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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171114
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171115
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T192406Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T192407Z
UID:5615-1510617600-1510703999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Gertrude the Great
DESCRIPTION:Image: The high altar statue of Saint Gertrude the Great with a mouse on the distaff| Grafenbach\, Austria | photo by Rollroboter\nSaint Gertrude the Great\nSaint of the Day for November 14\n(January 6\, 1256 – November 17\, 1302)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Gertrude the Great’s Story\nGertrude\, a Benedictine nun in Helfta\, Saxony\, was one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher Saint Mechtild\, she practiced a spirituality called “nuptial mysticism\,” that is\, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ. Her spiritual life was a deeply personal union with Jesus and his Sacred Heart\, leading her into the very life of the Trinity. \nBut this was no individualistic piety. Gertrude lived the rhythm of the liturgy\, where she found Christ. In the liturgy and in Scripture she found the themes and images to enrich and express her piety. There was no clash between her personal prayer life and the liturgy. \n\nReflection\nSaint Gertrude’s life is another reminder that the heart of the Christian life is prayer: private and liturgical\, ordinary or mystical\, but always personal. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint Gertrude the Great is November 16.\n\nSaint Gertrude the Great is the Patron Saint of:\nWest Indies
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-gertrude-the-great/2017-11-14/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171114
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T192247Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T192247Z
UID:5612-1510531200-1510617599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
DESCRIPTION:Image: Statue of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in the portico of the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary in Pompei | photo by Dario Crespi\nSaint Frances Xavier Cabrini\nSaint of the Day for November 13\n(July 15\, 1850 – December 22\, 1917)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Frances Xavier Cabrini’s Story\nFrances Xavier Cabrini was the first United States citizen to be canonized. Her deep trust in the loving care of her God gave her the strength to be a valiant woman doing the work of Christ. \nRefused admission to the religious order which had educated her to be a teacher\, she began charitable work at the House of Providence Orphanage in Cadogno\, Italy. In September 1877\, she made her vows there and took the religious habit. \nWhen the bishop closed the orphanage in 1880\, he named Frances prioress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Seven young women from the orphanage joined her. \nSince her early childhood in Italy\, Frances had wanted to be a missionary in China but\, at the urging of Pope Leo XIII\, Frances went west instead of east. She traveled with six sisters to New York City to work with the thousands of Italian immigrants living there. \nShe found disappointment and difficulties with every step. When she arrived in New York\, the house intended to be her first orphanage in the United States was not available. The archbishop advised her to return to Italy. But Frances\, truly a valiant woman\, departed from the archbishop’s residence all the more determined to establish that orphanage. And she did. \nIn 35 years\, Frances Xavier Cabrini founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor\, the abandoned\, the uneducated and the sick. Seeing great need among Italian immigrants who were losing their faith\, she organized schools and adult education classes. \nAs a child\, she was always frightened of water\, unable to overcome her fear of drowning. Yet\, despite this fear\, she traveled across the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times. She died of malaria in her own Columbus Hospital in Chicago. \n\nReflection\nThe compassion and dedication of Mother Cabrini is still seen in hundreds of thousands of her fellow citizens who care for the sick in hospitals\, nursing homes\, and state institutions. We complain of increased medical costs in an affluent society\, but the daily news shows us millions who have little or no medical care\, and who are calling for new Mother Cabrinis to become citizen-servants of their land. \n\nSaint Frances Xavier Cabrini is the Patron Saint of:\nHospital Administrators\nImmigrants\nImpossible Causes\nIndia
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-frances-xavier-cabrini/2017-11-13/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171112
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171113
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T192132Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T192132Z
UID:5609-1510444800-1510531199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Josaphat
