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.
July is the month of the Precious Blood since 1850;
2023
23,000  Lives Saved Since 2007

Economissa_Theotokos
 

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

July 5 - Feast of the Seven Joys of Mary (Annunciation / Visitation / Nativity/ Adoration of the Magi / Finding of Jesus in the Temple / Resurrection / Ascension)

With Mary, we are called to not divide  
We can draw many lessons from Mary’s docility.
 Isn’t Mary the foreshadowing of what every Christian is called to be?

Like Mary’s, our mercy must spring from the overabundance of our love for Her Son. Mary teaches us to go beyond our instinctive feeling of justice, because we are quick to divide people between the "good" and the "bad." With Mary, we are called to not divide. In our hearts, everyone should have the same place and be presented to Jesus in the same way.

Mary teaches us by her example to advocate to Jesus on behalf of sinners. This is not some sort of pious condescension—it is an attitude that we must receive from her. She teaches us to surround the poorest with love.

Moreover, she teaches us to forgive them, with a divine forgiveness consisting in putting ourselves in the sinner's shoes and standing in front of God and mankind bearing the sinner's responsibility, using the consequences of sin to give more.
 
The Chaplet of the Seven Joys of Mary
The Rosary of the Seven Joys of Mary is a devotion of the Franciscan family started in the year 1422, also known as the "Seraphic Rosary" or "Franciscan Crown."
It has seven decades, to meditate on the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the Resurrection of Jesus and the Assumption of Mary.
We too can enter into this ocean of joy, if we take the hand that the Virgin Mary holds out to us.
Mary experienced the simple joys of life:
 "Sons of Zion, rejoice, rejoice in the Lord your God! For he has given you the autumn rain in righteousness;
he brought down for you the rain, the fall rain and the spring rain, as before." (Joel 2: 23)

Mary knows the joy of seeking God and loving him:
"Shout for joy, you the righteous, because of the Lord; praise should be given by righteous hearts." (Psalm 33: 1); "Our soul waits for the Lord, he is our help and shield; in him is the joy of our heart,
in his name the holiness of our faith." (Psalm 33: 20-21)
  
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
July 5 - Feast of the Seven Joys of Mary (Annunciation / Visitation / Nativity/ Adoration of the Magi /
Finding of Jesus in the Temple / Resurrection / Ascension)
July is the month of the Precious Blood since 1850;
THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST  
1st v. Stephen of Reggio ordained 1st bishop of Reggio by Saint Paul and martyred under Nero BM (AC)
286 St. Zoe Martyr; noble woman of imperial court of Rome, executed in the early stages of Diocletian
  300 St. Cyrilla of Cyrene M Although the aged widow of Cyrene, Saint Cyrilla, was condemned to death,
 St. Marinus  founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301; Martyr with Sedopha and Theodotus. They suffered at Tomi, on the Black Sea.  Marinus was a blacksmith by trade who came from the island of Rab on the other side of the Adriatic.
362 St. Domitius Persian convert a hermit at Nisibis, Mesopotamia. Challenging Julian the Apostate,
 500 St. Philomena Virgin of San Severino, Italy; especially venerated in the area around Ancona;
 666 Numerian (Memorian) of Trèves son of a rich senator, became a monk in Trèves, OSB B (RM)
1000 St. Athanasius the Athonite Abbot and founder  went to Mount Athos in Greece, where he aided Nicephoras Phocas, a longtime friend, in repelling the Saracens; a spring of water, which exists even now, in remembrance of this miraculous visitation.
1422 Saint Sergius of Radonezh Uncovering of the Venerable Relics of
1538 St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria priest; Cofounder of the Barnabites a medical doctor; popularized the 40-hour prayer ceremony, promoted of altar sacraments, introduced ringing church bells on Friday
1758 Johann Andreas Rothe
1918 Saint Elizabeth the older sister of Tsarina Alexandra was married to the Grand Duke Sergius governor of Moscow. She converted to Orthodoxy from Protestantism of her own free will, and organized women from all levels of society to help the soldiers at the front and in the hospitals.

    "That which God commands seems difficult and a burden.
 The way is rough; you draw back; you have no desire to follow it. Yet do so and you will attain glory."
Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria Priest

  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

The soul who is in love with God is a gentle, humble and patient soul. -- St. John of the Cross

An Immense Fountain of Grace July 5 - Feast of the Seven Joys of Mary
Saint Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi joined the Discalced Carmelites at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence.
While seriously ill, a series of mystical experiences of rare intensity began: the "Forty Days," lasting until July 5, 1584. These ecstasies lasted from two to three hours during which time she was able to speak. She received the stigmata, various visions, moral and physical participation in the Passion of Christ, revelations centered on Christ suffering, etc.
Her visions of the Virgin are diverse and rich on both theological and symbolical levels. "It seemed like I could see the Blessed Virgin in Paradise seated at the right-hand side of Jesus; I thought I could hear her say to me while smiling: "You do not take account of the gift that you received the day when you took the veil.  This gift from Jesus was the Blessed Virgin's purity. Mary looked so beautiful that my words cannot explain her to you." (...)
"I saw two fountains spouting forth from the Virgin Mary's womb, one of milk and the other of blood. The milk was spread on all the blessed souls of Paradise. (...) The blood was spread on all humankind." (...) "I also heard the Virgin pronounce this verse: "My heart is stirred by a noble theme; I address my poem to the King" (Ps 45:1).
The word coming from her mouth was Jesus, to whom she gave birth in this world for us.
And the Virgin was speaking to the King, i.e. to our Heavenly Father.
Then I saw an immense fountain, spouting sprays of water,
spreading them everywhere in the world and sending forth torrents of grace."
Excerpts from The Forty Days, #64-65 and #139
and The Dictionary of Apparitions by Father Rene Laurentin - Fayard Press 2007

