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October 1 |
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St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus
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St. Thérèse, often called the Little Flower, was
born in Normandy, France, in 1873. She was the
youngest of the five daughters born to Louis and
Zelie Martin. Thérèse was a very lively, lovable little
girl. Her father called her his “little queen.” Yet she
could be overly sensitive. In the story she wrote of
her life, The Story of a Soul, she tells how the Infant
Jesus helped her overcome this weakness.
It was Thérèse’s great desire to enter the
Carmelite convent where two of her sisters were
already nuns. But since she was only fifteen, permission
was not granted. Thérèse felt sure that Jesus
wanted her to spend her life loving him and only
him. She kept praying and asking the prioress to
admit her. She even dared, on a trip to Rome, to ask
Pope Leo XIII himself to grant her heart’s desire. And
finally she was allowed to enter.
Although she was only fifteen, Thérèse did not
expect to be babied. ”Obedience, prayer, and sacrifice”
were her program. She had a thirst to suffer for
love of God. Thérèse had the spiritual courage of a
real heroine. “May Jesus make me a martyr of the
heart or of the body—or better, both!” she wrote.
And she meant it. In winter she suffered from the
cold and dampness of her plain bedroom. There
were other kinds of sufferings, too. Whenever she
felt humiliated or misunderstood, she would offer
her pain to her beloved Jesus. She would hide her
hurts under a smile. She went out of her way to
spend time with people who were hard to get
along with. She told Jesus to do with her whatever
was his will.
Sister Thérèse tried hard to be humble. She
called her great confidence in God her “little way”
to holiness. She always had a burning desire to
become a saint. The young nun wanted to find a
“short cut,” or an “elevator,” to take her quickly to
sanctity. So she looked in the Bible and found the
words, ”Whoever is a little one, come to me.” When
she lay dying, she could say: ”I have never given the
good God anything but love, and it is with love that
he will repay. After my death, I will let fall a shower
of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good on
earth.” The Little Flower died on September 30,
1897. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius XI in
1925, and a Doctor of the Church by Pope John
Paul II in 1997.
St. Thérèse taught us her “little way.” To follow
this way, we can offer our small sacrifices joyfully
to Jesus throughout each day. We can go out of our
way to be kind to difficult people. If our feelings
are hurt, we can offer this to Jesus, instead of holding
a grudge.
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October 2 |
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Guardian Angels
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Today we celebrate God’s messengers who protect
each and every one of us. We read about them
throughout the Bible. Angels delivered special messages
from God, protected people from dangers and
rescued them. In chapter 12 of the New Testament
Acts of the Apostles, we read how St. Peter was set
free from his chains and led out of prison by an angel.
The Church has taught for many centuries that
human life is under the watchful care of angels from
infancy until death.
The picture of a guardian angel that we often see
is an angel protecting two small children as they
cross a small bridge. In reality, angels are spirits and
do not have bodies as humans do. That is why we
cannot see our guardian angel, who never leaves our
side! In 1608, Pope Paul V added today’s feast to the
calendar of saints and celebrations. It is very encouraging
to know that we each have an angel guarding
and protecting us. Our guardian angel is a gift from
our loving God.
We can say this brief prayer often throughout
the day: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom
God’s love entrusts me here, ever this day be at my
side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
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October 3 |
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Blessed Bartolo Longo
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Bartolo was born on February 11, 1841, in southern
Italy. He received a good education from the Piarist
Fathers. He later studied law, but the university he
attended had little respect for Gospel values or the
Church. Bartolo’s faith began to weaken, and in time
he became interested in demonic rituals. Fortunately,
Bartolo remained friends with a professor who was a
devout Catholic and a deeply spiritual man. Together
with a Dominican priest, this professor was able to
bring Bartolo back to the practice of his Catholic faith.
Bartolo earned his law degree and became an
attorney in his hometown. He began living a holy life
of prayer and good deeds. He was especially devoted
to praying the Rosary.
Bartolo went to Naples in order to help the poor
in the city’s slums. He became tutor to the children of
a wealthy widow. He traveled with her when she visited
her properties, and he saw firsthand the poverty
and ignorance of her tenant laborers. He knew that
God was calling him to bring faith and hope to these
people. He decided that the best way to present the
faith to people who couldn’t read was to teach them
to pray the Rosary. By meditating the mysteries of the
Rosary, they would learn of the life, death, and resurrection
of the Lord, and of Mary’s important role in
leading Christians to her Son.
Soon, people were crowding the little church in
Pompeii to pray the Rosary before a picture of Mary,
which he had found at a flea market. The church had
to be enlarged, and Bartolo began raising funds for a
magnificent basilica in honor of Mary, Queen of the
Holy Rosary. He also began a magazine called The
Rosary and the New Pompeii, featuring articles
explaining the faith. In order to live out the Gospel
message, and not just write about it, Bartolo built an
orphanage and a home for children whose parents
were in prison.
Bartolo was often misunderstood and ridiculed
by people who did not agree with him. As he grew
older, he suffered from illness. But he never gave up
trusting in the power of the Rosary to accomplish all
that God asked of him. He spent the last years of his
life in continual prayer.
On October 5, 1926, this holy layman died at the
age of eighty-five, his rosary still in hand. He was beatified
by Pope John Paul II in 1980.
The Rosary is a simple prayer, yet it brings us
into contact with the deepest mysteries of our faith.
We should make an effort to pray at least a part of
the Rosary each day, so that we will often call to
mind the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of
Jesus. The Rosary is a special homage to Mary, who
is our Mother as well as Christ’s.
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October 4 |
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St. Francis of Assisi
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Francis was born in Assisi, Italy, around 1181. The
son of a wealthy cloth merchant, he dressed himself
in the finest clothes and spent money freely. He was
popular and fun-loving, spending his time and money
throwing parties for his friends. Seeking adventure
and glory, Francis went to war when he was about
twenty. He was taken prisoner and became seriously
ill. He was freed after a year and returned home.
When he recovered from his sickness, he tried again
to go into battle, hoping to become a knight. But on
the way he heard the Lord telling him to go back to
his home in Assisi, where he would learn what he
was to do with his life.
Back home, Francis realized that he had been
wasting precious time. He became aware that he
should be serving Jesus. He began by praying more
and making sacrifices to grow strong in spirit. He
often gave money to the poor, and once he even traded
his own clothes for a poor man’s rags so that he
could experience the man’s extreme poverty. He
took care of the lepers in the nearby hospital. Still, he
felt he must do more.
It is not hard to imagine how his former rich
friends must have looked at him now! His father was
ashamed of his son’s strange new ways, and he
brought Francis to the bishop of Assisi, hoping the
bishop would be able to bring the young man to his
senses. Instead, Francis returned to his father everything
he had received from him and declared that he
was no longer dependent on him. From that moment
on, God in heaven became his Father, and Francis
placed himself under the protection of the bishop.
