Mary the Mother of Jesus

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being.-- Genesis 2:7

Saints of this Day October 08 Octávo Idus Octóbris

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!)

Saturday, October 08, 2011
Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Joel 4:12-21
Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
Luke 11:27-28

Accept as blessings the casualties that befall you, assured that nothing happens without God. -- Didache 3:10

Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary

Blessed Simeon; took our Lord Jesus in his arms prophesied concerning him when he was presented in the Temple.
250 St. Reparata Virgin martyr of Caesarea, in Palestine
300 St. Nestor Martyr
302 St. Palatias and Laurentia Christian martyrs
4th v. St. Artemon, priest, At Laodicea in Phrygia, during reign of Diocletian, gained crown of martyrdom by fire.

4th v. St. Thais Egyptian penitent; Repenting lifestyle through St. Paphnutius influence gave up money entered convent walled 3 years extreme penance for dissolute habits; at urging of St. Anthony, released permitted to join convent women, dying 5 days later.

St. Pelagia more often called Margaret actress of Antioch

4th v. St. Triduna virgin assisted; Her shrine at Restalrig was long venerated until its destruction in 1560 during the
Scottish Reformation
St. Regulus in his mission to Scotland
St. Benedicta A virgin listed in the pre-1970 Roman Martyrology; birthday celebrated in Laon, France, as a martyr.
652 St GRATUS Profile French bishop at Chalons-sur-Saone. Died natural causes Canonized Pre-Congregation
690 St. Ywi Benedictine monk and hermit at Lindisfarne Abbey; ministry of miraculous healing; Spiritual student of
Saint Cuthbert at Lindisfarne
870 St. Badilo Benedictine abbot a monk at Vezelay France and became the abbot of Leuze in Hainault, Belgium.
9th v.St. Amor of Aquitaine Hermit founder of Munsterbilsen convent in Liege lived as a hermit in Maastricht, Belgium
1050 St. Martin Cid; Cistercian abbot-founder and co-worker with St. Bernard; founded Val-Paraiso, a Cistercian abbey
   staffed with monks sent by St. Bernard
   St. Keyne (Keyna or Cain) one of the 24 children King Brychan of Brecknock; founded numerous churches in
   South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps somerset
1230 HUGH CANEFRO Chaplain of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem at Genoa, Italy; Born 1168

1309 Bl. Matthew de Eskandely Martyr of China
Bl. Peter of Seville Martyr
1609 St. John Leonardi; formed Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; congregation confirmed by Pope Clement in 1595; deliberate policy of the founder, the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God never had more than 15 churches and today form only a very small congregation

“Do not cover that child's face. He will one day be the glory of this city.”

A few days later the child suddenly stretch out his twisted limbs, pronounced the name “Jesus”, and all deformity left him. Mystic with deep contemplative prayer life. Received ecstacies. Visionary. Known to levitate when preaching, and was seen circled in a mystic light in which flew bright birds.

1287 Ambrose Sansedoni of Siena

October 8 - Mary, Mother of Hungary The Messenger of the Mother of God (I)

In the suburbs of Paris, there lived a well known doctor named Louis Granpas. He was known for his great medical skills and his benevolence towards the poor. Louis came from a rich family and he had married the heiress of a great fortune. He was a fervent Christian and he took it as a duty to treat all his poor patients for free. He devoted all his spare time to the poor. Even during rare vacation times, he found a way to continue treating poor patients for nothing. One Sunday, He returned late in the night after a medical congress. He had a heavy trunk with him and signaled to a taxi and gave the driver his address. The driver had a grim face and the strength of Hercules. He grabbed the trunk and set in on the seat close to him and he said in a dry tone: “Get in!” Usually, Mr. Granpas would not judge anybody according to his appearance, but the driver’s manners appeared strange to him. He was even more astonished when the fellow hit the gas and raced down the street in the opposite direction. The doctor opened the door and ordered the driver to stop. But he didn’t listen and carried on down the street at a neck-breaking speed. Then he left the city, taking a bad never-ending road…Instinctively, the passenger wanted to seize his revolver. He remembered that he had left it in the trunk, which was next to the driver. At that point, he found his rosary, which he always had on him and entrusted the outcome of this adventure to the Mother of God.

