Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Fourth day of the Afterfeast
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!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
February is dedicated to the Holy Family since the 17th century and by Copts from early times.
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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 .
The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us that a life of Christian perfection is not impossible.


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Sts. Peter Baptist, OFM, Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Memorial)


105 Saint Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, 1st  Bishop of Smyrna (Asia Minor)
1060 The Eletsk-Chernigov (Chernigov Spruce Tree) Icon of the Mother of God.
1597 St. Paul Miki and Companions:  Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, killing hundreds of thousands.
Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki.

O Beloved Mother February 6 - Our Lady of Louvain (Netherlands) - Marthe Robin (d. 1981)
O beloved Mother, you know the ways of holiness and love so well, teach us to often raise our minds and hearts to the Trinity, fixing our respectful and affectionate attention on the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
And since you guide us along the path to eternal life, stay close to us poor pilgrims, open your arms to us, turn your merciful eyes towards us, bring your clarity to us, cover us with your sweetness, take us into light and love,
 and always help us go a step further and higher into the splendors of heaven.

May our peace remain undisturbed and may the thought of God be always our minds. May every new minute take us deeper into the depths of your venerable mystery until the day that our fully blossomed souls, illuminated by divine union, will see all things in the eternal Love and Unity. Amen.  Marthe Robin

February 6 – Mater Pietatis (Italy) - Death of Marthe Robin (France, 1981) -
St Paul Miki, Priest, and his companions, Martyrs, (Nagasaki, 1597)
 It is an obligation of love to honor Mary!
 The angels repeat, “Long live Mary!” Let that echo from Heaven be our guide; let us establish our peace, happiness, trust and love in Mary, and with the angels let us also sing: “Long live Mary!”
Let us always praise Mary in all things; she always consoles, supports, guides, and intercedes for us.
Let us invoke Mary in our sufferings, struggles, joys, and consolations. Let us honor Mary! Her love requires it. She loves us like Jesus—she loves us infinitely and continually—with her maternal heart.

Marthe Robin, February 2, 1931 In Journal, December 1929- November 1932, Editions Les Cahiers de Marthe Robin

105 Saint Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, 1st Bishop of Smyrna (Asia Minor)
 265 St. Antholian martyr w/companions
        Saints Christina and Callista
       The Holy Virgin Martyrs Martha and Mary
300 St. Dorothy martyred in Caesarea, Cappadocia (Armenia) angel with 3 roses & 3 apples Converted Theophilus
300 St. Theophilus the Lawyer Martyr 
      Sts. Saturninus, Theophilus, & Revocata
4th v. Theodoulia The Holy Martyress name means servant of the Eternal One martyred for faith
312  The Holy Martyr Julian skilled physician healed illnesses body/soul
311 The Holy Martyrs Fausta, Evilasius and Maximus
5th v. St. Mun Bishop hermit nephew of St. Patrick
490 St. Mel miracule picking live fish from ground nephew of St. Patrick
539  ST VEDAST, OR VAAST, BISHOP OF ARRAS
600 Ss. Barsanuphius the Great and John {clairvoyance} the Prophet asceticism at monastery Abba Seridus Palestine
676 St. Amand missionary a father of monasticism in ancient Belgium
750 St. Relindis Benedictine abbess
 808 St. Tanco Irish Benedictine abbot bishop martyred by pagans destroyed idols
 891 Saint Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, "the Church's far-gleaming beacon,"
1060 The Eletsk-Chernigov (Chernigov Spruce Tree) Icon of the Mother of God.
1120 Saint Arsenius Ikaltoi influence Armenian Monophysite bishops acceptance of Orthodoxy
1207 Bl. Diego De Avezedo Bishop Cistercian visit led to the founding of the Dominicans
1597 St. Paul Miki and Companions:  Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, killing hundreds of thousands. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki.
1597 Martyrs of Japan Died at Nagasaki miracles attributed to them
1597 Peter Baptist, OFM, (born 1545) was a native of Avila, Spain. He joined the Franciscans in 1567, worked as a missionary in Mexico, was sent to the Philippines in 1583, and on to Japan in 1593, where he served as commissary for the Franciscans.  He had the gift of working miracles and is considered the leader of the Franciscan martyrs.
1597 St. Francis Nagasaki a Japanese physician 1/26 crucified
1597 Philip of Jesus martyred in Japan patron of Mexico City
1597 St. James Kisai Jesuit martyr in Japan native
1696  Sainted Theodosii (Feodosii), Archbishop of Chernigov

The fourth day of the Afterfeast of the Meeting of the Lord falls on February 6.
Saint Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian,

became the first Bishop of Smyrna (Asia Minor) .

By the grace of God, St Bucolus converted many of the pagans to Christ and baptized them.

As a wise and experienced guide, he defended his flock from the darkness of heresy.

He died in peace between the years 100-105.

He entrusted his flock to St Polycarp (February 23), one of the Apostolic Fathers

also a disciple of the holy Apostle John the Theologian.

At the grave of St Bucolus grew a myrtle tree, which healed the sick.

265 St. Antholian martyr w/companions
Also called Anatolianus, a martyr. He is mentioned by St. Gregory of Tours as one of the martyrs of Auvergne, France, in the reign of Emperor Valerian. Antholian's companions were Sts. Cassius, Maximus, Liminius, and Victorinus.

Sts. Saturninus, Theophilus, & Revocata.
Martyrs put to death sometime during the Roman persecutions.
4th v. Theodoulia The Holy Martyress name means servant of the Eternal One martyred for faith
Lived in the city of Anazarua (Asia Minor) during the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). The governor of the city, Pelagios, was a very cruel man. His servants sought out Christians throughout the entire region and brought them to him for trial, at which they had read to them the imperial edict, and were demanded to worship idols. One time they brought to him a Christian woman named Theodoulia. (She feared not so much the tortures, as that she might be defiled by the pagans, and so she had offered them much gold. But the servants would not take the gold, and so they led her off to trial before the governor). Pelagios asked her name and he ordered her to worship the pagan gods; in case of her refusal he threatened her with cruel tortures. Saint Theodoulia answered: "I am a Christian. My very name means servant of the Eternal One, and so people call me Theodoulia. I worship the One True God and will not worship a mere stone".

Pelagios became furious and he gave orders to begin the tortures. The Lord granted Theodoulia His help, and she did not sense any pain. Pelagios however ascribed this to the workings of the gods, which it seemed had spared Theodoulia in the hope, that she would turn to them.

Saint Theodoulia said to the governor: "Where art thine gods, which do spare me, show me them, that I might offer up honour to them". They brought her into the temple of the ["deified" deceased Roman emperor] Adrian, whom they esteemed as a mighty god. The saint however, in praying to the One True God, only but blew a breath at the idol, and it crumbled down into dust. Seeing this, Pelagios was atremble with fright. If a report about the destruction of the idol were to reach the emperor, he himself would be thrown for devouring by wild beasts. He fell down sobbing at the feet of Saint Theodoulia, begging her to restore the idol from its dust, and promising for this to accept Christianity.

The saint made fervent prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the idol, whole and intact, again stood in its place. The governor Pelagios however not only did not fulfill his promise to become a Christian, but with an even greater fury instead he began anew to torture the martyress. At the time of these torments a certain fellow named Helladios came up to the governor, and looking at the captives, he asked to be given the maiden Theodoulia, promising to make her worship the pagan gods, doing this because he wanted to ingratiate himself with the city governor and receive honours.

Helladios subjected Saint Theodoulia to harsh torments, exceeding in cruelty even Pelagios himself. The saint however prayed to God, that He might send down on her the ability to persevere. She immediately received help from God and was healed. The tormentor was awestruck, and Saint Theodoulia turned to him with words of admonition. "Become thou a Christian, -- she said to him, -- to attain instead to honours eternal in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who shalt judge both the living and the dead and render to each according to his deeds". Thus by her prayers and her precepts Saint Theodoulia led Helladios to the knowledge of truth; he believed in Christ and confessed the True God in front of the governor. For this he also accepted the crown of martyrdom. They cut off his head with a sword, and threw his body into the sea.

Saint Theodoulia was thrown into a blazing oven, but she remained unharmed. After this they stretched her on a sort of frying-pan, they poured on boiling tar, wax and oil, but the red-hot plate shattered into pieces, and the fire scorched many people, including the city governor Pelagios, who indeed died a death of fright, but Saint Theodoulia again remained unharmed.

In view of such a miracle with such an extraordinary result, many of the people believed in Christ, among which were the respected citizens Makarios and Euagrios. The pagans all the more fiercely continued to torture Christians. They fired up an oven and threw into it Saint Theodoulia, Makarios, Euagrios and many others who believed in Christ. With prayer on their lips they all accepted a martyr's death and were translated into life immortal.
Saints Christina and Callista
sisters who once were Christians, but fearing torture, they renounced Christ and began to lead impious lives. The governor ordered them to persuade St Dorothy to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, but just the reverse happened. St Dorothy convinced them that the mercy of God is granted to all who repent, so they corrected themselves and returned to Christ. The tormentors tied them back to back and burned them in a vat of tar. Sts Christina and Callista atoned for their sin of apostasy through martyrdom, receiving not only forgiveness, but crowns of victory from God.
300 St. Dorothy martyred in Caesarea, Cappadocia (now Armenia) angel with 3 roses & 3 apples Converted Theophilus
According to her apochryphal tradition, she was a resident of Caesarea, Cappadocia, who when she refused to sacrifice to the gods during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of the Christians, was tortured by the governor and ordered executed. On the way to the place of execution, she met a young lawyer, Theophilus, who mockingly asked her to send him fruits from "the garden" she had joyously announced she would soon be in.
When she knelt for her execution, she prayed, and an angel with a basket of three roses and three apples, which she sent to Theophilus, telling him she would meet him in the garden.
Theophilus was converted to Christianity and later was martyred.

Dorothy of Caesarea VM (RM) (also known as Dora, Dorothea)  Born in Caesarea, Cappadocia (now Armenia); died there, c. 300. The story of Saint Dorothy as it has come to us is legendary. When the young maiden, Dorothy, was imprisoned as a Christian during the persecutions of Diocletian, she converted two apostate women warders sent to seduce her. This enraged Fabricius, the governor of Caesarea, who sentenced her to death.  On the way to execution, Dorothy was cruelly baited by a lawyer named Theophilus for refusing to marry or to worship idols. He mockingly asked her to send him back some fruit and flowers from the garden she had joyously announced she would soon be in. As she knelt for her beheading and prayed, a child (or an angel) miraculously appeared with a basket of golden apples and roses. She took a napkin and placed in it three roses and three apples. Then she begged a child to take them to Theophilus and tell him she would meet him in the garden. When he saw these gifts he himself was converted to Christianity and later he, too, suffered martyrdom. Before being killed, Dorothy was stretched on a rack. It is recorded that she was then still smiling, as she remembered the warders she had converted.

