Saints of this Day March  01 Kaléndis Mártii.
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.
Dear, readers DAY 13 INTENTION
We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.

Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
March 1st - Our Lady of Della Croce (Italy, 1873) - 12th apparition in Lourdes
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of Mercy toward us, and after this our exile show us the
Blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us O Holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
In Latin: Salve, Regina
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae; vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix.
Ut digni efficamur promissionibus Christi. Amen.
This hymn is said to be a favorite of our Lady herself by testimony of those who have reportedly seen her in visions. One account concerning this claim relates a vision St Dominic had. He was entering a corridor of the monastery to resume his midnight prayer vigil when he chanced to raise his eyes and see three beautiful ladies approach him. He knelt before the principle lady and she blessed him. Even though St Dominic recognized her, he begged her to tell him her name. The Lady replied: "I am she whom you invoke every evening: and when you say, 'Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of Mercy toward us,' I prostrate myself before my Son, entreating Him to protect this Order."
See http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/BVM/SalveRegina.html

Popes General Prayer Intention in the Month of Marchngly Helped
Special Prayer Intention of Missions
Institutes of Consecrated Life in Mission Countries Rediscover the Missionary Dimension
and Generously Proclaim Christ to the Ends of the Earth

Mary's Divine Motherhood
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).

Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.

  290 St. Hermes and Adrian Martyrs with 24 companions
       St. Eudocia, martyr in the persecution of Trajan
 300 St. Lupercus Martyred bishop near Lourdes  
       St. Antonina, martyr.  For deriding the gods of the heathen, in the persecution of Diocletian, she
 492 ST. FELIX III Pope helped to get the Church in Africa on its feet
       St. Monan martyred  monk at St. Andrew's under St. Adrian
 549 St. Herculaflus Bishop of Perugia, Italy marthred by Ostrogoths
 550  St Albinus, (Aubin), Bishop Of Angers many miracles attributed during life but more particularly after his death
 589 ?  St. David of Wales missionary priest monk dove lift him high above the people
 713 St Swithbert (Suidbert) 1 of band 12 missionaries headed by St Willibrord, started in 690 evangelize Friesland
 900 St. Leo Luke Basilian monastery Abbot of Corleone  
 977 St. Rudesind  Benedictine abbot bishop performing miracles 
1367 Bd Roger Le Fort, Archbishop Of Bourges after death tomb a place of pilgrimage many miracles worked.
1375 Bd Bonavita A Blacksmith by trade and a Franciscan tertiary
 Apud Cenómanos, in Gállia, sancti Siviárdi Abbátis.       At Le Mans in France, St. Siviard, abbot.
1484  Bd Christopher Of Milan the apostle of Liguria great success in evangelizing that part of Italy, Dominican
          endowed with the gift of prophecy

1796 Bd Peter Rene Roque, Martyr ordained 1782 professor of theology in his native town Vannes refused the
       Constitutional Oath
On being sentenced to death, Father Roque fell on his knees and gave fervent thanks to God
       guillotined on March 1, 1796

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). 
March 1st - Our Lady of Della Croce (Italy, 1873) Our Lady’s Messenger (II)

(The evangelist) says: "The angel Gabriel was sent by God". His name is not without meaning to the message with which he is charged. Indeed, which angel would have been better to announce the coming of the Christ - who is God’s virtue - than the one who has the honor to be called the Force of God? Because what is force, if it is not virtue? (...)
If he is called the Force of God it is either because he has been chosen to announce the coming of this force itself, or because he was meant to reassure a naturally timid, simple and modest virgin that would have perhaps been disturbed by the news of the miracle about to be achieved in her womb. Indeed, he says to her, "Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor! The Lord is with you.”
It is also possible to imagine that he came to give force and courage to the Virgin’s fiancé, this man of a humble and timorous conscience, although our evangelist does not specify this. Indeed, Gabriel says to him: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife."
Therefore the choice of Gabriel for the messenger is totally relevant for the mission that he was meant to fulfill, or indeed it may be that he was called Gabriel because of the mission that he was meant to fulfill.
Saint Bernard Sermon on the Missus Est
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him"
(Psalm 21:28)
Mary Mother of GOD
15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary Mary's Divine Motherhood
Saints of this Day March  01 Kaléndis Mártii.
The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
  Decrees of Vatican's Saint Congregation
Testify to 10 Miracles; 10 Cases of Heroic Virtue; 1 Martyrdom
“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
Church to Proclaim 6 Saints in October Including Australian Mary MacKillop

CONSISTORY ON SEVERAL CAUSES OF CANONISATION  VATICAN CITY, 12 FEB 2010 (VIS)

RITES OF BEATIFICATION APPROVED BY THE HOLY FATHER VATICAN CITY, 8 SEP 2009 (VIS)

BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR  FEBRUARY 2010
Scholars
General:  For all scholars and intellectuals, that by means of sincere search for the truth they may arrive at an understanding of the one true God.
The Church’s Missionary Identity
Missionary:  That the Church, aware of its own missionary identity, may strive to follow Christ faithfully and to proclaim His Gospel to all peoples.


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.


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

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. Patron_Saints.html

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY  PSALM 93
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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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
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.

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;
and 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

breviary.net/martyrology/mart03/mart0301 stlukeorthodox.com/html/saints/march/ usccb.org  ewtn.com  Irondequoit .org Saints Alive
domcentral.org/life/martyrMarth syriac   oca.org  glaubenszeugen.de/tage/March   Serbian   http://www.copticchurch.net  Melkite
Monthly Saints with pics here http://www.stfrancisenid.com/memorials.htm
 One Saint per day stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/index.htm    stjohndc.org  God's Humourous Saints
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 since He promises such great reward, and that all Catholics should endeavor to make the 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 third of the full Rosary of 15 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 15 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.
God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea.  As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences.  Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves. O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.  Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.   God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven. The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BLay Saints  Miraculous_IconMiraculous_Medal_Novena Patron Saints
Miracles by Century 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800  1900 2000
The POPES HTML
God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven.
"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

492 ST. FELIX III Pope helped to get the Church in Africa on its feet
 Romæ natális sancti Felícis Papæ Tértii, qui sancti Gregórii Magni átavus fuit; qui étiam (ut ipse Gregórius refert), sanctæ Tharsíllæ nepti appárens, illam ad cæléstia regna vocávit.
       At Rome, the birthday of Pope St. Felix III, ancestor of St. Gregory the Great, who relates of him that he appeared to St. Tharsilla, his niece, and called her to the kingdom of heaven.


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).
His Holiness Aram I, current (2008) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias.
  The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia.
The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin.
In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.
Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
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.
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.

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

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Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey
Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament
Colombia was among the countries Mother Angelica visited.  In Bogotá, a Salesian priest - Father Juan Pablo Rodriguez brought Mother and the nuns to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus to attend Mass.  After Mass, Father Juan Pablo took them into a small Shrine which housed the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. Mother Angelica stood praying at the side of the statue when suddenly the miraculous image came alive and turned towards her.  Then the Child Jesus spoke with the voice of a young boy: 
"Build Me a Temple and I will help those who help you." 
Thus began a great adventure that would eventually result in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a Temple dedicated to the Divine Child Jesus, a place of refuge for all. Use this link to read a remarkable story about
Father Reardon, Editor of The Catholic Bulletin for 20 years
Lover of the poor; "A very Holy Man of God"
Monsignor Reardon P.A.  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 5/31/1908
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 B. 1872, Nova Scotia; Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland; Member  St. Paul Seminary faculty
Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows Here.  Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary
spaces filled
between with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron  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.  It became the Popes' own cathedral and official residence for the first millennium of Christian history. The only replicas ever made:  in order from west to east {1932}. Saints Simon (saw), Bartholomew (knife), James the Lesser (book), John (eagle),  Andrew (transverse cross), Peter (keys), Paul (sword), James the Greater (staff),
Thomas (carpenter's square), Philip (serpent), Matthew (book), and Jude (sword).
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 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.
Father John Corapi, SOLT
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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.

THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM
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

A New Series by Fr. Corapi! The Moon Under Her Feet CD-Audio Set: $39.00 DVD-Video Set: $45.00  call 1-888-800-7084 or go to Site http://www.fathercorapi.com
In this four part series 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 this four part series on topics more timely than ever.
The four titles are:  1. The Real War We Fight 2. The Battle for Hearts & Minds 3. Leadership: Essential for Victory 4. With the Moon Under Her Feet
2010     LOCATION     THEME/TITLE
May 1, 2010     Chaifetz Arena
St. Louis, MO     Be Not Afraid, There Is Truth     Metrotix
1-314-534-1111  1-800-293-5949
June 12, 2010     Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
Appelton, WI     To Be Announced     SOLD OUT!
July 17, 2010     Cintas Center
Cincinnati, OH     The Social Teachings of the Church     The Catholic Shop
1-513-561-4333
Ticketmaster
1-513-745-3411
August 7, 2010     AT&T Center
San Antonio, TX     Life, Love, and the Purpose of Our Existence     Event Info
Ticketmaster
AT&T Center
1-800-745-3000
October 30, 2010     The Prudential Center
Newark, NJ     Spiritual Warfare     To Be Announced
Church to Proclaim 6 Saints in October Including Australian Mary MacKillop
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI announced today at an ordinary public consistory for the canonisation of blesseds that the Church will proclaim six saints later this year.  The announcement of the Oct. 17 canonizations was a particularly awaited moment in the Holy See, as demonstrated by the presence of 37 cardinals, archbishops and bishops.
 
Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes presented a biographical profile of the six blesseds, and then the Holy Father asked the cardinals, archbishops and bishops present, for their opinion on the canonizations proposed.
 
After giving their assent, Benedict XVI presided over the prayer for the Church, invoking the presence of the Trinity in the life of the people of God. The invocation ended with the singing of the Our Father.
 
Those to be canonized include: 
-- Blessed Stanislaw Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, professed priest of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, born Sept. 27, 1433 in Kazimierz (Poland) and died in the same place May 3, 1489;

 -- Blessed André Bessette (born Alfred), religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross; born in Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, Canada, Aug. 9, 1845, and died in Montreal, Canada, Jan. 6, 1937;

Montreal's "Miracle Man" to Be Canonized   Brother André Called a Witness of Faith and Love
OTTAWA, Canada, FEB. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The bishops of Canada are calling the announcement of the canonization of Blessed André Bessette -- known as the "miracle man of Montreal" -- as a moment to rejoice.

Bishop Pierre Morissette of Saint-Jérôme, president of the Canadian episcopal conference, wrote this Friday in a statement released after Benedict XVI announced that Brother André Bessette (1845-1937), a religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, would be canonized Oct. 17.  "Brother André lived his life with great humility. Guided by a deep faith and devotion to Saint Joseph, he dedicated his life to praying, serving the poor, welcoming strangers, healing the sick and comforting the suffering," the bishop said. "To this day, his memory remains an important witness to all Canadians of faith and love.  May the canonization of Brother André be a moment of rejoicing throughout our country," he addded. "May his legacy remind us of what each of us can achieve through faith and love."

A press statement from Father Edwin Obermiller, assistant provincial of the congregation's Indiana Province, noted that Brother André will be the first member of the Congregation of Holy Cross to be canonized.  The order of priests and brothers, founded in France by Blessed Basil Moreau in 1832, is best known in the United States for its role in founding the University of Notre Dame.

Good news
Father Hugh Cleary, superior general of the Congregation of Holy Cross, commented, "What a grace for our religious family, to count among its ranks such a model of the Christian life offered to the world, a true inspiration for a welcoming, compassionate presence. Such good news!"
Alfred Bessette was born in 1845 in Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, near Montreal, and joined the Congregation of the Holy Cross in 1874. He worked as a door keeper and barber at a school in Montreal, where he earned a reputation as a healer and miracle-worker.  "Bessette’s biographers recount tales of crippled rheumatics healed and fever-stricken schoolboys made suddenly well, often aided by 'St. Joseph's oil,' a mixture that Bessette rubbed on wounds and sick limbs after burning it under a statue of the saint," Father Obermiller recounted.  "Rooted in his devotion to St. Joseph and motivated by his compassion, Brother André dedicated his life to comforting those in greatest need," the priest added.

Pope John Paul II praised the brother as "a man of prayer and a friend of the poor, a truly astonishing man."
Brother André died in 1937, at the age of 91. He is buried at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, which he founded in 1904.  He was declared venerable in 1978, and beatified in 1982.
Brother André will be canonized alongside Australian Mother Mary MacKillop, the founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Stanislaw Soltys, a 15th-century Polish priest; Italian nuns Giulia Salzano and Battista Varano, and Spanish nun Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola.

 -- Blessed Candida Maria of Jesus, baptized Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola, founder of the Congregation of Daughters of Jesus, born in the hamlet of Berrospe, Andoain, Guipuzcoa, Spain, on May 31, 1845 and died on August 9, 1912.

 -- Blessed Mary of the Cross MacKillop (baptized Mary Helen), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart; born on January 15, 1842 in Fitzroy, Australia, and died on August 8, 1909 in Sydney, Australia;
Canonization Date Set for Australia's 1st Saint  Cardinal Pell Calls Mary MacKillop a "Role Model"
SYDNEY, Australia, FEB. 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Church in Australia is celebrating as Benedict XVI announced that Blessed Mary MacKillop will soon be proclaimed as the country's first saint.  The news was confirmed this morning at an ordinary public consistory for the canonisation of blesseds, which annonced that Mother MacKillop and five others will be proclaimed saints on Oct. 17 in Rome.   
Cardinal George Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, commented in a press statement that he was delighted with the news.
"Mary MacKillop stands at the heart of the Catholic tradition," he said. "She had great ability to forgive and showed immense loyalty not only to her fellow sisters but to the Church leadership which did not always treat her well.  Yet Mary was a very normal person and a great role model for all Australians. Mary MacKillop is a very worthy saint for Australia, an important first for all of us," the cardinal added.
 
Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, commented that the sainthood of Mother MacKillop is "deeply significant" and "an inspiration" for all Australians.  He called her "an extraordinary figure in Australian history" who, through her work in education and attending to the needs of the poor, "changed the course of many young Australians lives.  This is a deeply significant announcement for the five million Australians of Catholic faith, and for all Australians whether of Catholic faith or not," the prime minister said.

Founder
Mary MacKillop, born in Victoria in 1842, founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which established schools and charitable organizations across Australia and was devoted to the care of orphans, neglected children, the homeless, sick and elderly. She died in 1909.  Pope John Paul II beatified Sister MacKillop in 1995, saying she embodied the best of Australia and its people.  He noted her "genuine openness to others, hospitality to strangers, generosity to the needy, justice to those unfairly treated, perseverance in the face of adversity, kindness and support to the suffering."

In 2008, Sister MacKillop was a key patron of the World Youth Day hosted by Sydney, Australia. Ahead of the international youth event, the government honored the nun by featuring her on a collector's coin. The Archdiocese of Sydney revealed that Harvest Pilgrimages has been appointed the Official Canonisation Tour Operator by the Sisters of St Joseph, the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference responsible for managing the movement of pilgrims to Rome.  Harvest's Managing Director, Philip Ryall, is preparing for the likelihood of several thousand pilgrims who will travel to Rome for the event.  "This will be without doubt one of the great moments in our nation's history. What a privilege to assist the faithful to be there and experience this with their own eyes," he said in a statement released by the archdiocese.
As the Canonisation Travel Office, Harvest will also be responsible for the coordination of canonisation tickets for Australian pilgrims into a specially partitioned area in St. Peter's Square.

 -- Blessed Giulia Salzano, founder of the Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart; born Oct. 13, 1846, in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy, and died May 17, 1929, in Casoria, Italy;

 -- Blessed Camilla Battista da Varano, sister of the Poor Clares and founder of the monastery of St. Clare in Camerino; born April 0, 1458, in Camerino, Italy, and died in the same city May 31, 1524.
Princess on Earth, Saint in Heaven Canonization Comes After 100-Year Delay
By Carmen Elena Villa ROME, FEB. 23, 2010 (Zenit.org).

The nuns of the Poor Clare convent nestled in the eastern Italian town of Camerino are expecting the canonization of a princess of the region to have universal repercussions.

Last Friday, Benedict XVI approved the Oct. 17 canonization of Blessed Camilla Battista da Varano, who founded the convent in Camerino. After the announcement, the bells of the convent rang out at noon and the sisters held a vigil of prayer in thanksgiving.

“We are certain that the canonization will have universal breadth,” Mother Chiara Laura Seroboli, abbess of the convent of St. Clare of Camerino, wrote in a letter sent to ZENIT. “[...] In fact, the last canonization that the region of Las Marcas recalls was that of St. Maria Goretti, 60 years ago, an event that, despite the fact that there was not the quantity of media that exist now, had a grandiose resonance.”
 
Both the abbess as well as the provincial minister of the brothers, Father Valentino Natalini, have established an organizing committee to promote events and initiatives to spread awareness about the saint in parishes and schools, and among young people, families and associations.

Camilla da Varano (1458-1524) was born to Giulio Cesare, the prince of Camerino. She spent her youth enjoying social life, studying Latin, law, painting and horseback, and basking in the surroundings of a sumptuous palace.  In her autobiography, Camilla recounts that when she was 9 years old she heard a homily on Good Friday in which Brother Domenico da Leonessa asked those present to shed at least one tear every Friday out of love for Jesus. She took it as a vow to follow all her life.  Early in her youth she intuited a vocation to the religious life, but it was hard for her to accept. Once she decided to abandon herself into God's hands and saw clearly that he was calling her, her father opposed the decision, wishing her to marry. She succeeded in overcoming the obstacles to her vocation and at 23, entered the convent of St. Clare in Urbino.
 
“Lord, make me always praise, bless, and glorify you with my life and edify my brothers,” the future saint wrote.  Two years later Camilla made her religious profession, taking the name Sister Battista, together with eight sisters of Urbino. She then entered the new convent of Camerino.  Her father and her brothers were killed in a persecution her family suffered in 1502. Camilla was obliged to take refuge in Atri, a small town of the Abruzzi region, in southern Italy.
 
