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Doctor of the Church, Faith, Jesuit Saints, patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Peter Canisius, Feast Day December 21

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St. Peter Canisius

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.”

Quote of St. Peter Canisius

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

 

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Benedictine Saints, patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day, Spirituality, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Gertrude the Great, Feast Day Nov. 16

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St. Gertrude the Great
St. Gertrude the Great

 

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.

The following prayer expresses her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“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.

Quote of St. Gertrude

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

Doctor of the Church, Dominican, Dominican Saints, Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Albert the Great, Feast Day Nov. 15

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St. Albert the Great
St. Albert the Great

The feast day of St. Albert the Great is celebrated on November 15.  He is the patron saint of scientists and philosophers.

St. Albert the Great was born in Germany.   After experiencing an encounter with the Virgin Mary he was inspired to join the Dominican Order also known as the Order of Preachers.

St. Albert was well educated and respected for his knowledge of science and theology, He received his doctorate from the University of Paris in 1245.  He studied and commented on the works of Aristotle.   Eventually, he became a professor of theology the the University of Paris. He became bishop of Regenburg in 1260. Because he refused to ride a horse and traveled entirely by foot he became known as “boots the bishop”). St. Thomas Aquinas was one of his students, later becoming a good friend.

St. Albert was a prolific writer. His writings are compiled in 38 volumes. He wrote about many subjects including philosophy, geography, astronomy, law and love.

St. Albert became well known as a mediator of disputes.  He became ill and died on November 15, 1280.

St. Albert was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1931 and declared a Doctor of the Church.

Three years after his death his body was discovered to be incorrupt.  However, when his grave was opened centuries later, only a skeleton was found.  His relics are found in St. Andreas Church in Cologne.

 

It is by the path of love, which is charity,

that God draws near to man, and man to God.

But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell.

If, then, we possess charity, we possess God,

for God is Charity.

Quote of St. Albert the Great

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

 

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Prayer, Saint of the Day, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Bruno, Feast Day October 6

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St. Bruno Public Domain Image
St. Bruno

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.

 

“To pray the rosary is to hand over our burdens

to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother.”

Quote of St. John Paul II;  Feast Day October 22

 

October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary

 

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Benedictine Saints, Our Lady, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Herman the Cripple, Feast Day September 25

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Bl. Herman the Cripple
Bl. Herman the Cripple

The feast day of Bl. Herman the Cripple  is celebrated on September 25.  He is the patron saint of the unborn child and the disabled.

Bl. Herman was  the son of the Earl of Altshausen in southern Germany.  He was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy and possibly spina bifida.  The doctors told his parents he would not live past five years of age.  He lived to be 41.

Herman had trouble with both moving and speaking.  His parents cared for him until the age of seven.  He was then given to the Abbey of Reichenau to be cared for.  The monks raised him in the Benedictine monastery where he became interested in theology and the spiritual world.  In spite of his disabilities, Bl. Herman was very intelligent.  He studied math, astronomy, theology, history, poetry , Arabic, Greek and Latin.  He built musical instruments and was known for his poetry.  At the age of 20 Herman became a Benedictine monk.

Towards the end of his life Herman suffered from blindness.  He began writing hymns.  The most famous are the Salve Regina, Hail Holy Queen and Redemptoris Mater.  Bl. Herman used prayer and music to grow closer to God.

Bl. Herman died at the age of 41 in 1054.  Because so many children with disabilities die because of abortion, Bl. Herman is the saint of the unborn child.  He is also the patron saint of the disabled.

 

Hail Holy Queen

 

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!   Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.  To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.  Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us;  and after this, our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. 

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Prayer of Bl. Herman the Cripple

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

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Carmelite Saints, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Edith Stein, Feast Day August 9

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St. Edith Stein Public Domain Image
St. Edith Stein
Public Domain Image

 

 

The feast day of St. Edith Stein is celebrated on Aug. 9. St. Edith Stein was also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She is the patron saint of loss of parents and converts. Edith Stein was born in Breslav, Germany on Oct. 12, 1891. She was the youngest of a large Jewish family.  Her father ran a timber business but he died when she was only two years old. Her mother was hard working and devout. Edith, however, lost her faith when she was in her teens.

Edith studied at the University of Breslav where she studied German and history as well as philosophy and women’s issues. She considered herself a radical suffragette. When World War I began she completed a course in nursing and served in an Austrian field hospital, caring for wounded soldiers. After the war she received her degree, writing her thesis on “The problem of Empathy.”

Witnessing a person kneeling for a brief prayer while holding a shopping basket in the Frankfurt Cathedral Edith had a great impact on her faith. In 1917, Edith visited a widow who had converted to Protestantism. It was during this visit that she was introduced to the cross of Christ. Edith began reading the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She then read the Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. St. Teresa described God not as a God of knowledge but as a God of Love. Edith decided to study the Catholic Catechism. Soon after she decided to become Catholic. She was baptized on Jan. 1, 1922.

St. Edith felt called into the Carmelite way of life but decided to wait. She accepted a position teaching German and history at a Dominican Sister’s school. She also translated the letters and diaries of Cardinal Newman. Edith joined the Carmelite Convent of Cologne at the age of 42. She took the name Teresa, Benedicta Cruce; Teresa of the Cross. She believed it was her vocation to intercede for others through prayer. As a Carmelite she wrote several books, including The Science of the Cross.

Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was arrested by the Gestapo on Aug 2, 1931 while she was in the chapel. She was taken with other Jewish Christians to Amersfoort and then to Westerbork. They were then deported to Auschwitz. On Aug. 9, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross died in the gas chamber of Auschwitz at the age of 51. She was canonized as a martyr by Pope John Paul II.

 

If we place our 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.

Quote of St. Edith Stein

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.