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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180217
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180218
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164003Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164003Z
UID:6272-1518825600-1518911999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Seven Founders of the Servite Order
DESCRIPTION:Seven Founders of the Servite Order\nSaint of the Day for February 17\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order\nCan you imagine seven prominent men of Boston or Denver banding together\, leaving their homes and professions\, and going into solitude for a life directly given to God? That is what happened in the cultured and prosperous city of Florence in the middle of the 13th century. The city was torn with political strife as well as the heresy of the Cathari\, who believed that physical reality was inherently evil. Morals were low and religion seemed meaningless. \nIn 1240\, seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God. Their initial difficulty was providing for their dependents\, since two were still married and two were widowers. \nTheir aim was to lead a life of penance and prayer\, but they soon found themselves disturbed by constant visitors from Florence. They next withdrew to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario. \nIn 1244\, under the direction of St. Peter of Verona\, O.P.\, this small group adopted a religious habit similar to the Dominican habit\, choosing to live under the Rule of St. Augustine and adopting the name of the Servants of Mary. The new Order took a form more like that of the mendicant friars than that of the older monastic Orders. \nMembers of the community came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and settled in New York and later in Philadelphia. The two American provinces developed from the foundation made by Father Austin Morini in 1870 in Wisconsin. \nCommunity members combined monastic life and active ministry. In the monastery\, they led a life of prayer\, work and silence while in the active apostolate they engaged in parochial work\, teaching\, preaching\, and other ministerial activities. \n\nReflection\nThe time in which the seven Servite founders lived is very easily comparable to the situation in which we find ourselves today. It is “the best of times and the worst of times\,” as Dickens once wrote. Some\, perhaps many\, feel called to a countercultural life\, even in religion. All of us are faced in a new and urgent way with the challenge to make our lives decisively centered in Christ.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/seven-founders-of-the-servite-order/2018-02-17/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180218
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180219
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164122Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164122Z
UID:6275-1518912000-1518998399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed John of Fiesole
DESCRIPTION:Blessed John of Fiesole\nSaint of the Day for February 18\n(1387 – February 18\, 1455)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed John of Fiesole’s Story\nThe patron of Christian artists was born around 1400 in a village overlooking Florence. He took up painting as a young boy and studied under the watchful eye of a local painting master. He joined the Dominicans at about age 20\, taking the name Fra Giovanni. He eventually came to be known as Fra Angelico\, perhaps a tribute to his own angelic qualities or maybe the devotional tone of his works. \nHe continued to study painting and perfect his own techniques\, which included broad-brush strokes\, vivid colors and generous\, lifelike figures. Michelangelo once said of Fra Angelico: “One has to believe that this good monk has visited paradise and been allowed to choose his models there.” Whatever his subject matter\, Fra Angelico sought to generate feelings of religious devotion in response to his paintings. Among his most famous works are the Annunciation and Descent from the Cross as well as frescoes in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. \nHe also served in leadership positions within the Dominican Order. At one point\, Pope Eugenius approached him about serving as archbishop of Florence. Fra Angelico declined\, preferring a simpler life. He died in 1455. \n\nReflection\nThe work of artists adds a wonderful dimension to life. Without art our lives would be much depleted. Let us pray for artists today\, especially those who can lift our hearts and minds to God. \n\nBlessed John of Fiesole is the Patron Saint of:\nChristian Artists \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for February 18 is Saint Simeon.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-john-of-fiesole/2018-02-18/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180219
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180220
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164222Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164222Z
UID:6278-1518998400-1519084799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Conrad of Piacenza
DESCRIPTION:Saint Conrad of Piacenza\nSaint of the Day for February 19\n(c. 1290 – February 19\, 1351)\nSaint Conrad of Piacenza’s Story\nBorn of a noble family in northern Italy\, Conrad as a young man married Euphrosyne\, daughter of a nobleman. \nOne day while hunting he ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. The fire spread to nearby fields and to a large forest. Conrad fled. An innocent peasant was imprisoned\, tortured to confess\, and condemned to death. Conrad confessed his guilt\, saved the man’s life\, and paid for the damaged property. \nSoon after this event\, Conrad and his wife agreed to separate: she to a Poor Clare monastery and he to a group of hermits following the Third Order Rule. His reputation for holiness\, however\, spread quickly. Since his many visitors destroyed his solitude\, Conrad went to a more remote spot in Sicily where he lived 36 years as a hermit\, praying for himself and for the rest of the world. \nPrayer and penance were his answer to the temptations that beset him. Conrad died kneeling before a crucifix. He was canonized in 1625. \n\nReflection\nFrancis of Assisi was drawn both to contemplation and to a life of preaching; periods of intense prayer nourished his preaching. Some of his early followers\, however\, felt called to a life of greater contemplation\, and he accepted that. Though Conrad of Piacenza is not the norm in the Church\, he and other contemplatives remind us of the greatness of God and of the joys of heaven.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-conrad-of-piacenza/2018-02-19/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180220
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180221
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164332Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164332Z
UID:6281-1519084800-1519171199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto
DESCRIPTION:Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto\nSaint of the Day for February 20\n(Jacinta: 1910 – February 20\, 1920; Francisc0: 1908 – April 14\, 1919)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaints Jacinta and Francisco Marto’s Story\nBetween May 13 and October 13\, 1917\, three Portuguese shepherd children from Aljustrel\, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria\, near Fátima\, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time\, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil\, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious organizations soon after. \nAt the first appearance\, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months. She also asked them to learn to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia\, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall under communism. Up to 90\,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on October 13\, 1917. \nLess than two years later\, Francisco died of influenza in his family home. He was buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1952. Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon in 1920\, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners\, peace in the world\, and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1951. Their cousin Lúcia dos Santos\, became a Carmelite nun and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000; she died five years later. Pope Francis canonized the younger children on his visit to Fátima to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first apparition–May 13\, 2017. The shrine of Our Lady of Fátima is visited by up to 20 million people a year. \n\nReflection\nThe Church is always very cautious about endorsing alleged apparitions\, but it has seen benefits from people changing their lives because of the message of Our Lady of Fátima. Prayer for sinners\, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary\, and praying the rosary—all these reinforce the Good News Jesus came to preach.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-jacinta-and-francisco-marto/2018-02-20/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180221
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180222
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164446Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164446Z
UID:6284-1519171200-1519257599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Peter Damian
