BIG C CATHOLICS

Optional Memorial - February 8th There are many types of slavery and also many types of freedom. For some, who appear outwardly free, the slavery is internal and has various guises, such as attitudes that entrap, hurtful emotions that have not healed, or addictions which cripple and bind. Then there are people who seem trapped, but who have actually achieved an inner freedom of spirit that nothing in the world can overcome. Saint Josephine Bakhita, who was born in the Darfur region of southern Sudan around 1868, belonged to the later. Her story began in slavery and ended in sainthood. No one knows what her parents had called her. The child, who would eventually be known as Josephine, was kidnapped by Arab slave traders when she was barely seven years old. It was they who gave her the name Bakhita which, ironically, means “fortunate” or “lucky.” For several years, her name appeared to be a cruel joke, as she was sold and resold, to an Arab chieftain and then to a Turkish milita

Optional Memorial - January 27th  Saint Angela Merici was a 16th century Italian religious educator and foundress. She established the Company of Saint Ursula in 1535 at Brescia, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the Church through the education of girls. From this organization came the monastic Order of Ursulines. Angela's sisters founded schools of prayer and learning throughout Europe, and later, the world. Angela was born in Northern Italy in the diocese of Verona in the year 1474. She lived on Lake Garda together with her parents and sister in relative comfort. Early in life, she dedicated herself to Christ. At age 15, she and her older sister were left orphans. A short time later, her sister would die without receiving Last Rites. This disturbed Angela greatly, and she prayed fervently for her sister’s soul. By God's grace, Angela would have a vision confirming that her sister was in heaven. The future saint became increasingly devout. She

Ever wonder which saint you most resemble? Are you a Joan of Arc or a Thomas Aquinas? A Thérèse of Liseux or a Francis of Assisi? Are you made for modernity like Thomas Merton or a "man for all seasons" like Thomas More? Find out HERE . Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate the merits of all the Saints who see you face to face in heaven, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we so earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns together with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Optional Memorial - January 23rd  St. Marianne Cope was a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis and is recognized as an extraordinary woman of the 1800's and early 1900's. Her call to labor as a servant of God and the Franciscan spirit she embraced, provided a foundation of values that gave her the courage and compassion to accept difficult challenges with diplomacy and grace. She is a model of humility amid suffering. As a leader in her community, Mother Marianne was instrumental in opening two of the first Catholic Hospitals in Central New York: St. Elizabeth in Utica and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. Recognizing the need for basic health care in a city of immigrants, she and a small group of women defied convention by purchasing a saloon in Syracuse, New York and transforming it into a hospital to serve the needs of a diverse community. Here they welcomed everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or means. They pioneered rules of patient’s righ

Optional Memorial - January 23rd  St. Vincent of Saragossa was one of the Church's three most illustrious deacons, the other two being Stephen and Lawrence. He is also Spain's most renowned martyr. Born in the late 3rd century, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Valerius of Saragossa. Vincent was forced in chains to Valencia during the Diocletian persecution and martyred. Legend records the following about his martyrdom: After brutal scourging in the presence of many witnesses, he was stretched on the rack; but neither torture nor blandishments nor threats could undermine the strength and courage of his faith. He was cast on a heated grating, lacerated with iron hooks, and seared with hot metal plates. Then he was returned to prison, where the floor was heavily strewn with pieces of broken glass. A heavenly brightness flooded the entire dungeon, filling all who saw it with greatest awe. After this he was placed on a soft bed in the hope that lenient treatment would ind

Optional Memorial - January 20th  The name of Sebastian is enveloped in a wreath of legends. The oldest historical account of the saint is found in a commentary on the psalms by St. Ambrose; the passage reads: "Allow me to propose to you the example of the holy martyr Sebastian. By birth he was a Milanese. Perhaps the persecutor of Christians had left Milan, or had not yet arrived, or had become momentarily more tolerant. Sebastian believed that here there was no opportunity for combat, or that it had already passed. So he went to Rome, the scene of bitter opposition arising from the Christians' zeal for the faith. There he suffered, there he gained the crown." St. Sebastian was widely venerated during the Middle Ages, particularly as a protector against the plague. Paul the Deacon relates that in 670 a great pestilence at Rome ceased when an altar was dedicated in his honor. The Breviary account of the saint is highly legendary; in part it reads: "Diocl

Optional Memorial - January 20th  Openness to the Holy Spirit is integral to the selection of the supreme pontiff. The Third Person of the Trinity guides the solemn proceedings. Indeed, the Mass that opens a papal conclave is meant, not merely to mark the start of a momentous decision and most serious process, but to prepare the hearts and minds of the participants to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit in selecting the new pope. So imagine a conclave in which a dove literally lands upon the head of someone—and a layperson at that—who has journeyed to Rome to see who will become the next pope. Such was the case in 236 A.D. when a simple farmer named Fabian was unanimously chosen to be pontiff because everyone present took the actions of the dove to be a sign from God. The dove is also the symbol of peace, and the first part of Fabian’s papacy was in fact marked by peace. Under Emperor Philip, Fabian was able to expand the Church of Rome without fear of persecution. All

