Mary Mother of GOD
15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart
From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
Saints of this Day January  08 Sexto Idus Januárii.
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!)
The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us that a life of Christian perfection is not impossible.
Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here }
Sunday, January 08, 2012
The Epiphany of the Lord (Solemnity)
    First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:
       
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13
Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12

Christ, the Master of humility, manifests His Truth only to the humble and hides Himself from the proud.
-- St Vincent Ferrer

January 8 - Our Lady of Prompt Succor
(New Orleans, 1809)
She is Goodness
She is goodness Like the Mother In the Trinity The Daughter and the Mother She is goodness, Compassion Without end and without respite
The intercession that compassion Supports and uplifts.
Paul Verlaine (1844-1846) French poet

Saint John, Son of Mary (VIII) - Our Lady of Prompt Succor (New Orleans, 1809)
 During the 40 years that followed the Assumption of Mary,
Saint John was, as Tradition tells us, the great teacher of the bishops and disciples of first generation Christians
(like St Ignatius and St Polycarp, who in turn formed Pothinus and Irenaeus).
John received them, gave them a long and thorough oral education, thereby establishing the first seminaries,
in Jerusalem, then in Ephesus, until the reign of Domitian
(the first Emperor of Rome to decree a permanent public cult to his so-called "divine" person).

In Ephesus where John regularly resided, Domitian built an imposing Temple, 300 ft. x 280 ft., with an 80 ft. x 112 ft. peripterus, including an over-life sized statue of him. A team of Austrian archeologists that worked at the Ephesus site reported that Domitian financed a fountain, a third system of water adduction, the pavement of the Embolus, and a new gymnasium in Ephesus. The team also noted that he had hired the procurator Tiberius Claudius Clemens as construction site manager (according to Helmut Halfman, Ephesus and Pergame, Urbanism and Commissioners in Asia Minor - Ausonius 2004).

John, at the time the last living Apostle, must have protested against Domitian's blasphemy, since he was brought to Rome in 94 A.D. - according to several traditions - to appear before the Emperor, who questioned him and submitted him to the torture of boiling oil, at the Latin Gate in front of Diana's temple who is the same Artemis of Ephesus.

Several ancient writers (Polycarp, Tertullian, Jerome, Ambrose, the Venerable Bede, and apocryphal writers Abdias of Babylon, John, and Prochorus) relate the miracle celebrated ever since, every year in Rome on May 6:
"He came out of the cauldron cooler and more vigorous than he had entered it." (Saint Jerome)

Tertullian is insistent about the three great martyrs of the Roman Church:
"If you go to Italy, you find Rome, where all authority is at our disposal. Oh! How happy is this Church (of Rome) where a handful of Apostles have spread the whole doctrine and shed their blood; where Peter underwent a martyrdom similar to that of Our Lord Jesus; where Paul received the same crown as John (the Baptist);
and where the apostle John, immersed in boiling oil, was unscathed and condemned to his exile on the island."
After Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics chap. 36 - P.L. II, 59

“The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....’ Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death,
so that we may also share their crowns of glory” Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
The 2nd day Afterfeast of Theophany
175 St. Apollinaris appologist bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia
290 St. Lucian Martyred missionary with companions, Julian, /Maximian;  relics
       were famous for miracles
304 St. Carterius Priest martyr of Caesarea in Cappadocia
       Saint Domnica came from Carthage to Constantinople
4th v. St. Eugenian Bishop martyr of Autun foe of Arianism
4th v. St. Ergnad Irish nun who received the veil from St. Patrick
         St. Patiens of Metz (French, bishop)
425 St. Atticus Bishop converted  opponent of St. John Chrysostom
482 St. Severinus Monk hermit founder of monasteries along Danube comfort to
       refugees victims of Attila
511 St. Maximus Bishop of Pavia, Italy
550 ST SEVERINUS, BISHOP OF SEPTEMPEDA
7v Saint George the Chozebite example in fasting, vigil and physical efforts
      Theophilus, deacon, and Helladius
673 St. Frodobert Benedictine abbot-founder monk
686 St.  Erhard Irish Bishop missionary to Bavaria
712 St. Gudula Patroness of Brussels, Belgium
719 ST PEGA, VIRGIN; Ordericus Vitalis says her relics were honoured with
       miracles, and kept in a church which bore her name at Rome, but this church is not now known
762 St. Garibaldus Benedictine bishop of Regensburg ordained by St. Boniface
800 St. Albert Patron saint of Cashel English in Ireland and Bavaria
923 St. Athelm Benedictine Archbishop of Canterbury uncle of St. Dunstan
        St. Severin abbot
1002 St. Wulsin Benedictine bishop monk St. Dunstan disciple abbot of Westminster 
1285 St. Thorfinn miracles reported at his tomb 50 yrs after death
       St. Theophilus & Helladius martyrs  in Libya
1309 Blessed Angela of Foligno dedicated to prayer and works of charity; her Book of Visions and Instructions--
        Angela the title "Teacher of Theologians." She was beatified in 1693. 
1456 St. Lawrence Justinian first Patriarch of Venice
On Death and Life
"Man Needs Eternity -- and Every Other Hope, for Him, Is All Too Brief"
DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS VATICAN CITY, 19 DEC 2011 (VIS)
  Saints of this Day January  08 Sexto Idus Januárii.  
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.
 BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR     JANUARY 2012
General Intention: Victims of Natural Disasters.
That the victims of natural disasters may receive the spiritual and material comfort they need to rebuild their lives.
Missionary Intention: Dedication to Peace.
That dedication of Christians to peace may bear witness to the name of Christ before all men and women of good will.

The Rosary html Mary Mother of GOD -- Her Rosary Here
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Mary's Divine Motherhood
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
Called in the Gospel “the Mother of Jesus,” Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as “the Mother of my Lord” (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly “Mother of God” (Theotokos). 
Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
“The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ.”
 (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).
Feasts of Our Lady.html January to December
breviary.net/martyrology/mart01 08 stlukeorthodox.com/html/saints/  usccb.org  ewtn.com  St Patricks 01 08
domcentral.org/life/martyr Jan syriac   oca.org   glaubenszeugen.de/tage/kai/08 Serbian   http://www.copticchurch.net  Melkite
Monthly Saints with pics here http://www.stfrancisenid.com/memorials.htm  antiochian.org/AW-WomenSaints--wonderful icons
Lutheran Saints  One Saint per day stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/index.htm    stjohndc.org  God's Humourous Saints

Join Mary of Nazareth Project help us build the International Marian Center of Nazareth.

http://www.worldpriest.com/
THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE BELIEVED POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI
Morning Prayer and Hymn    Meditation of the Day    Prayer for Priests    Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List  Here
How to Stay Out of PURGATORY -- How to Get others Out     POPES html    Parents of Saints html   
The_Litany_of_the_Blessed_Virgin.html   Patron_Saints.html    Angels and Archangels html
Marian Apparitions. html
   We are called upon with the whole Church militant on earth to join in praising and thanking God for the grace and glory he has bestowed on his saints. At the same time we earnestly implore Him to exert His almighty power and mercy in raising us from our miseries and sins, healing the disorders of our souls and leading us by the path of repentance to the company of His saints, to which He has called us.
   They were once what we are now, travellers on earth they had the same weaknesses, which we have. We have difficulties to encounter so had the saints, and many of them far greater than we can meet with; obstacles from kings and whole nations, sometimes from the prisons, racks and swords of persecutors. Yet they surmounted these difficulties, which they made the very means of their virtue and victories. It was by the strength they received from above, not by their own, that they triumphed. But the blood of Christ was shed for us as it was for them and the grace of our Redeemer is not wanting to us; if we fail, the failure is in ourselves.
   THE saints and just, from the beginning of time and throughout the world, who have been made perfect, everlasting monuments of God’s infinite power and clemency, praise His goodness without ceasing; casting their crowns before His throne they give to Him all the glory of their triumphs: “His gifts alone in us He crowns.”
“The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....’ Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory” Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

