Saints of the Day & More

Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him. We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24). Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph's genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus. We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary ...

Elizabeth Ann born in New York on August 28, 1774. It grows within the Episcopal Church. William Seton married her at the age of twenty years and comes to have five children. On December 27, 1803 she was widowed. Years later, on March 14, 1805 embraces Catholicism, which causes it multiple tests, both internal and external, coming from relatives and friends. All overcomes with faith, love and courage. Applied regularly to the spiritual life. Educate your children to request and, eager to indulge in the charitable and educational activity. In 1809 the diocese of Baltimore founded the Institute of Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, renewing the saga of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. This Institute aims at the training of girls. It is the first female religious congregation in North America. After her death the sisters joined the Society of the Daughters of Charity in Paris, as was her desire from the beginning. She also founded the first Catholic parochial school in Ameri...