MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOHN EUDES, PRIEST AND SAINT LOUIS, BISHOP OF TOULOUSE ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 19TH:Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint John Eudes, Priest and Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and those who mourn. We pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. 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 JOHN EUDES, PRIEST: St. John Eudes (1601–1680) was a French missionary and the founder of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity, and was also the author of the liturgical worship of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. St. John was born in Ri, near Argentan, France, to a farming family, Isaac Eudes and Martha Eudes on November 14, 1601. Despite the prevailing rigors of Jansenism, his devout parents consecrated him to the Blessed Virgin Mary when he was a child. At the age of fourteen he took a vow of chastity, and studied under the Jesuits where he earned the reputation of being a brilliant student. He was an exemplary youth, he was extolled as one of the most brilliant students ever to attend the Jesuit College at Caen. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1625, at the age of 24, he ministered to his countrymen who were suffering from an outbreak of the plague. He later became a missionary priest, traveling throughout France and preaching strong sermons to large crowds in churches, open fields, and in the courts of the royalty and nobility. The force of his sermons was bolstered by his great sanctity; he was considered to be a prodigy and the greatest preacher of his age. He was instrumental in spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary throughout France during a time when religious fervor had grown cold. He was responsible for influencing the Church to establish these two devotions with liturgical feasts, himself composing their Mass and Office. He wrote the first book ever on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts, “Le Coeur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu”.
St. John Eudes founded several organizations including the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, which provided a new life for repentant prostitutes, founded in 1641 and in 1643 he founded the Society of Jesus and Mary (the Eudist Fathers) for the education of priests and for missionary work, specialized in improving the training of seminarians by promoting greater virtue and dedication to the preaching of parish missions to the people, direct seminaries, and conduct retreats for the clergy. He was a great opponent of the Jansenistic heresy, and always showed an unchanging devotion to the Holy See. St. John Eudes is probably best known for the central theme of his writings: Jesus as the source of holiness; Mary as the model of the Christian life. His devotion to the Sacred Heart and to the Immaculate Heart led Pope Pius XI to declare his virtues were declared heroic and he was declared father of the liturgical cult of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary on January 6th, 1903. The miracles proposed for his beatification were approved by Pius X, May 3, 1908, and he was beatified April 25th, 1909. He was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. He’s the Patron Saint of Eudists; Order of Our Lady of Charity; Diocese of Baie-Comeau; Missionaries.
QUOTES OF SAINT JOHN EUDES: ☆”A man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ.” ☆“Faith is a beam radiating from the face of God.” ☆“Our wish, our object, our chief preoccupation must be to form Jesus in ourselves, to make his spirit, his devotion, his affections, his desire, and his disposition live and reign there.”
PRAYER: God, You wonderfully chose St. John, Your Priest, to announce the unsearchable riches of Christ. Help us to grow in the knowledge of You through his example and counsels and so to live faithfully according to the light of the Gospel. Amen 🙏
SAINT LOUIS, BISHOP OF TOULOUSE: St. Louis was born to the nobility, the son of Charles II of Anjou, king of Naple, Great-nephew of Saint Louis IX, and of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Grew up in Provence (in modern France). St. Louis showed early signs of attachment to prayer and to the corporal works of mercy. As a child he used to take food from the castle to feed the poor. When he was 14, Louis and two of his brothers were taken as hostages to the king of Aragon’s court as part of a political deal involving Louis’s father. St. Louis’s father, King Charles, then a prince, was imprisoned by the King of Aragon; as a condition of Charles’ release in 1288, Louis and two brothers were sent to Barcelona as hostages. Spent seven years as a hostage for his father at Barcelona and Tarragona in Spain. There Louis was cheerful and took part in sports with other prisoners. At the court Louis was tutored by Franciscan friars under whom he made great progress both in his studies and in the spiritual life. He was influenced by the Franciscans, and he prayed with them at night. St. Louis was given his freedom after seven years when a treaty was concluded with King James II of Aragon. It was proposed that Louis marry King James’ sister, but he refused both marriage and the crown of Naples. He received a papal dispensation to be ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop at the age of 23. St. Louis went to Rome in 1296, and five days after being professed among the Franciscans, he was consecrated Bishop of Toulouse.
At Toulouse, St. Louis was modest, wearing an old Franciscan habit, and his devotion was an inspiration to his flock. Like St. Francis he developed a special love for those afflicted with leprosy. St. Louis’s service to the Diocese of Toulouse was richly blessed. He set aside 75 percent of his income as bishop to feed the poor and maintain churches. Each day he fed 25 poor people at his table. Within a few months, however, he asked for permission to resign his office, which he had accepted out of obedience, since he felt that its duties were more than he could handle. He was a reluctant bishop of Toulouse, France for the last six months of his life. St. Louis died in 1297, not yet 24 years of age. In no time he was considered a saint. When he died at the age of 23, St. Louis was already a Franciscan, a Bishop and a Saint! St. Louis was canonized on April 7, 1317 by Pope John XXII, one of his former teachers. He’s the Patron Saint of Valencia, Spain and Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, California.
Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse ~ Pray for us 🙏