The Holy Martyr Dorothy, the Martyrs Christina, Callista and the Martyr Theophilus lived in Caesarea of Cappadocia and suffered under the emperor Diocletian in either the year 288 or 300.
St Dorothy was a pious Christian maiden, distinguished by her great beauty, humility, prudence, and God-given wisdom, which astonished many. Arrested upon orders of the governor Sapricius, she steadfastly confessed her faith in Christ and was subjected to tortures.
Failing to break the will of the saint, the governor sent to her two women, the sisters Christina and Callista, who once were Christians, but fearing torture, they renounced Christ and began to lead impious lives. He ordered them to get St Dorothy to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, but just the reverse happened. St Dorothy convinced them that the mercy of God is granted to all who repent, so they corrected themselves and returned to Christ. The tormentors tied them back to back and burned them in a vat of tar. Through martyrdom, Christina and Callista atoned for their sin of apostasy, receiving from God not only forgiveness, but crowns of victory.
St Dorothy was again subjected to tortures, but she gladly endured them and accepted the death sentence. She cried out with joy, thanking Christ for calling her to Paradise and to the heavenly bridal chamber. As they led the saint to execution Theophilus, one of the governor's counselors, laughed and said to her, "Bride of Christ, send me an apple and some roses from the Paradise of your Bridegroom." The martyr nodded and said, "I shall do that."
At the place of execution, the saint requested a little time to pray. When she finished the prayer, an angel appeared before her in the form of a handsome child presenting her three apples and three roses on a pure linen cloth. The saint requested that these be given to Theophilus, after which she was beheaded by the sword.
Having received the gracious gift, the recent mocker of Christians was shaken, and he confessed Christ as the true God. His friends were astonished, and wondered whether he were joking, or perhaps mad. He assured them he was not joking. Then they asked the reason for this sudden change. He asked what month it was. "February," they replied. "In the winter, Cappadocia is covered with ice and frost, and the trees are bare of leaves. What do you think? From where do these apples and flowers come?" After being subjected to cruel tortures, St Theophilus was beheaded with a sword.
The relics of St Dorothy are in Rome in the church dedicated to her, and her head is also at Rome, in a church of the Mother of God at Trastevero.
300 St. Theophilus the Lawyer Martyr
known as Theophilus Scholasticus "the Lawyer." He was beheaded at Caesarea, in Cappadocia (in modern Turkey).
Theophilus is mentioned in the legend of St. Dorothy.

312  The Holy Martyr Julian skilled physician healed illnesses of the body also the soul
a native of the Phoenician city of Emesa, and he suffered in the year 312 under the emperor Maximian.
He was a skilled physician, and healed illnesses not only of the body but also of the soul, and he converted many people to faith in Christ the Savior.

When they led away the holy Martyrs Bishop Silvanus, Deacon Luke and the Reader Mocius (February 29) to be eaten by wild beasts, Julian encouraged them and urged them not to fear death for the Lord.

He was also arrested and put to death. His head, hands and feet were pierced with long nails.

The Holy Martyr Julian was a native of the Phoenician city of Emesa, and he suffered in the year 312 under the emperor Maximian. He was a skilled physician, and healed illnesses not only of body but also of soul, and he converted many people to faith in Christ the Saviour.

When they led away the holy Martyrs Bishop Sylvanus, Deacon Luke and the Reader Mokios (Comm. 29 February) -- to be devoured by wild beasts, Julian encouraged them and urged them not to fear death for the Lord. For this he was also arrested and locked up in a narrow cranny where they killed him, having pierced him in the head, hands and feet with long nails.
311 The Holy Martyrs Fausta, Evilasius and Maximus
suffered during the persecution against Christians by the emperor Diocletian in the city of Cyzicus [Mezium], between 305-311.

St Fausta was raised by Christian parents. Orphaned at a young age, she led a strict and virtuous life. Word that she was a Christian reached the governor, and the saint was sent to the eighty-year-old pagan priest Evilasius, who was ordered to turn the saint away from Christ.

The girl bravely confessed her faith and was subjected to many cruel tortures. Strengthened by the Lord, she did not feel the pain. They locked her up in a wooden trunk, but the torturers got tired of trying to saw it and burn it in the fire. The holy martyr, and even the trunk, remained unharmed, guarded by divine power.

The pagan priest Evilasius was shaken by the evident and manifest power of God, he believed in the Savior and confessed himself a Christian.

The eparch Maximus was sent to investigate the matter for the emperor, and he began to torture the old man who had come to believe in Christ. Evilasius turned to St Fausta and asked her to pray for him, after which he bravely endured the tortures.

They threw St Fausta to be eaten by vultures, but the creatures would not touch her. The thirteen-year-old girl was pierced with nails driven into her head and other parts of her body. Finally, they threw her into a boiling cauldron with St Evilasius. During this time the martyrs prayed for their torturers.

Seeing the faith and endurance of the saints, the eparch Maximus also was converted to Christ, and prayed to God for the forgiveness of his sins. Thrown into the same cauldron in which Sts Fausta and Evilasius suffered, he shared with them the crown of martyrdom.

The Holy Virgin Martyrs Martha and Mary
sisters who lived in Asia Minor, and fervently desired to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Once, a pagan military commander marched past their house. The sisters went out to him and loudly declared that they were Christians. At first the commander paid no attention to them, but they persistently shouted after him, repeating their confession.

They were arrested together with their brother Lykarion. All three were crucified, and during the execution their mother came to them, encouraging them in their sufferings for Christ. The sisters were pierced with spears, and Lykarion was beheaded by the sword.

5th v. St. Mun Bishop hermit nephew of St. Patrick.
on an island in Lough Ree, Ireland. Mun was a nephew of St. Patrick.

490 St. Mel miraculously picking up a live fish from the ground nephew of St. Patrick
He is said to have been the son of Conis and Darerca, the sister of St. Patrick, whom he accompanied to Ireland and helped to evangelize in that country. According to the Life of St. Brigid, he is said to have had no fixed See, which might fit in his being a missionary.
St. Patrick himself built the church at Ardagh and to this he appointed his nephew, Mel. Acting upon the apostolic precept, he supported himself by working with his hands, and what he gained beyond bare necessities, he gave to the poor.
For sometime, he lived with his aunt Lupait, but slanderous tongues spread serious accusations against them, and St. Patrick himself came to investigate their conduct. Mel was plowing when he arrived, but he cleared himself of the charge by miraculously picking up a live fish from the ground as if from a net. Lupait established her innocence by carrying glowing coals without burning herself or her clothing. St. Patrick was satisfied, but he told his nephew in future, to do his fishing in the water and his plowing on the land, and he moreover, enjoined them to avoid scandal by separating, living and praying far apart.

Mel (Melchno) of Ardagh and Melchu BB MM (AC)  Died c. 488-490. According to untrustworthy legend, Mel and his brother Melchu (plus Munis and Rioch) were sons among the 17 sons and two daughters of Saint Patrick's sister, Darerca and her husband Conis. While all of the children are reputed to have entered religious life, Mel and Melchu, together with their brothers Muinis and Rioch, accompanied Patrick to Ireland and joined him in his missionary work.
Patrick ordained Mel and Melchu bishops. Patrick is reputed to have appointed Mel bishop of Ardagh, and Melchu to the see of Armagh (or vice versa). There is some evidence that Melchu may have been a bishop with no fixed see, who may hae succeeded his brother. Some scandal was circulated about Mel, who lived with his Aunt Lipait but both cleared themselves by miraculous means to Patrick, who ordered them to live apart.

According to an ancient tradition, Mel professed Saint Brigid as a nun. During the rite, he inadvertently read over her the episcopal consecration, and that Saint Macaille protested. The ever serene Mel, however, was convinced that it happened according to the will of God and insisted that the consecration should stand.

Nothing is definitely known about these saints; however, Mel has a strong cultus at Longford, where he was the first abbot-bishop of a richly endowed monastery that flourished for centuries. The cathedral of Longford is dedicated to Mel, as is a college. The crozier believed to have belonged to Saint Mel is now kept at Saint Mel's College in a darkened bronze reliquary that was once decorated with gilt and colored stones. It was found in the 19th century at Ardagh near the old cathedral of Saint Mel.

The various sources are rather confusing. It is possible that Mel was bishop of Armagh and/or that Melchu and Mel are the same person (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Curtayne2, D'Arcy, Delaney, Farmer, Healy, Henry2, Montague, Ryan).

539   ST VEDAST, OR VAAST, BISHOP OF ARRAS
   ST VEDAST was very young when he left his own province, which seems to have been in the west of France. His aim was to live concealed from the world in the diocese of Toul, but there he came under the notice of the bishop who, recognizing his qualities, promoted him to the priesthood. When Clovis I, King of France, returning from his victory over the Alemanni, was hastening to Rheims to be baptized, he asked at Toul for some priest to accompany him on his journey and to prepare him. Vedast was presented to the monarch for that purpose. His biographers tell how, as they were about to cross the Aisne, a blind beggar on the bridge besought the saint to restore his sight. St Vedast prayed and made the sign of the cross on his eyes and immediately the power of vision was given back to him.
   This miracle confirmed the king in the faith and converted several of the courtiers.
   St Vedast assisted St Remigius (Rémi) in instructing the Franks until that prelate consecrated him bishop of Arras that he might re-establish the faith where it had died out.  Entering the city in 499, he restored sight to a blind man and cured one who was lame. These miracles disposed the hearts of many unbelievers to accept the Gospel, which had suffered much from the inroads of the northern marauders.
   Vedast could find no traces of Christianity except the ruins of a church where, within the memory of certain old people, Christians had worshipped.  St  Vedast found the people boorish and obstinate, but he persevered, and in the  end we are told he succeeded in restoring Christianity throughout the land.
         He laboured nearly forty years, and left his church at his death in a flourishing condition.
        
           There are two ancient lives of St Vedast, one seemingly by St Jonas of Bobbio, the other
         by Alcuin. Both will be found in the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. i, and in MGH.,
         Scriptores Merov., vol. iii. See also L. Van der Essen, Saints Merovingiens (1907); and
         W. S. Simpson, Life and Legend of St Vedast (1896); and E. Guilbert, St Vaast .
         (1938). Two English medieval churches were dedicated under the name of St Vedast,
         one of which is in London in
Foster  Lane.
600 Saints Barsanuphius the Great and John {clairvoyance} the Prophet lived in asceticism at the monastery of Abba Seridus in Palestine
lived during the sixth century during the reign of the emperor Justinian I (483-565). They lived in asceticism at the monastery of Abba Seridus in Palestine, near the city of Gaza.

