Saints of the Day & More

Mary lived in Egypt between the 5th and 6th century, where she was thus given the title of Mary of Egypt. At the beginning of her teenage years Mary, like many of us believed she was now fully independent of her life, and believed the choices she made would not really matter for she was in control. At the age of twelve she made up her mind and left her home and set out for the city of Alexandria, inexperienced and with out the protection of her parents, Mary later fell into a nightmare of a lifestyle. Mary carried on that terrible lifestyle well near her 30's, in those 17 years no one could seem to grab a hold of her and open her eyes and make her understand that what she was doing was wrong. One day a group of people had scheduled a trip to the Holy Land, to visit The Church of The Resurrection. Mary managed to get her place on that boat and they set off to the Holy Land. While on the boat though Mary kept sinning and making others fall into temptation, with violent figh...

Simon belonged to the group formed in Israel. They were called the "zealots." Its purpose was to work hard against the Roman invasion in their country. However, listening to the word of Christ was for him the discovery of the universality of God's love. Jude Thaddaeus has become one of the most popular saints for the favors given to people with regard to job search. This devotion, and lived his life in St. Bridget. You can read in his book "Revelations" deep respect and devotion to this apostle of the first century of our era. Why celebrate the holiday the same day? The thing is simple. Tradition has it that the two were always together in a rich and fruitful apostolate. The Lord called him to complete the number of the twelve apostles, charged with being the continuers of the work of Jesus in the world. Jude Thaddaeus called to distinguish it from other Judas Iscariot who betrayed, sold the Lord for thirty pieces of silver and then hanged himself. Jude Thaddaeu...

Sister Faustina was born in 1905 in the village of Glogowiec , near Lodz, as the third of ten children in the Kowalski family . From childhood she was distinguished by the love of prayer , hard work , obedience and sensitivity to human poverty. Her schooling lasted only three years. At the age of 16 left home to work as a maid in the homes of wealthy families. At 20 he entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Mother of God of Mercy , where as Sister Maria Faustina lived 13 years performing the duties of cook, gardener and porter. His life was apparently insignificant, monotonous and dull , was characterized by the extraordinary depth of his union with God. From her childhood she wanted to be a great saint and , therefore, walked towards this goal, working together with Jesus in the work of saving lost souls, to offer as a sacrifice for sinners. The years of monastic life were marked , then, by the stigma of suffering and the extraordinary mystical graces . The mission of Sister Faust...

St. Michael When GOD created the angels, these beautiful spirits of light and love lived in the Kingdom of Heaven, when GOD created them he gave them holiness, beauty, and wisdom. GOD wanted to test the angels to see if they loved him before they saw him face to face in Heaven. Outof many angels, one of the most powerful angels was Lucifer, whose name meant "Receiver of Light." Glad with his power, he shouted a yell of disobedience yelling "I shall not serve GOD!" But another Archangel, Michael, shouted a yell of love and obedience yelling "Who is like GOD?!" In a great battle, the Good Angels threw the Evil Angels out of Heaven and into Hell. As a reward for his love and obedience GOD made Michael Prince of the Celestial Courts. Since the beginning of time, St. Michael was the chief of the temple chosen by GOD. In the new testament Michael is the Guardian Angel and protector of the Holy Catholic Church. The name Michael means "Who is like GOD?" ...

She has fallen into my hands a little story of Mercy , and I look forward to dedicate this message today to Our Lady of Mercy, a name and a beautiful invocation of Mary, who appeared to St. Peter Nolasco, the Court held St. Raymond Nonnatus and liberaated many captives. They called the Merced for using the highest charity with their children most in need. We have to move to Europe at the beginning of the twelfth century . The Mediterranean was infested by pirates and Saracens, Turks , Muslim fanatics who attacked the boat , down the coast , leveling homes and entire villages , robbed , murdered , and , worst of all, Christians were carried to North Africa to be sold as slaves and make them forsake the faith. Given the impotence of the Christian nations , will be the Virgin Mary - the same as always , which is the Help of Christians - who is involved with a hand gently but firmly , and with Mother's heart . A wealthy merchant of Barcelona asked anxious relatives and friends - But wh...

Around the year 320 in Constantinople by the Empress Helena found the True Cross , the cross that killed Jesus Christ, The Empress and her son Constantine were built on the site of the discovery of the Holy Sepulchre Basilica , which kept the relic. Years later, King Chosroes II of Persia, in 614 invaded and conquered Jerusalem and carried the cross , putting it under the feet of his throne as a sign of his contempt for Christianity. But in 628 the emperor Heraclius managed to beat him and recovered the Cross and took her back to Jerusalem on 14 September that year. This ceremony was performed in which the cross was taken in person by the emperor through the city. Since then, the day was noted in the liturgical calendars as that of the Exaltation of the True Cross. Christianity is a message of love . Why then exalt the Cross? In addition, the Resurrection , rather than the Cross, gives meaning to our lives. But that is the Cross , the scandal of the Cross , St. Paul. We would not have ...