Testimony of Suzanne Voiteau, in “Maria Regina”, #11, 1952, Told by Brother Albert Pfleger

October 8 - Act of Entrustment to Mary by Pope John Paul II
We Entrust to You the New Millennium

Today we wish to entrust to you the future that awaits us, and we ask you to be with us on our way. We are the men and women of an extraordinary time, exhilarating yet full of contradictions. Humanity now has instruments of unprecedented power: we can turn this world into a garden, or reduce it to a pile of rubble. We have devised the astounding capacity to intervene in the very well-springs of life: man can use this power for good, within the bounds of the moral law, or he can succumb to the short-sighted pride of a science which accepts no limits, but tramples on the respect due to every human being.

Today as never before in the past, humanity stands at a crossroads. And once again, O Virgin Most Holy, salvation lies fully and uniquely in Jesus, your Son.

Pope John Paul II in the presence of 1,500 bishops in Rome, on October 8, 2000

1274 St. Thomas Aquinas Philosopher, theologian, doctor of the Church (Angelicus Doctor), patron of Catholic universities, colleges, and schools.

Blessed Pope Innocent V 1277 Pierre de Tarentaise -a simple, humble friar Blessed Pope

Innocent V masterly tutelage of Saint Albert the Great visited on foot all Dominican houses under his care; sent to Paris to replace Thomas Aquinas at the University of Paris; succeeded solving questions of Greek schism establishing short-lived truce OP Pope (RM); Pope Innocent V was the author of several works in philosophy, theology, and canon law, including commentaries on the Pauline epistles and on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and is sometimes referred to as famosissimus doctor.

Saint Albert the Great; The principal fame of St Albert as doctor resides

in the fact that, realizing autonomy of philosophy and seeing the use that could be made of the philosophy of Aristotle in ordering the science of theology, he re-wrote the works of the Philosopher so as to make them acceptable to Christian critics, and by the application of Aristotelean methods and principles to the study of theology inaugurated (with the Englishman Alexander of Hales) the scholastic system which was to be brought to perfection by his pupil St Thomas Aquinas. He was the principal pioneer and forerunner of the "preferred system of the Church"; he collected and selected the materials, even laid the foundations; St Thomas built the edifice.

"The answers to many of life's questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties,
how to stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious."
1913 Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven.
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
October 8 - OUR LADY OF GIFTS (Ireland, early 16th century)
Bartolo Longo: from Spiritualism to the Apostolate of the Rosary (IV)
Bartolo Longo had houses built for the workmen around the building site of the new church, which became the first edifices of a new town, Nuova Pompei, that he willed to be as modern and as attractive as possible,
even thinking about its future touristic prospects.
In 1884, he founded the publication "Il Rosario e la Nuova Pompeii," which was soon distributed worldwide.

Bartolo was also concerned about the children of prison inmates, so he founded an institute to ensure them an education, a trade, and religious instruction. He later wrote to criminologists of the period, for whom the children of criminals would necessarily imitate their parents: "What have you done by removing Christ from the schools? You have produced subversives, enemies of social order. On the contrary, what have we obtained by bringing Christ to the schools of inmates' children? We have transformed those poor youngsters into honest and virtuous young people,
the same ones you wanted to abandon to their own misery or throw in an insane asylum!"

Pope BENEDICT XVI'S Holy Father's Prayer Intentions For 2011 for October
The Word of God as Sign of Social Development
General Intention: "That the terminally ill may be supported by their faith in God
and the love of their brothers and sisters".
Missionary Intention: "That celebration of World Mission Day may foster in People of God a passion for evangelisation with willingness to support the missions with prayer and economic aid for the poorest Churches".

The Rosary html Mary Mother of GOD -- Her Rosary Here
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Mary's Divine Motherhood

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

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

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

(Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).
October 3 – Italy. Our Lady of Graces (1697)
Concerning the Feelings of Marian Devotion

Of all passions love is the most unmanageable; nay more, I would not give much for that love which is never extravagant, which always observes the proprieties, and can move about in perfect good taste, under all emergencies. What mother, what husband or wife, what youth or maiden in love, but says a thousand foolish things, in the way of endearment, which the speaker would be sorry for strangers to hear; yet they are not on that account unwelcome to the parties to whom they are addressed.

