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SAINTS OF FEBRUARY |
 February
11
Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes
On this day we also remember and offer prayers for those who are
sick and suffering. The late Pope John Paul II declared that this
day should be also the World Day of the Sick. For this year we will
celebrate its 14th year.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France is the most
visited pilgrimage site in the world -- principally because of the
apparent healing properties of the waters of the spring that appeared
during the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a poor and
sickly fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubiroux.
The first apparition occurred February 11, 1858. There were eighteen
in all; the last took place July 16, of the same year. The mysterious
vision Bernadette saw in the hollow of the rock Massabielle, where
she and friends had gone to gather firewood, was that of a young
and beautiful lady. "Lovelier than I have ever seen" said
the child. She described the Lady as clothed in white, with a blue
ribbon sash and a Rosary handing from her right arm. Now and then
the apparition spoke to Bernadette.
One day, the Lady told the girl to drink of a mysterious fountain
within the grotto itself, the existence of which was unknown, and
of which there was no sign. But Bernadette scratched at the ground,
and a spring immediately bubbled up and soon gushed forth. On another
occasion the apparition bade Bernadette go and tell the priests
she wished a chapel to be built on the spot and processions to be
made to the grotto. At first the clergy were incredulous. The priest
said he would not believe it unless the apparition gave Bernadette
her name. After another apparition, Bernadette reported that the
Lady told her, "I am the Immaculate Conception". Though
the girl was unfamiliar with the term, the Pope had declared the
doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary in 1854.
Four years after Bernadette's visions, in 1862, the bishop of the
diocese declared the faithful "justified in believing the reality
of the apparition" of Our Lady. A basilica was built upon the
rock of Massabielle by M. Peyramale, the parish priest. In 1873
the great "national" French pilgrimages were inaugurated.
Three years later the basilica was consecrated and the statue solemnly
crowned. In 1883 the foundation stone of another church was laid,
as the first was no longer large enough. It was built at the foot
of the basilica and was consecrated in 1901 and called the Church
of the Rosary.
A large church called a basilica was built where Bernadette saw
Our Lady. Although the apparitions took place over a hundred years
ago, miracles still happen there. Many people are cured of sicknesses.
Crippled people walk again. Blind people see again. Lonely, broken
people find hope again. There, where she once appeared to St. Bernadette,
Our Lady still shows her love for us.
The grotto is being visited by many pilgrims especially those who
are sick because it is believed that you will be healed. And many
other Miracles can happen after you visit the grotto.
February
17
Seven Founders of the Orders of Servites
Seven members of Florentine Confraternity founded the Order of Servites
of the blessed Virgin Mary. The Servites lead a life of prayer and
mortification, meditating constantly on the Passion of the Lord,
and venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows.
This order was founded on the feast of the Assumption, 1233 when
the Blessed Virgin appeared to seven noble Florentines, who had
repaired to the church to follow the exercises of the Confraternity
of the Laudesi, and bade them leave the world and live for God alone.
Then on Good Friday, 13 April 1240, the hermits received a vision
of Our Lady. She held in her hand the black habit, and a nearby
angel bore a scroll reading Servants of Mary, Mary told them: “You
will found a new order, and you will be my witnesses throughout
the world. This is your name: Servants of Mary. This is your rule:
that of Saint Augustine. And here is your distinctive sign: the
black scapular, in memory of my sufferings.”
Soon after, when the seven were begging alms from door to door in
the streets of Florence, they suddenly heard children's voices calling
to them, "Servants of holy Mary." Among these children
was St. Philip Benizi, then just five months old. Hereafter they
were known by this name, first heard from the lips of children.
In the course of time they retired into solitude on Monte Senario
and gave themselves wholly to contemplation and penance.
The seven founders were:
1. Alexis Falconieri
2. Bartholomew degli Amidei
3. Benedict dell'Antella
4. Buonfiglio Monaldi
5. Gherardino Sostegni
6. Hugh dei Lippi-Uguccioni
7. John Buonagiunta Monetti
 February
21
Peter Damian
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
"Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue
which we have received from our forefathers." -Saint Peter
Damian
Peter Damian was very good to the poor. It was the ordinary thing
for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked
to minister personally to their needs.
St. Peter Damian was born in 1007, and was left an orphan as a
little child. He was taken in by an older brother who abused and
starved him. Another brother named Damian became aware of the boy's
real situation. He brought him to his own home. It was then that
Peter's life took on a whole new direction. He was treated with
love, affection and care. So grateful was he that when he became
a religious he took the name Damian after his loving brother. Damian
educated Peter and encouraged his studies. Peter eventually taught
at the university while he was in his twenties. He was thought of
as a great teacher. But the Lord was directing him in ways he could
never have thought of.
