Category Archives: Faith

Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Giles the Abbot, Feast Day September 1

Leave a comment
Follow Us @ Sacred Art and Quotes of the Saints




 

St. Giles, Abbot Public Domain Image
St. Giles, Abbot

The feast day of St. Giles the Abbot is celebrated on September 1.   St. Giles is the patron saint of the mentally ill, the disabled, epileptics, childhood fears, and depression.

St. Giles was born into a noble family in Athens, Greece in the seventh century.  After the death of his parents, he distributed his inheritance to the poor.    He also became known for the gift of miracles and healing he had received.  Giles longed to live a life of solitude, serving God as a recluse, away from all the praise and fame of the world.

He left Greece, sailing for France.  Everywhere he lived he became known for his gift of miracles and healing.  He would have to flee once again to find a place to live in peace and solitude.  He first lived near the mouth of the Rhone River.  Later he lived near the river Gard and finally he lived in the diocese of Nimes.  His final dwelling place was deep in the forest in a cavern in  a rock.  He occupied his time in prayer, praising God and meditating.  He was a vegetarian, living on herbs and roots.  His only companion was a red deer, which provided him with milk to drink.

After several years of living in complete solitude, the King of France instituted  a great hunt near where Giles lived.  The hunters chased the deer which led them to the cave where Giles lived.  They shot an arrow into the cave, wounding the holy hermit.  They found him covered with blood with the deer lying at his feet.  When the king was told what had happened, he ordered him taken care of.  He came to see him offering him gifts.  St. Giles refused the gifts and the King’s request to leave his solitude. Before leaving the king asked if there was anything he could do for him, St. Giles said he would like a monastery built where they were standing.

St. Giles became the Abbot of the monastery which was soon built.  Several disciples joined him.  His fame continued to spread because of his gift of miracles.  The conversion of the King was one of these miracles.

St. Giles made a pilgrimage to Rome to see the Pope.  He requested a blessing for his community which embraced the Rule of St. Benedict. Not only did he receive a blessing but he received the gift of two beautifully carved doors of cedar wood for his church.

Many sinners were converted because of the prayers and miracles of St. Giles.  St. Giles died on September 1, 725.  The miracles which took place near his tomb were so many that soon after his death a town began to grown and was named Giles.

 

 

I praise

Your humility that consoles me

Your patience that shelters me

Your eternity that preserves me

and……Your truth that rewards me.

Quote of St. Thomas Aquinas;  Feast day January 28

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

Faith, Saint of the Day, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Jeanne Jugan, Feast Day August 30

Quote Leave a comment
Follow Us @ Sacred Art and Quotes of the Saints




 

St. Jeanne Jugan Public Domain Image
St. Jeanne Jugan

The feast day of St. Jeanne Jugan is celebrated on August 30.  She was born in 1792 in a small port town in the region of Brittany, France.

By the age of four her father had died at sea.  Her mother struggled to support her and her siblings.  She learned to knit and spin wool.  Eventually, she worked as a kitchen maid for a wealthy family.  Jeanne felt called to serve Christ while still in her teens.  She began by working in a local hospital.

At age 25, Jeanne joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes.  She worked as a nurse for six years but left for health issues.   Her spirituality focused on her devotion to Mary, her desire to be one with the poor and trust in Divine Providence.

Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned younger woman.  One day, she met an elderly woman named Anne Chauvin.  Anne was blind, partially paralized and had no one to care for her.  She carried her home, up the flight of stairs to her apartment.  She gave her bed to Anne, deciding to sleep in the Attic.   By 1841, she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people.  The next year, she acquired an unused convent which was able to house 40.  Many young women joined her to help.  The Community which she formed became known as The Little Sisters of the Poor.  Jeanne became known as Sister Mary of the Cross.

An ambitious priest eventually had her forced out of her leadership role and placed in retirement.  In retirement, Sister Mary continued to pray for the order which had 2400 members.  She was not known to be its foundress.  The priest was eventually disciplined and St. Jeanne Jugan acknowledged as the foundress.

St. Jeanne was considered a true friend of the poor.    She died in 1879 at the age of 86.  She was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 11, 2009.

 

What happiness for us, to be a Little Sister of the Poor!  Making the poor happy is everything!

Quote of St. Jeanne Jugan

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Beheading of John the Baptist, Feast Day August 29

Quote Leave a comment
Follow Us @ Sacred Art and Quotes of the Saints




Martyrdom of John the Baptist Public Domain Image
Martyrdom of John the Baptist

The Feast day of the Beheading of John the Baptist is celebrated on August 29.

 

John the Baptist is the last prophet proclaiming the coming of the Lord. We actually meet John when Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry,

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.”( Luke1: 39)

John was actually about six months older than his cousin Jesus.

