Saints – Page 74

Saint Vincent de Paul

Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I will place you over many things, enter into the joy of the Lord.

O God, Who did endow blessed Vincent with apostolic power for preaching the Gospel to the poor and for promoting the honor of the priesthood; we beseech You, grant that we who venerate his holy life may be inspired by the example of his virtues.

Vincent was always a favorite saint of mine. His sons, the Vincentian fathers, operated the parish and grammar school (with the CSFN sisters) where I went. His life, his radical conversion to God, his work among the poor and his work in the formation of men for priesthood sets the bar for my own life. The collect that the Church sets on our lips (see above) is a good reminder of how we ought to live our own lives. May his witness continue for years to come. Read about the Vincentians here.

Saint Matthew, the evangelist

We beseech Thee, O Lord, let the prayers of blessed Matthew, Thine Apostle and Evangelist, assist us, that those things which we cannot obtain by ourselves may be granted us by his intercession.

Adrienne von Speyer says of Saint Matthew: “in prayer, he feels himself drawn toward something mysterious in the Son, toward the Son’s divinity, toward the Father and the Spirit. And he always believes that the turning point in his life will one day bring confirmation of his prayer. He sees too little that he has to bring his life into correspondence with his way of praying already today. His prayer is a bit isolated. He is like a person who might say, “Every morning I pray for an hour. It’s wonderful! It is the highpoint of my day! If I didn’t have this time, I wouldn’t know how to bear the boredom of the rest of the time!” (Book of All Saints)

Saint Gaetano Catanoso –a saint for the Year of the Priest

Many think that Saint John Vianney is the only canonized
parish priest. Vianney is certainly the most known for his extraordinary life.
And it helps that popes and other notable authors have drawn our attention to
him. But there is another saint who has a persuasive personality who is also a
parish priest and worthy of our attention. In this Year of the Priest it fitting to have yet another intercessor before God. Today the Church celebrates the
liturgical memorial of Saint Gaetano Catanoso.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized him on October 23, 2005. In
the homily of the Mass of Canonization said:

Saint Gaetano
Catanoso was a lover and apostle of the Holy Face of Jesus. “The Holy Face,” he
affirmed, “is my life. He is my strength”. With joyful intuition he joined
this devotion to Eucharistic piety.

He would say: “If we wish to adore the real
Face of Jesus…, we can find it in the divine Eucharist, where with the Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Face of Our Lord is hidden under the white veil
of the Host.”

Daily Mass and frequent adoration of the Sacrament of the Altar
were the soul of his priesthood: with ardent and untiring pastoral charity he
dedicated himself to preaching, catechesis, the ministry of confession, and to
the poor, the sick and the care of priestly vocations. To the Congregation of
the Daughters of Saint Veronica, Missionaries of the Holy Face, which he founded,
he transmitted the spirit of charity, humility and sacrifice which enlivened
his entire life.

Saint Francis Mary of Camporosso

Lavishly he gave to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever.

God our Father, you made your lowly servant Saint Francis Mary illustrious through every work of charity. Grant us through his prayers and example always to continue in sincere and humble service of our brothers [and sisters].

Some calendars have Saint Francis Mary’s liturgical memorial on September 19 and others on the 20th.

Know more about Saint Francis Mary

Another version of the saint’s life

Saints Cornelius and Cyprian

We beseech Thee, O Lord, may the feast
of the blessed Martyrs and Bishops Cornelius and Cyprian be a safeguard for us,
and may their intercession commend us unto Thee.

Saint John Chrysostom

O blest teacher, light of holy Church, blessed John Chrysostom, thou lover of God’s law, plead with the Son of God for us.

We beseech Thee, O Lord, may heavenly grace enrich Thy Church which Thou hast willed to enlighten by the glorious merits and teaching of blessed John Chrysostom, Thy bishop and confessor.

Blessed Sisters of Nowogrodek: Blessed Stella & companions

O most blessed Trinity, we praise and thank you for the example of Blessed Mary Stella and her ten companions, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who by imitating Jesus Christ, offered themselves as a
sacrifice of love.

God of mercy and compassion, through the merits of their martyrdom and by their intercession, grant us the grace we humbly ask… (insert intention here) …so that like them, we may witness with our lives to the presence of the Kingdom of God’s love and extend it to the human family throughout the world. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Blessed Martyred Sisters of Nowogródek, pray for us.

Blessed Mary Stella and her companions were authentic martyrs for the faith: they “…paid with their blood for the charity they exercised in favor of escapees, of the wounded and the sick during the terrible and uncertain days” (His Will Alone, 424).

They had engaged life as any other person does and so I thinking giving the names of the sisters keeps memory of the women, our friends, alive in our hearts. Certainly as a kid in a Nazareth school (New Haven, CT) this image of the sisters was haunting and striking. On my desk sits the commemorative coin, a gift of Sister Thaddeus of Jesus, CSFN, with the faces and names of the sisters reminding me of the gift their lives are for us.

