Tag Archives: Saint Quotes

Faith, Incorruptible, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Rita of Cascia, Feast Day May 22

St. Rita De Cascia Public Domain Image

The feast day of St. Rita of Cascia is celebrated on May 22. She is the patron saint of impossible causes, abuse victims and widows.

St. Rita was born in 1386 in Cascia, Italy. She was known to be very spiritual even as a young child. She enjoyed visiting shrines and wished to become a nun. Her parents were opposed to the idea and arranged for her to be married. Her husband turned out to have a bad temper and was very difficult for her to live with. She dealt with his abuse with prayer, patience and kindness. They had twin sons. Their difficult marriage lasted 22 years.

St. Rita De Cascia public domain image

One day while returning home from work her husband was ambushed and killed. St. Rita’s sons were now teenagers and began to talk of revenging their father’s death. St. Rita turned to prayer. She prayed that her sons would not be able to go through with the revenge. Her prayer was soon answered. Both her sons died from a deadly illness soon after without taking revenge on their father’s killer.

After the death of her husband and sons, Rita applied to enter the Augustinian Convent. Her first attempt was denied because of the ongoing feud. Rita persisted however. She convinced her husband’s family to put aside their hostility. The two rival families embraced peace. Rita turned to St. John the Baptist, St. Nicholas of Tolentino and St. Augustine, requesting their intercession. The convent changed their decision and allowed her entry. She was 36 when she entered the monastery.

St. Rita had a great devotion for the passion of Christ. She meditated often on the crucifix. On Good Friday, 1442, St. Rita meditated on the suffering of Jesus on the crucifix. She offered to relieve Christ’s suffering by sharing even the smallest part of his pain. As she was meditating, a small wound on her forehead appeared. It appeared to be a thorn from the crown that Jesus wore. St. Rita had this stigmata  for 15 years.

'Saint_Rita_of_Cascia'_by_Antonio_de_Torres,_c._1720

St. Rita was confined to bed for the last four years of her life. She ate very little. The Eucharist sustained her and she remained joyful during her suffering. Before her death St. Rita requested a rose be brought to her from her parents’ garden even though it was January. Surprisingly, a rose was discovered to be blooming on the rosebush and it was presented to her. St. Rita gave thanks to God for this sign of God’s love.

Because this impossible request of St. Rita for a rose in January was answered she became the patron of impossible causes. It was also known that her prayers were known to obtain remarkable cures.

St. Rita died on May 29, 1456. Many miracles were recorded after her death . She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1900.

St. Rita’s incorrupt body is venerated today in the National Shrine of Cascia.

St. Rita public domain image

Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.

Quote of St. Jerome; Feast Day September 30

 

May is the Month of Our Lady 

[love]

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

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Zita, Feast Day April 27



St. Zita
St. Zita

The Feast Day of St Zita is celebrated on April 27.  St. Zita is the patron of maidservants and housewives.

Zita was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1212. At the age of 12, she became a servant for the Fatinelli household. She was mistreated by her employees and criticized for her hard work by her fellow servants. She continued to be meek and humble and had an inward peace that everyone could see. She was good and loving to everyone regardless of how they treated her. Eventually she gained everyone’s trust and was put in charge of the house.

Zita believed that her work was assigned to her by God. She always rose early to pray before work. She attended daily mass and spent the rest of the day working tirelessly.

When Zita died at the age of 60 on April 27, 1271 it is said that a star appeared above the attic where she slept. She had served the family for 48 years. Miracles reported at the time of her death numbered 150.

In 1580, the body of Zita was exhumed and found to be incorruptible.  Her body was put on display in a silver casket, as is tradition, in the church where she had prayed while alive.  Although her body is “incorruptible,” it is browned and wizened, probably the result of a form of natural mummification. Only her hands and face are uncovered for viewing.

St. Zita was canonized in 1696.

There is no place for selfishness…and no place for fear! Do not be afraid,then, when love makes demands.  Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice.
Quote of St. John Paul II
April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Mary Pelletier, Feast Day April 24




St. Mary Pelletier Public Domain Image
St. Mary Pelletier
Public Domain Image

The Feast Day of St. Mary Pelletier is celebrated on April 24.

