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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260827
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260828
DTSTAMP:20170727T180926Z
CREATED:20170727T180926Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170727T180926Z
UID:50890-1787788800-1787875199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Monica
DESCRIPTION:Image: Detail | Stained glass window in the Church of Saint James the Greater in Bouxwiller | photo by GFreihalter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Monica\nSaint of the Day for August 27\n(c. 330 – 387)\nSaint Monica’s Story\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe circumstances of Saint Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife\, a bitter daughter-in-law\, and a despairing parent\, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. Although she was a Christian\, her parents gave her in marriage to a pagan\, Patricius\, who lived in her hometown of Tagaste in North Africa. Patricius had some redeeming features\, but he had a violent temper and was licentious. Monica also had to bear with a cantankerous mother-in-law who lived in her home. Patricius criticized his wife because of her charity and piety\, but always respected her. Monica’s prayers and example finally won her husband and mother-in-law to Christianity. Her husband died in 371\, one year after his baptism. \nMonica had at least three children who survived infancy. The oldest\, Augustine\, is the most famous. At the time of his father’s death\, Augustine was 17 and a rhetoric student in Carthage. Monica was distressed to learn that her son had accepted the Manichean heresy–“all flesh is evil”–and was living an immoral life. For a while\, she refused to let him eat or sleep in her house. Then one night she had a vision that assured her Augustine would return to the faith. From that time on\, she stayed close to her son\, praying and fasting for him. In fact she often stayed much closer than Augustine wanted. \nWhen he was 29\, Augustine decided to go to Rome to teach rhetoric. Monica was determined to go along. One night he told his mother that he was going to the dock to say goodbye to a friend. Instead he set sail for Rome. Monica was heartbroken when she learned of Augustine’s trick\, but she still followed him. She arrived in Rome only to find that he had left for Milan. Although travel was difficult\, Monica pursued him to Milan. \nIn Milan\, Augustine came under the influence of the bishop\, Saint Ambrose\, who also became Monica’s spiritual director. She accepted his advice in everything and had the humility to give up some practices that had become second nature to her. Monica became a leader of the devout women in Milan as she had been in Tagaste. \nShe continued her prayers for Augustine during his years of instruction. At Easter 387\, Saint Ambrose baptized Augustine and several of his friends. Soon after\, his party left for Africa. Although no one else was aware of it\, Monica knew her life was near the end. She told Augustine\, “Son\, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here\, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.” She became ill shortly after and suffered severely for nine days before her death. \nAlmost all we know about St. Monica is in the writings of Saint Augustine\, especially his Confessions. \n\nReflection\nToday\, with Internet searches\, online shopping\, text messages\, tweets and instant credit\, we have little patience for things that take time. Likewise\, we want instant answers to our prayers. Monica is a model of patience. Her long years of prayer\, coupled with a strong\, well-disciplined character\, finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband\, her cantankerous mother-in-law and her brilliant but wayward son\, Augustine. \n\nSaint Monica is the Patron Saint of:\nAlcoholics\nConversion\nMarried Women\nMothers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-monica/2026-08-27/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260828
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260829
DTSTAMP:20170727T180928Z
CREATED:20170727T180928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170727T180928Z
UID:50891-1787875200-1787961599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Augustine of Hippo
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Augustine of Hippo | Line engraving by P. Cool after M. de Vos | Wellcome Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Augustine of Hippo\nSaint of the Day for August 28\n(November 13\, 354 – August 28\, 430)\nSaint Augustine’s Story\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nA Christian at 33\, a priest at 36\, a bishop at 41: Many people are familiar with the biographical sketch of Augustine of Hippo\, sinner turned saint. But really to get to know the man is a rewarding experience. \nThere quickly surfaces the intensity with which he lived his life\, whether his path led away from or toward God. The tears of his mother\, the instructions of Ambrose and\, most of all\, God himself speaking to him in the Scriptures\, redirected Augustine’s love of life to a life of love. \nHaving been so deeply immersed in creature-pride of life in his early days and having drunk deeply of its bitter dregs\, it is not surprising that Augustine should have turned\, with a holy fierceness\, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day. His times were truly decadent: politically\, socially\, morally. He was both feared and loved\, like the Master. The perennial criticism leveled against him: a fundamental rigorism. \nIn his day\, Augustine providentially fulfilled the office of prophet. Like Jeremiah and other greats\, he was hard-pressed but could not keep quiet. “I say to myself\, I will not mention him\,/I will speak in his name no more./But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart\,/imprisoned in my bones;/I grow weary holding it in\,/I cannot endure it” (Jeremiah 20:9). \n\nReflection\nAugustine is still acclaimed and condemned in our day. He is a prophet for today\, trumpeting the need to scrap escapisms and stand face-to-face with personal responsibility and dignity. \n\nSaint Augustine is the Patron Saint of:\nPrinters\nTheologians
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-augustine-of-hippo/2026-08-28/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260829
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260830
DTSTAMP:20170727T180930Z
CREATED:20170727T180930Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170727T180930Z
UID:50892-1787961600-1788047999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Martyrdom of John the Baptist
DESCRIPTION:Image: Salome with the Head of John the baptist | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMartyrdom of John the Baptist\nSaint of the Day for August 29\nThe Story of the Martyrdom of John the Baptist\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODAug29.mp3\n  \nThe drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor\, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty\, did not hesitate to speak the truth. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life? \nThis great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water\, for repentance\, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). \nScripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope\, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came\, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples\, and as he watched Jesus walk by\, he said\, ‘Behold\, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37). \nIt is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace\, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation\, repentance\, and salvation. \n\nReflection\nEach of us has a calling to which we must listen. No one will ever repeat the mission of John\, and yet all of us are called to that very mission. It is the role of the Christian to witness to Jesus. Whatever our position in this world\, we are called to be disciples of Christ. By our words and deeds\, others should realize that we live in the joy of knowing that Jesus is Lord. We do not have to depend upon our own limited resources\, but can draw strength from the vastness of Christ’s saving grace.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/martyrdom-of-john-the-baptist/2026-08-29/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260830
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTSTAMP:20170727T180932Z
CREATED:20170727T180932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170727T180932Z
UID:50893-1788048000-1788134399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Jeanne Jugan
DESCRIPTION:Image: Statue of Saint Jeanne Jugan at the Sisters of the Poor in Valladolid | photo by Rodelar\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Jeanne Jugan\nSaint of the Day for August 30\n(October 25\, 1792 – August 29\, 1879)\nSaint Jeanne Jugan’s Story\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBorn in northern France during the French Revolution—a time when congregations of women and men religious were being suppressed by the national government\, Jeanne would eventually be highly praised in the French academy for her community’s compassionate care of elderly poor people. \nWhen Jeanne was three and a half years old\, her father\, a fisherman\, was lost at sea. Her widowed mother was hard pressed to raise her eight children alone; four died young. At the age of 15 or 16\, Jeanne became a kitchen maid for a family that not only cared for its own members\, but also served poor\, elderly people nearby. Ten years later\, Jeanne became a nurse at the hospital in Le Rosais. Soon thereafter\, she joined a third order group founded by Saint John Eudes. \nAfter six years she became a servant and friend of a woman she met through the third order. They prayed\, visited the poor\, and taught catechism to children. After her friend’s death\, Jeanne and two other women continued a similar life in the city of Saint-Sevran. In 1839\, they brought in their first permanent guest. They began an association\, received more members\, and more guests. Mère Marie of the Cross\, as Jeanne was now known\, founded six more houses for the elderly by the end of 1849\, all staffed by members of her association—the Little Sisters of the Poor. By 1853\, the association numbered 500 and had houses as far away as England. \nAbbé Le Pailleur\, a chaplain\, had prevented Jeanne’s reelection as superior in 1843; nine years later\, he had her assigned to duties within the congregation\, but would not allow her to be recognized as its founder. In 1890\, the Holy See removed him from office. \nBy the time Pope Leo XIII gave her final approval to the community’s constitutions in 1879\, there were 2\,400 Little Sisters of the Poor. Jeanne died later that same year\, on August 30. Her cause was introduced in Rome in 1970. She was beatified in 1982\, and canonized in 2009. \n\nReflection\nJeanne Jugan saw Christ in what Saint Teresa of Calcutta would describe as his “distressing disguises.” With great confidence in God’s providence and the intercession of Saint Joseph\, she begged willingly for the many homes that she opened\, relying on the good example of the Sisters and the generosity of benefactors who knew the good that the Sisters were doing. They now work in 30 countries. “With the eye of faith\, we must see Jesus in our old people—for they are God’s mouthpiece\,” Jeanne once said. No matter what the difficulties\, she was always able to praise God and move ahead.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-jeanne-jugan/2026-08-30/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTSTAMP:20170727T180935Z
