  Amen

luke-9-23

let-the-primary-desire-of-your-heart-stjohnofthecrossmay-your-holy-face-be-before-my-eyes

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 28 February

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Our Morning Offering – 28 February

Almighty and Eternal Father,
since it has pleased Our Divine Saviour
to reveal to mankind in modern times
the power residing in His Holy Face,
we now avail ourselves of this Treasure
in our great need.
Since our Saviour Himself promised
that by offering to You His Holy Face
disfigured in the Passion we can procure
the settlement of all the affairs of our household
and that nothing whatsoever will be refused to us,
we now come before Your throne.
Eternal Father, turn away Your angry gaze
from our guilty people whose face has
become unsightly in Your eyes.
Look instead upon the Face of Your Beloved Son;
for this is the Face of Him in whom You are well pleased.
We now offer You His Holy Face covered
with blood, sweat, dust, spittle and shame,
in reparation for the worst crimes of our age.
The All-Merciful Advocate opens His mouth
to plead our cause; listen to His cries,
behold His tears, O God and,
through the merits of His Holy Face,
hearken to Him when He intercedes
for us poor miserable sinners.
Amen

the-holy-face-prayer

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY

Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus – 28 February – Shrove Tuesday

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Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus – 28 February – Shrove Tuesday

DEVOTION TO THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

This ancient and venerable Catholic practice is rooted in the representation of the face of Christ said to have been left on the towel or veil used by a holy woman thought to be named, Veronica.   An Archconfraternity of the Holy Face was established in Tours, France, 1884;  its members make reparation for the blasphemies hurled at Christ.   Since St. Therese’s devotion to the Holy Face has become known, this devotion has spread worldwide.

 

In addition, a devout and pious nun, Sr. Pierina, who died in 1945, was given many visions through Our Blessed Lady who appeared to her, as did Our Lord Jesus.  They urged her to make reparation for the many insults Jesus suffered in His Passion, such as to be slapped, spit upon and kissed by Judas, as well as now being dishonoured in many ways in the Blessed Sacrament by neglect, sacrileges, and profanations.

She was given a medal which on one side bore a replica of the Holy Shroud and the inscription: “Illumina, Domine, vultum tuum super nos.” [O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us.]   On the reverse side was a radiant host with the words: “Mane nobiscum, Domine.” [Stay with us, O Lord.]    After great difficulties, Sr. Pierina obtained permission to have the medal cast.    Even the expenses for the casting were miraculously met when she found on her desk an envelope with the exact amount of the bill—–11,200 lire.

The Evil Spirit showed his chagrin and rage at the medals by flinging them down and burning the pictures of the Sacred Face and beating the nun savagely.

In 1940, when the Second World War had the world in turmoil, Italy saw a wide distribution of the medal: soldiers, sailors and pilots were provided with the replica of the Holy Face since the medal was already famous for its miracles and countless spiritual and temporal favours.

In Our Blessed Mother’s own word, the medal is a weapon for defense, a shield for courage, a token of love and mercy and which her Divine Son wished to give the world in these troubled days of lust and hatred for God and His Church.   Devilish snares have been set to rob the hearts of men of their faith while evil spreads the world over. Genuine apostles are few.   A Divine remedy to all these evils will be the Adorable Face of her Son, Jesus.

Whoever wears this medal and, if possible, pays a visit to the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesday in a spirit of reparation for the outrages received by the Holy Face of Our Blessed Saviour during His Passion and those bestowed on Him every day in the Sacrament of His Divine Love, will be granted the gift of a strong Faith and the grace to fly to its defense, conquering if need be, all exterior and interior difficulties.   Moreover, they are promised a happy death with special assistance of Christ Himself.

The very first medal of the Holy Face was offered to our glorious Pontiff, Pius XII; then the whole world became acquainted with this special object of holy favours and devotion.   No soldier taken as a prisoner of war and who wore the medal was ever executed.   Our Blessed Lord requested that a special feast be instituted to honor His Holy Face on Shrove Tuesday. Pope St. Pius XII obeyed and had this day set aside to honour the Holy Face in 1958.