Called in the Gospel “the Mother of Jesus,” Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as “the Mother of my Lord” (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son,  the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly “Mother of God” (Theotokos).
Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart ... From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to me, His unworthy slave, if I mistake not:
“I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment.”
Margaret Mary was inspired by Christ to establish the Holy Hour and to pray lying prostrate with her face to the ground from eleven till midnight on the eve of the first Friday of each month, to share in the mortal sadness.
He endured when abandoned by His Apostles in His Agony, and to receive holy Communion on the first Friday of every month. In the first great revelation, He made known to her His ardent desire to be loved by men and His design of manifesting His Heart with all Its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification and salvation.
He appointed the Friday after the octave of the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart; He called her “the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart”, and the heiress of all Its treasures. The love of the Sacred Heart was the fire which consumed her, and devotion to the Sacred Heart is the refrain of all her writings. In her last illness she refused all alleviation, repeating frequently: “What have I in heaven and what do I desire on earth, but Thee alone, O my God”, and died pronouncing the Holy Name of Jesus.
With regard to this promise it may be remarked: (1) that our Lord required Communion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; (2) that the nine Fridays must be consecutive; (3) that they must be made in honor of His Sacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for our Lord; (4) that our Lord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary to lead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promises abundant graces to those who make the nine Fridays to help them to carry out these obligations and persevere to the end; (5) that perseverance in receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Firdays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which our Lord eagerly desires; and (6) that the practice of the nine Fridays is very pleasing to our Lord He promises such great reward, and all Catholics should endeavor to make nine Fridays.
How do I start the Five First Saturdays? by Fr. Tom O'Mahony
On July 13,1917, Our Lady appeared for the third time to the three children of Fatima an showed them the vision of hell and made the now - famous thirteen prophecies. In this vision Our Lady said that 'GOD WISHES TO ESTABLISH IN THE WORLD DEVOTION to Her Immaculate Heart and that She would come TO ASK FOR THE COMMUNION OF REPARATION ON THE FIRST SATURDAYS...'  Eight years later, on December 10, 1925, Our Lady did indeed come back. She appeared (with the Child Jesus) to Lucia in the convent of the Dorothean Sisters in Pontevedra.
The Child Jesus spoke first:
'HAVE COMPASSION ON THE HEART OF YOUR MOST HOLY MOTHER WHICH IS COVERED WITH THORNS WITH WHICH UNGRATEFUL MEN PIERCE IT AT EVERY MOMENT, WHILE THERE IS NO ONE TO REMOVE THEM WITH AN ACT OF REPARATION.'

THE GREAT PROMISE
Our Lady then said: 'MY DAUGHTER LOOK AT MY HEART SURROUNDED WITH THORNS WITH WHICH UNGRATEFUL MEN PIERCE IT AT EVERY MOMENT BY THEIR BLASPHEMIES AND INGRATITUDE. YOU, AT LEAST, TRY TO CONSOLE ME, AND SAY THAT I PROMISE TO ASSIST AT THE HOUR OF DEATH WITH ALL THE GRACES NECESSARY FOR SALVATION, ALL THOSE WHO, ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF FIVE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS GO TO CONFESSION AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION, RECITE FIVE DECADES OF THE ROSARY AND KEEP ME COMPANY FOR A QUARTER OF AN HOUR WHILE MEDITATING ON MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY, WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING REPARATION TO ME.'

The Five Reasons
Lucia once asked this question of Our Lord and received as an answer: 'MY DAUGHTER, THE MOTIVE IS SIMPLE, THERE ARE FIVE KINDS OF OFFENCES AND BLASPHEMIES UTTERED AGAINST THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: (1) BLASPHEMIES AGAINST THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: (2) BLASPHEMIES AGAINST HER VIRGINITY: (3) BLASPHEMIES AGAINST HER DIVINE MATERNITY: (4) BLASPHEMIES OF THOSE WHO OPENLY SEEK TO FOSTER IN THE HEARTS OF CHILDREN INDIFFERENCE OR EVEN HATRED FOR THIS IMMACULATE MOTHER: (5) THE OFFENCES OF THOSE WHO DIRECTLY OUTRAGE HER IN HOLY IMAGES.'
From the above, it is easy to see that each of the Five Saturdays can correspond to a specific offence. By offering the graces received during each First Saturday as reparation for the offence being prayed for, the participant can hope to help remove the thorns from Our Lady's Heart.
What Do I Have To Do?
The devotion of First Saturdays, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, carries with it the assurance of salvation. However, to derive profit from such a great promise of Our Lady, the devotion must be properly understood and duly performed.
The requirements as stipulated by Our Lady are as follows:
(1) CONFESSION, (2) COMMUNION, (3) FIVE DECADES OF THE ROSARY, (4) MEDITATION ON ONE OR MORE OF THE ROSARY MYSTERIES FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES, (5) TO DO ALL THESE THINGS IN THE SPIRIT OF REPARATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, and (6) TO OBSERVE ALL THESE PRACTICES ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF FIVE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS.
(1) CONFESSION: A reparative confession means that the confession should not only be good (valid and licit), but also be offered in the spirit of reparation, in this case, to Mary's Immaculate Heart. This confession may be made on the First Saturday itself or some days before or after the First Saturday within the preceding octave would suffice.
(2) COMMUNION: The communion of reparation must be sacramental duly received with the intention of making reparation. This offering, like the confession, is an interior act and so no external action to express the intention is needed.
(3) THE ROSARY: The Rosary mentioned here was indicated by the Portuguese word 'terco' which is commonly employed to denote a Rosary of five decades, since it forms a fourth of the full Rosary of 20 decades. This too must recited in a spirit of reparation.
(4) MEDITATION FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES: Here the meditation on one mystery or more is to be made without simultaneous recitation of the Rosary decade. As indicated, the meditation may be either on one mystery alone for 15 minutes, or on all 20 mysteries, spending about one minute on each mystery, or again, on two or more mysteries during the period. This can also be made before each decade spending three minutes or more in considering the mystery of the particular decade. This meditation has likewise to be made in the spirit of reparation to the Immaculate Heart.
(5) THE SPIRIT OF REPARATION: All these acts, as said above, have to be done with the intention of offering reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the offences committed against Her. Everyone who offends Her commits, so to speak, a two-fold offence, for these sins also offend her Divine Son, Christ, and so endanger our salvation. They give bad example to others and weaken the strength of society to withstand immoral onslaughts. Such devotions therefore make us consider not only the enormity of the offence against God, but also the effect of sins on human society as well as the need for undoing these social effects even when the offender repents and is converted. Further, this reparation emphasises our responsibility towards sinners who, themselves, will not pray and make reparation for their sins.
(6) FIVE CONSECUTIVE FIRST SATURDAYS: The idea of the Five First Saturdays is obviously to make us persevere in the devotional acts for these Saturdays and overcome initial difficulties. Once this is done, Our Lady knows that the person would become devoted to Her immaculate Heart and persist in practising such devotion on all First Saturdays, working thereby for personal self-reform and for the salvation of others.

