September 7–Bl. Eugenia Picco, Virgin

 

Blessed Eugenia Picco

“As Jesus has chosen bread, which is very common, so must my life be, common ... approachable by all and, at the same time, humble and hidden, like bread.” “These words of Eugenia Picco flow from long contemplation of Jesus, Bread of life, broken for all. Eugenia arrived at this synthesis after a long and painful journey.”

Born in 1867 in Milan, Italy; “[a]fter the mysterious disappearance of her father, she remained with her mother and grew up in an irreligious and morally corrupt environment.” “‘Dangers and occasions at home and outside’, Eugenia said when recalling those troubled years and that ‘instinctive’ strength to pray….” In 1887 she fled from her home and joined the Ursuline Sisters. Thereafter, she took on some important offices, including Superior General. She died in 1921 of tuberculosis.

Pope St. John Paul II said: “The vital synthesis between contemplation and action, assimilated in the daily participation in the Eucharist, was the foundation of the spiritual experience and the burning charity of Bl. Eugenia Picco. In her life she made every effort to listen to the word of the Lord …, never drawing back from the service which love of neighbour required. At Parma she took upon herself the poverty of the people responding to the needs of the young and of needy families and assisting the victims of the war that in this period made Europe suffer. Even in the face of suffering, with the inevitable moments of difficulty and bewilderment that it entails, Bl. Eugenia Picco knew how to transform the experience of suffering into an occasion of purification and inner growth. From Bl. Eugenia we can learn the art of listening to the voice of the Lord in order to be credible witnesses of the Gospel of charity ....” Bl. Eugenia, pray for us.

August 17--St. Joan of the Cross, Religious and Foundress

St. Joan of the Cross

 
“Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Mt. 19:24). The U.S. has the world’s largest economy by measurement of the nominal GDP. What does that say to us? Well, let’s see what possession of wealth said to today’s saint!

St. Jeanne Delanoue, aka St. Joan of the Cross, was born in France in 1666 (died 1736) as the youngest of twelve to parents who owned a business. After her parents died she took over the business and became successful, due in part to her shrewdness, but also due in part to greed, to the point of keeping the store open on Sundays, which was against the traditions of the time. However, a poor widowed pilgrim “converted” her during the days of Pentecost. In his canonization homily, St. John Paul II stated: “Known as a prudent and self-interested merchant, she suddenly became ‘very generous in charity,’ when the Holy Spirit, extinguishing ‘the fire of her avarice,’ made her understand that her ardent faith also required ‘the fire of charity,’ showing her the extent of poverty.” And so she changed her ways, founded a religious order, and started to serve “all those who on the Day of Judgment might say to her: I was hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, homeless.”

So what does her life say to us? Again St. John Paul II guides us: “Her example will certainly challenge our modern world.” Too true! We need to root out and address the causes of poverty. “But attention to the poor, and immediate and effective aid, remain essential to remedying the harshness of our world.” We can be benefactors! St. Joan of the Cross, pray for us.

April 6--St. Paul Le-Bao Tinh, Priest and Martyr

St. Paul Le-Bao Tinh

Vietnam was evangelized by Catholic missionaries from Portugal, Spain, and then later from France. St. Paul Le-Bao Tinh was born in Vietnam in 1793. He was sent to a Catholic seminary at the age of twelve, after which he lived as a hermit until the local bishop asked him to bring missionary priests to Laos. In 1841 persecution began. He was arrested and spent seven years in prison in Hanoi. His sentence of death was commuted in 1848. He returned to the seminary and was ordained a priest. In 1855 he was again arrested and sentenced to death. In 1857 he was decapitated, as was the original St. Paul of Tarsus. St. John Paul II canonized him in 1988.

In both persecutions we have his words describing his suffering and his readiness for death: “I, Paul, bound in chains for the sake of Christ, send to you from prison salutations which are many and final… The prison is truly a living example of hell: to chains, shackles and manacles, are added anger, vengeance, lies, obscene conversations, brawls, evil acts, swearing, slander, plus boredom, sadness, mosquitoes and flies… I write these things so that your hearts might burst with desire to be martyrs, and that your prayers might strengthen me, who lives in the arena of combat.”

"My body is in your hands, please torture it as you wish, I am very happy, without any complaint. It dies but will rise again in glory tomorrow. As for my soul, it belongs to God, nothing can make me sacrifice it, no one can shake my faith. Christianity is the right religion, the true religion. I have loved and kept that religion since I was a child, and even if I die, I cannot abandon it." St. Paul Le-Bao Tinh, pray for us.

