Apostles Peter and Paul; Sermon of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo
Today the Holy Church piously remembers the sufferings of the Holy Glorious and All-Praised
Romæ natális sanctórum Apostolórum Petri et Pauli, qui eódem anno eodémque die passi sunt, sub Neróne Imperatóre. Horum prior, in eádem Urbe, cápite ad terram verso cruci affíxus, et in Vaticáno juxta viam Triumphálem sepúltus, totíus Orbis veneratióne celebrátur; postérior autem, gládio animadvérsus, et via Ostiénsi sepúltus, pari honóre habétur.
At Rome, the birthday of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, who suffered martyrdom on the same day, under Emperor Nero. Within the city the former was crucified with his head downwards, and buried in the Vatican, near the Triumphal Way, where he is venerated by the whole world. The latter was put to the sword and buried on the Ostian Way, where he received similar honours.
ST PETER, PRINCE OF THE APOSTLES (A.D. 64?) ["Prince" is from Latin princeps, meaning simply supreme head or leader. The equivalent Greek term is in Byzantine usage is applied to both St Peter and St Paul; this term was applied to the leader of the chorus in Attic drama; hence eventually coryphée, the chief dancer in a ballet.]
THE story of St Peter as recounted in the gospels is so familiar that there can be no need to retrace it here in detail. We know that he was a Galilean, that his original home was at Bethsaida, that he was married, a fisherman, and that he was brother to the apostle St Andrew. His name was Simon, but our Lord, on first meeting him, told him that he should be called Kephas, the Aramaic equivalent of the Greek word whose English form is Peter (i.e. rock). No one who reads the New Testament can be blind to the predominant role which is everywhere accorded to him among the immediate followers of Jesus. It was he who, as spokesman of the rest, made the sublime profession of faith: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and it was to him personally that our Saviour, with a solemnity of phrase which finds no parallel in the rest of the gospel narrative, addressed the words: "Blessed art thou Simon bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in Heaven. And I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven."
Not less familiar is the story of Peter's triple denial of his Master in spite of the warning he had previously received. The very fact that his fall is recorded by all four evangelists with a fullness of detail which seems out of proportion to its relative insignificance amid the incidents of our Saviour's passion, is itself a tribute to the position which St Peter occupied among his fellows. On the other hand, if our Lord's warning met with no response, we must also remember that it was prefaced by those astounding words, with their strange change from the plural to the singular: "Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren." Equally impressive is the triple reparation which our Lord tenderly but almost cruelly extorted from His shamefaced disciple beside the Sea of Galilee. "When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these? 'He saith to him:, ‘Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.' He saith to him: 'Feed my lambs.' He saith to him again: 'Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?' He saith to Him:, ‘Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.' He saith to him: 'Feed my lambs.' He said to him the third time: 'Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? 'Peter was grieved, because He had said to him the third time: lovest thou me? And he said to Him: 'Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee.' He said to him: 'Feed my sheep'." But the prophecy which follows is almost more wonderful; for Jesus went on: "Amen, amen, I say to thee, when thou wast younger thou didst gird thyself and didst walk where thou wouldst. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and lead thee whither thou wouldst not." "And this," adds the evangelist, "He said, signifying by what death he should glorify God."
After the Ascension we find St Peter still everywhere taking a leading part. It is he who is named first in the group of apostles who, in the upper room, "persevered with one mind in prayer with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus", until the coming of the Holy Ghost on the day of the Pentecost. It was he, also, who took the initiative in the choosing of a new apostle in the place of Judas, and he who first addressed the jeering crowd, bearing testimony to “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you, whom God raised again, whereof all we are witnesses". Further, we are told: "Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles:, ‘What shall we do, men and brethren?' Peter said to them: 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.''' Whereupon “they that received his word were baptized; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls". It is Peter, too, who is recorded to have done the first miracle of healing known in the Christian Church. A man lame from his birth was lying at the gate of the Temple when Peter and John went up to pray, and he asked them for an alms. "Peter with John fastening his eyes upon him said: 'Look upon us.' But he looked earnestly upon them, hoping that he should receive something of them. But Peter said: 'Silver and gold I have none, but what I have, I give thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk.' And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up, and forthwith his feet and soles received strength. And he leaping up, stood and walked, and went with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God."
When the outbreak of persecution began which culminated in the martyrdom of St Stephen in the presence of Saul, the future apostle of the Gentiles, the new converts to Christ's teaching, for the most part, scattered, but the Apostles stood their ground in Jerusalem until news came of the favourable reception accorded in Samaria to the preaching of St Philip the Deacon. Then St Peter and St John betook themselves to the field of these labours and imposed hands upon (gave confirmation to?) those whom St Philip had already baptized. Among these last was a man, best known to us as Simon Magus, who claimed to possess occult powers and had acquired great influence by his sorceries. Being apparently impressed by what he witnessed in those who had been newly confirmed, he came to the Apostles, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost." But, offering them money, he only met with a stern rebuke; for Peter said, "Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money."
In the apocryphal literature known as the “Clementines", Simon is represented as meeting St Peter at a later date and carrying on a long contest with him and St Clement as they journey from one to another of the maritime Cities of Syria on the way to Rome. Earlier still than the Clementines, St Justin Martyr (writing in the year 152) declares that Simon Magus came to Rome and was there honoured as a deity, but it must be admitted that the evidence Justin quotes for this is quite unsatisfactory. Again, in the apocryphal “Acts of St Peter", there is a dramatic story of the Magus's attempt to gain over the Emperor Nero by a demonstration of his occult power in flying through the air. According to this legend, SS. Peter and Paul were present and by their prayers rendered the sorcerer's magic ineffective. He fell to the ground and died soon afterwards of his injuries. Other, and quite contradictory stories, are repeated by Hippolytus (in the Philosophumena) and by other early writers, always turning upon some sort of conflict between Simon and the two great apostles, with Rome as the background of the drama. Unconvincing as the evidence is, there is a general disposition among early Christian writers, such, for instance, as St Irenaeus, to regard Simon Magus as "the father of heresies", and as in some special way the antagonist of SS. Peter and Paul, the representatives of Christian truth in the capital of the world.
Almost all that we know for certain about the later life of St Peter is derived from the Acts of the Apostles and from slight allusions in his own epistles and those of St Paul. Of special importance is the account of the conversion of the centurion Cornelius; for this raised the question of the continuance of the rite of circumcision and the maintenance of the prescriptions of the Jewish law in such matters as food and intercourse with the Gentiles. Instructed by a special vision, St Peter, albeit with some hesitancy, came to see that the old dispensation was at an end, and that the Church founded by Christ was to be the Church of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. He was reproached somewhat later by St Paul, as we learn from the Epistle to the Galatians (ch. ii), with being an opportunist and only halfhearted in acting up to these principles. The incident seems to have been connected with a gathering of certain of the apostles and elders, which has been called the Council of Jerusalem, but whether this preceded or followed St Paul's rebuke to St Peter at Antioch is not quite certain. In any case, it was St Peter's address which guided the decision at which the Jerusalem assembly arrived. The resolution come to was that the Gentile converts to Christianity need not be circumcised or required to observe the law of Moses. On the other hand, to avoid too grievous a shock to Jewish susceptibilities, they were to abstain from blood and from things strangled, as well as from fornication and from idol-offerings. This decision was communicated to Antioch and served to calm the troubled feelings of the fastgrowing Christian community in that great city.
It is possible, though we have no really reliable evidence upon the point, that before the Jerusalem council (A.D. 49?) St Peter had already, for two years or more, been bishop of Antioch, and that he may even have made his way to Rome, thus taking possession of what was to be his permanent see. A striking incident recorded in the Acts is the violent outbreak of persecution under Herod Agrippa I, probably in the year 43. We are told that Herod “slew James the brother of John with the sword"-this, of course, was the elder James, the apostle whose feast is kept on July 25-and that then he proceeded to arrest Peter also. However, “prayer was earnestly being offered to God by the Church in his behalf", and Peter, though "he was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains, and sentries outside the door were guarding the prison", was released by an angel and was able to make his way to a safe refuge. After that we are only told that “he departed and went to another place", by which might be meant Antioch, or even Rome. From this point Peter is mentioned no more in the Acts except in connection with the council at Jerusalem as described above.
The passion of St Peter took place in Rome during the reign of Nero (A.D. 54-68), but no written account of it (if there was such a thing) has survived. According to an old but unverifiable tradition he was confined in the Mamertine prison, where the church of San Pietro in Carcere now stands. Tertullian (d. c. 225) says that the apostle was crucified; and Eusebius adds, on the authority of Origen (d. 253), that by his own desire he suffered head downwards. The place has always been believed to be the gardens of Nero, which saw so many scenes of terror and glory at this time. The, at one time, generally accepted tradition that St Peter's pontificate lasted twenty-five years is probably no more than a deduction based upon inconsistent chronological data. The beautiful legend that St Peter, departing out of Rome at the earnest request of his flock, met our Lord coming in, and asked Him, “Domine quo vadis?”" (Lord, whither goest thou?), is first told by St Ambrose in his sermon against Auxentius. Our Lord answered, "I am coming to be crucified a second time", and St Peter at once turned back, realizing that the cross of which the Saviour spoke was that which was destined for himself. The agreement of this story with the thought expressed in stanzas 4 and 5 of the striking hymn, Apostolorum passio, is, as A. S. Walpole pointed out, one among many reasons for attributing the hymn quite definitely to St Ambrose.
This is not the place to discuss objections that have been made from time to time against the tradition of St Peter's episcopate and martyrdom in Rome (cf· the feast of his Chair at Rome on January 18). It is probably true to say that no serious scholar now questions it, for the weight of evidence from both documents and monuments is decisive. But brief reference may be made to certain early indications of strong popular devotion to Peter and Paul in the City. According to a view which has been accepted by many Roman archaeologists, the bodies both of St Peter and St Paul were in the year 258 conveyed from their respective tombs beside the Vatican and on the Ostian Way to some hiding-place, ad catacumbas, on the Appian Way, close to the site where the basilica of St Sebastian now stands. Excavations in 1915-1922 were undertaken to find this hiding-place, or at any rate some trace of it, but in this respect the investigation does not seem to have been crowned with success. There was found, however, the basin or hollow in the tufa, from which the now familiar name" catacomb" is derived. The place was called ad catacumbas because its most conspicuous original feature was a series of sepulchral chambers constructed in the tufa beside a natural depression in the ground.
Close beside these, however, there were found the walls of a large room, open on one side to the air, which must have been constructed about the year 250. From its decorations and other details it was clearly a place intended for meetings of a more or less convivial and ceremonial character. There is good reason to suppose that it was the scene of those repasts called agapae, the Christian love-feasts of the early centuries. What is beyond question is that the remains of the plaster coating left here and there on the walls are covered with graffiti (scribblings) which can be dated with security as belonging to the second half of the third century. They seem to have been a rather uneducated crowd who scrawled their pious sentiments upon the plaster, but their devotion to Peter and Paul is made everywhere manifest. Here are a specimen or two, selected from a great number, almost all fragmentary :
"PETRO ET PAULO TOMIUS COELIUS REFRIGERIUM FECI."
Refrigerium was the treat or entertainment provided at these reunions by some more affluent person for the benefit of his poorer fellow Christians; so that we may translate the scribble: "I, Tomius Coelius, made a feast to the honour of Peter and Paul."
"DALMATIUS BOTUM IS PROMISIT REFRIGERIUM." (By way of a vow Dalmatius promised a feast for these.)
Many of the scrawls are simply invocations. Thus:
"PAULE ET PETRE PETITE PRO VICTORE." (Paul and Peter, make intercession for Victor.)
"PETRUS ET PAULUS IN MENTE ABEATIS ANTONIUS BASSUM." (Peter and Paul, do not forget Antonius Bassus.)
These spontaneous and often quite illiterate appeals point clearly to a great popular cultus of SS. Peter and Paul at this spot. Most are written in Latin, a few in Greek, but the Latin is often scrawled in Greek letters. As already noticed, the plaster only remains in patches, and many of the scribblings are illegible, but in the case of nearly eighty the names of both apostles can be discerned, sometimes that of Peter standing first, sometimes that of Paul. There can be no possible question that somewhere during the latter half of the third century, and consequently in close accord with an entry in the Philocalian calendar of 354 which commemorates a translation, or at any rate a festival celebration, of the two apostles ad catacumbas in 258, there existed precisely in that spot a vigorous popular devotion to the two great Roman patrons conjointly, the evidence of which remains to this day.
Already, at the beginning of the third century, Caius, as quoted by Eusebius, records that the scene of the triumph of St Peter was to be found on the Vatican hill, whereas the martyrdom of St Paul was honoured on the Ostian Way. Father Delehaye and some other distinguished hagiographical experts hold that the bodies of the two apostles were interred there from the beginning and have never since been disturbed; others suggest that they were temporarily buried at the Appian Way site immediately after their deaths, until permanent tombs near the scene of their respective martyrdoms could be prepared. In either case the inscription set up by Pope St Damasus I (d. 384) at the place near St Sebastian's would then merely commemorate the institution of a festival in 258 which, for convenience or some other reason, was celebrated ad catacumbas.
Since the above was written the results of the excavations, begun under St. Peter's basilica in 1938, have been made public. The site and fragmentary remains of the Apostle's tomb there seem to have been established and identified beyond reasonable doubt; but whether the human remains found in close proximity are those of St Peter can at present, and perhaps for ever, be only a matter of surmise. This discovery on the Vatican hill revives interest in the San Sebastiano site; but the theory that, after a translation ad catacumbas in 258, the bones of St Peter remained there permanently is for several reasons a most unlikely one.
The joint feast of SS. Peter and Paul seems always to have been kept at Rome on June 29, and Duchesne considers that the practice goes back at least to the time of Constantine; but the celebration in the East was at first commonly assigned to December 28. This was the case at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, as surviving papyri attest, as late as the year 536, but in Constantinople and elsewhere in the Eastern empire the Roman date for the commemoration gradually won acceptance. The joint feast was kept in Syria in the early fifth century, as we learn from the Syriac breviarium of that period, which has an entry in this form: "December 28, in the City of Rome, Paul the Apostle, and Simon Kephas (i.e. Peter), the chief of the Apostles of the Lord."

