During times of confusion, it always helps to turn to a powerful prayer to help us center our thoughts and erase our fears. The following prayers are powerful tools during these times of need.
If God is your co-pilot…perhaps you should change seats!!!
Take Lord and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, all I have and call my own.
You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is Yours do with it what You will. Give me only Your love and your grace, that is enough for me.
Father, I abandon myself into Your hands, do with me what You will. Whatever You may do, I thank You. I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only Your will be done in me and in all Your creatures. I wish no mere than this, O Lord.
Into Your hands, I commend my soul. I offer it to You with all the love of my heart, for I love You, Lord and so need to give myself into Your hands without reserve and with boundless confidence, for You are my Father.
O my God, I will put myself without reserve into your hands, Wealth or woe, joy or sorrow, friends or bereavement, honor or humiliation, good report or ill report, comfort or discomfort, Your presence or the hiding of Your countenance, all is good if it comes from You.
You are wisdom and You are love. What can I desire more? You have led me in Your counsel, and with glory You received me. What have I in heaven, and apart from You, what want I upon earth?
My flesh and my heart fail but God is the God of my heart, and my portion forever.
O my God, I offer You all my actions this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works by uniting them to His infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of His merciful love.
Oh my God! I ask You for myself and for those I hold dear, the grace to fulfill perfectly Your hoiy will, to accept for love of You the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in heaven for all eternity. Amen
Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom. Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step is enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray’d that Thou shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose and see my path
but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day and spite of fears; pride ruled my will; remember not my past years. So long Your power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on, o’er moor and fe, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone; and with the morn those angel faces smile which I have lived long since and lost awhile.
During colonial times, Catholic immigrants coming to the U.S.from Europe settled primarily in the colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York. Laws protecting religious freedom had not yet been written. Intolerance between religious groups was a common occurrence.
After over fifty years without a bishop, Father John Carroll, a Jesuit, was consecrated bishop and served the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Catholics were a distinct minority at the time. Bishop Carroll estimated the Catholic population in the colonies to be 25,000, or less than one percent of the total population. The church grew rapidly under his guidance.
Today, according to Pew Research there are 75 million Catholics in the United States, approximately 24 percent of the total population.
The colonial Catholics were served by missionaries, both Jesuits and Franciscans.
The following men and women in the U.S. have been proclaimed saints by the Pope. They are considered role models in holiness for Catholics today to turn to for guidance.
There are four steps to becoming a saint in the Catholic Church.
Servant of God…….Formal investigation has begun…………………….82 investigations ongoing
Venerable……………Heroic virtue has been decreed by Pope……….16 from U.S.A.
Blessed……………….First miracle has been confirmed……………………7 from U.S.A.
Saint..………………….Second miracle has been confirmed……………..12 from U.S.A.
The following saints have lived in the United States. Most are immigrants, however two were born in the United States; Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American saint and Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first saint from the United States to be canonized.
The Catholic Church teaches that everyone in heaven is a saint. The Church declares certain people to be saints when their holiness is obvious, if they were martyred for the faith and after miracles attributed to them have been investigated.
While there are thousands of declared saints, only the following Americans have received the official title of Saint.
North America Jesuit Martyrs
North American Martyrs
In the 1600’s, eight French Jesuit missionaries lost their lives while trying to spread the news of the gospel to the Huron, Iroquois, and Mohawk Indians. Three of them died in what is now New York State, five of them died in what is now Canada.
Isaac Jogues, René Goupil and Jean La Laude died in New York.
John DeBrebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, and Noel Chabanel died in Canada.
St. René Goupit was a Jesuit Lay brother. He was the first to be martyred. He was killed by tomahawk at Osermenon, (Auriesville, NY)) in 1942.
Father Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit priest, was held captive by the Mohawks for thirteen months. He had several fingers cut off his hand. He escaped and returned to France. He later returned to the mission. He was killed by tomahawk by a Mohawk brave in 1946.
St. Jean de La Lande, a Jesuit donné (not a member of the Society, but at their service) tried to retrieve Father Isaac Jogues’ body, but was killed also.
These martyrs were the first saints of North America. The martyrs were canonized by Pope Pius XI on June 29, 1930.
