The Feast day of St. Josephat is celebrated on November 12. He is a martyr of the church.
St. Josephat was born in Vladimir, Poland, in 1584. His birth name was Ioann Kuntsevych. He was ordained a priest and became head of a monastery at Byline. In 1604, in his early 20s, Kuntsevych entered the Monastery of the Trinity of the Order of Saint Basil the Great in Vilnius, at which time he was given the religious name of Josaphat. He restored sanctuaries, built a convent and converted many souls. He became Archbishop of Polotsk in 1617 at the age of 38. He restored five cathedrals and aided the poor.
St. Josephat sought to bring an end to the divisions which were dividing the church. However, six years after becoming bishop he was assassinated. His body was profaned. He was 44 years old. When his body was recovered nine days later it emitted a fragrance of roses and lilies. This caused many people to abandon the schism.
Five years after his death, St. Josephat’s body was found intact although his clothes had disintegrated. He was canonized in 1867 by Pope Leo XIII.
The Feast day of St. Carina and companions is celebrated on November 7.
Very little is known about St. Carina other than her martyrdom. Under the rule of Emperor Julian the Apostate in the city of Ankara, she and her husband and thirteen year old son, Melasippus, were arrested in the year 360 for being Christian. They refused to renounce their faith. St. Carina and her husband were tortured to death. Their son was beheaded.
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues,
but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
St. Theophane was born in France in 1829. He entered the Foreign Mission of Paris. He was ordained a priest in 1852 and became a missionary. He worked for 15 months at Hong Kong before going to West Tonkin which is now Vietnam.
In Vietnam, he taught seminary and ministered to the people of Tonkin for four years. He was arrested on Nov. 30, 1860 and tried for being a Christian.
During his trial he refused to renounce his faith. St. Theophane was caged for several months before he was beheaded in 1861. While being caged he was allowed to write many letters. Some of them survived. In a letter to his father he wrote,
“We are all flowers planted on this earth, which God plucks in His own good time; some a little sooner, some a little later…Father and son may we meet in Paradise. I, poor little moth, go first. Adieu.”
The Solemnity of All Saints Day is also known as All Hallows Eve. It is celebrated on November 1 by Western Christianity. It honors all souls who have arrived in heaven. Many countries celebrate it as a national holiday. It is followed by All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2 in which Catholics pray for those still on their journey to heaven. This journey is known as purgatory. Catholics believe that life is a spiritual pilgrimage. Death is the beginning of our journey through purgatory to heaven. Purgatory is where a soul is prepared and purified to enter heaven.
A Saint is a person whose soul has arrived in its’ eternal home…heaven. The journey to heaven is not easy! We ask for the prayers of those in heaven to aid us on our journey to heaven.
The observanceof All Saints Day goes back to the early centuries of the Christian Church. Prior to All Saints Day, Christians would celebrate martyrs on the anniversaries of their death, because those days marked their birthdays unto eternal life with Jesus in heaven. When the number of martyrs grew during persecutions like that of Emperor Diocletian and his successor…which lasted from A.D. 303-311…it became difficult to assign a specific day to each witness who died for the Faith. Therefore, beginning in the fourth century, the Church established a common day to honor all martyrs on All Saints Day’
True learning consists in the science of the saints: that is to say…..
The Feast Day of St. Quintin is celebrated on October 31. St. Quintin was also known as Quintinus. He was born in the third century in Rome, Italy. His father was a Roman senator.
St. Quintin converted to Christianity. He was a missionary who went to Gaul with St. Lucian of Beauvais. He won many converts with his preaching. In 286, he was arrested during the Marmian persecution. He was tortured and beheaded in 287 at Augusta, Gaul which is now Saint Quintin, France. His body was thrown into the river and then recovered and buried by the people he was instrumental in converting. His tomb was a site known for miracles.
“What you call folly is supreme wisdom. What is there wiser than to recognize the unique true God and to reject with disdain the counterfeits, which are mute, false and deceiving?
The Feast day of Bl. Maria Restituta is celebrated on October 29. She was martyred by the Nazis when she refused to remove crucifixes from the hospital walls.
Helen Kafka was born in Vienna, Austria in 1894. Her father was a shoemaker. Helen’s first job was that of a salesgirl. She then became an assistant caregiver at the Lainz public hospital. It was at the hospital that she met the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. She joined the Order at the age of 20. She took the name Restituta who was a marty in the 4th century.
Sister Restituta became a surgical nurse in 1919 working at the Moulding hospital. After the Nazi invasion of the country she became an opponent of the Nazis. When they ordered her to remove all the crucifixes on the walls of the hospital, she refused. The Nazis then arrested her and charged her for “aiding and abetting the enemy in the betrayal of the fatherland and for plotting high treason”.
The last days Sister Restituta spent in prison were spent caring for other prisoners. Even the communist prisoners spoke highly of her. She was offered freedom if she left her religious order but she refused.
Bl. Maria was beheaded at the age of 48 on March 30, 1943 in Vienna. Pope John Paul II beatified her on June 21, 1998.
The Feast Day of St. Simon and St. Jude is celebrated on the same day…October 28. They were both Apostles and Martyrs. St. Simon is the patron saint of tanners. St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes.
St. Simon was the second Bishop of Jerusalem. He preached in Egypt and Persia with St. Jude where both suffered martyrdom.
There are two stories of his death. The first has him dying by crucifixion in Samaria. The second has him sawed in half in Persia.
