St. Bartholomew, apostle and martyr

Today, August 24, is the feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle and martyr.

Saint Bartholomew is one of the Twelve Apostles, mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13). The name (Bartholomaios) means "son of Talmai" which was an ancient Hebrew name.

Besides being listed as an Apostle, he is not otherwise mentioned in the New Testament. At least not under the name Bartholomew: many ancient writers, and Catholic tradition have identified Bartholomew as Nathaniel in the Gospel of John (John 1:45-51, and 21:2).

The Gospel passage read at Mass on the feast of Saint Bartholomew is precisely this passage from John (1:45-51) where Nathaniel is introduced to Jesus by his friend Phillip, and Jesus says of him "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him (1:47)."

We are presented with the Apostle's character in this brief and beautiful dialogue with the Lord Jesus. He is a good Jew, honest and innocent, a just man, who devotes much time to quiet reflection and prayer - "under the fig tree (1:48)" - and has been awaiting the Messiah, the Holy One of God.

At Jesus' mention that "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you (1:48)," Nathaniel responded "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel (1:49)!"

Being "a true child of Israel," Nathaniel was a man well-read in the Scriptures and knew what they said of the Messiah and where he would come from. This is why he is skeptical of Phillip's claim that Jesus is the Messiah, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth (1:46)?"

But Nathaniel was lacking "duplicity" - that is, his heart was undivided, his intentions pure - his openness to reality was always ready to recognize and surrender to the truth when he encountered it. He remained open to his friend Phillip's invitation to "Come and see (1:46)."

In encountering Jesus and hearing His words, he found himself face to face with the Truth Himself, and, like John the Baptist's leap in his mother's womb at the Lord's presence, Nathaniel's words lept out of his own heart in a clear and simple confession of faith, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Jesus, in Matthew 5:8, says, "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." In Nathaniel we have an example of the pure man who sees - recognizes - God when confronted with Him, and on seeing Him believes in Him, and upon believing in Him follows Him.

Nothing is known for sure about the life of Nathaniel/Bartholomew after the Ascension of Jesus. But tradition has it that he preached in the East and died a martyr's death in Armenia, being flayed alive for having won converts to the Lord Jesus.

St. Bartholomew is the patron of: bookbinders, butchers, furriers, leather-workers, plasterers, shoemakers, tailors, tanners, vine-growers, and Florentine salt and cheese merchants. He is invoked against nervous disorders and twitchings.

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St. Ignatius Delgado

The saint of the day for July 12 is St. Ignatius Delgado, Dominican bishop and martyr.

“This stranger, who was introduced clandestinely into the kingdom, spends his life in the study of things of the heart and in the meditation on what is incomprehensible…” (From the death sentence of Bishop Ignatius Delgado).

This group of 117 martyrs, of which Bishop Delgado OP was part, suffered and shed their blood out of love for Christ in the region known today as Vietnam. Of this group, 59 were associated to the Dominican Order.

There is little known of the life of these martyrs before they were captured. Bishop Delgado died together with bishop Dominic Henares OP and a catechist. Both bishops were from Spain and bishop Delgado was born in 1762. From the sentence of condemnation itself we learn that Bishop Delgado had laboured for nearly fifty years in Tonkin, which argues that he must have been a resourceful man as well as a zealous one, before he died at the age of seventy-six.

In 1838 the two bishops and the catechist were captured, in a persecution recently stirred up. A copy of his trial showed that he answered truthfully and fearlessly where he himself was concerned, but that no amount of questioning or torture could make him reveal the whereabouts of his companions. Bishop Delgado, an old man of seventy-six, endured the tortures rather than give any clue as to where they might be found.

The death sentence was passed on Bishop Delgado, and he was left in the open cage under the summer sun, to exist in misery until it should please the mandarin to kill him. Worn out by suffering he died before the mandarin was ready to behead him. Bishop Henares was captured around at the same time as Bishop Delgado. Two weeks after the death of Bishop Delgado, Bishop Henares was led out and beheaded in company with this catechist.

