Category Archives: Faith

Carmelite Saints, Faith, Our Lady, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Simon Stock, Feast Day May 16

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St. Simon Stock Public Domain Image
St. Simon Stock

The feast day of St. Simon Stock is celebrated on May 16.

Little is known about the early life of St. Simon Stock. Legend has told us that from the age of twelve he lived as a hermit in a hollow tree trunk. As a young man he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There, he joined a group of Carmelites. They returned together to Europe.

St. Simon was elected Superior General of his Order in London in 1254. St. Simon founded many Carmelite Communities in Cambridge, Oxford, Paris and Bologna. He was instrumental in the transition from a hermit Order to an Order of mendicant friars.

In 1251 he experienced an apparition during a time when the order was being oppressed. The Virgin Mary appeared to him holding the brown scapular in one hand. She told him,

“Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is a special sign of my favor which I have obtained for thee and thy children of Mt. Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger and a pledge of special peace and protection.”

The scapular is made of two squares of cloth connected by strings. It is worn over the shoulders, one on the chest, one on the back.

The promise from the Virgin Mary is believed to mean that Carmelites who live their vocation well, with love and sincerity will be saved. It is a reminder that Mary is their role model in love. The Carmelite Order is a contemplative Order which focuses on contemplative prayer. Mary leads those in the Carmelite Order to a deeper love of Jesus Christ, the Eucharist and the Beatitudes. The role models for the Carmelite Order are the Virgin Mary and the prophet Elijah. It was Elijah who heard the voice of God in the whisper of the gentle breeze.

St. Simon Stock was known to have a special gift of miracles and prophecy. St. Simon Stock. died on July 16, 1265 in Bordeaux, France.

 

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience,
but shouts in our pain.
It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

Quote of C.S. Lewis

 

May is the Month of Mary

 

Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Isidore the Farmer, Feast Day May 15

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St. Isidore the Farmer

The feast day of St. Isidore is celebrated on May 15.

He is the patron saint of farmers. St. Isidore was born to poor parents at Madrid, Spain in the 12th century. As a young boy he worked for a wealthy farmer in Madrid. He married Maria de la Cabeza who also became a saint. They had one son who died as a child.

Isidore was very religious. He attended daily Mass before going to work in the fields. This sometimes caused complaints that he spent too much time in church. He prayed as he worked in the fields. It is said that angels sometimes helped him with his work. On holidays he would visit the many churches in Madrid. He loved the poor, often giving those more poor than himself food to eat. He also cared for animals. His concern that they be treated well was well known. He was kind and generous.

St. Isidore is a role model for everyone. He practiced his faith always and showed kindness and generosity to those he met.

St. Isidore died on May 15, 1130 after living a simple but holy life. He was canonized in 1622.

 

Like a tree in spring the cross has burst into flower…
the cross on which the Lord of glory hung.

Quote by St. Bernard; Feast day August 20

May is the Month of Our Lady

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Faith, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Matthias, Feast Day May 14

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St. Matthias

 

The feast day of St. Mathias is celebrated on May 14. St. Mathias was not one of the original twelve Apostles. He was not present at the Last Supper.

After the suicide by hanging of Judas Iscariot, the Apostles decided to choose either Mathias or Joseph called Barsabbas to replace Judas Iscariot. They prayed, saying. “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Acts (1:24) They drew lots and chose Mathias to replace him.

Mathias preached in Judea, Egypt and Ethiopia. Stories of his martyrdom vary. It is believed he was stoned and beheaded.

St. Mathias is the patron saint against alcoholism and smallpox. He is also the patron of carpenters.

 

Who except God can give you peace? 
Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?

Quote of St. Gerard Majilla;  Feast day October 16

 

May is the Month of Mary

Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Carthusian Martyrs, Feast Day May 11

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Carthusian Martyrs

The feast day of the Carthusian Martyrs is celebrated on May 11. The Carthusian Order was founded in 1084 by St. Bruno of Cologne. It was a strict order. Its members lived as hermits, focusing on contemplative prayer. It consisted of 25 houses with 350 male and 75 female members. They came under attack during the Hessite Revolution in Bohemia in the 15th century.

In 1537 during the English Reformation the London Charter house was dissolved. Its members were put in prison and later executed when they refuse to declare King Henry the head of the Church of England. King Henry issued the “Act of Supremacy” declaring any who refused to take an oath recognizing him as head of the Church of England to be guilty of high treason. Eighteen Carthusians refused and were sentenced to death.

The first Carthusians to be martyred were hanged, drawn and quartered. All were tortured before they were martyred. Eighteen were beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. Three were canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

Our Lord likes courage.  Get it from Him.  You won’t find it in yourself.

 

Quote of St. Katherine Drexel; Feast day March 3 


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Faith, patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes; St. Damien of Molokai, Feast Day May 10

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St. Damien

The feast day of St. Damien of Molokai is celebrated on May 10. He is the patron saint of leprosy and outcasts.

St. Damien of Molokai was born Josef de Veuster on Jan. 3, 1840 in Treinelo, Belgium.  His parents were farmers. He attended college at Braine-le-Comte. Josef became a novitiate at the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He took the name of Damien when he made his vows. As a missionary he arrived in Honolulu in 1864. He was ordained a priest on May 1864.

Hawaii was in the midst of a health crisis; primarily, influenza, syphilis and leprosy. The king of Hawaii, Kink Kamehameha IV created a leper colony on the island of Molokai. Fr. Damien requested to be sent to Molokai to tend to their spiritual needs. He arrived at Kalaupapa on May 10, 1873, where he cared for 600 lepers.

St. Damien Public Domain Image
St. Damien
Public Domain Image

Fr. Damien built the Parish Church of St. Philomena where he preached and taught the Catholic faith. He restored pride and dignity to the people in the settlement. He organized a band, horse riding and choir. He provided comfort to the people on the island for 16 years serving as priest, doctor and home builder. He built their coffins and dug their graves.

Father Damien said,

“My greatest pleasure is to go there (the cemetery) to say my beads, and meditate on that unending happiness which so many of them are already enjoying.”

Fr. Damien had a profound faith in the Holy Eucharist, believing his strength came from receiving the Eucharist on a daily basis. In 1885 he contracted the illness of leprosy, yet he continued to serve the people of the settlement. He died April 15, 1889 at the age of 49.  St. Damien is known as the Apostle of the Lepers.

 

“Without the constant presence of Our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai”

Quote of St. Damien of Molokai

 

St. Damien of Molokai Public Domain Image
St. Damien of Molokai

 

May is the Month of Our Lady

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Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Pachomius, Feast Day May 9

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St. Pachomius Public Domain Image
St. Pachomius

The feast day of St. Pachominus is celebrated on May 9.

St. Pachomius was born in Egypt in 298 and entered the army when he was twenty years old. The kindness of the Christians he met led to his conversion after he left the army. After his baptism he became a disciple of Palemon. They led a life of poverty and dedicated themselves to God and a life of prayer as hermits.

St. Pachominus built a monastery on the banks of the Nile river at Tabenisi. They soon had 100 monks join them; living a life in community and prayer. St. Pachomius established ten other monasteries and two nunneries for women. Over seven thousand monks were living in his monasteries at the time of his death in 346. He was the first to organize hermits into groups and write a Rule for them to follow.

If the highest aim of a Captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.

Quote of St. Thomas Aquinas; Feast day Jan. 28

 

May is the Month of Our Lady

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