Saints – Page 50

Paul’s conversion

Today’s first reading for Mass is the stunning narrative of Saint Paul’s conversion.

I realized the full force of Grace when I was listening to it today.

May I recommend it for your lectio?

Saint Paul, pray for us.

Saint Mark

Shout for joy! with cries of gladness
Gather those who were dispersed.
Here the blind are given vision;
Here the comfortless find mirth.

In his faith, blind Bartimaeus
Shouted out his need to see—
Jesus, Light from Light, restored him,
Gave him sight, and set him free.

Each of us, in our baptism,
Has received the gift of sight
Through the Christ, our High Priest Jesus: Filled with joy, we seek God’s light!

Hymn text by J. M. Thompson

The figure of Saint George is widely acknowledged across cultures. His cult, as it were, comes from Palestine; he is a heavenly patron among the Greeks and Latins. Since about AD 800 Saint George has been a patron of England and he is known elsewhere as one of the “14 Holy Helpers.”

Aside from legendary activity, George adhered to the Lord’s words and His person in that he’s known to have imitated the Passion as we see below in the opening collect for Holy Mass. No doubt his preaching, protecting and safeguarding the sacred Mysteries led people to Christ.

Let us pray that through Saint George’s intercession, and the power of the Lord’s Holy Name, the dragon of temptation and sin may be driven away by heavenly powers so as to be united in deeper communion with Christ.

And so we pray with the Church,

Extolling your
might, O Lord, we humbly implore you, that, as Saint George imitated the
Passion of the Lord, so he may lend us ready help in our weakness.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

The Church, today, give us Blessed –soon-to-be canonized Kateri Tekakwitha today as a model of evangelization and the desire one has for Christ. Pope Benedict renewed our attention to Blessed Kateri in 2008:

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Saint John Neumann, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, and Padre Felix Varela: any one of us could be among them, for there is no stereotype to this group, no single mold. Yet a closer look reveals that there are common elements. Inflamed with the love of Jesus, their lives became remarkable journeys of hope. For some, that meant leaving home and embarking on a pilgrim journey of thousands of miles. For each there was an act of abandonment to God, in the confidence that he is the final destination of every pilgrim. And all offered an outstretched hand of hope to those they encountered along the way, often awakening in them a life of faith. Through orphanages, schools and hospitals, by befriending the poor, the sick and the marginalized, and through the compelling witness that comes from walking humbly in the footsteps of Jesus, these six people laid open the way of faith, hope and charity to countless individuals, including perhaps your own ancestors.

Saint Benedict Joseph Labre

Today’s feast of Saint Benedict Joseph Labre is a beautiful reminder of the humility with which we face God, our own humanity, and the world.

The Missal speaks of Benedict Joseph as a “Fool for Christ”: he met Christ with his whole self, the physical and psychological weaknesses and the desire to be in communion with his Savior. Benedict Joseph has much to teach.

The story of Saint Benedict Joseph is nicely painted by a friend, Father Mark here.

Let’s pray for all those who face life with difficulties, especially the mentally unstable and the homeless. That for the Grace of God, there we go through life.

On his birthday, let’s remember Pope Benedict.

Saint Stanislaus, bishop and martyr

O God, for whose honor the Bishop Saint Stanislaus fell beneath the swords of his persecutors, grant, we pray, that we may persevere strong in faith even until death.

I’ve been devoted to Saint Stanislaus for many, many years. He was the patron of my grammar school. In fact, his story mirrors Saint Thomas Becket. Like Becket, Stanislaus spoke truth to power and it cost him his head for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Saint Stanislaus, pray for Poland.

Saint Joseph, our model

Today is a Solemnity in the Church with the feast of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Church prays:

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph’s intercession your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care.

A magnificent prayer to pay attention to during lectio.

“Today is the day to celebrate fatherhood. To be a father is not an easy challenge – there are many difficulties that go with it. We can look to St. Joseph, who quietly – as I would say, one of the ‘silent fathers’ – handled whatever needed to be handled…it is important [that fathers] pray for discernment, to pray for patience, to pray for these qualities, which can make one a good father.”

Fr. Moses Hamungole

Head of Vatican Radio’s
English for Africa service

Several people and organizations to pray for today: my father, Edward Joseph, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph), Brother Joseph at Portsmouth Abbey, the Cistercian abbey of Saint Joseph (Spencer, MA), the Archdiocese of Hartford (the Cathedral of Saint Joseph), the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, and several other friends named Joseph. Let’s not also forget the Universal Church is under St Joseph, whose patronage she is.

Saint Gabriel Possenti of Mary, the Mother of Sorrows

I’ve always been impressed by the saints and blesseds of the Passionist order. So many have them exemplify what the Christian of today face, Saint Gabriel Possenti and in my opinion help us to strive to be holy.

Lord Jesus, crucified and risen, you taught Saint
Gabriel to cling to you alone as Lord and Savior and to find in your Mother a
refuge and companion along the Gospel Way. Through his prayers and
example, may we too, who honor him, share in the marvelous joys of friendship
with you and the Blessed Virgin and come to the Heavenly Father in eternal
glory, where you live forever and ever. Amen.

Saints Cyril and Methodius

A lot of westerners are not too aware of Saints Cyril and Methodius. However, there’s a Polish parish in the Hartford and Bridgeport dioceses and a seminary in Michigan that bear the names of these rather famous saints. So, they are not too obscure but they’re not that well-known as they ought to be. In 1985, Blessed John Paul II paid tribute to these two saints in an Encyclical, Slavorum Apostoli, to show the vividness of their witness.

In Russian Orthodox circles, the celebration of Cyril and Methodius is connected with a cultural festival on Salvonic literature. The holy brothers are known for the formation of the Glagolitic alphabet –now called the Cyrillic alphabet– that was instrumental in the evangelization and education of the Slavs.

Here we have saints not only of great zeal for the Kingdom of God but of culture. The true and orthodox faith the lived and taught is the one we desire, too.

The Church prays

O God, who enlightened the Slavic peoples through the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, grant that our hearts may grasp the words of your teaching, and perfect us as a people of one accord in true faith and right confession.

Saint Valentine

Today is a dedicated in the secular world to Valentine. But the more excellent way, the Church, proposes an observance of a saint whose love for God and others, Valentine, is more noteworthy because it focuses not on the temporal but on the eternal. Indeed, Saint Valentine is invoked for his intercession by young people, for happy marriages, and authentic love. A holy priest, Valentine withstood the persecution inflicted on him by those who did not hold belief in the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Jesus Christ. In many circumstances the Lord healed and cured many people through the intercession of Saint Valentine. Would we be able to do the same?

The 2011 post is here.

The 2009 post is here.