Mary Mother of GOD
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.
August is the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary;
2023
21,989  Lives Saved Since 2007
Pope Francis  PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR August 2023

For World Youth Day
We pray the World Youth Day in Lisbon will help young people to live and witness the Gospel in their own lives.

“If Children Are Seen as a Burden, Something Is Wrong”
A society that does not like to be surrounded by children and considers them a concern, a weight, or a risk, is a depressed society.   “When life multiplies, society is enriched, not impoverished.”
Children are a gift of society, never a possession. Pope Francis
CAUSES OF SAINTS

 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 .


It Makes No Sense Not To Believe In GOD 
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
St. Ignatius Of Loyola founder of the Jesuits
  Saints of this Day August  03 Tértio Nonas Augústi.   
1868 ST PETER JULIAN EYMARD, FOUNDER of the priests of the Blessed Sacrement

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST  
 50 St. Lydia Purpuraria Paul's first convert at Philippi
 1st v. St. Abibas A convert to the faith 2nd son of Gamaliel famed Jewish teacher of St. Paul
45 St. Gamaliel Pharisee mentor of St. Paul great teachers of the Mosaic law 1st century counselled the Sanhedrin not to confute God's will by killing Peter and Apostles arrested for preaching Jesus
1st v. Nicodemus Sanhedrin spoke out on Jesus' behalf before the chief priests and the Pharisees
       St. Aspren Bishop cured and baptized by St. Peter
 304 ST Theodota, MARTYR
  415 The Finding Of St Stephen 
  446 St. Dalmatius  Anti Nestorian An archimandrite a great ascetic and particularly excelled at fasting;  
484 Saint Razhden, a convert in Georgia, the Protomartyr descended from a noble Persian family
6th v. St Cosmas the Hermit; lived in Palestine Pharan wilderness strict fasting, firm defender of Orthodox Faith and dogmas, profoundly knowledgeable Holy Scripture works of the Church Fathers;
933 Blessed Gregory of Nonantula, Benedictine abbot the great Italian abbey of Nonantula near Modena
940 Benno of Metz; Strasbourg priest, hermit on Mount Etzel Switzerland where Saint Meinrad had lived; restored Mary shrine attracted disciples; German King named Benno bishop of Metz; blinded by enemies of his reforms; resigned see returned to Mount Etzel joined by Eberhard Strasbourg cathedral provost; hermitage developed into Einsiedeln Abbey monastery; long venerated a beatus
1105 St. Peter of Anagni 1st crusader Benedictine bishop papal legate
1160 St Waltneof, Abbot of Melrose; saw not the form of bread, but radiant form of the child Jesus.
1323 Blessed Augustine Gazotich of Lucera fought Manichæen heresy Sicily, Islam; in Hungary; miracles
1868 ST PETER JULIAN EYMARD, FOUNDER of the priests of the Blessed Sacrement

August 3 – Act of consecration to the Virgin Mary
inspired by St Peter Damian and approved by the Archbishop of Cambrai (France, 1626) 

  Saint Mariam Baouardy of Jesus Crucified
"The soul must not say that it would like to suffer…"  
Saint Mariam Baouardy of Jesus Crucified, a Palestinian Arab recently canonized by Pope Francis, was favored with many visions of Heaven. In one of these visions Our Lady gave this precious spiritual advice to Mariam:

"The soul must not say that it would like to suffer, or that it would like this or that cross, deprivation or humiliation, because self-will spoils everything. It is better to have fewer deprivations, less suffering
and humiliations by the will of God, than a larger number by one’s own will.
The key is to accept—with love and full compliance to his will—all that it pleases the Lord to send us."

"In hell there are souls that asked God for crosses and humiliations.
God answered their prayers, but they did not take advantage of these graces and were lost through their pride.
 Give thanks and accept what God sends you, without asking for anything else in particular. "
  Reverend Father Estrate
In Mariam, sainte palestinienne, la vie de Marie de Jésus crucifié, Editions Téqui, Paris
 
Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here }

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

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

 50 St. Lydia Purpuraria Paul's first convert at Philippi
1st v. St. Abibas A convert to the faith 2nd son of Gamaliel famed Jewish teacher of St. Paul
45 St. Gamaliel Pharisee mentor of St. Paul great teachers of the Mosaic law 1st century counselled the Sanhedrin not to confute God's will by killing Peter and Apostles arrested for preaching Jesus
1st v. Nicodemus Sanhedrin spoke out on Jesus' behalf before the chief priests and the Pharisees "We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Saint John even says that it was to Nicodemus that our Lord said,
 "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life."M (RM)
1868 ST PETER JULIAN EYMARD, Founder of Priests Of The Blessed Sacrament


August 3 – Our Lady of the Stairs to Heaven (Italy, 1498) – Feast of Saint Gamaliel and Saint Abibon 
 
Why does Mary bear the title of ‘Cooperatrix in the Redemption’?
Saint Bernard says, that as a man and a woman have co-operated for our ruin, so it was fit that another man and another woman should cooperate for our restoration; and these were Jesus and his Mother Mary.

Doubtless, says the saint, Jesus Christ alone was all-sufficient for our redemption: yet it was more fitting that each sex should take part in our redemption, when both took part in our corruption. For this reason blessed Albertus Magnus calls Mary the co-operatrix with Christ in our redemption: "Adjutrix Redemptionis."

And she herself revealed to Saint Bridget that as Adam and Eve sold the world for one apple, so her Son and herself with one heart redeemed the world. God could, indeed, as Saint Anselm asserts, create the world from nothing;
 but when it was lost by sin, he would not redeem it without the cooperation of Mary.
Saint Alphonsus of Liguori  The Glories of Mary, chapter 5, section II
 
August 4 – OUR LADY OF DORDRECHT (Holland) - Saint John Vianney, Curé of Ars (d. 1859)
The Marian Childhood of John Mary Vianney (I)
When John went out to the fields to herd his father’s sheep, he enjoyed kneading the clay-like soil into small statues of the Blessed Virgin and the saints as best he could. His sister told me that John had once made a fairly good statue of the Blessed Virgin. So they had it baked in a kiln and kept it in their home a long time.  Later, someone gave John a statuette of the Blessed Virgin as a gift and this made him very happy. He kept it close to him both day and night.
Catherine Lassagne in: Mgr. R. Fourrey, The Virgin Mary and the Curé of Ars

The Great Miracle of Our Lady Del Pilar August 3
 Our Lady of the Stairway to Heaven (Italy, 1498)
  In 1637, a youngster employed on a farm, Juan Miguel Pellicer (1617-1647), born in Calanda, Spain in a family of seven children, fell from a cart. A wheel broke his right leg, crushing "the tibia right down the middle" (Article 7 of Proceedings, quoted by Deroo, 1977, 24). He was admitted to a hospital in Valencia on August 3, 1637, and then transferred to the royal hospital in Zaragoza in early October.
Reduced to begging, he tried different remedies in vain.
At the end of October, his leg was amputated "four fingers above the knee."
He left the hospital in the spring of 1638 and returned to live in Calanda, among his own.
The night of March 29, 1640, he slept in a room with his parents. In the morning, his father discovered two feet under the covers: the amputated leg had returned! A canonical trial began on June 5, 1640.
On April 22, 1641, the municipality of Calanda chose Our Lady of the Pilar as its patron saint.
 On April 27, Bishop Apaolaza, Archbishop of Zaragoza, declared: "We say, vote and declare that Juan Miguel Pellicer (...) has miraculously recovered his right leg which previously had been amputated.
This restitution is not the work of nature, but was carried out in a miraculous and admirable way
and should be recognized as a miracle."
(AASS, July, vol VI, 120 and Copia literal auténtica y del
Proceso y sentencia de calificacio'n, Zaragoza, 1940, 28.)