Francis became a “knight” of the “Lady Poverty,”
and he began to live as a beggar. His food was what
kind people gave him. Everywhere he went, he urged
people to stop sinning and return to God. Soon many
people began to realize how close to God this poor
man was, and they became his disciples. That is how
the great Franciscan family of priests and brothers,
sisters, and lay people began. They helped the poor
and sick and preached everywhere. Even after the
Order had spread all over Italy, Francis insisted that
they should not own anything. He wanted the friars
to love poverty as he did.
St. Francis lived the Gospel as perfectly and as joyfully
as he could. He tried to make his life a copy of
the life of Jesus. As a reward for his great love, Jesus
gave him his own wounds in his hands, feet, and side.
This happened in 1224, two years before Francis died.
Toward the end of his life, he became very sick.
With joy, he welcomed death as a sister. He asked to
be laid on the ground and covered with an old habit.
Then he urged his brothers to love God, to love being
poor, and to live the Gospel. ”I have done my part,” he
said. ”May Jesus teach you to do yours.” Francis died
on October 3, 1226. He was proclaimed a saint a
short time later by Pope Honorius III.
St. Francis’ life of poverty was a sign that it’s not
material things that make us satisfied and happy.
True joy comes from loving God and patterning
our lives on Christ. We can ask St. Francis to show
us how to live a life of Gospel simplicity and joy.
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October 5 |
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St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
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When this saint was born in Poland on August 25,
1905, her parents named her Helen. In her short life
on earth, she carried out the important mission of
teaching the world about the mercy of Jesus. From
the time she was seven years old, Helen knew she
wanted to live a life consecrated to God as a sister.
When she was twenty-five, she entered the convent
of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, taking the name
Sister Faustina.
Her work was simple. She cooked, tended the
convent garden, and answered the door. Her kindness,
serenity, and spirit of recollection were remarkable.
But few people knew the real depths of her spirituality.
God blessed Sister Faustina with many
extraordinary gifts, including visions, prophecy, and
invisible stigmata.
In one of the visions Sister Faustina had, Jesus
appeared in a white garment. He raised one hand in
blessing and touched his heart with the other. Two
rays of light, one red, the other pale, spread out from
his heart. The red ray represented the saving blood of
Christ; the pale ray stood for the cleansing water of
Baptism. Jesus said, “Have an image painted just as
you see me, with the words ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’”
Jesus told Sister Faustina that the Sunday after Easter
was to be the Feast of Divine Mercy.
Sister Faustina kept a diary in which she wrote
down everything that Jesus wanted the world to
know about his mercy. In it, she wrote about prayer as
a loving relationship with God. Jesus told her that she
was his secretary. It was her special work to encourage
people to trust in the limitless mercy of God.
Jesus promised forgiveness and abundant graces
to anyone who would honor the Feast of Divine
Mercy. Devotion to Divine Mercy consists in trusting
in God’s goodness, loving one’s neighbor, remaining
in the state of grace with the help of the Sacrament
of Reconciliation, and receiving Holy Communion on
Divine Mercy Sunday.
After only thirteen years of religious life, Sister
Faustina died of tuberculosis on October 5, 1938. She
was thirty-three years old.
Jesus told St. Maria Faustina, “I expect you to
show mercy always and everywhere. You cannot
excuse yourself from this.” The best way to show that
we trust in the mercy of Jesus is to be merciful and
forgiving to the people who hurt us. Are we willing
to do this?
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October 6 |
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Blessed Marie Rose Durocher
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Eulalie Durocher was born in 1811 in Quebec,
Canada. She was the tenth of eleven children. When
she was eighteen, Eulalie’s mother died, and her
brother, who was a priest, invited his younger sister
to his parish. She became a lay apostle. She took
charge of the household duties for her brother. She
also started the first parish sodality in Canada. The
thirteen years she was involved in the life of the
Church and the parish were preparing her for a special
work for God.
In 1843, when Eulalie was thirty-two, the bishop
of Montreal asked her to begin a very special mission.
Eulalie started a new religious congregation
of women called the Sisters of the Holy Names of
Jesus and Mary. Their particular work for Jesus
would be to educate the poorest and most neglected
children. Eulalie became Mother Marie Rose.
Others came to join this generous woman. They,
too, believed in the importance of educating children
for the love of Jesus.
Mother Marie Rose lived only six years after her
congregation began. However, she helped her sisters
from heaven because the community continued to
grow and open new convents. They started a mission
in the United States, too. They went to Oregon in
1859. Today the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus
and Mary are spread throughout the world.
Mother Marie Rose Durocher was declared a
blessed by Pope John Paul II on May 23, 1982.
We can thank Blessed Marie Rose for the sacrifices
she made to educate children. When we’re
tempted to “take it easy” at school, we can ask her
to give us the willpower to try our best.
The Church also celebrates the feast of St. Bruno
on this date.
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October 7 |
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Our Lady of the Rosary
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It was St. Dominic who, in the late twelfth and
early thirteenth centuries, encouraged everyone to
say the Rosary. St. Dominic was greatly saddened by
the spread of a terrible heresy called Albigensianism.
With the members of his new Order of Preachers, or
Dominicans, he was trying his best to spread the
truth and put an end to this dangerous heresy. He
begged the Blessed Virgin for help, and it is said that
she told him to preach devotion to the Holy Rosary.
St. Dominic obeyed and he was very successful in
stopping the heresy.
The Holy Rosary is a simple devotion, which can
be practiced by all people—old and young, learned
and unlearned. It can be said anywhere, at any time.
While we repeat the Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and
Glory to the Father, we think about great moments in
the lives of Jesus and Mary. In this way, we grow closer
and closer to Jesus and his Blessed Mother. We
learn to imitate their holy lives.
Mary is very pleased when we say the Holy
Rosary often and well. She used to say it with St.
Bernadette when she appeared to her at Lourdes.
The three little children of Fatima learned from Mary
the power of the Rosary. Mary taught them that the
Rosary obtains graces to live a life close to God.
A Dominican pope, St. Pius V, established today’s
feast. It is to show our gratitude to Mary for a military
victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571.
Let’s acquire the beautiful habit of saying the
Rosary every day. If we carry a rosary in our pocket,
it’ll be easy for us to find the time each day to
pray this beautiful prayer.
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October 8 |
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St. Simeon
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Holy Simeon lived in the first century. In Luke’s
Gospel, chapter 2, we read about when Joseph and
Mary brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem. That
is where they met Simeon. God had promised this
holy man that, before he died, he would see the
Messiah, the Savior of the world. But Simeon did not
know when this would happen.
Led by the Holy Spirit, Simeon came to the
Temple at the same time the young couple from
Nazareth arrived with their baby. He looked into the
eyes of the Child and felt a burst of joy in his heart.
