The feast day of St. Quintin is celebrated on October 31. St. Quintin was also known as Quintinus. He was born in the third century in Rome, Italy. His father was a Roman senator.
St. Quintin converted to Christianity. He was a missionary who went to Gaul with St. Lucian of Beauvais. He won many converts with his preaching. In 286, he was arrested during the Marmian persecution. He was tortured and beheaded in 287 at Augusta, Gaul which is now Saint Quintin, France. His body was thrown into the river and then recovered and buried by the people he was instrumental in converting. His tomb was a site known for miracles.
“What you call folly is supreme wisdom. What is there wiser than to recognize the unique true God and to reject with disdain the counterfeits, which are mute, false and deceiving?
The feast day of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez is celebrated on October 30. He was born in Segovia, Spain on July 25, 1532. His father was a wealthy merchant.
At the age of 14 Alphonsus’ father died. He left school to help his mother run the family business. When he was 23 he married. However, three years later his wife died during childbirth. Within the next several years his mother died as well as his three children. He also found it necessary to sell his failing business.
In response to his grief and suffering, Alphonsus turned to a life of prayer. He applied to become a Jesuit, (The Society of Jesus). He was denied entry due to lack of education. He returned to school and reapplied. In 1571 he was accepted as a lay Jesuit brother. He was sent to Montesione College on Majorca. He served as a doorkeeper for 45 years.
As doorkeeper, St. Alphonsus believed Christ was in every person at the door. He ministered to both the visitors and the students. He became friends with St. Peter Claverwho was a champion of slaves rights.
St. Alphonsus developed a method for finding joy in his hardships which followed him throughout his life into old age. He became a contemplative who meditated on the crucifix and the suffering of Christ. He stated that by bearing his suffering with prayer.
“I felt the grandeur of the Lord”.
“This I encourage myself to endure for love of the Lord who is before me, until I make what is bitter sweet. In this way, learning from Christ Our Lord, I take and convert the sweet into bitter, renouncing myself and all earthly and carnal pleasures, delights and honors of this life so that my whole heart is centered solely on God.
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez was canonized on September 6, 1887.
“Whenever you do anything, you must offer it to God, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.”
The feast day of Bl. Maria Restituta is celebrated on October 29. She was martyred by the Nazis when she refused to remove crucifixes from the hospital walls.
Helen Kafka was born in Vienna, Austria in 1894. Her father was a shoemaker. Helen’s first job was that of a salesgirl. She then became an assistant caregiver at the Lainz public hospital. It was at the hospital that she met the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. She joined the Order at the age of 20. She took the name Restituta who was a marty in the 4th century.
Sister Restituta became a surgical nurse in 1919 working at the Moulding hospital. After the Nazi invasion of the country she became an opponent of the Nazis. When they ordered her to remove all the crucifixes on the walls of the hospital, she refused. The Nazis then arrested her and charged her for “aiding and abetting the enemy in the betrayal of the fatherland and for plotting high treason”.
The last days Sister Restituta spent in prison were spent caring for other prisoners. Even the communist prisoners spoke highly of her. She was offered freedom if she left her religious order but she refused.
Bl. Maria was beheaded at the age of 48 on March 30, 1943 in Vienna. Pope John Paul II beatified her on June 21, 1998.
The feast day of St. Simon and St. Jude is celebrated on the same day…October 28. They were both Apostles and Martyrs. St. Simon is the patron saint of tanners. St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes.
St. Simon was the second Bishop of Jerusalem. He preached in Egypt and Persia with St. Jude where both suffered martyrdom.
There are two stories of his death. The first has him dying by crucifixion in Samaria. The second has him sawed in half in Persia.
St. Simon and St. Jude
St. Jude was the son of Cleohas, who died a martyr and Mary who stood at the foot of the cross. He was the brother of St. James the Lesser. and a cousin to Jesus. He was a fisherman. He is not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who was a traitor.