This account is only one of the almost uncountable accounts that witness to the dedication of the missionaries to “proclaim the Gospel to the end of the earth”. Their knowledge of Jesus, and the joy which this brought to their lives, made them fearless even in the sight of death. The next Dominicans who came to the region, Bishop Hermosillo and his companions, would also, as they knew, also be destined to shed their blood for Christ.

Source

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St. Jeanne-Marie Kerguin

 

The saint of the day for July 8 is St. Jeanne-Marie Kerguin, Franciscan Missionary and Martyr.

Jeanne-Marie was born on May 5, 1864, at Belle-Isle en Terre, France to a poor peasant family. Her mother died when she was quite young, and she was forced to take over the household chores for the family. With her home obligations fulfilled, she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1887, taking the name Marie Santa Natalia. There she happily threw herself into a life of prayer and devotion to the simplest and most menial tasks of her house. She was assigned first to Paris, then to Carthage in north Africa. She encountered health problems and was sent to Rome to recover. There she answered the call of her Order to work as a missionary. She arrived in China in March 1899, and was almost immediately hospitalized for several months with typhus. Her short lived career ended during a crackdown on foreign missionaries during the Boxer Rebellion. St. Jeanne - Marie Kerguin was beheaded on July 9, 1900, at at Taiyuanfu, China. She was one of the Martyrs of Shanxi and one of the Martyrs of China. She was canonized on October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II at Rome.

Saint Quotes

"Do not be afraid. Death is only God who is passing by."

"I am happy to have to suffer. When one suffers one is detached from the world.God wishes that I love more than all else; He has been so generous to me and has done so much for me since I came into this world."

~ St. Jeanne-Marie Kerguin

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St. Maria Goretti: Martyr and Witness to Chastity

Today is the feast of St. Maria Goretti (1890-1902), a peasant girl who was stabbed fourteen times, while fighting off a rapist. She died forgiving her killer.

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Coranaldo in the province of Ancona in Italy, the third of seven children of Assunta and Luigi Goretti. When Maria was six, her father, realizing he could not support his growing family on the barren countryside, took them south, toward Rome, to a village near Anzio, believing that in the rich, warm farmlands of the Mediterranean he would find a more prosperous living and a make a better life for his family. In order to make ends meet, Maria’s father entered into partnership with a man called Serenelli, and shared a house with him and his two sons, one of whom was called Alessandro. Luigi was a hard worker, but suffering from malaria, typhus, meningitis and pneumonia, he died in 1900, leaving his family peniless. Maria, now a child of ten, was doing the work of a grown woman, while suffering from hunger and mortification daily.

Maria impressed everyone with her radiant purity. She was naturally pious, kind, and helpful. She was also outstandingly beautiful – and Alessandro Serenelli was a very passionate and undisciplined man. She resisted his attentions, which only made her all the more desirable, and narrowly managed to escape a serious sexual assault, which he made her promise to keep secret by threats of murder.

A month later Alessandro arranged things so that he would be alone in the house with Maria; and he had a dagger. She tried to resist, begging him to be careful to save his immortal soul, but he thrust a handkerchief into her mouth to prevent her from crying out, tied her up, and threatened her with the dagger. She continued to resist. Enraged, Alessandro ripped her body fourteen times with a sharp blade and left her bleeding and unconscious. She did not die, though her entrails were hanging out from one of her abdominal wounds. She was taken to hospital, seven miles of rough road in a horse-drawn ambulance, and was operated on for more than two hours. She lived for twenty hours more, became a Child of Mary, received the Last Sacraments, and specifically forgave her murderer. She died in the afternoon of 6 July 1902, at the age of eleven years, eight months, and twenty days.

Alessandro narrowly escaped being lynched, and was tried and sentenced to thirty years’ in prison with hard labor. For the first seven years or so he maintained a cynical and defiant attitude, but he repented, and dreams of Maria herself were largely responsible for his repentance and conversion.

