The Feast Day of Carlo is celebrated on October 12. Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991 in London to Italian parents who working there. He was raised in Milan, Italy. Carlo died at the age of 15 in Manza, Italy of leukemia on October 12, 2006.
St. Carlo Acutis was beatified by Pope Francis in 2020 and Canonized by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 7, 2025. He is considered the first millennial saint and the patron saint of the internet.
At a young age of 11, Carlo became very interested in Eucharistic Miracles. He visited the birthplace of many of the saints and sites of the Eucharistic miracles. His passion for the Eucharist led him to use his skills as a coder to build a website cataloging over 150 Miracles. He listed them by country and date. His site is still active at Carlo Acutis La dlinea del tempo di Carlo Acutis
St. Carlos was known for being very generous. He helped the poor and defended students in his school from bullies. He enjoyed helping the elderly and disabled. His passion for his faith inspired his parents to become active in their faith. They enrolled in a theology class so they could answer questions which came up.
At the age of 14, Carlo fell ill. At first, they believed he had the flu; however he was diagnosed with acute Myeloid Leukemia. Afte r suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage, he went into a coma and died on October 12.
Initially buried in Ternengo his body was reburied in January 2007 in Assisi because of his devotion to St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Carlo is credited with two miracles. The healing of a Brazilian boy born with a malformed pancreas was healed after prayers of intercession to Blessed Carlo in 2020. The second miracle occurred in Costa Rico then a woman was healed in 2024 after suffering a serious head injury. Prayers of intercession were prayed at St. Acutis’s tomb after which she was healed. These miracles led to the canonization of St. Carlo in 2025 by Pope Leo XIV.
The Feast Day of Carlo is celebrated on October 12. Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991 in London to Italian parents who working there. He was raised in Milan, Italy. Carlo died at the age of 15 in Manza, Italy of leukemia on October 12, 2006.
St. Carlo Acutis was beatified by Pope Francis in 2020 and Canonized by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 7, 2025. He is considered the first millennial saint and the patron saint of the internet.
At a young age of 11, Carlo became very interested in Eucharistic Miracles. He visited the birthplace of many of the saints and sites of the Eucharistic miracles. His passion for the Eucharist led him to use his skills as a coder to build a website cataloging over 150 Miracles. He listed them by country and date. His site is still active at Carlo Acutis La dlinea del tempo di Carlo Acutis
St. Carlos was known for being very generous. He helped the poor and defended students in his school from bullies. He enjoyed helping the elderly and disabled. His passion for his faith inspired his parents to become active in their faith. They enrolled in a theology class so they could answer questions which came up.
At the age of 14, Carlo fell ill. At first, they believed he had the flu; however he was diagnosed with acute Myeloid Leukemia. Afte r suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage, he went into a coma and died on October 12.
Initially buried in Ternengo his body was reburied in January 2007 in Assisi because of his devotion to St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Carlo is credited with two miracles. The healing of a Brazilian boy born with a malformed pancreas was healed after prayers of intercession to Blessed Carlo in 2020. The second miracle occurred in Costa Rico then a woman was healed in 2024 after suffering a serious head injury. Prayers of intercession were prayed at St. Acutis’s tomb after which she was healed. These miracles led to the canonization of St. Carlo in 2025 by Pope Leo XIV.
When we think about the cross, we usually think about the suffering and tribulations of life.
The Way of the Cross is a powerful devotion in the church. We meditate and ponder on the Stations of the Cross. This devotion is often prayed in church on Fridays during lent. It may also be prayed alone. When praying the Way of the Crossprivately, it is helpful to use a written form of the devotion with meditations.
The 14 Stations of the Cross represent events from Jesus’ passion and death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus’ suffering, Death, and Resurrection.
1 Jesus Is Condemned to Death.
2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross.
3. Jesus Falls the First Time.
4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother.
5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
7. Jesus Falls a Second Time.
8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time.
10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments.
.11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross.
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross.
13. Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.
14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.
As we reflect on the stations of the cross, perhaps the quotes of the saints will help us as we meditate on the meaning of the cross.