Mary's Divine Motherhood
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).
Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
   The Mother of God has been considered the Stewardess of the Holy Mountain ever since the tenth century when the Great Lavra was being built. St Athanasius of Mt Athos was abandoned by his monks because there was a shortage of food and money. He also left the half-built Lavra, and began walking toward Karyes, intending to ask for advice about whether or not to beg the emperor for the funds needed to complete the building.
After about two hours, he saw a beautiful woman standing before him wearing a long blue veil. 
"I know your sorrow," She said, "and I would like to help. Where are you going?"
   St Athanasius explained everything that had happened, and She asked, "Have you deserted your monastery for a morsel of bread? Go back! You will have everything you need in abundance, if you do not abandon your monastery."  "Who are you?" the astonished saint inquired.  "I am the Mother of your Lord," She replied.  St Athanasius hesitated to believe Her, afraid of being deceived by the Evil One. Then he asked Her how he could be sure that Her words were true.  "Do you see this rock?" she asked, pointing to the side of the path. "Strike it with your staff in the name of the Holy Trinity, and you will know who is speaking to you. Do not appoint a steward at any time, for from this time forward, I shall be the Stewardess of your monastery." 
St Athanasius did as he was told, and the rock split open. A stream of water began to flow out of the crack. When he turned to face the Mother of God and to ask forgiveness for his doubt, She had disappeared. 
Returning to the monastery, St Athanasius found all the storerooms filled to capacity with food, wine, and oil.
The building was completed, and soon the Lavra was filled with monks once again.
July 5 - Feast of the Seven Joys of Mary
 (Annunciation / Visitation / Nativity/ Adoration of the Magi / Finding Jesus in the Temple / Resurrection / Ascension)
                      An Immense Fountain of Grace 
Saint Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi joined the Discalced Carmelites at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. While seriously ill, a series of mystical experiences of a rare intensity began: the “Forty Days”, lasting until July 5, 1584. These ecstasies lasted from two to three hours during which time she was able to speak. She received the stigmata, various visions, moral and physical participation in the Passion of Christ, revelations centered on Christ suffering, etc.
Her visions of the Virgin are diverse and rich on both theological and symbolical levels.
 “It seemed like I could see the Blessed Virgin in Paradise seated on the right-hand side of Jesus; I thought I could hear her say to me while smiling: “You do not take account of the gift that you received the day when you took the veil.” This gift from Jesus was the Blessed Virgin’s purity. Mary looked so beautiful that my words cannot explain her to you.” (...)
“I saw two fountains spouting forth from the Virgin Mary’s womb, one of milk and the other of blood. The milk was spread on all the blessed souls of Paradise. (...) The blood was spread on all mankind.” (...) “I also heard the Virgin pronounce this verse: “My heart is stirred by a noble theme; I address my poem to the King” (Ps 45:1).
The word coming from her mouth was Jesus, to whom she gave birth in this world for us. And the Virgin was speaking to the King, i.e. to our Heavenly Father.
Then I saw an immense fountain, spouting sprays of water, spreading them everywhere in the world and sending forth torrents of grace.”
Saint Mary Magdalene is depicted in art as a Carmelite with the Instruments of the Passion kneeling before the Holy Trinity. Christ crowns her with thorns, the Virgin gives her roses. She may also be shown receiving the Blessed Sacrament from Jesus; receiving a white veil from the Virgin Mary; being presented to or receiving a ring from Jesus; crowned with thorns and embracing a cross, with rays falling on her from a monstrance; or with flames issuing from her breast.
Excerpt from The Forty Days, #64-65 and #139 and The Dictionary of Apparitions by Father Rene Laurentin - Fayard Press 2007
   1st v. Stephen of Reggio ordained 1st bishop of Reggio by Saint Paul and martyred under Nero BM (AC)
 286 St. Zoe Martyr; A noble woman of the imperial court of Rome, she was executed in the early stages of Emperor
        Diocletian's (r. 284-305) persecution of the Church.
 300 St. Cyrilla of Cyrene M Although the aged widow of Cyrene, Saint Cyrilla, was condemned to death, she seems to have died in the torture chamber rather than as planned. Several other martyrs suffered with her (Benedictines).
 St. Marinus  founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301; Martyr with Sedopha and Theodotus. They suffered at Tomi, on the Black Sea.  Saint Marinus was a blacksmith by trade who came from the island of Rab on the other side of the Adriatic.
 362 St. Domitius A Persian convert to Christianity. He became a hermit at Nisibis, Mesopotamia. Challenging Julian the Apostate, Domitius was stoned to death. In some lists he is called Dometius
 452 St. Athanasius Martyr and deacon of Jerusalem, Athanasius denounced Theodosius, the heretic who usurped the see of Jerusalem, formerly held by St. Juvenal Arrested for this act, Athanasius was beheaded.
5th v. St. Fragan & Gwen parents of Sts. Jacut, Guithem, and Winwaloe. Fragan and Gwen went to Brittany, France, to escape the pagan barbarians of England. Churches in Brittany were dedicated to each of them.
6th v. St. Triphina Mother of infant saint Tremorus; wife to her son’s murderer, Count Conmore of Brittany. After her son’s death, she spent her remaining days in a convent in Brittany.
 500 St. Philomena Virgin of San Severino, Italy; especially venerated in the area around Ancona; not be confused with the former St. Philomena whose cultus was suppressed in 1961.
St. Edana Irish saint venerated in western Ireland, sometimes called Etaoin. She lived near the Boyle and  Shannon Rivers and a well bears her name.
St. Numerian Benedictine bishop, sometimes listed as Memoriae; son of political leader in Trier; entered monastery at Remiremont under St. Arnulf; eventually served in community of Luxeuil. Later, he served as bishop of Trier
 567 Departure of St. Theodosius, 33rd Pope of Alexandria On this day also The Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of Anba Sarabamoun, Bishop of Nikios. {Coptic}
 666 Numerian (Memorian) of Trèves son of a rich senator, became a monk in Trèves, OSB B (RM)
1000 St. Athanasius the Athonite Abbot and founder  went to Mount Athos in Greece, where he aided Nicephoras Phocas, a longtime friend, in repelling the Saracens;  there gushed forth a spring of water, which exists even now, in remembrance of this miraculous visitation.
  The Economissa (or Stewardess) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos depicts the Mother of God seated on a throne, with Her Son on her left knee. St Athanasius of Mt Athos (July 5) stands on her right, holding a model of the Great Lavra. On her left is St Michael of Synnada (May 23). Two angels hold a crown above her head.
1422 Saint Sergius of Radonezh Uncovering of the Venerable Relics of
1484 Blessed Elias (Elie) of Bourdeilles Franciscan habit at the age of 10, bishop of Périgueux at the age of 24, archbishop of Tours in 1468, and cardinal in 1483 OFM B (PC)
1538 St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria priest; Cofounder of the Barnabites a medical doctor; popularized the 40-hour prayer ceremony, promoted of altar sacraments, introduced ringing church bells on Friday
1758 Johann Andreas Rothe
1918 Saint Elizabeth the older sister of Tsarina Alexandra was married to the Grand Duke Sergius governor of Moscow. She converted to Orthodoxy from Protestantism of her own free will, and organized women from all levels of society to help the soldiers at the front and in the hospitals.
The great psalm of the Passion, Psalm 21, whose first verse
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"  (Psalm 21:28)
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"
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
Mary the Mother of God

1st v. Stephen of Reggio ordained the first bishop of Reggio by Saint Paul and to have been martyred under Nero BM (AC)
Saint Stephen ordained the first bishop  Tuesday   Saint of the Day July 05 Tértio Nonas Júlii   of Reggio by Saint Paul and to have been martyred under Nero. It is only since the 17th century, however, that this story has gained currency and that he has been venerated as the principal patron of Reggio (Benedictines).
286 St. Zoe Zoe Martyr. A noble woman of the imperial court of Rome, she was executed in the early stages of Emperor Diocletian's (r. 284-305) persecution of the Church.
300 Cyrilla of Cyrene M Although the aged widow of Cyrene, Saint Cyrilla, was condemned to death, she seems to have died in the torture chamber rather than as planned. Several other martyrs suffered with her (Benedictines). (RM)
St. Marinus founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301; Martyr with Sedopha and Theodotus. They suffered at Tomi, on the Black Sea.
Saint Marinus was a blacksmith by trade who came from the island of Rab on the other side of the Adriatic.
362 St. Domitius A Persian convert to Christianity. He became a hermit at Nisibis, Mesopotamia. Challenging Julian the Apostate, Domitius was stoned to death. In some lists he is called Dometius
Domitius of Phrygia M (RM). Domitius, a Persian or Phrygian monk, was stoned to death under Julian the Apostate, under much the same circumstances as the Saint Domitius honored on March 23 Benedictines, (Encyclopedia).
500 St. Philomena Virgin of San Severino, Italy; especially venerated in the area around Ancona. She should not be confused with the former St. Philomena whose cultus was suppressed in 1961.
452 St. Athanasius Martyr and deacon of Jerusalem, Athanasius denounced Theodosius, the heretic who usurped the see of Jerusalem, formerly held by St. Juvenal Arrested for this act, Athanasius was beheaded.
6th v. St. Triphina Mother of the infant saint Tremorus and wife to her son’s murderer, Count Conmore of Brittany. After her son’s death, she spent her remaining days in a convent in Brittany.
St. Edana Irish saint venerated in western Ireland, sometimes called Etaoin. She lived near the Boyle and Shannon Rivers and a well bears her name.
She may be confused with St. Modwenna.  Double Yellow Rose. Rosa Sulphurea.  Dedicated to St. Edana.
Edana (Edaene, Etaoin) of West Ireland V (AC). Edana, an Irish saint, is the patron of the parishes of Tuarnia in western Ireland in the dioceses of Elphin and Tuam. A famous holy well bear her name. She appears to have lived near the confluence of the rivers Boyle and Shannon. Some have thought her to be identical with Saint Modwenna (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
St. Numerian Benedictine bishop, sometimes listed as Memoriae; son of political leader in Trier; entered monastery at Remiremont under St. Arnulf; eventually served in community of Luxeuil. Later, he served as bishop of Trier.
5th v. St. Fragan & Gwen parents of Sts. Jacut, Guithem, and Winwaloe. Fragan and Gwen went to Brittany, France, to escape the pagan barbarians of England. Churches in Brittany were dedicated to each of them.
567 Departure of St. Theodosius, 33rd Pope of Alexandria On this day also The Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of Anba Sarabamoun, Bishop of Nikios.

On this day, of the year 283 A.M. (June 22nd, 567 A.D.) St. Theodosius, the thirty-third Pope of Alexandria, departed. After the departure of Pope Timothy, the bishops and the Orthodox Christians gathered and ordained this father a patriarch. He was a learned man, and well rehearsed in the church books. Soon after, the enemy of the good enticed some evil men from the city of Alexandria, to take Acacius, Archdeacon of the churches of the city of Alexandria, and appoint him a patriarch. That happened with the help of Julian, who was excommunicated by Pope Timothy for his approval of the council of Chalcedon.

