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.
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is celebrated on September 14.
This feast day actually celebrated two events.
In the year 320, the actual cross on which Jesus was crucified was discovered by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. Constantine then had a shrine and basilica built in 335. The Basilica, named Martyrium and the shrine named The Calverium were destroyed by the Persians in the year 614.
On a more personal level, we celebrate how we are saved by the cross. It is the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus which redeems us. As Christians, we must be willing to suffer for the faith, looking to Jesus in moments of weakness.
The suffering of Jesus on the cross is calledRedemptive Suffering. In today’s world it is hard to understand the meaning of suffering. Does anything good come from suffering?
Our salvation came from the suffering of Jesus who died for our sins.
One way that helps me to understand suffering is to think about the meaning of love. When two people love each other and promise to be there for each other they believe they are in love. The test of true love is what happens when the going gets tough? It is only when we are willing to suffer for another that we know we are loving them.
Willingness to suffer defines love! Jesus is not the only one who is capable of redemptive suffering. We too, can offer our suffering for the good of another. Think of all the times you have suffered in silence because to complain would not help the situation. Give your suffering to God. You will grow in virtue and love.
Remember… God is Love. He showed us he loved us by suffering and dying on the cross for us.
On this feast day reflect on the suffering in your life. Can you name the cross you are carrying? Give all your suffering to God and you will come closer to Him who is called Love.
Suffering is a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross that He can kiss us; that He can show that He is in love with us by giving us an opportunity to share in His Passion.
The feast day of St. Teresa of Calcutta is celebrated on September 5. On September 4, 2016 Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa, proclaiming her a saint.
Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, after confirmation of her first miracle. The miracle was reported that a woman who had a large and very visible tumor, had stayed with the Missionaries of Charity. After she and the Sisters had prayed for Mother Teresa’s intercession, the growth, six to seven inches in length, had disappeared within several hours. Finding no other medical explanation for the sudden cure it was declared her first miracle. Over 3500 other reports are being investigated as possible miracles.
After accepting a second miracle, Pope Francis cleared the way for Mother Teresa to be declared a saint. Pope Francis signed a decree declaring that the inexplicable 2008 recovery of a Brazilian man who suddenly woke from a coma caused by a viral brain infection was due to the intercession of the Albanian nun, who died in 1997.
The Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the postulator spearheading Mother Teresa’s canonization case, stated that the man fully recovered following his wife’s prayers and he has since returned to work as a mechanical engineer. The couple also have had two children.
Mother Teresa, as the world knows her, was born to parents Nikola and Drana Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1916 in Skopje of Macedonia and named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was baptized on August 17, 1910 in Macedonia. She was the third child in her family, following sister Aga and a brother, Lazar. Her father, Nikola died, when she was eight years old. Her father was a traveler, an extrovert, and a businessman who spoke five languages. Her mother, Drana, was extremely pious, adopting several orphans. She was known as Gonxha (pronounced gon’KHA) which means “flower bud”.
Gonxha desired early to become a missionary. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Sisters of Loreto. Here she took the name of Sister Mary Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux. She was sent to Calcutta, India to teach at St. Mary’s High School for Girls, which was run by the Sisters of Loreto. On May 24, 1937, she took her final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She then became known as Mother Teresa. In 1944, she became principal of the school.
While on a train, she received a second calling. Christ spoke to her, asking her to work in the slums of Calcutta, caring for the sickest and poorest of the people. Pursuing this calling changed her life forever. In one year, she received approval to do the work she was being called to do. After six months of basic medical training she went to the slums to aid the needy and dying. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity with 12 members, most of them students from St. Mary’s. She established a leper colony, an orphanage, a mission house, and several health clinics. In 1971, Mother Teresa visited New York City, where she opened a soup kitchen and a home to care for HIV/AIDS sufferers. In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1983, Mother Teresa suffered her first heart attack. After suffering from lung, kidney and heart problems for several years, she died on Sept. 5, 1997 at the age or 87. At the time of her death her Missionaries of Charity numbered over 4,000. She had 610 foundations in 123 countries.
In 2003, Mother Teresa’s private correspondence revealed she had experienced a “dark night of the soul”… feeling abandoned by God and lacking in faith. This lasted unusually long; for fifty years. Many saints have experienced such feelings, described by John of the Cross, in his book Dark Night of the Soul. She was filled with loneliness, and torture, due to this lack of consolation from God.
Mother Teresa is known for saying,
“The greatest poverty in the world, among the affluent, as well as the poorest of the poor, is to be unloved, unwanted, and uncared for.”
The world did not know that she spoke from her own experience.
There are many books written about Mother Teresa and her great love and service to the world. The following is one of my favorite quotes.
Suffering is a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross that He can kiss us; that He can show that He is in love with us by giving us an opportunity to share in His Passion.
