Category: PATRONAGE – against ALCOHOLISM, of ALCOHOLICS

Posted in PATRONAGE - against ALCOHOLISM, of ALCOHOLICS, PATRONAGE - HOSPITALS, NURSES, NURSING ASSOCIATIONS, PATRONAGE - MENTAL ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - THE SICK, THE INFIRM, ALL ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - WRITERS, PRINTERS, PUBLISHERS, EDITORS, etc, SAINT of the DAY, YouTube VIDEOS

Saint of the Day – 8 March – St John of God OH (1495-1550)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 8 March – St John of God OH (1495-1550)

“All things pass, only good works last”

Miracles of St John of God

During his lifetime, St John of God accomplished miracles both small and large.   Daily he went out into the streets of Granada, providing help for the poor, the sick and the mentally disturbed.   He would often give the cloak off his back to someone who had no cloak.   The home he rented was a place of refuge for many.st john of god.jpeg

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary a miracle is defined as, “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs,” and “an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing or accomplishment.”

St John’s daily activities of providing a place for unwanted people to feel loved and safe can be described as daily, small miracles for the people who needed help.   In the book Saints for Sinners by Alban Goodier, he writes about St John. “He could wash his patients and dress their sores;  he could kiss their feet and let them feel that somebody cared;  he could put them to bed and give them a sense of home.”st john of god 3.jpg

Keep in the mind, that the Granada of St John’s time was not the modern city it is today. Roads were unpaved and people walked everywhere.   Their feet were most likely the dirtiest parts of their bodies.   By kissing them, St John imitated Jesus’s actions toward His disciples and showed complete humility and compassion for these individuals.
St John lived out the commands of our Saviour to love one another and to love your neighbour as yourself.   Jesus says in Matthew 26:40, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Despite his earnest desire to serve Christ, St John faced oppression and had enemies who did not believe he was sincere in his service.   He would often care for his patients during the day and beg for alms at night.   Even though he faced hardships, his needs were always met and God always provided for his cause (another miracle).
Perhaps the grandest and best known of St John of God’s miracles was his rescuing of the patients from a fire in the hospital of Granada and yet escaping from the flames unscathed.   For this reason, he is the patron saint of firefighters.

Considered an impulsive man, one night, St John heard that the Royal Hospital of Granada was on fire.   When he rushed to the scene, he saw that people were just standing there watching the fire burn  . All the patients were inside the burning building. This non-action was unthinkable to St John and he rushed inside, leading all the patients to safety.
Once he knew that all the patients were safe, St John ran back into the building and started throwing items such as blankets and mattresses out the windows of the hospital. In his mission, St. John knew the importance of these goods for caring for the sick.   He wanted to salvage as much as possible.

By this point, the city had brought a canon to try to destroy and separate the burning part of the hospital from the non-burning portion, in its best efforts to contain the fire. However, St John could not accept this.   He ran up to the roof and started separating the two parts of the hospital with his axe.

Although he was successful, he fell through the burning roof.   Bystanders thought he had perished in the fire, until he appeared out of the smoke and ashes unharmed.
In an essay titled “St John of God, Founder of the Order of Charity,” written by Fr Francis Xavier Weninger in 1877, Weninger wrote, “The flame of Divine love which burned in his heart surpassed the intensity of the material fire.”st john of god - beautiful statue.jpg

In addition to performing great miracles, St John of God was also the recipient of divine intervention and spiritual favours.   Throughout his lifetime, he received assistance from heavenly beings including the Holy Mother and the Archangel Raphael.   His name of St John of God comes from a vision he had of the infant Jesus, who bestowed the name upon him.

Another time, St John experienced a heavenly vision when he found a dying beggar on the streets of Granada.   St John carried the man to the hospital and began washing the beggar’s feet.   While doing so, the man became transfigured with a shining light and brightness enveloped both himself and St John.   Later as St John was walking through the hospital alone, patients saw such a bright light surrounding him that they thought he was on fire.   He had a difficult time convincing the patients that all was well.