His eyes glowed. He lifted Jesus into his arms, then
held him up and prayed: ”Now, my God, I can die in
peace. I have seen with my own eyes the world’s salvation.
You have prepared this for all your people.”
Mary and Joseph looked at one another. They
were silently amazed. Then the elderly man turned
to Mary. His eyes became sad as he said softly, ”Your
own soul will be pierced by a sword.” Mary did not
understand what this meant, and she prayed to God
for courage.
Holy Simeon had received the gift that God had
promised. He remained in joyful thanksgiving as the
couple and their baby left.
We can imitate St. Simeon’s trust in God. By
reading the Holy Bible, and staying open to the
work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we, too, can
become holy. Like Simeon, we can trust that all of
God’s promises will be fulfilled in the time that he
chooses.
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October 9 |
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St. John Leonardi
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Born around 1540, John became a pharmacist in
Lucca, Italy. When he was twenty-five, John felt the
call to become a priest. He began his studies and was
ordained in 1572. He spent his time teaching children
the faith and training catechists. His active ministry
also took him to hospitals and prisons. Several young
men in Lucca joined Father John and helped him
with his wonderful works. Eventually, this group was
to become a new religious congregation of priests.
They were called the Clerks of the Mother of God.
The Congregation was officially recognized by Pope
Clement VIII in 1595.
Father Leonardi was given a church as his headquarters
in Lucca. His followers took care of the spiritual
needs of the people in their new parish. Father
Leonardi moved to Rome where his good friend St.
Philip Neri lived. St. Philip was his spiritual director.
Father Leonardi’s work was hard at times because of
all the political and spiritual turmoil in Europe. But St.
Philip believed in Father Leonardi and in the good his
congregation of priests was doing. St. Philip gave him
his own house in Rome for the congregation. The
house was called “St. William of Charity.” With the
building came St. Philip’s cat. St. John gladly took care
of it.
St. John Leonardi died on October 9, 1609, of the
plague, which he had contracted while ministering
to the sick. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius
XI in 1938.
This saint teaches us to recognize that human
beings require spiritual as well as physical care. We
can ask St. John Leonardi to remind us to pay attention
to the needs of our souls as well as our bodies.
The Church also celebrates the feast of St. Denis
and Companions on this date.
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October 10 |
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St. Francis Borgia
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Francis was born near Valencia in Spain in 1510.
His uncle, the archbishop of Saragossa, provided
for his education. Francis felt called to the religious
life, but he was quickly swept up in a whirlwind
of choice appointments in the court of Emperor
Charles V. In 1529, Francis married Eleanor de
Castro. They had a happy marriage blessed with
eight children.
In 1539, the emperor’s lovely wife Isabella died
after being sick for a short time. On the day of the
funeral, when Francis saw her corpse already decomposing,
he was startled. He began to realize how
quickly life passes and started to focus more on the
eternal life of heaven.
He became the emperor’s adviser and then
viceroy of Catalonia. When his father died in 1543,
Francis took his place as duke of Gandia and head of
the Borgia family.
In 1546, Francis’ wife died, after seventeen happy
years of marriage. Francis was heartbroken at the loss
and found comfort in prayer and the sacraments. At
the age of thirty-six, he decided to join the Society of
Jesus. He gave his inheritance to his son and was
ordained in 1550. Father Francis traveled through
Spain and Portugal, preaching to enormous crowds.
The founder of the Jesuits himself, St. Ignatius,
gave Francis a high position in the Order. In 1565,
he became superior general of the Jesuits. For the
next seven years, he opened new foundations of
the Society of Jesus, helped lead the Catholic
Reformation, and encouraged the men in his Order to
participate in missionary work in foreign countries,
including the Americas.
After a pastoral visit through Spain in 1572,
Francis returned to Rome worn out from the trip. He
died two days later on September 30. Because of his
untiring work in helping his Order to grow and
spread to other countries, St. Francis Borgia is sometimes
called the second founder of the Jesuits. He was
canonized in 1671.
From early adulthood, St. Francis Borgia was
entrusted with positions of responsibility. He was
able to do his duties well, because he was a person
of faith and prayer. We can imitate this great saint
by doing well whatever we’re expected to do each
day, without losing sight of the final goal of life—
heaven.
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October 11 |
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St. Kenneth
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This saint, who is sometimes called St. Canice,
lived in the sixth century. He was born in Ireland
and is well known in both Ireland and Scotland. His
father was a bard, that is, a professional singer of
ballads. As a young man, Kenneth went to Wales to
study for the priesthood. St. Cadoc was his teacher.
After he became a priest, he went to visit Rome.
He then returned to Ireland to study at the school
of St. Finnian. Kenneth became good friends with
three other Irish saints—Kieran, Comgall, and
Columba.
After preaching throughout Ireland, St. Kenneth
went with St. Columba to Scotland on a mission to
the pagan King Brude. When this king angrily seized
his sword to strike the two missionaries, it is said
that St. Kenneth made the Sign of the Cross and a
miracle took place. The king’s hand was suddenly
paralyzed, and the saints were saved. St. Kenneth and
St. Columba were always close friends. Once
Columba was sailing with some companions.
Kenneth was far away in his monastery in Ireland.
Suddenly he became aware that Columba was in
great danger at sea. He jumped up from the dinner
table and ran to church to pray for his beloved
friend. Out at sea, Columba cried to his frightened
companions: “Don’t be afraid! God will listen to
Kenneth. Right now he is running to church with
only one shoe on to pray for us!” And, as he said, they
were saved.
St. Kenneth started several monasteries and converted
many nonbelievers. He became famous for his
zealous preaching of the Gospel. Even more, he
became well known for the perfect way in which he
himself practiced the teachings of Jesus.
St. Kenneth knew how to make the best of a difficult
situation. His good humor won him many
friends and helpers in preaching the Good News.
We can ask St. Kenneth to show us how to be as
good and cheerful a friend as he was.
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October 12 |
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St. Seraphim of Montegranero
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Seraphim was born in 1540 in Italy. As a boy, he
tended sheep to earn a living. His parents died while
he was still young and his older brother took him in.
But this brother was very unkind to Seraphim
and mistreated him. Throughout his difficult childhood
and teenage years, Seraphim trusted in God
and spent as much time as he could in prayer. Even
without the presence of loving parents, he knew
that God was a loving Father who cared for him.
When he was sixteen, Seraphim felt God calling
him to live a holy life. He decided to join the
Capuchin Franciscan Order as a lay brother. Here at
last was a family of brothers who loved one another.
He soon became well known for his wisdom and
holiness of life. People came to him from all over
to ask his guidance in spiritual matters. Seraphim
was especially devoted to helping the poor. He
received the strength and grace to reach out to others
from Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. St. Seraphim of
Montegranero died on October 12, 1604, and was
canonized in 1767.