3. The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.
12. Remember that when your heart feels restless, when your heart feels hurt, when your heart feels like breaking… I am precious to Him. He has called me by name. I am His. He loves me. And to prove that love He died on the cross.
14. The cross is the hope of Christians, the staff of the lame, the comfort of the poor, the destruction of all pride, the victory over devils, the guide of youth, the pilot of mariners, the refuge of those who are in danger, the counselor of the just, the rest of the afflicted, the physician of the sick the glory of Martyrs
15. The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without haven. The worst prison would be a closed heart.
Prayer is important in our faith journey. There are many prayer styles. Spending time with God is important whether it be alone, with nature, or with a group of many. We pray in our actions and in silence. We also make a joyful noise in praise and thanksgiving.
The following quotes help us to discover the prayer styles of the saints.
1. Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.
2. I pray like little children who do not know how to read. I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences and He always understands me.
21. Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions, you should only speak to Him with your heart.
8. Live in faith and hope, though it may be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone for that would be to wrong Him.
17. By itself, faith accomplishes nothing, for even the devil believes and trembles. No, faith must be joined to an active love which is expressed in good works.
21. Your faith will help you realize that it is Jesus Himself who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, working working for you and calling you to spend one special hour with Hime each week.
22. If faith is lacking, it is because there is too much selfishness., too much concern for personal gain. For faith to be true, it has to be genuine and loving. Love and faith go together…they complete each other.
23. Among the many signs of a lively faith is the hope we have in eternal life. One of the secrets is not being overly sad at the death of those whom we dearly love in our Lord.
Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do.
St. Augustine
He who loves the coming of the Lord is not he who affirms it is far off nor is it he who says it is near, but rather he who, who whether it be far off or near, awaits with sincere faith, steadfast hope and fervent love.
St. Augustine
For in our Hope we are saved.
St. Augustine
Hope is the dream of a waking man.
St. Augustine
St. Bernard of Clairvaux Public Domain Image
Hope is the gift that God bestows on those who seek Him with a sincere heart.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. where there is injury, pardon. where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light. and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you.
Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone, for that would be to wrong Him.
Although I have lived through much darkness, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young…Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son.
The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope. There is no dark without dawn, no storm without haven.
St. John Paul II
Apart from the mercy of God, there is no other source of hope for mankind.
St. John Paul II
To humanity, which sometimes seems to be lost and dominated by the power of evil, selfishness and fear, the risen Lord gives the gift of His love which forgives, reconciles and reopens the soul to hope.
St. John Paul II
Believers know that the presence of evil is always accompanied by the presence of good… by grace…Where evil grows, there the hope for good also grows…In the love that pours forth from the heart of Christ, we find hope for the future of the world. Christ has redeemed the world. By His wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
St. John Paul II
I plead with you…never ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; I do not give to you as the world gives. Do no let not your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid.” John 14:27.
Quote of Jesus
Peace and serenity of heart are difficult to acquire. The world is a chaotic place to live. Our emotions can make us feel quite helpless. How do we find peace? How do we live in peace? Faith is a gift. With faith, we can pray for peace.
The following quotes of the saints are ‘pearls of wisdom’ to help us in our journey.
Lord, Make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
4. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
10. Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me.
16. Be peace loving.Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal. Live your life that you may receive the blessings of the Lord. Then the peace of God the Father will be with you always.
St. Jerome and the Angel by Simon Vouet Public Domain Image
23. We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God.
Mother Teresa will soon be officially declared a saint!
The day before the feast day of Bl. Mother Teresa Pope Francis will proclaim that she is a saint. Her feast day is celebrated on Sept. 5. The world remembers her as a “living saint”.
St. Teresa of Calcutta was born to parents Nikola and Drana Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1916 in Skopje of Macedonia and named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was baptized on August 17, 1910 in Macedonia. She was the third child in her family, following sister Aga and a brother, Lazar. Her father, Nikola died, when she was eight years old. Her father was a traveler, an extrovert, and a businessman who spoke five languages. Her mother, Drana, was extremely pious, adopting several orphans. She was known as Gonxha (pronounced gon’KHA) which means “flower bud”.
