Category Archives: Martyr

Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Gerard Sagredo, Feast Day September 24

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St. Gerard Sagredo

 

The feast day of St. Gerard Sagredo is celebrated on September 24.  He is a martyr and patron saint of Hungary.

St. Gerard was born in Venice in 980.  He went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land but his ship landed at Istria.  He became the educator of the prince and played a role in the conversion of Hungary to Christianity.

St. Gerard became the first Bishop of Csanad in 1030.  After the death of the King, St. Stephen, he refused to serve the new King.  Persecution against Christians became common.

St. Gerard was martyred on September 24, 1046.  Legend states he was placed in a wooden barrel hauled to the hilltop and rolled down what is now named Gillert Hill.  At the bottom he was beaten to death.

St. Gerard Sagredo was canonized in 1083.

 

“It is in loving the cross that one discovers his heart.”

Quote of St. Bernadette;  Feast Day April 16

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

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Apostle, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Matthew, Feast Day September 21

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St. Matthew Public Domain Image
St. Matthew

Sept. 21 is the feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle. The Catholic Church will be celebrating his life and martyrdom during the holy Mass.  St. Matthew is the patron saint of accountants and bankers.

St. Matthew is also known as “Levi”. Matthew was a tax collector by trade. Tax collectors were despised by most of the people. He was called by Jesus to be one of the twelve Apostles.

The Apostles lived and traveled with Jesus during the three years leading up to his crucifixion.  After the crucifixion they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and began to spread the “Good News”  of salvation.

It is believed that St. Matthew is the author of the first gospel. This gospel was written in Aramaic, which was the language of the Hebrew people. The Gospel of Matthew is referred to as the “teaching gospel”. It contains most of the parables of Jesus and the Beatitudes, which were given to us by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Matthew is believed to have preached in Ethiopia. Reports of his martyrdom vary greatly. It is not known if he was burned, stoned, beheaded or killed with an ax. However, the Church considers him to be a martyr who died for the faith.
Traditional prayer:

Glorious St. Matthew, in your Gospel you portray Jesus as the longed-for Messiah who fulfilled the Prophets of the Old Covenant and as the new Lawgiver who founded a Church of the New Covenant. Obtain for us the grace to see Jesus living in His Church and to follow his teachings in our lives on earth so that we may live forever with him in heaven.

 

Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved.

Quote of St. Seraphim of Sarov;  Feast Day February 5

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: The Korean Martyrs, Feast Day September 20

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Korean Martyrs

The martyrdom of 103 Koreans is celebrated on September 20.

For over 100 years the Christians in Korea practiced their faith in secret.  The government of Korea was based on Confucianism and believed that Christians were a threat to the government.

The first known martyrs are Paul Youn and James Kouen.  They were martyred after refusing to offer sacrifice on the death of a relative.

  Over the next 100 years over 10, 000 Korean Christians were tortured and executed.

On May 6, 1984, in Seoul, Pope John Paul II canonized 103 of the martyrs.  Their feast day is celebrated on September 20.

 

Martyrdom is the heroic act of love.

Quote of St. Just Bretenie’res……Korean Martyr; Feast Day March 7

 

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

 

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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Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Gabriel Perboyre, Feast Day September 11

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The Feast day of St. John Gabriel Peboyre is celebrated on September 11.

St. John was the oldest son  of a farmer in Le Puech, France.  He had seven younger siblings. Three of the brothers joined the Vincentian Fathers and two of the Daughter became Daughters of Charity.

When his younger brother was accepted into the Vincentian Seminary, his parents asked him to accompany the brother until he was settled.  He was surprised to find that he was also drawn to join the Vincentians.  His parents supported his decision to join the order rather than return home to farm.

In 1820, St. John was ordained a Vincentian priest.  He hoped to become a missionary and travel to China, however he was assigned to be a supervisor of the mother-house in Paris.

In 1835, he began his journey to China as a missionary.  It took five months to arrive.  He served the poor in Ho Nan  China before being transferred to Hubei.

Persecution began in 1839 and St. John Gabriel was arrested.  After being tortured,  he was found guilty of preaching Christianity and condemned to death.  He was tied to a stake and strangled.  His body wa retrieved and buried in the mission cemetery.

Pope John Paul II canonized St. John Gabriel Perboyre in 1996.

 

O my Divine Savior,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.
Above all,
Transform my soul and all its powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.

I pray You
To destroy in me all that is not of You.
Grant that I may live but in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say, with Saint Paul,
“I live – now not I – But Christ lives in me.

Prayer composed by St. John G. Perboyre

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

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Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Regina, Feast Day September 7

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St. Regina
St. Regina

The feast day of St. Regina is celebrated on September 7.  She was born in Alise, France.  Her mother died at childbirth.  Regina’s father was a prominent man who was a pagan.  He hired a Christian nurse to raise Regina.  While Regina was quite young the nurse secretly baptized Regina.

St. Regina became more and more religious as she grew older.  When her father learned that she had been baptized, he disowned her.  She lived with her nurse and worked in the fields to earn money.  She also tended sheep.  While working, she meditated on the love and mercy of God.

When Regina was 15 years old, the prefect of Gaul named Olybrius noticed Regina and became determined to marry her.  He was unhappy that she was a Christian.  Olybrius tried to convince her to deny her faith but she not only refused but proclaimed her faith even louder.   Olybrius then had her imprisoned.  She was chained to the walls of the cell with an iron belt.  After she still refused to deny her faith, she was whipped and scourged.  Finally she was beheaded.  She died in the year 286.   Many were converted after seeing a solitary dove hover over her during the torture.

The relics of St. Regina are enshrined in Flavigini Abbey where many miracles have since occurred.

St. Regina is honored as a martyr for the faith.  She is the patron saint against poverty and for victims of abuse.

 

If the moon is beautiful as it reflects the light of the sun at so great a distance, what will be the beauty of the saints, who for all eternity and not at a distance, will reflect the divine image of God!

Quote of Ven. Solanus Casey

 

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows