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Showing posts with the label Pope Leo XIII

St. Peter Claver, Jesuit Priest and Missionary

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Memorial - September 9th There are not many who would willingly make themselves slaves, but Saint Peter Claver, the 17th century Jesuit priest and missionary did. What is particularly noteworthy about this young Spaniard’s servitude in the New World is that he took it upon himself willingly, declaring himself , "the slave of the slave." Popular piety holds, in addition to his prodigious efforts, he worked tremendous miracles like raising people from the dead and prophesying the future deaths of others. Peter Claver was born in Verdu, Spain, in 1581. Although the family line was one of the oldest and most distinguished in that country, by the time Claver was born, his own family consisted of impoverished farmers. Nevertheless, he entered the Jesuit college of Barcelona and soon entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1602. It was while studying philosophy that he was inspired by the college’s doorkeeper, the future saint Alphonsus Rodriguez to become a missionary in the New W

St. Camillus de Lellis, Caregiver of the Sick, Founder

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Optional Memorial – July 18th St. Camillus' mother was nearly sixty years old when he was born [in 1550]. As a youth, he gave himself to the sinful pleasures of this world. His conversion dates from the feast of the Purification, 1575. Two attempts to join the Capuchin Order were frustrated by an incurable sore on his leg. In Rome, Camillus was placed in a hospital for incurables; before long he was put in charge due to his ability and zeal for virtue. There, he provided the sick every kind of spiritual and bodily aid. At the age of thirty-two he began studying for Holy Orders and was not ashamed of being numbered with children. After ordination to the holy priesthood he founded a congregation of Regular Clerics, the "Ministers to the Sick." As a fourth vow the community assumed the duty of caring for the plague-ridden at the risk of their lives. With invincible patience Camillus persevered day and night in the service of the sick, performing the meanest and most

St. John of God, Patron of the Sick and the Dying

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The Church observes the optional memorial of Saint John of God on March 8th. Of Portuguese descent, he was first a shepherd, a dealer and then a soldier. At the age of forty, he was converted, and devoted himself to the care of those sick in mind and body. John proved in various thankless tasks to be a true innovator and a saint of super-human virtue and compassion. He founded the Order of the Brothers Hospitallers, which bears his name. He died at Granada, Spain in 1550. St. John of God was so called because of the great love he had for others. That love was made manifest in the hospitals he established, some of which exist to this day. He once wrote “When I see so many of my brethren in poverty, and my neighbors suffering beyond their strength, and oppressed in mind or body by so many cares and am unable to help them, it causes me exceeding sorrow.” These words show that John of God shared the same love that God has; a love that is sorrowful in the face of human degradation, p

St. Katharine Drexel, Foundress and Advocate

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Optional Memorial - March 3rd Our Lord said that it is "...easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:24).  Though such a thing is difficult, it is, however, not impossible, especially if the rich person, in this case, rich woman, sees their wealth as a gift from God, given to help bring about His kingdom on earth. For them, affluence is an opportunity. Such was the story of Saint Katharine Drexel. Born in Philadelphia into a family of wealth and privilege in 1858, Katharine had advantages that many people then, and even now, could only dream of. Her family’s fortune was made in banking. Her uncle Anthony founded Drexel University in Philadelphia. On her stepmother’s side, Katharine was a distant cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She received an excellent education, traveled widely in the United States and Europe, and, like other young women in her social class, made a grand debut i

TOB Tuesday: From the Beginning of Creation Marriage Was a Sacred Covenant Between Husband and Wife

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Editor's note: Occasionally on Tuesday we will feature posts relating to St. John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body; his reflection on our nature and life as persons made in the image and likeness of God, conjugal love, the meaning of celibacy, and the eternal beatitude to which every human being is called. ________________________________________ Saint John Paul II The link between secularization and the crisis of marriage and of the family is only too clear. The crisis concerning the meaning of God and that concerning moral good and evil has succeeded in diminishing an acquaintance with the fundamentals of marriage and of the family which is rooted in marriage. For an effective recovery of the truth in this field, it is necessary to rediscover the transcendent dimension that is intrinsic to the full truth of marriage and the family , overcoming every dichotomy that tends to separate the profane aspects from the religious as if there were two marriages: one

