DailyReflections

Tag: PRIEST

  • SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 30TH

    MEMORIAL OF THE FIRST HOLY MARTYRS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH AND BLESSED GENNARO SARNELLI, PRIEST ~ FEAST DAY: JUNE 30TH Today, we celebrate the Memorial of the First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church and Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church on this feast day, we humbly pray for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world, we also pray for the Church and the Clergy. We continue to pray for the sick and dying, for the poor and needy, for justice, peace and unity in our families and our world.🙏🏽

    THE FIRST HOLY MARTYRS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH: Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church is celebrated in honor of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. A great number of Christians perished at the hands of the Roman Emperor Nero during the terrible persecution that lasted from 64-68 A.D. This was the first of many major persecutions of the newly founded Church at Rome. The holy men and women who first died for the Gospel of Jesus Christ are also called the “Protomartyrs of Rome.” Some were burned as living torches in the Emperor’s gardens; some were crucified; others were fed to wild animals. Many died even before Sts. Peter and Paul, and therefore it is said of them that they are the “Disciples of the Apostles … whom the Holy Roman Church sent to their Lord before the Apostles’ death.” God used the sacrifice of these holy men and women, who suffered like their savior Jesus Christ, to lay the indestructible foundation of His Church. Their bold witness for the Christian faith as they endured a brutal death won many converts and caused the Church to grow and spread throughout the world.

    These First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of the “Apostle of the Gentiles” (see Romans 15:20). St. Paul had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his great letter in A.D. 57-58. There was a large Jewish population in Rome. Probably as a result of controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in A.D. 49-50. Suetonius the historian says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city “caused by the certain Chrestus” [Christ]. Perhaps many came back after Claudius’s death in A.D. 54. St. Paul’s letter was addressed to a church with members from Jewish and gentile backgrounds. In July of A.D. 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He shifted the blame by accusing the Christians. The pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the imperial parks Christians were put into animal skins and hunted, were brutally attacked, and were made into living torches to light the road for Nero’s chariot. According to the historian Tacitus, a “great multitude” of Christians were put to death because of their “hatred of the human race.” Peter and Paul were probably among the victims. Threatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the senate, Nero committed suicide in A.D. 68 at the age of thirty-one. From 64 to 314 “Christian” was synonymous with “execution victim.” Today, the site of Nero’s Circus, also the location of St. Peter’s martyrdom, is marked by the Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani (Square of the Roman Protomartyrs) in the Vatican next to St. Peter’s basilica. Wherever the Good News of Jesus was preached, it met the same opposition as Jesus did, and many of those who began to follow him shared his suffering and death. But no human force could stop the power of the Spirit unleashed upon the world. The blood of martyrs has always been, and will always be, the seed of Christians.

    PRAYER: God, You consecrated the copious firstfruits of the Roman Church with the blood of Martyrs. Grant that we may be strengthened in virtue by the agony of such a struggle and always rejoice in their victory… Amen🙏🏽

    BLESSED GENNARO SARNELLI, PRIEST: Bl. Gennaro Sarnelli (1702 – 1744) was the son of the Baron of Ciorani, was born in Naples on September 12, 1702. At the age of 14 following the beatification of Francis Regis, he decided to become a Jesuit. Having been dissuaded by his father because of his youth he began the study of jurisprudence and took his Doctorate in ecclesiastical and civil law in 1722 at the age of 20. He distinguished himself at the Bar and was enrolled in the Congregation of the Knights of the Legal and Medical Professions directed by the Pious Workers at St. Nicholas of Toledo. Among the rules of this Association, there was the obligation of visiting the sick in the Hospital of the Incurables. It was here he heard the call of the Lord to become a priest. In September 1728 he became a seminarist and was incardinated by Cardinal Pignatelli as a cleric in the parish of St. Anne di Palazzo. On June 4, 1729, in order to study in more peaceful conditions, he became a boarder in the College of the Holy Family known as the Chinese College, founded by Matthew Ripa. On April 8 of the following year, he left the Chinese College and on June 5 began his novitiate in the Congregation of the Apostolic Missions. On May 28, 1731, he concluded his novitiate and on July 8 of the following year, he was raised to the Priesthood. During these years in addition to his visits to the hospital, he devoted himself to helping young children forced to work and teaching them the catechism. He also visited the old people in the Hospice of St. Gennaro and those condemned to the galleys who were ill in the hospital at the docks. These were also the years when he developed a friendship with St. Alphonsus de Liguori and his apostolate. Together they devoted themselves to teaching the catechism to laypeople by organizing the Evening Chapels.

