Tag Archives: Martyrs

Feast Days, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips ane Quotes: The Holy Innocents, Feast Day December 28

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The Holy Innocents

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 star of Bethlehem

shines

in the night of sin.

Quote of St. Edith Stein; Feast day August 9

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

 

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Dominican Saints, Faith, Martyr

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Thomas De and Companions, Feast Day December 19

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Japanese Martyrs

 

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 Order as 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.

“Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side;

Hope supports it on the other;

Experience says it must be

and Love says…Let it be.

Quote of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton;  Feast Day January 4

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Apostle, Faith, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Simon and St. Jude, Feast Day October 28

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St. Simon and St. Jude Public Domain Image
St. Simon and St. Jude

 

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 Public Domain Image
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 they 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 Physician, and heal my wounds.

Come, Flame of Divine Love, and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of your 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

 

October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary

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Carmelite Saints, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Rose Chretien, Feast Day July 17

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Martyrs of Compiegne

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

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

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Franciscan Saints, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions, Feast Day July 10

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Bl. Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions
Bl. Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions

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.

 

Love seeks one thing only…

the good of the one loved.

It leaves all the other secondary

effects to take care of themselves.

Love therefore, is its own reward.

Quote of Thomas Merton

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

 

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Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: The First Martyrs, Feast Day June 30

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Early Christian Martyrs Public Domain Image

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.

St. Peter and St. Paul were probably among the victims of this persecution.

Emperor Nero committed suicide at the age of 31 when he was facing an army revolt and condemned to death by the Senate.

 

They are the ones who truly live, they who merit to be slain for Christ.

Quote of St. Peter Chrysologus;

 

Feast day July 30June is the Month of the Sacred Heart