In 1505, Pope Julius II sent her to found a convent in Fermo, and in 1521 and 1522 she traveled to San Severino delle Marche to form the local religious who in that period had adopted the rule of St. Clare.  “Serve him out of pure love because he is the Lord who alone merits to be served, loved and praised by every creature” she wrote.

Camilla had a number of mystical experiences, reflected in her numerous writings, in which she reveals her ardent love for the crucified Christ.  She died May 31, 1524, during a plague.  “You have resurrected me in You, true life who give life to all the living,” wrote Camilla.

Her body is kept and exposed for devotion in a crypt dedicated to her in the church of the convent of Camerino.
 
The miracle which took place for her canonization occurred in 1877: the cure of a girl called Celia Ottaviane in Camerino, who suffered from rickets. Blessed Camilla's cause for canonization was then delayed for about 100 years due to problems with the original postulator. It was taken up again in 1998 and last December, Benedict XVI signed the decree approving the miracle for her canonization.
 
Camilla's works have been compiled and are being republished because of her canonization: "Memories of Jesus," "The Mental Pains of the Passion of Jesus," "Autobiography," "Instructions to the Disciple," "Treatise on the Painting of the Heart," and "Considerations on the Passion of Our Lord."
DEC. 19, 2009 Decrees of Vatican's Saint Congregation Testify to 10 Miracles; 10 Cases of Heroic Virtue; 1 Martyrdom
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here are the 21 decrees of the Congregation for Saints' Causes approved today by Benedict XVI.  Five of the decrees are for miracles attributed to those who are beatified, and are now qualified for canonization. Five decrees are for miracles attributed to those who are venerable, and are now qualified for beatification.
One decree testifies to martyrdom, and another is a decree of the heroic virtue of a blessed. The nine remaining decrees testify to the heroic virtue of servants of God.
[Decrees of miracles for blesseds]
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Stanislaw Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, professed priest of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, born Sept. 27, 1433 in Kazimierz (Poland) and died in the same place May 3, 1489;
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed André Bessette (born Alfred), religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross; born in Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, Canada, Aug. 9, 1845, and died in Montreal, Canada, Jan. 6, 1937.
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mary MacKillop (born Mary Helen), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart; born Jan. 15, 1842 in Fitzroy, Australia, and died Aug. 8, 1909, in Sydney, Australia;
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Giulia Salzano, founder of the Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart; born Oct. 13, 1846, in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy, and died May 17, 1929, in Casoria, Italy;
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Camilla Battista da Varano, sister of the Poor Clares and founder of the monastery of St. Clare in Camerino; born April 0, 1458, in Camerino, Italy, and died in the same city May 31, 1524;
[Decrees of miracles for venerables]
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable José Tous y Soler, priest and professed of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and founder of the Congregation of the Capuchin Sisters of the Mother of the Divine Pastor; born March 21, 1811, in Igualada, Spain, and died Feb. 21, 1871, in Barcelona, Spain.
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Leopoldo de Alpandeire Sánchez Márquez (born Francisco), a professed brother of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; born July 24, 1866, in Alpandeire, Spain, and died Feb. 9, 1956, in Granada, Spain.
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Manuel Lozano Garrido, a layman; born Aug. 9, 1920, in Linares, Spain, and died in the same city Nov. 3, 1971;
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Teresa Manganiello, a laywoman, of the Third Order of St. Francis; born in Montefusco, Italy, Jan. 1, 1849, and died Nov. 4, 1876;
-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Chiara Badano, lay; born in Sassello, Italy, Oct. 29, 1971, and died Oct. 7, 1990;
[Decree recognizing marytrdom]
-- the martyrdom of the Servant of God Jerzy Popieluszko, diocesan priest; born Sept. 14, 1947, in Okopy Suchowola, Poland, and killed for hatred of the faith Oct. 20, 1984, near Wloclawek, Polond;
[Decree recognizing heroic virtue of a blessed]
-- the heroic virtue of Blessed Giacomo Illirico da Bitetto, a professed brother of the Order of the Friars Minor, born in 1400 in Zara, Dalmacia, and died around the year 1496 in Bitetto, Italy;
[Decrees recognizing heroic virtue for servants of God]
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli), supreme pontiff; born in Rome on March 2, 1876, and died in Castel Gandolfo on Oct. 9, 1958;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla), supreme pontiff; born May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, and died in April 2, 2005, in Rome;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Louis Brisson, priest and founder of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales; born June 23, 1817, in Plancy, France, and died n the same city Feb. 2, 1908;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Giuseppe Quadrio, professed priest of the Salesians of St. John Bosco; born Nov. 28, 1921, in Vervio, Italy, and died in Turin, Italy, Oct. 23, 1963;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Mary Ward, founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, born in Mulwith, England, Jan. 23, 1585, and died in Hewarth, England, Jan. 30, 1645;
Father Giuseppe Quadrio (1921-63), a Salesian.
Sister Mary Ward (1545-1615), an Englishwoman who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters).
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Antonia Maria Verna, founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea; born in Pasquaro di Rivarolo, Italy, June 12, 1773, and died in the same city Dec. 25, 1838;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Maria Chiara Serafina de Jesús Farolfi (born Francisca), founder of the Missionary Franciscan Clarists of the Blessed Sacrament; born Oct. 7, 1853, in Tossignano, Italy, and died June 18, 1917, in Badia di Bertinoro, Italia;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Enrica Alfieri (born Maria Angela), professed religious of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Charity of St. Juana Antide Thouret; born Feb. 23, 1891, in Borgovercelli, Italy, and died in Milan, Italy, on Nov. 23, 1951;
-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Giunio Tinarelli, layman, member of the Silent Workers of the Cross, born in Terni, Italy, May 27, 1912, and died in the same city Jan. 14, 1956.
DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2009 (VIS) - Today, during a private audience with Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorised the congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
All Servants of God
MIRACLES:
- 1909 Ciriaco Maria Sancha y Hervas, Spanish cardinal archbishop of Toledo, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of
          Charity of Cardinal Sancha (1833-1909).
-
1956 Carlo Gnocchi, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the "Pro Juventute" Foundation (1902-1956).
-
1735 Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos, Spanish professed priest of the Company of Jesus (1711-1735).
-
1919 Raphael Rafiringa (ne Louis), Madagascan professed religious of the Institute of Brothers of Christian Schools
          (1856-1919).
-
1946 Eustachio Kugler, (ne Joseph), German professed religious of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God (1867-1946).
 
HEROIC VIRTUES
-
1659 Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Spanish bishop of Osma (1600-1659).
-
1888 Robert Spiske, diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Hedwig (1821-1888).
- 1
932 Carolina Beltrami, Italian foundress of the Institute of "Immaculatine" Sisters of Alessandria (1869-1932).
-
1998 Mary of the Immaculate e Conception Salvat y Romerio (nee Maria Isabella), Spanish superior general of the Institute of
          Sisters of the Company of the Cross (1926-1998).
-
1842 Liberata Ferrarons y Vives, Spanish laywoman of the Third Order of Carmelites (1803-1842).
  In the course of a private audience with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. on 22 December 2008, the Pope authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate a decree regarding the heroic virtues of
1871 Jose Tous y Soler, Servant of God Spanish professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins and founder of the
        Capuchin sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd (1811-1871).
CSS/DECREES/AMATO VIS 090119 (320)
RITES OF BEATIFICATION APPROVED BY THE HOLY FATHER VATICAN CITY, 8 SEP 2009 (VIS)
The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today announced that the following rites of beatification,
approved by the Holy Father, will take place over the coming months:
- Servant of God Eustachio Kugler (ne Joseph), German professed religious of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God: at 2 p.m. on Sunday 4 October in the cathedral of Regensburg, Germany.
- Servant of God Ciriaco Maria Sancha y Hervas, Spanish cardinal and archbishop, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Cardinal Sancha, at 10 a.m. on Sunday 18 October in the cathedral of Toledo, Spain.
- Servant of God Carlo Gnocchi, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the "Pro Juventute" Foundation: at 10 a.m. on Sunday 25 October in the Piazza del Duomo in Milan, Italy.
- Servant of God Zoltan Lajos Meszlenyi, Hungarian bishop and martyr: at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday 31 October in the cathedral of Esztergom, Hungary.
- Servant of God Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas (nee Soultaneh Maria), co-foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem: at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday 22 November, Solemnity of Christ the King, in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel.
OCL/BEATIFICATIONS/... VIS 090908 (220)

Holy Land Christians Welcome Beatification Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas to Be Named Blessed in Nazareth  JERUSALEM, SEPT. 10, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Holy Land Christians are rejoicing over the forthcoming beatification, the first to take place in their country, of Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas, which is planned for Nov. 22 in Nazareth.
 
Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land, affirmed this Wednesday, the day after the Holy See publicized the place and date of the beatification. The Vatican communiqué reported that "Mother Ghattas," born Soultaneh Maria, co- founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, will be beatified on the solemnity of Christ the King in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Father Pizzaballa told the Italian agency Sir that this celebration will be "an important event, which will bring the Palestinian Christian community together again after Benedict XVI's visit."  He explained, "This beatification gives local Christians a symbol and spiritual example at a difficult time, in which their number is diminishing, with so many challenges such as secularization, formation and the political problems that continue unresolved."
 
