Friday Saint_of_the_Day October 28 Quinto Kaléndas Novémbris

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!)

R. Deo grátias. R. Thanks be to God.

October is the month of the Rosary since 1868;

2022

22,050 lives saved since 2007

Make a Novena and pray the Rosary to Our Lady of Victory
Mary Mother of GOD
Fifty Years Since the Election of John XXII

Pray for post-abortive women who cannot forgive themselves;
may they understand that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

At the time of the decisive battle of Milvius Bridge
on October 28, 312, the Cross gained the victory.

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

CAUSES OF SAINTS April 2014

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

Acts of the Apostles

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

Mary, I wish always to be your child. I give you my heart; keep it for ever.
O Jesus, OMary, be always my friends. I pray you both to let me die rather than commit a sin.

-- St Dominic Savio

In the spiritual life he who does not advance goes backward.
It happens as with a boat which always must go ahead.
If it stands still the wind blows it back.
Fix the time, the length of your meditation,

and do not rise from your place until you have finished even at the cost of being crucified.-- Padre Pio

October 28
At the time of the decisive battle of Milvius Bridge
on October 28, 312, the Cross gained the victory.

Sts. Simon and Jude;
Jude named by Luke Acts Matthew Mark - Thaddeus
St. Jude Thaddaeus; brother of St. James the Less
St. Simon; zealot surnamed for his rigid adherence to Jewish law and Canaanite law

Simon_Jude entering Persia together, they converted to Christ a numberless multitude of the inhabitants, then underwent martyrdom.

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God.
And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

The Church in Libya: Mark and Simon of Cyrene were from here; October 28 - Our Lady of the Treille (Lille, France)
Mary the perfect model of domestic life

We are impelled by a constant desire that Christians should ever be convinced of the efficacy and dignity of the Rosary of Our Lady, […] pointing out that the origin of this form of prayer is divine rather than human, showing it to be an admirable garland woven from the Angelic Salutation, together with the Lord's Prayer, joined to meditation, and that this form of prayer was most powerful and particularly efficacious for attaining eternal life. For besides the special excellence of the prayers, it affords a powerful protection to faith and conspicuous models of virtue in the mysteries proposed for contemplation. We showed also how easy the devotion is and how suited to the people, offering an absolutely perfect model of domestic life in meditation on the

Holy Family at Nazareth, therefore Christendom had never failed to experience its salutary effects.

Saint Leo XIII (1810-1903) Taken from His Encyclical on the Rosary - Diuturni Temporis
October 28 - Our Lady of the Treille (Lille, France) Veneration of Mary

True Marian devotion never obscures or diminishes faith and love for Jesus Christ Our Savior, the one Mediator between God and humankind. On the contrary, entrustment to Our Lady is a privileged path, tested by numerous Saints, for a more faithful following of the Lord.Consequently, let us entrust ourselves to her with filial abandonment!

Pope Benedict XVI Address, May 31, 2006

October 28 – Our Lady of La Treille (Lille, France)
Be sure to fight well, arms in hand
Even if you have to fight distractions all through your whole Rosary, be sure to fight well, arms in hand.
That is to say, do not stop saying your Rosary even if it is difficult to say and you have no sensible devotion.
It is a terrible battle, but one that is profitable to the faithful soul.
If you put down your arms, that is, if you give up the Rosary, you will be admitting defeat and then the devil,
having got what he wanted, will leave you in peace, and on the Day of Judgment
will taunt you because of your faithlessness and lack of courage.
"He who is faithful in little things will also be faithful in those that are greater" Luke 16:10.
He who is faithful in rejecting the smallest distractions when he says even the smallest prayer, will also be faithful in great things. Nothing is more certain, since the Holy Spirit has told us so.
So all of you, servants and handmaids of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, who have made up your minds to say the Rosary every day, be of good heart. Do not let the multitude of flies (as I call the distractions that make war on you during prayer) make you abandon the company of Jesus and Mary, in whose holy presence you are when saying the Rosary. Saint Louis de Montfort In The Secret of the Rosary §125 (Excerpt)

Sts. Simon and Jude; Jude named by Luke Acts Matthew Mark - Thaddeus
     St. Jude Thaddaeus; brother of St. James the Less
     St. Simon; zealot surnamed for his rigid adherence to Jewish
   law and Canaanite law

Simon_Jude entering Persia together, they converted to Christ a numberless multitude of the inhabitants, then underwent martyrdom.

3rd v. Greatmartyr Parasceva of Iconium parents especially reverenced Friday Passion of the Lord therefore called daughter Paraskeva “St Paraskeva, also called Piatnitsa (Russian-- Friday).”

249 Martyr Photius with his parents
249 Martyr Neonilla with her husband and children
249 Martyr Sarbelus with his parents
249 Martyr Terence with his wife and children
257 St. Anastasia II Martyr
304 St. Fidelis of Como martyred Roman soldier
St. Ferrutius martyred Roman soldier
304 St. Fidelis of Como martyred Roman soldier
St. Cyrilla, virgin, daughter of St. Tryphonia of Cyrene, Libya
363 Hieromartyr Cyriacus the Patriarch of Jerusalem a Jew who pointed out to the holy Empress Helen the place where the Life-Creating Cross of Christ lay buried
415 St. Honoratus of Vercelli Bishop of Vercelli
6th v. St. Abraham archbishop of Ephesus, Greece a learned theologian

6th v. St. Salvius Hermit Normandy is named after him; devotion of the people who visited the church or chapel which was built where his hermitage stood was supported by miracles and extraordinary cures which the divine power wrought there, insomuch that the reputation of it went very far…The canons of Rouen were at the expense of clearing some of the more accessible lands for the subsistence of the priests who there performed the divine office; and this is the first origin of the parish of Saint-Saire, and the foundation of the lordship which the chapter of Rouen possesses there.

596 Venerable John the Chozebite Whenever he served the Divine Liturgy, he saw a heavenly light in the altar.
7th v. Martyr Neophytus of Urbin, Georgia descended from Persian fire-worshippers pagans stoned the saint to death With his last breath Holy Hieromartyr Neophytus cried out, “Lord Jesus Christ receive my soul!”

675 St. Faro Bishop of Meaux France, and brother of Sts. Chainoaldus and Burgundofara. also called Pharo; restored sight to a blind man by conferring on him the sacrament of Confirmation, and wrought several other miracles one of the first known bishops of Meaux, has rendered his name the most illustrious of all the prelates of this see who are mentioned in the calendars of the Church

690 St. Godwin Benedictine abbot of the monastery of Stravelot Malmedy, Belgium, and a noted scholar.
768 St. Anglinus Benedictine abbot Anglinus recorded as the tenth abbot of Stovelot-Malmedy, near Liege, Belgium.
875 St. Remigius Archbishop of Lyons theologian
1050 St. Eadsin Archbishop of Canterbury
1266 Repose of St Arsenius the Archbishop of Serbia
1311 Venerable Athanasius the Younger the Patriarch of Constantinople 1289-1293; 1303-1311 Shunning praise, Acacius humbly left Mt. Athos for Jerusalem then to Mount Patra long time he lived ascetically as an hermit
1651 Repose of the Venerable Job of Pochaev, Abbot Wonderworker
1709 St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov organizing the MENAION, Lives of the Saints the whole year
1798 St. John Dat Martyred native priest of Vietnam
1924 St Arsenius of Cappadocia

With this Money You Can Buy My Heaven October 28 - OUR LADY OF VIVONNE (Savoy, France)
One day, Saint Gertrude had a vision of our Lord counting gold coins. She had the audacity to ask Him what He was doing, and He answered, “I am counting the Hail Marys that you have said; with this money you can buy my heaven.”
Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort The Admirable Secret of the Rosary (# 54)

“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

October 28 - Our Lady of Treille (Lille, France)
Under This Sign You Shall Conquer* (I)

Constantine climbed to a high point and considered with perplexity the superiority of his adversaries when, under the midday sun, an immense cross made of stars appeared in the sky. These words were written in Greek around the cross: "Under this sign you shall conquer."

