The feast day of St. Rose of Lima is celebrated on August 23. She is the first saint of the Americas and known as the First Flower of America and the Patroness of the New World. She is the patron saint of florists and gardeners.
St. Rose was born in April 1586 in Lima, Peru to Oliva and Gaspar Flores. She was the 7th of 11 children. Her birth name was Isabel. However, her mother and friends witnessed a mystical rose descend from the air and light on her face while she was just an infant. From then on she was called Rose.
Rose clearly had a religious calling from an early age. After reading about St. Catherine of Siena, she decided to imitate her. She fasted at least 3 times a week. She found ways to do penance and offer her suffering for the good of others. She understood redemptive sufferingfrom an early age. When given praise for her beauty, she cut her hair and disfigured her face by rubbing it with pepper. She was also know for placing thorns under the garland of roses she wore in her hair to remind her of the crown of thorns Jesus wore.
St. Rose wished to enter the convent. However, her parents refused to let her. Finally, after ten years of struggle and refusal to marry she became a Third Order Dominican. She lived in her home just as St. Catherine of Siena did. St. Rose received the Blessed Sacrament daily and lived her life in silence and seclusion, enjoying the family garden.
St. Rose suffered from arthritis and asthma. She was also disturbed by spiritual dreams. Her friend Brother Martin de Porresreassured her that her visions were from God. During the last three years of her life, St. Rose began caring for the elderly and sick. she used a room in the house in which she lived.
During the inquisition, St. Rose faced an examination. They found her to be in God’s favor in the midst of suffering.
At the age of 31 St. Rose came down with a high fever. She died from the fever and paralysis. A multitude of people attended her funeral.
St. Rose was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671.
Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.
Quote of St. Rose of Lima
August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Mother Teresa will soon be officially declared a saint!
The day before the feast day of Bl. Mother Theresa Pope Francis will proclaim that she is a saint. Her feast day is celebrated on Sept. 5. The world remembers her as a “living saint”.
Bl. Teresa of Calcutta was born to parents Nikola and Drana Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1916 in Skopje of Macedonia and named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was baptized on August 17, 1910 in Macedonia. She was the third child in her family, following sister Aga and a brother, Lazar. Her father, Nikola died, when she was eight years old. Her father was a traveler, an extrovert, and a businessman who spoke five languages. Her mother, Drana, was extremely pious, adopting several orphans. She was known as Gonxha (pronounced gon’KHA) which means “flower bud”.
Gonxha desired early to become a missionary. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Sisters of Loreto. Here she took the name of Sister Mary Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux. She was sent to Calcutta, India to teach at St. Mary’s High School for Girls, which was run by the Sisters of Loreto. On May 24, 1937, she took her final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She then became known as Mother Teresa. In 1944, she became principal of the school.
Mother Teresa received a second calling while on a train. Christ spoke to her, asking her to work in the slums of Calcutta, caring for the sickest and poorest of the people.Pursuing this calling changed her life forever. In one year, she received approval to do the work she was being called to do. After six months of basic medical training she went to the slums to aid the needy and dying. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charitywith 12 members, most of them students from St. Mary’s. She established a leper colony, an orphanage, a mission house, and several health clinics.
In 1971, Mother Teresa visited New York City, where she opened a soup kitchen and a home to care for HIV/AIDS sufferers. In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1983, Mother Teresa suffered her first heart attack. After suffering from lung, kidney and heart problems for several years, she died on Sept. 5, 1997, which is now her feast day. At the time of her death her Missionaries of Charity numbered over 4,000. She had 610 foundations in 123 countries.
Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, after confirmation of her first miracle. The miracle was reported that a woman who had a large and very visible tumor, had stayed with the Missionaries of Charity. After she and the Sisters had prayed for Mother Teresa’s intercession, the growth, six to seven inches in length, had disappeared within several hours. Finding no other medical explanation for the sudden cure it was declared her first miracle. Over 3500 other reports are being investigated as possible miracles.
After accepting a second miracle, Pope Francis cleared the way for Mother Teresa to be declared a saint. Pope Francis signed a decree declaring that the inexplicable 2008 recovery of a Brazilian man who suddenly woke from a coma caused by a viral brain infection was due to the intercession of the Albanian nun, who died in 1997.
The Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the postulator spearheading Mother Teresa’s canonization case, stated that the man fully recovered following his wife’s prayers and he has since returned to work as a mechanical engineer. The couple also have had two children.
In 2003, Mother Teresa’s private correspondence revealed she had experienced a “dark night of the soul”… feeling abandoned by God and lacking in faith. This lasted unusually long; for fifty years. Many saints have experienced such feelings, described by John of the Cross, in his book Dark Night of the Soul. She was filled with loneliness, and torture, due to this lack of consolation from God.
