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.
The feast day of Bl. Charles de Foucauld is celebrated on December 1. He is the patron saint of diocesan priests. He was a hermit, priest and martyr.
Bl. Charles de Foucauld was born in Strasbourg, France on Sept. 25, 1858. His father was in the military. Orphaned at the age of six, he and his sister Marie were raised by their grandfather. Charles joined the military, becoming an officer. When his grandfather died, Charles lost his faith. During his period of doubt he repeatedly prayed,
“My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.”
Charles was discharged from the military for misconduct. At the age of 28, he regained his faith. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he decided to become a Trappist monk. He spent seven years as a Trappist monk, first in France and then in Syria. After deciding this was no longer God’s will, he was released from his vows. He became a servant for a convent of Poor Clares and began studying for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1901 at the age of 43. He wished to work with the poor and abandoned. In an attempt to begin a religious order he wrote a Rule for it to follow. However, he found few followers.
On Dec. 1, 1916, he was killed by a band of marauders who surrounded his house. Twenty years after his death religious orders began to form following his rule. The Little Brothers of Jesus, Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart and the Little Sisters of Jesus all follow the Rule written by Bl. Charles de Foucauld. An Association of diocesan priest known as Jesus Caritas also follow the spirituality of Bl. Charles de Foucauld.
Bl. Charles de Foucauld was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. He is the patron saint of diocesan priests.
Let us pray a great deal for the conversion of sinners,
since it was above all for them that Our Lord worked
The Crucifixion of St. Andrew the Apostle by Mattia Preti
The feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle is celebrated on November 30. He is the patron saint of fishermen. St. Andrew was the first of the twelve Apostles to be called by Jesus.
Mark 1:16-20 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
St. Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter. He was a fisherman and a follower of St. John the Baptist. When he heard the call of Jesus, he immediately left everything and followed Him.
After the ascension of Jesus to heaven, Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. In the year 70 he became a martyr. He was put to death on a cross to which he was tied, not nailed. It was a cross in the form of an X, which is now called “St. Andrew’s Cross”. He lived for two days, suffering, yet still preaching the gospel.
Three countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron: Russia, Scotland and Greece. He is also the patron of fishermen.
St. Andrew’s relics are kept at the Basilica of St. Andrew in Patras, Greece.
“How blind man is when he refuses to open his heart to the light of faith!”
Bl. Denis of the Nativity and Bl. Redemptus of the Cross
Bl. Denis of the Nativity on the left
The feast day of St. Denis of the Nativity is celebrated on November 29. He was a Carmelite priest and a martyr.
Peter Berthelot was born on December 12, 1600 in Calvados, France. He became a sailor at the age of twelve, traveling to Spain, England and America. In 1619 he traveled to India where he was a cosmographer and first pilot of the Kings of France and Portugal. In 1635 he met his spiritual counselor Father Philip of the Most Trinity and decided to join the Discalced Carmelites. He chose the name Denis of the Nativity when he made his profession on Dec. 25, 1636. He was given the gift of contemplation and known for his holiness.
As a missionary, he and his companion Redemptus left for Goa in 1638 where they were taken prisoner. They were tortured in an attempt to force their conversion to Islam. During his captivity, Denis helped others by sacrificing his needs. He always had encouraging words and set a strong example.
Both Denis and Redemptus were condemned to die. He was killed by a sword that split his head in two.
Both Carmelites were beatified on June 10 1908 by Pope Leo XIII.
The feast day of St. Catherine Laboure is celebrated on November 28. She is the visionary who began the devotion to the miraculous medal.
Catherine Laboure was born on May 2, 1806 in Paris, France. Her father was a successful farmer. She was the ninth of eleven children. Her mother died when she was only nine years old. After the funeral service, Catherine went to her room and gave a kiss to a statue of Mary, saying;
“Now, dear Lady, you are my mother.”
Catherine was called “Zoe” by those who knew her, because her birthday was on the feast day of St. Zoe.
After having a dream about St. Vincent de Paul, at a young age, she joined the Daughters of Charity founded by him. She is known as a Marian visionary because of the apparitions which she reported of Mary appearing to her.
On July 18, the first apparition occurred. Catherine saw a lady seated in the sanctuary. She approached her and was instructed how she was to act during times of trial, pointing to the altar for consolation. Mary told her,
“”Sorrows will come upon France; the throne will be overthrown.”
A week later the French revolution began in Paris.
On Nov. 27, the lady showed St. Catherine the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, now known as the “Miraculous Medal” She gave Catherine the mission of having the medal made and to spread devotion to it.
Catherine reported the visions to her spiritual director, Father Aladal. Forty five years later, she spoke fully to her supervisors about the apparitions.