Even though St. Seraphim was not blessed with
a happy childhood in a loving family, he knew he
was loved by God, the Father of us all. It was this
love he experienced that made him able to love others.
If we truly believe that God loves us, we will
want to pass that love on to others with kindness
and understanding.
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October 13 |
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St. Edward
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King St. Edward was one of the best loved of all
the English kings. He lived in the eleventh century.
Because of enemies in his own country, he had to live
in Normandy, France, from the time he was ten until
he was forty. However, when he returned to England
as king, all the people welcomed him with great joy.
St. Edward was able to rule his country well and
keep peace most of the time. This was because he
trusted in God and held firm when necessary. King
Edward went to daily Mass. He was a gentle, kind man
who never spoke sternly. To poor people and foreigners,
he showed special charity. He also helped
monks in every way he could. It was his justice
toward everyone and his love for God’s Church that
made St. Edward so popular with the English people.
They would cheer him as he rode out of the castle.
Although he was a king with great power, St.
Edward showed his honesty by the way he kept his
word—to God and to people. While he was still living
in Normandy, he had made a promise to God. He
said that if his family would see better times, he
would go on a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb in Rome.
After he was made king, he wanted to keep his vow.
But the nobles knew that if he left, there would be no
one to keep the peace among the warlike people in
the land. So, although they admired his devotion, they
did not want him to go. The whole matter was
brought to Pope St. Leo IX. He decided that the king
should stay home. He suggested that King Edward
give to the poor the money he would have spent on
the trip. He also asked the king to build a monastery
in honor of St. Peter in Westminster. Obediently, the
king carried out the pope’s decision. He died in
London in 1066 and was buried in the marvelous
monastery he had built. He was proclaimed a saint by
Pope Alexander III in 1161.
St. Edward teaches with his life that those who
have money and power are to use them responsibly
and for the good of others. We can ask St. Edward to
bless world leaders with his values so that all people
can live peaceful, joyful lives.
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October 14 |
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St. Callistus I
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This great pope and martyr lived in the first part
of the third century. He was once a young slave in
Rome, who got into serious trouble. His master had
put him in charge of a bank. Somehow, Callistus lost
the bank’s money. In fear, he ran away from Rome.
He was caught after jumping into the sea to try to get
away. His punishment was to be chained and put to
hard labor in a mill.
From this punishment Callistus was released, only
because his creditors hoped he could get some of
their money back. But once again he was arrested,
this time for having gotten into a fight. He was sent to
the mines of Sardinia. When the emperor freed all
the Christians who had been condemned to those
mines, Callistus was freed, too. From that time on,
things began to go better for him.
Pope St. Zephrinus came to know and trust the
freed slave. He placed him in charge of the public
Christian cemetery in Rome. This cemetery is now
named after St. Callistus himself. Many popes were
buried in it. Callistus proved himself worthy of the
pope’s confidence in him. St. Zephrinus not only
ordained him a priest, but also made him his friend
and advisor.
Later on, St. Callistus himself became pope. Some
people complained because he showed too much
mercy to sinners. However, the holy pope ruled that,
if they truly repented, even murderers could be
admitted to Communion after they had done penance
for their sin. This great pope always defended
the true doctrine of Jesus. He was martyred in 222,
having been killed in an uprising.
Because St. Callistus was so aware of God’s forgiveness
in his own life, he was more than willing
to be forgiving toward others. Do we treat others
with the same forgiveness that we hope to receive
from God?
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October 15 |
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St. Teresa of Avila
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Teresa was born in Avila, Spain, on March 28,
1515. As a little girl in her parents’ rich home, Teresa
and her brother Rodrigo loved to read the lives of the
saints and martyrs. It seemed to them that the martyrs
got to heaven an easy way. The two children
set out secretly to go to a faraway land, where
they hoped they would die for Christ. But, fortunately,
they had not gotten far when they met an uncle!
He took them back to their worried mother at once.
Next the children decided to be hermits in their garden.
This didn’t work out either. They could not get
enough stones together to build their huts.
St. Teresa herself wrote down these amusing
stories of her childhood. The fact is that when
she became a teenager she changed. Teresa read so
many novels and foolish romances that she lost much
of her love for prayer. She began to think more of
dressing up to look pretty. But after she recovered
from a bad illness, Teresa read a book about the great
St. Jerome. Then and there, she made up her mind to
become a bride of Christ. She entered the Carmelite
Order in 1536.
As a nun, Teresa often found it hard to pray.
Besides that, she had poor health. Teresa wasted time
every day in long, foolish conversations. But one day,
in front of a picture of Jesus, she felt great sorrow that
she did not love God more. She started then to live
for Jesus alone, no matter what sacrifice had to be
made. In return for her love, the Lord gave St. Teresa
the privilege of hearing him speak to her. She learned
to pray in a marvelous way, too. St. Teresa of Avila is
well known for having opened sixteen new
Carmelite convents. These convents were filled with
nuns who wanted to live holy lives. They made many
sacrifices for Jesus. Teresa herself gave them the
example. She prayed with great love and worked hard
at her daily tasks.
St. Teresa was a great leader and true lover of
Jesus and his Church. She died in 1582 and was
proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622.
In 1970, Pope Paul declared her the first woman
Doctor of the Church.
Whenever we need a little “spiritual push” to
pray with more attention and love, we can ask St.
Teresa. We can ask her to help us find practical
ways to fit prayer time into every day.
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October 16 |
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St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
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Margaret Mary lived in the seventeenth century.
As a child, she was a happy little girl who loved the
nuns at school. But when she was ten, she became
very sick. It was five years before she was well again.
Her father had died, and an aunt had moved into their
home. This aunt and her husband made Margaret
Mary and her mother suffer very much. Almost every
day, the teenager would hide in the garden to cry and
pray. What hurt her most was seeing her mother suffer.
Yet Margaret Mary grew to know good times. A
few years later, she was deciding between religious
life and marriage. Her mother wanted her to marry
and so did her relatives. They were worried about
her, especially when she brought beggar children
into the garden to try to teach them. Margaret Mary
hesitated a while, neither marrying nor entering the
convent. At last she decided on the convent.
She joined the Visitation sisters and was a kind,
humble sister. Often she made others impatient since
she was slow and clumsy. But she was dear to Jesus.
He began to appear to Sister Margaret Mary to show
her how much he loves us all. Jesus wanted her to
spread devotion to his Sacred Heart. It was a very
hard thing to do. Many people thought Sister
Margaret Mary had not really seen Jesus at all. Some
were angry with her for trying to spread the new
devotion. This brought her great suffering. Yet she
did her best to carry out the Lord’s wish. Jesus
blessed her hard work and pain. Today, this wonderful
devotion to the Sacred Heart is practiced all over
the world. St. Margaret was canonized by Pope
Benedict XV in 1920.
