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
Category: SAINT of the DAY
Thought for the Day – 24 February
Thought for the Day – 24 February
It was not long before Fr Tommaso Maria, envied for the good he achieved in his ministry and for his life as an exemplary priest, was faced with humiliation and persecution and, in 1880, even a brother priest’s slanderous calumny. However, sustained by the Lord, he lovingly carried that cross which his own Bishop Ammirante had foretold at the time of his institute’s foundation: “Have you chosen the title of the Most Precious Blood? Well, may you be prepared to drink the bitter cup”. (St John Paul at the Beatification of Blessed Thomas).
Know that we are all called to drink His Cup and carry His Cross but never forget – he carries and drinks with us all!
(St John Paul at the Beatification of Blessed Thomas).
Bl Thomas Mary Fusco, Pray for us!
St John Paul, Pray for us!
Quote of the Day – 24 February
Quote of the Day – 24 February
“Patience is the safeguard
and pillar of all the virtues”.
~~~~~ Blessed Thomas Mary Fusco
Saint of the Day – 24 February – Bl Thomas Mary Fusco/Tommaso Maria Fusco
Saint of the Day – 24 February – Bl Thomas Mary Fusco/Tommaso Maria Fusco (1831-1891 died aged 59) Priest and Founder called an “Apostle of Charity” – Patron of Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood
Thomas was born to a noble family in 1831 in Pagani, Italy. He was the seventh of eight children. When he was only six years old, his mother died of cholera. A few years later, his father also died. His uncle, a primary school teacher, took charge of Thomas’ education.
The canonization of St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1839 stirred aspirations for the priesthood in Thomas’ heart. He entered the seminary in 1847 and was ordained a priest in 1855. Immediately Thomas opened a morning school for the formation of boys and organized evening prayers for youth and adults. During these years, Thomas nurtured a deep devotion to the crucified Christ and to his Blessed Sorrowful Mother because of the deaths of his uncle and younger brother.
In 1862 he opened a school of moral theology in his home to train priests for the ministry of confession. That same year he also founded the priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate for missions among the faithful.
In 1873, Thomas was deeply moved by the plight of an orphaned street girl. After careful discernment, he founded the Congregation of the “Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood”.
For the remainder of his years, he was completely dedicated to his priestly ministry, preaching spiritual retreats and missions, teaching catechism to youth and organizing prayer for young people and adults at his parish. He worked to build a strong devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus among the people he served.
In 1891, Thomas died of liver disease at the age of 59.
The cause for his beatification was opened in 1955 and the decree of his heroic Christian virtues was published in 2001.
At Thomas’ beatification, Blessed John Paul II presented him as “an example and a guide to holiness for priests, for the people of God and for his spiritual daughters, the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood.”
Saints 24 February
St Adela of Blois
Bl Antonio Taglia
Bl Arnold of Carcassonne
St Betto of Auxerre
Bl Berta of Busano
Bl Constantius of Fabriano
St Cummian Albus of Iona
St Ethelbert of Kent
Evetius of Nicomedia
Bl Florentina Nicol Goni
Bl Ida of Hohenfels
Bl Josefa Naval Girbes
St Liudhard
Bl Lotario Arnari
Bl Marco De’ Marconi
St Modestus of Trier
St Peter the Librarian
St Praetextatus of Rouen
St Primitiva
St Sergius of Caesarea
Bl Simon of Saint Bertin
Bl Tommaso Maria Fusco
Thought for the Day – 23 February
Thought for the Day – 23 February
We may not be required to give our lives for our faith but we all have to suffer something for our beliefs and our fidelity. It is when things are difficult that faith is really faith. A faith that is good only in good times is scarcely faith at all. We are all called to witness to our faith in some way. Polycarp was recognised as a Christian leader by all Asia Minor Christians—a strong fortress of faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ. His own strength emerged from his trust in God, even when events contradicted this trust. Living among pagans and under a government opposed to the new religion, he led and fed his flock. Like the Good Shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep and kept them from more persecution in Smyrna. He summarised his trust in God just before he died: “Father… I bless Thee, for having made me worthy of the day and the hour…” (Acts of Martyrdom, Chapter 14).
Quote/s of the Day – 23 February
Quote/s of the Day – 23 February
“Eighty and six years have I served Christ,
nor has He ever done me any harm.
How, then, could I blaspheme my King who saved Me?….
I bless Thee for deigning me worthy of this day
and this hour that I may be among Thy martyrs
and drink the cup of my Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Let us, therefore, foresake the vanity of the crowd
and their false teachings and turn back to the word
delivered to us from the beginning.”
“You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour
and after a little is extinguished
but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment
and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly.”
~~~~~ St Polycarp
One Minute Reflection – 23 February
One Minute Reflection – 23 February
There is a time and judgment for everything………Eccl 8:6
REFLECTION – “Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,’ helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man.”…………..St Polycarp
PRAYER – God of goodness, let me never allow an opportunity for good to be wasted. Help me take advantage of every moment at my disposal to do good. St Polycarp pray for us, amen.
Saint of the Day – 23 February – St Polycarp of Smyrna
Saint of the Day – 23 February – St Polycarp of Smyrna – (69-156) – Martyr, Apostolic Church Father and Bishop of Smyrna, Writer, Preacher, Theologian – Patron against dysentery and earache.