The memorial in the U.S.A is celebrated on Oct. 19. The memorial in Canada is celebrated on September 26.
The martyrs are patron saints of America
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
St. Francis Xavier Cabrini
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. Francesco Cabrini was born in Lombardi, Italy in 1850. She was one of 13 children, raised on a farm. She attended school in a convent. She wanted to become a nun but was hindered by poor health. She became a teacher, teaching at a girl’s school for six years.
Frances took religious vows in 1877, adding Xavier to her name to honor St. Francis Xavier.
At the urging of Pope Leo XIII, she immigrated to the Unites States with six nuns to work with Italian immigrants. She crossed the Atlantic ocean in spite of her great fear of water.
She founded many schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States, England, France, Spain and South America. In New York City, St. Frances Cabrini founded Columbus Hospital and Italian Hospital. In the 1980’s they merged into Cabrini Hospital.
In 1909 St. Frances Xavier Cabrini became a naturalized United States citizen. She died from malaria at the age of 67, on December 22, 1917, at Columbus Hospital in Chicago, IL.
In 1931, her body was exhumed, found partially incorrupt, and is now enshrined under glass in the altar at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in Manhattan.
The feast day of St. Frances Cabrini is celebrated on November 13th.
St. Frances Cabrini was beatified on Nov. 13, by Pope Pius XI. St. Frances Cabrini was canonized on July 7, 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
St. Frances Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants. orphans and against malaria.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first native born American to 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.”
The feast day of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is celebrated on Jan. 4.
St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia in 1811. Due to the shortage of priests in the colonies, he traveled to New York to be ordained a priest and worked in an isolated parish.
Father John eventually joined the Redemptorists who were dedicated to helping the poor and abandoned. In 1852, he was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia. He increased the number of Catholic schools from two to a hundred.
His desire to hear confessions led him to learn at least six languages. He knew Spanish, English, French, Italian, Dutch and Gaelic.
Bishop Neumann died at the age of 48 on Jan. 5, 1860.
After his death the National Shrine of St. John Neumann was constructed at the Parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Philadelphia. Our Lady of the Angels College, founded by the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters he had founded renamed the College Neumann College. It was later given University status.
St. John Neumann was beatified on Oct. 13, 1963 by Pope Paul VI.
St. John Neumann was canonized on June 19, 1977 by Pope Paul VI.
The feast day of St. John Neumann is celebrated on Jan. 5, the day of his death.
St. Rose was born in Grenoble, France in 1769. She was drawn to the contemplative life. During the French revolution she spent her time nursing prisoners. She soon joined the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
During Eucharistic Adoration she experienced a vision where she was serving God in the New World. Twelve years later , at the age of 49, she moved to the United States. She was sent to the Louisiana Territory.
In Louisiana, she opened the first free school west of the Missouri River. By 1828 she had founded six houses. She worked among the Potawatomie Indians who named her Quah-kak-ka-num-ad, “Woman-Who-Prays-Always”.
St. Rose died at the age of 83 at St. Charles, Missouri on November 18, 1852.
St. Rose was Beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940.
St. Rose was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
The Feast Day of St. Rose is celebrated on November 18.
St. Rose is the patron saint of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri
St. Theodore Guerin
St. Theodore Guerin
St. Theodore Guérin’s birth name was Anne Thérése. She was born on Oct. 2, 1798 in Etables, France. Her father served in Napoleon’s navy. At the young age of 15 her father was murdered by bandits while traveling home for a visit.
Anne Thérése turned to God in the difficult years following his death. At the age of 25 she entered the Sisters of Providence to serve the poor, sick and dying. Anne Thérése became Sister Theodore. She was asked to lead a small missionary band of Sisters to the United States in Indiana.
Mother Théodore accepted the mission in spite of her fragile health. She could only consume soft, bland food and liquid. She traveled to the Unites States with five other sisters. After surviving a violent storm at sea in the trip Mother Théodore wrote the following:
“What strength the soul draws from prayer! In the midst of a storm, how sweet is the calm it finds in the heart of Jesus. But what comfort is there for those who do not pray?”