Gonxha desired early to become a missionary. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Sisters of Loreto. Here she took the name of Sister Mary Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux. She was sent to Calcutta, India to teach at St. Mary’s High School for Girls, which was run by the Sisters of Loreto. On May 24, 1937, she took her final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She then became known as Mother Teresa. In 1944, she became principal of the school.
Mother Teresa received a second calling while on a train. Christ spoke to her, asking her to work in the slums of Calcutta, caring for the sickest and poorest of the people.Pursuing this calling changed her life forever. In one year, she received approval to do the work she was being called to do. After six months of basic medical training she went to the slums to aid the needy and dying. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charitywith 12 members, most of them students from St. Mary’s. She established a leper colony, an orphanage, a mission house, and several health clinics.
In 1971, Mother Teresa visited New York City, where she opened a soup kitchen and a home to care for HIV/AIDS sufferers. In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1983, Mother Teresa suffered her first heart attack. After suffering from lung, kidney and heart problems for several years, she died on Sept. 5, 1997, which is now her feast day. At the time of her death her Missionaries of Charity numbered over 4,000. She had 610 foundations in 123 countries.
Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, after confirmation of her first miracle. The miracle was reported that a woman who had a large and very visible tumor, had stayed with the Missionaries of Charity. After she and the Sisters had prayed for Mother Teresa’s intercession, the growth, six to seven inches in length, had disappeared within several hours. Finding no other medical explanation for the sudden cure it was declared her first miracle. Over 3500 other reports are being investigated as possible miracles.
After accepting a second miracle, Pope Francis cleared the way for Mother Teresa to be declared a saint. Pope Francis signed a decree declaring that the inexplicable 2008 recovery of a Brazilian man who suddenly woke from a coma caused by a viral brain infection was due to the intercession of the Albanian nun, who died in 1997.
The Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the postulator spearheading Mother Teresa’s canonization case, stated that the man fully recovered following his wife’s prayers and he has since returned to work as a mechanical engineer. The couple also have had two children.
In 2003, Mother Teresa’s private correspondence revealed she had experienced a “dark night of the soul”… feeling abandoned by God and lacking in faith. This lasted unusually long; for fifty years. Many saints have experienced such feelings, described by John of the Cross, in his book Dark Night of the Soul. She was filled with loneliness, and torture, due to this lack of consolation from God.
Each image in the following list is accompanied by a quote or prayer of Mother Teresa. The images are all public domain images.
As we celebrate the sainthood and feast day of St.Teresa of Calcutta on Sept. 5, let’s remember the remarkable things she did and said.
Sisters of Charity
Prayer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance
everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us and then we shall begin to shine as you shine,
to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be ours.
It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching,
not by words, but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you.
Amen
Mother Teresa with Child/Associated Press
Mother Teresa: Smile
“Let us always meet each other with a smile for the smile is the beginning of love.”
“Peace begins with a smile.”
“Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: God and Faith
“We are nothing without God, but if we put our lives in God’s hands miracles happen.”
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
“Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. Byt transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord.”
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa with Pope John Paul II
Mother Teresa: Prayer
The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.”
Mother Teresa
Young Mother Teresa
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhju (Mother Teresa)
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Abortion
“Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love but to use any violence to get what it wants.”
“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”
“There are two victims in every abortion: a dead baby and a dead conscience.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Love and Forgiveness
“It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing. It is not how how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.”
“I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
“If we really want to love we must learn to forgive.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Helping the Sick
“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely, and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”
“Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not come, we have only today. Let us begin.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa in service
Mother Teresa: Service
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous, be happy anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God, it was never between you and them anyway.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa Praying
Mother Teresa: Prayer
“Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer and take trouble to pray Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.”
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Silence
“We need to find God and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature; trees, flowers, grass, grow in silence. See the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
The Catholic Church celebrates Christmas for twelve days.
While the Nativity of Our Lord is celebrated Dec. 25, the Twelve days of Christmas begins on Christmas Day, Dec. 25(beginning at sundown), and ends at sunrise on Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. During the Christmas season the priest’s vestments are gold to symbolize the sacredness of the Christmas season. The change in the color of vestments indicates that Advent is over. During Advent, the priest’s vestments are purple to symbolize the holy season of waiting and prayer.
