Et
álibi
aliórum
plurimórum
sanctórum
Mártyrum
et Confessórum,
atque
sanctárum
Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас! (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!) R.
Deo
grátias. R.
Thanks be to God.
April is dedicated to devotion of the Holy Eucharist and to the Holy Spirit. 
202322,500 lives saved From 2007 to 2021 http://www.haitian-childrens-fund.org/ 
For the Son of man ... will repay
every man for what he has done.
From 2007 to 2021 18,040 lives saved We are the defenders of true freedom. May our witness unveil the deception of the "pro-choice" slogan. Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com , Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world It is a great poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish -- Mother Teresa Saving babies, healing moms and dads, 'The Gospel of Life. The Virgin I had defended, protected me A Marist Brother told this story: During the Spanish civil war, I heard a sergeant read an article from a magazine out loud that attacked the virginity of Mary. So I invoked Mary, "Mother, help me," and snatched the magazine from his hands. "This is a pack of lies and slander against the Virgin. Who are you?" The sergeant replied, "A peasant." And I said, "Listen, I’m sure there are things you don’t understand about farming; it’s the same water that waters plants; we add the same manure, but some plants are sweet and others bitter; some are one color, and others another color. And you, like the brute that you are, you understand religion even less!" The man became furious. He shouted, "You’re a priest!" I answered, "No, I'm a Catholic, and I’m willing to defend my religion with anyone." He retorted, "If you had told me this before (it was towards the end of the war) and we were alone, I would have killed you." Later, a Communist lieutenant told me, "We know you are a Marist brother, but you behave well with the most modest militiamen and poor people. You have been brave. So the officers and I have sworn to defend you against this sergeant..." They kept their word. The Virgin I had defended, protected me CAUSES OF SAINTS April Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com , Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world It is a great poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish -- Mother Teresa Saving babies, healing moms and dads, 'The Gospel of Life 
The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible. Totus
tuus (completely yours) Saint Louis Mary de Montfort
personal motto
“Mary is the fruitful Virgin, and in all the souls in which she comes to dwell she causes to flourish purity of heart and body, rightness of intention and abundance of good works. Do not imagine that Mary, the most fruitful of creatures who gave birth to a God, remains barren in a faithful soul. It will be she who makes the soul live incessantly for Jesus Christ, and will make Jesus live in the soul” (True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin). Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List Joyful Mystery on Monday Saturday Glorius Mystery on Sunday Wednesday Sorrowful Mystery on Friday Tuesday Luminous Mystery on Thursday Veterens of War Acts of the Apostles Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque How do I start the Five First Saturdays? Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary . Rejoice, Full of Grace April 27 - Our Lady of La Moreneta (Spain) Fr. Albert Enard, O.P., a French Dominican priest, suggested a modification of the present form of the Hail Mary. He proposed a new translation of the opening word of the Angel's greeting to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation (Lk 1: 28) to indicate that the angel's message is one of joy. The angel at the Annunciation said chaire: "rejoice" in St Luke's Gospel--translated into Latin as ave. In Latin, ave was a simple word of greeting. Consequently, all the Western European languages (dependent upon the Latin) translated ave as a simple word of greeting: Hail, Mary; Je vous salue Marie; Dios te salve Maria, etc. In 1969, a change in the wording of this popular prayer first occurred in Lourdes. "Rejoice" (réjouis-toi) began to be used as the opening words of Ave Maria. Four years later, as the French bishops submitted the texts of the Lectionary to the Congregation for Divine Worship; they requested that the word "Rejoice" (rejouis-toi) be retained in the official liturgical texts. However, their request was denied. "The reasons for the change," the congregation averred, "appear to be less weighty than the reasons for not changing the words of the Hail Mary which are so dear to the Christian people." Accordingly, all the English Lectionaries have retained the phrase Hail Mary. Meanwhile, Fr. Enard continued his work of showing that the angel's words were not simply words of greeting but a call to great joy. In 1983, his book Réjouis-toi Marie appeared with translations of the commentaries of Greek writers. The Akathist Hymn of the Byzantine Church is an extended meditation on the Annunciation scene, with the refrain "Rejoice, rejoice, o wedded virgin" repeated throughout. St Sophronias, patriarch of Jerusalem, commented, "What will the angel say to the blessed and pure Virgin? How will he communicate the great message? 'Rejoice, you have been filled with grace, the Lord is with you.' When he addressed her, he begins with joy, he who is the announcer of great joy." Adapted from an article written by Rev. Thomas A. Thompson, SM, The Marian Library Newsletter, Summer 2000 ed. In all He did from the Incarnation to the Cross, the end Jesus Christ had in mind was the gift of the Eucharist, his personal and corporal union with each Christian through Communion. He saw in It the means of communicating to us all the treasures of His Passion, all the virtues of His Sacred Humanity, and all the merits of His Life. -- St. Peter Julian Eymard April 27 – Our Lady of Montserrat (Spain) – Our Lady of Vilnius (Lithuania) It was a Saturday in 880 AD… On a Saturday in the year 880, in Montserrat,
province of Catalonia, Spain, some young shepherds saw a bright light
coming down from heaven, accompanied by a beautiful melody. The event
happened several times, until the bishop himself decided to see the occurrence
for himself. He arrived on the scene and saw the same light.
fr.rutamariana.com All the visions occurred in a cave on Montserrat mountain. When this cave was explored the people found a statue of the Madonna and Child. After trying to move the statue to a different location without any success, they thought it was God's will that the statue be venerated on the mountain of Montserrat. The first written mention and the historical origin of the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat dates from the year 888, when Count Velloso gave the hermitage of Saint Mary to the monastery of Ripoll. Then in 1025, the bishop in charge of the premises founded the monastery of Montserrat, which quickly became a shrine of national importance. Eventually, the current Romanesque church was built, and the statue of the Madonna and Child venerated today was carved. Mary's Divine Motherhood Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos). Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251. |
| 100 Simeon
der Bruder des Herrn 303 Anthimus of Nicomedia for his confession of the Christian faith BM (RM) Tarsi, in Cilícia, sanctórum Cástoris et Stéphani Mártyrum. 4th v. Saint Eulogius the Hospitable 368 Theodore the Sanctified miracles holy water as a sacramental Abbot (RM) 400 St Liberalis Priest worked to convert Arian heretics 427 St. Theophilus Bishop of Brescia Italy succeeded St. Gaudentius 470 ST ASICUS, OR TASSACH, BISHOP OF ELPHIN The Félire of Oengus commemorates St Asicus (on April 14) in these terms: “The royal bishop, Tassach, gave when he came unto him the body of Christ, the truly strong King, at the communion unto Patrick”. His feast is observed in all Ireland. 488 Saint Maughold of Man Irish prince reputedly captain of robbers converted by Patrick B (AC) 490 St Asicus Abbot-Bishop of Ireland Humble not believing worthy of the office disciple of St. Patrick 490 St Tertullian 8th Bishop of Bologna, Italy St Castor & Stephen 2 martyrs at Tarsus in Cilicia unknown 6th v. St Enoder abbot Grandson of Welsh chieftain Brychan of Brecknock 731 St Winewald Second abbot of Beverley monastery in England 746 St Floribert Bishop a man avid in correcting others of Liege Belgium 813 St John of Constantinople Abbot inveterate opposition to the destruction of icons 1094 Stephen Pechersky abbot of the monastery of the Caves in Kiev 1152 St Adelelmus Hermit founder disciple of St. Bernard of Thiron 1278 St Zita miraculus life daily Mass recite many prayers generous gifts of food to the poor visits to sick & prisoners heavenly visions variety of miracles 1304 Bl Peter Armengol twice went from Spain to Africa to redeem captives continued for 10 more years after being hung 1311 Blessed Antony de'Patrizi superior of hermit friars of Saint Augustine at Monticiano OSA (AC) 1485 Blessed James of Bitetto heroic humility; levitate during prayer; accurately predict the future; incorrupted body remains; many miracles 1565 Blessed Hosanna of Cattaro miracle child; several apparitions OP Tert. V (AC) 1597 Sancti Petri Canísii, Sacerdótis e Societáte Jesu et Confessóris atque Ecclésiæ Doctóris 1606 ST TURIBIUS, Archbishop of LIMA 1624 Blessed Mariana of Jesus life of penance O. Merc. V (AC) 1678 Blessed Nicolas Roland (AC) 1716 St. Louis Mary de Montfort promote genuine devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus and mother of the Church. Totus tuus(completely yours) was Louis's personal motto 1919 Blessed Maria Antonia Bandres y Elosegui (AC). |
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn
to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him" (Psalm 21:28)
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him" (Psalm 21:28)
100 Simeon der Bruder des HerrnOrthodoxe Kirche: 27. April Katholische Kirche: 18. Februar Nach Matth. 13, 55 und Mark. 6, 3 sind Jakobus, Josef bzw. Joses, Simon und Judas Brüder Jesu. Da die immerwährende Jungfräulichkeit Marias Geschwister Jesu von der gleichen Mutter ausschließt, gibt es zwei Erklärungen: Nach einer Überlieferung (insbesondere im katholischen Raum) sind die vier Geschwister Söhne des Kleopas, des Bruders Josephs; nach einer anderen Überlieferung sind sie Söhne Josephs aus einer ersten Ehe mit Solomonia (vgl. auch Anna). Simon (Simeon oder Symeon) begleitete Jesus und durfte ihn Bruder nennen. Origines und andere berichten, Simon sei der zweite Emmausjünger gewesen. Nach dem Tode seines Bruders Jakobus wurde Simon der zweite Patriarch von Jerusalem. Er starb in hohem Alter von 100 oder 120 Jahren unter Kaiser Trajan den Tod am Kreuz (als Todesjahr werden 98 und 107 angegeben). |
303
Anthimus of Nicomedia for his confession of the Christian faith BM (RM)Nicomedíæ natális sancti Anthimi, Epíscopi et Mártyris; qui in persecutióne Diocletiáni, ob confessiónem Christi, martyrii glóriam obtruncatióne cápitis accépit. Secúta est quoque illum univérsa ferme gregis sui multitúdo; quorum álios Judex gládio obtruncári, álios conflagrári ígnibus, álios, navículis impósitos, pélago immérgi fecit. At Nicomedia, during the persecution of Diocletian, the birthday of St. Anthimus, bishop and martyr, who obtained the glory of martyrdom by being beheaded for the faith. Nearly all his numerous flock followed him. The judge
ordered some to be beheaded, others to be burned alive, others to
be put in boats and sunk in the sea.
303 ST ANTHIMUS Bishop OF Nicomedia THE persecution under Diocletian and Maximian was waged, with particular ferocity at Nicomedia in Bithynia, where the emperors had a favourite residence. When the edict was first posted up, it was torn down by a Christian, moved by a zeal which Lactantius condemns but Eusebius commends. From that time the faithful could neither buy nor sell, draw water or grind corn without being called upon to offer incense to the gods.Eusebius, after relating that Anthimus the bishop was beheaded for confessing the Christian faith, states that an immense number of other martyrs perished also. He adds: “In those days, I do not know how, a fire broke out in the palace, and a false report was spread that we originated it. By the emperor’s’ orders all who were servants of God perished in masses, some by the sword, others by fire. A certain number of men and women, spurred on by an inexplicable divine inspiration, are said to have rushed into the blazing pyre. Innumerable others, bound and placed on rafts or planks, were drowned in the sea.”Nearly the whole of the Christian population proved faithful and won the crown of martyrdom. With St Anthimus are also sometimes associated eleven of his fellow-martyrs. See the Acts Sanctorum, April, vol. iii, where besides the allusions
of Eusebius and the martyrologies, there is printed a late Greek text
of the supposed Acts of St Anthimus. The unreliable legend of SS. Indes
and Domna speaks of letters addressed to these martyrs by St Anthimus,
but there is no reason to believe him to have been an author. Consequently
a curious fragment which Cardinal G. Mercati edited in Studi
e Testi, n. 5 (1901), and which purports to be part of a dissertation
“on the Holy Church” by St Anthimus, is not likely to be authentic. See
Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur,
vol. ii, pp. 333~334.