Novena to Saint Michael the Archangel for Protection

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Saint Michael the Archangel is known for protecting against evil, for persevering in the Faith and for spiritual healing. Although his feast day is September 29th, as with every novena, you may pray it any time of the year. The Novena to St. Michael for Protection will begin February 20th , during the second week of Lent. As the "Prince of the Heavenly Host", St. Michael the Archangel is second only to the Mother of God in leading the angels. His name in Hebrew means "Who is like God?". It was Michael who commanded heaven's forces in casting down Lucifer and the fallen angels into hell. In 1886, after receiving a prophetic vision of the evil to be visited upon the world in the 20th century, Pope Leo XIII instituted a prayer invoking St. Michael's protection. Scripture mentions him four times (in Daniel 10:13-21 and 12:1, in Jude 1:9 and in the Book of Revelation 12:7-9). The Church recognizes four distinct offices of St. Michael; 1.) to oppose Satan,

Feast of the Holy Family

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December 31, 2017  The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is the model for all Christian families. Beginning in the 17th century, devotion to the Holy Family spread throughout the Church. In 1893, Pope Leo XIII approved the feast of the Holy Family; composing part of the Divine Office observing it. Since ancient times, the Coptic Church has celebrated this memorial in light of the flight into Egypt. Succeeding Pontiffs have affirmed the feast as an efficacious means of reminding Christians of the sanctity of the family and it's essential role in disseminating and preserving the Faith. The example of the Holy Family at Nazareth is a template for the restoration of family life and a safeguard against diabolical, present-day efforts to redefine or end the institutions of marriage and the "Domestic Church" as ordained by God. For Mary and Joseph, having God Incarnate in their midst was an unrivaled joy. Looking at the Holy Family, we see the love, the protectio

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Missionary and Foundress

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Memorial - November 13th  Sometimes the things we believe we are supposed to do in life are merely a variation on what God actually has in mind for us. Such was the case with a young Italian girl named Frances Xavier Cabrini. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a missionary in China. But Pope Leo XIII would one day suggest that her missionary efforts were destined to be carried out in a very different part of the world; it wasn’t China, but it was precisely where God desired her to be. Frances Xavier Cabrini was born on a farm in Lombardi, Italy in 1850, one of 13 children.  She was trained as a teacher in a nearby convent school and, when she reached the age of 18, she sought to join the Order that had educated her. Her health, however, was so frail that they denied her request and Frances instead returned to the family farm, where she cared for her parents until their death. Shortly afterward, at the request of a priest, Frances began working at the House of Providence Orph

The Danger to the Church of False Reformers

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Numerous popes have warned of dangers to the Church and to humanity should false reformers enter the Church's hierarchy and sow apostasy. Christ promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against the Church. He did not promise local Churches would be faithful: "many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of... increased evildoing, the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24: 10-11) "These most crafty enemies [the devils] have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered." — Pope Le

Bl. John Henry Newman, Convert and Cardinal

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Optional Memorial - October 9th John Henry Newman, one of the great Christian intellectuals of the 19th century, was born in London in 1801, and baptized in the Church of England. His spiritual quest having begun in adolescence, he became a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford in 1822, an Anglican clergyman in 1825 and Vicar of Oxford University Church in 1828. He studied theology at Oxford University where he became a leader of the Oxford Movement which examined the Catholic roots of the faith in England. The Anglican Newman was a pastor of souls, a university teacher and a student of Christian history and thought. His scholarship was never purely theoretical. Informed by pastoral experience, it was shaped by his insight into the needs of the present. Newman's point of reference was the Church of the Apostles and 'the Fathers', the great teachers of the first Christian centuries. At school he felt the attractions of atheism, and sympathy with religious doubt. But also

St. Vincent de Paul, Priest, "the Conscience of France"