CREATED:20170727T180935Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170727T180935Z
UID:50894-1788134400-1788220799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
DESCRIPTION:Image: Monastery Church: Altar of the crucifixion\, Mecklenburg | Gaston Lenthe | (Longinus\, Joseph of Arimathea\, and Nicodemus)\nSaint Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus\nSaint of the Day for August 31\n(1st century)\nSaint Joseph of Arimathea’s and Nicodemus’ Story\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe actions of these two influential Jewish leaders give insight into the charismatic power of Jesus and his teachings—and the risks that could be involved in following him. \nJoseph was a respected\, wealthy civic leader who had become a disciple of Jesus. Following the death of Jesus\, Joseph obtained Jesus’ body from Pilate\, wrapped it in fine linen and buried it. For these reasons\, Joseph is considered the patron saint of funeral directors and pallbearers. More important is the courage Joseph showed in asking Pilate for Jesus’ body. Jesus was a condemned criminal who had been publicly executed. According to some legends\, Joseph was punished and imprisoned for such a bold act. \nNicodemus was a Pharisee and\, like Joseph\, an important first-century Jew. We know from John’s Gospel that Nicodemus went to Jesus at night—secretly—to better understand his teachings about the kingdom. Later\, he spoke up for Jesus at the time of his arrest and assisted in Jesus’ burial. We know little else about Nicodemus. \n\nReflection\nCelebrating these two contemporaries of Jesus who played significant roles in Jesus’ life\, reminds us of the humanity of Jesus and how he related to his fellow men and women. His gentleness to these two and his acceptance of their help remind us that he treats us in the same gentle way. \n\nSaint Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are the Patron Saints of:\nFuneral Directors\nPallbearers \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for August 31 is Saint Raymond Nonnatus.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-joseph-of-arimathea-and-nicodemus/2026-08-31/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTSTAMP:20170728T180904Z
CREATED:20170728T180904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180904Z
UID:50898-1788220800-1788307199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Giles
DESCRIPTION:Saint Giles\nSaint of the Day for September 1\n(c. 650 – 710)\n Saint Giles’ Story   \nClick to hear audio clip ►\n\nDespite the fact that much about Saint Giles is shrouded in mystery\, we can say that he was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages. Likely\, he was born in the first half of the seventh century in southeastern France. That is where he built a monastery that became a popular stopping-off point for pilgrims making their way to Compostela in Spain and the Holy Land. \nIn England\, many ancient churches and hospitals were dedicated to Giles. One of the sections of the city of Brussels is named after him. In Germany\, Giles was included among the so-called 14 Holy Helpers\, a popular group of saints to whom people prayed\, especially for recovery from disease and for strength at the hour of death. Also among the 14 were Saints Christopher\, Barbara\, and Blaise. Interestingly\, Giles was the only non-martyr among them. Devotion to the “Holy Helpers” was especially strong in parts of Germany and in Hungary and Sweden. Such devotion made his popularity spread. Giles was soon invoked as the patron of the poor and the disabled. \nThe pilgrimage center that once drew so many fell into disrepair some centuries after Giles’ death. \n\nReflection\nSaint Giles may not have been a martyr but\, as the word martyr means\, he was a true witness to the faith. This is attested to by the faith of the People of God in the Middle Ages. He became one of the “holy helpers” and can still function in that role for us today. \n\nSaint Giles is the Patron Saint of:\nBeggars\nThe Disabled\nDisasters\nThe Poor
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-giles/2026-09-01/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260903
DTSTAMP:20170728T180907Z
CREATED:20170728T180907Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180907Z
UID:50906-1788307200-1788393599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed John Francis Burté and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Image: Massacre à la Salpêtrière\, 3 septembre 1792 | anonymous (Unrelated\, but similar incident during the French Revolution.)\nBlessed John Francis Burté and Companions\nSaint of the Day for September 2\n(d. September 2\, 1792 and January 21\, 1794)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed John Francis Burté and Companions’ Story\nThese priests were victims of the French Revolution. Though their martyrdom spans a period of several years\, they stand together in the Church’s memory because they all gave their lives for the same principle. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1791) required all priests to take an oath which amounted to a denial of the faith. Each of these men refused and was executed. \nJohn Francis Burté became a Franciscan at 16 and after ordination taught theology to the young friars. Later he was guardian of the large Conventual friary in Paris until he was arrested and held in the convent of the Carmelites. \nAppolinaris of Posat was born in 1739 in Switzerland. He joined the Capuchins and acquired a reputation as an excellent preacher\, confessor\, and instructor of clerics. Preparing for his assignment to the East as a missionary\, he was in Paris studying Oriental languages when the French Revolution began. Refusing the oath\, he was swiftly arrested and detained in the Carmelite convent. \nSeverin Girault\, a member of the Third Order Regular\, was a chaplain for a group of sisters in Paris. Imprisoned with the others\, he was the first to die in the slaughter at the convent. \nThese three plus 182 others—including several bishops and many religious and diocesan priests—were massacred at the Carmelite house in Paris on September 2\, 1792. They were beatified in 1926. \nJohn Baptist Triquerie\, born in 1737\, entered the Conventual Franciscans. He was chaplain and confessor of Poor Clare monasteries in three cities before he was arrested for refusing to take the oath. He and 13 diocesan priests were martyred in Laval on January 21\, 1794. He was beatified in 1955. \n\nReflection\n“Liberty\, Equality\, Fraternity” was the motto of the French Revolution. If individuals have “inalienable rights\,” as the Declaration of Independence states\, these must come not from the agreement of society (which can be very fragile) but directly from God. Do we believe that? Do we act on it?
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-john-francis-burte-and-companions/2026-09-02/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260903
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260904
DTSTAMP:20170728T180909Z
CREATED:20170728T180909Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180909Z
UID:50908-1788393600-1788479999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Gregory the Great
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Gregory the Great | Jusepe de Ribera\, also known as José de Ribera\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Gregory the Great\nSaint of the Day for September 3\n(c. 540 – March 12\, 604)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Gregory the Great’s Story\nGregory was the prefect of Rome before he was 30. After five years in office he resigned\, founded six monasteries on his Sicilian estate and became a Benedictine monk in his own home at Rome. \nOrdained a priest\, he became one of the pope’s seven deacons\, and also served six years in the East as papal representative in Constantinople. He was recalled to become abbot\, and at the age of 50 was elected pope by the clergy and people of Rome. \nHe was direct and firm. He removed unworthy priests from office\, forbade taking money for many services\, emptied the papal treasury to ransom prisoners of the Lombards and to care for persecuted Jews and the victims of plague and famine. He was very concerned about the conversion of England\, sending 40 monks from his own monastery. He is known for his reform of the liturgy\, and for strengthening respect for doctrine. Whether he was largely responsible for the revision of “Gregorian” chant is disputed. \nGregory lived in a time of perpetual strife with invading Lombards and difficult relations with the East. When Rome itself was under attack\, he interviewed the Lombard king. \nAn Anglican historian has written: “It is impossible to conceive what would have been the confusion\, the lawlessness\, the chaotic state of the Middle Ages without the medieval papacy; and of the medieval papacy\, the real father is Gregory the Great.” \nHis book\, Pastoral Care\, on the duties and qualities of a bishop\, was read for centuries after his death. He described bishops mainly as physicians whose main duties were preaching and the enforcement of discipline. In his own down-to-earth preaching\, Gregory was skilled at applying the daily Gospel to the needs of his listeners. Called “the Great\,” Gregory has been given a place with Augustine\, Ambrose\, and Jerome as one of the four key doctors of the Western Church. \n\nReflection\nGregory was content to be a monk\, but he willingly served the Church in other ways when asked. He sacrificed his own preferences in many ways\, especially when he was called to be Bishop of Rome. Once he was called to public service\, Gregory gave his considerable energies completely to this work. Gregory’s description of bishops as physicians fits in well with Pope Francis’ description of the Church as a “field hospital.” \n\nSaint Gregory the Gregory the Great is the Patron Saint of:\nEngland\nEpilepsy\nMusicians\nTeachers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-gregory-the-great/2026-09-03/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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