After the resurrection. Jude preached in Syria and Persia with St. Simon. He was a healer and an exorcist. He was beaten to death with a club then beheaded in Persia. His relics are at St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome.
As apostles, both St. Simon and St. Jude became close to Jesus. They truly believed he was the Lord. After the Resurrection they spent their life spreading the good news of salvation. Their martyrdom shows us the depth of their love for Jesus.
Come my light, and illumine my darkness.
Come my Life and revive me from death.
Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of Divine Love, and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of your love.
Come my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there.
For you alone are my King and my Lord.
Prayer of St. Dimitri of Rostov; Feast Day October 28
The feast day of St. Frumentius is celebrated on October 27. St. Frumentius was born in Lebanon. He helped bring Christianity to Ethiopia and is considered the patron saint of Ethiopia.
Around the year 330, Frumentius and his brother Aedesius took a voyage to the coast of Arabia. They were both students. On the trip home their ship docked at an Ethiopian port. A great riot occurred in which the natives massacred the crew and passengers. The only two to survive were the two brothers who were studying under a tree.
When they were found, they were taken to the king. He was so impressed with their knowledge that he made Aedesius his cupbearer, and Frumentius his secretary. Before the king died, he granted the two brothers liberty in gratitude for their service. The Queen, however, requested that they stay and help her. They agreed to do so.
Frumentius encouraged merchants to settle in the country by granting them privileges and freedom of worship. When the young prince became king the two brothers resigned their posts even though the young king wished them to remain. Aedesius returned to Tyre and was ordained a priest. Frumentius discussed his desire to help in the conversion of Ethiopians with St. Theodosius in Alexandria. He was consecrated bishop of Aksum to allow him to do this work in around the year 350.
He led many souls to the faith. He was known for miracles and his preaching. When he died around the year 383 he was reverently called Abuna which means Our Father and Aba Salama which means Father of Peace. To this day Abuna is the title of the primate of the Church of Ethiopia.
For whoever seeks God while wanting to hold onto his own likes and dislikes, may seek him night and day but will never find him.
On Halloween, we see many representations of good and evil: angels, witches, devils, monsters, princesses, gangsters, rock stars, politicians, super heroes.
While we are made in the image of God, each of us has a temptation to do evil. Society glamorizes evil.
If we take the Bible seriously, we should not doubt the existence of Satan and evil spirits. Jesus refers to Satan and angels multiple times.
Satan is actually an angel. He fell from grace when he turned from God. He has been at war with God ever since.
It is only in modern times, that people have denied the existence of evil spirits. Halloween is a time when we should reflect on the good and evil evident around us.
Halloween (All Hallows Eve) comes on the night before All Saint’s Day. Halloween is a display of both good and evil. All Saint’s Day (November 1st) is a display of people who have overcome evil for the glory of God.
Angels have existed since the beginning of creation. They are servants and messengers of God. Unlike human beings they are pure spirits. During the life of Jesus they are always present. Archangel Gabriel announces his birth, they protect Jesus in his infancy, (Mat 4) serve him in the desert, and they strengthen him in his agony in the garden,
The Church teaches that Satan, in the beginning, was a good angel, but became evil by choice. We learn in the bible that Jesus came to conquer evil.
“Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.“ 1 John 8
When Jesus is praying in the Garden before his crucifixion, he prayed for unity among Christians. He also prayed for protection against satan.
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)
The fallen angels have never repented for their fall from grace. Their hatred of God leads them to seduce men into choosing their evil ways.
We have free will. God did not create evil. On Halloween, we should reflect on which path we wish to follow…the path of God…or the path of evil.
Being neutral is not an option, it is evil; the sin of omission, laziness, and being lukewarm.
The devil is always trying to tempt us to do evil. We need to turn to God with the Lord’s prayer when we need to be strengthened.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:13)
We need to be aware of the evil around us and the temptations which may cause us to go astray. How else can we choose to do good rather than evil? Pray! Pray! Pray!