According to legend, the song The Twelve Days of Christmas was actually written by Jesuit priests in England during the sixteenth century. It was a time of persecution and the song was used to secretly teach basic facts regarding the Catholic faith. If someone studied all the items represented in the song they knew the basics of the catholic faith.
Each number had a secret meaning:
Twelve represented the twelve teachings mentioned in the Apostles Creed;
Five represented the first books of the Old Testament;
Four represented the four gospels;
Three represented the Trinity;
Two represented the two natures of Christ…human and divine;
and One represented Jesus himself, our Lord and our God.
The Pear Tree represented the cross we must carry when we follow Christ.
The Apostles’ Creed is a summary of the faith taught by the Apostles. When we pray the Apostles Creed we are professing our faith in the church begun by the Apostles.
The Apostles’ Creed
We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The resurrection of the body
and life everlasting. Amen
The Catholic Church has feast days throughout the year. Many of its feast days are in honor of the saints. The feast day given to a saint is usually the day he or she died and entered heaven.
Take a small amount of time each day during the twelve days of Christmas to meditate on the actual feast day we are celebrating.
The Holy Innocents are the innocent children murdered by King Herod after the Magi told him about birth of the new King of the Jews, called the Christ child. The little children were murdered in an attempt to find and murder Christ, “The King of the Jews”.
St. Anysia was a martyr in Greece. She lived from 284-309. She was killed with a sword after being accosted by a soldier. She used her wealth to help the poor.
The prayer of a good innocent,and obedient child is like dew from heaven falling upon his whole family.
St. Sylvester I was the Bishop of Rome. He died in the year 335 after helping to define doctrine at the Council of Nicea which proclaimed the Nicean Creed.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first native born American to be canonized. She lived in New York, dying in 1821. She is the Founder and first Superior of the Sister of Charity in the U.S.
“Be attentive to the voice of Grace.”
Quote of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. John N. Neumann
St. John N. Neumann; Feast Day January 5
St. John N. Neumann was born in Bohemia. He emigrated to the U.S. becoming a Redemptorist priest and the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. He is the first American bishop to be canonized.
The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the Three Kings following the star to visit Jesus. They brought the King of the Jews gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus…a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.”
“The way you heal the world is to start with your own family.”
Quotes of St. Teresa of Calcutta
Most of us remember how tirelessly Mother Teresa worked with the dying. She was known as a “living saint”. How do we handle the stress and suffering in our own lives?
For the past several years, our family has been caring for our mother who has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Each of us watched her suffer with the disease and suffered individually both from a sense of helplessness and from grief and sorrow. My sister and I cared for her day after day never knowing when the journey would come to an end. Other brothers and sisters helped when they could, knowing visits made it difficult for her to sleep. The last months were filled with stress and anxiety even with the help of hospice.
Questions about suffering and death were impossible to avoid. How could a loving and merciful God permit such suffering? If there is a God where was He?
I have been reflecting on the gifts given us by the Holy Spirit. I like to picture them as gifts under the Christmas tree. Christmas, after all, is when Jesus was born. God coming to earth to bring mankind salvation. He opened the door to heaven for us. The gifts of Faith, Hope and Love are in the Christmas presents under the tree.
Faith is the belief in something we cannot see. Similar to believing that the light switch will produce light even though we cannot see electricity.
Hope is what we receive when we have faith in everlasting life. We believe our spirit lives on in communion with the saints in heaven. What a party!
Love is the greatest commandment. Scripture tells us that without love we are a noisy gong. Jesus instructed us to love God with our whole hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves.
But what IS love? Love is caring more for the other person than yourself. When two people “fall in love”, they will do anything for each other. Over time, the only way we know if it is true love is if each person is willing to suffer for the other. Hopefully, both parties take turns and the person suffering is supported by the other. Suffering defines love!
If there was no suffering in the world, how would we prove our love? Sacrificial love is easy to understand when we think of our children. We would prefer to suffer ourselves than let them suffer. But holding them too tightly and overprotecting them also causes suffering. We must be willing to suffer from empty nest syndrome if our children are ever to be healthy adults. Marriages are supposed to be loving relationships, but too often either one or both person is unwilling to suffer and sacrifice to make it work. Suffering proves love!
