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Dominican Saints, patron saints, Prayer, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Dominic, Feast Day August 8

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El_Greco,_St_Dominic_in_Prayer Public Domain Image

The feast day of St. Dominic is celebrated on August 8th. He was born in 1170 to Felix Guzman and Blessed Joan of Aza in Caleruega, Spain. After studying at the University at Palencia he was ordained a priest at the age of 25. St. Dominic was known for self-denial, holiness, piety and apostolic zeal. He refused to eat meat or sleep on a bed. He also renounced wealth.

In 1215 he founded an order of Dominican Nuns. Their mission was to care for young girls. This was followed by the founding of the Order of Preachers, which became known as the Dominicans. The purpose of the order was to preach the Word of God. They were also known as the “Black Friars”. The rule followed the Rule of St. Augustine. Their focus was on liturgical prayer and lifelong study.

The primary heresy the Dominicans preached against was Albigensianism. This was the belief that there are two dueling principles, good and evil, and that all matter was regarded as evil. They also taught that the devil is the creator of the material world.

A devotion which St. Dominic helped to spread is the Rosary. a Marian devotion, which combines meditation on the life of Christ, with memorized prayer. Tradition tells us that when Dominic became discouraged with the slow progress of his work of preaching against the Abligensian heresy, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him with a beautiful wreath of roses. She asked him to say the Rosary every day and to teach the people to say the Rosary. Soon the heresy began to disappear. The devotion of the rosary continues today.

After forming his order Dominic had a dream vision in which he met another person, a beggar. The next day, Dominic recognized this man when he came into his church. It was St. Francis of Assisi the future founder of the Franciscan Order. Dominic embraced him saying,

“You are my companion and must walk with me. For if we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us.”

St. Dominic and St. Francis were lifelong friends. Their orders celebrate their meeting on the feast day of their saint.

The motto of St. Dominic is: “To praise, to bless, to preach”. St. Dominic once said;

“Arm yourself with prayer, rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”

St. Dominic died on August 6, 1221 from a fever. Because of his love of learning and teaching, St. Dominic is known as the patron of astronomers.

 

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you

after my death and I shall help you then

more effectively than during my life.

 

Quote of St. Dominic

St. Dominic in Art

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Cajetan, Feast Day August 7

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes:

St. Cajetan, Feast Day August 7

St. Cajetan by Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene Public Domain Image
St. Cajetan by Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene

The feast day of St. Cajetan is celebrated on August 7.  He was born in Vicenza, Italy, in 1480.  St. Cajetan is the patron saint of the unemployed.

Even as a child Cajetan was very devout.  He studied at Padua becoming a lawyer.  He then was ordained a priest in Rome working for the Roman Curia.  He joined the Oratory of Divine Love in Rome, which was devoted to charity and piety.

At the age of 42, he founded a hospital for incurables in Venice.  He served the sick and the poor.  St. Cajetan along with three friends decided to bring zeal back to the clergy.  They founded an order known as the Theatines.  They focused on reforming the clergy.  After the sack of Rome, they escaped to Venice when their house was ruined in 1527.  Members of his order took a strict vow of poverty, depending entirely on Divine Providence rather than on income.

One Christmas Eve when Cajetan was passing the Church of St. Mary Major, the Holy Child appeared to him and the the Blessed Virgin laid the child in the Saints arms filling his soul with joy.  He had many visions in his life and was known for being in a state of ecstasy during prayer.  He miraculously cured many who were sick including a man whose foot was to be amputated due to gangrene.  After telling the man to trust in God and ask for the intercession of St. Francis, he kissed the foot , rebandaged it and made the sign of the cross over it.  The following day the foot was healed.

St. Cajetan died in 1547 after receiving the last sacraments.  Many miracles were attributed to him after his death.

St. Cajetan   was canonized by Clement X in 1671.

 

There is no road to Heaven but that of Innocence or Penance.