Unless Russia is converted, the movement against God and for sin will continue to spread, promoting wars and persecutions, and making the attainment for peace and justice impossible for this world. One means of obtaining Russia's conversion is to practise the Fatima Message. The stakes are so great that to encourage Catholics to practise the devotion of the First Saturdays, Our Lady has assured us that She will obtain salvation for all those who observe the first Saturdays for five consecutive months in accordance with Her conditions.
At the supreme moment the departing person will be either in the state of grace or not. In either case Our Lady will be by his side. If in the state of grace, She will console and help him to resist whatever temptations the devil might put before him in his last attempt to take the person with him to hell. If not in the state of grace, Our Lady will help the person to repent in a manner agreeable to God and so benefit by the fruits of redemption and be saved.
Miracles 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000  
 1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900 Lay Saints
The POPES HTML
Pius IX 1846--1878 • Leo XIII 1878-1903 • Pius X 1903-1914• Benedict XV 1914-1922 • Pius XI 1922-1939 • Pius XII 1939-1958 • John XXIII 1958-1963 • Paul VI 1963 to 1978 • John Paul • John Paul II 10/16/1975-4/2/2005 Benedict XVI

"The answers to many of life's questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious."  1913 Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR benefit of others.
Non est inventus similis illis

God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven.

Cross Not Optional, Says Benedict XVI
Reflects on Peter's "Immature" Faith CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 31, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
Taking up one's cross isn't an option, it's a mission all Christians are called to, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this today before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
Referring to the Gospel reading for today's Mass, the Holy Father reflected on the faith of Peter, which is shown to be "still immature and too much influenced by the 'mentality of this world.'”  He explained that when Christ spoke openly about how he was to "suffer much, be killed and rise again, Peter protests, saying: 'God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.'"
"It is evident that the Master and the disciple follow two opposed ways of thinking," continued the Pontiff. "Peter, according to a human logic, is convinced that God would never allow his Son to end his mission dying on the cross.  "Jesus, on the contrary, knows that the Father, in his great love for men, sent him to give his life for them, and if this means the passion and the cross, it is right that such should happen."
Christ also knew that "the resurrection would be the last word," Benedict XVI added.
Serious illness
The Pope continued, "If to save us the Son of God had to suffer and die crucified, it certainly was not because of a cruel design of the heavenly Father.  "The cause of it is the gravity of the sickness of which he must cure us: an evil so serious and deadly that it will require all of his blood. 
"In fact, it is with his death and resurrection that Jesus defeated sin and death, reestablishing the lordship of God."
Popes mentioned in articles of Saints today
Pope St. Innocent I  401-41 ;   Pope St. Celestine I  422-432;
 425 St. Atticus Bishop converted opponent of St. John Chrysostom
Atticus was born in Sebaste. He was trained in a heretical sect but converted and was ordained in Constantinople. He and one Arsacacius aided in deposing St. John Chrysostom from the see of Constantinople at the Council of the Oak in 405. Atticus succeeded to the see of Constantinople in 406, recognized by Pope St. Innocent I. He was a tireless foe of heretics, called a "true successor of Chrysostom" by Pope St. Celestine I. Atticus died in Constantinople on October 10.

Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969 Instruction on the Contemplative Life includes this passage:  
 "To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland" (#1).

"Christianity is not a moral code or a philosophy, but an encounter with a person" -- Benedict XVI

"To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland" (#1).
Paul VI_Athenagoras_05_01_1964
  Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969 Instruction on the Contemplative Life includes this passage:  
 "To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland" (#1).

Christianity is not a moral code or a philosophy, but an encounter with a person”
 -- Benedict XVI

Benedict_XVI_Patriarch_Bartholomew

Benedict XVI_Archbishop_Hilarion
 Benedict XVI receives Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion n September 18th, Pope Benedict XVI;  Archbishop Hilarion, president of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow.
The Orthodox Archbishop is currently visiting the Vatican at the invitation of Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
This Pontifical Council underlined that the visit will confirm the ties of friendship between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, with a view to closer collaboration and to favor the presence of the Church in the lives of the peoples of Europe and the world.
In addition, a further step in ecumenical relations is scheduled for the month of October in Cyprus: the meeting of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which will address the theme of Petrine Primacy.
Benedict XVI met with Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia, the highest authority of the Orthodox Church.  The Pope remembered the martyrs of the Armenian Church and the Armenian genocide, without explicitly mentioning it, and denounced the persecution of Christians in modern times.  Benedict XVI
That testimony culminated in the twentieth century, which proved a time of Unspeakable suffering for your people. Most recently we have all been saddened by the escalation of persecution and violence against Christians in parts of the Middle East and elsewhere.
The Catholicos is based in Lebanon. That is why, the Pope said, he prays every day for peace in this country and throughout the Middle East. Benedict XVI said there will only be peace in the region when each country is free to decide its own destiny and when every ethnic and religious group accepts and respects the others. Aram I emphasized that the churches must be means for peace and to achieve that they must recognize “all” genocides, even the Armenian.. The Catholicos recalled his meeting with John Paul II, adding that this visit represents a new step for ecumenical dialogue.
Aram I Catholicos
Our meeting is an opportunity to pray and reflect together, and to renew our commitment and efforts for Christian unity.
Armenian church members from all over the world join with Catholicos in making pilgrimages to Rome.
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.
THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY  PSALM 103

Bless, O my soul, the Virgin Mary: her honor and her magnificence forever.
Thou hast clothed thyself with beauty and comeliness: thou art clad, O Lady, with a shining garment.
From thee proceeds the healing of sins: and the discipline of peace, and the fervor of charity.
Fill us, thy servants, with holy virtues: and let the wrath of God not come nigh unto us.
Give eternal joy to thy servants: and forget them not in the death struggle.

Glory be to the Father who created Heaven and earth; His only Son who lived and died for all of us;
and the Holy Spirit the Lord giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and Son, with the Father and Son He is Worshiped and Glorified, and He has spoken through the prophets:  Amen.

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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.
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. Eccl., V,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.
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

To Save A Life is Earthly; Saving A Soul is Eternal Donation by mail, please send check or money order to:
Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Rd. Irondale, AL 35210  USA
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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 Indulgences  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. Site http://www.fathercorapi
  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, SOLT
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. Although it is supposed to be a religion of peace, Islam has been hijacked by Satan and now operates in the dark space of international terrorism.  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
Site http://www.fathercorapi

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.

Since his ordination to the priesthood in 1991 Fr. Corapi has traveled over 2,000,000 miles preaching the Gospel. He has preached in 49 of the 50 states, all of the Canadian provinces except NewFoundland, and several other foreign countries. He is currently engaged in preaching and teaching the Catholic faith by way of the means of social communication: television, radio, the internet, and various other multi-media formats.
  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
LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858 
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798  
Links to Related Marian Websites  Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates
DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS VATICAN CITY, 19 DEC 2011 (VIS)
The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorised the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

MIRACLES
 - Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and of the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord (1841-1913).
 - Blessed Jacques Berthieu, French martyr and priest of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) (1838-1896).
 - Blessed Maria del Carmen (born Maria Salles y Barangueras), Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching (1848-1911).
 - Blessed Maria Anna Cope, nee Barbara, German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse U.S.A. (1838-1918).
 - Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, American laywoman (1656-1680).
 - Blessed Pedro Calungsod, Filipino lay catechist and martyr (1654-1672).
 - Blessed Anna Schaffer, German laywoman (1882-1925).
 - Servant of God Louis Brisson, French priest and founder of the Oblates of St. Francis of Sales (1817-1908).
 - Servant of God Luigi Novarese, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Silent Workers of the Cross (1914-1984).
 - Servant of God Maria Luisa (nee Gertrude Prosperi), Italian abbess of the convent of the Order of St. Benedict of Trevi (1799-1847).
 - Servant of God Mother St. Louis (nee Maria Luisa Elisabeth de Lamoignon, widow of Mole de Champlatreux), French foundress of the Sisters of St. Louis (1763-1825).
 - Servant of God Maria Crescencia (nee Maria Angelica Perez), Argentinean professed religious of the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Orchard (1897-1932).