September 9--Bl. Frédéric Ozanam, Holy Man

 

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. Frontispiece from Complete Works of Frederic Ozanam, Lecoffre editions, Paris , 1862 ( second edition). PD-US-expired.

“What can I do? I am just one person.” We may ask ourselves that question and respond in the same manner, especially when we believe our efforts are few and far between. And yet, just one person bore the Son of God. As well, just one person IS the Savior of the world. Today’s blessed is just one person and he is the inspiration for about 800,000 persons worldwide in 140 countries. Bl. Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853) co-founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1833 “for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.” As a law student in Paris he saw the need to help others in their need. He promoted service to the poor by the laity following the model of St. Vincent de Paul and under the guidance of Bl. Rosalie Rendu, a sister of the Daughters of Charity. That model uses small “conferences” of laity to work to help the poor in their areas. There are about 4,400 conferences in the United States alone. Bl. Frédéric died in 1853 of tuberculosis and was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.

Pope John Paul said of him: “Frédéric Ozanam loved everyone who was deprived. From his youth, he became aware that it was not enough to speak about charity and the mission of the Church in the world: rather what was needed was an effective commitment of Christians in the service of the poor. … He observed the real situation of the poor and sought to be more and more effective in helping them in their human development. He understood that charity must lead to efforts to remedy injustice. Charity and justice go together.” Join the Vincentians and serve others! Bl. Frédéric Ozanam, pray for us!

September 4--Bl. Martyrs of the Holy Family, Maria Stella Mardosewicz and Ten Companions

 Feast of Blessed Mary Stella & 10 Companions.

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:12-13). The Church has venerated the martyrs from her very beginnings, starting with St. Stephen and continuing even to today. Today’s blesseds were sisters who started a convent in Nowogródek, Poland, modern Belarus. They started a school, looked after the local church, and did works of charity.

At the start of World War II, Nowogródek was occupied by Soviet, then later, Nazi forces. The Gestapo then came and arrested 120 men. The sisters prayed that they may be accepted as an offering for the men. “Mother Stella led their prayers, in which the nuns asked God: ‘If sacrifice is needed, accept it from us and spare those who have families.’” They were arrested on July 31, 1943 with the intent to execute them that night. The sisters then offered themselves in place of the men, but were denied. On August 1 they “were taken to a large pine forest where an open pit had been prepared for them. They were shot to death and immediately dumped into the mass grave.” Their bodies were exhumed in 1945.

In his beatification homily, Pope St. John Paul II stated: “We thank you, O blessed martyrs of Nowogródek, for your witness of love, for your example of Christian heroism and for your trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. ‘Christ chose and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit in your lives and that your fruit should abide’ (cf. Jn 15: 16). You are the greatest inheritance of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth. You are the inheritance of the whole Church of Christ for ever!” Blessed martyrs, 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.

June 30--Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Holy Man

 

Venerable Pierre Toussaint by Franck Louissant

The following is a sketch of Venerable Pierre Toussaint by the Archdiocese of New York Cultural Diversity Apostolate:

“Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853) was born a slave in Haiti and died a freeman in New York City. He is credited by many with being the father of Catholic Charities in New York. Pierre was instrumental in raising funds for the first Catholic orphanage and began the city’s first school for black children. He also helped to provide funds for the Oblate Sisters of Providence, a religious community of black nuns founded in Baltimore and played a vital role in providing resources to erect Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. During a Yellow Fever epidemic when many of the city’s political leaders fled the city in search of healthier rural climates, Pierre Toussaint cared for the sick and the dying. He was a successful entrepreneur, who did not hesitate to share the fruits of his labor with others.

“In recognition of Pierre Toussaint’s virtuous life, the late Cardinal Cooke introduced Pierre’s cause for canonization at the Vatican in 1968. In December 1989, the late Cardinal O’Connor had the remains of Pierre Toussaint transferred from Lower Manhattan to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan where he is buried as the only lay person, alongside the former Cardinal-Archbishops of New York City. On December 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared Pierre Toussaint, Venerable, thus placing him firmly on the road to becoming North America’s first black saint. Venerable Pierre Toussaint was a man who was proud of his faith, proud of his culture and committed to serving others.”