There is, of course, an enormous literature connected with St Peter, which deals with his life and office from every point of view. The commentators on the gospels and on the Acts of the Apostles cover a large part of the ground with which such a work as the present is specially concerned. The little volume S. Pierre (in the series “Les Saints"), by L. C. Fillion, forms an excellent introduction to the subject, as it includes the whole range of what is recorded of the apostle; that of C. Fouard, St Peter (Eng. trans.), is more detailed, but it is mainly concerned with the early years of the Christian Church, leaving aside what we are told of St Peter in the gospels. To these may be added R. Aigrain's St Pierre (1938) and a popular American work by W. T. Walsh, St Peter the Apostle (1950). For St Peter's teaching, G. Thils, L'enseignement de St Pierre (1946) may be consulted, and on the early primacy Bishop Besson's St Pierre et les origines de la primauté Romaine (1929) is excellent. Among other non-Catholic scholars, see Bishop Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers (1877), W. Ramsay, The Church and the Roman Empire (1893), O. Cullmann, Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr (1954), and H. Lietzmann, Petrus und Paulus in Rom (1927) and Petrus Römischer Martyrer (1936) on St Peter in Rome. For a discussion of the catacomb problem, see F. Toletti's article in Rivista di archeologia cristiana, 1947-1948; Mgr A. S. Barnes, The Martyrdom of St Peter and St Paul (1933), on which cf. Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lii (1934), pp. 69-72; and P. Styger, Die römischen Katacumben (1933). Cf. also the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne), vol. i, and Delehaye, Origines du culte des martyrs (1933), pp. 263-269. The report of the 1938-1950 excavations has been published in 2 vols., one of text and one of illustrations; see an article by P. Romanelli in the Osservatore Romano, December 19, 1951. Numerous other articles in various languages on the results of the excavations appeared, among them two by J. B. Ward Perkins, in The Listener, 25 Sept. 1952, and in the Journal of Roman Studies, vol. xlii (1952).