When they appointed Acacius, they exiled Pope Theodosius to the city of Germanos. St. Severus, the Antiochian Patriarch, who was residing in Sakha, in the Egyptian land, comforted and strengthened him. He reminded him of the tribulation that came upon the apostles, and John Chrysostom (of the golden mouth). Six month after the exile of Pope Theodosius, he went to the city of Malig, and dwelt there for two years. Afterwards, the people of the city of Alexandria went to the governor and demanded from him the return of their legitimate shepherd, and the expulsion of Acacius the Fraudulent. When the news reached Emperor Justinian and the God-loving Empress Theodora, she sent a letter to the church in Alexandria to ask about the legitimacy of the ordination of Pope Theodosius, for if it was according to the canon of the church he should be reinstated on his chair. A council of lay people and one hundred twenty priests convened and unanimously agreed that Theodosius was ordained with the consent of the bishops and the people and according to the canons of the church. Acacius was present in this council; he rose up confessing that he had transgressed. He asked for forgiveness and to remain as archdeacon as he was before. They sent these facts to the Empress. Since the Emperor was in agreement with the faith of the council of Chalcedon, he wanted to attract the Pope to this erroneous faith. He wrote to his representative in Alexandria saying, "If the Patriarch Theodosius agreed with us in faith, along with his papacy, add the governorship of the city of Alexandria, but if he did not agree, he should be expelled from the city." When the Patriarch heard that, he said, "That what the devil had told the Lord Christ after he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 'All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me'". The Patriarch then left the city and went to Upper Egypt and stayed there confirming the believers.

Later on, the Emperor called St. Theodosius to Constantinople, so he went with some of the learned priests. The Emperor received him with great honor, and seated him in a distinguished place. He tried to flatter him, and talk gently to him, to persuade him to agree on the faith of the council of Chalcedon. When he did not yield, he exiled him to Upper Egypt, and appointed in his place a person called Paul. When this Paul arrived to Alexandria, its people did not receive him. He remained there for a year and only few followed him. When the Emperor heard of this, he commanded to shut the churches until the people submitted to the patriarch he appointed. The believers built a church in the name of St. Mark and another on the name of Sts. Cosmas and Damian outside the city where they were able to receive the Holy Mysteries and baptize their children.

When the Emperor heard that, he had the churches opened. Pope Theodosius, when he heard this, feared that the Emperor might have intended to lure the people by that act. He wrote a letter to the believers to confirm them in the Orthodox faith and to warn them from the deception of this infidel. He lived four years in Alexandria, and remained in exile in Upper Egypt for twenty-eight years. He spent thirty-one years, four months, and fifteen days in the patriarchate. This Pope wrote many discourses and useful teachings.  May his prayers be with us. Amen.
 
2. On this day also The Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of Anba Sarabamoun, Bishop of Nikios.
On this day also, the church celebrates the Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of Anba Sarabamoun, the martyr, Bishop of Nikios. May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen .
666 Numerian (Memorian) of Trèves son of a rich senator, became a monk in Trèves, OSB B (RM)
Numerian, son of a rich senator, became a monk in Trèves (Trier, Germany) under Saint Arnulf. Later he migrated to Luxeuil, which was then under the direction of Saint Waldebert. He grew in holiness and eventually was appointed bishop of Trier (Benedictines)
1000 St. Athanasius the Athonite Abbot and founder  went to Mount Athos in Greece, where he aided Nicephoras Phocas, a longtime friend, in repelling the Saracens; there gushed forth a spring of water, which exists even now, in remembrance of this miraculous visitation.
ST ATHANASIUS THE ATHONITE, ABBOT     (c. A.D. 1000)
FOR a thousand years Athos, the Holy Mountain, the most easterly of the three large headlands which the peninsula of Chalcidice thrusts out into the Aegean Sea, has been the chief centre of Byzantine monasticism; for nearly all that time this " monastic republic" has been out of communion with the Holy See, but at the time of its inception and organization, and during the preceding centuries when it was occupied by little colonies of hermits, Athos was Catholic and a stronghold of orthodoxy in a different sense from that in which it is so today. The father of Mount Athos as a congeries of regular monasteries was one Athanasius, who was born at Trebizond about the year 920, the son of an Antiochene, and baptized Abraham. He studied at Constantinople, where he became a professor; and while he was teaching he met St Michael Maleinos and his nephew, Nicephorus Phocas, who as emperor was to be Abraham's patron. He received the monastic habit in St Michael's monastery at Kymina in Bithynia, taking the name of Athanasius, and lived there till about the year 958. Kymina was a laura, the name then reserved for monasteries wherein the monks lived in separate cells grouped more or less closely round their church. When the abbot St Michael Maleinos died Athanasius saw that he would be pretty surely elected in his place; he therefore fled, and eventually found his way to Mount Athos, to avoid this responsibility --only to find that God was reserving for him a greater.
He disguised himself as an ignorant fellow, assuming the name of Dorotheus, and hid in a cell near Karyes, but he was soon traced and found by his friend Nicephorus Phocas. He was about to undertake an expedition against the Saracens, and persuaded Athanasius to come to Crete to help him organize it (it is so often found that the contemplative soul is a capable man of affairs which, after all, is only to be expected) and to support it with his blessing and prayers. Athanasius was very unwilling to make this sally out into the world and its concerns, but he went; the expedition was victorious, and Athanasius asked permission to return to Athos. But before he was allowed to he was forced to accept a large sum of money, with which he was to build a monastery. This, the first monastery proper on Athos, was begun in the spring of 961 and the church two years later; it was dedicated in honour of the All-holy Mother of God, but is now called "of St Athanasius", or, more often, simply Laura, "The Monastery".
When Nicephorus Phocas became emperor, Athanasius feared that he might be called to court or to other honours and disturbing offices, so he ran away from Athos to Cyprus. Phocas again found him and told him to go back and govern his monastery in peace, giving him more money, with which was built a harbour for Athos. In adopting the laura system for his monks, Athanasius had deliberately reversed the policy of St Basil and St Theodore Studites and returned in a measure to the ancient monastic tradition of Egypt; his monks were to be as "out of the world" as is possible for human beings (even now the Athonite monks are still extraordinarily "out of touch with things", as a general rule). But in spite of this he was involved in great difficulties with the solitaries who had been on Athos long before he came and who felt, understandably, that generations of predecessors had given them a prescriptive right to have the place to themselves; they resented his coming there and building monasteries and churches and harbours, imposing rules and keeping order generally. Twice attempts were made to murder St Athanasius. Criminal violence spoils the best of causes, and the Emperor John Tzimisces interfered; he confirmed the donations and rights granted by Nicephorus Phocas, forbade opposition to Athanasius, and recognized his authority over the whole of the mountain and its inhabitants. He thus became superior general over fifty-eight communities of hermits ,and monks, and the monasteries of Iviron, Vatopedi and Esphigmenou were founded, which still exist as living communities. St Athanasius died about the year 1000, being killed with five of his monks by the falling of a keystone of the vault of the church on which they were working. He is named daily in the preparation of the Byzantine Liturgy, and is sometimes called "the Lauriote "or  “of Trebizond ".
There exists a very full Greek life of St Athanasius the Athonite which was edited in Russia by J. Pomialovsky in 1895. The author was a monk, also named Athanasius, who lived in close relation with the saint's immediate successor in office. Another long biography in Greek, based upon the earlier text, was published by L. Petit in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxv (1906), pp. 1-89, with the addition of valuable notes; a French translation appeared in Irénikon, t. viii and ix (1931-32). Mount Athos and its monasteries has always had a great interest for scholars of the Anglican Church; Messrs Athelstan Riley, Kirsopp Lake, F. Hasluck and R. M. Dawkins may be mentioned among writers of more recent date; but there is a very extensive literature upon the subject in French and German. See especially P. de Meester, Voyage de deux Bénédictins (1908), F. Perilla, Le Mont Athos (1927), and T. Belpaire in Irénikon, t. vi (1929).

He was born in Trebizond, Turkey, and studied at Constantinople. There he became a monk, going to St. Michael's Monastery in Kymina, Bithynia to join a laura. To avoid being named abbot of St. Michael's, Athanasius went to Mount Athos in Greece, where he aided Nicephoras Phocas, a longtime friend, in repelling the Saracens who were invading the region. Successful in this military campaign, Athanasius received financial backing from his friend to found a monastery on Mount Athos in 961.
When Phocas became emperor, Athanasius went to Cyprus to avoid being called to court, but Phocas sent word to him that he should return to his monastery In establishing the laura system, Athanasius made enemies of the monks already on the mount. Only imperial protection kept him safe from assassination attempts.
In time, he served as abbot of fifty-eight communities of monks and hermits on Mount Athos. He and five monks were killed when the arch of a church collapsed.
Saint Athanasius of Athos, in holy Baptism named Abraham, was born in the city of Trebezond. He was orphaned at an early age, and being raised by a certain good and pious nun, he imitated his adoptive mother in the habits of monastic life, in fasting and in prayer. Doing his lessons came easily and he soon outpaced his peers in study.

