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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180722
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180723
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T143812Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T143812Z
UID:6935-1532217600-1532303999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Mary Magdalene
DESCRIPTION:Saint Mary Magdalene\nSaint of the Day for July 22\n(d. c. 63)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul22.mp3\nSaint Mary Magdalene’s Story\nExcept for the mother of Jesus\, few women are more honored in the Bible than Mary Magdalene. Yet she could well be the patron of the slandered\, since there has been a persistent legend in the Church that she is the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50. \nMost Scripture scholars today point out that there is no scriptural basis for confusing the two women. Mary Magdalene\, that is\, “of Magdala\,” was the one from whom Christ cast out “seven demons” (Luke 8:2)—an indication at the worst\, of extreme demonic possession or possibly\, severe illness. \nWriting in the New Catholic Commentary\, Father Wilfrid J. Harrington\, O.P.\, says that “seven demons” “does not mean that Mary had lived an immoral life—a conclusion reached only by means of a mistaken identification with the anonymous woman of Luke 7:36.” In the Jerome Biblical Commentary\, Father Edward Mally\, S.J.\, agrees that she “is not…the same as the sinner of Luke 7:37\, despite the later Western romantic tradition about her.” \nMary Magdalene was one of the many “who were assisting them [Jesus and the Twelve] out of their means.” She was one of those who stood by the cross of Jesus with his mother. And\, of all the “official” witnesses who might have been chosen for the first awareness of the Resurrection\, she was the one to whom that privilege was given. She is known as the “Apostle to the Apostles.” \n\nReflection\nMary Magdalene has been a victim of mistaken identity for almost 20 centuries. Yet she would no doubt insist that it makes no difference. We are all sinners in need of the saving power of God\, whether our sins have been lurid or not. More importantly\, we are all “unofficial” witnesses of the Resurrection. \n\nSaint Mary Magdalene is the Patron Saint of:\nPenitents\nPerfumers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-mary-magdalene/2018-07-22/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180721
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180722
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T143629Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T143629Z
UID:6932-1532131200-1532217599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
DESCRIPTION:Saint Lawrence of Brindisi\nSaint of the Day for July 21\n(July 22\, 1559 – July 22\, 1619)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul21.mp3\nSaint Lawrence of Brindisi’s Story\nAt first glance\, perhaps the most remarkable quality of Lawrence of Brindisi is his outstanding gift of languages. In addition to a thorough knowledge of his native Italian\, he had complete reading and speaking ability in Latin\, Hebrew\, Greek\, German\, Bohemian\, Spanish\, and French. \nLawrence was born on July 22\, 1559\, and died exactly 60 years later on his birthday in 1619. His parents William and Elizabeth Russo gave him the name of Julius Caesar\, Caesare in Italian. After the early death of his parents\, he was educated by his uncle at the College of St. Mark in Venice. \nWhen he was just 16\, he entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Venice and received the name of Lawrence. He completed his studies of philosophy and theology at the University of Padua and was ordained a priest at 23. \nWith his facility for languages Lawrence was able to study the Bible in its original texts. At the request of Pope Clement VIII\, he spent much time preaching to the Jews in Italy. So excellent was his knowledge of Hebrew\, the rabbis felt sure he was a Jew who had become a Christian. \nLawrence’s sensitivity to the needs of people—a character trait perhaps unexpected in such a talented scholar—began to surface. He was elected major superior of the Capuchin Franciscan province of Tuscany at the age of 31. He had the combination of brilliance\, human compassion\, and administrative skill needed to carry out his duties. In rapid succession he was promoted by his fellow Capuchins and was elected minister general of the Capuchins in 1602. In this position he was responsible for great growth and geographical expansion of the Order. \nLawrence was appointed papal emissary and peacemaker\, a job which took him to a number of foreign countries. An effort to achieve peace in his native kingdom of Naples took him on a journey to Lisbon to visit the king of Spain. Serious illness in Lisbon took his life in 1619. \nIn 1956\, the Capuchins completed a 15-volume edition of Lawrence’s writings. Eleven of these 15 contain his sermons\, each of which relies chiefly on scriptural quotations to illustrate his teaching. \n\nReflection\nHis constant devotion to Scripture\, coupled with great sensitivity to the needs of people\, present a lifestyle which appeals to Christians today. Lawrence had a balance in his life that blended self-discipline with a keen appreciation for the needs of those whom he was called to serve.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-lawrence-of-brindisi/2018-07-21/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180720
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180721
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T143504Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T143504Z
UID:6929-1532044800-1532131199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Apollinaris
DESCRIPTION:Saint Apollinaris\nSaint of the Day for July 20\n(d. c. 79)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul20.mp3\nSaint Apollinaris’ Story\nAccording to tradition\, Saint Peter sent Apollinaris to Ravenna\, Italy\, as its first bishop. His preaching of the Good News was so successful that the pagans there beat him and drove him from the city. He returned\, however\, and was exiled a second time. After preaching in the area surrounding Ravenna\, he entered the city again. After being cruelly tortured\, he was put on a ship heading to Greece. Pagans there caused him to be expelled to Italy\, where he went to Ravenna for a fourth time. He died from wounds received during a savage beating at Classis\, a suburb of Ravenna. A beautiful basilica honoring him was built there in the sixth century. \n\nReflection\nFollowing Jesus involves risks—sometimes the supreme risk of life itself. Martyrs are people who would rather accept the risk of death than deny the cornerstone of their whole life: faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone will die eventually—the persecutors and those persecuted. The question is what kind of a conscience people will bring before the Lord for judgment. Remembering the witness of past and present martyrs can help us make the often small sacrifices that following Jesus today may require.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-apollinaris/2018-07-20/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180719
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180720
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T143332Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T143332Z
UID:6926-1531958400-1532044799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Mary MacKillop
DESCRIPTION:Saint Mary MacKillop\nSaint of the Day for July 19\n(January 15\, 1842 – August 8\, 1909)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul19.mp3\nSaint Mary MacKillop’s Story\nIf Saint Mary MacKillop were alive today\, she would be a household name. It’s not that she sought the limelight. On the contrary\, she simply wanted to serve the poor wherever she found them in her native Australia. But along the way\, she managed to arouse the ire of some rather powerful churchmen. One even excommunicated her for a time. \nBorn in Melbourne in 1842\, to parents who had emigrated from Scotland\, Mary grew up in a family that faced constant financial struggles. As a young woman she was drawn to religious life but could not find an existing order of Sisters that met her needs. In 1860\, she met Father Julian Woods\, who became her spiritual director. Together they founded a new community of women—the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart\, also known as the Josephite Sisters. Its members were to staff schools especially for poor children\, as well as orphanages\, and do other works of charity. \nAs the congregation grew\, so did Mary MacKillop’s problems. Her priest-friend proved unreliable in many ways and his responsibilities for direction of the Sisters were removed. Meanwhile\, Mary had the support of some local bishops as she and her Sisters went about their work. But the bishop in South Australia\, aging and relying on others for advice\, briefly excommunicated Mary—charging her with disobedience—and dispensed 50 of her Sisters from their vows. In truth\, the bishop’s quarrel was about power and who had authority over whom. He ultimately rescinded his order of excommunication. \nMary insisted that her congregation should be governed by an elected mother general answerable to Rome\, not to the local bishop. There also were disputes about whether or not the congregation could own property. In the end\, Rome proved to be Mary’s best source of support. After a long wait official approval of the congregation—and how it was to be governed—came from Pope Leo XIII. \nDespite her struggles with Church authorities\, Mary MacKillop and her Sisters were able to offer social services that few\, if any\, government agencies in Australia could. They served Protestants and Catholics alike. They worked among the aborigines. They taught in schools and orphanages and served unmarried mothers. \nMoney\, actually the lack of it\, was a constant worry. But the Sisters who begged from door to door\, were bolstered by faith and by the conviction that their struggles were opportunities to grow closer to God. \nBy the time Mary was approaching the end of her life\, the congregation was thriving. She died in 1909 at the age of 67. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1995. In 2010\, when Pope Benedict XVI canonized her\, she became Australia’s first saint. \n\nReflection\nThe story of many foundresses of religious communities and the tales of the early days of those communities can make for fascinating reading. Those women were dedicated and tough and fought for those they served. Let’s thank the Lord for raising up such wonderful examples of faith. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop is August 8.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-mary-mackillop/2018-07-19/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180718
