Saturday Saints of this Day May 06 Prídie Nonas Maii  
  Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
May, the month of Mary 
2023
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From 2007 to 2021

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For the Son of man ... will repay every man for what he has done.

May, the month of Mary, is the oldest
and most well-known Marian month, officially since 1724;


The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.



 We are the defenders of true freedom.
  May our witness unveil the deception of the "pro-choice" slogan.
Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com
Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world

It is a great poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish -- Mother Teresa
 Saving babies, healing moms and dads, 'The Gospel of Life.

Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List
Joyful Mystery on Monday Saturday   Glorius Mystery on Sunday Wednesday
   Sorrowful Mystery on Friday Tuesday   Luminous Mystery on Thursday Veterens of War

Acts of the Apostles

Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary.

1350 BC Job The righteous (whose name means "persecuted"), God's faithful servant, the perfect image of every virtue
 64-67 Evodius of Antioch 1/72 disciples commissioned by Jesus believed Evodius coined the word 'Christian' (RM)
 66    Photina (Svetlana) The Samaritan Woman  Holy Martyr Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob's Well (John. 4:5-42). fearlessly preached the Gospel in Carthage she and family miracle workers

362 Barbarus the Soldier, Bacchus, Callimachus and Dionysius The Holy Martyrs served in the army of the emperor Julian the Apostate miracles caused many conversions.
698 St. Eadbert Abbot bishop of Lindisfarne Ireland learning and knowledge of the Scriptures obedience to God's commandments
9th v.  Barbarus The Holy Martyr, formerly a robber, lived in Greece and for a long time he committed robberies, extortions and murders; miracles after death
11th v.  Salérni Translátio sancti Matthǽi, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ

1300 Bl.  Bonizella Piccolomini Widow devoted herself and all her wealth to the service of the poor (PC)
    At Damascus, the birthday of St. John Damascene, priest and doctor of the Church, renowned for sanctity and learning.  By means of his writing and preaching, he courageously resisted Leo the Isaurian, in defending the veneration paid to sacred images.  By order of this emperor his right hand was cut off, but commending himself before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he had defended, his hand was immediately restored to him, entire and sound.  His feast day is the 27th of March.

May 6 – Our Lady of Saint John (Italy, 1658)  
A veneration greater than that of angels and saints
The veneration of the Virgin Mary is based on the dignity of Mother of God and the resulting consequences. We can indeed never overestimate the one whom the Incarnate Word reveres as his Mother, whom the Father contemplates lovingly as his beloved daughter and whom the Holy Spirit looks upon as his favored temple.

The Father treated her with great respect by sending an angel to greet her as full of grace, and asked for her consent in the work of the Incarnation for which he wanted to associate her so closely; the Son honored, obeyed and loved her as his Mother; the Holy Spirit came in her and took his delight in her. By venerating the Virgin Mary, we are simply associating ourselves with the three divine persons—we value what they themselves value.

This veneration must be greater than the one we have for the angels and the saints because by her dignity as Mother of God, her role as mediatrix and her holiness, she surpasses all other creatures. Therefore, devotion to the Virgin Mary, even though it is a form of dulia (veneration reserved for saints) and not of latria (worship reserved for God), is rightly called hyperdulia, being greater than the one we give to angels and saints.
  
Adolphe Tanquerey,
In Précis de Théologie Ascétique et Mystique, 10th edition, Desclée et Cie, 1928

 
The Woman I Love (III) May 6 - Our Lady of Saint John (Italy, 1658)
I decided to give the Blessed Mother another chance. I went to the grotto about ten o'clock at night. A portly American gentleman tapped me on the shoulder: "Are you an American priest?" "Yes." "Do you speak French?" "Yes." "Will you come to Paris with my wife and daughter tomorrow, and speak French for us?" He walked me back to the hotel; then he asked me perhaps the most interesting question I have ever heard in my life: "Have you paid your hotel bill yet?" I out fumbled him for the bill. The next day we went to Paris and for twenty years or more after that, when I would go to New York on weekends to instruct converts, I would enjoy the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Farrell, who had become the agents of the Blessed Mother to save me from my creditors.

When I finished my university studies, I made another pilgrimage to Lourdes. I was deeply concerned that perhaps I would not be permitted to return to Mary's Shrine again, for I knew not to what task the Bishop would assign me.
I asked the Blessed Mother to give me some sign that despite the odds of returning to Lourdes, she would do what seemed impossible. The sign I asked for was this: that after I offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and before I would reach the outer gate of the shrine, a little girl age about twelve, dressed in white, would give me a white rose.

About twenty feet from the gate I could see no one. I remember saying: "You had better hurry, there is not much time left." As I arrived at the gate a little girl age twelve, dressed in white, gave me the white rose.
Fulton Sheen, Treasure in Clay - The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen,
Image Books 1982. (Society for the Propagation of the Faith)

The spouse of the Church cannot be defiled. Whosoever separates from the Church and is joined to an adulteress is separated from the promises of the Church. Nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain the rewards of Christ:
He is a stranger; he is a worldling; he is an enemy. -- St. Cyprian of Carthage


May 6 – Our Lady of Saint John (Italy, 1658) 
Devotion to the Mother of God ought to spring from the heart
For it to be right and good, devotion to the Mother of God ought to spring from the heart; acts of the body have here neither utility nor value if the acts of the soul have no part in them.
Now these latter can only have one object, which is that we should fully carry out what the divine Son of Mary commands. (…).
What this most prudent Virgin said to the servants at the marriage feast of Cana she addresses also to us:
"Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye" (Jn 2:5). Now here is the word of Jesus Christ:
"If you would enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17).
Let them each one fully convince himself of this, that if his piety towards the Blessed Virgin does not hinder him from sinning, or does not move his will to amend an evil life,
it is a piety deceptive and lying, wanting as it is in proper effect and its natural fruit.
 Saint Pius X
Encyclical Letter Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, February 2, 1905

 
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.

Salérni Translátio sancti Matthǽi, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ; cujus sacrum corpus, olim ex Æthiópia ad divérsas regiónes et demum ad eam urbem delátum, ibídem, in dedicáta ejus nómine Ecclésia, summo honóre cónditum fuit.
At Salerno, the translation of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist.  His revered body, previously transferred from Ethiopia to various countries, was finally taken to Salerno, and with great pomp was there placed in a church dedicated to his name.

May 6 - Feast of Our Lady of Saint John (Italy, 1658)  Exraordinary Apparitions in Zeitoun, Egypt (II)
The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin were indeed visible to many people, for long periods of time, over a span of several weeks, and crowds often reached a total of 250,000 people, causing enormous traffic jams. On April 13, 1968, the photographer Wagih Rizk Matta was the first to take some amazing photographs of the apparitions.
He was cured right there and then of a wound on his arm, just as many others who were also cured while visiting the site.
Since 1969, the Coptic Orthodox Church added the Feast of the Transfiguration of Mary in Zeitoun to its liturgical calendar, which is now celebrated each year on April 2nd.
What could be the significance of such impressive manifestations of the Virgin?
Zeitoun in Arabic means “Arabic olives”, and the olive-tree, whose branch the Blessed Virgin held in her hands at the time of some of her apparitions, is a well-known symbol of peace and very welcome at the time when the Coptic minority was threatened by oppression and The Six Day War of 1967, plunging the Middle East into mourning.
Following the capture of Jerusalem by the Israelis, it became practically impossible for Coptic Christians to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
Jehan Sadate, the widow of the assassinated President, wrote the following words in the name of the Blessed Virgin in her autobiography entitled A Woman of Egypt (1987):
 “People of Egypt, I know that you are no longer able to come to see me in Jerusalem. So I have come to see you in Cairo.”
      Excerpt from the Dictionary of the Apparitions of the Virgin (Dictionnaire des Apparitions de la Vierge)
By Father Laurentin, Fayard Press 2007
Exraordinary Apparitions in Zeitoun, Egypt (II)
1350 BC Job The righteous (whose name means "persecuted"), God's faithful servant, the perfect image of every virtue
 64-67 Evodius of Antioch 1/72 disciples commissioned by Jesus believed Evodius coined the word 'Christian' (RM)
 66    Photina (Svetlana) The Samaritan Woman  Holy Martyr Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob's
Well (John. 4:5-42). fearlessly preached the Gospel in Carthage she and family miracle workers
 94?
Romæ sancti Joánnis, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ, ante Portam Latínam
On Tuesday of St Thomas week we remember those Orthodox Christians from all ages who have died in faith, and in the hope of resurrection.
1st v. St Lucius Bishop of Cyrene 1/of “prophets and doctors” in Ptolemais, Africa
 259 Sts. Marian a lector or reader; and James a deacon; experienced visions, including martyred bishop
 286  Gundula starb um 286 als Märtyrerin in der Nähe von Mailand.
3rd v. St Heliodorus Martyr with Venustus and companions (7 to 77) in Africa
 325 Theodotus Bishop of Cyprus suffered a long term of imprisonment B (RM)
 335 St. Heliodorus Martyred Persian bishop of Mesopotamia with two priests Desan and Marjab
 362 Barbarus the Soldier, Bacchus, Callimachus and Dionysius The Holy Martyrs served in the army of the emperor Julian the Apostate miracles caused many conversions.
4th v. Protogenes of Syria priest & bishop of Carrhaes banished by the Arian Emperor B (RM)
6th v. St. Benedicta Mystic nun St Peter appeared in vision warn her of death
7th v. Colman Mac Ui Cluasigh took his students to an island in the ocean to escape the pestilence (AC)
 698 St. Eadbert Abbot bishop of Lindisfarne Ireland learning and knowledge of the Scriptures obedience to God's
commandments
 747 St. Petronax Abbot “the Second Founder of Monte Cassino.” restored after Lombards destruction rule of St
Benedict
9th v.  Barbarus The Holy Martyr, formerly a robber, lived in Greece and for a long time he committed robberies,
extortions and murders miracles after death
11th v.  Salérni Translátio sancti Matthǽi, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ
1300 Bl.  Bonizella Piccolomini Widow devoted herself and all her wealth to the service of the poor (PC)
1385 St Micah of Radonezh one of the first disciples of St Sergius of Radonezh Appearance of the Most Holy
Theotokos Holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian to St Sergius of Radonezh.
1492 Bl.  Prudentia Castori abbess-founder  her fame rests on miracles reported wrought after her death; Her zeal was displayed not only amongst her nuns, whom she ruled with great prudence, but also in  bringing about the restoration of the church of the Visitation at Como OSA V (PC)
1590 Bl.  Edward Jones missionary priest and Anthony Middleton priest.
Damásci natális beáti Joánnis Damascéni, Presbyteri, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ Doctóris, doctrína et sanctitáte célebris.  Hic, pro cultu sanctárum Imáginum, verbo et scriptis advérsus Leónem Isáuricum strénue decertávit; cujus Imperatóris ob calúmnias cum ipsi Joánni déxtera manus e Saracenórum Príncipe amputáta esset, idem, beátæ Maríæ Vírgini, cujus Imágines defénderat, se comméndans, prótinus déxteram íntegram sanámque recépit.  Ejus autem festívitas sexto Kaléndas Aprílis celebrátur.
    At Damascus, the birthday of St. John Damascene, priest and doctor of the Church, renowned for sanctity and learning.  By means of his writing and preaching, he courageously resisted Leo the Isaurian, in defending the veneration paid to sacred images.  By order of this emperor his right hand was cut off, but commending himself before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he had defended, his hand was immediately restored to him, entire and sound.  His feast day is the 27th of March.