Mother Théodore established schools in Indiana and Illinois. She is described as saintly by people who knew her.
Sixteen years after coming to the United States she died. She is buried in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana.
St. Théodore Guérin was beatified on Oct. 25, 1998 by Pope John Paul II.
St. Théodore Guérin was canonized on Oct. 15, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The feast day of Théodore Guérin is celebrated on October 3.
St. Théodore Guérin is the patron saint of the Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana.
St. Katharine Drexel
St. Katherine Drexel
St. Katerine Drexel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Nov. 26, 1858. She was the child of wealthy parents who taught her to be generous.
Katherine became a Sister in 1889 at the age of 31. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Black and Native American people. She dedicated her life and great wealth to this work.
She helped to open the first mission school for Indians in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other schools soon followed. She then founded Xavier University in New Orleans.
St. Katherine Drexel is the second recognized American born saint.
Katherine Drexel was beatified on Nov. 2, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.
St. Katherine Drexel was canonized on Oct. 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
We celebrate the feast day of St. Katherine Drexel on March 3.
St. Kateri is the first Native American saint. She was born in 1656 to the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Catholic Alqonquin.
When Kateri was four years old smallpox attacked her family. Her mother and little brother died from the disease. Kateri’s face was scarred by the disease and she became partially blind. Her two Aunts and an Uncle adopted her.
On Easter, 1676, Kateri was baptized by Jesuit missionary Father Jacques de Lambertville at the age of 20. She was devoted to prayer, penitential practices and the care of the sick and aged in Caughnawaga near Montreal. Her relics are now enshrined in Caughnawaga..
Because of her conversion, she incurred hostility from her tribe. She went to a new Christian colony in Indianan, Canada. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to “Christ crucified.” She spent much time praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Her motto was…
“Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?”
At the age of 23 Kateri died on Wednesday of Holy Week, at approximately 3 p.m. Within fifteen minutes after her death, her face, which was marked by smallpox, was healed and became beautiful. Father Cholone called others to see what had happened.
Miraculous cures at the Sault Mission were frequent that year (1682) and attributed to Kateri. She appeared to many people after her death, always carrying a cross.
She was beatified (declared Blessed) by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter’s Basilica on October 21, 2012.
We celebrate St. Kateri‘s feast day on July 14. She was known as “the Lily of the Mohawks”.
Damien was still in minor orders when he volunteered to go to Hawaii. Two months after his arrival in Hawaii, he was ordained a priest on May 24, 1864.
The Hawaiin King Kamehameha IV created an isolated settlement on the island of Molakai to deal with the public health crisis. Many people were dying of influenza, syphilis and leprosy. Father Damien wished to minister to the sick so he asked his Bishop to send him to Molokai knowing the risk of death.
When he arrived in Molokai, there were 600 lepers for him to minister to. He built the Parish Church of St. Philomena for the people to learn the Catholic faith. He restored personal pride and dignity to people who needed hope. He provided care and comfort for sixteen years. working as a priest, doctor and builder. He built houses, a school and an orphanage. Not only did he dress their ulcers, he also built over 600 coffins and dug graves.
Father Damien said ” My greatest pleasure is to go there (the cemetery) to say my beads, and meditate on that unending happiness which so may of them are already enjoying.”.
In 1885, Father Damien contracted leprosy. In his final years, he enlarged his orphanages and sought help. St. Marianne Cope came with her sisters to help him while he was ill. She reassured him she would carry on his work.
Father Damien died at the age of 49 on April 15, 1889.
The feast day of Father Damien is celebrated on May 10.
Father Damien was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 4, 1195.
St. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 11, 2009.
St. Damien is known as “The Apostle of the Lepers.”
St. Marianne Cope was the first Franciscan woman from North America to become a saint.
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.
Mother Teresa will soon be officially declared a saint!
The day before the feast day of Bl. Mother Teresa Pope Francis will proclaim that she is a saint. Her feast day is celebrated on Sept. 5. The world remembers her as a “living saint”.
St. Teresa of Calcutta 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.
Mother Teresa received a second calling while on a train. 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 Charitywith 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, which is now her feast day. At the time of her death her Missionaries of Charity numbered over 4,000. She had 610 foundations in 123 countries.