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180719
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T141150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T141150Z
UID:6923-1531872000-1531958399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Camillus de Lellis
DESCRIPTION:Saint Camillus de Lellis\nSaint of the Day for July 18\n(1550 – July 14\, 1614)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul18.mp3\nSaint Camillus de Lellis’ Story\nHumanly speaking\, Camillus was not a likely candidate for sainthood. His mother died when he was a child\, his father neglected him\, and he grew up with an excessive love for gambling. At 17\, he was afflicted with a disease of his leg that remained with him for life. In Rome he entered the San Giacomo Hospital for Incurables as both patient and servant\, but was dismissed for quarrelsomeness after nine months. He served in the Venetian army for three years. \nThen in the winter of 1574\, when he was 24\, Camillus gambled away everything he had–savings\, weapons\, literally down to his shirt. He accepted work at the Capuchin friary at Manfredonia\, and was one day so moved by a sermon of the superior that he began a conversion that changed his life. He entered the Capuchin novitiate\, but was dismissed because of the apparently incurable sore on his leg. After another stint of service at San Giacomo\, he came back to the Capuchins\, only to be dismissed again\, for the same reason. \nAgain\, back at San Giacomo\, his dedication was rewarded by his being made superintendent. Camillus devoted the rest of his life to the care of the sick. Along with Saint John of God he has been named patron of hospitals\, nurses\, and the sick. With the advice of his friend Saint Philip Neri\, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained at the age of 34. Contrary to the advice of his friend\, Camillus left San Giacomo and founded a congregation of his own. As superior\, he devoted much of his own time to the care of the sick. \nCharity was his first concern\, but the physical aspects of the hospital also received his diligent attention. Camillus insisted on cleanliness and the technical competence of those who served the sick. The members of his community bound themselves to serve prisoners and persons infected by the plague as well as those dying in private homes. Some of his men were with troops fighting in Hungary and Croatia in 1595\, forming the first recorded military field ambulance. In Naples\, he and his men went onto the galleys that had plague and were not allowed to land. He discovered that there were people being buried alive\, and ordered his brothers to continue the prayers for the dying 15 minutes after apparent death. \nCamillus himself suffered the disease of his leg through his life. In his last illness\, he left his own bed to see if other patients in the hospital needed help. \n\nReflection\nSaints are created by God. Parents must indeed nurture the faith in their children; husbands and wives must cooperate to deepen their baptismal grace; friends must support each other. But all human effort is only the dispensing of divine power. We must all try as if everything depended on us. But only the power of God can fulfill the plan of God–to make us like himself. \n\nSaint Camillus de Lellis is the Patron Saint of:\nHospitals\nNurses\nSick
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-camillus-de-lellis/2018-07-18/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180717
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180718
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T140855Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T140855Z
UID:6920-1531785600-1531871999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Francis Solano
DESCRIPTION:Saint of the Day for July 17\n(March 10\, 1549 – July 14\, 1610)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul17.mp3\nSaint Francis Solano’s Story\nFrancis came from a leading family in Andalusia\, Spain. Perhaps it was his popularity as a student that enabled Francis in his teens to stop two duelists. He entered the Friars Minor in 1570\, and after ordination enthusiastically sacrificed himself for others. His care for the sick during an epidemic drew so much admiration that he became embarrassed and asked to be sent to the African missions. Instead he was sent to South America in 1589. \nWhile working in what is now Argentina\, Bolivia\, and Paraguay\, Francis quickly learned the local languages and was well received by the indigenous peoples. His visits to the sick often included playing a song on his violin. \nAround 1601\, he was called to Lima\, Peru\, where he tried to recall the Spanish colonists to their baptismal integrity. Francis also worked to defend the indigenous peoples from oppression. He died in Lima in 1610 and was canonized in 1726. \n\nReflection\nFrancis Solano knew from experience that the lives of Christians sometimes greatly hinder the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Francis lived an exemplary life himself\, and urged his fellow Spaniards to make their lives worthy of their baptisms. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast Day of Saint Francis Solano is July 14.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-francis-solano/2018-07-17/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180716
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180717
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T140424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T140424Z
UID:6917-1531699200-1531785599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Our Lady of Mount Carmel
DESCRIPTION:Our Lady of Mount Carmel\nSaint of the Day for July 16\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul16.mp3\nThe Story of Our Lady of Mount Carmel\nHermits lived on Mount Carmel near the Fountain of Elijah in northern Israel in the 12th century. They had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. By the 13th century they became known as “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” They soon celebrated a special Mass and Office in honor of Mary. In 1726\, it became a celebration of the universal Church under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. For centuries the Carmelites have seen themselves as specially related to Mary. Their great saints and theologians have promoted devotion to her and often championed the mystery of her Immaculate Conception. \nSaint Teresa of Avila called Carmel “the Order of the Virgin.” Saint John of the Cross credited Mary with saving him from drowning as a child\, leading him to Carmel\, and helping him escape from prison. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus believed that Mary cured her from illness. On her First Communion day\, Thérèse dedicated her life to Mary. During the last days of her life she frequently spoke of Mary. \nThere is a tradition–which may not be historical—that Mary appeared to Saint Simon Stock\, a leader of the Carmelites\, and gave him a scapular\, telling him to promote devotion to it. The scapular is a modified version of Mary’s own garment. It symbolizes her special protection and calls the wearers to consecrate themselves to her in a special way. The scapular reminds us of the gospel call to prayer and penance—a call that Mary models in a splendid way. \n\nReflection\nThe Carmelites were known from early on as “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” The title suggests that they saw Mary not only as “mother\,” but also as “sister.” The word sister is a reminder that Mary is very close to us. She is the daughter of God and therefore can help us be authentic daughters and sons of God. She also can help us grow in appreciation of being sisters and brothers to one another. She leads us to a new realization that all human beings belong to the family of God. When such a conviction grows\, there is hope that the human race can find its way to peace. \n\nMary\, under the Title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel\, is the Patron Saint of:\nChile
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/our-lady-of-mount-carmel/2018-07-16/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180715
