SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 23 December – Saint Ivo of Chartres (c 1040-1115)

Posted on December 23, 2021December 22, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 23 December – Saint Ivo of Chartres (c 1040-1115) Bishop of Chartres, France from 1090 until his death, Confessor, Reformer, Defender of the Faith, Lawyer, Canon Lawyer, Teacher and Theologian, Writer. Born in c 1040 at Beauvais, France as Yves and died on 23 December 1115 of natural causes. Patronage – Canonists, Canon Lawyers. Also known as – Yves, Yvo, Ives.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In Chartres in France, Saint Ivo, Bishop, who re-established the Order of the Canons and did much work and wrote to promote harmony between the clergy and the civil powers and for the good of the Church.”

Ivo was born around 1040 near Beauvais (Rouen) to Ugo d’Auteuil and Ilmenberga, wealthy parents who gave him a good basic education, increased by the studies he continued at the University of Paris , already a great cultural centre at that time.

He continued his studies in theology in the Abbey of Le Bec in Normandy, where he met Saint Anselm of Canterbury, the great scholastic theologian. as a fellow student and as his teacher, the future Bishop, then a Monk, Lanfranc of Pavia, who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070. Here he was Ordained as a Priest.

Ivo was then appointed Canon of Nesles in Picardy but after a few years he was recalled to Beauvais by Bishop Guido, who entrusted him with the direction of the newly founded Monastery of the Canons Regular of Saint-Quentin. Ivo became its guide from 1078 to 1090. Here Ivo established himself as one of the best teachers in France. St Quentin’s came to be known as a great school of theology. Ivo was skeptical of religious excess and always stressed moderation in practice.

He was about 50 years old when the clergy and faithful people of Chartres, where construction of the grandiose Gothic Cathedral would begin a few years later designated Ivo as their Bishop, replacing the deposed Godfrey accused of simony.

Goffred appealed to Rome but Pope Urban II ruled against him and confirmed the investiture of Ivo. His election to the See of Chartres was also confirmed by the King of France Philip I. At that point it was the Archbishop of Sens, Richer who opposed it, not having been consulted in the Roman trial against Godfrey. Ivo then, decided to go directly to the Pope, who, in the meantime, had had to leave Rome to take refuge in Capua, fleeing the army of the German Emperor Henry IV (1050 – 1106) engaged in the fight for investitures, already against the Pope Gregory VII his predecessor and it was in Capua, towards the end of 1090, that Pope Urban II Consecrated him Bishop of Chartres.

His strong faith, piety,and principles led to some troubles for him during his twenty-five year episcopacy at Chartres .The first years were marked by the clash with the French King Philip I, who had contracted an adulterous marriage with Bertranda of Montfort. Ivo opposed this and thus aroused the anger of the King who had him put in prison for many months. After his release, Ivo resumed his protests, both against the King and against the Bishops who were in favour of the adulterous relationship of the King and failed to defend Church doctrine. Finally, in 1095, Ivo resorted to Rome, so that the partisans of the King were rebuked and the King himself, was excommunicated. In this same year, Pope Urban II came to France to attend the Council of Clermont , where the foundations of the first Crusade were laid. Ivo was also present at this Council, as well as at that of Poitiers in 1100.

Bishop Ivo, continued the fight against Royal abuse, until in 1104. King Philip I separated from Bertranda and was re-admitted into the Catholic community by the new Pope Paschal II. In 1107 Ivo received Pope Paschal II in Chartres who was on a visit to France.

Ivo was always a staunch defender of Papal authority and a strenuous protagonist in the struggle between the Papacy and the Empire, particularly in regard to the investitures of Bishops, Ivo also had to enter into conflict with his Chapter, for his reforming ideas, a Chapter that was largely supported by King Louis VI the Successor of Philip. In 1114, a Papal Bull decreed in Ivo’s favour, confirming his stance and supporting the Church against the state.

Ivo died on 23 December 1115 in Chartres and was immediately raised to the Altars, particularly in the Dioceses of Beauvais and Chartres, which honoured and venerated him with great devotion. On 18 December 1570, Pope Pius V Canonised him and granted his Office to the Canons Regular and Pope Benedict XIV added his name to the Martyrology.

Ivo was a prolific writer but is most known for his canonical works:
the Decretum,, composed in 1094
the Panormia (in Latin and Greek) of the following year
the Tripartite composed between 1094 and 1096
All three compilations contain texts of the Holy Scriptures , letters of Popes, texts of Roman law, texts of the Fathers of the Church and finally, Canons of the Councils .

Twenty-four sermons are known , almost all pronounced in Synods and Councils, on dogmatic, disciplinary or liturgical topics and from these writings, his profound knowledge of the Sacred Scripture and of the liturgical texts is evident.. He always professed a great attachment to the teaching of the Church and everyone of his writings abounds with doctrinal citations. His fame was notable and the care with which his writings have been preserved testifies to the honour with which he is held.

There are also 288 letters from the saintly Bishop, full of canonical and theological consultations, administrative practices, interventions in the big business of his time, which allow us to know the progress of the Gregorian Reform, implemented by means of the episcopal competence and zeal that distinguished him and an insight into the history of the Church and of France in his time.

His works are replete with treatments of charity and dispensation in a pastoral manner regarding the Holy See. He believed that caritas was the solution for sin and not harsh punishment without contrition. This theme is most evident in his Prologus, which is most often compared to the teachings of the Church Fathers than those of the scholars of his day. Paul’s message of loving one’s fellow man as one would oneself, is particularly prevalent in Ivo’s works:

“He was called to teach. His lesson was love. It was all that mattered.“

It is also believed, that St Ivo’s teachings influenced the final agreement of the Concordat of Worms in 1122.

Notre-Dame de Ardilliers de Saumur / Our Christmas Novena to the Christ Child, Day Eight, Notre-Dame de Ardilliers de Saumur / Our Lady of Ardilliers, Saumur, Anjou, France (1454) and Memorials of the Saints – 23 December

Posted on December 23, 2021December 22, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Christmas Novena to the Christ Child, Day Eight:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/23/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-eight/

Notre-Dame de Ardilliers de Saumur / Our Lady of Ardilliers, Saumur, Anjou, France (1454) – 23 December:

Our Lady of Ardilliers, located at Saumur, in Anjou, France. Its name is illustrious throughout France, as well on account of the concourse of people who were attracted there, as from a fountain which cured several maladies. This image represents Our Lady of Pity, who holds in her arms her dead Son, whose head is supported by an Angel.
Notre Dame Ardilliers has a Statue, a fountain and a Church dedicated to Our Ladye.
In 1454 a farmer, while ploughing his field, discovered in the “ardille” ( meaning “clay” – a word which will give its name, according to the legend, to Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers) a stone Statuette of about thirty centimeters high representing a Pietà . The peasant took it home. On two occasions he discovered the Pietà had returned to its place of discovery, near a fountain already known for its beneficial virtues. From then on, devotions began. It was placed in a niche under a stone arch at its place of discovery.
Jean Olivier , Bishop of Angers , laid the foundations of the Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers Chapel in Saumur on1 August 1534 in the presence of Jean de Castagnier, Mayor of Saumur and Guillaume Bourdeau, Alderman. Msgr Gabriel Bouvery , Bishop of Angers, Consecrated the new Church on 30 July1553
Crowds of people were attracted to the Shrine and its name was illustrious throughout that country, for there Our Lady cured many maladies.
The Sanctuary attained magnificent proportions as successive additions were made, notably by Cardinal Richelieu. Devotion to Our Lady became widespread as many miracles occurred.
Mary’s clients at Ardilliers number such illustrious persons as Louis XII, Anne of Austria, Marie de Medici, Henrietta of England, Cardinal Richelieu and others. The Founders of the Sulpician Company went there for inspiration; Saint Louis de Montfort begged blessings and Mary’s help on the Institute of the Fathers of the Holy Ghost and the Daughters of Wisdom he was about to found.
Cities placed themselves under the protection of Notre-Dame des Ardilliers and promised annual pilgrimages. During the Revolution the Church and Shrine were despoiled of their treasures but not destroyed and the image was left unharmed. In 1849 the ravages of time necessitated the renovation of the Chapel and pilgrimages became more frequent than ever.

And today? We hardly speak of the Pilgrimages to Ardilliers but guided tours of the remarkable architectural continue. In July and August, except on Sundays, the Association Patrimoine Religieux en Saumurois, in partnership with the City of Saumur, provides guided tours of the Notre-Dame des Ardilliers Chapel. We are very saddened aren’t we, that this former great Marian Shrine has become today, above all a tourist destination. So why shouldn’t one of our readers launch a Pilgrimage to Notre-Dame des Ardilliers. This would justify its second name, Notre-Dame de Bon Retour, Our Lady of Good Return.

St John of Kanty/Cantius (1390-1473) (Optional Memorial) Priest, Theologian, Scholastic Philosopher, Physicist, Teacher, Confessor, Philosopher, Apostle of Charity – Patron of Poland and Lithuania
His Feast Day is 20 October (Poland, General Roman Calendar 1770–1969)
Full Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/23/saint-of-the-day-23-december-st-john-of-kanty-cantius-1390-1473/
AND more:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/23/saint-of-the-day-23-december-st-john-of-kanty-1390-1473-patron-of-poland-and-lithuania/

St Besa of Egypt
Bl Bincema
St Dagobert II of Austrasia
Bl Epifanio Gómez Alvaro
St Frithbert of Hexham
Bl Hartmann of Brixen
Bl Herman of Scheda
Bl James Aymerich
St Ivo of Chartres (c 1040-1115) Bishop, Confessor
St John Cirita
St John Stone
St Joseph Cho Yun-ho
St Mardonius of Rome
St Mazota of Abernethy
St Migdonius of Rome

Blessed Nicolás Factor-Estaña OFM (1520-1583) Priest of the Order of Friars Minor, Painter, Preacher, Ascestic, Spiritual Director.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/23/saint-of-the-day-23-december-blessed-nicolas-factor-estana-ofm-1520-1583/

St Servulus (Died c 590) Layman, Beggar, paralysed by Palsy from birth. Saint Servulus was a perfect model of submission to the divine Will; it would be difficult to offer a more consoling example to persons afflicted by poverty, illnesses and the other miseries of life. It is Saint Gregory the Great who narrates for us his edifying story.
St Servulus’ Life of devotion:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/23/saint-of-the-day-23-december-saint-servulus-died-c-590/

Martyred Dominicans of Santander – (9 beati) – Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Bernardino Irurzun Otermín
• Blessed Eleuterio Marne Mansilla
• Blessed Eliseo Miguel Lagro
• Blessed Enrique Cañal Gómez
• Blessed Enrique Izquierdo Palacios
• Blessed Epifanio Gómez Alvaro
• Blessed José María García Tabar
• Blessed Manuel Gutiérrez Ceballos
• Blessed Miguel Rodríguez González
• Blessed Pedro Luís y Luís

Martyrs of Crete – (10 saints): A group of ten Christians who died in the persecutions of Decius. They were –
• Agathopus • Basilides • Cleomenes • Eunician • Euporus • Evaristus • Gelasius • Saturninus • Theodulus • Zeticus They were martyred in 250 on the island of Crete.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 22 December – Saint Flavian of Acquapendente (Died 363) Martyr,

Posted on December 22, 2021December 21, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 22 December – Saint Flavian of Acquapendente (Died 363) Martyr, Married Layman, Prefect of Imperial Rome, Husband of Saint Dafrosa, Father of Saint Bibiana and Saint Demetria. The Roman Martyrology states: “At Rome, ex-Prefect, who, under Julian the Apostate, was condemned to be branded for Christ and banished to Aquae Taurinae, where he gave up his soul to God in prayer.”

Saint Flavian, the father of two holy daughters, Bibiana and Demetria and the husband of Saint Dafrosa, was a descendant of a noble Roman family. His incomparable talents, great knowledge and holy life, made him so beloved and esteemed, not only by the people but also by Constantine the Great, that the latter raised him to the high office of Governor of Rome. The duties of this exalted dignity he fulfilled untiringly but, at the same time, neglected nothing that his faith demanded of him, on the contrary, his principal thought was to disseminate more and more the Catholic Faith among his subjects. Those who had already embraced Christianity he endeavoured to assist whenever an opportunity presented itself. After the death of Constantine the Great, his son Constantius, persuaded by his wicked Empress, favoured the Arian heresy and persecuted the Catholics, almost as much as had formerly been done, by the heathen Emperors.

Flavian endeavoured to strengthen the Catholics in their faith and to defend the divinity of Jesus Christ against the Arian blasphemies. This zeal made him hateful to the Emperor and, as neither promises, nor menaces, had any power to change him, he was divested of the high office which he had filled for so many years, to the satisfaction of all Rome. Flavian was not cast down but rather, rejoiced because, for the sake of the true Faith, he suffered so great a loss and no less ignominy. . The Officers whom Julian had appointed to apprehend and torture the Christians, took no notice of this for some time, as Flavian was still greatly esteemed on account of his high rank and the dignity, of the office with which he had been invested but at last, they informed the tyrant of it.

The latter commanded his new Governor, Apronian, to apprehend Flavian immediately and either force him to abandon his faith, or to take his life, by the most cruel tortures. Apronian obeyed the order, Flavian was seized and brought before him. The Governor endeavoured to persuade him to forsake his faith but Flavian said fearlessly: “I am a Christian and will remain a Christian and, further, I consider it the greatest honour to give, not only all I possess but also my life, for the honour of Christ.” The Governor, greatly embittered, sentenced him to be dispossessed of his nobility and placed in the rank of the most abject slaves, which, to a high-minded man, must have been more cruel than death. Hence, they tore off the insignia of his nobility and of his former high office from his body and, with a red-hot iron, burned a mark on his forehead. The pain was great, the ignominy and disgrace much greater but Flavian bore it cheerfully. “I receive,” said he, “this disgrace as the greatest honour that was ever bestowed upon me.” Apronian would have tortured him still more but as he knew that Flavian was highly esteemed on account of the faithfulness with which he had laboured for the public, he desisted, fearing a revolt. He deprived him, therefore, of all his possessions, and sent him into banishment, giving orders to those who were to transport him, to torment him on the road in every possible manner, in order that misery and grief might soon kill him. Flavian received the sentence of his banishment with the same joy that he had manifested at the preceding ignominy.

The most difficult sorrow for him to bear ,was to leave his spouse and his two daughters, as he foresaw that they would not be treated better than he had been. But this, also, he bore heroically and placing them under the protection of the Most High, he went into his banishment, guarded by a troop of soldiers, who delighted in obeying the orders of Apronian and maltreated him most cruelly. Not much better was the treatment which he received at the place to which he was exiled, where he soon ended his life. His only comfort was prayer, which so greatly supported him that, notwithstanding the hardships he endured, he was never seen looking downcast but always joyful. It was also in prayer that he closed his holy life for, one day, when conversing with God, his head sank quietly upon his breast and his heroic soul became free. He was, indeed, worthy to be placed among the greatest martyrs of the holy Church; as what he had suffered for his faith will appear to many much harder to endure than the bodily martyrdom of so many other Saints.

JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de Chartres / Our Lady of Chartres, (Pèlerinage de Chartres / The Chartres Pilgrimage) Mother of Youth (1935) and Memorials of the Saints – 22 December

Posted on December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Notre-Dame de Chartres / Our Lady of Chartres, (Pèlerinage de Chartres / The Chartres Pilgrimage) Mother of Youth (1935): also known as the Pilgrimage of Christendom, has been gathering thousands of people on the Solemnity of Pentecost for a three-day trek from the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Chartres.

Our Lady of Chartres, or Notre-Dame de Chartres, is a beautiful Gothic style Cathedral located in Beauce, France, which is about 80 kilometres southwest of Paris. This Cathedral, which was first built in the time of the Apostles, was demolished several times over the centuries. It was re-erected in its present state by Saint Fulbert, the fifty-fifth Bishop of Chartres at the end of the 12th Century into the beginning of the 13th century.
The Pilgrimage was inspired by French-Catholic writer Charles Péguy, who made a solitary Pilgrimage from Notre Dame of Paris to the Marian Sanctuary of Chartres in 1912, covering more than 136 kilometres in four days, 14-17 June, to ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary to help his ill son. He undertook the same Pilgrimage a year later, shortly before losing his life on the battlefield at the beginning of World War I in 1914.

The student’s Pilgrimage to Chartres started in 1935 with a group of fifteen young men and girls of the Sorbonne, who sacrificed their Pentecostal holidays in prayer to the Holy Spirit and to Mary. They marched 100 kilometres to the Shrine in Chartres and prayed there together. The next year there were 36 who went and in the following year 150. Then the war came but during the eight hard years that followed, the Pilgrimages were not deserted. The numbers increased, until in 1948, about 6,500 students formed a line to march to Mary.
Most of the Pilgrims were in their early twenties or late teens, from the universities, colleges and schools of Paris and the Provinces, although some were from foreign countries. The number of unbelievers, atheists and Communists has always been high even among the students; while Protestants and Jews also make up a goodly portion of the number (very much like the Santiago de Compostela). Some come out of curiosity, some following the persistent urgings of a friend; some for the sport of hiking, or to answer an invitation to test their grit and endurance but whatever their reasons for starting, few end, without a definite spiritual “joy.” Many make the Pilgrimage in bare feet over gravel roads; the sick and crippled go, too.
In our day there are thousands, perhaps 10,000 Pilgrims who walk through the French countryside to Chartres. Their trek is an open act of faith and reparation, something almost never seen in modern times.

In making the Chartres Pilgrimage, these young people help to give France a new birth of devotion to Mary; something new and spotless has been born as in the warmth of endless glorious Saints – re-lit in the hearts of young moderns. France must now place her hope in youth, the youth of France and the youth of the Church, through Our Blessed Mother, Mary the Lady of Chartres. Although this is primarily a Pentecost Pilgrimage, many smaller groups commence a Pilgrimage on 22 December to be in time for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and, in fact, all year round. Below, a French flag displaying the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus with ‘Hope and Salvation of France.’ A Priest hears confession while other Pilgrims participate in Adoration in the background (at the final campsite of the pilgrimage in Gas, France, about 12 miles from Chartres).

St Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) – Universal optional memorial (except in the USA which is on 13 November) Italian-American religious sister, who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
About St Frances:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/22/saint-of-the-day-22-december-st-frances-xavier-cabrini-m-s-c-1850-1917/

St Abban of New Ross
Bl Adam of Saxony
St Amaswinthus of Málaga
St Athernaise of Fife
St Bertheid of Münster
St Chaeremon of Nilopolis
St Flavian of Acquapendente (Died 363) Martyr Layman
St Honoratus of Toulouse

St Hungerus Frisus of Utrecht (Died 866) Bishop of Utrecht
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/22/saint-of-the-day-22-december-saint-hungerus-frisus-of-utrecht-died-866/

St Ischirione of Alexandria

Blessed Jutta of Disibodenberg OSB (c 1084-1136) Nun of the Benedictine Order, Foundress and Abbess, Spiritual Director (most notably of St Hildegard of Bingen), Mystic, miracle worker.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/22/saint-of-the-day-22-december-blessed-jutta-of-disibodenberg-osb-c-1084-1136/

Bl Ottone of Toulouse

Blessed Thomas Holland SJ (1600-1642) Priest of the Society of Jesus and Martyr. of England and Wales.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/22/saint-of-the-day-22-december-blessed-thomas-holland-sj-1600-1642-priest-and-martyr-his-faith-was-his-crime/

St Zeno of Nicomedia

Martyrs of Ostia – (3 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. The only details about them to survive are three names – Demetrius, Florus and Honoratus. They were martyred at Ostia, Italy.

Martyrs of Rhaitu – (43 saints): 43 monks martyred by Blemmyes, in Raíthu, Egypt, date unknown.

Martyrs of Via Lavicana – (30 saints): A group of 30 Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian.
c 303 in Rome, Italy and were buried between two bay trees on the Via Lavicana outside Rome.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 21 December – Blessed Daniel of the Annunciation OdeM

Posted on December 21, 2021December 21, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 21 December – Blessed Daniel of the Annunciation OdeM (13th Century-possibly) Friar of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives, commonly called the Mercedarians. Also known as Daniele dell’Annunziata.

Sadly, we have almost no information of this Blessed not even the confirmed dates of his life.

Daniel was a Mercedarian Friar at the Monastery of Santa Maria della Pace in Naples, Italy. He was a staunch defender of the freedom of the Church from state control and of his Order.

He was known for personal piety and strict adherence to his Order’s rule and orthodox Christian doctrine.

The Church of Monastery of Santa Maria della Pace

JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, NOVENAS, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Feast of St Thomas, Apostle of Christ, Christmas Novena to the Christ Child, Day Six, Notre-Dame de Saint-Acheul / Our Lady of Saint Acheul, Amiens, France, (4th Century) and Memorials of the Saints – 21 December

Posted on December 21, 2021December 20, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Feast of St Thomas, Apostle of Christ
His Feast was moved to 3 July in 1969
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/03/saint-of-the-day-feast-of-st-thomas-apostle-of-christ/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/03/feast-of-st-thomas-apostle-of-christ-martyr-3-july/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/03/saint-of-the-day-3-july-st-thomas-the-apostle-of-christ/

Christmas Novena to the Christ Child, Day Six:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/21/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-six-21-december-2/

Notre-Dame de Saint-Acheul / Our Lady of Saint Acheul, Amiens, France, founded by Saint Firmin, Bishop (4th Century) – 21 December:

The Church containing the Shrine of Our Lady of Acheul, was located near Amiens. In fact, Saint Acheul was once considered the Mother-Church of the Cathedral of Amiens and was sometimes called the “Old Cathedral of Amiens,” although this is no longer the case, as there is now a larger Cathedral Church in Amiens.
The Church stands on the very place where once a Roman temple stood, and tradition tells that Saint Firminus (Died 303) was the Apostle of Amiens, arriving there before the close of the third century after Christ. It is said that by the eloquence of his preaching and the number of his miracles, Saint Firminus (or Saint Firmin) converted many idolaters to the True Faith and Baptised three thousand men in forty days.
The early Church, built around the year 300, contained the remains of the Martyred Saint. This Church was devastated repeatedly by the invasions of the Normans, and was finally totally destroyed in 1218. The relics of Saint Firmin were transferred to the Cathedral of Amiens during the Middle Ages.
The Shrine of the Virgin of Saint Acheul, is noteworthy for a singular miracle – an apparition which occurred during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The celebrant, after the Consecration, saw a hand appear from within a luminous cloud and the hand of Christ took the Sacred Host and dropped it into the Chalice. Some of the faithful present likewise witnessed the same thing – a certain skeptic was brought to his knees in humble acceptance of the fact, that the Holy Sacrifice is truly the same as that of Calvary. The armorial bearings of the Abbey of Saint-Acheul, displays a hand in remembrance of this miracle.

The present Cathedral of Saint Acheul was not finished until the fifteenth century. After the erection of the new Cathedral at Amiens, Saint Acheul was known as the Church of Our Lady of Acheul. Miracles took place frequently and pilgrimages continued.
The Church of Saint Acheul was destroyed by a natural phenomenon, probably a strong storm, in about the year 1751. It was rebuilt and completed in 1760. A few short years later, during the Terror of the French Revolution, the Church was used as a stable.
Today, the Church is protected as an historical monument, the decree given in 1969. The Abbey buildings are now occupied by a private party but the Church is used as a Parish Church.

St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1397) Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial)
His Feast day is 27 April (General Roman Calendar, 1926–1969.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/saint-of-the-day-21-december-st-peter-canisius-s-j-1521-1397-doctor-of-the-church/
AND Pope Benedict’s Catechesis on St Peter Canisius:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/21/saint-of-the-day-21-december-st-peter-canisius-s-j-1521-1397-the-second-apostle-of-germany-doctor-of-the-church/

Bl Adrian of Dalmatia

St Anastasius II of Antioch (Died 609) Bishop and Martyr, Confessor, Defender of the Faith.
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/21/saint-of-the-day-21-december-saint-anastasius-ii-of-antioch/

St Anrê Tran An Dung
St Baudacarius of Bobbio
St Beornwald of Bampton
Bl Bezela of Göda
Blessed Daniel of the Annunciation OdeM Mercedarian Friar (13th Century?)
St Dioscorus

Blessed Dominic Spadafora OP (1450-1521) Dominican Priest, renowned Preacher and Evangelist. His body is incorrupt.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/21/saint-of-the-day-21-december-blessed-dominic-spadafora-op-1450-1521/

St Festus of Tuscany
St Glycerius of Nicomedia
St James of Valencia
St John of Tuscany
St John Vincent
St Micah the Prophet
St Phêrô Truong Van Thi
St Severin of Trèves (Died c 300) Bishop, Confessor
Bl Sibrand of Marigård
St Themistocles of Lycia

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 20 December – Saint Philogonius of Antioch (Died 324)

Posted on December 20, 2021December 19, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 20 December – Saint Philogonius of Antioch (Died 324) Bishop, Widower, Lawyer, Patriarch of Antioch. Defender of the true Faith against Arianism, in fact, he was one of the first to publicly denouce the hereby, Defender of the people against persecution, Ascetic. Died in 324 of natural causes. Patronage – of Lawyers.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In Antioch in Syria, St Philogonius, Bishop, who, a Lawyer, called by God to govern this Church one day, started together with the Bishop St Alexander and other companions ,the fight for the Catholic faith against Arianism and full of merit, he rested in the Lord. St John Chrysostom celebrated him in a famous commendation.”

Philogonius was a successful Lawyer and Advocate, at the Bar of Antioch. He was known for his eloquence, moral integrity and Christian Faith. He married and had a daughter, but became a Monk and Ascetic after his wife died.

The celebrated and holy Philogonius lived in the reign of Constantine the Great. After having finished his studies, he practised law but in such a manner that he might serve as a model to all in a similar calling. He never undertook any lawsuit before he had thoroughly examined the case and, being entirely frank with those who desired his assistance, he never pleaded a cause which seemed unjust. Nothing could deter him from what he thought right, neither fear of those above him, nor promises nor gifts. The poor he served gratis, and he defended, both by word and writing, the widow and the orphan against the power of the great, never refusing his counsel to those whose means allowed but a small recompense or none at all. Love for his neighbour was to him a greater incentive to work than eagerness to gain temporal goods.

How high these noble qualities raised him in the estimation of the people was especially manifest, when after the death of the Bishop, they were choosing a worthy Successor to their late shepherd. The entire people insisted on having him as Bishop, who, until then, had with so much kindness and justice, assisted them in their temporal affairs. The voice of the people was regarded as the voice of God, and Philogonius was Consecrated Bishop of Antioch.

He administered his sacred functions in the most zealous manner. Saint John Chrysostom, who preached a magnificent sermon on Saint Philogonius, says himself, that to speak worthily in his praise surpassed all eloquence. Licinius, at that period, persecuted the Christians and Philogonius did his utmost to protect them. He animated them to constancy, and taught them not to allow either the loss of their temporal goods, nor other sufferings to separate them from Christ, or to leave the true Church, as they would deprive themselves of their eternal possessions, and would have nothing to expect but the pains of hell. By frequent representations of the unending joys of heaven and the torments of hell, he strengthened his flock so effectually in the true faith, that they were willing to suffer poverty and tortures and even death, rather than leave it. When it happened that one would apparently forsake the true faith through fear of martyrdom, the holy man, though deeply grieved, spoke neither harshly nor unkindly to him but, with a heartfelt compassion, represented the greatness of his sin, exhorted him to do penance and atone for his error and encouraged him to constancy. When he saw that his admonitions were heeded, he greatly rejoiced and always treated the penitent with kindness, without ever reproaching him for his fault, or even alluding to it.

When the persecution of Licinius had ceased, Arius began to disseminate his heresy. No shepherd could be more solicitous to protect his sheep from an attack of wolves than Saint Philogonius was to keep the heresy from his people and retain them in the faith of Christ. Arius confessed that Philogonius had been his strongest adversary and had opposed him most effectually. The holy Bishop explained the wickedness of the new heresy and refuted it as well in public sermons as in private discourses, by which he greatly benefited his flock. Besides this, he zealously endeavoured to uproot all abuses that had crept in and to plant in the hearts of all, a hatred of sin and a love of virtue. Towards this end he directed all his exhortations, which had great influence over the people, as he supported his precepts by the example of his virtue. His conduct was so blameless, that even his enemies could find no fault in it.

He was greatly devoted to prayer, and always sought refuge in it when he was in affliction. He allowed no comfort to his body, not even necessary rest. He guarded his sheep day and night and the result was, that it was said of the Church at Antioch, that true virtue and piety reigned among all classes of people. Saint Chrysostom compares it to a well cultivated and fruitful garden, cleansed from thorns and brambles and says. that it showed the indefatigable care of him who had governed it.

The Almighty wished, at last, to give the promised reward to His true and faithful servant. A sickness, apparently of no consequence, prepared his way. The thought of the labours he had undergone in his functions during his life, for the honour of God and the salvation of souls, gave him inexpressible comfort in his last hour and the hope of going to Heaven gave him the most ardent desire to die and rest in God. This wish the Almighty granted, to the great grief of the people of Antioch.

Saint John Chrysostom preached a beautiful eulogy on St Philogonius.

MARIAN TITLES, NOVENA, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Notre-Dame de Bon Retour à Île-Molène / Our Lady of Molene, France (1075), Christmas Novena Day Five and Memorials of the Saints – 20 December

Posted on December 20, 2021December 19, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Christmas Novena to the Christ Child – DAY FIVE:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/20/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-five-20-december-3/

Vigil of St Thomas, Apostle.

Notre-Dame de Bon Retour à Île-Molène / Our Lady of Molene, France (1075) – 20 December

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “The Shrine of Our Lady of Molene is in the Abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict in Langres. It was founded on the 20th of December, 1075, by Saint Robert who was the Abbot.”

The Benedictine Monastery in the Diocese of Langres founded by Saint Robert was actually the famous Molesme Abbey. As the Abbot Orsini mentioned, it was indeed founded by Saint Robert, henceforth known as Saint Robert of Molesme O.Cist (1028-1111), in the year 1075. He had been the Abbot of Saint Michael Abbey but left and founded a new Abbey when they refused to accept his necessary reforms.
Saint Robert was born in the year 1029 and had a deep, childlike devotion to the Mother of God – by reason of a vision his mother saw, before Robert was born – and he instilled the same into the hearts of his Monks. Saint Robert’s holiness attracted many sincere men to join him, and as many of them were also noblemen, they provided Saint Robert with the financial means necessary to build a magnificent Abbey. Among those who flocked to Saint Robert was St Bruno of Cologne, who was the future Founder of the Carthusian Order.
When Saint Robert died in the year 1111, he was buried in the Ahurch at the Abbey he founded. St Alberic, Robert’s Successor, decided that the Order should be dedicated to Mary. According to legend, Mary bestowed on Alberic a white mantle; for that reason, the Monks changed their black habit and wore white. All their Churches were dedicated to the Virgin and each had its Mary Altar before which the office of Mary was chanted every Saturday.
The Church and Monastery were destroyed and any remaining property stolen in 1472 during the war between Burgundy and France. The Huguenots burned what had been rebuilt the following century during the French Wars of Religion. The end came during the French Revolution when the Abbey was suppressed and the buildings and Church destroyed.
The small Church pictured is the Church of Sainte-Croix, built in the 13th century as a Chapel for the novices at the Abbey. Even this building was damaged in 1940 during combat between the French and German troops and some of that damage can still be seen. However, this is now a thriving Parish with an annual pilgrimage to honour Our Lady. The Grotto above and below, stands in the open field previously the site of the Monastery.
The Abbey site has been an historical monument since 1985. The once thriving community is gone and the site now is only accessible by prior arrangement.
The Monastery seal pictured the Virgin Mary crowned.

St Attala of Strasbourg
St Bajulus of Rome
St Crescentius of Africa
St Dominic of Brescia

St Dominic de Silos OSB (1000-1073) Monk, Abbot.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/saint-of-the-day-20-december-st-dominic-de-silos-o-s-b-c1000-1073/

St Eugene of Arabia
St Gabriel Olivares Roda
St Hoger of Hamburg-Bremen
Bl John de Molina
St Julius of Gelduba
Bl Lorenzo Company
St Liberatus of Rome
St Macarius of Arabia
St Malou of Hautvillers

Blessed Michal Piaszczynski (1885-1940) Priest and Martyr.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/20/saint-of-the-day-20-december-blessed-michal-piaszczynski-1885-1940-priest-and-martyr/

St Paul of Latra
Bl Peter de la Cadireta
Bl Peter Massalenus
St Philogonius of Antioch (Died 324) Bishop

St Thomas of Dover
St Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne

St Vincenzo Romano (1751-1831) “A Priest of the People.”
His story:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/20/saint-of-the-day-20-december-st-vincenzo-romano-1751-1831-a-priest-of-the-people/

St Pope Zephyrinus (Died 217) Bishop of Rome from 199-217, Confessor, Defender of the Faith especially of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity. He is known for combatting heresies and defending the Divinity of Christ.
About Pope Zephyrinus:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/20/saint-of-the-day-20-december-saint-pope-zephyrinus-died-217/

MARIAN TITLES, NOVENAS, SAINT of the DAY

The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Christmas Novena to the Christ Child – Day Four, Nuestra Señora de Toledo / Our Lady of Toledo, Spain (The Chasuble of St Ildephonsus) (657) and Memorials of the Saints – 19 December

Posted on December 19, 2021December 18, 2021 by AnaStpaul

^{The Fourth Sunday of Advent}

Christmas Novena to the Christ Child – Day Four:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/19/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-four-19-december-2/

Nuestra Señora de Toledo (La Casulla de Santo Ildephonsus) / Our Lady of Toledo, Spain (The Chasuble of St Ildephonsus) (657) – 19 December:

XJL86515 Presentation of the Cope to St. Ildefonsus, 1600-24 by Aguilar, Diego de (the Younger) (fl.1570-1624) oil on canvas 151×103 Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain Spanish, out of copyright

In the year 657 one day while St Ildephonsus (607-670), Archbishop of Toledo, was saying matins, Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by a great number of the blessed and holding in her hands the book which he had composed in her honour. Sshe thanked him for it and out of gratitude, gave him a white Chasuble.
This celestial gift is still preserved and is now at Oviedo — Alphonsus, the chaste King of Castile, having transferred it to the Church of St Saviour, which he had built.
Tradition claims, that Ildephonsus’successor, Siagrius, tried to use the Vestment but died in the act of robing. The garment is said to have been seen and touched by Herbert Losinga, Bishop of Norwich, as late as the eleventh century.

St Adelaide of Susa (c 1014-1091) Countess, Married Laywoman

St Pope Anastasius I (Died 401) Bishop of Rome from 27 November 399 until his death on 19 December 401.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/19/saint-of-the-day-19-december-st-pope-anastasius-i-died-401/

St Augustine Moi Van Nguyen
St Avitus of Micy
Bl Berengar of Banares

St Berardo Valeara OSB (c 1050-1122) Benedictine Monk, Bishop of Teramo, Evangelist, Apostle of Charity and Peace.
His life:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/19/saint-of-the-day-st-berardo-valeara-of-teramo-osb-c-1050-1122/

Bl Bogumila Noiszewska
St Boniface of Cilicia
Bl Cecilia of Ferrara
St Dominic Uy Van Bui
St Fausta of Sirmium
St Gregory of Auxerre
St Jaume Boguñá Casanovas
St Johannes Gogniat
St Jordi Sampé Tarragó
St Josep Albareda Ramoneda
Bl Kazimiera Wolowska
Bl Konrad Liechtenau
St Manirus of Scotland
St Meuris of Alexandria
St Nemesius of Alexandria
St Phanxicô Xaviê Hà Trong Mau
St René Dubroux
Ribert of Saint-Oyend
St Stêphanô Nguyen Van Vinh
St Thea of Alexandria
St Timothy the Deacon
St Tôma Nguyen Van Ðe

Blessed Pope Urban V (1310-1370) Bishop of Rome from 28 September 1362 to his death in 1370, Priest, Benedictine Monk, Abbot, Canon lawyer, brilliant scholar, teacher.
About Blessed Pope Urban:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/saint-of-the-day-19-december-blessed-pope-urban-v-1310-1370/

Blessed William of Fenoli O.Cart. (1065-1120) Carthusian Monk, Hermit, miracle-worker.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/19/saint-of-the-day-19-december-blessed-william-of-fenoli-o-cart-1065-1120/

Blessed Mercedarian Fathers – (6 beati): A group of Mercedarian monks noted for their dedication to the Order’s rule, for their continuous prayer life and their personal piety.
• Blessed Bartolomeo of Podio
• Blessed Giovanni of Verdera
• Blessed Guglielmo de Gallinaris
• Blessed Guglielmo of Prunera
• Blessed Pietro of Benevento
• Blessed Pietro of Gualba

Martyrs of Nicaea – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. The only surviving details are four of their names – Darius, Paul, Secundus and Zosimus. They were martyred at Nicaea, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).

Martyrs of Nicomedia – (5 saints): A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than the names of five – Anastasius, Cyriacus, Paulillus, Secundus and Syndimius. They were martyred in 303 at Nicomedia, Asia Minor.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. Virtually each day of the year a Group are celebrated, usually individually but sometimes an entire Monastery or Convent or Lay Movement were martyred together. Today we remember:
• Blessed Jaume Boguñá Casanovas
• Blessed Jordi Sampé Tarragó
• Blessed Josep Albareda Ramoneda

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 December – Saint Flannán of Killaloe (7th Century)

Posted on December 18, 2021December 17, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 18 December – Saint Flannán of Killaloe (7th Century) Bishop, Abbot, Missionary to the Hebrides Islands, renowned for his preaching. Born in Thomond, Ireland in the 7th Century and died in the 7th to 8th Century’s in Killaloe, Munster, Ireland. Patronages – Diocese of Killaloe and Country Clare,Ireland. Additional Memorial – 28 August on a local Irish Calendar.

St Flannan is honoured in a particular way in Killaloe, a small village on the border of Counties Clare and Tipperary. The Cathedral Church of Killaloe is named after St Flannan.

Born sometime in the seventh century, Flannan was the son of an Irish chieftain, Turlough of Thomond. He joined the Monastery in Killaloe, which the famous Irish Abbot St Molua founded.

A legend about how Flannan became the successor of Abbot Molua says that one day, Flannan was baking bread for the Monks and for the poor. He worked in the Monastery kitchen for thirty-six hours without rest!. In the middle of the night, light began to stream from his fingers into the darkness around him, enabling him to keep baking throughout the night. When Abbot Molua heard about this young Monk’s dedication to service, he appointed him as the next Abbot of Killaloe.

Unsurprisingly, Flannan, before and during his tenure as Abbot, gained a reputation for his unwavering charity, care of the needy and hospitality. The families surrounding the Abbey. whom he looked after, clamoured for Flannan to be appointed a Bishop.

Accordingly, Flannan travelled to Rome where Pope John IV Consecrated him the first Bishop of Killaloe. He was an immensely popular and beloved Bishop, including in the Hebrides Islands, where he was particularly renowned for his preaching.

The Feast of St Flannan is celebrated throughout Ireland on 18 December, the day in which it is in fact commemorated by the Martyrology of Tallaght, in the form Flannain meic Tairdelbaig, although it is also celebrated under the date of 28 August.

The Flannan Islands, off the west coast of the Scottish Isle of Lewis, certainly owe their name to this Irish Saint.

Saint Flannan’s cultus was confirmed and he was Canonised on 19 June 1902 by Pope Leo XIII.

ADVENT, EMBER DAYS, MARIAN TITLES, NOVENAS, SAINT of the DAY

Christmas Novena to the Christ Child – Day Three, Ember Saturday, Our Lady of Expectation and Memorials of the Saints – 18 December

Posted on December 18, 2021December 17, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Christmas Novena to the Christ Child – Day Three:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/18/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-three-18-december-3/

EMBER SATURDAY
Fast and Partial Abstinence

Our Lady of the Expectation – This Feast originated in Spain. When the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) was transferred to 18 December because of the regulation forbidding Feasts in Lent, it remained on this date after the Annunciation was again celebrated on its original date. It impressed on the faithful, the sentiments of the Blessed Virgin as the time of her delivery approached.

More about the Feast here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/18/the-feast-of-our-lady-of-expectation-18-december/

St Auxentius of MopsueStia
St Basilian of Laodicea
St Bodagisil of Aquitaine
St Desiderius of Fontenelle
Bl Eugenio Cernuda Febrero
St Flannán of Killaloe (7the Century) Bishop, Abbot, Missionary.

St Gatian of Tours (c 251-301) The founding Bishop of the See of Tours, Missionary..
About St Gatian:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/18/saint-of-the-day-18-december-saint-gatian-of-tours-c-251-301/

Blessed Giulia Valle (1847-1916) Nun
About Blessed Giulia:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/saint-of-the-day-18-december-bl-giulia-nemesia-valle-1847-1916/

St Malachi the Prophet
St Mawnan of Cornwall
Bl Miguel San Román Fernández
St Phaolô Nguyen Van My
St Phêrô Truong Van Ðuong
St Phêrô Vu Van Truat
Bl Philip of Ratzeburg
St Rufus of Philippi
St Samthann of Clonbroney
St Theotimus of Laodicea

St Winebald OSB (c 701-761) Benedictine Priest, Abbot, Confessor, Missionary, Founder of many Monasteries, disciple of St Boniface.
St Winebald’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/18/saint-of-the-day-18-december-saint-winebald-osb-c-701-761/

St Zosimus of Philippi

Martyrs of Northwest Africa – 42 saints:
Mercedarian Redeemers – 6 beati – These are a group of Mercedarian friars who worked together, under the leadership of Saint Peter de Amer, to ransom (e.g., redeem) prisoners and minister to them after.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 December – Saint Lazarus of Bethany (1st Century) Friend amd Disciple of Jesus

Posted on December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 17 December – Saint Lazarus of Bethany (1st Century) Friend amd Disciple of Jesus, raised to life by Jesus after having been in his tomb for 4 days, brother of Sts Martha and Mary of Bethany, Bishop of Marseilles, France, , Martyr, Missionary. Died by being beheaded in the 1st century in a cave near Marseilles, France. Patronages – Autun, France, Diocese of, Marseille, France, Archdiocese of. Also known as – “Eleazar (the Hebrew version – which means ‘God helped‘),” Lazarus of the Four Days, Lazarus the Resurrected, Lazare…

The Raising of Lazarus, c 1517–1519, Sebastiano del Piombo

According to a tradition, or rather a series of traditions combined at different epochs, the members of the family at Bethany, the friends of Christ, together with some holy women and others of His disciples, were put out to sea by the Jews hostile to Christianity in a vessel without sails, oars, or helm and after a miraculous voyage landed in Provence, at a place called today the Saintes-Maries. It is related that they separated there to go and preach the Gospel in different parts of the southeast of Gaul.

Lazarus went to Marseilles and, having converted a number of its inhabitants to Christianity, became their first Bishop. . During the first persecution under Nero, he hid himself in a crypt, over which the celebrated Abbey of St-Victor was constructed in the fifth century. In this same crypt he was interred, when he shed his blood for the Faith., during the new persecution of Domitian. He was cast into prison and beheaded in a spot which is believed to be identical with a cave beneath the prison Saint-Lazare.

His body was later translated to Autun, and buried in the Cathedral of that Town. But the inhabitants of Marseilles claim to be in possession of his head which they still venerate.

Like the other legends concerning the Saints of the Palestinian group, this tradition, which was believed for several centuries and which still finds some advocates, has no solid foundation. It is in a writing, contained in an eleventh century manuscript, with some other documents relating to St Magdalen of Vezelay, that we first read of Lazarus in connection with the voyage that brought Magdalen to Gaul. Before the middle of the eleventh century there does not seem to be the slightest trace of the tradition according to which the Palestinian Saints came to Provence.

At the beginning of the twelfth century, perhaps through a confusion of names, it was believed at Autun, that the tomb of St. Lazarus was to be found in the Cathedral dedicated to St Nazarius. A search was made and remains were discovered, which were solemnly translated and were considered to be those of him whom Christ raised from the dead but it was not thought necessary to inquire why they should be found in France.

The account of Jesus raising Lazarus occurs only in the Gospel of John, the Gospel which most strongly focuses on Jesus as the Son of God. Lazarus served as an instrument for Jesus to provide indisputable proof that he was the Saviour.

John 11:1-44

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, at the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. But, when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said this,and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews, who were with her in the house comforting her saw Matha, they got up quickly and went out to followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the One who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,

“Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

St Lazarus, Pray for us, amen!

EMBER DAYS, MARIAN TITLES, NOVENAS, SAINT of the DAY

Christmas Novena, Ember Day, Madonna del Terremoto (Madonna del Carmine) / Our Lady of the Earthquake, Paterno, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy (1857) and Memorials of the Saints – 17 December

Posted on December 17, 2021December 16, 2021 by AnaStpaul

DAY TWO of the CHRISTMAS NOVENA – https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/17/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-two-17-december-3/

EMBER FRIDAY

Madonna del Terremoto (Madonna del Carmine) / Our Lady of the Earthquake, Paterno, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy (1857) – 17 December. (As Patron-Our Lady of Carmel – 26 July):

In the evening of 16 December 1857 a terrible earthquake struck the population of Basilicata and neighbouring regions. In the entire area, the earthquake wreaked havoc devastating the region.
The next day, the residents of Paterno began to pray and they processed with the Statue of the Madonna del Carmine, Out Lady of Carmel, who is the Patron of the Town.
As soon as the procession reached the devastated area where the destroyed buildings and carts containing the bodies of the dead stood, Our Lady turned her face and her eyes shed blood.
This miraculous event is commemorated every year on 17 December with a procession and Holy Mass.

St Briarch of Bourbriac

St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213) Priest, Founder of The Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives, also known as the Trinitarians, Confessor.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-st-john-of-matha-o-ss-t-1160-1213/

St Josep/José Manyanet y Vives (1833-1901) Priest and Founder of of the Sons of the Holy Family and the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-st-josep-manyanet-y-vives-1833-1901/

St Judicaël
St Lazarus of Bethany (1st Century) Bishop, Martyr, Missionary

BL Mariano Alarcón Ruiz
Bl Mathilde Téllez Robles
St Maxentiolus
St Modestus of Jerusalem

St Olympias of Constantinople (c 361-365 – 408) Childless Widow, Diaconess, friend of St John Chrysostom, Apostle of charity and Founder of a Convent, hospital and an orphanage, Defender of the true faith.
About St Olympias:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-st-olympias-of-constantinople-c-361-365-408/

Bl Peter of Spain

St Sturmi of Fulda OSB (c 705-779) Priest, Monk, Missionary, disciple of Saint Boniface and Founder and first Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery and Abbey of Fulda. Known as “The Apostle of the Saxons,” “The Apostle of Germany.”
About St Sturmi:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-saint-sturmi-of-fulda-c-705-779/

St Tydecho
St Wivina
St Yolanda

Martyrs of Eleutheropolis – (60+ Martyrs-Beati): Approximately 60 Christian soldiers in the imperial Roman army of emperor Heraclius; they were murdered as a group for their faith by invading Saracen Muslims. We know the names of two of them – Calaoicus and Florian. 638 in Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), Palestine.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 16 December – Saint Everard of Friuli (c 815-867)

Posted on December 16, 2021December 15, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 16 December – Saint Everard of Friuli (c 815-867) Duke, Soldier and in contrast, peacemaker, a humble and loving Master with a social conscience, striving always to free serfs, wherever possible or at least to free them from their burdens and assisting the poor and needy in all their deprivations. Even during his life, Everard was loved and celebrated throughout the region and the Church. Born in c 815 in France and died on 16 December c 867 Also known as – Everard, Evrard, Erhard, Eberard, Everardus.

Everard was of noble birth and his father served in the Court of the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne before retiring to a Moonastery toward the end of his life.

As soon as his age permitted him to carry arms, Everard took part in numerous military expeditions. He was named Duke of Friuli and Count or Marquis[6] de Trévise, in Italy. He defended his country against invasion by the Bulgars and managed to completely drive them from the peninsula. In this role as a young soldier, Evrard manifested both bravery and a deep purity of heart. A Biographer has noted of his life as a soldier:

“Everard has a reputation for being both a courageous soldier and able leader throughout these battles. In the tradition of Charlemagne, Evrard entreated the vanquished to convert to Christianity, meritoriously teaching them the Gospel, himself.”

He rendered service unto Louis the Pious, the Emperor after his father Charlemagne, that was still more distinguished. During the tragic years (830-839) where the Emperor had suffered the most undignified treatment, at the hand of his son’s revolt, Count Everard remained inviolably loyal to King Louis. He exercised his influence in Lothair’s sphere (the elder son of the Emperor) to bring about a reconciliation between father and son. It is certain that it was on his counsel in 839 that Lothaire went to Worms to implore the pardon of his father.

In return for his services, the Emperor ,Louis the Pious gave Count Everard the highest honour possible: the hand of his daughter, the Princes Gisèle, a woman of piety and virtue, in marriage. The devout couple used their wealth to relieve the poor and to found Churches, Chapels and later the French Abbey of Cysoing.

Everard organised his home in a way so perfectly, that it was more like a Monastery than a castle. He was seconded in this task by his pious wife, Gisèle, who dedicated herself to the education of their many children. The poor and ill were sure of finding not only security at Cysoing but also help and protection. The social question of the time, that of serfs, also preoccupied Saint Evrard. He had freed a good number. In their Will, he expressly refrained from impeding their liberty. He never forgot those who he had not freed and tried to improve their lives. Although he was a courageous and formidable Soldier, he worked all his life for peace. His private virtues were no less remarkable. In his elevated position, he strove to preserve modesty and humility, to avoid splendor and arrogance. His zeal for the glory of God, to spread the Truth, to convert the infidels, was celebrated throughout the Church. Also, his piety, his taste for ceremonies of worship, his devotion to the Saints and his respect for the precious relics, was apparent in his every act.

Everard and Gisela had three daughters and four sons – two of the latter became Abbots. A conscientious father, Everard gave much attention to his children’s religious and moral formation.

He had a special love for the relics of saints. For Cysoing Abbey, which he had dedicated to the Saviour and His |Blessed Mother and where Everard often prayed and sang with the Monks, he obtained from Rome, the body of Pope Saint Callistus I, which was thereupon carried from Italy to France on the shoulders of several Priests. Miraculous healings and reconciliations of enemies occurred along the route of this cortege.

In 867. Eberhard and his consort, meticulously recorded not only their lands and possessions within a prepared will, but the identities and relationships of family members and neighbouring royals. With the agreement of his spouse, Gisèle, Eberhard portioned his goods among his seven children. Although a layman, Everard was not only literate but possessed an extensive library, which is detailed in his will, in which he bequeathed a large number of religious objects, including vestments, thuribles, candlesticks, liturgical books and prayer books, one of which was a Psalter bearing his signature, that is now in the Vatican Library. Here is a translation of St Everard’s Will into English: http://turbulentpriests.group.shef.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/The-Will-of-Count-Eberhard-and-Gisela.pdf

Everard died on 16 December 867 and was later Canonised.

ADVENT, NOVENAS, SAINT of the DAY, The DIVINE INFANT

Day One of the Christmas Novena and Memorials of the Saints – 16 December

Posted on December 16, 2021December 15, 2021 by AnaStpaul

CHRISTMAS NOVENA TO THE CHRIST CHILD – DAY ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/16/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-one-16-december/

St Adelaide of Burgundy (c 931-999) Holy Roman Empress, Widow, Foundress of monasteries and Apostle of Charity.
About St Adelaide:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-st-adelaide-of-italy-burgundy-c-931-999/

St Adelard of Cysoing

St Ado of Vienne (Died 875) Archbishop of Vienne from 850 until his death, Writer, Reformer.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-saint-ado-of-vienne-died-875/

Bl Adolphus of Tunis
Bl Arnaldo of Tunis
St Albina of Caesarea
St Ananias
St Azarias
St Bean of Lough Derg
St Beoc
Bl Clemente Marchisio
St Dominic Dosso
Bl Elizabeth of Saint Francis

St Eusebius of Vercelli (c 283-371) Bishop, Confessor, Founder of monasticism in his region
His Feast Day was celebrated today until 1969. (General Roman Calendar 1729–1969)
St Eusebius Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/02/saint-of-the-day-2-august-saint-eusebius-of-vercelli-c-283-371/

St Everard of Friuli (c 815-867) Duke, Count, Soldier, Founder of Churches and a Monastery.
Bl Filip Siphong Onphithakt
St Irenion
Bl James of Tunis
Bl Jaume Mases Boncompte
St Jean Wauthier
St Macarius of Collesano

Blessed Mary of the Angels Fontanella OCD (1661-1717) “The Fragrant Rose of Turin,” Discalced Carmelite, Mystic, Stigmatist, Marian devotee and client of St Joseph, Prioress, Spiritual director.
Blessed Mary’s life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-blessed-mary-of-the-angels-fontanella-ocd-1661-1717-the-fragrant-rose-of-turin/

St Misael
St Nicholas Chrysoberges
Bl Raynald de Bar

Blessed Sebastian Maggi OP (1414–1496) Priest of the Order of Preachers, Confessor.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-blessed-sebastian-maggi-op-1414-1496/

Martyred Women of North-West Africa: A large group of women martyred in the persecutions of Hunneric, Arian King of the Vandals. 482 in North-West Africa.

Martyrs of Ravenna – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. Four names and no other information has survived – Agricola, Concordius, Navalis and Valentine. c 305 at Ravenna, Italy.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 15 December – Blessed Marino of Cava OSB (Died 1170)

Posted on December 15, 2021December 14, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 15 December – Blessed Marino of Cava OSB (Died 1170) Monk, the Seventh Abbot of the famous Abbey of The Holy Trinity of Cava (La Trinità della Cava) in the Province of Salerno, southern Italy. The Abbey was founded in 1011 by Alferius of La Cava (930–1050). Marino was a powerful administrator, so much so, that many other Monasteries elected to be governed by him. He was also appointed as a Royal and secular Governor, through the efforts of his diplomatic peace negotiations.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In the Monastery of Cava de ‘Tirreni in Campania, blessed Marino, Abbot, admirable in his fidelity to the Roman Pontiff.”

We have no information of our Saints early life but we know that Marino was at first a simple Monk, who distinguished himself by the task of the care of the precious vessels and the ancient books and documents of the Monastery.

When Marino was elected Abbot on 9 July 1146, he went to Rome, at the beginning of his mandate, according to the custom at La Cava, to obtain the Papal blessing. The then Cistercian Pope Eugene III (1145-1153),the disciple of St Bernard, welcomed him with honour and on that occasion also entrusted him with the reform of the Monastery of S.t Laurence in Panisperna, according to the manner in which La Cava was administered.

The same Pope by a Bull of 6 May 1149, took the La Cava Abbey under his own protection, making it subject to the Apostolic See, thus appointing it independent of the Diocesan authorities.

The government of Abbot Marino was fruitful in works and prosperity thanks to the generous donations of Bishops, Princes and feudal Lords. So much so, that other Monasteries and other Churches came to place themselves under Abbot Marino’s wise and careful protection and care.

The wealth that flowed ,was used to help the poor and suffering, for the sustenance of the numerous Monks, for the construction of buildings and for the splendour of worship. Below is the Interior of the Abbey Basilica, one of grand proportions and beauty.

The Abbey Basilica was covered with precious inlaid marble, decorated with frescoes, paved with polychrome mosaics; moreover, for his work as negotiator for peace between the King of Sicily, William the Bad (1120-66) and Pope Adrian IV (1154-1159), having gone to the Court of Palermo, he obtained a document from the King, confirming the possessions fof his Abbey, taking it under Royal protection and exempting it from taxes. Marino was then a secular administrator too, enabling him to appoint vassals, enlist soldiers, appoint judges and notaries.

Marino died a holy death on 15 December 1170. His body was buried in the Abbey’s Basilica. In 1648 his relics were translated to a Shrine Altar in the Basilica after the confirmation of the Marino’s Beatification on 16 May 1928, by Pope Pius XI.

If you would like to discover St Alferius, his Biography is here:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/12/saint-of-the-day-12-april-saint-alferius-of-la-cava-930-1050/

EMBER DAYS, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on FASTING, SAINT of the DAY

Nuestra Señora de Monguí / Our Lady of Mongui, Monguí, Boyacá, Colombia (16th Century), Memorials of the Saints and an Ember Day – 15 December

Posted on December 15, 2021December 14, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Octave Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Ember Wednesday – Fast and Partial Abstinence
In case you have forgotten about Ember Days as they are not promoted or encouraged since Vatican II, here is a reminder:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/16/today-is-an-ember-day-did-you-remember/

Nuestra Señora de Monguí / Our Lady of Mongui, Monguí, Boyacá, Colombia (16th Century) – 15 December:

Highly venerated, the Virgin of Monguí, is the Patroness of Boyacá. When King Charles I of Spain retired from his throne, he went to the Monastery of Yuste in the Spanish Province of Cáceres to prepare for death. He went into the Monastery looking for painted works of the Virgin Mary to send to the New World, in order to express gratitude to indigenous leaders for their loyalty to the Spanish Crown.
In 1558, King Philip II, his son and successor, sent two paintings: one of St Martín which was to be presented to the leader of Monguí and another of the Holy Family, for Sogamoso. Although the works were marked, there was confusion and the destinations were reversed. Given the error, the inhabitants of Sogamoso protested and asked for the exchange. But the pictures inexplicably returned to the same places and the exchange, through divine intervention, could, therefore, not be accomplished. All agreed that this was a miraculous occurence and the great devotion to the Blessed Virgin began to grow. This painting still includes its original frame, a rare but fortunate occurrence and the fine gold-leaf embellishments.
It is because of miraculous events like these, among others, that the Virgin Mary is present in the history of Boyacá and its inhabitants feel entrusted to her protection. Between 1694 and 1760, the present Church was built to house the image and still draws thousands of pilgrims to its Shrine each year. The Church has been elevated to the status of a Basilica.

Blessed Karl Steeb (1773 – 1856) Priest. Blessed Karl founded the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy in support of the needy and the sick of which he is the Patron.
The Story of Blessed Karl:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/15/saint-of-the-day-15-december-blessed-karl-steeb-1773-1856/

St Margaret of Fontana
Bl Maria della Pace

Blessed Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata (1562–1617) Widow, Nun, Foundress of the Order of the Annunciation – or Blue Nuns, of which she is the Patron.
Her Lifestory:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/15/saint-of-the-day-15-december-blessed-maria-vittoria-de-fornari-1562-1617/

Blessed Marino of Cava OSB (1146-1170) Monk, Abbot

St Mary Crocifissa di Rosa (1813–1855) Religious, Foundress of the Handmaids of Charity/Sisters of Charity.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/saint-of-the-day-15-december/

St Maximinus of Micy
St Offa of Essex
Bl Pau Gracia Sánchez
St Paul of Latros
Bl Ramón Eirin Mayo
St Silvia of Constantinople
St Urbicus
St Valerian of Abbenza
Blessed Victoria Strata (1562-1617) Widow,

St Virginia Centurione Bracelli (1587-1651) Religious, Founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Mount Cavalry.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/saint-of-the-day-15-december-st-virginia-centurione-bracelli-1587-1651/

Martyrs of Drina – (5 beati): Also known as
• Daughters of Divine Charity of Drina
• Drina Martyrs
Five members of the Daughters of Divine Charity who were martyred while fighting off Chetnik rapists. They were –
Jozefa Bojanc
Jozefa Fabjan
Karoline Anna Leidenix
Kata Ivanisevic
Terezija Banja
Their martyrdom occured in December 1941 in Gorazde, Bosansko-Podrinjski, Bosnia-Herzegovina
They were Beatified on 24 September 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Martyrs of North Africa – (7 saints): A group of Christians martyred together for their faith in North Africa. The only details about them that survive are their names – Caelian, Candidus, Faustinus, Fortunatus, Januarius, Lucius and Mark.

Martyrs of Rome – (22 saints): A group of 22 Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Valerian. The only details we have are five of their names – Antonius, Irenaeus, Saturnin, Theodorus and Victor. c 258 in Rome, Italy.

FATHERS of the Church, POETRY, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, St PAUL!, St PETER!, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The REDEMPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 14 December – St Venantius Fortunatus

Posted on December 14, 2021December 13, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 14 December – The Memorial of St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)

“On whose dear arms, so widely flung,
The weight of this world’s ransom hung,
The price of humankind to pay
And spoil the spoiler of his prey
All hail, O Cross, our only hope!”

“There are the gates of our true country,
the two lights of the immense world.
There Paul’s voice is heard like thunder;
there Peter withholds or hurls the bolt .
The former opens the hearts of men,
the latter opens Heaven.
Peter is the Foundation-stone,
Paul the Architect of the temple
where stands the Altar
by which God is propitiated.
Both together form a single Fountain,
which pours out its healing
and refreshing waters.”

St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
“The Troubadour of Christ”

franciscan OFM, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 14 December – Saint Berthold of Regensburg OFM (c 1220-1272)

Posted on December 14, 2021December 13, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 14 December – Saint Berthold of Regensburg OFM (c 1220-1272) Friar of the Order of the Friars Minor, Renowned Preacher for which reason he was known as “Sweet Brother Berthold,” “The Beloved of God and man,” “A Second Elias,” “The Teacher of the Nations,” Missionary Evangelist covering large areas of Germany. It is recorded that he would preach to up to 100,000 people at one time. Born as Berthold Sachs, at Ratisbon, which is now Regensburg, Germany in c 1220 and died there on 14 December 1272 of natural causes. Also known as – Berthold of Ratisbon. Berthold was a Franciscan Friar in the Monastery of Regensburg and the most powerful preacher of repentance in the Thirteenth Century. Patronage – of Preachers.

Berthold was probably a member of a well-to-do middle-class family of Ratisbon named Sachs. The excellence of his literary training is proved by his sermons ,which show more than common acquaintance with the ancient classics. From his knowledge of the usages of secular life, it may be inferred that he was of mature age before he entered the Franciscans. The first fixed date in Berthold’s life is 1246, when the Papal Legate appointed him and David of Augsburg (another Franciscan Friar) as Inspectors of the Convent of Niedermünster. One of his contemporaries, the Abbot of Niederaltaich, a reliable Historian, speaks in 1250 of the great reputation that Berthold had in Bavaria as a preacher.

Four years later, the missionary journeys of this preacher extended as far as the Valley of the Rhine, Alsace and Switzerland. During the next ten years Berthold’s apostolic labours led him eastward into Austria, Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia. In 1263 Pope Urban IV appointed him to preach the Crusade and Saint Albert the Great was designated as his assistant. When speaking to Slavonic audiences, Berthold naturally employed an interpreter, just as St Bernard, in his day, made use of an interpreter in Germany. Notwithstanding any difficulties that might arise as to understanding, wherever he went Berthold exerted an extraordinary power of attraction over his hearers so that the Churches were not able to hold the great crowds of the faithful who came from all quarters to his Masses, and he was often obliged to preach in the open air. When this was the case, a Pulpit was generally arranged under the spreading branches of a linden tree. Long after his day “Berthold’s Linden” was to be seen at Glatz.

About 1270 he seems to have returned to Regensburg where he remained until his death on 14 December 1272. He had fallen down the stairs a few days prior to his death. His remains form the most precious relic among the treasures of the Cathedral of Regensburg.

The poets and chroniclers of Bertold’s time made frequent reference to him. He was called “Sweet Brother Berthold,” “The Beloved of God and man,” “A Second Elias,” “The Teacher of the Nations.” All of these expressions are proofs of the high esteem in which his preaching and missionary zeal were held. The secret of the Preacher’s success, lay partly in the saintliness of his life and partly in his power to make use of the language of humble life. He became the great master, it may be said, the classic of homely speech and this rank has been maintained by his sermons to the present day. One of his two popular discourses on the Last Judgment became a favourite book of the people under the title “The Valley of Josaphat“. There is no doubt, that Brother Berthold preached in German., and used translators when necessary, as said above

For a long time scholars disagreed as to how his sermons had been preserved. It is now generally accepted, that the sermons were often written down afterwards in Latin, frequently with marginal comments in German – these reports of the sermons, as they may be called, partly German, partly Latin, or at times in the language in which they were delivered (recorded by the translators, we presume), are what have been handed down to posterity.

The discourses thus preserved, are of the greatest importance for the history of the development of the literature of homiletics; -they are of equal value as rich sources for determining the condition of education and culture in the thirteenth century. It is difficult, therefore, to understand, how this greatest of Catholic Preachers to the poor, could have been forgotten for centuries! It was not until some of Brother Berthold’s sermons were published in 1824 that attention was called to the eloquent Franciscan and his holy and zealous life of a true disciple of Christ! Since this date, the enthusiasm for Berthold grew steadily, so that he has become a favourite, both of Germanic scholars and of the historians of the development of German civilization and of the Faith. He is also regarded as the great pattern of homely Pulpit eloquence.

Seventy-two of his sermons have been preserved for our edification, some of which are available online.

CARMELITES, franciscan OFM, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Madonna del Patrocinio / Our Lady of Defence (Faenza, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy) (1685) and Memorials of the Saints – 14 December

Posted on December 14, 2021December 13, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Madonna del Patrocinio / Our Lady of Defence – also known as Santa Maria del Calcare (Faenza, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy) (1685) – 14 December:

In Forlì, in eastern Italy, the Baldi family owned a painting of the Madonna nursing the Christ Child. A woman of the family joined the Camaldolese Benedictine Convent there under the name of Sister Frances and at her death, the Bishop requested that the sacred image be moved to the Convent Church.
In 1614, such great crowds attended the Madonna’s transfer ceremony that the Sisters decided to build a special Chapel for the Blessed Virgin of Defence. On the last Sunday of September, 1650, the painting was installed in its new marble Shrine. An annual festa on that day commemorated the beginning of public veneration of the Virgin of Defence.
During the night of 20 November 1685, a fire spread from the Convent laundry to the parlour and Sacristy and had almost entered the Chapel of the holy image when the flames stopped unexpectedly. Only in morning did the nuns realise what happened.
This miracle rekindled public devotion to the Blessed Virgin of Defence, which the Vatican approved officially in 1721. During the Risorgimento, the government closed many religious communities and seized their goods. When their Convent was suppressed in 1862, the Camaldolese Nuns of Forlì moved with their Madonna to Faenza, about 15 miles away. The small Sanctuary of the Madonna del Patrocinio, is located along the old mule track that led from Bieno and Santino to the sunny pastures of Ompio. The Sanctuary, built at the beginning of the 18th century, was the destination of endless penitential processions of peasants, shepherds and woodcutters. The place is surrounded by dense chestnut and oak woods; almost a border between the lakes (Maggiore and Mergozzo) and the infinite forest of the Val Grande.
On 14 December 1954, at the close of the Marian Year, the sacred image was solemnly crowned by the Bishop of Faenza, Msgr Giuseppe Battaglia. At the nuns’ request, the Virgin’s crown was made of the gold rings they had received at their solemn profession, together with pilgrims’ votive offerings. St Catherine’s Convent was demolished in 2008 for construction of a Catholic rest home. I believe the miraculous image now resides in the local Parish Church.

St John of the Cross OCD (Memorial) (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
St John’s Feast Day is 24 November (General Roman Calendar, 1738–1969)
Full Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/saint-of-the-day-14-december-1542-1591-doctor-of-the-church/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/14/saint-of-the-day-14-december-st-john-of-the-cross-ocd-1542-1591/

St Abundius of Spain
St Agnellus of Naples
St Berthold of Regensburg OFM (c 1220-1272) Friar of the Order of the Friars Minor, Renowned Preacher for which reason he was known as “Sweet Brother Berthold,” “The Beloved of God and man,” “A Second Elias,”,”The Teacher of the Nations.”
Bl Buenaventura Bonaccorsi
St Folcuino of Therouanne
Bl Joan Lambertini
St John Pan y Agua (Bread-and-Water)
Bl John Discalceat
St Justus of Spain
St Matronianus of Milan
St Pompeius of Pavia
Bl Protasi Cubells Minguell

St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609) Bishop, Poet, Hymnist, Writer.
Another “Golden Words”:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/14/saint-of-the-day-14-december-saint-venantius-fortunatus-c-530-c-609/

St Viator of Bergamo
St Yusuf Jurj Kassab al-Hardini
Bl William de Rovira
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 4 saints: A group of Egyptian Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Decius – Arsenius, Dioscurus, Heron and Isidore. They were burned to death in 250 at Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Apollonia – 7 saints: Martyred in the persecutions of Decius. The only surviving details are three names – Callinicus, Leucio and Tirso. Apollonia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of Ashkelon – 3 saints: Several pilgrims from Egypt to Cilicia (in modern Turkey) who planned to minister to fellow Christians suffering in the persecutions of emperor Maximinus. They were arrested, torture, mutilated and then imprisoned in Ashkelon. Some were ordered to forced labour in the mines, but we have the names of three who were martyred by order of governor Firmilian – Ares, Elijah and Promo. They were burned at the stake or beheaded at the gates of Ashkelon c 308.

Martyrs of Hayle – 2+ saints: Several Christians, including a brother and sister, who were martyred together by pagans. The only other information to survive are the names of the two siblings – Fingar and Phiala. 5th century at Hayle, Cornwall, England.

Martyrs of Syria – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together. Known to Saint John Chrysostom who preached on their feast day and left us the only details we have – their names – Drusus, Theodore and Zosimus. The date and precise location of their martyrdom is unknown, but it was in Syria, possibly in Antioch.

CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, EYES - Diseases, of the BLIND, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 13 December – Light! Dear St Lucy and St Odilia

Posted on December 13, 2021December 11, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 December – The Memorial of St Lucy (c 283-304) Virgin Martyr “Bringer of Light” and St Odilia of Alsace (c 660-720) Virgin Both Patrons of those with eye ailments

“I am the light of the world;
he who follows me will not walk in darkness
but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

Saint Lucy’s name (Lucia in Italian) shares the root luc with the Latin word for light, lux. Because of this connection, Saint Lucy is often depicted in art and religious custom as a bringer of light – which also ties in to her Patronage of eyes and sight. Her feast day today, is during Advent when we await the Light of Christ and is in winter, for the Northern Hemisphere, so there is significant iconography of Lucy as a bringer of light in the darkness.

“In your light God,
we see light.”

Psalm 35:36

Let us pray to St Lucy, for the intercession for all those with eye illnesses and for the protection of the ‘eyes of our faith’ of all of us.

“Let your light shine before men”

Matthew 5:16

O St Lucy, you preferred to let your eyes be torn out
instead of denying the faith
and defiling your soul
and God, through an extraordinary miracle,
replaced them with another pair of sound and perfect eyes
to reward your virtue and faith,
appointing you as the protector against eye diseases.
I come to you for you to protect my eyesight
and to heal the illness in my eyes.

O St Lucy, preserve the light of my eyes
so that I may see the beauties of creation,
the glow of the sun,
the colour of the flowers
and the smile of children.

Preserve also the eyes of my soul,
the faith, through which I can know my God,
understand His teachings,
recognise His love for me
and never miss the road that leads me
to where you, St Lucy,
can be found in the company of the angels and saints.
St Lucy, protect my eyes and preserve my faith.

St Lucy, “Bringer of Light” Pray for those with eye ailments,
Pray for us all!

“Light came into the world.”

John 3:19

St Odilia, born blind – at the age of 12, her bodily eyes were opened and she was equally enlightened by the “eyes of faith” when she was Baptised, Pray for those with eye ailments, Pray for us all that our faith may grow and strengthen as those around us grow more and more blind!

“Then again He laid His hands
upon his eyes
and he looked intently
and was restored
and saw everything clearly.”

Mark 8:25

Prayer for the Intercession of St Odilia

Merciful God,
I come to You to ask Your aid
that my life may always give You praise.
I ask through the intercession
of St Odilia and all your holy people
to be a beacon of Your Light to all I meet.
Give me holiness of soul and body
and bring me into Your divine Light.
May I obtain these favours,
as well as my special prayer,
St Odilia, pray for my eyes
and the eyes of my faith.
Through the merits of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Your Son, our Lord,
Who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.
Amen.

EYES - Diseases, of the BLIND, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 December – Saint Odilia of Alsace (c 660-720)

Posted on December 13, 2021December 12, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 13 December – Saint Odilia of Alsace (c 660-720) Virgin Abbess, born blind, but was miraculously granted her sight, miracle-worker. Born of a noble family in c 660 at Oberheim in the Vosges Mountains, Germany and died on 13 December 720 at Niedermunster, Mount Sainte Odile, Germany of natural causes. Also known as – Odilia of Hohenbourg, Odilia of Hohenburg, Adilia, Odile, Odilia, Othilia, Ottilia. Patronages – against eye diseases and partial sightedness, ear diseases and ailments, of Alsace, France (proclaimed in 1807 by Pope Pius VII). Additional Memorial 7 July – translation of her relics.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In the territory of Strasbourg in ancient Burgundia in France, Saint Ottilia, Virgin and first Abbess of the Monastery of Hohenbourg founded by her father, Duke Adalríco.”

A Mosaic Depiction of St Odilia in Mont Sainte-Odile, Alsace

Odilia, daughter of Duke Adalric of Alsace, (also known as Etichon, Alderic, Aldarico, Athich) a region of eastern France but which region, in the past centuries, belonged to France or Germany alternatively, several times – she was, therefore, born in Alsace in the seventh century, blind from birth and according to legend, her father entrusted her to a peasant family.

When Odilia was 12 years old, they took the child to the Monastery of Balma (Baume-les-Dames) to be educated. At the time when the Bishop, St Erhard of Regensburg who was led by an angel to the Monastery, Baptised Odilia. When he touched her with the Oil of Chrism, she received her sight. Her younger brother Hugo had her brought home again, for [purposes of arranging a marriage for Odilia. Aldaric was so enraged at Hugo’s presumption, that he accidentally killed his son. Odilia miraculously revived him and immediately fled the family home again.

She fled across the Rhine to a cave or cavern in one of two places (depending on the source – the Musbach valley near Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, or Arlesheim near Basel, Switzerland.) The cliff face opened up in order to rescue her from her plight. In the cave, she hid from her father. When he tried to follow her, he was injured by falling rocks and relinquished his search. This mountain has since then been called
“Odilienberg.”

But when Aldaric fell ill, Odile returned to nurse him. He finally capitulated, ceased resisting his headstrong daughter and founded the monastic community of Mont Ste. Odile (also known as Hohenburg Abbey) for her.

Some years later Odile was shown, in a vision, the site of Niedermünster at the foot of the mountain by St John the Baptist. There she founded a second Monastery, including a hospital. Here, the head and an arm of St Lazarus of Marseille were displayed but later transferred to Andlau. The buildings of the Niedermünster burned down in 1542 but the local well is still said to cure eye diseases.

Odilia died on 13 December 720 and the holy Abbess was buried in Hohenbourg in the Church of St John. This Church and Odilia’s Tomb were first mentioned by Pope Leo IX on 17 December 1050.

The relics have a history all of their own, the Emperor Charles IV received her right arm on 4 May 1353, which is now kept in Prague. Other relics which were in Odilienberg were saved from the French Revolution, although the marble covering the Sarcophagus was then lost. In 1842 the relics were placed in a chest under the Altar in Hohenbourg in the Church of St John and some are found in Alsace.

Odilia’s cult was widespread throughout the Middle Ages, in all Germanic Abbeys and in some French regions. She is still greatly venerated today in the Diocese of Alsace, Munich, Meissen, Strasbourg and in the Austrian fBenedictine Abbeys and by those all over the world suffering from eye ailments.

St Odilia has been the patron saint of Alsace since 1807, where she receives a great popular cult. Mont-Sainte-Odile is a very popular pilgrimage site, where her Feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of the transfer of her relics, which took place on 7 July 1842.

Chapels in her honour are built on hills and mountains, she is invoked especially for the healing of eyes, ears or headaches, in fact she is represented in the guise of Abbess, with an open book on which two eyes rest.

Sometimes she is depicted while freeing the soul of her father Aldaric from Purgatory and sometimes she carries a Chalice in her hand, which refers to a miraculous episode in which Odilia, being seriously ill, died without having received the Viaticum. Thanks to the prayers of her sorrowful Sisters, she rose again and had the Chalice with the Consecrated Hosts brought to her bedside. After communicating she died again.

MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

La Reina del Rosario de Banos de Agua Santa / Queen of the Holy Rosary, also known as the Virgin of the Holy Waters, Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador (1570) and Memorials of the Saints – 13 December

Posted on December 13, 2021December 12, 2021 by AnaStpaul

La Reina del Rosario de Banos de Agua Santa / Queen of the Holy Rosary, also known as the Virgin of the Holy Waters, Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador (1570) 13 December:

This is or is similar to, the Statue which stands at the Holy Waters

A few years before the founding of Quito, Dominican Missionaries travelled throughout the Ecuadorian Province of Tungurahua, bringing the Faith to the people. A bamboo Chapel was erected at Baños de Agua Santa ( Bath) wherein was venerated the Blessed Virgin of Montserrat.
One night the Sacristan of the Church saw a small Statue of the Virgin accompanied by two beautiful Angels hovering in the air then coming down to the foot of a waterfall that flowed from the mountain. This event was repeated several times, causing the people gathered in the Chapel, to beseech the Blessed Virgin to clearly manifest her intentions. The following night the Virgin appeared asking for the erection of a Church at the spring, promising to cure the sick who bathe with faith, in those waters.

A new Church was built as Our Lady asked but the Statue of the Virgin of Montserrat had disappeared before it could be transferred to the new Church. A mule came to the Town Square carrying a box containing a beautiful Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary. When this was unclaimed by anyone, it was seen as a gift from Our Lady and the image of “La Reina del Rosario de Agua Santa” was lovingly placed in the Church.
The present Basilica was completed in 1929. A brief of Pope Pius XII in 1957 declared the Virgin of Banos de Agua Santa “Principal Patroness of the missions of eastern Ecuador.” On 13 December 1959, the Cardinal Archbishop of Quito, Carlos M de la Torre, solemnly crowned the Statue of the Virgin in the presence of President of the Republic, Dr Camilo Ponce, who offered to the Mother of God, the Presidential baton invoking her as the Patron of Ecuador.

Many miracles and cures were granted by Our Lady of the Rosary of Agua Santa and numerous times, the Church has provided a sanctuary when the volcano Tungurahua hsd erupted. On one occasion, a horrendous eruption began while many were gathered to honour Our Lady. Lava was flowing toward the Church. The people raised the Statue of Our Lady of Agua Santa on high and processed to the Town Square. There, Our Lady lifted her hand silencing the roaring volcano and and diverting the flow of lava.
In 1916, a nearby farmhouse was burned completely to the ground, except for a picture of Our Lady of the Rosary of Agua Santa.

St Lucy (of Syracuse) – St Lucy/Lucia of Syracuse (c 283-304) Virgin and Martyr
Patron of the blind, eye disorders, martyrs, Perugia, Italy, Malta; epidemics; salesmen, Syracuse, Italy, throat infections, writers, against fire, against poverty, against spiritual blindness, peasants, penitent prostitutes, poor people, sick children, authors, cutlers, farmers, glass blowers, glass makers, glaziers, labourers, lawyer, maid servants, notaries, ophthalmologists, opticians, porters, printers, saddler, sailors, salesmen, seamstresses, stained glass workers, tailors, upholsterers, weavers and 10 further towns and cities.
St Lucy’s Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/saint-of-the-day-13-december-st-lucy-c-283-304/

St Antiochus of Sulci

Blessed Antonio Grassi Cong. Orat. (1592 – 1671) Priest of the Oratorians of St Philip Neri, Confessor, Spiritual advisor, Counsellor, Mediator, Miracle Worker, Apostle of the poor and the sick.
Blessed Antonio’s biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/13/saint-of-the-day-13-december-blessed-antonio-grassi-cong-orat-1592-1671/

St Aristone
St Arsenius of Latro
St Aubert of Arras
Bl Bartholomew of Tuscany
St Edburgh of Lyminge
St Einhildis of Hohenburg
Bl Elizabeth Rose
St Jodocus

Blessed Giovanni Marinoni CR (1490-1562) Priest of the Theatines of St Cajetan (1480-1547) (The Congregation of the Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence), renowned Preacher and spiritual director.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/13/saint-of-the-day-blessed-giovanni-marinoni-cr-1490-1562/

St Martino de Pomar
St Odilia of Alsace (c 660-720) Virgin Abbess
St Roswinda
St Tassio of Bavaria
St Wifred

Blessed Mercedarian Knights – (7 beati): A group of Mercedarian knights who fought the enemies of the Catholic faith in the first century of the Order.
• Blessed Bernardo de Podio
• Blessed Giacomo de Copons
• Blessed Giovanni de Bruquera
• Blessed Guglielmo de Sa
• Blessed Pietro Boguer
• Blessed Pietro Ricart
• Blessed Raimondo de Frexa

Martyrs of Jeongju – (6 saints): Six Christian laymen who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred together in the persecutions in Korea. They were beheaded on 13 December 1866 in Supjeong-i, Jeongju, Chungcheong-do, South Korea
and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.
• Bartholomaeus Chong Mun-Ho
• Iosephus Han Won-So
• Peter Cho Hwa-so
• Petrus Son Son-Ji
• Petrus Yi Myong-So
• Petrus Chong Won-Ji

Martyrs of Sebaste – (5 saints): A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Auxentius, Eustratius, Eugene, Mardarius and Orestes. They were martyred in c 302 at Sebaste, Armenia (in modern Turkey) and their relics are enshrined at the church of Saint Apollinaris in Rome, Italy.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 12 December – Saint Pope Callistus II (c 1065-1124)

Posted on December 12, 2021December 11, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 12 December – Saint Pope Callistus II (c 1065-1124) Bishop of Rome 1 February 1119-13 December 1124) Born in c1065 Quingey, France as Guy or Guido and died on 13 December 1124 in Rome, Italy of natural causes. Also known as – Calixtus II, Guy of Burgundy, Guido of Burgundy.

Guy or Guido in Italian, as he was called before his elevation to the Papacy, was the son of Count William of Burgundy and both by his father’s and mother’s side, was closely connected with nearly all the Royal Houses of Europe. He was the uncle of the Queen of France, cousin of the King of England, related to the German Emperor. His brother Hugh had been appointed Archbishop of Besançon and he himself was named Archbishop of Vienne in 1088 and afterwards appointed Cardinal and Papal Legate in France by Pope Paschal II.

When appointed Papal Legate in France by Pope Paschal II, Guido strenuously opposed Paschal’s “Privilege,” extorted by Henry V, which would have surrendered most of the political positions held by Church officials in the Empire. After protesting the “Privilege” at the Lateran Synod of 1112, he called and presided over a Synod of French and Burgundian Bishops at Vienne, which denounced lay investiture of the clergy as heretical and excommunicated Henry V as hostile to the welfare of the Church. When Gelasius II, who succeeded Pascal, refused to confirm the “Privilege,” the angry Henry V set up Archbishop Burdinus of Braga as antipope Gregory VIII and installed him in Rome. Gelasius was forced to spend his brief, harassed Pontificate in exile and died at Cluny within a year. Some of the Cardinals who had come to Cluny now elected Guido, who was crowned in Vienne on 1 February 1119.

Callistus took immediate steps to establish peace with the imperial government, since both sides were tired of the long investiture struggle. Henry V favourably received a Papal Embassy and temporarily withdrew his support from Gregory VIII. A meeting between Pope and Emperor was arranged.

After presiding over a Synod at Toulouse (1119), which was mainly concerned with reform of the French Church, Callistus proceeded to Reims, where he held a great Council (1119), attended by some 400 Prelates and by Louis VI of France. Negotiations with Henry V broke down after he came to Mousson with a large army and Papal plans to meet with the Emperor were abandoned. The Emperor was excommunicated again (October 1119).

Callistus then went to Rome, where he was enthusiastically received by the people, who had meanwhile driven out the antipope. He allied himself with the Normans, who aided in the capture of antipope Gregory VIII. Gregory, who had taken refuge at Sutri, was held prisoner and subsequently other enemies of the Pope in Italy were overcome too.

Callistus then sent a new embassy to Henry V. A preliminary understanding with a truce was arranged at Würzburg in 1121. The following year, the famous Concordat of Worms (1122) was arrived at, in a Synod held in that City. Because of the Pope’s patience and perseverance, the Concordat was a reasonably satisfactory arrangement for both sides, although a complete victory for neither, bringing peace to both Empire and Church, to the great relief of Christendom.

The First Lateran Council (1123), convoked by Callistus, solemnly confirmed the Concordat of Worms and issued Decrees against clerical marriage and simony. It provided penalties against violators of the Truce of God and against forgers of Ecclesiastical documents and renewed Indulgences for crusading.

During his Pontificate, Callistus also secured from Henry I of England, the acceptance of his candidate, Thurstan, for the Archbishopric of York, transferred metropolitan rights in Spain from the ancient See of Merida to the popular See of Santiago de Compostela and settled the old French rivalry over metropolitan disagreements between Aries and Vienne, in favour of the latter.

Callistus died in 1124 and after some dispute Honorius II was selected as his successor. As to the great influence of the reign of Callistus II on the policy of the Church, there can be no dispute. Owing mainly to him ,the concessions so weakly made by Pope Paschal II were recalled and on his own accession to the Papal throne, his firmness and strength of character secured a settlement of the controversy between Church and State which, although not entirely satisfactory, was at least sufficient to assure a much needed peace.

Through his exertions he put an end to the wholesale bestowal of Ecclesiastical offices by laymen; he re-established the freedom of canonical elections and secured recognition of the principle that Ecclesiastical jurisdiction can come, only from the Church, while on the other hand, he conceded to the secular authorities, the influence to which they were rightly entitled, in the election of Prelates who were at the same time the most powerful and richest subjects of the State.

Callistus II was not very remarkable for his literary productions, yet a few works have come down to us which are ascribed to his pen. They are: “De Miraculis Sancti Jacobi Apostoli,” “De obitu et Vita Sanctorum,”,”Vita Caroli Magni Imperatoris.” Many letters attributed to him are preserved.

MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, Feast of Nuestra Senora De Guadalupe / Our Lady of Guadalupe and Memorials of the Saints – 12 December

Posted on December 12, 2021December 11, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Gaudete Sunday – The Third Sunday of Advent

Nuestra Senora De Guadalupe / Our Lady of Guadalupe (Feast) The First Apparition was on 12 December 1531.
All about Our Lady of Guadalupe:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/saint-of-the-day-the-feast-of-our-lady-of-guadalupe-12-december/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/12/feast-of-our-lady-of-guadalupe-12-december/

St Abra
St Agatha of Wimborne
Bl Bartholomew Buonpedoni
St Pope Callistus II (c1065-1124) Bishop of Rome 1 February 1119-13 December 1124)

St Colman of Clonard
St Columba of Terryglass
Bl Conrad of Offida
St Corentius of Quimper
St Cormac
St Cury
St Donatus the Martyr
St Edburga of Thanet

St Finnian of Clonard (470–549) “Tutor of the Saints of Ireland,” Monk and Founder of Monasteries the most famous being Clonard Abbey, Confessor, Ascetic, Missionary, Teacher, miracle-worker.
About St Finnian:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/12/saint-of-the-day-12-december-saint-finnian-of-clonard-470-549-tutor-of-the-saints-of-ireland/

St Gregory of Terracina
St Hermogenes
Bl Ida of Nivelles

Bl Ludwik Bartosik
Bl Martin Sanz
St Simon Phan Ðac Hòa
St Spyridon of Cyprus
St Synesius

St Vicelinus of Oldenburg (1086-1154) Bishop, Missionary, “the Apostle of Holstei,” zealous Preacher.
His Life
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/12/saint-of-the-day-12-december-saint-vicelinus-of-oldenburg-1086-1154/

Martyrs of Alexandria – (6 saints): A group of six Christians martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than five of their names – Alexander, Ammonaria, Dionysia, Epimachus and Mercuria. They were burned to death c 250 in Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Trier – (4 saints): A group of six Christians martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than five of their names – Alexander, Ammonaria, Dionysia, Epimachus and Mercuria. They were burned to death c 250 in Alexandria, Egypt.

INCORRUPTIBLES

Saint of the Day – 11 December – Blessed Jerome Ranuzzi OSM (c 1410-c 1468) “The Angel of Good Counsel,”

Posted on December 11, 2021December 9, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 11 December – Blessed Jerome Ranuzzi OSM (c 1410-c 1468) “The Angel of Good Counsel,” “The Blessed Bachelor,” Priest and Friar of the Order of the Servants of Mary, the Servites, Theologian, Adviser both spiritual and secular, renowned for his learning and scholarship, Penitent and Hermit with a great love of solitude and silence. Born as Girolamo Ranuzzi in c 1410 at Sant’Angelo, Vado, Pesaro-Urbino, Italy and died in c 1468 of natural causes. Also known as – Jerome Ranucci, Girolamo and “The Angel of Good Counsel,” “The Blessed Bachelor.” Additional Memorials, 10 and 12 December on local calendars. Patronage – Sant’Angelo, Vado. His body is incorrupt and is still available for veneration in St Mary of the Servites.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In Sant’Angelo in Vado always in the Marches, Blessed Girolamo, Priest of the Order of the Servants of Mary, who in solitude and silence reached the wisdom of holiness.”

“Becoming holy is the vocation of every man and woman who comes into this world. The Servants of Mary lived this noble toil within the Church of Christ. The results of this journey are as colourful as ever, precisely because the Holy Spirit renews everything without ever repeating Himself. The saints are alike but none are the same.” (The journey of the Servants of Mary, Servitium editrice, 2001).

Jerome, who was born around 1410 in Sant’Angelo in Vado, of the wealthy Ranuzzi family (or Ranucci, according to the spelling of contemporary documents). The family
became regarded as part of nobles. In 1404, his father Antonio, became the municipal guardian for the Parish of St Eusebius, two kilometers away from his home.

Jerome, while still a teenager, entered the Convent of the Servants of Mary of St Angelo in Vado, from where he went to Bologna to study. There he applied himself to philosophy and theology, obtaining the degree of bachelor and after being Ordained a Priest, returned to his hometown Convent.

The first documented report of Jerome’s presence in St Angelo among the Servants of Mary, dates to 1449. Jerome was at this time, the Vicar of the Provincial Superior Michael Ambrosi, who called a General Chapter at his Convent in St Angelo. Another document certifying his presence in the said Convent is his signing of a contract dated 20 November 1454.

Jerome was undoubtedly a man of doctrine, in fact, several of his famous contemporaries mention him in their historical works as the “bachelor,” from the title obtained for his studies in the ecclesiastical universities of the time.

The famous Duke Federick of Montefeltro of Urbino, used his advice for the most important affairs and then always venerated his memory, when, as shown by subsequent documents of 1471 and 1478, the Duke Federick visited Jerome’s Convent to pay homage at the Tomb of the Blessed.

His contemporaries and fellow Friars, narrated his fame as an ascetic, a rigorous penitent, a persuasive adviser, who was very much alive in St Angelo in Vado. A local tradition indicates a cave where our Blessed Jerome lived his periods of solitude located along the road that leads to Montata, right where the Shrine of the Virgin called “Madonnina di Pagnignò” stands.

In 1462 the “Blessed Bachelor” began the foundation of the female Monastery of St Mary of Gracenear, nearby the male Monastery.

The date of his death is around 1468 and from then on, a crowd of people went to his Tomb to recommend themselves to his intercession. Shortly after his death, when the fame of miracles grew, Friar Jerome was acclaimed a saint by the voice of the people. His incorrupt body is preserved under the main Altar of the Church of St Mary of the Servites, where it is still venerated by the faithful today.

After a long process, his cult was confirmed on 1 April 1775 by Pope Pius VI with the title of Blessed. The Roman Martyrology celebrates his feast today, the 11th December.

CARMELITES, INCORRUPTIBLES, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 11 December

Posted on December 11, 2021December 10, 2021 by AnaStpaul

St Pope Damasus I (c 305-384) (Optional Memorial) Priest and Bishop of Rome. During his Pontificate, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state, and Latin became the principal liturgical language as part of the Pope’s reforms.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-st-pope-damasus-i-c-305-384/

St Aithalas of Arbela
St Apseus of Arbela
Bl Arthur Bell
Barsabas of Persia
St Cian

St Daniel the Stylite of Constantinople (c 409–493) Priest, Hermit, Monk, Abbot, miracle-worker.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-saint-daniel-the-stylite-of-constantinople-c-409-493/

Bl David of Himmerod
Bl Dominic Yanez
St Eutychius the Martyr
St Fidweten

Blessed Francesco Lippi O.Carm (1211-1291) Carmelite Friar, Hermit, Mystic, Penitent, graced with the gift of prophesy.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-blessed-francesco-lippi-o-carm-1211-1291/

Bl Hugolinus Magalotti
Bl Jean Laurens
Blessed Jerome Ranuzzi OSM (c 1410-c 1468) “The Angel of Good Counsel,” “The Blessed Bachelor,” Priest and Friar of the Order of the Servants of Mary, the Servites
Bl Kazimierz Tomasz Sykulski

St María Maravillas de Jesús OCD (1891-1974) Discalced Carmelite Prioress, founder of several houses for her order.
St Maria’s Story:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-st-maria-maravillas-de-jesus-ocd-1891-1974/

Bl Martín Lumbreras Peralta
Bl Martino de Melgar
Bl Melchor Sánchez PérezPens
Bl Pilar Villalonga Villalba
Bl Severin Ott
Martyrs of Saint Aux-Bois – (3 saints): Two Christian missionaries and one of their local defenders who faith in the persecutions of governor Rictiovarus – Fuscian, Gentian and Victoricus. They were beheaded in 287 in Saint Aux-Bois, Gaul (in modern France).

Martyrs of Rome – (3 saints): Three Christians murdered in the persecutions of Diocletian for giving aid to Christian prisoners – Pontian, Practextatus and Trason. They were imperial Roman citizens. They were martyred in c 303 in Rome, Italy.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 10 December – Saint John Roberts (1577-1610) Priest Martyr

Posted on December 10, 2021December 9, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 10 December – Saint John Roberts (1577-1610) Priest Martyr, Monk, Missionary. Born in 1577 at Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, Gwynedd, northern Wales and died by being hung, drawn and quartered on 10 December 1610 at Tyburn, London, England. Additional Memorials – • 25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, 1 December as one of the Martyrs of Oxford University.

John Roberts was the eldest son of Robert and Anna of Rhiw Goch Farm, Trawsfynydd. He was a descendant of the Welsh Princes, including Maelgwn Gwynedd, Hywel Dda and Llewelyn the Great.

Despite being raised a Protestant, it is believed that he received his early education from a Monk who had been forced to leave nearby Cymer Abbey after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.

John studied at St John’s College at Oxford. However, he left without earning a degree and entered as a law student at one of the Inns of Court. He travelled throughout the continent and more so, Paris and through the influence of a Catholic fellow traveller, he was converted to Catholicism. By the advice of John Cecil, an English Priest, he decided to enter the English College, at Douai in 1598.

He left College the following year for the Abbey of St Benedict and was sent to make his novitiate at San Martin Pinario, Santiago de Compostela. He made his profession towards the end of 1600. He was Ordained and set out for England in December 1602. Although a Government spy observed him, John and his companions succeeded in entering the country in April 1603 but he was arrested and banished in May. He soon managed to return to England, and worked among the plague victims in London. In 1604 while preparing to leave for Spain with four postulants, he was arrested again. Not recognised as a Priest, he was released and again banished but he returned to England, once again.

In 1605, he was found at the house of Mr And Mrs Thomas Percy, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot. Although he was not found guilty of being involved, in July 1606. he was imprisoned in the Gatehouse Prison at Westminster for seven months and then exiled This time he was gone for fourteen months, nearly all of which he spent at Douai where he founded and became the first Abbot of a house for English Benedictine Monks, who had entered through Spanish Monasteries. This was the beginning of the Monastery of St Gregory at Douai.

In October 1607, John returned to England. In December, he was again arrested and placed in the Gatehouse at Westminster. After several months, he escaped. He lived in London for about a year and in May 1609, he was taken to Newgate Prison. He would have been executed but the French Ambassador interceded on his behalf and his sentence was reduced to banishment. He visited Spain and Douai but returned to England within the year. He was captured again on 2 December 1610, just as he was concluding Mass. They took him to Newgate in his Vestments. On 5 December he was tried and found guilty under the Act forbidding Priests to minister in England.

On 10 December he was hung, drawn and quartered along with Father Thomas Somers at Tyburn, London. His body was recovered and taken to St Gregory’s at Douai. His arm was found in the possession of the Spanish Royal family before being returned to Santiago de Compostela, where he served as a novice. One of his fingers is kept in the Sacred Cross Church, Gellilydan, while another is at the Tyburn convent and one more in Taunton.

He was Beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and Canonised by Pope Paul VI as one of the “Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.”

His life is commemorated in Trawsfynydd’s heritage centre, Llys Ednowain. There is an information board about him outside the centre, one of six posted along a walk past significant locations in his life.

MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Santissima Casa de Loreto / The Holy House of Loreto / Our Lady of Loreto (1291) and Memorials of the Saints – 10 December

Posted on December 10, 2021December 9, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Santissima Casa de Loreto / The Holy House of Loreto / Our Lady of Loreto (1291) – 10 December:
A complete background here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/the-feast-of-the-our-lady-of-loreto-and-the-holy-house-10-december/

The title Our Lady of Loreto refers to the Holy House of Loreto, the house in which Mary was born and where the Annunciation occurred and to an ancient statue of Our Lady which is found there. Tradition says that a band of angels scooped up the little house from the Holy Land and transported it first to Tersato, Dalmatia in 1291, then Recanati, Italy in 1294 and finally to Loreto, Italy where it has been for centuries. It was this flight that led to her patronage of people involved in aviation and the long life of the house that has led to the patronage of builders, construction workers, etc. It is the first shrine of international renown dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and has been known as a Marian centre for centuries. Popes have always held the Shrine of Loreto in special esteem and it is under their direct authority and protection.

The Holy House of Loreto – The feast is so named from the tradition that the house where the Holy Family lived in Nazareth, was transported by angels to the city of Loreto, Italy. The Holy House is now encased by a basilica. It has been one of the famous shrines of the Blessed Virgin since the 13th century.

St Abundius
St Albert of Sassovivo
St Angelina of Serbia
Bl Brian Lacey
BL Bruno of Rommersdorf
St Caesarius of Epidamnus
St Carpophorus
St Deusdedit of Brescia

St Eulalia of Mérida (Died 304) Virgin Martyr
Her Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/10/saint-of-the-day-10-december-saint-eulalia-of-merida-died-304/

St Edmund Gennings
St Emérico Martín Rubio
St Florentius of Carracedo
St Fulgentius of Afflighem
St Gemellus of Ancyra
St Gonzalo Viñes Masip

St Pope Gregory III (Died 741) Cardinal Deacon Reigned 731-741. He was an educated man who knew both Latin and Greek, polished in style, learned in Holy Scripture, pious, zealous for the faith and a lover of the poor.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/10/saint-of-the-day-10-december-st-pope-gregory-iii-died-741/

Bl Guglielmo de Carraria
St Guitmarus
St Hildemar of Beauvais
Bl Jerome Ranuzzi
Bl John Mason
St John Roberts (1577-1610) Priest Martyr
St Julia of Merida
St Lucerius
Bl Marco Antonio Durando
St Maurus of Rome
St Mercury of Lentini
St Pope Miltiades
St Polydore Plasden
Bl Sebastian Montanol
Bl Sidney Hodgson
St Sindulf of Vienne
St Swithun Wells
St Thomas of Farfa
Bl Thomas Somers
St Valeria
Martyrs of Alexandria – 3 saints – A group of Christians murdered for their faith in the persecutions of Galerius Maximian – c312. The only details that have survived are three of the names – Eugraphus, Hermogenes and Mennas.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 9 December – Saint Syrus of Pavia (1st Century)

Posted on December 9, 2021September 10, 2024 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 9 December – Saint Syrus of Pavia (1st Century) the First Bishop of Pavia, Italy, Confessor, miracle-worker, Defender of the Faith, Evangeliser. His birthplace is unknown but he died at Pavia where his relics are enshrined in the City’s Cathedral. Also known as – Cyrus, Cyril, Siro. Patronages – the City and the Diocese of Pavia, Italy.

Detail of St Syrus on Pavia Cathedral facade. Full image below.

The Roman Martyrology states: “At Pavia, St Syrus, the first Bishop of that City, who was renowned for miracles and virtues worthy of an apostle.”

Nothing is known of St Syrus early life but some believe that he was the little boy with the five loaves and 2 fish, who appears in the Gospels.

Syrus is said to have followed Saint Peter to Rome and from there he was sent to the Po valley to preach and convert the people to the Christian faith. He preached in all of the major cities of northern Italy.

Another tradition, from the eighth century, states that Syrus was also a disciple of St Hermagoras, the first Bishop of Achilles, himself a disciple of St Mark the Evangelist.

In the company of St Juventius, Syrus fought against Arianism. Syrus worked to challenge and convert those who followed Arianism in his Diocese.

Syrus’ relics are enshrined in the Chapel of Saint Syrus in the Pavia Cathedral on the facade of which the Statue below is displayed.

	Santas e Santos do d… on Nuestra Señora de la Palabra /…
	MAIN SAINTS & TH… on Saint of the Day – 23 Fe…
	moinillon on Quote/s of the Day – 29 Decemb…
	Santo Aelredus dari… on Saint of the Day – 12 Ja…
	emmepostma on Saint of the Day – 3 Dec…

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John 11:1-44

“Lazarus, come out!”

St Lazarus, Pray for us, amen!

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St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)“The Troubadour of Christ”

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John 8:12

Psalm 35:36

Matthew 5:16

John 3:19

Mark 8:25

Prayer for the Intercession of St Odilia

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St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
“The Troubadour of Christ”