    Following his ordination, he was assigned by Cardinal Pignatelli as Director of Religious Instruction in the parish of Sts. Francis and Matthew in the Spanish quarter. Having become aware of the rampant corruption of young girls he decided to direct all his energy against prostitution. In the same period (1733) he tenaciously defended St. Alphonsus against unjust criticism after he had founded the missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in Scala (SA) on November 9, 1732. In June of the same year having gone to Scala to help his friend during the mission at Ravello, he decided to become a Redemptorist while at the same time continuing to be a member of the Apostolic Missions. From his entrance into the Congregation in April 1736, he committed himself unsparingly to parish missions and to writing in defense of “young girls in danger”. He also wrote on the spiritual life and worked so hard that he was almost at death’s door. With the consent of St. Alphonsus, he returned to Naples for treatment and there renewed his apostolate for the rescue of prostitutes. As well as taking part in the Redemptorist apostolate and that of the Apostolic Missions he promoted meditation in common among the laity by publishing “Il mondo santificato”. He also campaigned against blasphemy in another book. In 1741 he planned and took part with St. Alphonsus in the great missions preached in the hamlets outside Naples in preparation for the canonical visitation of Cardinal Spinelli. Despite the permanently insecure state of his health he continued to preach until the end of April 1744 when by now extremely ill he returned to Naples where he died on June 30 at the age of 42. His body lies at rest in Ciorani, the first Redemptorist Church. Bl. Gennaro Maria Sarnelli has left us 30 works which treat of meditation, mystical theology, spiritual direction, law, pedagogy, moral and pastoral themes. By his social action in favour of women, he is considered one of the authors who treated this subject most fully in Europe of the first half of the eighteenth century. Holy Father Pope John Paul II beatified him on May 12, 1996, in St. Peter’s Square.

    PRAYER IN HONOR OF BLESSED GENNARO SARNELLI: Holy Redeemer, we place ourselves in your presence confident that you are a loving and merciful God. You walk with us by day and by night as we strive to proclaim your gospel with compassion to people who are poor and abandoned. As we reach out to those most in need, we look to Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli as a model and help. His ardent desire was to bring people on the fringes of society and Church to a deeper knowledge and love of you. We pray that his zeal will inspire and motivate us to share your redemption with those who are marginalized. We especially remember people who make decisions that lead to destructive and addictive behaviours. May our choices be those of Blessed Sarnelli, who continually lived the gospel in spite of adversity and opposition.  We ask his help, that our commitment may not shrink for lack of support or favour, for as we become one with those who are outcast, we become one with you. Amen🙏🏽

  • SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 20TH

    SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA, PRIEST, FEAST DAY ~ MAY 20TH: Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bernardine of Siena. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Bernardine of Siena on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from respiratory diseases, cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the poor and the needy all over the world, for gamblers, for advertisers, those in public relations, Evangelists and all those who proclaim the good news of our Lord. 🙏🏽

    SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA, PRIEST: St. Bernardine (1380–1444) is known as “the Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the country’s Catholic faith during the 15th century. Born Bernardine Albizeschi in 1380 to upper-class parents in the Italian republic of Siena. Misfortune soon entered the boy’s life when he lost his mother at age three and his father four years later. His aunt Diana cared for him afterward, and taught him to seek consolation and security by trusting in God. Even at a young age, Bernardine demonstrated a remarkable concern for the poor as an outgrowth of his love for God. Having become accustomed to fasting, he preferred at times to go without any food in order to help someone in greater need. From the ages of 11 to 17 he focused on his studies, developing the eloquence and dedication that would serve his future work as an evangelist. Before becoming a preacher, however, Bernardine spent several years ministering to the sick and dying. He enrolled in a religious association that served at a hospital in the town of Scala, and applied himself to this work from 1397 to 1400. During that time, a severe plague broke out in Siena, causing a crisis that would eventually lead to the young man taking charge of the entire hospital. Inside its walls, up to 20 people were dying each day from an illness that also killed many of the hospital workers. The staff was decimated and new victims were coming in constantly. St. Bernardine persuaded 12 young men to help him continue the work of the hospital, which he took over for a period of four months. Although the plague did not infect him, the exhausting work left him weak and he contracted a different sickness that kept him in bed for 4 months After recovering, he spent over a year caring for his aunt Bartholomaea before her death.

    Then the 22-year-old St. Bernardine moved to a small house outside the city, where he began to discern God’s will for his future spending much time praying and fasting to know God’s will for his life. He discerned a call to Holy Orders and the religious life, and eventually chose to join the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1403 at the age of 22, embracing an austere life focused on poverty and humility. During this time, while praying before a crucifix, Bernardine heard Christ say to him: “My son, behold me hanging upon a cross. If you love me, or desire to imitate me, be also fastened naked to your cross and follow me. Thus you will assuredly find me.” After Bernardine was ordained a priest, his superiors commissioned him to preach as a missionary to the Italians who were falling away from their Catholic faith. The Dominican evangelist St. Vincent Ferrer, just before leaving Italy, preached a sermon in which he predicted that one of his listeners would continue his work among the Italians –  a prophecy St. Bernardine heard in person, and went on to fulfill. He lived in solitude for over a decade before being sent to preach in the streets, which he did with incredible skill, so much so that he became the most renowned preacher of his day. He traveled on foot to strife-torn cities, attacking sin and paganism and encouraging all to a life of faith and virtue. Huge crowds numbering in the tens of thousands would come to hear him preach in the public square. His fame and effectiveness as a preacher caused the pope to compare him to St. Paul the Apostle. St. Bernardine’s personal devotion to God, which amazed even the strict Franciscans, made his preaching extremely effective. He moved his hearers to abandon their vices, turn back to God, and make peace with one another. He promoted devotion to the name of Jesus as a simple and effective means of recalling God’s love at all times. When other priests consulted him for advice, St. Bernardine gave them a simple rule: “In all your actions, seek in the first place the kingdom of God and his glory. Direct all you do purely to His honor. Persevere in brotherly charity, and practice first all that you desire to teach others.” By this means, he said, “the Holy Spirit will be your master, and will give you such wisdom and such a tongue that no adversary will be able to stand against you.”

