MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROSALIA, VIRGIN; SAINT ROSE OF VITERBO, RELIGIOUS; BLESSED DINA BELANGER, RELIGIOUS AND BLESSED MARY STELLA AND HER TEN COMPANIONS, MARTYRS (MARTYRS OF NOWOGRÓDEK) ~ FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 4TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Rosalia, Virgin; Saint Rose of Viterbo, Religious; Blessed Dina Bélanger, Religious and Blessed Mary Stella and Her Ten Companions (Martyrs of Nowogródek). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, for all widows and widowers and all those who mourn. We pray for all musicians, florist and those rejected. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏
SAINT ROSALIA, VIRGIN: St. Rosalia (1130–1166 A.D.) was born in 1130 at Palermo in Sicily to a wealthy and noble Norman family, descendants of Charlemagne who had migrated to Sicily. St. Rosalia was in the world but not of the world. While still very young she despised worldly vanities. From a young age Rosalia was strongly drawn to Christ, which caused her to leave her life of wealth and comfort to follow Him in complete solitude as a hermitess. According to tradition, when her remarkable beauty caused her to be sought in marriage by several lords of Sicily, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her and advised her to leave the world. She obeyed, taking with her only a crucifix and her instruments of penance; and guided by two Angels, she made her first dwelling in a nearby grotto, which the snows of winter concealed. Then, when she began to be the object of searches instigated all over Sicily by her desolate family, she was advised and led by the Angels to move to a low cave on Mount Pellegrino, three miles from Palermo where she spent the rest of her life in prayer, complete solitude, and works of penance. St. Rosalia practiced great mortifications and lived in constant communion with God at her abode in Mount Pellegrino, triumphing entirely over the instincts of flesh and blood, in sight of her paternal home. There, during sixteen years’ time, she completed the sacrifice of her heart to God by austere penance and manual labor, sanctified by assiduous prayer and the constant union of her soul with God. On the cave wall, St. Rosalia scrawled her story, she wrote: “I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ.” She remained there entirely hidden from the world.
St. Rosalia died in 1160, ending her strange and wonderful life unknown to the world. She is said to have appeared after death and to have revealed that she spent several years in a little excavation near the grotto. Her body was discovered several centuries later, in 1625, during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII when a plague was ravaging Palermo. Her relics were discovered in the cave by a hunter to whom she had appeared in order to direct him to their location. St. Rosalia instructed the hunter to have her relics carried in procession three times around the city. When townspeople walked with her remains through the city, three days later, the plague disappeared from Palermo. St. Rosalia was credited with saving the city, and a sanctuary was erected in her cave which remains a pilgrimage site to this day. St. Rosalia is the Patron Saint of Palermo; Sicily, Italy; Revolutionary studies; El Hatillo; Zuata Anzoátegui; and El Alto de Escuque Trujillo; Italian fishermen of Monterey, California. Her feast day is September 4th.
PRAYER: Lord God, You showered heavenly gifts on St. Rosalia, Your virgin. Help us to imitate her virtues during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in heaven. Amen. Saint Rosalia, Virgin ~ Pray for us 🙏
SAINT ROSE OF VITERBO. RELIGIOUS: St. Rose (1233-1251) was born on July 9, 1233 at Viterbo, Italy, capital of the patrimony of Saint Peter, in the domains of the Papal States. Viterbo, then a contested commune of the Papal States. She spent her brief life as a recluse, who was outspoken in her support of the papacy. St. Rose was gifted with a profound spirituality even as a young child, see had visions of Jesus and Mary. Endowed by God with the gift of miracles, at the age of three she raised her deceased maternal aunt to life after laying hands on her. Her great love for the poor compelled her to assist them in every possible way. From her earliest years she gave herself over to prayer and penance for the conversion of sinners and at seven she retired to a little cell within her parents’ home. St. Rose’s health succumbed under the severe penances she imposed upon herself and the following year she fell gravely ill. During her illness Our Lady appeared to her in a dream and cured her. She was instructed by the Mother of God to be clothed in the habit of St. Francis as a tertiary, but to remain at home and be an example to her neighbors. St. Rose became a 3rd Order Franciscan by 9 years old and shortly after had a vision of Christ’s suffering because of man’s sin. This inspired her, at age 10, to preach Christ’s passion and repentance for sin, in the streets of Viterbo. At this particular time, the city of Viterbo was occupied by the twice-excommunicated Emperor Frederick II. Frederick was at war with the Papacy and had sworn to conquer all of the Papal States. Inspired by Divine Providence, Rose would issue forth from her seclusion and preach in the streets and public squares of her city. With a crucifix in her hand, the young missionary would describe for the growing crowds the sufferings of Our Lord during His Passion, thereby showing them the heinousness of sin. With deep concern she exhorted them to repent of their sins and to convert. Urging them to be faithful to the authority of the Pope, St. Rose likewise admonished those who yielded to the Emperor. Before long, crowds began to gather in the vicinity of her home, hoping for a glimpse of her. When her father, frightened by all the attention his daughter attracted, forbade her to even leave the house to preach under pain of physical punishment, the local parish priest intervened and convinced him to withdraw his prohibition.