Quote of St. Cajetan

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary


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Our Lady, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Our Lady of the Snows, Feast day August 5

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8Our Lady of the Snow

 

The feast day of Our Lady of the Snows is celebrated on August 5.  It is on this day the Basilica of Mary Major was dedicated.

A man by the name of John lived in the ancient city of Rome.  He and his wife were childless.  They chose to leave their fortune to Mary, the Mother of God.  Pope Liberius suggessted that they pray for a sign to guide them in what she wished them to do.

On the evening of August 5, Our Lady appeared to John, his wife and the Pope asking for a church to be built in her honor on the Esquiline Hill.  John and his wife asked for a sign .   She told them:

“Snow will crown the crest of the hill.”

Although it snows only on rare occasions in Rome the snow covered the hill during the summer night of August 5, 358.  The snow fell in a pattern showing the outline of the church soon to be built.

Mary soon became known as Our Lady of the Snows.  Snow symbolizes that Mary is as ‘pure as the driven snow’.  Her many blessings may be compared to the number and variety of snowflakes.

The church built is now known as Saint Mary Major.  It has since been enlarged and restored.  Other names it has been known as are Basilica of Liberius, Saint Mary of the Crib and finally Saint Mary Major.

A statue of Our Lady of the Snows is believed to have been produced by St. Luke the Apostle.

 

Mary is always performing these two movements:  absorbing grace from her most holy son, and pouring it forth on sinners.

Quote of St. Anthony Mary Claret;   Feast day October 24

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

Basilica of St. Mary Major

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Doctor of the Church, Faith, patron saints, Prayer, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Alphonsus Liguori, Feast Day August 1

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes:

St. Alphonsus Liguori, Feast Day August 1

St. Alphonsus Liguori Public Domain Image
St. Alphonsus Liguori

The feast day of St. Alphonsus Liguori is celebrated on August 1. Alphonsus was born in 1696 near Naples, Italy. His father was a captain in the Royal Navy. He is the patron saint of confessors and theologians.

At the age of 16, St. Alphonsus Liguori received a doctorate in civil an canon law. At the age of 18 he joined the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy which cared for the sick, devoting himself to works of mercy. He became a lawyer by the age of 20. However, the work proved to be unfulfilling. After losing an important case, Alphonsus left his career as a lawyer to enter the priesthood. He was ordained in 1726.

As a priest St. Alphonsus ministered to the poor working to the point of exhaustion. In 1732 he decided to dedicate himself completely to the poor and abandoned. He founded the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer which became known as the Redemptorists.

St. Alphonsus was a gifted preacher who reached many people.The Redemptorists led mission revivals in the countryside preaching to anyone who would listen. They traveled from town to town. St. Alphonsus focused on three images; Jesus as an infant in the crib, Jesus crucified on the cross, and Jesus vibrantly alive and filled with love for everyone in the Eucharist. He also had a great devotion to Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.

St. Alphonsus was an artist, composer and a writer. He wrote music which he composed on a harpsichord. It spread throughput the countryside. He wrote over 100 books including “Prayer, the Great Means of Salvation.” He was given the title “Doctor of Prayer”.  St. Alphonsus believed that if you pray your salvation is secure.

St. Alphonsus was troubled by illness most of his life. His final years, he suffered from severe arthritis which kept him in a wheelchair. St. Alphonsus died at the age of 91 after a night of prayer. He was canonized in 1839 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871.

We must love God in a way that pleases Him,

and not just in a way that suits ourselves.

God wishes people to empty themselves

of everything and to be filled with is divine love.

Quote of St. Alphonsus Liguori

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Doctor of the Church, Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Peter Chrysologus, Feast Day July 30

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes:

St. Peter Chrysologus, Feast Day July 30

St. Peter Chrysologus Public Domain Image
St. Peter Chrysologus

The feast day of St. Peter Chrysologus is celebrated on July 30. Peter was born around the year 400 in the small town of Imola, Italy.  He studied theology and was ordained a deacon by Bishop Cornelius. Bishop Cornelius was the local bishop of Imola and had also baptized him. Bishop Cornelius was Peter’s spiritual director teaching him the value of humility.