MARTYRDOM
- Servant of God Nicola Rusca, Swiss diocesan priest, killed in hatred of the faith (1563-1618).
- Servants of God Luis Orencio (ne Antonio Sola Garriga) and eighteen companions of the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools; Antonio Mateo Salamero, diocesan priest, and Jose Gorostazu Labayen, layman, all killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.
- Servants of God Alberto Maria Marco y Aleman and eight companions of the Order of Carmelites of the Ancient Observance, and Agustin Maria Garcia Tribaldos and fifteen companions of the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools; all killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937.
- Servants of God Mariano Alcala Perez and eighteen companions of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937.

HEROIC VIRTUES
 - Servant of God Donato Giannotti, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of Sisters Handmaidens of the Immaculate Conception (1828-1914).
 - Servant of God Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus (ne Henri Grialou), French professed priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites and founder of the Institute of Notre-Dame de Vie (1894-1967).
 - Servant of God Alphonse-Marie (nee Elisabeth Eppinger), French foundress of the Congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Saviour (1814-1867).
 - Servant of God Marguerite Lucia Szewczyk, Polish foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sorrowful Mother of God - Seraphic Sisters (1828-1905).
 - Servant of God Assunta Marchetti, Italian co-foundress of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles (1871-1948).
 - Servant of God Maria Julitta (nee Teresa Eleonora Ritz), German professed sister of the Congregation of Sisters of the Redeemer (1882-1966).
 - Servant of God Maria Anna Amico Roxas, Italian laywoman and foundress of the Society of St. Ursula (1883-1947).  VIS 20111219 (580)

The second day of the Afterfeast of Theophany
falls on January 8. At Vespers we repeat a hymn which has already been sung at Compline for Theophany. In the hymn St John wonders in whose name he should baptize Christ. Should he baptize Him in the name of the Father? The Lord Jesus Christ already bears Him in Himself. Of the Son? He Himself is the incarnate Son of God. Of the Holy Spirit? Christ Himself sends the Spirit.
175 St. Apollinaris appologist bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia
 Hierápoli, in Asia, sancti Apollináris Epíscopi, qui, sub Marco Antoníno Vero, sanctitáte atque doctrína flóruit.
        At Hierapolis in Asia, St. Apollinaris, bishop, who was conspicuous for sanctity and learning under Marucs Antoninus Verus.
St. Apollinaris was one of the most illustrious bishops of the second century. Eusebius, St. Jerome, Theodoret, and others speak of him in the highest terms, and they furnish us with the few facts that are known of him. He addressed an "Apology," that is, a defense, of the Christian religion to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, who, shortly before, had obtained a signal victory over the Quadi, a people inhabiting the country now called Moravia. One of his legions, the twelfth, was composed chiefly of Christians. When the army was perishing for want of water, the soldiers of this legion fell upon their knees and invoked the assistance of God. The result was sudden, for a copious rain fell, and, aided by the storm, they conquered the Germans. The emperor gave this legion the name "Thundering Legion" and mitigated his persecution.
It was to protect his flock against persecution that St. Apollinaris, who was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, addressed his apology to the Emperor to implore his protection and to remind him of the favor he had received from God through the prayers of the Christians.
The date of the death of St. Apollinaris probably occurred before that of Marcus Aurelius, about the year 175.

179 ST APOLLINARIS, Bishop of Hieropolis
CLAUDIUS APOLLINARIS, Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, called “the Apologist”, was a famous Christian teacher in the second century. Notwithstanding the encomiums bestowed on him by Eusebius, St Jerome, Theodoret and others, we know but little of his life, and his writings, which then were held in great esteem, seem now to be all lost. Photius, who had read them and who was a very good judge, commends them both for their style and matter. He wrote against the Encratites and other heretics, and pointed out, as St Jerome testifies, from what philosophical sect each heresy derived its errors. His last work was directed against the Montanists and their pretended prophets, who began to appear in Phrygia about the year 171. But nothing rendered his name so illustrious as his apology for the Christian religion, which he addressed to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius soon after the victory that prince had obtained over the Quadi by the prayers, it is alleged, of the Christians, of which the saint made mention.

Marcus Aurelius having long attempted without success to subdue the Germans by his generals, resolved in A.D. 174 to take the field against them himself. He was beyond the Danube when the Quadi, a people inhabiting that territory later called Moravia, surrounded him in a very disadvantageous situation: so that there was no possibility that either he or his army could escape out of their hands or maintain themselves long where they were for want of water.
 The twelfth legion was chiefly composed of Christians. When the army was drawn up, exhausted with thirst, the Christians fell upon their knees, “as we are accustomed to do at prayer”, says Eusebius, and earnestly besought God’s aid. Then on a sudden the sky was darkened with clouds, and a heavy rain poured down just as the barbarians began their attack. The Romans fought and drank at the same time, catching the rain as it fell in their helmets, and often swallowing it mingled with blood. Their assailants would still have been too strong for them, but that the storm being driven by a violent wind into their faces, and accompanied with flashes of lightning and loud thunder, the Germans, unable to see, were terrified to such a degree that they took to flight. Both heathen and Christian writers give this account of the victory. 

The heathens ascribed it, some to the power of magic, others to their gods, but the Christians accounted it a miracle obtained by the prayers of this legion. St Apollinaris apparently referred to it in his apology to this very emperor, and added that as an acknowledgement the emperor gave it the name of the “Thunder­ing Legion”. From him it is so called by Eusebius, Tertullian, St Jerome and St Gregory of Nyssa.

The Quadi surrendered the prisoners whom they had taken, and begged for peace on whatever conditions it should please the emperor to grant it them. Marcus Aurelius hereupon, out of gratitude to his Christian soldiers, published an edict, in which he confessed himself indebted for his delivery “to the shower obtained, perhaps, by the prayers of the Christians”. In it he forbade, under pain of death, anyone to accuse a Christian on account of his religion; yet by a strange incon­sistency, being overawed by the opposition of the senate, he had not the courage to abolish the laws already in force against Christians. Hence, even after this, in the same reign, many suffered martyrdom, though their accusers, it is asserted, were also put to death.

The deliverance of the emperor is represented on the Columna Antoniniana in Rome by the figure of a Jupiter Pluvius, being that of an old man flying in the air with his arms extended, and a long beard which seems to waste away in rain. The soldiers are there represented as relieved by this sudden tempest, and in a posture partly drinking of the rainwater and partly fighting against the enemy, who, on the contrary, are represented as stretched out on the ground with their horses, and the dreadful part of the storm descending upon them only. The credibility of the story, which Eusebius apparently derived from the Apology of St Apollinaris, still remains a matter of discussion. On the one hand, it is certain that the “Thunder­ing Legion” (legio fulminata) did not obtain this title from Marcus Aurelius, for it belonged to them from the time of Augustus; on the other, there is nothing violently incredible in the facts themselves. Contemporary Christians might easily attribute such a surprising victory to the prayers of their fellow believers. There is no confirmation among pagan authorities for the text of the supposed edict of toleration. Those scholars who defend the general accuracy of the facts believe it to be at least interpolated.

