Pontmain is a shrine of Our Lady, invoked under the title of Our Lady of Hope. In the darkest hours of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Mary appeared to two boys (Eugene and Joseph Barbedette) as a lady dressed in a dark blue robe, sprinkled with stars, a crown on her head over a dark blue veil, and in her hands a red crucifix.  1) At Pontmain, Mary was a sign of hope in the midst of war.  She spoke of her Son and renewed our hope. She invited us to joy and simplicity.  2) She gathered the whole parish around her, not only the two boys, but also the parish priest, the nuns and other inhabitants of the area. They said evening prayer together remained in prayer over 2 hours.  3) The following message was transmitted to the two seers on a banner: "But pray, my children, God will answer before long. My Son will let himself be moved." 4) The large red crucifix was surmounted by a placard bearing the name of Jesus Christ. 
It would be impossible to name all the many saints who discovered in the Rosary a genuine path to growth in holiness. We need but mention Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort, the author of an excellent work on the Rosary, and, closer to ourselves, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, whom I recently had the joy of canonizing.

As a true apostle of the Rosary, Blessed Bartolo Longo had a special charisma. His path to holiness rested on an inspiration heard in the depths of his heart: “Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!” As a result, he felt called to build a Church dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Pompeii, against the background of the ruins of the ancient city, which scarcely heard the proclamation of Christ before being buried in 79 A.D. during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, only to emerge centuries later from its ashes as a witness to the lights and shadows of classical civilization.

Corínthi item natális sanctórum Crispi et Caji, quorum méminit sanctus Paulus Apóstolus ad Corínthios scribens.
 At Corinth, the birthday of the Saints Crispus and Caius, who are mentioned by the apostle St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians.
 
96 Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop of Athens The Hieromartyr; When the holy Apostle Paul preached at the place on the Hill of Ares (Acts 17:16-34), Dionysius accepted his salvific proclamation and became a Christian. For three years St Dionysius remained a companion of the holy Apostle Paul in preaching the Word of God. Later on, the Apostle Paul selected him as bishop of the city of Athens. And in the year 57 St Dionysius was present at the repose of the Most Holy Theotokos.
      Saint Rusticus a disciple of St Dionysius the Areopagite. He suffered martyrdom in Athens during
      the persecution of the emperor Domitian (81-96).
     Saint Eleutherius was a disciple of St Dionysius the Areopagite. He suffered martyrdom in Athens
     during the persecution of the emperor Domitian (81-96).
 265 St. Dionysius; Called “the Great” by Eusebius, St. Basil, and others, was undoubtedly, after St. Cyprian, the most eminent bishop of the third century. Like St. Cyprian he was less a great theologian than a great administrator. Like St. Cyprian his writings usually took the form of letters. Both saints were converts from paganism; both were engaged in the controversies as to the restoration of those who had lapsed in the Decian persecution, about Novatian, and with regard to the iteration of heretical baptism; both corresponded with the popes of their day. Yet it is curious that neither mentions the name of the other. A single letter of Dionysius has been preserved in Greek canon law. For the rest we are dependent on the many citations by Eusebius, and, for one phase, to the works of his great successor St. Athanasius. (Bishop from 247-8 to 264-5.)
 287 St. Candidus a member of the Theban Legion
 Eódem die sanctórum Mártyrum Dionysii, Fausti, Caji, Petri, Pauli et aliórum quátuor, qui primum, sub Décio, multa passi sunt, ac demum, sub Valeriáno, ab Æmiliáno Præside diu torméntis vexáti, martyrii palmam meruérunt.

 546 St. Cyprian Bishop of Toulon; The life of St. Caesarius of Arles is one of the most valuable biographical remains of the sixth century.  Cyprian was aided in his task by the two bishops, Firminus and Viventius, friends of Caesarius, as well as by the priest Messianus and the deacon Stephen. The main part of the work up to the fortieth chapter of the first book was most probably written by Cyprian himself. Within the last few years another writing of his has become known, a letter to Bishop Maximus of Geneva, which discusses some of the disputed theological questions of that age.
587-596 Saint John the Chozebite (between Jerusalem and Jericho), Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine; famed for his struggle against the Eutychian heresy, and for his grace-filled gifts of discernment and wonderworking. He was born in the Egyptian city of Thebes and while still a youth he spent a long time in the Thebaid desert with his uncle, who was an ascetic; performed many miracles until he fell asleep in the Lord; whenever he served the Divine Liturgy, he would see a heavenly light in the altar.
 695 Two Ewalds both priests from Northumbria went into country of the Old Saxons in West­phalia to preach the gospel; named in the Roman Martyrology venerated as patrons of Westphalia feast also kept by the Premonstratensian canons regular, whom St Norbert obtained some of their relics in 1121.

1282 St Thomas Cantelupe, Bishop Of Hereford; in Oxford lectured in canon law; in 1262 chosen chancellor of the university. Thomas was always noted for his charity to poor students; he was also a strict disciplinarian; went to confession every day; buried at Orvieto; soon his relics were conveyed to Hereford, where his shrine in the cathedral became the most frequented in the west of England; Miracles were soon reported (four hundred and twenty-nine are given in the acts of canonization) and the process was begun at the request of King Edward I it was achieved in the year 1320. He is named in the Roman Martyrology on the day of his death, but his feast is kept by the Canons Regular of the Lateran and the dioceses of Birmingham (commemoration only) and Shrewsbury on this October 3, by Cardiff and Salford on the 5th, and Westminster on the 22nd.
15th v. Saint Dionysius, Hermit of the Kiev Caves, Far Caves, called Schepa
1521 Bd Dominic Spadafora; Order of Preachers at Palermo; sent to the house of studies at Padua, where he took his degrees and spent some years teaching; sent for to Rome to be on the staff of the master general, Father Joachim Torriano; charge of a new foundation at the shrine of our Lady of Grace near Monte Cerignone. remained here for 28 years, undertaking long missionary journeys and winning many souls to Christ

“The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....’ Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory” Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.
1953 Blessed Bogdanffy bishop martryred in Romania Oct 3 1953

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). 
“The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ.”

THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE BELIEVED POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI

   THE saints and just, from the beginning of time and throughout the world, who have been made perfect, everlasting monuments of God’s infinite power and clemency, praise His goodness without ceasing; casting their crowns before His throne they give to Him all the glory of their triumphs: “His gifts alone in us He crowns.”

The POPES HTML
Pius IX 1846--1878 • Leo XIII 1878-1903 • Pius X 1903-1914• Benedict XV 1914-1922 • Pius XI 1922-1939 • Pius XII 1939-1958 • John XXIII 1958-1963 • Paul VI 1963 to 1978 • John Paul • John Paul II 10/16/1975-4/2/2005Benedict XVI

“The answers to many of life's questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious.”  1913 Saint Barsanuphius
Paul VI_Athenagoras_05_01_1964
 “To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland” (#1).







Benedict XVI_Archbishop_Hilarion
Benedict XVI receives Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion n September 18th, Pope Benedict XVI;  Archbishop Hilarion, president of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow.
The Orthodox Archbishop is currently visiting the Vatican at the invitation of Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
This Pontifical Council underlined that the visit will confirm the ties of friendship between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, with a view to closer collaboration and to favor the presence of the Church in the lives of the peoples of Europe and the world.
In addition, a further step in ecumenical relations is scheduled for the month of October in Cyprus: the meeting of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which will address the theme of Petrine Primacy.
Aram I Catholicos
Our meeting is an opportunity to pray and reflect together, and to renew our commitment and efforts for Christian unity.
Armenian church members from all over the world join with Catholicos in making pilgrimages to Rome.

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 17

I will love thee, O Lady of heaven and earth: and I will call upon thy name in the nations.
Give praise to her, ye who are troubled in heart: and she will strengthen you against your enemies.
Give to us, O Lady, the grace of thy breasts:
from the dropping milk of thy sweetness refresh the inmost souls of thy children.
Honor her, O all ye religious: for she is your helper and your special advocate.
Be thou our refreshment, glorious Mother of Christ: for thou art the admirable foundation of the religious life.

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos  Practical Guide to Holiness

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.

Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

How do I start the Five First Saturdays?

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.

1.    Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2.    I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3.    The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4.    It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means.  5.    The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6.    Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.  God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7.    Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8.    Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9.    I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10.    The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.  11.    You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12.    I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13.    I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14.    All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15.    Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac
  Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., V,xxiii).
Aramaic continued to be an important language for Jews, alongside Hebrew, and parts of the Talmud are written in it.
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.

Great men covet to embrace martyrdom for a cause and principle.

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

Talk is weak. Prayer is strong. Pray!  God bless you, Father John Corapi

Father Corapi's Biography Father John Corapi is what has commonly been called a late vocation. In other words, he came to the priesthood other than a young man. He was 44 years old when he was ordained. From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions with the simple message that God's Name is Mercy! Father Corapi's academic credentials are quite extensive. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University in the seventies. Then as an older man returned to the university classrooms in preparation for his life as a priest and preacher. He received all of his academic credentials for the Church with honors: a Masters degree in Sacred Scripture from Holy Apostles Seminary and Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctorate degrees in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre in Spain. Since his ordination to the priesthood in 1991 Fr. Corapi has traveled over 2,000,000 miles preaching the Gospel. He has preached in 49 of the 50 states, all of the Canadian provinces except NewFoundland, and several other foreign countries. He is currently engaged in preaching and teaching the Catholic faith by way of the means of social communication: television, radio, the internet, and various other multi-media formats.

96 Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop of Athens The Hieromartyr; When the holy Apostle Paul preached at the place on the Hill of Ares (Acts 17:16-34), Dionysius accepted his salvific proclamation and became a Christian. For three years St Dionysius remained a companion of the holy Apostle Paul in preaching the Word of God. Later on, the Apostle Paul selected him as bishop of the city of Athens. And in the year 57 St Dionysius was present at the repose of the Most Holy Theotokos.

   St Dionysius lived originally in the city of Athens. He was raised there and received a classical Greek education. He then went to Egypt, where he studied astronomy at the city of Heliopolis. It was in Heliopolis, along with his friend Apollophonos where he witnessed the solar eclipse that occurred at the moment of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ by Crucifixion. "Either the Creator of all the world now suffers, or this visible world is coming to an end," Dionysius said. Upon his return to Athens from Egypt, he was chosen to be a member of the Areopagus Council (Athenian high court).

During the lifetime of the Mother of God, St Dionysius had journeyed from Athens to Jerusalem to meet Her. He wrote to his teacher the Apostle Paul: "I witness by God, that besides the very God Himself, there is nothing else filled with such divine power and grace. No one can fully comprehend what I saw. I confess before God: when I was with John, who shone among the Apostles like the sun in the sky, when I was brought before the countenance of the Most Holy Virgin, I experienced an inexpressible sensation. Before me gleamed a sort of divine radiance which transfixed my spirit. I perceived the fragrance of indescribable aromas and was filled with such delight that my very body became faint, and my spirit could hardly endure these signs and marks of eternal majesty and heavenly power. The grace from her overwhelmed my heart and shook my very spirit. If I did not have in mind your instruction, I should have mistaken Her for the very God. It is impossible to stand before greater blessedness than this which I beheld."

After the death of the Apostle Paul, St Dionysius wanted to continue with his work, and therefore went off preaching in the West, accompanied by the Presbyter Rusticus and Deacon Eleutherius. They converted many to Christ at Rome, and then in Germany, and then in Spain. In Gaul, during a persecution against Christians by the pagan authorities, all three confessors were arrested and thrown into prison. By night St Dionysius celebrated the Divine Liturgy with angels of the Lord. In the morning the martyrs were beheaded. According to an old tradition, St Dionysius took up his head, proceeded with it to the church and fell down dead there. A pious woman named Catulla buried the relics of the saint.