Another gift found under the Christmas tree is the gift of grace. Grace is also known as the awareness of the presence (gift) of God in our lives. If we have the gift of grace we can see God in the face of the suffering. We can see God in creation. We can see God’s actions in everything around us.
Now that my mother is enjoying life again in heaven, I find myself asking more questions. How did we do it? How did our family bear with one another patiently over the past difficult years? How did we forgive each other when our patience failed us?
We did it with the grace of God. He was walking with each of us on this journey.
The Catholic Church celebrates Christmas for twelve days.
While the Nativity of Our Lord is celebrated Dec. 25, the Twelve days of Christmas begins on Christmas Day, Dec. 25(beginning at sundown), and ends at sunrise on Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. During the Christmas season the priest’s vestments are gold to symbolize the sacredness of the Christmas season. The change in the color of vestments indicates that Advent is over. During Advent, the priest’s vestments are purple to symbolize the holy season of waiting and prayer.
According to legend, the song The Twelve Days of Christmas was actually written by Jesuit priests in England during the sixteenth century. It was a time of persecution and the song was used to secretly teach basic facts regarding the Catholic faith. If someone studied all the items represented in the song they knew the basics of the catholic faith.
Each number had a secret meaning:
Twelve represented the twelve teachings mentioned in the Apostles Creed;
Five represented the first books of the Old Testament;
Four represented the four gospels;
Three represented the Trinity;
Two represented the two natures of Christ…human and divine;
and One represented Jesus himself, our Lord and our God.
The Pear Tree represented the cross we must carry when we follow Christ.
The Apostles’ Creed is a summary of the faith taught by the Apostles. When we pray the Apostles Creed we are professing our faith in the church begun by the Apostles.
The Apostles’ Creed
We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The resurrection of the body
and life everlasting. Amen
The Catholic Church has feast days throughout the year. Many of its feast days are in honor of the saints. The feast day given to a saint is usually the day he or she died and entered heaven.
Take a small amount of time each day during the twelve days of Christmas to meditate on the actual feast day we are celebrating.
The Holy Innocents are the innocent children murdered by King Herod after the Magi told him about birth of the new King of the Jews, called the Christ child. The little children were murdered in an attempt to find and murder Christ, “The King of the Jews”.
St. Anysia was a martyr in Greece. She lived from 284-309. She was killed with a sword after being accosted by a soldier. She used her wealth to help the poor.
The prayer of a good innocent,and obedient child is like dew from heaven falling upon his whole family.
St. Sylvester I was the Bishop of Rome. He died in the year 335 after helping to define doctrine at the Council of Nicea which proclaimed the Nicean Creed.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first native born American to be canonized. She lived in New York, dying in 1821. She is the Founder and first Superior of the Sister of Charity in the U.S.
“Be attentive to the voice of Grace.”
Quote of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. John N. Neumann
St. John N. Neumann; Feast Day January 5
St. John N. Neumann was born in Bohemia. He emigrated to the U.S. becoming a Redemptorist priest and the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. He is the first American bishop to be canonized.
The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the Three Kings following the star to visit Jesus. They brought the King of the Jews gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Learn what the Saints believed about Purgatory. The quotes of the saints can teach us the beliefs of the early Church.
Halloween is celebrated on Oct. 31. Halloween stands for “All Hallows Eve.” It falls on the night before All Saint’s Day which is followed by All Soul’s Day on Nov. 2. On All Saint’s Day the Church celebrates the lives of the Saints. On All Soul’s Day the Church prays for the dead, who are on their pilgrimage to heaven (Purgatory).
Although the word Purgatory (as well as the words Trinity and Incarnation) does not appear in the Bible there are several references to it in both the New and the Old Testament. The Saints have testified to their belief in purgatory also.
The three main reasons Catholics believe in Purgatory are the following:
The Bible teaches us to “pray for the dead”.
(2 Maccabees 12:44-45). For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.
The Bible tells us of a cleansing fire.