In 1908, six years after her death, Maria came to Alessandro in a dream or a vision, so real, it was for him reality. His prison cell was transformed into a beautiful garden filled with fragrant flowers and surprising masses of lilies. A figure in white was gathering the lilies. She turned to him and he cried out: "Maria! Oh, Mariettina!" and she came to him, carrying an armful of white lilies, which she handed to him, one by one, each representing a wound he had inflicted don her. And she repeated her dying wish that one day his soul would reach her in Heaven.

Maria was beatified in 1927. Alessandro was released in 1928; and he and Maria’s mother received Communion side by side on Christmas Day 1937, and they spent Christmas together. Maria was canonized in 1950. Her mother was present at the ceremony, the first time this has ever happened. Some people say that Alessandro was present, too. Eventually, he found peace as a gardener in a Capuchin monastery and as a lay brother of the Secular Third Order. His favorite flower was the lily. He died in 1970.

Maria is a beautiful model of purity, chastity, love and forgiveness for those in our society today -- both young and old. She took to heart the words of the priest who upon reception of her first Holy Communion told her,"A Catholic will always rather die than sin against God."

She chose to die rather than to sin, and to become a shining saint of purity. She received strength to die as a martyr for purity through her frequent reception of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. She forgave the man who murdered her and helped him repent and turn back to his faith. Impossible, you say? How could anyone forgive someone who commited such a heinous crime? Nothing is impossible with God.

Patron: Against impoverishment; against poverty; children; children of Mary; girls; loss of parents; martyrs; rape victims; young people in general.

Official Prayer to St. Maria Goretti   

Oh Saint Maria Goretti who, strengthened by God's grace, did not hesitate even at the age of twelve to shed your blood and sacrifice life itself to defend your virginal purity, look graciously on the unhappy human race which has strayed far from the path of eternal salvation. Teach us all, and especially youth, with what courage and promptitude we should flee for the love of Jesus anything that could offend Him or stain our souls with sin. Obtain for us from our Lord victory in temptation, comfort in the sorrows of life, and the grace which we earnestly beg of thee (here insert intention), and may we one day enjoy with thee the imperishable glory of Heaven. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc. St. Maria Goretti, pray for us!

Recommended Reading: 

St. Maria Goretti: In Garments All Red (young teens -- adult)

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St. Thomas the Apostle

July 3rd is the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. 

St. Thomas is known for three episodes in John's gospel, in which he appears as an individual. In the first, "Thomas who is called the twin, said, 'Let us also go [to Lazarus' house] that we may die with him'." (11:16)

In the second, at the Last Supper, Thomas said to [Jesus], 'Lord, we do not know where we are going. How can we know the way?' "Jesus replied that He is the way, the truth, and the life (14: 5-6).

In the third, one of the best known episodes in the gospels, "doubting Thomas", hiding with the other disciples in a locked house, one of the twelve" was not with them [when Jesus came to show them His wounds and thus convince them of the truth of the resurrection.] So, the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But, he said to them, 'Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in His side, I will not believe.' A week later His disciples were shut again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and ... said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe.' Thomas answered Him, 'My Lord and my God.' " (20: 24a - 8)

Thomas cried out and recognized Jesus as God and he believed and experienced great joy. He sought the truth and found it in Jesus Christ. The disciple who questions and then doubts without the evidence of his senses becomes the only one to make a full confession of faith in Christ's divinity.

The church historian Eusebius supports the idea that St. Thomas went to preach to the Parthians, one of those many nations whose people heard and understood the disciples in what is now Iran. The most persistent tradition is that he went to southern India to preach. Around 72 a.d., he was stabbed with a spear and died a martyr's death near Madras, India.

Patronage
Against Doubt, Architects, Blind People, Builders, Construction Workers, Geometricians, Masons, Stone Masons, Stone Workers, Surveyors, Theologians, India, and Pakistan.

Prayer
O Glorious Saint Thomas, your grief for Jesus was such that it would not let you believe He had risen unless you actually saw Him and touched His wounds. But your love for Jesus was equally great and it led you to give up your life for Him. Pray for us that we may grieve for our sins which were the cause of Christ's sufferings. Help us to give ourselves in His service and so earn the title of "blessed" which Jesus applied to those who would believe in Him without seeing Him.
Amen.