Born in Nicomedia, Bithynia; Bishop Anthimus of Nicomedia was beheaded under Diocletian for his confession of the Christian faith. His death was followed by a wholesale slaughter of the Christian communities in the area. In addition, life in the area was made unbearable for altars to the pagan gods were set up in every public place, including the courts and markets. Individuals were required to sacrifice in order to transact any type of business (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth). From the Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
From Lactantius, 1De Mortibus Persecut Ed, nov t. 2, p. 197;
Eusebeus, Hist. b 8,c. 4, 6; see Tillemont t 5APRIL XXVII. ST. ANTHIMOS, BISHOP, AND MANY OTHER MARTYRS AT NICOMEDIA. A.D. 303 These martyrs were the first victims offered to God in the bloodiest persecution raised by Dioclesian. That prince was a native of Dalmatia, of the basest extraction, and a soldier of fortune. After the death of the emperor Numerian, son of Carus, slain by a conspiracy in 284, he was proclaimed emperor by the army at Chalcedon. The year following he defeated Carinus, the other son of Carus, who reigned in the West: but finding the empire too unwieldy a body to govern alone, and secure himself at the same time against the continual treasons of the soldiery, especially the Pretorian guards who during the last three hundred years had murdered their emperors almost at pleasure; having moreover no issue male, and reposing an entire confidence in Maximian Herculeus, Dioclesian chose him for his partner in the empire, and honored him with the title of Augustus. He was a barbarian, born of obscure parents, at a village near Sirmium in Pannonia, of a cruel and savage temper, and addicted to all manner of wickedness. But was reckoned one of the best commanders of his time. The two emperors, alarmed at the dangers which threatened the empire on every side, and not thinking themselves alone able to oppose so many enemies at once, in 292 named each of them a Caesar, or emperor of an inferior rank, who should succeed them respectively in the empire, and jointly with them defend the Roman dominions against foreign invaders and domestic usurpers. Dioclesian chose Maximian Galerius for the East, who, before he entered the Roman army, was a peasant of Dacia; a man of a brutal ferocity, whose very aspect, gesture, voice, and discourse were all terrifying and who, besides his cruel disposition, was extremely bigoted to idolatry. Maximian Herculeus chose Constantius, surnamed Chlorus, for the West, an excellent prince and nobly born. The first years of the reign of Dioclesian were tolerably favorable to the Christians, though several even then suffered martyrdom by virtue of former edicts: But Galerius began to persecute them in the provinces within his Jurisdictions, by his own authority; and never ceased to stir up Dioclesian to do the like, especially in 302, when he passed the winter with him at Nicomedia. Dioclesian, however, appeared unwilling to come in all his violent measures, foreseeing that so much blood could not be spilled without disturbing the peace of the empire to a high degree. The oracle of Apollo at Miletus was therefore consulted, and gave such an answer as might have been expected from an enemy to the Christian religion. The same author in two places' relates another accident which contributed to provoke the emperor against the faith. While Dioclesian was offering victims at Antioch, in 302, in order to consult the entrails for the discovery of future events, certain Christian officers, who stood near his person, "made on their foreheads the immortal sign of the cross." This disturbed the sacrifices and confounded the aruspices, or diviners, who could not find the ordinary marks they looked for in the entrails of the victims, though they offered up many, one after another, pretending that the divinity was not yet appeased. But all their sacrifices were to no purpose, for no signs appeared. Upon which the person set over the diviners declared, that their rites did not succeed, because some profane persons, meaning the Christians, had thrust themselves into their assembly. Hereupon Dioclesian, in a rage, commanded that not only those who were present, but all the rest of his courtiers should come and sacrifice to their gods; and ordered those to be scourged who should refuse to do it. He also sent orders to his military officers to require all the soldiers to sacrifice, or, in case of refusal, to be disbanded. Another thing determined Dioclesian to follow these impressions, which one would have imagined should have had a quite contrary effect it is mentioned by Constantine the Great, who thus speaks in all edict directed to the whole empire, preserved by Eusebius. "A report was spread that Apollo
out of his dark cavern had declared, that certain just men on earth hindered
him from delivering true oracles, and were the cause that he had uttered falsehood.
For this reason he let his hair grow, as a token of his sorrow, and lamented
this evil among men, having hereby lost his art of divination. Thee
I attest, most high God. Thou knowest how I, being then very Young,
heard the emperor Dioclesian inquiring of his officers who these just men
were when one of his priests made answer, that they were the Christians;
which answer moved Dioclesian to draw his bloody sword, not to punish the
guilty, but to exterminate the righteous, whose innocence stood confessed
by the divinities he adored."
For beginning this work, choice was made the festival of the god Terminos, six days before the end of February, that month closing the Roman year before the correction of Julius Caesar, and when that feast was instituted. By this they implied that an end was to be put to our religion. Early in the morning the prefect, accompanied with some officers and others, went to the church; and having forced open the door, all the books of the scriptures that were there found were burned, and the spoil that was made, on that occasion was divided among all that were present. The two princes, who from a balcony viewed all that was done, (the church which stood upon, an eminence being within the prospect of the palace,) were long in debate whether they should order fire to be set to it. But in this Diocletian’s opinion prevailed, who was afraid that if the church was set on fire, the flames night spread themselves into the other parts of the city so that a considerable body of the guards were sent thither with mattocks and pickaxes, who in a few hours levelled that lofty building with the ground. The next day an edict was published, by which it was commanded that all the churches should he demolished the scriptures burnt, and the Christians declared incapable of all honors and employments, and that they should be liable to torture, whatever should be their rank and dignity. All actions were to be received against them, while they were put out of the protection of the law, and might not- sue either upon injuries done them, or debts owing to them deprived moreover of their liberties and their right of voting. This edict was not published in other places till a month later. But it had not been long set up, before a certain Christian of quality and eminence in that city, whom some have conjectured to be St. George, had the boldness publicly to pull down this edict, out of a zeal which Lactantius justly censures as indiscreet, but which Eusebeus considering his intention, styles divine. He was immediately apprehended, and after having endured the cruelest tortures, was broiled to death on a gridiron, upon a very slow fire: All which he suffered with admirable patience. The first edict was quickly followed by another, enjoining that the bishops should he seized in all places, loaded with chains, and compelled by torments to sacrifice to the idols. St. Anthimus was, in all appearance, taken on this occasion and Nicomedia, then the residence of the emperor, was filled with slaughter and desolation. But Galerius was not satisfied with the severity of this edict. Wherefore, in order to stir up Dioclesian to still greater rigors, he procured some of his own creatures to set fire to the imperial palace, some parts of which were burnt down and the Christians, according to the usual perverseness of the heathens, being accused of it, as Galerius desired and expected, this raised a most implacable rage against them. For it was given out, that they had entered into consultation with some of the eunuchs, for the destruction of their princes, and that the two emperors were well-nigh burnt alive in their own palace. Dioclesian, not in the least suspecting the imposture, gave orders that all his domestics and dependents should be cruelly tortured in his presence, to oblige them to confess the supposed guilt, but all to no purpose; for the criminals lay concealed among the domestics of Galerius, none of whose families were put to the torture. A fortnight after the first burning, the palace was set on fire a second time, without any discovery of the author; and Galerius, though in the midst of winter, left Nicomedia the same day, protesting that he went away through fear of being burnt alive by the Christians. The fire was stopped before it had done any great mischief, but it had the effect intended by the author of it. For Dioclesian, ascribing it to the Christians, resolved to keep no measures with them and his rage and resentment being now at the highest pitch, he vented them with the utmost cruelty upon the innocent Christians, beginning with his daughter Valeria, married to Galerius, and his own wife, the empress Prisca, whom, being both Christians, he compelled to sacrifice to idols. The reward of their apostasy was, that after an uninterrupted series of grievous afflictions, they were both publicly beheaded, by the order of Licinius, in 313, when he extirpated the families of Dioclesian and Maximian. Some of the eunuchs that were in the highest credit, and by whose directions the affairs of the palace had been conducted before this edict, having long presided in his courts amid councils, were the first victims of his rage and they bravely suffered the most cruel torments and death for the faith. Among these were SS Peter, Gorgonios, Dorotheus, Indus, Migdonius, Mardonius and others. The persecution, which began in the palace, fell next on the clergy of Nicomedia. St. Anthimus, the good bishop of that city, was cut off the first, being beheaded for the faith, he was followed by all the priests and interior ministers of his church, with all those persons that belonged to their families. From the altar the sword was turned against the laity. Judges were appointed in the temples to condemn to death all who refused to sacrifice and torments till then were unheard were invented. And that no man might have the benefit of the law than was not a heathen, altars were erected in the very courts of justice, and in the public offices, that all might be obliged to offer sacrifice, before they could be admitted to plead. Eusebius adds, that the people were not suffered to buy or sell anything, to draw water, grind their corn, or transact any business, without first offering up incense certain idols set up it market-places, at the corners of the streets, at the public fountains, &c. But the tortures which were invented, and the courage with which the holy martyrs laid down their lives for Christ, no words can express. Persons of every age and sex were burnt, not singly one by one, but, on account of their numbers, whole companies of them were burnt together, by setting fire round about them while others, being tied together in great numbers, were cast into the sea. The Roman Martyrology commemorates, on the 27th of April all that suffered on this occasion at Nicomedia. The month following, these edicts were published in the other parts of the empire and in April two new ones were added, chiefly regarding the clergy in the beginning of the year 301, a fourth edict was issued out, commanding all Christians to be put to death who should refuse to renounce their faith. Lactantius describes how much the governors made it their glory to overcome one Christian by all sorts of artifice and cruelty. For the devil, by his instruments, sought not so much to destroy the bodies of the servants of God by death, as their souls by sin. Almost the whole empire seemed a deluge of blood; in such abundance did its streams water, or rather in the provinces. Constantius himself, though a just prince, and a lover of the Christians, was not able to protect Britain, where he commanded, from the first fury of this storm. The persecutors flattered themselves they had extinguished the Christian name, and boasted as much it, public inscriptions, two of which are still extant. But God by this very means increased his church, and the persecutors' sword fell upon their own heads. Dioclesian, intimidated by the power and threats of this very favorite Galerius, resigned to him the purple at Nicomedia, on the first of April, in 304. Herculeus made the like abdication at Milan. But the persecution was carried on in the East by their successors ten years longer, till, in 313, Licinius having defeated Maxiininus Daia, the nephew and successor of Galerius, joined with Constantine in a league in favor of Christianity. Dioclesian had led a private life in his own country, Dalmatia, near Salone, where now Spalatro stands, in which city stately ruins of his palace are pretended to be shown. When Herculeus exhorted him to reassume the purple, he answered “If you had seen the herbs, which with my own hands have planted at Salone, you would not talk to me of empires.'' But this philosophic temper was only the effect of cowardice and fear. He lived to see his wife and daughter put to death by Licinius, and the Christian religion protected by law in 313. Having received a threatening letter from Constantine and Licinius, in which he was accused of having favored Maxentius and Maximius against them, he put an end to his miserable life by poison, as Vicier writes. Lactantius says that seeing himself despised by the whole world, he was in a perpetual uneasiness, and could neither eat nor sleep. He was heard to sigh and groan continually and was seen often to weep, and to be tumbling sometimes on his bed and sometimes on the ground. His colleague Maximian Herculeus, thrice attempted to resume the purple, and even snatched it from his own son Maxentius, and at length in despair hanged himself in 310. Miserable also was the end of all their persecuting successors, Maxentius, the son of Herculeus, in the West, and of Galerius and his nephew Maximius Daia, in the West. No Less visible was the hand of God in punishing the authors of the foregoing general persecutions, as is set forth by Lactantius, in a valuable treatise entitled, On the Death of the Persecutors. Thus, while the martyrs gained immortal crowns, and virtue triumphed by the means of malice itself, God usually, even in this world, began to avenge his injured justice in the chastisement, of his enemies. Though it is in eternity that the distinction of real happiness and misery will appear. There all men will clearly see that the only advantage in life is to die well: all other things are of very small importance. Prosperity or adversity, honor or disgrace, pleasure or pain, disappear and are lost in eternity. Then will men entirely lose sight of those vicissitudes which here so often alarmed, or so strongly affected them. Worldly greatness and abjection, riches and poverty, health and sickness, will then seem equal, or the same thing. The use which everyone has made of all these things will make the only difference. The martyrs having eternity always present, and placing all their joy and all their glory in the divine will and love, ran cheerfully to their crowns, contemning the blandishments of the world, and regardless even of tortures and death. |
|
Tarsi, in Cilícia,
sanctórum Cástoris et Stéphani Mártyrum.
