The martyrdom of 103 Koreans is celebrated on September 20.
For over 100 years the Christians in Korea practiced their faith in secret. The government of Korea was based on Confucianism and believed that Christians were a threat to the government.
The first known martyrs are Paul Youn and James Kouen. They were martyred after refusing to offer sacrifice on the death of a relative.
Over the next 100 years over 10, 000 Korean Christians were tortured and executed.
On May 6, 1984, in Seoul, Pope John Paul IIcanonized 103 of the martyrs. Their feast day is celebrated on September 20.
Martyrdom is the heroic act of love.
Quote of St. Just Bretenie’res……Korean Martyr; Feast Day March 7
On Saturday, Sept. 19, a globe of light opened to reveal a beautiful woman seated on a stone. The woman appeared to two shepherd children in Salette, France. The apparition was approved and is celebrated on September 19.
The children’s names were Melanie Calvat, age 15, and Maiximin Graud, age 11. The woman was gently crying and asking for the people and the priests to repent of their sins. She called for penance.
Our Lady was tall, wearing a pearl studded dress and white shawl with a tiara on her head. A crucifix was hanging from her neck. She seemed to be made of light. As she talked to the children she warned of coming war and famine.
Our Lady asked the children to pray day and night for the salvation of the world.
Our Lady of La Salette warned of chastisements that would fall upon humanity if they didn’t change their ways. Before ascending into heaven she urged the children to pray more and gave each of them a secret that was revealed to Pope Pius IX in 1851 concerning threats to the church and to the world.
While Our Lady’s message focused on conversion and penance she also gave the children a message of hope regarding the power of prayer saying:
“if they are converted, the stones and rocks will change into mounds of wheat, and the potatoes will be self-sown in the land”,
After the apparition many people made amends for the wrongs they had done. Miracles began occurring at the site, as people were cured over various ailments from water from the spring there within weeks of Our Lady’s appearance. The Church officially approved of this apparition (deeming it worthy of belief) after much investigation and debate in 1851. Construction of a church at La Salette began in 1852 and was completed in 1865. It was designated as the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette in 1879.
Pope John Paul II made the following comment on the Apparition of La Salette:
“In this place, Mary, the loving Mother appeared manifesting her pain for the moral evil caused by humanity. Her tears help us to understand the seriousness of sin and the rejection of God, and at the same time it is a manifestation of the passionate fidelity that her Son has for each person, even though His redemptive love is marked by the wounds of treason and abandonment by men.”
Of all the virtues of the Virgin Mary, the most admirable is her great humility; it is a virtue of which we ourselves have a great need.
Quote of Bl. Alphonsus de Orozco; Feast Day September 19
The feast day of St. Joseph of Cupertino is celebrated on September 18. St. Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots, astronauts, and those with learning disabilities.
St. Joseph of Cupertino was born on June 17, 1603 in Puglia, Italy. His father died before he was born leaving his mother destitute. He was born in a stable. As a child he was a slow learner, probably having a learning disability. When he was 17 he was denied acceptance to the Order of the Friars Minor Conventuals due to lack of an education. He was however, accepted into the Capuchins at Martino near Cupertino. He gardened, tended the animals and worked in the kitchen.
Because of his learning disabilities St. Joseph could only study small amounts of material at a time. He then prayed to remember the material for the test. St. Joseph was ordained in 1628.
St. Joseph was a mystic with the gift of miraculous levitation and visions. Anything religious could cause him to levitate. During prayer he was known for his ecstasies and suddenly levitating. The first time levitation occurred was on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4 1630. During the procession he suddenly rose into the sky and hovered over the crowd. He was so embarrassed he fled and hid. The levitation happened so often he earned the title “The Flying Saint”.
The most famous act of levitation occurred while he was in the presence of Pope Urban VIII. He was filled with reverence and immediately was lifted into the air. During the Inquisition he was confined for several weeks but released. Crowds tried to meet him until he was place in seclusion…unable to speak to anyone other than the bishop the vicar general of the Order, his fellow friars and a doctor if needed.
After his death on Sept. 18, 1663, great crowds of people attended his funeral. Pope Clement XIII canonized St. Joseph of Cupertino on July 16, 1767.
A movie has been made of his life named A Reluctant Saint. St. Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots, astronauts, and those with learning disabilities.
“The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.”
Quote of St. Catherine of Genoa; Feast day September 15
The feast day of the Stigmata of St. Francis is celebrated on September 17.