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180716
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T140239Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T140239Z
UID:6914-1531612800-1531699199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Bonaventure
DESCRIPTION:Saint Bonaventure\nSaint of the Day for July 15\n(1221 – July 15\, 1274)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul15.mp3\nSaint Bonaventure’s Story\nPerhaps not a household name for most people\, Saint Bonaventure\, nevertheless\, played an important role in both the medieval Church and the history of the Franciscan Order. A senior faculty member at the University of Paris\, Saint Bonaventure certainly captured the hearts of his students through his academic skills and insights. But more importantly\, he captured their hearts through his Franciscan love for Jesus and the Church. Like his model\, Saint Francis\, Jesus was the center of everything—his teaching\, his administration\, his writing\, and his life. So much so\, that he was given the title “Seraphic Doctor.” \nBorn in Bagnorea in 1221\, Saint Bonaventure was baptized John\, but received the name Bonaventure when he became a Franciscan at the age of 22. Little is known about his childhood\, but we do know that his parents were Giovanni di Fidanza and Maria Ritell. It seems that his father was a physician and a man of means. While Saint Francis died about five years after the saint’s birth\, he is credited with healing Bonaventure as a boy of a serious illness. \nSaint Bonaventure’s teaching career came to a halt when the Friars elected him to serve as their General Minister. His 17 years of service were not easy as the Order was embroiled in conflicts over the interpretation of poverty. Some friars even ended up in heresy saying that Saint Francis and his community were inaugurating the era of the Holy Spirit which was to replace Jesus\, the Church\, and Scripture. But because he was a man of prayer and a good administrator\, Saint Bonaventure managed to structure the Order through effective legislation. But more importantly\, he offered the Friars an organized spirituality based on the vision and insights of Saint Francis. Always a Franciscan at heart and a mystical writer\, Bonaventure managed to unite the pastoral\, practical aspects of life with the doctrines of the Church. Thus\, there is a noticeable warmth to his teachings and writings that make him very appealing. \nShortly before he ended his service as General Minister\, Pope Gregory X created him a Cardinal and appointed him bishop of Albano. But a little over a year later\, while participating in the Second Council of Lyon\, Saint Bonaventure suddenly died on July 15\, 1274. There is a theory that he was poisoned. \nSaint Bonaventure left behind a structured and renewed Franciscan Order and a body of work all of which glorifies his major love—Jesus. \n\nReflection\nBonaventure so united holiness and theological knowledge that he rose to the heights of mysticism while remaining a very active preacher and teacher\, one beloved by all who met him. To know him was to love him; to read him is still for us today to meet a true Franciscan and a gentleman.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-bonaventure/2018-07-15/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180714
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180715
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T140053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T140053Z
UID:6911-1531526400-1531612799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
DESCRIPTION:Saint Kateri Tekakwitha\nSaint of the Day for July 14\n(1656 – April 17\, 1680)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul14.mp3\nSaint Kateri Tekakwitha’s Story\nThe blood of martyrs is the seed of saints. Nine years after the Jesuits Isaac Jogues and Jean de Lelande were tomahawked by Iroquois warriors\, a baby girl was born near the place of their martyrdom\, Auriesville\, New York. \nHer mother was a Christian Algonquin\, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan\, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When she was four\, Tekakwitha lost her parents and little brother in a smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured and half blind. She was adopted by an uncle\, who succeeded her father as chief. He hated the coming of the Blackrobes–Jesuit missionaries–but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle\, but fear of him kept her from seeking instruction. Tekakwitha refused to marry a Mohawk brave\, and at 19 finally got the courage to take the step of converting. She was baptized with the name Kateri–Catherine–on Easter Sunday. \nNow she would be treated as a slave. Because she would not work on Sunday\, Kateri received no food that day. Her life in grace grew rapidly. She told a missionary that she often meditated on the great dignity of being baptized. She was powerfully moved by God’s love for human beings and saw the dignity of each of her people. \nShe was always in danger\, for her conversion and holy life created great opposition. On the advice of a priest\, Kateri stole away one night and began a 200-mile walking journey to a Christian Indian village at Sault St. Louis\, near Montreal. \nFor three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older Iroquois woman\, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer\, in charity\, and in strenuous penance. At 23\, Kateri took a vow of virginity\, an unprecedented act for an Indian woman whose future depended on being married. She found a place in the woods where she could pray an hour a day—and was accused of meeting a man there! \nHer dedication to virginity was instinctive: Kateri did not know about religious life for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this\, she and two friends wanted to start a community\, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an “ordinary” life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation. Kateri Tekakwitha died the afternoon before Holy Thursday. Witnesses said that her emaciated face changed color and became like that of a healthy child. The lines of suffering\, even the pockmarks\, disappeared and the touch of a smile came upon her lips. She was beatified in 1980 and canonized in 2012. \n\nReflection\nWe like to think that our proposed holiness is thwarted by our situation. If only we could have more solitude\, less opposition\, better health. Kateri Tekakwitha repeats the example of the saints: Holiness thrives on the cross\, anywhere. Yet she did have what Christians—all people—need: the support of a community. She had a good mother\, helpful priests\, Christian friends. These were present in what we call primitive conditions\, and blossomed in the age-old Christian triad of prayer\, fasting and almsgiving: union with God in Jesus and the Spirit\, self-discipline and often suffering\, and charity for her brothers and sisters.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-kateri-tekakwitha/2018-07-14/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180713
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180714
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T135923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T135923Z
UID:6908-1531440000-1531526399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Henry
DESCRIPTION:Saint Henry\nSaint of the Day for July 13\n(May 6\, 972 – July 13\, 1024)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul13.mp3\nSaint Henry’s Story\nAs German king and Holy Roman Emperor\, Henry was a practical man of affairs. He was energetic in consolidating his rule. He crushed rebellions and feuds. On all sides he had to deal with drawn-out disputes so as to protect his frontiers. This involved him in a number of battles\, especially in the south in Italy; he also helped Pope Benedict VIII quell disturbances in Rome. Always his ultimate purpose was to establish a stable peace in Europe. \nAccording to eleventh-century custom\, Henry took advantage of his position and appointed as bishops men loyal to him. In his case\, however\, he avoided the pitfalls of this practice and actually fostered the reform of ecclesiastical and monastic life. He was canonized in 1146. \n\nReflection\nAll in all\, this saint was a man of his times. From our standpoint\, he may have been too quick to do battle and too ready to use power to accomplish reforms. But granted such limitations\, he shows that holiness is possible in a busy secular life. It is in doing our job that we become saints.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-henry/2018-07-13/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180712
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180713
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T135753Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T135753Z
UID:6905-1531353600-1531439999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints John Jones and John Wall
DESCRIPTION:Saints John Jones and John Wall\nSaint of the Day for July 12\n(c.1530 – 1598; 1620 – 1679)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul12.mp3\nSaints John Jones and John Wall’s story\nThese two friars were martyred in England in the 16th and 17th centuries for refusing to deny their faith. \nJohn Jones was Welsh. He was ordained a diocesan priest and was twice imprisoned for administering the sacraments before leaving England in 1590. He joined the Franciscans at the age of 60 and returned to England three years later while Queen Elizabeth I was at the height of her power. John ministered to Catholics in the English countryside until his imprisonment in 1596. He was condemned to be hanged\, drawn\, and quartered. John was executed on July 12\, 1598. \nJohn Wall was born in England but was educated at the English College of Douai\, Belgium. Ordained in Rome in 1648\, he entered the Franciscans in Douai several years later. In 1656 he returned to work secretly in England. \nIn 1678\, Titus Oates worked many English people into a frenzy over an alleged papal plot to murder the king and restore Catholicism in that country. In that year Catholics were legally excluded from Parliament\, a law which was not repealed until 1829. John Wall was arrested and imprisoned in 1678\, and was executed the following year. \nJohn Jones and John Wall were canonized in 1970. \n\nReflection\nEvery martyr knows how to save his/her life and yet refuses to do so. A public repudiation of the faith would save any of them. But some things are more precious than life itself. These martyrs prove that their 20th-century countryman\, C. S. Lewis\, was correct in saying that courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point\, that is\, at the point of highest reality.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-john-jones-and-john-wall/2018-07-12/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180711
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180712
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T135542Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T135542Z
UID:6902-1531267200-1531353599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Benedict
DESCRIPTION:Saint Benedict\nSaint of the Day for July 11\n(c. 480 – c. 547)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul11.mp3\nSaint Benedict’s Story\nIt is unfortunate that no contemporary biography was written of a man who has exercised the greatest influence on monasticism in the West. Benedict is well recognized in the later Dialogues of Saint Gregory\, but these are sketches to illustrate miraculous elements of his career. \nBenedict was born into a distinguished family in central Italy\, studied at Rome\, and early in life was drawn to monasticism. At first he became a hermit\, leaving a depressing world—pagan armies on the march\, the Church torn by schism\, people suffering from war\, morality at a low ebb. \nHe soon realized that he could not live a hidden life in a small town any better than in a large city\, so he withdrew to a cave high in the mountains for three years. Some monks chose Benedict as their leader for a while\, but found his strictness not to their taste. Still the shift from hermit to community life had begun for him. He had an idea of gathering various families of monks into one “Grand Monastery” to give them the benefit of unity\, fraternity\, and permanent worship in one house. Finally he began to build what was to become one of the most famous monasteries in the world—Monte Cassino\, commanding three narrow valleys running toward the mountains north of Naples. \nThe Rule that gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer\, study\, manual labor\, and living together in community under a common abbot. Benedictine asceticism is known for its moderation\, and Benedictine charity has always shown concern for the people in the surrounding countryside. In the course of the Middle Ages\, all monasticism in the West was gradually brought under the Rule of St. Benedict. \nToday the Benedictine family is represented by two branches: the Benedictine Federation encompassing the men and women of the Order of St. Benedict\, and the Cistercians\, men and women of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. \n\nReflection\nThe Church has been blessed through Benedictine devotion to the liturgy\, not only in its actual celebration with rich and proper ceremony in the great abbeys\, but also through the scholarly studies of many of its members. Liturgy is sometimes confused with guitars or choirs\, Latin or Bach. We should be grateful to those who both preserve and adapt the genuine tradition of worship in the Church. \n\nSaint Benedict is the Patron Saint of:\nEurope\nKidney Disease\nMonks\nPoisoning\nSchoolchildren
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-benedict/2018-07-11/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180710
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180711
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T135353Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T135353Z
UID:6899-1531180800-1531267199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Veronica Giuliani
DESCRIPTION:Saint Veronica Giuliani\nSaint of the Day for July 10\n(December 27\, 1660 – July 9\, 1727)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul10.mp3\nSaint Veronica Giuliani’s Story\nVeronica’s desire to be like Christ crucified was answered with the stigmata. \nVeronica was born in Mercatelli\, Italy. It is said that when her mother Benedetta was dying she called her five daughters to her bedside and entrusted each of them to one of the five wounds of Jesus. Veronica was entrusted to the wound below Christ’s heart. \nAt the age of 17\, Veronica joined the Poor Clares directed by the Capuchins. Her father had wanted her to marry\, but she convinced him to allow her to become a nun. In her first years in the monastery\, she worked in the kitchen\, infirmary\, sacristy\, and also served as portress. At the age of 34\, she was made novice mistress\, a position she held for 22 years. When she was 37\, Veronica received the stigmata. Life was not the same after that. \nChurch authorities in Rome wanted to test Veronica’s authenticity and so conducted an investigation. She lost the office of novice mistress temporarily and was not allowed to attend Mass except on Sundays or holy days. Through all of this Veronica did not become bitter\, and the investigation eventually restored her as novice mistress. \nThough she protested against it\, at the age of 56 she was elected abbess\, an office she held for 11 years until her death. Veronica was very devoted to the Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart. She offered her sufferings for the missions\, died in 1727\, and was canonized in 1839. \n\nReflection\nWhy did God grant the stigmata to Francis of Assisi and to Veronica Giuliani? God alone knows the deepest reasons\, but as Celano points out\, the external sign of the cross is a confirmation of these saints’ commitment to the cross in their lives. The stigmata that appeared in Veronica’s flesh had taken root in her heart many years before. It was a fitting conclusion for her love of God and her charity toward her sisters. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint Veronica Giuliani is July 9.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-veronica-giuliani/2018-07-10/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180709
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180710
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T135122Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T135122Z
UID:6896-1531094400-1531180799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions\nSaint of the Day for July 9\n(d. 1648 – 1930)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul09.mp3\nSaint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions’ Story\nChristianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 600s. Depending on China’s relations with the outside world\, Christianity over the centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly. \nThe 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930. Eighty-seven of them were born in China\, and were children\, parents\, catechists\, or laborers\, ranging in age from nine years to 72. This group includes four Chinese diocesan priests. The 33 foreign-born martyrs were mostly priests or women religious\, especially from the Order of Preachers\, the Paris Foreign Mission Society\, the Friars Minor\, Society of Jesus\, Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians)\, and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. \nAugustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse of the Paris Foreign Mission Society to his martyrdom in Beijing. Not long after his baptism\, Augustine was ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815. \nBeatified in groups at various times\, these 120 martyrs were canonized together in Rome on October 1\, 2000. \n\nReflection\nThe People’s Republic of China and the Roman Catholic Church each have well over a billion members\, but there are only about 12 million Catholics in China. The reasons for that are better explained by historical conflicts than by a wholesale rejection of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Chinese-born martyrs honored by today’s feast were regarded by their persecutors as dangerous because they were considered allies of enemy\, Catholic countries. The martyrs born outside China often tried to distance themselves from European political struggles relating to China\, but their persecutors saw them as Westerners and therefore\, by definition\, anti-Chinese. \nThe Good News of Jesus Christ is intended to benefit all peoples; today’s martyrs knew that. May 21st-century Christians live in such a way that Chinese women and men will be attracted to hear that Good News and embrace it.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-augustine-zhao-rong-and-companions/2018-07-09/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180708
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180709