Sometimes by bad luck they are written down, sometimes they get into the newspapers; and what might be even graceful, when it was fresh from the heart, and interpreted by the voice and the countenance, presents but a melancholy exhibition when served up cold for the public eye. So it is with devotional feelings. Burning thoughts and words are as open to criticism as they are beyond it. What is abstractedly extravagant, may in particular persons be becoming and beautiful, and only fall under blame when it is found in others who imitate them. When it is formalized into meditations or exercises, it is as repulsive as love-letters in a police report.

John Henri Newman Letter to Pusey, 1866

breviary.net/martyrology/mart10 08 stlukeorthodox.com/html/saints/ usccb.org ewtn.com St Patricks 1008
domcentral.org/life/martyr Sept syriac oca.org glaubenszeugen.de/tage/Okt/08 Serbian http://www.copticchurch.net Melkite
Monthly Saints with pics here http://www.stfrancisenid.com/memorials.htm antiochian.org/AW-WomenSaints--wonderful icons
Lutheran Saints One Saint per day stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/index.htm stjohndc.org God's Humourous Saints

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

http://www.worldpriest.com/

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

Morning Prayer and Hymn Meditation of the Day Prayer for Priests Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List Here
How to Stay Out of PURGATORY -- How to Get others Out POPES html Parents of Saints html
The_Litany_of_the_Blessed_Virgin.html

We are called upon with the whole Church militant on earth to join in praising and thanking God for the grace and glory he has bestowed on his saints. At the same time we earnestly implore Him to exert His almighty power and mercy in raising us from our miseries and sins, healing the disorders of our souls and leading us by the path of repentance to the company of His saints, to which He has called us.
They were once what we are now, travellers on earth they had the same weaknesses, which we have. We have difficulties to encounter so had the saints, and many of them far greater than we can meet with; obstacles from kings and whole nations, sometimes from the prisons, racks and swords of persecutors. Yet they surmounted these difficulties, which they made the very means of their virtue and victories. It was by the strength they received from above, not by their own, that they triumphed. But the blood of Christ was shed for us as it was for them and the grace of our Redeemer is not wanting to us; if we fail, the failure is in ourselves.

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

Miracles 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 Lay Saints

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

Popes mentioned this day

335 St. Sylvester I Pope (25 yrs) council of Arles and Nice "stand aside and let events take their course, when asserting one’s authority would only lead to useless tension and strife."

336 Pope Mark successor to St. Sylvester I; elected January 18, 336; During pontificate erected two basilicas on land donated by Emperor Constantine I. died after only 8 months.

Clement XI

1700 1721 Pope Clement XI Giovanni Francesco was sent to Rome in his 11th year to prosecute studies at the Roman College. He made rapid progress; known as an author at 18, translating from the Greek into elegant Latin. He attracted the notice of the patroness of Roman literati, Queen Christina of

Sweden, who before he became of age enrolled him in her exclusive Accademia. With equal ardour and success, he applied himself to the profounder branches, theology and law, and was created doctor of canon and civil law. So brilliant an intellect, joined with stainless morals and piety, secured for him a rapid advancement at the papal court. At the age of twenty-eight he was made a prelate, and governed successively Rieti, Sabina, and Orvieto, everywhere acceptable on account of his reputation for justice and prudence. Recalled to Rome, he was appointed Vicar of St. Peter's, and on the death of Cardinal Slusio succeeded to the important position of Secretary of Papal Briefs, which he held for thirteen years, and for which his command of classical latinity singularly fitted him. On 13 February, 1690, he was created cardinal-deacon and later Cardinal-Priest of the Title of San Silvestro, and was ordained to the priesthood.

St. Pius V1566-1572 Pope St. Pius V (MICHELE GHISLERI).

