Category Archives: Saint of the Day

Feast Days, Our Lady, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Feast Day of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Our Lady of Lourdes Public Domain Image
Our Lady of Lourdes

The Feast Day of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 12.

On this day we reflect on the titles given to Mary.  Why has she become known by so many names?  Which name touches you the most when you think about the Blessed Virgin Mary?  Mary, Mother of God?  Mary, Queen of Saints?  The Immaculate Heart of Mary?

Each name tells us something about Mary, who loved and gave birth to Jesus.  Our Sorrowful Mother helps us to reflect on the suffering Mary experienced.    Some of her titles refer to the place in which she appeared to someone:  Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Other titles refer to her spirituality:  Our Lady of the Rosary,  Our Lady of Grace,  Mystical Rose, Star of the Sea.

The name we are given at birth is important.  We are called by that name throughout our life.  Each of us has been called to do something specific for God.  Perhaps it is prayer.  Perhaps it is raising a family with love.  Perhaps it is a profession like teaching or medicine, or farming.

Mary was called by God  for a very special purpose.  She was asked to love and raise Jesus, the Son of God.  She became the Mother of God and loved him in a way none of us can.

Today is a day to reflect on the role of Mary in the life of Jesus.  We can also reflect on our role in the world.  If we honor and imitate the mother of Jesus, we can be certain that we will come to know Jesus better.

Mary  is called Queen of Martyrs, for her martyrdom was the lengthiest, most intense, and most loving.
Quote of Bl. James Alberione

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




 

st-john-gabriel-perboyre

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 Sorrowful Mother
  
 

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patron saints, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Feast Day September 10




St. Nicholas of Tolentino
St. Nicholas of Tolentino

 

The Feast Day of St. Nicholas of Tolentino is celebrated on September 10.  He is the patron saint of the souls in purgatory and the dying.

The parents of St. Nicholas were childless when they visited the Shrine of St. Nicholas of Myrna at Bari, Italy.  The year after praying for a child they became parents.  They named their child Nicholas in gratitude for their prayer being answered.

At the age of 18, Nicholas became an Augustinian monk.  He was ordained a priest at 25.  St. Nicholas was known for his visions and gift of miracles.  He received a vision of angels reciting the phrase “to Tolentino”.  He decided to move to Tolentino in 1274 where he lived the rest of his life.

St. Nicholas was a peacemaker during a time of war.   He was also a miracle worker and healer.  He often visited prisoners and was known for his kindness.

Once after becoming ill, he had a vision in which the Virgin Mary, St. Augustine and St. Monica appeared to him.  They told him to eat a certain type of roll dipped in water.  He was healed after doing so.  He then began healing others by giving bread  to them and reciting Marian prayers.  The rolls become known as St. Nicholas Bread.

Many legends and miracles are credited to St. Nicholas.  Over 300 miracles have been recognized.

After a long illness in which he became bedridden and suffered greatly, St. Nicholas died in 1245, surrounded by his community.

St. Nicholas of Tolentino was canonized by Pope Eugene  IV in 1446.

There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretast of hell in this life as anger and impatience.
Quote of St. Catherine of Sienna;  Feast day April 29
September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Jesuit Saints, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Peter Claver, Feast Day September 9




 

St. Peter Claver Public Domain Image
St. Peter Claver

The Feast Day of St. Peter Claver is celebrated on September 9.  He is the patron saint of African missions.

St. Peter Claver was born at Verdu, Catalonia, Spain in 1580. He entered the Jesuit college of Barcelona, becoming a Jesuit novitiate, taking his final vows on Aug 8, 1604.


St. Peter Claver left his homeland to become a missionary in the colonies of the new world. He ministered to the slaves arriving daily in Cartagena (now Columbia). Over a thousand slaves arrived in Cartagena every month. He brought them food, ministered to their medical needs and prayed with them. He followed them to the plantation they were taken to.  St. Peter Claver declared himself to be the “slave of the Negroes forever.”