We need saints to remind us that God is calling us to sainthood in our own time and in our own situation. We pray for Venerable Pierre Toussaint so he may pray for us.

June 20--Martyrs of Ireland, Bishops, Priests, and Laity

 

Singhson67, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1992 Pope John Paul II beatified seventeen martyrs killed under English rulers, including Elizabeth I and Oliver Cromwell, between 1584 and 1654. They included three bishops, seven priests, one brother, five laymen and one laywoman. The pope proclaimed:

“And how can we fail to sing the praises of the seventeen Irish Martyrs being beatified today?…

“We admire them for their personal courage. We thank them for the example of their fidelity in difficult circumstances, a fidelity which is more than an example: it is a heritage of the Irish people and a responsibility to be lived up to in every age.

“In a decisive hour, a whole people chose to stand firmly by its covenant with God: ‘All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do’.… The religious and political turmoil through which these witnesses lived was marked by grave intolerance on every side. Their victory lay precisely in going to death with no hatred in their hearts. They lived and died for Love. Many of them publicly forgave all those who had contributed in any way to their martyrdom.

“The Martyrs' significance for today lies in the fact that their testimony shatters the vain claim to live one's life or to build a model of society without an integral vision of our human destiny, without reference to our eternal calling, without transcendence.…

“To the Martyrs' intercession I commend the whole people of Ireland: their hopes and joys, their needs and difficulties. May everyone rejoice in the honor paid to these witnesses to the faith. God sustained them in their trials. He comforted them and granted them the crown of victory. May he also support those who work for reconciliation and peace in Ireland today!

“Blessed Irish Martyrs, intercede for the beloved Irish people!”

March 27--Bl. Francesco Faà di Bruno, Priest and Founder

Faà di Bruno’s Formula

“Science and faith do not mix.” Wrong! We have many giants of science and mathematics who were faithful members of the Catholic Church, including Galileo, Pasteur, Mendel, Copernicus, Pascal, Bacon, and ​​Lemaître, who developed the Big Bang Theory. We can also include today’s saint, Bl. Francesco Faà di Bruno, among them as a mathematician for whom Faà di Bruno’s Formula is named. Born in northern Italy in 1825 to parents of nobility, he had a wide-ranging career as an army officer, a professor of mathematics and recipient of a Doctor of Science degree from the Universities of Paris and Turin, a friend of St. John Bosco, social reformer, and overseer of the construction of a church in Turin, Italy. However, that was not enough for him! He discerned a vocation to the priesthood and was finally ordained at age 51. He founded the Minim Sisters of St. Zita in 1881 to provide aid to maids and domestic servants, later unmarried mothers, and then, prostitutes.

Pope St. John Paul II said of him in his beatification homily: “He used to say: ‘Giving oneself to God is equivalent to giving oneself to a superior activity, which drags us along like the swollen and tumultuous waters of a raging torrent. . .’. From the love for God came that love for ‘neighbor’, which pushed Francesco Faà di Bruno onto the path of the poor, the humble, the defenseless, making him a giant of faith and charity. Thus was born a whole series of works and welfare activities which are not easy to list. Even in the scientific field he was able to bear his coherent testimony as a believer, in a period in which dedication to science seemed incompatible with a serious commitment to faith.” Science and faith DO mix! Bl. Francesco, pray for us!

March 21--St. Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello, Religious

St. Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello by Unknown Artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

“Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Where do we hear the word of Christ? First, from our parents in the domestic church of the family. Then from our priests in the parish church. But many of us have received the privilege of hearing the word of Christ in our schools! Catholic education has been central to the mission of the Church. Today’s saint provided another way in which to enrich the faith of children, and especially, girls, through the word of Christ.

St. Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello was born in 1791 in Italy and died on March 21, 1858. Her Vatican biography states: “She was wife, religious and foundress. She let the Holy Spirit guide her through married life to the work of education and religious consecration. She founded a school for the formation of young women and also a religious congregation, and did both with the generous collaboration of her husband. This is unique in the annals of Christian sanctity. Benedetta was a pioneer in her determination to give a high quality education to young women, for the formation of families for a ‘new Christian society’ and for promoting the right of women to a complete education.” “Along with instruction, she joined formation in catechesis and in useful skills like cooking and sewing, aiming to transform her students into ‘models of Christian life’ and so assure the formation of families.” She was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002.

Catholic education is an efficient ministry which shares the word of Christ and brings about salvation to our children. It is not a luxury, but a necessity for the benefit of our children, our families, our society, and our future. St. Benedetta, pray for us!