At Tarsus in Cilicia, the Saints Castor and Stephen, martyrs. St. Castor & Stephen 2 martyrs at Tarsus in Cilicia unknown They were possibly the martyrs listed in the preceding entry. Castor and Stephen MM (RM) Date unknown. Castor and Stephen suffered martyrdom at Tarsus in Cilicia in one of the early persecutions. They may be identical to Saints Castor and Dorotheus (Benedictines). |
| 4th v. Saint Eulogius
the Hospitable lived during the fourth century
in the Thebaid. He served the Lord by offering hospitality to wanderers (Mark 9:41). |
| 368 Theodore the Sanctified;
miracles holy water as a sacramental Abbot (RM) In Ægypto sancti Theodóri Abbátis, qui fuit discípulus sancti Pachómii. In Egypt, St. Theodore, abbot, who was a disciple of St. Pachomius. (also known as Theodore of Tabenna) Died April 27, c. 368; feast day in the East is May 16. Saint Theodore was a disciple of Saint Pachomius, whom he succeeded as abbot of Tabennisi and superior general of the whole "congregation." One of his miracles provides an early example of the efficacy of holy water as a sacramental (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia) 368 ST THEODORE THE SANCTIFIED,
ABBOT many miracles
St Pachomius
died in 346, and Petronius, whom he had declared his successor, died
thirteen days after him. St Orsisius was then chosen abbot, but finding
the burden too heavy for his shoulders and the group of monasteries
threatened with rising factions, he placed St Theodore in charge. He assembled
the monks, exhorted them to unanimity, inquired into the cause of the
divisions and applied effectual remedies. By his prayers and endeavours
union and charity was restored. SUCH was the glory which the Church received in the fourth and fifth centuries from the light of the monastic order which then shone in the deserts of Egypt that Theodoret and Procopius apply to the state of these holy recluses those passages of the prophets in which it is said of the age of the new law of grace that, "The wilderness shall rejoice and shall flourish like the lily; it shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise" (Isaias xxxv 1, 2, etc.).One of the most eminent among these saints was the abbot Theodore, disciple of St Pachomius. He was born in the Upper Thebaid about the year 314, of wealthy parents, and when he was between eleven and twelve years of age, on the feast of the Epiphany, he gave himself to God with precocious fervour, determining that he would never prefer anything to the divine love and service. Eventually the reputation of St Pachomius drew him to Tabenna, where he appeared among the foremost in promise of his followers, and Pachomius made him his companion when he made the visitation of his monasteries. Pachomius had him promoted to the priesthood and committed to him the government of Tabenna, shutting himself up in the little monastery of Pabau. St Theodore visited the monasteries one after the other, and instructed, comforted and encouraged every monk in particular, correcting faults with a sweetness which gained the heart. He wrought several miracles, and foretold things to come. Being one day in a boat on the Nile with St Athanasius, he assured him that his persecutor, Julian the Apostate, was that moment dead in Persia and that his successor would restore peace to him and the Church: both of which were soon confirmed. One of St Theodore's miracles provides an early example of the use of blessed water as a sacramental for the healing of body and soul. The story is told by a contemporary -- St Ammon. A man came to the monastery at Tabenna, asking St Theodore to come and pray over his daughter, who was sick. Theodore was not able to go, but reminded the man that God could hear his prayer wherever they were offered. To which the man replied that he had not a great faith, and brought a silver vessel of water, asking the monk that he would at least invoke the name of God upon that so it might be as a medicine for her. Then Theodore prayed and made the sign of the cross over the water, and the man took it home. He found his daughter unconscious, so he forced open her mouth and poured some of it down her throat. And by virtue of the prayer of St Theodore the girl was saved and recovered her health. It is related that once while St Theodore was giving a conference to his monks, who were working at the same time making mats, two vipers crawled about his feet from under a stone. So as not to interrupt himself or disturb his audience he set his foot upon them till he had finished his discourse. Then taking away his foot he let them be killed, having received no harm. One of his monks happening to die on Holy Saturday in 368, Theodore went to assist him in his last moments, and said to those that were present, "This death will shortly be followed by another which is little expected". At the close of the week St Theodore made a customary discourse to his monks, for it was their custom to meet all together in the monastery of Pabau for the celebration of Easter, and had no sooner dismissed them to their own monasteries than he was taken ill, and died peacefully on April 27. His body was carried to the top of the mountain, and buried in the cemetery of the monks there, but it was soon removed and laid with that of St Pachomius. St Athanasius wrote to the monks of Tabenna to comfort them for the loss of their abbot, and bids them have before their eyes the glory of which he was then possessed. Such information as was available in the seventeenth century concerning the history of St Theodore will be found collected in the account of St Pachomius which was published in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. A number of new texts have come to light, mostly in Coptic, or in translations from Coptic sources: see the bibliography given herein under St Pachomius (May 9). But for the life of St Theodore the Epistola Ammonis is especially important: it is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii, pp. 63-71. For English readers much may be learnt from H. G. Evelyn White, The Monasteries of the Wadi n'Natrun, pt ii, but heed must be paid also to the criticisms published thereon by P. Peeters in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. li (1933), pp. 152-157. The Greeks commemorate this saint in May, and the Roman Martyrology formerly on December 28, but in the latest editions he is named on the date of his death, April 27. |
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400 St. Liberalis Priest
worked to convert Arian heretics
who worked to convert the Arians and was persecuted in turn in Ancona, Italy. His relics are in Treviso. Liberalis of Ancona (AC) Father Liberalis worked zealously in the district around Ancona to convert the Arians and, of course, he suffered much at their hands. His relics are enshrined at Treviso (Benedictines). |
| 427 St. Theophilus
Bishop of Brescia Italy succeeded St. Gaudentius. Bríxiæ sancti Theóphili Epíscopi. At Brescia, St. Theophilus, bishop. He succeeded St. Gaudentius in this holy office. Theophilus of Brescia B (RM) Died after 427. Bishop of Brescia and successor to Saint Gaudentius (Benedictines). |
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470 ST ASICUS, OR TASSACH, BISHOP OF ELPHIN The Félire of Oengus commemorates St Asicus (on April 14) in these terms: “The royal bishop, Tassach, gave when he came unto him the body of Christ, the truly strong King, at the communion unto Patrick”. His feast is observed in all Ireland. ST Asicus (Tassach) is the principal patron of Elphin in County Roscommon, and is traditionally regarded as having been the first bishop of that diocese. From some of the early lives of St Patrick it appears that he was one of the great apostle’s earliest disciples in Ireland, that he was married, and that he was a clever brass worker or copper smith.He was placed over the church of Elphin but it is uncertain whether he became a bishop before or after the death of St Patrick. According to one account he resigned his see because he had told an untruth, according to another he presided over an episcopal seminary or monastery; in any case he seems to have failed as a ruler, and he fled to the island of Rathlin O’Birne in Donegal Bay, where he lived in solitude for seven years. When his monks found him and took him back, he died on the way at Raith Cungi, or Racoon. The Félire of Oengus commemorates St Asicus (on April 14) in these terms: “The royal bishop, Tassach, gave when he came unto him the body of Christ, the truly strong King, at the communion unto Patrick”. His feast is observed in all Ireland. There seems
to be no proper biography of Asicus, but he is mentioned more than
once in Tirechan’s collections in the Book of Armagh and
in the Tripartite Life of St Patrick. See also references in J. Ryan’s
Irish Monasticism (1931) and O’Hanlon, LIS.,
vol. iv, pp. 406 seq.
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488 Saint Maughold
of Man; Irish prince, reputedly captain of robbers, converted by
Patrick B (AC)
(also known as Macaille, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machella, Maghor, Maccul) feast day formerly December 28. 498 ST MAUGHOLD, OR MACCUL, BISHOP OF MAN IT is from some of the early lives of St Patrick that we derive the little we know of St Maccul, or Maughold. A bloodthirsty and wicked freebooter, he was converted by the apostle of Ireland. As a penance, and to cut him off from his evil associates, St Patrick bade him leave his native land, and he embarked alone, without rudder or oars, in a leather-covered coracle which bore him to the shores of the Isle of Man. Two missionaries had already been sent there by St Patrick, and they gave a kindly reception to the new-comer, who, until their death, led an austere penitential life in that part of the island which afterwards adopted his name. He is said to have been chosen bishop by the general consent of the Manx people and to have done much by his example and labours to extend the Church of Christ in this land. To him is attributed the division of the diocese into seventeen parishes. His feast is kept in the archdiocese of Liverpool, which includes Man. The name of
this saint is very variously written. He is mentioned (under April
25) in the Félire of Oengus as “a rod of
gold, a vast ingot, the great Bishop MacCaille”. Forbes in KSS, p. 380,
gives a notice of him under “Machalus”. See also O’Hanlon, LIS., vol.
iv, p. 478.