Pope Pius V made this Missal mandatory throughout the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, except where a Mass liturgy dating from before 1370 was in use . He worked incessantly to unite the Christian princes against the hereditary enemy, the Turks. In the first year of his pontificate he had ordered a solemn jubilee, exhorting the faithful to penance and almsgiving to obtain the victory from God. He supported the Knights of Malta, sent money for the fortification of the free towns of Italy, furnished monthly contributions to the Christians of Hungary, and endeavoured especially to bring Maximilian, Philip II, and Charles I together for the defence of Christendom.
Pope St Mark 336 successor to St. Sylvester I 314-335

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

Paul VI_Athenagoras_05_01_1964

Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969 Instruction on the Contemplative Life includes this passage:

“To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland” (#1).

Benedict_XVI_Patriarch_Bartholomew

Benedict XVI_Archbishop_Hilarion

Benedict XVI receives Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion n September 18th, Pope Benedict XVI; Archbishop Hilarion, president of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow.
The Orthodox Archbishop is currently visiting the Vatican at the invitation of Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
This Pontifical Council underlined that the visit will confirm the ties of friendship between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, with a view to closer collaboration and to favor the presence of the Church in the lives of the peoples of Europe and the world.
In addition, a further step in ecumenical relations is scheduled for the month of October in Cyprus: the meeting of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which will address the theme of Petrine Primacy.

Benedict XVI met with Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia, the highest authority of the Orthodox Church. The Pope remembered the martyrs of the Armenian Church and the Armenian genocide, without explicitly mentioning it, and denounced the persecution of Christians in modern times. Benedict XVI
That testimony culminated in the twentieth century, which proved a time of Unspeakable suffering for your people. Most recently we have all been saddened by the escalation of persecution and violence against Christians in parts of the Middle East and elsewhere.
The Catholicos is based in Lebanon. That is why, the Pope said, he prays every day for peace in this country and throughout the Middle East. Benedict XVI said there will only be peace in the region when each country is free to decide its own destiny and when every ethnic and religious group accepts and respects the others. Aram I emphasized that the churches must be means for peace and to achieve that they must recognize “all” genocides, even the Armenian.. The Catholicos recalled his meeting with John Paul II, adding that this visit represents a new step for ecumenical dialogue.

Aram I Catholicos
Our meeting is an opportunity to pray and reflect together, and to renew our commitment and efforts for Christian unity.
Armenian church members from all over the world join with Catholicos in making pilgrimages to Rome.

The great psalm of the Passion, Chapter 22, whose first verse “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus pronounced on the cross, ended with the vision: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him” For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.

Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here} 2000 years of the Catholic Church in China
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible. Patron_Saints.html

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 22

The Lord rules me, O Virgin Mother of God: because thou hast turned on me thy gracious countenance.
Blessed are thy most resplendent eyes: which thou deignest to turn on sinners.
Blessed is the light and the splendor of thy countenance: blessed is the grace of thy face.
Blessed be the mercy of thy hands: blessed be the stream of thy virginal milk.
Let the prophets and apostles of God bless thee: let martyrs, confessors, and virgins sing praise to thee.

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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.

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.

The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)

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

Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac

The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.

Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., V,xxiii).

In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).

In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

Under Roman domination martyrs suffered at Edessa: Sts. Scharbîl and Barsamya, under Decius; Sts. Gûrja, Schâmôna, Habib, and others under Diocletian.

In the meanwhile Christian priests from Edessa evangelized Eastern Mesopotamia and Persia, established the first Churches in the kingdom of the Sassanides. Atillâtiâ, Bishop of Edessa, assisted at the Council of Nicæa (325). The “Peregrinatio Silviæ” (or Etheriæ) (ed. Gamurrini, Rome, 1887, 62 sqq.) gives an account of the many sanctuaries at Edessa about 388.

Although Hebrew had been the language of the ancient Israelite kingdom, after their return from Exile the Jews turned more and more to Aramaic, using it for parts of the books of Ezra and Daniel in the Bible. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic was the main language of Palestine, and quite a number of texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls are also written in Aramaic.

Aramaic continued to be an important language for Jews, alongside Hebrew, and parts of the Talmud are written in it.

After Arab conquests of the seventh century, Arabic quickly replaced Aramaic as the main language of those who converted to Islam, although in out of the way places, Aramaic continued as a vernacular language of Muslims.

