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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Lucy, Feast Day December 13

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St. Lucy
by Domenico di Pace Beccafumi

 

The feast day of St. Lucy is celebrated on December 13.  She is the patron saint of the blind and visually impaired.  She is also a martyr.

St. Lucy was born in 283 in Syracuse (Sicily). The name Lucy means “Light”. Her feast day is celebrated on Dec. 13, the day she was executed.

Lucy was born into a wealthy family of Greek ancestry. She vowed her life to Christ. Her Roman father died when she was young. Her mother tried against her will to arrange a marriage for her. After Lucy prayed at the tomb of St. Agatha, her mother’s illness (probably a hemorrhage), was cured. Her mother then agreed to let Lucy consecrate herself to Christ and to remain a virgin.

The rejected suitor of Lucy denounced her and reported her Christianity to the authorities. The magistrate Paschasius was known for his persecution and torture of Christians. He ordered her to burn a sacrifice to the emperor’s image. When she refused, she was ordered to be executed, in the year 304, at the age of 21. The attempt to burn her to death failed, so she was executed by a sword to the throat.    Before the execution, she was tortured, having her eyes gouged. This is why she is the patron of the blind and visually impaired. In art St. Lucy is frequently shown holding a golden plate with her eyes on it.

Legend concludes that God restored her sight before her death.

While some of the history of St. Lucy is legend, her name is mentioned in several different places, including the canon of St. Gregory, indicating that she is a real person. By the sixth century, devotion to St. Lucy was widespread.

 

“O Jesus, Divine Savior,

grant that I be no longer deaf

to your heavenly call.”

Quote of St. Katherine Drexel; Feast day March 3

St. Lucy

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Faith, Our Lady, Saint of the Day, Spirituality, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Juan Diego, Feast Day December 9

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 St. Juan Diego

 

The feast day of St. Juan Diego is celebrated on December 9. Juan was born in a ward of Tlayacac in Cuauhtitlan. His birth name was Cuauhtlatzin, which means “The talking eagle”. He was a farmer and a weaver. He is the first indigenous American Saint.

After the arrival of the Franciscans, Juan and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to the Catholic faith in 1524-1525. Juan was baptized by Father Peter da Gand at the age of 50. He and his wife moved closer to Mexico City to be closer to the Franciscan Catholic Mission.

Juan had a special devotion to the Eucharist. In 1529, several years after his conversion, Maria Lucia died. As a widower, he walked 15 miles three times a week to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist.

One Saturday, on Dec. 9, as he was walking to Mass, a woman’s voice called out to him as he passed Tepeyac Hill. He heard music and saw a cloud encircled by a rainbow. Our Lady appeared to him dressed as an Aztec princess. She told him she was The Virgin Mary and asked him to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said to him;

“I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help and defense, for I am your most devoted mother….to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings.”

When he told the bishop what had happened, the bishop was kind, but skeptical. He requested proof. Before Juan could return to the site, he learned his uncle was dying. On his way to see his uncle, Our Lady appeared to him again, telling him his uncle had been cured. She told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where she had first appeared. When he did this he was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen earth. He gathered them in his cloak and took them to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (not native to Mexico). The bishop saw a glowing image of Our Lady imprinted inside Juan’s cloak. This is referred to as The Miracle of the Roses.

Soon after, a church was built at the site. In the seven years following the building of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, six million people converted to the church because of the apparition. Twenty million pilgrims visit the Basilica yearly, second only to St. Peters Basilica in Rome.

An investigation by the Vatican (which included thirty researchers) confirmed that Juan Diego was not a mythical character.

Pope John Paul II praised St. Juan Diego for his simple faith who said to the Virgin Mary,

“I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf”

Pope John Paul II called him a model of humility.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has been declared the patroness of the Americas.

St. Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a hut near the church, caring for both the church and the first pilgrims.

St. Juan Diego died on May 30, 1548.

The Cloak of Juan Diego was framed and is on display at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is still intact, showing no signs of decay after nearly five hundred years.

The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on Dec. 12th.

 

God calls and chooses us in the way we will be most pleasing to Him.

Quote of St. Catherine of Sienna;  Feast Day April 29

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

 

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Immaculate Conception of Mary, Feast Day December 8

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The Immaculate Conception
by Padre Manuel

 

The Feast day of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on Dec. 8 during the season of Advent.  The feast day celebrates the belief that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. It is often misunderstood as the celebration of the conception of Jesus.

Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception is the Patron Saint of Brazil and the United States.