When Venerable Pope Pius XII granted that the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus be observed on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, he fulfilled the desire of Our Lord that His sorrowful Holy Face be contemplated in reparation for our sins.  The history and tradition of venerating His Holy Face began on the day of His crucifixion and continues through the centuries with the help of holy men and women chosen by  Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother to propagate this devotion.

The bloodied, bruised, disfigured face of Jesus was imprinted on a veil as St. Veronica comforted Christ by wiping His face on the road to Calvary.   The original veil is kept at St. Peter’s Basilica and is displayed every Passion Sunday.   The image of the face on the Shroud of Turin provides another opportunity of veneration of the Holy Face.

 

 

 

In his 2005 book On the Way to Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict XVI performed an analysis of Holy Face devotions and characterised them as having three separate components.   The first element is discipleship, and the orientation of one’s life towards an encounter with Jesus. The second element is seeing Jesus in the Eucharist, the third element is eschatological and is interwoven between the other two.

Referring to Matthew 25:31-36 Benedict XVI stated that the first element (i.e. discipleship) involves seeing Jesus in the face of the poor and the oppressed and caring for them but to properly see Jesus in the face of those in need, believers first need to become better acquainted with Jesus through the Eucharist.   The second element involves relating the Passion of Jesus, and the suffering expressed by the images that represent his wounded face to the Eucharistic experience.   Thus the devotion that starts with the images of the face of Jesus leads to his contemplation in the Eucharistic experience.    The eschatological element then builds on awakening to Christ by contemplating his face in the Eucharist

 

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY

Saints and Feasts – 28 February – Shrove Tuesday

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Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus
Shrove Tuesday (2017) – Derivation: Old English: to shrive, i.e., hear confessions. Monday and Tuesday (also sometimes the preceding Thursday) before Ash Wednesday, known in southern Europe as the Carnival (carnem levare, taking away of flesh); a period of festivity before Lent.
—
Abercius
Antonia of Florence
Augustus Chapdelaine
St Caerealis
St Caerealis of Alexandria
St Cyra of Beroea
Bl Daniel Brottier
St Ermine
St Gaius of Alexandria
St Pope Hilary/Hilarius
St Justus the Potter
St Llibio
St Macarius the Potter
St Maidoc
St Marana of Beroea
St Oswald of Worcester
St Proterius of Alexandria
St Pupulus of Alexandria
St Romanus of Condat
St Ruellinus of Treguier
St Rufinus the Potter
St Serapion of Alexandria
St Sillan of Bangor
Bl Stanislaw Antoni Trojanowski
St Theophilus the Potter
Bl Villana de’Botti

Martyrs of Alexandria – A number of clerics and layman who died as martyrs of charity for ministering to the sick during a plague that ravaged Alexandria, Egypt in 261.

Martyrs of Unzen – 16 lay people martyred together in one of the periodic anti-Christian persecutions in imperial Japan – Died: 28 February 1627 in Unzen, Japan. Beatified:
24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI

• Alexius Sugi Shohachi
• Damianus Ichiyata
• Dionisius Saeki Zenka
• Gaspar Kizaemon
• Gaspar Nagai Sohan
• Ioannes Araki Kanshichi
• Ioannes Heisaku
• Ioannes Kisaki Kyuhachi
• Leo Nakajima Sokan
• Ludovicus Saeki Kizo
• Ludovicus Shinzaburo
• Maria Mine
• Paulus Nakajima
• Paulus Uchibori Sakuemon
• Thomas Kondo Hyoemon
• Thomas Uzumi Shingoro

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, LENT, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY
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Thought for the Day – 27 February

We welcome you St Gregory of Narek as our newest Doctor of the Universal Church, with gratitude and joy! Gregory’s Book of Lamentations was the source of consolation and guidance for generations in times of immense suffering. His monastery survived for a thousand years but was destroyed by the Turks during the genocide. Armenians lost Narek but they still have the book they call by that name in his honour and many Armenians have traditionally slept with a copy of the work under their pillows. The words of Gregory, too, are consonant with Pope Francis’ call on all Catholics to reach out to God in our brokenness with humble and contrite hearts. Perhaps we should allow St Gregory to lead us through Lent this year? As Gregory wrote in the Lamentations, “Hear the prayers of my embattled heart for mercy, when I cry out to you, ‘Lord,’ in my time of need.”