Translation of Relics Saint Sava_1st_Archbishop_of_Serbia
Job_and_Monk_Seraphim
Seraphim_of_Lebadeia.


"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)

1350 B.C. Job The righteous (whose name means "persecuted"), God's faithful servant, was the perfect image of every virtue  
Hiob (Ijob)
Orthodoxe Kirche: 6. Mai  Katholische Kirche: 10. Mai
Nach der Tradition der Ostkirche lebte Hiob zwischen 2000 und 1500 vor Christus im Land Uz im nördlichen Arabien. Er wurde 248 Jahre alt und die im Buch Hiob dargestellten Ereignisse fielen in sein 108. Lebensjahr. Hesekiel nennt Hiob als einen vorbildlichen Menschen (Hes. 14, 14/20) und es kann vermutet werden, daß Hiob schon zur Zeit der Patriarchen (ca. 1900 v. Chr) bekannt und geschätzt war. Auch in außerisraelitischen Quellen aus dieser Zeit wird ein Hiob erwähnt.

   The son of Zarah and Bossorha (Job 42), Job was a fifth-generation descendent of Abraham. He was a truthful, righteous, patient and pious man who abstained from every evil thing. Job was very rich and blessed by God in all things, as was no other son of Ausis (his country, which lay between Idoumea and Arabia).
However, divine condescension permitted him to be tested.  Job lost his children, his wealth, his glory, and every consolation all at once. His entire body became a terrible wound covered with boils. Yet he remained steadfast and patient in the face of his misfortune for seven years, always giving thanks to God.

Later, God restored his former prosperity, and he had twice as much as before.
Job lived for 170 years after his misfortune, completing his earthly life in 1350 B.C. at the age of 240.
Some authorities say that Job's afflictions lasted only one year, and that afterwards he lived for 140 years, reaching the age of 210.


    Job's explanations are among the most poetic writings in the Old Testament book which bears his name. It is one of the most edifying portions of Holy Scripture. Job teaches us that we must endure life's adversities patiently and with trust in God. As St Anthony the Great (January 17) says, without temptations, it is impossible for the faithful to be saved.
   The Orthodox Church reads the book of Job, the first of the seven wisdom books of the Old Testament, during Holy Week, drawing a parallel between Job and Christ as righteous men who suffered through no fault of their own. God allowed Satan to afflict Job so that his faithfulness would be proven.
Christ, the only sinless one, suffered voluntarily for our sins. The Septuagint text of Job 42:17 says that Job "will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up." This passage is read on Great and Holy Friday, when the composite Gospel at Vespers speaks of the tombs being opened at the moment the Savior died on the Cross, and the bodies of the saints were raised, and they appeared to many after Christ's Resurrection (Mt.27:52)

   Saint Job the Righteous lived about 2000-1500 years before the Birth of Christ, in Northern Arabia, in the country of Austidia in the land of Uz. His life and sufferings are recorded in the Bible (Book of Job). There exists an opinion, that Job was by descent a nephew of Abraham, and that he was the son of a brother of Abraham -- Nakhor. Job was a man God-fearing and pious. With all his soul he was devoted to the Lord God and in everything conducted himself in accord with God's will, refraining from everything evil not only in deeds, but also in thoughts. The Lord blessed his earthly existence and rewarded Righteous Job with great wealth: he had many cattle and all kinds of possessions. Righteous Job's seven sons and three daughters were amiable amongst themselves and gathered for common repast all together in turns at each of their homes. Every seven days Righteous Job made for his children offerings to God, saying: "If perchance any of them hath sinned or offended God in their heart". For his justness and honesty Saint Job was held in high esteem by his fellow citizens and he had great influence in public matters.
   One time however, when the Holy Angels did stand before the Throne of God, Satan appeared amongst them. The Lord God asked Satan, whether he had seen His servant Job, a man righteous and without blemish. Satan answered audaciously, that it was not for nothing that Job was God-fearing -- since God was watching over him and multiplying his riches, but if misfortune were sent him, he would then cease to bless God. Then the Lord, wishing to prove Job's patience and faith, said to Satan: "Everything, that Job hath, I give into thine hand, but only he himself touch not". After this Job suddenly lost all his wealth, and then also all his children. Righteous Job turned to God and said:
"Naked did I emerge from the womb of my mother, and naked shalt I be returned to my mother the earth. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. "Blest be the Name of the Lord!"
And thus did Job not sin before the Lord God, nor utter even an unthinking word.
   When the Angels of God again did stand before the Lord and amongst them Satan also, then said the devil, that Job was righteous, since that he himself was without harm. Thereupon declared the Lord: "I permit thee to do with him, what thou wishest, sparing only his soul". After this Satan inflicted upon Righteous Job an horrid illness, leprous boils, which covered him head to foot. The sufferer was compelled to remove himself from the company of people, he sat outside the city on an heap of ashes and had to scrape at his pussing wounds with a shard of clay. All his friends and acquaintances abandoned him. His wife had to see after her own welfare, toiling and roaming from house to house. She not only did not support her husband with patience, but rather she thought, that God was punishing Job for some kind of secret sins, and she wept, and wailed against God, she reproached also her husband and finally advised Righteous Job to curse God and die. Righteous Job sorrowed grievously, but even in these sufferings he remained faithful to God. He answered his wife: "Thou speakest, like someone hysterical. Shalt we have from God only the good, and have nothing bad?" And Righteous Job did sin in nothing before God.

   Hearing about the misfortunes of Job, three of his friends came afar off to comfort his sorrow. They reckoned, that Job was being punished by God for his sins, and they urged this righteous man though innocent to repent. The righteous one answered, that he was suffering not for sins, but that these tribulations were sent him from the Lord in accord with the Divine Will, which is inscrutable for man. His friends however did not believe him and they continued to think that the Lord was dealing with Job in accord withe the laws obtaining under human standards, thus punishing Job for the committing of sins. In begrieved sorrow of soul Righteous Job turned with a prayer to God, beseeching Him Himself to bear witness before them of his innocence. God thereupon manifested Himself in a tempestuous whirlwind and reproached Job, in that he had tried to penetrate by his reason into the mystery of the world-order and the judgemental-purposes of God. The Righteous Job with all his heart repented himself in these thoughts and said: "I am as nothing, and I foreswear and repent myself in dust and ashes". The Lord thereupon commanded the friends of Job to have recourse to him in asking him to offer sacrifice for them. "Since, -- said the Lord, -- only the person Job do I accept it of, lest I spurn ye for this, that ye did speak concerning Me not thus rightly, as hath instead My servant Job". Job offered sacrifice to God for his friends, and the Lord accepted his intercession, and the Lord likewise returned to Righteous Job his health and gave him twice over more than he had previously. In place of his deceased children was born to him seven sons and three daughters, more beautiful than any other in that land. After bearing his sufferings, Job lived yet another 140 years (altogether he lived 248 years) and he lived to see his descendants down to the fourth generation.
Saint Job prefigures the Lord Jesus Christ, having come down to earth and suffering for the salvation of mankind, and then glorified in His glorious Resurrection.
"I know, -- said Righteous Job, afflicted with the leprous boils, -- I know, that my Redeemer liveth and He wilt raise up from the dust on the last day my decayed skin, and I in my flesh shalt see God. I shalt see Him myself with mine own eyes, and not through the eyes of some other see Him. In expectation of this, my heart doth jump within my bosom!" (Job 19: 25-27).
"Know ye, the judgement, in which be justified only those having true wisdom -- the fear of the Lord, and true understanding -- the departing from evil" (Job 28: 28).

   Saint John Chrysostom says:
"There was no human misfortune, which this man did not undergo. He was the firmest and most adamant, beset by sudden tribulation by hunger, and by woe, and sickness, and bereft of children, and loss of riches, and then suffering abuse from his wife, insult from his friends, reproach from his servants, and in everything he showed himself more solid than a stone, and a source before the Law also of Grace".
On Tuesday of St Thomas week we remember those Orthodox Christians from all ages who have died in faith, and in the hope of resurrection.
anastasis2.jpg
There are indications of this commemoration in the sermons of the Fathers of the Church. St John Chrysostom, for example, mentions it in his homily "On the Cemetery and the Cross."
In pre-Revolutionary Russia bars remained closed and alcoholic beverages were not sold until this Day of Rejoicing so that the joy people felt would be because of the Resurrection, and not an artificial joy brought on by alcohol.
Today the Church remembers its faithful members at Liturgy, and kollyva is offered in remembrance of those who have fallen asleep.
 Priests visit cemeteries to bless the graves of Orthodox Christians, and to share the paschal joy with the departed.
It is also customary to give alms to the poor on this day.