Mother Ghattas' spiritual daughters, the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary, were very enthusiastic when the news was made public. Sister Ildefonsa, secretary general of the congregation, explained to Sir that not only her congregation but the whole Christian community, especially in Galilee have been preparing for a long time. She stated, "We have sent a letter from the congregation to all the convents spread across the Middle East, so that they will pray and fast faced to the beatification."
 
The beatification "will be, for our Christian communities, an invitation to courage, to stay despite the difficulties," the nun added. "On our part we intend to give them education and instruction." 
Daughter of Palestine 
Ghattas was born on October 4, 1843 in Jerusalem. She entered religious life at age 14, with the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, taking the name Alfonsina. She had visions of the Virgin Mary, who requested that she found a congregation dedicated to the Holy Rosary. In 1880, together with Father Joseph Tannous, she initiated the new religious community, which soon spread all over the Holy Land. The Custos of the Holy Land stated that Mother Ghattas was "a daughter of Palestine who lived in the Holy Land and who understood the importance of instruction and formation to give Christian witness in this tormented region of the world."
HOLY FATHER TO CANONISE FIVE BLESSEDS ON 11 OCTOBER
VATICAN CITY, 1 OCT 2009 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. on Sunday 11 October the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square, during which he will canonise five blesseds, according to a communique released today by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.
  The five future saints are: Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895), Polish former archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary; Francesc Coll y Guitart (1812-1875), Spanish professed priest of the Order of Friars Preachers and founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Jozef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889), Belgian professed priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar (PICPUS); Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), Spanish oblate friar of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, and Mary of the Cross Jugan (nee Jeanne) (1792-1879), French virgin and foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
OCL/CANONISATIONS/... VIS 091001 (190)
CONSISTORY ON SEVERAL CAUSES OF CANONISATION  VATICAN CITY, 12 FEB 2010 (VIS)
 In the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at 11 a.m. on Friday 19 February, an ordinary public consistory will be held for the canonisation of the following Blesseds:
 - Stanislao Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, Polish professed religious of the Order of Canons Regular Lateranense (1433-1489).
- Andre Bessette (ne Alfred), Canadian professed religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (1845-1937).
- Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (nee Juana Josefa), Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (1845-1912).
- Mary of the Cross MacKillop (nee Mary Helen), Australian foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (1842-1909).
- Giulia Salzano, Italian foundress of the Congregation of Sisters Catechists of the Sacred Heart (1846-1929).
- Battista da Varano (nee Camilla), professed nun of the Order of Poor Clares and foundress of the monastery of St. Clare in the Italian town of Camerino (1458-1524). OCL/CONSISTORY CANONISATION/. VIS 100212 (170)

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Dear, readers DAY 13 INTENTION We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.

Whenever talking about babies saved from abortion  through God's mercy and the prayers of 40 Days for Life  participants, I usually add the words "that we know  of." After all, we really don't know how many lives  have been spared in ways that only God will ever know.  We just have to trust Him!  With that in mind, I can tell you that thus far in  this 40 Days for Life campaign ...
... 107 babies have been saved from abortion ...
... that we know of!
We don't know, for instance, how many abortions were  prevented because the abortion facility was closed  one day last week in Overland Park, Kansas.
"The place was empty," said Valerie. Apparently,  heating and plumbing problems kept the doors shut  all day. "Praise God for allowing women to have  another chance to think about what they are doing."

Most of the time, we don't know how many women change  their minds -- and simply don't show up for their  abortion appointment.
We do, however, know of at least one.
Judy in La Puente, California said a young man  walked up to 40 Days for Life vigil participants to  thank them for being there.  "Because he had seen us outside praying, he had the  courage to convince his girlfriend not to have an  abortion," she said. "You just never know how many  others never get to the abortion site because of our  presence. Praise God!"

That may be happening in other cities as well. Mary  in Everett, Washington noted that last Monday, the  abortion facility "wasn't as busy as I remember on  Mondays during the last campaign."
It's great news whenever business decreases at the  abortion center!
Click here to see a photo of the 40 Days for Life  vigil in Everett:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=671

In Fayetteville, Arkansas -- yes, the same city where  the abortionist went on TV to call 40 Days for Life  "silly" -- a young man sporting a Mohawk haircut,  leather jacket and sunglasses is parading in front  of the abortion center with a homemade poster that reads "I love abortion."

He, too, drew the attention of a local TV station,  telling the reporter that pro-life people "incite  hatred." The video shows a mom and her two children  quietly praying, with other people behind them  peacefully standing in prayer as well.

Inciting hatred? Of course not! And anyone watching  the newscast could clearly see that.

As for the guy with the "I love abortion" sign -- and  the other person who joined him later offering "free  coat hangers" -- vigil participant Christy White  simply told the reporter, "We're just praying for  conversion of their hearts."

Click here to see the TV news report:
http://www.4029tv.com/news/22665396/detail.html
Today's devotional is from Dennis DeMauro of Lutherans  for Life.

DAY 13 INTENTION We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.

SCRIPTURE
But the Lord said "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in the night and perished in the night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned about that great city?"-- Jonah 4:10-11

REFLECTION by Dennis DiMauro, Lutherans for Life
God doesn't value people and things like we do.
Jonah loved a shade tree more than an entire city of sinful people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist. We love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a child growing in a desperate teenager's womb.

But God isn't like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans were the capstone of God's creation.

We were created on the sixth day after God had completed the land, the stars, the plants and the animals. Therefore, His love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an animal, or any other created thing.

And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His merciful arms. And it's a love that seeks to touch all of his created children: that desperate teenager, the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and terrorists.

So it's up to us to imitate God's merciful love by helping and praying for those who persecute us, and those who don't love us back.

PRAYER
Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of most difficult things you could ask of us.
Please remind us that this is how you love and that if you ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do it. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.

PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2010day13print.pdf
How many more lives will be saved over the next 27 days of this campaign thanks to your prayers and  faithfulness, Charlie?
I can't wait to find out!  :-)

Yours For Life, David Bereit National Director 40 Days for Life
PS: Good news from your 40 Days for Life campaign? Any "interesting" visitors like the ones the Fayetteville vigil attracted? Please share the  information by replying to today's blog entry at:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=671
40 Days for Life   3515-B Longmire #316 College Station, TX 77845 US
To update your contact information: http://autocontactor.com/app/r.asp?c=1&ID=1048322280&D=

 Romæ sanctórum Mártyrum ducentórum sexagínta, quos jussit primo Cláudius, pro Christi nómine damnátos, extra portam Saláriam arénam fódere, deínde in amphitheátro sagíttis mílitum intérfici.
      At Rome, two hundred and sixty holy martyrs condemned for the name of Christ.  Claudius ordered them to dig sand beyond the Salarian Gate, then to have soldiers in the amphitheatre shoot them with arrows.

 Item natális sanctórum Mártyrum Leónis, Donáti, Abundántii, Nicéphori et aliórum novem.
       Also, the birthday of the holy martyrs Leo, Donatus, Abundantius, Nicephorus, and nine others.

 Heliópoli, apud Líbanum, sanctæ Eudóciæ Mártyris, quæ, in persecutióne Trajáni, a Theódoto Epíscopo baptizáta et ad certámen muníta, ibídem, Vincéntii Præsidis jussu percússa gládio, martyrii corónam accépit.
       At Heliopolis, St. Eudocia, martyr in the persecution of Trajan.  She was baptized by Bishop Theodotus, and being fortified for the combat, was put to the sword at the command of Vincent the governor, and thus received the crown of martyrdom.

290 St. Hermes and Adrian Martyrs with 24 companions
 Massíliæ, in Gállia, sanctórum Mártyrum Hermétis et Hadriáni.
       At Marseilles in France, the holy martyrs Hermes and Adrian.
probably the Massylitan martyrs praised by St. Augustine. They suffered in Massylis, or Marula, in Numidia.
300 St. Lupercus Martyred bishop near Lourdes
venerated at Tarbes, near Lourdes, France. He was French or possibly Spanish and is also listed as Luperculus.

 Eódem die sanctæ Antonínæ Mártyris, quæ in persecutióne Diocletiáni, cum Gentílium deos irrisísset, ídeo, post vários cruciátus, in vase quodam inclúsa, in palúdem urbis Ceæ demérsa est.
       On the same day, St. Antonina, martyr.  For deriding the gods of the heathen, in the persecution of Diocletian, she was, after various torments, shut up in a cask and drowned in a marsh near the city of Cea.

492 ST. FELIX III Pope helped to get the Church in Africa on its feet
 Romæ natális sancti Felícis Papæ Tértii, qui sancti Gregórii Magni átavus fuit; qui étiam (ut ipse Gregórius refert), sanctæ Tharsíllæ nepti appárens, illam ad cæléstia regna vocávit.
       At Rome, the birthday of Pope St. Felix III, ancestor of St. Gregory the Great, who relates of him that he appeared to St. Tharsilla, his niece, and called her to the kingdom of heaven.

