Saints of the Day & More

St. Raymond of Pennafort, Patron Saint of Canonists Born in Spain. St. Raymond was a relative of the King of Aragon. From childhood he had a tender love and devotion to the Blessed Mother. He finished his studies at an early age, and became a famous teacher. He then gave up all his honors and entered the Order of the Dominicans. St. Raymond was very humble and very close to God. He did much penance and was so good and kind that he won many sinners to God. With King James of Aragon and St. Peter Nolasco he founded the Order of Our Lady of Ransom. The brave religious of this Order devoted themselves to saving poor Christians captured by the Moors. Also Raymond decided to make converting the Jews and the Muslims towards Christianity. Once he went with King James to the Island of Majorca to preach about Jesus. King James was a man of great qualities, but he let himself be ruled by passions. There on the Island, too, he was giving bad example. The Saint commanded him to send the woman away....

Born in Barcelona, Spain, 1189. At 15, he suffers the death of his father and is ready to share their many blessings to sanctify what her mother nods. Years later, being of marriageable age, a pilgrimage to Montserrat. There, at the foot of the Virgin, could understand the emptiness of worldly vanities and the treasure of eternal life. He promised then to the Virgin kept pure and devoted to your service. Those were the times that Muslims had looted the coasts and Christians as slaves to Africa. The horrible condition of these victims was indescribable. So many were losing faith believing that God had abandoned them. Pedro Nolasco was a merchant. Decided to dedicate his fortune to the release of the greatest number of slaves. He remembered the words of the gospel: "Do not store their fortune in this land where thieves to steal and moth devours and rust to corrode. Store their wealth in heaven, where no thieves who steal, neither moth nor rust devour that the damage "Mt 6:20. I...