Peter lived in times when many in the Church were too influenced
by secular goals. Peter realized that the Church is divine and has
the grace from Jesus to save all people. He wanted the Church to
shine with the holiness of Jesus. After seven years of teaching,
he made the decision to become a monk. He wanted to live the rest
of his life in prayer and penance. He would pray and sacrifice so
that many people in the Church would become holy. He went to a monastery
of St. Romuald. Peter Damian wrote a rule for the monks. He also
wrote a life of their holy founder, Romuald. Peter wrote many works
of theology to help people deepen their faith. Twice his abbot sent
him to neighboring monasteries. He helped the monks begin reforms
that would encourage them to live closer to God. The monks were
grateful because Peter was so kind and respectful.
Peter was finally called from the monastery. He became a bishop
and a cardinal. He was sent on very important missions for various
popes throughout his long life.
Because he was a champion of truth and a peacemaker, he was declared
a Doctor of the Church in 1828.
 February
22
Chair of St. Peter
Since early times, the Roman Church has had a special commemoration
of the primatial authority of St. Peter. As witness one of the most
renowned of the Apostolic Fathers, the Roman See has always held
a peculiar place in the affection and obedience of orthodox believers
because of its "presiding in love" and service over all
the Churches of God.
The feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome reminds us that St. Peter
started the Christian community in that city. The special chair
is a symbol of the authority that was given to him by Jesus. Kings
of old sat on thrones and ruled. Peter's chair is
a symbol of his authority from Jesus to rule the Church.
St. Peter was martyred for the faith, but down through the ages
there has always been a bishop of Rome. He is the pope. The pope
rules the whole Church, as St. Peter did, in Jesus' name. We call
the successor of St. Peter the Holy Father.
St. Peter was the prince of the apostles and the first pope. Jesus
said to him, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build
my church" (Matthew 16:18). After Jesus went back to heaven,
St. Peter preached the Gospel. He guided the small but growing Christian
community. At first, Peter labored in Jerusalem and in Antioch,
two big cities of the east. Later, he went to preach the Gospel
in Rome, the capital of the world.
The evils of pagan Rome would drown his voice no matter how dedicated
he may be. But the Holy Spirit was alive in Peter. He courageously
took up the ministry Jesus had left him. Never again would Peter
deny his Lord. Never again would Peter put his own personal well-being
before the good of the Church.
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| LIVES
OF THE SAINTS |
JUNE 1
ST. JUSTIN, MARTYR (165).
He lived in Palestine. He was converted to the Catholic Faith by the reading of Holy Scripture. 
JUNE 2
STS. MARCELLINUS AND PETER (304).
Marcellinus was a priest and Peter an exorcist (one of the minor orders), who both lived in Rome and labored there under the cruel Emperor Diocletian.
JUNE 3
ST. CHARLES LWANGA AND COMPANIONS (1886-1887).
These were 22 young men and boys, from 13 to 30 years old, who were marÂtyred for the Catholic Faith in Uganda in Africa after undergoing cruel torments.
JUNE 3
ST. CLOTILDE (545)
St. Clotilde was a queen, the wife of King Clovis of the Franks. Her husband brought the French people as a nation into the Catholic Church in 496, when he was baptized at Rheims by St. Remigius. Her husband died in 511, and St. Clotilde was left a widow for 34 years.
JUNE 4
ST. FRANCIS CARACCIOLO (1608).
He was born of a royal family in the King - dom of Naples. As a little boy he started reciting the rosary daily. Very early in his life he contracted leprosy, and was miraculously cured of it. Francis spent every possible moment of his life in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
JUNE 5
ST. BONIFACE (755).
Saint Boniface was born in England, in 680. His name in English was Winfrid, which in Latin is translated to Boniface, and means "he who does good.
JUNE 6
ST. NORBERT (1134).
He was born near Cologne, in Germany, and was educated at the court of the emperor. After a somewhat worldly life, he was struck down one day by lightning while riding on a horse.
JUNE 6
ST.PHILIP THE DEACON (FIRST CENTURY).
He was one of the Seven Deacons ordained by the Apostles, as we are told in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 6.
JUNE 7
ST. ROBERT OF NEWMINISTER (1159).
He was an English priest from York - shire, England, who became a Cistercian monk.
JUNE 7
ST. WILLIBALD
St. Willibald was a bishop and missionary. A native of Wessex, England, he was the brother of Sts. Winebald and Walburga and was related through his mother to the great St. Boniface.
JUNE 8
ST.MEDARD AND GILDARD (558).
These two French saints were twin brothers, as we are told in the Roman Martyrology.
JUNE 9
ST. EPHREM (373).
St. Ephrem the Syrian is both a Father and a Doctor of the Church. He was born in Mesopotamia, not far from the place where Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden.
JUNE 9
ST. COLUMKILLE (597).
St. Columbkille, also known as Columba, was born in Donegal, Ireland, on the feast of St. Ambrose, on December 7. Columbkille founded many monasteries and churches not only in Ireland, but in Scotland as well.