St Apollinaris may have penned his apology to the emperor about the year 175 to remind him of the benefit he had received from God by the prayers of the Christians, and to implore his protection. We have no account of the time of this holy man’s death, which probably happened before that of Marcus Aurelius.

For the “Thundering Legion” see Tertullian, Apologeticum, cap. 5, and Ad Scapulam, cap. 4 Eusebius, Hist. eccl., bk v, cap. 5; J. B. Lightfoot, St Ignatius, vol. i (1889), pp. 469 seq.; Mommsen in Hermes, 1895, pp. 90—106; Allard, Histoire des persecutions, vol. i (1903), pp. 394—396. For St Apollinaris, see Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. ii, pp. 4—8. His name was added to the Roman Martyrology by Baronius, but there is no evidence of any early cultus in either the East or West. 

290 St. Lucian Martyred missionary with companions, Julian, /Maximian; relics were famous for miracles
 Bellóvaci, in Gálliis, sanctórum Mártyrum Luciáni Presbyteri, Maximiáni et Juliáni. Horum duo últimi a persecutóribus gládio perémpti sunt; beátum autem Luciánus, qui, una cum sancto Dionysio, in Gálliam vénerat, et ipse, post nímiam cædem, cum Christi nomen viva voce confitéri non timuísset, priórum senténtiam excépit.
       At Beauvais in France, the holy martyrs Lucian, priest, Maximian and Julian.  The last two were killed with the sword by the persecutors; but blessed Lucian, who had come to France with St. Denis, after the slaughter of his companions, not fearing to confess the Name of Christ openly, received the same sentence of death.
They were martyred at Beauvais, France.

290 ST LUCIAN OF BEAUVAIS, MARTYR
IT is said that this Lucian preached the gospel in Gaul in the third century and came from Rome; he was possibly one of the companions of St Dionysius of Paris, or at least of St Quentin. He sealed his mission with his blood at Beauvais, under Julian, vicar or successor to the persecutor Rictiovarus in the government of Gaul, about the year 290. Maximian, called by the common people Messien, and Julian, the companions of his labours, were crowned with martyrdom at the same place a little before him. His relics, with those of his two colleagues, were discovered in the seventh century, as St Ouen informs us in his life of St Eligius. They were shown in three gilt shrines in an abbey, which bore his name, founded in the eighth century. Rabanus Maurus says that these relics were famous for miracles when he wrote, a hundred years later.

St Lucian is styled only martyr in most calendars down to the sixteenth century, and in the Roman Martyrology; but a calendar compiled in the reign of Louis the Pious calls him bishop, and he is honoured in that quality at Beauvais.

See the Acta Sanctorum for January 8, p. 640, though the two lives of this saint there printed are of little or no authority. Duchesne in his Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. iii, pp. 119 and 141—152, discusses the case of St Lucian at some length, and shows good reason for believing that the whole story is mythical. He strongly inclines to the belief that Rictiovarus never existed. See H. Moretus, Les Passions de S. Lucien et leurs dérivés céphalophoriques (1953).  

304 St. Carterius Priest martyr of Caesarea in Cappadocia
He suffered in the persecution conducted by Emperor Diocletian.
4th v. St. Eugenian Bishop martyr of Autun; foe of Arianism
 Augustodúni sancti Eugeniáni Mártyris.       At Autun, St. Eugenian, martyr.
France. He was a foe of Arianism, presumably a victim of this heresy in retaliation.
Saint Domnica came from Carthage to Constantinople
in the time of the holy Emperor Theodosius the Great. Here she was baptized by Patriarch Nectarius and entered a women's monastery.  Through strict and prolonged ascetic effort she attained to high spiritual perfection. The saint healed the sick, demonstrated power over the natural elements, and predicted the future. By her miracles the saint moved inhabitants of the capital towards concerns about life eternal and the soul. Adorned by virtues, the saint departed this life a spotless virgin in her old age.

Theodosius Reign August 378 - 15 May 392 (emperor in the east, with Gratian and Valentinian II in the west);
15 May 392 - 17 January 395 (whole empire)
Flavius Theodosius Born  11 January 347 Cauca, modern Spain Died 17 January 395  Milan Buried  Milan Predecessor Valens (in the east); Valentinian II in the west Successor  Arcadius in the east; Honorius in the west
St. Patiens of Metz (French, bishop)
 Metis, in Gállia, sancti Patiéntis Epíscopi.       At Metz in France, St. Patiens, bishop.
491 St. Patiens Archbishop of Lyons, Gaul best known for his immense efforts at charitable work. He constantly gave aid and comfort to the poor, devoting the resources of the diocese to feed those left starving by the Gothic and Germanic invasions and to rebuilding and repairing burned and looted churches
Lugdúni, in Gállia, deposítio sancti Patiéntis Epíscopi.    At Lyons in France, the death of St. Patiens, bishop.
Little is known about his early life, but he received appointment in 450 to the see of Lyons. His period as archbishop is best known for his immense efforts at charitable work. He constantly gave aid and comfort to the poor, devoting the resources of the diocese to feed those left starving by the Gothic and Germanic invasions and to rebuilding and repairing burned and looted churches. Patiens was also a dedicated enemy of Arianism. He also ordered Constantius, a priest of the diocese, to write a life of St. Germanus of Auxerre which subsequently became immensely popular.
425 St. Atticus Bishop converted  opponent of St. John Chrysostom
Atticus was born in Sebaste. He was trained in a heretical sect but converted and was ordained in Constantinople. He and one Arsacacius aided in deposing St. John Chrysostom from the see of Constantinople at the Council of the Oak in 405. Atticus succeeded to the see of Constantinople in 406, recognized by Pope St. Innocent I. He was a tireless foe of heretics, called a "true successor of Chrysostom" by Pope St. Celestine I. Atticus died in Constantinople on October 10.
482 St. Severinus Monk hermit founder of monasteries along Danube comfort to refugees /victims of Attila
 Neápoli, in Campánia, natális sancti Severíni Epíscopi, qui fuit frater beáti Victoríni Mártyris; et, post multárum virtútum perpetratiónem, plenus sanctitáte quiévit.
       At Naples in Campania, the birthday of the bishop St. Severin, brother to the blessed martyr Victorinus, who, after working many miracles, died, replenished with virtues and merits.
He labored to evangelize the region of Noricum (part of. modern Austria), establishing a number of monasteries along the Danube River near modern Vienna.
In his last years, he gave aid and comfort to the many refugees and victims of the invasion of the region by Attila and the Huns. He was known for his preaching and prophecies, Severinus died on January 5. His relics were later carried to Naples. Italy, and enshrined in the Benedictine monastery of San Severino.
St. Severinus Bishop of Naples brother of St. Vietorinus unknown. He may be the same saint as Severinus.

 480 ST SEVERINUS OF NORICUM
WE know nothing of the birth or country of this saint. From the purity of his Latin he was generally supposed to be a Roman, and his care to conceal what rank he had held in the world was taken for a proof of his humility and a presumption that he was a person of birth.

   He spent the first part of his life in the deserts of the East, but left his retreat to preach the gospel in Noricum (Austria). At first he came to Astura, now Stockerau; but finding the people hardened in vice, he fore­told the punishment God had prepared for them, and repaired to Comagene (Hainburg, on the Danube). It was not long ere his prophecy was veri­fied, for Astura was laid waste, and the inhabitants destroyed by the Huns. By the fulfilment of this prophecy, and by several miracles, which he wrought, the name of the saint became famous.