Aramaic, however, enjoyed its greatest success in Christianity. Although the New Testament wins written in Greek, Christianity had come into existence in an Aramaic-speaking milieu, and it was the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac, that became the literary language of a large number of Christians living in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire, further east. Over the course of the centuries the influence of the Syriac Churches spread eastwards to China (in Xian, in western China, a Chinese-Syriac inscription dated 781 is still to be seen); to southern India where the state of Kerala can boast more Christians of Syriac liturgical tradition than anywhere else in the world.

Meeting of the Saints walis (saints of Allah)

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

So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life. But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat Nizamuddi n Aulia Sufi Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badshah Quadri Chisty Yamani Quadeer (RA) 1236-1325 welcomed people of all faiths & all walks of life

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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

Index to Part I and Part II 1932

James M. Reardon Publication History of the Basilica of Saint Mary 1955 {update}

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement 1362-1950 (1952);
The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922; (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;

James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872; Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;

Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.

Affiliations and Indulgences Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows here. Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary spaces between them filled with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron the life of our Blessed Lady After the crucifixon

Apostle statues Replicas of those in St John Lateran--Christendom's earliest Basilica.
Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, Popes' cathedral and official residence first millennium of Christian history.

The only replicas ever made: in order from west to east {1932}.

Saints Simon (saw), Bartholomew (knife), James the Lesser (book), John (eagle), Andrew (transverse cross), Peter keys), Paul (sword), James the Greater (staff), Thomas (carpenter's square), Philip (serpent), Matthew (book), and Jude sword

Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
It Makes No Sense Not To Believe In GOD

THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi. Site http://www.fathercorapi

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

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

Site http://www.fathercorapi

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

Since his ordination to the priesthood in 1991 Fr. Corapi has traveled over 2,000,000 miles preaching the Gospel. He has preached in 49 of the 50 states, all of the Canadian provinces except NewFoundland, and several other foreign countries. He is currently engaged in preaching and teaching the Catholic faith by way of the means of social communication: television, radio, the internet, and various other multi-media formats.

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

About Father John Corapi.

Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .

The pillars of father's preaching are basically:

Love for and a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary
Leading a vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus Christ
Great love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist from Holy Mass to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
An uncompromising love for and obedience to the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church

LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000) India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related Marian Websites Angels and Archangels

Doctors_of_the_Church Acts_Of_The_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates

Eódem die natális beáti Simeónis senis, qui in Evangélio Dóminum Jesum, præsentátum in Templo, suis in ulnis accepísse ac de illo prophetásse légitur.

Also, the birthday of blessed Simeon, an aged man, who as we read in the Gospel, took our Lord Jesus in his arms and prophesied concerning him when he was presented in the Temple.

Sanctæ Birgíttæ Víduæ, cujus dies natális décimo Kaléndas Augústi, ac Translátio Nonis Octóbris recensétur.
    St. Bridget, widow, whose birthday is observed on the 23rd of July, and the translation of her holy body on the 7th of October.

Eódem die natális beáti Simeónis senis, qui in Evangélio Dóminum Jesum, præsentátum in Templo, suis in ulnis accepísse ac de illo prophetásse légitur.
    Also, the birthday of blessed Simeon, an aged man, who as we read in the Gospel, took our Lord Jesus in his arms and prophesied concerning him when he was presented in the Temple.

Laodicéæ, in Phrygia, sancti Artémonis Presbyteri, qui per ignem, sub Diocletiáno, martyrii corónam accépit.
    At Laodicea in Phrygia, during the reign of Diocletian, St. Artemon, a priest, who gained the crown of martyrdom by fire.

Ancónæ sanctárum Palatiátis et Lauréntiæ, quæ, in persecutióne Diocletiáni, sub Dióne Præside, in exsílium deportátæ, labóribus et ærúmnis conféctæ sunt.
    At Ancona, Saints Palatius and Lauréntia, who were sent into exile during the persecution of Diocletian, under the governor Dion, and were overcome by the weight of toil and misery.

Rotómagi sancti Evódii, Epíscopi et Confessóris. At Rouen, St. Evodius, bishop and confessor.