St Gregory of Narek- Doctor of the Universal Church, pray for us!

All you Holy Martyrs and Saints of Armenia, pray for us!

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Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 27 February

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Quote of the Day – 27 February

“You found me, a sinner, lost in darkness
crying like the psalmist in prayer,
and because of Your willing care
you were called Shepherd, for not only
did You care, but You sought,
not only did You find, O worker of miracles
but with the goodness of Your love,
a love that defies description,
You rescued me,
lifting me upon Your shoulders,
to set down alongside Your heavenly army,
the heirs to Your fatherly legacy. ”

~~~~~ St Gregory of Narek (Book fo Lamentations) – Saint of the Day

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Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 February

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One Minute Reflection – 27 February

You have drawn near …….. to the heavenly Jerusalem ……. to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant…..Hebrews 12:22-24

REFLECTION – “Hear the prayers of my embattled heart for mercy, when I cry out to you, ‘Lord,’ in my time of need.” …….St Gregory of Narek

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, amid the dizzying events and circumstances of daily life, let me keep my eyes on Jesus. Help me to rely on Him always, for He is my Redeemer. St Gregory of Narek, you who continue to lead and teach us the ways of true love, consolation and repentance, pray for all the souls of the Universal Church. Amen

hebrews-12-22-24hear-the-prayers-of-my-embattled-heart-st-gregory-of-narekst-gregory-of-narek-pray-for-us-2

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, Uncategorized

Our Morning Offering – 27 February

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Our Morning Offering – 27 February

I long not so much for the gifts
as for the Giver.
I yearn not so much for the glory
as the Glorified.
I burn not so much with the desire for life
as in memory of the Giver of Life.
I sigh not so much with the rapture of splendour
as with the heartfelt fervour for its Maker.
I seek not so much for rest
as for the face of our C omforter.
I pine not so much for the bridal feast
as for the distress of the Groom,
through whose strength I wait with certain
expectation believing with unwavering hope
that in spite of the weight of my transgressions
I shall be saved by the Lord’s mighty hand and
that I will not only receive remission of sins
but that I will see the Lord Himself
in His mercy and compassion.

St Gregory of Narek – Book of Lamentations

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Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 27 February -St Gregory of Narek/Doctor of the Church

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Saint of the Day – 27 February -St Gregory of Narek/Doctor of the Church (951 – 1003)  Armenian monk, poet, mystical philosopher, theologian and saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Catholic Church, born into a family of writers. Based in the monastery of Narek (Narekavank), he was “Armenia’s first great poet”and as “the watchful angel in human form”

Born circa 950 to a family of scholarly churchmen, St. Gregory entered Narek Monastery on the south-east shore of Lake Van at a young age.   Shortly before the first millennium of Christianity, Narek Monastery was a thriving center of learning.   These were the relatively quiet, creative times before the Turkic and Mongol invasions that changed Armenian life forever.   Armenia was experiencing a renaissance in literature, painting, architecture and theology, of which St. Gregory was a leading figure.   The Prayer Book is the work of his mature years. He called it his last testament: “its letters like my body, its message like my soul.” St. Gregory left this world in 1003, but his voice continues to speak to us.

Written shortly before the first millennium of Christianity, the prayers of St. Gregory of Narek have long been recognized as gems of Christian literature. St. Gregory called his book an “encyclopedia of prayer for all nations.” It was his hope that it would serve as a guide to prayer by people of all stations around the world.

A leader of the well-developed school of Armenian mysticism at Narek Monastery, at the request of his brethren he set out to find an answer to an imponderable question: what can one offer to God, our creator, who already has everything and knows everything better than we could ever express it?    To this question, posed by the prophets, psalmist, apostles and saints, he gives a humble answer – the sighs of the heart – expressed in his Book of Prayer, also called the Book of Lamentations.

In 95 grace-filled prayers St. Gregory draws on the exquisite potential of the Classical Armenian language to translate the pure sighs of the broken and contrite heart into an offering of words pleasing to God  The result is an edifice of faith for the ages, unique in Christian literature for its rich imagery, its subtle theology, its Biblical erudition and the sincere immediacy of its communication with God.

For my soul is filled with torment, and there is no cure for my body. I am tortured and laid low in the extreme, and I groan with the sighs of my heart.
Psalm 38:9-10

Gregory of Narek is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and is particularly venerated among Catholics of the Armenian rite.   His name is listed among the saints for 27 February in the Martyrologium Romanum.

Pope John Paul II referred to Gregory of Narek in several addresses as well as in his encyclical Redemptoris Mater and in his Apostolic Letter for the 1,700th Anniversary of the Baptism of the Armenian People.

He is mentioned by name in Article 2678 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

On 21 February 2015, it was announced that Saint Gregory of Narek would be named a Doctor of the Catholic Church by Pope Francis.    His being given this title was not an equipollent canonisation since he had already been listed as a saint in the Martyrologium Romanum.    On 12 April 2015, Divine Mercy Sunday, during a Mass for the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, Pope Francis officially proclaimed Gregory of Narek as Doctor of the Church.

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St. Gregory’s proclamation as a Doctor of the Church was commemorated by the Vatican City state with a postage stamp issued September 2, 2015.

Minifoglio

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Saints – 27 February

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St Abundius of Rome
St Alexander of Rome
St Alnoth
St Anne Line
St Antigonus of Rome
St Baldomerus of Saint Just
St Basilios of Constantinople
St Comgan
St Emmanuel of Cremona
St Fortunatus of Rome
St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows/Gabriel Possenti
St Gregory of Narek – Doctor of the Church, Poet, Philosopher and Theologian
St Herefrith of Lindsey
St Honorina
St John of Gorze
Bl Josep Tous Soler
St Luke of Messina
Bl Maria Caridad Brader
Bl Mark Barkworth
St Procopius of Decapolis
Bl Roger Filcock
St Thalilaeus
Bl William Richardson
—
Martyrs of Alexandria: –
Besas of Alexandria
Cronion Eunus
Julian of Alexandria

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 26 February

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Thought for the Day – 26 February

The life of Blessed Isabella suggests to us that our human weaknesses, even those of the body, can be overcome by the grace of God. Isabelle, despite pressure to do otherwise for personal and political gain, resisted the pressure of the Courts of France to marry, remaining a virgin and consecrating herself to God.   She sought out the spiritual direction she needed, listened for the call of the Lord and followed it without question.   So eager to rejoin her Maker, she was rewarded with knowledge of when that would happen, which she awaited with joy.    Blessed Isabella of France inspires us to examine our lives, identifying those small barriers we hide behind, rather than serving God.   Whether it be work, sickness, fatigue, or financial security, we all have many reasons—many excuses—to focus on ourselves, rather than on the Lord and through Him, on those in need around us.   This is a perfect opportunity to broaden our view from ourselves to those around us, breaking down our barriers and embracing the Lord in those we serve.   Isabella made sure that nothing would keep her from God and she walked a very singular path to Him.   She is a lesson in determination – something we can achieve in our own quest for complete holiness!

Bl Isabella of France, pray for us!

bl-isabella-of-france-pray-for-us

Posted in Of the SICK, the INFIRM, All ILLNESS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 26 February – Blessed Isabella of France (1224-1270)

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Saint of the Day – 26 February – Bl Isabella of France (1224-1270) – Virgin/Princess and Lay Religious, Founder and Apostle of Mercy – Patron of the sick. Additional Memorials – 31 August (Franciscans), 8 November as one of the Saints of the Diocese of Evry, 22 February – the day of her death.