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170901T133215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170901T133215Z
UID:6893-1531008000-1531094399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Gregory Grassi and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Saint Gregory Grassi and Companions\nSaint of the Day for July 8\n(d. July 9\, 1900)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul08.mp3\nSaint Gregory Grassi and Companions’ Story\nChristian missionaries have often gotten caught in the crossfire of wars against their own countries. When the governments of Britain\, Germany\, Russia\, and France forced substantial territorial concessions from the Chinese in 1898\, anti-foreign sentiment grew very strong among many Chinese people. \nGregory Grassi was born in Italy in 1833\, ordained in 1856\, and sent to China five years later. Gregory was later ordained Bishop of North Shanxi. With 14 other European missionaries and 14 Chinese religious\, he was martyred during the short but bloody Boxer Uprising of 1900. \nTwenty-six of these martyrs were arrested on the orders of Yu Hsien\, the governor of Shanxi province. They were hacked to death on July 9\, 1900. Five of them were Friars Minor; seven were Franciscan Missionaries of Mary–the first martyrs of their congregation. Seven were Chinese seminarians and Secular Franciscans; four martyrs were Chinese laymen and Secular Franciscans. The other three Chinese laymen killed in Shanxi simply worked for the Franciscans and were rounded up with all the others. Three Italian Franciscans were martyred that same week in the province of Hunan. All these martyrs were beatified in 1946\, and were among the 120 martyrs canonized in 2000. \n\nReflection\nMartyrdom is the occupational hazard of missionaries. Throughout China during the Boxer Uprising\, five bishops\, 50 priests\, two brothers\, 15 sisters and 40\,000 Chinese Christians were killed. The 146\,575 Catholics served by the Franciscans in China in 1906 had grown to 303\,760 by 1924\, and were served by 282 Franciscans and 174 local priests. Great sacrifices often bring great results.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-gregory-grassi-and-companions/2018-07-08/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180707
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180708
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T181556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T181556Z
UID:6872-1530921600-1531007999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions\nSaint of the Day for July 7\n(1804 – 1860)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul07.mp3\nBlessed Emmanuel Ruiz and Companions’ Story\nNot much is known of the early life of Emmanuel Ruiz\, but details of his heroic death in defense of the faith have come down to us. \nBorn of humble parents in Santander\, Spain\, he became a Franciscan priest and served as a missionary in Damascus. This was at a time when anti-Christian riots shook Syria and thousands lost their lives in just a short time. \nAmong these were Emmanuel\, superior of the Franciscan convent\, seven other friars\, and three laymen. When a menacing crowd came looking for the men\, they refused to renounce their faith and become Muslims. The men were subjected to horrible tortures before their martyrdom. \nEmmanuel\, his brother Franciscans and the three Maronite laymen were beatified in 1926 by Pope Pius XI. \n\nReflection\nThe Church in Syria has known persecution throughout its history. Yet it has produced saints whose blood was shed for the faith. Let us pray for the Church in Syria.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-emmanuel-ruiz-and-companions/2018-07-07/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180706
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180707
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T181408Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T181408Z
UID:6869-1530835200-1530921599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Maria Goretti
DESCRIPTION:Saint Maria Goretti\nSaint of the Day for July 6\n(October 16\, 1890 – July 6\, 1902)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul06.mp3\nSaint Maria Goretti’s Story\nOne of the largest crowds ever assembled for a canonization—250\,000—symbolized the reaction of millions touched by the simple story of Maria Goretti. \nShe was the daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer\, had no chance to go to school\, never learned to read or write. When Maria made her First Communion not long before her death at age 12\, she was one of the larger and somewhat backward members of the class. \nOn a hot afternoon in July\, Maria was sitting at the top of the stairs of her house\, mending a shirt. She was not quite 12 years old\, but physically mature. A cart stopped outside\, and a neighbor\, 18-year-old Alessandro\, ran up the stairs. He seized her and pulled her into a bedroom. She struggled and tried to call for help. “No\, God does not wish it\,” she cried out. “It is a sin. You would go to hell for it.” Alessandro began striking at her blindly with a long dagger. \nMaria was taken to a hospital. Her last hours were marked by the usual simple compassion of the good—concern about where her mother would sleep\, forgiveness of her murderer (she had been in fear of him\, but did not say anything lest she cause trouble to his family)\, and her devout welcoming of Viaticum\, her last Holy Communion. She died about 24 hours after the attack. \nAlessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison. For a long time he was unrepentant and surly. One night he had a dream or vision of Maria gathering flowers and offering them to him. His life changed. When he was released after 27 years\, his first act was to go to beg the forgiveness of Maria’s mother. \nDevotion to the young martyr grew\, miracles were worked\, and in less than half a century she was canonized. At her beatification in 1947\, her 82-year-old mother\, two sisters and a brother\, appeared with Pope Pius XII on the balcony of St. Peter’s. Three years later at Maria’s canonization\, a 66-year-old Alessandro Serenelli knelt among the quarter-million people and cried tears of joy. \n\nReflection\nMaria may have had trouble with catechism\, but she had no trouble with faith. God’s will was holiness\, decency\, respect for one’s body\, absolute obedience\, total trust. In a complex world\, her faith was simple: It is a privilege to be loved by God\, and to love him—at any cost. \n\nSaint Maria Goretti is the Patron Saint of:\n\nCatholic Youth\nGirls\nTeenagers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-maria-goretti/2018-07-06/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180705
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180706
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T181129Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T181129Z
UID:6866-1530748800-1530835199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Anthony Zaccaria
DESCRIPTION:Saint Anthony Zaccaria\nSaint of the Day for July 5\n(1502  – July 5\, 1539)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul05.mp3\nSaint Anthony Zaccaria’s Story\nAt the same time that Martin Luther was attacking abuses in the Church\, a reformation within the Church was already being attempted. Among the early movers of the Counter-Reformation was Anthony Zaccaria. His mother became a widow at 18\, and devoted herself to the spiritual education of her son. He received a medical doctorate at 22\, and while working among the poor of his native Cremona in Italy\, was attracted to the religious apostolate. He renounced his rights to any future inheritance\, worked as a catechist\, and was ordained a priest at the age of 26. Called to Milan in a few years\, he laid the foundations of three religious congregations\, one for men\, one for women\, and an association of married couples. Their aim was the reform of the decadent society of their day\, beginning with the clergy\, religious\, and lay people. \nGreatly inspired by Saint Paul–his congregation is named the Barnabites\, after the companion of that saint–Anthony preached with great vigor in church and street\, conducted popular missions\, and was not ashamed of doing public penance. \nHe encouraged such innovations as the collaboration of the laity in the apostolate\, frequent Communion\, the Forty Hours devotion\, and the ringing of church bells at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays. His holiness moved many to reform their lives\, but as with all saints\, it also moved many to oppose him. Twice his community had to undergo official religious investigation\, and twice it was exonerated. \nWhile on a mission of peace\, he became seriously ill and was brought home for a visit to his mother. He died at Cremona at the age of 36. \n\nReflection\nThe austerity of Anthony’s spirituality and the Pauline ardor of his preaching would probably “turn off” many people today. When even some psychiatrists complain at the lack of a sense of sin\, it may be time to tell ourselves that not all evil is explained by emotional disorder\, subconscious and unconscious drives\, parental influence\, and so on. The old-time “hell and damnation” mission sermons have given way to positive\, encouraging\, biblical homilies. We do indeed need assurance of forgiveness\, relief from existential anxiety\, and future shock. But we still need prophets to stand up and tell us\, “If we say ‘We are without sin\,’ we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John1:8).
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-anthony-zaccaria/2018-07-05/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180704
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180705
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T180855Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T180855Z
UID:6863-1530662400-1530748799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Elizabeth of Portugal
DESCRIPTION:Saint Elizabeth of Portugal\nSaint of the Day for July 4\n(1271 – July 4\, 1336)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul04.mp3\nSaint Elizabeth of Portugal’s Story\nElizabeth is usually depicted in royal garb with a dove or an olive branch. At her birth in 1271\, her father Pedro III\, future king of Aragon\, was reconciled with his father James\, the reigning monarch. This proved to be a portent of things to come. Under the healthful influences surrounding her early years\, she quickly learned self-discipline and acquired a taste for spirituality. \nThus fortunately prepared\, Elizabeth was able to meet the challenge when at the age of 12\, she was given in marriage to Denis\, king of Portugal. She was able to establish for herself a pattern of life conducive to growth in God’s love\, not merely through her exercises of piety\, including daily Mass\, but also through her exercise of charity\, by which she was able to befriend and help pilgrims\, strangers\, the sick\, the poor—in a word\, all those whose need came to her notice. At the same time she remained devoted to her husband\, whose infidelity to her was a scandal to the kingdom. \nDenis\, too\, was the object of many of her peace endeavors. Elizabeth long sought peace for him with God\, and was finally rewarded when he gave up his life of sin. She repeatedly sought and effected peace between the king and their rebellious son Alfonso\, who thought that he was passed over to favor the king’s illegitimate children. She acted as peacemaker in the struggle between Ferdinand\, king of Aragon\, and his cousin James\, who claimed the crown. And finally from Coimbra\, where she had retired as a Franciscan tertiary to the monastery of the Poor Clares after the death of her husband\, Elizabeth set out and was able to bring about a lasting peace between her son Alfonso\, now king of Portugal\, and his son-in-law\, the king of Castile. \n\nReflection\nThe work of promoting peace is anything but a calm and quiet endeavor. It takes a clear mind\, a steady spirit and a brave soul to intervene between people whose emotions are so aroused that they are ready to destroy one another. This is all the more true of a woman in the early 14th century. But Elizabeth had a deep and sincere love and sympathy for humankind\, an almost total lack of concern for herself\, and an abiding confidence in God. These were the tools of her success.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-elizabeth-of-portugal/2018-07-04/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180703
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180704
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T180512Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T180512Z
UID:6860-1530576000-1530662399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Thomas the Apostle
DESCRIPTION:Saint Thomas the Apostle\nSaint of the Day for July 3\n(1st Century – December 21\, 72)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul03.mp3\nSaint Thomas the Apostle’s Story\nPoor Thomas! He made one remark and has been branded as “Doubting Thomas” ever since. But if he doubted\, he also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith in the New Testament: “My Lord and My God!” and\, in so expressing his faith\, gave Christians a prayer that will be said till the end of time. He also occasioned a compliment from Jesus to all later Christians: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29). \nThomas should be equally well-known for his courage. Perhaps what he said was impetuous—since he ran\, like the rest\, at the showdown—but he can scarcely have been insincere when he expressed his willingness to die with Jesus. The occasion was when Jesus proposed to go to Bethany after Lazarus had died. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem\, this meant walking into the very midst of his enemies and to almost certain death. Realizing this\, Thomas said to the other apostles\, “Let us also go to die with him” (John 11:16b). \n\nReflection\nThomas shares the lot of Peter the impetuous\, James and John\, the “sons of thunder\,” Philip and his foolish request to see the Father—indeed all the apostles in their weakness and lack of understanding. We must not exaggerate these facts\, however\, for Christ did not pick worthless men. But their human weakness again points up the fact that holiness is a gift of God\, not a human creation; it is given to ordinary men and women with weaknesses; it is God who gradually transforms the weaknesses into the image of Christ\, the courageous\, trusting\, and loving one. \n\nSaint Thomas the Apostle is the Patron Saint of:\nArchitects\nArgentina\nConstruction Workers\nCooks
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-thomas-the-apostle/2018-07-03/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180702
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180703
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T180347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T180347Z
UID:6857-1530489600-1530575999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Oliver Plunkett
DESCRIPTION:Saint Oliver Plunkett\nSaint of the Day for July 2\n(November 1\, 1629 – July 1\, 1681)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul02.mp3\nSaint Oliver Plunkett’s Story\nThe name of today’s saint is especially familiar to the Irish and the English—and with good reason. The English martyred Oliver Plunkett for defending the faith in his native Ireland during a period of severe persecution. \nBorn in County Meath in 1629\, Oliver studied for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained there in 1654. After some years of teaching and service to the poor of Rome he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland. Four years later\, in 1673\, a new wave of anti-Catholic persecution began\, forcing Archbishop Plunkett to do his pastoral work in secrecy and disguise and to live in hiding. Meanwhile\, many of his priests were sent into exile\, schools were closed\, Church services had to be held in secret\, and convents and seminaries were suppressed. As archbishop\, Plunkett was viewed as ultimately responsible for any rebellion or political activity among his parishioners. \nArchbishop Plunkett was arrested and imprisoned in Dublin Castle in 1679\, but his trial was moved to London. After deliberating for 15 minutes\, a jury found him guilty of fomenting revolt. He was hanged\, drawn\, and quartered in July 1681. \nPope Paul VI canonized Oliver Plunkett in 1975. \n\nReflection\nStories like that of Oliver Plunkett seem to fit history. “Things like that don’t happen today” is often our thought. But they do. False accusations\, prejudice\, anti-Catholic sentiments\, racism\, sexism\, etc. are still an active reality in our day. Maybe a prayer to Saint Oliver for peace and justice may be appropriate.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-oliver-plunkett/2018-07-02/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180701
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180702
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T180228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T180228Z
UID:6854-1530403200-1530489599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Junipero Serra
DESCRIPTION:Saint Junipero Serra\nSaint of the Day for July 1\n(November 24\, 1713 – August 28\, 1784)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJul01.mp3\nSaint Junipero Serra’s Story\nIn 1776\, when the American Revolution was beginning in the east\, another part of the future United States was being born in California. That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano\, now famous for its annually returning swallows. San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard. \nBorn on Spain’s island of Mallorca\, Serra entered the Franciscan Order taking the name of Saint Francis’ childlike companion\, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35\, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of Saint Francis Solano in South America. Junipero’s desire was to convert native peoples in the New World. \nArriving by ship at Vera Cruz\, Mexico\, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero’s left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 years\, he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there. \nEnter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory. So the last two conquistadors—one military\, one spiritual—began their quest. José de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey\, California. The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego in 1769. That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition. Vowing to stay with the local people\, Junipero and another friar began a novena in preparation for St. Joseph’s day\, March 19\, the scheduled day of departure. On that day\, the relief ship arrived. \nOther missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luís Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra’s death. \nJunipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander. He arrived at the point of death. The outcome was substantially what Junipero sought: the famous “Regulation” protecting the Indians and the missions. It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California\, a “Bill of Rights” for Native Americans. \nBecause the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view\, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns. \nJunipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger\, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night\, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6\,000 people and confirmed 5\,000. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love\, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo\, Carmel\, and was beatified in 1988. Pope Francis canonized him in Washington\, D.C.\, on September 23\, 2015. \n\nReflection\nThe word that best describes Junipero is zeal. It was a spirit that came from his deep prayer and dauntless will. “Always forward\, never back” was his motto. His work bore fruit for 50 years after his death as the rest of the missions were founded in a kind of Christian communal living by the Indians. When both Mexican and American greed caused the secularization of the missions\, the Chumash people went back to what they had been—God again writing straight with crooked lines.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-junipero-serra/2018-07-01/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180630
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180701
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T174717Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T174717Z
UID:6851-1530316800-1530403199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