Rose Virginie Pelletier was born on July 3l, 1796 on the island of Noirmoutier, Vendée,  off the west coast of France. She was the eighth child of Dr. Julian and Anne Pelletier.

It was wartime in France during her childhood. Her family became isolated because her father had treated an enemy soldier. As a child she was very independent but quite compassionate. Her father died when she was only ten years old. Rose was not able to attend school until the Ursuline Sisters opened a school in 1808 in Noirmoutier. While she enjoyed school she also clashed with authority. She was sent to a boarding school in 1810 where she experienced not only the loss of her freedom but loneliness. The boarding school was very strict. When her mother died in 1815 she was not told until after the funeral had taken place. She experienced profound grief.

Near the school was the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge which had been founded by St. John Eudes. It provided care for women and girls who were homeless. Rose was attracted to their mission and wanted to join the convent. Both her guardian and the boarding school disapproved. Rose, however, persisted and eventually she was allowed to join on the condition she would not make her vows until she was 21. When she made her vows she took the name Sister Mary of St. Euphrasia. She carried out her mission with great enthusiasm.

The mission grew rapidly and Mary saw the need to change the governmental structure in order to deploy sisters to other countries. After much struggle her plans were approved by the Pope. She then founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd of Angers. They became known as the Good Shepherd Sisters.

The following quote is attributed to St. Mary Pelletier:

 It is well known that I had neither riches nor talent, nor external charm, but I always loved, and I loved with all the strength of my soul.

St. Mary Pelletier eventually established 110 new convents in six continents before her death on April 24, 1868. She was known for her fortitude, cheerfulness and her trust in God.

St. Mary Pelletier was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1910.

It is human to fall, but angelic to rise again.
Quote of St. Mary Pelletier
April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Faith, Franciscan Saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Giles of Assisi, Feast Day April 23




The Feast Day of St. Giles of Assisi is celebrated on April 23.

St. Giles was born in Assisi, Italy in 1190. He became one of the earliest followers of St. Francis of Assisi. He accompanied St. Francis on many missions. He visited the Tomb of the Apostle James in Spain and the holy city of Jerusalem. He also visited the sanctuary of the Holy Archangel Michael in Italy. During his travels, St. Giles earned his room and board by chopping firewood, sweeping rooms, washing dishes and other manual labor. He considered labor an opportunity for joy and purification. St. Giles encouraged penance and love of God.

St. Giles was known for his spiritual advice. His Franciscan spirituality is reflected in the many sayings that are collected in a book titled “The Golden Sayings”. St. Giles is referred to as one of the Little Flowers of St. Francis.

St. Francis also referred to him as his “Knight of the Round Table.” The life of St. Giles showed his spirituality. As St. Giles once said:

“The word of God does not belong to him who hears or speak it, but to him who puts it into practice.”

At the great chapter of 4,000 brothers, St. Francis sent Giles to Africa in 1219 with companions to preach the gospel. It never succeeded. As soon as they arrived in Africa, the Christians there led them to a different ship which returned them to Italy. After his return he lived in the convent in Perugia until his death by natural causes in 1262.

Whoever gives up prayer because of difficulties is like a man who runs away from battle.

Quote of St. Giles of Assisi

April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Maria Gabriella, Feast Day April 22




Bl. Maria Gabriella
Bl. Maria Gabriella

The Feast Day of Bl. Maria Gabriella is celebrated on April 22.

Bl. Maria Gabriella was born in 1914 in Sardinia, Italy. She was the fifth child of eight children. Her father was a shepherd. As a child she was strong willed and rebellious. At the age of 18 her temper calmed down. After the death of her younger sister she joined the “Azione Cattolic” which was a Catholic youth movement.

At the age of 21 she entered the Trappestine monastery of Grottaferrata. She offered her prayers to heal divisions and prayed for Christian unity. She is credited with the beginning of the ecumenical movement in Italy.

Bl. Maria came down with tuberculosis and 15 months later died in 1930 at the age of 25. She was beatified on Jan. 15, 1982 by Pope John Paul II on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

To come to possess all, desire the possession of nothing.  To arrive at being all,  desire to be nothing.  To come to the knowledge of all, desire the knowledge of nothing.

