(Catholic Online) Born in Italy, Bishop and Martyr for Christ Jesus, in 250 during the persecution of Emperor Decius (201-251)
Related: Why Do Catholic’s Seek the Intercession of Saint’s?
Archive for the ‘Saint of the Day’ Category
Today Christians Commemorate St. Alexander, Bishop & Martyr for Christ Jesus, Please Pray For Us!
Saturday, January 11th, 2025Today Christians Celebrate the Feast of St. Gregory of Nyssa – Please Pray For Us!
Friday, January 10th, 2025
St. Gregory of Nyssa (330-395)
Image: 1 Timothy 3:15@Twitter
(Franciscan Media) The son of two Saints, Basil the Elder and Emilia of Caesarea young Gregory was raised by his older brother St. Basil the Great and sister, Marcinia in modern day Turkey.
Gregory’s success in his studies, suggested that great things were ahead for him. After becoming a professor of rhetoric, he was persuaded to devote his learning and efforts to the church.
By then married, Gregory went on to study for the Priesthood and become Ordained–that was at a time when celibacy was not a matter of law for priests.
Gregory was elected Bishop of Nyssa in 372, a period of great tension over the Arianism heresy , which denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ. Arrested after being falsely accused of embezzling Church funds, Gregory was restored to his See in 378, an act met with great joy.
It was after the death of Fr. Gregory’s beloved brother Basil, that Gregory really came into his own. Gregory wrote with great effectiveness against Arianism and other questionable doctrines, gaining a reputation as a defender of orthodoxy.
Gregory was subsequently sent on missions to counter other heresies and held a position of prominence at the ‘Council of Constantinople’ his fine reputation stayed with him for the rest of his life but over the centuries it gradually declined as the authorship of his writings became less-and-less certain but thanks to the work of scholars in the 20th century, his stature is once again appreciated.
Indeed, St. Gregory of Nyssa is seen not simply as a pillar of orthodoxy but as one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition in Christian spirituality and to monasticism itself.
More here on St. Gregory of Nyssa from EWTN
Today Christians Celebrate Feast of St. Adrian of Canterbury, Please Pray For Us!
Thursday, January 9th, 2025
Saint Adrian of Canterbury (635-710) Image Courtesy: EBK
(EWTN) Though St. Adrian turned down a papal request to become Archbishop of Canterbury England, Pope Vatalian, accepted the rejection on the condition that Adrian serve as the Holy Father’s assistant and advisor, Adrian accepted but ended up spending most of his life and doing most of his work in Canterbury.
Born in Libya, Adrian was serving as an Abbot in Italy when the new Archbishop of Canterbury appointed him Abbot of the Monastery of Saint’s Peter and Paul in Canterbury. Thanks to his leadership skills, the faculty became one of the most important centers for learning, attracting many outstanding scholars from far and wide and produced numerous future Bishops and Archbishops–students reportedly learned Greek and Latin, speaking Latin as their own native languages.
Adrian taught at the school for 40 yrs, died there and was buried in the Monastery. Several hundred years later when reconstruction was being done, Adrian’s body was discovered in an incorrupt state, as word spread people flocked to his tomb which became famous for miracles–Rumor had it, that young schoolboys in trouble with their masters, made regular visits there.
More here from Franciscan Media
Related: Why Do Catholic’s Seek the Intercession of Saint’s?
Today Christians Celebrate Feast of St. Angela of Foligno, Please Pray For Us!
Wednesday, January 8th, 2025
St. Angela of Foligno (1248-1309) Image Courtesy: Saints & Martyrs
(Franciscan Media) Some Saints show marks of holiness very early–Not Angela. Born of a leading family in Italy Foligno, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position and later as a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction.
Around the age of 40, Angela recognized the emptiness of her life and sought God’s help in the ‘Sacrament of Penance’ her Franciscan Confessor helped her to seek God’s pardon for her previous life and to dedicate herself to prayer and the works of charity.
Shortly after Angela’s conversion, her husband and children died–selling most of her possessions, she subsequently entered the ‘Secular Franciscan Order’ and became absorbed in meditating on Jesus Christ and in serving the poor of Foligno as a nurse and beggar for their needs, other Women joined her in the religious community.
At Angela’s Confessor’s advice, she wrote her ‘Book of Visions and Instructions’ in it, she recalled some of the temptations she suffered after her conversion–she also expresses her thanks to God, for the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
This book and her life earned Angela the title ‘Teacher of Theologians’ in 1693 she was Beatified and Canonized by Pope Francis on the 09 October, 2013
More here on Angela of Foligno — Vatican
Today Christians Honor St. Raymond of Penafort, Patron Saint of Attorneys, Please Pray For Us!
Tuesday, January 7th, 2025
St. Raymond of Penafort (1175-1275)
Image Courtesy: Canonically Speaking
(Franciscan Media) Since Raymond lived into his 100th year, he had an opportunity to do many things. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he possessed the resources and the education to get a good start in life.
