All posts by Vicki Scheenstra

Vicki Scheenstra is a former Catholic Bookstore owner and has been active in Catholic Education.
Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Joseph of Cupertino, Feast Day September 18

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St. Joseph of Cupertino Public Domain Image
St. Joseph of Cupertino

The feast day  of St. Joseph of Cupertino is celebrated on September 18.  St. Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots, astronauts, and those with learning disabilities.

St. Joseph of Cupertino was born on June 17, 1603 in Puglia, Italy.  His father died before he was born leaving his mother destitute.  He was born in a stable.  As a child he was a slow learner, probably having a learning disability.  When he was 17 he was denied acceptance to the Order of the Friars Minor Conventuals due to lack of an education.  He was however, accepted into the Capuchins at Martino near Cupertino.  He gardened, tended the animals and worked in the kitchen.

Because of his learning disabilities St. Joseph could only study small amounts of material at a time.  He then prayed to remember the material for the test.  St. Joseph was ordained in 1628.

St. Joseph was a mystic with the gift of miraculous levitation and visions.  Anything religious could cause him to levitate.  During prayer he was known for his ecstasies and  suddenly levitating.  The first time levitation occurred was on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4 1630.  During the procession he suddenly rose into the sky and hovered over the crowd.  He was so embarrassed he fled and hid.  The levitation happened so often he earned the title “The Flying Saint”.   

The most famous act of levitation occurred while he was in the presence of Pope Urban VIII.  He was filled with reverence and immediately was lifted into the air.  During the Inquisition he was confined for several weeks but released.  Crowds tried to meet him until he was place in seclusion…unable to speak to anyone other than the bishop the vicar general of the Order, his fellow friars and a doctor if needed.

After his death on Sept. 18, 1663, great crowds of people attended his funeral.  Pope Clement XIII canonized St. Joseph of Cupertino on July 16, 1767.

A movie has been made of his life named A Reluctant Saint.  St. Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots, astronauts, and those with learning disabilities.

 

“The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.”

Quote of St. Catherine of Genoa;  Feast day September 15

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

 

Faith, Franciscan Saints, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Stigmata of St. Francis, Feast Day September 17

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Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi Public Domain Image
Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi

The feast day of the Stigmata of St. Francis is celebrated on September 17.

What is a stigmata?  A stigmata is the spontaneous appearance of the wound marks of Jesus Christ on a person’s body.  St. Francis is the first known saint to receive the stigmata.

St. Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi, Italy. His father was Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy cloth salesman. Francis was indifferent to school. He enjoyed good times with his friends. He was attracted to the military and was a prisoner of war for two years.  After returning home he experienced a profound conversion after having a dream.   Christ appeared and spoke to St. Francis in a vision in the chapel at San Damiano.  He  said

“Francis go out and build up My house, for it is nearly falling down.”

 

St. Francis took these words literally and began to repair the old chapel.  St. Francis embraced poverty, founding the Order of St. Francis after living for a time as a hermit.  He had a strong devotion to the cross and to the Eucharist.  He served the poor and the sick, caring for the lepers who were suffering at that time.

On Sept. 14, 1224, St. Francis was just beginning the second month of a retreat in honor of St. Michael the Archangel.  He was fasting for 40 days.  Near the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, St. Francis experienced a vision in which a seraph with six wings appeared.  The figure not had wings but also showed signs of being crucified.  While contemplating the crucifixion of Christ, St. Francis experienced joy mingled with pain.  The vision of Christ nailed to a cross touch his soul with compassion.   The vision vanished but St. Francis was left with marks on his own body as if had been crucified.  His hands and feet now had nail wounds.  His right side had a wound as if it had been pierced and frequently it bled.

At first St. Francis tried to conceal the wounds which were real and painful.  Eventually he revealed them publicly, saying;

“Nothing gives me so much consolation as to think of the life and passion of our Lord.”