64-67 Evodius of Antioch 1/72 disciples commissioned by Jesus believed that Evodius coined the word 'Christian' BM (RM)
Antiochíæ sancti Evódii, qui (ut beátus Ignátius ad Antiochénses scribit), primus ibídem a sancto Petro Apóstolo ordinátus Epíscopus, glorióso martyrio vitam finívit.
    At Antioch, St. Evodius, who, as the blessed Ignatius wrote to the people of Antioch, was consecrated first bishop of that city by the apostle St. Peter, and ended his life by a glorious martyrdom.
Euodias Orthodoxe Kirche: 7. September 

64? ST EVODIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH
We learn from Origen and from Eusebius the predecessor of St Ignatius the God-bearer in the see of Antioch was Evodius, who had been ordained and consecrated by the Apostles themselves—doubtless when St Peter was about to leave Antioch for Rome. Later writers have tried to identify Evodius with the Evodias or Evodia mentioned by St Paul in his epistle to the Philippians—though this person was almost certainly a woman—and have also described him as a martyr.
According to tradition, he was one of the seventy disciples sent out by our Lord to preach. He is supposed to have coined the word “Christian”, which, as we know from the Acts of the Apostles, was first used in Antioch to denote members of the Church of Christ. This is stated by the chronicler Malalas, who wrote in the latter part of the sixth century, and we further learn from him that St Peter happened to be passing through Antioch at the time when St Evodius died, and that he thereupon consecrated St Ignatius to be bishop in his room. If this be true, Evodius must have died before A.D. 64.

There is a short notice in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. i; but consult also G. Salmon in DCB., vol. ii, p. 428, and Harnack, Chronologie d. Altchrist. Literatur, vol. i, p. 94, as well as Die Zeit des Ignatius by the same author.

Euodias (Evodus) wurde nach Petrus Bischof von Antiochia (Syrien). Eusebius nennt ihn als zweiten Bischof vor Ignatius während andere Quellen Ignatius als direkten Nachfolger Petri nennen. Euodias wurde um 66 verhaftet, nach Rom gebracht und dort hingerichtet.
  Evodius is traditionally conceived as one of the 72 disciples commissioned by Jesus. Tradition has him ordained and consecrated bishop of Antioch by one of the Apostles, probably Peter, who it is said he succeeded. It is believed that Evodius coined the word 'Christian'
(Benedictines, Coulson, Delaney).
66 Photina (Svetlana) The Samaritan Woman  Holy Martyr Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob's Well (John. 4:5-42). fearlessly preached the Gospel in Carthage she and family miracle workers
Her sons Victor (named Photinus) and Joses; and her sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva, Kyriake; Nero's daughter Domnina; and the Martyr Sebastian: The holy Martyr Photina was the Samaritan Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob's Well (John. 4:5-42).
During the time of the emperor Nero (54-68), who displayed excessive cruelty against Christians, St Photina lived in Carthage with her younger son Joses and fearlessly preached the Gospel there. Her eldest son Victor fought bravely in the Roman army against barbarians, and was appointed military commander in the city of Attalia (Asia Minor). Later, Nero called him to Italy to arrest and punish Christians. Sebastian, an official in Italy, said to St Victor, "I know that you, your mother and your brother, are followers of Christ. As a friend I advise you to submit to the will of the emperor. If you inform on any Christians, you will receive their wealth. I shall write to your mother and brother, asking them not to preach Christ in public. Let them practice their faith in secret."
St Victor replied, "I want to be a preacher of Christianity like my mother and brother." Sebastian said, "O Victor, we all know what woes await you, your mother and brother."
Then Sebastian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He was dumbfounded, and his face was somber.

For three days he lay there blind, without uttering a word. On the fourth day he declared, "The God of the Christians is the only true God." St Victor asked why Sebastian had suddenly changed his mind. Sebastian replied, "Because Christ is calling me." Soon he was baptized, and immediately regained his sight. St Sebastian's servants, after witnessing the miracle, were also baptized.
Reports of this reached Nero, and he commanded that the Christians be brought to him at Rome.
Then the Lord Himself appeared to the confessors and said,
 "Fear not, for I am with you. Nero, and all who serve him, will be vanquished."
 The Lord said to St Victor, "From this day forward, your name will be Photinus,
because through you, many will be enlightened and will believe in Me."

The Lord then told the Christians to strengthen and encourage St Sebastian to peresevere until the end.

All these things, and even future events, were revealed to St Photina.
She left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome.

  At Rome the emperor ordered the saints to be brought before him and he asked them whether they truly believed in Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. Then the emperor gave orders to smash the martyrs' finger joints. During the torments, the confessors felt no pain, and their hands remained unharmed.
Nero ordered that Sts Sebastian, Photinus and Joses be blinded and locked up in prison, and St Photina and her five sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva and Kyriake were sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero's daughter Domnina. St Photina converted both Domnina and all her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food to kill her.
    Three years passed, and Nero sent to the prison for one of his servants, who had been locked up. The messengers reported to him that Sts Sebastian, Photinus and Joses, who had been blinded, had completely recovered, and that people were visiting them to hear their preaching, and indeed the whole prison had been transformed into a bright and fragrant place where God was glorified.
    Nero then gave orders to crucify the saints, and to beat their naked bodies with straps. On the fourth day the emperor sent servants to see whether the martyrs were still alive. But, approaching the place of the tortures, the servants fell blind. An angel of the Lord freed the martyrs from their crosses and healed them. The saints took pity on the blinded servants, and restored their sight by their prayers to the Lord. Those who were healed came to believe in Christ and were soon baptized.
    In an impotent rage Nero gave orders to flay the skin from St Photina and to throw the martyr down a well. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses had their legs cut off, and they were thrown to dogs, and then had their skin flayed off. The sisters of St Photina also suffered terrible torments. Nero gave orders to cut off their breasts and then to flay their skin. An expert in cruelty, the emperor readied the fiercest execution for St Photis: they tied her by the feet to the tops of two bent-over trees. When the ropes were cut the trees sprang upright and tore the martyr apart. The emperor ordered the others beheaded. St Photina was removed from the well and locked up in prison for twenty days.
    After this Nero had her brought to him and asked if she would now relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. St Photina spit in the face of the emperor, and laughing at him, said, "O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?"
Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to again throw the martyr down the well, where she surrendered her soul to God (ca. 66).
On the Greek Calendar, St Photina is commemorated on February 26.
Romæ sancti Joánnis, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ, ante Portam Latínam; qui, ab Epheso, jussu Domitiáni, vinctus Romam est perdúctus, et, judicánte Senátu, ante eándem portam in ólei fervéntis dólium missus, exívit inde púrior et vegétior quam intrávit.
    At Rome, the Apostle and Evangelist St. John before the Latin Gate.  He was bound and brought to Rome from Ephesus by the order of Domitian, and the Senate condemned him to be taken to that gate and placed in a cauldron of boiling oil, from which he came forth more healthy and vigorous than before
.

From the Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
AD 95 ST. JOHN BEFORE THE LATIN GATE MAY VI.
From St. Jerome in Jovin t. I.  14. Tertullian, Pgaescr c. 36. Tillem. t.  j, p. 333.and Letoña della chicsa de S. Giovanni Avanti  Porta Latina, Seritta, da Gio. Mario Cresimbeni.  Rome 1776. 4to.

When the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, strangers as vet to the mystery of the cross and the nature of Christ's kingdom, had, by their mother Salome be sought our Lord to allot them the two first places in his kingdom, (implied by sitting at his right and left hand,) he asked them whether they were disposed to drink of his cup, or in other words, to suffer with him, in which case they should not fail to be considered in proportion to their pains and fidelity.  The two disciples answered boldly in the affirmative assuring their divine Master that they were ready to undergo anything for his sake.  Our Lord thereupon foretold them that their sincerity should be brought to the trial, and that they should both be partakers of his cup of sufferings, and undergo bitter things for the honor and confirmation of the Christian religion. This was literally fulfilled in St - James, on his being put to death for the faith by Herod and this days festival records In part the manner in which it was verified in St. John. it may he said, without any violence to the sense of the words, that this favorite disciple, who so tenderly loved his master, so tenderly beloved by him, drank of his chalice, and experienced a large share of' its bitterness, when he assisted at his crucifixion; feeling then in his soul, by grief and compassion,
Whatever he saw him suffer on the cross.   This was further fulfilled after the descent of the Holy Ghost, when he underwent the like imprisonment, scourging, &c., with the other apostles, as is recorded in the fifth chapter of the Acts.  But our Savior’s prediction was to be accomplished in a more particular manner, and still more conformable to the letter, and which should entitle him to the merit and crown of martyrdom the instrument whereof was Domitian, the last of the twelve Caesars.
     He was a tyrant, detestable to all men on account of his cruelty, and the author of the second general persecution of the church. In the beginning of his reign he accustomed himself to take pleasure in acts of inhumanity, spending part of his time in his closet in catching flies, and sticking them with a sharp bodkin. He debauched his own niece, and impiously took the titles of God and Lord, as Suetonius and Eusebius have recorded. He reigned fifteen years, that is, from the year of Christ 81 to 96. Tacitus says, that in cruelty he surpassed Nero, who often shunned the sight of barbarous executions, whereas Domitian was known to be delight in beholding them.   He deluged Rome with the blood of its illustrious citizens, and out of a hatred to virtue, banished the philosophers; on which occasion Epictetus (whose Enchiridion is the most perfect abstract of the justest sentiments of moral virtue ever published by a heathen) and Dio Chrysostom’s, with others, were expelled the city. As for the Christians, riot only  the sanctity' of their doctrine and manners was the strongest reproach of the crimes of the tyrant, but the general hatred of the heathens against them excited him to glut his insatiable cruelty with their innocent blood.  St. John, who was the only surviving apostle, and who at that time governed all the churches of Asia with the highest reputation which his dignity, extraordinary virtue, and miracles had acquired, was apprehended at Ephesus, and sent prisoner to Rome in the year 95.  The emperor did not relent at the sight of a man of his most venerable old age and countenance, which alone might suffice to command respect, but condemned him to it most barbarous death, by ordering him to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. The holy apostle  was probably first scourged, according to the Roman custom with regard to criminals before execution, who could not plead the privilege of being Roman citizens. It is at least certain, from Tertullian, St. Jerome, and Eusebius, that by the order of the tyrant, he was thrown into a vessel of boiling oil. The martyr doubtless heard, with great joy, this barbarous sentence, exulting at the thought of speedily rejoining his Redeemer, and desiring to repay love for love in the best manner he was able, and to die for him who had laid down his most precious life to save us sin acts from hell. The cruelest torments seemed to him light and most agreeable, because they wood, he hoped, unite him forever to his divine Master and Saviour. But God accepted his will, and crowned his desire; he conferred on him the honor and merit of martyrdom, but suspended the operation of the fire, as he had formerly preserved the three children from hurt in the Babylonian furnace. The seething was changed in his regard auto a refreshing bath, and the saint came out more fresh and lively than he had entered the caldron. Domitian, with most of the heathens, entertained a great idea of the power of magic, in which he had been confirmed by the reports concerning the prodigies pretended to be wrought by the famous magician, Apollonius of Tyana whom he had sent for to Rome. He therefore saw this miracle without drawing from it the least advantage, but, like another Pharaoh, remained hardened in his iniquity. However, he contented himself after this with banishing the holy apostle into the little island of Patmos, one of the Sporades, in the Archipelago or Aegean sea. Domitian being assassinated the year following, his statues were everywhere countermanded.