<>492 ST FELIX II (III), POPE  483 - 492
ACCORDING to the Roman Martyrology this Pope Felix was an ancestor (great-great-grandfather) of Pope St Gregory the Great it recalls Gregory’s statement that when his aunt, St Tharsilla, lay dying, Felix appeared in vision and summoned her to Heaven. The martyrology Calls him Felix III, through the long-standing but erroneous numeration of the antipope Felix as Pope St Felix II (see July 29).

Little Certain is known about him personally, but he was a straightforward, Courageous Roman of the type of Leo I, and he has his place in general church history in connection with the monophysite troubles. In 482 the Emperor Zero published a document called the Henotikon, which had been devised by the patriarch of Constantinople, Acacius, to placate the dissenting monophysites by ignoring the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. Two years later St Felix held a synod at the Lateran and excommunicated Acacius and his supporters for a betrayal of the Catholic faith. St Felix thus appears in the common role of the Roman pontiffs as an upholder of an oecumenical council against the secular power, while much of the East meekly accepted the emperor’s “line”. But the resulting

“Acacian schism” unhappily lasted for thirty-five years, and helped to pave the way for the eventual separation of the Byzantine church.

In the west, Felix helped iii the restoration of the African church after its long persecution by the Arian Vandals. He died in 492 after a pontificate of nearly nine years, and his feast is kept in Rome.
St. Felix II has the extraordinary distinction of being not only a pope and saint himself, but the great-grandfather of another pope and saint, Gregory the Great. Felix had been married, but his wife had died before he became a priest. He was a member of an old Roman family of senatorial rank.

No sooner was he elected pope than Felix faced the vexing problem posed by Emperor Zeno's ill-considered attempt to unify the East by compromise. One of the evils which result from politicians meddling in church matters is the tendency to make a deal. And that is just what Zeno did. Alarmed by the hold that the Monophysites had on Egypt and Syria, Zeno issued his famous Henoticon (act of union) and ordered all to subscribe to it. This Henoticon was a creed drawn up by Acacius, the hitherto orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, and Peter, the Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria. It was orthodox in what it said, but implicitly it condoned the Monophysite heresy by omitting the decision of the Council of Chalcedon and the letter of Pope Leo to Flavian. Like so many compromises it pleased few. The more ardent Monophysites refused to follow their leader, Peter, and Pope Felix denounced it. With true spiritual independence, he warned the Emperor not to interfere in theological matters and "to allow the Catholic Church to govern itself by its own laws."

Pope Felix sent legates to Constantinople to summon Acacius to Rome, but to his dismay the Pope discovered that his legates had approved the election of the Monophysite Peter as patriarch of Alexandria and had communicated with heretics--in short, had sold him out. Felix held a synod at Rome in 484 at which he excommunicated the untrustworthy legates. He also excommunicated Acacius, but the patriarch remained stubborn. Thus started the Acacian schism in which Constantinople was officially separated from the Roman Church over the Henoticon. Even after Acacius died, the schism dragged on until the next century.

In the last years of this pontificate Theodoric led his Ostrogoths into Italy to defeat Odovakar and take over the rule of Italy--all in the name of Emperor Zeno. Though an Arian, Theodoric treated the Church well. It was different in Africa, where in the early years of his reign Felix heard anguished cries for help from the hapless Catholics. Hunneric, the Arian Vandal, ruthlessly harried the poor African Catholics. Pope Felix got Emperor Zeno to bring his influence to bear on the fierce Vandal, but this accomplished little. After Hunneric died, the persecution slackened, and the Pope then helped to get the Church in Africa on its feet. He followed the usual papal policy of mildness towards weak brethren who had given way in the storm.
Pope St. Felix died March 1, 492. He is buried in St. Paul's on the Ostian Way.

See Duchesne's edition of the Liber pontificalis, vol. i, pp. 252-253; DCB., vol. ii, pp. 482-485, s.v. Felix III; and works of general ecclesiastical history.

549 St. Herculaflus Bishop of Perugia, Italy marthred by Ostrogoths
 Perúsiæ Translátio sancti Herculáni, Epíscopi et Mártyris, qui jussu Tótilæ, Gothórum Regis, decollátus est.  Ipsíus autem corpus ita cápiti unítum atque sanum, quadragésimo post abscissiónem die (ut scribit sanctus Gregórius Papa), repértum est, ac si nulla ferri incísio illud tetigísset.
       At Perugia, the transferral of the body of St. Herculanus, bishop and martyr, who was beheaded by order of Totila, king of the Goths.  Forty days after the decapitation, Pope St. Gregory relates that the head had been rejoined to the body as if it had never been touched by the sword.
beheaded by King Totila of the Ostrogoths. He is probably the same Herculanus sent to Perugia from Syria to evangelize the region
550  St Albinus, Or Aubin, Bishop Of Angers many miracles attributed during his life but more particularly after his death
Andégavi, in Gállia, sancti Albíni, Epíscopi et Confessóris, viri præclaríssimæ virtútis et sanctitátis.
      At Angers in France, St. Albinus, bishop and confessor, a man of most eminent virtue and piety.

THE great popularity of St Aubin appears to be due, not so much to his career, which presents no remarkable features, as to the many miracles attributed to him not only during his life but more particularly after his death. His cultus spread over France, Italy, Spain, Germany and even to distant Poland, and he became the titular patron of an immense number of French parishes. Born in the diocese of Vannes in Brittany, the saint belonged to a family said to have originally come from England or Ireland. While still young he entered the monastery of Tincillac, about which little is known, and there he led a life of great devotion. At the age of about thirty-five he was elected abbot, and, under his rule, the house flourished exceedingly and became a garden of virtues. Consequently, when the see of Angers fell vacant in 529 the clergy and citizens of Angers turned their eyes to Aubin. Greatly against his will, but much to the joy of the bishop of Rennes, St Melanius, he was appointed bishop of Angers and proved himself a capable and enlightened pastor.
St Aubin preached daily, and whilst always generous. to the sick and needy he was specially concerned with helping poor widows who were struggling to bring up large families. The ransoming of slaves was another good work very dear to his heart, and he spent large sums of money in buying back prisoners who had been carried off in the numerous raids of the barbarians. Tradition says that one of these captives was ransomed, not from the pirates, but from King Childebert himself. This was a lovely girl called Etheria upon whom the monarch had cast eyes. He caused her to be carried off from her home and imprisoned in a fortress. As soon as this came to the ears of the bishop, he went to the castle to demand her release, and such was the respect he inspired that the guards delivered her up at once. The legend adds that one soldier tried to detain the maiden and used threats and violence, but St Aubin breathed upon him and he fell down dead. The king made no further attempt to recapture the girl, but was undignified enough to demand a ransom which, we are told, was paid by the saint. Whether or not there is any truth in the story, it is certain that King Childebert had a great veneration for the bishop, but in other quarters he was very unpopular because of the energy with which he enforced the decrees of the Councils of Orleans in 538 and 541 against incestuous marriages.
St Aubin was credited with very many miracles. Besides numerous cases of the healing of the sick and the restoration of sight to the blind, we read of a youth called Alabald who was raised from the dead by his intercession. Once, after he had pleaded in vain with a judge to release some criminals, a great stone fell during the night from the prison wall and thus enabled the prisoners to regain their liberty. They immediately came to seek the saint and assured him that they would in future lead reformed lives.

The principal source for the life of St AIbinus is a short biography by Venantius Fortuna­tus, the most critical text of which is to be found in MGH., Auctores antiquissimi, vol. iv, "opera pedestria", pp. 27-33. His name is entered in the "Hieronymianum", and St Gregory of Tours refers to the cultus paid to him. See Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, pp. 347-349, 353-354; DHG., vol. v. cc. 254-255 ; and the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. i.

Born to a noble family of Brittany. Pious child. Monk from his mid-20's into his 60's at Timcillac, which later renamed itself Saint Aubin's in honor of him. Abbot for 25 years, beginning in 504. Bishop of Angers c.529. His episcopacy was known for his charity to the poor, widows and orphans, for his ransoming of slaves from their owners, his personal holiness, and the miracles he worked.
Custom of the day permitted consanguinity marriage. Albinus decried this as incest, and fought against it, making enemies in many powerful families who practiced it. Called councils at Orleans in 538 and 541, which condemned this and other morals offenses.
  Legend says that when he visited Etheria, a woman imprisoned by King Childebert for bad debts, the woman threw herself at Albinus' feet, and pled for help. A guard made a move to strike her, but Albinus breathed in the man's face, and he fell dead. Etheria was soon released.
  Another time Albinus passed a prison tower in Angers, and heard the cries and moans of badly treated prisoners. He pled with the local magistrate for their release, but was refused. He returned to the tower and prayed in front of it; after several hours, a landslide brought down part of the tower, the prisoners escaped, followed Albinus to the church of Saint Maurichies, reformed their ways, and became model citizens and Christians.
   The abbey of Saint Aubin in Angers was erected in his memory. Born:  469 at Vannes, Brittany, France Died:  1 March 549 of natural causes; relics at the Cathedral of Saint Germanus in Paris Canonized:  Pre-Congregation

589 ?  St. David of Wales missionary priest monk dove lift him high above the people
David is the patron saint of Wales and perhaps the most famous of British saints. Ironically, we have little reliable information about him. It is known that he became a priest, engaged in 589 ?  St. David of Wales David, cousin of Cadoc and pupil of Illtyd.
David is the patron saint of Wales and perhaps the most famous of British saints. Ironically, we have little reliable information about him. It is known that he became a priest, engaged in missionary work and founded many monasteries, including his principal abbey in southwestern Wales. Many stories and legends sprang up about David and his Welsh monks. Their austerity was extreme. They worked in silence without the help of animals to till the soil. Their food was limited to bread, vegetables and water.