Saint Maughold was an Irish prince and reputedly a captain of robbers who was converted by Patrick. Upon his conversion, he became a new man by putting on the spirit of Christ. One version of the legend says that Patrick told him to put to sea in a coracle without oars as a penance for his evil deeds. Another says that he set sail in order to avoid the temptations of the world. In both stories, he retired to the Isle of Man (Eubonia) off the coast of Lancashire, England. Earlier Patrick had sent his nephew, Saint Germanus, as bishop to plant the Church on the island. Germanus was succeeded by Saints Romulus and Conindrus during whose time Maughold arrived on the island and began to live an austere, penitential life in the mountainous area now named after him Saint Maughold. After their deaths, Maughold was unanimously chosen as bishop by the Manks. In one of the 18 parish churchyards on the island can be found Saint Maughold's well. The very clear water of the well is received in a large stone coffin. Those seeking cures of various ailments, particularly poisoning, are seated in the saint's chair just above the well and given a glass of well-water to drink. Maughold's shrine was here until the relics were scattered during the Reformation. Maughold, commemorated in both the British and Irish calendars, is described in the Martyrology of Oengus as "a rod of gold, a vast ingot, the great bishop MacCaille." Many topological features on the Isle of Man, which he divided into 25 parishes, bear Maughold's name. A church at Castletown, Scotland, is dedicated to him. William Worcestre said that he was a native of the Orkneys, and that his shrine was on the Isle of Man (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth, Montague). |
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490 St. Asicus Abbot-Bishop
of Ireland Humble accomplished coppersmith not believing worthy of
the office disciple of St. Patrick
also called Ascicus and Tassach. Asicus was a coppersmith and was married when he first met St. Patrick. In time he was made the first abbot-bishop of Elphim Monastery in Roscommon, Ireland. Humble and not believing he was worthy of the office, Asicus went to an island in Donegal Bay, where he resigned his rank and became a hermit. After seven years the monks of Elphin found him and persuaded him to return to the monastery. He died at Raith Cungilor on the return journey. Asicus of Elphin B (AC) (also known as Assicus, Assic, Tassach) Died c. 470-490. Saint Asicus, an accomplished coppersmith, was one of the earliest disciples of Saint Patrick. When Patrick established the diocese of Elphin, County Mayo, in 450, he appointed Asicus as its first bishop. He is now venerated as the patron of the diocese, and his feast is kept throughout Ireland. Some remarkable specimens of his handicraft are extant. There is confusion between this saint and Tassach, which suggests that they may be the same person. They were both skilled metal workers, their names are similar, and they died the same year (Attwater2, Benedictines, Montague). |
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490 St. Tertullian 8th Bishop of Bologna, Italy. Bonóniæ sancti Tertulliáni, Epíscopi et Confessóris. At Bologna, St. Tertullian, bishop and confessor. No details concerning the programs of his ministry are available. Tertullian of Bologna B (RM) Died c. 490. Eighth bishop of Bologna (Benedictines). |
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6th v. St. Enoder abbot
Grandson of Welsh chieftain Brychan of Brecknock
6th century also called Cnydr, Keneder, and Quidic. There
is considerable dispute as to his identity, as he could be St. Enoder
or Enodoc of Cornwall, England. Llangynidir of Powys wrote of him. Enoder
was an abbot.
Enoder, Abbot (AC) (also known as Cynidr, Keneder, Quidic) 6th century. Saint Enoder is said to be one of the grandsons of the prolific Welsh chieftain, Brychan. He may be identical to Saint Enodoch. Enoder's memory is perpetuated by Llangynidr in Brecknockshire, and possibly Saint Enoder or Enodoc in Cornwall (Benedictines). |
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731 St. Winewald Second
abbot of Beverley monastery in England
Winewald + Second abbot of Beverley monastery in England succeeding St. Berchtun. He was successful in his efforts to make Beverley a center for English cultural and spiritual growth. Winebald of Beverley, OSB Abbot (AC) (also known as Winewald)Saint Winebald succeeded Saint Bercthun as abbot of Beverley (Benedictines). |
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746 St. Floribert
Bishop a man avid in correcting others of Liege , Belgium
746 ST FLORIBERT, BISHOP OF LIÉGE THE parents of St Floribert were St Hubert and his wife Floribane who died at the birth of her son. Nothing is known of his earlier years, a tradition that he was abbot of Stavelot and of St Peter’s, Ghent, being almost certainly based on confusion between him and some of his namesakes. He succeeded Hubert as bishop of Liege, which he ruled for eighteen years. He enshrined the bodies of his father, of his great-aunt St Oda and of St Landoaldus and his companions. The saint is described as a man of great humility, a lover of the poor, and “vehement in correcting”. A short
account of St Floribert, compiled from various sources, is printed
in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. iii, under
April 25. There seems to be no formal biography of early date. cf. Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux,
vol. iii, p. 192.
The son of St. Hubert and Floribane, who died giving him birth. He succeeded his father in 727 and was described as a man avid in correcting others. Floribert of Liége B (AC) Floribert is often confused with the abbot of Ghent who bears the same name. This bishop is described as "vehement in correcting" (Attwater2, Benedictines). |
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813 St. John of Constantinople
Abbot; inveterate opposition to the destruction of icons
Constantinópoli sancti Joánnis Abbátis, qui pro cultu sacrárum Imáginum, sub Leóne Isáurico, plúrimum decertávit. At Constantinople, the abbot St. John, who valiantly defended the veneration of sacred images, under Leo the Isaurian. of Constantinople. He was exiled by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo III the Armenian because of his inveterate opposition to the destruction of icons. John of Constantinople, Abbot (RM) Died 813. Abbot Saint John governed Cathares Abbey in Constantinople. For his staunch defense of the veneration of images, he was imprisoned and exiled by the iconoclastic Emperor Leo the Armenian (Benedictines). |
1094
Stephen Pechersky abbot of the monastery of the Caves in Kiev B1094 ST STEPHEN PECHERSKY, BISHOP OF VLADIMIR THIS Stephen was a disciple of St Theodosius at the monastery of the Caves at Kiev. He absorbed so much of the spirit of his master and walked so closely in his footsteps that when Theodosius died in the year 1074, Stephen was unanimously chosen to take his place at the head of the community. Hitherto he had been engaged in such offices as those of sacristan and precentor, for he was skilled in singing and knowledge of the rites of worship, and one of his first undertakings was to finish building the church which St Theodosius had begun. But after only four years St Stephen was displaced, for what reason is not known. Thereupon he established a new community at Klov, conducting it on the principles he had learned from St Theodosius. This monastery was known as the Blakhernae, from the dedication of its church in honour of our Lady of Blakhernae (a famous shrine church in Constantinople). St Stephen became bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia in 1091, and died only three years later, leaving a great reputation for the holiness of his life. From Martynov’s
Annus ecclesiasticus Graeco-Slavicus in Acta Sanctorum, October, xi.
Before the death of St Theodosius the monks asked him to appoint St Stephen as Igumen, who was the domesticus (chief arranger for the choir). "He grew up under your instruction," they said, "and he served you. Give him to us." So St Theodosius transferred the guidance of the monastery to St Stephen. During his tenure as Superior, he laid the foundations of a spacious church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, begun under St Theodosius. The cells of the brethren were moved near the new church. At the front of the place there were several cells for monks who were entrusted with burying the dead. They served the Divine Liturgy each day, and also commemorated the dead. In 1078 St Stephen was removed from office and driven from the monastery through the malice of an evil monk. He endured his meekly and without bitterness, and continued to pray for those who had turned against him. St Stephen learned that master builders had come from Greece with an icon of the Theotokos, and they told him of the appearance of the Heavenly Queen at Blachernae. Because of this, St Stephen also built a church at Klovo in honor of the Theotokos (in memory of the Placing of Her Robe at Blachernae). The monastery was founded in thanksgiving for solicitude of the Most Holy Theotokos for the Caves monastery. In 1091 St Stephen was made Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia, and he participated in the transfer of the relics of St Theodosius from the cave to the monastery (August 14). He also labored to convert the inhabitants of Volhynia to Christianity. St Stephen died on April 27, 1094
during the sixth hour of the night.
Saint Stephen, a disciple of
Saint Theodosius, became
abbot of the monastery of the Caves in Kiev upon the death of its founder.
Later he built Blakhernae Monastery at Klov. In 1091, Stephen was consecrated
bishop of Vladimir (Attwater2).
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1152 St. Adelelmus Hermit
founder disciple of St. Bernard of Thiron
Adelelmus was born in Flanders, Belgium. He founded the monastery of Etival-en-Charnie. Adelelmus of Flanders, Hermit (PC) Born in Flanders; died 1152. Saint Adelelmus was a disciple of Saint Bernard of Thiron. He founded the monastery of Etival-en-Charnie (Benedictines). |
1278
St. Zita; miraculus lif,e daily Mass recite many prayers, generous
gifts of food to the poor visits to sick & prisoners heavenly,
visions credited with a variety of miracles patroness of domestic workersLucæ, in Túscia, beátæ Zitæ Vírginis, virtútum et miraculórum fama conspícuæ. At Lucca in Tuscany, blessed Zita, a virgin renowned for virtues and miracles. 1278 ST ZITA, VIRGIN IT was in a humble household, as pious as it was poor, that St Zita, the patroness of domestic workers, first saw the light. Her parents were devout Christians, her elder sister afterwards became a Cistercian nun, and her uncle Graziano was a hermit who was locally regarded as a saint. As for Zita herself, it was enough for her mother to say to the child, “This is pleasing to God” or “That would displease God”, to ensure her immediate obedience. At the age of twelve, she went to be a servant at Lucca, eight miles from her native village of Monte Sagrati, in the house of Pagano di Fatinelli, who carried on a wool and silk-weaving business. From the outset she formed the habit of rising during the night for prayer and of attending daily the first Mass at the church of San Frediano. The good food with which she was provided she would distribute to the poor, and more often than not she slept, on the bare ground, her bed having been given up to a beggar. For some years she had much to bear from her fellow servants, who despised her way of living, regarded her industry as a silent reproach to themselves, and resented her open abhorrence of evil suggestions and foul language. They even succeeded for a time in prejudicing her employers against her. But she bore all her trials uncomplainingly. After a man-servant had made dishonorable advances from which she had defended herself by scratching his face, she made no attempt to explain or justify her action when her master inquired the cause of the man’s disfigurement. Gradually her patience overcame the hostility of the household, and her master and mistress came to realize what a treasure they possessed in Zita. Her work indeed was part of her religion. In after life she was wont to say, “A servant is not good if she is not industrious: work-shy piety in people of our position is sham piety.” The children of the family were committed to her care, and she was made housekeeper. One day the master suddenly expressed his intention of inspecting the stock of beans, for which he thought he could obtain a good sale. Every Christian family in that land and at that period gave food to the hungry, but Zita, as she acknowledged to her mistress, had been led by pity to make considerable inroads on the beans, and Pagano had a violent temper. She could but tremble in her shoes and send up an earnest prayer to Heaven. But no diminution could be detected in the store: that it had been miraculously replenished seemed the only possible explanation. On another occasion when she had unduly protracted her devotions, forgetting that it was baking day, she hurried home to find that she had been forestalled: a row of loaves had been prepared and lay ready to be placed in the oven. One bitterly cold Christmas eve when Zita insisted upon going to church, her master threw his fur coat over her, bidding her not to lose it. In the entrance to San Frediano she came upon a scantily clad man, whose teeth were chattering with the cold. As he laid an appealing hand upon the coat, Zita immediately placed it upon his shoulders, telling him that he might retain it until she came out of church. When the service was over, neither the man nor the coat were anywhere to be seen. Crestfallen, Zita returned home to encounter the reproaches of Pagano, who was naturally extremely annoyed at so serious a loss. He was about to sit down to his Christmas dinner a few hours later, when a stranger appeared at the door of the room, bearing on his arm the fur coat which he handed to Zita. Master and maid eagerly addressed him, but he disappeared from their sight as suddenly as he had come, leaving in the hearts of all who had seen him a wonderful celestial joy. Since that day the people of Lucca have given the name of “The Angel Door” to the portal of San Frediano in which St Zita met the stranger. In time Zita became the friend and adviser of the whole house, and the only person who could cope with the master in his rages; but the general veneration with which she was regarded embarrassed her far more than the slights she had had to bear in her earlier years. On the other hand, she found herself relieved of much of her domestic work and free to visit to her heart’s content the sick, the poor and the prisoners. She had a special devotion to criminals under sentence of death, on whose behalf she would spend hours of prayer. In such works of mercy and in divine contemplation she spent the evening of her life. She died very peacefully, on April 27, 1278. She was sixty years of age and had served the same family for forty-eight years. The body of St Zita lies in the church of San Frediano at Lucca, which she had attended so regularly for the greater part of her life. The principal
source is the biography by Fatinellus de Fatinellis printed in the
Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. iii; but there are many
lives of more recent date, notably that of Bartolommeo Fiorito in 1752,
and in quite modem times those of Toussaint (1902) and Ledochowski (1911).
See also the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlviii
(1930), pp. 229—230.