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St. Barnabas, apostle and martyr

Today is the memorial of St. Barnabas, apostle.

Barnabas was not one of the original apostles, but was a Levite from Cyprus, originally named Joseph but renamed Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement" by them. It was Barnabas who presented St. Paul to the other Apostles when, after his long retreat in Arabia, he came to Jerusalem for the first time after his conversion to submit for Peter's approval the mission to the Gentiles entrusted to him by the Master Himself. He was present with Paul at the Council of Jerusalem (ca. 50). Barnabas was Paul's companion and helper on his first missionary journey and returned with him to Jerusalem, but left him when he set out on his second journey and went to Cyprus. After having converted many souls to Christ, Barnabas died in Cyprus during Nero's reign; tradition has it that he was stoned to death in the year 61. The name of St. Barnabas is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.

St. Luke described Barnabas as 'a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith' (Acts 6:24). He was known for his exceptional kindliness and personal sanctity, and his openness to pagans.

Patronage: against hailstorms; Antioch; Cyprus; invoked as peacemaker; Marino, Italy

Lectio: St. Barnabas, Apostle, MT 10: 7-13

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St. Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc)

 
The saint of the day for May 30th is the valiant warrior Saint Joan of Arc, French national heroine, who was born in Domremy, France, 1412 and died in Rouen, France, 1431.

When she was 13 years old, Joan began to hear the voices of Saints Michael the Archangel, Margaret of Antioch, and Catherine of Alexandria, urging her to free her country from the English. Joan’s visions told her to find the true king of France and help him reclaim his throne. She resisted for more than three years, but finally went to Charles VII in Chinon and told him of her visions. After overcoming opposition from churchmen and courtiers, she was given a small army with which she raised the siege of Orleans on May 8, 1429. Carrying a banner that read “Jesus, Mary”, she led the troops into battle.

She followed the famous campaign of the Loire during which the English were decisively beaten, and Charles was crowned at Rheims, on July 17, 1429.

When she was captured by the Burgundians during the defense of Compiegne, she was sold to the English for 10 thousand francs. She was then put on trial by an ecclesiastical court conducted by Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, a tool of the English. Although she astounded her judges by her answers, she was condemned to death as a heretic, and burned at the stake on May 30. In 1456, her case was re-tried, and Joan was acquitted (23 years too late). She was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.

Her virtues: Joan was trustful of God, brave in battle, benevolent in victory, and merciful toward those who betrayed her.

St. Joan is the patroness of: France, imprisoned people, martyrs, prisoners, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, soldiers, Women's Army Corps, WAVES, and Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service.

Quote

“I place trust in God, my Creator, in all things; I love Him with all my heart.”                                                                                ~St Joan of Arc

Prayer of St. Joan of Arc For Healing

Composed by Andrea Oefinger

Holy Saint Joan, compassionate to the sick and wounded, who, while on earth, nursed so many back to health, hear me.

You who wished to see no one injured or in discomfort, pray for me and guide me through this difficult time.

Daughter of God, wounded many times in battle, I petition you for healing (here mention your request here) so that I may be better able to serve God in whatever capacity HE wishes. Intercede for me.

It may not be in God’s will for my body to be healed, for my sufferings may help another or my own soul. If my request is not granted, help me to remain strong, and instead be healed emotionally and spiritually. Amen.

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St. John I, pope and martyr

The saint of the day for May 18th is St. John I (470-526), pope and martyr.


By birth, Pope John was a Tuscan, the son of Constantius. He was an archdeacon for several years before being elected Pope on the death of Pope St. Hormisdas in 523. He was a friend and confidant of the philosopher Boethius.

In 525 Pope John was sent to Constantinople by King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths to reverse the edict of the Emperor Justin against the Arians two years earlier, which required Arians to give back churches which they had taken from orthodox Catholics. Throdoric was himself an Arian and a strong defender of Arianism (a heresy which arose in the 4th century and denied the divinity of Christ).