St Barsanuphius was born in Egypt (the year of his birth is unknown). From his youth, he began to lead an ascetic life. Arriving at the cenobitic monastery of Abba Seridus, he built a small cell outside the monastery. Here he lived in solitude.  Later, St John, disciple of St Barsanuphius, lived in this cell for eighteen years until his death. St John imitated his teacher in silence, ascetic deeds and in virtue. Because of his gift of clairvoyance, he was known as "the Prophet."  After a certain time, St Barsanuphius built another cell near the monastery. At the beginning of his solitude, the monastery sent him only three loaves of bread per week. He dwelt for fifty years in work and ascetic deeds.
When Patriarch Eustochios of Jerusalem heard about the ascetical life of St Barsanuphius, it seemed unbelievable to him. He wanted to see Barsanuphius for himself, so he and his companions tried to dig under the wall, and to enter the monk's cell from beneath. Those attempting to enter were almost burned by flames suddenly bursting forth from the cell.
In his hermitage St Barsanuphius devoted himeself entirely to prayer, and he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection.

We have manuscript accounts about the life, the deeds and talents of Sts Barsanuphius and John. During the lifetime of St Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15), they were translated into the Moldavian and Slavonic languages. The publication of these manuscripts, and also their translation into the Russian language, was done in the nineteenth century by the Elders of Optina's Entry of the Theotokos Monastery.

The precepts of Sts Barsanuphius and John clearly show the degree of their moral perfection, and their love for people, but contain scant facts about their lives. We do not know exactly when St Barsanuphius died. Some sources say the year of his death was 563, others say more cautiously before the year 600.

After spending a long time in seclusion, St Barsanuphius thereafter and until the death of St John the Prophet began to serve others by instructing them on the path to salvation, as Abba Dorotheus (June 5) testifies. St Barsanuphius replied to questioners through St John, sometimes instructing him to give the answers, or even through Abba Seridus (August 13), who wrote down the saint's answers.

In the answers of Sts Barsanuphius and John the Prophet, who were guides in the spiritual life not only for their contemporaries, but also for succeeding generations, it is clearly possible to see the monks' gradual spiritual ascent "from strength to strength."  By deeds of fasting, silence, guarding the heart, and unceasing prayer, St Barsanuphius attained the heights of humility, reasoning and fiery love. The Lord gave him the gifts of discernment, clairvoyance, and wonderworking. By the power of his prayers, he was able to free the souls of people from sins. Sometimes, he took the sins of others upon himself.

The venerable one knew the dispositions of hearts, therefore he gave advice according to the spiritual state of each person. In the Name of the Lord he raised the dead, he cast out demons, and healed incurable illnesses. Things that he blessed received divine power and grace (for example, kukol or furrow-weed took away a monk's headache). Even the name of Abba Barsanuphius, when invoked mentally, gave help to those who called upon it.

Through the prayers of St Barsanuphius, God sent rain upon the earth, withdrawing His wrath from the multitudes of the people. The saint's predictions always came true. Thus, he predicted that a certain monk, the Elder Euthymius the Silent, would be placed with him in a single grave, which indeed came to pass.St Barsanuphius acquired these gifts after many years of patiently enduring great temptations and illness.

Besides the Orthodox ascetic Barsanuphius the Great, there was another Barsanuphius, a Monophysite heretic. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, anathematized him in his "Confession of Faith," sent to the Sixth Ecumenical Council).

We do not know when St Barsanuphius arrived at the monastery of Abba Seridus, nor anything about the home and family of St John the Prophet. Following the instructions of St Barsanuphius, John attained the heights of perfection, and became like his teacher in all things. Out of humility, he sent those who came to him with questions to Abba Barsanuphius.

St John foresaw and predicted many things, even his own death a week after the death of Abba Seridus. Abba Elian, the young igumen of this monastery, begged John to remain with him for two more weeks, in order to teach him the Rule and how to govern the monastery. St John fulfilled his request and died after two weeks.
St Barsanuphius the Great survived his disciple and friend, but embraced complete silence and refused to give answers to anyone.

These two ascetics have left the soul-profiting book, GUIDANCE TOWARD SPIRITUAL LIFE: ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS OF DISCIPLES by the Holy Monastic Fathers Barsanuphius and John as their spiritual legacy. This book was known to many saints who lived at a later time, as evidenced by the wrings of St Theodore the Studite (November 11 and January 26), the hieromonk Nikon Chernogorets (+ 1060), St Simeon the New Theologian (March 12), and other Orthodox ascetics and writers.
676 St. Amand great missionary a father of monasticism in ancient Belgium
This great missionary was born in lower Poitou about the year 584. At the age of twenty, he retired to a small monastery in the island of Yeu, near that of Re. He had not been there more than a year when his father discovered him and tried to persuade him to return home. When he threatened to disinherit him, the saint cheerfully replied, "Christ is my only inheritance."
Amand afterward went to Tours, where he was ordained, and then to Bourges, where he lived fifteen years under the direction of bishop St. Austregisilus in a cell near the cathedral.
After a pilgrimage to Rome, he returned to France and was consecrated bishop in 629 without any fixed See, receiving a general commission to teach the Faith to the heathens.

He preached the gospel in Flanders and northern France, with a brief excursion to the Slavs in Carinthia and perhaps, to Gascony. He reproved King Dagobert I for his crimes and accordingly, was banished. But Dagobert soon recalled him, and asked him to baptize his newborn son Sigebert, afterwards to become a king and a saint.
The people about Ghent were so ferociously hostile that no preacher dared venture among them. This moved Amand to attempt that mission, in the course of which he was sometimes beaten and thrown into the river.
He persevered, however, and in the end people came in crowds droves to be baptized.

As well as being a great missionary, St. Amand was a father of monasticism in ancient Belgium, and a score of monasteries claimed him as founder. He found houses at Elnone (Saint-Amand-les-Eaux), near Tournai, which became his headquarters, St. Peters on Mont-Blendin at Ghent, but probably not St. Bavo's there as well; Nivells, for nuns, with Blessed Ida and St. Gertrude, Barisis-au-Bois, and probably three more.

It is said, though possibly apocryphal, that in 646 he was chosen bishop of Maestricht, but that three years later, he resigned that See to St. Remaclus and returned to the missions which he had always had most at heart. He continued his labors among the heathens until a great age, when, broken with infirmities, he retired to Elnone. There he governed as Abbot for four years, spending his time in preparing for the death which came to him at last soon after 676.

That St. Amand was one of the most imposing figures of the Merovingian epoch, is disputed by no serious historian; he was not unknown in England, and the pre-Reformation chapel of the Eyston family at east Hendred in Birkshire is dedicated in his honor.

750 St. Relindis Benedictine abbess
also called Renule. She was educated with her sister Herlindis in the Benedictine house of Valenciennes, France, and after his death of Herlindis, she was named by St. Boniface to succeed her as abbess of Maaseyk, Belgium.

808 St. Tanco Irish Benedictine abbot bishop martyred by pagans
also called Tancho and Tatta. Tanco became a monk and served as abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Amalbarich, Saxony, Germany. Successful as a missionary in Cleves and Flanders, Belgium, he was named bishop of Werden, Germany. He was stabbed to death by a mob of pagans for destroying their pagan statues, and is venerated as a martyr.

891 Saint Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, "the Church's far-gleaming beacon,"
lived during the ninth century, and came from a family of zealous Christians.
His father Sergius died as a martyr in defense of holy icons.

St Photius received an excellent education and, since his family was related to the imperial house, he occupied the position of first state secretary in the Senate. His contemporaries said of him: "He so distinguished himself with knowledge in almost all the secular sciences, that it rightfully might be possible to take into account the glory of his age and compare it with the ancients."

Michael, the young successor to the throne, and St Cyril, the future Enlightener of the Slavs, were taught by him. His deep Christian piety protected St Photius from being seduced by the charms of court life. With all his soul, he yearned for monasticism.

In 857 Bardas, who ruled with Emperor Michael, deposed Patriarch Ignatius (October 23) from the See of Constantinople. The bishops, knowing the piety and extensive knowledge of Photius, informed the emperor that he was a man worthy to occupy the archpastoral throne. St Photius accepted the proposal with humility. He passed through all the clerical ranks in six days. On the day of the Nativity of Christ, he was consecrated bishop and elevated to the patriarchal throne. 
Soon, however, discord arose within the Church, stirred up by the removal of Patriarch Ignatius from office. The Synod of 861 was called to end the unrest, at which the deposition of Ignatius and the installation of Photius as patriarch were confirmed.
Pope Nicholas I, whose envoys were present at this council, hoped that by recognizing Photius as patriarch he could subordinate him to his power. When the new patriarch proved unsubmissive, Nicholas anathematized Photius at a Roman council.
Until the end of his life St Photius was a firm opponent of papal intrigues and designs upon the Orthodox Church of the East.

In 864, Bulgaria voluntarily converted to Christianity. The Bulgarian prince Boris was baptized by Patriarch Photius himself. Later, St Photius sent an archbishop and priests to baptize the Bulgarian people. In 865, Sts Cyril and Methodius were sent to preach Christ in the Slavonic language.
However, the partisans of the Pope incited the Bulgarians against the Orthodox missionaries.

The calamitous situation in Bulgaria developed because an invasion by the Germans forced them to seek help in the West, and the Bulgarian prince requested the Pope to send his bishops. When they arrived in Bulgaria, the papal legates began to substitute Latin teachings and customs in place of Orthodox belief and practice. St Photius, as a firm defender of truth and denouncer of falsehood, wrote an encyclical informing the Eastern bishops of the Pope's actions, indicating that the departure of the Roman Church from Orthodoxy was not only in ritual, but also in its confession of faith. A council was convened, censuring the arrogance of the West.

In 867, Basil the Macedonian seized the imperial throne, after murdering the emperor Michael. St Photius denounced the murderer and would not permit him to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Therefore, he was removed from the patriarchal throne and locked in a monastery under guard, and Patriarch Ignatius was restored to his position.

The Synod of 869 met to investigate the conduct of St Photius. This council took place with the participation of papal legates, who demanded that the participants sign a document (Libellus) condemning Photius and recognizing the primacy of the Pope.
Eastern bishops would not agree to this, and argued with the legates. Summoned to the council, St Photius met all the accusations of the legates with a dignified silence. Only when the judges asked him whether he wished to repent did he reply, "Why do you consider yourselves judges?" After long disputes, the opponents of Photius were victorious. Although their judgment was baseless, they anathematized Patriarch Photius and the bishops defending him.
 The saint was sent to prison for seven years, and by his own testimony, he thanked the Lord for patiently enduring His judges.