Quote of St. John of the Cross; Feast day December 14
April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Benedictine Saints, Doctor of the Church, Faith

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Anselm, Feast Day April 21




St. Anselm
St. Anselm

The Feast Day of St. Anselm is celebrated on April 21.

St. Anselm was born in 1033 near Aosta . At the age of 15 Anselm wanted to enter a monastery but his father opposed the idea. For a time, he lost interest in religion, but at the age of 27 he finally entered the Monastery of Bec in Normandy. Fifteen years later he became the abbot of the Benedictine monastery.

In 1093 he became the Archbishop of Canterbury. England’s King William Rufus refused to cooperate with his efforts to reform the Church. When the king became very ill St. Anselm became his confessor. However, after he recovered his health matters worsened and St. Anselm went into exile until the death of the King in 1100. The successor, King Henry I, recalled Anselm. St. Anselm fearlessly disagreed with King Henry over the King’s insistence on investing England’s bishops. St. Anselm went into exile for three more years.

St. Anselm opposed the slave trade and worked for the poorest people. He persuaded the national council of Westminster to prohibit the sale of human beings. He was admired for his patience and his teaching ability.   St. Anselm published theological works. The most well known is Cur Deus Humo  (Why God became Man).

St. Anselm died in the year 1109. St. Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by Pope Clement XI.

For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.  For this also I believe…that unless I believed,  I should not understand.

Quote of St. Anselm of Canterbury
April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Benedictine Saints, Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Elphege, Feast Day April 19




St. Elphege
St. Elphege

The Feast Day of St. Elphege is celebrated on April 19.

St. Elphege was born in 954 to a noble Saxon family. He became a Benedictine monk at Deerhurst Monastery in Gloucestershire, England. After several years he left to become a hermit at Bath where he became abbot. His rule was strict, requiring diligent prayer and service. In 984 he became the Bishop of Winchester. He worked tirelessly to help the poor trying to eliminate poverty in his diocese. In 1006, he was appointed archbishop of Canterbury.

Persecutions by the Danes were taking place at this time. When Canterbury was sacked and burned St. Elphege was taken captive. Because he refused to cooperate in there ransom demands they became angry and drunk. They pelted him with oxen bones and stones and then killed him with an axe in the year1012. As he died he prayed for his attackers.

Just look how these days, when “Alleluia” is ringing in our ears, our spirit soars!…If these days fill us with such tremendous joy, what will that day be like when we are told “Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom.” when all the saints are gathered together?
Quote of St. Augustine; Feast day August 28
April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Carmelite Saints, Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Marie of the Incarnation, Feast Day April 18

Bl. Marie of the Incarnation
Bl. Marie of the Incarnation

The feast day of Bl. Marie of the Incarnation is celebrated on April 18.

Bl. Marie of the Incarnation was born in 1566 in France. Her name at birth was Barbe Aurillot. She was the daughter of a French government official and educated at the Poor Clare Abbey at Longchamp. She married Pierre Acarie at the age of 16. They had six children; three became Carmelites and one became a priest.

Her husband supported the Catholic League which opposed Henry IV.  Barbe suffered greatly after their estate was seized when Henry became King. Barbe went to court reclaiming part of the family fortune. Barbe had a devotion to the writings of St. Teresa of Avila. She was instrumental in bringing the Discalced Carmelites into France.

Widowed at 47, Barbe became a Carmelite lay sister in 1613 taking the name Mary of the Incarnation. Her spiritual advisor was St. Francis de Sales and she was a friend to St. Vincent de Paul. She was known to have visions, ecstasies and the gift of reading hearts.

At the age of 27 Bl. Marie received the stigmata.
Bl. Marie died on April 18, 1618 of natural causes. Many miracles were reported after her death.

Put away all worry and anxiety and receive the holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ fervently…in memory of Him.

Quote of St. Francis of Assisi; Feast day Oct. 4
April is the Month of the Eucharist
Bl. Marie of the Incarnation in Art

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Bl. Maria Restituta
Bl. Marie of the Incarnation

Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Stephen Harding, Feast Day April 17




St. Stephen Harding
St. Stephen Harding

The Feast Day of St. Stephen Harding is celebrated on April 17.