After instructing them in the faith, he baptized them. By 1651 he had baptized over 300,000 slaves into the faith.

After suffering from illness for four years, St. Peter Claver died on Sept. 8, 1654.
St. Peter Claver has been declared the patron saint of African Missions.

“Seek God in all things and you shall find God by your side.”

Quote of St. Peter Claver

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Feast Days, Our Lady, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Nativity of Virgin Mary, Feast Day September 8

 

 
 
St. Anne with the Virgin Mary


St. Anne with the Virgin Mary

 

The Feast Day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 8.  On this day the church reflects on the birth of Mary and her role in salvation.

Mary was the only child of St. Anne and St. Joachim.  They had been praying for a child and it seemed as if they would be unable to conceive.  However, although St. Anne was not young, she conceived and became the mother of the mother of God!

The feast day is celebrated nine months after the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.  The Immaculate Conception celebrates the belief that Mary was born without the stain of original sin.  She was the “second Eve”.  Eve, also was born without original sin but she chose to disobey God.  Mary, however, always said “yes” to God.

Reflecting on the life of Mary can take us in many directions.  How is it possible to become the Mother of God?  How is it possible to become the Grandmother of God as St. Anne did?   We know that Mary was chosen for the title of Mother of God.  St. Anne and St. Joachim were also chosen…to be the parents of Mary.

We too have been chosen.  Where is God leading you?  Is your family life holy?  What needs to improve in your life to help you grow closer to God?  Is your prayer life healthy?  Learning to communicate with God leads us to know his will in our life.    Just as Mary said “yes”, we too must try to do the will of God.

Each of us is unique in the way we communicate with God.  Exploring the different prayer styles can help us to find the type of prayer that suits us best.  To understand what God’s will is, we must discover how God is “present” in our life.  Making time for prayer is the first step.  Admitting that we need guidance (humility)  will help us to take the time to listen for the whisper that comes from God.

The Virgin Mother’s heart remained perpetually inflamed with the holy love which she received of her Son.
Quote of St. Francis de Sales;  Feast Day January 24

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



 

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
Dominican Saints, Incorruptible, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Bertrand of Garrigua, Feast Day September 6




 

Blessed Bertrand
Blessed Bertrand

The Feast Day of Bl. Bertrand of Garrigua is celebrated on September 6.  He was born in Garrigua, France in 1195. Bl. Bertrand was ordained a secular priest preaching with the Cistercians against the Albigenses.  In the year 1216 he met St. Dominic.  He soon joined St. Dominic helping him to found the Order of Preachers.

While St. Dominic was in Rome seeking approval of his new order he left Bertrand in charge.  He was an important part in the founding of the Order of Preachers, becoming known as the “second Dominic”.  He was known to be a traveling companion with St. Dominic.

Bl. Bertrand was known for continually weeping for his sins.  St. Dominic convinced him that it would be better to pray for ht sins of others instead.  Bertrand continued weeping, however, he was weeping for others sins instead of his own.  After having a vision he also began to pray for the souls in purgatory.

Bl. Bertrand fell sick while preaching a mission in 1230 and died at the age of 35.

The body of Bl. Bertrand was found to be incorrupt in 1881, 23 years after his death.

Bl. Bertrand was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1881.

A person who governs his passions is master of the world.  We must either rule them or be ruled by them.  It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.
Quote of St. Dominic;  Feast Day August 8

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Franciscan Saints, Incorruptible, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Rose of Viterbo, Feast Day September 4




St. Rose of Viterbo Public Domain Image
St. Rose of Viterbo

The Feast Day of St. Rose of Viterbo is celebrated on September 4.  Rose was born in Viterbo, Italy in 1234.  The city was in revolt against the pope.  Her family was exiled for supporting the Pope.  After the Pope won the dispute, Rose returned to the city.