The miraculous medal which Mary showed to Catherine was oval showing Mary standing on a globe crushing the head of the serpent. (the devil). Around the image of Mary were the words:
“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
Mary’s hands were showering a cascade of brilliant rays upon the world.
On the reverse side of the medal was a cross, the symbol of Christ’s redeeming Sacrifice on Mount Calvary for the salvation of the world. The cross was intertwined with the letter “M”.
The “M” stands for both Mary and for Mother and was to be surrounded by twelve stars. The two hearts are the Sacred Heart of Jesus encircled by a crown of thorns and the Immaculate of Mary, pierce by a sword. The Flames symbolize the burning love of Jesus and Mother Mary.
Mary told Catherine,
“All who wear them will receive great graces.”
After two years of investigation Father Aladal went to the archbishop with the request. The request was approved.
St. Catherine served humbly, not wishing to be known as a visionary. It was only after 46 years of service that she informed her Sister Superior that she was the Sister Mary had appeared to. At Catherine’s death, on December 31, 1876, at the age of 70, few people knew of her visions. She preferred a silent life, spending her time caring for the aged and sick.
Stories of many miracles and cures caused the devotion to spread rapidly.
In 1922 the body of St. Catherine was exhumed. It was found to be incorrupt. Her body is encased in glass in the chapel in Paris near where Our Lady appeared to her.
St. Catherine’s feast day is celebrated on Nov. 27, the day of the apparition.
St. Catherine Laboure
Lord, I am here. Tell me what you would have me do.
If He gives me some task I am content and I thank Him.
If he gives me nothing, I still thank Him
Since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that,
and then I tell God everything that is in my heart.
I tell him about my pains and my joys, and then I listen.
If you listen, God will also speak to you.
For with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen.
God always speaks to you when you approach him plainly and simply.
The feast day of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is celebrated on November 27.
The miraculous medal was the result of visions which occurred to St. Catherine Laboure’. She was born in 1806 in Paris, France. After having a dream about St. Vincent de Paul, she joined the Daughters of Charity which was founded by him. She is known as a Marian visionary because of the apparitions which she reported appearing to her.
On July 18, the first apparition occurred. Catherine saw a lady seated in the sanctuary. She approached her and was instructed how she was to act during times of trial, pointing to the altar for consolation. Mary told her,
“Sorrows will come upon France; the throne will be overthrown.”
A week later the French revolution began in Paris.
On Nov. 27, the lady showed St. Catherine the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, now known as the “Miraculous Medal” . She gave Catherine the mission of having the medal made and to spread devotion to it.
Catherine reported the visions to her spiritual director, Father Aladal. Forty five years later, she spoke fully to her supervisors about the apparitions.
The miraculous medal which Mary showed to Catherine was oval showing Mary standing on a globe crushing the head of the serpent. (the devil). Around the image of Mary were the words
“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
Mary’s hands were showering a cascade of brilliant rays upon the world.
On the reverse side of the medal was a cross, the symbol of Christ’s redeeming Sacrifice on Mount Calvary for the salvation of the world. The cross was intertwined with the letter “M”.
The “M” stands for both Mary and for Mother and was to be surrounded by twelve stars. The two hearts are the Sacred Heart of Jesus encircled by a crown of thorns and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pierced by a sword. The Flames symbolize the burning love of Jesus and Mother Mary.
Mary told Catherine,
“All who wear them will receive great graces.”
After two years of investigation Father Aladal went to the archbishop with the request. The request was approved.
At Catherine’s death, on December 31, 1876, at the age of 70, few people knew of her visions. She preferred a silent life, spending her time caring for the aged and sick.
The first two-thousand medals were delivered on June 30, 1832. The spread of the Medal was almost like a miracle in itself. The first supply disappeared quickly. Pope Gregory XVI put one of them at the foot of the crucifix on his desk. By 1836 several million medals had been made. The stories of the cures and wonders of the medal helped to spread its use far and wide.
The Miraculous Medal is considered a sacramental. Sacramentals lead a person to prayer which opens the person to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Sacramentals can be material things such as blessed objects, such as scapulars, rosaries, crucifixes, medals, or Holy Water. It can also be actions such as the Sign of the Cross, genuflection, and prayer.
The following explanation of sacramentals is from the Catholic Catechism.
1667 “Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy.”17
1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. “For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God.”176
Most Holy Virgin Mary…
Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit,
Lily of purity, Rose of patience,
Paradise of delight, Mirror of chastity,
Model of innocence…intercede
for this poor banished pilgrim.
Quote of St. Peter of Alcantara; Feast day October 19