265 St. Dionysius Called "the Great" by Eusebius, St. Basil, and others, was undoubtedly, after St. Cyprian, the most eminent bishop of the third century. Like St. Cyprian he was less a great theologian than a great administrator. Like St. Cyprian his writings usually took the form of letters. Both saints were converts from paganism; both were engaged in the controversies as to the restoration of those who had lapsed in the Decian persecution, about Novatian, and with regard to the iteration of heretical baptism; both corresponded with the popes of their day. Yet it is curious that neither mentions the name of the other. A single letter of Dionysius has been preserved in Greek canon law. For the rest we are dependent on the many citations by Eusebius, and, for one phase, to the works of his great successor St. Athanasius.  (Bishop from 247-8 to 264-5.)

Called "the Great" by Eusebius, St. Basil, and others, was undoubtedly, after St. Cyprian, the most eminent bishop of the third century. Like St. Cyprian he was less a great theologian than a great administrator. Like St. Cyprian his writings usually took the form of letters. Both saints were converts from paganism; both were engaged in the controversies as to the restoration of those who had lapsed in the Decian persecution, about Novatian, and with regard to the iteration of heretical baptism; both corresponded with the popes of their day. Yet it is curious that neither mentions the name of the other. A single letter of Dionysius has been preserved in Greek canon law. For the rest we are dependent on the many citations by Eusebius, and, for one phase, to the works of his great successor St. Athanasius.

Dionysius was an old man when he died, so that his birth will fall about 190, or earlier. He is said to have been of distinguished parentage. He became a Christian when still young. At a later period, when he was warned by a priest of the danger he ran in studying the books of heretics, a vision–so he informs us–assured him that he was capable of proving all things, and that this faculty had in fact been the cause of his conversion. He studied under Origen. The latter was banished by Demetrius about 231, and Heraclas took his place at the head of the catechetical school. On the death of Demetrius very soon afterwards, Heraclas became bishop, and Dionysius took the headship of the famous school. It is thought that he retained this office even when he himself had succeeded Heraclas as bishop.
   In the last year of Philip, 249, although the emperor himself was reported to be a Christian, a riot at Alexandria, roused by a popular prophet and poet, had all the effect of a severe persecution. It is described by Dionysius in a letter to Fabius of Antioch. The mob first seized an old man named Metras, beat him with clubs when he would not deny his faith, pierced his eyes and face with reeds, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him. Then a woman named Quinta, who would not sacrifice, was drawn along the rough pavement by the feet, dashed against millstones, scourged, and finally stoned in the same suburb. The houses of the faithful were plundered. Not one, so far as the bishop knew, apostatized. The aged virgin, Apollonia, after her teeth had been knocked out, sprang of her own accord into the fire prepared for her rather than utter blasphemies. Serapion had all his limbs broken, and was dashed down from the upper story of his own house. It was impossible for any Christian to go into the streets, even at night, for the mob was shouting that all who would not blaspheme should be burnt.
   The riot was stopped by the civil war, but the new Emperor Decius instituted a legal persecution in January, 250. St. Cyprian describes how at Carthage the Christians rushed to sacrifice, or at least to obtain false certificates of having done so. Similarly Dionysius tells us that at Alexandria many conformed through fear, others on account of official position, or persuaded by friends; some pale and trembling at their act, others boldly asserting that they had never been Christians. Some endured imprisonment for a time; others abjured only at the sight of tortures; others held out until the tortures conquered their resolution.
   But there were noble instances of constancy. Julian and Kronion were scourged through the city on camels, and then burnt to death. A soldier, Besas, who protected them from the insults of the people, was beheaded. Macar, a Libyan, was burnt alive. Epimachus and Alexander, after long imprisonment and many tortures, were also burnt, with four women. The virgin Ammomarion also was long tortured. The aged Mercuria and Dionysia, a mother of many children, suffered by the sword. Heron, Ater, and Isidore, Egyptians, after many tortures were given to the flames. A boy of fifteen, Dioscorus, who stood firm under torture, was dismissed by the judge for very shame. Nemesion was tortured and scourged, and then burnt between two robbers. A number of soldiers, and with them an old man named Ingenuus, made indignant signs to one who was on his trial and about to apostatize. When called to order they cried out that they were Christians with such boldness that the governor and his assessors were taken aback; they suffered a glorious martyrdom. Numbers were martyred in the cities and villages. A steward named Ischyrion was pierced through the stomach by his master with a large stake because he refused to sacrifice. Many fled, wandered in the deserts and the mountains, and were cut off by hunger, thirst, cold, sickness, robbers, or wild beasts. A bishop named Chæremon escaped with his súmbios (wife?) to the Arabian mountain, and was no more heard of. Many were carried off as slaves by the Saracens and some of these were later ransomed for large sums.

   Some of the lapsed had been readmitted to Christian fellowship by the martyrs. Dionysius urged upon Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, who was inclined to join Novatian, that it was right to respect this judgment delivered by blessed martyrs "now seated with Christ, and sharers in His Kingdom and assessors in His judgment". He adds the story of an old man, Serapion, who after a long and blameless life had sacrificed, and could obtain absolution from no one. On his death-bed he sent his grandson to fetch a priest. The priest was ill, but he gave a particle of the Eucharist to the child, telling him to moisten it and place it in the old man's mouth. Serapion received it with joy, and immediately expired. Sabinus, the prefect, sent a frumentarius (detective) to search for Dionysius directly after the decree was published; he looked everywhere but in Dionysius's own house, where the saint had quietly remained. On the fourth day he was inspired to depart, and he left at night, with his domestics and certain brethren. But it seems that he was soon made prisoner, for soldiers escorted the whole party to Taposiris in the Mareotis. A certain Timotheus, who had not been taken with the others, informed a passing countryman, who carried the news to a wedding-feast he was attending. All instantly rose up and rushed to release the bishop. The soldiers took to flight, leaving their prisoners on their uncushioned litters. Dionysius, believing his rescuers to be robbers, held out his clothes to them, retaining only his tunic. They urged him to rise and fly. He begged them to leave him, declaring that they might as well cut off his head at once, as the soldiers would shortly do so. He let himself down on the ground on his back; but they seized him by the hands and feet and dragged him away, carrying him out of the little town, and setting him on an ass without a saddle. With two companions, Gaius and Peter, he remained in a desert place in Libya until the persecution ceased in 251.