Polycarp is regarded as a saint and Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. His name ‘Polycarp’ means ‘much fruit’ in Greek.
It is recorded by Irenaeus, who heard him speak in his youth, and by Tertullian, that he had been a disciple of John the Apostle. Saint Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a disciple of John and that John had ordained him bishop of Smyrna.
With Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers. The sole surviving work attributed to his authorship is his Letter to the Philippians; it is first recorded by Irenaeus of Lyons.
According to St Irenaeus, Polycarp was a companion of Papias, another “hearer of John” as Irenaeus interprets Papias’ testimony and a correspondent of Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius addressed a letter to him, and mentions him in his letters to the Ephesians and to the Magnesians.
Irenaeus regarded the memory of Polycarp as a link to the apostolic past. He relates how and when he became a Christian, and in his letter to Florinus stated that he saw and heard Polycarp personally in lower Asia. Irenaeus wrote to Florinus:
“I could tell you the place where the blessed Polycarp sat to preach the Word of God. It is yet present to my mind with what gravity he everywhere came in and went out; what was the sanctity of his deportment, the majesty of his countenance; and what were his holy exhortations to the people. I seem to hear him now relate how he conversed with John and many others who had seen Jesus Christ, the words he had heard from their mouths.”
In particular, he heard the account of Polycarp’s discussion with John and with others who had seen Jesus. Irenaeus also reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by apostles, was consecrated a bishop and communicated with many who had seen Jesus. He repeatedly emphasizes the very great age of Polycarp. Polycarp kissed the chains of Ignatius when he passed by Smyrna on the road to Rome for his martyrdom.
Polycarp occupies an important place in the history of the early Christian Church. He is among the earliest Christians whose writings survived. Saint Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a “disciple of the apostle John and by him ordained bishop of Smyrna”. He was an elder of an important congregation which was a large contributor to the founding of the Christian Church.
Irenaeus, who had heard him preach in his youth, said of him: “a man who was of much greater weight and a more steadfast witness of truth, than Valentinus and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics”. Polycarp had learned from apostle John to flee from those who change the divine truth. One day he met in the streets of Rome the heretic Marcion who, resenting that Polycarp did not greet him, said: “Do you know me?” The saint replied: “Yes, I know you, the first-born of Satan.” Polycarp lived in an age after the deaths of the apostles, when a variety of interpretations of the sayings of Jesus were being preached. His role was to authenticate orthodox teachings through his reputed connection with the apostle John: “a high value was attached to the witness Polycarp could give as to the genuine tradition of old apostolic doctrine”, Wace commented, “his testimony condemning as offensive novelties the figments of the heretical teachers”. Irenaeus states (iii. 3) that on Polycarp’s visit to Rome, his testimony converted many disciples of Marcion and Valentinus.
The story of Polycarp’s martyrdom is the earliest recorded account of a Christian martyr. Polycarp was seized for being a Christian. Persecution and death would not tear him away from Jesus now. Polycarp was led into the stadium of Smyrna. The crowd demanded that he be left to the lions, but instead he was sentenced to death by fire. An eyewitness account claims that the flames didn’t harm him. He was finally killed by the sword, and his body was burned.
The community of believers celebrated the anniversary of Polycarp’s death with great joy, for in him they had seen an outstanding example of love and patience. He had held strong and had won the treasure of eternal life. Polycarp is remembered as an Apostolic Father, one who was a disciple of the apostles.
Saints – 23 February
St Polycarp of Smyrna (Memorial)
—
St Alexander Akimetes
St Boswell
St Dositheus of Egypt
St Felix of Brescia
St Florentius of Seville
St Giovanni Theristi
Bl Giovannina Franchi
Bl John of Hungary
Bl Josephine Vannini
Bl Juan Lucas Manzanares
Bl Ludwik Mzyk
St Martha of Astorga
St Medrald
St Milburga
Bl Nicolas Tabouillot
St Ordonius
St Polycarp of Rome
Bl Rafaela Ybarra de Villalongo
St Romana
St Serenus the Gardener
Bl Stefan Wincenty Frelichowski
St Willigis of Mainz
St Zebinus of Syria
—
Martyrs of Syrmium – 73 Christians who were martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know no details about them, and only six of their names – Antigonus, Libius, Rogatianus, Rutilus, Senerotas and Syncrotas.
Thought for the Day – 22 February
Thought for the Day – 22 February
From the beginning, the specialness, or primacy, of Peter has been recognized. On the feast of the Chair of Peter, we celebrate our unity as a Church. We celebrate the love, presence and protection of Christ for us, the Church. The title Chair of Peter refers to the chair from which a bishop presided, a symbol of his authority. When the title refers to Saint Peter, it recalls the supreme teaching power of Peter and his successors. Its first occupant stumbled a bit some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit, sometimes even failed scandalously. As individuals, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down. Still, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as a focus for the universal Church. It is from the chair, from the pastoral power given him, that the pope shepherds Christ’s flock. When the pope cautions world leaders, pleads for peace, or condemns social injustice, people listen and respond. What makes the world listen to this man? The answer lies in Scripture and in Tradition. Peter is named first among the apostles of Jesus; he was often their spokesman and leader; he was the first to preach after Pentecost and he was the leader in defending Christ and his message AND THE OCCUPANT OF THE CHAIR STILL IS!