JUNE 10
BLESSED DIANA (1236).
She was a Dominican nun, a native of Bologna, Italy. Despite opposition from her noble born family, Diana gave up the world to follow Jesus and became a nun.
JUNE 10
ST.GETULIUS.
St. Getulius was martyred with Amantius, Caerealis, and Primitivus.
JUNE 11
ST. BARNABAS (60).
St. Barnabas was the cousin of St. Mark the Evan-gelist.
JUNE 12
ST. JOHN OF ST. FACUNDO (1479).
He was born in northern Spain, in the town of St. Facundo. He was a brilliant and attractive young boy, educated in the household of a bishop, and became one of the Hermits of St. Augustine.
JUNE 12
ST. LEO III.
St. Leo III is remembered as Charlemagne's pope. The cardinal priest of Santa Susanna, Leo was unanimously elected to the papal see in 795.
JUNE 13
ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA (1231).
There is no more loved and admired saint of the Catholic Church than Anthony of Padua. Though his work was in Italy, he was born in Portugal.
JUNE 14
ST. ELISEUS (NINTH CENTURY B.C).
He was an Old Testament prophet, the disciple and companion of St. Elias.
JUNE 15
ST. VITUS (303).
Vitus, whose name can also be Guy, was a child saint, entrusted by his pagan parents to the care of a Catholic nurse, Crescentia, and her husband, Modestus.
JUNE 15
ST. GERMAINE COUSIN (1601).
She was the daughter of a poor farmer who lived near Toulouse in France.
JUNE 16
ST. JOHN FRANCIS REGIS (1640).
He was one of the greatest priests of the Society of Jesus.
JUNE 17
ST. BOTOLPH (680).
Botolph was a Benedictine, and an Englishman, with over 70 churches dedicated to him in England. An English town, origiÂnally called Saint Botolphstown.
JUNE 18
STS. MARK AND MARCELLIAN (THIRD CENTURY).
They were twin brothers and deacons of the Church at Rome who were martyred under Diocletian.
JUNE 19
ST. ROMUALD (1027).
He was a Benedictine monk, and later an abbot. He was the founder of the Camaldolese Order of the Benedictines in 1024. This saint's life was written by another holy man, Saint Peter Damian, Doctor of the Church.
JUNE 20
ST. SILVERIUS (538).
This 60th Pope of the Catholic Church suffered great persecution for defending the dogmatic truths of the one true Church founded by Jesus Christ.
JUNE 21
ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA (1591).
He was born on March 9, 1568, and is the model of the virtue of holy purity for all young Catholic boys.
JUNE 22
ST. PAULINUS OF NOLA (431).
Paulinus was born at Bordeaux, France, of one of its noblest and wealthiest families. He was appointed by the Roman Emperor, Prefect of all France.
JUNE 22
ST. THOMAS MORE (1535).
He was the wonderful English martyr, Chancellor of the Realm, who was beheaded on Tower Hill, just outside London.
JUNE 23
ST.AUDREY (ETHELDREDA) (679).
St. Audrey was an East Anglian princess, and later a queen. Driven to do so by her parents, she first married a prince named Tonbert, who died three years after their marriage.
JUNE 24
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (1 B.C).
John the Baptist was the miraculous son of Sts. Zachary and Elizabeth, given to them when Elizabeth was well beyond the years of childbearing.
JUNE 25
ST. WILLIAM THE ABBOT (1142).
St. William the Abbot (1142).
Of the many saints and holy people named William, none is better remembered than St. William of Monte Vergine, in Italy.
JUNE 26
ST. JOHN AND PAUL (362).
Sts. John and Paul (362).
These two notable Roman soldiers were martyred under the rule of the cruel Julian the Apostate. They were executed for refusing to support Julian's defection from the dogÂmatic truths of the Catholic Church.
JUNE 27
ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA (444).
A Doctor of the Church, St. Cyril was "the soul of the Council of Ephesus" in 431.
JUNE 28
ST. LRENAEUS (202).
This great saint was born to Christian parents in Asia Minor, and died when he was 72, the same age as Our Lady at her death. Irenaeus is one of the Fathers of the Church and is sometimes called "the father of Catholic theology.
JUNE 29
ST. PETER AND PAUL(67).
Peter the Apostle, the first Pope of the Catholic Church, was the son of a fisherman in Galilee, named Jona.
JUNE 30
ST.THE FIRST MARTYRS OF ROME(64).
On this day the Church lovingly remembers the first fruits of the martyrs of the Church at Rome.
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH |
Tour
of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center
for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org
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| REFLECTIONS |
 “Jesus’
Baptism”
Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven,
submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke
3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of
the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the
cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning
of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah
52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among
sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s
will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death
for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust
and submission to God?
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