The feast day of St. Anthony of Egypt is celebrated on January 17. He was a hermit and monk.
St. Anthony of Egypt was orphaned at the age of 20. His inheritance was quite large. He was inspired by the Gospel of Mark 10:21:
“Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor.”
St. Anthony proceeded to do just that. He was drawn to a life of solitude, fasting and prayer. He eventually chose to go out into the desert to live in solitude. He was followed by other monks who turned to him for guidance. With them a monastery was founded. St. Anthony became well known for his teaching. He tutored Athanasius, Jerome, Basil and Augustine.
While it is known that St. Anthony wrestled with the devil to resist many temptations, he was also known for the healings which occurred through his prayers of intercession.
St. Anthony died in solitude at the age of 105 in the year 356.
The feast day of The Most Holy Name of Jesus gives us the opportunity to venerate and reflect on the holy name of Jesus. The devotion was begun primarily by St. Bernadine of Siena and the Franciscan and Dominican nuns and priests in the twelfth century. Later it was promoted by the Jesuits. The feast day was approved in 1721 by Pope Innocent XIII.
When we reflect on the name of Jesus it is a form of prayer. To invoke Jesus name is a powerful but simple way of praying to God ‘without ceasing’.
In the Gospel of John Jesus said to his disciples,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14;6
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he said,
“So great is the Most Holy Name of Jesus that God highly exalted Him and gave Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bend; in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:9-11
As we begin a new year, let us turn to Jesus for guidance in all we do. May Jesus bless our lives and grant us peace and healing.
“Jesus in the soul’s abyss is sweeter far than earthly bliss.
A flower strong is that name mild. Ne’er disturbed by tempest wild.
Far lovelier than a diamond bright.
That name adorns the soul with light.
The name of Jesus sweetly rings like rarest zither’s silver strings.
Ah, Jesus, for your names blest sake, forgive my sins, exceeding great.
Grant, dear Lord, that your fair name may wound my heart with holy pain.
Jesus, choicest love be ever thine.Bless me Jesus,
St. John of the CrossPrayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John of the Cross, Feast Day December 14
Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John of the Cross,
Feast Day December 14
The feast day of St. John of the Cross is celebrated on December 14. Because of his mystical writing, he is called the Mystical Doctor. He is one of the 35 Doctors of the Church. He is the patron of mystics.
Juan de Yepes Alvarez was born in Spain in 1542. His father was disowned by the family when he married a weavers’ daughter. His father died soon after his birth. Most of Juan’s childhood was spent in poverty. As a teenager, Juan worked in a hospital caring for the terminally ill and mental patients.
At the age of 21, Juan became a brother in the Carmelite Order. He went for higher studies in Slamanca and was ordained a priest, taking the name of John of the Cross at age 25. He soon met St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun, who convinced him to help her in the work of reforming the Carmelite Order. There was great resistance to the reforming of the order to a more prayerful life. Those against the reform actually kidnapped him. They held him prisoner for over nine months in a small cell, six by ten feet wide. He was beaten often. During this time of trial, St. John of the Cross became very close to God, spending his time writing his mystical poetry. He eventually escaped using a rope made of strips of blankets to climb out the window. The only thing he took with him was his writings. John hid in a convent infirmary where he read his poetry to the nuns. From this period on he shared his experience of God’s love.
St. John of the Cross wrote many books including:
St. John of the Cross
Ascent of Mount Carmel,
Dark Night of the Soul
A Spiritual Canticle
Living Flame of Love
In 1579, he became Rector of Colegio de San Basilio, continuing his writing ministry. He is known for a spirituality which believes in the prayer of detachment. His spirituality also focused on joining our suffering to the Paschal Mystery (the death and suffering of Jesus Christ). He taught that the Cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment to possession, denial of self to union with God.
St. John of the Cross died of fever caused by cellulitus. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. His feast day is Dec. 14, the day of his death and entry into heaven.