The whole Christian world was then thrown into confusion by the news that Novatian claimed the Bishopric of Rome in opposition to Pope Cornelius. Dionysius at once took the side of the latter, and it was largely by his influence that the whole East, after much disturbance, was brought in a few months into unity and harmony. Novatian wrote to him for support. His curt reply has been preserved entire: Novatian can easily prove the truth of his protestation that he was consecrated against his will by voluntarily retiring; he ought to have suffered martyrdom rather than divide the Church of God; indeed it would have been a particularly glorious martyrdom on behalf of the whole Church (such is the importance attached by Dionysius to a schism at Rome); if he can even now persuade his party to make peace, the past will be forgotten; if not, let him save his own soul.
St. Dionysius also wrote many letters on this question to Rome and to the East; some of these were treatises on penance. He took a somewhat milder view than Cyprian, for he gave greater weight to the "indulgences" granted by the martyrs, and refused forgiveness in the hour of death to none.

After the persecution the pestilence.
Dionysius describes it more graphically than does St. Cyprian, and he reminds us of Thucydides and Defoe. The heathen thrust away their sick, fled from their own relatives, threw bodies half dead into the streets; yet they suffered more than the Christians, whose heroic acts of mercy are recounted by their bishop. Many priests, deacons, and persons of merit died from succouring others, and this death, writes Dionysius, was in no way inferior to martyrdom.

The baptismal controversy spread from Africa throughout the East.
Dionysius was far from teaching, like Cyprian, that baptism by a heretic rather befouls than cleanses; but he was impressed by the opinion of many bishops and some councils that repetition of such a baptism was necessary, and it appears that he besought Pope Stephen not to break off communion with the Churches of Asia on this account. He also wrote on the subject to Dionysius of Rome, who was not yet pope, and to a Roman named Philemon, both of whom had written to him.
   We know seven letters from him on the subject, two being addressed to Pope Sixtus II. In one of these he asks advice in the case of a man who had received baptism a long time before from heretics, and now declared that it had been improperly performed. Dionysius had refused to renew the sacrament after the man had so many years received the Holy Eucharist; he asks the pope's opinion. In this case it is clear that the difficulty was in the nature of the ceremonies used, not in the mere fact of their having been performed by heretics. We gather than Dionysius himself followed the Roman custom, either by the tradition of his Church, or else out of obedience to the decree of Stephen. In 253 Origen died; he had not been at Alexandria for many years. But Dionysius had not forgotten his old master, and wrote a letter in his praise to Theotecnus of Cæsarea.

  An Egyptian bishop, Nepos, taught the Chiliastic error that there would be a reign of Christ upon earth for a thousand years, a period of corporal delights; he founded this doctrine upon the Apocalypse in a book entitled "Refutation of the Allegorizers". It was only after the death of Nepos that Dionysius found himself obliged to write two books "On the Promises" to counteract this error. He treats Nepos with great respect, but rejects his doctrine, as indeed the Church has since done, though it was taught by Papias, Justin, Irenæus, Victorinus of Pettau, and others.

   The diocese proper to Alexandria was still very large (though Heraclas is said to have instituted new bishoprics), and the Arsinoite nome formed a part of it. Here the error was very prevalent, and St. Dionysius went in person to the villages, called together the priests and teachers, and for three days instructed them, refuting the arguments they drew from the book of Nepos. He was much edified by the docile spirit and love of truth which he found. At length Korakion, who had introduced the book and the doctrine, declared himself convinced. The chief interest of the incident is not in the picture it gives of ancient Church life and of the wisdom and gentleness of the bishop, but in the remarkable disquisition, which Dionysius appends, on the authenticity of the Apocalypse. It is a very striking piece of "higher criticism", and for clearness and moderation, keenness and insight, is hardly to be surpassed. Some of the brethren, he tells us, in their zeal against Chiliastic error, repudiated the Apocalypse altogether, and took it chapter by chapter to ridicule it, attributing the authorship of it to Cerinthus (as we know the Roman Gaius did some years earlier).

 Dionysius treats it with reverence, and declares it to be full of hidden mysteries, and doubtless really by a man called John. (In a passage now lost, he showed that the book must be understood allegorically.) But he found it hard to believe that the writer could be the son of Zebedee, the author of the Gospel and of the Catholic Epistle, on account of the great contrast of character, style and "what is called working out".

   He shows that the one writer calls himself John, whereas the other only refers to himself by some periphrasis. He adds the famous remark, that "it is said that there are two tombs in Ephesus, both of which are called that of John". He demonstrates the close likeness between the Gospel and the Epistle, and points out the wholly different vocabulary of the Apocalypse; the latter is full of solecisms and barbarisms, while the former are in good Greek. This acute criticism was unfortunate, in that it was largely the cause of the frequent rejection of the Apocalypse in the Greek-speaking Churches, even as late as the Middle Ages. Dionysius's arguments appeared unanswerable to the liberal critics of the nineteenth century. Lately the swing of the pendulum has brought many, guided by Bousset, Harnack, and others, to be impressed rather by the undeniable points of contact between the Gospel and the Apocalypse, than by the differences of style (which can be explained by a different scribe and interpreter, since the author of both books was certainly a Jew), so that even Loisy admits that the opinion of the numerous and learned conservative scholars "no longer appears impossible". But it should be noted that the modern critics have added nothing to the judicious remarks of the third-century patriarch.

The Emperor Valerian, whose accession was in 253, did not persecute until 257.
In that year St. Cyprian was banished to Curubis, and St. Dionysius to Kephro in the Mareotis, after being tried together with one priest and two deacons before Æmilianus, the prefect of Egypt. He himself relates the firm answers he made to the prefect, writing to defend himself against a certain Germanus, who had accused him of a disgraceful flight.
   Cyprian suffered in 258, but Dionysius was spared, and returned to Alexandria directly when toleration was decreed by Gallienus in 260. But not to peace, for in 261-2 the city was in a state of tumult little less dangerous than a persecution. The great thoroughfare which traversed the town was impassable. The bishop had to communicate with his flock by letter, as though they were in different countries. It was easier, he writes, to pass from East to West, than from Alexandria to Alexandria.
Famine and pestilence raged anew. The inhabitants of what was still the second city of the world had decreased so that the males between fourteen and eighty were now scarcely so numerous as those between forty and seventy had been not many years before.

 A controversy arose in the latter years of Dionysius of which the half-Arian Eusebius has been careful to make no mention. All we know is from St. Athanasius. Some bishops of the Pentapolis of Upper Libya fell into Sabellianism and denied the distinctness of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. Dionysius wrote some four letters to condemn their error, and sent copies to Pope Sixtus II (257-8). But he himself fell, so far as words go, into the opposite error, for he said the Son is a poíema (something made) and distinct in substance, xénos kat’ oùsian, from the Father, even as is the husbandman from the vine, or a shipbuilder from a ship. These words were seized upon by the Arians of the fourth century as plain Arianism. But Athanasius defended Dionysius by telaling the sequel of the history. Certain brethren of Alexandria, being offended at the words of their bishop, betook themselves to Rome to Pope St. Dionysius (259- 268), who wrote a letter, in which he declared that to teach that the Son was made or was a creature was an impiety equal, though contrary, to that of Sabellius. He also wrote to his namesake of Alexandria informing him of the accusation brought against him.
   The latter immediately composed books entitled "Refutation" and "Apology"; in these he explicitly declared that there never was a time when God was not Father, that Christ always was, being Word and Wisdom and Power, and coeternal, even as brightness is not posterior to the light from which it proceeds. He teaches the "Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity"; he clearly implies the equality and eternal procession of the Holy Ghost.
In these last points he is more explicit than St. Athanasius himself is elsewhere, while in the use of the word consubstantial, ‘omooúsios, he anticipates Nicæa, for he bitterly complains of the calumny that he had rejected the expression. But however he himself and his advocate Athanasius may attempt to explain away his earlier expressions, it is clear that he had been incorrect in thought as well as in words, and that he did not at first grasp the true doctrine with the necessary distinctness. The letter of the pope was evidently explicit and must have been the cause of the Alexandrian's clearer vision. The pope, as Athanasius points out, gave a formal condemnation of Arianism long before that heresy emerged. When we consider the vagueness and incorrectness in the fourth century of even the supporters of orthodoxy in the East, the decision of the Apostolic See will seem a marvellous testimony to the doctrine of the Fathers as to the unfailing faith of Rome.

We find Dionysius issuing yearly, like the later bishops of Alexandria, festal letters announcing the date of Easter and dealing with various matters. When the heresy of Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, began to trouble the East, Dionysius wrote to the Church of Antioch on the subject, as he was obliged to decline the invitation to attend a synod there, on the score of his age and infirmities. He died soon afterwards. St. Dionysius is in the Roman Martyrology on 17 Nov., but he is also intended, with the companions of his flight in the Decian persecution, by the mistaken notice on 3 Oct.: Dionysius, Faustus, Gaius, Peter, and Paul, Martyrs(!). The same error is found in Greek menologies.

In Palæstína sancti Hesychii Confessóris, qui fuit sancti Hilariónis discípulus et in peregrinatióne sócius.
 In Palestine, St. Hesychius, confessor, disciple of St. Hilarion, and the companion of his travels.

A sufficient account of St Hesychius is provided in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. ii. It is mainly derived from St Jerome; but see later under Hilarion, October 21. 

These two bishops were among the great figures of the early days of the reconquest of Spain from the Moors, and both find a place in the Roman Martyrology, Froilan today and Attilanus on the 5th. We are told that Froilan came from Lugo in Galicia and at 18 lived as a hermit in the wilderness. Among his disciples was Attilanus, who came to him when he was only 15. Together they organized their followers into a monastic community at Moreruela in Old Castile. They were promoted to the episcopate together, and consecrated to the adjoining sees of Leon and Zarnora. St Froilan was a restorer of monasticism in Spain, and the martyrology speaks of his great charity to the poor. He died probably in 905.

The account of these saints in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iii (under October 5), is mainly based upon Lobera, Historia de las grandezas…de Leon y de su Obispo S. Froylan (1596) though some mild satire is aimed at that writer’s belief that when a wolf killed the donkey which carried the bishop’s luggage, St Froilan compelled the wolf to do penance by serving him for many years in the same capacity of beast of burden. A Latin life (tenth century?) is printed in Florez, España Sagrada, vol. xxxiv, pp. 422—425. See also J. Gonzalez, St Froilan de Leon (1947). It does not even seem certain that the main object of the cultus was not another Bishop Froilan who lived a century later.

In diœcési Namurcénsi, apud Belgas, sancti Gerárdi Abbátis.
 In Belgium, in the diocese of Namur, St. Gerard, abbot.