 AD 95 ST. JOHN BEFORE THE LATIN GATE MAY VI.
From St. Jerome in Jovin t. I.  14. Tertullian, Pgaescr c. 36. Tillem. t.  j, p. 333.and Letoña della chicsa de S. Giovanni Avanti  Porta Latina, Seritta, da Gio. Mario Cresimbeni.  Rome 1776. 4to.

When the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, strangers as vet to the mystery of the cross and the nature of Christ's kingdom, had, by their mother Salome be sought our Lord to allot them the two first places in his kingdom, (implied by sitting at his right and left hand,) he asked them whether they were disposed to drink of his cup, or in other words, to suffer with him,, in which case they should not fail to be considered in proportion to their pains and fidelity.  The two disciples answered boldly in the affirmative assuring their divine Master that they were ready to undergo anything for his sake.  Our Lord thereupon foretold them that their sincerity should be brought to the trial, and that they should both be partakers of his cup of sufferings, and undergo bitter things for the honor and confirmation of the Christian religion. This was literally fulfilled in St - James, on his being put to death for the faith by Herod and this days festival records In part the manner in which it was verified in St. John. it may he said, without any violence to the sense of the words, that this favorite disciple, who so tenderly loved his master, so tenderly beloved by him, drank of his chalice, and experienced a large share of' its bitterness, when he assisted at his crucifixion; feeling then in his soul, by grief and compassion,
Whatever he saw him suffer on the cross.   This was further fulfilled after the descent of the Holy Ghost, when he underwent the like imprisonment, scourging, &c., with the other apostles, as is recorded in the fifth chapter of the Acts.  But our Savior’s prediction was to be accomplished in a more particular manner, and still more conformable to the letter, and which should entitle him to the merit and crown of martyrdom the instrument whereof was Domitian, the last of the twelve Caesars.
     He was a tyrant, detestable to all men on account of his cruelty, and the author of the second general persecution of the church. In the beginning of his reign he accustomed himself to take pleasure in acts of inhumanity, spending part of his time in his closet in catching flies, and sticking them with a sharp bodkin.     He debauched his own niece, and impiously took the titles of God and Lord, as Suetonius and Eusebius have recorded. He reigned fifteen years, that is, from the year of Christ 81 to 96. Tacitus says, that in cruelty he surpassed Nero, who often shunned the sight of barbarous executions, whereas Domitian was known to be delight in beholding them.   He deluged Rome with the blood of its illustrious citizens,    and out of a hatred to virtue, banished the philosophers; on which occasion Epictetus (whose Enchiridion is the most perfect abstract of the justest sentiments of moral virtue ever published by a heathen) and Dio Chrysostom’s, with others, were expelled the city. As for the Christians, riot only  the sanctity' of their doctrine and manners was the strongest reproach of the crimes of the tyrant, but the general hatred of the heathens against them excited him to glut his insatiable cruelty with their innocent blood.  St. John, who was the only surviving apostle, and who at that time governed all the churches of Asia with the highest reputation which his dignity, extraordinary virtue, and miracles had acquired, was apprehended at Ephesus, and sent prisoner to Rome in the year 95.  The emperor did not relent at the sight of a man of his most venerable old age and countenance, which alone might suffice to command respect, but condemned him to it most barbarous death, by ordering him to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. The holy apostle  was probably first scourged, according to the Roman custom with regard to criminals before execution, who could not plead the privilege of being Roman citizens.  it is at least certain, front Tertullian, St. Jerome, and Eusebius, that by the order of the tyrant, he was thrown into a vessel of boiling oil. The martyr doubtless heard, with great joy, this barbarous sentence, exulting at the thought of speedily rejoining his Redeemer, and desiring to repay love for love in the best manner he was able, and to die    for him who had laid down his most precious life to save us sin acts from hell. The cruelest torments seemed to him light and most agreeable, because they wood, he hoped, unite him forever to his divine Master and Saviour. But God accepted his will, and crowned his desire; he conferred on him the honor and merit of martyrdom, but suspended the operation of the fire, as he had formerly preserved the three children from hurt in the Babylonian furnace. The seething was changed in his regard auto a refreshing bath, and the saint came out more fresh and lively than he had entered the caldron.   Domitian, with most of the heathens, entertained a great idea of the power of magic, in which he had been confirmed by the    reports concerning the prodigies pretended to be wrought by the famous magician, Apollonius of Tyana whom he had sent for to Rome. He therefore saw this miracle without drawing from it the least advantage, but, like another Pharaoh, remained hardened in his iniquity. However, he contented himself after this with banishing the holy apostle into the little island of Patmos, one of the Sporades, in the Archipelago or Aegean sea.    Domitian being assassinated the year following, his statues were everywhere ignored and countermanded.
                                                                                                                                         
Whatever he saw him suffer on the cross.   This was further fulfilled after the descent of the Holy Ghost, when he underwent the like imprisonment, scourging, &c., with the other apostles, as is recorded in the fifth chapter of the Acts.  But our Savior’s prediction was to be accomplished in a more particular manner, and still more conformable to the letter, and which should entitle him to the merit and crown of martyrdom the instrument whereof was Domitian, the last of the twelve Caesars.
     He was a tyrant, detestable to all men on account of his cruelty, and the author of the second general persecution of the church. In the beginning of his reign he accustomed himself to take pleasure in acts of inhumanity, spending part of his time in his closet in catching flies, and sticking them with a sharp bodkin.     He debauched his own niece, and impiously took the titles of God and Lord, as Suetonius and Eusebius have recorded. He reigned fifteen years, that is, from the year of Christ 81 to 96. Tacitus says, that in cruelty he surpassed Nero, who often shunned the sight of barbarous executions, whereas Domitian was known to be delight in beholding them.   He deluged Rome with the blood of its illustrious citizens,    and out of a hatred to virtue, banished the philosophers; on which occasion  Epictetus (whose Enchiridion is the most perfect abstract of the justest sentiments of moral virtue ever published by a heathen) and Dio Chrysostom’s, with others, were expelled the city. As for the Christians, riot only  the sanctity' of their doctrine and manners was the strongest reproach of the crimes of the tyrant, but the general hatred of the heathens against them excited him to glut his insatiable cruelty with their innocent blood.  St. John, who was the only surviving apostle, and who at that time governed all the churches of Asia with the highest reputation which his dignity, extraordinary virtue, and miracles had acquired, was apprehended at Ephesus, and sent prisoner to Rome in the year 95.  The emperor did not relent at the sight of a man of his most venerable old age and countenance, which alone might suffice to command respect, but condemned him to it most barbarous death, by ordering him to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. The holy apostle  was probably first scourged, according to the Roman custom with regard to criminals before execution, who could not plead the privilege of being Roman citizens.  it is at least certain, front Tertullian, St. Jerome, and Eusebius, that by the order of the tyrant, he was thrown into a vessel of boiling oil. The martyr doubtless heard, with great joy, this barbarous sentence, exulting at the thought of speedily rejoining his Redeemer, and desiring to repay love for love in the best manner he was able, and to die    for him who had laid down his most precious life to save us sin acts from hell. The cruelest torments seemed to him light and most agreeable, because they wood, he hoped, unite him forever to his divine Master and Saviour. But God accepted his will, and crowned his desire; he conferred on him the honor and merit of martyrdom, but suspended the operation of the fire, as he had formerly preserved the three children from hurt in the Babylonian furnace. The seething was changed in his regard auto a refreshing bath, and the saint came out more fresh and lively than he had entered the caldron.   Domitian, with most of the heathens, entertained a great idea of the power of magic, in which he had been confirmed by the    reports concerning the prodigies pretended to be wrought by the famous magician, Apollonius of Tyana whom he had sent for to Rome. He therefore saw this miracle without drawing from it the least advantage, but, like another Pharaoh, remained hardened in his iniquity. However, he contented himself after this with banishing the holy apostle into the little island of Patmos, one of the Sporades, in the Archipelago or Aegean Sea.    Domitian being assassinated the year following, his statues were everywhere pulled down, his named erased from all public buildings, and his decrees declared void by the senate. Upon which St. John returned to Ephesus, in the reign of Nerva, who by mildness, during his short reign of one year and four months, labored to restore the faded lustre of the Roman Empire.
    This glorious triumph of St. John happened without the gate of Rome, called Latina, because it led to Latium.  A church was consecrated in the same place in memory of this miracle, under the first Christian emperors, which has always borne this title.  It is said to have boon a pagan temple of Diana, before it was converted to the worship of the true God.   It was rebuilt by Pope Adrian I. in 772. This festival has been kept in many places a holiday.    In the twelfth century, and probably long before, till the change of religion, it was observed in England a holiday of the second rank, in which all servile work was forbid, except agriculture.   Our pious Saxon ancestors had a singular devotion to St. Peter and St. John the  Evangelist.

 Our divine Saviour, as a mark or his special favor, and to put their love to the test, asked his two disciples, James and John, whether they could drink of the cup of which he was to drink.  His sufferings he called his cup, first, because, out of the excess of his love for man, he *was pressed with a bunting desire to suffer and die for his redemption, as with a vehement thirst, which nothing but the ignominies and cruel torments of his cross could satiate.' O ardent desire of Jesus to suffer for us’ 0 love of his cross!  Secondly, because, among the Jews, a portion which fell to a person's lot was called his cup, Jesus, by this expression, jives us to understand that his cross and sufferings were allotted him by his eternal Father as his portion, and that from the first moment of his Incarnation he accepted it cheerfully from his hands, with an entire submission to his will, offering himself as a victim perfectly to accomplish it.   He presents his cup to his servants it, drink, because there is nothing which produces in them so perfect a conformity with himself, or improves more wonderfully all heroic virtues in their souls, or obtains more abundantly fur them the greatest graces, provided we bear our cross with him, embrace it affectionately for his love, and otter our sufferings to him, uniting them with his.    0 precious cross! You are the high royal road to heaven, sanctified and made divine by our sovereign Head, who opened it, and showed the way in which all his elect follow him. St. John suffered above the other saints a martyrdom of love, being a martyr, and more than a martyr, at the foot of the cross of his divine Master, with the true lovers of Jesus, Magdalen, and the Blessed Virgin mother.   All his sufferings were by love and compassion imprinted in his soul, and thus shared by him.   0 singular happiness of St. John, to have stood under the cross of Christ, so near his divine person, when the ether disciples had all forsaken him!    0 extraordinary privilege, to have suffered martyrdom in the person of Jesus, and been eye-witness to all he did or endured and of all that happened to him in that great sacrifice and mystery.  Here he drank of his cup; this was truly a martyrdom, and our Saviour exempted all those who had assisted at the martyrdom of his cross from suffering death by the hands of persecutors.     St. John nevertheless received also the crown of this second martyrdom to which the sacrifice of his will was not wanting, but only the execution.
   