During this time the Latin clergy were expelled from Bulgaria, and Patriarch Ignatius sent his bishops there.
In 879, two years after the death of Patriarch Ignatius, another council was summoned (many consider it the Eighth Ecumenical Council), and again St Photius was acknowledged as the lawful archpastor of the Church of Constantinople.
Pope John VIII, who knew Photius personally, declared through his envoys that the former papal decisions about Photius were annulled.
The council acknowledged the unalterable character of the Nicean-Constantinople Creed, rejecting the Latin distortion ("filioque"), and acknowledging the independence and equality of both thrones and both churches (Western and Eastern).
The council decided to abolish Latin usages and rituals in the Bulgarian church introduced by the Roman clergy, who ended their activities there.

Under Emperor Basil's successor, Leo, St Photius again endured false denunciations, and was accused of speaking against the emperor.  Again deposed from his See in 886, the saint completed the course of his life in 891. He was buried at the monastery of Eremia.

The Orthodox Church venerates St Photius as a "pillar and foundation of the Church," an "inspired guide of the Orthodox," and a wise theologian.
He left behind several works, exposing the errors of the Latins, refuting soul-destroying heresies, explicating Holy Scripture, and exploring many aspects of the Faith.
1060 The Eletsk-Chernigov (Chernigov Spruce Tree) Icon of the Mother of God.
Appeared on a spruce-fir tree near Chernigov in the year 1060, during the time of the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, as was recorded in the Synodikon of the Chernigov bishop Zosima Prokopovich (1655-1657). The icon was placed in a church, built in honour of the Eletsk-Spruce Icon of the Mother of God. The Monk Antonii (Anthony; + 1073, Comm. 10 July), while asceticising on the Boldina Heights in the years 1068-1069), had given his blessing to found a monastery at this place. In 1238 the monastery was pillaged by the Tatars (Mongols), but the icon was hidden inside the monastery walls.
 In the year 1470 the Kiev prince Simeon Olel'kovich restored the monastery, and they again placed the icon in church. The ultimate fate of the icon is unclear. According to one tradition, a descendant of the Chernigov princes, Baryatinsky, carried off the icon to Moscow in the year 1579, when Chernigov fell into the hands of the Polish king Stefan Bathory.
In 1687 a somehow-related prince Daniil Baryatinsky was returning from a campaign in the Crimea. At Kharkov he fell seriously ill and before his death he bestowed the Eletsk Icon to the Kharkov Uspenie (Dormition), being nearby it while on campaign. According to another tradition, the icon vanished from the monastery during its sacking in the XVII Century by the forces of Sigismund III. In 1676 prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky presented the Eletsk monastery a copy of the Eletsk Icon of the Mother of God, brought from Vladimir by the Kozel brothers. Archimandrite Ioannikii (Golyatovsky) was at this time restoring the monastery and he described numerous miracles from this icon in his book, "Skorbnitsa" (or "Sokrovischnitsa", i.e. "Consoler" or "Treasury"), published in 1676 in Northern Novgorod. There is still another Eletsk Icon of the Mother of God that is known of, likewise appearing in the year 1060. It received its name in that it appeared in the city of Elets, in a cathedral church in honour of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The feastday of this icon was set under 11 January.

1120 Saint Arsenius of Ikaltoi Under his influence, some of the Armenian Monophysite bishops inclined towards an acceptance of Orthodoxy
descended from the Georgian princely line of the Vachnadze. According to certain sources, he was born in Kakhetia (Eastern Georgia) in the village of Ikaltoi. Raised by devout parents, St Arsenius distinguished himself from childhood by his love for church services and prayer. He received religious education at the Constantinople academy, where he studied not only theology, but also the natural sciences.

At the completion of academy he entered the monastic state and lived in one of the Georgian monasteries of the Black Hill (near Antioch) under the guidance of St Ephraim Mtsira (January 18). Here St Arsenius zealously occupied himself with theological and translating activity, investigating the causes of the separation of the non-Chalcedonian churches from Orthodoxy.

St Arsenius translated into the Georgian language the "Great Nomocanon" of St Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople (857-867, 887-886), the "Golden Nectar" of St John of Damascus, and also a collection of translated works in the "Dogmatikon" with commentaries, directed against various heretical teachings. After the death of his teacher, St Arsenius returned to Constantinople and continued his teaching activities.

St Arsenius gained fame for his instructive encyclopedia (theology, philosophy, philology, logic, physics, anatomy, poetics). Upon the invitation of the Georgian emperor David III the Restorer (1089-1125), he returned to Georgia in the year 1114, and for a while he taught at the Gerat academy (Western Georgia). Then St Arsenius participated in the founding of the Ikaltoi academy (where he was born in Kakhetia, in the village of Ikaltoi, at the monastery of the Icon of the Savior not-Made-by-Hands, during the years 1114-1120). At this academy, according to Tradition, he taught the great Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli.
St Arsenius was one of the initiators and an active participant of a church council in the Armenian city of Ano.
Under his influence, some of the Armenian Monophysite bishops inclined towards an acceptance of Orthodoxy.
For many years St Arsenius was priest for the holy emperor David III the Restorer, and by his wise counsel contributed immensely to the enlightenment of the Georgian Church. His astute intelligence and spiritual wisdom, the purity and righteousness of his life, are esteemed holy by the Georgian Orthodox Church. The memory of St Arsenius of Ikaltoi is celebrated on February 6, the day of his blessed repose.

1207 Bl. Diego De Avezedo Bishop Cistercian visit led to the founding of the Dominicans
Blessed Diego De Avezedo was sent to escort the fiance' of Prince Ferdinand. When he arrived, she had died, so he accompanied St. Dominic which ultimately led to the founding of the Dominicans.  He died on December 30, 1207. He was Bishop of Osma, Spain.

Blessed Diego de Azevedo, OSB Cist. B (PC) (also known as Didacus)  Died December 30, 1207.  A member of the clergy attached to the cathedral at Osma, Old Castile (Spain). He became provost and obtained a canonry for Saint Dominic Guzmán and in 1201 was named bishop of Osma. In 1206, he was sent by King Alfonso IX of Castile to the Marches (Italy) to escort back to Spain the bride-to-be of Prince Ferdinand. On arrival, Diego found the girl dead.
He then went to Rome, taking with him a member of his party, Saint Dominic, a visit that ultimately led to the founding of the Dominicans. In the same year Diego joined the Cistercians at Cîteaux in order to join the crusade against the Albigensians in Languedoc. He returned to Osma late in 1207 and died there. He has always been styled a beatus or saint by the Cistercians (Benedictines, Delaney).

1597 St. Francis Nagasaki a Japanese physician 1/26 crucified
from Miako He became a physician and later was converted to Catholicism by the Franciscan missionaries in Japan.
He became a Franciscan tertiary, served as a catechist, and was one of the twenty-six Catholics crucified for their Faith near Nagasaki on February 5 during the persecution of Christians by the Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. They were all canonized as the martyrs of Japan in 1862. He is also known as Francis of Miako.

1597 Philip of Jesus martyred in Japan patron of Mexico City OFM M (RM) (also known as Philip de las Casas. Born in Mexico City, Mexico, May 1, 1571; died in Nagasaki, Japan, 1597; beatified by Pope Urban VIII; canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862; feast day formerly February 5. The life of Saint Philip points again to the importance of the domestic church--the family. Early in life Saint Philip ignored the pious teachings of his immigrant Spanish family, but eventually he entered the Reformed Franciscan Convent of Santa Barbara at Puebla, Mexico--and soon exited the novitiate in 1589. Grieved at the inconstancy of his son, Philip's father sent him on a business trip to the Philippines.

Like many of us, Philip sought to escape God's love in worldly pleasures but the Hound of Heaven tracked him down. Gaining courage by prayer, Philip was again able to follow his vocation, joined the convent of Our Lady of the Angels in Manila in 1590, and took his vows in 1594. The richest cargo Philip could have sent back to Mexico couldn't have pleased his father more than the message that Philip had been professed a friar. Alonso de las Casas obtained directions from the commissary of the order that Philip should be sent to Mexico to be ordained a priest.

He embarked with other religious on the Saint Philip in July 1596 but storms shipwrecked them in Japan. Amid the storm, Philip saw over Japan a white cross, in the shape used in that country, which after a time became blood-red, and remained so for some time. It was an omen of his coming victory.

The ship's captain sent Philip and two others to the emperor to gain permission for them to continue their voyage, but they could not obtain an audience. He then continued to the Franciscan house in Macao to see if they could apply pressure. In the meantime, the pilot of the Saint Philip had excited the emperor's fears of Christians, causing him to contemplate their extermination.

In December, officers seized a number of the Franciscan fathers, including Philip, three Jesuits, and several of their young pupils. When Philip had that they were to die, he responded with joy. His left ear was cut off, and he offered the first fruit of his blood to God for the salvation of Japan.

The martyrs were taken to Nagasaki, where crosses had been erected on a high hill. When Philip was led to the one on which he was to die, he knelt down, clasped it, and exclaimed, "O happy ship! O happy galleon for Philip, lost for my gain! Loss--no loss for me, but the greatest of all gain!" He was bound to the cross, but the footrest under him gave way, so that he was strangled by the cords that bound him. While repeating the name of Jesus, he was the first of the group to die. Philip was 25. Miracles attested the power before God of these first martyrs of Japan (Benedictines, Butler, Delaney).

1597 St. Paul Miki and Companions:  Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, killing hundreds of thousands. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki.
February 6, 2010
   
Among them were priests, brothers and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his Church.

Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: “The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.”

When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.
Comment:  Today a new era has come for the Church in Japan. Although the number of Catholics is not large, the Church is respected and has total religious freedom. The spread of Christianity in the Far East is slow and difficult. Faith such as that of the 26 martyrs is needed today as much as in 1597. 
Quote:  “Since Jesus, the Son of God, showed his love by laying down his life for us, no one has greater love than they who lay down their lives for him and for their sisters and brothers (see 1 John 3:16; John 15:13). Some Christians have been called from the beginning, and will always be called, to give this greatest testimony of love to everyone, especially to persecutors. Martyrdom makes disciples like their master, who willingly accepted death for the salvation of the world, and through it they are made like him by the shedding of blood. Therefore, the Church considers it the highest gift and as the supreme test of love. And while it is given to few, all, however, must be prepared to confess Christ before humanity and to follow him along the way of the cross amid the persecutions which the Church never lacks” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 42, Austin Flannery translation).