DESCRIPTION:First Martyrs of the Church of Rome\nSaint of the Day for June 30\n(d. 64)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun30.mp3\nFirst Martyrs of the Church of Rome’s Story\nThere were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus\, though they were not the converts of the “Apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 15:20). Paul had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his great letter in 57-58 A.D. \nThere was a large Jewish population in Rome. Probably as a result of controversy between Jews and Jewish Christians\, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in 49-50 A.D. Suetonius the historian says that the expulsion was due to disturbances in the city “caused by the certain Chrestus” [Christ]. Perhaps many came back after Claudius’ death in 54 A.D. Paul’s letter was addressed to a Church with members from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. \nIn July of 64 A.D.\, more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on Nero\, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He shifted the blame by accusing the Christians. According to the historian Tacitus\, many Christians were put to death because of their “hatred of the human race.” Peter and Paul were probably among the victims. \nThreatened by an army revolt and condemned to death by the senate\, Nero committed suicide in 68 A.D. at the age of 31. \n\nReflection\nWherever the Good News of Jesus was preached\, it met the same opposition as Jesus did\, and many of those who began to follow him shared his suffering and death. But no human force could stop the power of the Spirit unleashed upon the world. The blood of martyrs has always been\, and will always be\, the seed of Christians.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/first-martyrs-of-the-church-of-rome/2018-06-30/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180629
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180630
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T174523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T174523Z
UID:6848-1530230400-1530316799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
DESCRIPTION:Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul\nSaint of the Day for June 29\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun29.mp3\nSaints Peter and Paul’s Story\nPeter (d. 64?). Saint Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant climax. He has recorded doubt\, misunderstanding\, and the opposition of many to Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter’s life\, beginning with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men for Jesus. \nThe New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles\, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration\, the raising of a dead child to life\, and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus’ death. His name is first on every list of apostles. \nAnd to Peter only did Jesus say\, “Blessed are you\, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you\, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you\, you are Peter\, and upon this rock I will build my church\, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17b-19). \nBut the Gospels prove their own trustworthiness by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness\, even in the presence of Jesus. \nHe generously gave up all things\, yet he can ask in childish self-regard\, “What are we going to get for all this?” (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the full force of Christ’s anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah: “Get behind me\, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does\, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23b). \nPeter is willing to accept Jesus’ doctrine of forgiveness\, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith\, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet\, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus\, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus’ ear\, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow\, Jesus looks on him and forgives him\, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears. The Risen Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-17). \nPaul (d. 64?). If the most well-known preacher today suddenly began preaching that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution\, the angry reaction would help us understand Paul’s life when he started preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most pharisaic of Pharisees\, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles\, a traitor and apostate. \nPaul’s central conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself\, from sin\, from the devil\, and from death\, humanity must open itself completely to the saving power of Jesus. \nPaul never lost his love for his Jewish family\, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on the parent stock of the Jews\, who were still God’s chosen people\, the children of the promise. \n\nReflection\nWe would probably go to confession to Peter sooner than to any of the other apostles. He is perhaps a more striking example of the simple fact of holiness. Jesus says to us as he said\, in effect\, to Peter: “It is not you who have chosen me\, but I who have chosen you. Peter\, it is not human wisdom that makes it possible for you to believe\, but my Father’s revelation. I\, not you\, build my Church.” Paul’s experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous\, dynamic\, and courageous ambassadors of Christ the Church has ever had. But persecution\, humiliation\, and weakness became his day-by-day carrying of the cross\, material for further transformation. The dying Christ was in him; the living Christ was his life. \n\nSaint Paul is the Patron Saint of:\nGreece
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/solemnity-of-saints-peter-and-paul/2018-06-29/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180628
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180629
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T174331Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T174331Z
UID:6845-1530144000-1530230399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Irenaeus
DESCRIPTION:Saint Irenaeus\nSaint of the Day for June 28\n(c. 130 – c. 202)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun28.mp3\nSaint Irenaeus’ Story\nThe Church is fortunate that Irenaeus was involved in many of its controversies in the second century. He was a student\, well trained no doubt\, with great patience in investigating\, tremendously protective of apostolic teaching\, but prompted more by a desire to win over his opponents than to prove them in error. \nAs bishop of Lyons he was especially concerned with the Gnostics\, who took their name from the Greek word for “knowledge.” Claiming access to secret knowledge imparted by Jesus to only a few disciples\, their teaching was attracting and confusing many Christians. After thoroughly investigating the various Gnostic sects and their “secret\,” Irenaeus showed to what logical conclusions their tenets led. These he contrasted with the teaching of the apostles and the text of Holy Scripture\, giving us\, in five books\, a system of theology of great importance to subsequent times. Moreover\, his work\, widely used and translated into Latin and Armenian\, gradually ended the influence of the Gnostics. \nThe circumstances and details about his death\, like those of his birth and early life in Asia Minor\, are not at all clear. \n\nReflection\nA deep and genuine concern for other people will remind us that the discovery of truth is not to be a victory for some and a defeat for others. Unless all can claim a share in that victory\, truth itself will continue to be rejected by the losers\, because it will be regarded as inseparable from the yoke of defeat. And so\, confrontation\, controversy and the like might yield to a genuine united search for God’s truth and how it can best be served.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-irenaeus/2018-06-28/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180627
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180628
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T174156Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T174156Z
UID:6842-1530057600-1530143999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Cyril of Alexandria
DESCRIPTION:Saint Cyril of Alexandria\nSaint of the Day for June 27\n(378 – June 27\, 444)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun27.mp3\nSaint Cyril of Alexandria’s Story\nSaints are not born with halos around their heads. Cyril\, recognized as a great teacher of the Church\, began his career as archbishop of Alexandria\, Egypt\, with impulsive\, often violent\, actions. He pillaged and closed the churches of the Novatian heretics–who required those who denied the faith to be re-baptized–participated in the deposing of Saint John Chrysostom\, and confiscated Jewish property\, expelling the Jews from Alexandria in retaliation for their attacks on Christians. \nCyril’s importance for theology and Church history lies in his championing the cause of orthodoxy against the heresy of Nestorius\, who taught that in Christ there were two persons\, one human and one divine. \nThe controversy centered around the two natures in Christ. Nestorius would not agree to the title “God-bearer” for Mary. He preferred “Christ-bearer\,” saying there are two distinct persons in Christ–divine and human–joined only by a moral union. He said Mary was not the mother of God but only of the man Christ\, whose humanity was only a temple of God. Nestorianism implied that the humanity of Christ was a mere disguise. \nPresiding as the pope’s representative at the Council of Ephesus in 431\, Cyril condemned Nestorianism and proclaimed Mary truly the “God-bearer”–the mother of the one Person who is truly God and truly human. In the confusion that followed\, Cyril was deposed and imprisoned for three months\, after which he was welcomed back to Alexandria. \nBesides needing to soften some of his opposition to those who had sided with Nestorius\, Cyril had difficulties with some of his own allies\, who thought he had gone too far\, sacrificing not only language but orthodoxy. Until his death\, his policy of moderation kept his extreme partisans under control. On his deathbed\, despite pressure\, he refused to condemn the teacher of Nestorius. \n\nReflection\nLives of the saints are valuable not only for the virtue they reveal but also for the less admirable qualities that also appear. Holiness is a gift of God to us as human beings. Life is a process. We respond to God’s gift\, but sometimes with a lot of zigzagging. If Cyril had been more patient and diplomatic\, the Nestorian church might not have risen and maintained power so long. But even saints must grow out of immaturity\, narrowness\, and selfishness. It is because they—and we—do grow\, that we are truly saints\, persons who live the life of God.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-cyril-of-alexandria/2018-06-27/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180626
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180627
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T173949Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T173949Z
UID:6839-1529971200-1530057599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Raymond Lull