St. Simon and St. Jude
St. Jude was the son of Cleohas, who died a martyr and Mary who stood at the foot of the cross. He was the brother of St. James the Lesser, and a cousin to Jesus. He was a fisherman. He is not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who was a traitor. After the resurrection, Jude preached in Syria and Persia with St. Simon. He was a healer and an exorcist. He was beaten to death with a club then beheaded in Persia. His relics are at St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome. As apostles, both St. Simon and St. Jude became close to Jesus. They truly believed he was the Lord. After the Resurrection Hey spent their life spreading the good news of salvation. Their martyrdom shows us the depth of their love for Jesus.
Come my light and illumine my darkness.
Come my Life and revive me from death.
Come my physician and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of Divine Love and burn up the thorns of my sins.
kindling my heart with the flame of thy love.
Come my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there,
For you alone are my King and my Lord.
Prayer of St. Dimitri of Rostov; Feast Day October 28
The Feast Day of St. John Roberts is celebrated on October 25. He is considered one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales whose joint feast day is October 25.
St. John Roberts was born to John and Anna Roberts in 1575 at Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, North Wales. He studied law. While traveling in Paris he converted to Catholicism. After studying at the English College at Vallodolid for a year he left to join the Abbey of St. Benedict. He was ordained a priest and soon traveled to England.
While in England, St. John Roberts was arrested several times. He returned to England and worked serving those afflicted by the plaque. He was arrested a second time in 1604 while traveling to Spain. Not knowing he was a priest he was soon released but he returned again. On Nov. 5, 1605, he was arrested again and imprisoned at Westminster for seven months and exiled in 106 for 14 months. He founded a house for English Benedictine monks during this time which eventually became known as the Monastery of St. Gregory.
Arrested again in 1607, he escaped after several months. Knowing he would be executed if caught again, he still returned to England. He was arrested on Dec. 2, 1610 as the Mass he was celebrating came to an end. When he refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy he was tried and condemned to death.
On Dec. 10, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. His body disappeared during the French Revolution.
In 1970, St. John Roberts was canonized by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
“Were I to live longer, I would continue to do what I have been doing.”
The Feast Day of St. Laura of Cordoba is celebrated on October 19. She was a widow and martyr.
St. Laura lived in Spain in the ninth century. It’s culture was primarily Muslim. After her husband died she became a nun at Cuteclara . She eventually became the abbess.
St. Laura is one of the 48 Martyrs of Cordoba. She was captured and scalded to death by being placed in a vat of boiling lead.
“It is You Jesus, stretched out on the cross,
who gives me strength and are always close to the suffering soul.
The Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Antioch is celebrated on October 17. He is known as a church father and martyr.
At birth, St. Ignatius was named Theophorus. He became the third Bishop of Antioch in around year 70. The Roman Emperor Dometian declared that he was ‘god’ and required homage. Those who refused were executed.
St. Ignatius led the Christians in Antioch by encouraging prayer and fasting. Emperor Trajan had Ignatius arrested and sent to Syria in chains to be executed. St. Ignatius was able to dictate letters to the six local churches while imprisoned. Most of what we know about St. Ignatius is from his writing.
St. Ignatius had a devotion to the Bless Virgin Mary. He wrote the following:
He who is devoted to the Virgin Mother will certainly never be lost.
In the letters that survived, St. Ignatius warned of false teachers. He focused on unity and the dangers of heresy. He also emphasized the importance of the Eucharist and the humanity of Christ.
St. Ignatius was fed to the lions in the Amphitheater in Rome in the year 107.
The Feast day of St. Callistus I is celebrated on October I. He is honored as a Pope and martyr of the faith.
St. Callistus was a slave for a Roman who worked for Caesar. He was put in charge of the bank by his master. He manged to lose the money deposited and in fear he fled. He was caught and sent to prison. He was released and told to try to recover the money. This time, he was arrested after getting into a brawl in a Jewish synagogue. He was then sent to Sardenia to work in the mines. The mistress of the emperor was able to influence his release.
Callistus became superintendent of the cemetery of St. Callistus. He was ordained a deacon by the Pope and became the friend and adviser of the Pope. When the pope died, Callistus was elected to be Bishop of Rome with a majority vote. This led to a schism with his rival St. Hippolytus who became the first anti-pope. Hippolytus accused Pope Callistus of sympathizing with heretics. He also disagreed with Pope Callistus’ teaching about the power of Divine Mercy in the sacrament of confession.
In the year 236, both Pope Callistus and Hyppolytus were martyred during an uprising in Rome. They were both canonized as saints. It is believed that Hyppolytus made peace with the church before his death.
St. Callistus is the first pope after St. Peter to be honored as a martyr.
“God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us.”
The Feast Day of St. Denis and Companions is celebrated on October 9. St. Denis is the patron saint of France and against headaches.
St. Denis was born and raised in Italy. He is also known as St. Dionysius. He was sent to Gaul by Pope St. Clement. He is probably the first Bishop of Paris. St. Denis was martyred along with two companions according to the writings of St. Gregory of Tours. His companions are believed to be St. Rustreus and St. Eleutherius, a priest and deacon. They were beheaded with a sword under the persecution of Emperor Valerius in 258. The head of St. Denis was carried into the nearby village before their bodies were thrown into the Seine River. St. Denis body was recovered and a chapel was built over his tomb.
St. Denis is one of the 14 helperswho were invoked in the middle ages against the Black Plaque. It is for this reason he became the patron saint against headaches.