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.
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.
Each image in the following list is accompanied by a quote or prayer of Mother Teresa. The images are all public domain images.
As we celebrate the sainthood and feast day of St.Teresa of Calcutta on Sept. 5, let’s remember the remarkable things she did and said.
Sisters of Charity
Prayer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance
everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us and then we shall begin to shine as you shine,
to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be ours.
It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching,
not by words, but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you.
Amen
Mother Teresa with Child/Associated Press
Mother Teresa: Smile
“Let us always meet each other with a smile for the smile is the beginning of love.”
“Peace begins with a smile.”
“Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: God and Faith
“We are nothing without God, but if we put our lives in God’s hands miracles happen.”
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
“Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. Byt transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord.”
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa with Pope John Paul II
Mother Teresa: Prayer
The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.”
Mother Teresa
Young Mother Teresa
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhju (Mother Teresa)
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Abortion
“Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love but to use any violence to get what it wants.”
“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”
“There are two victims in every abortion: a dead baby and a dead conscience.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Love and Forgiveness
“It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing. It is not how how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.”
“I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
“If we really want to love we must learn to forgive.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Helping the Sick
“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely, and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”
“Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not come, we have only today. Let us begin.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa in service
Mother Teresa: Service
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous, be happy anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God, it was never between you and them anyway.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa Praying
Mother Teresa: Prayer
“Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer and take trouble to pray Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.”
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Silence
“We need to find God and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature; trees, flowers, grass, grow in silence. See the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
The Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Paul and St. Peter on June 29.
Both saints were martyred for their faith during the persecution of Nero. St. Peter was crucified upside down by his own request. He did not consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner as Our Lord. St. Paul was beheaded. It is possible they were both martyred on the same day.
St. Peter was one of the original Apostles. He was a fisherman before he was called to follow Jesus. He was the brother to the Apostle Andrew. St. Peter was clearly the leader of the apostles. With James and John he witnessed the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. Originally, Peter’s name was Simon. Jesus asked the apostles, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon said, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.” Jesus then said:
“Blessed are you Simon, Son of Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
During the crucifixion of Jesus, Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus also told Peter three times…
“Feed my sheep”.
St. Peter is the patron saint of fishermen.
St. Paul was not one of the original apostles. While persecuting Christians after the death of Jesus, he was thrown to the ground by a bright light. He heard a voice asking him,
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
He responded with “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus answered him:
“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do.”
Paul was blinded by the light for three days after which scales fell from his eyes. He then joined the apostles, becoming known as “The Apostle of the Gentiles”. He wrote many of the epistles in the Bible. He is the patron saint of writers, the press, and missionaries.
Prayer to St. Peter and St. Paul
Grant, we pray, O Lord our God, that we may be sustained by the intercession of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, that as through them you gave your Church the foundations of her heavenly office, so through them you may help her to eternal salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The feast day of St. Damien of Molokai is celebrated on May 10. He is the patron saint of leprosy and outcasts.
St. Damien of Molokai was born Josef de Veuster on Jan. 3, 1840 in Treinelo, Belgium. His parents were farmers. He attended college at Braine-le-Comte. Josef became a novitiate at the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He took the name of Damien when he made his vows. As a missionary he arrived in Honolulu in 1864. He was ordained a priest on May 1864.
Hawaii was in the midst of a health crisis; primarily, influenza, syphilis and leprosy. The king of Hawaii, Kink Kamehameha IV created a leper colony on the island of Molokai. Fr. Damien requested to be sent to Molokai to tend to their spiritual needs. He arrived at Kalaupapa on May 10, 1873, where he cared for 600 lepers.
St. Damien Public Domain Image
Fr. Damien built the Parish Church of St. Philomena where he preached and taught the Catholic faith. He restored pride and dignity to the people in the settlement. He organized a band, horse riding and choir. He provided comfort to the people on the island for 16 years serving as priest, doctor and home builder. He built their coffins and dug their graves.
Father Damien said,
“My greatest pleasure is to go there (the cemetery) to say my beads, and meditate on that unending happiness which so many of them are already enjoying.”
Fr. Damien had a profound faith in the Holy Eucharist, believing his strength came from receiving the Eucharist on a daily basis. In 1885 he contracted the illness of leprosy, yet he continued to serve the people of the settlement. He died April 15, 1889 at the age of 49. St. Damien is known as the Apostle of the Lepers.
“Without the constant presence of Our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai”
Apostle means “one who is sent”. Jesus chose twelve Apostles. He sent them into the world to spread the “good news”. The following quiz will tell you how much you know about them.
Answer the following questions to test your knowledge about the Apostles. The answers are at the end of the list.
1 Which Apostle had a mother-in-law who was cured by Jesus?
2. Which Apostles were known as “Sons of Thunder”?
3. Which Apostle was shipwrecked?
4. Which Apostle lived the longest, dying a natural death?
5. To which Apostle did Jesus say “Do not doubt but believe?”
6. Which Apostle was a tax collector?
7. Who was the brother of Simon Peter?
8. Which Apostle betrayed Jesus?
9. Which Apostle said, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders. It has become the cornerstone.”
10. Which Apostle tried to walk on water?
11. Which Apostles witnessed the Transfiguration?
12. On what day did the Holy Spirit descend upon the Apostles?
13. To whom did Jesus say, “Here is your mother?”
14. Which Apostle was present at the foot of the cross?
15. Which Apostle received the keys to the kingdom of heaven?
16. Which Apostle was blind for three days?
17. Which Apostle was chosen to replace the traitor?
18. To which Apostle did Jesus say, “Get behind me, Satan!”
19. Who is referred to as “The Beloved Disciple?”
20. Which Apostle was not present when Jesus first appeared to the other Apostles?
21. Which Apostle is mentioned the most in the gospels?
22. Who denied Jesus three times?
23. Which three apostles fell asleep while Jesus was praying in the garden?
24. To whom did Jesus say, “Feed my sheep?”
25. Can you name the twelve Apostles present at the Last Supper?
St. Andrew the Apostle Public Domain Image
St. Andrew, Apostle and Martyr
St. Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter. They were both fishermen and followers of John the Baptist when they were called to follow Jesus.
After the resurrection, St. Andrew preached in Greece. He was put to death on an X shaped cross to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days, still preaching to those around him.
He is the patron saint of fishermen and two countries; Russia and Scotland.
The feast day of St. Andrew is celebrated on Nov. 30.
The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew by Joseph de Ribera Public Domain Image
St. Bartholomew, Apostle and Martyr
St. Bartholomew was born in Galilee. Bartholomew was one of the original twelve Apostles and present at the Last Supper. He was also known as Nathanael. He witnessed the Ascension.
After the resurrection, Bartholomew preached in India, Ethiopia and Asia Minor. He was flayed and beheaded by King Astyages.
St. Bartholomew is the patron saint against neurological diseases and leather workers.
The feast day of St. Bartholomew is celebrated on Aug. 24.
St. James the Greater by Alonso Cano
St. James the Greater, Apostle and Martyr
St. James the Greater, Apostle and Martyr
St. James the Greater was one of the original twelve apostles. James the Greater was the brother to St. John the Apostle and a cousin to Jesus. He followed John the Baptist before following Jesus. He was a fisherman. He was present at the Last Supper. The two brothers. James and John were called the ‘Sons of Thunder”.
St. James preached in Samaria Judea and Spain after the resurrection. He was the first Apostle to be martyred. He was stabbed with a sword by King Heron Agrippa at Jerusalem.
St. James the Greater is the patron saint of arthritis sufferers, pharmacists and veterinarians.
St. James the Lesser was one of the original twelve apostles. The title Lesser probably meant he was younger than James the Greater. James was a cousin of Jesus and brother to St. Jude Thaddeus.
St James the Lesser was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. He was known for his devotion to the poor. He was beaten to death with a club while praying for his attackers.
St.James the Lesser is the patron saint of fullers and pharmacists.
The feast day of St. James the Lesser is celebrated on May 3.
St. John the Evangelist
St. John the Evangelist
St. John the Evangelistwas the Son of Zebedee and Salome. He was the brother to James the Greater. The two brothers were called the “Sons of Thunder. They were both fishermen. John was a followers of John the Baptist before he was called by Jesus.
Peter, James and John were the only witnesses of the raising of Jairus daughter (Mark 5:37), the Transfiguration and the Agony of the Garden.
John and Peter were sent to the city to make preparations for the Last Supper. John become known as ‘The Beloved Disciple’.
John was the only Apostle to remain close to Jesus during the crucifixion. Jesus told him “This is your mother”. while hanging on the cross. (John 19: 27)
After Pentecost, John traveled with Peter and was put in prison. He preached with Peter in Samaria, Palestine and Asia Minor.
The fourth Gospel and the Book of Revelations is attributed to St. John the Evangelist.
St. John the Evangelist lived the longest of the Apostles, dying a natural death.
St. John the Evangelist is the patron saint of writers, editors and publishers.
The feast day of St. John the Evangelist is celebrated on Dec. 27.
St. Judas Iscariot Apostle and Traitor
Judas Iscariot, Apostle and Traitor
Judas Iscariot was called by Jesus to be one of the original twelve Apostles. He was present at the Last Supper. Judas went to the chief priest and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. During the last supper Jesus said“Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me”
When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders He said “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple he departed; and he went and hanged himself. (Mat 27:4-5)
St. Jude Thaddeus Apostle and Martyr
St. Jude Thaddeus, Apostle and Martyr
St. Jude was one of the original twelve Apostles. He was the son of Cleohas, who died a martyr and Mary who stood at the foot of the cross. He was the brother of St. James the Lesser. and a cousin to Jesus. He was a fisherman. He was present at the Last Supper. He is not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who was a traitor.
After the resurrection St. Jude preached in Syria and Persia with St. Simon. He was a healer and an exorcist. He was beaten to death with a club then beheaded in Persia. His relics are at St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome.
St. Jude is known as the patron saint of impossible causes.
The feast day of St. Jude Thaddeus is celebrated on Oct. 28.
St. Mathias
St. Mathias, Apostle and Martyr
St. Mathias was not one of the original twelve Apostles. He was not present at the Last Supper.
After the suicide by hanging of Judas Iscariot, the Apostles decided to choose either Mathias or Joseph called Barsabbas to replace Judas Iscariot. They prayed, saying. “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Acts (1:24) They drew lots and chose Mathias to replace him.
Mathias preached in Judea, Egypt and Ethiopia. Stories of his martyrdom vary. It is believed he was stoned and beheaded.
St. Mathias is the patron saint against alcoholism and smallpox. He is also the patron of carpenters.
The feast day of St. Mathias is celebrated on May 14.
St. Matthew and the Angel
St. Mathew, Apostle and Martyr
St. Mathew was one of the original twelve apostles. He was also known as Levi. He was present at the Last Supper and the Ascension of Our Lord. Before following Jesus, he was a tax collector.
St. Matthew is the author of the first Gospel. After the resurrection he preached to the Hebrews, probably in Ethiopia, Persia and Syria for 15 years. During this time he also wrote his Gospel in Aramaic.
Reports of his martyrdom vary a great deal. It is not certain if he was burned, stoned or beheaded.
St. Matthew is the patron saint of bankers.
The Feast day of St. Matthew is celebrated on Sept. 21.
St. Paul the Apostle
St. Paul, Apostle of the GentilesSt.
St. Paulwas not one of the original twelve Apostles. He persecuted the early Christians. He was present at the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr. On the road to Damascus, he was struck by a heavenly light. He heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked “Who are you Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do.” (Acts 9:4-6)
After three days of blindness, scales fell off his eyes. He joined the Apostles becoming known as the Apostle to the Gentiles.
St. Paul wrote many of the books in the New Testament. He was instrumental in the Council of Jerusalem His missionary journeys took him many places: Asia Minor, Macedonia, Jerusalem and Europe.
St. Paul suffered many hardships including three shipwrecks. (2 Cor. 111:20-32)
St. Paul died a martyr. He was beheaded in Rome in the year 65.
St. Paul is the patron saint of writers, publishers, musicians and evangelists.
The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul is celebrated Jan 25.