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Isabella was the sister of King Saint Loius IX of France. Her mother, the saintly Queen Blance, bore this child special affection because, after the death of her husband, Isabella was the only daughter still living. Her cousin was King Saint Fernando III of Castile and Leon. Isabella was endowed with remarkable gifts, and special attention was paid to educate her in the requirements of her high position. She knew Latin perfectly and could read the writings of the Gathers of the Church in that language. She was, however, no less capable in accomplishments that are peculiarly feminine. With consummate artistry she embroidered vestments for divine services, and took great pleasure in working for the poor and the sick.

The princess loved and honored her saintly brother Louis, who was her senior by ten years and had then been king for many a year. But her love for God was still greater. One day she was knitting a new-fashioned nightcap. The king asked her to give it to him when finished.

“No,” she said, “this is the first of its kind and I must make it for my Savior Jesus Christ.”

Accordingly, she gave it to a poor sick person, and then made another for the king.

Her life in the royal palace was as retired as that of a nun in her convent. Hardly ever did she speak at mealtime. The choicest food she sent to the sick, and she ate so little even of the ordinary food that it was remarkable how she could live. Blessed Isabella of France fasted three days every week. All the court considered the princess a saint. One of the court ladies, who wrote her life, says,

“We beheld in her a mirror of innocence, and at the same time an admirable model of penance, a lily of purity, a fragrant rose of patience and self-renunciation, and endless fountain of goodness and mercy.”

Isabella’s only desire was to belong entirely to God, and so she took the vow of perpetual virginity. However, Emperor Frederick II sought her consent for marriage with his eldest son Conrad. Her mother, her brother, the king, and even Pope Innocent IV would have liked to see the marriage take place for the good of the State and the Church. But Isabella wrote the Holy Father a letter in which she expressed such high regard for consecrated virginity and so strong a desire to persevere in it, that the pope praised her highly and encouraged Blessed Isabella of France in her noble sentiments.

When her mother died, Isabella wished to withdraw from the court in order to consecrate herself entirely to God in a convent. With the king’s assistance she built a convent for the Poor Clares at Longchamps near Paris, and then with several ladies of the court she obtained admission. At the request of the Holy Father, the strict rule of St Clare was mitigated for this community by St Bonaventure, who was minister general of the Franciscan Order at that time, and the modified rule was confirmed anew by Pope Urban IV.

At Isabella’s request, the convent was named for the Humility of Our Blessed Lady. Blessed Isabella of France lived there nine years and desired nothing more than to be a humble subject although she surpassed everyone in sanctity. At her death in 1270 angels were heard singing. Several miracles occurred also after her death, and so Pope Leo X beatified her.

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Saints 26 February

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Bl Adalbert of Tegernsee
St Agricola of Nevers
St Alexander of Alexandria
St Andrew of Florence
St Dionysius of Augsburg
St Faustinian of Bologna
St Felix
St Fortunatus
St Irene
St Isabelle of France
Bl Ottokar of Tegernsee
St Paula of Saint Joseph of Calasanz
Bl Piedad de la Cruz Ortiz
St Porphyrius of Gaza
Bl Robert Drury
St Victor the Hermit

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 25 February

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Thought for the Day – 25 February

In these days of “women’s liberation”, it is good to know that women like St Walburga worked side by side with their male brothers in great missionary works.   They are remembered for their independence, their splendid gifts and their devotion to the work of Christ.   Their example is still an inspiration today when the harvest indeed is great but the labourers are few.   And there is really no substitute for the female gifts – so come all your discerning hearts, go forth and show them!

St Walburga, pray for us!

st-walburga-pray-for-us-2st-walburga-feb-25

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 February

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One Minute Reflection – 25 February

In truth and love then, we shall have grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son……..2 John 1

REFLECTION – Our thoughts must be centred on the search for truth and our affections on the fervour of love.   In this way, we will always be practising divine love…….St Bernard

PRAYER – All-loving Father, let me ever be open to Your truth and Your love.   Enable me to walk all my days in that love and that truth.    St Walburga, you were a shining example in your day and in ours, of living the walk of faith and truth for the honour and glory of God’s truth and His Kingdom, please pray for us all, amen.