The following night, Christ Himself appeared to the emperor and ordered him to make a cross similar to the one that he had seen in his vision and to place it like a standard at the head of his army. This sign of victory then sparkled again in the sky, and Constantine believed with all his heart that Jesus Christ was the only true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who gives victory to kings and guides all things towards the end that He willed before the beginning of time. At sunrise, he had a large silver cross made and gave orders to have it placed at the head of his troops, instead of the imperial eagles, as a "sign of victory over death and a trophy of immortality." Consequently, Constantine began studying Christian doctrine and devoted himself assiduously to reading the Holy Bible.

At the time of the decisive battle of Milvius Bridge on October 28, 312, the Cross gained the victory. His enemy Maxence, while fleeing, prepared to fight back from a pontoon bridge, which he had built, but the bridge collapsed under the weight and the tyrant was thrown into the sea to perish with all his officers, just like Pharaoh and his riders were engulfed by the Red Sea (cf. Ex 15). Giving thanks to God for this victory, which inaugurated a new era of history, Constantine made a triumphal entry into Rome, where the people greeted him as their liberator, savior and benefactor. He had crosses placed on the principal monuments of the city and a statue of the emperor holding the Cross in his hand was erected at once, as signs of victory and the emblem of the authority he had received from Christ.

*In hoc signo vinces

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 love Thee. 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, Amen Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace

Mary's Divine Motherhood
Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI { 2013 } Catholic Church In China { article here}
1648 to1930 St. Augustine Zhao Rong and 120 Companions Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria -- 600s.

Depending on China's relations with outside world,
Christianity for centuries was free to grow or forced to operate secretly.

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

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

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

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

Sts. Simon and Jude Jude named by Luke Acts Matthew Mark - Thaddeus
In Pérside natális beatórum Apostolórum Simónis Chananæi, et Thaddǽi, qui et Judas dícitur. Ex ipsis autem Simon in Ægypto, Thaddǽus in Mesopotámia Evangélium prædicávit; deínde, in Pérsidem simul ingréssi, ibi, cum innúmeram gentis illíus multitúdinem Christo subdidíssent, martyrium consummárunt.
In Persia, the birthday of the blessed apostles Simon the Canaanite and Thaddeus, who is also called Jude. Simon preached the Gospel in Egypt, Thaddeus in Mesopotamia. Afterwards, entering Persia together, they converted to Christ a numberless multitude of the inhabitants, then underwent martyrdom.

SS. SIMON AND JUDE, OR THADDEUS, APOSTLES
ST SIMON is surnamed the Cananean or Zelotes in the Holy Scriptures, words which both mean “the Zealous”. Some have mistakenly thought that the first of these names was meant to imply that St Simon was born at Cana in Galilee. The name refers to his zeal for the Jewish law before his call, and does not necessarily mean that he was one of that particular party among the Jews called Zealots. No mention of him appears in the gospels beyond that he was chosen among the apostles. With the rest he received the Holy Ghost, but of his life after Pentecost we have no information whatever; it is not possible to reconcile the various traditions.

Menology of Basil says that St Simon died in peace at Edessa, but Western tradition recognized in the Roman liturgy is that, after preaching in Egypt, he joined St Jude from Mesopotamia and that they went as missionaries for some years to Persia, suffering martyrdom there. They are accordingly commemorated together in the West on this day, but in the East separately and on various dates.

The apostle Jude (Judas), also called Thaddeus (or Lebbeus), “the brother of James”, is usually regarded as the brother of St James the Less. It is not known when and by what means he became a disciple of Christ, nothing having been said of him in the gospels before we find him enumerated among the apostles. After the Last Supper, when Christ promised to manifest Himself to His hearers, St Jude asked Him why He did not manifest Himself to the rest of the world; and Christ answered that He and the Father would visit all those who love Him, “we will come to him, and will make our abode with him” (John xiv 22—23).

The history of St Jude after our Lord’s ascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost is as unknown as that of St Simon. Jude’s name is borne by one of the canonical epistles, which has much in common with the second epistle of St Peter. It is not addressed to any particular church or person, and in it he urges the faithful to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men are secretly entered in…ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness, and denying the only sovereign ruler and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

St Jude Thaddeus has often been confounded with the St Thaddeus of the Abgar legend (see Addai and Mari, August 5), and made to die in peace at Bairut or Edessa. As has been said above, according to a Western tradition he was martyred with St Simon in Persia. Eusebius quotes a story that two grandsons of St Jude, Zoker and James, were brought before the Emperor Domitian, who had been alarmed by the report that they were of the royal house of David. But when he saw they were poor, hard-working peasants, and heard that the kingdom for which they looked was not of this world, he dismissed them with contempt.

There is what purports to be a passio of these two apostles, but in its Latin form it cannot be earlier than the latter part of the sixth century. It is attributed to a certain Abdias who is said to have been a disciple of Simon and Jude and consecrated by them first bishop of Babylon. This no doubt explains the curious entry on this day in the Félire of Oengus: “Ample is their assembly: Babylon their burial ground Thaddeus and Simon, huge is their host.” On pseudo-Abdias see further R. A. Lipsius, Die Apocryphen Apostelgeschichten…vol. i, pp. 117 seq. and Batiffol in DTC., vol. i, c. 23. The mention of SS. Simon and Jude together is found in the Hieronymianum for this day, and the scene of their martyrdom is said to be “Suanis, civitate Persarum”, on which consult CMH., and Gutschmid, Kleine Schriften, vol. ii, pp. 368—369. On the invocation of St Jude as believed to have special efficacy in “desperate cases”, see the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xii, p. 449 and L. du Broc, La saints patrons des corporations et protecteurs…vol. ii, pp. 390 seq.

He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except, of course, where all the apostles are referred to. Scholars hold that he is not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name, it was shortened to “Jude” in English.

Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called “the Zealot.” The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them, the messianic promise of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent nation. God alone was their king, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—the very domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees, carrying on their ideals of religion and independence. But many were the counterparts of modern terrorists. They raided and killed, attacking both foreigners and “collaborating” Jews. They were chiefly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Comment: As in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two “sons of thunder” and a man named Judas Iscariot.

It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort or achievement. It is entirely God's creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us.

Quote: “Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that, by preaching the gospel to every creature (cf. Mark 16:15), they might proclaim that the Son of God, by his death and resurrection, had freed us from the power of Satan (cf. Acts 26:18) and from death, and brought us into the kingdom of his Father.” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy).

St. Jude Thaddaeus brother of St. James the Less

relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus.

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.

He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia.

The final conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the third century of our era.

Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection.

Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with St. Simon in Persia.

Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy.

St. Simon of Zealot surnamed for his rigid adherence to Jewish law and Canaanite law
Simon was surnamed the Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish law and to the Canaanite law. He was one of the original followers of Christ. Western tradition is that he preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with St. Jude, where both suffered martyrdom. Eastern tradition says Simon died peacefully at Edessa.

3rd v. Greatmartyr Parasceva of Iconium parents especially reverenced Friday Passion of the Lord therefore called daughter Paraskeva “St Paraskeva, also called Piatnitsa (in Russian: Friday).”
The Great Martyr Paraskeva of Iconium, lived during the third century in a rich and pious family. The parents of the saint especially reverenced Friday, the day of the Passion of the Lord, and therefore they called their daughter Paraskeva. This name, Paraskeva, also means Friday.

Young Paraskeva with all her heart loved purity and the loftiness of the virginal life, and she took a vow of celibacy. She wanted to devote all her life to God and to enlighten pagans with the light of Christ.

