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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Feast Day August 12

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St. Jane Frances de Chantal Public Domain Image
St. Jane Frances de Chantal

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Jane Frances de Chantal,

Feast Day August 12

The feast day of St. Jane Frances de Chantal is celebrated on August 12. Jane was born on Jan. 18 1572 in Dijon, France. She was born into a family of nobility. Her father was the president of the parliament of Burgundy. At the age of 29 she married Baron Christophe de Chantal. Their marriage lasted seven years during which they had three daughters and a son. Jane became a widow when Christophe died tragically in a hunting accident when Jane was 28 years old. Although her husband forgave the man who shot him, Jane struggled for a long time to forgive him. With time and God’s grace she was finally able to do so. Because she was able to forgive him, she became the godmother of his child.

To support her children, Jane moved home with her father in law. For seven years she managed his estate bearing patiently his abusive behavior. Jane turned to God for guidance. In a vision she saw the person who was meant to be her spiritual director. When she met St. Francis de Sales while he was preaching she recognized him as the person in her vision. He soon became her spiritual director. They corresponded by letter. Many of the letters have survived.

With the guidance of St. Francis de Sales, Jane opened the Congregation of the Visitation in 1610. They focused on uniting their will to the will of God; trusting in Him and seeking to please Him. After the death of St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul became her spiritual director. By the time of her death 86 convents were opened. The Order welcomed women who had been rejected from entering other orders due to health and age. When St. Jane died at the age of 69 she was known for her sanctity. She was credited with miracles before and after her death. St. Jane was canonized in 1767.

 

We should throw ourselves into God as

a little drop of water into the sea,

and lose ourselves indeed,

in the ocean of the divine goodness.

 

Quote of St. Jane Frances de Chantal

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

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Faith, Franciscan Saints, Incorruptible, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Clare of Assisi, Feast Day August 11

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St. Clare of Assisi Public Domain Image
St. Clare of Assisi

The feast day of St. Clare of Assisi is celebrated on August 11. St. Clare was born to a wealthy family in Assisi, Italy on July 16, 1194. At the age of 15 she refused to marry as her parents wished her to do. When she heard St. Francis speak on Palm Sunday, she left home to join him at San Damiano. She took a vow of poverty after which St. Francis cut off her long hair and gave her a brown habit to wear. She was later followed by her sister Agnes and her mother. The ladies who followed St. Francis became known as “The Poor Ladies.” After Clare eventually was named Abbess they became known as “The Poor Clares.”

The Poor Clares went barefoot, ate no meat and observed almost complete silence. They lived an enclosed life, away from the world. The Poor Clares actually predated the Franciscans which was later founded by St. Francis. St. Clare saw St. Francis as a spiritual father figure and cared for him during his illness and at the end of his life in 1226.

St. Clare died  in Assisi on August 11, 1253.  She was discovered to be incorrupt on September 23,1850 when her coffin was opened.  Her body can be viewed in the crypt at Santa Chiara, Italy.

St. Clare was canonized by Pope Alexander in 1255.

 

Love Him totally

who gave Himself totally

for your love.

 

Quote of St. Clare of Assisi

St. Clare of Assisi in Art

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

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Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Lawrence, Feast Day August 10

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St. Lawrence of Rome Public Domain Image
St. Lawrence of Rome
Public Domain Image

The feast day of St. Lawrence is celebrated on August 10.  St. Lawrence is the patron saint of deacons, librarians, and the poor.

 

St. Lawrence served as a deacon in Rome in the third century. He was a disciple of Pope Sixtus II (251-258). The Pope chose him as one of seven deacons to serve in Rome. He eventually became an archdeacon. As archdeacon of Rome he served at the altar with the Pope and was his assistant serving the poor.

During the reign of Emperor Valerion in 258 he was arrested. While in prison it is believed that St. Lawrence cured a blind man named Lucillus and several other blind people. Because he refused to cooperate with his captors he was martyred. He was roasted alive on a gridiron. St. Lawrence died joyfully proclaiming his faith. He prayed for the conversion of the city of Rome and the world.

Before his death St. Lawrence remarked;

“At last I am finished; you may now take from me and eat!”

He then turned to God in prayer saying,

“I thank You, O Lord; that I am permitted to enter Your portals.”

 

 

My body is well done.

Turn it over;

it is roasted enough on that side.

Quote of St. Lawrence

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Dominican Saints, Faith, patron saints, Prayer, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Dominic, Feast Day August 8

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El_Greco,_St_Dominic_in_Prayer Public Domain Image

The feast day of St. Dominic is celebrated on August 8th. He was born in 1170 to Felix Guzman and Blessed Joan of Aza in Caleruega, Spain. After studying at the University at Palencia he was ordained a priest at the age of 25. St. Dominic was known for self-denial, holiness, piety and apostolic zeal. He refused to eat meat or sleep on a bed. He also renounced wealth.  Because of his love of learning and teaching, St. Dominic is known as the patron of astronomers.

In 1215. St. Dominic founded an order of Dominican Nuns. Their mission was to care for young girls. This was followed by the founding of the Order of Preachers, which became known as the Dominicans. The purpose of the order was to preach the Word of God. They were also known as the “Black Friars”. The rule followed the Rule of St. Augustine. Their focus was on liturgical prayer and lifelong study.

The primary heresy the Dominicans preached against was Albigensianism. This was the belief that there are two dueling principles, good and evil, and that all matter was regarded as evil. They also taught that the devil is the creator of the material world.

A devotion which St. Dominic helped to spread is the Rosary. a Marian devotion, which combines meditation on the life of Christ, with memorized prayer. Tradition tells us that when Dominic became discouraged with the slow progress of his work of preaching against the Abligensian heresy, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him with a beautiful wreath of roses. She asked him to say the Rosary every day and to teach the people to say the Rosary. Soon the heresy began to disappear. The devotion of the rosary continues today.

After forming his order Dominic had a dream vision in which he met another person, a beggar. The next day, Dominic recognized this man when he came into his church. It was St. Francis of Assisi the future founder of the Franciscan Order. Dominic embraced him saying,

“You are my companion and must walk with me. For if we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us.”

St. Dominic and St. Francis were lifelong friends. Their orders celebrate their meeting on the feast day of their saint.

The motto of St. Dominic is: “To praise, to bless, to preach”. St. Dominic once said;

“Arm yourself with prayer, rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”

St. Dominic died on August 6, 1221 from a fever.   St. Dominic was canonized on July 13, 1234, by Pope Gregory IX, three years following his death. Pope Gregory said that he no more doubted the sanctity of St. Dominic, than he did that of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you

after my death and I shall help you then

more effectively than during my life.

Quote of St. Dominic

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Cajetan, Feast Day August 7

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St. Cajetan by Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene Public Domain Image
St. Cajetan by Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene

The feast day of St. Cajetan is celebrated on August 7.  He was born in Vicenza, Italy, in 1480.  St. Cajetan is the patron saint of the unemployed.

Even as a child Cajetan was very devout.  He studied at Padua becoming a lawyer.  He then was ordained a priest in Rome working for the Roman Curia.  He joined the Oratory of Divine Love in Rome, which was devoted to charity and piety.

At the age of 42, he founded a hospital for incurables in Venice.  He served the sick and the poor.  St. Cajetan along with three friends decided to bring zeal back to the clergy.  They founded an order known as the Theatines.  They focused on reforming the clergy.  After the sack of Rome they escaped to Venice when their house was ruined in 1527.  Members of his order  took a strict vow of poverty, depending entirely on Divine Providence rather than on income.

One Christmas Eve when Cajetan was passing the Church of St. Mary Major, the Holy Child appeared to him and the the Blessed Virgin laid the child in the Saints arms filling his soul with joy.  He had many visions in his life and was known for being in a state of ecstasy during prayer.  He miraculously cured many who were sick including a man whose foot was to be amputated due to gangrene.  After telling the man to trust in God and ask for the intercession of St. Francis, he kissed the foot , rebandaged it and made the sign of the cross over it.  The following day the foot was healed.

St. Cajetan died in 1547 after receiving the last sacraments.  Many miracles were attributed to him after his death.

St. Cajetan   was canonized by Clement X in 1671.

 

There is no road to Heaven but that of Innocence or Penance.

Quote of St. Cajetan

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary


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Faith, Incorruptible, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Vianney, Feast Day August 4

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St. John Vianney Public Domain Image
St. John Vianney

The feast day of St. John Vianney is celebrated on August 4.  St. John was born into a family of farmers on May 8 1786 in Dardilly, France.

St. John lived through the French Revolution.  Because their work had to be done in secret, he admired the courage of priests.  He received his first communion and confirmation in secret at the age of 13.

When John was 20, he left home to study in Ecully, struggling to learn Latin.  He was drafted in 1809 into Napolean’s army.  He soon fell ill and was hospitalized.  While praying in a church he met a man who led him into the mountains where deserters met.  He lived with them for fourteen months.  While living there he opened a school for the local children.

It wasn’t until 1810 that deserters were granted amnesty.  He returned to his studies and was ordained a deacon in June 1815.  On August 12, 1815 he was ordained a priest.  St. John Vianney became the parish priest of the Ars parish.  Father Vianney spent many hours hearing confessions.  He was also known for his sermons calling everyone to repent from their sins.  His fame as a confessor spread and soon pilgrims began arriving.  As many as 20,000 pilgrims a year came to confess their sins to hm.  He spent as many as 16 hours a day hearing confessions.

Father Vianney wanted to become a monk and spend his time praying alone.  He attempted to leave  Ars four times before deciding he was meant to stay and hear confessions.    He became known as the Holy Cure de Ars. He was always kind, patient, gentle and cheerful.

On August 4, 1859, St. John Vianney died peacefully fter serving as a parish priest for 41 years.

His body was exhumed in 1859 due to the impending beatification, and was found to be incorrupt. His heart, later removed,  is kept in a building known as the Shrine of the Cure’s Heart.

Pope Pius IX canonized St. John Vianney on May 31, 1925.

 

The most Holy Virgin places herself between her Son and us.  The greater sinners we are, the more tenderness and compassion does she feel for us.  The child that has cost its mother the most tears is the dearest to her heart.

Quote of St. John Vianney

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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