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Posted in Against EPIDEMICS, Against FAMINE, Against SORE THROATS, COUGHS, WHOOPING COUGH,, Against STORMS, EARTHQUAKES, THUNDER & LIGHTENING, FIRES, DROUGHT / NATURAL DISASTERS, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, PATRONAGE - OF DOGS and against DOG BITES and/or RABIES, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 25 February – St Walburga (c 710-779)

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Saint of the Day – 25 February – St Walburga (c 710-779) Nun and Missionary. Daughter of St Richard the King. Sister of St Willibald and St Winebald, niece of St Boniface.  Also known as:-Auboué, Avangour, Avongourg, Bugga, Falbourg, Gaubourg, Gauburge, Gaudurge, Gualbourg, Valborg, Valburg, Valpurge, Valpuri, Vaubouer, Vaubourg, Walbourg, Walburg, Walburge, Walpurd, Walpurga, Walpurgis, Waltpurde, Warpurg – Religious/Missionary – Patronages – against coughs,,against dog bites, against famine, against hydrophobia (as a symptom of) rabies, against mad dogs, against plague/epidemics, against storms, sailors, farmers, harvests, Eichstätt, Germany, Diocese of, Plymouth, England, Diocese of and  4 Cities. Additional Memorials – 12 October (translation of relics to Eichstätt), 24 September (translation of relics to Zutphen).

Painting by the Master of Meßkirch, c 1535–1540.

St Walburga was English, the sister of two associates of St Boniface in evangelising Germany and the Lowlands.  She was the daughter of St.Richard the Pilgrim, a West Saxon chieftain and Winna, sister of St. Boniface, Apostle to Germany. She had at least three siblings; two of her brothers are known by name, St Willibald and St Winibald.

In 720 her father and two older brothers went on a pilgrimage to Rome. Her father died at Lucca, Italy, but the brothers reached Rome where St. Winibald (c.701-761) became a monk, while St. Willibald (c.700-787) went on to the Holy Land.

Walburga was educated at Wimborne Monastery in Dorset, where she became a nun. In 748, she was sent with St. Lioba to Germany to help St. Boniface in his missionary work. She spent two years at Bishofsheim, after which she became Abbess of the monastery at Heidenheim founded by her brother St. Winebald.    At her brother’s death in 761, St. Walburga was appointed Abbess of both monasteries by her other brother St. Willibald, who was then Bishop of Eichstadt.    She remained superior of both men and women until her death on February 25, 779.

She was buried first at Heidenheim but her body was tranferred next to that of her brother, St. Winebald, at Eichstadt. n the 870s, Walpurga’s remains were transferred to Eichstätt. In Finland, Sweden, and Bavaria, her feast day commemorates the transfer of her relics on May 1.   At present the most famous of the oils of saints is the Oil of Saint Walburga (Walburgis oleum).   It flows from the stone slab and the surrounding metal plate on which rest the relics of Saint Walburga in her church in Eichstädt in Bavaria.   The fluid is caught in a silver cup, placed beneath the slab for that purpose, and is distributed among the faithful in small vials by the Sisters of Saint Benedict, to whom the church belongs.   A chemical analysis has shown that the fluid contains nothing but the ingredients of water. Though the origin of the fluid is probably due to natural causes, the fact that it came in contact with the relics of the saint justifies the practice of using it as a remedy against diseases of the body and the soul.   Mention of the oil of Saint Walburga is made as early as the ninth century by her biographer Wolfhard of Herrieden. – from the Catholic Encyclopedia article Oil of Saints

Second-last – Painting by the Master of Meßkirch, c. 1535–40.   Last image – The St. Walburga Church in Bruges was originally a Jesuit church

 

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Saints – 25 February

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St Adelelmo of Engelberg
St Aldetrudis
St Ananias of Phoenicia
Bl Avertano of Lucca
St Caesarius of Nanzianzen
St Callistus Caravario
Bl Ciriaco Maria Sancha Hervas
Bl Didacus Yuki Ryosetsu
St Domenico Lentini
St Donatus the Martyr
Felix III, Pope
St Gerland the Bishop
St Gothard the Hermit
St Herena the Martyr
St Justus the Martyr
St Laurentius Bai Xiaoman
St Luigi Versiglia
Bl Maria Adeodata Pisani
St Nestor of Side
St Riginos
Bl Robert of Arbrissel
Bl Sebastian of Aparicio
St Tharasius
St Toribio Romo González
St Victor of Saint Gall
St Walburga
—
Martyrs of Egypt – A group of Christian men who were exiled to Egypt for their faith and were eventually martyred for their faith in the persecutions of Numerian. We know little more than their names:
Claudianus
Dioscurus
Nicephorus
Papias
Serapion
Victor
Victorinus