The Feast of Sts. Peter and St. Paul is celebrated June 29
He died a martyr. His feast day is June 29.
St. Peter by Rubens Apostle and Martyr Public Domain Image
St. Peter, Apostle and Martyr
St. Peter was one of the original twelve Apostles. His name was Simon and he is the brother of Andrew. They were fishermen until Jesus.called them saying, “Come and I will make you fishers of men.”
When Jesus asked the Apostles who they believed he was, Peter said “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.” Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”(Matt 1515-19)
He is also known as Simon Peter. St. Peter was married and Jesus healed his mother-in-law who was suffering from a high fever. (Matt 8:14)
St. Peter is mentioned the most often in the Bible and considered the leader of the Apostles. His name is mention 182 times in the Bible.
When Jesus foretells his death, Peter responds by saying “God forbid it Lord! This must never happen to you.” But Jesus turned to Peter saying “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Matt 17: 23)
After asking Peter if he loved him Jesus told him “Feed my Sheep.” three times. (John 23:17)
Peter denied Jesus three time during the crucifixion, repenting afterwards. (Matt. 26:69)
St. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.
St. Peter is the patron saint of fishermen.
The Feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul is celebrated on June 29.
St. Philip the Apostle
St. Philip, Apostle and Martyr
St. Philipwas one of the original apostles. He was born in Bethsaida, Galilee and a follower of John the Baptist. He was present at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. He was also present at the Last Supper.
After the resurrection Philip preached in Greece and Syria.
St. Philip died a martyr. He was crucified upside down at Hiorapolis under Emperor Domitian.
St. Philip is the patron saint of cooks and bakers.
The feast day of St. Philip is celebrated on May 3.
St. Simon the Zealot
St. Simon the Zealot, Apostle and Martyr
St. Simon was one of the original twelve Apostles. He was present at the Last Supper.
St. Simon was the second Bishop of Jerusalem. He preached in Egypt and Persia with St. Jude where both suffered martyrdom.
There are two stories of his death. The first has him dying by crucifixion in Samaria. The second has him sawed in half in Persia.
St. Simon is the patron saint of tanners.
The feast day of St. Simon is celebrated on Oct. 28.
Doubting Thomas by Caravaggio Apostle and Martyr
St. Thomas, Apostle and Martyr
St. Thomas was also known as “Doubting Thomas”. After the resurrection Jesus appeared to the Apostles. Thomas was not there and did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. When Jesus later appeared to him he said “Peace be with you. Do not doubt but believe.” (John 21:24)
St. Thomas also asked Jesus “How can we follow you, when we know not where you are going?” Jesus responded, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Whoever follows me will live forever.”
Thomas was one of the original twelve apostles. He was present at the Last Supper. He was also present when Jesus had the Apostles lower their nets and they miraculously caught many fish.
After the resurrection, St. Thomas was sent to evangelize the Parthians, the Persians and India. He is believed to have built the first church in India.
St. Thomas died a martyr’s death when at Calamine in India he was speared to death while praying.
St. Thomas is the patron saint of architects and the blind. The feast day of St. Thomas is July 3.
The Last Supper by DaVinci
The Last Supper
All twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose were with him at the Last Supper.
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon,who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke 6:12-16)
Pentecost Public Domain Image
Pentecost
When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts 1:104)
The answers to the questions are the following:
1. The Apostle Peter was married. Jesus healed his mother-in-law.(Matt 8:14)
2. The Sons of Thunder were James the Greater and John the Evangelist
3. St. Paul was shipwrecked three times.(2 Cor. 11:20-32)
4. St.John the Evangelist lived the longest, dying a natural death.
5. St. Thomas, also known as ‘Doubting Thomas’ was told’“Do not doubt but believe” by Jesus.(John 21:24)
6.St. Mathew was a tax collector.
7. St. Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter.
8. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.(Matt. 26:47)
9. Peter while preaching said, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders. It has become the cornerstone.” (Acts 4:11)
10. Peter tried to walk on water but faltered. (Mat: 14:28)
11. The Transfiguration was witnessed by Peter, John and James.
12. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles on Pentecost.
