Tag Archives: Martyr

Faith, Martyr, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Martin I, Feast Day April 13

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St. Martin I
St. Martin I

The feast day of St. Martin I is celebrated on April 13.

St. Martin was born in Tuscany, Italy in 316. He became a deacon serving in Rome. In the year 649 he was chosen as the 74th pope.

Pope Martin  called the Lateran Council which condemned the heresy of Monothelitism, which claims Christ had no human will. The Lateran Council explained the two natures of Christ: both human and divine. This position put him in opposition to Paul the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Pope Martin was kidnapped while he was sick from the Lateran Basilica. He was tortured and imprisoned. He was condemned to death but at the last moment he was saved from execution by the repentance of the Patriarch. He was imprisoned instead and then exiled to an island which was suffering from a famine.

Pope Martin  soon died in 655 from the effects of the torture and imprisonment. Pope Martin I is  last martyred Pope.

 

The trees stand as though dead, but these, though lifeless in the winter, are green in the spring, for God, knowing your disbelief, each year effects a resurrection in these visible things, that seeing what occurs in inanimate creatures, you may believe concerning the animate rational beings.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem; Feast day March 18

 

April is the Month of the Eucharist

Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Anacleto, Feast Day April 1

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Bl. Anacleto
Bl. Anacleto

The feast day of Bl. Anacleto Gonzalez Florez is celebrated on April 1.  

Bl. Anacleto Gonzalez Florez was born on July 13, 1888 in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico. He studied law during a time of persecution.

Anacleto was greatly involved in social and religious activities and a member of the Catholic Association of Young Mexicans. He taught religious education, wrote articles and books and was dedicated to works of charity. In 1922 he married Maria Concepcion Guerrero and they had two children.

Anacleto joined the League for the Defense of Religious Freedom after four journalists were murdered. He began a weekly newspaper named “Word”. He was periodically imprisoned; however, he preached the gospel to inmates while in prison.

In 1927 guerrilla warfare spread. Anacleto wrote bulletins from his hiding places. He was captured on April 1, 1927 in the home of the Vargas Gonzalez family. He and two of the Vargas brothers were arrested. Anacleto was tortured be being hung by his thumbs until his fingers were dislocated and having the bottoms of his feet slashed. He refused to give his captors any information.

Bl. Anacleto was sentenced to death and was shot with the Vargas Gonzalez brothers and Luis Padilla Gomez on April 1, 1927.

The last words of Bl. Anacleto were….“I die, but God does not die. Viva! Cristo Rey!”

 

Well, Lord, if this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few!

Quote of St. Teresa of Avila; Feast day Oct. 15

 

April is the Month of the Eucharist

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Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Benjamin, Feast Day March 31

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St. Benjamin

The feast day of St. Benjamin is celebrated on March 31.

St. Benjamin was a deacon serving in Persia. There had been twelve years of peace in Persia when Abdas, a Christian bishop, burned the Temple of Fire which was a great sanctuary. King Isdegerd threatened to destroy all Christian churches unless it was rebuilt. When Abdas refused to rebuild the sanctuary the King proceeded to carry out his threat.

It was during this time that St. Benjamin was arrested. He was imprisoned for one year for his faith. At the end of the year he was released on the condition that he could not speak about religion.

St. Benjamin declared that it was his duty to preach about Christ and refused to be silent. He was arrested again and tortured. Reeds were thrust between his nails and then withdrawn. A knotted stake was inserted into his bowels to rend and tear him.

St. Benjamin died a martyr in 424.   St. Benjamin is the patron of Evangelists.

 

The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without haven.

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

 

March is the Month of St. Joseph

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Mark of Arethusa, Feast Day March 29

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St. Mark of Arethusa
St. Mark of Arethusa

The feast day of St. Mark of Arethusa is celebrated on March 29.  

St. Mark was a priest in Syria during the reign of Constantine. He became the Bishop of Arethan. There were many conversions to Christianity during this time. Mark undertook the challenge of transforming pagan temples into Christian churches. He faced resistance, however his gentle demeanor, compassion and humility made it possible. However, when Emperor Julian the Apostate succeeded the throne the advances of Christianity came to a sudden halt and persecutions began.