Even though Theodoric wanted a reversal of Justin’s policy, Pope John did not comply with his wishes, refusing to support heresy, and only counseled the Emperor Justin to be more gentle in his overzealous dealings with the Arians.

The success that Pope John achieved was contrary to the wishes of Theodoric; rather, he was received as the Successor of Peter and all the bishops of the East, with the exception of one, affirmed their communion with him and his precedence as Bishop of Rome, notable by the fact that it was he who presided over the Easter liturgy in Constantinople on April 19, 526. Even the Emperor Justin prostrated himself at the Pope’s feet.

However, on his return to Rome, Theodoric, who had just murdered John’s good friend Boethius, and was furious with the outcome of the mission, had the Pope imprisoned in Ravenna where he died of starvation and ill treatment. His body was taken to Rome where he now lies buried in the basilica of St. Peter.

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St. Matthias, apostle and martyr

Today, May 14th, is the feast of St. Matthias, apostle and martyr.

St. Matthias was the one chosen to replace Judas to make up the number of apostles to twelve once more. Matthias was one of the first followers of Jesus -- one of his seventy-two disciples; but not one of the original apostles. And yet, he was to have this great glory, for it was of him that David spoke, when he prophesied that another would fill the vacancy left by Judas the traitor. Two Apostles were nominated for the position and lots were drawn to see which of them should be made one of the Twelve: the choice fell on Matthias.

St. Matthias received the Holy Spirit with the rest of the Apostles soon after his election and he joined them in converting nations to the faith. Greek tradition tells us that tells us that St. Matthias planted the faith about Cappadocia and on the coasts of the Caspian sea. We are also told that he was beheaded. His relics were taken to Jerusalem by the empress Helena when she went to the Holy Land to find the true cross of Christ. Today, some of his relics are in the abatical church of Triers, others are in Saint Mary Major in Rome.

Patronage
against alcoholism, against smallpox; carpenters, Gary, Indiana, diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Montana, tailors

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St. Stanislaus

Today, April 11, is the optional memorial of St. Stanislaus, the Bishop of Cracow, Poland. A champion of the liberty of the Church and of the dignity of man, he defended the lonely and the poor. When he reproached King Boleslaus II for his immoral life, the king himself killed him during Mass.

Stanislaus was born in 1030 and was educated at Gnesen and at Paris. After his ordination to the priesthood he was made a canon of the cathedral at Cracow as well as archdeacon and preacher. Upon the death of the bishop of Cracow, he was nominated bishop of the diocese by Pope Alexander II.

The king at the time, Boleslaus II, trying to strengthen his own power, led an expedition against the grand duchy of Kiev, making himself very unpopular with the nobles of the country, who opposed his policies. St. Stanislaus of Cracow sided with the nobles, led by the king's brother, Ladislaus, and this brought him into conflict with the king.

Stanislaus had opposed the king before for his tyrannical ways and once confronted him boldly for his immoral behavior when Boleslaus had abducted the wife of a Polish nobleman and carried her off to his castle. No one seemed willing to face the king from a fear of his rage, but Stanislaus boldly went to the king and threatened excommunication if he did not change his ways. Furious, the king promised revenge on the bishop. Later, Stanislaus sided with the nobles in their opposition to the king's political policies, and the king accused him of being a traitor and condemned him to death.

At first the king commanded his soldiers to kill the bishop when he was celebrating Mass at St. Michael's chapel in Cracow, but the soldiers refused, fearing to bring down upon themselves the wrath of God. Undeterred, the king himself entered the church, drew his sword, and killed the bishop, ordering his soldiers to dismember the body.

Pope Gregory VII placed the country under interdict and Boleslaus fell from power, fleeing to Hungary, where he entered the monastery of Osiak to do penance for his crime. Stanislaus, canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1253, is one of the patron saints of Poland.

~ The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Patron: Archdiocese of Cracow, Poland; Poland.

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