A medal to commemorate the miracle was struck in 1671.
Some associate this miracle to an apparition of the Blessed Virgin.
In actual fact, no evidence can lead us to believe this.
Juan Miguel had merely prayed to Our Lady of the Pilar before going to bed and then he "had a dream in which he saw the Blessed Virgin rubbing his sore stump with oil from the lamps in the chapel of Saragossa."
Taken from Father Laurentin's Dictionnaire des Apparitions, Fayard 2007

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


Aug 3 - Our Lady of Bows (London, England) - Saint Gamaliel and Saint Abibon
Mary's Resting Place (I)
Twenty miles west of Jerusalem, near the convent of the Sisters of Bethlehem, Beit Gemal (the house of Gamaliel) the Salesian church keeps the memory of the apparition of the great rabbi Gamaliel to Fr. Lucien, a priest from Cafargamala on Friday, August 3, 415, at three o'clock A.M.
Falling into a kind of ecstasy, Fr. Lucien saw a very old man, of great stature and full of dignity, with white hair and a long beard, wearing a shield decorated with gold tassels and a cross in the middle, holding a gold crosier in his hand, who said, "Lucien, Lucien, Lucien, go to the city of Aelia, which is none other than Jerusalem, and tell the old holy man John, the bishop these words:
8/2/09
"How long will we remain imprisoned without anyone to open the door for us? It is under your bishopric that we should to be revealed. Quickly open the tomb where our relics were carelessly laid, so that God may open the door of his clemency to the world before its many, daily faults put it in danger."
 50 St. Lydia Purpuraria Paul's first convert at Philippi
 1st v. St. Abibas A convert to the faith 2nd son of Gamaliel famed Jewish teacher of St. Paul
45 St. Gamaliel Pharisee mentor of St. Paul great teachers of the Mosaic law 1st century counselled the Sanhedrin not to confute God's will by killing Peter and Apostles arrested for preaching Jesus
1st v. Nicodemus Sanhedrin spoke out on Jesus' behalf before the chief priests and the Pharisees "We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Saint John even says that it was to Nicodemus that our Lord said, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."M (RM)
       St. Aspren Bishop cured and baptized by St. Peter
 304 ST Theodota, MARTYR
  415 The Finding Of St Stephen 
  446 St. Dalmatius { Dalmatus )Anti Nestorian An archimandrite a great ascetic and particularly excelled at fasting; a zealous proponent of the Orthodox Faith at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431), which condemned the heresy of Nestorius venerated in Constantinople; a staunch defender of the Church against the heretical Nestorians.
5th v. Trea of Ardtree conversion to Christianity by Saint Patrick recluse at ArdtreeV (AC)
  448 St Germanus, Bishop Of Auxerre; by his teaching and miracles Pelagianism was finally eradicated and its teachers banished, free from heresy the Church in these islands remained for a space of eleven hundred years, until the errors of Protestantism took root and were watered by royal corruption in the sixteenth century;  feast observed in Wales and in several southern English dioceses; he was strengthening and consolidating the British church after abandoned by the Roman empire, of purging it from error, of converting yet more of the people; and by his influence on St Patrick; no doubt Germanus left his mark on Ireland also
  450 St. Faustus A monk of considerable fame, reportedly the son of St. Dalmatius.
475 Euphronius of Autun extant letter (Patrologia Latina col. 66-67) from Bishop Saint Euphronius of Autun to Saint Lupus of Troyes B (RM)
 484 Saint Razhden, a convert in Georgia, the Protomartyr descended from a noble Persian family
5th v. Marana and Cyra two maidens who became hermits near Beroea, Syria MM (RM)
          St. Senach Finian 6th century disciple of Saint Finnian and his successor at Clonard
6th v. St Cosmas the Hermit; lived in the Pharan wilderness of Palestine; strict of fasting, firm defender of the Orthodox Faith and Church dogmas, profoundly knowledgeable in Holy Scripture and works of the Church Fathers;
Mancus (Manaccus) is the titular patron of Lanreath church in Cornwall, where, according to William Worcestre, his relics were venerated; image appears in 16th-century Young Women's Window Saint Neot's Church in Cornwall
933 Blessed Gregory of Nonantula, OSB Abbot A Benedictine abbot of the great Italian abbey of Nonantula near Modena (Benedictines).(AC)
  940 Benno of Metz; left noble family became Strasbourg priest, hermit on Mount Etzel Switzerland where Saint Meinrad had lived; restored Mary shrine attracted disciples; German King named Benno bishop of Metz; blinded by enemies of his reforms; resigned see returned to Mount Etzel joined by Eberhard Strasbourg cathedral provost; hermitage developed into Einsiedeln Abbey monastery; long venerated a beatus
1105 St. Peter of Anagni 1st crusader Benedictine bishop papal legate
1147 St Anthony the Roman Born to rich parents adhered to Orthodox Faith; raised him in piety; study of the Fathers in the Greek language; distributed part inheritance to poor, other portion he put into a wooden barrel and threw it
into the sea; Persecution of the Latins against the  Orthodox forced the brethren to separate; a terrible storm tor 
away the stone on which St Anthony stood, and threw it into the sea; divine Providence floated the stone to
Novgorod { the Novgorod Chronicles};  fishermen recovered barrel was returned used money for monastery
1160 Bl. Waltheof Cistercian abbot  undaunted cheerfulness  humility, simplicity, and kindness  unbounded generosity
incorrupt Many miracles recorded during lifetime Eucharistic visions of Christ in the form appropriate to feast 
of Christmas, Passiontide, Easter, visions of heaven and hell
 1160 St Waltneof, Abbot of Melrose; Waltheof saw in his hands, not the form of bread, but the radiant form of the child Jesus. When he had laid the Host on the altar he saw only the sacramental form.
1295 “ST” THOMAS OF DOVER Miracles were recorded at his tomb and Simon Simeon, an Irish friar who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 1322, mentions the honour given to him as a martyr “at the Black Monks, under Dover Castle”. King Richard II asked Pope Urban VI to canonize Thomas, and a process was begun in 1382 but never carried out
1323 Blessed Augustine Gazotich of Lucera fought the Manichæen heresy; in Sicily, Islam; in Hungary charming miracles are related OP B (AC)
1625 Marabda 9,000 Martyrs; On the Feast of the Annunciation the Georgians annihilated army of the Persian shah Abbas I Battle of Martqopi. The victory unified Georgia’s eastern provinces of Kartli and Kakheti. It instilled hope in other Transcaucasus enslaved peoples, rebellions began to break out everywhere; another battle had begun at dawn finally ended late night with the defeat of the Georgian army. 9,000 Georgians died for Christ and their motherland on the battlefield at Marabda
1868 ST PETER JULIAN EYMARD, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT


50 St. Lydia Purpuraria Paul's first convert at Philippi
Philíppis, in Macedónia, sanctæ Lydiæ purpuráriæ, quæ, prædicánte ibídem sancto Paulo Apóstolo, ut beátus Lucas in Actibus Apostolórum refert, ómnium prima crédidit Evangélio.
    At Philippi in Macedonia, St. Lydia, a dealer in purple, who was the first to believe in the Gospel when the apostle St. Paul preached in that city, as is related by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles
Lydia Purpuraria (1st century) was born at Thyatira (Ak-Hissar), a town in Asia Minor, famous for its dye works, (hence, her name which means purple seller). She became Paul's first convert at Philippi. She was baptized with her household, and Paul stayed at her home there.
Lydia Purpuraria, Matron (RM) Born at Thyatira (Ak-Hissar) in Asia Minor, 1st century. Saint Lydia was born in a town famous for its dye works. She was a seller of purple dye, when she became Saint Paul's first convert at Philippi (Acts 16:14-15), Macedonia, and in Europe. She and her entire household were baptized, which probably included young children. Thereafter, Paul made his home with her while in Philippi (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
1st v. St. Abibas A convert to the faith 2nd son of Gamaliel famed Jewish teacher of St. Paul
Gamaliel was a member of the Sanhedrin that tried Jesus and condemned him to death. Gamaliel is recorded as having become a Christian, and Abibas is traditionally listed as an early convert to the Church. Little else is known of his life.

Abibas (Abibo) (RM). Abibas, the second son of Gamaliel (Acts 5:34; 22:3), converted to Christianity like his father and father's disciple, Saint Paul. He seems to have escaped the destruction of Jerusalem and lived until he was 80. In 415, his remains, together with  Saints Stephen, Gamaliel, and Nicodemus, found at Capergamela near Jerusalem (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
St. Aspren Bishop cured and baptized by St. Peter
Neápoli, in Campánia, sancti Aspréni Epíscopi, qui a sancto Petro Apóstolo, curátus ab infirmitáte ac deínde baptizátus, ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopus ordinátus fuit.
    At Naples in Campania, St. Aspren, bishop, who was cured of a sickness by the apostle St. Peter, and after being baptized, was made bishop of that city.
 Aspren was a native of Naples, in Campania, Italy. He became ill and was cured by St. Peter. Baptized and a vital member of the Church in Naples, Aspren was made bishop of the city.
Aspren (Aspronas) of Naples B (RM). The Roman Martyrology contains this laus: At Naples in Campania, the birthday of Saint Aspren the bishop, who was cured of infirmity by Saint Peter the Apostle, and afterwards baptized and ordained bishop of that city."

The historical records, however, indicate that he probably lived at the end of 2nd beginning 3rd century (Benedictines) .
45 St. Gamaliel Pharisee mentor of St. Paul great teachers of the Mosaic law 1st century counselled the Sanhedrin not to confute God's will by killing Peter and Apostles arrested for preaching Jesus
Rabbinical teacher, the mentor of St. Paul. Gamaliel counseled the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jerusalem to release St. Peter and other apostles. He reportedly became a Christian; finding of his body in Jerusalem was celebrated on August 3 by early Christians.

