MEMORIAL OF SAINT DAMIEN JOSEPH DE VEUSTER OF MOLOKAI, PRIEST; SAINT JOHN OF AVILA, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH; SAINT SOLANGE, VIRGIN AND MARTYR; SAINTS GORDIANUS AND EPIMACHUS, MARTYRS AND SAINT ANTONINUS, BISHOP OF FLORENCE ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 10TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Damien Joseph de Veuster of Molokai, Priest; Saint John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church; Saint Solange, Virgin and Martyr; St. Antoninus, Bishop of Florence and Saints Gordianus and Epimachus, Martyrs. Through the intercession of the Saints, we humbly pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world. We also pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, for the sick and dying, for the poor and needy and Christians all over the world.
SAINT DAMIEN JOSEPH DE VEUSTER OF MOLOKAI, PRIEST: St. Damien de Veuster (1840–1889), also known as St. Damien of Molokai. He was born Jozef De Veuster on January 3, 1840. St. Damien was a Roman Catholic Priest from Belgium belonging to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious institute. He was recognized for his ministry, which he led from 1873 until his death in 1889, in the Kingdom of Hawaii for people with leprosy (Hansen’s disease), who lived in government-mandated medical quarantine in a settlement on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokai. St. Damien had a special devotion to St. Francis Xavier and desired, like him, to be a missionary. His desire was fulfilled when he was sent to minister in Hawaii in place of his brother, a religious of the same congregation, who was assigned to go but was unable due to illness. The island was suffering from an influx of unknown diseases brought by foreigners, among them Hansen’s disease (leprosy). The island of Molokai became quarantined as a leper colony, and all lepers were forcibly exiled there. The local bishop believed that the people living on the island, numbering over 800 at the time, needed a priest. Yet, the bishop knew that ministering to a people of this contagious and deadly disease would be a death sentence for the priest who went. The bishop asked for priests to volunteer to serve in Molokai. After serving in Hawaii for nine years, Fr. Damien was the first to volunteer. He began his ministry to the lepers in 1873. He built a church on the island and did much to improve the morale and joy among the people. The young priest worked hard to better the living conditions of the people both physically and spiritually. He administered basic medical care to them and built shelters, dug graves, erected a water supply, created a village, and built a primitive hospital.
St. Damien insisted that the lepers should be accorded the same respect, kindness, and courtesy that was due to all God’s children. And he treated each of them with respect, diligently, washing and bandaging them. St. Damien lived and ministered at the Kalaupapa leper colony for 15 years, fully knowing that this decision would eventually cause him to contract and die of the horribly mutilating disease. In 1885, the saintly man contracted leprosy, but he did not let that interfere with his working habits. He continued to aid the sick in their needs and changed forever the manner in which those with leprosy were viewed. St. Damian died of leprosy on April 15, 1889 at the age of 49. At the time of his death St. Damien was aided in his work by three priests and three Franciscan sisters. He became known as a “martyr of charity” and the “Apostle to the Lepers.” He’s the Patron Saint of People with Leprosy. He was beatified on June 4, 1995, by Pope John Paul II, who called him a “Servant of Humanity.” Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009 during the Year of Priests. He’s the Patron Saint of People with Leprosy. His feast day is May 10th.
PRAYER: God, light and Shepherd of souls, you established Blessed Damien as Priest in Your Church to feed Your flock by his word and form it by his example. Help us through his intercession to keep the Faith he taught by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen. Saint Damien de Veuster of Molokai
SAINT JOHN OF AVILA, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. John of Avila (1499 – 1569) was a Spanish priest, preacher, scholastic author, and religious mystic. He is called the “Apostle of Andalusia”, for his extensive ministry in that region. St. John of Avila was born on January 6, 1499 at Almodóvar del Campo, Kingdom of Toledo, Crown of Castile in Spain. St. John was sent at the age of 14 to the University of Salamanca to study law. He later moved to Alcala, where he studied philosophy and theology before his ordination as a diocesan priest. After John’s parents died and left him as their sole heir to a considerable fortune, he distributed his money to the poor. In 1527, he traveled to Seville, hoping to become a missionary in Mexico. The archbishop of that city persuaded him to stay and spread the faith in Andalusia. During nine years of work there, he developed a reputation as an engaging preacher, a perceptive spiritual director, and a wise confessor. Because John was not afraid to denounce vice in high places, he was investigated by the Inquisition but was cleared in 1533. He later worked in Cordoba and then in Granada, where he organized the University of Baeza, the first of several colleges run by diocesan priests who dedicated themselves to teaching and giving spiritual direction to young people.