By the time Raymond was 20, he was teaching Philosophy, in his early 30s, he earned a doctorate in both Canon and civil law and at 41 he became a Dominican.
Pope Gregory IX called Raymond to Rome to work for him and to be a Confessor and one of the things the Pope asked him to do, was to gather together all of the decrees of Pope’s and Councils that had been made in 80 years since a similar collection by Gratian the Roman Emperor (375-383)
Raymond compiled 5 books called the ‘Decretals’ they were looked upon as one of the best organized collections of Church law until the 1917 codification of Canon law.
Earlier Raymond had written for a confessors a book of cases ‘Summa de Casibus Poenitentiae’ more than simply a list of sins and penances, it discussed pertinent doctrines and laws of the Church that pertained to the problem or case brought to the confessor.
At the age of 60, Raymond was appointed Archbishop of Tarragona a port city in Spain but he didn’t like the honor at all and ended up getting sick and resigning in two years.
Raymond didn’t get to enjoy his peace for long however because when he was 63 he was elected by his fellow Dominicans to be the head of the whole Order–the successor of St. Dominic (1170-1221) Raymond worked hard and visited on foot all of the Dominicans, recognized their constitutions and managed to put through a provision that a Master General be allowed to resign. When the new constitutions were accepted, Raymond then at age 65 resigned–he sill had 35 years to oppose heresy, work for the conversion of Moors in Spain and convinced St Thomas Aquinas, to write his work ‘Against the Gentiles.’
In Raymond’s 100th year, the Lord allowed him to retire.
More here on St. Raymond of Penafort from EWTN
Today Christians Celebrate Feast of St. Andre Bessette, Please Pray For Us!
Monday, January 6th, 2025
St. Andre Bessette (1845-1937)
Image Courtesy: uCatholic
(Franciscan Media) St. Andre Bessette, expressed a Saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to St. Joseph — Sickness and weakness dogged Andre from birth–he was the 8th of 12 children born to a French-Canadian couple near Montreal.
Andre adopted at 12 when both of his parents died, he became a farmhand and various trades followed: Shoemaker, Baker, Blacksmith–all failures. He would become a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War.
At the age of 25 Andre applied for entrance into the ‘Congregation of the Holy Cross’ and after a year’s novitiate he wasn’t admitted because of his weak health but with an extension and urging of Bishop Bourget, he was finally received. Andre was given a humble job as the doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, with additional duties as Sacristan, laundry worker and messenger.
In Andre’s little room near the door, he would spend much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill facing Mt. Royal, was a small statute of St. Joseph to whom he had been devoted to since childhood. When asked about it, Andre said, “Some day, St. Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mt. Royal.”
Whenever Andre heard that someone was ill, he would visit to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person–Andre would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel, word of healing powers began to spread.
When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, Andre volunteered to nurse–not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood–his superiors were uneasy, diocesan authorities were suspicious and doctors called him a quack, Andre would say again and again, “I do not cure, St. Joseph cures.” In the end, Andre needed 4 secretaries to handle some 80,000 letters he received each year.
For many years, the Holy Cross authorities had tried to purchase the land on Mt. Royal–Brother Andre and others would climb the steep hill and planted medals of St. Joseph, suddenly the owners yielded and Brother Andre collected two hundred dollars to build a small chapel and he began receiving visitors there–smiling through long hours of listening, applying St. Joseph’s oil and praying, some were cured, some were not. The pile of crutches, canes and leg braces grew.
The Chapel that Brother Andre built also grew and by 1931 there were gleaming walls but money ran out.
“Put a statue of St. Joseph in the middle if he wants a roof over his head, he’ll get it.”
The magnificent Oratory on Mt. Royal took 50 years to build. Brother Andre the sickly boy that couldn’t hold a job died at the age of 92 and was buried at the Oratory and in 1982 was beatified.
At Brother Andre’s canonization in October, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI said, that St. Andre “lived the beatitude of the pure of heart.”
More here from EWTN
Today Christians Celebrate Feast of St. John Neumann, Please Pray For Us!
Sunday, January 5th, 2025
St. John Neumann
Image: The Natl Shrine of St John Neumann
John Neumann was born on the 28 March, 1811 in what is now the Czech Republic. Studying in Prague, he was a talented student and it was no surprise that he was accepted into seminary despite great competition. When it was time for John to be ordained, his Bishop died and all ordinations were canceled.
Unwilling to give up his vocation, John immigrated to New York according to Franciscan Media where the diocese was in dire need of priests. John was soon ordained and sent to Williamsville, NY where he tended to the spiritual needs of over a hundred German speaking families. Not happy just helping local Catholics, Fr, Neumann started saying Masses in frontier towns, traveling the countryside and throughout Maryland, Virginia and Ohio with candles and a chalice on his back.
Fr. Neumann soon gained attention from his superiors because of his tireless dedication and ability to speak in 8 languages. News of this Priest reached Pope Pius IX and he was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia, serving some 170,000 Catholics. In his new position Bishop Neumann, was able to continue his work helping those in need but now, on a much larger scale.