Gamaliel (RM) 1st century. One of the great teachers of the Mosaic law, Gamaliel is honored in rabbinical circles with the title Rabban. He was the Pharisee who taught Saint Paul the law in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was also the one who counselled the Sanhedrin not to confute God's will by surreptitiously killing Peter and the Apostles who had been arrested for preaching Jesus. His eloquent speech caused that body to release Peter and the apostles with only a flogging (Acts 5:34-41). According to an ancient tradition recorded by Saint John Chrysostom, Gamaliel became a Christian even before Saint Paul.
He witnessed the martyrdom of Saint Stephen and buried the protomartyr's body on his own estate about 20 miles outside Jerusalem. At his own death, Gamaliel was buried in the same sepulchre, where the relics of both were found, together with those of his son, Saint Abibas and Saint Nicodemus, in 415 following a vision by Lucian, as recorded in the Roman Martyrology (Benedictines, Delaney, Husenbeth) .
1st v. Nicodemus Sanhedrin spoke out on Jesus' behalf before the chief priests and the Pharisees "We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Saint John even says that it was to Nicodemus that our Lord said, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."M (RM)
1st century. The Sanhedrin, the supreme council and highest court of justice of the Jews in Jerusalem, had wanted to condemn Jesus. Any member of the Sanhedrin who showed sympathy towards Jesus would have been considered by his colleagues as a traitor and an outcast. Yet we know that at least one member, Nicodemus, did.
Even before Jesus was tried, Saint John tells us that Nicodemus came to see Jesus, secretly and at night, to talk to him about what it means to see the kingdom of God (John 3). On this occasion Nicodemus partly confessed his belief in Jesus, saying: "We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus tried to teach him about being born again by the Holy Spirit and by baptism. Saint John even says that it was to Nicodemus that our Lord said, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Nicodemus spoke out on Jesus' behalf before the chief priests and the Pharisees, pointing out to them that the Law demanded the accused be given a hearing before judgment was passed (John 7:50- 52).

Together with Saint Joseph of Arimathea, he had the privilege of laying Jesus' body in the tomb on Good Friday. He brought with him large quantities of costly myrrh and aloes to the tomb and with Joseph wrapped Jesus' body "with spices in linen cloth" (John 1939-42).

One of the apocryphal gospels was circulated under his name in the early centuries of the Church. Saint Nicodemus has always been venerated as a martyr, although nothing is mentioned about his conversion or martyrdom in the New Testament (Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney) .

304 ST Theodota, MARTYR

ST THEODOTA, named in the Roman Martyrology on this day, was a noble lady of Nicaea. According to the acta, which are of no value, she was sought in marriage by the prefect Leucatius, and when she refused to have anything to do with him he denounced her and her three children to Nicetius, proconsul in Bithynia, as Christians. It was at the time of the persecution of Diocletian, and when they were brought before Nicetius he asked Theodota if it were she who had taught her children the new-fangled impiety which they believed. She retorted that they had been taught nothing new, but rather the age-old law. “What” asked her questioner, “Did your ancestors know these doctrines?” At this the eldest boy, Evodius, spoke up and said, “If our ancestors have been in error it is not because God has hidden the truth from them. Rather they were blind, and wandered into untruth through their blindness. But we are going to follow our mother.” “Your mother is going to sacrifice to the gods, whether she likes it or not”, replied Nicetius, and then, blaming Theodota for the offensive candour of her son’s words, urged her to sacrifice that they might follow her example and be saved. But when he could in no way move either her or them, he ordered them all to be burned together. Which was done.

Although the so-called “acts”, both in the Greek and Latin recensions, are worthless, there is good reason to believe that the martyrdom of St Theodota at Nicaea with her three sons is an authentic fact. “The sons of Theodota” are mentioned in the Syriac “breviarium” at the beginning of the fifth century, and it is probable that September 2, the date there assigned them, is the true anniversary, though in the “Hieronymianum”, from which our Roman Martyrology derives, August 2 has been erroneously indicated.

See H. Delehaye, CMH., pp. 412—414, and again in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. Iv (1937), pp. 201 seq.
415 The Finding Of St Stephen
Hierosólymis Invéntio beatíssimi Stéphani Protomártyris, et sanctórum Gamaliélis, Nicodémi et Abibónis, sicut Luciáno Presbytero divínitus revelátum est, Honórii Príncipis témpore.
    At Jerusalem, the finding of the body of blessed Stephen, protomartyr, and of the Saints Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and Abibo, through a divine revelation made to the priest Lucian, in the time of Emperor Honorius.
   This second festival in honour of the protomartyr St Stephen was instituted by the Church to commemorate discovery by the priest Lucian of his relics, together with those of Gamaliel, Nicodemus and Abibo, at Kafr Gamala in Palestine December 415.  According to the narrative attributed to Lucian, this discovery was made in consequence of dreams or visions vouchsafed to himself and to the monk Migetius.
  Alban Butler narrates the occurrence in some detail, which is not reproduced here; for it adds nothing to our knowledge of St Stephen, and moreover scholars increasingly incline to the view that there was no supernatural revelation made to Lucian or Migetiu.  Father Delehaye and others suggest that the discovery was accidental, but that a few years afterwards the incident was "dramatized" by Lucian in accord with the hagiographical precedents of that age.
  The wide distribution of relics of the martyr that followed the finding at Kafr Gamala had a great influence, directly and indirectly, on the spread of the cult of St Stephen.  God was pleased to glorify His name by miracles wrought through their means and the intercession of His first martyr.  Many of them were described by Evodius, Bishop of Uzalum in Africa, and by St Augustine, who said of them to his flock, "Let us so desire to obtain temporal blessings by his intercession, that we may by imitating him deserve those which are eternal".
   Our corporal necessities were not the motive which drew our divine Physician down from Heaven; but in His mortal life He restored many sick to health and delivered demoniacs, to relieve distress, to give men sensible proof of His divine power, and as a sign that He came to relieve spiritual disease.
In a Moto Proprio of John XXIII dated July 25, 1960, this feast was dropped from the Roman Calendar.
The most trustworthy text of Lucian's narrative is the Latin translation by Avitus, which is printed, for example, in the works of St Augustine (see Migne, PL., voL xli, cc. 805-816), but there are also versions in Greek, Syria; Armenian and Old Slavonic. The story of the discovery of the relics as narrated by Lucian, and its bearing upon certain traditional sites in Jerusalem, led in the years 1900-1908 to a good deal of lively controversy.  For this see especially the Revue de l'Orient chrétien, t. xxx, and the article of Fr Peeters in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxvii (1908), pp. 359-368.  See also F. M. Abel, La legende apocrypha de S. Etienne (1931), and H. Delehaye, Origines du culte des martyrs (1933), pp. 80-82.  Upon the miracles at Uzalum, etc., see the same writer in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xliii (1925), pp. 74-85, and upon the fact that the "inventio F. Stephani" is commemorated on August 3, see the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlix (1931), pp. 22-30.  A very full article on the "inventio", with copious references, has been contributed by H. Leclercq to DAC., vol. v, cc. 624-671. Pope Benedict XIV's commission proposed to suppress this feast.
446 St. Dalmatius { Dalmatus )Anti Nestorian An archimandrite a great ascetic and particularly excelled at fasting; a zealous proponent of the Orthodox Faith at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431), which condemned the heresy of Nestorius venerated in Constantinople. He was a staunch defender of the Church against the heretical Nestorians.

dalmatus_isaac_.faustus.jpg
Saint Dalmatus had served in the army of the holy emperor Theodosius the Great (379-395) and gained his notice. He left the world somewhere between the years 381-383, and went with his son Faustus to the monastery of St Isaac near Constantinople. St Isaac (May 30) tonsured father and son into monasticism, and they both began to lead a strict ascetic life.  Once during Great Lent St Dalmatus did not eat any food for the forty days. Later he regained his strength and was found worthy of a divine vision.
When St Isaac was approaching the end of his earthly life, he named St Dalmatus as igumen of the monastery, which later became known as the Dalmatian Monastery.  St Dalmatus showed himself a zealous proponent of the Orthodox Faith at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431), which condemned the heresy of Nestorius.  After the Council the holy Fathers elevated St Dalmatus as archimandrite of the Dalmatian monastery, where he died at the age of ninety (after 446).
St Faustus, like his father, was a great ascetic and particularly excelled at fasting. After the death of his father, Faustus became igumen of the monastery .
448 St Germanus, Bishop Of Auxerre; by his teaching and miracles Pelagianism was finally eradicated and its teachers banished, free from heresy the Church in these islands remained for a space of eleven hundred years, until the errors of Protestantism took root and were watered by royal corruption in the sixteenth century;  feast observed in Wales and in several southern English dioceses; he was strengthening and consolidating the British church after abandoned by the Roman empire, of purging it from error, of converting yet more of the people; and by his influence on St Patrick; no doubt Germanus left his mark on Ireland also.  The feast of St Germanus is August 3 in Wales and other dates in Westminster, Plymouth and Portsmouth.  His day in the Roman Martyrology is July 31.
It is very fitting that the feast of St Gerrnanus (Germain) of Auxerre should be observed in Wales and in several southern English dioceses for, while there is no saint who can be venerated as the apostle of Britain, to him belongs the honour of strengthening and consolidating the British church after the country was abandoned by the Roman empire, of purging it from error, and of converting yet more of the people; and by his influence on St Patrick no doubt Germanus left his mark on Ireland also.   But there was nothing in his youth and early manhood to suggest the future that was before him.