February 18–Blessed Fra Angelico, Religious

San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico in the public domain.

The Italian Renaissance produced some amazing artists, including Raphael, da Vinci, and Michelangelo. The Italian Renaissance also produced some amazing saints, including St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Benedict the African, and St. Angela Merici. However, there is only one figure of the Italian Renaissance who is both an amazing artist and a saint, Blessed Fra Angelico. Born Guido di Pietro about 1395 near Florence, Italy, Brother John of Fiesole, also known as Fra Angelico, which means Angelic Brother, joined the Dominican order in 1423 and received training as an illuminator. He became famous for his art and painted frescoes, altarpieces, and other sacred artwork in Florence and Rome.

Pope St. John Paul II beatified him in 1982, and later declared him patron of Catholic artists: “Angelico was reported to say ‘He who does Christ's work must stay with Christ always’. This motto earned him the epithet ‘Blessed Angelico’, because of the perfect integrity of his life and the almost divine beauty of the images he painted, to a superlative extent those of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

“The English writer and critic William Michael Rossetti wrote…: ‘From various accounts of Fra Angelico's life, it is possible to gain some sense of why he was deserving of canonization. He led the devout and ascetic life of a Dominican friar, and never rose above that rank; he followed the dictates of the order in caring for the poor; he was always good-humored. All of his many paintings were of divine subjects, and it seems that he never altered or retouched them, perhaps from a religious conviction that, because his paintings were divinely inspired, they should retain their original form. He was wont to say that he who illustrates the acts of Christ should be with Christ.’” Praise God for beauty, art, and holiness!

December 30--Bl. Eugenia Ravasco, Religious and Foundress

Bl. Eugenia Ravasco by Unknown Artist licensed under public domain.

Bl. Eugenia Ravasco was one of the 1,344 people beatified by St. John Paul II. He wanted to show that holiness is possible for all of us. This was true for Bl. Eugenia. She had a difficult childhood due to the death of her mother at age 3 and her father at age 10. She was then raised by an aunt, and later an uncle, who died when she was 16, leading her to run the household of 12 children! She discerned a vocation to religious life, which upset the plans to have her married to nobility.

“As time went on, Eugenia felt that God was calling her to found a religious order that would form ‘honest citizens in society and saints in Heaven’. Other young women had also joined her in this effort. On 6 December 1868, when she was 23 years old, she founded the religious congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Canon (later Archbishop) Magnasco had prepared her carefully and she continued, together with the sisters, to teach catechism and to open schools.”

“Thus schools, catechism teaching, associations and oratories arose. Mother Ravasco's educational project was to educate young people and train them in a solid, industrious, open Christian life, so that they could be ‘honest citizens in the midst of society and saints in heaven’; she wanted to educate them in the faith and in reading the facts from a historical-salvific perspective, proposing holiness to them as a life goal.”

Holiness needs to be our life goal! We need to grow in holiness so we can live God’s plan for us. That plan involves loving, serving, and worshiping God and loving and serving each other, and especially those who need our love the most! Bl. Eugenia, pray for us!

December 10--Our Lady of Loreto

The Miracle of the Holy House of Loreto by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo licensed under public domain.

Our Lady of Loreto actually refers to the house in which Mary was born and lived! Tradition holds that it is where she experienced the Annunciation and where the Holy Family dwelled. Veneration of the Sancta Casa, or Holy House, in Nazareth is ancient. However, Loreto is located near the Adriatic Sea northeast of Rome. How, may we ask, did the Holy House get from Nazareth to Italy? This is where the story gets interesting!

According to one story angels carried the house from Galilee to Italy. However, some theorize that this actually refers to a medieval family called the Angelos, which is translated as “angels”. This makes sense in that it appears in Loreto in the late 13th century, around the time of the last of the Crusades. So why is there a feast celebrating a house and why is it called Our Lady of Loreto?

The house is important because it connects with Mary and the Incarnation of Christ. In 1995, St. John Paul II stated in a homily: “The threads of the history of the whole of humankind are tied anew in that house. It is the Shrine of the House of Nazareth, to which the Church that is in Italy is tied by providence, that the latter rediscovers a quickening reminder of the mystery of the Incarnation, thanks to which each man is called to the dignity of the Son of God.”