    St. Bernardine was especially known for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and for promulgating devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. It was he who devised the IHS symbol over a blazing sun as a monogram and logo for the Holy Name of Jesus (in Greek) to replace the public display of insignias of rival family tribes which disturbed the peace. This symbol of Christ began appearing in churches and on public buildings, even to this day.

    St. Bernardine’s own life attested to this source of strength in the face of trials. He patiently suffered an accusation of heresy –  which Pope Martin V judged to be false – and refused to abandon his bold preaching when a nobleman threatened him with death. But St. Bernardine was also widely admired throughout Italy, and he was offered the office of a bishop on three occasions. In 1427, he refused the Bishopric of Siena; in 1431, that of Ferrara; and again, in 1435, that of Urbino. Each time, however, he turned down the position, choosing to fulfill the prediction of St. Vincent Ferrer through his missionary work. St. Bernardine preached throughout most of Italy several times over, and even managed to reconcile members of its warring political factions. Saint Bernardine was appointed Vicar General of his Order in 1438, which office he held for five years, and revived the practice of its strict rule of life, then preached again for a time until his last illness forced his retreat in 1444. He was instrumental in effecting many conversions. Then in 1444, forty years after he first entered religious life, St. Bernardine became sick while traveling. He continued to preach, but soon lost his strength and his voice. St. Bernardine of Siena died at Aquilea in the midst of his missionary labors, on May 20, 1444, on Ascension Eve of that year, while his brethren were chanting the antiphon, Father, I have manifested Thy Name to men. Only six years later, in 1450, a Jubilee year, Pope Nicholas V canonized him as a saint. When he began as the head of his Franciscan community there were 300 friars; when he died there were over 4,000. He’s the Patron Saint of advertisers; advertising; publicists; against hoarseness; communications; compulsive or uncontrolled gambling; gambling addicts; lungs; public relations; chest, respiratory, or lung problems; Aquila, Italy; diocese of San Bernardino, California; Italy.

    “Whenever the divine favour chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfil the task at hand.” ~ St. Bernardine of Siena

    PRAYER: “St. Bernardine of Siena, you were healed of respiratory illness and preached the love and mercy of God everywhere you went. I come to you now seeking your prayers for all who suffer respiratory illnesses. Plead their cases in union with Mary, the Mother of God, and seek healing for them if that is God’s holy will. Pray, dear saint, that they suffer with joy, persevere with hope, and that they join their afflictions with Jesus’ for the salvation of souls. I ask your intercession on their behalf in Jesus’ holy Name… Amen”🙏🏽

    O God, You gave St. Bernardine Your Priest an exceeding love for the Holy Name of Jesus. Through his merits and prayers grant that we may ever be inflamed with the spirit of Your love…. Amen🙏🏽

  • SAINTS OF THE DAY: APRIL 14

    SAINTS OF THE DAY: APRIL 14

    MEMORIAL OF SAINTS TIBURTIUS, VALERIAN AND MAXIMUS, MARTYRS; SAINT BENEZET; SAINT LIDWINA OF SCHIEDAM, VIRGIN AND BLESSED PETER GONZÁLEZ, PRIEST: Today, on this third Sunday of Easter, we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, three Christian Martyrs who were buried on April 14th. They are known by their inclusion in the Acts of St. Cecilia. Saint Benezet (Little Benedict), he’s Patron Saint of Avignon; bachelors; bridge-builders. Blessed Peter Gonzalez, Priest, Dominican protector of captives and sailors, he’s Patron Saint of sailors and Saint Lydwina of Schiedam, Virgin (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam), she is the Patron Saint of those with chronic pain, chronically ill, ice skaters and town of Schiedam. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick, the Church, for persecuted christians and the conversion of sinners and for Christians all over the world.🙏

    SAINTS TIBURTIUS, VALERIAN AND MAXIMUS, MARTYRS: Saints Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, three Christian Roman Martyrs of the 2nd and 3rd century, who were buried in the cemetery of Praetextatus on April 14th. They are known by their inclusion in the Acts of St. Cecilia, a mid-fifth-century Acts of the Martyrs. According to the Acts, Valerian was Cecilia’s husband, Tiburtius his brother, and Maximus a Roman soldier or official who died with them. As Valerian and Tiburtius refused to worship the pagan gods (the supposed protectors of Rome’s earthly glory and wealth), they were executed. Their courage and composure in the face of death was so remarkable that it converted their guard, Maximus. After professing Christianity, he too suffered martyrdom. The three were buried by the grieving Cecilia, and a little later she herself was sentenced.