  He was born at Auxerre of Christian parents, and attended the Gallic schools then he went to Rome, read law and studied eloquence there, and practised at the bar, as we should say, with succcss.  He married-his wife was named Eustochia -and was sent back to Gaul as dux of the Armorican border provinces.  Germanus was a capable governor, and on the death of St Amator in 418 he was chosen, much against his will, to succeed him as bishop of Auxerre.  This sudden change of state imbued him with a deep sense of the obligations of his new dignity (cf. St Amator on May I). He renounced all worldliness, and embraced a life of poverty austerity. He extended his hospitality to all sorts of persons, washed the feet of the poor and served them with his own hands, while he himself fasted.   He built a monastery near Auxerre, on the other side of the river Yonne, in honour of SS. Cosmas and Damian, and endowed the cathedral and other churches of Auxerre, which he found very poor.
  At this time the British church was troubled by the heresy of Pelagius. This man was himself a Briton, and he, teaching in Rome, rejected the doctrine of original sin and denied that grace is necessary for salvation.  One of his disciples, Agricola, had propagated this false teaching in Britain, and the bishops of Gaul were asked to deal with the trouble.  Pope St Celestine and the Gallic bishops nominated St Germanus to go in year 429, and appointed St Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, to accompany him on this mission.
   The bishops arrived in Britain after a rough passage, and the fame of their sanctity, doctrine and miracles soon spread abroad.  They confirmed the orthodox and converted heretics, preaching wherever people would listen.  A public disputation was held at some unnamed place, where the heretics were allowed to speak first. When they had talked a long time, the bishops answered them with great eloquence, and so supported their arguments with quotations from the Bible and the fathers that their adversaries were reduced to silence. The saints went from this conference to return thanks to God at the tomb of St Alban, and ask for smooth passage home. St Germanus caused his sepulchre to be opened, and put therein his box of relics (with which he had just cured a little blind girl), taking out a little of the dust of St Alban.  This he carried away with him, and at his return built at Auxerre a church in his honour.  St Germanus found his people burdened with excessive taxes and went to Arles to appeal to Auxiliaris, prefect of Gaul, on their behalf.   On the road the people everywhere met him in crowds to receive his blessing.  In consequence of the bishop's healing of his sick wife, Auxiliaris granted Germanus the discharge from the taxes which he had asked for his people.
  About 440 he was called again into Britain to assist that church against Pelagianism, which was again gaining ground. He sought out those who had been seduced by the heretics, and converted many of them; so that by his teaching and miracles Pelagianism was finally eradicated and its teachers banished.  Germanus knew that ignorance could not be banished, nor the reformation which he had established maintain its ground, without schools for the instruction of the clergy, and is said himself to have founded such institutions, by which means, "These churches continued afterward pure in the faith, and free from heresy", as Bede observes. But for the slight and passing success of Wiclif, free from heresy the Church in these islands remained for 11 hundred years, until errors of Protestantism took root and watered by royal corruption in the 16 thcentury.
    In the proper Mass of St Germanus formerly used in the diocese of Paris, the offertory verse was taken from the Apocalypse xix I, 3:  "I heard as it were the voice of much people in Heaven, saying, Alleluia.  And again they said, Alleluia."
This had reference to an incident recorded by Germanus's biographer Constantius.  During his first visit to Britain, a plundering expedition of Picts and Saxons descended on the country, and the Britons, having assembled an army, invited the bishop into their camp, hoping to be protected by his prayers and presence.  The saint agreed, and employed his time in bringing idolaters to faith, and the Christians to penance.  Many demanded baptism, and they were prepared to receive it at Easter, for it was then Lent.   They made a church in the camp, of green boughs twisted together, in which the catechumens received the sacrament of regeneration, and the whole army celebrated the festival with great devotion. After Easter, St Germanus had recourse to a stratagem by which, without bloodshed, he rescued his friends from the danger with which they were threatened.  He led the little army into a vale between two high mountains; when warned of the enemy's approach, ordered his troops to send forth the same shout for which he would give them a sign. When the Saxons came near, he cried out thrice, Alleluia! which was repeated by the whole British force, and the sound was carried on by the echo from the hills with an awe-inspiring noise.  The barbarians, judging from the shout that they were falling upon the swords of a mighty army, flung down their arms and ran away. According to tradition this "battle" took place near Mold, in Flintshire, where is a meadow called Maes Garmon, though the association is very dubious indeed: other suggested localizations are near the south-east coast (Dr Hugh Williams) and the Chiltern escarpment (R. H. Hodgkin).
  To quell a revolt in Armorica, the Roman general Aetius sent a force of barbarians under their chief Goar, and Germanus, fearing for the people in the hands of such savages, went out to meet Gear, stopping his horse by the bridle, at the head of his army.   He at first refused to hear the bishop, but Germanus was firm, and Goar agreed not to ravish the province until the matter had been referred to Aetius, who in turn said that Germanus must get the imperial pardon for the people. He therefore undertook a journey to Ravenna.  His fame went before him like a triumphal progress, so that he entered the city by night to avoid a public reception.  He was received with joy by the bishop, St Peter Chrysologus, by the young Emperor Valentinian III, and by his mother, Galla Placidia; but unhappily for the cause which had brought Germanus there, news came of a further revolt among the Armoricans.
  The last great act of charity of his life was done, for while still at Ravenna, God took him, on July 31, 448. The transport of his body to Auxerre was one of the most magnificent funerals of which there is record, and his shrine in the great abbey church of his name at Auxerre was a famous place of pilgrimage.
  Saint Germans in Cornwall takes its name from this saint, who in a ninth- or tenth-century sacramentary is referred to as "a preacher of the truth and the light and pillar of Cornwall".  A medieval legend associates the foundation of the great abbey of Selby with a vision of St Germanus to the monk Benedict, with many marvels added.
The critical edition published by W. Levison in 1920 of Constantius's Vita S. Germani renders the older texts, such as that in the Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. vii, to some extent out of date. Like so many of the other biographies edited in MGH., Scriptores Merov. (vol. vii, pp. 225-283), the older text is now shown to have been considerably interpolated. Still the substance remains, and it cannot be disputed that Constantius wrote within thirty years of the death of the saint. See also Levison's "Bischof Germanus von Auxerre" in Neues Archiv, vol. xxix (1904); and, for a good popular work, L. Prunel's book in the series "Les Saints "(1929).  The meeting of the Association Bourguignonne des Sociétés Savantes held at Auxerre in 1948 produced a volume of studies, St Germain d'Auxerre et son temps, of great value. Baring-Gould and Fisher's hypothesis (LBS., vol. iii, pp. 60-79) of a separate St Germanus, "of Man", giving his name to Saint Germains on that island and other British churches, cannot be accepted without many reserves: see Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii (1904), p. 356 and J. Loth in the Annales de Bretagne, vol. xx (1905), p. 351.  The vita by Constantius is translated in F. R. Hoare, The Western Fathers (1954).  The feast of St Germanus is August 3 in Wales and other dates in Westminster, Plymouth and Portsmouth.  His day in the Roman Martyrology is July 31.
450 St. Trea Patrick Irish hermitess convert to Christianity through St. Patrick efforts
A convert to Christianity through the efforts of St. Patrick, she embraced the eremitical life and lived out her days as a recluse at Ardtree, Derry, Ireland.
450 St. Faustus A monk of considerable fame, reportedly the son of St. Dalmatius.
5th v. Marana and Cyra two maidens who became hermits near Beroea, Syria MM (RM)
Berœæ, in Syria, sanctárum mulíerum Maránæ et Cyræ.    At Beroea in Syria, the holy women Marana and Cyra.
5th century. Saints Marana and Cyra were two maidens who became hermits near Beroea, Syria. They are said to have kept holy silence throughout the year, except on Whitsunday (Benedictines). In art, this duo is depicted as two female hermits in mantles and hoods with chains on their shoulders (Roeder).
484 Saint Razhden, a convert in Georgia, the Protomartyr descended from a noble Persian family
When Holy King Vakhtang Gorgasali married the daughter of the Persian king Hormuzd III Balunducht, the queen took Razhden with her to Georgia. In Kartli Razhden converted to the Christian Faith, and King Vakhtang presented him with an estate and appointed him as a military adviser and commander.
At that time Georgia was under heavy political pressure from Persia. Enraged at King Vakhtang’s clearly Christian convictions, the Persian king Peroz (Son of Yazgard III.)(457–484) attacked Georgia with an enormous army. His accomplishments in this battle earned Razhden his distinction as a brave and virtuous warrior.
Before long the furious King Peroz ordered that “a certain Persian aristocrat who had converted to Christianity and survived the battle” be taken captive. The Persians surrounded Razhden, bound his hands and feet, and delivered him to their king. Peroz received him with feigned tenderness, saying, “Greetings, my virtuous Razhden! Peace be to you! Where have you been all this time, and for what reason have you turned from the faith of your fathers to confess a creed in which your fathers did not instruct you?”
Razhden fearlessly asserted Christianity the only true faith Christ the only true Savior of mankind.