Each image in the following list is accompanied by a quote or prayer of Mother Teresa. The images are all public domain images.
As we celebrate the sainthood and feast day of St.Teresa of Calcutta on Sept. 5, let’s remember the remarkable things she did and said.
Sisters of Charity
Prayer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance
everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us and then we shall begin to shine as you shine,
so to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be ours.
It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching,
not by words, but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you.
Amen
Mother Teresa with Child/Associated Press
Mother Teresa: Smile
“Let us always meet each other with a smile for the smile is the beginning of love.”
“Peace begins with a smile.”
“Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: God and Faith
“We are nothing without God, but if we put our lives in God’s hands miracles happen.”
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
“Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. Byt transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord.”
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa with Pope John Paul II
Mother Teresa: Prayer
The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.”
Mother Teresa
Young Mother Teresa
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhju (Mother Teresa)
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Abortion
“Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love but to use any violence to get what it wants.”
“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”
“There are two victims in every abortion: a dead baby and a dead conscience.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Love and Forgiveness
“It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing.It is not how how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.”
“I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
“If we really want to love we must learn to forgive.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Helping the Sick
“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely, and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”
“Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not come, we have only today. Let us begin.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa in service
Mother Teresa: Service
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous, be happy anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God, it was never between you and them anyway.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa Praying
Mother Teresa: Prayer
“Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer and take trouble to pray Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.”
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa: Silence
“We need to find God and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature; trees, flowers, grass, grows in silence. See the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
The practice of praying the rosary has its historical roots with St. Dominic. St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. Monks in the monasteries recited the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) daily. This included all 150 Psalms. The lay people were unable to read so they substituted Ave Maria’s (Hail Mary’s) for the psalms. The first half of the rosary is found in the Bible.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”
This statement was made by Archangel Gabriel (Luke 1: 26). The second part of the prayer is a prayer is a request that Mary pray for us at the time of death.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
By meditating on the life of Jesus, the rosary brings Jesus into our daily life. There are four sets of mysteries which we meditate on: The Joyful , The Glorious, The Sorrowful, and the Luminous
Each set has five mysteries.
The Joyful Mysteries: 1. Annunciation 2. Visitation 3. Birth of Jesus 4. Presentation in the Temple 5. Finding the Child Jesus
The Luminous Mysteries: 1. Christ’s Baptism I the Jordan 2. Wedding at Cana 3. Proclamation of the Kingdom 4. Transfiguration 5. Institution of the Eucharist
Sorrowful Mysteries: 1. Agony in the Garden 2. Scourging at the Pillar 3. Crowning with Thorns 4. Carrying of the Cross 5. Crucifixion
Glorious Mysteries: 1. Resurrection 2. Ascension into Heaven 3. Descent of the Holy Spirit 4. Assumption 5. Crowning of Our Blessed Lady
By meditating and pondering on the life of Christ we receive grace and guidance from the Holy Spirit. A popular saying is “to Jesus, through Mary”. Mary is our spiritual mother. She always guides us to her Son. After the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary is the most popular prayer of the church.
Do Catholics actually worship Mary when they pray the rosary? Veneration and worship are two different things. To venerate is to honor. Jesus honored his mother. (Isn’t one of the commandments honor thy father and thy mother?) We are called to imitate Jesus. Why then would we pretend Mary doesn’t exist?
Worship is given to God alone (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). All Mary’s power comes from God, not from herself. But we can easily relate to Mary. She was given great responsibility. She was troubled, but her answer was
“Let it be done according to thy word.”
May we always imitate Mary when given an assignment by God!
The following website instructs on how to pray the rosary: ROSARY
The feast day of The Queenship of Mary is celebrated on August 22.
Why is Mary called a Queen? What other title would you give to the mother of the Prince of Peace? A prince grows up to become a King. Jesus is often referred to as our Lord and King. The mother of a King is given the title of Queen.
The title of Queen began as early as the sixth century. Mary has been referred to as Queen in several hymns since the 11th century. The prayer Hail Holy Queen is the prayer which finalizes the Rosary which was begun by St. Dominic.
When we think of Mary as the Mother of Jesus, our King, we should also reflect on our spiritual family as well. We are all children of God, Our Creator. The Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph did not wear earthly crowns, but they reveal to us a kingdom of another kind…the kingdom of God. In the Our Father, we pray…thy kingdom come. We are meant to be a part of this kingdom. As children of God, we are royal children. Our relationship with God is meant to be that of a family. God is our Father, Lord and King. Mary is our Queen Mother and we are called to be royal children who will live in the kingdom of God.
