Tag Archives: St. Thomas More

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Hyacintha, Feast Day January 30




St. Hyacintha of Manincotti

The feast day of St. Hyacintha is celebrated on January 30.

St. Hyacintha was born near Viterbo, Italy in 1588. Her father was a count and her mother was from a Roman family. Her birth name was Clarice.

Clarice entered the convent of the Tertiearies at Virterbo as a Third Order Franciscan Sister. However, she did not in the beginning embrace the love of poverty which St. Francis called for. She supplied herself with material goods to live life in comfort. When she became seriously ill a confessor brought her Holy Communion to her room. When he noticed her material possessions he advised her to live more humbly. Hyacintha rid herself of her fine clothes and special foods. She began to live a simple life which included penances. She developed a special devotion to the sufferings of Christ and inspired others by her acts of penance. She had a special devotion for Mary, the Mother of Mercy.

St. Hyacintha died at the age of 55 in 1640. Many miracles were reported at her grave site. She was canonize by Pope Pius VII in 1807.

 

Lord, give me the grace

to work to bring about

the things I pray for.

Quote of St. Thomas More; Feast day June 22

 

January is the Month of the Holy Name

 

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Thomas More, Feast Day June 22




St. Thomas More Public Domain Image
St. Thomas More

The feast day of St. Thomas More is celebrated on June 22.  St. Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers.

St. Thomas More was born in London, England in 1478. He wrote the famous book Utopia which was a work of fiction which depicted a pagan and communist island which was ruled by reason. It touched on many controversial issues and established him as a humanist.

St. Thomas More attended St. Anthony’s School in London and served as a page for the archbishop of Canterbury. He continued his studies at Oxford University eventually becoming a lawyer. He was tempted to become a monk and moved near to a Cathusian monastery near London. He participated as much as possible. Torn becoming a monk or working as a civil servant his desire to become a civil servant won. In 1504, he entered Parliament.
Life began to change in 1527 when King Henry tried to use the Bible to prove to Thomas More that his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who failed to produce a male child, was void. St. Thomas More could not agree with King Henry’s plan to divorce Catherine.

In 1532, Thomas More resigned from the House of Commons because of his health. When More refused to swear to King Henry’s Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy he was refusing allegiance to the King.

St. Thomas More was sent to the Tower of London on April 17, 1534 and found guilty of treason. He was beheaded on July 6, 1535. His last words were:

“The king’s good servant, but God’s first.”

St. Thomas More is considered a martyr of the faith.
St. Thomas More was canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XI.

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Quote of St. Thomas More

 

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Oglivie, Feast Day March 10




St. John Oglivie Public Domain Image
St. John Oglivie

The feast day of St. John Oglivie is celebrated on March 10.

St. John Oglivie was born in 1579 to noble parents in Scotland. He was raised a Calvinist. He became interested in the debate between the Protestants and the Catholics and turned to the scripture for guidance.

Two verses stood out to him:

“God wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4);

and

“Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you.” (Mat ll:28).

He had a great admiration of the martyrs of the faith. St. John Oglivie converted to the Catholic faith when he was 17. His early studies were with the Benedictines. He attended the Jesuit College at Olmutz. The Jesuits are also known as the Society of Jesus.

St. John Oglivie was ordained a Jesuit priest in Paris in 1610. He requested to serve in Scotland. He went to Scotland, then returned. He also went to London, Paris and then back to Scotland. He was very successful in converting people to the faith. Eventually however, he was betrayed and arrested. He was tortured in an attempt to make him reveal the names of other Catholics. He refused to do so.

St. John Oglivie was tried for the treason of converting Protestants to the faith. He stood trial three times. In 1615, he was hanged at Glasgow at the age of 36.  Just before he was hanged, St. John tossed his Rosary beads into the crowd. They were caught by a Calvinist nobleman who later became a Catholic. He credited his conversion to the incident and the martyr’s beads.

St. John Oglivie was canonized in 1976.

 

Lord, give me patience in tribulation.

Quote of St. Thomas More; Feast day June 22

 

March is the Month of St. Joseph

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