St. Zita was born into a poor but holy Christian family. Her older sister became a Cistercian nun and her uncle Graziano was a hermit whom the local people regarded as a saint. Zita herself always tried to do God's will obediently whenever it was pointed out to her by her mother. At the age of twelve Zita became a housekeeper in the house of a rich weaver in Lucca, Italy, eight miles from her home at Monte Sagrati. As things turned out, she stayed with that family for the last forty-eight years of her life. She found time every day to attend Mass and to recite many prayers, as well as to carry out her household duties so perfectly that the other servants were jealous of her. Indeed, her work was part of her religion! She use to say: "a servant is not holy if she is not busy; lazy people of our position is fake holiness." At first, her employers were upset by her generous gifts of food to the poor, but in time, they were completely won over by her patience and goodness and she became a very close friend. St. Zita was given a free reign over her working schedule and busied herself with visits to the sick and those in prison. Word spread rapidly in Lucca of her good deeds and the heavenly visions that appeared to her. She was sought out by the important people, and at her death in 1278 the people acclaimed her as a saint. She is the patroness of domestic workers. St. Zita Zita (1218-1272) + Servant and miracle worker. Born at Monte Sagrati, Italy, she entered into the service of the Fratinelli family, wool dealers in Lucca, at the age of twelve. Immediately disliked by the other servants for her hard work and obvious goodness, she earned their special enmity because of her habit of giving away food and clothing to the poor including those of her employers. In time, she won over the members of the household. According to one tradition, the other servants were convinced when one day they found an angel taking Zita's place in baking and cleaning. Throughout her life she labored on behalf of the poor and suffering as well as criminals languishing in prisons. She was also credited with a variety of miracles. Canonized in 1696, she is the patroness of servants and is depicted in art with a bag and keys, or loaves of bread and a rosary. Zita of Lucca V (RM) (also known as Sitha, Citha) Born at Monte Sagrati, near Lucca, Tuscany, Italy; died in Lucca on April 27, 1278; liturgical cultus permitted locally by Leo X (early 16th century); canonized in 1696; name added to the Roman Martyrology in 1748 by Benedict XIV. For two hundred years before
and after the crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas
Day in 800 AD, female saints were obscured by time and circumstance.
Thereafter, in the Age of Mysticism from about 1000
to 1500, we witness the re-emergence of saintly female mystics, such
as Hildegard and Catherine of Siena.
Christian mysticism is an endeavor to reach a knowledge of and union with God directly and experientially. The mystic renounces his senses and the images they offer of God, seeking instead to wander down a negative road. Often, this type of contemplative prayer leads to abnormal psychic states that culminate in ecstasy, which is sanctified when perfectly united with God. The individuals who reach this state normally exhibit extraordinary self-knowledge and become fully free, unique human beings. The heightened mystical sense also leads to an ever more passionate love of God. As will be shown frequently in these biographies of the saints, the mystical life in no way conflicts with the duties of any Christian state of life: married (e.g., Francis of Rome), avowed celibate (Saint Teresa of Avila), or domestic servant. Saint Zita was born in a mountain village near Lucca into a very devout family. Her elder sister became a Cistercian nun and her uncle, Graziano, was a hermit who was locally regarded as a saint. From the age of 12, Zita was a domestic servant in the family of Pagano di Fatinelli of Lucca, a wool and silk merchant. This devoted woman, who was deeply religious, remained with this family all her life. She served it for 48 years--as maid servant, then housekeeper, and governess--and every member of the family had the deepest respect and affection for her. There are numerous stories of her attention to household duties, of her care for beggars, of her devotion to religious practices, and of the fidelity with which she attended Mass each day of her adult life at the Church of San Frediano. The good food she was provided by her employer, she would distribute to the poor. More often than not, she could be found sleeping on the bare ground or lost in prayer, after having given up her bed to a beggar. Her work was part of her religion, as it should be for us, a way of serving God in our neighbor. At first her fellow servants mocked her piety and kindness. Zita paid no attention, and in the end they grew to admire her. But her master was often irritated that she gave away so much. During a local famine she secretly gave away much of the family supply of beans. When her master inspected the kitchen cupboards, to Zita's relief the beans had been miraculously restocked (recall the similar story about Saint Frances 1384-1440 of Rome). Another story tells that angels baked her bread while she was rapt in ecstasy A characteristic story of her
generous nature is of how one Christmas Eve, when she was setting out
for the early morning service, the cold was so intense that her employer,
seeing her in her thin gown, wrapped his own fur cloak round her shoulders,
and insisted on her taking it. "But take care of it," he said, "and
be sure to bring it back."
At the church door, however, Zita saw a poor man in rags, numb with cold and begging for alms. She could never resist a beggar and on the impulse of the moment she took off her master's cloak and put it round him. "It will keep you warm," she said, "and you can return it to me when the service is over." But when she came out of the church, the man had gone, and in great distress she returned home without the cloak. Her employer, naturally, was angry, but what troubled Zita most was that, out of pity for another, she had abused his kindness. The story had a happy sequel, for the next day a stranger came to the door and restored the missing cloak. People later decided that the poor old man must have been an angel in disguise, and so the door of the Church of San Frediano, Lucca, where he first appeared, is called the Angel Portal. Zita was always moved by generous impulse, and endeared herself to all by her compassionate nature, and all her life long she was sustained by a simple and strong faith in God. Zita was embarrassed by the veneration in which her employers and neighbors held her later in life. Nevertheless, she was happy that some of her domestic duties were relieved because it gave her the time to tend to the sick, the poor, and prisoners. She had a special devotion to criminals awaiting execution, on whose behalf she would spend hours in prayer. Zita died peacefully at the age of 60, having sanctified herself in a life of humble domestic tasks, and as the little Maid of Lucca is numbered among the saints. Immediately, a popular cultus developed around her tomb at San Frediano. Her cultus spread to other countries in the later Middle Ages, as testified by chapels in her honor as scattered as at Palermo, Sicily, and Ely, England (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Gill, Encyclopedia, Martindale, Walsh, White). In art, Saint Zita is depicted in the working clothes of a maid servant with her emblem: keys. She may be shown (1) with a rosary, bag, and keys; (2) with a rosary; (3) with two keys and three loaves; (4) with keys and a book; (5) with a basket of fruit; (6) with a bag and book; (7) with a book and rosary; or (8) praying at a well (Roeder, White). She appears in mural paintings (Shorthampton, Oxon.), in stained glass (Mells and Langport, Somerset), and on rood screens in Norfolk (Barton Turf), Suffolk (Somerleyton), and Devon (Ashton) (Farmer). Saint Zita is the patroness of housewives and servants. In England, she was known as Sitha and invoked by housewives and servants searching for lost keys or crossing raging rivers (White). She is still venerated at Lucca, where her body is housed in the Cappella di Santa Zita in the church of San Frediano (Jepson, Roeder). ST. ZITA, V. SHE was born in the beginning of the thirteenth century, at Montsegradi, a village near Lucca, in Italy. She was brought up with the greatest care, in the fear of God, by her poor virtuous mother, who’s early and constant attention to inspire the tender heart of her daughter with religious sentiments seemed to find no obstacles, either from private passions or the general corruption of nature; so easily were they prevented or overcome. Zita had no sooner attained the use of reason, and was capable of knowing and loving God, than her heart was no longer able to relish any other object, and she seemed never to lose sight of him in her actions. Her mother reduced all her instructions to two short heads, and never had occasion to use any further remonstrance to enforce her lessons than to say “This is most pleasing to God this is the divine will," or, That would displease God." The sweetness and modesty of the young child charmed everyone who saw her. She spoke little, and was most assiduous at her work, but her business never seemed to interrupt her prayers. At twelve years of age she was put to service in the family of a citizen of Lucca, called Fatinelli, whose house was contiguous to the church of St. Frigidian. She was thoroughly persuaded that labor is enjoined all men as a punishment of sin, and as a remedy for the spiritual disorders of their souls and, far from ever harboring in her breast the least uneasiness, or expressing any sort of complaint under contradictions, poverty, and hardships, and, still more from ever entertaining the least idle, inordinate, or worldly desire, she blessed God for placing her in a station in which she was supplied with the most effectual means to promote her sanctification, by the necessity of employing herself in penitential labor, and of living in a perpetual conformity and submission of her will to others. She was also very sensible of the advantages of her state, which afforded all necessaries of life, without engaging her to the anxiety cares and violent passions by which worldly persons, who enjoy most plentifully the goods of fortune, are often disturbed; whereby their souls resemble a troubled sea, always agitated by impetuous storms without knowing the sweetness of a true calm. 2 Epis. Decr. t. 1, p. 739. Ep. 96, ad princip. p. 782 APRIL 27.) S. ZITA, v. 171 She considered her work as an employment assigned her by God and as part of her penance; and obeyed her master and mistress in all things, as being placed over her by God. She always rose several hours before the rest of the family, and employed in prayer a considerable part of the time which others gave to sleep. She took care to hear mass every morning with great devotion, before she was called upon by the duties of her station, in which she employed the whole day with such diligence arid fidelity that she seemed to be carried to them on wings, and studied when possible to anticipate them. Notwithstanding her extreme attention to her exterior employments, she acquired a wonderful facility of joining with them almost continual mental prayer, and of keeping her soul constantly attentive to the divine presence. Who would not imagine that such a person should have been esteemed and beloved by all who knew her? Nevertheless, by the appointment of divine providence, for her great spiritual advantage, it fell out quite otherwise, and for several years she suffered the harshest trials. Her modesty was called by her fellow-servants simplicity, and want of spirit and sense; and her diligence was judged to have no other spring than affectation and secret pride. Her mistress was a long time extremely prepossessed against her, and her passionate master could not bear her in his sight without transports of rage. It is not to be conceived how much the saint had continually to suffer in this situation. So, unjustly despised, overburdened, reviled, and often beaten, she never repined nor lost her patience; but always preserved the same sweetness in her countenance, and the same meekness and charity in her heart and words, and abated nothing of her application to her duties. A virtue so constant and so admirable, at length overcame jealousy, antipathy, prepossession, and malice. Her master and mistress discovered the treasure which their family possessed in the fidelity and example of the humble saint, and the other servants gave due praise to her virtue. Zita feared this prosperity more than adversity, and trembled lest it should be a snare to her soul. But sincere humility preserved her from its dangers and her behavior, amidst the caresses and respect shown her, continued to be same as when she was ill-treated and held in derision; she was no less affable, meek, and modest; no less devout, nor less diligent or ready to serve every one. Being made housekeeper, and seeing her master and mistress commit to her, with an entire confidence, the government of their family and management of all their affairs, she was most scrupulously careful in point of economy, remembering that she was to give to God an account of the least farthing of what was intrusted as a depositum in her hands and, though head-servant, she never allowed herself the least