94? ST JOHN BEFORE THE LATIN GATE
IN the Roman Martyrology for May 6 the first announcement takes the following form: “At Rome, of St John before the Latin Gate, who, at the command of Domitian, was brought in fetters from Ephesus to Rome, and by the verdict of the Senate, was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil before that gate, and came forth thence more hale and more hearty (purior atque vegetior) than he entered it”.
   The phrase is that of St Jerome (Adversus Jovinianum, i, 26), and it is based upon the still earlier statement of Tertullian (De praescriptionibus, ch. 36). Alban Butler, in common with the Bollandists and the most critical scholars of his time, such as Tillemont, raises no question as to the historic fact and lays stress upon it as an equivalent martyrdom. His devotional treatment of the subject may be here recapitulated.
  When the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, strangers as yet to the mystery of the cross and the nature of Christ’s kingdom, had, through their mother’s lips, petitioned for places of honour in the day of His triumph, He asked them if they were prepared to drink of His cup. They answered boldly, assuring their master that they were ready to undergo anything for His sake.
Our Lord thereupon promised them that their sincerity should be put to trial and that they should both be partakers of the cup of His sufferings. This was literally fulfilled in St James on his being put to death for the faith by Herod, and this day’s festival records in part the manner in which it was verified in St John. It may, indeed, be said that this favourite disciple who so tenderly loved his Master, had already had experience of the bitterness of the chalice when he was present on Calvary. But our Saviour’s prediction was to be fulfilled in a more particular manner, which should entitle him to the merit and crown of martyrdom, the instrument of this trial, postponed for more than half a century, being Domitian, the last of the twelve Caesars.
    He was a tyrant, detestable on account of his cruelty, and he was the author of the second general persecution of the Church. St John, the only surviving apostle, who was famous for the veneration paid to him while he governed the churches of Asia, was arrested at Ephesus and sent prisoner to Rome about the year 94. Regardless of his victim’s great age and gentle bearing, the emperor condemned him to a barbarous form of death. He was probably first scourged, according to the Roman custom, and then thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil.
We cannot doubt that St John exulted in the thought of laying down his life for the faith and rejoining the Master whom he loved. God accepted his oblation and in some sense crowned his desire. He conferred on him the merit of martyrdom, but suspended the operation of the fire, as he had formerly preserved the three children from hurt in the Babylonian furnace. The seething oil was changed into a refreshing bath, so that Domitian, who entertained a great idea of the power of magic, and who, it is alleged, had previously found himself baffled by some prodigy when Apollonius of Tyana was brought before him, now contented himself with banishing the apostle to the island of Patmos. Under the mild rule of Domitian’s successor, Nerva, St John is believed to have returned to Ephesus and there peacefully to have fallen asleep in the Lord.

   The localization of the alleged miracle outside the Latin gate is certainly not historical, for the Ports Latina belongs to the walls of Aurelian, two centuries later than St John’s time. This particular festival cannot be traced farther back in the Roman church than the sacramentary of Pope Adrian, towards the close of the eighth century. There is a church of St John at the Porta Latina, replacing an older one which owed its existence to that pontiff and presumably was dedicated on this day.
   Mgr Duchesne suggests that the choice of this date (May 6) is connected with the occurrence in the Byzantine calendar of a feast on May 8, commemorating a miracle of St John at Ephesus. In the so-called Missale Gothicum there is a Mass of St John the Evangelist which must have fallen in May, not long after that of the Finding of the Cross. The incident of the boiling oil seems originally to have belonged to certain apocryphal but early “Acts of John”, of which we now only possess fragments.

In a Motu Proprio of John XXIII dated July 25 1960, this feast was dropped from the Roman Calendar.
See L. Duchesne, Liber Pontificalis, vol. i, pp. 508, 521, and Christian Worship (1920), pp. 281—282. On the general question, see K. A. Kellner, Heortology (1908), p. 298.

1st v. St. Lucius Bishop of Cyrene 1/of “prophets and doctors” in Ptolemais, Africa
Cyréne, in Líbya, sancti Lúcii Epíscopi, quem in Actibus Apostolórum sanctus Lucas commémorat.
    At Cyrene in Africa, Bishop St. Lucius, who is mentioned by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles.
Bishop of Cyrene in Ptolemais, Africa. He is one of the “prophets and doctors” mentioned in Acts.
Lucius of Cyrene B (RM) 1st century.
Saint Lucius was one of the 'prophets and doctors' in the church at Antioch when Paul and Barnabas were consecrated for their apostolate (Acts 13:1). It is said that he was from 'Cyrene,' which is the source of the tradition that he was the first bishop of the city in the Ptolemais
(Africa) (Benedictines).
259 Sts. Marian a lector or reader; and James a deacon; experienced visions, including martyred bishop
Often, it’s hard to find much detail from the lives of saints of the early Church. What we know about the third-century martyrs we honor today is likewise minimal. But we do know that they lived and died for the faith. Almost 2,000 years later, that is enough reason to honor them.

Born in North Africa, Marian was a lector or reader; James was a deacon. For their devotion to the faith they suffered during the persecution of Valerian.

Prior to their persecution Marian and James were visited by two bishops who encouraged them in the faith not long before they themselves were martyred. A short time later, Marian and James were arrested and interrogated. The two readily confessed their faith and, for that, were tortured. While in prison they are said to have experienced visions, including one of the two bishops who had visited them earlier.

On the last day of their lives, Marian and James joined other Christians facing martyrdom. They were blindfolded and then put to death. Their bodies were thrown into the water. The year was 259.

286 Gundula starb um 286 als Märtyrerin in der Nähe von Mailand.
Orthodoxe und katholische Kirche: 6. Mai
Gundula starb um 286 als Märtyrerin in der Nähe von Mailand. Weitere Daten aus ihrem Leben sind nicht bekannt.
3rd v. St. Heliodorus Martyr with Venustus and companions (7 to 77) in Africa
In Africa sanctórum Mártyrum Heliodóri et Venústi, cum áliis septuagínta quinque.
   In Africa, the holy martyrs Heliodorus and Venustus and seventy-five others.
    They suffered under Emperor Diocletian Heliodorus and seventy others died in Africa. Others are reported as being martyred in Milan, Italy.
    Heliodorus, Venustus & Comp. MM (RM) 3rd century. Heliodurus and Venustus were among a group of 77 martyrs who suffered under Diocletian. Heliodorus and seven others died in Africa; Saint Ambrose (December 7) claims the rest of them for Milan. 
(Benedictines).
325 Theodotus Bishop of Cyprus suffered a long term of imprisonment B (RM)
In Cypro sancti Theódoti, Epíscopi Cyríniæ, qui, sub Licínio Imperatóre, gravíssima passus est, ac tandem, in Ecclésiæ pace, spíritum Deo réddidit.
    In Cyprus, St. Theodotus, bishop of Cyrinia, who having undergone grievous afflictions under Emperor Licinius, at length yielded his soul to God when peace was restored to the Church.
Bishop Theodotus of Cyrenia, Cyprus,under Lucinius (Benedictines).
335 St. Heliodorus Martyred Persian bishop of Mesopotamia with two priests Desan and Marjab
   
He died with his two priests, Desan and Marjab, and many others. King Shapur II instituted the persecution that brought about their martyrdom.
Damásci natális beáti Joánnis Damascéni, Presbyteri, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ Doctóris, doctrína et sanctitáte célebris.  Hic, pro cultu sanctárum Imáginum, verbo et scriptis advérsus Leónem Isáuricum strénue decertávit; cujus Imperatóris ob calúmnias cum ipsi Joánni déxtera manus e Saracenórum Príncipe amputáta esset, idem, beátæ Maríæ Vírgini, cujus Imágines defénderat, se comméndans, prótinus déxteram íntegram sanámque recépit.  Ejus autem festívitas sexto Kaléndas Aprílis celebrátur.

At Damascus, the birthday of St. John Damascene, priest and doctor of the Church, renowned for sanctity and learning.  By means of his writing and preaching, he courageously resisted Leo the Isaurian, in defending the veneration paid to sacred images.  By order of this emperor his right hand was cut off, but commending himself before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he had defended, his hand was immediately restored to him, entire and sound.  His feast day is the 27th of
March.

4th v. Protogenes of Syria priest & bishop of Carrhaes banished by the Arian Emperor B (RM)
Carrhis, in Mesopotámia, sancti Protógenis, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
    At Carrhae in Mesopotamia, St. Protogenes, bishop and confessor.
Carrhis, in Mesopotámia, sancti Protógenis, Epíscopi et Confessóris.  At Carrhae in Mesopotamia, St. Protogenes, bishop and confessor.
Protogenes, a priest, was banished by the Arian Emperor Valens. He was recalled under Theodosius and consecrated bishop of Carrhae, Syria
(Benedictines).
362 Barbarus the Soldier, Bacchus, Callimachus and Dionysius; The Holy Martyrs served in the army of the emperor Julian the Apostate; miracles caused many conversions.
St Barbarus was secretly a Christian, and in a war with the Franks he gained victory in single combat against a mighty enemy soldier. For this he received great honor in the army and the acclamation of the emperor, and was given the title of comitus (imperial bodyguard). After the victory over the Franks, Bacchus wanted to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, and he deferred to Barbarus as the victor, allowing him to have the honor of making the first sacrificial offering.
St Barbarus openly confessed himself a Christian and refused to offer the sacrifice. He was subjected to much torture for this, by order of Julian the Apostate. They suspended the saint and tore his body until his insides were falling out. St Barbarus called out to the Lord for help, and then an angel of God appeared and healed his wounds, so that not a trace of them remained.