DESCRIPTION:Saint Peter Damian\nSaint of the Day for February 21\n(988 – February 22\, 1072)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Peter Damian’s Story\nMaybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one of his brothers\, 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. \nPeter escaped poverty and the neglect of his own brother when his other brother\, who was archpriest of Ravenna\, took him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a professor. \nAlready in those days\, Peter was very strict with himself. He wore a hair shirt under his clothes\, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in prayer. Soon\, he decided to leave his teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of Saint Romuald at Fonte Avellana. They lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray and slept so little that he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he had to use some prudence in taking care of himself. When he was not praying\, he studied the Bible. \nThe abbot commanded that when he died Peter should succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five other hermitages. He encouraged his brothers in a life of prayer and solitude and wanted nothing more for himself. The Holy See periodically called on him\, however\, to be a peacemaker or troubleshooter\, between two abbeys in dispute or a cleric or government official in some disagreement with Rome. \nFinally\, Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe out simony (the buying of church offices)\, and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests\, warning against needless travel\, violations of poverty\, and too comfortable living. He even wrote to the bishop of Besancon complaining that the canons there sat down when they were singing the psalms in the Divine Office. \nHe wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53 of his sermons and seven lives\, or biographies\, that he wrote. He preferred examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin. \nHe asked often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia\, and finally Pope Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk\, but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an assignment in Ravenna\, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office\, he died on February 22\, 1072. \nIn 1828\, he was declared a Doctor of the Church. \n\nReflection\nPeter was a reformer and if he were alive today would no doubt encourage the renewal started by Vatican II. He would also applaud the greater emphasis on prayer that is shown by the growing number of priests\, religious\, and laypersons who gather regularly for prayer\, as well as the special houses of prayer recently established by many religious communities.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-peter-damian/2018-02-21/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180222
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180223
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164558Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164558Z
UID:6287-1519257600-1519343999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Chair of Saint Peter
DESCRIPTION:Chair of Saint Peter\nSaint of the Day for February 22\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of the Chair of Saint Peter\nThis feast commemorates Christ’s choosing Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church. \nAfter the “lost weekend” of pain\, doubt\, and self-torment\, Peter hears the Good News. Angels at the tomb say to Magdalene\, “The Lord has risen! Go\, tell his disciples and Peter.” John relates that when he and Peter ran to the tomb\, the younger outraced the older\, then waited for him. Peter entered\, saw the wrappings on the ground\, the headpiece rolled up in a place by itself. John saw and believed. But he adds a reminder: “…[T]hey did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9). They went home. There the slowly exploding\, impossible idea became reality. Jesus appeared to them as they waited fearfully behind locked doors. “Peace be with you\,” he said (John 20:21b)\, and they rejoiced. \nThe Pentecost event completed Peter’s experience of the risen Christ. “…[T]hey were all filled with the holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4a) and began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them. \nOnly then can Peter fulfill the task Jesus had given him: “… [O]nce you have turned back\, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). He at once becomes the spokesman for the Twelve about their experience of the Holy Spirit—before the civil authorities who wished to quash their preaching\, before the Council of Jerusalem\, for the community in the problem of Ananias and Sapphira. He is the first to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. The healing power of Jesus in him is well attested: the raising of Tabitha from the dead\, the cure of the crippled beggar. People carry the sick into the streets so that when Peter passed his shadow might fall on them. \nEven a saint experiences difficulty in Christian living. When Peter stopped eating with Gentile converts because he did not want to wound the sensibilities of Jewish Christians\, Paul says\, “…I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong…. [T]hey were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel…” (Galatians 2:11b\, 14a). \nAt the end of John’s Gospel\, Jesus says to Peter\, “Amen\, amen\, I say to you\, when you were younger\, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old\, you will stretch out your hands\, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). What Jesus said indicated the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God. On Vatican Hill\, in Rome\, during the reign of Nero\, Peter did glorify his Lord with a martyr’s death\, probably in the company of many Christians. \nSecond-century Christians built a small memorial over his burial spot. In the fourth century\, the Emperor Constantine built a basilica\, which was replaced in the 16th century. \nFor more on Saint Peter’s chair\, click here. \n\nReflection\nLike the committee chair\, this chair refers to the occupant\, not the furniture. Its first occupant stumbled a bit\, denying Jesus three times and hesitating to welcome gentiles into the new Church. Some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit\, sometimes even failed scandalously. As individuals\, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down. Still\, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as a focus for the universal Church.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/chair-of-saint-peter/2018-02-22/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180223
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180224
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164728Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164728Z
UID:6290-1519344000-1519430399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Polycarp
DESCRIPTION:Saint Polycarp\nSaint of the Day for February 23\n(c. 69 – c. 155)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Polycarp’s Story\nPolycarp\, bishop of Smyrna\, disciple of Saint John the Apostle and friend of Saint Ignatius of Antioch\, was a revered Christian leader during the first half of the second century. \nSaint Ignatius\, on his way to Rome to be martyred\, visited Polycarp at Smyrna\, and later at Troas wrote him a personal letter. The Asia Minor Churches recognized Polycarp’s leadership by choosing him as a representative to discuss with Pope Anicetus the date of the Easter celebration in Rome—a major controversy in the early Church. \nOnly one of the many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved\, the one he wrote to the Church of Philippi in Macedonia. \nAt 86\, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was finally killed by a dagger. The centurion ordered the saint’s body burned. The “Acts” of Polycarp’s martyrdom are the earliest preserved\, fully reliable account of a Christian martyr’s death. He died in 155. \n\nReflection\nPolycarp was recognized as a Christian leader by all Asia Minor Christians—a strong fortress of faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ. His own strength emerged from his trust in God\, even when events contradicted this trust. Living among pagans and under a government opposed to the new religion\, he led and fed his flock. Like the Good Shepherd\, he laid down his life for his sheep and kept them from more persecution in Smyrna. He summarized his trust in God just before he died: “Father… I bless Thee\, for having made me worthy of the day and the hour…” (Acts of Martyrdom\, Chapter 14). \n\nSaint Polycarp is the Patron Saint of:\nEaraches
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-polycarp/2018-02-23/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180224
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180225
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T164927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164927Z
UID:6293-1519430400-1519516799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Luke Belludi
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Luke Belludi\nSaint of the Day for February 24\n(1200 – c. 1285)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed Luke Belludi’s Story\nIn 1220\, Saint Anthony was preaching conversion to the inhabitants of Padua when a young nobleman\, Luke Belludi\, came up to him and humbly asked to receive the habit of the followers of Saint Francis. Anthony liked the talented\, well-educated Luke and personally recommended him to Francis\, who then received him into the Franciscan Order. \nLuke\, then only 20\, was to be Anthony’s companion in his travels and in his preaching\, tending to him in his last days and taking Anthony’s place upon his death. He was appointed guardian of the Friars Minor in the city of Padua. In 1239\, the city fell into the hands of its enemies. Nobles were put to death\, the mayor and council were banished\, the great university of Padua gradually closed and the church dedicated to Saint Anthony was left unfinished. Luke himself was expelled from the city but secretly returned. At night he and the new guardian would visit the tomb of Saint Anthony in the unfinished shrine to pray for his help. One night a voice came from the tomb assuring them that the city would soon be delivered from its evil tyrant. \nAfter the fulfillment of the prophetic message\, Luke was elected provincial minister and furthered the completion of the great basilica in honor of Anthony\, his teacher. He founded many convents of the order and had\, as Anthony\, the gift of miracles. Upon his death he was laid to rest in the basilica that he had helped finish and has had a continual veneration up to the present time. \n\nReflection\nThe epistles refer several times to a man named Luke as Paul’s trusted companion on his missionary journeys. Perhaps every great preacher needs a Luke; Anthony surely did. Luke Belludi not only accompanied Anthony on his travels\, he also cared for the great saint in his final illness and carried on Anthony’s mission after the saint’s death. Yes\, every preacher needs a Luke\, someone to offer support and reassurance—including those who minister to us. We don’t even have to change our names!