Our Lord made great promises to St. Margaret
Mary for those who are devoted to his most Sacred
Heart. Some of these promises are: “I will comfort
them in all their afflictions. I will establish peace in
their homes. I will bestow abundant blessings on all
their undertakings. I will bless every place where a
picture of my Heart shall be displayed and honored.”
The greatest promise Jesus made is this: “My
divine Heart shall be the safe refuge in the last
moment to all those who receive Holy Communion
on the First Friday for nine months in a row.” We
can ask St. Margaret Mary to help us understand
the importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus.
The Church also celebrates the feast of St. Hedwig
on this date.
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October 17 |
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St. Ignatius of Antioch
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St. Ignatius of Antioch has been well known since
the earliest Christian times. He was born in the middle
of the first century. Ignatius was the third bishop
of Antioch. This is the city where St. Peter labored
before he moved to Rome. It is also the city where
followers of Jesus were first called Christians. After
leading the Church at Antioch for forty years, Ignatius
was condemned to death during the reign of
Emperor Trajan. He was brought under military guard
from Antioch to Rome by ship.
On his journey to Rome, the ship stopped at various
ports along the way. At each of these places,
crowds of Christians would gather to greet the holy
bishop of Antioch. Two of these cities were Smyrna
and Troas. From each of those cities, he wrote letters
to the Christian communities. In this way, he used the
same methods of preaching the Good News as the
great St. Paul. One of the letters Ignatius wrote from
Troas was to St. Polycarp, a fellow bishop, who is also
a martyr. We celebrate his feast on February 23.
When the beloved Ignatius arrived in Rome, he
joined the brave Christians in prisons. It was the last
day of the public games, December 20, and the bishop
was pushed out into the amphitheater. Two fierce
lions devoured him. He left behind a beautiful witness
to the Gospel in his life and in his letters. St.
Ignatius died around 107.
The next time we feel overwhelmed by an
unpleasant situation, we can pray to St. Ignatius of
Antioch. He’ll show us how to turn problems into
opportunities, as he did, by offering our whole
selves to Christ in love.
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October 18 |
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St. Luke
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It is generally believed that Luke was a gentile
doctor. He was a good, kind man who came to know
the Lord from the great apostle Paul. After he had
become a Christian, he sometimes traveled with Paul.
Luke was a great help to him in spreading the faith.
The Bible calls Luke “the beloved physician.”
St. Luke is the author of two books in the Bible:
the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
Although he did not meet Jesus while the Lord was
on this earth, he wanted to write about him for new
converts. So he talked to those who had known
Jesus. He wrote down all that they had seen the Lord
do and heard him say. It is Luke who tells us some of
the best-known stories about Jesus. Luke tells us the
story of the first Christmas. He tells about Jesus lost
in the Temple when he was twelve years old. He also
tells us the story of Zaccheus the tax collector, who
climbed a tree to see Jesus. Luke repeats for us the
parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.
Luke also wrote the story of how the apostles
began to teach the message of Jesus after he went
back to heaven. It is in Luke’s book, the Acts of the
Apostles, that we learn how the Church began to
grow and spread.
St. Luke is the patron saint of painters and doctors.
We are not sure when or where Luke died. He is
one of the four evangelists, or Gospel writers.
Luke’s Gospel speaks especially of God’s mercy
for people who are sorry for their sins. Sometimes
we become discouraged because of our sins and
mistakes. We can ask St. Luke to show us how to
have confidence in Jesus’ mercy, as he did.
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October 19 |
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St. Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf, and Companions
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St. Isaac Jogues was born in 1607 in Orleans,
France. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1624. As a
Jesuit missionary, he went to Quebec, Canada. There
he worked among the Hurons, explaining to them
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and baptizing those who
asked to become Christians. In 1642, some Iroquois
warriors captured him, five other French Jesuits, and
two French laymen.
For a year, St. Isaac Jogues suffered terrible torture
with his companions. But the Dutch helped him to
escape, and he went back to France. In 1644, he asked
to return to Quebec. While he was on his way to the
Iroquois, after a peace treaty had been signed with
that tribe, he was captured by Mohawks and killed.
St. John de Brebeuf became a Jesuit after a battle
with tuberculosis. He and St. Gabriel Lallemont were
among the group of valiant Jesuits tortured and put
to death by the Iroquois. Father Anthony Daniel had
just finished celebrating Mass for his Huron converts
when the Iroquois attacked the village. The Christian
Indians begged him to try to escape, but Father
Daniel stayed to baptize all those who were crying to
him for Baptism before they would be killed. The
Iroquois burned him to death in his little chapel. St.
Charles Garnier was shot by an Iroquois musket during
a surprise attack, but he still tried to crawl to help
a dying man. He was killed by a hatchet blow. Father
Noel Chabanel had found missionary life in the New
World very hard, but had made a vow to stay in North
America. He was killed by a Huron traitor. The two
lay helpers, Rene Goupil and John Lalande, were both
killed with tomahawks. So it was that these heroes of
Christ gave their lives for the native people of North
America. These brave men, often called the North
American Martyrs, were proclaimed saints in 1931 by
Pope Pius XI.
Many sins committed today offend the dignity of
human beings. We can ask these martyrs to share
with us their great love and respect for all people. We
can ask them to give us their great “missionary
hearts.”
The Church also celebrates the feast of St. Paul of
the Cross on this date.
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October 20 |
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Blessed John XXIII
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Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born in northern
Italy in 1881. He was one of thirteen children born to
a hardworking farming family. He entered the seminary
in Rome and began preparing for the priesthood.
He studied theology, and after some time he
earned a degree in canon law.
During World War I, Father Roncalli was drafted
into the Italian army, and he served as a medic and
chaplain in the front lines. After the war, he
became a Vatican diplomat and visited Bulgaria,
Greece, and Turkey. In Turkey, during World War II,
he helped people who had fled from Nazi
Germany. In 1944 he was chosen to be the papal
nuncio to France. Because of his success in carrying
out his difficult tasks, he was made a cardinal by
Pope Pius XII, and later he was named patriarch of
Venice at the age of seventy-one. It seemed, due to
his age, that this would be the last appointment he
would be entrusted with. But six years later, much
to his surprise, he was elected pope when Pius XII
died in 1958. He took the name John.
Then it was his turn to surprise the world by calling
for an ecumenical Council. Vatican Council II, the
first Council in almost 100 years, had the goal of
renewing and updating the Catholic Church. In opening
the Council, Pope John spoke with hope and
optimism about the Church’s role in the modern
world. He reached out not only to Catholics, but also
to all humanity with warmth and honesty. People of
all faiths and from all around the world saw him as a
man of goodness and truth, devoted to peace and
understanding between peoples and nations. He
broke with tradition and left the “prison of the
Vatican” to travel outside Rome. In his encyclicals
Mater et Magister and Pacem in Terris, he stressed
the importance of upholding human rights and working
together for peace.
