The feast day of Bl. Archangela Girlani is celebrated on Jan. 29.
Bl. Archangela Girlani was born to a noble family at Trino, Italy in 1460. She was educated by the Benedictines. From early childhood she wished to become a BenedictineNun. However, on the way to the convent her horse refused to cooperate and take her there. She took this as a sign and decided to follow in the footsteps of her two sisters Maria and Frances (Scholastica) who had joined the Carmelite Order. At the age of 17, she enter the Carmelite Order, taking the name Archangela. In time she became the prioress, a position she held until her death.
Bl. Archangela was known for her mystical visions. While meditating on the mysteries of the faith, she experienced ecstasies and miracles. She had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity.
After three years as prioress, she became seriously ill. Bl. Archangela died peacefuly after saying the following words;
The feast day of St. Peter Canisius is celebrated on December 21. He is the patron saint of the Catholic Press, a Jesuit priest and a Doctor of the Church.
St. Peter Canistius was born in Holland in 1521. He received his masters degree at the age of 19 from the University of Cologne. He studied art, law, and theology. He met Peter Faber, the first disciple of Ignatius, at a retreat. Soon after, he decided to become a member of the Society of Jesus, (the Jesuits). He was ordained in 1546. During the Council of Trent he was a delegate. St. Peter taught at several universities and established colleges and seminaries. He also wrote a catechism for lay people which was easy to understand. It was translated into twelve languages. He was an eloquent preacher, leading the counter reformation and renewing the faith in southern Germany. He also led reform in Austria, Bavaria and Bohemia.
After Mass one day, he received a vision of the Sacred Heart. Afterward, he offered his work to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Prior to his death he suffered from a paralytic seizure. He continued preaching and writing until his death on Dec. 21, 1597.
“Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ.”
The feast day of St. Juan Diego is celebrated on December 9. Juan was born in a ward of Tlayacac in Cuauhtitlan. His birth name was Cuauhtlatzin, which means “The talking eagle”. He was a farmer and a weaver. He is the first indigenous American Saint.
After the arrival of the Franciscans, Juan and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to the Catholic faith in 1524-1525. Juan was baptized by Father Peter da Gand at the age of 50. He and his wife moved closer to Mexico City to be closer to the Franciscan Catholic Mission.
Juan had a special devotion to the Eucharist. In 1529, several years after his conversion, Maria Lucia died. As a widower, he walked 15 miles three times a week to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist.
One Saturday, on Dec. 9, as he was walking to Mass, a woman’s voice called out to him as he passed Tepeyac Hill. He heard music and saw a cloud encircled by a rainbow. Our Lady appeared to him dressed as an Aztec princess. She told him she was The Virgin Mary and asked him to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said to him;
“I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help and defense, for I am your most devoted mother….to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings.”
When he told the bishop what had happened, the bishop was kind, but skeptical. He requested proof. Before Juan could return to the site, he learned his uncle was dying. On his way to see his uncle, Our Lady appeared to him again, telling him his uncle had been cured. She told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where she had first appeared. When he did this he was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen earth. He gathered them in his cloak and took them to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (not native to Mexico). The bishop saw a glowing image of Our Lady imprinted inside Juan’s cloak. This is referred to as The Miracle of the Roses.
Soon after, a church was built at the site. In the seven years following the building of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, six million people converted to the church because of the apparition. Twenty million pilgrims visit the Basilica yearly, second only to St. Peters Basilica in Rome.
An investigation by the Vatican (which included thirty researchers) confirmed that Juan Diego was not a mythical character.
Pope John Paul II praised St. Juan Diego for his simple faith who said to the Virgin Mary,
“I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf”
Pope John Paul II called him a model of humility.
Our Lady of Guadalupe has been declared the patroness of the Americas.
St. Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a hut near the church, caring for both the church and the first pilgrims.
St. Juan Diego died on May 30, 1548.
The Cloak of Juan Diego was framed and is on display at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is still intact, showing no signs of decay after nearly five hundred years.
The feast day of St. Catherine Laboure is celebrated on November 28. She is the visionary who began the devotion to the miraculous medal.
Catherine Laboure was born on May 2, 1806 in Paris, France. Her father was a successful farmer. She was the ninth of eleven children. Her mother died when she was only nine years old. After the funeral service, Catherine went to her room and gave a kiss to a statue of Mary, saying;
“Now, dear Lady, you are my mother.”
Catherine was called “Zoe” by those who knew her, because her birthday was on the feast day of St. Zoe.
After having a dream about St. Vincent de Paul, at a young age, she joined the Daughters of Charity founded by him. She is known as a Marian visionary because of the apparitions which she reported of Mary appearing to her.
On July 18, the first apparition occurred. Catherine saw a lady seated in the sanctuary. She approached her and was instructed how she was to act during times of trial, pointing to the altar for consolation. Mary told her,
“”Sorrows will come upon France; the throne will be overthrown.”
A week later the French revolution began in Paris.