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-luke-belludi/2018-02-24/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180225
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180226
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T165038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165038Z
UID:6294-1519516800-1519603199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio\nSaint of the Day for February 25\n(January 20\, 1502 – February 25\, 1600)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed Sebastian of Aparicio’s Story\nSebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity and destiny. \nSebastian’s parents were Spanish peasants. At the age of 31\, he sailed to Mexico\, where he began working in the fields. Eventually he built roads to facilitate agricultural trading and other commerce. His 466-mile road from Mexico City to Zacatecas took 10 years to build and required careful negotiations with the indigenous peoples along the way. \nIn time Sebastian was a wealthy farmer and rancher. At the age of 60\, he entered a virginal marriage. His wife’s motivation may have been a large inheritance; his was to provide a respectable life for a girl without even a modest marriage dowry. When his first wife died\, he entered another virginal marriage for the same reason; his second wife also died young. \nAt the age of 72\, Sebastian distributed his goods among the poor and entered the Franciscans as a brother. Assigned to the large (100-member) friary at Puebla de los Angeles south of Mexico City\, Sebastian went out collecting alms for the friars for the next 25 years. His charity to all earned him the nickname “Angel of Mexico.” \nSebastian was beatified in 1787 and is known as a patron of travelers. \n\nReflection\nAccording to the Rule of St. Francis\, the friars were to work for their daily bread. Sometimes\, however\, their work would not provide for their needs; for example\, working with people suffering from leprosy brought little or no pay. In cases such as these\, the friars were allowed to beg\, always keeping in mind the admonition of Francis to let their good example commend them to the people. The life of the prayerful Sebastian drew many closer to God. \n\nBlessed Sebastian of Aparicio is the Patron Saint of:\nTravelers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-sebastian-of-aparicio/2018-02-25/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180226
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180227
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T165151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165151Z
UID:6299-1519603200-1519689599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Maria Bertilla Boscardin
DESCRIPTION:Saint Maria Bertilla Boscardin\nSaint of the Day for February 26\n(October 6\, 1888 – October 20\, 1922)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Maria Bertilla Boscardin’s Story\nIf anyone knew rejection\, ridicule and disappointment\, it was today’s saint. But such trials only brought Maria Bertilla Boscardin closer to God and more determined to serve him. \nBorn in Italy in 1888\, the young girl lived in fear of her father\, a violent man prone to jealousy and drunkenness. Her schooling was limited so that she could spend more time helping at home and working in the fields. She showed few talents and was often the butt of jokes. \nIn 1904\, she joined the Sisters of Saint Dorothy and was assigned to work in the kitchen\, bakery and laundry. After some time Maria received nurses’ training and began working in a hospital with children suffering from diphtheria. There the young nun seemed to find her true vocation: nursing very ill and disturbed children. Later\, when the hospital was taken over by the military in World War I\, Sister Maria Bertilla fearlessly cared for patients amidst the threat of constant air raids and bombings. \nShe died in 1922 after suffering for many years from a painful tumor. Some of the patients she had nursed many years before were present at her canonization in 1961. \n\nReflection\nThis fairly recent saint knew the hardships of living in an abusive situation. Let us pray to her to help all those who are suffering from any form of spiritual\, mental\, or physical abuse
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-maria-bertilla-boscardin/2018-02-26/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180227
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180228
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T165315Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165315Z
UID:6302-1519689600-1519775999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
DESCRIPTION:Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows\nSaint of the Day for February 27\n(March 1\, 1838 – February 27\, 1862)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows’ Story\nBorn in Italy into a large family and baptized Francis\, Saint Gabriel lost his mother when he was only four years old. He was educated by the Jesuits and\, having been cured twice of serious illnesses\, came to believe that God was calling him to the religious life. Young Francis wished to join the Jesuits but was turned down\, probably because of his age\, not yet 17. Following the death of a sister to cholera\, his resolve to enter religious life became even stronger and he was accepted by the Passionists. Upon entering the novitiate he was given the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. \nEver popular and cheerful\, Gabriel quickly was successful in his effort to be faithful in little things. His spirit of prayer\, love for the poor\, consideration of the feelings of others\, exact observance of the Passionist Rule as well as his bodily penances—always subject to the will of his wise superiors— made a deep impression on everyone. \nHis superiors had great expectations of Gabriel as he prepared for the priesthood\, but after only four years of religious life symptoms of tuberculosis appeared. Ever obedient\, he patiently bore the painful effects of the disease and the restrictions it required\, seeking no special notice. He died peacefully on February 27\, 1862\, at age 24\, having been an example to both young and old. \nSaint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was canonized in 1920. \n\nReflection\nWhen we think of achieving great holiness by doing little things with love and grace\, Therese of Lisieux comes first to mind. Like her\, Gabriel died painfully from tuberculosis. Together they urge us to tend to the small details of daily life\, to be considerate of others’ feelings every day. Our path to sanctity\, like theirs\, probably lies not in heroic doings but in performing small acts of kindness every day. \n\nSaint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows is the Patron Saint of:\nClergy\nStudents\nYoung People
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-gabriel-of-our-lady-of-sorrows/2018-02-27/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180228
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180301
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170825T165423Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165423Z
UID:6305-1519776000-1519862399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Daniel Brottier
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Daniel Brottier\nSaint of the Day for February 28\n(September 7\, 1876 – February 28\, 1936)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed Daniel Brottier’s Story\nDaniel spent most of his life in the trenches—one way or another. \nBorn in France in 1876\, Daniel was ordained in 1899 and began a teaching career. That didn’t satisfy him long. He wanted to use his zeal for the gospel far beyond the classroom. He joined the missionary Congregation of the Holy Spirit\, which sent him to Senegal\, West Africa. After eight years there\, his health was suffering. He was forced to return to France\, where he helped raise funds for the construction of a new cathedral in Senegal. \nAt the outbreak of World War I\, Daniel became a volunteer chaplain and spent four years at the front. He did not shrink from his duties. Indeed\, he risked his life time and again in ministering to the suffering and dying. It was miraculous that he did not suffer a single wound during his 52 months in the heart of battle. \nAfter the war he was invited to help establish a project for orphaned and abandoned children in a Paris suburb. He spent the final 13 years of his life there. He died in 1936 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Paris only 48 years later. \n\nReflection\nBlessed Daniel might be called “Teflon Dan” since nothing seemed to harm him while in the midst of war. God intended to use him in some pretty wonderful ways for the good of the Church and he willingly served. He is a good example for all of us.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-daniel-brottier/2018-02-28/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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CREATED:20170828T142925Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T142925Z
UID:6388-1519862400-1519948799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint David of Wales
DESCRIPTION:Saint David of Wales\nSaint of the Day for March 1\n(d. March 1\, 589)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar01.mp3\nSaint David of Wales’ Story\nDavid is the patron saint of Wales and perhaps the most famous of British saints. Ironically\, we have little reliable information about him. \nIt is known that he became a priest\, engaged in missionary work\, and founded many monasteries\, including his principal abbey in southwestern Wales. Many stories and legends sprang up about David and his Welsh monks. Their austerity was extreme. They worked in silence without the help of animals to till the soil. Their food was limited to bread\, vegetables and water. \nIn about the year 550\, David attended a synod where his eloquence impressed his fellow monks to such a degree that he was elected primate of the region. The episcopal see was moved to Mynyw\, where he had his monastery\, now called St. David’s. He ruled his diocese until he had reached a very old age. His last words to his monks and subjects were: “Be joyful\, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith\, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me.” \nSaint David is pictured standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. The legend is that once while he was preaching a dove descended to his shoulder and the earth rose to lift him high above the people so that he could be heard. Over 50 churches in South Wales were dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days. \n\nReflection\nWere we restricted to hard manual labor and a diet of bread\, vegetables and water\, most of us would find little reason to rejoice. Yet joy is what David urged on his brothers as he lay dying. Perhaps he could say that to them—and to us—because he lived in and nurtured a constant awareness of God’s nearness. For\, as someone once said\, “Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” May his intercession bless us with the same awareness! \n\nSaint David of Wales is the Patron Saint of:\nWales
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-david-of-wales/2018-03-01/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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CREATED:20170828T152829Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T152829Z
UID:6392-1519948800-1520035199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Agnes of Bohemia
DESCRIPTION:Saint Agnes of Bohemia\nSaint of the Day for March 2\n(1205 – March 6\, 1282)\n\n\n\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar02.mp3\n  \n\nSaint Agnes of Bohemia’s Story\nAgnes had no children of her own but was certainly life-giving for all who knew her. \nAgnes was the daughter of Queen Constance and King Ottokar I of Bohemia. She was betrothed to the Duke of Silesia\, who died three years later. As she grew up\, she decided she wanted to enter the religious life. \nAfter declining marriages to King Henry VII of Germany and King Henry III of England\, Agnes was faced with a proposal from Frederick II\, the Holy Roman Emperor. She appealed to Pope Gregory IX for help. The pope was persuasive; Frederick magnanimously said that he could not be offended if Agnes preferred the King of Heaven to him. \nAfter Agnes built a hospital for the poor and a residence for the friars\, she financed the construction of a Poor Clare monastery in Prague. In 1236\, she and seven other noblewomen entered this monastery. Saint Clare sent five sisters from San Damiano to join them\, and wrote Agnes four letters advising her on the beauty of her vocation and her duties as abbess. \nAgnes became known for prayer\, obedience and mortification. Papal pressure forced her to accept her election as abbess\, nevertheless\, the title she preferred was “senior sister.” Her position did not prevent her from cooking for the other sisters and mending the clothes of lepers. The sisters found her kind but very strict regarding the observance of poverty; she declined her royal brother’s offer to set up an endowment for the monastery. \nDevotion to Agnes arose soon after her death on March 6\, 1282. She was canonized in 1989. \n\nReflection\nAgnes spent at least 45 years in a Poor Clare monastery. Such a life requires a great deal of patience and charity. The temptation to selfishness certainly didn’t vanish when Agnes walked into the monastery. It is perhaps easy for us to think that cloistered nuns “have it made” regarding holiness. Their route is the same as ours: gradual exchange of our standards–inclinations to selfishness–for God’s standard of generosity.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-agnes-of-bohemia/2018-03-02/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T153200Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T153826Z
UID:6395-1520035200-1520121599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Katharine Drexel
DESCRIPTION: \nSaint Katharine Drexel\nSaint of the Day for March 3\n(November 26\, 1858 -March 3\, 1955 )\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar03.mp3\n\nKatharine Drexel’s Story\nIf your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car\, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer\, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that. \nBorn in Philadelphia in 1858\, she had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl\, Katharine also had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness\, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death\, and her life took a profound turn. \nKatharine had always been interested in the plight of the Indians\, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour\, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied\, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities. \nBack home\, Katharine visited the Dakotas\, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions. \nKatharine Drexel could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor\, she wrote in 1889\, “The feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!” \nAfter three and a half years of training\, Mother Drexel and her first band of nuns–Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored–opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942\, she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states\, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work\, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all\, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states. \nTwo saints met when Mother Drexel was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her order’s Rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans\, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans. \nAt 77\, Mother Drexel suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost 20 years of quiet\, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers\, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at 96 and was canonized in 2000. \n\nReflection\nSaints have always said the same thing: Pray\, be humble\, accept the cross\, love and forgive. But it is good to hear these things in the American idiom from one who\, for instance\, had her ears pierced as a teenager\, who resolved to have “no cake\, no preserves\,” who wore a watch\, was interviewed by the press\, traveled by train\, and could concern herself with the proper size of pipe for a new mission. These are obvious reminders that holiness can be lived in today’s culture as well as in that of Jerusalem or Rome. \n\nAnother Sant of the Day for March 3 is Blessed Innocent of Berzo.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/6395/2018-03-03/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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CREATED:20170828T154559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T154559Z
UID:6401-1520121600-1520207999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Casimir
DESCRIPTION:Saint Casimir\nSaint of the Day for March 4\n(1458 – 1483)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar04.mp3\n\nSaint Casimir’s Story\nCasimir\, born of kings and in line to be a king himself\, was filled with exceptional values and learning by a great teacher\, John Dlugosz. Even his critics could not say that his conscientious objection indicated softness. As a teenager\, Casimir lived a highly disciplined\, even severe life\, sleeping on the ground\, spending a great part of the night in prayer and dedicating himself to lifelong celibacy. \nWhen nobles in Hungary became dissatisfied with their king\, they prevailed upon Casimir’s father\, the king of Poland\, to send his son to take over the country. Casimir obeyed his father\, as many young men over the centuries have obeyed their governments. The army he was supposed to lead was clearly outnumbered by the “enemy”; some of his troops were deserting because they were not paid. At the advice of his officers\, Casimir decided to return home. \nHis father was irked at the failure of his plans\, and confined his 15-year-old son for three months. The lad made up his mind never again to become involved in the wars of his day\, and no amount of persuasion could change his mind. He returned to prayer and study\, maintaining his decision to remain celibate even under pressure to marry the emperor’s daughter. \nHe reigned briefly as king of Poland during his father’s absence. He died of lung trouble at 25 while visiting Lithuania\, of which he was also Grand Duke. He was buried in Vilnius\, Lithuania. \n\nReflection\nFor many years\, Poland and Lithuania faded into the gray prison on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Despite repression\, the Poles and Lithuanians remained firm in the faith which has become synonymous with their name. Their youthful patron reminds us: Peace is not won by war; sometimes a comfortable peace is not even won by virtue\, but Christ’s peace can penetrate every government repression of religion. \n\nSaint Casimir is the Patron Saint of:\nLithuania\nPoland\nRussia \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for March 4 is Servant of God Sylvester of Assisi.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-casimir/2018-03-04/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180306
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T174106Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T174106Z
UID:6405-1520208000-1520294399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint John Joseph of the Cross
DESCRIPTION:Saint John Joseph of the Cross\nSaint of the Day for March 5\n(August 15\, 1654 – March 5\, 1734)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar05.mp3\nSaint John Joseph of the Cross’ Story\nSelf-denial is never an end in itself but is only a help toward greater charity—as the life of Saint John Joseph shows. \nJohn Joseph was very ascetic even as a young man. At 16\, he joined the Franciscans in Naples; he was the first Italian to follow the reform movement of Saint Peter Alcantara. John Joseph’s reputation for holiness prompted his superiors to put him in charge of establishing a new friary even before he was ordained. \nObedience moved John Joseph to accept appointments as novice master\, guardian and\, finally\, provincial. His years of mortification enabled him to offer these services to the friars with great charity. As guardian he was not above working in the kitchen or carrying the wood and water needed by the friars. \nWhen his term as provincial expired\, John Joseph dedicated himself to hearing confessions and practicing mortification\, two concerns contrary to the spirit of the dawning Age of Enlightenment. John Joseph of the Cross was canonized in 1839. \n\nReflection\nJohn Joseph’s mortification allowed him to be the kind of forgiving superior intended by Saint Francis. Self-denial should lead us to charity—not to bitterness; it should help us clarify our priorities and make us more loving. John Joseph is living proof of Chesterton’s observation: “It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own” (G. K. Chesterton\, Orthodoxy\, page 101).
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-john-joseph-of-the-cross/2018-03-05/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180307
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T174254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T174254Z
UID:6412-1520294400-1520380799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes
DESCRIPTION:Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes\nSaint of the Day for March 6\n(October 31\, 1618 – May 26\, 1645)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar06.mp3\nSaint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes’ Story\nMary Ann grew close to God and his people during her short life. \nThe youngest of eight\, Mary Ann was born in Quito\, Ecuador\, which had been brought under Spanish control in 1534. She joined the Secular Franciscans and led a life of prayer and penance at home\, leaving her parents’ house only to go to church and to perform some work of charity. She established in Quito a clinic and a school for Africans and indigenous Americans. When a plague broke out\, she nursed the sick and died shortly thereafter. \nShe was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950. \n\nReflection\nFrancis of Assisi overcame himself and his upbringing when he kissed the man afflicted with leprosy. If our self-denial does not lead to charity\, the penance is being practiced for the wrong reason. The penances of Mary Ann made her more sensitive to the needs of others and more courageous in trying to serve those needs. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast Day of Saint Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes is May 28.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-mary-ann-of-jesus-of-paredes/2018-03-06/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T174548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T174548Z
UID:6415-1520380800-1520467199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Perpetua and Felicity
DESCRIPTION:Saints Perpetua and Felicity\nSaint of the Day for March 7\n(d. 203)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar07.mp3\n\nSaints Perpetua and Felicity’s Story\n“When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith\, I said to him\, ‘Do you see this vessel—waterpot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?’ ‘No\,’ he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.’” \nSo writes Perpetua: young\, beautiful\, well-educated\, a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa\, mother of an infant son and chronicler of the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Septimius Severus. \nPerpetua’s mother was a Christian and her father a pagan. He continually pleaded with her to deny her faith. She refused and was imprisoned at 22. \nIn her diary\, Perpetua describes her period of captivity: “What a day of horror! Terrible heat\, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all\, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days\, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me\, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him\, I at once recovered my health\, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.” \nDespite threats of persecution and death\, Perpetua\, Felicity–a slavewoman and expectant mother–and three companions\, Revocatus\, Secundulus and Saturninus\, refused to renounce their Christian faith. For their unwillingness\, all were sent to the public games in the amphitheater. There Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded\, and the others killed by beasts. \nFelicity gave birth to a girl a few days before the games commenced. \nPerpetua’s record of her trial and imprisonment ends the day before the games. “Of what was done in the games themselves\, let him write who will.” The diary was finished by an eyewitness. \n\nReflection\nPersecution for religious beliefs is not confined to Christians in ancient times. Consider Anne Frank\, the Jewish girl who with her family\, was forced into hiding and later died in Bergen-Belsen\, one of Hitler’s death camps during World War II. Anne\, like Perpetua and Felicity\, endured hardship and suffering and finally death because she committed herself to God. In her diary\, Anne writes\, “It’s twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground\, and maintain our opinions\, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed\, when people are showing their worst side\, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” \n\nSaint Felicity is the Patron Saint of:\nWidows\nMothers of Deceased Sons
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-perpetua-and-felicity/2018-03-07/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T174840Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T161700Z
UID:6418-1520467200-1520553599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint John of God
DESCRIPTION:Saint John of God\nSaint of the Day for March 8\n( March 8\, 1495 – March 8\, 1550)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar08.mp3\n  \nSaint John of God’s Story\nHaving given up active Christian belief while a soldier\, John was 40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him. He decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service\, and headed at once for Africa where he hoped to free captive Christians and\, possibly\, be martyred. \nHe was soon advised that his desire for martyrdom was not spiritually well based\, and returned to Spain and the relatively prosaic activity of a religious goods store. Yet he was still not settled. Moved initially by a sermon of Saint John of Avila\, he one day engaged in a public beating of himself\, begging mercy and wildly repenting for his past life. \nCommitted to a mental hospital for these actions\, John was visited by Saint John\, who advised him to be more actively involved in tending to the needs of others rather than in enduring personal hardships. John gained peace of heart\, and shortly after left the hospital to begin work among the poor. \nHe established a house where he wisely tended to the needs of the sick poor\, at first doing his own begging. But\, excited by the saint’s great work and inspired by his devotion\, many people began to back him up with money and provisions. Among them were the archbishop and marquis of Tarifa. \nBehind John’s outward acts of total concern and love for Christ’s sick poor was a deep interior prayer life which was reflected in his spirit of humility. These qualities attracted helpers who\, 20 years after John’s death\, formed the Brothers Hospitallers\, now a worldwide religious order. \nJohn became ill after 10 years of service\, but tried to disguise his ill health. He began to put the hospital’s administrative work into order and appointed a leader for his helpers. He died under the care of a spiritual friend and admirer\, Lady Ana Ossorio. \n\nReflection\nThe utter humility of John of God\, which led to a totally selfless dedication to others\, is most impressive. Here is a man who realized his nothingness in the face of God. The Lord blessed him with the gifts of prudence\, patience\, courage\, enthusiasm\, and the ability to influence and inspire others. He saw that in his early life he had turned away from the Lord\, and\, moved to receive his mercy\, John began his new commitment to love others in openness to God’s love. \n\nSaint John of God is the Patron Saint of:\nBooksellers\nFirefighters\nHeart Patients\nHospitals\nNurses\nPrinters\nSick
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/6418/2018-03-08/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T175115Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T175115Z
UID:6421-1520553600-1520639999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Frances of Rome
DESCRIPTION:Saint Frances of Rome\nSaint of the Day for March 9\n(1384 – March 9\, 1440)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar09.mp3\n  \nSaint Frances of Rome’s Story\nFrances’ life combines aspects of secular and religious life. A devoted and loving wife\, she longed for a lifestyle of prayer and service\, so she organized a group of women to minister to the needs of Rome’s poor. \nBorn of wealthy parents\, Frances found herself attracted to the religious life during her youth. But her parents objected and a young nobleman was selected to be her husband. \nAs she became acquainted with her new relatives\, Frances soon discovered that the wife of her husband’s brother also wished to live a life of service and prayer. So the two\, Frances and Vannozza\, set out together—with their husbands’ blessings—to help the poor. \nFrances fell ill for a time\, but this apparently only deepened her commitment to the suffering people she met. The years passed\, and Frances gave birth to two sons and a daughter. With the new responsibilities of family life\, the young mother turned her attention more to the needs of her own household. \nThe family flourished under Frances’ care\, but within a few years a great plague began to sweep across Italy. It struck Rome with devastating cruelty and left Frances’ second son dead. In an effort to help alleviate some of the suffering\, Frances used all her money and sold her possessions to buy whatever the sick might possibly need. When all the resources had been exhausted\, Frances and Vannozza went door to door begging. Later\, Frances’ daughter died\, and the saint opened a section of her house as a hospital. \nFrances became more and more convinced that this way of life was so necessary for the world\, and it was not long before she requested and was given permission to found a society of women bound by no vows. They simply offered themselves to God and to the service of the poor. Once the society was established\, Frances chose not to live at the community residence\, but rather at home with her husband. She did this for seven years\, until her husband passed away\, and then came to live the remainder of her life with the society—serving the poorest of the poor. \n\nReflection\nLooking at the exemplary life of fidelity to God and devotion to her fellow human beings which Frances of Rome was blessed to lead\, one cannot help but be reminded of Saint Teresa of Calcutta\, who loved Jesus Christ in prayer and also in the poor. The life of Frances of Rome calls each of us not only to look deeply for God in prayer\, but also to carry our devotion to Jesus living in the suffering of our world. Frances shows us that this life need not be restricted to those bound by vows. \n\nSaint Frances of Rome is the Patron Saint of:\nMotorists\nWidows