In about the year 550, David attended a synod where his eloquence impressed his fellow monks to such a degree that he was elected primate of the region. The episcopal see was moved to Mynyw, where he had his monastery (now called St. David's). He ruled his diocese until he had reached a very old age. His last words to his monks and subjects were: "Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me."

St. David is pictured standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. The legend is that once while he was preaching a dove descended to his shoulder and the earth rose to lift him high above the people so that he could be heard. Over 50 churches in South Wales were dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days.

Comment:  Were we restricted to hard manual labor and a diet of bread, vegetables and water, most of us would find little reason to rejoice. Yet joy is what David urged on his brothers as he lay dying. Perhaps he could say that to them—and to us—because he lived in and nurtured a constant awareness of God’s nearness. For, as someone once said, “Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” May his intercession bless us with the same awareness!work and founded many monasteries, including his principal abbey in southwestern Wales. Many stories and legends sprang up about David and his Welsh monks. Their austerity was extreme. They worked in silence without the help of animals to till the soil. Their food was limited to bread, vegetables and water.

In about the year 550, David attended a synod where his eloquence impressed his fellow monks to such a degree that he was elected primate of the region. The episcopal see was moved to Mynyw, where he had his monastery (now called St. David's). He ruled his diocese until he had reached a very old age. His last words to his monks and subjects were: "Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me."

St. David is pictured standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. The legend is that once while he was preaching a dove descended to his shoulder and the earth rose to lift him high above the people so that he could be heard. Over 50 churches in South Wales were dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days.

Comment:  Were we restricted to hard manual labor and a diet of bread, vegetables and water, most of us would find little reason to rejoice. Yet joy is what David urged on his brothers as he lay dying. Perhaps he could say that to them—and to us—because he lived in and nurtured a constant awareness of God’s nearness. For, as someone once said, “Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” May his intercession bless us with the same awareness!

St. David According to tradition was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St. Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus. He was involved in missionary work and founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in Southwestern Wales was noted for extreme asceticism. David and his monks drank neither wine nor beer - only water - while putting in a full day of heavy manual labor and intense study.
Around the year 550, David attended a synod at Brevi in Cardiganshire. His contributions at the synod are said to have been the major cause for his election as primate of the Cambrian Church. He was reportedly consecrated archbishop by the patriarch of Jerusalem while on a visit to the Holy Land. He also is said to have invoked a council that ended the last vestiges of Pelagianism. David died at his monastery in Menevia around the year 589, and his cult was approved in 1120 by Pope Callistus II. He is revered as the patron of Wales. Undoubtedly, St. David was endowed with substantial qualities of spiritual leadership. What is more, many monasteries flourished as a result of his leadership and good example. His staunch adherence to monastic piety bespeaks a fine example for modern Christians seeking order and form in their prayer life.

David of Wales B (AC) also known as Dewi 5th or 6th century. There is no certainty about the date though we know that St. David was a real personage, son of King Sant, a prince of Cardigan in far western Wales. All the information we have about him is based on the unreliable 11th century biography written by Rhygyfarch, the son of Bishop Sulien of St. David's. Rhygyfarch's main purpose was to uphold the claim of the Welsh bishopric to be independent of Canterbury, so little reliance can be placed on the document.
David, who may have been born at Henfynw in Cardigan, lived during the golden age of Celtic Christianity when saints were plentiful, many of them of noble rank--kings, princes, and chieftain--who lived the monastic life, built oratories and churches, and preached the Gospel.

Saint Cadoc founded the great monastery of Llancarfan. Saint Illtyd turned from the life of a soldier to that of a mystic and established the abbey of Llantwit, where tradition links his name to that of Sir Galahad. But greatest among them was David, cousin of Cadoc and pupil of Illtyd, who was educated in the White House of Carmarathen and who founded the monastery of Menevia in the place that now bears his name.

According to his biography, David became a priest, studied under Saint Paulinus, the disciple of Saint Germanus of Auxerre, on an unidentified island for several years. He then engaged in missionary activities, founded 12 monasteries from Croyland to Pembrokeshire, the last of which, at Mynyw (Menevia) in southwestern Wales, was known for the extreme asceticism of its rule, which was based on that of the Egyptian monks.

Here in this lovely and lonely outpost he gathered his followers. The Rule was strict, with but one daily meal, frequent fasts, and hours of unbroken silence. Their days were filled with hard manual labor and no plough was permitted in the work of the fields. "Every man his own ox," said St. David. Nor did David exempt himself from the same rigorous discipline: he drank nothing but water and so came to be known as David the Waterman; and long after vespers, when the last of his monks had retired to bed, he prayed on alone through the night.

We are told that he was of a lovable and happy disposition, and an attractive and persuasive preacher. It was perhaps his mother, the saintly Non, who had nurtured him carefully in the Christian faith, that he owed so many of his own fine qualities. It was not surprising, therefore, that when the time came for the appointment of a new archbishop of Wales the choice fell upon him.

At Brevi, in Cardiganshire, a great synod had been convened about 550, attended by a thousand members, but David, who kept aloof from temporal concerns, remained in his retreat at Menevia. The synod, however, insisted on sending for him. So great was the crowd and so intense the excitement that the voice of the aged and retiring archbishop Saint Dubricius could hardly be heard when he named David as his successor. David, who at first refused, came forward reluctantly, but when he spoke his voice was like a silver trumpet, and all could hear and were deeply moved; and in that hour of his succession a white dove was seen to settle upon his shoulders as if it were a sign of God's grace and blessing.

Without any facts to support the event, it is said that David was consecrated archbishop by the patriarch of Jerusalem while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. But he loved Menevia and could not bring himself to leave it for Caerleon, the seat of the archbishopric, which he transferred to his own monastery by the wild headlands of the western sea, and which to this day is known by his name and remains a place of pilgrimage.

Again according to unsubstantiated legend, David convened a council, called the Synod of Victory, because it marked the final demise of Pelagianism, ratified the edicts of Brevi, and drew up regulations for the British Church.

"He opened," we are told, "many fountains in dry places, and across the centuries his words spoken in the hour of death still reach us: "Brothers and sisters, be joyful and keep your faith."

He died at Menevia and his cultus was reputedly approved by Pope Callistus II about 1120. Even his birth and death dates are uncertain, ranging from c. 454 to 520 for the former and from 560 to 601 for the latter (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Gill, Wade- Evans).

In art, St. David is a Celtic bishop with long hair and a beard, and a dove perched on his shoulder. He may be shown preaching on a hill, or holding his cathedral. He is the patron saint of Wales and especially venerated in Pembrokeshire (Roeder). No one seems to have a satisfactory explanation regarding the association of leeks with St. David's Day as in Shakespeare's Henry V, IV, 1 (Attwater).

589 ST DAVID, OR DEWI, BISHOP IN MYNYW, PATRON OF WALES      
IT is certainly unfortunate that we have no early history of St David (as we anglicize his name Dewi), the patron of Wales and perhaps the most celebrated of British saints. All the accounts preserved to us are based on the biography written about 1090 by Rhygyfarch (Ricemarch), son of Bishop Sulien of Saint Davids. Rhygyfarch was a learned man and his claim to have drawn on old written sources is probably justified; but he was concerned to uphold the fabulous primacy of the see of Saint Davids and he appears incapable of distinguishing historical facts from the wildest fables.

According to the legend David was the son of Sant, of princely family in Ceredigion, and of St Non (March 3), grand-daughter of Brychan of Brecknock ; and he was born perhaps about the year 520. "The place where holy David was educated ", says Rhygyfarch, "was called Vetus Rubus [Henfynyw in Cardigan] and he grew up full of grace and lovely to behold. And there it was that holy David learnt the alphabet, the psalms, the lessons for the whole year and the divine office; and there his fellow disciples saw a dove with a golden beak playing at his lips and teaching him to sing the praise of God." Ordained priest in due course, he afterwards retired to study for several years under the Welsh St Paulinus, who lived on an island, which has not been identified. He is said to have restored sight to his master, who had become blind through much weeping. Upon emerging from the monastery, David seems to have embarked upon a period of great activity, the details of which, however, are at least for the most part pure invention. To quote again from his biographer: "He founded twelve monasteries to the glory of God: first, upon arriving at Glastonbury, he built a church there; then he came to Bath, and there, causing deadly water to become healing by a blessing, he endowed it with perpetual heat, rendering it fit for people to bathe in; afterwards he came to Croyland and to Repton; then to Colfan and Glascwm, and he had with him a two-headed altar; after that he founded the monastery of Leominster. Afterwards, in the region of Gwent, in a place that is called Raglan, he built a church; then he founded a monastery in a place which is called Llangyfelach in the region of Gower." Finally, and here we are on surer ground, he settled in the extreme southwest corner of Wales, at Mynyw (Menevia), with a number of disciples and founded the principal of his many abbeys.