For two years the child Franciscan preached conversion to her fellow citizens. Her ardent words were often accompanied by prodigies that stunned the crowds. The stone on which she stood to speak, for example, was seen to rise up off the ground and sustain her in midair during her preaching. While the general population was moved to conversion and penance by her words and example, the partisans of the Emperor were incensed against the young preacher and actively clamored for her death. The civil authorities, however, while they were alarmed by her public exhortations, they would not go so far as to condemn a mere child to death and instead exiled her and her parents from Viterbo. In January, 1250 they took refuge first in Soriano, where, on December 5 of the same year St. Rose prophesied the imminent death of the emperor. Her prediction came to pass on December 13 and soon after, Pope Innocent IV regained control of the Papal States through a stipulation in the emperor’s own will which directed that all lands he had taken from the Church be returned. Soon afterwards, Rose and her parents went to Vitorchiano. A sorceress there had greatly influenced the citizens of this hillside town and the young apostle set about her public preaching once more. Her exhortations moved the people but failed with the sorceress herself. Undaunted, St. Rose had an immense wooden pyre built in the public square and climbing to the top, she had it set on fire. For three hours she stood unscathed in the midst of the devouring flames singing the praises of God. Sincerely moved by the miracle, the repentant sorceress fell to her knees.
With the restoration of the papal authority in Viterbo in 1251, Rose and her parents returned to their native city. She sought admittance to the Poor Clares at the Monastery of St. Mary of the Roses at the age of 15 but was turned away for lack of a dowry, rejected because of her poverty. Humbly submitting to this decision, she foretold her admission to the convent after her death. A mere fifteen years of age, her subsequent attempts to establish a religious community near the monastery with the help of her parish priest proved equally disappointing. She therefore retired once more to a cell in her family home where she died a few years later on March 6, 1251, Viterbo, Italy. St. Rose died at the young age of 18 of what was believed to be a heart defect. She was first buried in the Church of Santa Maria in Podio and later was laid to rest in the church of the Monastery at the convent that once refused her admission. Her last prophesy was fulfilled on September 4, 1258 but the many miracles attributed to her intercession continue to this day. Not least among the numerous favors granted to St. Rose of Viterbo by Almighty God is the ongoing incorrupt preservation of her body. As recently as 2010, scientific research on her incorrupt body revealed that she had died of a rare heart condition known as Cantrell’s Syndrome and not of tuberculosis as had been previously thought. St. Rose of Viterbo was Canonized in1457 by Pope Callistus III. Her body is incorrupt to this day. St. Rose of Viterbo is the Patron Saint of florists, flower growers, people in exile, people rejected by religious orders, Viterbo, Italy.
“Prayer reveals to souls the vanity of earthly goods and pleasures. It fills them with light, strength and consolation; and gives them a foretaste of the calm bliss of our heavenly home.” ~ St. Rose of Viterbo. Saint Rose of Viterbo, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏
BLESSED DINA BELANGER, RELIGIOUS: Bl. Dina Bélanger (1897 – 1929), also known by her religious name Marie of Saint Cecilia of Rome, was born on April 30, 1897, Saint-Roch, Québec City, Canada. She was a Canadian professed religious and a member of the Religieuses de Jésus-Marie. Bl. Dina Bélanger was a noted musician and learnt the piano from her late childhood while teaching this later in her life. Successive bouts of poor health never hindered her spiritual or musical aspirations though weakened her due to contracting tuberculosis. Her biographical account – spanning from 1924 until just a couple of months prior to her death – details her spiritual encounters with Jesus Christ in a series of visions. Bl. Dina Bélanger died on September 4, 1929, Sillery, Québec City, Canada. She was Beatified on March 20, 1993 at Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II. She’s the Patron Saint of Musicians.