Holy Father St Peter and all the Saints and Popes in Heaven, Pray for us!
Quote of the Day – 22 February
Quote of the Day – 22 February
“He who deserts the chair of Peter,
upon whom the Church was founded,
does he trust himself to be in the Church?”
~~~~~ Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage and Martyr
De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate, 251
Feast of the Chair of St Peter – 22 February
Feast of the Chair of St Peter – 22 February – Cathedra Petri), also known as the Throne of Saint Peter, is a relic conserved in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The relic is a wooden throne that tradition claims the Apostle Saint Peter, the leader of the Early Christians in Rome and first Pope, used as Bishop of Rome. The relic is enclosed in a sculpted gilt bronze casing designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed between 1647 and 1653. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI described the chair as “a symbol of the special mission of Peter and his Successors to tend Christ’s flock, keeping it united in faith and in charity.”
The wooden throne was a gift from Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in 875. It has been studied many times over the years, the last being from 1968 to 1974, when it was last removed from the Bernini altar. That study concluded that it was not a double, but rather a single, chair with a covering and that no part of the chair dated earlier than the sixth century. Below – The Pope’s throne in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, last publicly exposed in 1867.
The Chair is the cathedra of St. Peter’s Basilica. Cathedra is Latin for “chair” or “throne”, and denominates the chair or seat of a bishop, hence “cathedral” denominates the Bishop’s church in an episcopal see. The Popes formerly used the Chair. It is distinct from the Papal Cathedra in St. John Lateran Archbasilica, also in Rome, which is the actual cathedral church of the Pope, because the Cathedra he currently and officially sits upon is in its apse.
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, the Latin-rite liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. This is a very ancient tradition, proven to have existed in Rome since the fourth century. On it we give thanks to God for the mission he entrusted to the Apostle Peter and his Successors.
“Cathedra” literally means the established seat of the Bishop, placed in the mother church of a diocese which for this reason is known as a “cathedral”; it is the symbol of the Bishop’s authority and in particular, of his “magisterium”, that is, the evangelical teaching which, as a successor of the Apostles, he is called to safeguard and to transmit to the Christian Community.
When a Bishop takes possession of the particular Church that has been entrusted to him, wearing his mitre and holding the pastoral staff, he sits on the cathedra. From this seat, as teacher and pastor, he will guide the journey of the faithful in faith, hope and charity.
So what was the “Chair” of St Peter? Chosen by Christ as the “rock” on which to build the Church (cf. Mt 16: 18), he began his ministry in Jerusalem, after the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. The Church’s first “seat” was the Upper Room, and it is likely that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, Mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples. Therefore, we have the journey from Jerusalem, the newly born Church, to Antioch, the first centre of the Church formed from pagans and also still united with the Church that came from the Jews. Then Peter went to Rome, the centre of the Empire, the symbol of the “Orbis” – the “Urbs”, which expresses “Orbis”, the earth, where he ended his race at the service of the Gospel with martyrdom.
…This is testified by the most ancient Fathers of the Church, such as, for example, St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, but who came from Asia Minor, who in his treatise Adversus Haereses, describes the Church of Rome as the “greatest and most ancient, known by all… founded and established in Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul”; and he added: “The universal Church, that is, the faithful everywhere, must be in agreement with this Church because of her outstanding superiority” (III, 3, 2-3)….
Tertullian, a little later, said for his part: “How blessed is the Church of Rome, on which the Apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their blood!” (De Praescriptione Hereticorum, 36).
Consequently, the Chair of the Bishop of Rome represents not only his service to the Roman community but also his mission as guide of the entire People of God.
Celebrating the “Chair” of Peter, therefore, as we are doing today, means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.
Among the numerous testimonies of the Fathers, I would like to quote St Jerome’s. It is an extract from one of his letters, addressed to the Bishop of Rome. It is especially interesting precisely because it makes an explicit reference to the “Chair” of Peter, presenting it as a safe harbour of truth and peace.
This is what Jerome wrote: “I decided to consult the Chair of Peter, where that faith is found exalted by the lips of an Apostle; I now come to ask for nourishment for my soul there, where once I received the garment of Christ. I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with your beatitude, that is, with the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built” (cf. Le lettere I, 15, 1-2).
Dear brothers and sisters, in the apse of St Peter’s Basilica, as you know, is the monument to the Chair of the Apostle, a mature work of Bernini. It is in the form of a great bronze throne supported by the statues of four Doctors of the Church: two from the West, St Augustine and St Ambrose and two from the East: St John Chrysostom and St Athanasius.