1597 Martyrs of Japan Died at Nagasaki miracles attributed to them (RM) beatified in 1627; canonized in 1862; feast day formerly February 5.
Francis, a carpenter who was arrested while watching the executions and then crucified; Gabriel, the nineteen year old son of the Franciscan's porter; Leo Kinuya, a twenty-eight year old carpenter from Miyako; Diego Kisai (or Kizayemon), temporal coadjutor of the Jesuits; Joachim Sakakibara, cook for the Franciscans at Osaka; Peter Sukejiro, sent by a Jesuit priest to help the prisoners, who was then arrested; Cosmas Takeya from Owari, who had preached in Osaka; and Ventura from Miyako, who had been baptized by the Jesuits, gave up his Catholicism on the death of his father, became a bonze, and was brought back to the Church by the Franciscans. They were all canonized as the Martyrs of Japan in 1862.

1597 St. James Kisai Jesuit martyr in Japan native
he entered the Society of Jesus and worked as a catechist until his execution by crucifixion at the age of sixty four. 

Christianity was probably first brought to Japan in 1549 by the much beloved Saint Francis Xavier. When he left Japan after a stay of a few years, there were about 2,000 converts. Within the next 50 years the community grew even larger. It is said that by 1587 there were over 200,000 Christians, which caused the feudal lord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ruler of Japan in the name of the emperor, consternation which grew into anger. In 1587, he ordered all missionaries to leave within six months.
Some obeyed, but many remained behind in disguise.

As noted in the story of Philip de las Casas, this persecution was touched off by the irresponsible bragging of a Spanish sea captain in 1596 meeting the already provoked Hideyoshi, who was furious at the success of the Christian missionaries. The sailor had remarked that the object of the missionaries was to ease the conquest of Japan by Portugal or Spain.

Of the numerous Christian martyrs in Japan the canonization of this group of 26 has been completed. Six of them were European Franciscan missionaries led by the Spanish Saint Peter Baptist.
Among the others were a Japanese Jesuit priest, Saint Paul Miki, and a Korean layman, Saint Leo Karasumaru. There were also 18 Japanese laymen, of whom three were young acolytes.

Of these martyrs, 24 had been brought to Miyako, where only a part of their left ears were cut off by mitigation of the sentence which called for the severing of both ears and nose. Thereafter, they were led through various towns, their cheeks stained with blood, in order to cause other Christians to apostatize. (The severed ears were displayed in still other towns to terrify others.) When they arrived at the place of execution on a hill in Nagasaki, they were allowed to make their confession to two Jesuits.

They were killed simultaneously by a sort of crucifixion. First they were bound or chained to crosses on the ground, with an iron collar around their necks. The crosses were then planted in a row about four feet apart and each saint was and then stabbed with a spear by his own executioner. Their blood and garments were procured by Christians, and miracles were attributed to them. The rest of the missionaries were deported, except for another 28 priests who stayed behind in disguise.

From their canonization until the revision of the Roman calendar in 1970, their feast was celebrated only in Japan and by the Franciscans and Jesuits. Now they are remembered universally as the first martyrs of the Far East. Others, not yet canonized, were martyred in 1617, 1622, 1624, 1629, and 1632. This group includes:

Antony Deynan, born at Nagasaki, was a 13-year-old altar boy and a Franciscan tertiary a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. Arrested by the Japanese authorities, he was crucified. He was beatified in 1627 and canonized in 1862.
Bonaventure of Miyako (Meaco), OFM Tert., a Japanese native who became a Franciscan tertiary and catechist. (He may only have been beatified and isn't included in the group of 26 who were canonized).
Caius Francis, OFM Tert., was a Japanese soldier who had only recently been baptized and received as a Franciscan tertiary. He insisted on being arrested with the friars.
Cosmas Takeya (Tachegia, Zaquira), OFM Tert., a lay Franciscan from Owari, Japan, who served the Franciscan missionaries as interpreter and preached in Osaka.
Diego (James) Kisai (Kizayemon), SJ, a Japanese layman who was the temporal coadjutor of the Jesuits and a catechist in Osaka. Like John Gotto, he was admitted to the Society of Jesus while he was imprisoned, just before his death at age 64.
Francis Blanco, OFM, a native of Monterey, Galicia, Spain. He studied in Salamanca, and was professed as a Franciscan at Vallalpando. He first labored as a missionary at Churubusco, Mexico, and in 1594, he migrated from Manila to Japan.
Francis of Miyako (of Nagasaki), OFM Tert., was a Japanese physician from Miyako, who later in life was converted to Catholicism by the Franciscan missionaries in Japan and became a tertiary and lay catechist.
Francis of Saint Michael, OFM, was born at Parilla (near Valladolid), Spain. He joined the Franciscans as a lay brother and was sent from the Philippines to Japan as a missionary. He was arrested in Osaka with his companion Saint Peter Baptist, in 1596, and awaited execution the following year.
Gabriel de Duisco, OFM Tert., the 19-year-old son of the Franciscans' native porter.
Gundisalvus (Gonsalo) Garcia, OFM, born at Bassein near Bombay, India, in 1556 of Portuguese parents, although some claim that his parents were Indian converts who took Portuguese names. He first served the Jesuits as a catechist, then opened a flourishing business in Japan, and in 1591 joined the Franciscans as a lay brother in Manila, the Philippines. He returned to Japan as an interpreter to Saint Peter Baptist.
Joachim Sakakibara (Saccachibara), OFM Tert., the Japanese lay cook (another source says the physician) for the Franciscans at Osaka, who also served as a catechist.
John Soan de Goto, SJ, a 19-year-old native Japanese who was admitted to the Jesuits in prison shortly before his martyrdom. Prior to that he was a temporal-coadjutor of the Society of Jesus and catechist at Osaka.
John Kisaka (Kimoia), OFM Tert., a Japanese silk-weaver, born at Miyako. He was baptized and received into the third order shortly before his crucifixion.
Leo Karasumaru (Carasuma), a native of Korea, a pagan priest prior to his conversion to Christianity. He was baptized by the Jesuits in Japan in 1589. He became the first Korean Franciscan tertiary and was the chief catechist for the friars. With him was crucified his brother Paul Ibaraki and their 12-year-old nephew Louis Ibaraki.
Louis Ibaraki (Ibarki) the 12-year-old nephew of Paul Ibaraki and Leo Karasumaru, who served as acolyte for the Franciscans.
Martin Loynaz (de Aguirre) of the Ascension, OFM, a native of Vergara near Pamplona, Spain. He studied in Alcala and became a Franciscan in 1586. He first worked as a missionary in Mexico, then Manila in the Philippines, and finally in Japan where the Church was converting hundreds in all regions. Christianity was tolerated in Japan at the time, and Martin was able to preach and instruct his Japanese parishioners. Within the Japanese government, however, many counseled opposition to the Christian faith, which they believed was but a prelude to a European invasion. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, at that time the power in Japan, was finally convinced that Christianity was a threat to Japanese peace and independence, and decided to rid his country of all foreign influence. He instituted a persecution that involved thousands, including the European missionaries. Martin was arrested with twenty­five of his converts. They were crucified on February 25, 1597, near Nagasaki. All of the Martyrs of Japan were canonized in 1862.
Matthias of Miyako Martyr of Japan, OFM Tert., a Japanese native, became a Franciscan tertiary. Matthias was not listed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi as one of the twenty-six Christians to be slain as examples; however, he took the place of one of the designated martyrs and was crucified with St. Peter Baptist and companions in Nagasaki. Matthias was canonized in 1862.
Michael Cozaki was a Japanese catechist and hospital nurse to the Franciscan missionaries. He was martyred with his own son, Thomas.
Paul Ibaraki (Yuanki, Yuaniqui), OFM Tert., was the brother of Leo Karasumaru and a lay tertiary, interpreter, and catechist.
Paul Miki, SJ (born 1562, died at age 33), son of a Japanese military leader, was born at Tounucumada, Japan, was educated at the Jesuit college at Anziquiama, joined the Jesuits in 1580, and became known for his eloquent preaching. His last sermon was delivered from the cross on which he was martyred.
St. Paul Miki
He was crucified on Februay 5 with twenty-five other Catholics during the persecution of Christians under the Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ruler of Japan in the name of the emperor.
Paul Suzuki, OFM Tert. (born 1563), a native of Owari, Japan, was baptized by the Jesuits in 1584, became a Franciscan tertiary, and was an outstanding catechist until he, too, was crucified near Nagasaki.
1597 Peter Baptist, OFM, (born 1545) was a native of Avila, Spain. He joined the Franciscans in 1567, worked as a missionary in Mexico, was sent to the Philippines in 1583, and on to Japan in 1593, where he served as commissary for the Franciscans.  He had the gift of working miracles and is considered the leader of the Franciscan martyrs.
Peter Sukejiro (Xukexico), OFM Tert., a Japanese Franciscan tertiary who served as a catechist, house servant, and sacristan to the Franciscan missionaries. He was sent by a Jesuit priest to help the prisoners, and was then arrested.
Philip de las Casas, OFM.
Thomas Cozaki (Kasaki), a 15-year-old Japanese native, who served as acolyte and was martyred with his father, Michael.
Thomas Xico (Dauki), OFM Tert., a Japanese Franciscan tertiary, catechist, and interpreter to the missionaries.
Ventura, a Japanese layman from Miyako, who had been baptized by the Jesuits, gave up his Catholicism on the death of his father, became a bonze, and was brought back to the Church by the Franciscans (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, Walsh, White).
1696  Sainted Theodosii (Feodosii), Archbishop of Chernigov
Born at the beginning of the decade of the thirties of the XVII Century in Podol'sk governance. He was descended from an old court-nobility lineage, the Polonitsky-Uglitsky's. His parents were the priest Nikita and Maria. The piety prevailing within the family of the future saint contributed greatly to the spiritual growth of the boy. From childhood he distinguished himself with his gentleness and disposition towards prayer. The innate abilities of the youth came to light in the Kievo-Bratsk college at the Kiev Theophany monastery. This was a time of an extensive flourishing of the college (the end of the 1640's), when its rectors were the archimandrite Innokentii (Gizel'), and later the hegumen and afterwards archbishop of Chernigov, Lazar (Baranovich). Among its instructors were: the priestmonk Epiphanii (Slavinetsky), the priestmonk Arsenii (Satanovsky), the Belorus bishop Theodosii (Baevsky), the hegumen Theodosii (Saphonovich) and Meletii Dzik -- all these were indeed men of enlightenment for those times. The comrades of Saint Theodosii at the college were themselves to become future outstanding pastors: Simeon Polotsky, Ioannikii Golyatovsky, Antonii Radivillovsky, Varlaam Yasninsky. The Kievo-Bratsk Theophany school was at this time the chief centre in the struggle of Orthodoxy against the assaults of Catholic clergy, and Jesuits and Uniates.


The vocation of Saint Theodosii to the monastic life ultimately formed during his years of study: he devoted all his free time to prayer, meditation on God and the reading of Sacred Scripture.