    The three martyrs were traditionally honoured with a joint feast day on 14 April, as shown in the Tridentine Calendar. The 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar removed this celebration, since the only thing really known about them is the historical fact of their burial in the Catacombs of Praetextatus. However, it allowed them to be honoured in local calendars. The 2001 decree of promulgation of the revised Roman Martyrology declared: “In accordance with the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council on the Sacred Liturgy, ‘the accounts of martyrdom or the lives of the saints are to accord with the facts of history’ (art. 92 c), the names of saints included in the Martyrology and their notices have to be subjected more carefully than before to the judgement of historical study.” Accordingly, the revised Roman Martyrology now merely states, under 14 April: “At Rome, in the cemetery of Praetextatus on the Appian Way, Saints Tiburtius, Valerian and Maximus, martyrs.’ The Eastern Orthodox Church honors them together with Saint Cecilia on November 22nd.

    PRAYER: Almighty God, for Whom holy Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus uplifted their testimony, grant, we beseech Thee, unto all whosoever call the same to solemn memory, grace to imitate the example of their godly courage. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end… Amen🙏

    SAINT BENEZET, THE BRIDGE BUILDER: St Benezet, the Bridge Builder, also known as “Little Benedict” (c 1163-1184). St Benezet is also known as Benezet of Hermillon, Benedict, Bennet, Benet, Benoit, Little Benedict the Bridge Builder. Born in c 1163 at Hermillon, Savoy, France and died in 1184. He is a Shepherd, Mystic, miracle-worker, Founder of the Fratres Pontifices – the Bridge-Building Brotherhood, he was the builder who instigated and directed the building of the Pont d’Avignon and founder of the tradition of the bridge building brotherhood. St Benezet, the Bridge Builder, was born somewhere in the countryside of eastern or northeastern France. As he grew up he tended his mother’s sheep. Though uneducated and unskilled, gentle Benedict was a quiet, devout youth, thoughtful of others. One day in 1177, while the sun was in eclipse, Benezet heard a voice, he believed was Jesus, commanding him three times to go to Avignon, where the Rhone current was especially swift and to build a bridge there. He was also told that Angels would watch over his flocks in his absence. He obeyed the Divine order, without delay and reported immediately to the Bishop of Avignon. Naturally, the Bishop was hesitant about accepting the word of the frail teenager. But little Benezet lifted a massive stone to begin the work and announced that it would be the start of the foundation. This would become the Pont Saint-Bénézet. Thus he succeeded in convincing the Bishop that the construction of the bridge would be an act of true Christian charity. Permission was granted and the youth set about his task.   According to the legend, there were shouts of “Miracle! Miracle!” when Bénézet had lifted and laid that first huge stone.   Eighteen miracles occurred in total during the project – the blind had their vision restored, the deaf could hear again, cripples could walk and hunchbacks had their backs straightened. For the next seven years St. Benedict worked hard on the project and around 1181 he won support for his project from wealthy sponsors who formed themselves into a Bridge Brotherhood to fund its construction. This was a religious association active during the 12th and 13th centuries and begun in Avignon but by it’s inspiration, it spread across Europe and whose purpose was building bridges, especially to assist pilgrims. It was customary for a bishop to grant indulgences to those who, by money or labour, contributed to the construction of a bridge. They also maintained and/or built hospices at the chief fords of the principal rivers, besides building bridges and looking after ferries. The Brotherhood consisted of three branches– knights, clergy and artisans, where the knights usually had contributed most of the funds and were sometimes called donati, the clergy were usually monks who represented the church and the artisans were the workers who actually built the bridges. Sisters are sometimes mentioned as belonging to the same association.   In addition to the construction of bridges, the brotherhood often attended to the lodging and care of pilgrims and travellers and the collection of alms, in this area, the sisters were most active.

    In 1184, sadly, young Benezet died, some four years before the great stone bridge at Avignon was completed. The wonders that occurred during the bridge’s erection and the miracles wrought at the Bridge Builder’s tomb convinced the people of Avignon that the young man was a Saint and he was referred to as such as early at 1237.  They, therefore, built a Chapel on the “Bridge of St Benezet” to enshrine his relics. There the body was venerated until 1669, when floodwaters carried away a large segment of the bridge. His remains were rescued from the flood and on examination, were found to be incorrupt.   Now they repose in the local church of St Didier. Understandably, bridge builders adopted little Benedict as their Patron Saint. The remains of the bridge still remain a pilgrimage site. St Benezet’s bridge has another claim to fame – it achieved worldwide fame through its commemoration by the song “Sur le Pont d’Avignon” (“On the Bridge of Avignon”). One can build in a figurative as well as a literal sense. Bishops, the pope in particular, are often called “pontiffs”, a title derived from the Latin word for “builder of bridges”. Building bridges between God and mankind is their special calling. Our Lord Himself was a “pontiff” in the sense that He made his Cross a bridge, on which souls could enter heaven.  The beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers” promises heaven to those who work for reconciliation, that is, “build bridges”. Some persons labour to raise walls, or “iron curtains” to divide mankind.   Others labour to tear down the walls that divide, straighten the paths that connect, bridge the crevices that separate people. Surely they come close to fulfilling the great commandment to love our neighbour as oneself. St Benezet was one such. He promoted the unity of God’s children. St. Benezet is the Patron Saint of Avignon; bachelors; bridge-builders and construction workers. His body is incorrupt.