St. Rose was pious from a very young age.  She practiced contemplative prayer by age 7.  She had the gift of miracles and visions.   While still a child she is credited with the healing of her Aunt who was believed to be dead.  At the age of ten, Mary instructed her to join the 3rd Order of St. Francis.  Shortly after, Our Lord appeared to her on a cross wearing a crown of thorns.  When Rose asked him why this had happened he told her his deep love for men was the reason.  Rose persisted asking him who had pierced him.  He told her:

The sins of men have done it.

This vision inspired young Rose to take to the streets preaching penance.  St. Rose tried and failed to join the Order of Poor Clare’s due to lack of a dowry.  She tried to  found a religious community of her own but it was not approved.    She lived a life of prayer and penance in her father’s home.  She died in 1251 at the age of 18.

The body of St. Rose was discovered to be incorrupt and lies in the monastery of St. Mary of the Roses which refused her entry.  St. Rose was canonized in 1457.

Rose’s dying words to her parents were:

“I die with joy, for I desire to be united to my God. Live so as not to fear death. For those who live well in the world, death is not frightening, but sweet and precious.“
Quote of St. Rose of Viterbo
September is the Month of Our Sorrowful Mother

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patron saints, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Gregory the Great, Feast Day Sept. 3




St. Gregory the Great Public Domain Image
St. Gregory the Great

The Feast Day of St. Gregory the Great is celebrated on September 3.

St. Gregory the Great was born in Rome, Italy around the year 550. He was born into a wealthy family. By the age of 23, he had become the prefect of Rome.  The following year his father died.  He decided to leave office and to become a monk.   St. Gregory is the patron saint of musicians, students, singer and teachers.

St. Gregory turned his family home into a monastery which he dedicated to St. Andrew.  He built six other monasteries on family land in Sicily and gave the remainder of his inheritance to the poor.  As a monk he devoted time to prayer, study and meditation.  He studied the writings of the Latin fathers.

After four years of prayer as a monk, Pope Pelagius II ordained Gregory a deacon and sent him to Constantinople.  He returned to Rome in 586 to serve Pope Pelagius until his death four years later.

Although Gregory was only a deacon he was elected Pope by popular acclaim.  His first act was to organize a three day penitential procession asking God to end the plague.  The plague ended after the procession reached the church of St. Mary Major.

As pope, Gregory negotiated for peace when the Lombards threatened Rome.

Over sixty of Pope Gregory’s sermons have survived, as well as over 80 letters he wrote.  He organized the liturgy and is given credit for the Gregorian Chant becoming popular.

Pope Gregory was well known for his compassion.  During a famine Pope Gregory ordered the church to use its assets to feed the poor.  He also ordered the clergy to go into the streets to help the poor.  If they did not they were replaced.

While Pope Gregory considered the Bishop of Rome to be the first among the bishops he also considered bishops to be equal.  Pope Gregory considered the Bishop of Rome to be likened to a final court of appeal.  He referred to himself as “the servant of the servants of God.”

Pope Gregory suffered from arthritis in his later years.   Pope Gregory was acclaimed a saint by popular decree.  St. Gregory the Great died on March 12, 604.

For it was not poverty that led Lazarus to heaven, but humility;  nor was it wealth that prevented the rich man from attaining eternal rest, but rather his egoism and his infidelity.
Quote of St. Gregory the Great
September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Dominican Saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Ingrid of Sweden, Feast Day September 2




St. Ingrid of Sweden

St. Ingrid was born in Skanninge, Sweden in the 13th century.  Her spiritual directer was Father Peter of Dacia, a Dominican priest.

Ingrid married young.   However, she became a widow when her husband died.  After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she gave all her possessions to God and became the first Dominican Nun in Sweden.  She also founded the first Dominican cloister in Sweden.

St. Ingrid was known for her holiness.  When she died in 1282, many miracles occurred, causing a cult to form calling for her to be named a saint.  The canonization process was begun in 1405 but formal canonization never occurred.  She is regarded a saint by many and has her feast day listed on the liturgical calendar.

