August 8--St. Mary MacKillop, Virgin, Religious, and Foundress

Australian Stamp of St. Mary MacKillop.

She is the first saint of Australia and, at one time, was excommunicated by her bishop. Now that’s a headline! The daughter of Scottish immigrants, St. Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842. As a teen she became a governess and eventually taught at a school and opened her own boarding school. In 1866 Fr. Julian Woods invited her and her sisters to open a Catholic school. That same year other women joined St. Mary and they became the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Josephites. The local bishop invited them to found a new school. The religious community developed a rule which “emphasized poverty, a dependence on divine providence, no ownership of personal belongings, faith that God would provide and willingness to go where needed.”

They expanded, but this sometimes caused issues about control of the schools. Bishops wanted episcopal control, while St. Mary MacKillop wanted control of the schools by the religious order. Two bishops told the sisters to leave their dioceses and another excommunicated her on grounds that she was insubordinate. Eventually, the excommunication was lifted. St. Mary persevered, her order was approved by Pope Leo XIII and their structure, living in the community and not in convents, along with the superior general being chosen by the congregation, was maintained. They primarily educated children, but also served the poor and those in need. St. Mary MacKillop died in 1909 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Today there are over 600 Josephites serving in six countries.

It takes a strong will as well as a loving, holy life to become a saint! Sometimes, our fallen brothers and sisters in the Church can be a source of suffering! Let us not be discouraged! St. Mary MacKillop, pray for us.

August 3--St. Lydia of Thyatira, Holy Woman

Dr. med. Detlef Bihn, CC BY-SA 4.0,via Wikimedia Commons

“We set sail from Troas, … and from there to Philippi.  On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer.  We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.  One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.  After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,’ and she prevailed on us” (Acts 16:11a, 12a, 13-15).

This reading is from the Easter season, telling the story of the first convert of Europe–St. Lydia. This passage shows how Paul, like Jesus, received support from women. Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth, which meant that she was involved in an industry that involved great wealth. Only the rich or the royal could afford purple cloth. She was wealthy. Furthermore, she is the head of the household–her household is baptized. She offers the invitation. All these indicate that Lydia was a strong, independent, wealthy, businesswoman! Paul accepted her invitation and her house became a house church.

St. Lydia played a pivotal role in the evangelization of Europe. Women play pivotal roles in the evangelization of others: their families, their friends, their colleagues, their community. St. John Paul II wrote in his Letter to Women in 1995: “Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood you enrich the world's understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic.” St. Lydia, pray for us!

July 24--St. Kinga (Cunegunda), Holy Woman

Grzegorz Czarnic, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can a woman both be married and a virgin and be dedicated to loving both husband and God? Yes! We have two excellent examples of that unique calling: Our Blessed Mother Mary and St. Kinga. St. Kinga’s story is one of devotion to God through her role as Queen of Poland. Born in Hungary in 1224 to the King of Hungary, St. Kinga had many saintly relatives. St. John Paul II, in his canonization homily said, when “she was to marry Prince Boleslaus, she convinced him to live a life of virginity for the glory of God, and after a waiting-period of two years the spouses made a vow of perpetual chastity….

“This way of life, perhaps difficult to understand nowadays, yet deeply rooted in the tradition of the early Church, gave Saint Kinga that inner freedom which enabled her to be concerned first of all with the things of the Lord and to lead a profound religious life. Today let us reconsider this great testimony. Saint Kinga teaches us that both marriage and virginity lived in union with Christ can become a path to holiness. Today Saint Kinga rises to safeguard these values. She reminds us that the value of marriage, this indissoluble union of love between two persons, cannot be brought into question under any circumstances. Whatever difficulties may arise, one may not abandon the defence of this primordial love which has united two persons and which is constantly blessed by God. Marriage is the way of holiness, even when it becomes the way of the Cross. …

“[S]he esteemed chastity and virginity, rightly seeing in this state an extraordinary gift whereby man experiences in a special way his own freedom.” We need both holy marriages to raise godly families and consecrated virgins dedicated completely to serving God.

July 16--St. Bartholomew of Braga, O.P., Bishop

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Today's saint was canonized by Pope Francis in 2019, 429 years after his death. This is much longer than the average 181 years. It was also an equipollent canonization, which means that the normal requirement for two miracles can be dispensed if the pope declares that the saint has been venerated continuously since ancient times.

So what makes St. Bartholomew of Braga worthy of such an unusual declaration? He was born in Portugal in 1514, entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in 1527, and was ordained a priest, teaching theology for his order. He was ordained bishop of Braga in 1559 and attended sessions in the Council of Trent from 1561-1563. He contributed 268 suggestions, collaborated with St. Charles of Borromeo regarding the duties and virtues of priests, and “exercised great influence in the discussions, particularly those with regard to the decrees on the reform of ecclesiastical life.” After the Council he returned to Braga to implement the decrees. He resigned in 1582 and retired to a convent until his death in 1590. All in all, he was a good, holy bishop. He is patron saint of catechists, teachers of the faith.

For example, he wrote about prayer: “We ought continually to raise our hearts to God, … and expose them to the rays of His light, so that our prayer should kindle a fire in our souls, from whence a heat may come forth which will spread over all our actions. We must strive to procure this peace by every possible effort, and ask it of God with many sighs, so that amidst this crowd of affairs and continual distractions, our minds may remain always quiet and calm, and preserve their liberty and vigour.” Words of a true teacher and shepherd of his people! St. Bartholomew, pray for us!