Vatican Council II brought about important
changes in the Church, but Pope John was not to see
its conclusion. He died on June 3, 1963, one of the
best-loved popes in recent centuries. Pope John XXIII
was declared blessed by Pope John Paul II on
September 3, 2000.
From this beloved pope we can learn to get
along with others whose beliefs and opinions are
different than ours. It’s easy to be at peace with
those who agree with us. Pope John XXIII challenges
us to be open and respectful toward people
who disagree with us.
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October 21 |
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St. Hilarion
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Hilarion lived in the fourth century. He was not yet
a Christian when he left his home in Palestine to go to
school in Egypt. There he learned about the Christian
faith, and soon he was baptized. Hilarion was only
about fifteen at the time. His conversion started him
out on a glorious journey leading him closer to God.
Before long, he was off to visit the famous St. Anthony
in the desert. (We celebrate his feast on January 17.)
Like St. Anthony, Hilarion wanted to be alone to serve
Jesus, whom he had just come to know and love.
Hilarion stayed two months with St. Anthony. But it
was not quiet enough there for him, because so many
people came to St. Anthony for help. Hilarion could
not find the peace he was looking for, so he left. After
giving everything he had to the poor, he went into the
wilderness to live as a hermit.
Hilarion had to battle many temptations. At times
it seemed to him as if none of his prayers were heard
at all. Yet he did not let these temptations stop him
from praying even harder.
After twenty years in the desert, the holy man
worked his first miracle. Soon many people began
coming to his hut to beg his help. Several men asked
him to let them stay with him to learn from him how
to pray and do penance. In his great love for God and
people, the saint invited them to stay. But finally, when
he was sixty-five, he began to travel from one country
to another in search of peace and quiet. However,
the fame of his miracles of mercy always brought
crowds of visitors. A few years before his death in
371, Hilarion at last found the solitude he had been
searching for and felt that he was truly alone with
God. He was eighty years old when he died.
When we think that people and circumstances
get in the way of our relationship with God, we can
pray to St. Hilarion. He will show us how to find the
Lord, even when we also have to give our attention
to other people and things.
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October 22 |
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Blessed Timothy Giaccardo
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Joseph Giaccardo was born on June 13, 1896, in
Narzole, Italy. His parents were hardworking farmers.
Joseph acquired many good habits from them.
They loved their Catholic faith and passed it on to
their son. Joseph prayed to Jesus in the Eucharist
and to Mary. He had a little statue of Mary on a shelf
in his room.
Joseph served at Mass regularly. That is how he
met a young priest who came to help at St. Bernard’s
Church. The priest was about to begin a new religious
congregation, the Society of St. Paul. His name
was Father James Alberione. Joseph liked him very
much. Father Alberione was impressed with Joseph,
too. He guided Joseph in the spiritual life. The boy
entered the seminary in Alba to study for the priesthood.
In 1917, Joseph asked his bishop for permission
to leave the seminary. He wanted to join Father
Alberione’s new congregation, which had been started
three years earlier. The bishop reluctantly permitted
Joseph to enter the Society of St. Paul. Joseph professed
his vows in 1920. He chose the name
“Timothy,” after the best-loved disciple of St. Paul.
Father Timothy was ordained two years later, the first
priest in Father Alberione’s new congregation.
Father Timothy’s particular vocation as a Pauline
priest was to be a media apostle. He wrote, edited,
printed, and distributed the Word of God. He performed
many responsible tasks with courage and
humility. Some people did not understand the apostolates
of the Society of St. Paul and the Daughters of St.
Paul. They wondered how priests, brothers, and sisters
could be publishers. How could they use the media as
their tools for communicating the Good News? Father
Timothy helped people understand the marvelous
vocation of the Paulines. He also was a great teacher of
the priests and religious who were called to this new
apostolate. He served the Lord in northern Italy and in
Rome. He became Father Alberione’s closest associate.
In fact, Father Alberione called Blessed Timothy the
“most faithful of the faithful.” But he was not going to
be the founder’s successor, as Father Alberione had
hoped. Father Timothy became very ill with leukemia.
He died on January 24, 1948. He was proclaimed a
blessed by Pope John Paul II on October 22, 1990.
Here’s a prayer we can say to Blessed Timothy to
inspire us to be careful in choosing the media we
use: Blessed Timothy, may the books and magazines
I read, the programs I watch, the music I listen to,
and the games I play, lead me closer to Jesus. Help
me to avoid any media that I know is displeasing
to God. Amen.
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October 23 |
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St. John of Capistrano
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St. John of Capistrano was born in Italy in 1386. He
was a lawyer and the governor of the city of Perugia.
When enemies of the city threw John into prison, he
started to think about the real meaning of life. John’s
political enemies were not in a hurry to release him.
He had plenty of time to realize that what mattered
most was the salvation of his soul. So, when he was set
free, John entered a Franciscan monastery. He was
thirty at the time. For John, life as a poor friar was a big
change. He had to sacrifice his independence for the
love of Jesus. And he tried with all his heart to do this.
After he became a priest, John was sent out to
preach. He and his former novice master, St.
Bernardine of Siena, spread devotion to the Holy
Name of Jesus everywhere. John preached throughout
Europe for forty years. All who heard him were
moved to love and serve the Lord better.
An outstanding moment in the life of this saint
came at the battle of Belgrade. The Turks had made
up their minds to conquer Europe and to wipe out
the Church of Jesus. The pope sent St. John of
Capistrano to all the Christian kings of Europe to beg
them to unite to fight the mighty Turkish army. The
kings obeyed this poor, barefoot friar. He stirred up
their love of God and their courage with his fiery
words. Even though a big army of Christians came to
fight Mohammed II and his army, it looked as though
they would lose. The enemy army was much bigger.
Then it was that the saint himself, though he was seventy
years old, ran to the front lines and encouraged
the men to keep fighting. Holding his crucifix up
high, this thin, small old man kept crying, “Victory,
Jesus, victory!” And the Christian soldiers felt full of
more courage than ever. They fought until the enemy
ran away in fear. St. John of Capistrano died of the
plague a short time later, on October 23, 1456. He
was proclaimed a saint in 1690.
With the help of God, one person can do great
things. We can ask St. John of Capistrano to share
with us some of his enthusiasm and courage to do
what’s right.
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October 24 |
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St. Anthony Mary Claret
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Anthony was born in Spain in 1807. It was the
same year that Napoleon invaded that country.
Perhaps that was a hint of the exciting events that
would follow Anthony throughout his life. He
became a priest in 1835 and was assigned to his
home parish. For the next ten years, he preached
missions and retreats in Catalonia. Later he went to
the Canary Islands and worked in the missions for
about a year.