    Little St Benezet ~ Pray for us!🙏

    SAINT LIDWINA OF SCHIEDAM, VIRGIN: St. Lydwina of Schiedam, Virgin (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam) (1380-1433) was a Dutch mystic who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. St. Lidwina is thought to be one of the first documented cases of multiple sclerosis. She is the Patron Saint of those with chronic pain, chronically ill, ice skaters and town of Schiedam. St. Lidwina was born into a poor country family of Holland in 1380. At an early age, she prayed to the Mother of God and experienced visions of incredible religious images. When she was 15, she went ice-skating with some friends and fell. She broke a rib from this fall, but gangrene continued to consume her body. No medical professional could diagnose her injury, and this began her martyrdom.

    As the gangrene spread throughout her body, she became permanently paralyzed. Pieces of her body even fell off, and she suffered from external bleeding. Despite these medical complications, Saint Lidwina never gave up on her faith in God. She engaged in constant prayer and commitment in her faith to God. She continued to experience great pain for the rest of her life, but she was rewarded with visions of faith from God. She died in 1433 at age 53. She was canonized by Pope Leo XII in 1890. Today, she serves as an inspiration for chronically-ill patients and those with multiple sclerosis.

    PRAYER: Lord, we devoutly recall the sufferings of St. Lidwina. Give success to our joyful prayers and grant us also constancy in our Faith. Amen🙏

    BLESSED PETER GONZÁLEZ, PRIEST: Bl. Peter González (1190 – 15 April 1246), sometimes referred to as Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was a Castilian Dominican friar and priest, born in 1190 in Frómista, Palencia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon. St. Peter Gonzales, Dominican protector of captives and sailors. He preached a campaign against the Moors, and then cared for the captured Muslims and sailors. Saint Paul had a conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Many years later, the same proved true for Peter Gonzalez, who triumphantly rode his horse into the Spanish city of Astorga in the 13th century to take up an important post at the cathedral. The animal stumbled and fell, leaving Peter in the mud and onlookers amused.

    Humbled, Peter reevaluated his motivations—his bishop-uncle had secured the cathedral post for him—and started down a new path. He became a Dominican priest and proved to be a most effective preacher. He spent much of his time as court chaplain, and attempted to exert positive influence on the behavior of members of the court. After King Ferdinand III and his troops defeated the Moors at Cordoba, Peter was successful in restraining the soldiers from pillaging, and persuaded the king to treat the defeated Moors with compassion.

    After retiring from the court, Peter devoted the remainder of his life to preaching in northwest Spain. Having developed a special mission to Spanish and Portuguese seamen, he is considered their patron. He is the Patron Saint of Sailor. Bl. Peter Gonzalez died in 1246 and was beatified in on December 13, 1741, Rome, Papal States, Pope Benedict XIV.

    Blessed Peter González ~ Pray for us 🙏

  • SAINTS OF THE DAY: APRIL 7TH

    SAINTS OF THE DAY: APRIL 7TH

    MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, PRIEST; SAINT HEGESIPPUS, A PRIMITIVE FATHER OF THE CHURCH AND BLESSED HERMAN JOSEPH OF SEINFELD, PRIEST – FEAST DAY: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest (He’s a Patron Saint of Teachers; Educators; School Principals, Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Redeemer and Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools Lasallian Educational Institutions.); Saint Hegesippus was a Primitive Father of the Church and Blessed Herman Joseph of Steinfeld, Priest (Patron Saint of Children; Students and Watchmakers). Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we pray for all teachers, students and all children, we pray for their safety and well-being, especially during these incredibly challenging times.

    Almighty God, We come to you today and give thanks for all our teachers. Thank you for the way in which they give of themselves each day in the classroom, Serving and instructing the next generation of this land. We thank you for them all now. Father, please fill teir hearts with courage now by your mighty Spirit. Fill them with your strength, so they may rise to every challenge and not grow weary. Fill them with your wisdom, so that they may be able to make good judgement when guiding and helping others. Fill them with your peace, so that when stress and anxiety comes it would not overwhelm them. Fill them with your joy, so that the passion they have for their subject may become an infectious passion that spreads. We ask all this in the wonderful name of Jesus… Amen.🙏

    QUOTES OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

    ☆”The way you behave should be a model for those you teach.”
    ☆“When you are at Mass, be there as if you were on Calvary. For it is the same sacrifice and the same Jesus Christ Who is doing for you what He did on the Cross for all human beings.”
    ☆“We must strive to place ourselves completely in God’s hands. Then He will cause us to feel the effects of His goodness and protection – which are, at times extraordinary.”

    “Jesus Christ came to this earth to reign here but not, says Saint Augustine, as other kings do, to raise tribute, enroll armies and visibly do battle against his enemies, for Jesus Christ assures us that His kingdom is not of this world but to establish His reign within our souls, according to what He Himself says,
    in the holy Gospel, that His kingdom is within us.”

    SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, PRIEST: St. John Baptist de la Salle was a French priest, educational reformer, and known for promoting and reforming Christian education, especially amongst the poor. He is also the founder of the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools, which now teaches around the world. St. John Baptist de la Salle is called the father of modern pedagogy. He was one of the first pedagogues to emphasize classroom teaching in the vernacular instead of in Latin. He also founded three teachers’ colleges and, in 1705, he established a reform school for boys at Dijon. Generations of schoolboys have been taught by the Christian Brothers, and their founder, St. John Baptist de la Salle, is familiar in their prayers and devotions. “Brothers Boys” are scattered all over the world and all of them have fond memories of their “De la Salle” days. St. John Baptist de la Salle (1651-1719) was born in Rheims, France, to a noble family of 10 children on April 30, 165. He was pious and smart, and his parents took great care over his moral and intellectual training. After completing his education he desired to enter the priesthood, he entered seminary and was ordained at the age of twenty-seven in 1678 and received his Doctorate in Theology in 1680. In St. John Baptist’s era, only the noble and wealthy classes had access to a good education.  Observing that the poor of his day were grossly neglected as far as their education was concerned, St. John became the first to set up training colleges for teachers who would instruct the poor. Soon after ordination he was put in charge of a girls’ school, and in 1679 he met Adrian Nyel, a layman who wanted to open a school for boys. Two schools were started, and Canon de la Salle became interested in the work of education. He took an interest in the teachers, eventually invited them to live in his own house, and tried to train them in the educational system that was forming in his mind. This first group ultimately left, unable to grasp what the saint had in mind; others, however, joined him, and the beginnings of the Brothers of the Christian Schools or Christian Brothers. They took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but not Holy Orders. The Christian Brothers expanded, and in many parts of France parish priests sent young men to be trained by St. John Baptist to serve as schoolmasters in their villages.

    Seeing a unique opportunity for good, Canon de la Salle resigned his canonry, gave his inheritance to the poor, and began to organize his teachers into a religious congregation. Soon, boys from his schools began to ask for admission to the Brothers, and the founder set up a juniorate to prepare them for their life as religious teachers. At the request of many pastors, he also set up a training school for teachers, first at Rheims, then at Paris, and finally at St.-Denis. Realizing that he was breaking entirely new ground in the education of the young, St. John Baptist de la Salle wrote books on his system of education, opened schools for tradesmen, and even founded a school for the nobility, at the request of King James of England.In 1695, St. John drew the Rule for his Brothers (which he later revised in 1705) and also wrote The Conduct of Christian Schools, which set forth his pedagogical system and has become a classic in the field of education. The congregation had a tumultuous history, and the setbacks that the founder had to face were many; but the work was begun, and he guided it with rare wisdom. In Lent of 1719, he grew weak, met with a serious accident, and died at St. Yon, Rouen on Good Friday, April 7, 1719. Canonized on May 24, 1900, Saint Peter’s Basilica by Pope Leo XIII and proclaimed patron of schoolteachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950. He’s the Patron Saint of Teachers; Educators; School Principals, Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Redeemer and Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools Lasallian Educational Institutions.

    PRAYER: Our Father, You chose St. John Baptist de la Salle as an educator of Christian youth. Give Your Church good teachers today, who will dedicate themselves to instructing young people in human and Christian disciples… Amen. Saint John Baptist de la Salle ~ Pray for us 🙏

    SAINT HEGESIPPUS, A PRIMITIVE FATHER OF THE CHURCH: Saint Hegesippus was a Primitive Father of the Church (c. 110 – c. 180 AD), also known as Hegesippus the Nazarene was born in c.110 AD. Born Jewish, he became an adult convert to Christianity. He was a Christian writer of the early Church who may, in spite of his Greek name, have been a Jewish convert and certainly wrote against heresies of the Gnostics and of Marcion. Saint Hegesippus was by nation a Jew who joined the Church of Jerusalem, when the disasters attaining his unhappy land opened his eyes to see their cause. His writings were known to Saint Jerome and Eusebius and were praised by them and by all of antiquity. Saint Hegesippus journeyed to Rome, stopping to visit all important churches along his way, afterwards remaining there for nearly twenty years, where he researched the early Church, from the pontificate of Pope Saint Anicetus to that of Saint Eleutherius.

    St. Hegesippus was the first to trace and record the succession of the bishops of Rome from Saint Peter to his own day, and is considered the father of ecclesiastical history. Little of his writings survive, but he was highly recommended by other early writers including Eusebius and Saint Jerome. Compiled a catalogue of heresies during the first century of Christianity. Saint Hegisippus wrote in the year 133 a history of the Church entitled Memoirs, which was composed of five books and covered the time from the Passion of Christ until that year, that is, one hundred years; the loss of this work, of which only a few fragments remain, is extremely regretted. In it he gave illustrious proofs of his faith, and placed in evidence the apostolic tradition, proving that although certain men had disturbed the Church by broaching heresies, yet even to his day no episcopal see or individual church had fallen into error. This testimony he gave after having personally visited all the principal churches, both of the East and the West, with the intention of gathering all authentic traditions concerning the life of Our Lord and of the Apostles. During the time of the latter he returned to the Orient, where he died at an advanced age, probably in Jerusalem in the year 180 AD; Jerusalem, Palaestina according to the chronicle of Alexandria.