St. John of Avila was friends with and influenced Saints Francis Borgia, Ignatius of Loyola, John of God, John of the Cross, Peter of Alcantara, Teresa of Avila and Ven. Louis of Granada. St. John of Avila worked closely with members of the Society of Jesus and helped their growth within Spain and its colonies. St. John’s mystical writings have been translated into several languages. He died on May 10, 1569 (aged 70) at Montilla, Kingdom of Córdoba, Crown of Castile. He was Beatified on November 12, 1893 by Pope Leo XIII and Canonized on May 31, 1970 by Pope Paul VI. He was declared a doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012. He’s the Patron Saint of Andalusia, Spain, Spanish Secular Clergy St. John of Avila’s liturgical feast is celebrated on May 10th
QUOTES OF SAINT JOHN OF AVILA:
“Turn yourself round like a piece of clay and say to the Lord: I am clay, and You, Lord, the potter. Make of me what You will.”
“Withdraw your heart from the world before God takes your body from it.”
PRAYER: Almighty and eternal God, who gave your holy Church blessed John of Avila as Doctor, grant that what he taught when moved by the divine Spirit may always stay firm in our hearts; and, as by your gift we embrace him as our patron, may we also have him as our defender to entreat your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. St. John of Avila ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
SAINT SOLANGE, VIRGIN AND MARTYR: St. Solange (died May 10, 880) was a Frankish shepherdess born to poor vineyard workers, but devout family in the town of Villemont, near Bourges, France. She was a locally venerated Christian Saint and cephalophore, whose cult is restricted to Sainte-Solange, Cher. Saint Solange was the patron of the traditional Province of Berry, of which Cher is a part. St. Solange consecrated her virginity at the age of seven, the young virgin shepherdess took a personal vow of chastity, devoting herself to God alone. When she said her prayers in the field, a star shone over her head. Reported to have the gift of healing, especially of animals, according to some, her mere presence cured the sick and exorcised devils.
Her beauty attracted the lustful attention of a noble in Poitiers, Bernard, son of the Count of Poitiers, who was her landlord. He murdered her for resisting his sexual advances. The son of the count of Poitiers was highly taken with the beauty and popularity of St. Solange and approached her when she was tending to her sheep, but she rejected his suit. He argued with her to no avail, and so he decided to abduct her. At night, he came and kidnapped St. Solange, but she struggled so violently that she fell from his horse while he was crossing a stream. Her abductor grew enraged, pursued her and beheaded her with his sword. According to the fully-developed legend, St. Solange’s severed head invoked three times the Holy Name of Jesus, and like Saint Denis and other saints in Gaulish territories, St. Solange picked up her head in her own hands and walked with it as far as the church of Saint-Martin in the village of Saint-Martin-du-Crot (which now bears the name of Sainte-Solange, the only commune in France to bear this name), and the head preaching to the people, only dropping truly dead there. Immediately, a cult surrounding her grew up. Many miraculous cures were attributed to her intercession. In 1281, an altar was erected in her honor at that church, and it preserved her severed head as a relic and began to call itself the church of St. Solange, while a nearby field where she had prayed began to be referred to as the “Field of St. Solange”. It was a habit of the locals, in times of great stress, to form a procession through Bourges with the reliquary head before them and to invoke her against drought. St. Solange is the Patron Saint of Berry, France; Bourges, France; children; drought relief; for rain; rape victims; shepherdesses and shepherds. St. Solange’s feast day is May 10th
PRAYER: God, You showed heavenly gifts on St. Solange. Help us to imitate her virtues during our earthly life and enjoy eternal happiness with her in heaven… Amen. Saint Solange, Virgin and Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
SAINTS GORDIANUS AND EPIMACHUS, MARTYRS: Sts. Gordianus (also known as Gordian) and Epimachus were Roman Martyrs. St. Gordianus was a Roman judge who converted to Christianity by a Holy Priest, whom Julian The Apostate would have liked him to condemn. He was tortured and finally beheaded. Saint Gordian was Martyred towards 360 A.D., and was buried in the Crypt on the Via Latina where already lay the remains of the Martyr Saint Epimachus (+ 250 A.D), brought from Alexandria. The two saints gave their name to the cemetery of Sts. Gordianus and Epimachus. They are jointly Venerated by The Catholic Church with a Feast Day of May 10th in The Tridentine Calendar. There are Churches Dedicated to the Saints in: Aitrach, Germany; Legau, Germany; Merazhofen, Germany; Pleß, Germany; Stöttwang, Germany; Unterroth, Germany; Blevio, Italy. Relics of both Saints were owned by Kempten Abbey in Bavaria.
Saints Gordianus and Epimachus, Martyrs ~ Pray for us🙏🏽
SAINT ANTONINUS, BISHOP OF FLORENCE: Original name Antonino Pierozzi, or Antonino de’ Forciglioni, Antonino also spelled Antonio, (born March 1, 1389, Florence – died May 2, 1459, Florence; canonized 1523; feast day May 10 – please refer to May 2nd Saint post for details). An archbishop of Florence who is regarded as one of the founders of modern moral theology and Christian social ethics. He was a member of the Dominican Order. In the exercise of his pastoral charge he showed great charity. He died in 1459.
PRAYER: Eternal God, you blessed Saint Antoninus with a marvelous gift of counsel. By the help of his prayers, while we walk in the darkness of this life, may we learn from the light of Christ all that we ought to do. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen 🙏🏽