I invite you to pause before this evocative work which today can be admired, decorated with myriads of candles and to say a special prayer for the ministry that God has entrusted to me. Raise your eyes to the alabaster glass window located directly above the Chair and call upon the Holy Spirit, so that with his enlightenment and power, He will always sustain my daily service to the entire Church. For this, as for your devoted attention, I thank you from my heart.”…………….. Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday, 22 February 2006
Saints and Feasts 22 February
Chair of Saint Peter (Feast)
St Ailius of Alexandria
St Angelus Portasole
St Aristion of Salamis
St Athanasius of Nicomedia
St Baradates of Cyrrhus
Bl Diego Carvalho
St Elwin
Bl Émilie d’Oultremont d’Hoogvorst
Bl Isabella of France
St John the Saxon
St Limnaeus
St Margaret of Cortona
St Maximian of Ravenna
St Miguel Facerías Garcés
St Mohammed Abdalla
St Papias of Heirapolis
St Paschasius of Vienne
St Raynerius of Beaulieu
St Thalassius
—
Martyrs of Arabia – A memorial for all the unnamed Christians martyred in the desert and mountainous areas south of the Dead Sea during the persecutions of Emperor Valerius Maximianus Galerius.
Thought for the Day – 21 February
Thought for the Day – 21 February
St Peter Damian was a reformer but he reformed his own life before he tried to reform others. Example is still the most powerful influence in changing others and preaching is useless if it is not joined to a holy life. Before we can change others, we have to change ourselves. Lent is nearly here – a great place to work on our progress or to begin all over again.
St Peter Damian, pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day
Quote/s of the Day
“He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength…
As the soul is the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.”
“The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits.
A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday
with exactitude and to study and work with all our strength.”
“Through a woman [Eve] a curse fell upon the earth;
through a woman [Mary] as well there returned
to the earth, a blessing.”
St Peter Damian
One Minute Reflection – 21 February
One Minute Reflection – 21 February
For whom the Lord loves he reproves,
he chastises the one he favours………….Proverbs 3:12
REFLECTION – “When you are scorned by others and lashed by God, do not despair.
God lashes us in this life to shield us from the eternal lash in the next.”………..St Peter Damian
PRAYER – Infinitely just God, help me to accept Your corrections and turn them to my benefit. Let me never despair about my weaknesses but entrust myself to Your goodness and mercy. Help me Lord! St Peter Damian, pray for us, amen.
Saint of the Day – 21 February – St Peter Damian (c 1007-1072)
Saint of the Day – 21 February – St Peter Damian (c 1007-1072) Bishop, Confessor, Benedictine Monk, Cardinal, Theologian, Reformer, Writer, Teacher, Preacher, Poet and Doctor of the Church. Also known as – Petrus Damianus; Italian: Pietro or Pier Damiani was a reforming Benedictine Monk and Cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of Paradiso as a great predecessor of Saint Francis of Assisi. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1828 by Patronages – Spiritual warfare, Church Reformers and of Faenza, Italy.
Peter was born in Ravenna, Italy, around 1007, the youngest of a large noble but poor family. Orphaned early, he was at first adopted by an elder brother, who ill-treated and underfed him while employing him as a swineherd. After some years, another brother, Damianus, who was Archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him away to be educated. Adding his brother’s name to his own, Peter made such rapid progress in his studies of Theology and Canon Law, first at Ravenna, then at Faenza and finally at the University of Parma, that when about twenty-five years old he was already a famous teacher at Parma and Ravenna. As well as a good grounding in the field of law, he acquired a refined expertise in the art of writing the ars scribendi and, thanks to his knowledge of the great Latin classics, became “one of the most accomplished Latinists of his time, one of the greatest writers of medieval Latin” (J. Leclercq, Pierre Damien, ermite et homme d’Église, Rome, 1960, p. 172).
About 1035, however, he gave up his secular calling and, avoiding the compromised luxury of Cluniac Monasteries, entered the isolated hermitage of Fonte Avellana, near Gubbio. Both as a Novice and as a Monk, his fervour was remarkable but led him to such extremes of self-mortification in penance that his health was affected and he developed severe insomnia. On his recovery, he was appointed to lecture to his fellow Monks. Then, at the request of St Guy of Pomposa (Guido d’Arezzo) and other heads of neighbouring Monasteries, for two or three years he lectured to their brethren too and (about 1042) wrote the Vita of St. Romuald for the monks of Pietrapertosa. Soon after his return to Fonte Avellan, he was appointed Economus (manager or administrator) of the house by the Prior, who designated him as his successor. In 1043 he became Prior of Fonte Avellana and remained so until his death in February 1072.
Subject-hermitages were founded at San Severino, Gamogna, Acerreta, Murciana, San Salvatore, Sitria and Ocri. A zealot for monastic and clerical reform, he introduced a more-severe discipline, including the practice of flagellation (“the disciplina”), into the house, which, under his rule, quickly attained celebrity and became a model for other foundations, even the great abbey of Monte Cassino. There was much opposition outside his own circle to such extreme forms of penitence, but Peter’s persistent advocacy ensured its acceptance, to such an extent that he was obliged later to moderate the imprudent zeal of some of his own hermits. Another innovation was that of the daily siesta, to make up for the fatigue of the night office. During his tenure of the priorate a cloister was built, silver chalices and a silver processional cross were purchased, and many books were added to the library.