The Sunday before Advent is the Feast of Christ the King. The feast was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XII in response to the growing secularism in society. The purpose of the feast is to proclaim the Kingdom of Christ.
The Kingdom of Christ Is spiritual. It concerns itself with spiritual things. In the time of Christ democracy did not exist. Governments were primarily geographical kingdoms. Each area was ruled by a king.
On the Feast of Christ the King, we should reflect on who or what rules over our heart. Hopefully, we can honestly say Christ is our King, and Lord. If we can, then our actions every day must be to imitate Christ and to follow His commandments.
Many Jewish people rejected Christ as the Messiah because they expected a royal King. Jesus, however, was poor, born in a stable. He is however, still a King. A synonym for king is ruler. Jesus rules over our hearts. Our conscience is formed by our belief that Jesus is King!
The Liturgical Year ends with the Feast of Christ the King. This feast is celebrated the Sunday before Advent, which begins the new liturgical year.
Prayer on the Feast of Christ the King
Almighty and merciful God. You break the power of evil and make all things new in Your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe. May all in heaven and on earth acclaim Your glory and never cease to praise You.
Father all-powerful God of Love, You have raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death to life, resplendent in glory as King of creation. Open our hearts; free all the world to rejoice in His peace to glory in His justice and to live in His love. Bring all mankind together in Jesus Christ Your Son whose Kingdom is with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen
I try to make the serenity prayer a daily prayer. Often, it helps me to get through the most difficult moments of my life. When life is out of control, this prayer reminds me that I am not supposed to be in control of everything, only God is! I am a very visual person. When I say a prayer I often have pictures to meditate on in my mind. One day as I was praying the serenity prayer I realized my definition of serenity was wrong!
I have always considered serenity as complete calm. While praying this prayer I was picturing a calm lake on a sunny day. It was so calm there were no whitecaps on the water. It was so calm if I was on a sailboat, I would not be able to sail due to lack of wind. I was stuck! This is not serenity! We need movement in our lives! Without progress we stagnate and then we seem to go backwards or become lost.
When I am the opposite of serene, I am frantic and in a panic. This frame of mind makes it impossible to make rational decisions. I finally realized that serenity is being able to make decisions while we are in the eye of a storm! While I prefer a sunny day on the lake, I always want there to be a breeze so the sailboat I am in will actually go where I direct it.
Serenity is being calm enough during the storm to know which ropes to pull to keep the boat from turning over!
Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as He did, this world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him,
Forever in the next.
The feast day of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity is celebrated on Nov. 8. She is the patron saint of the sick and the loss of parents. St. Elizabeth was born into a military family in 1880. She was strong willed and exuberant. When seven, her father died and her family moved to Dijon.
From her bedroom window, she could see the monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns. After the death of her father she experienced outbursts of anger. She experienced both conversion and peace from the sacrament of confession.
At the age of 14 she received her first communion. From that time on she was no longer angry. She developed a great devotion to the Eucharist. It was on her first communion day that she met the prioress of the monastery for the first time. The prioress explained to her that the meaning of the name Elizabeth is “house of God”.
While Elizabeth had an early desire to become a Carmelitenun, she was delayed by her mother’s objections until she was 21. Until then, she sang in two choirs and helped students prepare for their first communion.
In 1901, she finally entered the Carmel monastery taking the name Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity. She had a great devotion to the Carmelite saints but was also drawn to the teachings of St. Paul. She believed the core of his teaching was the love of Christ. St. Elizabeth was a contemplative who wrote many poems and prayers including her famous Prayer to the Trinity.
St. Elizabeth died from Addison’s Disease in 1906 (kidney disease) at the age of 26. Elizabeth viewed suffering as a gift; a way to share in the redemptive sufferingof Jesus.
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity was canonized by Pope Francis on October 16, 2016.
“Jesus gives His cross to His true friends so he can come even closer to them.”