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-frances-of-rome/2018-03-09/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T175432Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T175432Z
UID:6424-1520640000-1520726399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Dominic Savio
DESCRIPTION:Saint Dominic Savio\nSaint of the Day for March 10\n(April 2\, 1842 – March 9\, 1857)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar10.mp3\nSaint Dominic Savio’s Story\nSo many holy persons seem to die young. Among them was Dominic Savio\, the patron of choirboys. \nBorn into a peasant family at Riva\, Italy\, young Dominic joined Saint John Bosco as a student at the Oratory in Turin at the age of 12. He impressed Don Bosco with his desire to be a priest and to help him in his work with neglected boys. A peacemaker and an organizer\, young Dominic founded a group he called the Company of the Immaculate Conception which\, besides being devotional\, aided John Bosco with the boys and with manual work. All the members save one\, Dominic\, would\, in 1859\, join Don Bosco in the beginnings of his Salesian congregation. By that time\, Dominic had been called home to heaven. \nAs a youth\, Dominic spent hours rapt in prayer. His raptures he called “my distractions.” Even in play\, he said that at times “It seems heaven is opening just above me. I am afraid I may say or do something that will make the other boys laugh.” Dominic would say\, “I can’t do big things. But I want all I do\, even the smallest thing\, to be for the greater glory of God.” \nDominic’s health\, always frail\, led to lung problems and he was sent home to recuperate. As was the custom of the day\, he was bled in the thought that this would help\, but it only worsened his condition. He died on March 9\, 1857\, after receiving the Last Sacraments. Saint John Bosco himself wrote the account of his life. \nSome thought that Dominic was too young to be considered a saint. Saint Pius X declared that just the opposite was true\, and went ahead with his cause. Dominic was canonized in 1954. \n\nReflection\nLike many a youngster\, Dominic was painfully aware that he was different from his peers. He tried to keep his piety from his friends lest he have to endure their laughter. Even after his death\, his youth marked him as a misfit among the saints and some argued that he was too young to be canonized. Pope Pius X wisely disagreed. For no one is too young—or too old or too anything else—to achieve the holiness to which we all are called. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint Dominic Savio is October 9.\n\nSaint Dominic Savio is the Patron Saint of:\nChoirboys\nJuvenile delinquents
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-dominic-savio/2018-03-10/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T175635Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T175635Z
UID:6427-1520726400-1520812799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint John Ogilvie
DESCRIPTION:Saint John Ogilvie\nSaint of the Day for March 11\n(1579 –  March 10\, 1615)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar11.mp3\nSaint John Ogilvie’s Story\nJohn Ogilvie’s noble Scottish family was partly Catholic and partly Presbyterian. His father raised him as a Calvinist\, sending him to the continent to be educated. There\, John became interested in the popular debates going on between Catholic and Calvinist scholars. Confused by the arguments of Catholic scholars whom he sought out\, he turned to Scripture. Two texts particularly struck him: “God wills all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth\,” and “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome\, and I will refresh you.” \nSlowly\, John came to see that the Catholic Church could embrace all kinds of people. Among these\, he noted\, were many martyrs. He decided to become Catholic and was received into the Church at Louvain\, Belgium\, in 1596 at the age of 17. \nJohn continued his studies\, first with the Benedictines\, then as a student at the Jesuit College at Olmutz. He joined the Jesuits and for the next 10 years underwent their rigorous intellectual and spiritual training. At his ordination to the priesthood in France in 1610\, John met two Jesuits who had just returned from Scotland after suffering arrest and imprisonment. They saw little hope for any successful work there in view of the tightening of the penal laws. But a fire had been lit within John. For the next two and a half years he pleaded to be placed there as a missionary. \nSent by his superiors\, he secretly entered Scotland posing as a horse trader or a soldier returning from the wars in Europe. Unable to do significant work among the relatively few Catholics in Scotland\, John made his way back to Paris to consult his superiors. Rebuked for having left his assignment in Scotland\, he was sent back. He warmed to the task before him and had some success in making converts and in secretly serving Scottish Catholics. But he was soon betrayed\, arrested and brought before the court. \nHis trial dragged on until he had been without food for 26 hours. He was imprisoned and deprived of sleep. For eight days and nights he was dragged around\, prodded with sharp sticks\, his hair pulled out. Still\, he refused to reveal the names of Catholics or to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the king in spiritual affairs. He underwent a second and third trial but held firm. \nAt his final trial\, he assured his judges: “In all that concerns the king\, I will be slavishly obedient; if any attack his temporal power\, I will shed my last drop of blood for him. But in the things of spiritual jurisdiction which a king unjustly seizes I cannot and must not obey.” \nCondemned to death as a traitor\, he was faithful to the end\, even when on the scaffold he was offered his freedom and a fine living if he would deny his faith. His courage in prison and in his martyrdom was reported throughout Scotland. \nJohn Ogilvie was canonized in 1976\, becoming the first Scottish saint since 1250. \n\nReflection\nJohn came of age when neither Catholics nor Protestants were willing to tolerate one another. Turning to Scripture\, he found words that enlarged his vision. Although he became a Catholic and died for his faith\, he understood the meaning of “small-c catholic\,” the wide range of believers who embrace Christianity. Even now he undoubtedly rejoices in the ecumenical spirit fostered by the Second Vatican Council and joins us in our prayer for unity with all believers. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint John Ogilvie is March 10.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-john-ogilvie/2018-03-11/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180312
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180313
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T175809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170830T153433Z
UID:6430-1520812800-1520899199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Angela Salawa
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Angela Salawa\nSaint of the Day for March 12\n(September 9\, 1881 – March 12\, 1922)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar12.mp3\nBlessed Angela Salawa’s Story\nAngela served Christ and Christ’s little ones with all her strength. \nBorn in Siepraw\, near Kraków\, Poland\, she was the 11th child of Bartlomiej and Ewa Salawa. In 1897\, she moved to Kraków where her older sister Therese lived. Angela immediately began to gather together and instruct young women domestic workers. During World War I\, she helped prisoners of war without regard for their nationality or religion. The writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross were a great comfort to her. \nAngela gave great service in caring for soldiers wounded in World War I. After 1918\, her health did not permit her to exercise her customary apostolate. Addressing herself to Christ\, she wrote in her diary\, “I want you to be adored as much as you were destroyed.” In another place\, she wrote\, “Lord\, I live by your will. I shall die when you desire; save me because you can.” \nAt her 1991 beatification in Kraków\, Pope John Paul II said: “It is in this city that she worked\, that she suffered and that her holiness came to maturity. While connected to the spirituality of St. Francis\, she showed an extraordinary responsiveness to the action of the Holy Spirit” (L’Osservatore Romano\, volume 34\, number 4\, 1991). \n\nReflection\nHumility should never be mistaken for lack of conviction\, insight or energy. Angela brought the Good News and material assistance to some of Christ’s “least ones.” Her self-sacrifice inspired others to do the same.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-angela-salawa/2018-03-12/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180313