Why should we mourn when those who have left us have suffered no loss, but have rather gained all?  Instead of earthly life they have gained eternal life;  they have exchanged a house on earth for a heavenly mansion; in place of the world they have found God.
Quote of Bl. Ildefonso Schuster
September is the Month of Our Sorrowful Mother

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Faith, Featured, patron saints, Prayer, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Giles the Abbot, Feast Day September 1




St. Giles, Abbot Public Domain Image
St. Giles, Abbot

The Feast Day of St. Giles the Abbot is celebrated on September 1.   St. Giles is the patron saint of the mentally ill, the disabled, epileptics, childhood fears, and depression.

St. Giles was born into a noble family in Athens, Greece in the seventh century.  After the death of his parents, he distributed his inheritance to the poor.    He also became known for the gift of miracles and healing he had received.  Giles longed to live a life of solitude, serving God as a recluse, away from all the praise and fame of the world.

He left Greece, sailing for France.  Everywhere he lived he became known for his gift of miracles and healing.  He would have to flee once again to find a place to live in peace and solitude.  He first lived near the mouth of the Rhone River.  Later he lived near the river Gard and finally he lived in the diocese of Nimes.  His final dwelling place was deep in the forest in a cavern in  a rock.  He occupied his time in prayer, praising God and meditating.  He was a vegetarian, living on herbs and roots.  His only companion was a red deer, which provided him with milk to drink.

After several years of living in complete solitude, the King of France instituted  a great hunt near where Giles lived.  The hunters chased the deer which led them to the cave where Giles lived.  They shot an arrow into the cave, wounding the holy hermit.  They found him covered with blood with the deer lying at his feet.  When the king was told what had happened, he ordered him taken care of.  He came to see him offering him gifts.  St. Giles refused the gifts and the King’s request to leave his solitude. Before leaving the king asked if there was anything he could do for him, St. Giles said he would like a monastery built where they were standing.

St. Giles became the Abbot of the monastery which was soon built.  Several disciples joined him.  His fame continued to spread because of his gift of miracles.  The conversion of the King was one of these miracles.

St. Giles made a pilgrimage to Rome to see the Pope.  He requested a blessing for his community which embraced the Rule of St. Benedict. Not only did he receive a blessing but he received the gift of two beautifully carved doors of cedar wood for his church.

Many sinners were converted because of the prayers and miracles of St. Giles.  St. Giles died on September 1, 725.  The miracles which took place near his tomb were so many that soon after his death a town began to grown and was named Giles.

I praise
Your humility that consoles me
Your patience that shelters me
Your eternity that preserves me
and……Your truth that rewards me.
Quote of St. Thomas Aquinas;  Feast day January 28
September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows
patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Raymond Nonnatus, Feast Day August 31




 

St. Ramond Nonnatus Public Domain Image
St. Ramond Nonnatus

The Feast Day of St. Raymond Nonnatus is celebrated on August 31.  He was born in Catalonia, Spain in 1204.  His mother died during childbirth prompting a delivery by caesarean section.  The name Nonnatus means not born.  St. Raymond is the patron saint of women in labor and the falsely accused.

Raymond felt great empathy for expectant mothers and is the patron saint of women in labor.  His father wanted him to take over the family farm.  He chose instead to become a priest, joining the religious order of Mercedarians.    The Mercedarians were dedicated to ransoming Christian slaves from the Moors who occupied most of Spain.

St. Raymond was sent to Algeria where he used his inheritance to ransom slaves.  When the money ran out, he traded his life for that of a slave.   He was imprisoned but succeeded in converting several of his jailers.  The Moors then bored holes in his lips and sealed his mouth shut with a padlock to prevent him from preaching!

St. Raymond was sentenced to death, however, the Mercedarians ransomed him home to Spain.  He was then given the title of Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX in 1239.  Soon after, he came down with a fever and died in Cardona.   He is often shown in art in the company of angels.  Many miracles were attributed to St. Raymond before and after his death in1240 at the age of 37.

You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.
Quote of St. Teresa of Avila;   Feast day October 15
August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary