The feast day of St. Bruno is celebrated on October 6. He is the founder of the Carthusian Order.
St. Bruno was born at Cologne, Germany in 1030. He studied in France and was ordained a priest. For 18 years he was a professor of theology. He then became the Chancellor of the archdiocese. He supported the reform of clergy by Pope Gregory VII and removed his own archbishop because of scandal.
St. Bruno had a great love of silence and solitude. He received a vision from God showing him a hermitage where he should spend his life growing closer to God. Along with friends, St. Bruno opened a hermitage in Chartreuse. Their order became known as the Carthusians. The hermitage was in a mountainous, desert region which was very isolated. The hermits lived in private cells, coming together for Matins and Vespers each day. The rest of their day was spent in solitude. They ate together only on great feast days. Their time was spent copying manuscripts.
Pope Urban II requested St. Bruno to come to Rome as an advisor. When the pope fled Rome Bruno moved to Calabria after turning down an offer to become a bishop.
St. Bruno died of natural causes on October 6, 1101.
Although he was not formally canonized, Pope Clement X extended his feast day to the whole church in 1674.
Marie Therese Martin was born at Alencon, France on Jan. 2, 1873. St Thérèse of Lisieux is the patron saint of florists, missionaries, pilots and against tuberculosis.
The father of St. Thérèse, Louis Martin, was a watchmaker. Her Mother, Zelie was a lace maker. She died when Thérèse was four year old. Pope Francis canonized both Louise and Zelie as saints on Oct. 18, 2015. All five of their daughters entered religious life. The family attended daily Mass, visited the elderly and the sick and helped the poor.
St. Thérèse felt called into the religious life at the age of 15. She asked permission to enter the Carmel of Lisieux a Carmelite convent. She took the name of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.
St. Thérèse had a childlike trust in the providence of God and in His merciful love. Her life as contemplative Carmelite was short but it influenced many souls. She was declared a Doctor of the Church by St. Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.
During her nine years living as a Carmelite Nun St. Thérèse became known for her spirituality. Her love of God was profound and she wanted to share that love with others. She developed her “Little Way” which was her way of loving Jesus. When asked to explain it, she replied:
“It is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute self-surrender. I want to point out to souls the means that I have always found so completely successful…to tell them there is only one thing to do here below…to offer Our Lord the flowers of little sacrifices and win Him by our caresses.”
St. Thérèse’s spirituality began with scripture and the gospels. She offered any suffering in her life to God and trusted in Him completely. She found joy in suffering for it united her to the cross and the Passion of Our Lord. She also had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“How little known is the merciful love of the Heart of Jesus! It is true that to enjoy that treasure we must humble ourselves, must confess our nothingness . . . and here is where many a soul draws back.”
St. Thérèse liked to use the image of flowers, especially roses, in her prayers. She considered each sacrifice a flower given to God. She compared souls to flowers, each one unique.
St. Thérèse came down with tuberculosis and died after several years of suffering at the age of 24 on Sept. 30, 1897. She was canonized in 1925.
The autobiography St. Thérèse wrote, The Story of a Soul, was published the year after her death.
“I want to suffer and even rejoice for love, for this is my way of scattering flowers. Never a flower shall I find but its petals shall be scattered for you, and all the while I will sing, yes sing, even when gathering my roses in the midst of thorns, and the longer and sharper the thorns may be, the sweeter shall be my song!”
The feast day of St. Wenceslas is celebrated on September 28. He is most remembered for the Christmas Carol Good King Wenceslas. He became King of Bohemia at the age of 18.
King Wenceslaus was born to the Duke of Bohemia. His family had been converted by St. Cyril and St. Methodius. His mother however, was a pagan. After her husbands death she persecuted Christians.
The Duchess Ludmilla was the mother in law of Drahomira and grandmother to Wenceslaus. She taught him about religion. He practiced his faith and received the sacramentsin secret.
When he became King of Bohemia the persecution ended. He built churches, recalled priests from exile and welcomed Christian missionaries into Bohemia.
St. Wenceslaus had a strong devotion to the Eucharist and helped prepare the altar bread with his own hands. He also made wine from wheat and grapes he grew himself.