 

While St. Francis of Assisi was the first saint to receive the stigmata, currently 62 Saints and Blesseds have been known to receive the stigmata.  St. Catherine of Siena (1380) and Padre Pio (1918) are only two of the many who have received this grace.

The stigmata is a considered a supernatural sign that a person has united their suffering with that of Christ.   The suffering of Christ during His Passion is called redemptive suffering.  When we join our suffering to His (no matter how small our suffering is in comparison) we are participating in the Passion of Our Lord.  Our suffering can be beneficial to the salvation of others.   The sign of the stigmata shows us that our suffering has a purpose.  It unites us to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

May I feel in my soul and in my body, as much as possible, that pain which You, dear Jesus, sustained in the hour of Your most bitter Passion.  May I feel in my heart, as much as possible, that excessive love with which You, O Son of God, were inflamed in, willingly enduring such suffering for us sinners.

Quote of St. Francis of Assisi

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

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Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Cyprian, Feast Day September 16

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St. Cyprian Public Domain Image
St. Cyprian

 

The feast day of St. Cyprian is celebrated on September 16.  Cyprian was born in North Africa in the 3rd century.  He is an important Christian writer.

At the age of 35, Cyprian converted to Christianity.   Soon after his baptism he was ordained, later becoming the Bishop of Carthage.  After his baptism he gave away his possessions.

When the persecutions of Christians began in Carthage,  Cyprian went into hiding rather than give sacrifices to pagan gods or face execution.  Fourteen months later he returned.  He called a council to determine the fate of those who had lapsed and denied their faith.  The council agreed with Cyprian who disagreed with both extreme answers.  He was against allowing anyone to return with little or no penance.  He was also against not allowing the lapsed Christians back at all.

Persecutions began again in 256.  St. Cyprian proclaimed his faith in Christ and refuesed to sacrifice to pagan gods.  He was banished to Curubis.  On September 13, 258, St. Cyprian was imprisoned and sentenced to die by the sword.

The execution of St. Cyprian happened in public very quickly.  He removed his clothing, knelt down, prayed and then blind folded himself.  He was then beheaded with a sword.

To him who still remains in this world, no repentance is too late.  The approach to God’s mercy is open.

Quote of St. Cyprian

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

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Pope Francis Reflects on Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Our Lady of Sorrows Public Domain Image
Our Lady of Sorrows
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Today, at Casa Santa Mara, Pope Francis reflected on the obedience and suffering of Mary at the foot of the Cross. The Mass commemorated the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrow. 

The Feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15.  According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis said that in the liturgy we are shown the glorious Cross, then the meek and humble Mother.

 

During his homily, Pope Francis said that Paul emphasized three strong words. Jesus “learned, obeyed and suffered” It was the opposite of what had happened to our father Adam. Adam did not want to learn, obey or suffer. Jesus, even though He is God, humbles Himself on the glorious Cross and becomes a servant.

Continuing his homily, Pope Francis told how Jesus came into the world to learn how to be a man, and by being a man, he walked with men. He came into the world to obey, and He obeyed. He learned obedience from suffering. This obedience brings hope. People who walk with God walk with hope.

Pope Francis shared that Mary, Jesus’ Mother, was the New Eve (as Paul himself calls her), so that she too can learn, suffer, and obey. “Thus”, Pope Francis said, “She becomes Mother.” In the Gospel Mary is at the foot of the Cross at the crucifixion. Jesus says to John, “Behold your mother.”