Faviana, a city on the Danube, distressed by a terrible famine, implored his assistance. St Severinus preached penance among them with great fruit, and he so effectually threatened a certain rich woman who had hoarded up a great quantity of provisions, that she distributed all her stores amongst the poor. Soon after his arrival, the ice of the Danube and the Inn breaking, the country was abundantly supplied by barges up the rivers.

Another time by his prayers he chased away the swarms of locusts, which were then threatening the whole produce of the year.

He wrought many miracles, yet never healed the sore eyes of Bonosus, the dearest to him of his disciples, who spent forty years without any abatement of his religious fervour. Severinus himself never ceased to exhort all to repentance and piety; he redeemed captives, relieved the oppressed, was a father to the poor, cured the sick, mitigated or averted public calamities, and brought a blessing wherever he came. Many cities desired him for their bishop, but he withstood their importunities by urging that it was sufficient he had relinquished his dear solitude for their instruction and comfort.

He established several monasteries, of which the most considerable was one on the banks of the Danube near Vienna; but he made none of them the place of his constant abode, often shutting himself up in a hermitage where he wholly devoted himself to contemplation. He never ate till after sunset, unless on great festivals, and he always walked barefoot, even when the Danube was frozen. Kings and princes of the barbarians came to visit him, and among them Odoacer on his march for Italy. The saint’s cell was so low that Odoacer could not stand upright in it. St Severinus told him that the kingdom he was going to conquer would shortly be his, and Odoacer finding himself soon after master of the country, wrote to the saint, promising him all he was pleased to ask; but Severinus only desired of him the restoration of a certain banished man.

Having foretold his death long before it happened, he fell ill on January 5, and on the fourth day of his illness, repeating that verse of the psalmist, “Let every spirit praise the Lord”, he closed his eyes in death. This happened between 476 and 482. Some years later his disciples, driven out by the inroads of barbarians, retired with his relics into Italy, and deposited them at Luculanum, near Naples, where a monastery was built, of which Eugippius, his disciple and biographer, was soon after made abbot. In the year 910 they were translated to Naples, where they were honoured in a Benedictine abbey that bore his name.

The one supreme authority for the life of St Severinus is the biography by his disciple Eugippius, the best text of which is to be found in the edition of T. Mommsen (1898), or in that of the Vienna Corpus scriptorum ecciesiasticorum latinorum, edited by Pius Knoell (1886). See also A. Baudrillart, St Séverin (1908); and T. Sommerlad, Wirtschafts­geschichtliche Untersuchungen, part ii (1903). Sommerlad shows some reason for thinking that St Severinus belonged to a distinguished family in Africa, and that in his own country he had been consecrated bishop before he sought refuge in the East and led the life of a hermit or monk.  
5th v. St. Ergnad Irish nun who received the veil from St. Patrick
In some lists she is called Ercnacta. She followed the monastic tradition of performing prayer and penance in seclusion.
511 St. Maximus Bishop of Pavia, Italy
 Papíæ sancti Máximi, Epíscopi et Confessóris.       At Pavia, St. Maximus, bishop and confessor.
He attended the councils of Rome convened by Pope Symmachus.

550 ST SEVERINUS, BISHOP OF SEPTEMPEDA
THE ancient town of Septempeda in the Marches of Ancona is now called San Severino, deriving its name from a St Severinus who is believed to have been bishop there in the middle of the sixth century. He was the brother of St Victorinus, whom Ado in his martyrology identifies with a martyr of that name. The con­fusion seems to have arisen from the fact that the relics of St Severinus of Noricum were transferred to Naples, whence Ado was led to identify him with the Italian St Severinus. The confusion is perpetuated in the present Roman Martyrology, for there is no reason to believe that Severinus of Septempeda ever had anything to do with Naples.

See the legend of SS. Severinus and Victorinus in the Acta Sanctorum, January 8; and cf. Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxvii (1908), p. 466.
7v Saint George the Chozebite example in fasting, vigil and physical efforts
was born on the island of Cyprus toward the end of the sixth century. After the death of his parents, he went to Palestine to worship at the holy places. Here he entered into the monastic community of Chozeba between the River Jordan and Jerusalem, and he later became head of this monastery. St George presented the monks example in fasting, vigil and physical efforts. Having lived as an angel upon the earth, he died in peace.

Theophilus, deacon, and Helladius
 In Libya sanctórum Mártyrum Theóphili Diáconi, et Helládii, qui, primo laniáti ac téstulis peracútis compúncti, demum, in ignem conjécti, ánimas Deo reddidérunt.
      In Libya, the holy martyrs Theophilus, deacon, and Helladius, who, after having their bodies lacerated and cut with sharp pieces of earthenware, were cast into the fire, and rendered their souls unto God.
  In Libya sanctórum Mártyrum Theóphili Diáconi, et Helládii, qui, primo laniáti ac téstulis peracútis compúncti, demum, in ignem conjécti, ánimas Deo reddidérunt.       In Libya, the holy martyrs Theophilus, deacon, and Helladius, who, after having their bodies lacerated and cut with sharp pieces of earthenware, were cast into the fire, and rendered their souls unto God.
673 St. Frodobert Benedictine abbot-founder monk
trained by St. Waldebert. He was a monk at Luxeuil, France. He founded MoutierlaCelle Abbey near Troyes.
686 St.  Erhard Irish Bishop missionary to Bavaria
 Ratisbónæ, in Bavária, sancti Erhárdi Epíscopi.       At Ratisbon in Bavaria, St. Erhard, bishop.
Germany. An Irishman, Erhard was auxiliary bishop of Ratisbon and possibly the abbot of Ebersheimmünster Abbey.

686 ST ERHARD, Bishop
THERE is better evidence for the existence of St Erhard, described as bishop of Ratisbon (he was, however, possibly only a chorepiscopus, a sort of bishop auxiliary), than there is for his supposed brother Albert. A strong local tradition evidenced by place names—e.g. “Erhardsbrunnen”, “Erhardicrypta”, etc.—as well as by entries in calendars and other early documents, seems to imply a considerable cultus dating back to the eighth century and possibly earlier. What purports to be his episcopal staff of black buffalo-horn is still preserved, as well as part of his skull. He may be identical with an abbot of Ebersheimmünster whose name appears in a Merovingian charter of the year 684. He is stated to have baptized St Odilia, who, though born blind, recovered her sight on receiving the sacrament. Two or three lives of him have been printcd by the Bollandists, but they are all overlaid by fabulous or legendary matter. He is in some accounts described as an Irishman, or at least of Irish descent but no great reliance can be placed upon this statement.

The most trustworthy information which is available concerning St Erhard has been collected by W. Levison in his preface to the Latin texts printed in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. vi, pp. 1—23.  