After the death of his adoptive mother, Abraham was taken to Constantinople, to the court of the Byzantine emperor Romanus the Elder, and was enrolled as a student under the renowned rhetorician Athanasius. In a short while the student attained the mastery of skill of his teacher and he himself became an instructor of youths. Reckoning as the true life that of fasting and vigilance, Abraham led a strict and abstinent life, he slept little and then only sitting upon a stool, and barley bread and water were his nourishment. When his teacher Athanasius through human weakness became jealous of his student, blessed Abraham gave up his teaching position and went away .

During these days there had arrived at Constantinople St Michael Maleinos (July 12), igumen of the Kyminas monastery. Abraham told the igumen about his life, and revealed to him his secret desire to become a monk. The holy Elder, discerning in Abraham a chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit, became fond of him and taught him much in questions of salvation. One time during their spiritual talks St Michael was visited by his nephew, Nicephorus Phocas, a military officer and future emperor. Abraham's lofty spirit and profound mind impressed Nicephorus, and all his life he regarded the saint with reverent respect and with love. Abraham was consumed by his zeal for the monastic life. Having forsaken everything, he went to the Kyminas monastery and, falling down at the feet of the holy igumen, he begged to be received into the monastic life. The igumen fulfilled his request with joy and tonsured him with the name Athanasius.

With long fasts, vigils, bending of the knees, with works night and day Athanasius soon attained such perfection, that the holy igumen blessed him for the exploit of silence in a solitary place not far from the monastery. Later on, having left Kyminas, he made the rounds of many desolate and solitary places, and guided by God, he came to a place called Melanos, at the very extremity of Athos, settling far off from the other monastic dwellings. Here the monk made himself a cell and began to live an ascetical life in works and in prayer, proceeding from exploit to exploit towards higher monastic attainment.

The enemy of mankind tried to arouse in St Athanasius hatred for the place chosen by him, and assaulted him with constant suggestions in thought. The ascetic decided to suffer it out for a year, and then wherever the Lord should direct him, he would go. On the last day of this year's length of time, when St Athanasius set about to prayer, a heavenly light suddenly shone upon him, filling him with an indescribable joy, all the thoughts dissipated, and from his eyes welled up graced tears. From that moment St Athanasius received the gift of tenderness , and he became as strongly fond of the place of his solitude as he had formerly loathed it.

During this time Nicephorus Phocas, having had enough of military exploits, remembered his vow to become a monk and from his means he besought St Athanasius to build a monastery, i.e., to build cells for him and the brethren, and a church where the brethren could commune of the Divine Mysteries of Christ on Sundays .

Tending to shun cares and worries, St Athanasius at first would not agree to accept the hateful gold, but seeing the fervent desire and good intent of Nicephorus, and discerning in this the will of God, he set about the building of the monastery. He built a large church in honor of the holy Prophet and Forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist, and another church at the foot of a hill, in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos. Around the church were the cells, and a wondrous monastery arose on the Holy Mountain. In it were a trapeza (dining area), a hospice for the sick and for taking in wanderers, and other necessary structures.

Brethren flocked to the monastery from everywhere, not only from Greece, but also from other lands, simple people and illustrious dignitaries, desert-dwellers having labored in asceticism for long years in the wilderness, igumens from many monasteries and hierarchs wanting to become simple monks in the Athos Lavra of St Athanasius.
The saint established at the monastery a cenobitic monastic Rule on the model of the old Palestinian monasteries. Divine services were served with all strictness, and no one was so bold as to talk during the services, nor to come late or leave the church without necessity.
The Heavenly Patroness of Athos, the All-Pure Mother of God Herself, was graciously disposed towards the saint. Many times he was privileged to see Her with his own eyes. By God's dispensation, there once occurred such a hunger, that the monks one after the other quit the Lavra. The saint remained all alone and, in a moment of weakness, he also considered leaving. Suddenly he beheld a Woman beneath an ethereal veil, coming to meet him. "Who are you and where are you going?" She asked quietly. St Athanasius from an innate deference halted. "I am a monk from here," St Athanasius replied, and spoke about himself and his worries.

"Would you forsake the monastery which was intended for glory from generation unto generation, just for a morsel of dry bread? Where is your faith? Turn around, and I shall help you." "Who are you?" asked Athanasius. "I am the Mother of the Lord," She answered, and bid Athanasius to strike his staff upon a stone. From the fissure there gushed forth a spring of water, which exists even now, in remembrance of this miraculous visitation .

ST ATHANASIUS THE ATHONITE July 5 was occupied by little colonies of hermits, Athos was Catholic and a stronghold of orthodoxy in a different sense from that in which it is so today. The father of Mount Athos as a congeries of regular monasteries was one Athanasius, who was born at Trebizond about the year 920, the son of an Antiochene, and baptized Abraham. He studied at Constantinople, where he became a professor; and while he was teaching he met St Michael Maleinos and his nephew, Nicephorus Phocas, who as emperor was to be Abraham's patron. He received the monastic habit in St Michael's monastery at Kymina in Bithynia, taking the name of Athanasius, and lived there till about the year 958. Kymina was a laura, the name then reserved for monasteries wherein the monks lived in separate cells grouped more or less closely round their church. When the abbot St Michael Maleinos died Athanasius saw that he would be pretty surely elected in his place; he therefore fled, and eventually found his way to Mount Athos, to avoid this responsibility -Qnly to find that God was reserving for him a greater.

He disguised himself as an ignorant fellow, assuming the name of Dorotheos, and hid in a cell near Karyes, but he was soon traced and found by his friend Nicephorus Phocas. He was about to undertake an expedition against the Saracens, and persuaded Athanasius to come to Crete to help him organize it (it is so often found that the contemplative soul is a capable man of affairs-which, after all, is only to be expected) and to support it with his blessing and prayers. Athanasius was very unwilling to make this sally out into the world and its concerns, but he went; the expedition was victorious, and Athanasius asked permission to return to Athos. But before he was allowed to he was forced to accept a large sum of money, with which he was to build a monastery. This, the first monastery proper on Athos, was begun in the spring of 961 and the church two years later; it was dedicated in honour of the All-holy Mother of God, but is now called "of St Athanasius ", or, more often, simply Laura, " The Monastery".

When Nicephorus Phocas became emperor, Athanasius feared that he might be called to court or to other honours and disturbing offices, so he ran away from Athos to Cyprus. Phocas again found him and told him to go back and govern his monastery in peace, giving him more money, with which was built a harbour for Athos. In adopting the laura system for his monks, Athanasius had deliberately reversed the policy of St Basil and St Theodore Studites and returned in a measure to the ancient monastic tradition of Egypt; his monks were to be as " out of the world" as is possible for human beings (even now the Athonite monks are still extraordinarily" out of touch with things", as a general rule). But in spite of this he was involved in great difficulties with the solitaries who had been on Athos long before he came and who felt, understandably, that generations of predecessors had given them a prescriptive right to have the place to themselves; they resented his coming there and building monasteries and churches and harbours, imposing rules and keeping order generally. Twice attempts were made to murder St Athanasius. Criminal violence spoils the best of causes, and the Emperor John Tzimisces interfered; he confirmed the donations and rights granted by Nicephorus Phocas, forbade opposition to Athanasius, and recognized his authority over the whole of the mountain and its inhabitants. He thus became superior general over fifty-eight communities of hermits and monks, and the monasteries of Iviron, Vatopedi and Esphigmenou were founded, which still exist as living communities. St Athanasius died about the year 1000, being killed with five of his monks by the falling of a keystone of the vault of the church on which they were working. He is named daily in the preparation of the Byzantine Liturgy, and is sometimes called "the Lauriote " or " of Trebizond ".

There exists a very full Greek life of St Athanasius the Athonite which was edited in Russia by J. Pomialovsky in 1895. The author was a monk, also named Athanasius, who lived in close relation with the saint's immediate successor in office. Another long biography in Greek, based upon the earlier text, was published by L. Petit in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxv (1906), pp. 1-89, with the addition of valuable notes; a French translation appeared in Irenikon, t. viii and ix (1931-32). Mount Athos and its monasteries has always had a great interest for scholars of the Anglican Church; Messrs Atheistan Riley, Kirsopp Lake, F. Hasluck and R. M. Dawkins may be mentioned among writers of more recent date; but there is a very extensive literature upon the subject in French and German. See especially P. de Meester, Voyage de deux Benedictine (1908), F. Perilla, Le Mont Athos (1927), and T. Belpaire in Irenikon, t, vi (1929).

