Communio: Saints: September 2012 Archives

Saint Vincent de Paul

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on September 27, 2012 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I want to remember the Vincentian community in here in Connecticut, and particularly at Saint Stanislaus Church in New Haven.

My prayer is that the Vincentian priests and brothers fulfill what the Church prays in the Mass Collect (see below) so that their witness be bold and clear for the faithful following of Jesus Christ. We need the witness of Saint Vincent de Paul and his sons and daughters through the vowed life of the Vincentian Society today more than ever. In an age of diminishment in vocations, the love with which the Vincentians live their vocation needs to be extroverted.

With the Church we pray,

O God, who for the relief of the poor and the formation of the clergy endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul with apostolic virtues, grant, we pray, that, afire with that same spirit, we may love what he loved and put into practice what he taught.

Continue reading Saint Vincent de Paul.

Saints Cosmas and Damian, patrons of doctors and pharmacists

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Paul Zalonski

on September 26, 2012 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May you be magnified, O Lord, by the revered memory of your Saints Cosmas and Damian, for with providence beyond words you have conferred on them everlasting glory, and on us, your unfailing help.

Today, the Holy Church celebrates the liturgical Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian. They were twins who were known to be doctors and/or pharmacists in the Roman province of Syria but born in what is known as Turkey. According to their biographers, the saints accepted no payment for their medical services; they were given the title of "Unmercenary" for loving God and man. The gospel line comes to mind: freely you have received, freely give. The brothers paid very close attention to the gospel as it was a light for their feet.

Continue reading Saints Cosmas and Damian, patrons of doctors and pharmacists.

Saint Matthew

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Paul Zalonski

on September 21, 2012 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

O God, who with untold mercy were pleased to choose as an Apostle Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that, sustained by his example and intercession, we may merit to hold firm in following you.

Pope Benedict said today,

Matthew, the author of the first of the four Gospels, was a publican - a tax-collector - and the story of his call to become an Apostle reminds us that Christ excludes no one from his friendship. Tax-collectors were considered public sinners, and we can hear an echo of the scandal caused by the Lord's decision to associate with such men in his declaration that he came "not to call the just but sinners" (Mt 2:17).

This is the heart of the "good news" which Jesus came to bring: the offer of God's grace to sinners! The parable of the publican in the Temple makes this same point: by humbly acknowledging their sins and accepting God's mercy, even those who seem farthest from holiness can become first in the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, there's hope for me (us).

Saint John Chrysostom

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Paul Zalonski

on September 13, 2012 6:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Those who are wise will shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars for ever.

O God, strength of those who hope in you, who willed that the Bishop Saint John Chrysostom should be illustrious by his experience of suffering, grant us, we pray, that, instructed by his teachings, we may be strengthened through example of his invincible patience.

The entrance antiphon and the Collect are enough to pray with today.

We pray for the Church in the East.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

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Paul Zalonski

on September 5, 2012 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most well-known face of 20th century Catholicism and care for the human person after Pope John Paul is Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Her life and work is incomparable as well as her relationship with God even if there was distance between the two. Nothing is more beautiful in the spiritual life than an honest relationship, especially with God. Mother Teresa died on this date in 1997. Soon after her death, the Church waived the waiting period before a cause for canonization could be submitted to the Holy See. She was beatified on October 19, 2003.

The Church prays

O God, who called blessed Teresa, Virgin, to respond to the love of your Son thirsting on the cross with outstanding charity to the poorest of the poor, grant us, we beseech you, by her intercession, to minister to Christ in his suffering brothers.

You may want to listen to Veronica Scarisbrick's interview with Monsignor Leo Maasburg, a close friend of Mother, posted at Vatican Radio. He recently published a book, Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Personal Portrait, 50 Inspiring Stories Never before Told (Ignatius, 2011).

A prior post on Blessed Teresa and Divine Mercy

Saint Moses

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Paul Zalonski

on September 4, 2012 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kontakian of the Byzantine Liturgy the Church prays,

With the divine and righteous Moses and Aaron, the Prophets' choir today rejoices with gladness, seeing their prophecy fulfilled now in our midst; for Your Cross, O Christ our God, whereby You have redeemed us,, shine in the sight of all as the end and fulfillment of that which they foretold in ancient times. By their entreaties, have mercy upon all of us.

The Church honors Old Testament figures liturgically, and today we recall Moses, a Holy Forefather. However, these Old Testament people do not appear on the Roman Calendar but they do in the Eastern Calendar. In the Roman Martyrology (an official liturgical book that catalogues the cult of saints, including the ecclesial acts of beatification and canonization) we find Saint Moses.

It is to Moses, whom we call a holy prophet and lawgiver. He was chosen by God to lead the oppressed people out of Egypt to the Promised Land. To Moses we learn that God has revealed Himself through the burning but unconsumed bush and it is on Mount Sinai through Moses that we learn God's name, "I Am Who I Am." It is through Moses that we receive the Law and "at a ripe old age" Moses died before entering the Promised Land and designed by God.

According to Catholic theology, Moses is an Old Testament type of Jesus, who in the Gospel of Matthew, is known as the "new Moses" and and is said to be Elias on Tabor at the Lord's Transfiguration.

Moses is a particular appropriate saint for Benedictines to know, follow, and imitate. His life and vocation to be a prophet --that is, a witness, to the encounter with God, ought to motivate us to a deeper call to seek the face of God. The Benedictine vocation to be present to the Divine Mystery in front of us.

So, yes, Catholics call Moses "saint."

Saints: September 2012 Archives

Saint Vincent de Paul

Saints Cosmas and Damian, patrons of doctors and pharmacists

Saint Matthew

Saint John Chrysostom

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Saint Moses

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