Communication is the key to a happy family. Prayer is how we communicate with our spiritual family. We are not alone! Not only can God hear our prayers, but the angels and saints can also hear our prayers. When we join our prayers together they become much stronger. Mary’s prayers especially have special meaning and power. After all, she is the Queen mother!
As we journey through this earthly kingdom, let us strive to earn a place in the kingdom of God…where the virtues of humility and love are seen in everyone.
Hail Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria.
Hail, Queen of mercy and of love, O Maria.
Triumph, all ye cherubim,
Sing with us, ye seraphim,
Heaven and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, salve, salve Regina!
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Our life, our sweetness, here below,O Maria!
Our hope in sorrow and in woe, O Maria!
Triumph, all ye cherubim,
Sing with us, ye seraphim,
Heaven and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, salve, salve Regina!
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To thee we cry, poor sons of Eve, O Maria!
To thee we sigh, we mourn, we grieve, O Maria!
Triumph, all ye cherubim,
Sing with us, ye seraphim,
Heaven and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, salve, salve Regina!
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Turn then most gracious Advocate, O Maria!
Toward us thine eyes compassionate, O Maria!
Triumph, all ye cherubim,
Sing with us, ye seraphim,
Heaven and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, salve, salve Regina!
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The cause of joy to men below, O Maria!
The spring through which all graces flow, O Maria!
Angels, all your praises bring,
Earth and heaven, with us sing,
All creation echoing:
Salve, salve, salve Regina!
Who can appraise the jewel that adorn Mary’s crown?
The feast day of St. Pius X is celebrated on August 21.
The birth name of St. Pius X was Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto. He was born in Riese, Italy into a family of ten children. His father was a poor parish clerk and hi mother was a seamstress.
At the age of 15, Giuseppe entered the seminary at Padua, Italy. His father died before he had graduated. His Mother would not let him return home to help the family, insisting he stay in school. He was ordained a priest in 1858 and worked as a parish priest for 17 years. Because of his many works of mercy, many were converted to the faith.
Father Sarto wished to work with the poor, however, he was named spiritual director of a major seminary and later became a bishop and then a cardinal. In 1903, he was elected the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. As Pope, he took the name of Pius X. He emphasized the importance of the Eucharist becoming known as the Pope of the Holy Eucharist. He allowed the Eucharist to be received at the age of seven. He also encouraged the use of Gregorian Chant in the liturgy.
Pope Pius X sheltered refugees with his own resources and tried to prevent World War 1. He died within two months after the war began on August 20, 1914.
The body of St. Pius X was exhumed 30 years after his death and discovered to be incorruptible. His limbs were still flexible. His body can be viewed at St. Peter’s Basilica.
I was born poor. I lived poor. I will die poor.
Quote of St. Pius X
August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The feast day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux is celebrated on August 20. He was born in a family castle in Dijon, Burgundy in 1090. The family included six sons and one daughter. He was raised by a pious French mother. Bernard was also pious as a child, however the death of his mother caused a prolonged depression.
St. Bernard was drawn towards the Benedictine monastery at Citeaux. One day, at the age of 19, he knelt and asked God for guidance. All doubts vanished and he decided to follow the Cistercian way of life. Bernard was so persuasive that 31 nobles, including his five brothers and two uncles, were convinced to follow him to Citeaux.
When they arrived at the monastery , Stephen Harding was the abbot and they were instructed,
“If you desire to live in this house, leave your body behind; only spirits live here.”
After living a year at the monastery, he made his profession and continued living a cloistered life away from the world.
The monks lived a very simple life. The land was poor and they ate barley bread, herbs and some vegetables. The number of monks grew to 130. Eventually the monastery became known as Clairvzux.
St. Bernard suffered stomach problems but never complained. At one point he was near death because he became so ill. He was ordered to live apart from the community to recover his strength. He lived on a special diet under a doctor’s care and returned to the monastery with improved health.
St. Bernard received the gift of miracles. The first witnessed miracle happened while singing at Mass. He restored the speech to a relative named Josbert de la Forte who was near death. Many miracles were witnessed where Bernard healed the sick by making a sign of the cross over a person and praying.
Because his health was frail, he was directed to preach and write rather than work in the field. He was an eloquent preacher. He fought for reform in the church clergy. St. Bernard became well known as an arbitrator and counselor. He settled many disputes including intervening during a church schism.
St. Bernard preached during the Second Crusade throughout Europe. When the Crusade failed, St. Bernard attributed the failure to the sins of the Crusaders.
St. Bernard was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1830.
Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto you, O virgin of virgins, our mother. To you we come, before you we stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me.
Prayer of St. Bernard of Clairvaux
August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