It might be surmised, that the saint did not finish the full course of the college studies, since the school ceased its activity for several years following the devastating of Podolia by the Poles. The saint all his life had deep regard for the Kievo-Bratsk monastery that had educated him. In the Synodikon of the Kievo-Vydubitsk monastery is the following remark about Saint Theodosii: "He was a man of fine intellect and generous to the Kiev Bratsk monastery".

Upon receiving his education, the future hierarch accepted monastic tonsure at the Kievo-Pechersk Lavra with the name Theodosii, in honour of the Monk Theodosii (Feodosii) of Pechersk (Comm. 3 May) (worldly name unknown).

The Kiev metropolitan Dionysii (Balaban) made him archdeacon of the Kiev Sophia cathedral, and then appointed him administrator of the metropolitan cathedral house. But soon he left Kiev and resettled at the distant Krutitsk monastery (in Chernigov diocese), near the locale Baturino, which was famed for its strict monastic life. He was consecrated there to the dignity of priestmonk. In the year 1662 Saint Theodosii was appointed hegumen of the Korsunsk monastery in Kiev diocese, and in the year 1664 -- was made head of the ancient Kievo-Vydubitsk monastery. This monastery shortly before had fallen into the hands of the Uniates and was in complete ruin. But thanks to the energy and initiative of Saint Theodosii, the Vydubitsk Mikhailovsk monastery was quickly restored. He concerned himself in particular about the order of churchly property. He formed an excellent choir, which was famed not only in Little Russia, but also in Moscow, where Saint Theodosii in 1685 sent his singers. And concerning himself over the spiritual growth of the monastery inhabitants, being himself a strict ascetic, in 1680 the holy hegumen made on the island of Mikhailovschina, not far from the monastery, a small skete-monastery for brethren wishing solitude. He appointed there to organise and administrate it one of the most zealous monks of his monastery -- the priestmonk Job (Opalinsky).

In his role as hegumen of the Kievo-Vydubitsk monastery, Saint Theodosii had to live through some quite difficult days. He was accused together with other hegumens by Methodii, bishop of Mstislavsk and Orshansk, of betraying the Russian governance in a supposed correspondence with those treasonous to Russia. On 20 September 1668 Saint Theodosii had occasion to give an explanation in the matter. And on 17 November 1668 the slander unraveled, and Saint Theodosii together with the other hegumens received a pardon. His Grace Lazar (Baranovich) esteemed the high spiritual qualities of Saint Theodosii and befriended him. He called him "a sheep of the flock of Christ, teaching by humility", and he prophetically expressed the wish, that the name of Saint Theodosii might be inscribed in Heaven. When His Grace Lazar in 1689 became locum tenens of the Kiev metropolitan see, he appointed Saint Theodosii as his vicar in Kiev, while he himself remained at Chernigov. In his capacity as vicar of the locum tenens of the Kiev metropolitan see, Saint Theodosii had an active role in many a churchly event. In 1685 he participated with the right of a decisive vote in the selection of bishop Gedeon (Chetverinsky) as metropolitan of Kiev, and he was sent to Moscow with news of this event together with the Pereyaslavl' hegumen Ieronim (Jerome) (Dubin). In Moscow both representatives were received with honour and esteem. And indeed, the result of this delegation was the re-uniting of the Kiev metropolitan see with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1688 Saint Theodosii was appointed archimandrite of the Chernigov Eletsk monastery, replacing the deceased archimandrite Ioannikii (Golyatovsky). And from the time all the activity of the saint transferred over from Kiev to Chernigov. This appointment comprised primarily, in accord with the wishes of His Grace Lazar, that Saint Theodosii should spare no little toil over putting back the Eletsk monastery in good order, since this monastery had not yet been set aright after the expulsion of the Jesuits and Dominicans, and it was very much in bad shape and disorder. Through the efforts of Saint Theodosii, good results were achieved over the course of two or three years, which then fully guaranteed its existence. The saint in his new position also rendered all kinds of assistance to His Grace Lazar in all kinds of important matters. He participated in composing a conciliar reply to the Moscow Patriarch Ioakim in response to his letters questioning the attitude of the Kiev metropolitan see to the Council of Florence, and its judgement on the question of the transformation of the Holy Gifts as accepted by this Florentine Council. When the Patriarch proved to be unsatisfied by these answers, there was dispatched to him at the beginning of 1689 the Baturinsk hegumen Saint Dimitrii (Tuptalo) (the future metropolitan of Rostov). Saint Theodosii journeyed with him in the capacity of representative of His Grace Lazar. He was entrusted to present the Patriarch a letter of reply and to clear up the misunderstandings. On 11 September 1692 Saint Theodosii was solemnly ordained an archbishop in the Uspenie (Dormition) cathdral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Little in the way of an account of the governance by Saint Theodosii of the Chernigov diocese has been preserved. The saint directed special attention to the rousing and increase in the flock of a true Christian piety. With this end in mind he concerned himself with the upkeep of the old and the building of new monasteries and churches. At the very beginning of his episcopate, with his blessing, there was established the Pecheniksk women's monastery, and he himself consecrated the monastery church in honour of the Uspenie (Dormition) of the MostHoly Mother of God. In 1694, with his blessing, there was founded the Liubetsk skete-monastery, 2 versts from Liubech. In 1694 also the saint consecrated at the Domnitsk men's monastery a temple in honour of the Nativity of the MostHoly Mother of God. And in the Summer of 1695 he consecrated a majestic temple in honour of the MostHoly Mother of God, built on the summit of Boldinsk Hill, near the ancient Il'insk monastery. Under Saint Theodosii may be noted an especial enthusiasm and strengthening of monasticism in the Chernigov diocese. The saint also devoted great attention to the clergy, and he was a strict questioner in the selection of candidates for priesthood. He gave especial patronage to the Chernigov clergy school, he invited learned monks from Kiev, among whom was Saint John (Maksimovich), the future metropolitan of Tobol'sk, but likewise an helper and successor of Saint Theodosii in organising the Chernigov clergy school. Strict uprightness in regard to clergy and flock, deep compassion, concern and Christian love of peace were distinguishing features in the activity of Saint Theodosii. To him often turned not only the Orthodox for aid and advice, but even persons of other confessions.

But Saint Theodosii could not long sustain the Chernigov flock. Sensing the approach of death, he summoned to him the administrator of the Bryansk Svensk monastery, Saint John (Maksimovich), and elevated him from priestmonk to archimandrite of the Chernigov Eletsk monastery. In this new archimandrite he prepared beforehand his successor. On 6 February 1696 Sainted Theodosii died and was buried in the Chernigov Borisoglebsk cathedral church, beyond the right kleros-choir, in a special crypt made for this. His successor Sainted John (Maksimovich) later built over his grave a brick arch with an eulogistic inscription in verse, in gratitude for a miraculous healing from a grievous illness. The special granting of grace to which Saint Theodosii attained, is testified to by his ascetic life and his hidden help to all, who recourse to him in prayer.
The glorification of Saint Theodosii occurred on 9 September 1896.


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 257

Have mercy on me, O Lady, have mercy on me: for my heart is prepared to seek out thy will.

And I will rest in the shelter of thine arms: for sweet to me is thy refreshment.

Thy hands have distilled the first myrrh: and thy fingers the unguents of graces.

And a fragment of pomegranate is thy throat: and thy breath is sweet as an amalgam of choice smelling herbs.

For thou art the mother of fair love and the anchor of hope:
the harbor of safety, indulgence or pardon, and the gate of salvation.

Let every spirit praise Our Lady

For thy spirit is kind: thy grace fills the whole world.

Thunder, ye heavens, from above, and give praise to her: glorify her, ye earth, with all the dwellers therein.


Rejoice, ye Heavens, and be glad, O Earth: because Mary will console her servants and will have mercy on her poor.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning and will always be.


God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea. 
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences. 
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.  Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.   God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven.
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

Patron_Saints.html  Widowed_Saints htmIndulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines  
India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes 1858  China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine  Loreto, Italy  Marian Apparitions (over 2000Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
 
Links to Related MarianWebsites  Angels and Archangels  Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BLay Saints  Miraculous_IconMiraculous_Medal_Novena Patron Saints
Miracles by Century 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800  1900 2000
Miracles 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000  
 
1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900 Lay Saints

The great psalm of the Passion, Chapter 22, whose first verse “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus pronounced on the cross, ended with the vision: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him
For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.
Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here} 2000 years of the Catholic Church in China
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos  Practical Guide to Holiness
1. Go to Mass with deepest devotion. 2. Spend a half hour to reflect upon your main failing & make resolutions to avoid it.
3. Do daily spiritual reading for at least 15 minutes, if a half hour is not possible.  4. Say the rosary every day.
5. Also daily, if at all possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament; toward evening, meditate on the Passion of Christ for a half hour, 6.  Conclude the day with evening prayer & an examination of conscience over all the faults & sins of the day.
7.  Every month make a review of the month in confession.
8. Choose a special patron every month & imitate that patron in some special virtue.
9. Precede every great feast with a novena that is nine days of devotion. 10. Try to begin & end every activity with a Hail Mary

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee.  I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not
O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.  I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I beg the conversion of poor sinners,  Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace
The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
   These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.
God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.

Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
 
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.

O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
 
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.
Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.
The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)
1.    Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2.    I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3.    The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4.    It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means.  5.    The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6.    Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.  God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7.    Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8.    Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9.    I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10.    The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.  11.    You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12.    I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13.    I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14.    All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15.    Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.
Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac
The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.
Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).
In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).
In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

Under Roman domination martyrs suffered at Edessa: Sts. Scharbîl and Barsamya, under Decius; Sts. Gûrja, Schâmôna, Habib, and others under Diocletian.
 
In the meanwhile Christian priests from Edessa evangelized Eastern Mesopotamia and Persia, established the first Churches in the kingdom of the Sassanides.  Atillâtiâ, Bishop of Edessa, assisted at the Council of Nicæa (325). The “Peregrinatio Silviæ” (or Etheriæ) (ed. Gamurrini, Rome, 1887, 62 sqq.) gives an account of the many sanctuaries at Edessa about 388.
Although Hebrew had been the language of the ancient Israelite kingdom, after their return from Exile the Jews turned more and more to Aramaic, using it for parts of the books of Ezra and Daniel in the Bible. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic was the main language of Palestine, and quite a number of texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls are also written in Aramaic.
Aramaic continued to be an important language for Jews, alongside Hebrew, and parts of the Talmud are written in it.
After Arab conquests of the seventh century, Arabic quickly replaced Aramaic as the main language of those who converted to Islam, although in out of the way places, Aramaic continued as a vernacular language of Muslims.
Aramaic, however, enjoyed its greatest success in Christianity. Although the New Testament wins written in Greek, Christianity had come into existence in an Aramaic-speaking milieu, and it was the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac, that became the literary language of a large number of Christians living in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire, further east. Over the course of the centuries the influence of the Syriac Churches spread eastwards to China (in Xian, in western China, a Chinese-Syriac inscription dated 781 is still to be seen); to southern India where the state of Kerala can boast more Christians of Syriac liturgical tradition than anywhere else in the world.