Seeing this miracle, the military commander Bacchus and two soldiers, Callimachus and Dionysius, believed in Christ and repudiated the pagan gods. For this, they were immediately beheaded. They continued to torture St Barbarus. They tied him to a wheel and lit a fire under it, and they sprinkled the body of the sufferer with oil. But here also the power of God preserved the holy martyr unharmed. The fire burned many of the torturers, however, killing two. After this they continued to torment the holy Martyr Barbarus for another seven days.

Through miraculous help from on high, the saint remained unharmed. Seeing in this miracle the manifest power of God, many pagans were converted to the true God. St Barbarus finally completed his glorious endeavor by being beheaded by the sword in the year 362.
The martyr's body was buried in the city of Methona in the Peloponnesus by the pious Bishop Philikios.
6th v. St. Benedicta Mystic nun; St. Peter appeared in vision warn her of death
Romæ sanctæ Benedíctæ Vírginis.    At Rome, the virgin St. Benedícta.
Benedicta lived in a convent founded by St. Galla in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great states that St. Peter appeared in a vision to warn her of her approaching death.
    Benedicta of Rome V (RM). Benedicta a nun of the convent founded in Rome by Saint Galla (A Roman widow of the sixth century; feast, 5 October. According to St. Gregory the Great (Dial. IV, ch. xiii) she was the daughter of the younger Symmachus, a learned and virtuous patrician of Rome, whom Theodoric had unjustly condemned to death (525). Becoming a widow before the end of the first year of her married life, she, still very young, founded a convent and hospital near St. Peter's, there spent the remainder of her days in austerities and works of mercy, and ended her life with an edifying death. The letter of St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, "De statu viduarum", is supposed to have been addressed to her. Her church in Rome, near the Piazza Montanara, once held a picture of Our Lady, which according to tradition represents a vision vouchsafed to St. Galla. It is considered miraculous and was carried in recession in times of pestilence. It is now over the high altar of Santa Maria in Campitelli, of whom Saint Gregory the Great narrates her death was foretold to her by Saint Peter in a vision
(Benedictines).
7th v. Colman Mac Ui Cluasigh took his students to an island in the ocean to escape the pestilence (AC)
(also known as Colman of Cork)
  This Saint Colman was a professor at Cork. About 664, he wrote a prayer in verse (or lorica) seeking protection for the yellow plague that killed one-third of Ireland's population. He took his students to an island in the ocean to escape the pestilence. En route they chanted the prayer, which is believed to be the only extant writing from Finbarr's school at Cork. The prayer was included in Kathleen Hoagland's 1000 years of Irish poetry
(D'Arcy, Healy, Hoagland).
698 St. Eadbert Abbot bishop of Lindisfarne Ireland learning and knowledge of the Scriptures obedience to God's commandments
In Anglia, sancti Eadbérti, Epíscopi Lindisfarnénsis, doctrína et pietáte insígnis.
    In England, St. Eadbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, famed for his teachings and his piety.

698 ST EDBERT, BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE
THE Venerable Bede, writing of St Edbert, states that he was remarkable for his knowledge of the Bible, as well as for his faithful observance of the divine precepts. All his life long he was extremely generous to the poor, for whose benefit he set aside a tenth part of his possessions.
   Ordained successor to St Cuthbert in the see of Lindisfarne, he governed wisely for eleven years, and covered with lead St Finan’s great wooden cathedral church which had previously been thatched only with reeds, Scottish fashion. He made it a practice to retire twice a year for forty days of solitary prayer to the retreat—probably the tiny island known as St Cuthbert’s Isle—where his great predecessor had spent some time before finally withdrawing to Farne. When the relics of St Cuthbert were found incorrupt, St Edbert gave instructions that the body should be put into a new coffin which was to be raised above the pavement for greater veneration. He added that the space below would not long remain empty. Scarcely had his orders been carried out when he was seized with a fever which proved mortal, and his own remains were laid in the empty grave. A commemoration of St Edbert is made to-day in the diocese of Hexham.

All our information is, practically speaking, derived from Bede in his Historia Ecclesiastica, bk iv. C. Plummet in his notes, Canon Raine in DCB., the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. i, and Symeon of Durham add very little. St Edbert’s relics shared the wanderings of those of St Cuthbert, and ultimately rested with them at Durham.

Successor of St. Cuthbert (Born in Northumbria, England (?) or Ireland, c. 634; died on Inner Farne in March 20, 687; incorrupt 11 years after death) He was praised by St. Bede ("I have devoted my energies to the study of Scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church.") for his learning and knowledge of the Scriptures. Eadbert’s relics were enshrined in Durham, England, circa 875. In some lists he is called Edbert.
Edbert of Lindisfarne, OSB B (RM) (also known as Eadbert, Eadbeorht)
Died May 6, 698. When Saint Cuthbert (Born in Northumbria, England (?) or Ireland, c. 634; died on Inner Farne in March 20, 687), bishop of Lindisfarne, died in 687, he was succeeded by Saint Edbert. The venerable Bede (Born in Northumbria, England, 673; died at Jarrow, England, on May 25, 735; named Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1899) wrote that Edbert was a man noted for his knowledge of the Scriptures and for his obedience to God's commandments, and especially for his generosity. Bede tells us that Saint Edbert every year "obeyed the law of the Old Testament by giving one tenth of all his cattle, his crops, his fruit, and his clothing to the poor."
    Eleven years after St. Cuthbert's death, his coffin was opened and the body was found to be incorrupt, the joints still pliable and the clothing fresh and bright. Edbert kissed the clothing that had covered the saint's body, then ordered that new garments be put on the saint and a new coffin made. The coffin, he said, must be given a place of honor. And he instructed his monks to leave a space under it for his own grave, which he filled within a very short time.
    Edbert imitated his predecessor in other acts of godliness, spending 40 days in solitary meditation twice annually (Lent and before Christmas) on a small island, and building fine churches for the worship of God. He installed a leaden roof on the wooden church built by Saint Finan (Died 661 Irish monk of Iona succeeded Saint Aidan in the governance of the Northumbrian church) and dedicated to Saint Peter on Lindisfarne. Edbert lies, like Cuthbert, in Durham Cathedral, for the bodies of both saints were carried there in 875 after many years of being moved around to escape the marauders from Scandinavia
(Benedictines, Bentley, Farmer, Husenbeth).
747 St. Petronax Abbot “the Second Founder of Monte Cassino” restored after Lombards destruction
747 ST PETRONAX, ABBOT OF MONTE CASSINO
THE second founder of the abbey of Monte Cassino, St Petronax, was a native of Brescia. When on a visit to Rome he seems to have been induced by Pope St Gregory II to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of St Benedict, in the year 717. There, among the ruins of the old monastery which had been destroyed by the Lombards in 581, he found a few solitaries, who elected him their superior. Other disciples soon gathered round them. Through the generosity of prominent nobles, chief amongst whom was the Lombard duke of Beneventum, and with the strong support of three popes, he succeeded in rebuilding Monte Cassino, which, under his long and vigorous rule, regained its old eminence.
The English St Willibald, afterwards bishop of Eichstätt, received the habit at his hands. St Sturmius, founder of the abbey of Fulda, spent some time at Monte Cassino learning the primitive Benedictine rule, and great men of all kinds, princes as well as ecclesiastics, stayed within its hospitable walls. St Petronax ruled over the community until his death, the date of which was probably 747. Recent investigation has shown that St Willibald himself, during the ten years he spent at Monte Cassino, contributed much to the restoration of Benedictine discipline and to the general development of this great abbey.

The more relevant texts in Paul Warnefrid’s Historia Langobardorum have been extracted by the Bollandists, and by Mabillon, vol. iii, part x, pp. 693—698. But see especially Abbot J. Chapman, “La Restauration du Mont Cassin par l’Abbe Petronax” in the Revue Bene­dictine, vol. xxi (1904), pp. 74—80, and H. Leclercq in DAC., vol. xi, cc. 3451—3468.

From Brescia, Italy, he joined the Benedictines and in 717 was asked by Pope St. Gregory II to go to Monte Cassino to examine the ruins of the famed abbey which had been badly damaged by the Lombards in 580. After visiting St. Benedict's tomb, Petronax gathered together the hermits who occupied the old abbey and began rebuilding. Elected abbot for the reflowering abbey, he ruled Monte Cassino for three decades, making it once more the chief Benedictine institution.
Petronax of Monte Cassino, OSB Abbot (AC) Born at Brescia, Lombardy, Italy;
Just as the English monks suffered the depredations of marauders from Scandinavia, so the monastery of Monte Cassino had been grievously ruined when Lombards invaded that part of Italy in 581. Scarcely a stone stood on another in 717 when Petronax was induced by Pope Saint Gregory II (731; The 89th pope Laterane ducated subdeacon under Pope Saint Sergius Church treasurer/librarian under four popes known for learning/wisdom. As deacon -710- distinguished himself in his replies to Emperor Justinian when he accompanied Pope Constantine to Constantinople to oppose the Council of Trullo canon that declared patriarchate of Constantinople independent of Rome and helped to secure Justinian's acknowledgment of papal supremacy.) to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Benedict (Born Nursia Italy 490; died at Monte Cassino, 543) and visit the fallen monastery with the view of restoring cenobitical life at the monastery.
    Petronax found a few hermits there, who elected him their superior. Other disciples soon gathered around them. The saint determined to raise Monte Cassino to its old glory. Generous nobles, especially the duke of Beneventum, and three popes supported this effort. From Pope Zachary he obtained the rule of the monastery, written in Saint Benedict's own hand. The pope also gave him the monastery's old measure for bread and wine. Before Petronax died, Benedict's monastery on Monte Cassino was reborn, its old vigor restored. Saint Willibald, bishop of Eichstätt, and Saint Sturmius of Fulda were both monks under Petronax, the 'second founder of Monte Cassino'
(Benedictines, Bentley, Coulson, Walsh).
AD 780 SAINT JOHN DAMASCEN
From the Lives of Saintes by Alban Butler
AD 780 SAINT JOHN DAMASCEN,
FATHER   OF THE  CHURCH
From the works of the saint, and the histories of those times. His life written by John IV. patriarch
 of Jerusalem, who lived two hundred years after him, borrows the first part, before his monastic profession, from uncertain memoirs.  See Nat. Alex. Saec. 8; Fleury, b. 42; Papebroke May 6; Ceillier t 18, p. 110.