He was born April 25, 1214 Poissy, France. During his second crusade, Louis died at Tunis, 25 August 1270, and was succeeded by his son, Philip III. Louis was traditionally believed to have died from bubonic plague but the cause is thought by modern scholars to have been dysentery. The Bubonic Plague did not strike Europe until 1348, so the likelihood of his contracting and ultimately dying from the Bubonic Plague was very slim. Christian tradition states that some of his entrails were buried directly on the spot in Tunisia, where a Tomb of Saint-Louis can still be visited today, whereas other parts of his entrails were sealed in an urn and placed in the Basilica of Monreale, Palermo, where they still remain. His corpse was taken, after a short stay at the Basilica of Saint Dominic in Bologna, to the French royal necropolis at Saint-Denis, resting in Lyon on the way. His tomb at Saint-Denis was a magnificent gilt brass monument designed in the late 14th century. It was melted down duri...

"Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus." This unique statement in John's gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother. Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha's home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem. We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9. Many of us find it easy to identify with Martha in the story Luke tells. Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately goes to work to serve them. Hospitality is paramount in the Middle East and Martha believed in its importance. Imagine her frustration when her sister Mary ignores the rule of hospitality and Martha's work in order to sit and listen to Jesus. Instead of speaking to her sister, she asks Jesus to intervene. Jesus' response is not unkind, which gives us an idea of his affection for her. He observes that Martha is worried about many things that distract her from really being pr...

Nikomedia born doctor (now Turkey). He was beheaded by profess their Catholic faith in the persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian, on 27 July 305. What is known of St. Pantaleon comes from an ancient manuscript of the sixth century that is in the British Museum. Pantaleon was the son of a pagan named Eubulus and Christian mother. Pantaleon was a doctor. His teacher was Euphrosino , the doctor most notable of the empire. He was a doctor of the emperor Galerius Maximian in Nicomedia. He knew the faith but was carried away by the pagan world in which he lived and succumbed to the temptations that weaken the will and end with the virtues and fell into apostasy. A good Christian named Hermolaos opened his eyes , exhorting him to know " healing from the Highest " , led him to the bosom of the Church. Since then turned their science to the service of Christ, to serve their patients on behalf of the Lord. In the year 303, began the persecution of Diocletian in Nikomedia . Pantaleon ...

By tradition Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. Any stories about Mary's father and mother come to us through legend and tradition. We get the oldest story from a document called the Gospel of James, though in no way should this document be trusted to be factual, historical, or the Word of God. The legend told in this document says that after years of childlessness, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate this child to God (much the way that Samuel was dedicated by his mother Hannah -- Anne -- in 1 Kings). For those who wonder what we can learn from people we know nothing about and how we can honor them, we must focus on why they are honored by the church. Whatever their names or the facts of their lives, the truth is that it was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught...

Today we celebrate St. Mary Magdalen , we must refer to three biblical characters, which some identify a single person: Mary Magdalene , Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha, and the anonymous sinner who anoints Jesus' feet .Three characters for a story, Mary Magdalene , and , with your full name, appears in several scenes from the Gospels . Ranks first among the women who accompanied Jesus ( Mt 27, 56 , Mk 15, 47 , Luke 8, 2 ) is present during the Passion (Mark 15: 40) and at the foot of the cross with the Mother of Jesus ( Jn 19 , 25); see how buried the Lord (Mark 15, 47 ); comes before Peter and John to the tomb on Easter morning (John 20 , 1-2 ) is the first to whom appears risen Jesus ( Mt 28 , 1-10 , Mk 16, 9 , Jn 20, 14 ), although not recognized and is mistaken for the gardener ( Jn 20, 15), is sent as an apostle of the apostles ( Jn 20 , 18). Both Mark and Luke report that Jesus had driven out "seven demons. " (Luke 8, 2 , Mark 16, 9 ) Mary of Bethany is the s...

St. Bernardino Realino was born into a noble family of Capri, Italy in 1530. After receiving a thorough and devout Christian education at the hands of his mother, he went on to study medicine at the University of Bologna, but after three years he switched to law and received his doctorate in 1563. Word of his learning, dedication, and legal brilliance spread rapidly, and in 1554 he was summoned to Naples to assume the position of auditor and lieutenant general. Shortly afterward, his exemplary young man came to the realization that he had a religious vocation and, aided by our Lady's appearance to him, joined the Society of Jesus, being ordained in 1567. For three years he labored unstintingly at Naples, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the service of the poor and the youth, and then he was sent to Lecce where he remained for the last forty-two years of his life. St. Bernardino won widespread recognition as a result of his ceaseless apostolic labors. He was a model confessor, a p...