A mob turned on St. Mark. The mob demanded that he pay to have the temple rebuilt. When he refused, they tortured him. They cut off his ears, stripped him naked, smeared him with honey and bound him to a tree for wasps, mosquitoes and hornets to eat. He still refused to pay for the temple to be rebuilt. His endurance impressed the people who began to feel sorry for him. They eventually set him free. Many people who had left the faith because of Emperor Julian began to return to the faith.

St. Mark died on March 28, 389.

Our discovery of God is, in a way, God’s discovery of us.  We cannot go to heaven to find Him because we have no way of knowing where heaven is or what it is, He comes down from Heaven and finds us.

Quote of Thomas Merton

 

March is the Month of St. Joseph

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Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Margaret Clitherow, Feast Day March 26

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St. Margaret Clitherow Public Domain Image
St. Margaret Clitherow

The feast day of St. Margaret Clitherow is celebrated on March 26.

 St. Margaret Clitherow was born in Middleton, England in 1555.  She was raised in the Anglican faith. Her father was Thomas Middleton, the Sheriff of York. She married John Clitherow who was a wealthy butcher. They had two children.

Margaret converted to the Catholic faith after several years of marriage. She began harboring fugitive priests during the persecution of Queen Elizabeth. She also was known to let the priest celebrate Mass on her property. St. Margaret was arrested and put into prison. She refused to deny her faith and sentenced to die by being ‘pressed to death’. At the trial Margaret’s only statement was…

“Having made no offense, I need no trial”.

The martyrdom of St. Margaret took place in 1586. St. Margaret was stretched on the ground with a sharp rock on her back and crushed under a door laden with heavy weights. She died within fifteen minutes. Many of her bones were broken. She was 33 years old.

St. Margaret was canonized in 1970 as one of the 40 martyrs of England and Wales.

Spirit of truth, You are the reward of saints, the comforter of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor, treasure to lovers, food for the hungry, comfort to the wanderer; to sum up, You are the one in who all treasures are contained.

Quote of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi; Feast day May 25

 

March is the Month of St. Joseph

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Faith, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Agatha, Feast Day Feb. 5

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St. Agatha Public Domain Image
St. Agatha
Public Domain Image

The Catholic Church will be celebrating the feast day of St. Agatha on Feb. 5.  She is the patron saint of breast cancer.

St. Agatha was born in Catania, Sicily.   She died a martyr in 251.  She is one of seven women memorialized in the cannon of the Mass.

Her legendary story tells us she was tortured for her faith. After being imprisoned in a brothel by Quintian, she was then sent to prison. When she persisted in the faith, she was tortured by having her breasts amputated. She was then martyred. During a vision she had of St. Peter, she was healed.

Because of this torture, she is considered the patron saint of breast cancer victims.

St. Agatha died while in prison. In art she is shown with her amputated breasts on a platter.

 

The following quotes are attributed to St. Agatha:

“My courage and my thought be so firmly founded upon the firm stone of Jesus Christ, that for no pain it may not be changed, your words be not wind, your promises be but rain, and your menaces be as rivers that pass, and how will that all these things hurtle at the fundament of my courage, yet for that it shall not move.”

Quote of St. Agatha

“Jesus Christ, Lord of all things! You see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am — you alone.       I am your sheep; make me worthy to overcome the devil.”

Quote of St. Agatha

Lord Jesus Christ, you created me, you watched over me from infancy,
kept my body from defilement, preserved me from love of the world,
made me able to withstand torture, and granted me the virtue of patience
in the midst of torments.

   Quote of St. Agatha

Prayer to Saint Agatha

O St. Agatha,
who withstood the unwelcome advances
from unwanted suitors,
and suffered pain and torture
for your devotion to Our Lord,
we celebrate your faith, dignity, and martyrdom.

Protect us against rape and other violations,
guard us against breast cancer
and other afflictions of women,
and inspire us to overcome adversity.

O St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr,
mercifully grant that we who venerate your sacrifice,
may receive your intercession.

Amen

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord


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Faith, Martyr

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Polycarp, Feast Day Feb. 23

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St. Polycarp
St. Polycarp

The feast day of St. Polycarp is celebrated on Feb. 23.

St. Polycarp was born around the year 70. He is considered an Apostolic Father of the Church because he was an actual disciple of the apostles.

St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. He became Bishop of Smyrna, (now Turkey).  He was friends with St. Ignatius of Antioch.