Because of her confession of the Orthodox Faith, the pagans in a frenzy seized her and brought her to the city prefect. They demanded that she offer unholy sacrifice to the pagan idols. With a steady heart, and trusting on God, the saint refused this demand. For this she underwent great torments: after stripping her, they tied her to a tree and beat her with rods. Then the torturers raked her pure body with iron claws. Finally, they threw her into prison, exhausted by the torture and lacerated to the bone. But God did not forsake the holy sufferer, and miraculously healed her wounds. Not heeding this divine miracle, the executioners continued with their torture of St Paraskeva, and finally, they cut off her head.

St Paraskeva has always enjoyed a special love and veneration among the Orthodox people. Many pious customs and observances are associated with her. In the ancient Russian accounts of the Saints' Lives, the name of the Great Martyr is inscribed as: “St Paraskeva, also called Piatnitsa (in Russian: Friday).” Churches dedicated to St Paraskeva in antiquity were given the name Piatnitsa. Small wayside chapels in Rus received the name Piatnitsa.

The simple Russian people called the Martyr Paraskeva variously Piatnitsa, Piatina, Petka.

Icons of St Paraskeva were especially venerated and embellished by the faithful. Russian iconographers usually depicted the martyr as an austere ascetic, tall of stature, with a radiant crown upon her head. Icons of the saint guard pious and happy households. By Church belief, St Paraskeva is protectress of fields and cattle. Therefore, on her Feastday it was the custom to bring fruit to church to be blessed. These blessed objects were kept until the following year. Moreover, St Paraskeva is invoked for protection of cattle from disease. She is also a healer of people from grievous illness of both body and soul.

249 Martyr Photius with his parents

Saint Photius was the son of the martyrs Terence and Neonilla. He and his family suffered martyrdom during a persecution of Christianity under the emperor Decius (249-250). They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry. For this the pagans subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures and torments, but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the holy martyrs were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.

249 Martyr Sarbelus with his parents

Saint Sarbelus was the son of the martyrs Terence and Neonilla. He and his family suffered suffered martyrdom during a persecution of Christianity under the emperor Decius (249-250). They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry. For this the pagans subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures and torments, but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the holy martyrs were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.

249 Martyr Neonilla with her husband and children

Saint Neonilla was the wife of St Terence. They suffered martyrdom with their children Sarbelus, Photius, Theodulus, Hierax, Nita, Vele and Eunice during a persecution of Christianity under the emperor Decius (249-250). They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry. For this the pagans subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures and torments, but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the holy martyrs were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.

249 Martyr Terence with his wife and children

The Martyrs Terence and Neonilla and their children: Sarbelus, Photius, Theodulus, Hierax, Nita, Vele and Eunice suffered martyrdom during a persecution of Christianity under the emperor Decius (249-250). They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry. For this the pagans subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures and torments, but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the holy martyrs were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.
Martyr Terence and 39 ohers of Carthage
Saint Terence was from Syria, and suffered for Christ with his wife Neonilla and their seven children Sabelus, Photius, Theodoulus, Vele, Hierax, Nitus, and Eunice. They were denounced as Christians and brought before the authorities for interrogation.
The saints confessed Christ and mocked the pagan gods, even as their sides were raked with iron hooks. Vinegar was poured into their wounds, which were then set afire. The saints encouraged one another and prayed to God to help them. He sent angels to free them from their bonds and to heal their wounds.
Then the saints were thrown to the wild beasts, who became gentle and did not harm them. Afterward, they were thrown into a cauldren filled with hot pitch, but they were not burned. Seeing that nothing could harm the saints, the pagans beheaded them.

257 St. Anastasia II Martyr

Romæ sanctórum Mártyrum Anastásiæ senióris Vírginis, et Cyrílli. Ipsa Virgo, in persecutióne Valeriáni, sub Probo Præfécto, vínculis constrícta, cólaphis cæsa, igne et verbéribus est cruciáta, et, cum in confessióne Christi permanéret immóbilis, tandem, abscíssis mamíllis, evúlsis únguibus, déntibus comminútis, mánibus pedibúsque præcísis, truncáta cápite, tot passiónum ornáta monílibus migrávit ad Sponsum; Cyríllus autem, ei peténti aquam propínans, martyrium pro mercéde accépit.

At Rome, the holy martyrs Cyril and Anastasia the Elder, virgin. In the persecution of Valerian, under the prefect Probus, Anastasia was bound with chains, buffeted, subjected to fire and scourging, and, as she remained immovable in the confession of Christ, her breasts were cut away, her nails plucked out, her teeth broken, and her hands, feet, and head severed from her body. Adorned with her sufferings as with so many jewels, she went to her Spouse. At her request, Cyril gave her some water to drink, and for his reward became a martyr.

SS. ANASTASIA AND CYRIL, MARTYRS
CARDINAL BARONIUS added the following entry to the Roman Martyrology under this date “At Rome, the passion of the holy martyrs Anastasia the Elder, a virgin, and Cyril. This same virgin during the persecution of Valerian was bound with fetters by the prefect Probus, smitten with blows and tortured with fire and scourges; and as she continued unmoved in the confession of Christ her breasts were cut off, her nails torn out, her teeth broken, her hands and feet hacked away. Then she was beheaded and, beautified with the jewels of so many sufferings, she passed to her Bridegroom. Cyril brought her water when she asked therefor, and received martyrdom for his reward.”

Traditions of the Church of Rome know nothing of these martyrs, who were first venerated in the East. Their Greek passio says that St Anastasia was a maiden of patrician birth, twenty years old, who lived in a community of consecrated virgins. Soldiers of the prefect broke into the house, carried her off, and brought her before Probus, who ordered that she be stripped naked. On her protesting that this would shame him more than it would her, she was maltreated as the martyrology sets out. Her body was afterwards translated to Constantinople.

The passio exists both in Greek and in Latin. Both texts are printed in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xii. J. P. Kirsch seems inclined to think that the only historical martyr was the widow who suffered at Sirmium (December 25), but that, as her feast was kept on a different date in the East, some Greek hagiographer thought it well to invent a new story of a virgin bearing the same name, which he embellished with the fantastic details recounted above. See Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, vol. i (1930), c. 389.

She is believed to have been a young woman who lived with a group of Christian virgins in Rome. During the persecutions of Emperor Valerian, she was arrested and cruelly tortured by a perfect named Probus.

When asked for some water, a man named Cyril brought her some. For this kindness he shared her fate in beheading.

304 St. Fidelis of Como martyred Roman soldier' stationed in Milan, Italy.

Apud Comum sancti Fidélis Mártyris, sub Maximiáno Imperatóre.
At Como, under Emperor Maximian, St. Fidelis, martyr.

303 ST FIDELIS OF COMO, MARTYR
DURING the persecution of Maximian the imprisoned Christians of Milan were visited and ministered to by an army officer named Fidelis, according to his legend in which no trust can be placed. He procured the freedom of five of them and, with two soldiers, Carpophorus and Exanthus; they tried to make their escape into the Alps. They were overtaken near Como, and the two last-named with their companions were executed on the spot, in a wood. Fidelis got away and reached Samolito, at the other side of the lake, but here he was captured by soldiers who had followed him in a boat. There they scourged and beheaded him. There is another version which says that SS. Fidelis, Carpophorus and Exanthus were three Christian soldiers who when persecution began deserted the army and fled to Como, where they were apprehended and put to death. The cultus at Como is ancient.

The relatively sober text is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, vol. xii, from a fourteenth century manuscript. Ennodius knew a tomb of St Fidelis at Como in the sixth century, and the lake has remains of a fourth-century basilica.

He aided Christian prisoners in an escape and was slain by his superiors. St. Charles Borromeo took Fidelis' relics to Milan, but some are venerated in Como.