    Saint Hegesippus, a Primitive Father of the Church ~ Pray for us🙏

    BLESSED HERMAN JOSEPH OF SEINFELD, PRIEST: Blessed Herman Joseph of Steinfeld (1150-1241) was a German Priest, Premonstratensian Canon regular and mystic. Born in 1150. From his earliest years, was a devoted client of the Mother of God. As a little child he used to spend all his playtime in the church at Cologne before a statue of Mary, where he received many favors. One bitter winter day, as little Herman was coming barefooted into church, his heavenly Mother, appearing to him, asked him lovingly why his feet were bare in such cold weather. Alas! dear Lady, he said, it is because my parents are so poor. She pointed to a stone, telling him to look beneath it; and there he found four silver pieces, with which the family could buy shoes. He did not forget to return and thank Her. She enjoined him to go to the same spot in all his wants, and disappeared. Never did the supply fail him; but his comrades, moved by a different spirit, could find nothing. Once Our Lady stretched out Her hand, and took an apple which the boy offered Her in pledge of his love. Another time he saw Her high up in the sanctuary, with the Holy Child and Saint John; he longed to join them, but saw no way of doing so. Suddenly he found himself placed by their side, and was able to hold sweet conversation with the Infant Jesus.

    At the age of twelve he entered the Premonstratensian monastery at Steinfeld, and there led an angelic life of purity and prayer. His fellow-novices, seeing what graces he received from Mary, called him Joseph; when he shrank from so high an honor, Our Lady in a vision took him as Her spouse, and told him to accept the name. Jealously She reproved the smallest faults in Her beloved one, and for Her dowry, She conferred on him the most cruel sufferings of mind and body, which were especially severe on the great feasts of the Church. But with the cross Mary brought him the grace to bear it bravely, and thus his heart was weaned from earthly things, and he was made ready for his saintly death, which took place about on April 7, 1241. Never formally canonized, in 1958 his status as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was formally recognized by Pope Pius XII. He’s the Patron Saint of Children; Students and Watchmakers.

    Blessed Herman Joseph of Steinfeld, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏

  • SAINTS OF THE DAY: APRIL 6TH

    SAINTS OF THE DAY: APRIL 6TH

    MEMORIAL OF SAINTS EUTYCHIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE; SAINT JULIANA OF MOUNT CORNILLON, RELIGIOUS AND SAINT PHAOLO LE BAO TINH, PRIEST – FEAST DAY: As we continue to rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople; Saint Juliana of Mount Cornillon, Religious (Patron Saint of Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament) and Saint Phaolo Le Bao Tinh, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick, we particularly pray for those who are terminally ill, may God in His infinite grace and mercy grant them His divine healing and intervention. We pray for the conversion of sinners and for all Christians and for all those traveling during this season of Easter. Amen🙏

    SAINT EUTYCHIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE: St. Eutychius (512 – 582) was the patriarch of Constantinople from 552 to 565, and from 577 to 582. He was born in Phrygia about 512 of pious and devout parents. His father was an officer. Once, as a child, when Eutychius was playing with his playmates, their game was that each of them would write their names on a wall and, beside their name, they would guess what rank each of them would attain in life. When it was Eutychius’ turn he wrote: Eutychius–Patriarch! In his thirtieth year he became abbot of the monastery in Amasea. At age forty, he was sent by the Metropolitan of Amasea to represent him at the Fifth Ecumenical Council [Constantinople, 553 A.D.]. At the Council, he glowed like a shining star among the Fathers of the Church both in learning as well as in his zealousness. When the debate began whether heretics could be anathematized after their deaths, he supported the opinion that they could be by calling upon the Third Book of Kings (in some translations, called The First Book of Kings 13: 1-8 and the Fourth Book of Kings (in some translations, called The Second Book of Kings 23:16).

    St. Eutychius endeared himself greatly to Emperor Justinian and Patriarch Mennas. The emperor sought his advice on many occasions and Patriarch Mennas designated Eutychius as his successor and implored the emperor to carry this out in deed. And so it happened! St. Eutychius governed the Church in peace for twelve years. Then the devil raised up a tempest against him. This tempest reached Justinian himself. The emperor became deluded and succumbed to the Monophysite heresy (Aphtartodocetea) which falsely taught that the Lord Jesus, before His resurrection, had a divine and incorruptible body, without feeling, hunger, thirst or pain. St. Eutychius adamantly stood up against this heresy, for which the emperor banished him into exile to his original monastery. St. Eutychius remained there for twelve years and eight months and proved himself to be a great miracle-worker healing people of various illnesses through prayer and by anointing them with holy oil. Emperor Justinian repented and died. He was succeeded by Justin II, who then restored St. Eutychius in 577AD to the patriarchal throne where this saint remained, governing the Church of God in peace, until his death. On his deathbed, the holy Patriarch admitted his error. On April 5, 582 A.D., in his seventieth year, he took up habitation in the kingdom of Christ the Lord, Whom he faithfully and courageously served throughout his entire life.