712 St. Gudula Patroness of Brussels, Belgium
also called Ergoule. The daughter of Count Witger and St. Amalberga, Gudula was educated by St. Gertrude of Nivelles. She lived at the family castle of Morzelles until Gertrude died. She then dedicated herself to God in 664. Gudula was known for her great charity.
 712 ST GUDULA, VIRGIN
ST AMALBERGA, mother of this saint, was niece to Bd Pepin of Landen. Gudula was educated at Nivelles, under the care of St Gertrude, her cousin and godmother, after whose death in 664 she returned to the house of Count Witger, her father; having by vow consecrated herself to God, she led a most austere life in watching, fasting and prayer. By her profuse alms she was truly the mother of all the dis­tressed. Though her father’s castle was two miles from the church at Morzelle, she went thither early every morning, with a maid to carry a lantern before her; and the wax taper being once put out, is said to have miraculously lighted again at her prayers, whence she is usually represented in pictures with a lantern. <>She died on January 8, perhaps in 712, and was buried at Hamme, near Brussels. In the reign of Charlemagne, her body was removed to the church of Saint-Sauveur at Morzelle, and placed behind the high altar. This emperor, out of veneration for her memory, often resorted thither to pray, and founded a nunnery, which soon after changed its name of St Saviour for that of St Goule. This house was destroyed in the irruptions of the Normans. The relics of St Gudula, by the care of Charles, Duke of Lorraine (in which Brabant was then comprised), were trans­lated to Brussels in 978, where they were first deposited in the church of St Géry, but in 1047 removed into the great collegiate church of St Michael, since called from her St Gudule’s. This saint was called colloquially Goule or Ergoule in Brabant, and Goelen in Flanders.
See her life written by Hubert of Brabant in the eleventh century, soon after this trans­lation of her relics to St Michael’s, who assures us that he took the whole relation from an ancient life of the saint, having only changed the order and style. But even if we could trust this statement, some of the miracles found in this and one or two other slightly differing accounts are very extravagant—e.g. that a pair of gloves given her by a friend, which she refused to use, remained suspended in the air for an hour or that a tall poplar-tree grew up beside her grave in a night. See for the texts the Acta Sanctorum, January 8, and cf. Des­tombes, Saints de Cambrai, vol. i, pp. 51-56. Visitors to Brussels often take the great church of Sainte-Gudule for a cathedral, but Brussels has never been an episcopal see.
719 ST PEGA, VIRGIN; Ordericus Vitalis says her relics were honoured with miracles, and kept in a church which bore her name at Rome, but this church is not now known
PEGA was sister to St Guthlac and she lived a retired life not far from her brother’s hermitage at Croyland, just across the border of what is now Northamptonshire, on the western edge of the great Peterborough Fen. The place is now called Peakirk, i.e. Pega’s church. She attended her brother’s funeral, making the journey by water down the Welland, and is reputed on that occasion to have cured a blind man from Wisbech. She is said to have then gone on pilgrimage to Rome, where she slept in the Lord about the year 719. Ordericus Vitalis says her relics were honoured with miracles, and kept in a church which bore her name at Rome, but this church is not now known.
The Bollandists have brought together scattered allusions from the Life of St Guthlac and elsewhere (Acta Sanctorum, January 8). See also DCB., vol. iv, pp. 280—281, and the forthcoming Life of Guthlac by Bertram Colgrave.
762 St. Garibaldus Benedictine bishop of Regensburg ordained by St. Boniface
Germany, ordained by St. Boniface about 740. He was also a noted scholar.
800 St. Albert Patron saint of Cashel English in Ireland and Bavaria
of Cashel, Ireland. Listed traditionally as an Englishman who labored in Ireland and then in Bavaria, Albert went to Jerusalem and died in Regensburg on his return journey.
923 St. Athelm Benedictine Archbishop of Canterbury uncle of St. Dunstan
A Benedictine, Atheim served as a monk at Glastonbury, England, becoming abbot of the famous monastery. In 909, Athelm was named the first bishop of Wells. He became the archbishop of Canterbury in 914.
St. Severin
 Apud Nóricos sancti Severíni Abbátis, qui apud eam gentem Evangélium propagávit, et Noricórum dictus est Apóstolus.  Ejus corpus ad Lucullánum prope Neápolim, in Campánia, divínitus delátum, inde póstea ad monastérium sancti Severíni translátum est.
       Among the inhabitants of Noricum (now Austria), the abbot St. Severin, who propagated the Gospel in that country, and is called its apostle.  By divine power his body was carried to Lucullano, near Naples, and thence transferred to the monastery of St. Severin.
1002 St. Wulsin Benedictine bishop monk St. Dunstan disciple abbot of Westminster
Wulsin (d. 1002) + Benedictine bishop and monk also called Ultius and Vulsin. A disciple of St. Dunstan, he was named by the saint to serve as superior over the restored community of Westminster, England, circa 960, and eventually became abbot in 980. In 993 he was named bishop of Sherborne, although he remained abbot of Westminster.

 1005 ST WULSIN, BISHOP OF SHERBORNE
IN a charter, which purports to emanate from King Ethelred in the year 998, Wulsin is described as a loyal and trusty monk whom St Dunstan “loved like a son with pure affection”. It is a little difficult to be sure of the dates, but it would seem that when Dunstan was bishop of London he obtained a grant of land from King Edgar and restored the abbey of Westminster, making Wulsin superior of the dozen monks he placed there. In 980 Wulsin was consecrated abbot, and thirteen years afterwards he was appointed to the see of Sherborne. He seems to have died on January 8, 1005. He was evidently much beloved, and is called Saint by Malmes­bury, Capgrave, Flete and others, but his name apparently is not found in the medieval English calendars.
See John Flete, History of Westminster Abbey (ed. Armitage Robinson, 1909), pp. 79—80 Stubbs, Memorials of St Dunstan, pp. 304, 406—408; Stanton, Menology, p.10.
1285 St. Thorfinn miracles reported at his tomb 50 yrs after death
In the Cistercian monastery at TerDoest, near Bruges, a Norwegian bishop named Thorfinn died . He had never attracted particular attention and was soon forgotten. But over fifty years later, in the course of some building operations, his tomb in the Church was opened and it was reported that the remains gave out a strong and pleasing spell. The Abbot made inquiries and found that one of his monks, and aged man named Walter de Muda, remembered Bishop Thorfinn staying in there monastery and the impression he had made of gentle goodness combined with strength. Father Walter had in fact, written a poem about him after his death and hung it up over his tomb. It was then found that the parchment was still there, none the worse for the passage of time. This was taken as a direction from on high that the Bishop's memory was to be perpetuated, and Father Walter was instructed to write down his recollections of him. For all that, there is little enough known about St. Thorfinn. He was a Trondhjem man and perhaps was a Canon of the Cathedral of Nidaros, since there was such a one named Thorfinn among those who witnessed the agreement of Tonsborg in 1277. This was an agreement between King Magnus VI and the Archbishop of Nidaros confirming certain privileges of the clergy, the freedom of episcopal elections and similar matters. Some years later, King Eric repudiated this agreement, and a fierce dispute between Church and state ensued. Eventually the King outlawed the Archbishop, John, and his two chief supporters, Bishop Andrew of Oslow and Bishop Thorfinn of Hamar.

Bishop Thorfinn, after many hardships, including shipwreck, made his way to the Abbey of TerDoest in Flanders, which had a number of contacts with the Norwegian Church. It is possible that he had been there before, and there is some reason to suppose he was himself a Cistercian of the Abbey of Tautra, near Nidaros.
After a visit to Rome he went to TerDoest, in bad health. Indeed, though probably still a youngish man, he saw death approaching and so made his will; he had little to leave, but what there was, he divided between his mother, his brothers and sisters, and certain monasteries, churches and charities in his dioceses. He died shortly after on January 8, 1285.

After his recall to the memory of man as mentioned in the opening paragraph of this notice, miracles were reported at his tomb and St. Thorfinn was venerated by the Cistercians and around Bruges. In our own day, his memory has been revived among the few Catholics of Norway, and his feast is observed in his episcopal city of Hamar. The tradition of Thorfinn's holiness ultimately rests on the poem of Walter de Muda, where he appeared as a kind, patient, generous man, whose mild exterior covered a firm will against whatever he esteemed to be evil and ungodly.

