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Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Damasus I, Feast Day December 11

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St. Damasus I

 

The feast day of  St. Damasus is celebrated on December 11.  He was the Bishop of Rome.

Damasus was born in 306. His father was a Roman priest. Following his father’s footsteps, he began as a deacon. He served in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He also served Pope Liberius following him into exile. When Pope Liberius died he was elected Pope. At the same time a minority elected Ursinus as the Pope. Ursinus was considered the anti-pope. Unrest and discord were constant during the reign of Pope Damasus.

Pope Damasus commissioned his secretary St.Jerome to translate the scripture into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. He also changed the liturgical language of the Church from Greek to Latin. He worked to preserve the catacombs and the graves of the martyrs, and relics. During his reign, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state.

Pope Damasus I died of natural causes in Rome on Dec. 11, 384.

 

“For me, prayer means launching out

of the heart toward God;

a cry of grateful love from the

crest of joy or the trough of despair;

It is a vast supernatural force

that opens out my heart,

and binds me close to Jesus.”

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

 

 December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Bibiana, Feast Day Dec. 2

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St. Bibiana Public domain Image
St. Bibiana

The feast day of St. Bibiana is celebrated on December 2.  She was a virgin and a martyr in the year 361.

 

St. Bibiana was born in Rome. Her father was a knight, whose name was Flavian. Her mother’s name was Dafrosa. When Apronianus was named the Governor of Rome he persecuted the Christians mercilessly. Flavian was arrested and tortured. He fled into exile where he died from his wounds. Bibiana’s mother, Dafrosa, was beheaded.

Bibiana and her sister Demetria were robbed of all their possessions leaving them in poverty. They did however, stay in their house, spending much time in prayer.

They were summoned by Apronianus. Demetria confessed her Faith and then fell dead at the governors feet. Bibiana was given to a woman named Rufina who tortured her unsuccessfully. Apronianus ordered her to be tied to a pillar and beaten with scourges laden with lead plummets until she died. St. Bibiana endured the torture with joy until her death.

Two days later, a priest buried her next to her mother and sister. A church was built over her grave.

 

I believe Lord, but let me believe more firmly.

I hope Lord, but let me hope more surely.

I love, Lord, but let me love more warmly.

I repent Lord, but let me repent more deeply.

Quote of St. Antony Claret; Feast day October 24

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

 

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Martyr, patron saints, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Clement of Rome, Feast Day Nov. 23

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St. Clement of Rome
St. Clement of Rome

St. Clement of Rome was the third successor of St. Peter and the fourth pope of the Catholic Church.  He is the patron saint of mariners.

St. Clement was Jewish by birth.  He converted to Christianity and became a follower of St. Paul and St. Peter.  He was ordained a priest by St. Peter.  Because he knew the Apostles he is considered one of the five Apostolic Fathers.

As Pope, St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthian Church.  The Corinthian Church was in turmoil.  He urged charity and obedience.  His letter brought peace and order to the Church.

St. Clement lived during a time of persecution.  He was banished and sentenced to work with other prisoners in a stone quarry.  He continued to successfully convert people.  Because of the success  he had in converting people,  he was sentenced to death.  He was put to death by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.

 

“Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints.”

Quote of St. Clement of Rome

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

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

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Cecelia, Feast Day November 22

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The feast day of St. Cecelia is celebrated on November 22.  She is a martyr and the patron saint of musicians.

 

St. Cecelia by Guarino
St. Cecelia
by Guarino

 

 

St. Cecelia was born in Rome to an esteemed family late in the first century. She lived a life of prayer. She was given in marriage to a young pagan named Valerian. Cecelia shared her promise of celibacy and consecration to God with her husband. During the wedding, it is said that she sat apart, singing to God in her heart with thanksgiving.

Valerian converted to Christianity and he honored her desire to remain a virgin. He helped Cecilia in her charity toward the poor. Because of this, he was arrested and put to death.