St. Stephen was born in the eleventh century in Dorset, England. He studied in Paris and Rome. He decided to join the Monastery of Molesme which was Benedictine. Stephen and two other established the Monastery in Citeaux which became the home of twenty monks.

St. Stephen Harding is considered the father of the Cistercian Order. The Cistercian Order sought an effective balance between prayer and serious work.  St. Stephen wrote the Charter of Charity which became the guide for the Cistercian monasticism. When St. Bernard joined the order, Stephen installed him as the abbot of the monastery in Clairvaux. With the help of St. Bernard the order flourished.

By the time of St. Stephen’s death thirteen monasteries had been established.

St. Stephen died in 1134. He was canonized in 1623.

O Jesus, make the fount of Your mercy gush forth more abundantly, for mankind is seriously ill and thus has more need than ever of Your compassion.
Quote of St. Faustina Kowalska;                           Feast day October 5
April is the Month of the Eucharist.

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Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Paternus, Feast Day April 15




St. Paternus
St. Paternus

The Feast Day of St. Paternus is celebrated on April 15.

St. Paternus was born around 482 at Poetiers. His father died in Ireland as a holy recluse. Paternus decided to join the monks at the abbey of Ansion. Several years after joining the Abbey a monk named Scubilion joined him to live in a remote area where many Druids lived. There they were able to convert many of the people in the area. Paternus was able to convince the people there to tear down a pagan temple, which had been held in great veneration by the ancient Gauls.

St. Paternus  founded a monastery called Lian-petern-vaur.   He was chosen as bishop of the area and served for thirteen years before dying in 550.

If I have achieved anything in my life….it is because I have not been embarrassed to talk about God.
Quote of Dorothy Day; Servant of God
April is the Month of the Eucharist

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Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Lydwina, Feast Day April 14




St. Lydwina
St. Lydwina

The Feast Day of St. Lydwina is celebrated on April 14.   St. Lydwina is the patron saint of ice skaters and the chronically ill.

St. Lydwina was born in Schiedam, Holland into a family of nine children in 1380. While still young she developed a devotion to Our Lady of Schiedam. While ice skating one day she injured herself, breaking several ribs. Gangrene set into the wounds she had received and spread throughout her body. She was bedridden for the rest of her life suffering from various illnesses.

St. Lydwina offered all of her suffering to Jesus on the cross. She experience mystical gifts including vision of heaven, hell and purgatory. She received apparitions of Christ and bore the stigmata. Many miracles occurred at her bedside.

In one vision she saw a rosebush with the words

 “When this shall be in bloom your suffering will be at an end.”

In the spring of 1433 she exclaimed,

“I see the rose bush in full bloom!”

Easter morning, 1433, she had a vision of Christ giving her the Last Rites.

St. Lydwina died on April 14, 1433.  Her grave became a site for pilgrims to visit and a chapel was built there. She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1890.

I commend myself to the prayers of yourself and your friends, so that Christ, the source of all pity, may design to wash me clean in the water of His mercy.
Quote of St. Bernard; Feast day August 20
April is the Month of the Eucharist

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Faith, Martyr, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Martin I, Feast Day April 13




St. Martin I
St. Martin I

The Feast Day of St. Martin I is celebrated on April 13.

St. Martin was born in Tuscany, Italy in 316. He became a deacon serving in Rome. In the year 649 he was chosen as the 74th pope.

Pope Martin  called the Lateran Council which condemned the heresy of Monothelitism, which claims Christ had no human will. The Lateran Council explained the two natures of Christ: both human and divine. This position put him in opposition to Paul the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Pope Martin was kidnapped while he was sick from the Lateran Basilica. He was tortured and imprisoned. He was condemned to death but at the last moment he was saved from execution by the repentance of the Patriarch. He was imprisoned instead and then exiled to an island which was suffering from a famine.

Pope Martin  soon died in 655 from the effects of the torture and imprisonment. Pope Martin I is  last martyred Pope.

The trees stand as though dead, but these, though lifeless in the winter, are green in the spring, for God, knowing your disbelief, each year effects a resurrection in these visible things, that seeing what occurs in inanimate creatures, you may believe concerning the animate rational beings.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem; Feast day March 18

April is the Month of the Eucharist