Reformer
Although living in the seclusion of the cloister, Peter Damian closely watched the fortunes of the Church and like his friend Hildebrand, the future Pope Gregory VII, he strove for reforms in a deplorable time. When Benedict IX resigned the pontificate into the hands of the archpriest John Gratian (Gregory VI) in 1045, Peter hailed the change with joy and wrote to the new pope, urging him to deal with the scandals of the church in Italy, singling out the wicked bishops of Pesaro, of Città di Castello and of Fano. Extending the area of his activities, he entered into communication with the Emperor Henry III. He was present in Rome when Clement II crowned Henry III and his consort Agnes and he also attended a synod held at the Lateran in the first days of 1047, in which decrees were passed against simony. After this he returned to his hermitage.
Pope Benedict XVI described him as “one of the most significant figures of the 11th century … a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform.”
Philosophy
Peter often condemned philosophy. He claimed that the first grammarian was the Devil, who taught Adam to decline deus in the plural. He argued that monks should not have to study philosophy, because Jesus did not choose philosophers as disciples and so philosophy is not necessary for salvation. But the idea (later attributed to Thomas Aquinas) that philosophy should serve theology as a servant serves her mistress originated with him.
Papal envoy and Cardinal
During his illness the pope died, and Frédéric, abbot of Monte Cassino, was elected pope as Stephen IX. In the autumn of 1057, Stephen IX determined to make Damian a cardinal. For a long time Damian resisted the offer, for he was more at ease as an itinerant hermit-preacher than a reformer from within the Curia but was finally forced to accept and was consecrated Cardinal Bishop of Ostia on 30 November 1057. In addition he was appointed administrator of the Diocese of Gubbio. The new cardinal was impressed with the great responsibilities of his office and wrote a stirring letter to his brother-cardinals, exhorting them to shine by their example before all. Four months later Pope Stephen died at Florence and the Church was once more distracted by schism. Peter was vigorous in his opposition to the antipope Benedict X but force was on the side of the intruder and Damian retired temporarily to Fonte Avallana.
Milan
About the end of the year 1059 Peter was sent as legate to Milan by Pope Nicholas II. So bad was the state of things at Milan, that benefices (a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services) were openly bought and sold and the clergy publicly married the women with whom they lived. The resistance of the clergy of Milan to the reform of Ariald the Deacon and Anselm, Bishop of Lucca rendered a contest so bitter that an appeal was made to the Holy See. Nicholas II sent Damian and the Bishop of Lucca as his legates. The party of the irregular clerics took alarm and raised the cry that Rome had no authority over Milan. Peter boldly confronted the rioters in the cathedral, he proved to them the authority of the Holy See with such effect that all parties submitted to his decision. He exacted first a solemn oath from the archbishop and all his clergy that for the future no preferment should be paid for; then, imposing a penance on all who had been guilty, he reinstated in their benefices all who undertook to live in celibacy. This prudent decision was attacked by some of the rigorists at Rome but was not reversed. Meanwhile, Peter was pleading in vain to be released from the cares of his office. Neither Nicholas II nor Hildebrand would consent to spare him.
Later career
He rendered valuable assistance to Pope Alexander II in his struggle with the antipope, Honorius II. In July 1061 the pope died and once more a schism ensued. Peter Damian used all his powers to persuade the antipope Cadalous to withdraw but to no purpose. Finally Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne and acting regent in Germany, summoned a council at Augsburg at which a long argument by Peter Damian was read and greatly contributed to the decision in favour of Alexander II.
In 1063 the pope held a synod at Rome, at which Peter Damian was appointed legate to settle the dispute between the Abbey of Cluny and the Bishop of Mâcon. He proceeded to France, summoned a council at Chalon-sur-Saône, proved the justice of the contentions of Cluny, settled other questions at issue in the Church of France and returned in the autumn to Fonte Avellana. Having served the papacy as legate to France and to Florence, he was allowed to resign his bishopric in 1067. Early in 1072 or 1073 he was sent to Ravenna to reconcile its inhabitants to the Holy See, they having been excommunicated for supporting their archbishop in his adhesion to the schism of Cadalous. On his return thence he was seized with fever near Faenza. He lay ill for a week at the monastery of Santa Maria degl’Angeli, now Santa Maria Vecchia. On the night preceding the feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch, he ordered the office of the feast to be recited and at the end of the Lauds he died. He was at once buried in the monastery church, lest others should claim his relics.
Saints for 21 February
St Peter Damian (Optional Memorial)
—
St Avitus II of Clermont
Bl Caterina Dominici
Bl Claudio di Portaceli
St Daniel of Persia
Bl Eleanora
St Ercongotha
St Eustathius of Antioch
St Felix of Metz
St George of Amastris
St Germanus of Granfield
St Gundebert of Sens
Bl Noel Pinot
St Paterius of Brescia
St Pepin of Landen
St Peter Mavimenus
St Randoald of Granfield
St Robert Southwell
St Severian of Scythopolis
St Severus of Syrmium
Bl Thomas Pormort
St Valerius of San Pedro de Montes
St Verda of Persia
—
Martyrs of Sicily – 79 saints – Seventy-nine Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. c.303 on Sicily
Martyrs of Hadrumetum – A group of 26 Christians martyred together by Vandals. We know little more than eight of their names – Alexander, Felix, Fortunatus, Saturninus, Secundinus, Servulus, Siricius and Verulus. c.434 at Hadrumetum (modern Sousse, Tunisia)
Alexander
Felix
Fortunatus
Saturninus
Secundinus
Servulus
Siricius
Verulus
Martyrs Uchibori – Three Japanese laymen, all brothers, all sons of Paulus Uchibori Sakuemon, one a teenager, one only five years old, and all martyred for their faith in the persecutions in Japan. 21 February 1627 in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan. Beatified 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Antonius
Balthasar
Ignatius
Thought for the Day – 20 February
You might think that if the Blessed Mother of God appears to you and speaks to you, you are a saint. But that is not necessarily true. What is true is that Mary chose to come to children who the year before had been visited by the Angel of Peace, children who had listened to the angel’s message and prayed the prayer the angel taught them. They responded to Mary in the same way and prayed the Rosary and offered sacrifices for sinners and for the conversion of the world. They were children who wanted to please God and that is why the Church has declared them Blessed.