DESCRIPTION:Image: Icon of St. martyr Josaphat Kutsevych\, Archbishop of Polotsk | photo by Mykola Swarnyk\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Josaphat\nSaint of the Day for November 12\n(c. 1580 –  November 12\, 1623)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Josaphat’s Story\nIn 1964\, newspaper photos of Pope Paul VI embracing Athenagoras I\, the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople\, marked a significant step toward the healing of a division in Christendom that has spanned more than nine centuries. \nIn 1595\, when today’s saint was a boy\, the Orthodox bishop of Brest-Litovsk in present-day Belarus and five other bishops representing millions of Ruthenians\, sought reunion with Rome. John Kunsevich (who took the name Josaphat in religious life) was to dedicate his life and die for the same cause. Born in what is now Ukraine\, he went to work in Wilno and was influenced by clergy adhering to the Union of Brest (1596). He became a Basilian monk\, then a priest\, and soon was well known as a preacher and as an ascetic. \nHe became bishop of Vitebsk at a relatively young age\, and faced a difficult situation. Most monks\, fearing interference in liturgy and customs\, did not want union with Rome. By synods\, catechetical instruction\, reform of the clergy\, and personal example\, however\, Josaphat was successful in winning the greater part of the Orthodox in that area to the union. \nBut the next year a dissident hierarchy was set up\, and his opposite number spread the accusation that Josaphat had “gone Latin” and that all his people would have to do the same. He was not enthusiastically supported by the Latin bishops of Poland. \nDespite warnings\, he went to Vitebsk\, still a hotbed of trouble. Attempts were made to foment trouble and drive him from the diocese: A priest was sent to shout insults to him from his own courtyard. When Josaphat had him removed and shut up in his house\, the opposition rang the town hall bell\, and a mob assembled. The priest was released\, but members of the mob broke into the bishop’s home. Josaphat was struck with a halberd\, then shot\, and his body thrown into the river. It was later recovered and is now buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He was the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome. \nHis death brought a movement toward Catholicism and unity\, but the controversy continued\, and the dissidents\, too\, had their martyr. After the partition of Poland\, the Russians forced most Ruthenians to join the Russian Orthodox Church. \n\nReflection\nThe seeds of separation were sown in the fourth century when the Roman Empire was divided into East and West. The actual split came over customs such as using unleavened bread\, Saturday fasting and celibacy. No doubt the political involvement of religious leaders on both sides was a large factor\, and doctrinal disagreement was present. But no reason was enough to justify the present tragic division in Christendom\, which is 64 percent Roman Catholic\, 13 percent Eastern Churches (mostly Orthodox) and 23 percent Protestant\, and this when the 71 percent of the world that is not Christian should be experiencing unity and Christ-like charity from Christians!
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-josaphat/2017-11-12/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171111
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171112
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T192018Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T192018Z
UID:5606-1510358400-1510444799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Martin of Tours
DESCRIPTION:Image: Statue of Saint Martin of Tours on the dome of the Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours | photo by ZohaStel\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Martin of Tours\nSaint of the Day for November 11\n(c. 316 – November 8\, 397)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Martin of Tours’ Story\nA conscientious objector who wanted to be a monk; a monk who was maneuvered into being a bishop; a bishop who fought paganism as well as pleaded for mercy to heretics—such was Martin of Tours\, one of the most popular of saints and one of the first not to be a martyr. \nBorn of pagan parents in what is now Hungary and raised in Italy\, this son of a veteran was forced at the age of 15 to serve in the army. He became a Christian catechumen and was baptized at 18. It was said that he lived more like a monk than a soldier. At 23\, he refused a war bonus and told his commander: “I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.” After great difficulties\, he was discharged and went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers. \nHe was ordained an exorcist and worked with great zeal against the Arians. He became a monk\, living first at Milan and later on a small island. When Hilary was restored to his see after exile\, Martin returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers. He lived there for 10 years\, forming his disciples and preaching throughout the countryside. \nThe people of Tours demanded that he become their bishop. He was drawn to that city by a ruse—the need of a sick person—and was brought to the church\, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop. Some of the consecrating bishops thought his rumpled appearance and unkempt hair indicated that he was not dignified enough for the office. \nAlong with Saint Ambrose\, Martin rejected Bishop Ithacius’s principle of putting heretics to death—as well as the intrusion of the emperor into such matters. He prevailed upon the emperor to spare the life of the heretic Priscillian. For his efforts\, Martin was accused of the same heresy\, and Priscillian was executed after all. Martin then pleaded for a cessation of the persecution of Priscillian’s followers in Spain. He still felt he could cooperate with Ithacius in other areas\, but afterwards his conscience troubled him about this decision. \nAs death approached\, his followers begged him not to leave them. He prayed\, “Lord\, if your people still need me\, I do not refuse the work. Your will be done.” \n\nReflection\nMartin’s worry about cooperation with evil reminds us that almost nothing is either all black or all white. The saints are not creatures of another world: They face the same perplexing decisions that we do. Any decision of conscience always involves some risk. If we choose to go north\, we may never know what would have happened had we gone east\, west or south. A hyper-cautious withdrawal from all perplexing situations is not the virtue of prudence; it is\, in fact\, a bad decision\, for “not to decide is to decide.” \n\nSaint Martin of Tours is the Patron Saint of:\nHorses\nSoldiers\nSouth Africa