The community lived a life of extreme austerity. Hard manual labour was obligatory for all, and they were allowed no cattle to relieve them in tilling the ground. They might never speak without necessity, and they never ceased praying mentally, even when at work. Their food was bread, with vegetables and salt, and they drank only water, sometimes mingled with a little milk. For this reason ancient tradition begun upon an honourable respect", but no adequate explanation of the usage is forthcoming. There is no mention of leeks in St David's life. Pope Callistus II is said to have approved the cult of St David about the year 1120 and to have granted an indulgence to those who should visit his shrine-" two visits to Menevia being reckoned equal to one visit to Rome" -but this is doubtful. There can, however, be no question that he was a highly popular saint in his own country. More than fifty pre-Reformation churches in South Wales are known to have been dedicated in his honour. Moreover, even in England, Archbishop Arundel in 1398 ordered his feast to be kept in every church throughout the province of Canterbury. His feast is now observed in Wales and in the dioceses of Westminster and Portsmouth.

The earliest surviving mention of St David's name occurs in the Catalogue of Saints of Ireland (c. 730?) and in the Martyrology of Oengus (c. 800), but no details are added. The text of Rhygyfarch's Life has been accurately edited by A. W. Wade-Evans in Y Cymmrodor, vol. xxiv, and the same scholar has published a translation in English, abundantly annotated, together with some other relevant documents, in the Life of St David (1923); the Latin text is printed also in his Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae (1944). The adaptation of Rhygyfarch by Giraldus Cambrensis may be found in vol. iii of his works in the Rolls Series. See also LBS., vol. ii, pp. 285-32; J. E. Lloyd, History of Wales (1939), vol. i, pp. 152-159; S. M. Harris, St David in the Liturgy (1940); J. Barrett Davies in Blackfriars, vol. xxix (1948), pp. 121-126. For David's influence on the Irish church, see J. Ryan, Irish Monasticism (1931), pp. 113-114, 160-164 and passim; and on the alleged canonization, Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlix (1931), pp. 211-213. An extremely full bibliography of all materials relating to St David has been published by Wyndham Morgan in connection with the Cardiff Public Library. See also the very beautiful volume printed at the Gregynog.Press in 1927, Ernest Rhys, The Life of St David; and Diana Latham, The Story of St David (1952).

St. Monan martyred  monk at St. Andrew's under St. Adrian
Monan worked as a missionary in the Firth of Forth area in Scotland until he and a large number of Christians were murdered by marauding Danes.

713 St Swithbert (Suidbert) was 1 of a band of 12 missionaries who, headed by St Willibrord, started in 690 evangelize Friesland
 Apud civitátem Werdam sancti Suitbérti Epíscopi, qui, témpore sancti Sérgii Papæ Primi, apud Frísones, Bátavos et álios Germániæ pópulos Evangélium prædicávit.
       At Kaiserswerdt, Bishop St. Swidbert, who, in the time of Pope Sergius, preached the Gospel among the Frisians, Batavians, and other Germanic peoples.

713 ST SWITHBERT, BISHOP

ST SWITHBERT (Suidbert) was one of a band of twelve missionaries who, headed by St Willibrord, started in 690 to evangelize the pagans of Friesland. A Northumbrian by birth, and brought up as a monk near the Scottish border, Swithbert, like so many other Englishmen of his period, had crossed over to Ireland in search of higher perfection. Here he had come under the direction and influence of St Egbert, who, though long consumed with zeal for the conversion of Lower Germany, had been restrained by divine command when he prepared a ship and was on the point of embarking in person. His place had then been taken by his disciple and devoted friend St Wigbert, but the mission was a complete failure, and after labouring for two years Wigbert returned home. Egbert, however, refused to be discouraged and never slackened in his appeal for volunteers, until he succeeded in collecting and training this second mission which he despatched. By this time the conditions had become much more favourable. The missionaries landed at the mouth of the Rhine and, according to Alcuin, made their way as far as Utrecht, where they set to work to preach and to teach.

Swithbert laboured mainly in Hither Friesland, which comprised the southern part of Holland, the northern portion of Brabant and the provinces of Guelderland and Cleves. His efforts were successful and multitudes were converted to the faith by his eloquence and zeal. His fellow labourers pressed him to obtain consecration that he might the better preside over his converts, and he returned to England for that purpose and also probably to collect more workers. There in 693 he was consecrated regionary bishop by St Wilfrid who, banished from his own see of York, was preaching the faith in Mercia. Bede tells us that this took place at the time when the see of Canterbury was still vacant after the death of St Theo­dore, and doubtless St Swithbert was well known to St Wilfrid, who hailed from his own country of Northumbria. The newly appointed bishop then returned to his flock, but did not long remain with them-possibly because Pepin of Herstal was not satisfied at his election, but more likely simply to extend the missionary field. After settling the churches he had founded, he left them in the care of St Willibrord and his companions and penetrated further into the country, up the right bank of the Rhine, where he converted to the faith a considerable number of the Boructuari, who inhabited the district between the Ems and the Lippe. A few years later, however, the Saxons invaded the country, which they devastated and occupied, and the saint, finding his work undone, withdrew into Frankish territory where he resolved to retire from the world and prepare his soul for death. Pepin, at the request of his wife Plectrudis, bestowed upon him a small island in the Rhine where he built a monastery which flourished for many years. Round this monastery grew up the town of Kaiserswerth, six miles north of Dusseldorf, but it is now united to the mainland, a channel of the Rhine having changed its course.

St Swithbert died in his abbey about the year 713, and has ever since been held in great veneration in Holland and the other places where he laboured. He is joint patron of St Peter's, Kaiserswerth, where his relics, which were found in 1626 in a silver shrine, are still preserved and honoured. Many miracles were ascribed to him and he is appealed to as a patron against angina. He is sometimes spoken of as St Swithbert the Elder, to distinguish him from St Swithbert the Younger, Bishop of Werden, with whom he was formerly often confused. One very interesting memorial of St Swithbert which still survives is a manuscript of Livy now preserved in Vienna. This codex of fifth-century date seems to have belonged to him, for it bears his name and he is described in it as bishop of Dorostat, now Wijk-bij-Duurstede on the Rhine.

The principal source for the life of St Swithbert is Bede's Ecclesiastical History (bk v, chs. 1)-11) with Plummer's notes, but see also Alcuin, De Sanctis Ebor. (v, 1073, in Jaffe's edition). The life by Marcellinus, printed in Surius, is a shameless fabrication. A panegyric and hymn by Radbod, Bishop of Utrecht, may be consulted in Migne, PL., vol. cxxxii, cc. 547-559. Cf. also the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. i, and Bouterwek, Der Apostel des Bergischen Landes; BHL., 7939-7942; Van der Essen, Étude sur les saints mérovingiens, pp. 428.seq.; and W. Levison, England and the Continent .. (1946), pp. 57-58

900 St. Leo Luke Basilian monastery Abbot of Corleone
on Sicily. He spent eight decades as a monk.

977 St. Rudesind  Benedictine abbot bishop performing miracles
listed also as Rosendo. Born in Galicia, Spain, in 907 to a noble family, he was appointed bishop of Mondonedo at the age of eighteen and against his personal wishes. Soon after, he was given the duty of replacing the dissolute bishop of Compostela, his cousin Sisnand. He distinguished himselfwith his military skills by leading armies in the field against invading Norsemen and Moors. When Sisnand escaped from imprisonment, he drove Rudesind from his office as bishop under threat of murder. Rudesind retired to the monastery of St. John Caveiro which he had built, and founded the abbey of Celanova at Villar, where he lived as a monk. He built several other monastic communities, installing in each strict observance of the Benedictine rule. Elected abbot of Celanova to succeed the first abbot, Franquila, he became a leading figure of his time, receiving visits from Church leaders throughout Portugal who sought his spiritual advice. A relative of St. Senorina, Rudesind earned a reputation for performing miracles. He died at Celanova and was canonized in 1195

