The following articles are YOUR favorite articles on the Mystery of Faith. I have listed them in order of popularity. The year of 2024 is gone. I want to thank everyone for reading the articles I have posted.
May each of you have a blessed 2025!
I have listed the articles in order of popularity.
The feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas is celebrated on Jan. 28. He is the patron saint of students and universities and a Doctor of the Church. He was ordained as a Dominican Priest.
St. Thomas was born in Roccasecca, Sicily in 1225. His parents were from Italian nobility. St. Thomas was well educated. He was raised in a Benedictine monastery at Monte Casino. He finished his studies at Naples.
Against his families wishes he joined the Dominicans, also known as the Order of Preachers and was ordained a priest. His brothers followed careers in the military. In an attempt to end his desires to become a Dominican, his brothers hired a prostitute to seduce him. According to legend, two angels appeared to Thomas to strengthen him and increase his determination to remain celibate. He thus became known as the “Angelic Doctor”.
While he was still a student, St. Thomas was given the nickname “the dumb ox” due to his large size and silent nature. However, he was actually quite gifted and intelligent. He is considered one of the most influential theologians in the history of the Church.
After he was ordained a priest, Pope Urban IV called him to Rome where he was appointed to teach. St. Thomas turned down an offer from Pope Clement IV to be the Archbishop of Naples.
St. Thomas published many books. He also wrote many hymnswhich are still sung today. One of St. Thomas most famous works, Summas Theologica was never completed. He fell ill and died before he could finish it in 1274.
St. Thomas was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V. He is the patron saint of students and universities.
O Lord my God, make me submissive without protest, poor without discouragement, chaste without regret, patient without complaint, humble without posturing, cheerful without frivolity, mature without gloom, and quick witted without flippancy.
The feast day of St. Marianne Cope is celebrated on Jan. 23. St. Marianne Cope was the first Franciscan woman from North America to become a saint. St. Marianne Cope is the patron saint of outcasts.
The birth name of St. Marianne Cope was Barbara Koob (now officially Cope) She was born on Jan 23, 1838 in SE Hessen, West Germany. She was one of ten children. Her father was a farmer. The family moved to the United States one year after her birth.
Her vocation to the religious life was delayed by the necessity to support her family when her father became ill. At the age of 25, Barbara entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse, New York. She received her religious habit and the name of Sister Marianne. She served as a teacher and principal in several elementary schools in New York. She also helped establish two of the first hospitals in central NY. In 1870, she became a nurse administrator at St. Joseph’s in Syracuse, NY.
In 1882, a priest requested help managing hospitals and schools in Hawaii; primarily working with leprosy patients. She responded to his letter with the following words.
“I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders…I am not afraid of any disease, hence, It would be my greatest delight to minister to the abandoned lepers.”
Along with six other sisters of St. Francis, she arrived in Honolulu in Nov. 1833. Mother Marianne was the supervisor as they managed Kakóako Branch Hospital on Oahu which treated 200 leprosy patients. They began by thoroughly cleaning the hospital. They also opened a home for the healthy daughters of the patients who were ill. Mother Marianne met Fr. Damien (now St. Damien…the Apostle to Lepers) in January 1884 while he was still healthy.
In 1887 the new government in charge of Hawaii closed the Hospital. In 1888, she went to Kalaupapa several months before the death of St. Damien. She reassured him she would provide care for the patients at the Boy’s Home at Kalawao on the Island of Molokai. Three Sisters ran the Bishop Home for boys and girls.
Mother Marianne died in Hawaii of natural cause on August 9, 1918 and is buried on the grounds of Bishop Home. The Saint Marianne Cope Shrine and Museum was built to honor her memory.
Mother Marianne was beatified on May 14, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. St. Marianne Cope was canonized on Oct 21, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
“I am not thinking of reward. I am working for God and do so cheerfully.“
The feast day of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is celebrated on January 4. She is the patron saint of in-law troubles and loss of children.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first native born Americanto be canonized a saint.
Elizabeth was born on Aug. 28, 1774 in New York City. She was raised in the Episcopal Church. At the early age of 3 her mother died. At the age of 19 she married William Seton, a wealthy businessman.
Within four years, she suffered the death of her father in-law which left William in charge, not only of his father’s business but the seven half-brothers and sisters as well. The business failed, forcing bankruptcy.
William became ill with tuberculosis. In an attempt to find a cure they moved to Italy. He died while living in Italy. Elizabeth grew very close to God. She accepted and embraced the will of God. Elizabeth eventually was led into the Catholic church. She had a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton established the first free Catholic school in America. On March 25, 1809 she took a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She became the founder of the Sisters of Charity, which followed the rules written by St. Vincent de Paul for the Daughters of Charity in France. She became Mother Seton.
Her final years were spent leading and developing the new congregation. The sisters opened free schools and orphanages along the East Coast.
Elizabeth. died in 1821 of tuberculosis at age 46.
Pope John XXIII canonized her as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Sept. 14, 1975. He stated,
“In a house that was very small, but with ample space for charity, she sowed a seed in America.”
Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do.
St. Augustine
He who loves the coming of the Lord is not he who affirms it is far off nor is it he who says it is near, but rather he who, who whether it be far off or near, awaits with sincere faith, steadfast hope and fervent love.
St. Augustine
For in our Hope we are saved.
St. Augustine
Hope is the dream of a waking man.
St. Augustine
St. Bernard of Clairvaux Public Domain Image
Hope is the gift that God bestows on those who seek Him with a sincere heart.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. where there is injury, pardon. where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light. and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you.
Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone, for that would be to wrong Him.
Although I have lived through much darkness, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young…Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son.
The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope. There is no dark without dawn, no storm without haven.
St. John Paul II
Apart from the mercy of God, there is no other source of hope for mankind.
St. John Paul II
To humanity, which sometimes seems to be lost and dominated by the power of evil, selfishness and fear, the risen Lord gives the gift of His love which forgives, reconciles and reopens the soul to hope.
St. John Paul II
Believers know that the presence of evil is always accompanied by the presence of good… by grace…Where evil grows, there the hope for good also grows…In the love that pours forth from the heart of Christ, we find hope for the future of the world. Christ has redeemed the world. By His wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
St. John Paul II
I plead with you…never ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. he leads me beside still waters;[a] 3 he restores my soul.[b] He leads me in right paths[c] for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d] I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely[e] goodness and mercy[f] shall follow me all the days of my life,