St. Peter embraced a simple life of prayer as a monk for many years. After the death of the Archbishop of Ravenna in 430, Peter traveled to Rome with Bishop Cornelius to see Pope Sixtus III. Tradition tells us that because of a vision the Pope overruled the choice for a new bishop and declared Peter the new Bishop of Ravenna.

Peter Chrysologus  was known as a good preacher. His sermons were short but inspirational and filled with zeal. As bishop he battled the heresy of monophysitism which denied the humanity of Christ. He insisted that Christ was both fully human and fully divine and supported the authority of the popes in teaching about the nature of Christ. He encouraged everyone to accept the mystery of the Incarnation with simple faith. He believed that learning was second only to virtue for improving the mind.

St. Peter Chrysologus died in 450 in the town of Imola. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729.

 

The Good Shepherd lowered His shoulders to carry back

to the fold of salvation the sheep who had been lost.

Quote of St. Peter Chrysologus

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood



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Doctor of the Church, Franciscan Saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Feast Day July 21

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St. Lawrence of Brindisi
St. Lawrence of Brindisi

The feast day of St. Lawrence of Brindisi is celebrated on July 21. He was born on July 21, 1559 in Brindisi , Italy. His baptismal name was Julius Caesar. He was adventurous as a child but knew from an early age that he had a religious calling. When his father died at the age of twelve he went to Venice where he studied with the conventual Franciscans. He was accepted into the Capuchin Order and eventually became a priest. He worked as a diplomat and as a missionary.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi was fluent in five languages. He was Master General of his Order from 1602-1605. He was known for his eloquent preaching. He reformed the monasteries and taught theology. St. Lawrence was known for many miraculous healings. He healed a blind man and cured a paralyzed woman. His sermons have been compiled into 15 volumes.

On July 22, 1619 St. Lawrence died of natural causes. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on Dec. 8, 1881. St Lawrence of Brindisi is a Doctor of the Church.

 

The crucifix alone
teaches one the worth
of a single human soul.

Quote of St. Pierre Henri Dorie; Feast day September 20.

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

Saint of the Day, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Camillus de Lellis, Feast Day July 18

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St. Camillus Public Domain Image
St. Camillus

The feast day of St. Camillus de Lellis is July 18.

St. Camillus  was born on May 25, 1550 in Bucchianico, Abruzzo, Italy.  His mother died when he was a child and he received little attention.

As a teenager he was adventurous and a risk taker often losing his money and fighting.  During one fight he was wounded in his leg.  The wound did not heal but spread to his foot. It was during this time that his father also died.

Camillus continued to fight and gamble.  He became so destitute that he stopped at a church to request help.  Leaving the church, he met two monks.  He soon began working for a Capuchin monastery helping with construction projects.  After talking to a priest, he had a burning desire to become a Benedictine priest.  However, he was rejected due to lack of education.

At the age of 25, Camillus was admitted into a hospital for treatment of his leg.  To pay for the treatment he cared for the sick and dying in the hospital.  He was discharged form the hospital for gambling and fighting.  He decided to study to become a Benedictine, however his wound again needed treatment.  He returned to the hospital where he was hired to help reform the hospital.

At the age of 34 he became a priest and organized others to help.  They called themselves “Servants of the Sick.”

The Order of St. Camillus serves the sick and dying in 35 countries.  They care for both the physical and spiritual needs of the person in need.

 

It is always a feast where love is,

And where love is, God is.

Quote of Dorothy Day, Servant of God

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Henry II, Feast Day July 13

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St. Henry II

The feast day of St. Henry II is celebrated on July 13.

St. Henry was born to Duke Henry of Vavaria and Princess Gisela of Burgundy. As a youth he considered becoming a priest. He was educated at the Cathedral School in Hildesheim by St. Wolfgang of Regensburg who was a bishop.