In 2019, Pope Francis directed this optional memorial to be celebrated and Cardinal Sarah wrote in the declaration: “This celebration will help all people, especially families, youth and religious to imitate the virtues of that perfect disciple of the Gospel, the Virgin Mother, who, in conceiving the Head of the Church also accepted us as her own.” Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us.

October 6--Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, Virgin and Foundress

 

A painting of Canadian nun Eulalie Durocher, also known by her religious name Marie-Rose Durocher. It replicates an earlier painting by Théophile Hamel licensed under Public Domain.

Pope St. John Paul II beatified today’s saint in 1982, stating: “Marie Rose Durocher acted with simplicity, prudence, humility, and serenity. She refused to be halted by her personal problems of health or the initial difficulties of her newborn work. Her secret lay in prayer and self-forgetfulness, which, according to her bishop, reached the point of real sanctity.” There you have it ladies and gentlemen, the secret to becoming a saint! For Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher died at the age of 38 in Quebec, Canada after living a full, if not healthy or easy, life.

At the age of 18 she tried to enter the convent, but her poor health prevented her from completing her education. Then her mother died and she took over her duties. Then she moved to her brother’s rectory as a housekeeper and secretary. It was there that she noted the lack of Catholic education for the children. In 1841 she heard that the bishop was arranging for an order of teaching sisters to come to Canada and tried to join. However, the plan fell through and instead the bishop asked her to start a teaching order. She agreed and in 1843, with two other women, founded the order of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. By 1849 demand for her girls’ schools had grown so much that she needed four convents and 30 teachers to educate 448 students! In some provinces her order was teaching boys as well. However, she faced conflict and poor health, which led to her death in 1849.

“Simplicity, prudence, humility, and serenity.” As they consecrated Bl. Marie-Rose, these virtues can help us become holy: simplicity instead of worldliness; prudence instead of rashness; humility instead of pride; and serenity instead of anxiety. Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher, pray for us!

September 4--St. Rose of Viterbo, Virgin

 

The Communion of Saint Rose of Viterbo, by Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante

This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

Which comes first, freedom of speech or freedom of religion? In the United States Constitution, both are enjoined in the First Amendment, with freedom of religion taking first place and freedom of speech taking second. But Pope St. John Paul II wrote in his World Peace Day Message of 1988: “Religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights, and for this reason an irreplaceable factor in the good of individuals and of the whole of society, as well as of the personal fulfillment of each individual. It follows that the freedom of individuals and communities to profess and practice their religion is an essential element for peaceful human coexistence. […] The civil and social right to religious freedom, inasmuch as it touches the most intimate sphere of the spirit, is a point of reference for the other fundamental rights and in some way becomes a measure of them.”

Why is this important for today’s saint? Because St. Rose of Viterbo spoke up to support the rights of religion in her day. She was born in Viterbo, Italy about 1234 and when she was seven preached against the local government when the excommunicated German emperor Frederick II, who was at war with the pope, was accepted by the people in opposition to the pope! St. Rose preached against this so heartily she and her parents were banished. She told her parents that God rewards those who are persecuted for justice’s sake. Later she prophesied the emperor was dying and all would be well. He died shortly after that. She advised: “Live so as not to fear death. For those who live well in the world, death is not frightening but sweet and precious.” She died in 1252, at 17.

July 27–St. Titus Brandsma, Priest, Religious, and Martyr

Sculpture Titus Brandsma by Gerard Mathot, Pieter Bondamplein, Nijmegen, the Netherlands licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

We need martyrs! “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians” according to Tertullian and also to St. John Paul II. The twentieth century was filled with martyrs in Mexico, Spain, Nazi-occupied Europe, Communist-controlled countries, and anti-Catholic dictatorships and governments. This has spilled into the twenty-first century as well. “Martyrs are revered with particular devotion by the People of God who see in them a living portrayal of Christ's Passion.”

Today’s saint was a “witness” (the meaning of the word martyr) to Jesus’ Passion in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Born in 1881, St. Titus Brandsma grew up on a dairy farm and entered the Carmelite order in 1898. He was ordained a priest in 1905, received his doctorate, helped found the Catholic University of Nijmegen, and taught philosophy and history of mysticism there. He also became a journalist, which led to his arrest by the Nazis in 1942. He was hand-delivering a letter from the Dutch bishops to editors of Catholic newspaper editors to prohibit publishing official Nazi documents and was arrested and sent to Dachau where he was killed by an injection of carbolic acid. “In 1985, Pope St. John Paul II declared Titus Blessed, saying that he “‘answered hate with love.’"