977 St Rudesind, Or Rosendo, Bishop Of Dumium     
St Rudesind, or San Rosendo as he is called by his Spanish fellow countrymen, came of a noble Galician family. According to his biographer, Brother Stephen of Celanova, his mother was praying in St Saviour's church on Mount Cordoba when the birth of this son was divinely foretold to her. Rudesind grew up a serious and saintly youth, and when the see of Dumium (now Mondofledo) fell vacant, the people demanded that he should be appointed. In vain did he plead that he was only eighteen and quite unsuitable: they insisted, and eventually he had to accept consecration. As a bishop he was a great contrast to his cousin Sisnand, Bishop of Compostela, who neglected his duties and spent all his time in sports and dissipation. This caused such scandal that King Sancho put him in prison, and requested Rudesind to take over the diocese, which he did very reluctantly. On one occasion, when King Sancho was away, the Northmen descended upon Galicia, whilst at the same time the Moors invaded Portugal. Bishop Rudesind gathered together an army and, with the battle-cry, "Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will call on the name of the Lord", he led his men first against the Northmen whom he drove back to their ships, and then against the Moors whom he forced to retire into their own territories.
But at the death of King Sancho in 967 Sisnand broke out of prison and on Christmas night attacked Rudesind, whom he threatened with death unless he Vacated the see. The holy man made no resistance and retired into the monastery of St John of Caveiro which he had founded, and here he remained until he was instructed in a vision to build another abbey in a place that would be shown him. To his joy he found the place of his dream at Villar-a valley owned by his forefathers-"full of springs and streams and suitable for flowers, grain and herbs, as well as for fruit trees". Here he began to build and in eight years he completed the monastery, which he called Celanova. Over it he placed a saintly monk named Franquila, under whose obedience he chose to serve. With the help of this abbot he continued to build more monasteries as well as to enforce in those already founded a stricter observance of the Rule of St Benedict. After the death of Franquila, he was elected abbot, and so great was his influence that bishops and abbots came to him for advice and instruction and other religious houses placed themselves under his jurisdiction.
Many miracles are related by his biographer Stephen as having been wrought through St Rudesind-demoniacs and epileptics were healed, the blind cured, stolen property restored and captives liberated; and he prefaces his catalogue with a simple little personal experience of his own. "When I was at a tender age", he says, "my parents delivered me over to study letters. In order to escape from the toil of study and also from canings (which are the common lot of boys) I used to hide in the woods. As I could not be made amenable, even when I was securely tied up, my master, moved by a divine inspiration, went to the tomb of St Rudesind, lit a candle and prayed that if I were destined by the Just Judge for the order of the clergy, He would constrain me by the bonds of His virtue and would open my heart to learn. After this I became more docile, as I have often heard him say, and not so very long afterwards I received the religious habit in that very monastery." St Rudesind was canonized in 1195.

It is not certain whether the life attributed to the monk Stephen was really written by him, and in any case he lived nearly two centuries after the saint he commemorates. By far the greater part of the documents printed in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum are taken up with the miracles after Rudesind's death. Much obscurity envelops his connection with the two sees, Dumium and Compostela, and whether he did not retire to Celanova before he was called away to take his cousin's place. See A. Lopez y Carballeira, San Rosendo (1909); and Gams, Kirchengeschichte Spaniens, vol. ii, pt 2, pp. 405-406. In Antony de Yepes, Coronica General de la Orden de San Benito, vol. v, pp. 14-16, is printed a Spanish translation of the bulls of beatification and canonization of San Rosendo. Ano Cristiano, by Justo Perez de Urbel (5 vols., 1933-1935) is useful for this and other Spanish saints, but it makes no claim to be a critical work.

1367 Bd Roger Le Fort, Archbishop Of Bourges immediately after death tomb a place of pilgrimage many miracles worked.
Roger Le For finds recognition in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum on this day, though his cult has never been formally approved. He is said to have owed his elevation to the bishopric of Orleans to a jest. On the day of the election he had been criticizing the unseemly eagerness of the canons in pushing their claims without any thought of the responsibilities and difficulties involved in such a dignity. In mock earnest he said to one of those who were entering the chapter-house, " I hope the electors will think of me on the present occasion, for I too should like to be a bishop!" The canon, taking the words seriously, informed the rest, and the whole gathering acclaimed the name of the new candidate. The presiding prelate then rose and said, " Brethren, Heaven and earth are witnesses that you have made choice of Messire Roger for your bishop. Concurring as I do with your judgement, I declare that he upon whom your votes have fallen is the preordained pontiff of this city, for he is a man of eminent sanctity and wisdom. Assuredly this is the decision of the Holy Spirit, whom we cannot resist without guilt." Thereupon Roger was unanimously elected. It was in vain that he protested that he had only spoken in jest and that he had neither the desire nor the ability to undertake such a charge: the voice of the people came to ratify the choice of the clergy, and he was compelled to submit. On his entry into Orleans at his consecration an ancient custom was revived and all the prisoners in the city prison were released.
Roger was afterwards translated to Limoges, and in 1343 he became archbishop of Bourges. He is perhaps best remembered in connection with the feast of the Conception of our Lady, which he established in his diocese and which he did much to popularize. When he died, at the age of ninety, it was found that he had left all his possessions to enable poor boys to receive a good education. The archbishop's unsullied reputation and piety had caused him to be greatly venerated during his life, and immediately after his death his tomb became a place of pilgrimage where many miracles were said to be worked.
See the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. i, and Cochard, Saints de l'É glise d'Orléans, pp. 487-495.
1375 BD BONAVITA A BLACKSMITH by trade and a Franciscan tertiary
Bd Bonavita lived and died in the little town of Lugo, fourteen miles west of Ravenna. It is recorded of him that whether walking or sitting, at work or at leisure, indoors or out of doors, he was liable to become so rapt in contemplation as to be oblivious to all that was round about him. He had the true Franciscan spirit, and when one bitter winter's day he found a poor wretch half frozen outside the church he stripped and gave the man his own clothes. The little urchins of the town pursued the nearly naked blacksmith with abuse and stones, but he reached home unhurt and unperturbed. Upon another beggar he bestowed his newly-mended shoes, and he made it his regular practice not only to feed the hungry, but to visit the prison and to help bury the dead.
A disastrous fire broke out which destroyed many of the houses in Lugo, but although nearly the whole population turned out in the hope of arresting its progress, Bonavita appears not even to have noticed it. When his attention was at last aroused he proceeded to the spot where the conflagration was raging, and as soon as he made the sign of the cross the fire was totally extinguished. We are told that through the same holy sign he also wrought many other wonders, but it must be admitted that the evidence for these marvels is not very satisfactory. The cult of this good tertiary seems never to have been formally approved.

See the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. i, where the details given are derived mainly from Wadding, Annales, s.a, 1375.

1484  Bd Christopher Of Milan the apostle of Liguria great success in evangelizing that part of Italy, Dominican  endowed with the gift of prophecy
Bd Christopher who is called the apostle of Liguria because of his great success in evangelizing that part of Italy, received the Dominican habit at Milan, early in the fifteenth century. Soon after his ordination he began to be known as a great preacher, and his fame afterwards spread far and wide. His biographers record that his sermons, which brought about conversions and improvement of morals wherever he went, were always based on the Bible, the theology of St Thomas and the writings of the fathers, and that he denounced those preachers who, in their attempts to be popular and up-to-date, aired new-fangled notions and scorned to preach on the gospel for the day. Like a true missionary he wandered fearlessly and untiringly over dangerous passes and difficult country in his labours for souls. At Taggia, where he was particularly successful, the grateful inhabitants built Father Christopher a church and a monastery of which he became prior. He was endowed with the gift of prophecy. One day, as he was watching the people of Castellano dancing in the square, he exclaimed, ."You are now dancing merrily, but your ruin is nigh and your joy will be changed into sorrow" -a forecast which was fulfilled a few years later when the plague carried off most of the inhabitants. He also foresaw the destruction of Trioria by the French, and he warned the population of Taggia that they would flee from their city though not pursued, and that their river would leave its banks and destroy their gardens-prophecies which came true in every particular. When his last illness came upon him, he was preaching the Lent at Pigna. He had himself carried to his beloved Taggia and there breathed his last. His cult was confirmed in 1875.
See L. Brétaudeau, Un Martyr de la Revolution á Vanne, (1908) M. Misermont, Le bx P. R. Rogue (1937), and the decrees in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. xxi (1929), pp. 564—567, and vol. xxvi (1934), pp. 304-308 and 292—296, which include a biographical summary.

1796 Bd Peter Rene Roque, Martyr ordained 1782 professor of theology in his native town Vannes refused the Constitutional Oath On being sentenced to death, Father Roque fell on his knees and gave fervent thanks to God guillotined on March 1, 1796
This
devoted Breton priest was born at Vannes in 1758. After his studies in the seminary of that city he was ordained in 1782, and for a while became chaplain to the Dames de la Retraite; but four years later he made his way to Paris to join the Lazarists, or Congregation of the Mission of St Vincent de Paul. Even before his noviceship was completed he was sent to act as professor of theology in his native town, and there when the Revolution broke out he showed the utmost heroism in devoting himself to every form of apostolic work. He refused to take the Constitutional Oath which was tendered him and for some time lived disguised and in hiding. In the end, having been betrayed by some miscreant, he was arrested by the revolutionaries; but even confinement in gaol did not put an end to his activities, for he found means to write in defence of religion and to render numberless services, both bodily and spiritual, to his fellow-prisoners. On being sentenced to death, Father Roque fell on his knees and gave fervent thanks to God. He was guillotined on March 1, 1796, and as soon as peace was restored to the Church an episcopal process was begun with a view to his beatification. This came about in 1934, and in the same year his remains were enshrined in Vannes cathedral.

See L. Brétaudeau, Un Martyr de la Revolution à Vannes (1908); M. Misermont, Le bx P. R. Rogue (1937), and the decrees in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. xxi (1929), pp. 564-567, and vol. xxvi (1934), pp. 304-308 and 292-296, which include a biographical summary.