July 1 is the Solemnity of the "Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ." This feast, celebrated in Spain in the 16th century, was later introduced to Italy by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo and extended to the whole Church by Pope Pius IX in 1849. For many dioceses there were two days to which the Office of the Precious Blood was assigned, the office being in both cases the same. The reason was this: the office was at first granted to the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood only. Later, as one of the offices of the Fridays of Lent, it was assigned to the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent. In many dioceses these offices were adopted also by the Fourth Provincial Council of Baltimore (1840). When Pope Pius IX went into exile at Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1849), he had as his companion Father Giovanni Merlini, third superior general of the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood. After they had arrived at Gaeta, Don Merlini suggested that His Holiness make a vow to ...

When Mary was three months pregnant with Jesus Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John The Baptist.When mary got to Elizabeth's house, Elizabeth said "Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.""How could I deserve the visit of the mother of my Lord?""I heard your salutations and the baby jumped in my womb!"When Mary heard this she recited the Magnificat.During that time Zacharias had lost his voice. Zacharias was a Jewish priest he was blessing the altar when an angel told him he was going to have son. Zacharias didn't believe the angel because he was an elderly person. The angel told him his son was going to be named John. Three months later John The Baptist was born. A lot of people said the baby should be named like his father. After three months Zacharias finally spoke He said The baby would be named John. Prayer Almighty and eternal GOD you gave us St. John the Baptist to so we also can have a holy life like his....

The Virgin Mary, illuminated by God, he felt anxious to go visit her cousin Elizabeth. In his advanced age, was pregnant with God nothing is impossible. He had in mind the words of Paul to the Corinthians: "Charity is kind, does not seek only their own interest, and endures all things." A great apostle of the Universal Church, St. Ambrose, says these words about this day: "It was Mary who came forward to greet the first. She is the one who always comes forward to give demonstrations of affection to those you love." Mary does not seek reputation, fame or praise as in many of the views of our day. As I was filled with the grace of God, filled the house of her cousin of blessings. "As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." Her cousin, very grateful, he said: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of the womb. Whence to me that the mother of my Lord should come...

The Jews held a feast to give thanks for the harvest, 50 days after Easter. Hence the name Pentecost. Then the meaning of the celebration changed to give thanks for the Law given to Moses. In this event recalled the day when Moses went to Mount Sinai and received the tablets of the law and taught the people of Israel what God wanted of them. And celebrated the alliance of the Old Testament God established with the people: they are committed to live according to His commandments and God promised to be with them forever. People came from many places at the Temple of Jerusalem, the feast of Pentecost. As part of this Jewish holiday is where comes our Christian festival of Pentecost. The Promise of the Holy Spirit At the Last Supper, Jesus promised to his apostles: "My Father will give you another Advocate, who will be with you forever-the Spirit of Truth" (John 14, 16-17). Later they said: "I have said these things while I am with you, but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who...

"On the fortieth day after the resurrection, he ascended into heaven with his body, in which he had risen, and his soul, and took his seat at the right hand of the Father; thence on the tenth day he sent the Holy Spirit" (Profession of Faith by Pope St. Leo IX, 1053). Jesus ascended into heaven body and soul, by His own power. He now sits at the right hand of His Father, enthroned, even insofar as He is man, as King of the Universe. From heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to assist His Church, and there He pleads for us as our Mediator and Advocate with the Father. He remains present in His Church through the Mass and the sacraments, the liturgy, the Gospels, and especially through His real presence, body, blood, soul and divinity, in the Holy Eucharist.

Easter is the time when we celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Christ. As we look in the Gospel of Matthew we read, " After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Sudd...

As early as the first century, the Church set aside every Friday as a special day of prayer and fasting. It was not until the fourth century, however, that the Church began observing the Friday before Easter as the day associated with the crucifixion of Christ. First called Holy or Great Friday by the Greek Church, the name "Good Friday" was adopted by the Roman Church around the sixth or seventh century. With every Good Friday and also every Friday during Lent we walk alongside Christ and venerate his Passion, Death and Resurrection. We First begin with the Betrayal of Judas, which is said to have taken place in Gethsemane at some time around Mid-Night. Later Jesus is taken before the High Priests and is interrogated and later judged and sent before Pilate in the early morning hours. Pilate then sent Jesus to King Herod, the son of Herod the Great, to which to his belief, Jesus was a crazy person who just needed to be taught a lesson or ignored. Christ then returns to Pilate...

The feast of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is the oldest of the observances peculiar to Holy Week. In Rome various accessory ceremonies were early added to this commemoration, namely the consecration of the holy oils and the reconciliation of penitents, ceremonies obviously practical in character and readily explained by the proximity of the Christian Easter and the necessity of preparing for it. Holy Thursday could not but be a day of liturgical reunion since, in the cycle of movable feasts, it brings around the anniversary of the institution of the Liturgy. On that day, whilst the preparation of candidates was being completed, the Church celebrated the Missa chrismalis of which we have already described the rite and, moreover, proceeded to the reconciliation of penitents. In Rome everything was carried on in daylight, whereas in Africa on Holy Thursday the Eucharist was celebrated after the evening meal, in view of more exact con...