Hierosólymis sanctæ Pelágiæ, cognoménto Pæniténtis. At Jerusalem, St. Palagia, surnamed the Penítent.

250 St. Reparata Virgin martyr of Caesarea, in Palestine
Cæsaréæ, in Palæstína, pássio sanctæ Reparátæ, Vírginis et Mártyris; quæ, cum nollet idólis sacrificáre, sub Décio Imperatóre, váriis tormentórum genéribus cruciátur, ac demum gládio percútitur. Ipsíus autem ánima, in colúmbæ spécie, de córpore égredi cælúmque conscéndere visa est.
At Caesarea in Palestine, in the reign of Decius, St. Reparata, virgin and martyr. For refusing to sacrifice to idols, she was subjected to various kinds of torments and was finally struck with the sword. Her soul was seen to leave her body in the form of a dove and ascend to heaven.
Known mainly through unreliable legend, she was supposedly a twenty year old girl in Caesarea who was denounced as a Christian during the persecutions launched by Emperor Trajanus Decius. She was tortured and thrown into a furnace. Miraculously surviving the flames, she still refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and the Romans beheaded her.

300 St. Nestor Martyr
Ibídem sancti Néstoris Mártyris. In the same place, St. Nestor, martyr.
executed at Thessalonika under Emperor Diocletian, although the account of his martyrdom is considered dubious in its details.

302 St. Palatias and Laurentia Christian martyrs
were put to death during the persecutions launched by Emperor Diocletian. According to tradition, Palatias was a noblewoman who resided in the city of Ancona, Italy. Converted to the faith by her slave, Laurentia, she was arrested with Laurentia and put to death at Fermo, near Ancona.

Thessalonícæ sancti Demétrii Procónsulis, qui, cum plúrimos ad Christi fidem perdúceret, ideo, Maximiáni Imperatóris jussu lánceis confóssus, martyrium consummávit.
4th v. St. Demetrius, a proconsul At Thessalonica, For having brought many to the faith of Christ he was pierced with spears by order of Emperor Maximian, and thus completed his martyrdom.

Laodicéæ, in Phrygia, sancti Artémonis Presbyteri, qui per ignem, sub Diocletiáno, martyrii corónam accépit.
4th v. St. Artemon, a priest, At Laodicea in Phrygia, during the reign of Diocletian, who gained the crown of martyrdom by fire.

4th century St. Thais Egyptian penitent; Repenting her lifestyle through St. Paphnutius influence gave up money entered convent walled 3 years extreme penance for dissolute habits; at urging of St. Anthony, was released and permitted to join the convent women, dying 5 days later.
According to legend, Thais was a wealthy woman raised in Alexandria, Egypt, as a Christian. She decided to become a courtesan. Repenting of her lifestyle through the influence of St. Paphnutius, she gave up her money and entered a convent where she was walled up for three years to perform extreme penance for her dissolute habits. Finally, at the urging of St. Anthony, she was released from her spiritual incarceration and permitted to join the other women of the convent, dying a mere fifteen days after her release.

652 GRATUS Profile French bishop at Chalons-sur-Saone. Died natural causes Canonized Pre-Congregation

1050 St. Martin Cid Cistercian abbot-founder and co-worker with St. Bernard; founded Val-Paraiso, a Cistercian abbey staffed with monks sent by St. Bernard
Martin was born in Zamora, Spain. He founded Val-Paraiso, a Cistercian abbey staffed with monks sent by St. Bernard.

4th v.St. Triduna virgin assisted St. Regulus in his mission to Scotland; Her shrine at Restalrig was long venerated until its destruction in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation
A virgin who, according to tradition, assisted St. Regulus in his mission to Scotland during the fourth century. She is also listed as Trallen and Tredwall. Her shrine at Restalrig was long venerated until its destruction in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation.