On Nov. 27, the lady showed St. Catherine the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, now known as the “Miraculous Medal” She gave Catherine the mission of having the medal made and to spread devotion to it.
Catherine reported the visions to her spiritual director, Father Aladal. Forty five years later, she spoke fully to her supervisors about the apparitions.
The miraculous medal which Mary showed to Catherine was oval showing Mary standing on a globe crushing the head of the serpent. (the devil). Around the image of Mary were the words:
“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
Mary’s hands were showering a cascade of brilliant rays upon the world.
On the reverse side of the medal was a cross, the symbol of Christ’s redeeming Sacrifice on Mount Calvary for the salvation of the world. The cross was intertwined with the letter “M”.
The “M” stands for both Mary and for Mother and was to be surrounded by twelve stars. The two hearts are the Sacred Heart of Jesus encircled by a crown of thorns and the Immaculate of Mary, pierce by a sword. The Flames symbolize the burning love of Jesus and Mother Mary.
Mary told Catherine,
“All who wear them will receive great graces.”
After two years of investigation Father Aladal went to the archbishop with the request. The request was approved.
St. Catherine served humbly, not wishing to be known as a visionary. It was only after 46 years of service that she informed her Sister Superior that she was the Sister Mary had appeared to. At Catherine’s death, on December 31, 1876, at the age of 70, few people knew of her visions. She preferred a silent life, spending her time caring for the aged and sick.
Stories of many miracles and cures caused the devotion to spread rapidly.
In 1922 the body of St. Catherine was exhumed. It was found to be incorrupt. Her body is encased in glass in the chapel in Paris near where Our Lady appeared to her.
St. Catherine’s feast day is celebrated on Nov. 27, the day of the apparition.
St. Catherine Laboure
Lord, I am here. Tell me what you would have me do.
If He gives me some task I am content and I thank Him.
If he gives me nothing, I still thank Him
Since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that,
and then I tell God everything that is in my heart.
I tell him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen.
If you listen, God will also speak to you.
For with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen.
God always speaks to you when you approach him plainly and simply.
The feast day of St. Gertrude is celebrated on November 16. She is the patron saint of West Indies, Nuns and travelers.
St. Gertrude was born at Eisleben in Saxony, Germany on Jan. 6, 1256. At the age of five, Gertrude was placed in the care of Benedictine nuns. She later joined the monastery, living a cloistered life.
At the age of 24, St. Gertrude was experiencing an interior crisis and depression. She experienced a vision of Jesus on Jan. 27, 1281. He told her:
“I have come to comfort you and bring you salvation.”
St. Gertrude was filled with a new zeal for her vocation to love Jesus. She considered herself a “bride of Christ”. She dedicated herself to studying scripture and spiritual writing. St. Gertrude was inspired to write five books. Three of them still exist.
Eventually she was elected Abbess. She also took charge of the monastery at Hefta. She and her nuns moved there. Gertrude was well educated. She was a mystic and had a great devotion to the saints, the souls in purgatory, the Passion of Our Lord and to His Sacred Heart. She also was devoted to the Bl. Virgin Mary.
“O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen. “
Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great
In 1298, St. Gertrude became very ill. The suffering she experienced was transfigured into love. St. Gertrude died in the year 1302.
The devotion St. Gertrude had for the Poor Souls in Purgatory is well known. The following prayer was written by her out of compassion for those still on their journey to heaven.
Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, in union with all the masses said around the world today, for all the Poor Souls in Purgatory,for sinners everywhere, in the Universal Church, in my home and in my family. Amen.
The feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is celebrated on October 16. She is known as the Apostle of the Sacred Heart.
St. Margaret Mary was born to Claude and Philiberte Lamyn on July 22, 1647 in Lhautecour, France. She was the fifth of seven children. She was baptized with name of Margaret and added the name of Mary when she was confirmed in the faith in 1669. From an early age Margaret had a strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Margaret’s father died when she was eight years old. She was sent to a school run by Urbanist Nuns at Chavolles.
Margaret became very ill and was unable to walk. After consecrating herself to the Blessed Virgin, she promised that if cured, she would be one of her daughters. She was immediately cured.
Thrust into poverty after her father’s death, she considered marriage, which caused her internal conflict. Her desire to become a nun prevailed. She joined the Visitation Order in 1671.
St. Margaret Mary began having visions on Dec. 17, 1073. They continued until June 1675. Jesus appeared to her giving her the task of encouraging and teaching a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This included a Holy Hour on Thursdays to reflect on how the Apostles abandoned Him during the Agony in the Garden. It also encouraged receiving communion on 1st Fridays.
After suffering many years of from doubt and despair, St. Margaret Mary died at the age of 43. She had served two terms as assistant supervisor. With the help of St. Claude de la Columbiere, the feast day became popular. The Sacred Heart symbolizes the boundless love given by Jesus in the Eucharist and His Passion and death
I need nothing but God and to lose myself to the Heart of Jesus.