Blessed Dina Bélanger, Religious ~ Pray for us 🙏
BLESSED MARY STELLA AND HER TEN COMPANIONS, MARTYRS (MARTYRS OF NOWOGRÓDEK): These Martyrs are also knownn as the Martyrs of Nowogródek; the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek or the Eleven Nuns of Nowogródek were a group of members of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, a Polish Roman Catholicism religious congregation, executed by the Gestapo in August 1943 in occupied Poland (present day Navahrudak, Belarus). Religious Sisters have vowed their lives to God for centuries. The vast majority of these women have no thoughts about actually giving their lives to God in martyrdom. The same was true of Sister Stella and her Ten Companions, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who lived in Nowogródek, Poland. They lived simple, faith-filled, dedicated lives, serving the people of Nowogródek as God had sent them to do. Never did they think that they would be asked one day to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the families of the town.
The story begins on September 4, 1929, when the first two Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth arrived in the small town of Nowogródek. A few people helped them to find a place to live and in time more Sisters joined them. The townspeople were not terribly welcoming to these women of God. In the face of opposition to their presence, there was some talk of withdrawing the Sisters. Bishop Zygmunt Lozinski, who had recruited the Sisters pleaded, “Do not leave Nowogródek; remain at your post. That is God’s will and mine!” Superior General, Mother Lauretta Lubowidzka was just as forceful in her response. “You must definitely remain at your post. You are not permitted to withdraw from the home of Christ the King. He is to be victorious. We must do battle for the sake of the Kingdom. Fearlessly withstand all the difficulties because great things will take place there.” Perhaps they were prophets. In obedience, the Sisters stayed and were joined by others. Patiently and with love, these women reached out to the people of Nowogródek, at first they started with a class to teach needlework to girls. Then, they began teaching religion and tutoring in French. Gradually, the townspeople came to accept and love the Sisters. The Sisters also cared for the local parish church, lovingly referred to as the Fara. At Mass and devotions, the Sisters were always seen kneeling on their prie-dieux. For many years life in Nowogródek was peaceful. People of different faiths lived side by side with no problems. The Fara became the place where the townspeople gathered in fervent faith and activities. The Sisters’ lives centered on their prayer, care of the church, teaching religion, starting schools for the local children and enjoying their community life. The Second World War changed all of this for everyone. Nowogródek was occupied first by the Russians and later by the Germans. With the Russian occupation, the school was taken from the Sisters. Their religious habits disappeared. They were forced to leave their convent and live in the homes of parishioners. They were together only for Mass and devotions in the Fara. Within two years the town came under German occupation. The Sisters were encouraged to return to their convent and to go back to wearing their distinctive garb. The Sisters continued doing all kinds of work to provide for their needs. It was a trying time for everyone, but it would get worse.
Twelve Sisters resided in the convent in the summer of 1943. The Germans had become more forceful in their treatment of the citizens. Jews were rounded up and killed right in the town. Priests in the area were killed. 120 people, including fathers and other members of Polish families were arrested from July 17 – 19, 1943. The women of the town came to the Sisters and begged them to pray for their release. When the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth learned that the Germans planned to execute dozens of Poles they offered themselves as sacrifices, saying “My God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us and spare those who have families. We are even praying for this intention.” The Sisters prayed that if a sacrifice was needed, that they be sacrificed and the men be returned to Nowogródek. The Germans decided then to enslave the Polish prisoners but still kill the nuns. On Sunday, August 1, 1943, after spending the night in the basement of the commissariat, Sisters Stella Mardosewicz, Imelda Zak, Kanizja Mackiewicz, Rajmunda Kukolowicz, Daniela Jozwik, Kanuta Chrobot, Sergia Rapiej, Gwidona Cierpka, Felicyta Borowik, Heliodora Matuszewska, and Boromea Narmontowicz were driven into the woods a few miles from the town to an isolated spot in the woods. There, the eleven Sisters were shot and their bodies thrown into a mass shallow grave. God accepted their sacrifice and the men were spared. By the power of His grace, these seemingly weak women witnessed to the strength of true love to the point of martyrdom. We take inspiration and courage from their lives. Sr. Stella and her 10 companions were beatified and declared blessed by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000.
Blessed Mary Stella and Her Ten Companions (Martyrs of Nowogródek) ~ Pray for us 🙏