St. Peter, the fervent follower of Jesus Christ, for the profound confession of His Divinity: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God," was deemed worthy by the Savior to hear in answer, "Blessed art thou, Simon ... I tell thee, that thou art Peter [Petrus], and on this stone [petra] I build My Church" (Mt.16:16-18). On "this stone" [petra], is on that which thou sayest: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" it is on this thy confession I build My Church. Wherefore the "thou art Peter": it is from the "stone" [petra] that Peter [Petrus] is, and not from Peter [Petrus] that the "stone" [petra] is, just as the Christian is from Christ, and not Christ from the Christian. Do you want to know, from what sort of "rock" [petra] the Apostle Peter [Petrus] was named? Hear the Apostle Paul: "Brethren, I do not want ye to be ignorant," says the Apostle of Christ, "how all our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Cor.10: 1-4). Here is the from whence the "Rock" is Peter.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the final days of His earthly life, in the days of His mission to the race of man, chose from among the disciples His twelve Apostles to preach the Word of God. Among them, the Apostle Peter for his fiery ardor was vouchsafed to occupy the first place (Mt.10:2) and to be as it were the representative person for all the Church. Therefore it is said to him, preferentially, after the confession: "I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in the heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth: shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt.16: 19). Therefore it was not one man, but rather the One Universal Church, that received these "keys" and the right "to bind and loosen." And that it was actually the Church that received this right, and not exclusively a single person, turn your attention to another place of the Scriptures, where the same Lord says to all His Apostles, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" and further after this, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them: and whose soever sins ye retain, are retained" (John 20: 22-23); or: "whatsoever ye bind upon the earth, shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosened in heaven" (Mt.18:18). Thus, it is the Church that binds, the Church that loosens; the Church, built upon the foundational cornerstone, Jesus Christ Himself (Eph 2:20), doth bind and loosen. Let both the binding and the loosening be feared: the loosening, in order not to fall under this again; the binding, in order not to remain forever in this condition. Therefore "Iniquities ensnare a man, and everyone is bound in the chains of his own sins," says Wisdom (Prov 5:22); and except for Holy Church nowhere is it possible to receive the loosening.
After His Resurrection the Lord entrusted the Apostle Peter to shepherd His spiritual flock not because, that among the disciples only Peter alone was pre-deserved to shepherd the flock of Christ, but Christ addresses Himself chiefly to Peter because, that Peter was first among the Apostles and as such the representative of the Church; besides which, having turned in this instance to Peter alone, as to the top Apostle, Christ by this confirms the unity of the Church. "Simon of John" -- says the Lord to Peter -- "lovest thou Me?" -- and the Apostle answered: "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee"; and a second time it was thus asked, and a second time he thus answered; being asked a third time, seeing that as it were not believed, he was saddened. But how is it possible for him not to believe That One, Who knew his heart? And wherefore then Peter answered: "Lord, Thou knowest all; Thou knowest that I love Thee." "And sayeth Jesus to him" all three times "Feed My sheep" (John 20:15-17).

Besides this, the triple appealing of the Savior to Peter and the triple confession of Peter before the Lord had a particular beneficial purpose for the Apostle. That one, to whom was given "the keys of the kingdom" and the right "to bind and to loose," bound himself thrice by fear and cowardice (Mt.26:69-75), and the Lord thrice loosens him by His appeal and in turn by his confession of strong love. And to shepherd literally the flock of Christ was acquired by all the Apostles and their successors. "Take heed, therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock," the Apostle Paul urges church presbyters, "over which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of the God, which He hath purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28); and the Apostle Peter to the elders: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof not by constraint, but willingly: not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when is appeared the Prince of pastors, ye will receive unfading crowns of glory" (1 Pet. 5:2-4).
It is remarkable that Christ, having said to Peter: "Feed My sheep," did not say: "Feed thy sheep," but rather to feed, good servant, the sheep of the Lord. "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor.1:13). "Feed My sheep". Wherefore "wolfish robbers, wolfish oppressors, deceitful teachers and mercenaries, not being concerned about the flock" (Mt.7:15; Acts 20:29; 2 Pet 2:1; John 10:12), having plundered a strange flock and making of the spoils as though it be of their own particular gain, they think that they feed their flock. Such are not good pastors, as pastors of the Lord. "The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11), entrusted to Him by the chief Shepherd Himself (1 Pet 5:4). And the Apostle Peter, true to his calling, gave his soul for the very flock of Christ, having sealed his apostleship by a martyr's death, is now glorified throughout all the world.
The Apostle Paul, formerly Saul, was changed from a robbing wolf into a meek lamb. Formerly he was an enemy of the Church, then is manifest as an Apostle. Formerly he stalked it, then preached it. Having received from the high priests the authority at large to throw all Christians in chains for execution, he was already on the way, he breathed out "threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1), he thirsted for blood, but "He that dwells in the Heavens shall laugh him to scorn" (Ps 2:4). When he, "having persecuted and vexed" in such manner "the Church of God" (1Cor.15:9; Acts 8:5), he came near Damascus, and the Lord from Heaven called to him: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" and I am here, and I am there, I am everywhere: here is My head; there is My body. There becomes nothing of a surprise in this; we ourselves are members of the Body of Christ. "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me; it is hard for thee to kick against the goad" (Acts 9:4-5). Saul, however, "trembling and frightened", cried out: "Who art Thou, Lord?" The Lord answered him, "I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest."