King Peroz tried to conceal his anger and cunningly lure Razhden to his side, but his attempt was in vain. Convinced that his efforts were futile, Peroz finally ordered that the saint be beaten without mercy. The expert executioners trampled St. Razhden, battered him, knocked out his teeth, dragged him across jagged cliffs, then chained him in heavy irons and cast him into prison.
When the news of Razhden’s suffering and captivity spread to Mtskheta, the Georgian nobility came to Peroz and requested that he free the holy man. Peroz consented to their request, but made Razhden vow to return.
Razhden arrived in Mtskheta, bid farewell to his family and the beloved king Vakhtang Gorgasali and, despite his loved ones’ admonitions to the contrary, returned to Peroz.
The Persian king tried again to return Razhden to the religion of the fire-worshippers. But seeing that he would not be broken, Peroz instead ordered his exile to a military camp at Tsromi in central Georgia. Then he secretly ordered the chief of the Persian camp to turn him away from Christianity and to execute him if he refused.
“Your flattery and bribes are insulting to me. With joy I am prepared to endure every suffering for the sake of Christ!”
Razhden replied to his appeals.
“If he hopes in the Crucified One, then he also is fit to suffer crucifixion!”
Such was the Persians’ verdict. They erected a cross, crucified Christ’s humble servant, and prepared to shoot at the pious man with bow and arrow. “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit!” were the last words of St. Razhden.
That night a group of Christians stole the Persians’ cross, took the holy martyr’s body down from it, and buried his holy relics in secret. A few years later Vakhtang Gorgasali translated St. Razhden’s relics from Tsromi to Nikozi (in central Georgia) and interred them in a cathedral that he had built there not long before. Holy King Vakhtang later erected churches in honor of Georgia’s first martyr in Ujarma and Samgori in eastern Georgia
475 Euphronius of Autun extant letter (Patrologia Latina col. 66-67) from Bishop Saint Euphronius of Autun to Saint Lupus of Troyes B (RM)
Augustodúni deposítio sancti Euphrónii, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
    At Autun, the death of St. Euphronius, bishop and confessor.
There is an extant letter (Patrologia Latina col. 66-67) from Bishop Saint Euphronius of Autun to his friend Saint Lupus of Troyes (Benedictines).
550 St. Senach Finian 6th century disciple of Saint Finnian and his successor at Clonard
A disciple of St. Finian. He became a bishop in Ireland and succeeded Finian as head of the great Irish school of Clonard.
Senach (Snach) of Clonard B (AC) 6th century. A disciple of Saint Finnian and his successor at Clonard (Benedictines).
5th v. Trea of Ardtree conversion to Christianity by Saint Patrick recluse at ArdtreeV (AC)
5th century. After her conversion to Christianity by Saint Patrick, Saint Trea became a recluse at Ardtree in Derry, Ireland (Benedictines).
6th v. St Cosmas the Hermit lived in the Pharan wilderness of Palestine; strict of fasting, a firm defender of the Orthodox Faith and Church dogmas, and profoundly knowledgeable in Holy Scripture and the works of the Church Fathers;
An account of the Bikaneia presbyter Abba Basil about St Cosmas is located in the book Spiritual Meadow (Ch. 40) compiled by St John Moschus. He was strict of fasting, a firm defender of the Orthodox Faith and Church dogmas, and profoundly knowledgeable in Holy Scripture and the works of the Church Fathers.  St Cosmas particularly revered the works of St Athanasius the Great and told those to whom he spoke:  "If you come across a word of St Athanasius and have no paper, write it upon your clothing."  He had the habit to stand at prayer all night Saturday through Sunday.  Having once come to Antioch, he died there, and the patriarch buried his body at his monastery. Abba Basil relates that when he came to venerate the grave of St Cosmas, he found there a beggar, who told him:  "It is a great Elder whom you have buried here!" He explained that he had been paralyzed for twelve years, and received healing through the prayers of St Cosmas.
Mancus (Manaccus) is the titular patron of Lanreath church in Cornwall, where, according to William Worcestre, his relics were venerated. His image appears in the 16th-century Young Women's Window at Saint Neot's Church in Cornwall (Farmer). (AC).
933 Blessed Gregory of Nonantula, OSB Abbot A Benedictine abbot of the great Italian abbey of Nonantula near Modena (Benedictines).(AC)
940 (Blessed) Benno of Metz; left noble family became Strasbourg priest, hermit on Mount Etzel Switzerland where Saint Meinrad had lived; restored Mary shrine attracted disciples; German King named Benno bishop of Metz in opposition to a locally candidate; blinded by enemies of his reforms; resigned his see returned to Mount Etzel joined by Eberhard Strasbourg cathedral provost; hermitage was developed into a monastery became Einsiedeln Abbey; long venerated a beatus OSB B (AC)
Born in Schwabia (Germany); died August 3. Benno left his noble family to become a priest at Strasbourg and, in 906, a hermit on Mount Etzel in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. He occupied the hermitage in which Saint Meinrad had lived, restored a shrine to Mary, and soon attracted disciples. In 927, the German King Henry the Fowler named Benno bishop of Metz in opposition to a locally elected candidate. Striving to remedy abuses, two years later he was blinded by the enemies his reforms and the method of his appointment had made. He resigned his see and returned to Mount Etzel, where he was joined in 934 by Eberhard, provost of Strasbourg cathedral, and Benno's hermitage was developed into a monastery that in time became the famous Einsiedeln Abbey. He has long been venerated as both a beatus and a saint, although his cultus has never been recognized formally (Benedictines, Delaney).
1160 St Waltneof, Abbot of Melrose; Waltheof saw in his hands, not the form of bread, but the radiant form of the child Jesus. When he had laid the Host on the altar he saw only the sacramental form.
Waltneof was second son of Simon, Earl of Huntingdon, and Matilda or Maud, daughter to Judith, the niece of William the Conqueror.  His elder brother was called Simon, and in their childhood it was the pastime of this Simon to build castles and play at soldiers, but Waltheof's to build churches and monasteries of stones and wood.
  When grown up, the elder inherited his father's martial disposition together with his title; but Waltheof had a strong inclination for the religious life and was mild and peace-loving. Their mother Maud, after the death of her first husband, was given in marriage by King Henry I to St David I, King of Scotland, and Waltheof followed his mother to that court, where he formed an intimate friendship with St Ached, who was master of the royal household at that time.  When he went out hunting with the king Waltheof used to hide himself in. some thicket and there employ the day in meditation or reading.  The king, having one day surprised him at this, told the queen that her son was not a man of this world, for he could find no satisfaction in its diversions.  Only once did it look as if his vocation might be lost; he had attracted the attention of one of the ladies of the court and accepted from her a ring, which he wore on his linger. Such gages commonly have more serious developments, but when a courtier, noticing the ring, said, "Ha! At last Waltheof begins to take some notice of women he pulled himself together, snatched off the ring, and threw it into the fire.
  Soon after he decided to avoid the life of a court cleric and become a religious. He left Scotland, and made his profession among regular canons of St Augustine in their monastery at Nostell, near Pontefract in Yorkshire.   He was soon after chosen prior of Kirkham, in the same county, and, realizing the obligations he now lay under for the sanctification of others as well as for his own, he redoubled his austerity and regularity of observance.   In celebrating Mass one Christmas day, after the consecration of the bread he was favoured with a wonderful vision.  The divine Word, who on that day had made Himself visible to mankind by His birth, seemed pleased to manifest Himself not only to the eyes of faith but also to the bodily eyes of His servant.  Waltheof saw in his hands, not the form of bread, but the radiant form of the child Jesus.   When he had laid the Host on the altar he saw only the sacramental form.
  Waitheof, impressed by the life and vigour of the Cistercian monks, became anxious to join them; naturally he was encouraged by the advice of his friend St Aelred, then abbot of Rievaulx, and accordingly he took the habit at Wardon in Bedfordshire.  Waltheof found Cistercian life excessively severe, and judged it to be therefore less suitable for the salvation of souls than Augustinian discretion.  Nevertheless, only four years after profession, he was chosen abbot of Melrose, recently founded on banks of the Tweed by King David.  Whenever he fell into the smallest falling by inadvertence Waltheof immediately had recourse to confession, a practice of perfection which the confessors found rather trying, as one of them admitted to Jordan, the saint's biographer. Yet cheerfulness and spiritual joy always shone in his face, and his words were animated with a lire which penetrated the hearts of those that heard him.   His alms supported the poor of all the country round his abbey, and he is said to have twice multiplied bread miraculously. He once went to King Stephen in England, about affairs of his community, carrying a bundle on his back.   His brother Simon, who was present, was very annoyed and said to the king, "See how this brother of mine, and cousin of yours, disgraces his family."  " Not so," said the king.  "If we understand what the grace of God is, he does honour to us and all his kindred."  In 1154 Waltheof was chosen archbishop of Saint Andrews; but he prevailed on St Aelred to oppose the election and not to oblige him to accept it.   Once when giving a conference to his community he had occasion to refer to a vision of the glory of Heaven which had been vouchsafed to him, but he spoke in the third person as of another; but at last by inadvertence he spoke in the first person: he no sooner realized it than, cutting his discourse short, he withdrew in tears, much afflicted for the word which had escaped him.   St Waltheof died at a great age on August 3, about 1160.