Francisco and Jacinta died within a short time, as the Lady had said they would. They were beatified on May 13, 2000. At that time Lucia los Santos was a Carmelite nun in Portugal. Sister Lucia died February 13, 2005 at age 97. The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year and is the source of many conversions and miracles.
Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 20 February
Quote/s of the Day – 20 February
“We were burning in that light
which is God and we were not consumed.
What is God like?
It is impossible to say.
In fact we will never be able to tell people”
~~~~~ Blessed Francisco Marto of Fatima
“Speak ill of no one and avoid the company
of those who talk (bad) about their neighbours.”
~~~~~ Blessed Jacinta Marto of Fatima
One Minute Reflection – 20 February
One Minute Reflection – 20 February
“Father, … to you I offer praise; for what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children” ………….Mt 11: 25
REFLECTION – “Francisco bore without complaining the great sufferings caused by the illness from which he died. It all seemed to him so little to console Jesus: he died with a smile on his lips. Little Francisco had a great desire to atone for the offences of sinners by striving to be good and by offering his sacrifices and prayers.
The life of Jacinta, his younger sister by almost two years, was motivated by these same sentiments……………….In her motherly concern, the Blessed Virgin came here to Fátima to ask men and women “to stop offending God, Our Lord, who is already very offended”. It is a mother’s sorrow that compels her to speak; the destiny of her children is at stake. For this reason she asks the little shepherds: “Pray, pray much and make sacrifices for sinners; many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them”. …St Pope John Paul on the Beatification of the siblings, 13 May 2000
PRAYER – “Father, to You I offer praise, for what You have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children”.
Father, to you I offer praise for all Your children, from the Virgin Mary, Your humble Servant, to the little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta.
May the message of their lives live on for ever to light humanity’s way! Blessed Francisco and Jacinta, pray for us! Amen. (Prayer by St Pope John Paul)
Our Morning Offering – 20 February
Our Morning Offering – 20 February
The Angel of Fatima’s Prayer
O Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee
the most precious Body, Blood, Soul
and Divinity of Jesus Christ
present in all the tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges and indifferences
by which He is offended.
By the infinite merits of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
Amen
Saint/s of the Day – 20 February – Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto
Saint/s of the Day – 20 February – Blessed Francisco (11 June 1908 – 4 April 1919 died aged 10), his sister Jacinta Marto (11 March 1910 – 20 February 1920 died aged 9) and their cousin Lúcia Santos (1907–2005) were children from Aljustrel near Fátima, Portugal, who said they witnessed three apparitions of an angel in 1916 and several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1917. Mary was given the title Our Lady of Fátima as a result and Fátima became a major centre of world Christian pilgrimage. Patrons of Bodily ills, captives, people ridiculed for their piety, prisoners, sick people, against sickness.
The youngest children of Manuel and Olimpia Marto, Francisco and Jacinta were typical of Portuguese village children of that time. They were illiterate but had a rich oral tradition. According to Lúcia’s memoirs, Francisco had a placid disposition, was somewhat musically inclined, and liked to be by himself to think. Jacinta was affectionate if a bit spoiled. She had a sweet singing voice and a gift for dancing. Following their experiences, their fundamental personalities remained the same. Francisco preferred to pray alone, saying that this would “console Jesus for the sins of the world”. Jacinta said she was deeply affected by a terrifying vision of Hell shown to the children at the third apparition and deeply convinced of the need to save sinners through penance and sacrifice as the Virgin had told the children to do. All three children but particularly Francisco and Jacinta, practised stringent self-mortifications to this end.
Apparitions
The brother and sister, who tended to their families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia in the fields of Fatima, Portugal, are said to have witnessed several apparitions of an angel in 1916. Lucia later recorded the words of several prayers she said they learned from this angel. Lucia wrote in her memoirs that she and her cousins saw the first apparition of Mary on May 13, 1917. At the time of the apparition, Francisco was 9 years old and Jacinta was 7. During the first apparition, Mary is said to have asked the three children to say the Rosary and to make sacrifices, offering them for the conversion of sinners. She also asked them to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months.