1285 ST THORFINN, BISHOP OF HAMAR
IN the year 1285 there died in the Cistercian monastery at Ter Doest, near Bruges, a Norwegian bishop named Thorfinn. He had never attracted particular attention and was soon forgotten. But over fifty years later, in the course of some building operations, his tomb in the church was opened and it was reported that the remains gave out a strong and pleasing smell. The abbot made enquiries and found that one of his monks, an aged man named Walter de Muda, remembered Bishop Thorfinn staying in the monastery and the impression he had made of gentle goodness combined with strength. Father Walter had in fact written a poem about him after his death and hung it up over his tomb. It was then found that the parchment was still there, none the worse for the passage of time. This was taken as a direction from on high that the bishop’s memory was to be perpetuated, and Father Walter was instructed to write down his recollections of him.

For all that, there is little enough known about St Thorfinn. He was a Trondhjem man and perhaps was a canon of the cathedral of Nidaros, since there was such a one named Thorfinn among those who witnessed the Agreement of Tönsberg in 1277. This was an agreement between King Magnus VI and the Archbishop of Nidaros confirming certain privileges of the clergy, the freedom of episcopal elections and similar matters. Some years later King Eric*{* He married Margaret, daughter of King Alexander III of Scotland. Their daughter was “The Maid of Norway”, who has a paragraph in English and Scottish history.} repudiated this agreement, and a fierce dispute between church and state ensued. Eventually the king outlawed the archbishop, John, and his two chief supporters, Bishop Andrew of Oslo and Bishop Thorfinn of Hamar.

The last-named, after many hardships, including shipwreck, made his way to the abbey of Ter Doest in Flanders, which had a number of contacts with the Norwegian church. It is possible that he had been there before, and there is some reason to suppose he was himself a Cistercian of the abbey of Tautra, near Nidaros.

After a visit to Rome he went back to Ter Doest, in bad health. Indeed, though probably still a youngish man, he saw death approaching and so made his will; he had little to leave, but what there was he divided between his mother, his brothers and sisters, and certain monasteries, churches and charities in his diocese. He died shortly after, on January 8, 1285.

After his recall to the memory of man as mentioned in the opening paragraph of this notice, miracles were reported at his tomb, and St Thorfinn was venerated by the Cistercians and around Bruges. In our own day his memory has been revived among the few Catholics of Norway, and his feast is observed in his episcopal city of Hamar. The tradition of Thorfinn’s holiness ultimately rests on the poem of Walter de Muda, wherein he appears as a kind, patient, generous man, whose mild exterior covered a firm will against whatever he esteemed to be evil and ungodly.

The text of Walter de Muda’s poem and other pieces were printed in the Acta Sanctorum, January 8. St Thorfinn is shown in his historical setting by Mrs Undset in Saga of Saints (1934). See also Dc Visch’s Bibliotheca scriptorum ordinis Cisterciensis.

St. Theophilus & Helladius martyrs  in Libya
Two martyrs put to death in Libya, Africa. They were killed by being thrown into a furnace. Theophilus was a deacon and Helladius was a layman.
1309 Blessed Angela of Foligno dedicated to prayer and works of charity; her Book of Visions and Instructions Angela the title "Teacher of Theologians." She was beatified in 1693. 
Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born 1248 of a leading family in Foligno, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction.
Around the age of 40 she recognized the emptiness of her life and sought God’s help in the Sacrament of Penance. Her Franciscan confessor helped Angela to seek God’s pardon for her previous life and to dedicate herself to prayer and the works of charity.

Shortly after her conversion, her husband and children died. Selling most of her possessions, she entered the Secular Franciscan Order. She was alternately absorbed by meditating on the crucified Christ and by serving the poor of Foligno as a nurse and beggar for their needs. Other women joined her in a religious community.

At her confessor’s advice, Angela wrote her Book of Visions and Instructions. In it she recalls some of the temptations she suffered after her conversion; she also expresses her thanks to God for the Incarnation of Jesus. This book and her life earned for Angela the title "Teacher of Theologians." She was beatified in 1693.
Comment:  People who live in the United States today can understand Blessed Angela’s temptation to increase her sense of self-worth by accumulating money, fame or power. Striving to possess more and more, she became more and more self-centered. When she realized she was priceless because she was created and loved by God, she became very penitential and very charitable to the poor. What had seemed foolish early in her life now became very important. The path of self-emptying she followed is the path all holy men and women must follow.
Quote:  Pope John Paul II writes: “Christ the Redeemer of the World is the one who penetrated in a unique, unrepeatable way into the mystery of the human person and entered our ‘hearts.’ Rightly therefore does the Second Vatican Council teach: ‘The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of the human person take on light.... Christ the New Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals human beings to themselves and brings to light their most high calling’” (Redemptor Hominis, 8).
1456 St. Lawrence Justinian first Patriarch of Venice
 Venétiis deposítio sancti Lauréntii Justiniáni, primi Patriárchæ urbis ejúsdem et Confessóris; quem, doctrína et supérnis divínæ sapiéntiæ charismátibus copiosíssime replétum, Alexánder Octávus, Póntifex Máximus, in Sanctórum númerum rétulit.  Ipsíus autem festívitas Nonis Septémbris, quo die Cáthedram pontificálem ascéndit, potíssimum celebrátur.
      At Venice, the death of St. Lawrence Justinian, confessor, first patriarch of that city.  Eminent for learning, and abundantly filled with the heavenly gifts of divine wisdom, he was ranked among the saints by Alexander VIII.  He is again mentioned on the 5th of September, on which day he ascended the pontifical throne.
Bishop and first Patriarch of Venice, b. in 1381, and d. 8 January, 1456. He was a descendant of the Giustiniani, a Venetian patrician family which numbered several saints among its members. Lawrence's pious mother sowed the seeds of a devout religious life in the boy's youth. In 1400 when he was about nineteen years old, he entered the monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine on the Island of Alga near Venice. In spite of his youth he excited admiration by his poverty, mortifications, and fervour in prayer. At that time the convent was changed into a congregation of secular canons living in community. After his ordination in 1406 Lawrence was chosen prior of the community, and shortly after that general of the congregation. He gave them their constitution, and was so zealous in spreading the same that he was looked upon as the founder. His reputation for saintliness as well as his zeal for souls attracted the notice of Eugene IV and on 12 May, 1433, he was raised to the Bishopric of Castello. The new prelate restored churches, established new parishes in Venice, aided the foundation of convents, and reformed the life of the canons. But above all he was noted for his Christian charity and his unbounded liberality. All the money he could raise he bestowed upon the poor, while he himself led a life of simplicity and poverty. He was greatly respected both in Italy and elsewhere by the dignitaries of both Church and State. He tried to foster the religious life by his sermons as well as by his writings. The Diocese of Castello belonged to the Patriarchate of Grado. On 8 October, 1451, Nicholas V united the See of Castello with the Patriarchate of Grado, and the see of the patriarch was transferred to Venice, and Lawrence was named the first Patriarch of Venice, and exercised his office till his death somewhat more than four years later. His beatification was ratified by Clement VII in 1524, and he was canonized in 1690 by Alexander VIII. Innocent XII appointed 5 September for the celebration of his feast. The saint's ascetical writings have often been published, first in Brescia in 1506, later in Paris in 1524, and in Basle in 1560, etc. We are indebted to his nephew, Bernardo Giustiniani, for his biography.