privilege exemption in her work on that account. She used often to say to others that devotion is false if slothful. Hearing a man-servant speak one immodest word, she was filled with horror, and procured him to be immediately discharged from the family. With David, she desired to see it composed only of such whose approved piety might draw down a benediction of God upon the whole house, and be a security to the master for their fidelity and good example. She kept fast the whole year, and often on bread and water and took her rest on the bare door, or on a board. Whenever business allowed her a little leisure, she spent it in holy prayer and contemplation in a little retired room in the garret; and at her work repeated frequently ardent ejaculations of divine love, with which her soul appeared always inflamed. She respected her fellow-servants as her superiors; If she was sent on commissions a mile or two in the greatest storms, she set out without delay, executed them punctually, and returned often almost drowned, without showing any sign of reluctance or murmuring. By her virtue she gained so great an ascendant over her master, that a single word would often suffice to check the greatest transports of his rage; and she would sometimes cast herself at his feet to appease him in favor of others She never kept anything for herself but the poor garments which she wore; everything else she gave to the poor. Her master, seeing his goods multiply, as it were, in her hands, gave her ample leave to bestow liberal alms on the poor; which she made use of with discretion, but was scrupulous to do nothing without his express authority. If she heard others spoken ill of, she zealously took upon her their defense, and excused their faults. Always when she communicated, and often when she heard mass, and on other occasions, she melted in sweet tears of divine love: she was often favored with ecstasies during her prayers. In her last sickness, she clearly foretold her death, and having prepared herself for her passage by receiving the last sacraments, and by ardent sighs of love, she happily expired on the 27th of April, in 1272, being sixty years old: one hundred and fifty miracles wrought in the behalf of such as had recourse to her intercession have been juridicaly proved. Her body was found entire in 1580, and is kept with great respect in St. Frigidian's church, richly enshrined; her face and hands are exposed naked to view through a crystal glass. Pope Leo X. granted an office in her honor. The city of Lucca pays a singular veneration to her memory. The solemn decree of her beatification was published by Innocent XII in 1696 with the confirmation of her immemorial veneration. See her life compiled by a contemporary writer, and published by Papebroke the Bollandist, on the 27th of April, p. 497, and Benedict XIV. De Canoniz. 1.2, c. 24, p. 245. |
|
1304 Bl. Peter Armengol
twice went from Spain to Africa to redeem captives continued for 10
more years after being hung
Tarracóne, in Hispánia, beáti Petri Armengáudii, ex Ordine beátæ Maríæ de Mercéde redemptiónis captivórum; qui, multa pro fidélibus rediméndis in Africa passus, tandem, in convéntu sanctæ Maríæ Pratórum, beáto fine quiévit. At Tarragona in Spain, the blessed Peter Armengaudius, of the Order of Blessed Mary of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives. He endured many tribulations in Africa in ransoming the faithful, and finally closed his career peacefully in the convent of St. Mary of the Meadows. 1304 BD PETER ARMENGOL IT is very difficult to credit the story of Bd Peter Armengol as it is recounted in Mercedarian sources. He is alleged to have been born about the year 1238 of the family of the counts of Urgel at Guardia in Catalonia, and while yet in his teens to have joined a band of brigands. When King James of Aragon in 1258 sought to pass through that district, an armed guard was sent on ahead under the command of Peter’s father. They encountered the brigands, and father and son were on the point of engaging in combat when Peter recognized his opponent. Stricken with remorse, he implored pardon, was converted and spent the rest of his life in doing penance, joining, for that purpose, the Order of Mercedarians (for the redemption of captives). Twice he was sent to Africa to ransom prisoners in captivity among the Moors. On the second occasion, the money he had taken with him was insufficient to secure the release of eighteen young boys; whereupon he volunteered to remain as a hostage himself until his companion returned with the ransom demanded. But the religious who brought it only arrived in time to learn that Peter had been hanged as a defaulter some days before. He went to secure the remains of the martyr, but discovered on cutting the body down that Peter was still living. He was allowed to return to his fellow religious at Guardia, and there living on for ten years, with twisted neck and contorted limbs, he gave a wonderful example of virtue. His cultus was formally approved in 1686, and his name has since been inserted in the Roman Martyrology. A sufficient
account of Peter Armengol is given in the Acta Sanctorum,
September, vol. i; but doubts may very well be felt regarding
the authenticity of most of the scanty documents there reprinted from
the process of beatification. Cf. under St Peter
Nolasco, on January 28, concerning the early records of the Mercedarian
Order. A short account of Bd Peter in French, by J. Cattier, appeared
in 1898.
b. 1238 Member of a noble Catalonian family, he is said in an extravagant story to have become an outlaw, almost killing his father in an ambush, whereupon he joined the Mercedarians. He twice went from Spain to Africa to redeem captives/ held as a hostage, he was hanged , but found to be alive by another missioner who had been delayed. He continued his work of rescuing Christians from the Mooors for ten more years. He died near Tarragona, Spain Peter Armengol, O. Merc. M (RM) Born in Tarragona, Spain, in 1238; died there in 1304; cultus confirmed 1686. Peter, born into the family of the counts of Urgell, exercised his boldness with a band of brigands before joining a Mercedarian community of monks in 1258. He devoted all his energy to the ransoming of captives, going so far as to offer himself as a hostage for 18 Christian children. His offer was accepted. Peter underwent horrible tortures during his African captivity, for which his is considered a martyr, although he actually died back in his hometown. His story, as we have received it, is unreliable (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia). |
|
1311 Blessed Antony
de'Patrizi; superior of hermit friars of Saint Augustine at Monticiano
OSA (AC)
1311 BD ANTONY OF SIENA A MEMBER of one of the principal Sienese families, Bd Antony de’ Patrizi entered the Order of the Hermits of St Augustine and afterwards became superior of their house at Monteciano. The only notable fact which seems to be recorded of him is that he was possessed by a very great desire of conversing with another holy hermit, Peter of Camerata. He set out to find him, fell grievously ill upon the way, but after fervent prayer was miraculously restored and was able to accomplish the object of his journey. The meeting of the two men is compared by his biographer to the meeting of St Paul the Hermit and St Antony at the very beginning of Christian ascetic history. This Antony lived a very holy life and died in the year 1311. There is a
short biography printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April,
vol. iii (under April 30) but it is mainly taken up with the miracles
wrought after the hermit’s death. See also G. Ballati, Vita,
miracoli a grazie del B. Antonio Patrizi (1728).
Born in Siena, Italy; cultus confirmed in 1804. Antony joined the hermit friars of Saint Augustine at Monticiano, where he later became the superior (Benedictines). |
|
1485 Blessed James of
Bitetto heroic humility; levitate during prayer, accurately predict the
future, incorrupted body remains, many miracles OFM
(AC)
(also known as James of Sclavonia, of Illyricum, of Zara, of Dalmatia) Born in Sebenico, Dalmatia; died April 27, c. 1485; feast day within the Franciscan order is celebrated on April 20; cultus approved by Innocent XII. 1485 BD JAMES OF BITETTO Many miracles were ascribed to his intercession ALTHOUGH a native of Dalmatia, whence he is sometimes called “the Slav” or “the Illyrian”, Bd James spent the greater part of his life on the opposite coast of the Adriatic, where he became a lay-brother of the Friars Minor of the Observance at Bitetto, a small town nine miles from Ban. Through humility, self-denial and contemplation he attained to great holiness. He was favoured by God with a prophetic spirit and, according to the deposition of a fellow friar in the process for his beatification, he was seen on occasions upraised from the ground when engaged in prayer. In another house of the order, at Conversano, he was employed for some years as cook. The sight of the kitchen fire led him at times to contemplate the flames of Hell and on other occasions to soar in spirit to the highest Heaven to dwell on the consuming fire of eternal love. Thus he often fell into ecstasies over his work, standing motionless and entirely absorbed in God. Afterwards Bd James was transferred back to Bitetto, where he closed a holy life by a happy death; Many miracles were ascribed to his intercession, and in the garden at Bitetto there used to be a juniper tree which he had planted, the berries of which were said to possess healing properties. He was beatified by Pope Innocent XII. The notice
of James de Bitetto in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol.
iii, is interesting because this is one of the cases in which the Bollandists
have had access to the documents submitted for the beatification
process, and have been able to print the evidence of the various witnesses.
See also Léon, Auréole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. ii, pp. 104—105.
James received the habit of Saint Francis at Zara, but served as a lay brother at Bitetto, near Bari in southern Italy. James possessed heroic humility and reached heights of heaven in his contemplation. During the process of beatification, a fellow friar testified that he had seen James levitate during prayer and heard him accurately predict the future. While James was the cook of the
abbey at Conversano (18 miles from Bari), he would contemplate the cooking
fire and see the fires of hell or the spark of God's love that ignites
hearts. Often he would be found in the kitchen, motionless, rapt in
ecstatic contemplation. This happened one morning as he was fixing beans
for that night's dinner. He stood with his hand in the beans, tears streaming
down his face into the vessel before him. Thus he was found by the duke
on whose estate the monastery was founded. King Ferdinand I's courtier
watched in amazement before declaring, "Blessed are the religious brethren
whose meals are seasoned with such tears." Later that day James, learning
of the duke's presence, went to him and asked what he would like for his
dinner. The nobleman replied that he wanted nothing but some of the beans
seasoned with James' tears.
Eventually James was sent back to Bitetto where he died and where his incorrupted body remains. Many miracles attributed to James' intercession have been recorded (Benedictines, Husenbeth). |
| 1565 Blessed Hosanna
of Cattaro; miracle child, several apparitions OP Tert. V (AC). (also known as Ossana) Born in Kumano, Montenegro, in 1493; cultus confirmed in 1928; beatified in 1934. 1565 BD OSANNA OF GATTARO, VIRGIN graced with many supernatural gifts, such as that of prophecy. CATHERINE Cosie
was a Montenegrin girl born in 1493, the daughter of dissident Orthodox
parents. Her early years seem to have been spent mostly with the flocks
and herds, but later she was allowed by her parents to enter the service
of a Catholic lady at Cattaro, where she made herself beloved. After
seven years she undertook the seclusion of an anchoress, first in a cell
adjoining the church of St Bartholomew, and afterwards in one attached
to the church of St Paul. On becoming a Dominican tertiary she had taken
the name of Osanna in veneration for Bd Osanna Andreasi, who had died not
long before, in 1505. Young women and matrons crowded to her anchorage and
were guided by her counsels.
Her prayers, it was believed, protected the city from the inroads of Turks and other raiders. She had much to suffer, both from the assaults of Satan within and from calumny without, but she was graced with many supernatural gifts, such as that of prophecy. Finally after a grievous illness of two months borne with exemplary patience, she went to her reward on April 27, 1565. The cultus was confirmed in 1928. The decree
in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. xx (1928), pp.
39—42, sets out the above facts and appeals to the testimony of earlier
authors, in particular to Father Bazzi in 1589 and to Father Cerva in
1738, who have borne witness to the holiness of her life and to the veneration
uninterruptedly shown since her death.
Catherine Kosic (Cosie) was baptized
in the Greek Orthodox Church. As a young girl, whe tended her family's sheep;
thus, left alone for long periods of time, she developed a habit of contemplative
prayer. One day while watching the flocks, she saw a pretty child lying asleep
on the grass. Attracted by its beauty, she went to pick up the baby, but
it disappeared, leaving Catherine with a feeling of great loneliness.