MAHOMET, the   great  impostor, subdued a considerable  part of Arabia before his  death, which happened  in 632.  His successor, Abubeker, extended his conquests into Chaldea and Persia. Omar, the second caliph of the Saracens, subdued Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, before the death of the emperor Heraclius, in 641.  Othman, the third caliph, died in 655 and Ali the fourth, in 660.  Ibis last founded the sect of Mahometans which the Persians follow, and which the Turks and others, who adhere to the interpretations of his predecessors, Omar and Othman, detest above all other religions. Such was the posture of affairs in the East, when St. John was born, in the declension of the seventh century, at Damascus, from which city he received his surname: by the Saracens he was called Mansur.
     He was of a noble and ancient family, and his father though always a zealous and pious Christian was held in great esteem by the Saracen caliphs for his high birth, probity, and abilities; was advanced by them to the first employments of the state, and made their chief secretary or counsellor.  The pious statesman was the more watchful and fervent in all duties of religion, the greater the dangers were to which he saw his faith exposed.   Being chiefly solicitous for the education of his son in innocence and piety, amidst the dangers of such a court, he purchased the liberty of a learned and devout Grecian monk, named Cosmos, who, having been taken prisoner by the  Saracens, was brought to Damascus for sale.  Him he appointed tutor to his son and in another youth called Cosmas, the charge of whose education he had taken upon himself. The preceptor entered into the views of the zealous parent, and bent his whole attention to defend the tender plants from the rude winds of trials and temptations. The caliph was much takens with the capacity and virtue of John, and after the death of his father, made him governor of Damascus, his capital city.
              After Ali, the dignity of caliph had passed into another family called the Omrniads.   The name of the first of these was Moavia. This prince and his immediate successors treated the Christians with courtesy and mildness and so great were the abilities, and such the transcendent virtue of John, that he enjoyed his prince's favor without envy. But he always trembled at the sight of those spiritual dangers with which he saw himself surrounded.  He was sensible, that, in a flow of plenty and prosperity, the heart is apt to warp towards vice and the world, and he dreaded the contagion of the air he breathed. He therefore, at length, came to a resolution to resign his honors, and soon after disposed of his estates in favor of the church and the poor, and with Cosmas, his companion, withdrew secretly to the great Laura of St. Sabas, near Jerusalem.  Cosmas was afterwards chosen bishop of Majutna, in Palestine.
   Saint John, in his solitude, rejoiced to see himself delivered from the slavery of the world, and placed in a happy state of uninterrupted tranquility, where his years passed away without one heavy minute and where he had no other occupation but that of employing, without distraction, all his thoughts and endeavors on the end of his creation, the securing the, salvation of his soul.  He considered the important work which he had upon his bends, and set himself in earnest to learn perfectly to subdue his passions, and walk in the paths of true virtue.  With this view, he addressed himself to the superior of the Laura, who gave him for director an experienced old monk.    This great master in a spiritual life, conducting the novice to his cell gave him the following short lessons:
First, that he should never do his own will, but study in all things to die to himself, in order to divest himself of all inordinate self-love or attachment to creatures.
Secondly, that he should frequently offer to God all his actions, difficulties and prayers.
    Thirdly, That he should take no pride in his learning or any other advantage, but ground himself in a sincere and thorough conviction that he had nothing of his own stock but ignorance and weakness.
     Fourth-ly, That he should renounce all vanity, should always mistrust himself and his own lights, and never desire visions or the like extraordinary favors.
Fifthly, That he should banish from his mind all thoughts of the world, nor ever disclose to strangers the instructions given him in the monastery; that he should keep strict silence, and remember that there may be harm even in saying good things without necessity.
   By the punctual observance of these rules, the fervent novice made great progress in an interior life and Christian perfection, His director, to promote his spiritual advancement, often put his virtue to severe trials.  He once sent him to Damascus in sell some baskets, and having set an exorbitant price on them, forbade him to take less.   The saint obeyed his director without the least demur, and appeared poor and ill-clad in that great city, in which he had formerly lived in splendor.  On being asked the price of his ware, he was abused and insulted for the unreasonableness of his demands.   At length, one that had been formerly his servant, out of compassion, purchased his whole stock, at the price he asked; and the saint returned to his superior, victorious over vanity and pride.  It happened that a certain monk, being inconsolable for the death of his brother, the saint, by way of comforting him recite to him a Greek verse, importing, that all is vanity which time destroyed.  His director, for his greater security against the temptation of vanity or ostentation, on account of learning, called this disobedience in speaking without necessity, and, by way of chastisement, turned him out of his cell.  The humble saint wept bitterly to heal this wound of the obedience in his soul, as he confessed it to be; and without endeavoring to extenuate the fault, though in itself so excusable, begged the monks to intercede for him to his director for pardon.      This was at length obtained, but only on condition that with his own hand he should cleanse out and carry away all the filth that lay about the monastery; which condition the saint, to whom humiliations were always welcome, most cheerfully complied with.  So accomplished a virtue made his superiors judge him worthy to be promoted to the priesthood, which was then much more rare in monasteries than at present.    This dignity served only to increase his humility and fervor.  His director at length thought him sufficiently grounded in habits of profound humility and self-denial, to be permitted to employ his talents in writing for the edification of others and the service of the church, without falling into the dangerous temptations of self-conceit and pride. For a secret vanity or self-complacency often robs even the Christian writer of the fruit of his labors before God; and an eminent author calls this base weakness of vanity the last foible of great geniuses. John had given proof of long and severe trials, that an entire contempt of himself, and a feeling sense of his own weakness and absolute insufficiency, were deeply rooted in his heart, when his superior thought him sufficiently armed against this sure to be employed in teaching their theological schools.
  Soon after, they ordered him to take up his pen in defense of our holy faith, attacked by the Iconoclast heretics.  The emperor Leo, the Isaurian, had published his edicts against holy images, in 726, and had found many followers, when Sr. John entered the lists against that heresy.  He begins his first discourse, or oration, on this religious subject as follows:  “Conscious to myself of my own baseness and unworthiness, I ought rather to condemn myself to an eternal silence, weeping, and confessing my sins before God. But seeing the church, which is founded on a rock, assailed by a furious storm, I think I ought no longer to remain silent, because 1 fear God more than an emperor of the earth.''  He lays down for the foundation of the dispute, that the church cannot err; consequently it could never fall into idolatry. He explains what is meant by the adoration due to God alone which, with St. Austin and other fathers, he calls Latria; and that inferior veneration which is paid to the friends and servants of God, which is entirely different, and infinitely beneath the former; and no more inconsistent with it than the civil honor which the law of nature and holy scriptures command us to pay to princes and in his heart, when his superiors thought him sufficiently armed against this snare to be employed in teaching their theological schools. Soon after, they ordered him to take up his pen in defense of our holy faith attacked by the Iconoclast heretics.
  The emperor Leo, the Isaurian, had published his  edicts against holy images, in 726, and had found many followers, when St. John entered the lists against that heresy.   He begins his first discourse, or oration, on this religious subject as follows
    “Conscious to myself of my own baseness and unworthiness, I ought rather to condemn  myself to an eternal silence, weeping, and confessing my sins before God.   But seeing the church, which is founded on a rock, assailed by a furious storm, I think I ought no longer to remain silent, because I fear God more than an emperor of the earth."   He lays down for the foundation of the dispute, that the church cannot err : consequently it could never fall into idolatry.  He explains what is meant by the adoration due to God alone, which, with St. Austin and other fathers, he calls Latria and that inferior veneration which is paid to the friends and servants of God, which is entirely different, and infinitely beneath the former and no more inconsistent with it than the civil honor which the Law of nature anti the holy scriptures command us to pay to princes and superiors.  He shows that the veneration which we pay to the things which belong to God, as altars, &c., is not less distinct from the supreme honor we give to God.  He says, the precept in the old law, which forbade images, (if it be not to be restrained to idols,) was merely ceremonial, and only regarded the Jews: which law, if we restore, we must equally' admit circumcision and the Sabbath.  He testifies that the Iconoclasts allowed a religious honor to be due to the holy place on Mount Calvary, to the stone of the sepulcher, to the book of the gospels, to crosses and sacred vessels. Lastly, he proves the veneration of holy images by the testimony of the fathers. In his second discourse he teaches  at large that the emperor is intrusted with the government of the state but has no authority to make decisions in points of ecclesiastical doctrine.   In the third, he demonstrates the use of holy images flora the tradition of the fathers.
  The dogmatically writings of this great doctor show the extent of his genius still more than his controversial and in them the strength arid clearness of his reasoning can be equaled only by the depth of his penetration, and the soundness of his judgment.  His most important and celebrated work is, The Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, divided into four books, in which he reduces all the branches of theology which the ancients explained in several scattered works into one regular body, which gives this sublime study the advantage of excellent method, connects all its parts in a short system, and sets them all together in one clear point of view.   This work was the first plan of the scholastic method of teaching divinity, -which St. Anselm introduced much later among the Latins. St. John composed many holy canticles; and to his fellow-pupil, Cosmas, is the Greek Church indebted for the greater part of the sacred hymns which it uses in the divine office.
  St. John travelled into Palestine, and also to Constantinople, to encourage the faithful, and to defend the use of holy images in the very seat of the persecutor, Constantine Copronymus.  But he returned again to the Laura of St. Sabas, in Palestine, where, being in the dominions of the Saracen caliph, he continued to defend the church by his pen.  We have the unexceptionable testimony of Dr. Cave that no man can have a sound judgment who, reading his works, doth not admire his extraordinary erudition, the justness and precision of his ideas and conceptions, and the strength of his reasoning, especially in theological matters.  But Baronius observes that he was sometimes led into mistakes with regard to historical facts by faulty memoirs.  John IV., patriarch of Jerusalem, extols his great skill in mathematics.   Amidst his studies he was careful to nourish in his heart a spirit' of devotion by constant recollection, and daily contemplation.  For it is the reflection of a great man, and an eminent scholar, writing to contemplative persons, "that without assiduous prayer, reasoning is a great dissipation of the mind, and learning often extinguishes the humble interior spirit of prayer, as wind does a candle.”   In another place he calls too close application to mathematics the death of the spirit of prayer, and adds: “Suffer not yourself to be bewitched with the enchantment of geometry.   Nothing will sooner dry up in you the interior spirit of recollection and devotion."  St. John, to shun this rock, was careful that his studies should never degenerate into a passion;  he never suffered them to dissipate his mind, or encroach on his exercises of devotion, or any other duties, and in his inquiries shunned all idle curiosity.  Having by retirement prepared himself for his last passage, he died in his cell about the year 790.    His tomb was discovered near the church porch of this Laura, in the twelfth century, as John Phocas testifies. Phocas in descript Palestine