In 1849, Anthony started a new religious Order
called the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. They are known as Claretians. This Order is
dedicated to the work of preaching missions in
parishes.
Queen Isabella II of Spain thought highly of St.
Anthony. She suggested that he was the best person
to become archbishop of Santiago, Cuba. His apostolate
in Cuba turned out to be an exciting seven years.
Archbishop Anthony visited parishes, speaking out
against social evils, especially slavery. He blessed marriages
and baptized children. He was a reformer who
had enemies who opposed the changes he introduced.
He received death threats often, and was
wounded in an assassination attempt, but he did not
stop his wonderful work until he was recalled to
Spain in 1857.
During Anthony’s priesthood he was head of a
seminary in Madrid. He established the school of
St. Michael to foster the study of arts and literature,
and he even tried to start a school of agriculture.
Father Anthony was convinced of the power of the
printed word. He wrote 144 books and pamphlets,
and preached over 25,000 sermons! His best-known
book, The Right Way, has reached millions of people.
He went to Rome to attend Vatican Council I in 1869,
and he died in 1870. St. Anthony Mary Claret was
declared a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
St. Anthony Claret shows us how to have a missionary
heart. We can pray for people all over the
world, especially those who are suffering and poor.
We can also help bring the light of the Gospel to
other lands by giving some of our spending money
to the missions.
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October 25 |
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St. Richard Gwyn
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Richard was a Welshman who lived in the sixteenth
century. He was raised in the Anglican Church
and attended Oxford University and St. John’s College
in Cambridge. After completing his studies, he
returned to Wales and opened a school. He got married
and had six children. It was at this time that
Richard converted to the Catholic faith.
Wales was ruled by Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Many people in Wales were Catholic, but the queen
introduced many strict laws to enforce the Anglican
religion as the only one in her reign. Catholic priests
or people who were loyal to the Holy Father were
put in prison. They were often tortured and killed.
Before long, Richard was a hunted man. He
escaped from jail once, and the following year he was
arrested again. ”You will be freed,” he was told, ”if you
will give up the Catholic faith.” Richard absolutely
refused. He was brought to an Anglican church by
force. He upset the preacher’s whole sermon by
clanking his chains loudly in protest. Furious, the officials
put him in the stocks for eight hours, and many
people came to abuse and insult him.
More prison time and torture sessions followed.
The queen’s men wanted him to give them the
names of other Catholics, but Richard would not. At
his trial, men were paid to lie about him, as one of
them later admitted. The men on the jury were so
dishonest that they asked the judge whom he wanted
them to condemn. After Richard was sentenced to
death, his wife and baby were brought to court. ”Do
not imitate your husband,” the poor woman was told.
In disgust, she bravely snapped, “If you want more
blood, you can take my life with my husband’s. If you
give more money to your witnesses, they will surely
find something to say against me, too.”
As Richard was being martyred, he cried out
in terrible pain: “Holy God, what is this?” One of
the officials mockingly answered: “An execution of
her majesty, the queen.” “Jesus, have mercy on me!”
exclaimed the martyr. The beautiful religious poems
Richard wrote in prison are still in existence. In them,
he begged his countrymen of Wales to be loyal to the
Catholic faith. Richard died a martyr in 1584. He was
proclaimed a blessed by Pope Pius XI in 1929. In
1970, Pope Paul VI canonized him as one of the Forty
Martyrs of England and Wales.
We can greatly admire St. Richard for his bravery.
His willingness to suffer for what he believed in
was inspiring. Let’s ask St. Richard to make us as
strong in our convictions as he was.
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October 26 |
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The Eleven Martyrs of Almeria, Spain
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The Spanish Civil War began in 1936. It has been
described as a struggle between atheism and belief in
God. One particular object of persecution was the
Catholic Church. In three years, twelve bishops,
4,184 priests, 2,365 monks, and 300 nuns died for the
faith. Today we celebrate eleven of those martyrs:
two bishops, a diocesan priest, seven brothers of the
Christian Schools, and a young laywoman. The bishops
were from Almeria and Gaudix, Spain. The seven
brothers of the Christian Schools were teachers at St.
Joseph College in Almeria. Father Pedro Castroverde
was a well-known scholar and founder of the Teresian
Association. Victoria Diez Molina belonged to the
Teresians. She had found a spiritual treasure in the
way this group prayed and lived their Christian lives.
Victoria was a teacher in a country school and was
very active in her parish.
All eleven martyrs chose to die for Jesus rather
than give up their Catholic faith. Brother Aurelio
Maria, the director of St. Joseph College, said: ”What
happiness for us if we could shed our blood for the
lofty ideal of Christian education. Let us double our
fervor so as to become worthy of such an honor.”
Bishop Medina of Gaudix said: “We have done
nothing to deserve death. But I forgive you so that the
Lord will also forgive us. May our blood be the last
shed in Almeria.” Bishop Ventaja of Almeria had many
opportunities to flee the country. He chose instead
to remain with his suffering people, his suffering
Church. Father Castroverde, the Teresian founder,
wrote in his diary: ”Lord, may I think what you want
me to think. May I desire what you want me to desire.
May I speak as you want me to speak. May I work as
you want me to work.” He was killed on July 28, 1936.
Victoria Molina was jailed on August 11, 1936. She
and seventeen others were led to an abandoned
mineshaft and to their death. Victoria comforted the
others and said: ”Come on, our reward is waiting for
us.” Her last words were: ”Long live Christ the King!”
Pope John Paul II proclaimed these martyrs
blessed on October 10, 1993.
We can ask these eleven heroes of God to teach
us courage. We could make the prayer of Blessed
Pedro Castroverde our own: Lord, may I think what
you want me to think. May I desire what you want
me to desire .May I speak as you want me to speak.
May I work as you want me to work. Amen.
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October 27 |
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Blessed Contardo Ferrini
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Contardo was born in 1859 in Milan, Italy. His
father was a teacher of mathematics and physics and
passed on his love for study to his little son. As a young
man, Contardo could speak many languages besides
Italian. He did very well in every school and college he
went to. His great love for study and for his Catholic
faith made his friends nickname him their own “St.
Aloysius.” (St. Aloysius Gonzaga was a young Jesuit
saint known for the goodness and generosity of his
life.) It was Contardo who first started clubs for college
students to help them become good Christians.
When he was twenty-one, he was offered a
chance to continue his study of law at the University
of Berlin in Germany. It was hard for him to leave his
home in Italy, but he was happy to meet devout
Catholics at the university. He wrote down in a little
book what he felt the first time he received the
Sacrament of Reconciliation in a foreign land. It
thrilled him to realize that the Catholic Church is
really the same everywhere a person goes.