13. Jesus said “This is your mother” to St. John the Evangelist while he hung from the cross.(John 19:26)
14. St. John the Evangelist was the only Apostle who stayed near Jesus during the crucifixion.
15. St. Peter was given the ‘keys to the kingdom of heaven‘.(Matt 16:16)
16. St. Paul was blind for three days after seeing a light from heaven and hearing a voice asking in Hebrew,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 26:12)
17. St. Mathias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. (Acts 1:12)
18. Jesus was talking to Simon Peter when he said “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matt 16:21)
19. St. John the Evangelist was known as ‘The beloved disciple’.
20. When Jesus first appeared to the Apostles, Thomas was absent. He did not believe Jesus had risen. (John 21:24)
21. St. Peter is mentioned 93 times in the Gospels; 63 times in the remainder of the New Testament.
John is second, being mentioned 100 times in the Gospels and 30 in the remainder of the New Testament.
22. St. Peter denied Jesus three times during the crucifixion.(Matt 26:69)
23. While praying in the garden, Peter, James and John fell asleep. (Matt 26:36)
24. Jesus told Peter“Feed my Sheep.” three times. (John 21:17)
25. The original Twelve Apostles are the following:
What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? A disciple is someone who believes in and follows Jesus. Jesus calls each one of us in a different way. Each of us has a unique gift to offer him.
When we love someone, we want to spend time with them. The same is true if we love Jesus. Spending time with Him by studying scripture and in prayer will help our relationship with Him to grow.
The Saints of the Catholic Church are role models for us on our pilgrimage on earth. Each one of them loved Jesus with all there heart and soul.
The following quotes give us a glimpse of how they loved and followed Jesus. May we also get to know Jesus and seek to do His will always.
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila
If obedience sends you to the kitchen, remember that the Lord walks among the pots and pans and that He will keep you in inward tasks and in outward ones too.
St. Teresa of Avila
Untilled soil, however fertile it may be, will bear thistles and thorns and so it is with man’s mind.
St. Teresa of Avila
You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.
For the Christian there is no such thing as a “stranger”, there is only the neighbor…the person near us and needing us.
St. Edith Stein
If we place our hands into the hands of the divine Child, if we say “Yes” to the “Follow me”, then we are His, and the way is free for His divine life to flow into us.
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.
Every time we attend Mass we offer each other The Peace of Christ. Just what is the peace of Christ? Peace is many things. Primarily, it is the absence of worry and fear. The apostles were very much confused and frightened after the crucifixion. When Jesus appeared to the apostles and Doubting Thomas, Jesus offers them peace. Not once, but twice, he says “Peace be with you.” (John 20: 19-23) Their confusion and anxiety was removed and they went forth to baptize disciples.
Again, what is this peace Christ offers us? When we put our trust completely in God, we cease to worry. It is the knowledge that God not only loves me, but has a plan for me. It is true that there is much suffering in the world; however, when we have Jesus at our side, we are not alone.
Why is there suffering in the world? Why does a loving God permit it? The simplest answer to this is God gives us free will. He does not force himself on anyone. If we want a relationship with God we need to be open to his love. Sin is not the will of God because God is truth and love. Suffering is many times the consequence of sin. Health issues are not usually a result of sin, however they give us the opportunity to turn to God for strength and guidance. Remember, death is a doorway to heaven. How will we ever enter heaven unless death comes first?
When you are suffering, meditate on a crucifix. Jesus suffered for us, to redeem us. If Jesus suffered such a horrible death, why do we believe our life should be free of suffering?
Faith in Jesus is a gift. If we put our trust in God (Jesus), we let him lead us and walk with us every day. We accept suffering as Jesus accepted suffering, knowing that heaven is our reward.
None of this is easy. Many people scoff at the idea that we should accept suffering in Jesus’ name. But when you offer your suffering to Jesus you are discovering the mystery of the cross.
It is by letting Jesus guide us in our darkest moments that we come close to Jesus. How can we trust and love Jesus unless we come to know him? The only way to know Jesus is to talk, and walk with Jesus. Jesus said;
“I am the way, the truth, and the light.” (John 14:6)
When we walk with Jesus and pray on a regular basis our fear turns to trust.