Bishop Neumann was the first person to organize a Catholic school system and built 100 new schools in just 8 years, also constructing Saint’s Peter and Paul Cathedral, numerous hospitals, churches, orphanages and a seminary.
In 1860 Bishop Neumann died of a stroke while walking down the street and laid to rest in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Philadelphia.
Well known for his holiness, learning, spiritual writing and ministry, he became the first American Bishop to be beatified and subsequently was Canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977
More here from Catholic Online and here from Franciscan Media
Today Christians Celebrate Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Patron Saint of Catholic Schools and Loss of Parents – Please Pray For Us!
Saturday, January 4th, 2025
St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley-Seton (1774-1821)
(Franciscan Media) Mother Superior Seton, is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church, she founded the first American religious community for Women the Sister’s of Charity, she opened the first parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage–all this she did in the span of 46 yrs while raising five children.
Elizabeth Ann Bayley-Seton is a true daughter of the American Revolution, born on the 28 August, 1774 two years before the ‘Declaration of Independence’ by birth and marriage, she was linked to the first families of New York and enjoyed the fruits of high society.
Reared a staunch Episcopalian by her mother and stepmother, she learned the value of payer, Scripture and a nightly examination of her conscience. Elizabeth’s father, Dr. Richard Bayley, did not have much use of Churches but was a good humanitarian, teaching his daughter to love and serve others.
The early deaths of Elizabeth’s mother in 1777 and her baby sister in 1778 have her a feel for eternity and the temporariness of the pilgrim life on earth. Far frpm being brooding and sullen, she faced each new ‘holocaust’ as she put it, with hopeful cheerfulness.
At the age of 19, Elizabeth was the belle of New York and married a handsome, wealthy businessman, William Magee Seton, they had five children before his business failed and he died of tuberculosis, by the age of 30, Elizabeth was widowed, penniless with five small children to support.
While in Italy with her dying husband, Elizabeth witnessed Catholicity in action through family and friends. Three basic points led to her becoming Catholic: Belief in the real presence, devotion to the Blessed Mother and the conviction that the Catholic Church led back to to the Apostles and Jesus Christ. Many of her family and friends rejected her when she later became Catholic in March, 1805
To support her children, she opened a school in Baltimore and from the beginning, her group followed the lines of a religious community which was officially founded in 1809
More here from EWTN
Today Christians Celebrate Most Holy Name of Jesus!
Friday, January 3rd, 2025
(uCatholic) In a world of fiercely guarded corporate names and logos, it should be easy to understand this feast–the letters ‘IHS’ are an abbreviation of Jesous, the Greek name for Jesus.
The feast of the Holy Name (traditionally celebrated as the Feast of Circumcision) is a major Feast of the Church, it reflects the significance of the Holy Name Jesus–the name Jesus, is from the Hebrew Joshua or ‘Yeshua is Salvation’ or “Yahweh will save.”
St. Paul might claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name because Paul wrote in Philippians 2:9 “Therefore God has exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.”
This devotion became popular because of the 12th century Cistercian Monks and Nuns but especially through the preaching of St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) a Franciscan.
Bernardine used devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus as a way of overcoming bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries or vendettas–the devotion grew partly because of Franciscan and Dominican ministers, it spread even more wildly after the Jesuits began promoting it in the 16th century.
In 1530 Pope Clement V approved an Office of the Holy Name for the Franciscans–in 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this Feast to the entire Church.
This Feast invites us to a continual remembrance of the veneration of the Holy Name in order that God may plant in us and in every heart, the love of Him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ.
More here from Franciscan Media
Related: For Today’s Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB
Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus –Catholic Culture
Becoming Beacons of Light Like the Wise Men -Deacon Omar Gutierrez, Natl Catholic Register
Today Christians Celebrate the Feast of Saint Basil the Great, Please Pray For Us!
Thursday, January 2nd, 2025
Saint Basil the Great (329-379) Image Courtesy: Pinterest
(CNA) Saint Basil, one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church and Bishop of Ceasarea was one of ten children of St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia according to Independent Catholic News, several of his brothers and sisters are also honored among the Saints.
Saint Basil ranks afters Althanasius as a defender of the Asian Church against the heresies of the 4th century, especially Aryanism which denied the divine nature of Jesus Christ.
With his friend ‘Gregory of Nazianzus’ and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, he is part of the trio known as ‘The Three Cappadocians’ of which he was the most important in practical genius and theological writings, rightly placing him as one of the greatest teachers of the Church.
Basil resisted pressure from the Emperor Valens, who wanted to keep him in silence and admit the heretics to communion. No wonder when the Great St. Althanasius died, the responsibility of being the defender of the faith against Aryanism fell upon Basil.
Seventy two years after Basil’s death the Council of Chalcedon described him as ‘the great Basil, minister of grace who has expounded the truth to the whole earth.”
More here from Franciscan Media