A reconciliation was attempted with his family when they gathered at a banquet on the Feast of St. Cosmas and Damien (Sept. 27). The next morning his brother killed him with a lance on the steps of the church. Two years before, his mother had arranged for his grandmother Ludmilla to be strangled to death. The feast day of St. Ludmilla is celebrated on September 16.
The good king died at the age of 22. Miracles were reported at his tomb.
The Christmas Carol sung about Gook King Wenceslaus reminds us to serve others as the good King did. To think less of ourselves and to see Christ in the poor.
“God has not created poverty……it is we who have created it.
The feast day of St. Terese Couderc is celebrated on September 26. She is the founder of the Cenacle Sisters.
St. Terese was born in Masle, France on Feb. 1, 1805. She joined the Sisters of St. Regis. St. Terese and Father Stephen founded the Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle. She became its superior in 1828, and when the mother house was established, its superior general until 1838. St. Terese helped to conduct spiritual retreats.
The spirituality of St. Terese focused on surrendering her life to the will of God. She experienced a vision which clarified for her the goodness of God in all creation.
On September. 26, 1885 St. Terese died of natural causes in Lyon, France at the age of 80. She was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
Take a step at a time in the darkness, and the path will unwind beneath your feet. It is not necessary to understand God’s purposes. Just follow His will.
The feast day of St. Padre Pio is celebrated on September 23. He is the first priest to receive the stigmata (wounds of Christ).
The name of Padre Pio at birth was Francesco Forgione. He was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelc
ina, Italy. He showed signs of a religious calling at a very early age, dedicating his life to God at the age of 5. Francesco was able to communicate with Jesus, Mary and his Guardian Angel. He assumed this was common.
At the age of 15, he joined the Capuchin Order of the friars Minorin Morcone, Italy. He was known for being a very contemplative priest. When he celebrated Mass they lasted several hours due to the long, silent moments of contemplative prayer. When he was asked if he could shorten the Mass he replied:
“God knows that I want to say Mass just like any other priest, but I cannot do it.”
He gained a reputation of being a good counselor and people traveled many hours to speak with him. Padre Pio was known as a man of prayer. He encouraged praying the rosary and praying for the deceased souls in Purgatory.
On September 20, 1918, just a month after his ordination, he received the stigmata while praying before a crucifix at the age of 31. For 50 years he suffered with the wounds of Christ. He was given the gifts of healing, prophecy, miracles and the gift of tongues. He was also given the gift of “odor of sanctity”. Quite often the scent of roses or lilies was present while people were with him.
Although given many spiritual gifts he always remained humble and in service to God. He became sought out as a confessor, spending an average of 19 hours a day in the confessional. People came from all corners of the earth to confess their sins to him. He heard the confession of Pope John Paul II when he was a young priest.
Padre Pio founded a hospital called The Home for the Relief of Suffering.
“Bring God to all those who are sick. This will help them more than any other remedy.”
At the age of 81 Padre Pio died while praying the rosary.
“After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death”
Over 100, 000 people attended the funeral of St. Padre Pio to celebrate his life.
Padre Pio was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002.
“Your tears were collected by the angels and were placed in a gold chalice and you will find them when you present yourself before God.”
St. Thomas Villanova Dividing His Clothes by Murillo
The feast day of St. Thomas of Villanova is celebrated on September 22. He served as the Bishop of Valencia for 11 years.
St. Thomas of Villanova was born in Fuenlana, Spain in 1488. He was very generous to the poor and needy from a very early age. He was known to give his clothes to those less fortunate. At the age of 16 he entered the University of Alcala. When his father died he gave away his inheritance to feed unmarried women. He finished his studies in theology at Alcala and then became a Professor of Philosophy and Theology. He joined the Hermits of St. Augustine becoming well known for his holiness and generosity. He was ordained a priest of the order in 1518.
St. Thomas was chosen to be Archbishop of Granada but turned down the position. Out of obedience to his superiors he accepted the position of Bishop of Valencia. He served as bishop for eleven years. While serving the people of Valencia he founded two colleges and built a hospital. His love of the poor inspired him supply food for those who were hungry. He was given the gift of healing, miracles and conversion of sinners.
St. Thomas of Villanova died of Angina Pectoris at the age of 67 in 1658. Miracles were attributed to him before and after his death.
Pope Alexander VII canonized St. Thomas of Villanova in 1658.