St John of God of was Canonised by Pope Alexander VIII on 16 October 1690, over 140 years after his death.   Today he remains the patron saint of hospitals, the sick, nurses, firefighters, alcoholics and booksellers.   His legacy and miracles live on through the Hospitaller Brothers and all of the good works they are accomplishing in our world today.   His Order looks after the Holy Father and the Vatican Household too.john of God - san-juan-de-dios-manuel-caro.jpg

The Museum of St John of God in Granada

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Posted in PATRONAGE - against ALCOHOLISM, of ALCOHOLICS, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Saint of the Day – 14 May – Feast of St Matthias Apostle

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 14 May – Feast of St Matthias Apostle – Patron of alcoholics,  carpenters, against smallpox,  tailors,  hope,  perseverance,  various Diocese and Cities.   Attributes – lance, spear.Header - rubens_apostel_mattias

St Matthias was one of the first to follow our Saviour and he was an eye-witness of all His divine actions up to the very day of the Ascension.   He was one of the seventy-two disciples but our Lord had not conferred upon him the dignity of an apostle.   And yet, he was to have this great glory, for it was of him that David spoke, when he prophesied that another should take the bishopric, left vacant by the apostasy of Judas the traitor.   In the interval between Jesus’ Ascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost, the apostolic college had to complete the mystic number fixed by our Lord Himself, so that there might be the twelve on that solemn day, when the Church, filled with the Holy Ghost, was to manifest herself to the Synagogue.   The lot fell on Mathias, he shared with his brother-apostles the persecution in Jerusalem and, when the time came for the ambassadors of Christ to separate, he set out for the countries allotted to him.   Tradition tells us that these were Cappadocia and the provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea.

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The Election of St Matthias
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The Election of St Matthias

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The virtues, labour and sufferings of St Mathias have not been handed down to us.   This explains the lack of proper lessons on his life, such as we have for the feasts of the rest of the apostles.   St Clement of Alexandria (150-215), records in his writings several sayings of our holy apostle.   One of these is so very appropriate to the spirit of the present season, that we consider it a duty to quote it.   ‘It behooves us to combat the flesh and make use of it, without pampering it by unlawful gratifications.   As to the soul, we must develop her power by faith and knowledge.’   How profound is the teaching contained in these few words!   Sin has deranged the order which the Creator had established.   It gave the outward man, such a tendency to grovel in things which degrade him, that the only means left us, for the restoration of the image and likeness of God, unto which we were created, is the forcible subjection of the body to the spirit.   But the spirit itself, that is, the soul, was also impaired by original sin and her inclinations were made prone to evil, what is to be her protection?   Faith and knowledge.   Faith humbles her and then exalts and rewards her and the reward is knowledge.

— Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

For more about St Matthias –  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/saint-and-feast-of-the-day-14-may-st-matthias-apostle-of-christ/

Posted in PATRONAGE - against ALCOHOLISM, of ALCOHOLICS, PATRONAGE - BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - VINTNERS, WINE-FARMERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 11 November – St Martin of Tours (c 316-397)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 11 November – St Martin of Tours (c 316-397) Bishop, Confessor, Miracle-Worker, Apostle of Charity (c 316 at Upper Pannonia (in modern Hungary) – 8 November 397 at Candes, Tours, France of natural causes).   By his request, he was buried in the Cemetery of the Poor on 11 November 397.  Patronages – • against alcoholism• against impoverishment• against poverty• beggars• cavalry• equestrians• geese• horse men• horses• hotel-keepers• Pontifical Swiss Guards• quartermasters• s• • soldiers• tailors• vintners• wine growers• wine makers• France• 5 Diocese• 31 Cities.    His relics rested in the basilica of Tours, a scene of pilgrimages and miracles, until 1562 when the cathedral and relics were destroyed by militant Protestants.   Some small fragments on his tomb were found during construction excavation in 1860.    His shrine in France became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.   He has become one of the most familiar and recognisable Christian saints, sometimes venerated as a military saint.   As he was born in what is now Szombathely, Hungary, spent much of his childhood in Pavia, Italy, and lived most of his adult life in France, he is considered a spiritual bridge across Europe.
His life was recorded by a contemporary, the hagiographer Sulpicius Severus.   He is best known for the account of his using his military sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter.  Conscripted as a soldier into the Roman army, he found the duty incompatible with the Christian faith he had adopted and became an early conscientious objector.

HEADER st martin of tours

A conscientious objector who wanted to be a monk;  a monk who was manoeuvred into being a bishop;  a bishop who fought paganism as well as pleaded for mercy to heretics—such was Martin of Tours, one of the most popular of saints and one of the first not to be a martyr.st martin of tours info

Born of pagan parents in what is now Hungary and raised in Italy, this son of a veteran was forced at the age of 15 to serve in the army.   Martin became a Christian catechumen and was baptised when he was 18.   It was said that he lived more like a monk than a soldier.   At 23, he refused a war bonus and told his commander:  “I have served you as a soldier;  now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.”   After great difficulties, he was discharged and went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers.

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St Martin receives his discharge from the army – Simone Martini

He was ordained an exorcist and worked with great zeal against the Arians.   Martin became a monk, living first at Milan and later on a small island.   When Hilary was restored to his see following his exile, Martin returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers.   He lived there for 10 years, forming his disciples and preaching throughout the countryside.

The people of Tours demanded that he become their bishop.   Martin was drawn to that city by a ruse—the need of a sick person—and was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop.   Some of the consecrating bishops thought his rumpled appearance and unkempt hair indicated that he was not dignified enough for the office.

One of the most famous stories about Martin of Tours occurred when he was still a soldier.   One day, it is said, he met a beggar wearing rags.   He took his sword and cut his military cloak in half and gave half to the poor man for his warmth.   That night, Martin dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half of a cloak he had given away.   During the Middle Ages, Martin’s cloak (cappa) became a relic that French kings would take into battle.   The person whose job it was to care for the cloak was often a priest and he was called a cappellani.   It is from this that the word “chaplain” evolved.

As death approached, Martin’s followers begged him not to leave them.  He prayed, “Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done.”06martinsan-martino-di-toursstmartinStMartinToursstmartin of tourssaint-martin-of-tours-00

Interior of the Basilica of Saint-Martin, Tours, France
Basilica of St Martin, Tours, France
Posted in PATRONAGE - A HOLY DEATH & AGAINST A SUDDEN DEATH, of the DYING, DEATH of CHILDREN, DEATH of PARENTS, PATRONAGE - against ALCOHOLISM, of ALCOHOLICS, PATRONAGE - HOSPITALS, NURSES, NURSING ASSOCIATIONS, PATRONAGE - MENTAL ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - WRITERS, PRINTERS, PUBLISHERS, EDITORS, etc, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 8 March – St John of God OH (1495-1550)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 8 March – St John of God OH (1495-1550) – aged 55 – Founder of the  Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, a worldwide Catholic religious institute dedicated to the care of the poor, sick, and those suffering from mental disorders.  Patronages –  against alcoholism and of alcoholics, against bodily ills of all sickness and of the sick, bookbinders, booksellers, publishers and printers, of the dying, firefighters, heart patients, hospitals (proclaimed on 22 June 1886 by Pope Leo XIII), hospital workers, nurses (proclaimed in 1930 by Pope Pius XI),Tultepec, Mexico

by Pedro de Raxis,

As a 16th-century Spanish soldier, John gave up religion and led a wild life.   When he left the military at age 40, he became a shepherd.   John decided to make a radical conversion—to go to Muslim North Africa and free Christian slaves.   He saw himself dying as a martyr.   His confessor helped John settle on a more prudent plan: to open a religious bookstore in Granada, Spain.   He successfully managed this project.    It was during this period of his life that Cidade is said to have had a vision of the Infant Jesus, who bestowed on him the name by which he was later known, John of God, also directing him to go to Granada.    He then settled in that city, where he worked disseminating books, using the recent movable type printing press of Johannes Gutenberg to provide people with works of chivalry and devotional literature.

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Saint John of God by Murillo (1672)
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St John of God saving the Sick from a Fire at the Royal Hospital in 1549 by Manuel Gómez-Moreno González (1880)

At first, John begged for money to support those in need but soon people volunteered to help.   John led a life of total giving and constant prayer.   He found work for unemployed people.   When the archbishop called John to his office because people complained that John kept immoral women in his hospital, he was silenced by John’s humility.   John fell on his knees, saying, “I know of no bad person in my hospital except myself, who am unworthy to eat the bread of the poor.”   John soon had a flourishing hospital.   His helpers formed a community called the Brothers Hospitallers.

John of God died from pneumonia contracted while saving a drowning man. When John realised he was dying, he went over all the accounts, revised the rules and timetable and appointed a new leader.   He died kneeling before the altar in his hospital chapel.   John is the patron of hospitals.

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Founder Statue at the Vatican

The first biography of John of God was written by Francisco de Castro, the chaplain at John of God’s hospital in Granada, Spain.   He drew from his personal knowledge of John as a young man and also used material gathered from eyewitnesses and contemporaries of his subject.   It was published at the express wish of the Archbishop of Granada, who gave financial backing to its publication.    Castro began writing in 1579, twenty-nine years after John of God’s death but he did not live to see it published, for he died soon after completing the work.   His mother, Catalina de Castro, had the book published in 1585.

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Statue of St John of God at the Church of Vilar de Frades, Barcelos, Portugal.
The inscription reads: All things pass, only good works last.