In 995 Henry became the Duke of Bavaria. He became the king of Germany in 1002. In 1004 he was crowned King of Pavia, Italy. He married St. Cunegunga, however they had no children. In 1014 he was crowned the Emperor of the Roman Empire by Pope Benedict VIII. He worked to establish peace in Europe. He was also able to reform the church. He fostered missions and began the construction of the Cathedral at Basel, Switzerland, which took 400 years to complete.

Later in life he came down with an aliment which crippled his leg. He was cured by the touch of St. Benedict at Monte Cesino. After the death of his wife he considered becoming a monk however he was turned down. He was told he could no more good in the world as a public servant.

St. Henry II died on July 13, 1024 from natural causes at Pfalz Gvona, Saxony (modern Germany). He was canonized by Pope Bl. Eugene III.

 

From now on, regard this life as a desert

through which you pass until you come to the Promised Land,

the Jerusalem, which is above the land of the living.

Quote of St. Augustine, Feast day August 28

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July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.




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Faith, Incorruptible, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Veronica Giuliani, Feast Day July 9

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St. Veronica Giuliani

The feast day of St. Veronica Giuliani is celebrated on July 9.

St. Veronica was born in Mercatello, Italy in 1660. She was the youngest of seven children. Her mother died when she was seven. Even as a child she had a great compassion for the poor. She was known to give away food and her clothing. At the age of 17, she refused to marry. After pleading with her father, she joined the Poor Clares in 1677. She worked in the kitchen, infirmary and sacristy.

St. Veronica had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart and to the Eucharist. She offered her sufferings to the missions. She was known as a mystic. After a vision in which she saw her own heart as a ‘heart of steel’ she became much more compassionate and loving.

At the age of 34 St. Veronica became the novice mistress. She held the position for twenty two years. In 1697, at the age of 37, Veronica received the stigmata. She bore the marks of the crown of thorns and five wounds on her body. She underwent a humiliating investigation during which she was temporarily removed from her position. The investigation concluded the stigmata was real and she regained her position of novice mistress. She became the abbess at the age of 56.  Eleven years later she died on July 9, 1727.

The body of St. Veronica was found to be incorrupt. She was canonized by Pope Gregory XVI on May 26, 1839.

 

We must fight our battle between fear and hope

in the knowledge that hope is always the stronger

because He who comes to our help is almighty.

Quote of St. Francis de Sales; Feast day June 24.

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

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Faith, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Eugene III, Feast Day July 8

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Bl. Eugene III

The feast day of Bl. Eugene III is celebrated on July 8. He served as the Bishop of Rome from 1145-1153. He was the first Cistercian Pope. Little is know about his early life. Bl. Eugene was ordained a priest by Pope Innocent II. St. Bernard of Clairvaux led him into the Cistercian Order in 1138. He became the abbot of the monastery of S. Anastasio aale Tre Fontance outside of Rome.

The election of Bl. Eugene III as the Bishop of Rome took place in 1145. Because of the turmoil of the times which was during the Crusades Bl. Eugene was unable to live in Rome. He lived in Viterbo, Siena, and France. He actively reformed the church. Three synods were held while he was Pope; Paris (1149), Tier (1147-1148) and Rheims (1148) The synods focused on reforming the clerical life.

Bl. Eugene III died on July 8, 1153 in Tivoli, Italy. He was recognized as a pious and meek man. Pope Pius X beatified him in 1872.

 

Time is a treasure of inestimable value,

because in every moment of time we may gain

an increase of grace and eternal glory.

Quote of St. Alphonsus Liguori; Feast day August 1

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

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Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Maria Goretti, Feast Day July 6

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St. Maria Goretti Public Domain Image
St. Maria Goretti

The feast day of St. Maria Goretti is celebrated on July 6. St. Maria Goretti is the patron saint of rape victims, purity, chastity,  forgiveness, and youth.  She was the third of six children; having two sisters and three brothers. St. Maria Goretti died a martyr after an attempted rape and being stabbed to death.

Maria was born in Ancona, Italy on Oct. 16, 1890. Her father died of malaria when she was six years old, leaving her family very poor. They moved to Le Ferriere.