(Hebrews 12:29) Our God is a consuming fire. Zechariah 13” 8-9 In the whole land, says the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say,
“They are my people”, and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
St. Paul prayed for the dead. (2 Timothy 1: 17-18) St. Paul prays for Onesiphorus who has died.
The Church Fathers and early Saints believed in Purgatory: The Church Fathers have a long tradition of praying for the dead. St. Augustine was asked by his mother Monica to pray for him at the altar. St. Gertrude the Great had a devotion to the Souls in Purgatory, as did St. Pio, St. Bridget and St. Bernadette.
The following quotes from the saints of the Catholic Church show that purgatory is a belief that has always existed in the church.
“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesephores, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain….. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that day!
2. St. Augustine of Hippo, Africa d. 430, Feast Day August 28
“Some suffer temporal punishments only in this life, others only after death, still others both in life and after death, but always before this most strict and most final court.”
4. St. John Chrysostom; Antioch 344-407 Feast Day Sept. 13
“Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their fathers sacrifices why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.”
5. St. Gertrude the Great; Germany 1256-1302 Feast Day Nov. 16
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious Blood of Thy Divine Son , Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the wold today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, those in the Universal Church, in my home and in my family. Amen“
Quote of St. Gertrude
St. Catherine of Genoa
6. St. Catherine of Genoa; Italy 1447-1510 Feast Day Sept. 15
“No one is barred from heaven. Whoever wants to enter heaven may do so because God is merciful. Our Lord will welcome us into glory with his arms wide open. The Almighty is pure however, and if a person is conscious of the least trace of imperfection and at the same time understands that Purgatory is ordained to do away with such impediments, the soul enters this place of perfection gladly to accept so great a mercy of God. The worst suffering of these suffering souls is to have sinned against Divine Goodness and not to have been purified in this life.”
Quote of St. Catherine of Genoa
St. Francis de Sales
7. St. Francis de Sales; France 1567-1622 Feast Day Jan. 24
“With Charity towards the dead we practice all the works of charity. The Church encourages us to aid the souls in purgatory, who in turn will reward us abundantly when they come into their glory.”
Quote of St. Francis de Sales
St. Margaret Mary
8. St. Margaret Mary; France 1647-1690 Feast Day October 16
“If only you knew with what great longing these holy souls yearn for relief from their suffering. Ingratitude has never entered Heaven.”
9. St. Gregory the Great; Italy 540-604 Feast Day Sept. 3
“Each one will be presented to the Judge exactly as he was when he departed this life. Yet there must be a cleansing fire before judgement because of some minor faults that may remain to be purged away.”
10. St. Thomas Aquinas; Naples, Italy 1226-1274 Feast Day Jan. 28
“The more one longs for a thing, the more painful does deprivation of it become. And because after this life, the desire for God, the Supreme Good, is intense in the souls of the just (because this impetus toward him is not hampered by the weight of the body and that time of enjoyment of the “Perfect Good would have come) had there been no obstacle, the souls suffers enormously from this delay.”
Quote of St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Faustina
11. St. Faustina; Poland 1905-1938
“O Jesus, I understand that your mercy is beyond all imagining, and therefore I ask you to make my heart so big that there will be room in it for the needs of all the souls living on the face of the earth. O Jesus, my love extends beyond the world, to the souls suffering in purgatory, and I want to exercise mercy toward them by means of indulgenced prayers. God’s mercy is unfathomable and inexhaustible, just as God himself is unfathomable. Even if I were to use the strongest words there are to express this mercy of God, all this would be nothing in comparison with what it is in reality. O Jesus, make my heart sensitive to all the sufferings of my neighbor, whether of body or of soul. O my Jesus, I know that You are toward us as we are toward our neighbor.”
Quote of St. Faustina
St. John Vianney
12. St. John Vianney; France 1786-1859 Feast Day August 4
“It is definite that only a few chosen ones do not go to Purgatory and the suffering there that one must endure exceed our imagination.”
“May the prayer of thy suppliant people, we beseech Thee, O Lord, benefit the souls of thy departed servants and handmaids: that thou may both deliver them from all their sins, and make them to be partakers of thy redemption. Amen
Eternal rest grant to them, O lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. Amen
May their souls and the souls of the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen“