St. Cyrilla, virgin, daughter of St. Tryphonia

Item Romæ sanctæ Cyríllæ Vírginis, quæ fília éxstitit sanctæ Tryphóniæ, et, sub Cláudio Príncipe, pro Christo juguláta est.
In the same city, during the reign of Claudius, St. Cyrilla, virgin, daughter of St. Tryphonia, who was pierced through the throat for the faith of Christ.

History

The beginnings of the Church in Libya go back to the origins of Christianity itself. One recalls Simon of Cyrene who helped Christ carry the cross (Mk 15, 21). On the day of Pentecost, there were in Jerusalem, some devout men coming from Libya, belonging to Cyrene (Ac 2,10). After the persecution of Jerusalem, it was some citizens from Cyprus and Cyrene who carried the Good News of Jesus to the Greeks (Ac 11,20).

According to the tradition of the Coptic Church in Egypt, St. Mark would be originally from Cyrene. Some historians hold that in the year 40 a.C., Mark was back in Cyrene where he converted many Jews and Greeks. Later around the year 60, he went to Alexandria where he founded several Christian communities.

Following this tradition, it is said that upon his return to Cyrene, Mark appointed Lucius of Cyrene as the first Bishop, who suffered martyrdom in Alexandria after a popular uprising on 25th April 68 BC.

The Arab annals of Patriarch Eutichius, inform us that the Bishops of Alexandria, from St. Mark to Demetrius, his 11th successor (+ 231), were assisted by ordinary priests in administering their churches. What is certain however is that after Lucius of Cyrene, there is no trace of bishops in that region before the first half of the third century.

In the Roman Martyrology we find the name of Theodorus, bishop of Cyrene who was martyred in 302 BC; another Theordorus together with the deacon Irenaeus and the Lectors Serapius and Ammonius, suffered martyrdom on 26th March 319 BC. One of the most famous martyrs of the persecution of Diocletian, was St. Cyrilla, a noble girl from Cyrene.

363 Hieromartyr Cyriacus the Patriarch of Jerusalem a Jew who pointed out to the holy Empress Helen the place where the Life-Creating Cross of Christ lay buried

The Hieromartyr Cyriacus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, was a Jew who pointed out to the holy Empress Helen the place where the Life-Creating Cross of Christ lay buried (September 14). Being present at the discovery of the Cross, Cyriacus (before Baptism he was named Jude) sincerely came to believe in Christ the true God, and he became a Christian. Cyriacus, because of his pure and virtuous life, was later chosen to be Patriarch of Jerusalem. He suffered martyrdom under the emperor Julian.

During the cruel persecution under Julian the Apostate, in the year 363, St Cyriacus accepted suffering for the Faith. He was killed after prolonged tortures.

415 St. Honoratus of Vercelli Bishop of Vercelli

Vercéllis sancti Honoráti Epíscopi. At Vercelli, St. Honoratus, bishop.

Italy, and a disciple of Sts. Eusebius and Ambrose. Born 330 in Vercelli, Honoratus served St. Eusebius, who governed that see. When St. Eusebius went into exile in 355, Honoratus accompanied him to Scythopolis, Palestine. They traveled to Cappadocia , Egypt, and Illyricum, also Dalmatia. In 396, Honoratus was nominated as a bishop by St. Ambrose.

Honoratus attended St. Ambrose on his deathbed.

St. Ferrutius martyred Roman soldier at Mainz, Germany

Mogúntiæ sancti Ferrútii Mártyris. At Mainz, St. Ferrutius, martyr.

Refused to take part in pagan ceremonies. Thrown into prison, Ferrutius died of abuse and starvation.

St Arsenius of Cappadocia
St Arsenius of Farasa is the priest who baptised Elder Paisios the Athonite and gave him his Christian name - Arsenios.

6th v. St. Abraham archbishop of Ephesus, Greece a learned theologian St. Abraham

who authored many treatises that influenced his contemporaries. He erected monasteries in Jerusalem and Constantinople. The monastery in Constantinople was involved in a dispute with the Byzantine Emperor, Theophilus. The monks in the abbey were called Abrahamites, after the founding saint, and they refused to accept the heresy of the Iconoclasts of the time.

596 Venerable John the Chozebite Whenever he served the Divine Liturgy, he saw a heavenly light in the altar.

Saint John the Chozebite, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine (587-596), was famed for his struggle against the Eutychian heresy, and also 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 with his uncle, an ascetic, in the Thebaid wilderness.

The emperor, who learned of John's holy life, decided to make him bishop of the city of Caesarea. But the saint, yearning for solitude, withdrew into the Chozeba wilderness (between Jerusalem and Jericho) and pursued asceticism there until the end of his life. Whenever he served the Divine Liturgy, he saw a heavenly light in the altar.

6th v. St. Salvius Hermit; Normandy is named after him; devotion of the people who visited the church or chapel which was built where his hermitage stood was supported by miracles and extraordinary cures which the divine power wrought there, insomuch that the reputation of it went very far…The canons of Rouen were at the expense of clearing some of the more accessible lands for the subsistence of the priests who there performed the divine office; and this is the first origin of the parish of Saint-Saire, and the foundation of the lordship which the chapter of Rouen possesses there.

ST SALVIUS, OR SAIRE

THIS saint has been confused with St Salvius of Albi and St Salvius of Amiens (and they with one another), but he seems to have been a distinct person and a hermit in the forest of Bray in Normandy. Nothing is known about him, but in a footnote to his account of St Salvius of Albi, Alban Butler gives an extract from a manuscript then preserved in the castle of Saint-Saire (Eure-et-Loir) of the counts of Boulain-villiers. It runs as follows:
The titles of the metropolitan of Rouen prove that about the year 800, and near a century after, there was a place in the forest of Bray consecrated to the memory and honour of St Salvius…There remain, however, formal proofs of St Salvius being a solitary in an ancient MS. from five to six hundred years old, which contains the office of his feast.
He is also represented in a pane of glass in an ancient subterraneous chapel in the dress of a hermit, on his knees, praying with his hands extended. The devotion of the people who visited the church or chapel which was built where his hermitage stood was supported by miracles and extraordinary cures which the divine power wrought there, insomuch that the reputation of it went very far…The canons of Rouen were at the expense of clearing some of the more accessible lands for the subsistence of the priests who there performed the divine office; and this is the first origin of the parish of Saint-Saire, and the foundation of the lordship which the chapter of Rouen possesses there.

A brief notice of St Salvius may be found in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xii. There is no biography of any sort, except the lessons in breviaries. Father Grosjean suggests that the breviary seen by Butler may be one of two now at Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale, MS. 111 or MS. 112; both were copied 1250 and both have the lessons.

Sometime identified with Salvius of Albi. Saint-Saire, Normandy, is named after him, from the French Saire, for Salvius.

7th v. Martyr Neophytus of Urbin, Georgia descended from a line of Persian fire-worshippers pagans stoned the saint to death. With his last breath Holy Hieromartyr Neophytus cried out, “Lord Jesus Christ receive my soul!”

The holy hieromartyr Neophytus of Urbnisi descended from a line of Persian fire-worshippers.

In the 7th century, by order of the Saracen emir Mumni (Mu’min), the military leader Ahmad attacked Georgia with an enormous army. After overrunning the central part of Shida (Inner) Kartli, Ahmad dispatched two of his commanders, Omar and Burul, to the capital city of Mtskheta. At the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, across from the village of Tsikhedidi in the rocky Sarkineti region, the invaders discovered a group of caves and plotted to occupy them. They tried to cross the Mtkvari but were unable.