And Saul suddenly undergoes a change: "What wantest Thou me to do?" -- he cries out. And suddenly for him there is the Voice: "Arise, and go to the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6). Here the Lord sends Ananias: "Arise and go into the street" to a man, "by the name of Saul," and baptize him, "for this one is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9: 11, 15, 18). This vessel must be filled with My Grace. "Ananias, however, answered: Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints in Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Thy Name" (Acts 9:13-14). But the Lord urgently commands Ananias: "Search for and fetch him, for this vessel is chosen by Me: for I shall show him what great things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:11, 15-16).
And actually the Lord did show the Apostle Paul what things he had to suffer for His Name. He instructed him the deeds; He did not stop at the chains, the fetters, the prisons and shipwrecks; He Himself felt for him in his sufferings, He Himself guided him towards this day. On a single day the memory of the sufferings of both these Apostles is celebrated, though they suffered on separate days, but by the spirit and the closeness of their suffering they constitute one. Peter went first, and Paul followed soon after him. Formerly called Saul, and then Paul, having transformed his pride into humility. His very name (Paulus), meaning "small, little, less," demonstrates this. What is the Apostle Paul after this? Ask him, and he himself gives answer to this: "I am," says he, "the least of the Apostles... but I have labored more abundantly than all of them: yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me" (1 Cor.15:9-10).
And so, brethren, celebrating now the memory of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, remembering their venerable sufferings, we esteem their true faith and holy life, we esteem the innocence of their sufferings and pure confession. Loving in them the sublime quality and imitating them by great exploits, "in which to be likened to them" (2 Thess 3: 5-9), and we shall attain to that eternal bliss which is prepared for all the saints. The path of our life before was more grievous, thornier, harder, but "we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12: 1), having passed by along it, made now for us easier, and lighter, and more readily passable. First there passed along it "the author and finisher of our faith," our Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Heb 12: 2); His daring Apostles followed after Him; then the martyrs, children, women, virgins and a great multitude of witnesses. Who acted in them and helped them on this path? He Who said, "Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15: 5).

The hymns for their Feast speak of Sts Peter and Paul as leaders (koryphaioi), and chiefs of the Apostles.
They are, without a doubt, the foremost in the ranks of the Apostles.

The koryphaioi were leaders of the chorus in ancient Greek tragedy. They set the pattern for the singing, and also for the dance movements and gestures of the chorus. Before Sophocles, there were twelve members of the chorus, and Sts Peter and Paul were the leaders of the twelve Apostles.
Both St Peter and St Paul received new names, indicating a new relationship with God. Simon the fisherman became known as Cephas (John 1:42), or Peter after confessing Jesus as the Son of God (Mt.16:18).
St Peter, the brother of St Andrew, was a fisherman on the sea of Galilee. He was married, and Christ healed his mother-in-law of a fever (Mt.8:14). He, with James and John, witnessed the most important miracles of the Savior's earthly life.
Despite his earlier recognition of Christ as the Son of God, he denied Him three times on the night before the Crucifixion. Therefore, after His Resurrection, the Lord asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Then He told Peter to feed His sheep (John 21:15-17).
After the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, St Peter addressed the crowd (Acts 2:14), and performed many miracles in Christ's name. He baptized Cornelius, the first Gentile convert (Acts 10:48). He was cast into prison, but escaped with the help of an angel (Acts 5:19). St Peter also traveled to many places in order to proclaim the Gospel message. He wrote two Epistles, which are part of the New Testament.
Sts Peter was put to death in Rome during the reign of Nero. According to Tradition, he asked to be crucified upside down, since he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

June 29, 2010 Sts. Peter and Paul (d. 64 & 67)
Peter: St. Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant climax. He has recorded doubt, misunderstanding and the opposition of many to Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: "You are the Messiah" (Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter's life, beginning with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men for Jesus.
The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus' death. His name is first on every list of apostles.
And to Peter only did Jesus say, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. A nd so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the nether world shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:17b-19).
But the Gospels prove their own veracity by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, even in the presence of Jesus.
He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard, "What are we going to get for all this?" (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the full force of Christ's anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah: "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do" (Matthew 16:23b).
Peter is willing to accept Jesus' doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus's ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears.
Paul: If Billy Graham suddenly began preaching that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution, the angry reaction would help us understand Paul's life when he started preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most Pharisaic of Pharisees, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles, a traitor and apostate.
Paul's centr al conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself, from sin, from the devil and from death, humanity must open itself completely to the saving power of Jesus.
Paul never lost his love for his Jewish family, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on the parent stock of the Jews, who were still God's chosen people, the children of the promise.
In light of his preaching and teaching skills, Paul's name has surfaced (among others) as a possible patron of the Internet.

Comment: We would probably go to confession to Peter sooner than to any of the other apostles. He is perhaps a more striking example of the simple fact of holiness. Jesus says to us as he said, in effect, to Peter: "It is not you who have chosen me, but I who have chosen you. Peter, it is not human wisdom that makes it possible for you to believe, but my Father's revelation. I, not you, build my Church." Paul's experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous, dynamic and courageous ambassadors of Christ the Church has ever had. But persecution, humiliation and weakness became his day-by-day carrying of the cross, material for further transformation. The dying Christ was in him; the living Christ was his life.

64 Saint Simon Peter or Cephas first pope, Prince of the Apostles, and founder, with Saint Paul, of the see of Rome
Simon Peter or Cephas, the first pope, Prince of the Apostles, and founder, with Saint Paul, of the see of Rome.

Peter was a native of Bethsaida, near Lake Tiberias, the son of John, and worked, like his brother Saint Andrew, as a fisherman on Lake Genesareth. Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus, and Christ called Peter to become a disciple. In Luke is recounted the story that Peter caught so large an amount of fish that he fell down before the feet of Jesus and was told by the Lord, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”. Jesus also gave Simon a new name: Cephas, or the rock. Becoming a disciple of Jesus, Peter acknowledged him as "... the Messiah, the son of the living God”. Christ responded by saying: "... you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.... He added: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. Peter was always listed as the first of the Apostles in all of the New Testament accounts and was a member of the inner circle of Jesus, with James and John. He is recorded more than any other disciple, and was at Jesus’ side at the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the Agony of the Garden of Gethsemane. He helped organize the Last Supper and played a major role in the events of the Passion. When the Master was arrested, he cut off the right ear of a slave of the high priest Malchus and then denied Christ three times as the Lord predicted. Peter then “went out and began to weep bitterly”. After the Resurrection, Peter went to the tomb with the “other disciple” after being told of the event by the women. The first appearance of the Risen Christ was before Peter, ahead of the other disciples, and when the Lord came before the disciples at Tiberias, he gave to Peter the famous command to “Feed my lambs.... Tend my sheep.... Feed my sheep”.
In the time immediately after the Ascension, Peter stood as the unquestionable head of the Apostles, his position made evident in the Acts. He appointed the replacement of Judas Iscariot; he spoke first to the crowds that had assembled after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; he was the first Apostle to perform miracles in the name of the Lord; and he rendered judgment upon the deceitful Ananias and Sapphira.