On July 5, 1902, she was sitting on her front steps, sewing and babysitting when her eighteen old neighbor, Alexander, attempted to rape her. She began screaming…

“No! It is a sin! God does not want it!”

After choking Maria, she still refused to submit to him, preferring to die. He then stabbed her eleven times. Maria tried to escape but Alexander then stabbed her three more times before running away. Maria was found bleeding and was taken to the hospital. Maria forgave Alexander before she died as she lay in a hospital bed.

Alexander was captured shortly after she died. Because he was a minor he was not sentenced to life in prison. He received a sentence of thirty years. He was unrepentant until he had a dream. In the dream, Maria appeared to him in a garden. She gave him flowers.

After 27 years in prison, he was released. Alexander went directly to Maria’s mother begging forgiveness. Her mother said,

“If my daughter can forgive him who am I to withhold forgiveness.”

All three of Maria’s brothers claimed to have had the intervention of St. Maria in their lives. Angelo heard a voice telling him to immigrate to America. Sandrino miraculously received money to finance his own immigration to join Angelo. Mariano heard a voice telling him to remain in his trench while fighting in World War I.

Maria was canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Pope Pius compared her to ‘St. Agnes of the 20th century’. Both her mother and Alexander attended the ceremony to celebrate her canonization.

Prayer to St. Maria Goretti

Oh Saint Maria Goretti who, strengthened by God’s grace, did not hesitate even at the age of twelve to shed your blood and sacrifice life itself to defend your virginal purity, look graciously on the unhappy human race which has strayed far from the path of eternal salvation. Teach us all, and especially youth,with what courage and promptitude we should flee for the love of Jesus anything that could offend Him or stain our souls with sin. Obtain for us from our Lord victory in temptation, comfort in the sorrows of life, and the grace which we earnestly beg of thee (here insert intention), and may we one day enjoy with thee the imperishable glory of Heaven. Amen

205px-Saint_maria_goretti_02 public domain image

He loves, He hopes, He waits,

Our Lord prefers to wait, Himself,

for the sinner….

rather than keep us waiting for an instant.

Quote of St. Maria Goretti

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

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Faith, Incorruptible, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Anthony Zaccaria, Feast Day July 5

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St. Anthony Zaccaria Public Domain Image
St. Anthony Zaccaria

The feast day of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria is celebrated on July 5.

 

St. Anthony of Zaccaria is known for beginning the devotion of Eucharistic adoration and founding the religious order of the Society of Clerics.

St. Anthony was born in Cremona, Italy in 1502 into a noble family. His father died when he was still an infant. His mother was 18 and chose to devote herself to charity and caring for her son. Anthony studied philosophy in Pavia and then medicine at the University of Padua. He returned to Cremona with a degree at the age of 23.

 

St. Anthony not only practiced medicine, he taught catechism and then began teaching adults. Eventually he decided to study for the priesthood. He was ordained at the age of 26. At his first Mass, he experienced the presence of angels around the altar and supernatural light during the consecration of the Eucharist. Many witnessed and testified about this event after his death.

 

St. Anthony was an eloquent preacher. It was the time of the counter-reformation which was begun after Martin Luther began the Reformation.  He founded a priestly society the Clerics Regular of St. Paul  to combat  the  corruption which surrounded him. They were inspired by the Apostle Paul and sought humility, poverty and preaching. Their society became known as the Barnabites named after the companion of St Paul…St. Barnabas. They were active at a well known church named St. Barnabas.

St. Anthony encouraged the “40 hours” devotion which involved continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

 

St. Anthony died at his mother’s house in 1539 after he became seriously ill. He was only 36 years old. Thirty years after his death St. Anthony’s body was found to be incorrupt. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.

 

 

Jesus is happy to come with us…
as truth is to be spoken, as life is to be lived,
as light is to be lit, as love is to be loved,
as joy is to be given, as peace is to be spread.

Quote of St. Francis of Assisi; Feast day Oct. 4

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

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