Monthly Archives: December 2016

Quote, Saint of the Day, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Mary di Rosa, Feast Day December 15




St. Mary di Rosa

The Feast Day of St. Mary di Rosa is celebrated on December 15.  She founded the Handmaids of Charity of Brescia.

Paula Frances Mary di Rosa was born on Nov. 6, 1813 at Brescia, Italy into a wealthy family.  Her mother died when she was eleven years old.

After being educated by Visitation Nuns, she returned home to manage her father’s estate.  Having a great desire to enter the convent, she was inspired to  volunteer at the Brescia hospital during the cholera outbreak in 1836.  She also helped care for the spiritual needs of the girls working at her father’s mills and arranged retreats.

St. Mary di Rosa founded a home for girls and a school for deaf mutes.  She founded a religious order called the Handmaids of Charity of Brescia.  It was also known as the Servants of Charity.  It began with four members and grew to twenty two.  At this time, Paula took the religious name of Mary Crucifixa because of her devotion to the passion and crucifixion  and suffering of Christ.

The Sisters ministered to the wounded on the battlefields of Northern Italy and in hospitals.

St. Mary di Rosa died peacefully at the age of 42 on December 15, 1855.  She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

“I can’t go to bed with a quiet conscience if during the day I’ve missed any chance, however slight, of preventing wrongdoing or of helping to bring about some good.”

Quote of St. Mary di Rosa

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Faith, Our Lady, patron saints

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Feast Day December 12




Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on Dec. 12. She has been named the patron of the Americas.

Our Lady appeared to a peasant near Mexico City named Juan Diego in 1529. She appeared to him as an Aztec Princess, and spoke in his native tongue. She requested he tell the bishop to build a church on the site. Initially the bishop was skeptical, demanding proof of the vision. Juan Diego returned to the site of the vision to find Castillo Roses blooming in the frozen earth. He collected them and returned to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the flowers fell to the ground and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was imprinted on his cloak. (The miracle of the roses) His cloak is under glass, on display, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was soon built. Over six million soon converted to the faith because of the apparition.

There have been many apparitions of Mary over time. Not all of them have been approved by the Church. While belief in the apparitions is not a requirement, devotion to the approved apparitions are encouraged. Before an apparition can be approved it is thoroughly investigated by the Vatican.

The church teaches us that Mary always leads us to her Son, Jesus. Jesus is both human and divine; Mary is human only, but the mother of Our Lord. We consider her our spiritual mother, to whom we can always turn to for intercessory prayer. (To Jesus, Thru Mary)

Anyone who is questioning the reverence held for Mary should ask themselves several questions.

  • Do the commandments require us to honor our father and mother?
  • Did Jesus honor Mary?
  • Are we not called to imitate Jesus?
  • Why then, should we not honor Mary, His mother?

The following prayer to Mary is a sample of intercessory prayer. In this type of prayer, we ask a saint, or another person, to pray for us and with us.

BeautifulVirgin of Guadalupe, I ask you on behalf of all my brothers and sisters of the world that you bless us and protect us. Give us proof of your love and kindness. Oh pure Virgin of Guadalupe, give me through your Son, forgiveness for my sins, blessings for my job, cure for my diseases and needs, and all that you deem necessary. I ask for my family, Oh Mother of God, do not disdain the pleas we present to you in our needs. Amen

 

“Oh, how happy is the soul

that freely lets herself be

molded to the liking

of this Divine Savior.”

Quote of St. Jane Frances de Chantel

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers,Quips and Quotes: St. Damascus I, Feast Day December 11




 

The Feast Day of  St. Damasus is celebrated on December 11.  He was the Bishop of Rome.

Damasus was born in 306. His father was a Roman priest. Following his father’s footsteps, he began as a deacon. He served in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He also served Pope Liberius following him into exile. When Pope Liberius died he was elected Pope. At the same time a minority elected Ursinus as the Pope. Ursinus was considered the anti-pope. Unrest and discord were constant during the reign of Pope Damasus.

Pope Damasus commissioned his secretary St.Jerome to translate the scripture into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. He also changed the liturgical language of the Church from Greek to Latin. He worked to preserve the catacombs and the graves of the martyrs, and relics. During his reign, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state.

Pope Damasus I died of natural causes in Rome on Dec. 11, 384.

“For me, prayer means launching out

of the heart toward God;

a cry of grateful love from the

crest of joy or the trough of despair;

It is a vast supernatural force

that opens out my heart,

and binds me close to Jesus.”

Quote of St. Thérèse of Lisieux; Feast Day October 1

 

 December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Gregory III, Feast Day December 10




St. Pope Gregory III

The Feast day of St. Gregory III is celebrated on December 10.  He was the Bishop of Rome.

St. Gregory III was born in Syria. His father’s name was John. Little is known about his childhood. He became a Syrian priest. He was proclaimed pope immediately after the death of Pope Gregory II. The most pressing problem was defending the veneration of holy images. Emperor Leo III considered it idolatry.

Pope Gregory called a synod during which he approved measures against anyone who destroyed images of Jesus, Mary or the saints. He taught that icons and images promote worship rather than being the object of worship themselves. He repaired many beautiful churches and promoted monasticism. Pope Gregory was known for his virtue and knowledge.

Pope Gregory III died of natural causes on November 28, 741.

When God is our strength,

it is strength indeed;

when our strength

is our own,

it is only weakness.

Quote of St. Augustine; Feast day August 28

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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