 

The feast day became a celebration for the universal church in the 18th century. Pope Pius IX declare;

“The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.”

Mary herself confirmed her title to St. Bernadette saying to her;

” I am the Immaculate Conception.”

The largest Marian shrine in the U S. is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception located in Washington D.C.

Just as Eve was conceived without sin, Mary also was conceived without sin. Mary is considered, ‘the new Eve’.

Rather than disobeying God, Mary said,  “Let it be.”

 

Purer than heaven’s purest angels, brighter than its brightest seraph:

Mary, after her Creator, God, made her and gave her all,

the most perfect of beings, the masterpiece of Infinite Wisdom,

Almighty Power and Eternal Love.

To such a being we cannot reasonably suppose that

a perfection was denied her which had been already

gratuitously bestowed on inferior creatures;

on the angelic spirits.

Quote of St. John N. Newmann; Feast day January 5

The Immaculate Conception in Art

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Doctor of the Church, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Ambrose, Feast Day December 7

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St. Ambrose
St. Ambrose

The feast day of St. Ambrose is celebrated on December 7.  He was the Bishop of Milan and proclaimed a Doctor and Father of the Church.  St. Ambrose is the patron saint of bee keepers and students.

St. Ambrose was born in the year 339. He studied in Rome, Italy becoming a lawyer. He was in the process of converting to Catholicism when a great dispute arose after the death of the Bishop of Milan. It was Ambrose who intervened and maintained order. Everyone was so impressed that they requested him as their next bishop even though he he was only a cathecumen (student) and not yet baptized. Resisting at first, eventually Ambrose agreed. He was baptized and eight days later on Dec. 7, 374 he was consecrated the Bishop of Milan at the age of 35.

As bishop he immediately gave his money to the poor. He was known for his fight against paganism and Arianism ( the belief that Jesus Christ did not have a divine nature). He was instrumental in the conversion and baptism of St. Augustine. The title “Honey tongued Doctor” was given to him because of his speaking skills.  Because of his title he became the patron saint of bee keepers.

St. Ambrose died of natural causes on April 14, 397.

 

“True repentance

is to cease to sin.”

Quote of St. Ambrose

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Nicholas, Feast Day December 6

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St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas

The feast day of St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6.  He is the patron saint of children, sailors, and bakers.  He served as the Bishop of Myra.

St. Nicholas was born in the fourth century in Patara in Lycia, which is a province of Asia Minor. Many churches have been built in his honor. His parents were wealthy but it It is believed he was orphaned at a young age. As a young man he decided to devote his inheritance to charities. After returning from a pilgrimage to Palestine and Egypt he was ordained the Bishop of Myra. He was imprisoned during the Diocletian persecution and released when Constantine came into power.

St. Nicholas was known for his kindness and generosity. He found many opportunities to give away his wealth. One of the stories told about St. Nicholas was that he helped a man who had lost all his money. This man had three daughters to support. In an attempt to save the daughters from prostitution, St. Nicholas, in the dark of night, threw bags of gold coins into their home. The coins landed in their shoes and stockings which were by the fire drying. This is the reason children today put out stockings for Santa Claus at Christmas.

St. Nicholas is also known as Sinterklass in the Dutch culture. Many stories have evolved around the generosity of St. Nicholas. There is a tradition that he enjoyed giving gifts to children in secret. The stories inspired many of the traditions surrounding Santa Claus. The clothing Santa Claus wears is similar to that of a bishop.

St. Nicholas died on December 6, 346.

 

“The habit of seeing things in the light of faith

lifts us above the mists and the mire of the world.”

Quote of Bl. Charles de Foucauld , Feast Day December 1

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

 

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Sabas, Feast Day December 5

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St. Sabas
St. Sabas

The feast day of St. Sabas is celebrated on December 5.  He was a priest and monk.  St. Sabas was born at Mutalaska, Cappadocia.  His father was an army officer. he was raised by an uncle whose wife mistreated him.

At the age of eight Sabas ran away to another uncle, only to run away again later when a dispute arose. He went to live in a monastery. At the age of 30, he became a hermit. St. Euthymius was his advisor. When Euthymius died, he lived alone in the desert for four years.

Although he loved solitude, disciples were drawn to him, eventually numbering 150 monks. A priest was requested and he accepted ordination in 491. His followers were from Egypt and Armenia. They built several hospitals.

St. Sabas lived to over 90 years of age. He is considered one of the founders of Eastern Monasticism.

 

Everywhere and forever

we are in God’s hands.

Quote of Bl. Theodore Romzha; Feast day Nov. 1

 

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

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