What is a stigmata? A stigmata is the spontaneous appearance of the wound marks of Jesus Christ on a person’s body. St. Francis is the first known saint to receive the stigmata.
St. Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi, Italy. His father was Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy cloth salesman. Francis was indifferent to school. He enjoyed good times with his friends. He was attracted to the military and was a prisoner of war for two years. After returning home he experienced a profound conversion after having a dream. Christ appeared and spoke to St. Francis in a vision in the chapel at San Damiano. He said
“Francis go out and build up My house, for it is nearly falling down.”
St. Francis took these words literally and began to repair the old chapel. St. Francis embraced poverty, founding the Order of St. Francis after living for a time as a hermit. He had a strong devotion to the cross and to the Eucharist. He served the poor and the sick, caring for the lepers who were suffering at that time.
On Sept. 14, 1224, St. Francis was just beginning the second month of a retreat in honor of St. Michael the Archangel. He was fasting for 40 days. Near the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, St. Francis experienced a vision in which a seraph with six wings appeared. The figure not had wings but also showed signs of being crucified. While contemplating the crucifixion of Christ, St. Francis experienced joy mingled with pain. The vision of Christ nailed to a cross touch his soul with compassion. The vision vanished but St. Francis was left with marks on his own body as if had been crucified. His hands and feet now had nail wounds. His right side had a wound as if it had been pierced and frequently it bled.
At first St. Francis tried to conceal the wounds which were real and painful. Eventually he revealed them publicly, saying;
“Nothing gives me so much consolation as to think of the life and passion of our Lord.”
While St. Francis of Assisi was the first saint to receive the stigmata, currently 62 Saints and Blesseds have been known to receive the stigmata. St. Catherine of Siena(1380) and Padre Pio (1918) are only two of the many who have received this grace.
The stigmata is a considered a supernatural sign that a person has united their suffering with that of Christ. The suffering of Christ during His Passion is called redemptive suffering. When we join our suffering to His (no matter how small our suffering is in comparison) we are participating in the Passion of Our Lord. Our suffering can be beneficial to the salvation of others. The sign of the stigmata shows us that our suffering has a purpose. It unites us to Our Lord Jesus Christ.
May I feel in my soul and in my body, as much as possible, that pain which You, dear Jesus, sustained in the hour of Your most bitter Passion. May I feel in my heart, as much as possible, that excessive love with which You, O Son of God, were inflamed in, willingly enduring such suffering for us sinners.
The feast day of St. Cyprian is celebrated on September 16. Cyprian was born in North Africa in the 3rd century. He is an important Christian writer.
At the age of 35, Cyprian converted to Christianity. Soon after his baptism he was ordained, later becoming the Bishop of Carthage. After his baptism he gave away his possessions.
When the persecutions of Christians began in Carthage, Cyprian went into hiding rather than give sacrifices to pagan gods or face execution. Fourteen months later he returned. He called a council to determine the fate of those who had lapsed and denied their faith. The council agreed with Cyprian who disagreed with both extreme answers. He was against allowing anyone to return with little or no penance. He was also against not allowing the lapsed Christians back at all.
Persecutions began again in 256. St. Cyprian proclaimed his faith in Christ and refuesed to sacrifice to pagan gods. He was banished to Curubis. On September 13, 258, St. Cyprian was imprisoned and sentenced to die by the sword.
The execution of St. Cyprian happened in public very quickly. He removed his clothing, knelt down, prayed and then blind folded himself. He was then beheaded with a sword.
To him who still remains in this world, no repentance is too late. The approach to God’s mercy is open.
The feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15. It dates back to the 12th century when it was promoted by the Cistercians and the Servites.
The focus of the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows is the grief Mary felt during the suffering of her Son, Jesus. As His mother, her heart felt intense pain and sorrow.
Below are the seven sorrows of Mary:
The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)
As we reflect on the sorrows and suffering Mary experienced as the Mother of God, we can remind ourselves of the human nature of both Jesus and Mary. They felt pain. They felt grief. They felt loss. They wept.
Jesus has two natures: Human and Divine. Mary is not Divine. She is human like you and me. We can only wonder at her strength and holiness as she drank from the bitter cup of suffering.
Giovanni bellini pieta martinengo Public Domain Image
Whoever you are who love the Mother of God, take note and reflect with all your innermost feelings upon her who wept for the Only Begotten as He died…The grief she felt in the Passion of her son goes beyond all understanding.
Quote of St. Amadeus of Lausanne; Feast Day January 28