4th v. St. Demetrius; Called a military martyr; and “the Megalomartyr” by the Greeks; deacon martyred at Sirmium, (former Yugoslavia); extremely popular in Middle Ages, and with St. George, he was the patron of the crusades
Thessalonícæ sancti Demétrii Procónsulis, qui, cum plúrimos ad Christi fidem perdúceret, ideo, Maximiáni Imperatóris jussu lánceis confóssus, martyrium consummávit.
At Thessalonica, St. Demetrius, a proconsul. For having brought many to the faith of Christ he was pierced with spears by order of Emperor Maximian, and thus completed his martyrdom.
and “the Megalomartyr” by the Greeks. He was a deacon martyred at Sirmium, in the former Yugoslavia. Early legends about Demetrius credit him with a military career. He was extremely popular in the Middle Ages, and with St. George, he was the patron of the crusades.

Bl. Peter of Seville Martyr

Híspali, in Hispánia, sancti Petri Mártyris. At Seville in Spain, St. Peter, martyr.

Almost nothing is known about this saint beyond his martyrdom on an unknown date. While he figures into a variety of legends, he remains a mystery owing to the unreliability of these stories.

St. Pelagia more often called Margaret actress of Antioch
Pelagia is the patroness of actresses and penitents (Roeder).

on account of the magnificence of the pearls for which she had so often sold herself, was equally celebrated for her beauty, her wealth and the disorder of her life. During a synod at Antioch, she passed Bishop St. Nonnus of Edessa, who was struck with her beauty; the next day she went to hear him preach and was so moved by his sermon that she asked him to baptize her which he did. She gave her wealth to Nonnus to aid the poor and left Antioch dressed in men's clothing. She became a hermitess in a cave on Mount of Olivette in Jerusalem, where she lived in great austerity, performing penances and known as "the beardless monk" until her sex was discovered at her death. Though a young girl of fifteen did exist and suffer martyrdom at Antioch in the fourth century, the story heretold is a pious fiction, which gave rise to a whole set of similar stories under different names.

St. Benedicta A virgin listed in the pre-1970 Roman Martyrology; birthday celebrated in Laon, France, as a martyr.
In território Laudunénsi natális sanctæ Benedíctæ, Vírginis et Mártyris.
In the country of Laon, St. Benedícta, virgin and martyr.

690 St. Ywi Benedictine monk and hermit at Lindisfarne Abbey; ministry of miraculous healing; Spiritual student of Saint Cuthbert at Lindisfarne
Ywi (d.c. 690) + , England. He was ordained a deacon by St. Cuthbert. When Ywi died as a hermit, his relics were enshrined at Wilton, near Salisbury. IWI Also known as Iwigius; Ywi
Profile Monk. Deacon. Spiritual student of Saint Cuthbert at Lindisfarne. Following the Irish ideal of an exile for Christ, he took ship without bothering to ask its destination, planning to evangelize where it landed. It turned out to be Brittany, where he lived as a hermit and followed a ministry of miraculous healing.

About 250 years later a group of Breton monks carrying the relics of Ivi arrived at Wilton abbey in southwest England. When they were ready to leave they found they could not move the relics; they had found a home at the abbey altar, and the monks were forced to leave them behind. Born 7th v Northumbria, England Died 6 October natural causes; relics at Wilton Abbey .

St. Keyne (Keyna or Cain) one of the 24 children King Brychan of Brecknock; founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps somerset
Wales. She refused several suitors' offers of marriage and became a hermitess on the banks of the Severn River in Somersetshire, England. After living there for several years, during which she traveled widely, she was persuaded by her nephew, St. Cadoc, to return to Wales, though exactly where she spent her last days is not known. During her travels, she founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps somerset .

9th v.St. Amor of Aquitaine Hermit and founder of Munsterbilsen convent in Liege and lived as a hermit in Maastricht, Belgium
Belgium. Also called Amour, he was born in Aquitaine, and lived as a hermit in Maastricht, Belgium.

870 St. Badilo Benedictine abbot a monk at Vezelay France and became the abbot of Leuze in Hainault, Belgium.

1230 HUGH CANEFRO Profile Chaplain of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem at Genoa, Italy; Born 1168

1287 Ambrose Sansedoni of Siena unknown pilgrim said, “Do not cover that child's face. He will one day be the glory of this city.” A few days later the child suddenly stretch out his twisted limbs, pronounced the name “Jesus”, and all deformity left him. Mystic with deep contemplative prayer life. Received ecstacies. Visionary. Known to levitate when preaching, and was seen circled in a mystic light in which flew bright birds; Studied in Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany with Saint Thomas Aquinas and Blessed Pope Innocent V under Saint Albert the Great.