The next time we hear of John the Baptist he comes out of the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  John  proclaimed:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(Matthew 3: 11)

In Matthew 3: 13,  Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying,

“I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

But Jesus answered him,

“Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

After Jesus had been baptized, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of

Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist Public Domain Image
Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist

God descending like a dove and a voice from heaven said,

“This is my Son, the Beloved,

with whom I am well pleased.”

We learn in Mark 1:14 that it is after the arrest of John the Baptist by King Herod, that Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news.”

Why was John arrested? The story is told in Mark 6: 17-29. John was arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”  Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so because Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. On Herod’s birthday Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance that so delighted Herod and his guests that Herod promised her whatever she requested. She went to her mother asking “What shall I ask for?” Herodias replied,

“The head of John the Baptist.” 

The girl hurried back to King Herod saying

“I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

King Herod was distressed at the request, but because of his oaths in front of guest he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back John the Baptists’ head. The head, on a silver platter, was given to the girl. In turn the girl gave it to her mother.

When the disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

John the Baptist is most remembered for his call to repentance and baptism. The following is one of his last statements before his death.

 

 

We are travelers, hastening to go back to our own country.

Quote of St. Leo the Great;  Feast day November 10

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Faith, patron saints

Prayers Quips and Quotes: St. Monica, Feast Day August 27

Quote Leave a comment
Follow Us @ Sacred Art and Quotes of the Saints




 

St. Monica by Tristán de Escamilla, Public Domain Image
St. Monica by
Tristán de Escamilla,

The feast day of St. Monica is celebrated on August 27.  She is the patron saint of mothers, alcoholism and difficult marriages.

St. Monica was born of a Christian family in Tagaste in Africa in 331. She was given in marriage by her parents to a non-Christian named Patricius. He was known to have a a bad temper and alcoholism. They had three children who survived infancy. One of them was Augustine.

Monica was known for her pious nature. She prayed without ceasing for her family. A year before his death Patricius converted to Catholicism and was baptized. Augustine was 17 at the time of his father’s death. He left the faith and led an immoral life. By eighteen he had a mistress and a son. He joined a group called the Manichees. Manicheeism teaches that the material world is part of the realm of evil. There are two gods one good and one evil.

Monica never ceased praying for the return of her son to the Catholic faith. After more than 15 years of prayer, Augustine heard St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, preach. He decided to study the faith, and eventually returned, being baptized in 387. Eventually Augustine became a priest and then a bishop.  St. Augustine  is now considered a Doctor of the Church.

Monica is the patron of mother’s because of her persistence in prayer.

 

“Nothing is far from God.”

Quote of St. Monica

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

Save

Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes; Feast Day of Augustinian Martyrs of Gafsa (Africa)

Quote Leave a comment
Follow Us @ Sacred Art and Quotes of the Saints




Symbol of the ]Augustinian Order
Symbol of the
Augustinian Order

The feast day of  the Martyrs of Gafsa is celebrated on August 26.

St. Augustine founded several monasteries on Northern Africa.  After the death of St. Augustine in 484, King Hunmeric ordered all monasteries abolished and the monks and nuns turned over to the Moors.

The seven brothers from the Gafsa, Tunisia monastery were arrested.  They were:  Deacon Boniface, Subdeacons Scrvus and Rusticus; Abott Liberatus and Monks:  Rogatus, Septimus and Maximus.

After being taken prisoner they were taken to Carthage.  They were offered bribes to renounce Christianity.  When they refused they were thrown into prison.  Christians living in Carthage bribed the jailers who let them offer support to the prisoners.  However, the King was informed and he then ordered the prisoners burned to death.  The youngest monk, Maximus was given a second chance to renounce Christianity.  He refused and pledged his allegiance to God and his Augustinian brothers.

The soldiers tied bundles of dry wood to the monks and placed them on an old raft.  They were however, unable to make the wood burn.  The King became infuriated and ordered the monks to be beaten to death.

The seven Augustinian brothers are honored as martyrs of the faith.

 

What unites our soul most closely to God is self-denial; 

that is, joining our will to the will of God. 

That is what makes the soul truly free.

Quote of St. Faustina;  Feast day October 5

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Save

Faith, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Genesius of Rome, Feast Day August 25

Quote Leave a comment
Follow Us @ Sacred Art and Quotes of the Saints




St. Genesius of Rome Public Domain Image
St. Genesius of Rome

The feast day of St. Genesius of Rome is celebrated on August 25.  St. Genesius is the patron saint of actors, comedians and clowns.

St. Genesius was a legal clerk who also performed as an actor.  He lived in the third century.  St. Genesius performed for Emperor Diocletian.

One of the plays he performed in was about a catechumen (student of Christianity) who was about to be baptized.  It was a satire which mocked the sacrament.  However, it was influencing St. Genesius to desire baptism.  During the play, he saw angels around him and requested baptism.

The emperor was so outraged, he had Genesius arrested and tortured.  He was eventually beheaded.

 

 

God calls me now, tomorrow will be too late.

Quote of St. Peter Julian Eymard; Feast day August 2

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

Save

Save

Save