The Economissa (or Stewardess) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos depicts the Mother of God seated on a throne, with Her Son on her left knee. St Athanasius of Mt Athos (July 5) stands on her right, holding a model of the Great Lavra. On her left is St Michael of Synnada (May 23). Two angels hold a crown above her head.

The Mother of God has been considered the Stewardess of the Holy Mountain ever since the tenth century when the Great Lavra was being built. St Athanasius of Mt Athos was abandoned by his monks because there was a shortage of food and money. He also left the half-built Lavra, and began walking toward Karyes, intending to ask for advice about whether or not to beg the emperor for the funds needed to complete the building. After about two hours, he saw a beautiful woman standing before him wearing a long blue veil.
"I know your sorrow," She said, "and I would like to help. Where are you going?"
St Athanasius explained everything that had happened, and She asked, "Have you deserted your monastery for a morsel of bread? Go back! You will have everything you need in abundance, if you do not abandon your monastery."
"Who are you?" the astonished saint inquired.
"I am the Mother of your Lord," She replied.
St Athanasius hesitated to believe Her, afraid of being deceived by the Evil One. Then he asked Her how he could be sure that Her words were true.
"Do you see this rock?" she asked, pointing to the side of the path. "Strike it with your staff in the name of the Holy Trinity, and you will know who is speaking to you. Do not appoint a steward at any time, for from this time forward, I shall be the Stewardess of your monastery."
St Athanasius did as he was told, and the rock split open. A stream of water began to flow out of the crack. When he turned to face the Mother of God and to ask forgiveness for his doubt, She had disappeared.
Returning to the monastery, St Athanasius fournd all the storerooms filled to capacity with food, wine, and oil. The building was completed, and soon the Lavra was filled with monks once again.

To this day, the Lavra does not have a steward. There is, however, a monk who serves as an assistant steward to the Mother of God. The Economissa Icon rests on a throne in the narthex of the main church, and She remains the Stewardess of the Lavra. Pilgrims venerate the Icon before entering the side chapel with the saint's tomb .
The spring of St Athanasius still flows with healing water.

The brethren grew in number, and the construction work at the Lavra continued. St Athanasius, foreseeing the time of his departure to the Lord, prophesied about his impending end and besought the brethren not to be troubled over what he foresaw. "For Wisdom disposes otherwise than as people judge." The brethren were perplexed and pondered the words of the saint. After giving the brethren his final guidance and comforting all, St Athanasius entered his cell, put on his mantiya and holy kukolion (head covering), which he wore only on great feasts, and emerged after prolonged prayer. Alert and joyful, the holy igumen went up with six of the brethren to the top of the church to inspect the construction. Suddenly, through the imperceptible will of God, the top of the church collapsed. Five of the brethren immediately gave up their souls to God. St Athanasius and the architect Daniel, thrown upon the stones, remained alive. All heard the saint call out to the Lord, "Glory to Thee, O God! Lord, Jesus Christ, help me!" The brethren with great weeping began to dig out their father from the rubble, but they found him already dead.
1422 Uncovering of the Venerable Relics of Saint Sergius of Radonezh
The relics of the St Sergius (September 25) were uncovered on July 5, 1422 when St Nikon (November 17) was igumen. In the year 1408, when Moscow and its environs was invaded by the Tatar horde of Edigei, the Trinity monastery was devastated and burned, and the monks led by St Nikon hid themselves in the forests. They saved the icons, sacred vessels, books and other holy things connected with the memory of St Sergius.

In a vision on the eve of the Tatar incursion St Sergius informed his disciple and successor about the coming tribulations. He also said that the vexation would not be prolonged but that the monastery, arising from the ashes, would flourish and grow even more. Metropolitan Philaret wrote about this in his Life of St Sergius: "Just as it suited Christ to suffer, and through the Cross and death to enter into the glory of the Resurrection, so it also becomes everyone who would be blessed by Christ with length of days in glory, to be tested by one's own cross and death." Going through its own fiery cleansing, the monastery of the Life-Creating Trinity was resurrected unto length of days, and St Sergius himself rose up, so that his holy relics should dwell within it forevermore.

Before the beginning of construction of the new temple of the Life-Creating Trinity on the site of the former wooden one (which was consecrated on September 25, 1412), St Sergius appeared to a certain pious layman and bid him inform the igumen and the brethren: "Why do you leave me so long in the grave, covered by earth and in the water, constraining my body?" During the construction of the cathedral, when they dug the ditches for the foundations, the incorrupt relics of St Sergius were uncovered and brought up. All were astonished that not only his body, but also his clothing was undamaged, although there was water around the grave. Amidst a large throng of the devout and the clergy, in the presence of the son of Demetrius of the Don , the prince of Zvenigorod Yurii Dimitrievich (+ 1425), the holy relics were removed from the ground and placed temporarily in the wooden Trinity church (at this spot now stands the church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit). With the consecration of the stone Trinity cathedral in 1426, the relics were transferred into it, where they remain.

All the threads of the spiritual life of the Russian Church converge towards the great saint and wonderworker of Radonezh, and through all of Orthodox Rus the grace-filled, life-creating currents radiate outwards from the Trinity monastery he founded .

Naming a church for the Holy Trinity within the Russian land began with holy Equal of the Apostles Olga (July 11), who built the first Trinity temple at Pskov. Afterwards, similar churches were built in Great Novgorod and other cities.

The spiritual contribution of St Sergius in teaching the theology of the Holy Trinity is quite significant. The monk had profound insight into the secret mysteries of theology with the "spiritual eyes" of the ascetic, in prayerful ascent to the Tri-Hypostatic (i.e. in Three-Persons) God, and in the spiritual experience of communion with God and God-likeness.

"Coheirs of the perfect light and contemplation of the Most Holy and All-Sovereign Trinity," explained St Gregory the Theologian, "are those which become perfectly co-united in the perfection of the Spirit." St Sergius knew from personal experience the mystery of the Life-Creating Trinity, since in his life he became co-united with God, he became a communicant of the very life of the Divine Trinity, i.e. he attained as much as is possible on earth to the measure of "theosis" ["divinization"], becoming a "partaker of the Divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4). "If a man loves Me," says the Lord, "he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make our abode with him" (John 14:23).

Abba Sergius, in everything observing the commands of Christ, belongs to the rank of holy saints in the souls of whom the Holy Trinity "has made abode." He fashioned himself into "an abode of the Holy Trinity," and everyone with whom St Sergius associated, he elevated and brought into communion with the Holy Trinity.

The Radonezh ascetic, with his disciples and conversants, enriched the Russian and the universal Church with a new knowledge and vision of the Life-Creating Trinity, the Beginning and Source of life, manifesting Itself unto the world and to mankind in the "Sobornost'" ["Communality"] of the Church, with brotherly unity and the sacrificial redemptive love of its pastors and children.

In the spiritually symbolic gathering together of Rus in unity and love, the historical effort of the nation became a temple of the Life-Creating Trinity, built by St Sergius, "so that by constant attention to It would be conquered the fright of the hateful discord of this world."

The worship of the Holy Trinity, in forms created and bequeathed by the holy Igumen Sergius of Radonezh, became one of the most profound and original of features of Russian ecclesiality. With St Sergius, in the Life-Creating Trinity there was posited not only the holy perfection of life eternal, but also a model for human life, a spiritual ideal toward which mankind ought to strive, since that in the Trinity as "Indivisible" (Greek "Adiairetos") discord is condemned and "Sobornost'" ["Communality"] is blessed, and in the Trinity as "Inseparable" ["Akhoristos" -- per the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in year 451] coercion is condemned and freedom blessed. In the teaching of St Sergius about the Most Holy Trinity the Russian nation sensed profoundly its own catholic and ecumenical vocation, and comprehending the universal significance of the Feast, the people embellished it with all the variety and richness of the ancient national custom and people's verse. All the spiritual experience and spiritual striving of the Russian Church was embodied in the liturgical creativity of the Feast of the Holy Trinity, of trinitarian church rituals, icons of the Holy Trinity, and churches and monasteries of this name.

The theological insight of St Sergius in transformation was rendered as the wonderworking icon of the Life-Creating Trinity painted by the St Andrew of Radonezh, surnamed Rublev (July 4), a monastic iconographer, lived in the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, and painted with the blessing of St Nikon in praised memory to holy Abba Sergius. (At the Stoglav Council of 1551 this icon was affirmed as proper model for all successive church iconographic depiction of the Most Holy Trinity).