  Under the Latin form "Walthenus", a long life, attributed to Joscelia, or Jordan, a monk of Furness (c. mc), is printed in the Acta Sanctonan, August, vol. i.  Though prolix, the narrative may be considered fairly reliable.  See also T. 1). Hardy, Descriptive Catalogue of MSS. (Rolls Series), vol. ii, p. 285.
1105 St. Peter of Anagni 1st crusader Benedictine bishop papal legate
Anágniæ sancti Petri Epíscopi, qui, monástica primum observántia, deínde pastoráli vigilántia clarus, quiévit in Dómino.
    At Anagni, St. Peter, who rested in the Lord after gaining great renown for monastical observance and for pastoral vigilance.
   A native of Salerno, Italy, he entered the Benedictines and so distinguished himself as a monk that Pope St. Gregory VII appointed him bishop of Anagni. As bishop, he improved the spiritual welfare of the city, built a new cathedral, and promoted the First Crusade to the Holy Land, a venture in which he participated. Pope Urban II sent him to Constantinople as papal legate to the Byzantine Empire. He was canonized in 1109 by Pope Paschal II, a mere four years after his death. 
   Peter of Anagni, OSB B (RM) Born at Salerno, Italy; died 1105; canonized in 1109. Saint Peter became a Benedictine in Salerno, and was appointed bishop of Anagni by Pope Saint Gregory VII in 1062. There he built a new cathedral. He participated in the first crusade and was sent as papal legate to Constantinople (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
1147 St Anthony the Roman Born to rich parents adhered to Orthodox Faith; raised him in piety; study of the Fathers in the Greek language; distributed part inheritance to poor, other portion he put into a wooden barrel and threw it into the sea; Persecution of the Latins against the Orthodox forced the brethren to separate; a terrible storm tore away the stone on which St Anthony stood, and threw it into the sea; divine Providence floated the stone to Novgorod {the Novgorod Chronicles}; fishermen recovered barrel was returned used money to buy land for monastery
   Born at Rome 1067 to rich parents who adhered to the Orthodox Faith, raised in piety. After losing his parents at age 17, he took up the study of the Fathers in the Greek language. Afterwards, he distributed part of his inheritance to the poor, and the other portion he put into a wooden barrel and threw it into the sea;
Then he was tonsured at one of the wilderness monasteries, where he lived for 20 years.
    Persecution of Latins against the Orthodox forced the brethren to separate. St Anthony wandered from place to place until he came upon a large rock upon the shore of the sea, where he lived for a whole year in fasting and prayer. On September 5, 1105 a terrible storm tore away the stone on which St Anthony stood, and threw it into the sea. By divine Providence, the stone floated to Novgorod. On the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the stone halted 3 versts from Novgorod on the banks of the River Volkhov near the village of Volkhov This event is testified to in the Novgorod Chronicles.
At this place the monk, with the blessing of St Nikita the Hermit (May 14), founded a monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos

In another year, fishermen recovered the barrel containing St Anthony's inheritance, cast into the sea many years before. The saint recognized his barrel, but the fishermen did not want to give it to him. Before a judge, St Anthony described the contents of the barrel, and it was returned to him. The saint used the money to buy land for the monastery. Spiritual asceticism was combined at the monastery with intense physical labor.
St Anthony was concerned that help should be given to the needy, orphans and widows from monastery funds.

In 1117, the saint built a stone church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. The church, built during the lifetime of St Anthony in the years 1117-1119 by the renowned Novgorod architect Peter, and adorned with frescoes in the year 1125, has been preserved to the present time. In 1131, St Niphon of Novgorod made St Anthony igumen of the monastery. He died on August 3, 1147 and was buried by St Niphon.
St Anthony was glorified in 1597. His memory is also celebrated (uncovering of his relics) on the first Friday after the Feast of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29), and on January 17, on the same day that St Anthony the Great is commemorated. The first Life of St Anthony the Roman was written soon after his death by his disciple and successor as igumen, the hieromonk Andrew. A Life, with an account of the uncovering of the relics, was written by a novice of the Antoniev monastery, the monk Niphon, in the year 1598.
1160 Bl. Waltheof Cistercian abbot undaunted cheerfulness humility, simplicity, and kindness unbounded generosity incorrupt Many miracles recorded during lifetime Eucharistic visions of Christ in the form appropriate to feasts of Christmas, Passiontide, Easter, visions of heaven and hell.
also known as Walthen and Waldef. The son of Simon, earl of lluntingdon, England, he was born circa 1100, and was raised at the court ofthe Scottish king alter his mother, Maud, wed King David I of Scotland (r. 1124-1153) following the death ofher first husband. While at court, Waltheof came under the influence of St. Adred, who was master of the royal household. Drawn toward the religious life, he entered the Augustinian Canons in Yorkshire and was elected abbot of Kirkham after a vision of the Christ Child.
Waltheofdesired a more austere life and so joined the Cistercians at Wardon, Bedfordshire, and then became abbot ofMelrose which had been rebuilt recently by his stepfather. In later years, he declined the office of archbishop of St. Andrews. He was renowned for his immense charity to the poor, personal holiness, and deep austerity.

Waltheof of Melrose, OSB Cist. Abbot (AC) (also known as Waldef, Walden, Wallevus, Walène, Walthen)
Died August 3, c. 1160. Waltheof was the grandson of the Northumbrian patriot Saint Waldef, and the second son of Earl Simon of Huntingdon and Matilda (Maud), daughter of Judith, the niece of William the Conqueror. During their childhood, his elder brother Simon loved to build castles and play at soldiers, but Waltheof's passion was to build churches and monasteries of wood and stones. When grown up, Simon inherited his father's martial disposition as well as his title; but Waltheof had a strong inclination toward the religious life, and was mild and peace-loving.
When their father died, King Henry I gave their mother in marriage to King Saint David of Scotland. Waltheof followed his mother to the Scottish court, where he became an intimate friend of Saint Aelred, who was master of the royal household at that time.
Soon Waltheof decided to enter religious life. He left Scotland, and, about 1130, professed himself an Augustinian canon regular at Nostell, near Pontefract in Yorkshire. He was soon chosen prior of the recently founded Kirkham (1134) in the same country, and, realizing the obligations he now had to work for the sanctification of others as well as himself, he redoubled his austerity and regularity of observance.
In 1140, Waltheof was chosen by the canons of York to succeed Thurstan as archbishop, but King Stephen quashed the election because of Waltheof's known Scottish sympathies.
Waltheof, impressed by the life and vigor of the Cistercian monks, became anxious to join them. At first he tried to unite his community en bloc with that of Rievaulx, but met with opposition. Naturally he was encouraged by the advice of his friend Aelred, then abbot of Rievaulx, and accordingly he took the habit at Wardon (Waldron) in Bedfordshire.
Perhaps because one of his own traits was undaunted cheerfulness, Waltheof found Cistercian life excessively severe. The canons also put obstacles in his way. But he persevered as a Cistercian and moved to Rievaulx, where Aelred had been elected abbot in 1148. Only four years after profession, Waltheof was chosen abbot of Melrose in 1149, recently founded on the banks of the Tweed by King David.
He had succeeded a man of ungovernable temper, so his sweetness must have been a shock for his brothers. He won their love and respect through humility, simplicity, and kindness. Like Saint Mayeul of Cluny, he preferred to be damned for excessive mercy rather than for excessive justice. With the help of King David, he also founded monasteries at Cultram and Kinross.
Whenever he fell into the smallest failing by inadvertence, Waltheof immediately made his confession, a practice of perfection which the confessors found rather trying, as one of them admitted to Jordan, the saint's biographer. In 1154 (or 1159), Waltheof was chosen archbishop of Saint Andrew's; but he prevailed upon Aelred to oppose the election and not to oblige him to accept it.
Upon his death, this saint of unbounded generosity to the poor was buried in the chapter house at Melrose. In 1207, his body was found to be incorrupt and was translated. When it was again translated in 1240, it was corrupted. Waltheof was never formally canonized but a popular cultus continued until the time of the Reformation.
Many miracles were recorded of Saint Waltheof during his lifetime. He had Eucharistic visions of Christ in the form appropriate to the feasts of Christmas, Passiontide, and Easter, and visions of heaven and hell. He multiplied food and had the gift of healing (Benedictines, Farmer, Walsh).
In art, Saint Waltheof is portrayed as a Cistercian kneeling by a block of stone at sunrise. Sometimes he may be shown restoring sight to a blind man (Roeder).