Feast Day – January 18th  According to popular piety, Saint Prisca, also known as Priscilla, was a child martyr of the early Roman Church. Born to Christian parents of a noble family, Prisca was raised during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius. While Claudius did not persecute Christians as fervently as other Roman emperors, Christians still did not practice their faith openly. Prisca's parents went to great lengths to conceal their faith, and thus, were not suspected of being Christians. Prisca, however, did not feel the need to take precaution. The young girl openly professed her dedication to Christ, and eventually, she was reported to the emperor. Claudius had her arrested, and commanded her to make a sacrifice to Apollo, the pagan god of the sun. Tradition tells how, Prisca refused, and was tortured for disobeying. Suddenly, a bright, yellow light shone about her, and she appeared luminous like a little star. Claudius ordered that Prisca be taken away to pris

Optional Memorial - January 13th  It seems odd to us today that anyone claiming to be a Christian would deny the divinity of Christ. In the 4th century, however, Arianism, a particularly pernicious heresy which proclaimed precisely that, threatened the very existence of the Church. While emperors and even some bishops sanctioned this teaching, many saints defended Jesus’ divinity; among that number was Saint Hilary of France. Hilary was born into a pagan family around the year 315, but converted to the Christian religion after discovering God through his study of the Scriptures. So great was his reputation for holiness and his defense of Christ’s divinity that he was appointed Bishop of Poitiers, France, in 353, to great acclaim. At about the same time, Constantius II, an adherent to Arianism, became emperor in Rome. This new ruler, at the behest of pro-Arian prelate, promptly exiled Hilary to far-off Phrygia in the hopes that sheer distance would silence him. It did not. In

On January 12th the Catholic Church in Canada celebrates the memorial of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, a 17th century French missionary who came to the New World in order to serve the poor. She founded the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Montreal dedicated to teaching, evangelization and works of charity, a hospital and schools. Beloved by Quebecois, she was called "the Mother of the Colony". She was born on Good Friday 1620, in Troyes, France, the sixth of twelve children to Abraham Bourgeoys and Guillemette Gamier, and baptized the same day. Her middle-class family was deeply religious. Her father died when she was young. At 19, Marguerite’s mother died. The following year, on October 7, 1640, during a procession in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, while looking at a statue of Mary, Marguerite had a divine vision that would change her life. She later recounted: "We passed again in front of the portal of Notre-Dame, where there was a stone image [of our Lady] above t

Optional Memorial - January 9th  Saint Julian and Saint Basilissa, although married, lived, by mutual consent, in perpetual chastity; they sanctified themselves by the most perfect exercises of an ascetic life, and employed their revenues in relieving the poor and the sick. For this purpose they converted their house into a kind of hospital, in which they sometimes entertained a thousand poor people. Basilissa attended the women in separate lodgings from the men; these were taken care of by her husband Julian. At that time, the imperial governor Marcian had constructed pagan idols in Egypt, many of which [according to popular piety} were destroyed by the prayer of the two saints. Because of their Christian faith, professed Christians were horribly persecuted and killed. Some sources report that Basilissa died a martyr. Others contend that, after enduring seven brutal persecutions, she died in peace. Julian survived her many years and received holy martyrdom, together with Celsu

(In 2018, this feast is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.) From 2017: December 7th is the optional memorial of Saint Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275), a 13th century Dominican priest and theologian who, as a contemporary of Saint Thomas Aquinas, worked to help Christian captives during the period of the Crusades and added greatly to Canon Law, the Church’s legal code. A brilliant evangelist, in his writings, utterances and example, St. Raymond won numerous souls for Christ. Over 10,000 Muslims converted as a result of his efforts. Named the Superior General of the Dominican Order, he retired after only two years due to his advanced age. (Following this, he lived another 35 years during which he skillfully advanced the Good News.) His most notable work, the Summa Casuum , concerns the importance and correct administration of the Sacrament of Penance. He was born into a Spanish noble family, with ties to the royal house of Aragon, at the castle of Pennafort, in the Catalonian reg

January 6th is the optional memorial of Saint André Bessette. God raised up this poor, uneducated, sickly man to be a model of holiness and obedience. Brother André was born Alfred Bessette on August 9, 1845, near Quebec, Canada. When he first entered the Congregation of the Holy Cross, he was of such poor health that they weren't sure what job he could do, so, they made him the doorkeeper. Brother André like to say: "When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained forty years." It was as a doorkeeper that he came into contact with the poor and the sick and commenced his ministry as a healer. More and more people started coming to Brother André and his guidance was always the same. He told them to pray especially to Saint Joseph. Brother André had a great devotion to the foster father of Our Lord and he extolled others to seek St. Joseph's intercession. Soon, Brother André’s reputation for piety and as a healer grew, and people trav