Peter was instrumental in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. He baptized the Roman pagan Cornelius, and at the Council of Jerusalem he gave his support to preaching to Gentiles, thereby permitting the new Church to become universal. Imprisoned by King Herod Agrippa, he was aided in an escape by an angel. He then resumed his apostolate in Jerusalem and his missionary efforts included travels to such cities of the pagan world as Antioch, Corinth, and eventually Rome. He made reference to the Eternal City in his first Epistle by noting that he writes from Babylon . It is certain that Peter died in Rome and that his martyrdom came during the reign of Emperor Nero, probably in 64. Testimony of his martyrdom is extensive, including Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Saint Clement I of Rome, Saint Ignatius, and Saint Irenaeus. According to rich tradition, Peter was crucified on the Vatican Hill upside down because he declared himself unworthy to die in the same manner as the Lord. He was then buried on Vatican Hill, and excavations under Saint Peter’s Basilica have unearthed his probable tomb, and his relics are now enshrined under the high altar of Saint Peter’s. From the earliest days of the Church, Peter was recognized as the Prince of the Apostles and the first Supreme Pontiff; his see, Rome, has thus enjoyed the position of primacy over the entire Catholic Church. While Peter’s chief feast day is June 29, he is also honored on February 22 and November 18. In liturgical art, he is depicted as an elderly man holding a key and a book. His symbols inverted cross, a boat, and cock.

67 Saint Paul Saint Paul, the indefatigable Apostle of the Gentiles convert from Judaism on the road to Damascus. Ephesus he remained 3 yrs, the center of his missionary activity

ST PAUL, APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES (A.D. 67?)
OF all the saints with whom we are made acquainted through the pages of Holy Writ, St Paul is the most intimately known to us. We possess not merely an exact external record of his doings, furnished by his disciple, St Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, but we have his own incomparable self-revelation in his letters which, while prompted always by no other purpose than to benefit those to whom he writes, lay bare his very soul.· [There is also some evidence about his physical appearance (cf. 2 Corinthians x, 10). A second-century document, the so-called Acts of Paul and Thecla, says that he was “a man small in size, bald-headed, bandy-legged, well built, with eyebrows meeting, rather longnosed, full of grace. For sometimes he seemed like a man, and sometimes he had the countenance of an angel."]
It would be difficult, without transcribing a great part of the New Testament, to draw a faithful picture of the character of the Apostle of the Gentiles; and the New Testament, it may be assumed, is in the hands of all. In the first volume of this series, under January 25, St Paul's conversion has been narrated. In the present notice it has seemed best to leave on one side the thirty-two pages which Butler devoted to an account of the apostle's missionary journeys and his writings, and to give a brief summary of what St Luke records in the last fifteen chapters of the Acts.

When Saul, on his way to Damascus, had been stricken down and converted from a prosecutor into the eager servant of Christ, he withdrew, on recovering from his temporary blindness, to spend three years of seclusion in "Arabia".

Then, returning to Damascus, he began to preach the gospel with fervour.
But fury against his teaching was such that he had to make his escape, being let down the city wall in a basket. He directed his steps to Jerusalem, and there, perhaps not unnaturally, he was at first regarded by the Apostles and their converts with considerable suspicion, until the generous support of Barnabas allayed their fears. In Jerusalem, however, he could not stay-the resentment of the Jews against him was too strong-and being warned by a vision which came to him in the temple, Saul went back for a time to his native city of Tarsus. Thither Barnabas went to seek him, and yielding to his persuasion Saul accompanied him to Antioch in Syria, where the two preached with such success that a great community of believers was founded who, in that city for the first time, began to be known as “Christians ".
After a twelve-months' stay Saul, in 44, paid his second visit to Jerusalem, coming with his companion to bring contributions to the brethren who were suffering from famine. By this time all doubts concerning Saul's stability had been laid at rest. By the direction of the Holy Spirit he and Barnabas, after their return to Antioch, were ordained, and forthwith set out on a missionary journey, first to Cyprus and then to Asia Minor. In Cyprus they converted the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, and exposed the false prophet Elymas, by whom he had been duped. Thence crossing to Perga, they made their way through the Taurus mountains to Antioch of Pisidia, and went on to preach in Iconium and then in Lystra, where, healing a cripple, they were at first taken for gods-Barnabas was Jupiter and Paul Mercury, "because he was the chief speaker"; but enemies among the Jews provoked a revulsion of feeling, Paul, as he now begins to be called by his Gentile name, was stoned and left for dead. They escaped, however, and fled secretly to Derbe, whence in time they pursued their journey to the more peaceful atmosphere of the Syrian Antioch. Two or three years had probably been spent in this first missionary expedition, and it seems to have been in the summer of 49 that Paul came to Jerusalem for the third time, and was present at the meeting in which the question of the attitude of the Christian Church towards Gentile converts was finally decided. The incident in which Paul, as recorded in the second chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians, remonstrated with St Peter at Antioch over his too conservative Judaism, had perhaps occurred in the preceding winter.
Then the years from 49 to 52 were spent by St Paul in his second great missionary journey. Taking Silas with him, he travelled through Derbe to Lystra, regardless of what had previously befallen him in that place, but he was rewarded by the faithful discipleship of Timothy, whose parents dwelt there, Paul, on his part, being seemingly more careful to avoid giving unnecessary offence to the Jews; for he had Timothy circumcised, as his mother was a Jewess, though his father was a Greek. Accompanied by both Timothy and Silas, St Paul went through Phrygia and Galatia preaching and founding churches. He was, however, prevented from proceeding farther in a northerly direction by a vision which summoned him to Macedonia. Accordingly he crossed over from Troas; the beloved physician, St Luke, the author of a Gospel and the Acts, being now apparently of the party. At Philippi we have the very interesting episode of the girl with the divining spirit who called after them, "These men are the servants of the most high God". But though this might have seemed to help the cause, Paul commanded the spirit to go out of her. This put an end to the girl's powers of divining, and her masters, deprived of a source of profit, raised a clamour and brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates. The two missionaries were beaten and thrown into prison, but were miraculously set at liberty. We need not trace the further stages of this journey. The missionaries made their way through Macedonia, Beroea and Athens to Corinth. At Athens we have an account of the address delivered by St Paul on the Areopagus, in which he took occasion to comment upon their altar dedicated "to the unknown god". In Corinth his preaching made a deeper impression and we are told that he settled there for a year and six months. In the year 52 St Paul seems to have left Corinth to come to Jerusalem-his fourth visit possibly to be present there for Pentecost, but he remained for only a short time and went on to Antioch.
The third missionary journey is thought to have covered the years 52 to 56.
St Paul traversed Galatia, the Roman province of "Asia", Macedonia, Achaia, crossed back to Macedonia, and made a return by sea which allowed him to pay his fifth visit to Jerusalem. During this period he probably spent three winters at Ephesus, and it was at Ephesus that occurred the great disturbance raised by Demetrius the silversmith, when Paul's preaching interfered with the profitable trade which many of the townspeople carried on in making and selling images of Diana. Then at Jerusalem we have the story told in detail of the apostle's reception by the elders and of the intense popular commotion excited by his visit to the Temple. He was arrested, roughly handled, and bound with chains, but before the tribune he defended himself with vigour. The official inquiry ended by his being conveyed to Caesarea, for a plot was discovered in which forty Jews had bound themselves under a curse "that they would neither eat not drink until they should kill Paul". At Caesarea he was kept in captivity for two years, under the proconsuls Felix and Festus, while the uncertain trial dragged on, for the governors, though all evidence of any real offence was lacking, were unwilling to face the unpopularity and the danger of an outbreak which might occur if they delivered a verdict in his favour. Paul meanwhile “appealed to Caesar"; in other words, demanded, as a Roman citizen, that the cause should be heard by the emperor himself. In charge of a centurion, Julius, the prisoner was sent to Myra and then conveyed in an Alexandrian wheat-ship to Crete. The vessel, however, was caught in a hurricane and suffered shipwreck at Malta. St Paul, after some delay, was transferred to another ship, brought to Puteoli, and thence by land to Rome. There the book of the Acts of the Apostles leaves him, awaiting his trial before Nero.
The later movements and history of the great apostle are very uncertain. It seems probable that he was tried and acquitted in Rome after a lengthy imprisonment. We have evidence of yet another, a fourth, missionary journey. It is held by some that he visited Spain, but we can affirm with greater confidence that he found his way to Macedonia once more and probably spent the winter-of 65-66 at Nicopolis. Returning to Rome he was again arrested and imprisoned. Whether he was condemned in company with St Peter is not certain, but as a Roman citizen his punishment was different. There is a strong and seemingly reliable tradition that he was beheaded on the Ostian Way, at a place called Aquae Salviae (now Tre Fontane), near where the basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls stands to-day; and in that church his burial-place is venerated. It is commonly said that St Paul suffered on the same day of the same year as did St Peter, but there is no certainty about this. Shortly before, he had written to St Timothy those famous words: "I am even now ready to be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. As for the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love His coming."