Also known as Ambrogio Sansedoni Ambrose Sansedone
The son of a book illuminator, he was born so badly deformed that his mother gave him off to the care of a nurse. The nurse claimed that the only time the child was peaceful was in the local Dominican church, especially when near the altar of relics. Legend says that one day in church, the nurse covered the baby's face with a scarf; an unknown pilgrim told her, "Do not cover that child's face. He will one day be the glory of this city." A few days later the child suddenly stretch out his twisted limbs, pronounced the name "Jesus", and all deformity left him.
A pious child, getting up during the nights to pray and meditate. At age two he was given the choice of two of his father's books - and chose the one about saints. From age seven he daily recited the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. Charitable, and even when young he worked with the poor, the abandoned, and the sick.
When he announced he wanted to join the preaching friars, his parents and friends tried to talk him out of it. But Ambrose had heard the call, and joined the friars in Siena in 1237 on his 17th birthday.
Studied in Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany with Saint Thomas Aquinas and Blessed Pope Innocent V under Saint Albert the Great. Taught in Cologne. Ambrose wanted to write, but saw the greatness of Saint Thomas, decided he could not match it, and devoted himself to preaching.
Worked on diplomatic missions for popes and secular rules. Evangelized in Germany, France, and Italy. Mystic with deep contemplative prayer life. Received ecstacies. Visionary. Known to levitate when preaching, and was seen circled in a mystic light in which flew bright birds.
Born 1220 at Siena, Italy Died 20 March 1287 at Siena, Italy of natural causes
Beatified 8 October 1622 by Pope Gregory XV (cultus confirmed)
Patronage betrothed couples, affianced couples, engaged couples, Siena Italy
Prayers Merciful God, may this feast of Blessed Ambrose bring joy to the Church, that she may be strengthened with spiritual help and be made worthy to enjoy everlasting happiness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
Representation Dominican with a dove at his ear; holding a model of Siena, Italy; holding a book; preaching

1309 Bl. Matthew de Eskandely Martyr of China
He was one of the first missionaries to reach China during the Middle Ages. Born in Buda, Hungary, he entered the Church and set out as a missionary to the Far East. Few details survived of his labors, but it is known that he was martyred in China.

1609 St. John Leonardi; formed the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, congregation was confirmed by Pope Clement in 1595; deliberate policy of the founder, the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God have never had more than 15 churches and today form only a very small congregation
“I am only one person! Why should I do anything? What good would it do?” Today, as in any age, people seem plagued with the dilemma of getting involved. In his own way John Leonardi answered these questions. He chose to become a priest. After his ordination, he became very active in the works of the ministry, especially in hospitals and prisons. The example and dedication of his work attracted several young laymen who began to assist him. They later became priests themselves.
John lived in a time of reform after the Reformation and the Council of Trent. He and his followers projected a new congregation of diocesan priests. For some reason the plan, which was ultimately approved, provoked great political opposition and he was an exile from his home town of Lucca, Italy, for almost the entire remainder of his life. He received encouragement and help from St. Philip Neri [whose feast is May 26], who gave him his quarters—along with the care of his cat!
In 1579 he formed the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, and published a compendium of Christian doctrine that remained in use until the 19th century. Father Leonardi and his priests became a great power for good in Italy, and their congregation was confirmed by Pope Clement in 1595. He died at the age of 68 from a disease caught when tending those stricken by the plague.
By the deliberate policy of the founder, the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God have never had more than 15 churches and today form only a very small congregation.

Comment: What can one person do? If you ever glanced through a Christopher Notes pamphlet you know—plenty! In the life of each saint one thing stands clear: God and one are a majority! What one person, following God's will and plan for his or her life, can do is more than our mind could ever hope for or imagine. Each of us, like John Leonardi, has a mission to fulfill in God's plan for the world. Each one of us is unique and has been given talent to use for the service of our brothers and sisters for the building up of God's kingdom.
Quote: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.” (Luke 12:32-33).