    PRAYER: You lived like an angel on earth, O Eutychius vessel of grace; Your words and deeds confirmed the divine gift bestowed on you. By your intercessions preserve the Church from all necessity. In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you. Hierarch Father Eutychius, entreat Christ our God  that our souls may be saved. O God, You made St. Eutychius an outstanding exemplar of Divine love and the Faith that conquers the world, and added him to the roll of saintly pastors. Grant by his intercession that we may persevere in Faith and love and become sharers in his glory. Amen🙏

    SAINT JULIANA OF MOUNT CORNILLON, RELIGIOUS: St. Juliana of Mount Cornillon, also known as Juliana of Liege (1193-1258) was born near Liege, Belgium. She was a medieval Norbertine canoness regular and mystic in what is now Belgium. Traditional scholarly sources have long recognized her as the promoter of the Feast of Corpus Christi, first celebrated in Liège in 1246, and later adopted for the Catholic Church in 1264. Bl. Juliana was orphaned at the age of five. She and her sister Agnes were raised by the nuns at the convent of Mount Cornillon near Liege. She made rapid progress in virtue and grew in love for the Passion of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Blessed Sacrament. Bl. Juliana read the works of Saint Augustine and Saint Bernard while she was still very young. At the age of thirteen she became an Augustinian 
    nun at Liege, Belgium in 1206. She devoted herself to caring for the sick in the convent‘s hospital. She eventually became the Prioress of the convent at Mount Cornillon in 1225.

    St. Juliana, received visions from our Lord Jesus Christ, who pointed out that there was no feast in honour of the Blessed Sacrament. Taught in repeated visions that Our Lord wanted a liturgical feast in honor of the Holy Eucharist to be established, she worked diligently to have the feast of Corpus Christi instituted for the Universal Church, a task for which she endured much opposition. She was forced to flee her convent after its general superior excited the populace against her and her visions. The messages she received led to being branded a visionary, and accused of mismanagement of hospital funds. An investigation by the bishop exonerrated her; she was returned to her position, and he introduced the feast of Corpus Christi in Liege in 1246. On the bishop‘s death in 1248, St. Juliana was driven from Mount Cornillon, ending her life in seclusion. St. Juliana was full of joy, to see her vision made real. She was eager to see the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament extended throughout the whole church!  But she was not blessed to see this take place. She passed the last few years of her life in solitude and died on April 5, 1258 of natural causes at Fosses and buried at Villiers, France. She was canonized on 1869 by Pope Blessed Pius IX (cultus confirmed). She was a friend of Blessed Eva of Liege, who worked for the acceptance of the new feast. The feast of Corpus Christi was finally instituted six years after her death by Pope Urban IV, who also commissioned Saint Thomas Aquinas to prepare the magnificent texts for the feast’s Office and Mass and was sanctioned for the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. The feast  became mandatory in the Roman Church in 1312. St. Juliana feast day is April 6 and she’s the Patron Saint of Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

    St. Juliana of Mount Cornillon ~ Pray for us🙏

    SAINT PHAOLO LE BAO TINH, PRIEST: St. Phaolo was born in 1793 at Trinh-Ha village, Thanh Hoa Province, now Vietnam, to wealthy parents. As a child he studied under a local Confucian scholar, until his parents sent him at twelve years of age to the Catholic seminary at Ke-Vinh.
    The seminary described St. Phaolo as prayerful, ascetical and studious. He enjoyed reading the lives of saints and reminded everyone that they also were called to be saints. St. Phaolo felt called to live as a hermit and left the seminary to live in a cave, surviving on rice and fruit, passing his days in prayer and mortification. The local Bishop then asked St. Phaolo to help in the work of bringing missionary priests back to the area. After this, he settled down in the mountains of Laos, mixing missionary work with being a reclusive hermit. When persecution of Christians broke out in 1841, Phaolo was arrested by government officials and he spent the next seven years in prison at Hanoi. Shortly after receiving the death sentence he wrote to a seminarian describing his experience in prison:

    “I, Paul, bound in chains for the sake of Christ, send to you from prison salutations which are many and final.… The prison is truly a living example of hell: to chains, shackles and manacles, are added anger, vengeance, lies, obscene conversations, brawls, evil acts, swearing, slander, plus boredom, sadness, mosquitoes and flies….I write these things so that your hearts might burst with desire to be martyrs, and that your prayers might strengthen me, who lives in the arena of combat.”

    Emperor Thieu Tri in 1848, commuted St. Phaolo’s sentence from death to perpetual exile in Phu Yen Province. At the end of the same year the new Emperor, Tu Duc, granted an amnesty to all exiles. St. Phaolo then travelled to the seminary at Ke-Vinh, where he renewed his studies, later being ordained a priest. After exercising his priestly ministry until 1855, some mandarins complained to the governor about Christians and St. Phaolo was arrested again. For working as a priest, he was classed as a criminal and was sentenced to be decapitated. Early next day he was led to the place of execution. His last words were: “The religion of the Heavenly Master is perfectly true, even though our king and the sovereigns of other nations persecute it and wish to destroy it. But this religion will be victorious, and in the future it will count more adherents than it ever has had in the past.” The executioner then came with his sword and the death sentence was carried out. Overall, St Paul’s spirituality had centred on the Cross of Jesus and the practice of prayer and asceticism. St Paul Le-Boa Tinh was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

    Saint Phaolo Le Bao Tinh ~ Pray for us🙏