In the case of St Paul again there is a vast literature, which it would be useless to attempt to recapitulate here. As a particularly valuable guide to the many problems involved in the apostle's work and writings, the little volume, St Paul, by Fr F. Prat, who has made this study his life-work, may be particularly recommended. It is published in the series “Les Saints". The St Paul of Fouard (Eng. trans.) is also well known, and the apostle's history is therein discussed in great detail. Much help may be obtained from the commentaries on the Epistles by the Anglican Bishop Lightfoot, and from the books of his friend, the archaeological explorer, Sir W. M. Ramsay, notably St Paul the Traveller (1908) and The Church in the Roman Empire (1893). All the fuller commentaries on the Acts of the Apostles necessarily deal with St Paul's history; see, for example, E. Jacquier, Les Actes des Apôtres (1926), and Camerlynck and Van der Heeren, Commentarius in Actus Apostolorum (1923). Other useful books are: K. Pieper, Paulus, seine missionärische Persönlichkeit ... (1926); P. Delattre, Les Épitres de S. Paul (1924-1926); Tricot, St Paul (1928); and the indispensable Theology of St Paul of Fr Prat (Eng. trans., 2 vols., 1927-1934). Some more recent publications are English translations of Mgr J. Holzner's Paul of Tarsus (1944) and I. Giordani's St Paul, Apostle and Martyr (1946), a popular work; a long biography in Italian by D. A. Penna, San Paulo (1946); E. B. Allo, Paul, Apôtre de Jésus-Christ (1946); and R. Sencourt's study, St Paul: Envoy of Grace (1948). There are many apocryphal writings in which St Paul plays a prominent part, including letters purporting to have been written by him. The Acts of St Paul have been edited by W. Schubart and C. Schmidt, from a papyrus manuscript at Hamburg. The Acts of Paul and Thecla have been more than once printed: see September 23 herein, under St Thecla, and O. von Gebhardt, in Texte und Untersuchungen, vol. vii, part II (1902); consult also L. Vouaux, Les Actes de Paul et ses Lettres apocryphes (1913). On the burial-place of the apostle in the confessio at St Paul's Outside the Walls, see Grisar, Analecta Romana, pp. 259 seq.

No one perhaps has written of St Paul with truer intuition than Cardinal Newman,
who was specially fitted to appreciate the secret of the apostle's appeal, his gift of Christian sympathy.

He remained some days in Damascus after his Baptism, and then went to Arabia,
possibly for a year or two to prepare himself for his future missionary activity.

Having returned to Damascus, he stayed there for a time, preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. For this he incurred the hatred of the Jews and had to flee from the city.
He then went to Jerusalem to see Peter and pay his homage to the head of the Church.

Later he went back to his native Tarsus, where he began to evangelize his own province until called by Barnabus to Antioch. After one year, on the occasion of a famine, both Barnabus and Paul were sent with alms to the poor Christian community at Jerusalem. Having fulfilled their mission they returned to Antioch.

Soon after this, Paul and Barnabus made the first missionary journey, visiting the island of Cypress, then Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia, all in Asia Minor, and establishing churches at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

After the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem Paul, accompanied by Silas and later also by Timothy and Luke, made his second missionary journey, first revisiting the churches previously established by him in Asia Minor, and then passing through Galatia. At Troas a vision of a Macedonian was had by Paul, which impressed him as a call from God to evangelize in Macedonia. He accordingly sailed for Europe, and preached the Gospel in Philippi. Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, and Corinth. Then he returned to Antioch by way of Ephesus and Jerusalem.

On his third missionary journey, Paul visited nearly the same regions as on the second trip, but made Ephesus where he remained nearly three years, the center of his missionary activity. He laid plans also for another missionary journey, intending to leave Jerusalem for Rome and Spain. Persecutions by the Jews hindered him from accomplishing his purpose. After two years of imprisonment at Caesarea he finally reached Rome, where he was kept another two years in chains.

The Acts of the Apostles gives us no further information on the life of the Apostle. We gather, however, from the Pastoral Epistles and from tradition that at the end of the two years Saint Paul was released from his Roman imprisonment, and then traveled to Spain, later to the East again, and then back to Rome, where he was imprisoned a second time and in the year 67, was beheaded.

Saint Paul untiring interest in and paternal affection for the churches established by him have given us fourteen canonical Epistles. It is, however, quite certain that he wrote other letters which are no longer extant. In his Epistles, Saint Paul shows himself to be a profound religious thinker and he has had an enduring formative influence in the development of Christianity. The centuries only make more apparent his greatness of mind and spirit.

75 Saint Mary Mother of John (Mark) Peter went to Mary’s home, a gathering place of the Apostles, when released from prison by Herod

In Cypro sanctæ Maríæ, matris Joánnis qui cognominátus est Marcus.
In Cyprus, St. Mary, mother of John, surnamed Mark.

Mother of John, surnamed Mark, who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Her home in Jerusalem was a gathering place of the Apostles. Peter went to Mary’s home when he was released from prison by King Herod.

Sts. Cosmas, Damian, Their Mother, and Brothers Consecration of the Church of

On this day, the church celebrates the consecration of the church of St. Cosmas (Kozman), Damian, their brothers, Anthimus, Londius, and Abrabius and their mother Theodata. They were from one of the Arab countries. Their mother feared God and was compassionate and merciful towards strangers and the needy. She became a widow, while her children were young. She raised them and taught them the fear of God. Cosmas and Damian studied medicine, and they treated the sick freely. As for their brothers, they went to the desert and became monks.