680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints.  Imam Hussein died in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the saint's shrine.  The battle over a dispute about the leadership of the Muslim faith following Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. It is the defining event in Islam's split into Sunni and Shiite branches.  The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson. "He sacrificed his blood to teach us not to give in to corruption, coercion, or use of force and to seek honor and justice."  According to Shiite beliefs, Hussein and companions were denied water by enemies who controlled the nearby Euphrates.  Streets get partially covered with blood from slaughter of hundreds of cows and sheep. Volunteers cook the meat and feed it to the poor.  Hussein's martyrdom recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to many Shiites, 10 percent of the world's estimated 1.3 billion Muslims.
Meeting of the Saints  walis (saints of Allah)
Great men covet to embrace martyrdom for a cause and principle.
So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life.  But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Sufi Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badshah Quadri Chisty Yamani Quadeer (RA)
1236-1325 welcomed people of all faiths & all walks of life.
801 Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Sufi One of the most famous Islamic mystics
(b. 717). This 8th century saint was an early Sufi who had a profound influence on later Sufis, who in turn deeply influenced the European mystical love and troubadour traditions.  Rabi'a was a woman of Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq.  She was born around 717 and died in 801 (185-186).  Her biographer, the great medieval poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary" (186).  She was, he continues, “an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries" (218).
Rabi'a began her ascetic life in a small desert cell near Basra, where she lost herself in prayer and went straight to God for teaching.  As far as is known, she never studied under any master or spiritual director.  She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path (222).  A later Sufi taught that there were two classes of "true believers": one class sought a master as an intermediary between them and God -- unless they could see the footsteps of the Prophet on the path before them, they would not accept the path as valid.  The second class “...did not look before them for the footprint of any of God's creatures, for they had removed all thought of what He had created from their hearts, and concerned themselves solely with God. (218)
Rabi'a was of this second kind.  She felt no reverence even for the House of God in Mecca:  "It is the Lord of the house Whom I need; what have I to do with the house?" (219) One lovely spring morning a friend asked her to come outside to see the works of God.  She replied, "Come you inside that you may behold their Maker.  Contemplation of the Maker has turned me aside from what He has made" (219).  During an illness, a friend asked this woman if she desired anything.
"...[H]ow can you ask me such a question as 'What do I desire?'  I swear by the glory of God that for twelve years I have desired fresh dates, and you know that in Basra dates are plentiful, and I have not yet tasted them.  I am a servant (of God), and what has a servant to do with desire?" (162)
When a male friend once suggested she should pray for relief from a debilitating illness, she said,
"O Sufyan, do you not know Who it is that wills this suffering for me?  Is it not God Who wills it?  When you know this, why do you bid me ask for what is contrary to His will?  It is not  well to oppose one's Beloved." (221)
She was an ascetic.  It was her custom to pray all night, sleep briefly just before dawn, and then rise again just as dawn "tinged the sky with gold" (187).  She lived in celibacy and poverty, having renounced the world.  A friend visited her in old age and found that all she owned were a reed mat, screen, a pottery jug, and a bed of felt which doubled as her prayer-rug (186), for where she prayed all night, she also slept briefly in the pre-dawn chill.  Once her friends offered to get her a servant; she replied,
"I should be ashamed to ask for the things of this world from Him to Whom the world belongs, and how should I ask for them from those to whom it does not belong?"  (186-7)
A wealthy merchant once wanted to give her a purse of gold.  She refused it, saying that God, who sustains even those who dishonor Him, would surely sustain her, "whose soul is overflowing with love" for Him.  And she added an ethical concern as well:
"...How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know whether he acquired it lawfully or not?" (187)
She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance.  She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did.  For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of God's servants; emotions like fear and hope were like veils -- i.e., hindrances to the vision of God Himself.  The story is told that once a number of Sufis saw her hurrying on her way with water in one hand and a burning torch in the other.  When they asked her to explain, she said:
"I am going to light a fire in Paradise and to pour water on to Hell, so that both veils may vanish altogether from before the pilgrims and their purpose may be sure..." (187-188)
She was once asked where she came from.  "From that other world," she said.  "And where are you going?" she was asked.  "To that other world," she replied (219).  She taught that the spirit originated with God in "that other world" and had to return to Him in the end.  Yet if the soul were sufficiently purified, even on earth, it could look upon God unveiled in all His glory and unite with him in love.  In this quest, logic and reason were powerless.  Instead, she speaks of the "eye" of her heart which alone could apprehend Him and His mysteries (220).
Above all, she was a lover, a bhakti, like one of Krishna’s Goptis in the Hindu tradition.  Her hours of prayer were not so much devoted to intercession as to communion with her Beloved.  Through this communion, she could discover His will for her.  Many of her prayers have come down to us:
       "I have made Thee the Companion of my heart,
        But my body is available for those who seek its company,
        And my body is friendly towards its guests,
        But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul."  [224]

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Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey  Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament
Colombia was among the countries Mother Angelica visited. 
In Bogotá, a Salesian priest - Father Juan Pablo Rodriguez - brought Mother and the nuns to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus to attend Mass.  After Mass, Father Juan Pablo took them into a small Shrine which housed the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. Mother Angelica stood praying at the side of the statue when suddenly the miraculous image came alive and turned towards her.  Then the Child Jesus spoke with the voice of a young boy:  “Build Me a Temple and I will help those who help you.” 

Thus began a great adventure that would eventually result in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a Temple dedicated to the Divine Child Jesus, a place of refuge for all. Use this link to read a remarkable story about
The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Father Reardon, Editor of The Catholic Bulletin for 14 years Lover of the poor; A very Holy Man of God.
Monsignor Reardon Protonotarius Apostolicus
 
Pastor 42 years BASILICA OF SAINT MARY Minneapolis MN
America's First Basilica Largest Nave in the World
August 7, 1907-ground broke for the foundation
by Archbishop Ireland-laying cornerstone May 31, 1908
James M. Reardon Publication History of Basilica of Saint Mary 1600-1932
James M. Reardon Publication  History of the Basilica of Saint Mary 1955 {update}

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement
1362-1950 (1952);

The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922;
  (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;
James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872;  Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;
Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.
Affiliations and Indulgence Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows here.  Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary
spaces between them filled with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron the
life of our Blessed Lady After the crucifixon
Apostle statues Replicas of those in St John Lateran--Christendom's earliest Basilica.
Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, Popes' cathedral and official residence first millennium of Christian history.

The only replicas ever made:  in order from west to east {1932}.
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
 
It Makes No Sense
Not To Believe In GOD
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
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.

Today we have a similar spiritual battle in progress—a battle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, life and death. If we do not soon stop the genocide of abortion in the United States, we shall run the course of all those that prove by their actions that they are enemies of God—total collapse, economic, social, and national. The moral demise of a nation results in the ultimate demise of a nation. God is not a disinterested spectator to the affairs of man. Life begins at conception. This is an unalterable formal teaching of the Catholic Church. If you do not accept this you are a heretic in plain English. A single abortion is homicide. The more than 48,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade in the United States constitute genocide by definition. The group singled out for death—unwanted, unborn children.

No other issue, not all other issues taken together, can constitute a proportionate reason for voting for candidates that intend to preserve and defend this holocaust of innocent human life that is abortion.

As we watch the spectacle of the world seeming to self-destruct before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened and even frightened by so much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic proportions displayed in living color on our television screens.  These are not ordinary times and this is not business as usual. We are at a crossroads in human history and the time for Catholics and all Christians to act is now. All evil can ultimately be traced to its origin, which is moral evil. All of the political action, peace talks, international peacekeeping forces, etc. will avail nothing if the underlying sickness is not addressed. This is sin. One person at a time hearts and minds must be moved from evil to good, from lies to truth, from violence to peace.
Islam, an Arabic word that has often been defined as “to make peace,” seems like a living contradiction today. Islam is a religion of peace.  As we celebrate the birthday of Our Lady, I am proposing that each one of us pray the Rosary for peace. Prayer is what must precede all other activity if that activity is to have any chance of success. Pray for peace, pray the Rosary every day without fail.  There is a great love for Mary among Muslim people. It is not a coincidence that a little village named Fatima is where God chose to have His Mother appear in the twentieth century. Our Lady’s name appears no less than thirty times in the Koran. No other woman’s name is mentioned, not even that of Mohammed’s daughter, Fatima. In the Koran Our Lady is described as “Virgin, ever Virgin.”

Archbishop Fulton Sheen prophetically spoke of the resurgence of Islam in our day. He said it would be through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Islam would be converted. We must pray for this to happen quickly if we are to avert a horrible time of suffering for this poor, sinful world. Turn to our Mother in this time of great peril. Pray the Rosary every day. Then, and only then will there be peace, when the hearts and minds of men are changed from the inside.
Talk is weak. Prayer is strong. Pray!  God bless you, Father John Corapi

Father Corapi's Biography

Father John Corapi is what has commonly been called a late vocation. In other words, he came to the priesthood other than a young man. He was 44 years old when he was ordained. From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions with the simple message that God's Name is Mercy!

Father Corapi's academic credentials are quite extensive. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University in the seventies. Then as an older man returned to the university classrooms in preparation for his life as a priest and preacher. He received all of his academic credentials for the Church with honors: a Masters degree in Sacred Scripture from Holy Apostles Seminary and Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctorate degrees in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre in Spain.

Father John Corapi goes to the heart of the contemporary world's many woes and wars, whether the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, or the Congo, or the natural disasters that seem to be increasing every year, the moral and spiritual war is at the basis of everything. “Our battle is not against human forces,” St. Paul asserts, “but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness...” (Ephesians 6:12). 
The “War to end all wars” is the moral and spiritual combat that rages in the hearts and minds of human beings. The outcome of that  unseen fight largely determines how the battle in the realm of the seen unfolds.  The title talk, “With the Moon Under Her Feet,” is taken from the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, and deals with the current threat to the world from radical Islam, and the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in the ultimate victory that will result in the conversion of Islam. Few Catholics are aware of the connection between Islam, Fatima, and Guadalupe. Presented in Father Corapi's straight-forward style, you will be both inspired and educated by him.

About Father John Corapi.
Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .
The pillars of father's preaching are basically:
Love for and a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary 
Leading a vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus Christ
Great love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist from Holy Mass to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
An uncompromising love for and obedience to the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
Jul 23, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The cause for canonization of Servant of God Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska's Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, advanced Monday with the presentation of a summary of records on his life.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
Jul 6, 2019 - 04:00 am .- Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen Friday, making possible the American television catechist's beatification.