Having suffered a setback, the enemies asked their captives what was located in those caves. They were told that this was the Shio-Mgvime Monastery, where dwelt God’s chosen, who had deprived themselves of every earthly blessing.
Surprised at this reply, the commanders decided to pass this information on to Ahmad. Then, as though it were commonplace, Ahmad sent Omar to the monastery to ask the monks to pray for him and remember him at the grave of their abbot, St. Shio. “Pray for me, O slaves of God, and accept these gifts of aloe and incense. Offer these as a sacrifice to your abbot,” he told them.
Approaching the monastery caves, Omar sent a messenger to inform the monks that he was coming to them in peace and bearing gifts. Drawing near to the monastery gates, the commander saw an army of incorporeal hosts descending from the heavens and among them an elder, radiant with a great light.
The meek and modest behavior of the monks left a great impression on Omar. He soon understood that the strange armies he had seen on the steps of the monastery were angels of God and that the elder was St. Shio of Mgvime, abbot of the monastery. He related his vision to the monks and vowed to return to them, receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism, be tonsured a monk, and remain there to join in their holy labors.
Soon Omar abandoned all his possessions, his military rank, and his wealth and was baptized in the Christian Faith at the Shio-Mgvime Monastery as he had promised. Two of his slaves were baptized with him as well. Omar received the new name Neophytus (Newly Planted / From the Greek word neophytos, which in I Tim. 3:6 refers to a new convert.), and his slaves became Christodoulus (Christ’s Slave) and Christopher (Christ-bearer).
According to God’s will, St. Neophytus was consecrated bishop of Urbnisi, and all were amazed at his wisdom and steadfastness. He was a true father to his flock: “He strengthened the weak, healed the sick, raised the fallen, cleansed the possessed, directed the lost and sought out those who were perishing, protecting them, and forbidding them to wander off again.”
But the enemy could not tolerate the native Persian’s apostolic activity, and he convinced the fire-worshippers to kill the Christian shepherd. So the unbelievers devised an ambush and attacked Neophytus’ isolated cell, then tied him up and began to mock, curse, and revile him. They knew that St. Neophytus longed to become like the holy protomartyr Stephen, and they plotted to stone him to death.
When his time to depart this world had arrived, St. Neophytus turned to his persecutors with a tender voice, saying, “Sweet is death to me, O unbelievers! Sweet it is to me. I desire to sunder the link between my mortal and immortal nature.… With my own blood I will confirm the Holy Church, which is founded upon the Precious Blood of the Son and Word of God, Whom I preach. May that which was foreordained for me by the Providence of God be fulfilled, for He has called me to His light from the depths of ungodliness!”

The furious pagans stoned the saint to death. With his last breath Holy Hieromartyr Neophytus cried out, “Lord Jesus Christ receive my soul!”

672 ST FARO, BISHOP OF MEAUX restored sight to a blind man by conferring on him the sacrament of Confirmation, and wrought several other miracles one of the first known bishops of Meaux, has rendered his name the most illustrious of all the prelates of this see who are mentioned in the calendars of the Church
THE eminent sanctity of St Faro, one of the first known bishops of Meaux, has rendered his name the most illustrious of all the prelates of this see who are mentioned in the calendars of the Church.
He was the brother of St Chainoaldus of Laon and of St Burgundofara, first abbess of Faremoutier, and spent his youth in the court of King Theodebert II of Austrasia. Later he married, and passed to the court of Clotaire II. When that prince, provoked at the insolent speeches of certain Saxon ambassadors, had cast them into prison and sworn he would put them to death, St Faro prevailed on him by a stratagem to pardon them. The life which he led was most edifying and holy, and when he was about thirty-five years old he determined, if his wife would agree, to enter the ecclesiastical state. - Blide- child was of the same disposition, and she retired to a place upon one of her own estates, where some years after she died, having persuaded her husband to persevere in his new vocation, which for a time he had wished to abandon and return to her.
St Faro received the tonsure among the clergy of Meaux, which episcopal see becoming vacant, he was chosen to fill it, about the year 628. Under Dagobert I he became chancellor, and used his influence with his prince to protect the innocent, the orphan and the widow, and to relieve all that were in distress.
The holy prelate laboured for souls with unwearied zeal and attention, and promoted the conversion of those who had not yet forsaken idolatry. The author of his life tells us that he restored sight to a blind man by conferring on him the sacrament of Confirmation, and wrought several other miracles.
Soon after Faro’s episcopal consecration St Fiacre arrived at Meaux, and the bishop gave to Fiacre some land of his own patrimony at Breuil for a hermitage. He founded in the suburbs of Meaux the monastery of the Holy Cross, which later bore his name. St Faro placed in it monks of St Columban from Luxeuil. In 668 he gave hospitality to St Adrian, later of Canterbury, on his way to England.

The Life of St Faro, which was written 200 years after his death by another bishop of Meaux, Hildegar, is of no great historical value. It has been critically edited after Mabillon by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. v, pp. 171—206. This text is undoubtedly the original of the shorter narrative printed in the Acta Sanctorum. There is reference in Hildegar’s compilation to a ballad which, we are told, was sung by the people in commemoration of Clotaire’s victory over the Saxons, and which is known as the “Cantilene de St Faron”. As a supposed specimen of the early Romance language it has given rise to a considerable literature, of which a full account, with bibliography, may be found in DAC., vol. v, cc. 1114—1124. With regard to St Faro, see Beaumier-Besse, Abbayes et prieurés de France, vol. i, pp. 304 seq.; Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, p. 477; and in H. M. Delsart, Sainte Fare (1911).

690 St. Godwin Benedictine abbot of the monastery of Stravelot Malmedy, Belgium, and a noted scholar.

768 St. Anglinus Benedictine abbot Anglinus is recorded as the tenth abbot of Stovelot-Malmedy, near Liege, Belgium.

875 St. Remigius Archbishop of Lyons France theologian

After serving as the arch-chaplain to the royal court of the Carolingian ruler Charles the Bald, he was named archbishop of Lyons in 852. During his time as archbishop, he became involved in the controversy surrounding the theologian Gottschalk of Fulda. While he was opposed to Gottschalk’s teachings and ideas on predestination, he was firmly against the harsh treatment of the theologian as a result of his incarceration at the hands of Hincmar of Reims.

1050 St. Eadsin Archbishop of Canterbury England, who crowned King St. Edward the Confessor.

1266 Repose of St Arsenius the Archbishop of Serbia

Saint Arsenius, Archbishop of Pech, was born in Srem. He spent a large part of his life as a monk at the Zhicha monastery under the spiritual direction of St Sava (January 14). Because of his strict ascetic life, St Sava made him the igumen of the monastery.

When Serbia was invaded by Hungary, St Sava sent St Arsenius to find a safer place in the south for a new episcopal See. Arsenius chose Pech, where he built a monastery and a church which was dedicated to the Holy Apostles, and then to the Lord's Ascension.

Before leaving for Jerusalem, St Sava designated Arsenius as his successor. In 1223, St Sava died in Trnovo on the way home, and St Arsenius urged King Vladislav to bring his body home for burial in Serbia.
After thirty-three years of wisely guiding his flock, St Arsenius fell asleep in the Lord in the year 1266. His relics were buried at the Pech monastery, now resting in the Zhrebaonik, Montenegro.

