The Feast Day of the North American Martyrs is celebrated on October 19 in the United States. In Canada it is celebrated on September26th.
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 feast day of The Holy Innocents is celebrated on December 28.
According to the Gospel of St. Matthew 2:16-18, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children near Bethlehem out of fear of a newborn King of the Jews after the announcement of His birth by the Magi.
It is not known how many children died, however, they are considered Martyrs and are honored by the Catholic Church.
An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream saying;
“take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child and kill kill Him.”
Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt keeping them safe from harm.
The feast day of St. Thomas De and Companions is celebrated on December 19.
St. Thomas was a tailor in Vietnam who entered the Dominican Orderas a tertiary. He was arrested and charged with giving aid and shelter to foreign missionaries. He was strangled at the age of 26.
The companions of St. Thomas De were Dominic Uy, Augustine Moi, Xavier May and Francis Man.
Augustine was also a Dominican tertiary. He was a day laborer. He refused to trample a crucifix when he was ordered to do so. He was strangled.
Francis Xavier was a native catechist and was also strangled.
Francis Man was a Dominican Tertiary working as a catechist when arrested.
St. Thomas De and Companions were among the 117 Vietnamese martyrs canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
The feast day of St. Simon and St. Jude is celebrated on the same day…October 28. They were both Apostles and Martyrs. St. Simon is the patron saint of tanners. St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes.
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 and St. Jude
St. Jude 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 is not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who was a traitor. After the resurrection, 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. As apostles, both St. Simon and St. Jude became close to Jesus. They truly believed he was the Lord. After the Resurrection Hey spent their life spreading the good news of salvation. Their martyrdom shows us the depth of their love for Jesus.
Come my light and illumine my darkness.
Come my Life and revive me from death.
Come my physidian and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of Divine Love and burn up the thorns of my sins.
kindling my heart with the flame of thy love.
Come my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there,
For you alone are my King and my Lord.
Prayer of St. Dimitri of Rostov; Feast Day October 28
The feast day of Bl. Rose Chretien is celebrated on July 17. It is also the Feast of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne. She was born near Eureaux, France in 1741.
Bl. Rose married at a young age and soon became a widow. She decided to join the Discalced Carmelite Order and became a choir nun. At her profession in 1777 she took the religious name of Sister Julia Louise of Jesus.
Bl. Rose is considered one of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne. The sixteen Carmelites were imprisoned along with English Benedictine nuns. The Carmelites were condemned as traitors and sentenced to death by guillotine. As they were martyred, one by one, they renewed their vows and chanted the hymn Veni Creato Spiritus which was the hymn sung at their ceremony professing their vows.
Several days after their deaths, the persecution called the Reign of Terror led by Robespierre came to an end. The English Benedictine Nuns credited the Carmelites with ending the bloodbath and saving their community.
The Carmelite Sisters were buried in a common grave at Picpus Cemetery with a single cross where 1306 other victims of the guillotine were buried.
Those who do something for the glory of God are not troubled by failure, because they have already achieved their pupose of pleasing God, by acting with a pure intention.
Quote of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Feast day August 1
The feast day of Bl. Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions is celebrated on July 10.
Emmanuel was born in Santander, Spain. He became a Franciscan priest serving as a missionary in Damascus during a time of great persecution.
During the massacre which occurred in 1860 thousands of victims were tortured and died. The villages of Lebanon were pillaged and burned. The massacre began with a quarrel between a Maronite and Druse. When a crowd came looking for them, Emmanuel and his companions refused to renounce their faith and become Muslims. Emmanuel, his supervisor and seven others were tortured and martyred.
Bl. Emmanuel was beatified in 1926 by Pope Pius XI.
The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome are honored on June 30. The feast day has been celebrated beginning in 1969.
More than half of Rome was destroyed by fire in July of 64. The unpopular Emperor Nero was blamed for the fire but he accused the Christians to cover his own crimes. The martyrs were executed in many different ways. Some were burned alive at night to be used as living torches. Others were crucified and still others were fed to wild animals. The crime they were charged with was “their hatred of the human race”.
There was a large Jewish population in Rome at the time of the persecution. Paul had not yet visited Rome, however there were Christians living there.