1295 “ST” THOMAS OF DOVER Miracles were recorded at his tomb and Simon Simeon, an Irish friar who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 1322, mentions the honour given to him as a martyr “at the Black Monks, under Dover Castle”. King Richard II asked Pope Urban VI to canonize Thomas, and a process was begun in 1382 but never carried out

AMONG English holy men of the middle ages who have quite dropped out of memory is Thomas of Hales, a monk of the Benedictine priory of St Martin at Dover, a cell of Christ Church, Canterbury. On August 2, 1295, a French raid descended on Dover from the sea, and the monks of the priory fled with the exception of this venerable old man, who in accordance with the Rule went to take his mid-day siesta. When the raiders invaded the monastery they found him on his bed and told him to disclose where the church plate and other valuables had been hidden; he refused, and was at once put to death.

Miracles were recorded at his tomb and Simon Simeon, an Irish friar who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 1322, mentions the honour given to him as a martyr “at the Black Monks, under Dover Castle”. King Richard II asked Pope Urban VI to canonize Thomas, and a process was begun in 1382 but never carried out. There was considerable popular cultus of Thomas locally, and he was represented among the paintings of martyrs in the English College of Rome; but to call him Saint is an almost entirely modern practice.

There is a life and passio (BHL. 8248 b), and a summary of it and of some miracles (BHL. 8249); texts in C. Horstman, Nova Legenda Anglie (1901), vol. ii, pp. 555—558 and 403; translations in C. R. Haines, Dover Priory (1930), on which book see the following article, p. 168, n. 4 and p. 191, n. 2. In Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxxii (1954), pp. 167—191, Fr P. Grosjean provides a fully documented discussion of all that is known of Thomas de la Hale.
1323 Blessed Augustine Gazotich of Lucera fought the Manichæen heresy; in Sicily, Islam; in Hungary both Several charming miracles are related OP B (AC) Born in Trau, Dalmatia, c. 1260-1262; cultus reconfirmed by Pope Clement XI in 1702.
Augustine was born into a wealthy family who provided him with an excellent education. At 18, he and an Italian friend headed to the Dominican novitiate in France. Near Pavia, Italy, they were attacked by enemies of his family, who left the bodies of the two boys in the snow by the side of the road. Augustine was badly injured; his friend died. When he recovered from his injuries, Augustine continued to the novitiate. Augustine spent most of his life battling heresy: In his native Dalmatia, he fought the Manichæen heresy; in Sicily, Islam; in Hungary both.

In every situation in which he found himself, Augustine gave proof of his virtue and good judgment. When Cardinal Boccasini came to Hungary as legate, he noted the wisdom and tact of his brother Dominican, and when he himself ascended the papal throne as Benedict XI, he appointed Augustine bishop of Zagreb in Croatia in 1303.
This diocese was in chaos when Augustine assumed the cathedra. His three predecessors had all tried, but failed, to repair the ravages of heresy, plague, and schism. The new bishop began by reforming the clergy. He finished building the cathedral and made a complete visitation of his diocese. His work was to bring him into violent conflict with the government, but, spiritually, he restored the entire see during his episcopacy.

Several charming miracles are related about Augustine. The river water of Zagreb was unfit to drink, so the Dominican fathers asked Augustine to pray for a new supply. At his prayer a fountain sprang up in the yard of the convent, abundantly supplying their needs. Another time he planted a tree in a little village and the leaves turned out to have healing properties. On one occasion, when Bishop Augustine was dining with Benedict XI, the pope, feeling that a missionary bishop must eat well to preach well, had a dish of partridge set before Augustine, who never ate meat. Because he did not want to offend the pope, he prayed for a resolution to the situation. The legend says that God turned the partridges into fish!

Augustine was transferred from Zagreb to Lucera (Nocera), Sicily. Here he continued his holy government, using his characteristic gentleness and his gift of healing. He promoted devotion to Saints Dominic, Thomas Aquinas, and Peter Martyr--all brother Dominicans. Feeling that he was near death, he returned to the Dominican convent in Nocera to die among his brethren. Under his statue in the cathedral of Nocera is the legend, "Sanctus Augustine Episcopus Lucerinus Ordinis Praedicatorum," an indication of the veneration in which he is held (Benedictines, Dorcy) .
1625 Marabda 9,000 Martyrs; On the Feast of the Annunciation the Georgians annihilated the army of the Persian shah Abbas I in the Battle of Martqopi. The victory unified Georgia’s eastern provinces of Kartli and Kakheti. It also instilled hope in other enslaved peoples of the Transcaucasus, and rebellions began to break out everywhere; But another battle that had begun at dawn finally ended late that night with the defeat of the Georgian army. Nine thousand Georgians gave their lives for Christ and their motherland on the battlefield at Marabda
Apud Indos, Persis finítimos, pássio sanctórum Monachórum, et aliórum fidélium, quos Abénner Rex, pérsequens Ecclésiam Dei, divérsis afflíctos supplíciis, cædi jussit.
    Among the Indians, bordering on Persia, the martyrdom of holy monks and other Christians who were put to death after suffering diverse torments, during the persecution of the Church of God by King Abenner.
   Soon the enraged Shah Abbas marched his finest and largest army toward Georgia under the leadership of Isa-Khan Qurchibash. A Georgian army of some twenty thousand men encamped near Kojori-Tabakhmela in preparation for the attack, while the enemy’s army, which numbered in excess of fifty thousand men, encamped at Marabda. According to tradition, the Georgian soldiers received Holy Communion at dawn before the battle.
Bishop Domenti (Avalishvili) of Ruisi prepared to serve the Holy Gifts to the soldiers but they cried out with a single voice: “If you will join us and take up your sword and fight, then do so. We can receive Holy Communion from another!”
Inspired by these words, the bishop joined in, proclaiming, “Today we will fight a battle for faith and for Christ; therefore my blood must be spilled before yours!” With his vestments as armor, the bishop blessed the soldiers and took place front line.
The banner of the Georgian army was entrusted to the nine Kherkheulidze brothers.
    The Persians panicked upon coming face-to-face with the courage and fortitude of the Georgian soldiers, but the experienced commander Isa-Khan Qurchibash would not yield in battle. Help arrived from Beglerbeg Shaybani-Khan, and with the extra forces the Persians soon gained the advantage over the Georgian army. The Georgian colonel Teimuraz Mukhranbatoni was fatally wounded, and rumors of his death threw the soldiers into a frenzy, since they erroneously believed that the dead man was King Teimuraz I of Kakheti, the commander of their army.
   Believing that their leader had fallen, the Georgian soldiers became anxious and their army was enfeebled. Before long they recognized their mistake, but it was too late—the fate of the battle had already been decided.
   The military leaders Davit Jandieri, Aghatang Kherkheulidze and Baadur Tsitsishvili and the bishops of Rustavi and Kharchasho all fell in the battle at Marabda. The nine banner-bearing Kherkheulidze brothers were also killed. When the banner that had led their army through the battles at Didgori and Basiani fell from the hands of the youngest brother, their sister grabbed hold of it immediately, and when she also fell, the banner and symbol of Georgian invincibility was raised up again by their mother.
   King Teimuraz fought until sunset, when every sword he had held in his hands had been broken. Even his rings were broken in the combat. The uniform of the brilliant military leader Giorgi Saakadze was stained with blood from top to bottom. Atabeg Manuchar of Samtskhe and his sons also fought bravely in this battle.
   Utterly exhausted and debilitated by the heat, the Georgians fought heroically to the last moment. But the battle that had begun at dawn finally ended late that night with the defeat of the Georgian army. Nine thousand Georgians gave their lives for Christ and their motherland on the battlefield at Marabda.

1868 ST PETER JULIAN EYMARD, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

August 3, 2009 St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) 
Born in La Mure d'Isère in southeastern France, Peter Julian's faith journey drew him from being a priest in the Diocese of Grenoble (1834) to joining the Marists (1839) to founding the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (1856).

In addition to those changes, Peter Julian coped with poverty, his father's initial opposition to Peter's vocation, serious illness, a Jansenistic striving for inner perfection and the difficulties of getting diocesan and later papal approval for his new religious community.

His years as a Marist, including service as a provincial leader, saw the deepening of his eucharistic devotion, especially through his preaching of Forty Hours in many parishes.