Illness and death
The siblings were victims of the great 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe that year. In October 1918, Mary appeared and said she would take them to heaven soon. Both lingered for many months, insisting on walking to church to make Eucharistic devotions and prostrating themselves to pray for hours, kneeling with their heads on the ground as they said the angel had instructed them to do. Francisco declined hospital treatment on April 3, 1919 and died at home the next day. Jacinta was moved from one hospital to another in an attempt to save her life, which she insisted was futile. She developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs were removed. Because of the condition of her heart, she could not be fully anesthetized only local and later suffered terrible pain, which she said would help to convert many sinners. On February 19, 1920, Jacinta asked the hospital chaplain who heard her confession to bring her Holy Communion and administer Extreme Unction because she was going to die “the next night”. He told her that her condition was not that serious and that he would return the next day. The next day Jacinta was dead; she had died, as she had often said she would, alone. In 1920, shortly before her death at age nine, Jacinta Marto reportedly discussed the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary with a then 12-year-old Lúcia Santos and said:
“When you are to say this, don’t go and hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at His side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God entrusted it to her.”
Jacinta and Francisco are both buried at the Our Lady of Fátima Basilica.
Beatification
The cause for the siblings’ canonisation began in 1946. Exhumed in 1935 and again in 1951, Jacinta’s face was found incorrupt; Francisco’s had decomposed.
In 1937 Pope Pius XI decided that causes for minors should not be accepted as they could not fully understand heroic virtue or practice it repeatedly, both of which are essential for canonisation. For the next four decades, no sainthood processes for children were pursued. In 1979 the bishop of Leiria-Fatima asked all the world’s bishops to write to the Pope, petitioning him to make an exception for Francisco, who had died at age 10 and Jacinta, who had died at age 9. More than 300 bishops sent letters to the Pope, writing that “the children were known, admired and attracted people to the way of sanctity. Favours were received through their intercession.” The bishops also said that the children’s canonization was a pastoral necessity for the children and teenagers of the day. In 1979 the Congregation for the Causes of Saints convened a general assembly. Cardinals, bishops, theologians and other experts debated whether it was possible for children to display heroic virtue. Eventually, they decided that, like the very few children who have a genius for music or mathematics, “in some supernatural way, some children could be spiritual prodigies.” They were declared venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1989. On May 13, 2000, they were declared “blessed” in a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Jacinta is the youngest non-martyred child ever to be beatified.
In her biography of Jacinta, Lúcia said that Jacinta had told her of having had many personal visions outside of the Marian visitations; one involved a pope who prayed alone in a room while people outside shouted ugly things and threw rocks through the window. At another time, Jacinta said she saw a pope who had gathered a huge number of people together to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
When Pope John Paul II arrived in Fatima for the first time, in 1982, he said that he had come “because, on this exact date last year in St. Peter’s Square, in Rome, there was an attempt on the life of your Pope, which mysteriously coincided with the anniversary of the first vision at Fatima, that of 13 May 1917. The coincidence of these dates was so great that it seemed to be a special invitation for me to come here.”
Sister Lúcia, when questioned about the Third Secret, said that the three of them had been very sad about the suffering of a Pope and that Jacinta kept saying: Coitadinho do Santo Padre, tenho muita pena dos pecadores! (“Poor Holy Father, I feel a lot of pity for the sinners!”) Another miracle was found to have been attributed to their intercession and the process that investigated the miracle was validated on 8 February 2013. Reports indicate the canonisation could occur on the centenary of the apparitions in 2017, together with Lúcia.
Saints 20 February
St Amata of Assisi
St Bolcan of Derken
St Colgan
St Eleutherius of Tournai
St Eucherius of Orleans
St Falco of Maastricht
Bl Francisco Marto
Bl Jacinta Marto
St Leo of Catania
St Nemesius of Cyprus
St Pothamius of Cyprus
St Serapion of Alexandria
St Silvanus of Emesa
St Stanislawa Rodzinska
St Valerius of Courserans
St Wulfric of Haselbury
St Zenobius of Antioch
—
Martyrs of Tyre
Nilus
Peleus
Tyrannio
Thought for the Day – 19 February
Thought for the Day – 19 February
Disaster does not always have to be the ruin of everything and very terrible blows of bad fortune can lead to great blessings. St Conrad of Piacenza’s bad fortune made him reflect on his own way of life. A man was almost executed through his neglect and he realised that God deserved better, in fact God deserved the very best of him. The rest is the story of a man who made way for the Holy Spirit, who cleared the path for His entry and thus found his joy in God and became a delightful friend to all, a conduit of love and miracles. It is a lesson to be pondered.
St Conrad of Piacenza, Pray for us!
Quote of the Day – 19 February
Quote of the Day – 19 February
Making a path for the Holy Spirit
Conversion has two elements for its completion.
First, we need to rid ourselves of the things that hinder gospel living. That includes not only “stuff” but also habits, attitudes, mindsets, lifestyles etc. that hinder hearing and living the Gospel.
Secondly, conversion calls us to commit our lives to Jesus and His gospel call.
It calls for practising charity, having hope, learning how to love all people.
If we only clean out our lives, we create a vacuum into which all sorts of things can enter (cf. Luke 11:24-26).