9th v. Barbarus The Holy Martyr, formerly a robber, lived in Greece and for a long time he committed robberies, extortions and murders; miracles after death; relics are located at the monastery of Kellios in Thessaly, near the city of Larissa.
But the Lord, Who does not desire the death of a sinner, turned him to repentance. Once, when Barbarus was sitting in a cave and gazing upon his stolen possessions, the grace of God touched his heart. He thought about the inevitability of death, and about the dread Last Judgment. Pondering over the multitude of his wicked deeds, he was distressed in his heart and he decided to make a beginning of repentance, saying, "The Lord did not despise the prayer of the robber hanging beside Him. May He spare me through His ineffable mercy."
    Barbarus left all his treasures behind in the cave and he went to the nearest church. He did not conceal his wicked deeds from the priest, and he asked to be accepted for repentance. The priest gave him a place in his own home, and St Barbarus followed him, going about on his hands and knees like a four-legged animal, since he considered himself unworthy to be called a man. In the household of the priest he lived with the cattle, eating with the animals and considering himself more wicked than any creature. Having received absolution from his sins from the priest, Barbarus went into the woods and lived there for twelve years, naked and without clothing, suffering from the cold and heat. His body became dirty and blackened all over.

Finally, St Barbarus received a sign from on high that his sins were forgiven, and that he would die a martyr's death.
Once, merchants came to the place where St Barbarus labored. In the deep grass before them they saw something moving. Thinking that this was an animal, they shot several arrows from their bows. Coming closer, they were terrified to see that they had mortally wounded a man. St Barbarus begged them not to grieve. He told them about himself and he asked that they relate what had happened to the priest at whose house he had once lived.
After this, St Barbarus yielded up his spirit to God. The priest, who had accepted the repentance of the former robber, found his body shining with a heavenly light. The priest buried the body of St Barbarus at the place where he was killed. Afterwards, a curative myrrh began to issue forth from the grave of the saint, which healed various maladies. His relics are located at the monastery of Kellios in Thessaly, near the city of
Larissa.
11th v. Salérni Translátio sancti Matthǽi, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ; cujus sacrum corpus, olim ex Æthiópia ad divérsas regiónes et demum ad eam urbem delátum, ibídem, in dedicáta ejus nómine Ecclésia, summo honóre cónditum fuit.
    At Salerno, the translation of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist.  His revered body, previously transferred from Ethiopia to various countries, was finally taken to Salerno, and with great pomp was there placed in a church dedicated to his name
.

1300 Blessed Bonizella Piccolomini; Widow, devoted herself and all her wealth to the service of the poor (PC)
When Naddo Piccolomini died, his Sienese wife Bonizella devoted herself and all her wealth to the service of the poor in the district of Belvederio, Italy
(Benedictines).
1385  St Micah of Radonezh one of the first disciples of St Sergius of Radonezh Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos Holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian to St Sergius of Radonezh.
He lived with him in the same cell, and under his guidance he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. For his meekness of soul and purity of heart, St Micah was permitted to witness the appearance of the Mother of God to his great teacher. Once, after St Sergius had completed the morning Rule of prayer, sat down to rest for awhile, but suddenly he said to his disciple, "Be alert, my child, for we shall have a wondrous visitation."
    Hardly had he uttered these words when a voice was heard, "The All-Pure One draws near." Suddenly there shone a light brighter than the sun. St Micah fell down upon the ground in fear, and lay there as if he were dead. When St Sergius lifted up his disciple, he asked, "Tell me, Father, what is the reason for this wondrous vision? My soul has nearly parted from my body from fright." St Sergius then informed his disciple about the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos.
St Micah fell asleep in the Lord in the year 1385.
   St Micah's relics rest in a crypt at the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. On December 10, 1734, over St Micah's tomb, a church was consecrated in honor of the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian to St Sergius of Radonezh.
1492 Blessed Prudentia Castori abbess-founder; her fame rests on miracles reported wrought after her death; Her zeal was displayed not only amongst her nuns, whom she ruled with great prudence, but also in  bringing about the restoration of the church of the Visitation at Como OSA V (PC)
Blessed Prudentia joined the hermits of Saint Augustine(13 November, 354 28 August, 430) at Milan and later became abbess-founder of a new convent at Como, where she died
(Benedictines).
1492 BD PRUDENCE, VIRGIN her fame rests on miracles reported wrought after her death; Her zeal was displayed not only amongst her nuns, whom she ruled with great prudence, but also in  bringing about the restoration of the church of the Visitation at Como
This life of Bd Prudence seems to have been quite uneventful, and her fame rests entirely upon the miracles she is reported to have wrought after her death. A member of the noble Milanese family of the Casatori, she joined the Hermitesses of St Augustine in her native city. She was promoted to be superior of the convent of St Mark at Como, and succeeded in settling the dissensions which were dividing the two communities. Her zeal was displayed not only amongst her nuns, whom she ruled with great prudence, but also in  bringing about the restoration of the church of the Visitation at Como. Full of years, labours and merits, she passed to her eternal reward after she had governed the house at Como for thirty-eight years.

Here the Bollandists, apparently with good reason, complain of the lack of materials though the Augustinian historiographer, Father A. Torelli, had done his best to help them. Their account is printed in vol. ii for May.

1590 Bl. Edward Jones a missionary priest and Anthony Middleton priest
1590 BB. EDWARD JONES AND ANTONY MIDDLETON, MARTYRS
EDWARD Jones was a Welshman from the diocese of St Asaph, and Antony Middle-ton was a Yorkshireman. Both were educated at the Douai College in Rheims, raised to the priesthood and chosen for the English mission. Middleton came to London in 1586, and owing to his juvenile appearance and small stature was able to labour for a considerable time without rousing suspicion. Jones, who followed two years later, at once made a name for himself as a fervent and eloquent preacher. They were tracked down by spies who professed to be Catholics, and they appear to have been hanged before the doors of the houses in Fleet Street and Clerkenwell within which they had been arrested, the words “For Treason and Foreign Invasion” being posted up in large letters as an explanation of this summary “justice” which, as attested by witnesses present at the trial, was full of irregularities. Middleton, whose request that he might address the people was refused, called God to witness that he died simply and solely for the Catholic faith and for being a priest and preacher of the true religion. He then prayed that his death might obtain the forgiveness of his sins, the advancement of the Catholic faith and the conversion of heretics. According to the testimony of eye-witnesses, he was flung off the ladder, cut down, and disembowelled while still alive. They died on May 6, 1590.

The account originally given by Challoner in MMP., pp. 162—163 is not altogether accurate. See the fuller narrative printed by the Catholic Record Society, vol. v, pp. 182—186, and cf. Pollen, Acts of English Martyrs, pp. 308—309 and 315—317. It appears that Bd Edward Jones was sentenced in virtue of his own confession that he was a priest, made under torture.

   Blessed Edward Jones and Anthony Middleton, Martyrs Edward Jones from Wales and Anthony Middleton from Yorkshire were both educated at the Douai College in Rheims. They became priests and were sent to the English mission in the time of Elizabeth II. Middleton was the first to arrive in England, in 1586, and pursued the ministry for some time without being discovered, helped considerably by his youthful appearance and slight stature. Jones followed, in 1588, and quickly became known by the English Catholics as a devout and eloquent preacher. The two men of God were hunted down and captured with the aid of spies posing as Catholics, and they were hanged before the very doors of the houses in Fleet Street and Clerkenwell where they were arrested. Their trial is regarded as full of irregularities; the reason for the summary justice dispensed to them was spelled out in large letters: "For treason and foreign invasion." After offering their death for the forgiveness of their sins, the spread of the true Faith, and the conversion of heretics, they died on May 6, 1590
Blessed Antony Middleton & Edward Jones MM (AC); beatified in 1929. Antony Middleton was born at Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire, England, and educated for the secular priesthood at Rheims, France. Edward Jones was born in the diocese of Saint Asaph, Wales, and educated at Douai. He labored as a missionary priest in England from 1635 until his death. Both were hanged, drawn, and quartered at Clerkenwell, London, for being priests
(Benedictines).


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 346

On the rivers of Babylon the Hebrews wept: but let us weep over our sins.

Let us cry out humbly to the Virgin and Mother: let us offer her our plaints and our sighs.

There is no propitiation to be found without her: nor salvation apart from her fruit.

By her, sins are purged away: and by her fruit, souls are made white.

By her is made satisfaction for sins; by her fruit health is bestowed.

Let every spirit praise Our Lady

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

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

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

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

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The only replicas ever made:  in order from west to east {1932}.
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
 
It Makes No Sense
Not To Believe In GOD
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

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

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

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


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MIRACLES
– Blessed Alfonso Maria Fusco, diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist (1839-1910);
– Venerable Servant of God John Sullivan, professed priest of the Society of Jesus (1861-1933);
MARTYRDOM
– Servants of God Nikolle Vinçenc Prennushi, O.F.M., archbishop of Durres, Albania, and 37 companions killed between 1945 and 1974;
– Servants of God José Antón Gómez and three companions of the Benedictines of Madrid, Spain, killed 1936;
HEROIC VIRTUES
– Servant of God Thomas Choe Yang-Eop, diocesan priest (1821-1861);
– Servant of God Sosio Del Prete (né Vincenzo), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Little Servants of Christ the King (1885-1952);
– Servant of God Wenanty Katarzyniec (né Jósef), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1889-1921);
– Servant of God Maria Consiglia of the Holy Spirity (née Emilia Pasqualina Addatis), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Addolorata, Servants of Mary (1845-1900);
– Servant of God Maria of the Incarnation (née Caterina Carrasco Tenorio), founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of the Flock of Mary (1840-1917);
– Servant of God , founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Family of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1851-1923);
– Servant of God Ilia Corsaro, founder of the Congregation of the Little Missionaries of the Eucharist (1897-1977);
– Servant of God Maria Montserrat Grases García, layperson of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1941-1959).
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