We need martyrs to show that Jesus’ sacrifice of love is lived out in the lives and deaths of his faithful ones! We need martyrs to bolster the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ! We need martyrs to convert the hearts of those who oppose, harass, torture, persecute, arrest, unjustly convict, and unjustly imprison and kill! We need martyrs to proclaim the truths of faith, hope, and love in Christ Jesus! We need martyrs to be “a life-giving sap of unity for the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.” St. Titus Brandsma, pray for us.

July 16--Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz, Holy Woman and Member of Opus Dei

 

https://catholicreadings.org/catholic-quotes/blessed-guadalupe-ortiz-de-landazuri-fernandez-de-heredia-saint-of-the-day-july-16/

Is there a conflict between science and religion? Many who believe science can answer every question (scientism) say yes and “that science alone can give us complete and reliable knowledge of reality.” Those who believe religion can give us truths say no because, as Pope St. John Paul II says: “Truth cannot contradict truth.” Truth can be found in both science and religion! Today’s saint is a witness to that truth!

Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz was both a scientist and a member of Opus Dei, a personal prelature composed of priests and laity who “spread the Christian message that every person is called to holiness and that every honest work can be sanctified.” She was born in Spain in 1916 and became a teacher in 1939. She met St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, who admitted her to the movement. She then moved to Mexico to share the message of Opus Dei and began her doctorate. She also helped found a school for girls and a mobile medical clinic for the poor. She then moved to Rome to help St. Josemaría and at the same time worked on a research project, for which she received an award, and completed her doctorate. She died in 1975 after years of heart problems and was declared Blessed in 2019.

Pope Francis wrote for her beatification: “With the joy that came from knowing she was a daughter of God, as she had learned from Saint Josemaría himself, Guadalupe Ortiz placed her many human and spiritual qualities at the service of others, helping in a particular way other women and families in need of education and development. She did all this not with a proselytizing attitude but simply through her prayer and witness.” Science and religion are both true as Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz demonstrated!

July 4--Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Holy Man and Third Order Dominican

https://www.usccb.org/topics/youth-and-young-adult-ministries/blessed-pier-giorgio-frassati

Jesus taught the Beatitudes at the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:3-12). Pope St. John Paul II (the Great) called Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati “Man of the Eight Beatitudes.” Frassati lived from 1901-1925 in Turin, Italy. He dedicated himself to helping those in need and would say: "Charity is not enough; we need social reform.”

In his Beatification homily, Pope John Paul stated: “Today’s celebration invites all of us to receive the message which Pier Giorgio Frassati is sending to the men and women of our day, but especially to you young people, who want to make a concrete contribution to the spiritual renewal of our world, which sometimes seems to be falling apart and wasting away because of a lack of ideals. By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ’s Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed’, and that only the person who becomes a ‘man or woman of the Beatitudes’ can succeed in communicating love and peace to others. He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people.”

He inspires us to pray the Prayer for the Courage to be Great:

"Heavenly Father,
Give me the courage to strive for the highest goals,
to flee every temptation to be mediocre.
Enable me to aspire to greatness, as Pier Giorgio did,
and to open my heart with joy to Your call to holiness.
Free me from the fear of failure.
I want to be, Lord, firmly and forever united to You.
Grant me the graces I ask You through Pier Giorgio's intercession,
by the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen."

April 16--Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy. Painting in Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Vilnius byEugeniusz Kazimirowski licensed under CC0.

"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy Mercy. Amen." (Fatima Prayer)

This message of mercy was also given to St. Faustina Kowalska by Jesus himself on the night of Sunday, February 22, 1931: "Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: 'Jesus, I trust in You' (in Polish: 'Jezu, ufam Tobie'). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish" (Notebook I, Items 47 and 48).

Pope St. John Paul II promoted this devotion and, on the canonization of St. Faustina in 2000, promulgated the celebration of the Sunday of the Divine Mercy to be celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter. On Divine Mercy Sunday in 2001 Pope St. John Paul stated: "Jesus said to St. Faustina one day: 'Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy'. Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity."

We are blessed to have this devotion to turn us to God's Divine Mercy. He wants us to turn from our sins and, like a loving father, throw his arms around us to shelter us in his forgiving love. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16). Pope Francis declared an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016 to emphasize God's merciful love. We are also called to be merciful: "Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful" (Lk. 6:36).