Our inner housecleaning ordinarily should open a path for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
~ Lester Bach OFM Cap, Seeking a Gospel Life
Today’s Saint of the Day, St Conrad of Piacenza is a perfect example of making the path! St Conrad Pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 19 February
One Minute Reflection – 19 February
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain…….1 Cor 15:58
REFLECTION – “Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature. What you are in His sight is what you are
and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received…but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”…………St Francis of Assisi
PRAYER – God of mercy, teach me to live as You have ordained. Help me to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. As St Conrad learnt courage through adversity, help me too to use the events of my life, both good and bad, to give only my best to all I meet. St Conrad of Piacenza, pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 19 February
Our Morning Offering – 19 February
Prayer for Enlightenment
Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God,
grant us in our misery the grace to do for You alone
what we know You want us to do
and always to desire what pleases You.
Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened
and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
may we be able to follow in the footprints of
Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You,
Most High, Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity
and are glorified God all-powerful forever and ever.
Amen.
(From “A Letter to the Entire Order”)
Saint of the Day – 19 February –
Saint of the Day – 19 February – ST CONRAD OF PIACENZA T.O.S.F – (1290-1351) –
Franciscan tertiary, pilgrim and hermit – Patron of cure of hernias, Cities and Diocese of Noto and Calendasco, Sicily
Born to one of the most noble and wealthy families in the town of Piacenza in Northen Italy, Conrad grew up in a lifestyle marked by privilege and leisure. Among his family and peers, however, he was also noted for deep faith in the Lord, and led a virtuous and God-fearing life. Having married quite young, both he and his wife were recognized for their piety and charity.
The Church of Calendasco with the castle where St. Conrad was born in the background (left)
As was common in noble families at that time, Saint Conrad spent much of his time hunting. During one such outing, he ordered his attendants to scatter some brush and light it on fire in attempts to smoke out some game hiding there. Without warning, a great wind arose, and mercilessly spread the fire beyond that planned, causing severe damage to neighbours’ homes and land. Authorities mistakenly arrested a mendicant friar living in the area and the man was tried and sentenced to death.
Both Conrad and his wife, seeing the injustice and unable to stand their role in it, agreed to confess. As the friar was being led to execution, Saint Conrad made a public confession of the crime. He sold all his possessions, giving them away to those who had lost property. Now desitute, he and his wife separated, Saint Conrad entering a monastery of the Franciscan Order and his wife entering the Orde of Poor Clares.
Saint Conrad spent the remainder of his life in Rome, and then in Sicily, living a life of repentance, penance and austerity. As news of his piety and holiness spread, he received many visitors which forced him to relocate numerous times, preferring the solitude of penitence. He fled to the valley of Noto, Italy, where he lived as a hermit for 36 years. During his hermitude, he lived a life of extreme austerity, sleeping on the bare ground with a stone for pillow and with dry bread and raw herbs for food.
Numerous miracles have been attributed to him while he lived and subsequently at his tomb in Noto, Italy. Holy legend records, for example, that when the Bishop of Syracuse visited him, the he asked Saint Conrad if he had anything to offer guests. Conrad said he would check in his cell and returned moments later carrying newly baked bread and cakes, which the bishop accepted as a miracle. Saint Conrad was also reported to have traveled surrounded by a cloud of fluttering birds, keeping him company.
Conrad is especially invoked for the cure of hernia. This comes from miracles attributed to him. He was visited at his hermitage by a former friend and companion in arms, Antonio da Stessa, from Daverio. His friend was suffering from the pain of a hernia he had developed. Seeing the pain his old comrade was suffering, Conrad was moved to pity and prayed for him. Stessa was immediately cured of the hernia. The same outcome was accomplished for a local tailor, who suffered severely from several hernias.
The miracle for which Conrad is best known is the “Miracle of the Bread”. This developed during the aforementioned famine which afflicted Sicily as a result of a severe outbreak of the bubonic plague on the island during 1348-49. During that catastrophe, anyone who approached the hermit for help was given a loaf of bread, still warm, which, it was said, he had received from the angels.
Conrad died while praying before a crucifix in 1350, surrounded by a bright light, in the presence of his confessor, who was unaware for some time of his death because of his position.
Shortly after Conrad’s death, his demonstrably holy life and the large number of miracles attributed to him led the leadership of the city to request that the Bishop of Syracuse, to which diocese Noto belonged, begin the process for his canonization. When the waiting period required by Church law expired in 1485, this process was opened by Bishop Dalmazio Gabriele, O.P., who had himself witnessed the Miracle of the Bread. As part of the process, Conrad’s body was exhumed for examination and was found to be incorrupt, and placed in a silver urn for the veneration of the public.
Pope Leo X beatified Conrad on 12 July 1515 and permitted the town of Noto to celebrate his feast day. On 30 October 1544, Pope Paul III extended permission to the whole island. On 2 June 1625, he was canonised by Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, who was the Duke of Parma and Piacenza in a solemn ceremony at the cathedral of Piacenza, where it was declared an obligatory feast. On 12 September of that same year, permission was granted to the Franciscan Order by Pope Urban VIII for a distinct text for the Divine Office and Mass to be used for his feast; today it is celebrated solely by the Third Order of St. Francis to which he belonged. In Vietnam there is a popular devotion to Conrad.
On his feast day, the Parish Church of San Corrado in Noto commemorates him by the distribution of blessed bread.
AnaStpaul 
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