St. Polycarp was martyred for his faith. Three days before his martyrdom, he had a vision in which he saw his pillow on fire. He told his companions he would be burnt alive. St. Polycarp was arrested. When told he must swear allegiance to Caesar, he refused, professing that he was a Christian. He was threatened with death by wild beasts, but still refused. He was 86 years old when he was taken to the Smyrna stadium and an attempt was made to burn him alive in the year 156. The flames did him no harm, and so he was killed by a dagger.

The body of St. Polycarp was ordered to be burned.

 

“Help one another with the generosity of the Lord,
and despise no one.
When you have the opportunity to do good,
do not let it go by.”

Quote of St. Polycarp

 

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

Faith, Jesuit Saints, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Robert Southwell, Feast Day Feb. 21

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St. Robert Southwell
St. Robert Southwell

The feast day of St. Robert Southwell is celebrated on Feb. 21.

St. Robert Southwell was born in Norfolk, England in 1561 to a family of nobility. He attended the Roman Catholic college at Douai.

 

In 1580, St. Robert joined the Society of Jesus.   Robert studied theology in Rome.   He was ordained a priest in 1584, the same year an act was passed by the Elizabethan government forbidding Catholic priests to remain over 40 days in England. The punishment was death.

 

At his own request, St. Robert Southwell was sent to England as a missionary. He administered the sacraments for six years as the government kept him under surveillance. In 1572 he was arrested and tortured. St. Robert refused to reveal the names of fellow Catholics. He was imprisoned for three years before he was brought to trial. While in prison, he was allowed to write. He wrote many poems and essays which were published after his death.

 

St. Robert Southwell was tried for treason. The following day, he was hanged at Tyburn. He denied any evil intentions toward the Queen or her government.

 

Pope Paul VI canonized St. Robert Southwell as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on Oct. 25, 1970.

 

 

Our life is but a warfare,
and we are always in the field
against our professed enemies;
for in our baptism, we bid them battle
by defying and renouncing them.

 

 

Quote of St. Robert Southwell

 

 

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Onesimus, Feast Day Feb. 16

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St. Onesimus
The feast day of St. Onesimus is celebrated on Feb. 16.   We learn about St. Onesimus in St. Paul’s letter to Philemon. He had fled from his master, Philemon, after robbing him.  St. Onesimus met St. Paul, who was a prisoner in Rome at the time.  After meeting St. Paul, Onesimus converted to Christianity.

St. Paul sends him back to Philemon armed with the letter we read in the Bible. In the letter St. Paul pleads for love and forgiveness.  Philemon is persuaded to pardon Onesimus who then returns to help St. Paul.

Under the instruction of St. Paul, Onesimus is believed to become a priest and then a bishop.  St. Paul has him deliver his Epistle to the Colossians and St. Onesius helps St. Paul to spread the Good News!

It is believed that Onesimus is arrested during the persecutions, brought to Rome in chains and stoned to death in the year 95.

I know of one means only by which to attain perfection:
Love! Let us love,
since our heart is made for nothing else.

Quote of St. Thérèse of Lisieux; Feast day October 1

 

Feb. is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

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Faith, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Valentine, Feast Day Feb. 14

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St. Valentine

The feast day of St. Valentine is celebrated on Feb. 14. St. Valentine is an actual saint. His relics are claimed by three churches in Rome. What we know about him has been passed down orally, so it is considered part legend.  St. Valentine is the patron saint of happy marriages and lovers because of his devotion to the Sacrament of Marriage.

St. Valentine was a Roman priest during the time of Emperor Claudias II, who persecuted the church. He actually prohibited the marriage of young people because he believed unmarried men were better soldiers. During the time of St. Valentine polygamy (multiple wives) was very common. St. Valentine encouraged couples to marry in the church in spite of the edict. He held the marriage ceremonies in secret.

Eventually Valentine was caught, imprisoned and tortured. One of his jailers had a daughter who was blind. After Valentine prayed with her, her sight was restored. This resulted in the jailer converting to the Christian faith. In 269 Valentine was sentenced to death .

The last words of St. Valentine were in a note to the girl he had healed signing it “from your Valentine”.

“Let your religion be less of a theory
and more of a love affair.”

 Quote of G. K. Chesterton

 

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

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