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Raymond Lull\nSaint of the Day for June 26\n(c. 1235 – June 28\, 1315)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun26.mp3\nBlessed Raymond Lull’s Story\nRaymond worked all his life to promote the missions and died a missionary to North Africa. \nRaymond was born at Palma on the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea. He earned a position in the king’s court there. One day a sermon inspired him to dedicate his life to working for the conversion of the Muslims in North Africa. He became a Secular Franciscan and founded a college where missionaries could learn the Arabic they would need in the missions. Retiring to solitude\, he spent nine years as a hermit. During that time he wrote on all branches of knowledge\, a work which earned him the title “Enlightened Doctor.” \nRaymond then made many trips through Europe to interest popes\, kings\, and princes in establishing special colleges to prepare future missionaries. He achieved his goal in 1311\, when the Council of Vienne ordered the creation of chairs of Hebrew\, Arabic\, and Chaldean at the universities of Bologna\, Oxford\, Paris\, and Salamanca. At the age of 79\, Raymond went to North Africa in 1314 to be a missionary himself. An angry crowd of Muslims stoned him in the city of Bougie. Genoese merchants took him back to Mallorca\, where he died. Raymond was beatified in 1514. \n\nReflection\nRaymond worked most of his life to help spread the gospel. Indifference on the part of some Christian leaders and opposition in North Africa did not turn him from his goal. Three hundred years later Raymond’s work began to have an influence in the Americas. When the Spanish began to spread the gospel in the New World\, they set up missionary colleges to aid the work. Saint Junípero Serra belonged to such a college. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast Day of Blessed Raymond Lull is June 30.\n\nAnother Saint of the Day for June 26 is Saint Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-raymond-lull/2018-06-26/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180625
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180626
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T173804Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T173804Z
UID:6836-1529884800-1529971199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Jutta of Thuringia
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Jutta of Thuringia\nSaint of the Day for June 25\n(d. c. 1260)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun25.mp3\nBlessed Jutta of Thuringia’s Story\nToday’s patroness of Prussia began her life amidst luxury and power but died the death of a simple servant of the poor. \nIn truth\, virtue and piety were always of prime importance to Jutta and her husband\, both of noble rank. The two were set to make a pilgrimage together to the holy places in Jerusalem\, but her husband died on the way. The newly widowed Jutta\, after taking care to provide for her children\, resolved to live in a manner she felt was utterly pleasing to God. She disposed of the costly clothes\, jewels\, and furniture befitting one of her rank\, and became a Secular Franciscan\, taking on the simple garment of a religious. \nFrom that point her life was utterly devoted to others: caring for the sick\, particularly lepers; tending to the poor\, whom she visited in their hovels; helping the crippled and blind with whom she shared her own home. Many of the townspeople of Thuringia laughed at how the once-distinguished lady now spent all her time. But Jutta saw the face of God in the poor and felt honored to render whatever services she could. \nAbout the year 1260\, not long before her death\, Jutta lived near the non-Christians in eastern Germany. There she built a small hermitage and prayed unceasingly for their conversion. She has been venerated for centuries as the special patron of Prussia. \n\nReflection\nJesus once said that a camel can pass through a needle’s eye more easily than a rich person can enter God’s realm. That’s pretty scary news for us. We may not have great fortunes\, but we who live in the West enjoy a share of the world’s goods that people in the rest of the world cannot imagine. Much to the amusement of her neighbors\, Jutta disposed of her wealth after her husband’s death and devoted her life to caring for those who had no means. Should we follow her example\, people will probably laugh at us\, too. But God will smile. \n\nBlessed Jutta of Thuringia is the Patron Saint of:\nPrussia
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-jutta-of-thuringia/2018-06-25/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180624
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180625
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T173630Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T173630Z
UID:6833-1529798400-1529884799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
DESCRIPTION:The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist\nSaint of the Day for June 24\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun24.mp3\nSaint John the Baptist’s Story\nJesus called John the greatest of all those who had preceded him: “I tell you\, among those born of women\, no one is greater than John….” But John would have agreed completely with what Jesus added: “[Y]et the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28). \nJohn spent his time in the desert\, an ascetic. He began to announce the coming of the Kingdom\, and to call everyone to a fundamental reformation of life. His purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. His baptism\, he said\, was for repentance. But one would come who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John was not worthy even to untie his sandals. His attitude toward Jesus was: “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). \nJohn was humbled to find among the crowd of sinners who came to be baptized the one whom he already knew to be the Messiah. “I need to be baptized by you” (Matthew 3:14b). But Jesus insisted\, “Allow it now\, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15b). Jesus\, true and humble human as well as eternal God\, was eager to do what was required of any good Jew. Jesus thus publicly entered the community of those awaiting the Messiah. But making himself part of that community\, he made it truly messianic. \nThe greatness of John\, his pivotal place in the history of salvation\, is seen in the great emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth and the event itself—both made prominently parallel to the same occurrences in the life of Jesus. John attracted countless people to the banks of the Jordan\, and it occurred to some people that he might be the Messiah. But he constantly deferred to Jesus\, even to sending away some of his followers to become the first disciples of Jesus. \nPerhaps John’s idea of the coming of the Kingdom of God was not being perfectly fulfilled in the public ministry of Jesus. For whatever reason\, when he was in prison he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah. Jesus’ answer showed that the Messiah was to be a figure like that of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. John himself would share in the pattern of messianic suffering\, losing his life to the revenge of Herodias. \n\nReflection\nJohn challenges us Christians to the fundamental attitude of Christianity—total dependence on the Father\, in Christ. Except for the Mother of God\, no one had a higher function in the unfolding of salvation. Yet the least in the kingdom\, Jesus said\, is greater than he\, for the pure gift that the Father gives. The attractiveness as well as the austerity of John\, his fierce courage in denouncing evil—all stem from his fundamental and total placing of his life within the will of God. \n\nSaint John the Baptist is the Patron Saint of:\nBaptism
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/solemnity-of-the-nativity-of-saint-john-the-baptist/2018-06-24/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180623
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180624
DTSTAMP:20260403T134431
CREATED:20170831T173447Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170831T173447Z
UID:6830-1529712000-1529798399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint John Fisher
DESCRIPTION:Saint John Fisher\nSaint of the Day for June 23\n(1469 – June 22\, 1535)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJun23.mp3\nSaint John Fisher’s Story\nJohn Fisher is usually associated with Erasmus\, Thomas More\, and other Renaissance humanists. His life therefore\, did not have the external simplicity found in the lives of some saints. Rather\, he was a man of learning\, associated with the intellectuals and political leaders of his day. He was interested in the contemporary culture and eventually became chancellor at Cambridge. He had been made a bishop at 35\, and one of his interests was raising the standard of preaching in England. Fisher himself was an accomplished preacher and writer. His sermons on the penitential psalms were reprinted seven times before his death. With the coming of Lutheranism\, he was drawn into controversy. His eight books against heresy gave him a leading position among European theologians. \nIn 1521\, Fisher was asked to study the question of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon\, his brother’s widow. He incurred Henry’s anger by defending the validity of the king’s marriage with Catherine\, and later by rejecting Henry’s claim to be the supreme head of the Church of England. \nIn an attempt to be rid of him\, Henry first had Fisher accused of not reporting all the “revelations” of the nun of Kent\, Elizabeth Barton. In feeble health\, Fisher was summoned to take the oath to the new Act of Succession. He and Thomas More refused to do so because the Act presumed the legality of Henry’s divorce and his claim to be head of the English Church. They were sent to the Tower of London\, where Fisher remained 14 months without trial. Finally both men were sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of goods. \nWhen the two were called to further interrogations\, they remained silent. On the supposition that he was speaking privately as a priest\, Fisher was tricked into declaring again that the king was not supreme head of the church in England. The king\, further angered that the pope had made John Fisher a cardinal\, had him brought to trial on the charge of high treason. He was condemned and executed\, his body left to lie all day on the scaffold and his head hung on London Bridge. More was executed two weeks later. \n\nReflection\nToday many questions are raised about Christians’ and priests’ active involvement in social issues. John Fisher remained faithful to his calling as a priest and bishop. He strongly upheld the teachings of the Church; the very cause of his martyrdom was his loyalty to Rome. He was involved in the cultural enrichment circles as well as in the political struggles of his time. This involvement caused him to question the moral conduct of the leadership of his country. \n“The Church has the right\, indeed the duty\, to proclaim justice on the social\, national and international level\, and to denounce instances of injustice\, when the fundamental rights of man and his very salvation demand it” (Justice in the World\, 1971 Synod of Bishops). \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint John Fisher is June 22.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-john-fisher/2018-06-23/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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