"The hateful discord," quarrels and commotions of worldly life were surmounted by the monastic cenobitic life, planted by St Sergius throughout all Rus. People would not have divisions, quarrels and war, if human nature, created by the Trinity in the image of the Divine Tri-Unity, were not distorted and impaired by ancestral sin. Overcoming by his own co-crucifixion with the Savior the sin of particularity and separation, repudiating the "my own" and the "myself," and in accord with the teachings of St Basil the Great, the cenobitic monks restore the First-created unity and sanctity of human nature. The monastery of St Sergius became for the Russian Church the model for renewal and rebirth. In it were formed holy monks, bearing forth thereof features of the true path of Christ to remote regions. In all their works and actions St Sergius and his disciples gave a churchly character to life, giving the people a living example of its possibility. Not for renouncing the earth, but rather for transfiguring it, they proclaimed ascent and they themselves ascended unto the Heavenly.

The school of St Sergius, through the monasteries founded by him, his disciples and the disciples of his disciples, embraces all the vastness of the Russian land and threads its way through all the remotest history of the Russian Church. One fourth a portion of all Russian monasteries, the strongholds of faith, piety and enlightenment, was founded by Abba Sergius or his disciples. The "igumen of the Russian land" was what people called the founder of the Domicile of the Life-Originating Trinity. The Monks Nikon and Mikhei of Radonezh, Sylvester of Obnora, Stephen of Makhrisch and Abraham of Chukhlom, Athanasius of Serpukhov and Nikita of Borov, Theodore of Simonov and Therapon of Monzha (May 27), Andronicus of Moscow and Savva of Storozhevsk, Demetrius of Priluki and Cyril of White Lake -- they were all disciples and conversers of "the wondrous Elder", Sergius. The holy hierarchs Alexis and Cyprian -- Metropolitans of Moscow, Dionysius Archbishop of Suzdal, and Stephen Bishop of Perm, were associated with him in spiritual closeness. The Patriarchs of Constantinople Callistus and Philotheus wrote letters to him and sent their blessings. Through Sts Nikita and Paphnutius of Borov threads a spiritual legacy to St Joseph of Volokolamsk and others of his disciples, and through Cyril of White Lake to Nil Sorsky, to Herman, Sabbatius and Zosima of Solovki.

The Church venerates also disciples and co-ascetics of St Sergius, whose memories are not specifically noted within the "Mesyatseslov" lists of saints under their separate day. We remember that the first to arrive for St Sergius at Makovets was the Elder Basil the Gaunt ("Sukhoi"), called such because of his incomparable fasting. Second was the monk Yakuta, i.e. Yakov (James), of simple peasant stock, who without a murmur spent long years at the monastery on errands of drudgery and difficult obedience.

Among the other disciples of St Sergius were his fellow countrymen from Radonezh the Deacon Onesimus and his son Elisha. When twelve monks had gathered and the constructed cells were fenced in by an high enclosure, the abba appointed Deacon Onesimus as gate-keeper, since his cell was farthest from the entrance to the monastery. Under the protective shadow of the Holy Trinity monastery the igumen Metrophanes spent his final years. It was he who had tonsured St Sergius into the angelic schema and guided him in monastic efforts. The grave of the blessed Elder Metrophanes became the first in the monastery cemetery.

In the year 1357 Archimandrite Simon arrived at the monastery from Smolensk. He had resigned his venerable position as head of one of the Smolensk monasteries, to become a simple obedient of the God-bearing Radonezh igumen. In recompense for his great humility, the Lord granted him to share in the miraculous vision of St Sergius about the future increase of his monastic flock. With the blessing of the abba, the Blessed Elder Isaac the Silent took upon himself the deed of prayerful silence; his silence was more instructive than any words for the monks and those outside. Only one time after a year of silence did the monk Isaac open his mouth -- to testify, how he had seen an angel of God serve together at the altar with St Sergius, during the Divine Liturgy.

An eyewitness of the grace of the Holy Spirit, co-effectualised for St Sergius, was also the ecclesiarch Simon, who once saw, how a heavenly fire came down upon the Holy Mysteries and that the saint of God "did commune the fire without being burned." The Elder Epiphanius (+ 1420) was somewhat later, during the time of igumen Nikon, a priest of the Sergiev flock. The Church calls him Epiphanius the Wise for his deep learning and great spiritual talents. He is known as the compiler of the Life of St Sergius and of his conversant Saint Stephen of Perm in eulogy to them; he wrote also the "Account of the Life and Repose of Great Prince Demetrius of the Don ". The Life of St Sergius, compiled by Epiphanius 26 years after the death of the monk, i.e. in 1418, was later reworked by the hagiographer Pachomius the Serb, called the Logothete, who had come from Athos.

To St Sergius, as to an inexhaustible font of spiritual prayer and grace of the Lord, at all times came in veneration thousands of the people -- for edification and for prayers, for help and for healing. And each of those having recourse with faith to his wonderworking relics he heals and renews, fills with power and with faith, transforms and guides upwards with his light-bearing spirituality.

But it was not only spiritual gifts and grace-filled healings bestown to all, approaching with faith the relics of St Sergius; God also gave him the grace to defend the Russian land from its enemies. The monk by his prayers was with the army of Demetrius of the Don at the Battle of Kulikovo Pole ("Field"), -- he even blessed his own monks, Alexander Peresvet and Andrew Oslyab to serve in the army. He told Ivan the Terrible where to build the fortress of Sviyazhsk and helped in the victory over Kazan. During the Polish incursion St Sergius appeared in a dream to the Nizhni Novgorod citizen Cosmas Minin, ordering him to gather funds and equip an army for the liberation of Moscow and the Russian realm. And when in 1612 after a Molieben to the Holy Trinity the militia of Minin and Pozharsky moved towards Moscow, a propitious breeze fluttered the Orthodox standards, "as though from the grave of the Wonderworker Sergius himself."

To the period of the Time of Troubles and the Polish incursion belongs the heroic "Trinity sitting-tight," when many monks with the blessing of the igumen St Dionysius repeated the military holy deed of the Sergiev disciples Peresvyet and Oslyab. For one and a half years, from September 23, 1608 to January 12, 1610, the Polish laid siege to the monastery of the Life-Creating Trinity, hoping to plunder and destroy this sacred bulwark of Orthodoxy. But by the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and through the prayers of St Sergius, "with much disgrace" they fled finally from the walls of the monastery, pursued by divine wrath, and soon even their leader Lisovsky perished in a cruel manner on the very day of St Sergius's commemoration, September 25, 1617. In 1618 the son of the Polish king, Vladislav, came right up to the walls of the Holy Trinity monastery. But being powerless against the grace of the Lord guarding the monastery, he was compelled to conclude a peace treaty with Russia at the monastery village of Deulino. After this a church was built in the name of St Sergius.

In the year 1619, Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem visited the Lavra during his journey to Russia. He especially wanted to see those monks who in time of military danger made bold to put the chain-mail coat on over their monastic garb and with weapon in hand to go up onto the walls of the holy monastery, warding off the enemy. St Dionysius the igumen (May 12), in speaking about the defense, presented to the patriarch more than twenty monks.