When Diocletian renegaded the faith and ordered the worship of idols, he was told that Cosmas and Damian were preaching in the Name of the Lord Christ in every city and urging others not to worship the idols. He commanded them brought and delivered to the governor of the city, who tortured them with different kinds of tortures. Then he asked them the whereabouts of their brothers. Upon finding out, he brought the brothers and their mother. He ordered them to raise incense for the idols, but they refused. Then he ordered the five to be squeezed through the wheel. When they experienced no harm, he took them out and cast them in red-hot fire for three days and three nights then cast them in a hot steaming room. Finally, he placed them on red-hot iron beds. Through all this, the Lord strengthened and healed them.

When the governor became weary of torturing them, he sent them to the Emperor who also tortured them. Their mother constantly encouraged them and comforted them. The Emperor rebuked her, and she cursed him in his presence and also cursed his idols. He ordered her head cut off, and she received the crown of martyrdom. Her body remained on the ground, no one dared to bury it, because of their fear of the Emperor. St. Cosmas screamed at those present saying, "Men of the city, is there not one merciful person among you who will cover the body of this poor old widow and bury her?" Straightway, Victor, Ebn-Romanus, came forward and took the body, shrouded it, then buried it.

When the Emperor heard what Victor had done, he ordered him to be exiled to Egypt where he received the crown of martyrdom. The next day, the Emperor ordered the beheading of Sts. Cosmas, Damian, and their brothers. They received the crown of life in the Kingdom of Heaven. After the time of persecution was over, many churches were built for them, where God manifested many signs and wonders.

May their intercession be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.

In castro Argentómacho, in Gállia, sancti Marcélli Mártyris, qui, pro fide Christi, una cum Anastásio, viro militári, cápite plexus est.
St. Marcellus, martyr At Argenton in France, , who was beheaded for the faith of Christ together with the soldier Anastasius.

Génuæ natális sancti Syri Epíscopi. At Genoa, the birthday of St. Syrius, bishop.

In território Senonénsi sanctæ Benedíctæ Vírg nis. In the territory of Sens, St. Benedicta, virgin.

558 Saint Cassius Bishop of Narni, Italy praised by Pope Saint Gregory the Great
Nárniæ sancti Cássii, ejúsdem cívitiátis Epíscopi, de quo sanctus Gregórius Papa refert quod nullus ferme dies vitæ ejus abscedébat, quo placatiónis hóstias omnipoténti Deo non offérret; cui et concordábat vita, quia, cuncta quæ habébat, in eleemósynis tríbuens, in hora sacrifícii totus in lácrimis diffluébat. Demum, natalítio Apostolórum die, quo síngulis annis Romam veníre consuéverat, in eádem Narniénsi urbe, cum Missárum solémnia celebrásset, et corpus Domínicum pacémque ómnibus dedísset, migrávit ad Dóminum.
At Narni, St. Cassius, bishop of that city. St. Gregory relates that he permitted scarcely any day of his life to pass without offering the Victim of propitiation to Almighty God. It was in character with his life for he distributed in alms all he possessed, and his devotion was such that abundant tears flowed from his eyes during the holy Sacrifice. At last, coming to Rome on the birthday of the apostles, as was his yearly custom, after having solemnly celebrated Mass and given the Lord's Body and the kiss of peace to all, he departed for heaven.
ST CASSIUS, BISHOP OF NARNI (A.D. 538)
THE little that is known about St Cassius is derived from the pages of St Gregory the Great. In his Dialogues he expatiates upon the virtues of this bishop of Narni, upon his exemplary life, his care for his flock and his self-sacrificing generosity to the poor. After it had been revealed to him, through one of his priests, that he would die in Rome on the feast of St Peter and St Paul, he made a point of going annually to the City on the eve of that day. Six times he returned from his pilgrimage, but the seventh year the prophecy was fulfilled. When he had celebrated Mass and given communion to the people, he passed away peacefully to receive his eternal reward. He had composed in advance his own epitaph in verse, and in accordance with its terms he was buried at Narni in the oratory of his predecessor, Juvenalis, beside a certain Fausta, who may have been his wife. In the ninth century Count Adalbert of Tuscany seized Narni and caused the bodies of St Juvenalis, St Cassius and “St" Fausta to be taken to Lucca. There they found a resting-place in the church of St Frediano. Eventually, however, the relics or part of them-were returned to Narni, where they are still preserved in the cathedral.

Of the life of St Cassius, nothing more is known than what we learn from St Gregory the Great--first of all, in the Dialogues, and then in a special sermon of his. All the relevant passages are quoted in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. vii.

Cassius was the bishop of Nami, from 537 until his death. He was noted for his charity and kindness. Cassius made a pilgrimage to Rome and died there, as prophesied.

575 Saint Cocha abbess Nurse of the infant Saint Kieran of Saighir
Nurse of the infant Saint Kieran of Saighir. She later became an abbess.

875 Saint Salome and Saint Judith Anchorites (anchorite -- a woman who lives in seclusion for religious purposes)

9th v. SS. SALOME AND JUDITH
ABOUT the middle of the ninth century, Walter, the abbot of the double monastery of Ober Altaich in Bavaria, caused an anchoress-cell to be built at the west end of the church with an aperture into the choir. In it he enclosed with the customary rites a relation of his own, a stranger from England named Salome. According to a tradition which became current at Altaich, she was an unmarried princess, the niece of a king of England. On her way back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem she had the misfortune to lose her two attendants, all her possessions, and-temporarily --her sight. After many sufferings and much wandering she arrived at Passau, where she found a temporary home, and from thence she went to Altaich to end her days in seclusion and prayer. Some time later she was joined by a cousin or aunt, a widow called Judith, who-it was popularly believed- had been sent in search of Salome by the king of England. Altaich proved as attractive to her as to her kinswoman, and she also decided to remain there. For her accommodation, a second cell was built, adjoining that of Salome. Thus they lived until Salome's death left Judith in solitude. At times she suffered from diabolical attacks and night terrors, and the shrieks which came from her cell sometimes brought the monks running from the neighbouring abbey to find out if she was being murdered. She was buried beside her niece at Ober Altaich. It is stated that in 907, when the monastery was destroyed by the Hungarians, the relics of both recluses were translated to Nieder Altaich, where they are still venerated.
No contemporary English princess known to history seems to tally with either Salome or Judith, unless, as has been suggested, it be Edburga, the beautiful and wicked daughter of Offa of Mercia. She married Beorhtric, King of the West Saxons, and, after murdering a number of his nobles, she accidentally killed her husband with the poison she had prepared for someone else. She was driven out of England, and she took refuge at the court of Charlemagne. That monarch, in the words of William of Malmesbury, “on account of her wickedness and exceeding beauty, gave her a noble nunnery for women". Her conduct there, however, was so disgraceful that she was ejected with ignominy, and was reduced to wandering from one city to another with a maidservant as her sole companion. Asser states that he knew people who had seen her begging in the streets of Patavium, i.e. Pavia. If Patavium is, indeed, as has been suggested, a copyist's erroneous rendering of Patavia, or Passau, a city within easy reach of Altaich, then Judith the recluse may well have been Edburga; she would naturally change her name on entering religion, to sever so tangible a link with her discreditable past.