1311 Venerable Athanasius the Younger the Patriarch of Constantinople 1289-1293; 1303-1311 Shunning praise, Acacius humbly left Mt. Athos at first for the holy places in Jerusalem, and then to Mount Patra, where for a long time he lived ascetically as an hermit
Saint Athanasius I, Patriarch of Constantinople (1289-1293; 1303-1311), in the world Alexius, was from Adrianopolis. While still in his youth, thriving upon the knowledge of the wisdom of Christ, he left his home and went to Thessalonica, where he was tonsured in one of the monasteries with the name Acacius. He soon withdrew to Mount Athos and entered the brethren of the Esphigmenou monastery, where for three years he served in the trapeza. In his works and his ascetic deeds he acquired the gift of tears, and by his virtuous acts he won the overall goodwill of the brethren.
Shunning praise, Acacius humbly left Mt. Athos at first for the holy places in Jerusalem, and then to Mount Patra, where for a long time he lived ascetically as an hermit. From there the ascetic transferred to the Auxention monastery, and then to Mount Galanteia to the monastery of Blessed Lazarus, where he accepted the great angelic schema with the name Athanasius, was ordained a priest and became ecclesiarch (monk in charge of the sacred relics and vessels in the church).
Here the saint was granted a divine revelation: he heard the Voice of the Lord from a crucifix, summoning him to pastoral service.
Wishing to strengthen his spirit still more in silence and prayer, St Athanasius again settled on Mount Athos after ten years. But because of disorders arising there he returned to Mount Galanteia. Here also he was not long to remain in solitude. Many people thronged to him for pastoral guidance, and so he organized a women's monastery there.
During this time the throne of the Church of Constantinople fell vacant after the disturbances and disorder of the period of the Patriarch John Bekkos. At the suggestion of the pious emperor Andronicus Paleologos, a council of hierarchs and clergy unanimously chose St Athanasius to the Patriarchal throne of the Church in 1289.
Patriarch Athanasius began fervently to fulfill his new obedience and did much for strengthening the Church. His strictness of conviction roused the dissatisfaction of influential clergy, and in 1293 he was compelled to resign the throne and to retire again to his own monastery, where he lived an ascetic life in solitude. In 1303 he was again entrusted with the staff of patriarchal service, which he worthily fulfilled for another seven years. In 1308 St Athanasius established St Peter as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus (December 21).

Again, because of some sort of dissatisfaction, and not wanting to be the cause of church discord, St Athanasius resigned the governance of the Church in 1311. He departed to his own monastery, devoting himself fully to monastic deeds.
Toward the end of his life, the saint was again found worthy to behold Christ. The Lord reproached him because Athanasius had not carried out his pastoral duty to the end. Weeping, the saint repented of his cowardice and received from the Lord both forgiveness and the gift of wonderworking. St Athanasius died at the age of 100.

1651 Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev

Saint Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev (in the world named Ivan Zhelezo), was born around 1551 in Pokutia in Galicia. At age ten he came to the Transfiguration Ugornits monastery, and at age twelve he received monastic tonsure with the name Job. The venerable Job from his youth was known for his great piety and strict ascetic life, and he was accounted worthy of the priestly office.

Around the year 1580, at the request of the renowned champion of Orthodoxy Prince Constantine Ostrozhsky, St Job was appointed the head of the Exaltation of the Cross monastery near the city of Dubno, and for more than twenty years he governed the monastery amidst the growing persecution of Orthodoxy on the part of the Catholics and Uniates.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, St Job withdrew to Pochaev hill and settled in a cave not far from the ancient Dormition monastery, famed for its wonderworking Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God (July 23). The holy hermit, beloved by the brethren of the monastery, was chosen as their Igumen. St Job zealously fulfilled his duty as head of the monastery, kind and gentle with the brethren, he did much of the work himself, planting trees in the garden, and strengthening the waterworks at the monastery.
St Job was an ardent defender of the Orthodox Faith against the persecution of the Catholics. Following the Union of Brest (1596), many Orthodox living in Poland were deprived of their rights, and attempts were made to force them to convert to Catholicism. Many Orthodox hierarchs became apostates to Uniatism, but St Job and others defended Orthodoxy by copying and disseminating Orthodox books. Prince Ostrozhsky was also responsible for the first printed edition of the Orthodox Bible (1581).

In taking an active part in the defense of Orthodoxy and the Russian people, St Job was present at the 1628 Kiev Council, convened against the Unia. After 1642, he accepted the great schema with the name John.
Sometimes he completely secluded himself within the cave for three days or even a whole week. The Jesus Prayer was an unceasing prayer in gentle heart. According to the testimony of his disciple Dositheus, and author of the Life of St Job, once while praying in his cave, the saint was illumined by a heavenly light. St Job reposed in the year 1651. He was more than 100 years old, and had directed the Pochaev monastery for more than fifty years.
The uncovering of St Job's relics took place August 28, 1659. There was a second uncovering of the relics August 27-28, 1833.

1709 St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov organizing the MENAION, the Lives of the Saints for the whole year

Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov (in the world Daniel Savvich Tuptalo), was born in December 1651 in the locale of Makarovo, not far from Kiev. He was born into a pious family and grew up a deeply believing Christian. In 1662, soon after his parents resettled to Kiev, Daniel was sent to the Kiev-Mogilyansk college, where the gifts and remarkable abilities of the youth were first discovered. He successfully learned the Greek and Latin languages and the entire series of classical sciences. On July 9,1668 Daniel accepted monastic tonsure with the name Demetrius, in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. Prior to the spring of 1675 he progressed through the monastic obediences at Kiev's Kirillov monastery, where he began his literary and preaching activity.
The Archbishop of Chernigov Lazar (Baranovich) ordained Demetrius as hieromonk on May 23, 1675. For several years Hieromonk Demetrius lived as an ascetic and preached the Word of God at various monasteries and churches in the Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. It was while he was Igumen of the Maximov monastery,and later the Baturinsk Nikol'sk monastery, in 1684 he was summoned to the Kiev Caves Lavra. The Superior of the Lavra, Archimandrite Barlaam (Yasinsky), knowing the high spiritual disposition of his former disciple, his education, his proclivity for scientific work, and also his undoubted literary talent, entrusted the hieromonk Demetrius with organizing the MENAION, the Lives of the Saints for the whole year.
From this time, all the rest of St Demetrius's life was devoted to the fulfilling of this ascetic work, grandiose in its scope. The work demanded an enormous exertion of strength, since it necessitated the gathering and analizing of a multitude of various sources and to expound them in a fluent language, worthy of the lofty subject of exposition and at the same time accessible to all believers. Divine assistance did not abandon the saint for his twenty year labor.
According to the testimony of St Demetrius himself, his soul was filled with impressions of the saints, which strengthened him both in spirit and body, and they encouraged faith in the felicitous completion of his noble task. At this time, the venerable Demetrius was head of several monasteries (in succession).
The works of the ascetic brought him to the attention of Patriarch Adrian. In 1701, by decree of Tsar Peter I, Archimandrite Demetrius was summoned to Moscow, where on March 23 at the Dormition cathedral of the Kremlin he was consecrated as Metropolitan of the Siberian city of Tobolsk. But after a certain while, because of the importance of his scientific work and the frailty of his health, the saint received a new appointment to Rostov-Yaroslavl, and on March 1, 1702 assumed his duties as Metropolitan of Rostov.
Just as before, he continued to be concerned about the strengthening of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church, weakened by the “Old Believers” schism.
From his inspired works and preachings many generations of Russian theologians drew spiritual strength for creativity and prayer. He remains an example of a saintly, ascetic, non-covetous life for all Orthodox Christians. Upon his death on October 28, 1709, it was discovered that he had few possessions, except for books and manuscripts.

The glorification of St Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, took place on April 22, 1757. He is also remembered on September 21, the day of the uncovering of his holy relics.

1798 St. John Dat Martyred native priest of Vietnam
ordained in 1798, and arrested in that same year and imprisoned for three months before being beheaded.
He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

1924 St Arsenius of Cappadocia MUCH MORE HERE
St Arsenius of Farasa is the priest who baptised Elder Paisios the Athonite and gave him his Christian name - Arsenios.

An Example of Miraculous Help.

To expand this thought, the Elder told me the following: Once, it was essential for me to go somewhere. I needed around 1000 drachmas for traveling expenses but I did not have any money. While I was pondering on how to get the money for my trip, a brother brought me a letter with a remittance of exactly 1000 drachmas. The letter was unsigned. In place of the

return address there was an inscription on the envelope that said:

"Sender: Pantanassa" — i.e. the "Queen of All."

As soon as I saw how miraculously the Lord took care of me, I cried and thanked the Lord and the Most-Holy Virgin.