The first of them was Athanasius (Oscherin), very up in years and with the yellowed greyness of an elder. The patriarch asked him: "Did you go to war and lead soldiers?" The Elder answered, "Yes, holy Master, it was made necessary by bloody tears."
"What is most proper for a monk, prayerful solitude or military exploits before the people?"
Bowing low, St Athanasius replied: "Every thing and every deed has its own time. Here on my head is a Latin signature, from a weapon. There are six more memorials of lead in my body. Sitting in the cell at prayer, could I have found such inducements for moaning and groaning? I did all this not at my own pleasure, but for the blessing of the service of God sent us." Touched by the wise answer of the humble monk, the Patriarch blessed and embraced him. He blessed also the other soldier-monks and expressed his admiration to all the brethren of the Lavra of St Sergius.
The deed of the monastery, during this grievous Time of Troubles for all the nation, was recorded by the steward Abraham (Palitsyn) in "An Account of the Events of the Time of Troubles," and also by the steward Simon Azar'in in two hagiographic collections: "The Book of the Miracles of St Sergius," and the Life of St Dionysius of Radonezh. In the year 1650 Simeon Shakhovsky wrote an Akathist to St Sergius, as "valiant voevod (military-leader)" of the Russian land, in memory of the deliverance of the Trinity monastery from the enemy siege. There is another Akathist to St Sergius composed in the eighteenth century, and its author is believed to be Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) of Moscow, who reposed in 1812.
In later times, the monastery continued to be an inextinguishable torch of spiritual life and church enlightenment. From its brethren many famed hierarchs of the Russian Church were chosen for service, one after another.
In the year 1744, for its service to the country and the Faith, the monastery was designated as a Lavra. In 1742 a religious seminary was established within its enclosure, and in the year 1814 the Moscow Spiritual Academy was transferred there.
And at present the Domicile of the Life-Creating Trinity serves as one of the primary centers of grace of the Russian Orthodox Church. Here at the promptings of the Holy Spirit the Local Councils of the Russian Church take place. At the monastery is a place of residence of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, which carries upon it the special blessing of St Sergius, in the established form, "Archimandrite of the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra."
The fifth of July, the day of the Uncovering of the relics of holy Abba Sergius,
igumen of the Russian Land, is a crowded and solemn church feastday at the monastery.
1484 Blessed Elias (Elie) of Bourdeilles Franciscan habit at the age of 10, bishop of Périgueux at the age of 24, archbishop of Tours in 1468, and cardinal in 1483 OFM B (PC)
Born in Périgord, 1407;  Elias was born into the family of the counts of Bourdeilles. He took the Franciscan habit at the age of 10. He was successively bishop of Périgueux at the age of 24, archbishop of Tours in 1468, and cardinal in 1483. Though he was King Louis XI's confessor, he defended the rights of the church against the king. In 1452, he drew up a report vindicating Saint Jeanne d'Arc.
The process of his beatification was begun in 1526, but has never been completed (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
1538 St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria priest; Cofounder of the Barnabites a medical doctor; popularized the 40-hour prayer ceremony, promoted of altar sacraments, introduced ringing church bells on Friday
Born in 1502 in Cremona, Italy, Anthony became a medical doctor. In 1528 he was ordained a priest and cofounded the Barnabites, the religious congregation so called because it was headquartered in St. Barnabas Monastery in Milan. The Barnabites occupied the monastery in 1538, having been approved in 1533. Anthony popularized the forty-hour prayer ceremony, promoted the use of altar sacraments, and introduced the ringing of church bells on Friday. He is depicted in liturgical art in habit.
ST ANTONY ZACCARIA, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF ST  PAUL (A.D. 1539)
THE early part of the sixteenth century, before the Council of Trent, was one of the saddest periods of the Church's history; nevertheless it produced some -figures of outstanding sanctity and beauty, and among these that of Antony Mary Zaccaria is one of the noblest. He was born at Cremona in 1502 and his father died while he was yet young; but his mother made admirable compensation for that early loss and in particular encouraged that side of her son's character which was moved to compassion by the sufferings of the poor. He was sent to the University of Padua to study medicine; when he was twenty-'two he graduated, and returned to his home to practise. Here he soon learned that his vocation was to heal souls as well as bodies, and he began seriously to study theology, meantime continuing to exercise his profession, to give spiritual help to the dying, to teach Christian doctrine to the young, and to be at the service of all. In 1528 he was ordained priest, and his spiritual and corporal ministry was so successful that he was encouraged to extend its possibilities by removing to the bigger city of Milan.
Here Antony joined the Confraternity of Eternal Wisdom and met people likeminded with himself, among them Louisa Torelli, Countess of Guastalla, who under his direction founded the congregation of women called the Angelicals, for the protection and rescue of girls who were in danger or had fallen into evil ways; these sisters were an auxiliary of the saint in all his works of mercy. In 1530 he decided, with two other priests, the Ven. Bartholomew Ferrari and the Ven. James Morigia, to start a body of clerks regular (i.e. priests who are bound by rule and vows but are neither monks nor friars), whose object should be to "regenerate and revive the love of divine worship, and a properly Christian way of life by frequent preaching and faithful ministering of the sacraments". This was done with five members, who preached in any place, church or street, and particularly on our Lord's passion and death for men, of which St Antony reminded people every Friday evening by the tolling of a bell. While Luther was attacking both the truths of the faith and the iniquities of churchmen, while the people were oppressed physically by the wars which ravaged Italy and spiritually by the neglect of the clergy, this faithful band laboured heroically to reform the Church from within by reviving the Christian spirit and care for souls among the clergy and by ministering to the dual needs of the laity. They worked among the plague-stricken Milanese and infused such vigour into the spiritual life of their city that in 1533 the new congregation was approved by Pope Clement VII under the name of the Clerks Regular of St Paul. The founder was its first provost general, but three years later he resigned the office to Father Morigia and went to inaugurate its work at Vicenza, where he is said to have introduced from Milan the custom of exposing the Blessed Sacrament for three continuous days.
In the last year of his life St Antony acquired for the headquarters of his congregation the church of St Barnabas at Milan, whence the common name of Barnabites for his followers. While on a mission at Guastalla he was taken ill and, his body worn out by mortifications and unceasing work, he quickly became worse; he was carried to his mother's house at Cremona and there died at the age of thirty-seven. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1897. After considerable troubles in their early days the Barnabites prospered, but have never been a large order; they still labour in modest obscurity among the outcasts of great towns; they educate, for wherever is a Barnabite community there is a centre of learning; and following their founder they preach the gospel with special reference to the epistles of St Paul.
See P. A. Dubois, Antoine Marie Zaccharia (1890); F. T. Moltedo, Vita di S. Antonio Maria Zaccaria (1897); and O. M. Premoli, Le lettere e lo spirito religioso di S. Antonio Zaccaria (1909), and Storia dei Barnabiti nel cinquecento (1913).

Antonius Maria Zaccaria Katholische Kirche: 5. Juli
Antonius-Maria wurde in Cremona geboren. Er studierte zunächst Medizin, engagierte sich in der kirchlichen Arbeit und wurde mit 26 Jahren zum Priester geweiht. Gemeinsam mit den Mailändern Bartholomäus Ferrara und Jakobus Antonius Morigia gründete er 1530 in Mailand eine Priesterkongregation, die sich Regularkleriker vom hl. Paulus nannten. Die Kongregation wurde 1532 und 1535 bestätigt. Da ihr die Mailänder Kirche St. Barnabas zugewiesen wurde, wurde die Kongregation unter dem Namen Barnabiten bekannt. Antonius-Maria gründete später auch eine Frauenkongregation, die englischen Schwestern vom hl. Paulus (Angeliken). Er starb Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. Von Karl Borromäus wurde er verehrt. Später wurde seine Verehrung aber untersagt, bis im 19. Jahrhundert der Seligsprechungsprozess eingeleitet und 1897 mit der Heiligsprechung abgeschlossen wurde.

Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Priest (RM) Born in Cremona, Italy, 1502; died there, July 15, 1539; canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.
    "That which God commands seems difficult and a burden...
The way is rough; you draw back; you have no desire to follow it. Yet do so and you will attain glory."

Antony studied medicine at the University of Padua. In 1524, at the age of 25, he set up his practice in his hometown. As a medical man he found himself ministering not only to the sick but also to the dying and the bereaved. He found man and women sick not only in the body but spiritually, and so he turned to the study of theology to learn more about the comfort and ways of God.  By 1528, it seemed natural that the young doctor should be ordained as a secular priest who pursued a spiritual and corporeal ministry. Soon he moved to work in Metan near Milan. His zeal, molded on that of Saint Paul, knew no bounds.
In 1530, he and a few other priests, including Venerable Bartholomew Ferrari and Venerable James Morigia, founded the congregation of Clerks Regular of Saint Paul, the members of which were neither monks nor friars but lived under a rule "to revive the love of divine worship and a true Christian way of life by continual preaching and faithfully administering the sacraments."
They worked among the plague-stricken Milanese, in the midst of wars, and during Luther's reforms. The group so invigorated the city's spiritual life that it was approved by Pope Clement VI in 1533 with Antony as its first provost general. The order became known as the Barnabites when, in the last year of Antony's life, the church of Saint Barnabas in Milan became the order's headquarters.
Antony resigned in 1536, helped spread the community, and worked ceaselessly to reform the Church. Under his direction, Louisa Torelli founded the congregation of women called Angelicals, who protected and rescued girls who had fallen into disreputable lives. Antony was only 37 when he died as a result of his unceasing apostolic toil (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, White).