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. Charles Lwanga is celebrated on June 3.
The Society of Missionaries attracted many converts in Uganda. The converts soon became teachers of the faith also. Uganda was ruled by King Mwanga who was violent and a pedophile. The Christians who lived and taught at King Mwanga’s court tried to protect the pages from the King. The leader of the 200 Christians was Joseph Mkassa. He confronted the King after a Protestant missionary and his companions were killed. Mwanga ordered his execution. Before he was beheaded and burned on Nov. 15, 1885 Joseph forgave Mwanga, but asked for repentance.
St. Charles, who was 18 when he converted, became the new leader of the Christian group. For six months the persecution lessened. Then, however, King Mwanga became angry and killed another student of Christianity with a spear. He ordered the royal compound sealed so no one could escape. Charles baptized four catecheumens (students) that night. The next day the king ordered the 15 boys and men to be executed because they refused to give up being Christians. They were ordered to walk 37 miles to be executed in Namugongo. Three died on the journey. After seven days in prison, they were burned to death. Thirteen Catholics and eleven Protestant’s died.
The Catholic faith was practiced in secret without clergy. After the death of King Mwanga, there were 500 Christians and 1000 catecheumans waiting to receive the sacraments again.
The 22 Catholic Martyrs of Uganda were canonized.
Do not be ashamed to confess the cross, for angels glory in it.
The feast day of the Carthusian Martyrs is celebrated on May 11. The Carthusian Order was founded in 1084 by St. Bruno of Cologne. It was a strict order. Its members lived as hermits, focusing on contemplative prayer. It consisted of 25 houses with 350 male and 75 female members. They came under attack during the Hessite Revolution in Bohemia in the 15th century.
In 1537 during the English Reformation the London Charter house was dissolved. Its members were put in prison and later executed when they refuse to declare King Henry the head of the Church of England. King Henry issued the “Act of Supremacy” declaring any who refused to take an oath recognizing him as head of the Church of England to be guilty of high treason. Eighteen Carthusians refused and were sentenced to death.
The first Carthusians to be martyred were hanged, drawn and quartered. All were tortured before they were martyred. Eighteen were beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. Three were canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
Our Lord likes courage. Get it from Him. You won’t find it in yourself.
Sts. Irene, Agape and Chionia were sisters living in Salonika. Their feast day is celebrated on April 3. They lived during the reign of Emperor Diocilian in a pagan family. In 303 he issued a decree making it an offense punishable by death to possess sacred Christian writings. The sisters owned several volumes of Holy Scriptures which they kept hidden.
The three sisters were arrested for refusing to eat food that had been offered to the Gods. The governor (Dulcetius) questioned each of them. Agape answered his questions by saying…
“I believe in the living God and will not by an evil action lose all the merit of my past life”
St. Chionia and St Agape were sentenced to be burned alive. Irene, because of her age was to be imprisoned. After her sisters were executed, the house was searched and the forbidden books were found. Irene was sent to a brothel where she was forced to strip naked. Miraculously she was protected from harm. After once again refusing to conform she was sentenced to death. She died either by being forced to throw herself into flames or by being shot in the throat with an arrow. The books were publicly burned after her death.
The martyrdom of the three sisters is recorded in an existing document.
It is in loving the cross that one discovers his heart.
The feast day of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity is celebrated on March 7.
Both St. Perpetua and St. Felicity were martyred during a time of great persecution. They were put to death in the year 202 in the games which made public spectacles of those who refused to renounce their faith.
St. Perpetua was a well educated noblewoman living in Carthage, North Africa. Her mother was a Christian but her father was a pagan. Her father tried unsuccessfully to convince her to renounce her faith. Perpetua was 22 when she was arrested and imprisoned. She kept a diary of her sufferings and the nature of the torture she endured. She continued to care for her child in spite of the torture she was forced to endure.
St. Felicity was a pregnant slave girl who was imprisoned at the same time as Perpetua. She also was tortured and condemned to die. Several days before the games began she gave birth to a baby girl. The baby girl was secretly taken away to be raised by Christians.
Both St. Perpetua and St. Felicity are honored on their Feast day of March 7.
I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle.