THE county of Namur Belgium gave birth to this saint, towards the end of the ninth century. An engaging sweetness of temper gained him the esteem and affection of everyone, and his courtesy and beneficence gave charm to his virtue and made it shine. One day as Gerard returned from hunting, whilst the rest went to take refreshment, he stole into a retired chapel at Brogne, which was part of his own estate, and remained there a long time in prayer. He found so much sweetness therein that he rose from it with sadness and said to himself, How happy are they who have no other obligation but to praise the Lord night and day, and who live always in His presence”. To procure this happiness for others and their incessant tribute and honour to the supreme majesty of God was to be the work of his life. He is alleged told by Saint Peter , in a vision, to bring to Brogne the relics of St Eugenius, a companion of St Dionysius of Paris.  Later the monks of Saint-Denis gave him what purported to be the relics of this martyr and St Gerard enshrined them at Brogne. Thereupon he was accused to the bishop of Liège of promoting the veneration of relics of doubtful authenticity. But the bishop was satisfied by the miraculous intervention of St Eugenius, and Gerard himself became a monk at Saint-Denis.

   Gerard after his profession laboured every day with greater fervour to carry Christian virtues to their noblest heights, and in due course he received priestly orders, though his humility was not overcome in his promotion without difficulty. When he had lived eleven years in this monastery he was allowed in 919 to found an abbey of monks upon his estate at Brogne. This done, and finding the charge of a numerous community break in too much upon his retirement, he built himself a cell near the church and lived in it as a recluse. God some time after called him to an active life, and Gerard was obliged to undertake the reformation of the abbey of Saint-Ghislain, six miles from Mons, in which house he established the Rule of St Benedict and the most admirable discipline the religious had been in the habit of carrying the relics of their holy founder about the countryside, and exposing them for money which they put to bad uses. St Gerard carried out this difficult work with such prudence that the count of Flanders, Arnulf, whom the saint had miraculously cured of the stone and whom he had engaged to take up a better life, committed to him the general inspection and reformation of all the abbeys in Flanders. In the course of the next twenty years or so he introduced new and exact discipline in numerous monasteries, including some in Normandy, his reforms being carried out on the lines of the work of St Benedict of Aniane. But though St Gerard was widely honoured as a restorer of monastic discipline, not all monks were amenable to his efforts. Some of those of Saint-Bertin, for instance, migrated to England rather than follow a more austere life they were welcomed by King Edmund, who in 944 accommodated them at the abbey of Bath.

  No fatigues made the saint abate anything of his own austerities or interrupt the communication of his soul with God. When he had spent almost twenty years in these trying labours and was broken with age, he made a general visitation of all the monasteries that were under his direction, and when he had finished shut himself up in his cell at Brogne to prepare his soul to go to receive the reward of his labours, to which he was called on October 3 in 959.

Born in Namur, Belgium, and trained at the French court, Gerard joined the Benedictines at Saint-Denis, France. Ordained, Gerard founded a monastery on his own estate in Brogne, Belgium. He reformed monasteries in Lorraine and Champagne, France, and Flanders, Belgium, and died in Brogne on October 3.
Born at Staves in the county of Namur, towards the end of the ninth century; died at Brogne or St-Gérard, 3 Oct. 959. The son of Stance, of the family of dukes of Lower Austrasia, and of Plectrude, sister of Stephen, Bishop of Liège, the young Gérard, like most omen of his rank, followed at first the career of arms. His piety, however, was admirable amid the distractions of camp. He transformed into a large church a modest chapel situated on the estate of Brogne which belonged to his family.
About 917, the Count of Namur charged him with a mission to Robert, younger brother of Eudes, King of France. He permitted his followers to reside at Paris, but himself went to live at the Abbey of St-Denis, where he was so struck by the deifying lives of the monks that, at the conclusion of his embassy, with the consent of the Count of Namur and Bishop Stephen, his maternal uncle, he returned to St-Denis, took the religious habit, and after eleven years was ordained priest.

He then requested to be allowed to return to Brogne, where he replaced the lax clerics with monks animated by a true religious spirit. Thereupon he himself retired to a cell near the monastery for more austere mortification. From this retreat he was summoned by the Archbishop of Cambrai who confided to him the direction of the community of St-Ghislain in Hainault. Here also he established monks instead of the canons, whose conduct had ceased to be exemplary, and he enforced the strictest monastic discipline.
Gradually he became superior of eighteen other abbeys situated in the region between the Meuse, the Somme, and the sea, and through his efforts the Order of St. Benedict was soon completely restored throughout this region. Weighed down by age and infirmities, he placed vicars or abbots in his stead, in the various abbeys with which he was charged, and retired to that of Brogne. He still had courage to take a journey to Rome in order to obtain a Bull confirming the privileges of that abbey. On his return he paid a final visit to all the communities which he had reorganized, and then awaited death at Brogne. His body is still preserved at Brogne, now commonly called St-Gérard.

Belgian noblility; son of Stance and Plectrude. Raised in a military atmosphere. Courtier to the Count of Namur. Disappointed by court life, and ashamed of the many privileges he received from his family and military post, Gerard realized that he was called to the monastic life.

He found Belgian monasteries too lax in their discipline. While visiting France in 917 on a mission from the Count, Gerard decided the life of the monks of Saint Denis was right for him. He settled his worldly affairs, and took vows at the monastery. There Gerard became an example to other monks in following the Rule, and in his devotion to prayer. His life, and his encouragement of the brothers, helped Saint Denis becoming an example for monasteries throughout Europe.