She told her mother about the incident but received little understanding; her mother told her that God didn't appear to such poor people, and that the Christ Child was simply a figment of her imagination. After several more apparitions of which she wisely said nothing, Catherine developed a desire to visit Cattaro because there were several churches there in which she felt that she could pray better. Her mother thought this urge was unreasonable, but she finally arranged for Catherine to go to Cattaro as a servant of a wealthy woman. Her mother gave little thought to the fact that the woman was a pious Catholic, but the girl rejoiced in her good luck. At the age of 12, Catherine settled down as a servant to the kindly woman who made no objection to the fact that Catherine's errands invariably led her past the church, where she would stop for a visit. After a few years of the pleasant life, Catherine consulted her spiritual director about becoming a recluse. He thought her too young, but she continued to insist. After much prayer and discussion, they decided that she should follow the life of a hermit. In the Middle Ages, it was common for every church or place of pilgrimage to have one or more cells in which solitaries dwelt in prayer and penance. Such a cell was built near the Saint Bartholomew's in Cattaro. It had a window through which the anchorite could hear Mass and another tiny window to which people would come occasionally to ask for prayers or to give food. Catherine was conducted to her cell in solemn ceremony, and, after making promises of stability, the door was sealed. In response to a vision, she was later transferred to a cell at the Church of St. Paul, where she followed the rule of the tertiaries of Saint Dominic for 52 years. Upon becoming a Dominican, she chose the name Osanna, in honor of Blessed Osanna of Mantua, a Dominican tertiary who had died in 1505. The life of an anchorite is barren of comforts and replete with penances. Even without the spiritual punishments that she endured, it was a rugged life. Osanna wore the coarsest of clothes, ate almost nothing, and endured the heat and cold and misery of enclosure in a small space for half a century. Her tiny cell, however, was often bright with heavenly visitors. Our Lord appeared to her many times, usually in the form of the beautiful baby she had seen while tending her flocks. Our Lady visited, too, with several of the saints, as well as demons who attempted to distract her from prayer. Once the devil appeared to her in the form of the Blessed Virgin and told her to modify her penances. By obedience to her confessor, she managed to penetrate this clever disguise and vanquish her enemy. Although she lived alone, there was nothing selfish about Osanna's spirituality. A group of her Dominican sisters, who considered her their leader, consulted her frequently and sought her prayers. A convent of sisters founded at Cattaro regarded her as their foundress, because of her prayers, although she never saw the place. When the city was attacked by the Turks, the people ran to her for help, and they credited their deliverance to her prayers. Another time, her prayers saved them from the plague (Benedictines, Dorcy). |
1597
Sancti Petri Canísii, Sacerdótis e Societáte Jesu
et Confessóris atque Ecclésiæ Doctóris; qui
duodécimo Kaléndas Januárii migrávit ad
Dóminum.St. Peter Canisius, priest of the Society of Jesus, confessor and doctor of the Church, who departed to the Lord on the 21st of December. 1597 27 ST PETER CANISIUS, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH ST PETER CANISIUS has been called the Second Apostle of Germany— our English St Boniface being the first—but he is also honoured as one of the creators of a Catholic press: he was, moreover, the first “literary” Jesuit—the forerunner of a great band of writers. Born in the year 1521 at Nijmegen in Holland, then a German Reichstadt in the archdiocese of Cologne, he was the eldest son of Jacob Kanis, who had been ennobled after acting as tutor to the sons of the Duke of Lorraine and who was nine times burgomaster of Nijmegen. Although Peter had the misfortune
to lose his mother at an early age, his father’s second wife proved
an excellent stepmother, and he grew up having before his eyes the fear
of God. He accuses himself of having wasted time as a boy in unprofitable
amusement, but in view of the fact that he took his master of arts degree
at Cologne University when he was only nineteen, it is difficult to believe
that he was ever really idle. To please his father, who wished him to
be a lawyer, he proceeded to Louvain, where for a few months he studied
canon law. Realizing, however, that he was not called to this career he
refused marriage, took a vow of celibacy, and returned to Cologne to read
theology. Great interest had been aroused
in the Rhineland towns by the preaching of Bd Peter Faber (Favre),
the first disciple of St Ignatius; Canisius attended an Ignatian
retreat which Faber gave at Mainz; and during the second week made
a vow to join the new order. Admitted as a novice, he lived for some
years a community life in Cologne, spending his time in prayer, in study,
in visiting the sick and instructing the ignorant. The money which he
inherited upon his father’s death was devoted to the relief of the poor
and the necessities of the house. He had already begun to write, his first
publications having been editions of the works of St Cyril of Alexandria
and St Leo the Great.* [* That he was the editor of the Cologne, 1543,
edition of John Tauler’s sermons has not been proved.] After his ordination to the
priesthood, he came into prominence for his preaching; and as a delegate to
the Council of Trent he had attended two of its sessions, the one at Trent
and the other at Bologna, when he was summoned to Rome by St Ignatius,
who retained him by his side for five months and proved him to be a
model religious, prepared to go anywhere and to do anything. He was sent
to Messina to teach in the first Jesuit school known to history, but
very shortly was recalled to Rome for his solemn profession and to be
given a more important charge. The order was to return to
Germany, he having been selected to go to Ingolstadt with two brother
Jesuits, in response to an urgent appeal from Duke William IV of Bavaria
for Catholic professors capable of counteracting the heretical teaching
which was permeating the schools. Not only was Peter Canisius successful
in reforming the university, of which he was made rector and afterwards
vice-chancellor, but he also effected a real religious revival amongst
the people by his sermons, his catechizing, and his campaign against
the sale of immoral or heretical books. Great was the general regret when
in 1552 the saint was withdrawn to undertake, at the request of King Ferdinand,
a somewhat similar mission in Vienna. He found that great city in a
worse condition than Ingolstadt. Many parishes were without clergy, and
the Jesuits had to supply the lack as well as to teach in their newly-founded
college. Not a single priest had been ordained for twenty years; monasteries
lay desolate; members of the religious orders were jeered at in the
streets; nine-tenths of the inhabitants had abandoned the faith, whilst
the few who still regarded themselves as Catholics had, for the most
part, ceased to practise their religion. At first Peter Canisius preached
to almost empty churches, partly because of the general disaffection
and partly because his Rhineland German grated on the ears of the Viennese;
but he found his way to the heart of the people by his indefatigable
ministrations to the sick and dying during an outbreak of the plague.
The energy and enterprise of the man was astounding; he was concerned
about everything and everybody, from lecturing in the university to visiting
the neglected criminals in the jails. The king, the nuncio, the pope
himself would fain have seen him appointed to the vacant see of Vienna,
but St Ignatius could be induced only to allow him to administer the diocese
for one year, and that without episcopal orders, title or emoluments.
It was about this period that St Peter began work on his famous catechism,
or Summary of Christian Doctrine, published in 1555; this was followed by a Shorter and a Shortest Catechism—both
of which attained enormous popularity. These catechisms were to be to the
Catholic Reformation what Luther’s catechisms were to the Protestant Reformation;
they were reprinted over two hundred times and translated into fifteen
languages (including English, Braid Scots, Hindustani and Japanese) even
during the author’s lifetime. And he never by violently or rudely attacking
his opponents, either in these catechisms or in any of his instructions,
roused hostility towards the truths he wished to commend to his hearers. In Prague, whither he had gone
to assist in founding a college, he learnt with dismay that he had been appointed
provincial of a new province which was to include South Germany, Austria
and Bohemia. He wrote to St Ignatius: “I am entirely lacking in the tact,
prudence and decision essential for ruling others. My temper is hasty and
fiery, and my inexperience renders me quite unsuitable for the post.” St
Ignatius, however, knew better. In the course of his two years’ residence
in Prague, Peter Canisius in great measure won back the city to the faith,
and he established the college on such excellent lines that even Protestants
were glad to send their sons to it. In 1557 he went by special invitation
to Worms to take part in a discussion between Catholic and Protestant divines,
although he was firmly convinced from past experience that all such conferences
on doctrine were worse than useless, the heated discussions which always
took place only widening the chasm between the disputants. It is quite impossible
in limited space to follow the saint on his numerous journeys as provincial,
or to provide any adequate survey of his extraordinary activities. Father
James Brodrick calculates that he covered 6000 miles during 1555—1558, and
20,000 in thirty years—on foot and on horseback. Canisius was wont to say—no
doubt in answer to those who thought he was overworked—“If you have
too much to do, with God’s help you will find time to do it al”.
At the close of his term of
office as provincial, St Peter took up his abode at Dillingen in Bavaria,
where the Jesuits not only had a college of their own but also directed
the university. The town had for him the additional attraction of being
the favourite place of residence of Cardinal Otto Truchsess who had long
been his close friend. He occupied himself mainly in teaching, in hearing
confessions, and in the composition of the first of a series of books
he had undertaken by order of his superiors. They were intended as a
reply to a strongly anti-Catholic history of Christianity which was being
published by certain Protestant writers commonly known as the Centuriators
of Magdeburg—“the first and worst of all Protestant church histories”.
This work he continued afterwards whilst acting as court chaplain for
some years at Innsbruck, and until 1577, when he was dispensed from proceeding
with it on the score of his health. There seems to have been no curtailment
of his activities in other directions, for we find him still preaching,
giving missions, accompanying the provincial on his visitations, and
even filling the post of vice-provincial. Canisius was at Dillingen when,
in the year 1580, he was instructed to go to Fribourg in Switzerland. That
city, which was the capital of a Catholic canton wedged in between two powerful
Protestant neighbours, had long desired a college for its sons, but had been
handicapped by lack of funds and other difficulties. These obstacles were
surmounted within a few years by St Peter, who obtained the money, selected
the site, and superintended the erection of the splendid college which
developed into the present University of Fribourg. He was, however,
neither its rector nor one of its professors, although always keenly
interested in its progress. For over eight years his principal work was
preaching: on Sundays and festivals he delivered sermons in the cathedral,
on weekdays he visited other parts of the canton. It may confidently
be asserted that to St Peter Canisius is due the credit of having retained
Fribourg in the Catholic fold at a critical period of its history. Increasing
bodily infirmities obliged him to give up preaching, and in 1591 a paralytic
seizure brought him to the brink of the grave, but he recovered sufficiently
to continue writing, with the help of a secretary, until shortly before
his death, which took place on December 21, 1597. St Ignatius himself had stressed the necessity for “an example of charity and Christian moderation to be given in Germany” and among the practical points laid down by Canisius was that it is a mistake “to bring up in conversation subjects to which the Protestants have an antipathy...such as confession, satisfaction, purgatory, indulgences, monastic vows and pilgrimages; the reason being that, like fever patients, they have infected palates and so are incapable of judging aright about such foods. Their need, as that of children, is for milk, and they should be led gently and gradually to those dogmas about which there is dispute”. Canisius was stern towards the leaders and propagators of heresy, and like most other people in those days he was prepared to use force to repress their activities. But the rank and file who had been born in Lutheranism, or had drifted into it, were another matter. He spent a lifetime opposing heresy and restoring Catholic faith and life: and he declared of the Germans that “Certainly an infinite number of them adhere to the new sectaries and err in religious belief, but they do so in such a way as proves that their errors proceed from ignorance rather than malice. They err, I repeat, but without contention, without wilfulness, without obstinacy.” And even those who were more consciously and defiantly unorthodox should not be met, he wrote, “in a temper of asperity or...with discourtesy, for this is nothing else than the reverse of Christ’s example inasmuch as it is to break the bruised reed and quench the smoking flax,” The activities
of St Peter Canisius were so intimately bound up with the whole religious
history of Central Europe in his day that no bibliography can be anything
but superficial. It is, however, necessary to call attention to the
collection of his letters edited in eight stout volumes by Fr 0. Braunsberger,
with abundant footnotes and rnarvellously detailed indexes. There is
also useful material in the book of J. Metzler, Die Bekenntnisse
des heiligen P. Canisius und rein Testament, and in many of the
volumes of the Monumenta Histories S.J. Among biographies, which in the German tongue especially
are very numerous, may be mentioned those of 0. Braunsberger, J. Metzler
and A. 0. Pfulf. In French there are lives by L. Michel, J. Genoud and
E. Morand. The neglect of Canisius by English writers has now been amply
compensated for by Fr James Brodrick’s magnificent, definitive and most
readable work, St Peter Canisius (1935).
There is a smaller popular book by W. Reany, A Champion of
the Church (1931).