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180314
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170828T180106Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T161906Z
UID:6431-1520899200-1520985599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Leander of Seville
DESCRIPTION:Saint Leander of Seville\nSaint of the Day for March 13\n(c. 534 – March 13\, 600 or 601)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar13.mp3\nSaint Leander of Seville’s Story\nThe next time you recite the Nicene Creed at Mass\, think of today’s saint. For it was Leander of Seville who\, as bishop\, introduced the practice in the sixth century. He saw it as a way to help reinforce the faith of his people and as an antidote against the heresy of Arianism\, which denied the divinity of Christ. By the end of his life\, Leander had helped Christianity flourish in Spain at a time of political and religious upheaval. \nLeander’s own family was heavily influenced by Arianism\, but he himself grew up to be a fervent Christian. He entered a monastery as a young man and spent three years in prayer and study. At the end of that tranquil period he was made a bishop. For the rest of his life he worked strenuously to fight against heresy. The death of the anti-Christian king in 586 helped Leander’s cause. He and the new king worked hand in hand to restore orthodoxy and a renewed sense of morality. Leander succeeded in persuading many Arian bishops to change their loyalties. \nLeander died around 600. In Spain\, he is honored as a Doctor of the Church. \n\nReflection\nAs we pray the Nicene Creed every Sunday\, we might reflect on the fact that that same prayer is not only being prayed by every Catholic throughout the world\, but by many other Christians as well. Saint Leander introduced its recitation as a means of uniting the faithful. Let’s pray that the recitation may enhance that unity today.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-leander-of-seville/2018-03-13/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180314
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180315
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170829T162534Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T162534Z
UID:6432-1520985600-1521071999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Maximilian
DESCRIPTION:Saint Maximilian\nSaint of the Day for March 14\n(274 – March 12\, 295)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar14.mp3\nSaint Maximilian’s Story\nWe have an early\, precious\, almost unembellished account of the martyrdom of Saint Maximilian in modern-day Algeria. \nBrought before the proconsul Dion\, Maximilian refused enlistment in the Roman army saying\, “I cannot serve\, I cannot do evil. I am a Christian.” \nDion replied: “You must serve or die.” \nMaximilian: “I will never serve. You can cut off my head\, but I will not be a soldier of this world\, for I am a soldier of Christ. My army is the army of God\, and I cannot fight for this world. I tell you I am a Christian.” \nDion: “There are Christian soldiers serving our rulers Diocletian and Maximian\, Constantius and Galerius.” \nMaximilian: “That is their business. I also am a Christian\, and I cannot serve.” \nDion: “But what harm do soldiers do?” \nMaximilian: “You know well enough.” \nDion: “If you will not do your service I shall condemn you to death for contempt of the army.” \nMaximilian: “I shall not die. If I go from this earth\, my soul will live with Christ my Lord.” \nMaximilian was 21 years old when he gladly offered his life to God. His father went home from the execution site joyful\, thanking God that he had been able to offer heaven such a gift. \n\nReflection\nIn this celebration we find one inspirational son and one incredible father. Both men were filled with strong faith and hope. Let’s ask them to help us in our struggle to remain faithful.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-maximilian/2018-03-14/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180315
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180316
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170829T162731Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T162731Z
UID:6448-1521072000-1521158399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Louise de Marillac
DESCRIPTION:Saint Louise de Marillac\nSaint of the Day for March 15\n(August 12\, 1591 – March 15\, 1660)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar15.mp3\nSaint Louise de Marillac’s Story\nBorn near Meux\, France\, Louise lost her mother when she was still a child\, her beloved father when she was but 15. Her desire to become a nun was discouraged by her confessor\, and a marriage was arranged. One son was born of this union. But Louise soon found herself nursing her beloved husband through a long illness that finally led to his death. \nLouise was fortunate to have a wise and sympathetic counselor\, Francis de Sales\, and then his friend\, the bishop of Belley\, France. Both of these men were available to her only periodically. But from an interior illumination she understood that she was to undertake a great work under the guidance of another person she had not yet met. This was the holy priest Monsieur Vincent\, later to be known as Saint Vincent de Paul. \nAt first\, he was reluctant to be her confessor\, busy as he was with his “Confraternities of Charity.” Members were aristocratic ladies of charity who were helping him nurse the poor and look after neglected children\, a real need of the day. But the ladies were busy with many of their own concerns and duties. His work needed many more helpers\, especially ones who were peasants themselves and therefore\, close to the poor and able to win their hearts. He also needed someone who could teach them and organize them. \nOnly over a long period of time\, as Vincent de Paul became more acquainted with Louise\, did he come to realize that she was the answer to his prayers. She was intelligent\, self-effacing\, and had physical strength and endurance that belied her continuing feeble health. The missions he sent her on eventually led to four simple young women joining her. Her rented home in Paris became the training center for those accepted for the service of the sick and poor. Growth was rapid and soon there was the need for a so-called “rule of life\,” which Louise herself\, under the guidance of Vincent\, drew up for the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. \nMonsieur Vincent had always been slow and prudent in his dealings with Louise and the new group. He said that he had never had any idea of starting a new community\, that it was God who did everything. “Your convent\,” he said\, “will be the house of the sick; your cell\, a hired room; your chapel\, the parish church; your cloister\, the streets of the city or the wards of the hospital.” Their dress was to be that of the peasant women. It was not until years later that Vincent de Paul would finally permit four of the women to take annual vows of poverty\, chastity and obedience. It was still more years before the company would be formally approved by Rome and placed under the direction of Vincent’s own congregation of priests. \nMany of the young women were illiterate. Still it was with reluctance that the new community undertook the care of neglected children. Louise was busy helping wherever needed despite her poor health. She traveled throughout France\, establishing her community members in hospitals\, orphanages and other institutions. At her death on March 15\, 1660\, the congregation had more than 40 houses in France. Six months later Vincent de Paul followed her in death. \nLouise de Marillac was canonized in 1934 and declared patroness of social workers in 1960. \n\nReflection\nIn Louise’s day\, serving the needs of the poor was usually a luxury only fine ladies could afford. Her mentor\, Saint Vincent de Paul\, wisely realized that women of peasant stock could reach poor people more effectively\, and the Daughters of Charity were born under her leadership. Today\, that order–along with the Sisters of Charity–continues to nurse the sick and aging and provide refuge for orphans. Many of its members are social workers toiling under Louise’s patronage. The rest of us must share her concern for the disadvantaged. \n\nSaint Louise de Marillac is the Patron Saint of:\nSocial workers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-louise-de-marillac/2018-03-15/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180316
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180317
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170829T162955Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T162955Z
UID:6451-1521158400-1521244799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer
DESCRIPTION:Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer\nSaint of the Day for March 16\n(December 26\, 1751 – March 15\, 1820)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar16.mp3\nSaint Clement Mary Hofbauer’s Story\nClement might be called the second founder of the Redemptorists\, as it was he who carried the congregation of Saint Alphonsus Liguori to the people north of the Alps. \nJohn\, the name given him at Baptism\, was born in Moravia into a poor family\, the ninth of 12 children. Although he longed to be a priest\, there was no money for studies\, and he was apprenticed to a baker. But God guided the young man’s fortunes. He found work in the bakery of a monastery where he was allowed to attend classes in its Latin school. After the abbot there died\, John tried the life of a hermit\, but when Emperor Joseph II abolished hermitages\, John again returned to Vienna and to baking. \nOne day after serving Mass at the Cathedral of St. Stephen\, he called a carriage for two ladies waiting there in the rain. In their conversation they learned that he could not pursue his priestly studies because of a lack of funds. They generously offered to support both John and his friend Thaddeus\, in their seminary studies. The two went to Rome\, where they were drawn to Saint Alphonsus’ vision of religious life and to the Redemptorists. The two young men were ordained together in 1785. \nNewly professed at age 34\, Clement Mary\, as he was now called\, and Thaddeus were sent back to Vienna. But the religious difficulties there caused them to leave and continue north to Warsaw\, Poland. There they encountered numerous German-speaking Catholics who had been left priestless by the suppression of the Jesuits. At first they had to live in great poverty and preach outdoor sermons. Eventually they were given the church of St. Benno\, and for the next nine years they preached five sermons a day\, two in German and three in Polish\, converting many to the faith. They were active in social work among the poor\, founding an orphanage and then a school for boys. \nDrawing candidates to the congregation\, they were able to send missionaries to Poland\, Germany\, and Switzerland. All of these foundations eventually had to be abandoned because of the political and religious tensions of the times. After 20 years of difficult work\, Clement Mary himself was imprisoned and expelled from the country. Only after another arrest was he able to reach Vienna\, where he was to live and work the final 12 years of his life. He quickly became “the apostle of Vienna\,” hearing the confessions of the rich and the poor\, visiting the sick\, acting as a counselor to the powerful\, sharing his holiness with all in the city. His crowning work was the establishment of a Catholic college in his beloved city. \nPersecution followed Clement Mary\, and there were those in authority who were able for a while to stop him from preaching. An attempt was made at the highest levels to have him banished. But his holiness and fame protected him and prompted the growth of the Redemptorists. Due to his efforts\, the congregation was firmly established north of the Alps by the time of his death in 1820. \nClement Mary Hofbauer was canonized in 1909. \n\nReflection\nClement Mary saw his life’s work meet with disaster. Religious and political tensions forced him and his brothers to abandon their ministries in Germany\, Poland\, and Switzerland. Clement Mary himself was exiled from Poland and had to start all over again. Someone once pointed out that the followers of the crucified Jesus should see only new possibilities opening up whenever they meet failure. Clement Mary encourages us to follow his example\, trusting in the Lord to guide us. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast Day of Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer is March 15.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-clement-mary-hofbauer/2018-03-16/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180317
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180318
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170829T164209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T164209Z
UID:6454-1521244800-1521331199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Patrick
DESCRIPTION:Saint Patrick\nSaint of the Day for March 17\n(c. 386 – 461)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar02.mp3\nSaint Patrick’s Story\nLegends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ. \nDetails of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been born in Dunbarton\, Scotland\, Cumberland\, England\, or in northern Wales. He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16\, he and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd\, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold. \nAfter six years Patrick escaped\, probably to France\, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins\, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre\, France\, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the good news to the Irish. \nIn a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective\, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north–where the faith had never been preached–obtained the protection of local kings\, and made numerous converts. \nBecause of the island’s pagan background\, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests\, divided the country into dioceses\, held Church councils\, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ. \nHe suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission. \nIn a relatively short time\, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit\, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe. \nPatrick was a man of action\, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rocklike belief in his vocation\, in the cause he had espoused. \nOne of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio\, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick\, unworthy sinner\, to the apostolate. \nThere is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in County Down in Northern Ireland\, long the scene of strife and violence. \n\nReflection\nWhat distinguishes Patrick is the durability of his efforts. When one considers the state of Ireland when he began his mission work\, the vast extent of his labors\, and how the seeds he planted continued to grow and flourish\, one can only admire the kind of man Patrick must have been. The holiness of a person is known only by the fruits of his or her work. \n\nSaint Patrick is the Patron Saint of:\nEngineers\nIreland\nNigeria
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-patrick/2018-03-17/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180318
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180319
DTSTAMP:20260405T035842
CREATED:20170829T173216Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T173216Z
UID:6458-1521331200-1521417599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
DESCRIPTION:Saint Cyril of Jerusalem\nSaint of the Day for March 18\n(c. 315 – March 18\, 386)\nSaint Cyril of Jerusalem’s Story\nThe crises that the Church faces today may seem minor when compared with the threat posed by the Arian heresy\, which denied the divinity of Christ and almost overcame Christianity in the fourth century. Cyril was to be caught up in the controversy\, accused of Arianism by Saint Jerome\, and ultimately vindicated both by the men of his own time and by being declared a Doctor of the Church in 1822. \nRaised in Jerusalem and well-educated\, especially in the Scriptures\, he was ordained a priest by the bishop of Jerusalem and given the task during Lent of catechizing those preparing for Baptism and catechizing the newly baptized during the Easter season. His Catecheses remain valuable as examples of the ritual and theology of the Church in the mid-fourth century. \nThere are conflicting reports about the circumstances of his becoming bishop of Jerusalem. It is certain that he was validly consecrated by bishops of the province. Since one of them was an Arian\, Acacius\, it may have been expected that his “cooperation” would follow. Conflict soon rose between Cyril and Acacius\, bishop of the rival nearby see of Caesarea. Cyril was summoned to a council\, accused of insubordination and of selling Church property to relieve the poor. Probably\, however\, a theological difference was also involved. He was condemned\, driven from Jerusalem\, and later vindicated\, not without some association with and help from Semi-Arians. Half his episcopate was spent in exile; his first experience was repeated twice. He finally returned to find Jerusalem torn with heresy\, schism and strife\, and wracked with crime. Even Saint Gregory of Nyssa\, who was sent to help\, left in despair. \nThey both went to the Council of Constantinople\, where the amended form of the Nicene Creed was promulgated in 381. Cyril accepted the word consubstantial–that is\, Christ is of the same substance or nature as the Father. Some said it was an act of repentance\, but the bishops of the Council praised him as a champion of orthodoxy against the Arians. Though not friendly with the greatest defender of orthodoxy against the Arians\, Cyril may be counted among those whom Athanasius called “brothers\, who mean what we mean\, and differ only about the word consubstantial.” \n\nReflection\nThose who imagine that the lives of saints are simple and placid\, untouched by the vulgar breath of controversy\, are rudely shocked by history. Yet\, it should be no surprise that saints\, indeed all Christians\, will experience the same difficulties as their Master. The definition of truth is an endless\, complex pursuit\, and good men and women have suffered the pain of both controversy and error. Intellectual\, emotional\, and political roadblocks may slow up people like Cyril for a time. But their lives taken as a whole are monuments to honesty and courage. \nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar18.mp3
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-cyril-of-jerusalem/2018-03-18/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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