Ordained, but wrestled with feelings of inadequacy as a priest. After 11 years, the abbot asked Gerard to return home to form a monastery there. Abbot of the new monastery, he soon gained renown for his strict observance of the Benedictine Rule. This led many religious and political leaders to request that he reform monasteries throughout Flanders, Lorraine, and Champagne. Near the end of his life Gerard returned to the monastery he built, and spent the rest of his life there in solitude and prayer.
Born  c.895 at Staves, Namur, Belgium  Died 3 October 959 at Brogne, Belgium
Additional Information Act of Charles III, granting royal protection and immunity to the monastery of Brogne, founded by Gerard

1165 St. Adalgott Bishop comforter of the poor
Adalgott was a monk in the Benedictine Monastery of Clairvaux, where St. Bernard trained his successors. He was appointed the abbot of the Benedictines in Dissentis, where he became known  for his care of the sick and poor. When Adalgott was named bishop of Chur, he conducted an apostolate for the suffering of the region, founding a hospital in 1150.

Monk at Clairvaux under the director of Saint Bernard. Abbot at Dissentis. Bishop of Chur where he founded a hospital in 1150. Known throughout his life for his concern for and ministry to the sick, and his use of position and title to help them .

1645 Saint John Masias Marvelous Dominican Gatekeeper of Lima, Peru truly a "child of God." saint of simplicity charity levitated Many miracles were attributed; saved souls in purgatory
(1585-1645) Some saints have been brilliant leaders who steered their way through complicated courses.  Others have been renowned rather for their childlike simplicity.  St. John Masias of Lima, Peru, a friend and fellow Dominican of St. Martin de Porres, was like Martin, truly a "child of God."
John, a native of Rivera, Plasencia, Spain, is said to have been descended from a noble family that had become impoverished.  Whatever his lineage, he was orphaned at an early age, and raised by an uncle, who made him tend sheep to support himself and his brothers and sisters.  With no opportunity for schooling, Juan grew up illiterate.  The solitude of shepherding, however, gave him, as it has given to other saints, ample opportunity for recollection and prayer.  Sometimes as he recited the rosary, he sensed the presence of Our Lady and St. John the Evangelist.
When he was 21, he felt inspired by St. John the Evangelist to migrate to South America--a popular choice of many Spaniards in those days when Spain was colonizing Latin America.  The merchant who took him across the Atlantic abandoned him at Cartagena, Colombia, because he could neither read nor write.  Making his way gradually to Lima, John entered the employ of a landholder who assigned him to work with his cattle and sheep.  "On retreat" again among the animals, Masias resumed his old devotional schedule.
Around 1621, Juan decided to apply for entry into the Dominicans as a lay brother.  Giving away what remained of his savings, he was clothed in the Dominican habit at the Lima convent of St. Mary Magdalen.  During his Dominican career Brother John held only one post, that of porter of the convent, but it was in this role that he earned heaven.
The monastic life suited John to a "T". He embraced penitential practices so harsh that his prior ordered him to tone them down. Though he had lost the sheepfold as a favored place of private prayer, he found a hidden corner in the monastery garden that he called his Gethsemane.
But John became noted particularly for his works of charity.  Every day the poor, the sick and the abandoned would come to the door to receive bread from him. (The convent still preserves the basket he used to hold the loaves.) If his beloved poor were too shy to come begging at the convent, he would search them out in their own homes.

Collecting the food to give was his preliminary duty.
To save himself time in begging door to door, he trained the priory's donkey to go about town alone with baskets on its back.  When the people saw it coming, they would put food and clothing into its baskets for Brother Juan to distribute.  Nor did John content himself with silent almsgiving.  His contact with the needy gave him an opportunity to advise them and encourage them to love God and live good lives.  There is no doubt that Blessed Juan copied this style of apostolate from his good friend, fellow-Dominican lay brother and fellow townsman, the holy mulatto St. Martin de Porres.  Many miracles were attributed to Brother John.
Historians have often criticized the Spaniards who colonized Peru and other parts of Latin America for greed and harshness.  But we must not forget the bright side, the holy side of their colonial efforts.
Thus, Lima itself could boast of two saints early canonized: St. Rose of Lima and Archbishop St. Toribio de Mogrovejo.  More recent popes have added to that calendar two more, saints of simplicity and charity: St. Martin de Porres (canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII) and St. John Masias (canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI).  Of such is the kingdom of heaven.
--Father Robert F. McNamara

Name/Title: Saint John Masias - Marvelous Dominican Gatekeeper of Lima, Peru
Author:      Mary Fabyan Windeatt No. Pages:     156
"I'm going to see Father Prior about this!" sputtered old Father Francis, as the little group of priests and brothers peered into the chapel at Brother John. Brother John was praying ardently-several feet off the floor! "There is no need to have these... these acrobatics! And right in the sanctuary, too!"
The others did not know what to say. `Brother John is a saint," ventured one brother.
Father Francis, however, dismissed the wonder with a wave of his hand. "I'm quite sure that Brother John is a saint," he declared, "but I still see no reason for him to float about in the air! Some of our younger brothers may think they should be able to float in the air too!"
"Oh, no!" exclaimed one young priest. "That won't happen!"
"That's what you think!" came the reply. "I shall speak to Father Prior and ask him to put a stop to all such exhibitions. Brother John will have to obey him!"
What would the Prior say? Would he agree with Father Francis?
This book gives the answer. It also tells how John Masias came from Spain to the New World, how he was fired from a job because of his poor education, how he went on miraculous travels, how he fought the Devil, and how he freed over a million souls from Purgatory. All in all, this is the wonderful story of St. John Masias, the marvelous Dominican gatekeeper of Lima. Peru.