Brooklyn diocese advances sainthood cause of local priest
Jun 25, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The Bishop of Brooklyn accepted last week the findings of a nine-year diocesan investigation into the life of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn, known for fighting bigotry and serving the African American population, as part of his cause for canonization.

Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
Jun 12, 2019 - 05:03 am .- Fr. Augustus Tolton advanced along the path to sainthood Wednesday, making the runaway slave-turned-priest one step closer to being the first black American saint.

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

Seven 20th-century Romanian bishops declared martyrs
Mar 19, 2019 - 12:01 pm .- Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Algerian martyrs to be beatified in December
Sep 14, 2018 - 06:01 pm .- The Algerian bishops' conference has announced that the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996, will be held Dec. 8.

Now a cardinal, Giovanni Angelo Becciu heads to congregation for saints' causes
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:41 am .- Newly-minted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu will resign from his post as substitute of the Secretariat of State tomorrow, in anticipation of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later this summer.

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
Jul 23, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The cause for canonization of Servant of God Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska's Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, advanced Monday with the presentation of a summary of records on his life.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
Jul 6, 2019 - 04:00 am .- Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen Friday, making possible the American television catechist's beatification.

Brooklyn diocese advances sainthood cause of local priest
Jun 25, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The Bishop of Brooklyn accepted last week the findings of a nine-year diocesan investigation into the life of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn, known for fighting bigotry and serving the African American population, as part of his cause for canonization.

Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
Jun 12, 2019 - 05:03 am .- Fr. Augustus Tolton advanced along the path to sainthood Wednesday, making the runaway slave-turned-priest one step closer to being the first black American saint.

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

Seven 20th-century Romanian bishops declared martyrs
Mar 19, 2019 - 12:01 pm .- Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Algerian martyrs to be beatified in December
Sep 14, 2018 - 06:01 pm .- The Algerian bishops' conference has announced that the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996, will be held Dec. 8.

Now a cardinal, Giovanni Angelo Becciu heads to congregation for saints' causes
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:41 am .- Newly-minted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu will resign from his post as substitute of the Secretariat of State tomorrow, in anticipation of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later this summer.

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

8 Martyrs Move Closer to Sainthood 8 July, 2016
Posted by ZENIT Staff on 8 July, 2016

The angel appears to Saint Monica
This morning, Pope Francis received Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato. During the audience, he authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

***
MIRACLES:
Miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Luis Antonio Rosa Ormières, priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Guardian Angel; born July 4, 1809 and died on Jan. 16, 1890
MARTYRDOM:
Servants of God Antonio Arribas Hortigüela and 6 Companions, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart; killed in hatred of the Faith, Sept. 29, 1936
Servant of God Josef Mayr-Nusser, a layman; killed in hatred of the Faith, Feb. 24, 1945
HEROIC VIRTUE:

Servant of God Alfonse Gallegos of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Titular Bishop of Sasabe, auxiliary of Sacramento; born Feb. 20, 1931 and died Oct. 6, 1991
Servant of God Rafael Sánchez García, diocesan priest; born June 14, 1911 and died on Aug. 8, 1973
Servant of God Andrés García Acosta, professed layman of the Order of Friars Minor; born Jan. 10, 1800 and died Jan. 14, 1853
Servant of God Joseph Marchetti, professed priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles; born Oct. 3, 1869 and died Dec. 14, 1896
Servant of God Giacomo Viale, professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, pastor of Bordighera; born Feb. 28, 1830 and died April 16, 1912
Servant of God Maria Pia of the Cross (née Maddalena Notari), foundress of the Congregation of Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Eucharist; born Dec. 2, 1847 and died on July 1, 1919
Sunday, November 23 2014 Six to Be Canonized on Feast of Christ the King.

On the List Are Lay Founder of a Hospital and Eastern Catholic Religious
VATICAN CITY, June 12, 2014 (Zenit.org) - Today, the Vatican announced that during the celebration of the feast of Christ the King on Sunday, November 23, an ordinary public consistory will be held for the canonization of the following six blesseds, who include a lay founder of a hospital for the poor, founders of religious orders, and two members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See:
-Giovanni Antonio Farina (1803-1888), an Italian bishop who founded the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts
-Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871), a Syro-Malabar priest in India who founded the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
-Ludovico of Casoria (1814-1885), an Italian Franciscan priest who founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth
-Nicola Saggio (Nicola da Longobardi, 1650-1709), an Italian oblate of the Order of Minims
-Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952), an Indian Carmelite of the Syro-Malabar Church
-Amato Ronconi (1238-1304), an Italian, Third Order Franciscan who founded a hospital for poor pilgrims

CAUSES OF SAINTS July 2015.
Pope Recognizes Heroic Virtues of Ukrainian Archbishop
Recognition Brings Metropolitan Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky Closer to Beatification
By Junno Arocho Esteves Rome, July 17, 2015 (ZENIT.org)
Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky. According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father met this morning with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The Pope also recognized the heroic virtues of several religious/lay men and women from Italy, Spain, France & Mexico.
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky is considered to be one of the most influential 20th century figures in the history of the Ukrainian Church.
Enthroned as Metropolitan of Lviv in 1901, Archbishop Sheptytsky was arrested shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914 by the Russians. After his imprisonment in several prisons in Russia and the Ukraine, the Archbishop was released in 1918.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate was also an ardent supporter of the Jewish community in Ukraine, going so far as to learn Hebrew to better communicate with them. He also was a vocal protestor against atrocities committed by the Nazis, evidenced in his pastoral letter, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." He was also known to harbor thousands of Jews in his residence and in Greek Catholic monasteries.
Following his death in 1944, his cause for canonization was opened in 1958.
* * *
The Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees regarding the heroic virtues of:
- Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., major archbishop of Leopolis of the Ukrainians, metropolitan of Halyc (1865-1944);
- Servant of God Giuseppe Carraro, Bishop of Verona, Italy (1899-1980);
- Servant of God Agustin Ramirez Barba, Mexican diocesan priest and founder of the Servants of the Lord of Mercy (1881-1967);
- Servant of God Simpliciano della Nativita (ne Aniello Francesco Saverio Maresca), Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1827-1898);
- Servant of God Maria del Refugio Aguilar y Torres del Cancino, Mexican founder of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1866-1937);
- Servant of God Marie-Charlotte Dupouy Bordes (Marie-Teresa), French professed religious of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1873-1953);
- Servant of God Elisa Miceli, Italian founder of the Rural Catechist Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1904-1976);
- Servant of God Isabel Mendez Herrero (Isabel of Mary Immaculate), Spanish professed nun of the Servants of St. Joseph (1924-1953)
October 01, 2015 Vatican City, Pope Authorizes following Decrees
(ZENIT.org) By Staff Reporter
Polish Layperson Recognized as Servant of God
Pope Authorizes Decrees
Pope Francis on Wednesday authorised the Congregation for Saints' Causes to promulgate the following decrees:

MARTYRDOM
- Servant of God Valentin Palencia Marquina, Spanish diocesan priest, killed in hatred of the faith in Suances, Spain in 1937;

HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Folci, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Opera Divin Prigioniero (1890-1963);
- Servant of God Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish diocesan priest (1921-1987);
- Servant of God Jose Rivera Ramirez, Spanish diocesan priest (1925-1991);
- Servant of God Juan Manuel Martín del Campo, Mexican diocesan priest (1917-1996);
- Servant of God Antonio Filomeno Maria Losito, Italian professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (1838-1917);
- Servant of God Maria Benedetta Giuseppa Frey (nee Ersilia Penelope), Italian professed nun of the Cistercian Order (1836-1913);
- Servant of God Hanna Chrzanowska, Polish layperson, Oblate of the Ursulines of St. Benedict (1902-1973).
March 06 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Pope Francis received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES

– Blessed Manuel González García, bishop of Palencia, Spain, founder of the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth (1877-1940);
– Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity (née Elisabeth Catez), French professed religious of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1880-1906);
– Venerable Servant of God Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus (né Henri Grialou), French professed priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, founder of the Secular Institute “Notre-Dame de Vie” (1894-1967);
– Venerable Servant of God María Antonia of St. Joseph (née María Antonio de Paz y Figueroa), Argentine founder of the Beaterio of the Spiritual Exercise of Buenos Aires (1730-1799);
HEROIC VIRTUE

– Servant of God Stefano Ferrando, Italian professed priest of the Salesians, bishop of Shillong, India, founder of the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (1895-1978);
– Servant of God Enrico Battista Stanislao Verjus, Italian professed priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, coadjutor of the apostolic vicariate of New Guinea (1860-1892);
– Servant of God Giovanni Battista Quilici, Italian diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Crucified (1791-1844);
– Servant of God Bernardo Mattio, Italian diocesan priest (1845-1914);
– Servant of God Quirico Pignalberi, Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1891-1982);
– Servant of God Teodora Campostrini, Italian founder of the Minim Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Sorrows (1788-1860);
– Servant of God Bianca Piccolomini Clementini, Italian founder of the Company of St. Angela Merici di Siena (1875-1959);
– Servant of God María Nieves of the Holy Family (née María Nieves Sánchez y Fernández), Spanish professed religious of the Daughters of Mary of the Pious Schools (1900-1978).

April 26 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Here is the full list of decrees approved by the Pope:

MIRACLES
– Blessed Alfonso Maria Fusco, diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist (1839-1910);
– Venerable Servant of God John Sullivan, professed priest of the Society of Jesus (1861-1933);
MARTYRDOM
– Servants of God Nikolle Vinçenc Prennushi, O.F.M., archbishop of Durres, Albania, and 37 companions killed between 1945 and 1974;
– Servants of God José Antón Gómez and three companions of the Benedictines of Madrid, Spain, killed 1936;
HEROIC VIRTUES
– Servant of God Thomas Choe Yang-Eop, diocesan priest (1821-1861);
– Servant of God Sosio Del Prete (né Vincenzo), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Little Servants of Christ the King (1885-1952);
– Servant of God Wenanty Katarzyniec (né Jósef), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1889-1921);
– Servant of God Maria Consiglia of the Holy Spirity (née Emilia Paqualina Addatis), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Addolorata, Servants of Mary (1845-1900);
– Servant of God Maria of the Incarnation (née Caterina Carrasco Tenorio), founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of the Flock of Mary (1840-1917);
– Servant of God , founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Family of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1851-1923);
– Servant of God Ilia Corsaro, founder of the Congregation of the Little Missionaries of the Eucharist (1897-1977);
– Servant of God Maria Montserrat Grases García, layperson of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1941-1959).
LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858 
China
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May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798  
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Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates, 257 2024