Inspired at first by the idea of reparation for indifference to the Eucharist, Peter Julian was eventually attracted to a more positive spirituality of Christ-centered love. Members of the men's community, which Peter founded, alternated between an active apostolic life and contemplating Jesus in the Eucharist. He and Marguerite Guillot founded the women's Congregation of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.
Peter Julian Eymard was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1962, one day after Vatican II's first session ended.

Comment:  In every century, sin has been painfully real in the life of the Church. It is easy to give in to despair, to speak so strongly of human failings that people may forget the immense and self-sacrificing love of Jesus, as his death on the cross and his gift of the Eucharist make evident. Peter Julian knew that the Eucharist was key to helping Catholics live out their Baptism and preach by word and example the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Quote: “The Eucharist is the life of the people. The Eucharist gives them a center of life. All can come together without the barriers of race or language in order to celebrate the feast days of the Church. It gives them a law of life, that of charity, of which it is the source; thus it forges between them a common bond, a Christian kinship” (Peter Julian Eymard).

ST PETER JULIAN was born in 1811 at La Mure d’Isère, a small town in the diocese of Grenoble. His father was a cutler, and Peter Julian worked at his father’s trade, and in an oil-press, until he was eighteen; in his spare hours he studied Latin and had some instruction from a priest at Grenoble for whom he worked for a time, and in 1831 he went to the seminary of Grenoble. He was ordained there in 1834 and for the five following years ministered in the parishes of Chatte and Monteynard. What they thought of him there was expressed in the words of his bishop, Mgr de Bruillard, when the Abbé Eymard asked for permission to join the Marists: “I show my esteem for that congregation by allowing such a priest as yourself to enter it.”

After his novitiate he was made spiritual director of the junior seminary at Belley, and in 1845 provincial of his congregation at Lyons. Always the Blessed Sacrament had been the centre round which his life revolved, “without It I should have been lost”, and on a certain Corpus Christi Sunday, while carrying the Host in procession, he had an overwhelming experience: “My soul was flooded with faith and love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Those two hours seemed but a moment. I laid at the feet of our Lord the Church in France and throughout the world, everybody, myself. My eyes were filled with tears: it was as though my heart were under the wine-press. I longed at that moment for all hearts to have been within my own and to have been fired with the zeal of St Paul.”

In 1851 Father Eymard made a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de Fourvières:  One idea haunted me, and it was this: that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament had no religious institute to glorify His mystery of love, whose only object was entire consecration to Its service. There ought to be one. . . . I promised Mary to devote myself to this end. It was still all very vague, and I had no idea of leaving the society. . . . ‘What hours I spent there!” His superiors advised him to defer his plans till they were more mature, and he spent four years at La Seyne. During this time he received encouragement from Pope Pius IX and from the Ven. John Cohn, founder of the Marists, and he determined to sacrifice his vocation with the Society of Mary and to devote himself to a new society. In 1856, with the approval of the Marist superior general, he submitted his scheme for an institute of priest­-adorers of the Blessed Sacrament to Mgr de Sibour, Archbishop of Paris, and at the end of twelve anxious days it was approved. Mgr de Sibour put a house at his disposal, wherein Father Eymard took up his residence with one companion, and on January 6, 1857, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in its chapel for the first time, and Father Eymard preached to a large assembly.

The first members of the Congregation of Priests of the Most Blessed Sacrament were Father de Cuers and Father Champion, and they began with exposition three times a week. Vocations were slow: many were called but few chosen; and the difficulties were great. They had to leave their first house, and in 1858 they obtained a small chapel in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques, where during nine years the grace of God was poured out so abundantly that Father Eymard called it the “chapel of miracles”. In the following year Pope Pius IX gave the congregation a laudatory brief and a second house was opened, at Marseilles, and in 1862 a third, at Angers. By this time there were enough members to establish a regular novitiate, and the congregation rapidly expanded. The priests recite the Divine Office in choir and perform all other duties of the clergy, subordinate to their chief business of maintaining perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed, in which they are assisted by lay-brothers. In 1858 Father Eymard established the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, sisters who are also engaged in perpetual adoration and spreading the love of our Lord; and he founded the Priests’ Euchar­istic League, whose members pledge themselves to spend so far as possible about an hour a day in prayer before the Tabernacle.

But Father Eymard did not confine his labours to the clergy and religious: in his Work for Poor Adults he put before his congregation the necessity for preparing for first communion all adults who are no longer of an age to attend the parish catechism classes, or who are unable to go to these classes, and he also organized the Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, whose value is so highly regarded by the Church that by canon law a branch should be erected in every parish; he also wrote a number of books on the Eucharist which have been translated into several languages.

Of the difficulties which beset St Peter Julian in making his new foundation one of the most trying was the adverse criticism he was subjected to at its very inception, because he had left the Society of Mary, and detractors of the work were not wanting when it was started. He excused them: “They do not under­stand it, and each one who thinks to oppose it does it a service. For I know well it must be persecuted. Was not our Lord persecuted throughout His life?” There were other grave difficulties and disappointments, but in spite of all the congregation was approved by the Holy See, as has been said, in his lifetime, and was finally confirmed in perpetuum in 1895. He had an engaging spirit of pietas: whenever he visited his home at La Mure he regularly made three “stations”: at the font at which he was baptized, at the altar where he received his first communion, and at the tomb of his parents; and again, in 1867, “For how long have I waited to see again the dear country of Chatte and Saint-Romans”, scenes of his earliest ministry. Father Eymard had been looked on as a saint even in those days, and throughout his life the impression of his holiness was recognized more and more, in his daily life and virtues, in his works, and in his supernatural gifts: several times he knew the thoughts of persons absent, he read souls, and more than once had prophetic prevision. St John-Baptist Vianney, who knew Eymard personally, said of him, “He is a saint. The world hinders his work, but not knowingly, and it will do great things for the glory of God. Adoration by priests! How fine!

Tell the good Father Eymard I will pray for the work every day.”

During the last four years of his life St Peter Julian suffered from rheumatic gout and insomnia, and his sufferings were added to by saddening difficulties. For once he allowed his discouragement to be seen. “He opened his heart to us”, wrote Father Mayet in 1868." ‘ This time’, he said, ‘ I am crushed under the cross, beaten down, annihilated.’ His heart felt the need of seeking relief from a friend, because, as he explained, ‘ I am obliged to bear my cross alone, so as not to frighten or discourage my confreres'.” The presentiment of approaching death was strong. “ I shall return sooner than you think”, was his reply when his sister urged him to visit La Mure more often. This was in February, and he began to go round visiting his penitents and others who looked to him, speaking to them as one who spoke for the last time. In July he broke down and his doctor ordered him to leave Paris at once. On the 21st he left Grenoble by coach for La Mure; it was very hot and he arrived in a state of collapse and partial paralysis. On August 1 he died. Miracles took place at his tomb before the end of that years and in 1925 Peter Julian Eymard was beatified, and canonized in 1962 during the Second Vatican Council.

There is a short sketch by Lady Herbert, The Priest of the Eucharist (1898); an excellent life by J. M. Lambert in the series “Les Saints” (1925); a full biography in French by F. Trochu (1949), and one in Italian by P. Fossati (1925). See also A. Bettinger, Pierre­Julien Eymard et sa méthode d’Adoration (1927).


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 24

How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lady of hosts: how delightful are the tents of thy redemption.

Honor her, O ye sinners: and she will obtain grace and salvation for you.

Her prayer is incense above frank-incense and balsam: her supplications will not return to her bare, void, or empty.

Intercede for me, O Lady, with thy Christ: neither do thou forsake me in death or in life.

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

 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.

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos  Practical Guide to Holiness
1. Go to Mass with deepest devotion. 2. Spend a half hour to reflect upon your main failing & make resolutions to avoid it.
3. Do daily spiritual reading for at least 15 minutes, if a half hour is not possible.  4. Say the rosary every day.
5. Also daily, if at all possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament; toward evening, meditate on the Passion of Christ for a half hour, 6.  Conclude the day with evening prayer & an examination of conscience over all the faults & sins of the day.
7.  Every month make a review of the month in confession.
8. Choose a special patron every month & imitate that patron in some special virtue.
9. Precede every great feast with a novena that is nine days of devotion. 10. Try to begin & end every activity with a Hail Mary
My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee.  I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not
O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.  I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I beg the conversion of poor sinners,  Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace
The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
   These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.
God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.
Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
 Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
 Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.
Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.
The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)
1.    Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2.    I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3.    The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4.    It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means.  5.    The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6.    Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.  God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7.    Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8.    Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9.    I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10.    The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.  11.    You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12.    I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13.    I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14.    All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15.    Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.
Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac
The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.
Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).
In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).
In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

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

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

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

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement 1362-1950 (1952);
The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922;  (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;
James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872;  Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;
Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.
Affiliations and 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}.
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).
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