Category Archives: Faith

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Titus Brandsma, Feast Day July 27

Quote July 30, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

Bl. Titus Brandsma Public Domain Image — Bl. Titus Brandsma

The feast day of Bl. Titus Brandsma is celebrated on July 27. His birth name was Anno Sjoera Brandsma. He was born on Feb. 23 in Fries land, Netherlands. Titus grew up in a small farming village. Bl. Titus knew from an early age that he had a religious calling. He applied to join the Franciscans but was turned down due to health. On Sept. 17, 1898 he joined the Carmelites. He took the name of Titus which was his father’s name. He took his first vows in 1899 and was ordained in 1904. Bl. Titus earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Roman Gregorian University.

Bl. Titus Brandsma taught at the Catholic University in Nijmegen. He was also a journalist and writer. He wrote against the Nazi propaganda which caused the Socialists to notice him. The Gestapo watched him closely after the invasion of the Netherlands. He was arrested on Jan. 19, 1931 for declaring Nazism was not compatible with the Christian faith. He was abused in prison for several weeks.

Bl. Titus Brandsma was deported to the Dachau concentration camp in June 1931. Although he was severely mistreated he asked fellow prisoners to pray for the guards. He wrote many reflections while in prison. When he was no longer able to work the Nazis used him for medical experimentation.

On July 26, 1931 Bl. Titus Brandsma was killed from a lethal injection. Before he died he gave his Rosary to the doctor who killed him. The nurse who assisted the doctor returned to the faith because of his witness to Christ.

St. John Paul II beatified Titus Brandsma on Nov. 3 1985.

They who want to win the world for Christ

must have the courage to come into conflict with it.

Quote of Bl. Titus Brandsma

July is the Month of The Most Precious Blood.

Faith, patron saints

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Joachim & St. Anne, Feast Day July 26

July 30, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra 2 Comments

St. Anne and St. Joachim Public Domain Image — St. Anne and St. Joachim

On July 26th the Catholic church will celebrate the feast day of Sts. Anne and Joachim. They are the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. St. Anne and St. Joachim are the patron saints of parents and grandparents.

Although most of what we know about them is legendary, their names were passed down in the non-biblical Gospel of James. Tradition tells us they were wealthy but pious. St. Anne conceived late in life, after the appearance of an angel. The Angel promised them they would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate the child to God. The feast day of The Holy Family is celebrated the Sunday after Christmas.

We reflect on their feast day about the importance of family and love. Tradition also tells us that a church was built on the site of the home of St. Joachim and St. Anne at the Mount of Olives.

We are created in the image of God…

from the time there is conception there is the life of God…

that is why it is so wrong to destroy life,

to destroy the image of God.

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

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

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Apostle, Faith, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. James the Greater, Feast Day July 25

July 29, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

St. James the Greater Public Domain Image — St. James the Greater

On July 25, the Catholic Church will be celebrating the feast day of St. James the Greater. St. James was a fisherman and the brother of John. Peter was his partner. When they were called to become Apostles of Jesus, they left everything to do so. St. James the Greater is the patron saint of laborers and Spain.

There were two Apostles named James. James the Greater is the older of the two. He was also called “The Son of Thunder”. James, John and Peter were honored to be the only Apostles present at the Transfiguration. They were also present in the Garden of Gethsemane while Jesus prayed before His death.

Tradition tells us he evangelized in Spain after the crucifixion for nine years. St. James the Greater was the first Apostle to be martyred. In the year 44, King Herod Agrippa killed him with a sword during the early persecutions of the Church.

Truly, matters in the world are in a bad state,

but if you and I begin in earnest to reform ourselves,

a really good beginning will have been made.

Quote of St. Peter Alcantara; Feast day October 19

St. James the Greater in Art

St. James the Greater by Rembrandt Public Domain Image

St. James the Greater by Alonso Cano Public Domain Image

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

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Faith, Martyr, Prayer, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Boste, Feast Day July 24

July 29, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

St. John Boste is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Their feast day is celebrated together on October 25. The Feast Day of St. John Boste is celebrated on July 24, the anniversary of his death.

St. John Boste was born in Dufton Westmoreland in 1544. He attended Queen’s College, Oxford. He became the first headmaster to serve under Queen Elizabeth l. He converted to Catholicism and was received into the Church in 1576. After leaving England he was ordained a priest in Rheims in 1581.

St. John Boste returned to England as a missionary priest. He evaded arrest for ten years. After a betrayal, he was finally arrested. He was found hiding behind a fireplace after celebrating a forbidden Mass. He was taken to the Tower of London and interrogated on the rack. He was then hung, drawn and quartered while reciting the Angelus prayer.

My function is to invade souls, not to meddle in temporal invasions.

Quote of St. John Boste

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes; St. Macrina the Younger, Feast Day July 19

July 27, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

The feast day of St. Macrina the Younger is celebrated on July 19. She was born into a family of saints during the year 327 in Cesarea. Her grandparents were martyrs. Her grandmother was St. Macrina the Elder. Her parents Basil the Elder and Emmelia are both saints.

Macrina’s mother taught her to read and educated her. Macrina in turn taught her brothers to read. Her brothers were St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Peter of Sebastea.

At the age of twelve, Macrina became engaged to marry. Her fiance died suddenly and she then decided to remain single. She helped her mother raise her brothers as well as helping her mother run the household.

When Macrina’s father died, both Macrina and her mother consecrated themselves to a life of prayer and contemplation.

St. Macrina died a peaceful death in 371 holding the crucifix which she always had near her.

My life is an instant, an hour which passed by.

My life is a moment which I have no power to stay.

You know, O my God, that to love you here on earth…

I have only today.

Quote of St. Therese of Lisieux

July is the Month of the the Most Precious Blood

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Feast Day July 14

July 10, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra 2 Comments

St. Kateri Public Domain Image — St. Kateri

The feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha is celebrated on July 14. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the Patron of the environment and ecology. She was known as the “Lily of the Mohawks”.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in Auriesville, NY. She was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and Catholic Algonquin. She is the first Native American to be declared a saint.

On Easter, 1676, Kateri was baptized by Jesuit missionary Father Jacques de Lambertville at the age of 20. She was devoted to prayer, penitential practices and the care of the sick and aged in Caughnawaga near Montreal. Her relics are now enshrined in Caughnawaga.

When Kateri was four years old smallpox attacked her family. Her mother and little brother died from the disease. Kateri’s face was scarred by the disease and she became partially blind. Her two Aunts and an Uncle adopted her. Because of her conversion, she incurred hostility from her tribe. She went to a new Christian colony in Indianan, Canada. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to “Christ crucified.” She spent much time praying before the Blessed Sacrament.

At the age of 23 Kateri died on Wednesday of Holy Week, at approximately 3 p.m. Within fifteen minutes after her death, her face, which was marked by smallpox, was healed and became beautiful. Father Cholone called others to see what had happened. Miraculous cures at the Sault Mission were frequent that year (1682) and attributed to Kateri. She appeared to many people after her death, always carrying a cross.

Blessed Kateri’s tomb is found at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the Mohawk Nation at Kahnaqake, near Montreal, Quebec. She is honored at the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Florida, NY and the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, NY.

Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?

Quote of St. Kateri Tekakwitha

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

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Category Archives: Faith

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Titus Brandsma, Feast Day July 27

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Joachim & St. Anne, Feast Day July 26

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. James the Greater, Feast Day July 25

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Boste, Feast Day July 24

Prayers, Quips and Quotes; St. Macrina the Younger, Feast Day July 19

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Feast Day July 14

Discovering the Spirituality of Catholicism