The feast day of St. Emiliana and Trasila is celebrated on December 24. They were both Aunts of St. Gregory the Great.
St. Gregory the Great’s father had three sisters, Emiliana, Trasila and Gordiana. Gordiana eventually married. Trasila and Emilana lived in their father’s house living a life of prayer. They lived as if in a convent, praying many hours with joy and peace. They both made great spiritual progress.
Tarsilla had a vision of her great grandfather inviting her to join him in heaven. She died on Dec. 24th. This left her sister in grief on Christmas day. However, Tarsilla appeared to Emiliana several days after her death, asking her to celebrate Epiphany with her in heaven. Emiliana died on the eve of Epiphany, Jan. 5.
The feast day for both St. Emiliana and St. Tarsilla is celebrated on Dec. 24.
“Since I began to love, love has never forsaken me. It has grown to its own fullness within my innermost heart.”
Quote of St. Catherine of Genoa; Feast Day September 15
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
What Do The Saints Tell Us About Purgatory? 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“
The feast day of St. Gregory the Great is celebrated on September 3.
St. Gregory the Great was born in Rome, Italy around the year 550. He was born into a wealthy family. By the age of 23, he had become the prefect of Rome. The following year his father died. He decided to leave office and to become a monk. St. Gregory is the patron saint of musicians, students, singer and teachers.
St. Gregory turned his family home into a monastery which he dedicated to St. Andrew. He built six other monasteries on family land in Sicily and gave the remainder of his inheritance to the poor. As a monk he devoted time to prayer, study and meditation. He studied the writings of the Latin fathers.
After four years of prayer as a monk, Pope Pelagius II ordained Gregory a deacon and sent him to Constantinople. He returned to Rome in 586 to serve Pope Pelagius until his death four years later.
Although Gregory was only a deacon he was elected Pope by popular acclaim. His first act was to organize a three day penitential procession asking God to end the plague. The plague ended after the procession reached the church of St. Mary Major.
As pope, Gregory negotiated for peace when the Lombards threatened Rome.
Over sixty of Pope Gregory’s sermons have survived, as well as over 80 letters he wrote. He organized the liturgy and is given credit for the Gregorian Chant becoming popular.
Pope Gregory was well known for his compassion. During a famine Pope Gregory ordered the church to use its assets to feed the poor. He also ordered the clergy to go into the streets to help the poor. If they did not they were replaced.
While Pope Gregory considered the Bishop of Rome to be the first among the bishops he also considered bishops to be equal. Pope Gregory considered the Bishop of Rome to be likened to a final court of appeal. He referred to himself as “the servant of the servants of God.”
Pope Gregory suffered from arthritis in his later years. Pope Gregory was acclaimed a saint by popular decree. St. Gregory the Great died on March 12, 604.
For it was not poverty that led Lazarus to heaven, but humility; nor was it wealth that prevented the rich man from attaining eternal rest, but rather his egoism and his infidelity.
The feast day of St. Paul of Constantinople is celebrated on June 7. St. Paul was elected the Bishop of Constantinople to succeed Alexander of Constantinople. The Arian controversy was causing a great deal of turmoil at this time. Arianism denied the divinity of Christ and the Trinity.
Emperor Constantus II was an Arian and did not approve of the election of St. Paul. Because St. Paul defended the belief that Christ is divine as well as human, he was exiled several times by the emperor. The first time he was exiled but allowed to return in the year 338. The second time he returned in the year 340. The third time he was exiled to Mesopotamia, returning in the year 344. His last time of exile was in the year 350 when he was exiled to Armenia. Here, he died a martyr’s death. He was starved and then strangled.
The man who has the mission of saying great things
(and all of us Christians have this sweet obligation)
The feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist will be celebrated on April 25.
St. Mark was born into a Jewish family. St. Mark was one of the first disciples of Jesus. He was not one of the original twelve apostles. St. Mark is the patron saint of notaries and lawyers.
St. Mark accompanied St. Paul and Barnabas (his cousin) on their missionary journey to Cyprus. St. Mark is the author of the second gospel. This gospel is the oldest gospel and was written in Greek for Gentile converts. It is believed St. Peter requested him to write this gospel.
Much of what we know about St. Mark we have learned from tradition. It is believed that Mark is the man who carried water to the house where the Last Supper took place. It is also possible he was the man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:51-52)St. Mark is believed to have been present at the Wedding at Cana when Jesus turned the water into wine. (John 2:1-10)
When St. Peter escaped from prison he went to the home of Mark’s mother. Mark went to Alexandria to preach. He then founded the church in Alexandria.
St. Mark died a martyr, being dragged through the streets with a rope around his neck in the year 68.
The symbol of St. Mark is a winged lion. The lion represents the way the gospel should be preached. St. Mark is the patron saint of lawyers.
On the feast day of St. Mark let us pray:
O God, who exalted blessed Mark the Evangelist, by the grace of preaching the Gospel, grant that we may profit by his teaching and be defended by his prayers. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
The Bible is a letter from the Almighty God to His creatures.