Petrus Kanisius Katholische Kirche: 27. April Petrus Kanijs (Canisius) wurde am 8.5.1521 in Nijmwegen geboren. 1536 begann er in Köln zu studieren. Hier lernte er die devotio moderna kennen und beschloß Theologie zu studieren. 1543 nahm er an ignatianischen Exertitien teil, die von Petrus Faber, einem der ersten Gefährten des Ignatius, angeboten wurden. Wenige Wochen später trat Petrus als erster Deutscher in die Societas Jesu ein. Er hielt nun Vorlesungen in Köln und gab die Werke mehrerer großer Theologen in deutscher Sprache heraus. 1546 wurde er zum Priester geweiht. Er war in diesem Jahr auch maßgeblich an der Absetzung Hermann von Wieds beteiligt. 1547 nahm er als Berater am Konzil von Trient teil, 1548 lehrte er für ein Jahr nach Messina, dann legte er 1549 seine Profeß ab, erwarb den Doktor der Theologie an der Universität Bologna und lehrte nun an verschiedenen Universitäten im deutschsprachigen Raum. Daneben predigte er besonders in verschiedenen Bischofskirchen, schrieb zahlreiche Bücher und war auch im politischen Raum erfolgreich tätig. Leo XIII. nannte ihn den zweiten Apostel Deutschlands und Canisius war sicher die treibende Kraft der deutschen Gegenreformation. Dabei begegnete er seinen Gegnern mit Achtung und Toleranz. Canisius starb am 21.12.1597 in Fribourg, wo er in der Michaelskirche begraben liegt. Er wurde besonders in Süddeutschland sehr verehrt und schon kurz nach seinem Tode wurde ein Seligspechungsprozeß eingeleitet. Durch das Verbot des Jesuitenordens wurde das Verfahren längere Zeit unterbrochen. Am 21.5.1925 wurde Canisius heiliggesprochen und zum Kirchenlehrer ernannt. Canisius ist auch Patron der Diözesen Brixen und Innsbruck. |
| 1606 ST TURIBIUS, Archbishop
of LIMA ST TURIBIUS is, equally with St Rose of Lima, the first known saint of the New World. It is true that he was not born on the American continent, and not canonized until fifty-five years after her; but they lived in the same place at the same time, Turibius died first, and it was he who conferred the sacrament of confirmation on Rose. His memory is held in great veneration throughout Peru, for although he did not plant Christianity in that land he greatly promoted it, and cleansed the Church there from grave abuses which were sapping its vitality and bringing discredit upon its name; his feast is, moreover, observed throughout South America. Turibius, Toribio Alfonso de Morgobejo, was born in 1538 at Majorca in Spain. His childhood and youth were notably religious, but he had no intention of becoming a priest and was, in fact, educated for the law. He was so brilliant a scholar that he became professor of law in the University of Salamanca, and while there he attracted the notice of King Philip II (widower of Mary I of England), who eventually made him chief judge of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition at Granada. This was a surprising position for a layman to hold, and it was not a pleasant or easy post for anyone, lay or cleric. But it led to an even more surprising development. After some years the archbishopric of Lima in the Spanish colony of Peru became vacant. Turibius had carried out his judge’s duties so well, and displayed such a fine missionary spirit, that it was decided to send him to Peru as archbishop: he seemed to be the one person who had force of character sufficient to remedy the serious scandals which stood in the way of the conversion of the Peruvians. Turibius himself was shocked by the decision, and he wrote forthwith to the royal council, pleading his incapacity and appealing to the canons which forbade the promotion of lay men to ecclesiastical dignities. His objections were overruled he received all the orders and episcopal consecration, and immediately afterwards sailed for Peru. Arriving in Lima in 1581, it did not take him long to realize the arduous nature of the charge which had been laid upon him. His diocese stretched for some 400 miles along the coast, and inland amongst the spurs of the Andes, a most difficult country to traverse. Far more serious, however, than the physical difficulties were those created by the attitude of the Spanish conquerors towards the native population. With few exceptions the officials and colonists had come there to make their fortunes, and they made the Indians serve that purpose by every sort of extortion and tyranny. Communications with the central authority at home were incredibly slow. The most flagrant abuses might continue for years without the possibility of redress and, the Spaniards quarrelling continually among themselves and sending home contradictory reports, it was often impossible for the supreme Council of the Indies to know whom to believe. Worse than all the sense of religion seemed to be completely lost, and the example given to the natives was one of almost universal rapacity and self-indulgence. The clergy themselves were often among the most notorious offenders, and it was the first care of Turibius to restore ecclesiastical discipline. He at once undertook a visitation of his diocese, and was inflexible in regard to scandals amongst the clergy. Without respect of persons, he reproved injustice and vice, using his authority always to protect the poor from oppression. He naturally suffered persecution from those in power, who often thwarted him in the discharge of his duties, but by resolution and patience he overcame their opposition in the end. Right on into old age St Turibius continued to study the Indian dialects so that he could address the people in their own speech and not through an interpreter. Thus he succeeded in making many conversions. In order to teach his flock he would sometimes stay two or three days in a place where he had neither bed nor sufficient food. Every part of his vast diocese was visited, and when danger threatened from marauders or physical obstacles he would say that Christ came from Heaven to save man and that we ought not to fear danger for His glory. The archbishop offered Mass daily, even when on a journey, and always with intense fervour, and every morning he made his confession to his chaplain. Among those St Turibius confirmed, as well as St Rose, are said to have been Bd Martin Porres and Bd John Massias. From 1590 he had the help of another great missionary, the Franciscan St Francis Solano, whose denunciations of the wickedness of Lima so alarmed the people that the viceroy had to call on the archbishop to calm them. The charities of St Turibius were large, and he had feeling for the sensitive pride of the Spaniards in his flock. He knew that many were shy of making their poverty or other needs known, that they did not like to accept public charity or help from those they knew: so he did all he could to assist them privately, without their knowing from whom their benefactions came. St Turibius was in his sixty-eighth year when he fell ill at Pacasmayo, far to the north of Lima. Working to the last, he struggled as far as Santa, where he realized the end was at hand. He made his will, giving his personal belongings to his servants and all the rest of his property for the benefit of the poor. He asked to be carried into the church to receive viaticum, and was then brought back to bed and anointed. While those about him sang the psalm, “I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the house of the Lord”, St Turibius died on March 23, 1606. In 1726 he was canonized. The four volumes
compiled by Mgr C. G. lrigoyen, Santo Toribio Obra escrita
con motivo del tercer centenario de la muerte del Santo Arzobispo de
Lima (1906) are of the first importance, most of the documents
being previously unpublished. But see also the less exhaustive biographies
by Fr Cyprian de Herrera and A. Nicoselli, and in French that by T.
Bérengier (1872).
|
| 1624 Blessed Mariana of
Jesus life of penance O. Merc. V (AC). Born in Madrid, Spain, in 1565; died there in 1624; beatified by Pius VI. Known as the "Lily of Madrid," Mariana was a Discalced Mercedarian in Madrid, where she distinguished herself by her life of penance (Benedictines). |
|
1678 Blessed Nicolas Roland (AC). Born at Rheims, France, 1642; died April 27, 1678; beatified October 16, 1994. More will be added in 2000. |
|
1716 St. Louis Mary
de Montfort promote genuine devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus
and mother of the Church. Totus tuus (completely yours) was Louis's
personal motto
b. 1673 Louis's life is inseparable from his efforts to promote genuine devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus and mother of the Church. Totus tuus (completely yours) was Louis's personal motto; Karol Wojtyla chose it as his episcopal motto. Born in the Breton village of Montfort, close to Rennes (France), as an adult Louis identified himself by the place of his Baptism instead of his family name, Grignion. After being educated by the Jesuits and the Sulpicians, he was ordained as a diocesan priest in 1700. Soon he began preaching parish missions throughout western France. His years of ministering to the poor prompted him to travel and live very simply, sometimes getting him into trouble with Church authorities. In his preaching, which attracted thousands of people back to the faith, Father Louis recommended frequent, even daily, Holy Communion (not the custom then!) and imitation of the Virgin Mary's ongoing acceptance of God's will for her life. Louis founded the Missionaries of the Company of Mary (for priests and brothers) and the Daughters of Wisdom, who cared especially for the sick. His book, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, has become a classic explanation of Marian devotion. Louis died in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, where a basilica has been erected in his honor. He was canonized in 1947. Comment: Like Mary, Louis experienced challenges in his efforts to follow Jesus. Opposed at times in his preaching and in his other ministries, Louis knew with St. Paul, “Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7). Any attempt to succeed by worldly standards runs the risk of betraying the Good News of Jesus. Mary is “the first and most perfect disciple,” as the late Raymond Brown, S.S., described her. Quote: “Mary is the fruitful Virgin, and in all the souls in which she comes to dwell she causes to flourish purity of heart and body, rightness of intention and abundance of good works. Do not imagine that Mary, the most fruitful of creatures who gave birth to a God, remains barren in a faithful soul. It will be she who makes the soul live incessantly for Jesus Christ, and will make Jesus live in the soul” (True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin). |
|
1856 St. Lawrence
Huong native priest Martyr of Vietnam
He was a, beheaded during the anti-Christian persecution. Lawrence was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Laurence Hung M (AC) Born in Tonkin (Vietnam), c. 1802; died 1856; beatified in 1909; canonized in 1988 as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam. There were several major persecutions of Christians in was is today known as Vietnam. In 1847, they were revived when Christians were suspected of complicity in rebellion, while Spanish and French efforts to protect their nationals created a xenophobic and anti-Christian fervor. Christians were marked on their faces with the words ta dao (false religion). Families were separated. Christian villages were destroyed and their possessions distributed. Laurence was a native priest, who was beheaded near Ninh-biuh in western Tonkin, during this period (Benedictines, Farmer). |
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1919 Blessed Maria
Antonia Bandres y Elosegui (AC)
Born at Tolosa (Guipuzcoa), Spain, March 6, 1898; died at Salamanca, Spain, April 27, ; beatified May 12, 1996. More will be added in 2000. Beatified By: Pope John Paul II Maria Antonia's death profoundly touched the heart of these intellectual agnostics and stirred in them disquieting questions. Seeing the 21-year-old Maria Antonia Bandres die with the security of "knowing where she was going", according to Unamuno's expression, made a tremendous impact, and all of them have left oral or written testimonies about it. God accepted the offering that this young Daughter of Jesus made of her life for the conversion and eternal salvation of her uncle and godfather, Antonio Bandres, who was I living contrary to Christian faith and morals. She died in Salamanca on 27 April 1919, the feast of Our Lady of Montserrat, while singing and calling upon Mary as "Mother of mercy". Maria Antonia Bandres, a woman endowed with deep humanity, was sensitive to the love of her family and friends in the world and in religious life. Always open to the grace and love of God, she was able to suffer with a smile. Then God permeated the deepest core of her littleness and ushered her into the mystery of the Father's love. The life of this young religious is a marvellous witness to divine grace, which seeks out the simple-hearted. In her shines forth the beauty of a life totally consecrated to God. Biography Provided By: EWTN |
Christian
council
held
at
Among
the
most
important
titles
we have in
the Catholic
Church
for
the Blessed
Virgin
Mary are
Our
Lady
of Victory
and
Our Lady
of
the Rosary.
These
titles
can be traced
back
to one
of the most
decisive
times in
the history
of the
world and
Christendom.
The
Battle
of Lepanto
took place
on October
7 (date
of feast of
Our Lady
of Rosary),
1571.
This
proved
to be the most
crucial
battle
for
the Christian
forces
against
the radical
Muslim
navy of Turkey.
Pope Pius
V led a
procession
around
St.
Peter’s Square
in
Vatican City
praying
the Rosary.
He
showed true
pastoral
leadership
in recognizing
the danger
posed
to Christendom
by the radical
Muslim
forces,
and in
using the
means necessary
to defeat
it. Spiritual
battles
require
spiritual
weapons,
and
this more
than anything
was
a battle
that had
its origins
in the spiritual
order—a
true battle
between
good and evil.