I have seen many miraculous things in my life. It is amazing: if you do not attend to yourself, but only concern yourself about the Kingdom of God, then God does not even let us notice that we need anything! Truly: for that remittance had been sent to me even before I knew that I would need money. God, as a good Father, cares about us before we start to need any thing, and, in addition, His Providence takes cares of us even before we ask. On our part, we need to trust Him.

"Sometimes a thought comes to me, but I do not dwell on it. For example, the wine for the Liturgy is almost gone and I need to get more. I reject this worry immediately, saying: "Eh, probably tomorrow or the next day someone will bring it to me!" And that is what happens. Then I am greatly amazed, for the one who brought it, say--from Crete, had already prepared it several days before I needed it!
From this I clearly see that God takes care of us even before the moment that we find out we lack something and decide to ask Him, as it is written: "For Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him…Take therefore no thought for the morrow…" (Math. 6:8, 33-34).

"Our task and concern should be to please God and to help our brother, while everything, that concerns our well-being, we must entrust to the will of God — for it is His, God’s, business. He wants a spiritual symphony, when, while working for Him, we, without any concern, rely on Him for everything, and He in turn, takes care of us. This is what the Apostle teaches us when he writes: "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Pet.5:7).

"He, who lives simply, thinks of himself humbly and feels the necessity of the paternal care of God, leaving to Him all the concerns about himself. In this case, the good God, seeing that this soul trusts Him in everything, and not itself, protects it with providence and mercy. Then the soul clearly sees the Divine help and rejoices.
God wants the soul to be simple, without the slightest doubt and questioning. Let it be like that of a child, who expects everything from his parents. Therefore, the Lord had said: "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein" (Mark 10:13).
"One should ask God for help with much simplicity and confess to Him his weakness, for in this way we can become freed from any worries and concerns about ourselves: and as the shadow follows the body, Divine mercy follows humility and faith."

An Incident with an Elder, Who Doubted Divine Providence.

In order to could convince his visitors that God always cares about people and directs everything the best way, the Elder related the following incident:
"One ascetic, suffering in his soul due to the multiple injustices he had seen in his life, begged God to reveal to him, why the pious people so often fall into difficulties and suffer various oppressions, while the sinners and atheists triumph and thrive. For a long period of time, he begged God daily to reveal to him the mystery of the ways of His Providence and explain the riddle of the seeming contradiction between that which should be and that which occurs. Finally, the ascetic heard a voice saying to him:

—Do not examine that, what exceeds your understanding, and do not strive to fathom the mysteries of Divine judgments, for they are an incomprehensible abyss. Condescending to your heart’s pain, God will reveal His Providence to you in one life incident. And you pay attention to what you see.

And so, like in a vision, the elder felt himself above the earth, and a mysterious air-flow brought him to a field, close to which there was a road. On the other side of the field, there was a spring and an old tree. The ascetic was ordered to hide himself in the hollow of that tree and to observe what would happen.

Soon a rich man rode up to the spring on a horse. He stopped to drink some water and to rest. Settling down on the grass, he took out of the basket a small purse, tightly stuffed with gold coins. After counting them, he put the purse back into the basket and took some food out to eat. He did not notice that, when he was taking out the food, the purse fell out into the grass. The rich man ate, lay down to take a nap, and then, mounting the horse, rode on, without noticing that the purse with the coins was left in the grass.

A little later, another passer-by approached the spring. He saw the purse with the gold coins, picked it up and left, delighted.

Soon, there appeared a third passer-by, skinny and badly dressed — apparently, a beggar. He, too, stopped by the spring, drank some water, took a roll out of his handkerchief and sat down to eat. He had not yet finished eating his bread, when suddenly, the first passerby rode up, the rich man that had lost his purse. With a face, crimson with anger, he pounced on the beggar and began demanding the return of his gold coins. Naturally, the beggar, not knowing what the matter was, began to refuse and assure the rich man, that he had never seen his coins. The rich man, however, did not believe the beggar, and, becoming violent, started to severely beat the beggar until he killed him. Upon searching the beggar’s clothes, he did not find anything, and galloped away, anguished.

Observing all this from the hollow, the elder began to grieve and cry, that the beggar died for nothing. And again the elder appealed to God: "Lord, what do these events mean? How can Your goodness tolerate such injustice: the rich man lost his coins absent-mindedly, an accidental stranger took them, and the innocent beggar paid for them with his life."

Then the Lord’s Angel descended from Heaven and answered the elder:

—Do not be sad, and do not think that this happened contrary to the will of God. For everything in life happens either because God permits it, or, for the purpose of teaching people, or as part of the Divine house-building. So, listen:

The man, who lost the gold coins, is the neighbor of the one that found them. The latter had a garden, which had a value of 100 gold coins. The rich man, being covetous, made him sell the garden to him for half the price.
Suffering damage at the hands of the rich man, the neighbor, not knowing to whom to complain, began to ask God to come to his defense. And God so arranged it: in finding the gold coins, he received what was due him.

The beggar, who, it appeared, had suffered for nothing, had committed a murder in his youth.
Later, he sincerely repented of that sin, and lived the rest of the life righteously. Nevertheless, suffering in his soul for his grave sin, He prayed God to send him a death that would redeem him of his sin of the murder of an innocent person. Of course, the merciful Lord forgave him, seeing his complete reformation.

Nevertheless, he permitted him to die violently, to crown him with the martyr’s crown, that he had asked for himself!

Finally, the miserly rich man, that lost the gold coins, was punished for his covetousness: God let him commit the grave sin of murder. Staggered by that incident, he came to his senses and with great grief started repenting.

Then, having distributed his wealth, he left the world and became a monk in one of the monasteries.

So, in which of these three events do you see injustice or blind fate? Therefore, humble yourself before God, and in future, do not delve into His destinies, for He does everything righteously and leads to the best result.

Concluding this story, Elder Paisius mentioned the words of the Psalm:

"Righteous art Thou, O LORD, and upright are Thy judgments" (Ps.118:137).

Synod Presents 55 Propositions to Pope
Assembly Approves Every Proposal VATICAN CITY, OCT. 26, 2008 (Zenit.org)
The work sessions of the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God concluded at midday Saturday, with the approval of 55 propositions that the synodal assembly presented to Benedict XVI.
The proposals were voted on electronically by the 244 synod fathers present in the hall. To be approved, each proposition needed a two-thirds majority.
All of the propositions that were presented were approved, confirming the evaluation of this synod as exhibiting perhaps more consensus than any synod since the Second Vatican Council reinstituted this assembly.

Part 1 The first part includes propositions on the Word of God in the faith of the Church. The proposals in this sections include suggestions so that Catholic communities better understand and live their deep relationship with the Word, Jesus Christ, who can be found in the reading and meditating Scripture.

They highlight the role of the Holy Spirit, the Church and tradition, as well as the intimate relationship between Scripture and the Eucharist.

Three propositions present the Word of God as a Word of reconciliation, a Word of commitment in favor of the poor, and the base of natural law. This section also considers the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.

Part 2 The second part of the document (propositions 14-37) considers the Word of God in the life of the Church. Among other things, concrete ideas are offered to improve homilies, a revision of the Lectionary is suggested, and lectio divina is promoted. It is suggested that women be allowed to be instituted lectors.

This section also urges overcoming division between exegetes and theologians, or exegetes and pastors.

Proposition 37 has a historical value, because it takes up the contribution make by Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

Part 3 Propositions 38-54, on the Word of God in the mission of the Church, speaks of the Word in relation to art and culture, and the translations and availability of the Bible.

This section also considers the transmission of the Word in the media, as well as the fundamentalist reading of the Bible and the phenomenon of sects. It also takes into account proposals on interreligious dialogue, the promotion of pilgrimages and studies in the Holy Land, dialogue with Judaism and Islam, and the relationship between the Word and protection of the environment.

The concluding proposition is dedicated to Mary, and invites a promotion of the Angelus and the rosary -- contemplation of the Word though the eyes of the Mother of Christ.