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Memorial - September 27th St. Vincent de Paul is a saint whose name is familiar even to those who do not profess the Catholic faith. This is due in large part to the organization that was begun in his name 173 years after his death. The St. Vincent de Paul Society, founded by Blessed Frederic Ozanam in 1833, took its inspiration from the life of the man whom Pope Leo XIII named patron of all charitable organizations. Many parishes continue to carry out charitable works under his spiritual patronage. Vincent was the third child born to a poor family in Gascony, France, in 1580. At the time of his birth, the Church was in the midst of the Counter-Reformation, the period of intense internal reform following the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation. Although he would later be regarded as "the conscience of France," the young Vincent, who was ordained in 1600, was more concerned at first with living a comfortable life than doing the work that God had intended for him.

Pope Leo XIII on the Worst Kind of Heretic

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The worst kind of heretic is the one who, while teaching mostly true Catholic doctrine, add a word of heresy, like a drop of poison in a cup of water. — Pope Leo XIII __________________________________________ Prayer to St. Irenaeus Against Heresy and Unfaithfulness  Ever living God, Our Father, You granted that Blessed Saint Irenaeus, Your martyr and bishop, should overcome heresy by the truth of his doctrine, and establish peace in Your Church. Give to Your people, we entreat You, constancy in their holy religion. Help us defeat the Gnostics of our day, all heresy in any form, and grant us peace in our time. This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Peter Claver, Jesuit Priest and Missionary

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Memorial - September 9th There are not many who would willingly make themselves slaves, but Saint Peter Claver, the 17th century Jesuit priest and missionary did. What is particularly noteworthy about this young Spaniard’s servitude in the New World is that he took it upon himself willingly, declaring himself , "the slave of the slave." Popular piety holds, in addition to his prodigious efforts, he worked tremendous miracles like raising people from the dead and prophesying the future deaths of others. Peter Claver was born in Verdu, Spain, in 1581. Although the family line was one of the oldest and most distinguished in that country, by the time Claver was born, his own family consisted of impoverished farmers. Nevertheless, he entered the Jesuit college of Barcelona and soon entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1602. It was while studying philosophy that he was inspired by the college’s doorkeeper, the future saint Alphonsus Rodriguez to become a missionary in the New W

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest & Doctor of the Church

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Optional Memorial - July 21st His name was Giulio Cesare Russo, and he was born at Brindisi in the kingdom of Naples in 1559. Educated in Venice at the College of St. Mark, he entered the Capuchins and took the name Lawrence. Finishing his studies at the University of Padua, he showed a flair for languages, mastering Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish, and French, and showed an extraordinary knowledge of the text of the Bible. He is the greatest linguist among the Doctors of the Church. While still a deacon, St. Lawrence of Brindisi became known as an excellent preacher and after his ordination startled the whole of northern Italy with his amazing sermons. Sent into Germany by the pope to establish Capuchin houses, he became chaplain to Emperor Rudolf II and had a remarkable influence on the Christian soldiers fighting the Muslims when they were threatening Hungary in 1601. Through his efforts, the Catholic League was formed to give solidarity to the Catholic cause in Eu

St. Camillus de Lellis, Caregiver to the Sick, Founder

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Optional Memorial – July 18th St. Camillus' mother was nearly sixty years old when he was born [in 1550]. As a youth, he gave himself to the sinful pleasures of this world. His conversion dates from the feast of the Purification, 1575. Two attempts to join the Capuchin Order were frustrated by an incurable sore on his leg. In Rome, Camillus was placed in a hospital for incurables; before long he was put in charge due to his ability and zeal for virtue. There, he provided the sick every kind of spiritual and bodily aid. At the age of thirty-two he began studying for Holy Orders and was not ashamed of being numbered with children. After ordination to the holy priesthood he founded a congregation of Regular Clerics, the "Ministers to the Sick." As a fourth vow the community assumed the duty of caring for the plague-ridden at the risk of their lives. With invincible patience Camillus persevered day and night in the service of the sick, performing the meanest and most