January 5th the Church observes the memorial of the 19th century Redemptorist Bishop John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. His life was marked by incessant travel, service and compassion. John Nepomucene Neumann was born on March 28, 1811, in Bohemia [now the Czech Republic] to a poor but religious family. As a young seminarian, he longed to be a missionary priest in America. Traveling to the United States, Neumann looked for a bishop to ordain him. He mastered Italian, Spanish, English, French and Gaelic besides speaking his native German and Bohemian. Neumann's early priesthood was difficult and lonely, working with poor farming immigrants near Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York. Eventually, he found companionship among the Redemptorists, a religious order that ministered to the German-American population. Neumann professed his priestly vows and five years later, owing to his remarkable leadership abilities and vast pastoral skills, became the Redemptorist Order’

Memorial - January 4th  If you ever had an opportunity to attend Catholic school in the United States, you have Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton to thank for it. After her husband’s death, she founded the first American religious community for women the Sisters of Charity, the first American parish school, and the first American Catholic orphanage, all while raising her five children. A daughter of the American Revolution, she was born in August of 1774, two years before the Declaration of Independence. Her mother, a staunch Episcopalian, taught her the value of prayer and Scripture. At the age of 19, Elizabeth married the love of her life, a handsome wealthy businessman named William Seton. Following the birth of their fifth child, he lost his business, filed for bankruptcy and became deathly ill with tuberculosis. In a final attempt to save her husband's health, the Setons sailed for Italy where William had business friends who could help care for him. During her husband's f

On January 2nd the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors. Both men were from Cappadocia (central turkey) and followed the monastic way of life for some years. Together with Saint Gregory of Nyssa, they are known as the Cappadocian Fathers and venerated widely for their contributions in both the Eastern and Latin Churches. _________________________________________________ The old saying goes that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” If ever there were a saint who proved that proverb to be true, it was St. Basil the Great.  His grandmother, Macrina, was a saint who suffered persecution under the Romans, and of his nine brothers and sister, two of them, Gregory of Nyssa and Macrina (the younger), also became saints. Another brother, Peter, became a bishop.  No doubt this combined influence also caused him, as a youth, to take an abiding interest in the poor by organizing famine relief and working in a soup ki

Optional Memorial - December 29th  There was a time in England when being a friend of the king could easily lead to martyrdom. Such was the case of Saint Thomas Becket, whose 12th-century conflict with Henry II would result in his murder at the hand of the king’s men in the Cathedral at Canterbury. In so doing Becket went from being "a patron of play-actors and a follower of hounds" to become an heroic "shepherd of souls." Born in 1118, Thomas was appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury in 1154, and became Lord Chancellor of England the following year. When the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1162, King Henry II saw an opportunity to solidify the crown’s control of the Church, and made his good friend Thomas the next archbishop. But Thomas, who had accepted the position reluctantly, turned out to be more loyal to his Church than to his king. After thwarting the king once too often, Henry reportedly said, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?&qu

Optional Memorial - December 23rd  Outward appearances of failure do not always indicate an interior lack of success. In fact, precisely the opposite can be true, as it was in the case of Saint John of Kanty (otherwise known as John Kanty or John Cantius.) This patron saint of both Poland and Lithuania could also have been designated the patron of frustration and disappointment, had he been so disposed to those things and less resolute. John of Kanty was born in Oswiecim, Poland, in 1390, and at first, he appeared destined for a life of renown and accomplishment. Though raised and initially educated in a rural setting, the future saint took quickly to life in the bustling city of Krakow, becoming a brilliant scholar at the university there. A student of philosophy and theology, he earned his doctoral degree, was ordained a priest, and named professor of theology at the very institution he had graduated from. John was popular with his students, so much so that some of his col

Optional Memorial - December 21st  Saint Peter Canisius was the 16th century Dutch Jesuit priest and Doctor of the Church whose brilliant theology renewed Catholicism. He was a major figure in both the Council of Trent and the Counter Reformation. His extensive catechetical treatises and powerful preaching in defense of orthodoxy won him great renown, and the Church innumerable souls. He wrote three definitive Catechisms in the span of four years explicating the Faith. These were tremendously influential, especially to those in Austria, Bavaria, and Bohemia where Catholicism was most under siege. Although claimed by both the Dutch and German Churches, Canisius is designated as the second Apostle of Germany (after Saint Boniface of Mainz). He was born at Nijmegen, Holland, in 1521 into a devout family. His father was an instructor to princes in the court of the duke of Lorraine. Peter was part of a movement for religious reform as a very young man and in 1543, after attending a

Feast Day - December 16th  Perhaps the most prominent European woman of the 10th century through her marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto the Great of Germany, St. Adelaide was a remarkable figure. The daughter of King Rudolph II of Burgundy, she was born in 931, in Burgundy, France. Adelaide was promised in marriage when she was only two to Lothaire, the son of the ruler of Provence, to end a political feud. When her husband was murdered by a rival prince, his successor tried to make Adelaide his wife. She refused and was held in captivity until freed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I. On Christmas Day 951, she would marry Otto at Pavia. The marriage consolidated his authority in northern Italy, and in 962 they were solemnly crowned emperor and empress of the realm by Pope John XII in Rome. Adelaide ruled with her husband until his death. Otto died in 973, and for twenty years Adelaide’s life was a turmoil of family and political troubles. Her daughter-in-law, the Byzan