The eleven Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who were executed by the Nazis on August 1, 1943 were:

Sister Maria Stella, Superior (Adelaide Mardosiewicz) (1888-1943)

Sister Mary Imelda (Jadwiga Zak) (1892-1943)

Sister Mary Rajmunda (Anna Kukulowicz) (1892-1943)

Sister Maria Daniela (Eleanor Juzwik) (1895-1943)

Sister Maria Kanuta (Jozefa Chrobot) (1896-1943)

Sister Maria Gwidona (Helena Cierpka) (1900-1943)

Sister Maria Sergia (Julia Rapieg) (1900-1943)

Sister Maria Kanizja (Eugenia Mackiewicz) (1904-1943)

Sister Maria Felicyta (Paulina Borowik) (1905-1943)

Sister Maria Heliodora (Leokadia Matustzewska) (1906-1943)

Sister Maria Boromea (Veronika Narmuntowicz) (1916-1943)

The Sisters had these words in their hearts and on their lips as they gave witness to Christ and the Church: “O God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us who are free from family obligations.
Spare those who have wives and children.”

And so we pray that Blessed Mary Stella and companions intercede for us before the the Throne of Grace for us, for the Nazareth Congregation of Sisters (especially for Sister Mary Ellen Genova) and for Poland.

N.B. In many places the martyrs of Nowogródek are remembered liturgically on the day their death, August 1st. In the convents of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth today is the liturgical memorial is prayed at Mass and in the Divine Office.

Blessed Jeanne Jugan

Today is the liturgical memorial of Blessed Jeanne Jugan (Sister Mary of the Cross), a relatively unknown sister here in the USA unless you you’ve met them begging for money to sustain their life and work. She is soon to be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11th.

The congregation of sisters founded by Blessed Jeanne, The Little Sisters of the Poor, are an exceptional group of women who dedicated themselves to doing small things for the poor for the sake of the Gospel: be humble, i.e., be little in order to be close to the humble and making the poor happy is everything. It was the spirituality of Saint John the Baptist: I must decrease and He must increase. Jugan was very much influenced by Saint John Eudes because in him she saw a path that corresponded to her heart: we must be other Christs on earth and to go to Jesus through Mary. Jugan called together women to serve poor elderly women, a work of charity that Jeanne had done for her own conversion since she was a young woman. Not only did Jeanne address the physical needs of the women she served, but she also attended to the spiritual ones too. The Little Sisters take a 4th vow of being hospitable: showing mercy to our poor brothers and sisters.

Here in Connecticut the Little Sisters of the Poor are located in Enfield but there was a time that they had a house in New Haven. Sadly, the New Haven community closed when the health care politics got to be too much for the sisters to handle.

When I am visiting the local Catholic cemetery I make it a point to visit the graves of the Little Sisters who died in New Haven. For me it is a way being grateful for the work and witness of the sisters in New Haven.

Watch the video clip of a recent first vows profession ceremony…

Among the recent books about Blessed Jeanne are:

Eloi Leclerc’s The Desert and the Rose: The Spirituality of Jeanne Jugan

Paul Milcent’s Jeanne Jugan: Humble, So as to Love More

Saints Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line and Margaret Ward

We beseech Thee, O Lord our God, grant us to revere with unceasing devotion the glorious victories of Thy holy Martyrs Saints Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line and Margaret Ward; may we at least honor with our lowly homage those whose praises we cannot sing worthily.

Saint Margaret Middleton was born in York in 1556, lived there all her life, and died there on 25 March 1586. At 15, she married a butcher, John Clitherow, and three years later became a Catholic. Imprisoned for her
non-attendance at church, she taught herself to read and later ran a small school for her own and her neighbours’ children. Her husband remained Protestant, but allowed her to hide priests in their house. In 1586, the secret hiding places were discovered, and Margaret was put on trial. She refused to plead, for which the punishment was being crushed to death.

Saint Anne Height was born at Dunmow (Essex) around 1565, and was hanged at Tyburn on 27 February 1601. In her teens, she became a Catholic and was disinherited, and in 1585 married Roger Line, also a disinherited convert, who was subsequently imprisoned then exiled for his faith, leaving her destitute. She taught and embroidered, and also kept house for priests. After a large number of people had been seen gathering at her house for Mass, she was arrested, tried and condemned to death.

Saint Margaret Ward was born at Congleton (Cheshire), but entered into the service of a family in London. She was arrested after assisting a priest escape from prison, but refused under severe torture to reveal his hiding place or to renounce her faith. She was tried at the Old Bailey, and executed on this day in 1588. All three are remembered for their resourcefulness, for their loyalty, for their outstanding courage, and for the service they rendered the Church during dangerous times in aiding the ministry of priests. (Liturgy Office, Bishops of England and Wales)

For more on these 3 English Martyrs see this entry.

In the Diocese of Bridgeport, those who prepare for the major seminary at Saint John Fisher Seminary, Stamford, call to mind the martyrdom of these women saints daily as their statues surround the altar.

May Saints Margaret, Anne and Margaret, pray for us!!!

Beheading of Saint John the Baptist

Blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he has been tried, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.

We beseech Thee, O Lord, may the holy festival of Saint John the Baptist, Thy Precursor and Martyr, obtain for us help unto salvation.