Public The propositions were prepared by a team led by the relator-general of the synod, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec and by the special secretary, Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo.
The team spent the entire night working so as to present the propositions for vote.
Normally the propositions are not made public, but Benedict XVI has asked the secretariat of the synod to publish a provisional, non-official Italian translation.

To Save A Life is Earthly; To Save A Soul is Eternal

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 108

O Lady, Our Lord has become our brother and our Savior.

Like the flame in the burning bush, and the dew in the fleece: the Word of God descends into thee forever.

The Holy Spirit hath made thee fruitful: the power of the Most High hath overshadowed thee.

Blessed be thy most pure conception: blessed be thy virginal bringing forth.

Blessed be the purity of thy body: blessed be the sweetness of the mercy of thy heart.

For thy spirit is kind: thy grace fills the whole world.

Thunder, ye heavens, from above, and give praise to her: glorify her, ye earth, with all the dwellers therein.

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

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

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

There are over 10,000 named saints beati from history
and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources
Patron_Saints.html Widowed_Saints html Indulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East Lourdes 1858 China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine Loreto, Italy Marian Apparitions (over 2000) Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related MarianWebsites Angels and Archangels Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell
Widowed Saints html
Doctors_of_the_Church Acts_Of_The_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates Chalcedon

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

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

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

Join us on CatholicVote.org. Be part of a new movement committed to using powerful media projects to create a Culture of Life. We can help shape the movement and have a voice in its future. Check it out at www.CatholicVote.org

Saint Frances Xavier Seelos Practical Guide to Holiness

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

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not

O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I beg the conversion of poor sinners, Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace

The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.

THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.

These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.

God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.

As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.
Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.

Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.

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

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

His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.

Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.

Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac

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

Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints. Imam Hussein died in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the saint's shrine. The battle over a dispute about the leadership of the Muslim faith following Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. It is the defining event in Islam's split into Sunni and Shiite branches. The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson. "He sacrificed his blood to teach us not to give in to corruption, coercion, or use of force and to seek honor and justice." According to Shiite beliefs, Hussein and companions were denied water by enemies who controlled the nearby Euphrates. Streets get partially covered with blood from slaughter of hundreds of cows and sheep. Volunteers cook the meat and feed it to the poor. Hussein's martyrdom recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to many Shiites, 10 percent of the world's estimated 1.3 billion Muslims.

Meeting of the Saints walis (saints of Allah)

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

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

801 Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Sufi One of the most famous Islamic mystics
(b. 717). This 8th century saint was an early Sufi who had a profound influence on later Sufis, who in turn deeply influenced the European mystical love and troubadour traditions. Rabi'a was a woman of Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq. She was born around 717 and died in 801 (185-186). Her biographer, the great medieval poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary" (186). She was, he continues, “an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries" (218).
Rabi'a began her ascetic life in a small desert cell near Basra, where she lost herself in prayer and went straight to God for teaching. As far as is known, she never studied under any master or spiritual director. She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path (222). A later Sufi taught that there were two classes of "true believers": one class sought a master as an intermediary between them and God -- unless they could see the footsteps of the Prophet on the path before them, they would not accept the path as valid. The second class “...did not look before them for the footprint of any of God's creatures, for they had removed all thought of what He had created from their hearts, and concerned themselves solely with God. (218)
Rabi'a was of this second kind. She felt no reverence even for the House of God in Mecca: "It is the Lord of the house Whom I need; what have I to do with the house?" (219) One lovely spring morning a friend asked her to come outside to see the works of God. She replied, "Come you inside that you may behold their Maker. Contemplation of the Maker has turned me aside from what He has made" (219). During an illness, a friend asked this woman if she desired anything.
"...[H]ow can you ask me such a question as 'What do I desire?' I swear by the glory of God that for twelve years I have desired fresh dates, and you know that in Basra dates are plentiful, and I have not yet tasted them. I am a servant (of God), and what has a servant to do with desire?" (162)
When a male friend once suggested she should pray for relief from a debilitating illness, she said,
"O Sufyan, do you not know Who it is that wills this suffering for me? Is it not God Who wills it? When you know this, why do you bid me ask for what is contrary to His will? It is not well to oppose one's Beloved." (221)
She was an ascetic. It was her custom to pray all night, sleep briefly just before dawn, and then rise again just as dawn "tinged the sky with gold" (187). She lived in celibacy and poverty, having renounced the world. A friend visited her in old age and found that all she owned were a reed mat, screen, a pottery jug, and a bed of felt which doubled as her prayer-rug (186), for where she prayed all night, she also slept briefly in the pre-dawn chill. Once her friends offered to get her a servant; she replied,
"I should be ashamed to ask for the things of this world from Him to Whom the world belongs, and how should I ask for them from those to whom it does not belong?" (186-7)
A wealthy merchant once wanted to give her a purse of gold. She refused it, saying that God, who sustains even those who dishonor Him, would surely sustain her, "whose soul is overflowing with love" for Him. And she added an ethical concern as well:
"...How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know whether he acquired it lawfully or not?" (187)
She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance. She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did. For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of God's servants; emotions like fear and hope were like veils -- i.e., hindrances to the vision of God Himself. The story is told that once a number of Sufis saw her hurrying on her way with water in one hand and a burning torch in the other. When they asked her to explain, she said:
"I am going to light a fire in Paradise and to pour water on to Hell, so that both veils may vanish altogether from before the pilgrims and their purpose may be sure..." (187-188)
She was once asked where she came from. "From that other world," she said. "And where are you going?" she was asked. "To that other world," she replied (219). She taught that the spirit originated with God in "that other world" and had to return to Him in the end. Yet if the soul were sufficiently purified, even on earth, it could look upon God unveiled in all His glory and unite with him in love. In this quest, logic and reason were powerless. Instead, she speaks of the "eye" of her heart which alone could apprehend Him and His mysteries (220).
Above all, she was a lover, a bhakti, like one of Krishna’s Goptis in the Hindu tradition. Her hours of prayer were not so much devoted to intercession as to communion with her Beloved. Through this communion, she could discover His will for her. Many of her prayers have come down to us:
       "I have made Thee the Companion of my heart,
        But my body is available for those who seek its company,
        And my body is friendly towards its guests,
        But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul." [224]

To Save A Life is Earthly; Saving A Soul is Eternal Donation by mail, please send check or money order to:

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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.

June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.

By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi.

June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.

By Father John Corapi

Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

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

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

About Father John Corapi.

Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .

The pillars of father's preaching are basically:

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

God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi

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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.

Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

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

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”

Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

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

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.

Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.

Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.

Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.

Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.

Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

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

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”

Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

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

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.

Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.

Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.

Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.

Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

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

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

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

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

Sunday, November 23 2014 Six to Be Canonized on Feast of Christ the King.

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

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

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

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

October 01, 2015 Vatican City, Pope Authorizes following Decrees
(ZENIT.org) By Staff Reporter
Polish Layperson Recognized as Servant of God
Pope Authorizes Decrees
Pope Francis on Wednesday authorised the Congregation for Saints' Causes to promulgate the following decrees:

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

HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Folci, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Opera Divin Prigioniero (1890-1963);
- Servant of God Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish diocesan priest (1921-1987);
- Servant of God Jose Rivera Ramirez, Spanish diocesan priest (1925-1991);
- Servant of God Juan Manuel Martín del Campo, Mexican diocesan priest (1917-1996);
- Servant of God Antonio Filomeno Maria Losito, Italian professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (1838-1917);
- Servant of God Maria Benedetta Giuseppa Frey (nee Ersilia Penelope), Italian professed nun of the Cistercian Order (1836-1913);
- Servant of God Hanna Chrzanowska, Polish layperson, Oblate of the Ursulines of St. Benedict (1902-1973).

March 06 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Pope Francis received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES

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

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

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

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

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_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates, 108 2022