St Antony Zaccaria, Founder Of The Clerks Regular Of St Paul
THE early part of the sixteenth century, before the Council of Trent, was one of the saddest periods of the Church's history; nevertheless it produced some 'figures of outstanding sanctity and beauty, and among these that of Antony Mary Zaccaria is one of the noblest. He was born at Cremona in 1502 and his father died while he was yet young; but his mother made admirable compensation for that early loss and in particular encouraged that side of her son's character which was moved to compassion by the sufferings of the poor. He was sent to the University of Padua to study medicine; when he was twenty-two he graduated, and returned to his home to practise. Here he soon learned that his vocation was to heal souls as well as bodies, and he began seriously to study theology, meantime continuing to exercise his profession" to give spiritual help to the dying, to teach Christian doctrine to the young, and to be at the service of all. In 1528

St. Anthony Zaccaria 1502-1539
At the same time that Martin Luther was attacking abuses in the Church, a reformation within the Church was already being attempted. Among the early movers of the Counter-Reformation was Anthony Zaccaria. His mother became a widow at 18 and devoted herself to the spiritual education of her son. He received a medical doctorate at 22 and, while working among the poor of his native Cremona, was attracted to the religious apostolate. He renounced his rights to any future inheritance, worked as a catechist, and was ordained a priest at the age of 26. Called to Milan in a few years, he laid the foundations of three religious congregations, one for men, one for women and another for laity. The three foundations met regularly and engaged together in various forms of apostolic action. Their aim was the reform of the decadent society of their day, beginning with the clergy and religious. The Laity of St. Paul died out soon after Anthony's death but experienced a rebirth in the 1990s.

Greatly inspired by St. Paul (his congregation is named the Barnabites, after the companion of that saint), Anthony preached with great vigor in church and street, conducted popular missions and was not ashamed of doing public penance. He encouraged such innovations as the collaboration of the laity in the apostolate, frequent Communion, the Forty Hours devotion and the ringing of church bells at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.  His holiness moved many to reform their lives but, as with all saints, it also moved many to oppose him. Twice his community had to undergo official religious investigation, and twice it was exonerated.  While on a mission of peace, he became seriously ill and was brought home for a visit to his mother. He died at Cremona at the age of 36.
Comment:    The austerity of Anthony's spirituality and the Pauline ardor of his preaching would probably "turn off" many people today. When even some psychiatrists complain at the lack of a sense of sin, it may be time to tell ourselves that not all evil is explained by emotional disorder, subconscious and unconscious drives, parental influence and so on. The old-time "hell and damnation" mission sermons have given way to positive, encouraging, biblical homilies. We do indeed need assurance of forgiveness, relief from existential anxiety and future shock. But we still need prophets to stand up and tell us, "He who says he is without sin is a liar."
Quote:    ''I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths" (2 Timothy 4:1-4).
1758 Johann Andreas Rothe
Johann Andreas Rothe wurde am 12.5.1688 in Lissa bei Görlitz geboren. Nach dem Theologiestudium war er Hauslehrer und Aushilfsprediger. In Großhennersdorf kam er mit Nikolaus Graf von Zinzendorf zusammen, der ihn als Pfarrer nach Berthelsdorf holte. Hier dichtete Rothe auch mehrere Lieder für das Gesangbuch der Brüdergemeinde, im EG steht sein "Ich habe nun den Grund gefunden" (EG 354). Rothe blieb Lutheraner, es kam deshalb immer wieder zu Spannungen, andererseits konnte Rothe bei den Gesprächen mit den mährischen Brüdergemeinden hilfreich vermitteln. 1737 verließ Rothe die Brüdergemeinde und wirkte als Pfarrer in Hermsdorf bei Görlitz, später in Thommendorf bei Bunzlau. Hier starb er am 6.7.1758.
1918 Saint Elizabeth was the older sister of Tsarina Alexandra was married to the Grand Duke Sergius governor of Moscow. She converted to Orthodoxy from Protestantism of her own free will, and organized women from all levels of society to help the soldiers at the front and in the hospitals.
Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanov Orthodoxe Kirche: 5. Juli

Grand Duke Sergius was killed by an assassin's bomb on February 4, 1905, just as St Elizabeth was leaving for her workshops. Remarkably, she visited her husband's killer in prison and urged him to repent.
After this, she began to withdraw from her former social life. She devoted herself to the Convent of Sts Martha and Mary, a community of nuns which focused on worshiping God and also helping the poor. She moved out of the palace into a building she purchased on Ordinka. Women from the nobility, and also from the common people, were attracted to the convent.
St Elizabeth nursed sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals and on the battle front.

On Pascha of 1918, the Communists ordered her to leave Moscow, and join the royal family near Ekaterinburg. She left with a novice, Sister Barbara, and an escort of Latvian guards.  After arriving in Ekaterinburg, St Elizabeth was denied access to the Tsar's family. She was placed in a convent, where she was warmly received by the sisters.
At the end of May St Elizabeth was moved to nearby Alopaevsk with the Grand Dukes Sergius, John, and Constantine, and the young Count Vladimir Paley. They were all housed in a schoolhouse on the edge of town. St Elizabeth was under guard, but was permitted to go to church and work in the garden.
On the night of July 5, they were all taken to a place twelve miles from Alopaevsk, and executed. The Grand Duke Sergius was shot, but the others were thrown down a mineshaft, then grenades were tossed after them. St Elizabeth lived for several hours, and could be heard singing hymns.
  The bodies of St Barbara and St Elizabeth were taken to Jerusalem in 1920, and buried in the church of St Mary Magdalene.
Elizaveta FeodorovnaPrinzessin Elisabeth Alexandra Louise Alice Prinzessin von Hessen und bei Rhein wurde am 1.11.1864 geboren. 1884 heiratete sie den Zarensohn Sergei Alexadrovitsch Romanov und trat zum orthodoxen Glauben über. Sie beschäftigte sich zunehmend mit der sozialen Lage der Bevölkerung und arbeitete in mehreren Hilfswerken mit. 1905 wurde ihr Ehemann ermordet. Elizaveta verkaufte ihre Habe und gründete den Martha-Marien-Konvent. Diese Frauengemeinschaft vereinte die orthodoxe Klostertradition mit der karitativen Tätigkeit westlicher Diakonissenanstalten. 1910 konnten die ersten Schwestern eingesegnet werden. Die Idee, die alte Diakonissenweihe wieder einzuführen, liess sich gegen den Widerstand konservativer Kirchenführer nicht durchsetzen. Am 15.7.1918 wurde Elizaveta von den Bolschewiken ermordet. Ihr Leichnam gelangte auf abenteuerlichen Wegen nach Jerusalem. Hier ist sie in der Maria-Magdalenen-Kathedrale bestattet. Im April 1992 wurde Elizaveta feierlich kanonisiert. Der 1918 aufgelöste Kovent wurde neu gegründet .


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 166

Incline thine ear, O Lady, to hear my prayers: and turn not away from me the beauty of thy face.

Turn our mourning into rejoicing: and our tribulation into joy.

May our enemies fall down at our feet: by thy power may their heads be crushed.

Let every tongue praise thee: and let all flesh bless thy holy name.

For thy spirit is sweet above honey: and thy inheritance above the honey and the honeycomb.

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

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

God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea.  As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences.  Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves. O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.  Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.   God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven:  only saints are allowed into heaven. The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources
Patron_Saints.html  Widowed_Saints html  Indulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines   India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes 1858  China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine  Loreto, Italy  Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
  Links to Related MarianWebsites  Angels and Archangels  Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell
Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates  Chalcedon
Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BC  Lay Saints  Miraculous_Icons  Miraculous_Medal_Novena Patron Saints
Miracles by Century 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800  1900 2000
Miracles 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000  
 1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900 Lay Saints

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

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

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

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

680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints.  Imam Hussein died in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the saint's shrine.  The battle over a dispute about the leadership of the Muslim faith following Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. It is the defining event in Islam's split into Sunni and Shiite branches.  The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson. "He sacrificed his blood to teach us not to give in to corruption, coercion, or use of force and to seek honor and justice."  According to Shiite beliefs, Hussein and companions were denied water by enemies who controlled the nearby Euphrates.  Streets get partially covered with blood from slaughter of hundreds of cows and sheep. Volunteers cook the meat and feed it to the poor.  Hussein's martyrdom recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to many Shiites, 10 percent of the world's estimated 1.3 billion Muslims.
Meeting of the Saints  walis (saints of Allah)
Great men covet to embrace martyrdom for a cause and principle.
So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life.  But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat 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]
To Save A Life is Earthly; Saving A Soul is Eternal Donation by mail, please send check or money order to:
Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Rd. Irondale, AL 35210  USA
  Catholic Television Network  Supported entirely by donations from viewers  help  spread the Eternal Word, online Here
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 Pasqualina Addatis), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Addolorata, Servants of Mary (1845-1900);
– Servant of God Maria of the Incarnation (née Caterina Carrasco Tenorio), founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of the Flock of Mary (1840-1917);
– Servant of God , founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Family of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1851-1923);
– Servant of God Ilia Corsaro, founder of the Congregation of the Little Missionaries of the Eucharist (1897-1977);
– Servant of God Maria Montserrat Grases García, layperson of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1941-1959).
LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858 
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798  
Links to Related Marian Websites  Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates, PSALTER  BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 166 2023