Almachius, the Prefect of Rome, feared her nobility and charity to the poor. He had her imprisoned in the steam bath of her own home, trying to suffocate her. After a full day and night in stifling steam, Cecilia survived without harm. This resulted in Almachius sending an executioner to behead her. She was struck three times, but she was not beheaded. She fell to the floor. After several days of bleeding in her own bath, Christians rushed in to help her. On the third morning the venerable Bishop Urban visited Cecilia. As she lay dying, she requested that her palace be made into a church for the poor. She died praying, after receiving the Eucharist. Her body was buried in the Catacomb of Saint Callistus.  The year of her death is unknown bu it is believed  her martyrdom took place during  the pontificate of Urban I (222-230).

In 817, her tomb was discovered by Pope Paschal I. Her body was one of the first of over a hundred saints whose bodies were discovered to be incorrupt. Her body remained as it was when she died. Her relics were put into the crypt in the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trasrevere. When her tomb was opened in 1599, her body was perfectly incorrupt. Her neck still had marks of being struck with a sword.

St. Cecelia is the patron saint of musicians, because of the zeal with which she sang the divine praises of thanksgiving. Her spirituality included a love of music. St. Cecilia is often venerated in poetry and music.

 

“To sing is to pray twice.”

St. Augustine; Feast day August 28

St. Cecelia in Art

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

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Doctor of the Church, Faith, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Leo the Great; Feast Day November 10

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St. Leo the Great
St. Leo the Great

 

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Leo the Great;

Feast Day November 10

The feast day of St. Leo the Great is celebrated on November the 10.

St. Leo was born in Tuscany. He lived during a time of great political chaos for the Church. Barbarian armies were ravaging the once mighty Roman Empire. Leo was an ordained a Deacon. He became the Bishop of Rome in 440. He was Bishop of Rome for 21 years, until his death in 461.

During his papacy, he was known for meeting Attila the Hun in 452 as he was preparing to invade Italy. Amazingly, he persuaded him to turn back, and avoided a war. Leo fought many heresies, including Pelagianism which teaches that grace was not necessary for salvation.

Leo is considered one of the great administrators of the Church. He also gave profound spiritual sermons. He presided over the fourth ecumenical council called the Council of Chalcedon. At this council the two natures of Christ was discussed and clarified. The faith teaches that Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine.

St. Leo the Great also clarified the role of the pope, persuading Emperor Valentinian to recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome in 445.  His teaching focused on the scripture which had Jesus telling Peter:  “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.  What you forbid on earth shall be forbidden in Heaven.  What you allow on earth shall be allowed in heaven.’  (Matthew 16:19)

Leo was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in the eighteenth century. The title “Great” has been given to only three Popes. The three “Great popes are St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory the Greatand St. Nicholas the Great.  St. John Paul II is unofficially considered by some to be “great”.  The title “Great” means that the Pope has exercised great leadership and contributed greatly to the theology of the church.

If indeed we are the temple of God and the Holy Spirit lives in our

hearts…we must work with much vigilance to make the chamber of our heart

not unworthy of so great a guest.

 Quote of St. Leo the Great

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

 

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Saint of the Day, Spirituality

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Gaspar del Bufalo, Feast Day October 21

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St. Gaspar del Bufalo Public Domain Image
St. Gaspar del Bufalo

 

The feast day of St. Gaspar del Bufalo is celebrated on October 21.  He is the founder of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood.

St. Gaspar was born in Rome on Jan. 6, 1786.  He was well educated in the faith by his pious mother.  At the age of two, he almost died.  It was through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier that he was cured of his illness.

At the age of 18, he organized a program to minister to the marginalized in the society.  He offered religious instruction to the poor in the area and became the catechist of orphans and poor children.  At the age of 22 he was ordained a priest.

Because St. Gaspar refused to take an oath of allegiance to Napoleon, he was exiled and imprisoned.  His response was the following:

“I would rather die or suffer evil than to take such an oath.

I cannot, I must not, I will not!”

St. Gaspar spent five years in jail for refusing to take the oath.  While imprisoned he envisioned a religious community dedicated to the precious blood of Christ.  After his release, he founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood in Giano.

When a cholera epidemic broke out in Rome St. Gaspar ministered to the victims even though he was in ill health himself.

St. Gaspar died Dec. 28, 1837.

 

We must let it be known how the Blood of Christ cleanses the souls and sanctifies them, particularly by means of the sacraments.

Quote of St. Gaspar del Bufalo

 

October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary

 

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