Contardo decided to live his life for God. Even
though he was very busy as a successful professor of
law, he was very active in helping the poor, and he
also devoted careful attention to his spiritual life. He
became a member of the Franciscan Third Order and
also joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society. While
enjoying his favorite sport of mountain climbing, he
would think of God, the Creator of all the beauty he
saw. People noticed that there was something different
about Professor Ferrini. Once, when he had
passed by with his usual warm smile, someone
exclaimed, ”That man is a saint!”
Contardo Ferrini died of typhoid fever on
October 17, 1902. He was only forty-three years old.
He was declared a blessed by Pope Pius XII in 1947.
It is important to the life of the Church that
every member do his or her part to bring about the
kingdom of God. This is not just the work of priests
and religious. Blessed Contardo can inspire us to
take our own place in the Church and do whatever
it is God may be calling us to do.
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October 28 |
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St. Simon and St. Jude
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These two apostles of Jesus are honored on the
same day. St. Simon was called “the zealous one”
because he had so much devotion to the Jewish law.
Once he had been called by the Lord to be an apostle,
he gave his heart and his energy to preaching the
Gospel. With the other apostles, he received the Holy
Spirit on the first Pentecost. Then it is believed that
he went to Egypt to preach the faith. Afterward, he
went to Persia with the apostle St. Jude, and the two
of them were martyred there.
St. Jude is sometimes called Thaddeus, which
means “the brave one.” He is known for the question
he asked the Lord at the Last Supper. Jesus had said:
“Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and
I will love him and reveal myself to him.” And St.
Jude wanted to know: ”Lord, how is it that you are
about to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus gave him the answer: ”Whoever loves me will
keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we
will come to him and make our dwelling with him”
(Jn 14:23).
St. Jude is sometimes called the saint of “desperate
or impossible cases.” People pray to him when things
seem hopeless. Often God answers their prayers
through the intercession of this beloved apostle.
These two apostles had unique and different
personalities, but each was greatly loved by the
Lord. We can ask St. Simon and St. Jude to show us
how to accept ourselves and use our gifts to help
spread Jesus’ message.
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October 29 |
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St. Narcissus
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Narcissus lived in the second and early part of the
third centuries. He was an old man when he was made
bishop of Jerusalem. Narcissus was an excellent bishop.
Everyone admired his virtues—everyone except
people who chose to live evil lives. Three enemies of
the saint accused him of a terrible crime. One said:
“May I die by fire if it is not true!” The second said:
“May I be wasted away by leprosy if it is not true!”
The third said: ”May I be struck blind if it is not true!”
Yet no one believed their lies. The people had seen
Narcissus’ good life. They knew the kind of person he
was.
Although no one believed the wicked story,
Narcissus felt it was a good reason for him to go off
to live in the desert. His whole trust was in God,
whom he had served so lovingly. After several years,
Narcissus returned to be bishop of Jerusalem, to the
great joy of his people. Although he was even older,
he seemed to be more zealous than ever. In fact, for
a few years, he seemed stronger than ever. Then he
became too weak to carry on alone. He asked
Alexander of Cappadocia, another great saint, to
assist him. With great love and zeal, they governed
the diocese together. Narcissus lived to be over 116
years old. He died in the year 215.
God never abandons those who trust in him. We
might worry over what people say about us. That’s
when we can ask St. Narcissus to teach us his secret
for remaining peaceful.
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October 30 |
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Blessed Angelo of Acri
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This saint was born in Acri, Italy, in 1669. As a
young man, he decided to devote his life to God in
the religious life. But he would meet with some obstacles
first. He tried to enter the Capuchin Order, but
was refused. Certain that he had a vocation, he tried
a second time, and again he was told he could not be
admitted. Angelo was not one to give up easily. He
put his faith in God and tried one more time to be
accepted as a Capuchin. He was finally accepted and
became a Capuchin at the age of twenty-one.
This seems to have been the pattern for his life.
After he was ordained, he began preaching, but had
little or no success. It seemed as though he wasn’t cut
out to be a preacher. But once again, Angelo put his
trust in God instead of himself. He kept trying. After
about ten years, he was sent to Naples during Lent,
1711. For the first time, his preaching was a success!
Many people came to hear him speak and were
deeply touched by his message.
For the rest of his life, he devoted himself to preaching
missions in Calabria and Naples. Crowds of people
came to listen to his words, and thousands were inspired
to turn their lives around because of what he
said. God gave Angelo not only the grace to preach well,
but also many supernatural gifts, including healing and
prophecy. Because of this, people came from far away to
listen to his sermons and to celebrate the Sacrament of
Reconciliation with him. He was able to read their souls
and give them just the right spiritual advice.
Blessed Angelo died in the Capuchin house at
Acri when he was seventy years old. He was beatified
in 1825.
Sometimes we’re ready to give up after one try.
Blessed Angelo can help us avoid becoming discouraged.
By praying to him, we can receive the
grace to trust more in God and less in ourselves. It’s
this combination of humility and faith that will
help us succeed.
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October 31 |
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St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
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This Spanish saint was born in 1532. When he
was fifteen, he was sent to study at the Jesuit
College in Alcala. When his father died, Alphonsus
had to leave school in order to help his mother run
the family wool business. Three years later, he got
married. He and his wife, Mary, were blessed with
two children, a boy and a girl. But a time of suffering
now came to Alphonsus. His business began to
fail, his wife and mother became very sick, and in a
short period of time his wife, children, and mother
passed away. Alphonsus began to think about what
God might have in mind for him. He had always
been a devout Christian. But from then on, he
prayed, did penance, and received the sacraments
more than ever before.
Alphonsus asked to be admitted into the Society
of Jesus. However, he was told that he must study
first. So he went back to school. Little boys made fun
of him. He had to beg for his food, because he had
given all his money to the poor. At last, he was
accepted as a lay brother and was made doorkeeper
at the Jesuit College in Majorca.
“That brother is not a man—he is an angel!” his
superior said of him years later. Priests who knew
him for forty years never heard him say or do anything
wrong. His kindness and obedience were
known to all. Once, all the chairs in the house, even
the chairs from the bedrooms, had been used for a
Forty Hours devotion. By mistake, Brother Alphonsus’
chair was not returned until the following year.
Yet he never mentioned the fact to anyone. He was
happy to do without a chair.
Many people came to Alphonsus for spiritual
advice. He inspired a young Jesuit named Peter Claver
to offer his life in the missions of Latin America. (We
celebrate the feast of St. Peter Claver on September 9.)
During his long life, St. Alphonsus had to conquer
very strong temptations. Besides that, he had physical
pains. Even as he lay dying, he spent a half hour in terrible
agony. Then, just before he died, he was filled
with peace and joy. He kissed his crucifix and looked
lovingly at his fellow religious. He died in 1617 with
the name of Jesus on his lips.
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez taught many lessons
with his life. One very important lesson is the way
he accepted all the events in his life from the loving
hands of God. He never lost hope. We can ask St.
Alphonsus Rodriguez to teach us how to trust.
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