“Mary, is anointed Mother.” Pope Francis said. “We are not orphans, we have Mothers; Mother Mary. But the Church is Mother and Mother Church is anointed when it takes the same path of Jesus and Mary: the path of obedience, the path of suffering, and when she has that attitude of continually learning the path of the Lord. These two women…Mary and the Church…carry on the hope that is Christ, they give us Christ, they bring forth Christ in us. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus Christ; without the Church, we cannot go forward. Two women and two mothers and next to them our soul, which in the words of Isaac, the abbot of Stella, is “feminine” and is like “Mary and the Church”. Pope Francis concluded his homily by saying:

“Today, looking at this woman by the Cross, steadfast in following her Son in His suffering to learn obedience, looking at her we see the Church and look at our Mother. And also, we look at our little soul that will never be lost, if it continues to be a woman close to these two great women who accompany us in life: Mary and the Church. And just as our fathers left Paradise with a promise, today we can go forward with a hope: the hope that our Mother Mary, steadfast at the Cross, and our Holy Mother, the hierarchical Church, give us. “

 

 

Mary, Mother of Jesus Good Friday Public Domain Image
Mary, Mother of Jesus Good Friday
Public Domain Image

This article was originally published on September 15, 2014.

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Our Lady of Sorrows, Feast Day September 15

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Baciccio Pieta 1667 Public Domain Image
Baciccio Pieta 1667
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The feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15.  It dates back to the 12th century when it was promoted by the Cistercians and the Servites.

The focus of the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows is the grief Mary felt during the suffering of her Son, Jesus.  As His mother, her heart felt intense pain and sorrow.

 

Below are the seven sorrows of Mary:

  1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
  2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
  3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
  4. Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
  5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
  6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
  7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)

As we reflect on the sorrows and suffering Mary experienced as the Mother of God, we can remind ourselves of the human nature of both Jesus and Mary.  They felt pain.  They felt grief.  They felt loss.  They wept.

Jesus has two natures:  Human and Divine.  Mary is not Divine.  She is human like you and me.  We can only wonder at her strength and holiness as she drank from the bitter cup of suffering.

Giovanni bellini pieta martinengo Public Domain Image
Giovanni bellini pieta martinengo
Public Domain Image

 

Whoever you are who love the Mother of God, take note and reflect with all your innermost feelings upon her who wept for the Only Begotten as He died…The grief she felt in the Passion of her son goes beyond all understanding.

Quote of St. Amadeus of Lausanne;  Feast Day January 28

La Pieta Michelangelo Public Domain Image
La Pieta Michelangelo
Public Domain Image

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

 

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Faith, Feast Days, Prayer, Saint of the Day, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: The Exaltation of the Cross, Feast Day September 14

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Crucifixion of Jesus Public Domain Image
Crucifixion of Jesus

 

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is celebrated on September 14.

This feast day actually celebrated two events.

In the year 320, the actual cross on which Jesus was crucified was discovered by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine.  Constantine then had a shrine and basilica built in 335.  The Basilica, named Martyrium and the shrine named The Calverium were destroyed by the Persians in the year 614.

On a more personal level, we celebrate how we are saved by the cross.  It is the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus which redeems us.  As Christians, we must be willing to suffer for the faith, looking to Jesus in moments of weakness.

The suffering of Jesus on the cross is called Redemptive Suffering.  In today’s world it is hard to understand the meaning of suffering.  Does anything good come from suffering?

Our salvation came from the suffering of Jesus who died for our sins.

One way that helps me to understand suffering is to think about the meaning of love.  When two people love each other and promise to be there for each other they believe they are in love.  The test of true love is what happens when the going gets tough?  It is only when we are willing to suffer for another that we know we are loving them.

Willingness to suffer defines love!  Jesus is not the only one who is capable of redemptive suffering.  We too, can offer our suffering for the good of another.  Think of all the times you have suffered in silence because to complain would not help the situation.  Give your suffering to God.  You will grow in virtue and love.

Remember… God is Love.  He showed us he loved us by suffering and dying on the cross for us.

On this feast day reflect on the suffering in your life.  Can you name the cross you are carrying?  Give all your suffering to God and you will come closer to Him who is called Love.

 

 

Suffering is a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross that He can kiss us;  that He can show that He is in love with us by giving us an opportunity to share in His Passion.

Quote of St. Teresa of Calcutta;  Feast Day September 5

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

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