Sts. Louis and Zélia Martin, Patrons of Marriage

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Optional Memorial - July 12th Louis Martin was born in Bordeaux in 1823 and baptised Louis-Joseph-Aloys-Stanislaus. He grew up in Alençon and after school learned clock-making eventually opening his own watch-making and jewellery business on the rue du Pont-Neuf in Alençon. As a young man, he wished to become a priest but it was not to be. Prayer was an important part of his life. He liked reading, fishing and walking in the countryside. His travels included his well-known pilgrimage to Rome in 1887 with his daughters Thérèse and Céline on the occasion of which Thérèse, not yet 15 years old, asked Leo XIII for permission to enter Carmel. Zélie Guérin (christened Marie-Azélie) was born in 1831 near Alençon. She had a strong faith. She too wished to embrace the religious life and again it was not to be. Much is written of her great energy and capacity for work. She became a talented maker of Alençon point lace and started her own business in Alençon. When Zélie was 26 years ol

St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor

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Optional Memorial - June 27th It should be a great comfort to realize that even saints have to work diligently to achieve holiness. One of the great gifts they leave behind for us is their example of heroic virtue through which they became the person God meant them to be. Just as we often learn more from our mistakes than from our successes; we can profit as much by what a saint overcame as we can from what they achieved. Such was the case with Saint Cyril of Alexandria. We know very little about his early life. We are even unsure of whether he was born in 376 or 378, but we do know that by 403, at what was called the Council of the Oak, he was already having an impact on the life of the early Church. His initial actions do not appear to be particularly saint-like. The Council of the Oak was convened to depose Saint John Chrysostom, whose sermons had offended the Roman empress. Though he was brought back into favor for a short period of time, St. John Chrysostom was eventually

St. Bede the Venerable, "The Father of English History"

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There is very little that we know about this medieval scholar and saint. What information we have comes from the very end of the work for which he is best known, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People.  In its closing paragraphs he notes that, at the age of seven, his family gave him into the care of the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow, England, where he remained for virtually the rest of his life. There, with “great delight,” he lived the life of one of the most extraordinary and devout scholars of his day. Though the study of Scripture was his priority, he also chronicled a history of Christianity in England from its beginnings until his own time.  Not only is his history an important ecclesiastical work, it is also highly prized by prized by scholars of many disciplines, as it is the foundation for much of our knowledge of that period of English history. Bede was also quite well versed in all the sciences of his day, including what was then referred to as natural ph

St. Rita of Cascia, Religious, Patron of the Impossible

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May 22nd, is the optional memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia. Most Catholics are familiar with Saint Jude as the patron saint of hopeless causes. What they might not know, however, is that there is another patron of the impossible, whose very life reflects faith in God despite difficult circumstances. She is St. Rita of Cascia. Born in Italy in 1381, Rita expressed an interest in religious life at a very early age. In obedience to her parent’s wishes, she married at 18. The union was not a happy one. Her husband was a violent man, who passed his violent nature on to their twin sons. Rita did everything she could to be a model wife and mother. She was dedicated to converting her husband and sons, praying constantly for them. After nearly 20 years of marriage, her husband was stabbed to death by an enemy and her two sons died shortly afterward. Alone, Rita decided to fulfill her lifelong wish to enter a religious order. Denied admittance three times because she was a widow, eventual

Optional Memorial Our Lady of Good Counsel [Canada]

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April 26, 2017 Devotion to the Mother of Good Counsel is associated with a miraculous icon. The image [pictured above] is found in a church in Genazzano, a town thirty miles south-east of Rome. The church, dedicated to the Mother of Good Counsel, was built there in the 4th century. In 1356, it was given over to the Augustinians. Restoration started in 1467, when a widow, Petruccia, sold all her belongings to help finance the project. However, funds ran out before the task was completed. That same year, the residents of Genazzano heard a beautiful melody emanating from heaven. As they looked up, they saw a white, shining cloud that descended on the Church of the Mother of Good Counsel. The cloud gradually vanished, revealing a beautiful painting of Our Lady tenderly holding her Divine Son in her arms. Immediately, Mary began to cure the sick and grant countless graces. The news spread throughout the country. Two Albanians from Scutari appeared in the town with the following