There is a detailed Latin narrative dealing with what purports to be the history of these two recluses, written seemingly by a monk of Nieder Altaich. The Bollandists in 1709 describe him as almost a contemporary of what he records (see the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. vii), but later critics are satisfied that the document which we possess cannot have taken shape earlier than the close of the twelfth century. Moreover, the Walter referred to in the story as abbot of Altaich seems more probably to belong to the eleventh century, in the time of William the Conqueror. See Holder-Egger in MGH., Scriptores, vol. xv, pp. 847 seq., who quotes the text in part, and cf. Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, vol. xviii (1878), pp. 551 seq. For Edburga, see R. M. Wilson, The Lost Literature of Medieval England (1952), pp. 37 seq.

According to legend, Saint Salome was an Anglo-Saxon princess in the ninth century. While on a trip home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, she was temporarily blinded. When she reached Altaich, Bavaria, she was without possessions and became an Anchorite in a cell attached to the monastery church.
Salome's aunt, Judith, was sent by the king of England to look for Salome. When she finally located her at Altaich, she decided to become an Anchorite also. She remained there for the rest of her life after Salome died. At times she suffered from diabolical attacks and night terrors, and the shrieks which came from her cell sometimes brought the monks running from the neighboring abbey to find out if she was being murdered. She was buried beside her niece at Ober Altaich. It is stated that in 907, when the monastery was destroyed by the Hungarians, the relics of both recluses were translated to Nieder Altaich, where they are still venerated.

1045 ST EMMA, WIDOW founded the abbey of Gurk; devoted her possessions and her life to the service of God and of her fellow creatures. Besides giving alms liberally to the poor, she founded several religious houses,
THE little Austrian town of Gurk, in Carinthia, which gives his title to an archbishop, derives its origin from a double monastery and a church founded by St Emma, or Hemma, towards the middle of the eleventh century. She was related on her mother's side to the Emperor St Henry, at whose court she was trained under the watchful eye of St Cunegund. She was afterwards given in marriage to William, Landgrave of Friesach, and their union was a happy one. Emma and her husband had two children, William and Hartwig, to whom when they were old enough the landgrave gave the supervision and charge of the mines from which he drew part of his wealth. The miners were a wild and lawless band whom the brothers found it difficult to control except by taking measures of extreme severity. After one of the men had been hanged for gross immorality by order of Count William, a number of his companions rose in rebellion and murdered both their young masters.
When the news was broken to the parents, Emma at first abandoned herself to grief, while the landgrave threatened to destroy all the insurgents, with their wives and children. Nobler counsels, however, prevailed. Emma turned to God in fervent prayer, and her husband pardoned all except the actual perpetrators of the murder. He then undertook a pilgrimage to Rome. But he fell ill on his way back and died within a short distance of his home. Thus bereft of her husband and children, St Emma devoted her possessions and the remainder of her life to the service of God and of her fellow creatures.
Besides giving alms liberally to the poor, she founded several religious houses, of which the chief was the monastery mentioned above. It was located on one of her own estates, and her castle of Gurkhofen formed part of the community buildings. In the two establishments, which were of course entirely separate, provision was made for twenty monks and seventy nuns. Between them they kept up the laus perennis. [The Bollandists print the unsatisfactory medieval Latin biography in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. vii. See A. von Jaksch, Gurker Geschichtsquellen, vol. i (1896); J. Low, Hemmabüchlein (1931); and the publication of the Congregation of Rites, Confirmationis cultus servae Dei Hemmae ... positio (1937).] It is stated that St Emma herself received the veil at Gurk, but this is not certain She died about the year 1045, and was buried in her own church at Gurk.

Although she certainly founded the abbey of Gurk, the earlier life of St Emma seems to have been in fact different from the medieval tale related above. It was she who belonged to the Friesach family, and when she was left a widow by the death of Count William of Sanngau c. 1015 she had a son living; he was killed in battle twenty years later, and it was then that her religious benefactions began. The ancient cultus of the Countess Emma was confirmed by the Holy See in 1938; a list supplied by the Congregation of Sacred Rites includes her among the beatae, but she is generally called Saint.

1600 The Kasperov Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
Tradition says that this holy icon had been brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb at the end of the sixteenth century. Passing down from parent and child, the icon had come to a certain Mrs. Kasperova of Cherson in 1809.

One night in February of 1840 she was praying, seeking consolation in her many sorrows. Looking at the icon of the Virgin, she noticed that the features of the icon, darkened by age, had suddenly become bright. Soon the icon was glorified by many miracles, and people regarded it as wonder-working.

During the Crimean War (1853-1856), the icon was carried in procession through the city of Odessa, which was besieged by enemy forces. On Great and Holy Friday, the city was spared. Since that time, an Akathist has been served before the icon in the Dormition Cathedral of Odessa every Friday.

The icon is painted with oils on a canvas mounted on wood. The Mother of God holds Her Son on her left arm. The Child is holding a scroll. St. John the Baptist (Janurary 7) is depicted on one side of the icon, and St. Tatiana (January 12) on the other. These were probably the patron saints of the original owners of the icon.
The Kasperov Icon is commemorated on October 1, June 29, and Bright Wednesday.

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

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 159

Thou shalt hear us, O Lady, in the day of tribulation: and by our prayers turn to us thy merciful countenance.

Cast us not off in the time of our death: but help the soul, when it shall have left the body.

Send an angel to meet it: by whom it may be defended from the enemy.

Show unto it the most serene Judge of ages: who for thy grace will bestow pardon.

Let it feel thy refreshment in its torments: and grant to it a place among the elect of God.

Let her praises be in the mouth of the just: and her glory in the band of the triumphant.

City of God, be joyful in her: and for thy dwellers sing her a constant song.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos Practical Guide to Holiness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meeting of the Saints walis (saints of Allah)

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

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

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

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Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey

Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament

Colombia was among the countries Mother Angelica visited.
In Bogotá, a Salesian priest - Father Juan Pablo Rodriguez - brought Mother and the nuns to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus to attend Mass. After Mass, Father Juan Pablo took them into a small Shrine which housed the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. Mother Angelica stood praying at the side of the statue when suddenly the miraculous image came alive and turned towards her. Then the Child Jesus spoke with the voice of a young boy: “Build Me a Temple and I will help those who help you.”

Thus began a great adventure that would eventually result in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a Temple dedicated to the Divine Child Jesus, a place of refuge for all. Use this link to read a remarkable story about The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Father Reardon, Editor of The Catholic Bulletin for 14 years Lover of the poor; “A very Holy Man of God.”

Monsignor Reardon Protonotarius Apostolicus
Pastor 42 years BASILICA OF SAINT MARY Minneapolis MN

America's First Basilica Largest Nave in the World

August 7, 1907-ground broke for the foundation

by Archbishop Ireland-laying cornerstone May 31, 1908

James M. Reardon Publication History of Basilica of Saint Mary 1600-1932

Index to Part I and Part II 1932

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

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

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

Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.

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

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

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

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

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

THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi.

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

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

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

By Father John Corapi

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

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

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

About Father John Corapi.

Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .

The pillars of father's preaching are basically:

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

God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi

Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
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Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
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Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
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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
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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 159 2022