1856 Mother Theodore Guerin nuns who came from Europe to America Sisters of Providence heroic sanctity
(1798-1856) Mother Theodore Guerin belongs to that little cluster of nuns who came from Europe to America in our country's youth and pioneered here the Catholic faith, Catholic religious life, and Catholic education.
Anne-Therese Guerin, like several of these trail-blazing religious women, came from France. She was born in Etables, Brittany, on October 2, 1798, to parents noted for their integrity and devotion. She owed her early education and formation largely to her cousin, a seminarian who spent several years hiding in her home after the French Revolution shut down his seminary and scattered its students.
At age ten Anne-Therese decided to embrace a religious life. Her purpose was long postponed, however, because her father's death left the family impoverished, and her mother's invalidism demanded her own prolonged attention. Not until she was 25, in 1823, was she finally able to enter the Community of the Sisters of Providence at Ruille-sur-Loire. She took her first vows the following year.
Sister Theodore's instinct for the religious life and a teaching career quickly proved to have been correct. Appointed superior of the convent at Rennes as her first assignment, she developed there not only her managerial skills but also her mathematical talents, which were great. Eight years later she was transferred to Soulaines as superior. The French government was by now more friendly to religious, and it bestowed on Sister Theodore a decoration in public recognition of her educational efforts.
In the 1830s, a voice from America called Anne-Therese to Indiana. The bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, Simon Brute de Remur, himself a native of France, sought the Sisters of Providence as missionaries to Indiana. His successor, Bishop Celestin de la Hailandiere, completed the negotiations. The Sisters of Providence saw the invitation as providing growth to their community and giving them an opportunity to expand Christian education. The American foundation was to be independent of the French community. Mother Theodore was to head the undertaking.
The highly qualified foundress and her five companions arrived at St. Mary of the Woods on October 22, 1840. It had been no easy task for them to sever all ties to family and homeland. The journey itself was incredibly difficult, and Saint Mary of the Woods was more name than place. Yet despite the problems, Mother Guerin was able to open, after a few months, a boarding school for young girls, the first such school in Indiana, (out of it evolved the present College of Our Lady-of-the-Woods.) Before her death she established 10 other schools throughout Indiana.
Thanks to this impetus, the work of the Sisters of Providence later spread into other states, and in 1920 the work was carried to China. The novitiate set up by the foundress in Indiana still provides the training of the Sisters.

What prompted the Church to consider Mother Theodore a woman of heroic sanctity, deserving to be ranked as "blessed"?
I have a hunch that God picks as American saints people calculated to appeal to the American mentality.  Saints allotted to other countries may be mystics, visionaries, recipients of such charismatic gifts as prophecy, miracle-working, stigmatization, etc. While these graces cannot be excluded even here, holy American persons seem to win praise more by their heroic efforts to serve God in their neighbor. This, I think, is why Mother Teresa of Calcutta, while not an American, was hailed by Americans of every belief as a saint: her total philanthropy.
Mother Theodore Guerin accepted whatever came along in the work to which she was called, and carried through, come rain, come shine, in the strength of her intimate reliance on God. There were many "rainy days" in her task as foundress. The harsh challenge of the frontier. The shortage of food and necessities for her Sisters. The endless other contradictions of everyday life. And added to these was the antagonism of non-Catholic Hoosiers in those Anti-Catholic days, when there was a constant fear that enemies would burn down their convent, perhaps with all its residents inside, as had been threatened elsewhere in the "free" but often bigoted United States. There were also problems within the religious community itself: the defection of some of its members; the death of others; misunderstandings; the defamation of the Order itself (for seven years on the point of collapsing). Most grievous of all the trials was the opposition of Bishop Hailandiere. He sought to tamper with the rule of the Order, and when the Superior withstood him, he excommunicated her! The excommunication was brief, for the Bishop himself soon retired to France, and his successor promptly lifted the ban. All along she had maintained a serenity that could have been explained only by heroic faith, hope and charity. What an example she set for her nuns!
When Pope John Paul II beatified this remarkable religious in Rome on October 25, 1998, he gave a Christian model not only to the Hoosiers (Indianans) but to all Americans who appreciate greatness of character; --Father Robert F. McNamara

Mother Theodore; Anne-Thérèse Guérin
Daughter of Laurent and Isabelle Guérin. Joined the Sisters of Providence at Ruillé-sur-Loir, France on 18 August 1823, taking the name Sister Saint Theodore, and making her final vows on 5 September 1831. Taught in Rennes and Soulaines, France.
Sent with five other sisters (Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Sénéschal, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin) to the diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, USA on 22 October 1840. They established the Academy of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on 4 July 1841 at Terre Haute, Indiana, the first Catholic women's liberal-arts college in the United States. She established schools at Jasper, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Village, Vincennes, Montgomery, Madison, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Evansville, North Madison, Lanesville and Columbus, all in Indiana, and Saint Francisville in Illinois. Founded an orphanage for girls and one for boys in Vincennes, Indiana. Opened pharmacies where medicines were dispensed free to the poor at Vincennes and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Oversaw construction of a motherhouse for the Sisters of Providence and several additions to the Academy.
Born 2 October 1798 at Etables-sur-Mer, Brittany, France as Anne-Thérèse Guérin
Died 14 May 1856 at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, of natural causes; buried at Church of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, USA
Venerable 22 July 1992 by Pope John Paul II
Beatified  25 October 1998 by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
Canonized 15 October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI

Trust in God’s Providence enabled Mother Theodore to leave her homeland, sail halfway around the world and to found a new religious congregation.

Born in Etables, France, Anne-Thérèse’s life was shattered by her father’s murder when she was 15. For several years she cared for her mother and younger sister. She entered the Sisters of Providence in 1823, taking the name Sister St. Theodore. An illness during novitiate left her with lifelong fragile health; that did not keep her from becoming an accomplished teacher.

At the invitation of the bishop of Vincennes, she and five sisters were sent to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, to teach and to care for the sick poor. She was to establish a motherhouse and novitiate. Only later did she learn that her French superiors had already decided the sisters in the United States should form a new religious congregation under her leadership.

She and her community persevered despite fires, crop fail ures, prejudice against Catholic women religious, misunderstandings and separation from their original religious congregation. She once told her sisters, “Have confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us. The way is not yet clear. Grope along slowly. Do not press matters; be patient, be trustful.” Another time, she asked, “With Jesus, what shall we have to fear?” She is buried in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was beatified in 1998 and canonized in 2006.

 Feastday: December 7