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-martin-of-tours/2017-11-11/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171110
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171111
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191906Z
UID:5603-1510272000-1510358399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Leo the Great
DESCRIPTION:Image: The Meeting between Leo the Great (painted as a portrait of Leo X) and Attila | Raphael | photo by Art Renewal Center\nSaint Leo the Great\nSaint of the Day for November 10\n(d. November 10\, 461)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Leo the Great’s Story\nWith apparent strong conviction of the importance of the Bishop of Rome in the Church\, and of the Church as the ongoing sign of Christ’s presence in the world\, Leo the Great displayed endless dedication as pope. Elected in 440\, he worked tirelessly as “Peter’s successor\,” guiding his fellow bishops as “equals in the episcopacy and infirmities.” \nLeo is known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church. His work branched into four main areas\, indicative of his notion of the pope’s total responsibility for the flock of Christ. He worked at length to control the heresies of Pelagianism (overemphasizing human freedom)\, Manichaeism (seeing everything material as evil) and others\, placing demands on their followers so as to secure true Christian beliefs. \nA second major area of his concern was doctrinal controversy in the Church in the East\, to which he responded with a classic letter setting down the Church’s teaching on the two natures of Christ. With strong faith\, he also led the defense of Rome against barbarian attack\, taking the role of peacemaker. \nIn these three areas\, Leo’s work has been highly regarded. His growth to sainthood has its basis in the spiritual depth with which he approached the pastoral care of his people\, which was the fourth focus of his work. He is known for his spiritually profound sermons. An instrument of the call to holiness\, well-versed in Scripture and ecclesiastical awareness\, Leo had the ability to reach the everyday needs and interests of his people. One of his sermons is used in the Office of Readings on Christmas. \nIt is said of Leo that his true significance rests in his doctrinal insistence on the mysteries of Christ and the Church and in the supernatural charisms of the spiritual life given to humanity in Christ and in his Body\, the Church. Thus Leo held firmly that everything he did and said as pope for the administration of the Church represented Christ\, the head of the Mystical Body\, and Saint Peter\, in whose place Leo acted. \n\nReflection\nAt a time when there is widespread criticism of Church structures\, we also hear criticism that bishops and priests—indeed\, all of us—are too preoccupied with administration of temporal matters. Pope Leo is an example of a great administrator who used his talents in areas where spirit and structure are inseparably combined: doctrine\, peace\, and pastoral care. He avoided an “angelism” that tries to live without the body\, as well as the “practicality” that deals only in externals.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-leo-the-great/2017-11-10/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171109
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171110
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191741Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191741Z
UID:5600-1510185600-1510271999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Dedication of St. John Lateran
DESCRIPTION:Image: Archbasilica of St John Lateran\, Rome | photo by Livioandronico2013\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDedication of St. John Lateran\nSaint of the Day for November 9\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nStory of the Dedication of St. John Lateran\nMost Catholics think of St. Peter’s as the pope’s main church\, but they are wrong. St. John Lateran is the pope’s church\, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome where the Bishop of Rome presides. \nThe first basilica on the site was built in the fourth century when Constantine donated land he had received from the wealthy Lateran family. That structure and its successors suffered fire\, earthquake\, and the ravages of war\, but the Lateran remained the church where popes were consecrated until the popes returned from Avignon in the 14th century to find the church and the adjoining palace in ruins. \nPope Innocent X commissioned the present structure in 1646. One of Rome’s most imposing churches\, the Lateran’s towering facade is crowned with 15 colossal statues of Christ\, John the Baptist\, John the Evangelist\, and 12 doctors of the Church. Beneath its high altar rest the remains of the small wooden table on which tradition holds Saint Peter himself celebrated Mass. \n\nReflection\nUnlike the commemorations of other Roman churches\, this anniversary is a feast. The dedication of a church is a feast for all its parishioners. In a sense\, St. John Lateran is the parish church of all Catholics\, because it is the pope’s cathedral. This church is the spiritual home of the people who are the Church.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/dedication-of-st-john-lateran/2017-11-09/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171108
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171109
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191614Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191614Z
UID:5597-1510099200-1510185599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed John Duns Scotus
DESCRIPTION:Image: Detail | Stained glass in Franciscan Convent Chapel in Paris | Saints Bonaventure\, John Duns Scotus\, Anthony of Padua\, and Paschal Baylon | André Pierre and P. Villette | photo by GFreihalter\nBlessed John Duns Scotus\nSaint of the Day for November 8\n(c. 1266 – November 8\, 1308)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nBlessed John Duns Scotus’ Story\nA humble man\, John Duns Scotus has been one of the most influential Franciscans through the centuries. Born at Duns in the county of Berwick\, Scotland\, John was descended from a wealthy farming family. In later years\, he was identified as John Duns Scotus to indicate the land of his birth; Scotia is the Latin name for Scotland. \nJohn received the habit of the Friars Minor at Dumfries\, where his uncle Elias Duns was superior. After novitiate\, John studied at Oxford and Paris and was ordained in 1291. More studies in Paris followed until 1297\, when he returned to lecture at Oxford and Cambridge. Four years later\, he returned to Paris to teach and complete the requirements for the doctorate. \nIn an age when many people adopted whole systems of thought without qualification\, John pointed out the richness of the Augustinian-Franciscan tradition\, appreciated the wisdom of Aquinas\, Aristotle and the Muslim philosophers—and still managed to be an independent thinker. That quality was proven in 1303 when King Philip the Fair tried to enlist the University of Paris on his side in a dispute with Pope Boniface VIII. John Duns Scotus dissented and was given three days to leave France. \nIn Scotus’s time\, some philosophers held that people are basically determined by forces outside themselves. Free will is an illusion\, they argued. An ever-practical man\, Scotus said that if he started beating someone who denied free will\, the person would immediately tell him to stop. But if Scotus didn’t really have a free will\, how could he stop? John had a knack for finding illustrations his students could remember! \nAfter a short stay in Oxford\, he returned to Paris\, where he received the doctorate in 1305. He continued teaching there and in 1307 so ably defended the Immaculate Conception of Mary that the university officially adopted his position. That same year the minister general assigned him to the Franciscan school in Cologne where John died in 1308. He is buried in the Franciscan church near the famous Cologne cathedral. \nDrawing on the work of John Duns Scotus\, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854. John Duns Scotus\, the “Subtle Doctor\,” was beatified in 1993. \n\nReflection\nFather Charles Balic\, O.F.M.\, the foremost 20th-century authority on Scotus\, has written: “The whole of Scotus’s theology is dominated by the notion of love. The characteristic note of this love is its absolute freedom. As love becomes more perfect and intense\, freedom becomes more noble and integral both in God and in man” (New Catholic Encyclopedia\, Vol. 4\, p. 1105).
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-john-duns-scotus/2017-11-08/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171107
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171108
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191450Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191450Z
UID:5594-1510012800-1510099199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Didacus
DESCRIPTION:Image: San Diego (Didacus) de Alcalá | Francisco de Zurbarán\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Didacus\nSaint of the Day for November 7\n(c. 1400 – November 12\, 1463)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nDidacus is living proof that God “chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” \nAs a young man in Spain\, Didacus joined the Secular Franciscan Order and lived for some time as a hermit. After Didacus became a Franciscan brother\, he developed a reputation for great insight into God’s ways. His penances were heroic. He was so generous with the poor that the friars sometimes grew uneasy about his charity. \nDidacus volunteered for the missions in the Canary Islands and labored there energetically and profitably. He was also the superior of a friary there. \nIn 1450\, he was sent to Rome to attend the canonization of Saint Bernardine of Siena. When many friars gathered for that celebration fell sick\, Didacus stayed in Rome for three months to nurse them. After he returned to Spain\, he pursued a life of contemplation full-time. He showed the friars the wisdom of God’s ways. \nAs he was dying\, Didacus looked at a crucifix and said: “O faithful wood\, O precious nails! You have borne an exceedingly sweet burden\, for you have been judged worthy to bear the Lord and King of heaven” (Marion A. Habig\, O.F.M.\, The Franciscan Book of Saints\, p. 834). \nSan Diego\, California\, is named for this Franciscan\, who was canonized in 1588. \n\nReflection\nWe cannot be neutral about genuinely holy people. We either admire them or we consider them foolish. Didacus is a saint because he used his life to serve God and God’s people. Can we say the same for ourselves? \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for November 7 is Saint Willibrord.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-didacus/2017-11-07/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171106
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171107
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191326Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191326Z
UID:5591-1509926400-1510012799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Nicholas Tavelic and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Image: Altar of Saint Nikola Tavelić in church of St. Francis of Assisi\, Šibenik\, Croatia | photo by ignot\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Nicholas Tavelic and Companions\nSaint of the Day for November 6\n(1340 – November 14\, 1391)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Nicholas Tavelic and Companions’ Story\nNicholas and his three companions are among the 158 Franciscans who have been martyred in the Holy Land since the friars became custodians of the shrines in 1335. \nNicholas was born in 1340 to a wealthy and noble family in Croatia. He joined the Franciscans and was sent with Deodat of Rodez to preach in Bosnia. In 1384\, they volunteered for the Holy Land missions and were sent there. They looked after the holy places\, cared for the Christian pilgrims\, and studied Arabic. \nIn 1391\, Nicholas\, Deodat\, Peter of Narbonne and Stephen of Cuneo decided to take a direct approach to converting the Muslims. On November 11\, 1391\, they went to the huge Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem and asked to see the Qadi (Muslim official). Reading from a prepared statement\, they said that all people must accept the Gospel of Jesus. When they were ordered to retract their statement\, they refused. After beatings and imprisonment\, they were beheaded before a large crowd. \nNicholas and his companions were canonized in 1970. They are the only Franciscans martyred in the Holy Land to be canonized. \n\nReflection\nFrancis presented two missionary approaches for his friars. Nicholas and his companions followed the first approach (live quietly and give witness to Christ) for several years. Then they felt called to take the second approach of preaching openly. Their Franciscan confreres in the Holy Land are still working by example to make Jesus better known. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of  Saint Nicholas Tavelic and Companions is November 14.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-nicholas-tavelic-and-companions/2017-11-06/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171105
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171106
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191211Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191211Z
UID:5588-1509840000-1509926399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Venerable Solanus Casey
DESCRIPTION:Image: Venerable Solanus Casey Shrine | Saint Mary Magdalen Church\, Brighton\, Michigan | photo by Nheyob\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVenerable Solanus Casey\nSaint of the Day for November 5\n(November 25\, 1875 – July 31\, 1957)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nVenerable Solanus Casey’s Story\nBarney Casey became one of Detroit’s best-known priests even though he was not allowed to preach formally or to hear confessions! \nBarney came from a large family in Oak Grove\, Wisconsin. At the age of 21\, and after he had worked as a logger\, a hospital orderly\, a streetcar operator\, and a prison guard\, he entered St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee—where he found the studies difficult. He left there and\, in 1896\, joined the Capuchins in Detroit\, taking the name Solanus. His studies for the priesthood were again arduous. \nOn July 24\, 1904\, he was ordained\, but because his knowledge of theology was judged to be weak\, Solanus was not given permission to hear confessions or to preach. A Franciscan Capuchin who knew him well said this annoying restriction “brought forth in him a greatness and a holiness that might never have been realized in any other way.” \nDuring his 14 years as porter and sacristan in Yonkers\, New York\, the people there recognized him as a fine speaker. “For\, though he was forbidden to deliver doctrinal sermons\,” writes his biographer\, James Derum\, “he could give inspirational talks\, or feverinos\, as the Capuchins termed them.” His spiritual fire deeply impressed his listeners. \nFr. Solanus served at parishes in Manhattan and Harlem before returning to Detroit\, where he was porter and sacristan for 20 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery. Every Wednesday afternoon he conducted well-attended services for the sick. A coworker estimates that on the average day 150 to 200 people came to see Fr. Solanus in the front office. Most of them came to receive his blessing; 40 to 50 came for consultation. Many people considered him instrumental in cures and other blessings they received. \nFather Solanus’ sense of God’s providence inspired many of his visitors. “Blessed be God in all his designs” was one of his favorite expressions. \nThe many friends of Father Solanus helped the Capuchins begin a soup kitchen during the Depression. Capuchins are still feeding the hungry there today. \nIn 1946\, in failing health\, he was transferred to the Capuchin novitiate in Huntington\, Indiana\, where he lived until 1956 when he was hospitalized in Detroit. He died on July 31\, 1957. An estimated 20\,000 people passed by his coffin before his burial in St. Bonaventure Church in Detroit. \nAt the funeral Mass\, the provincial Father Gerald said: “His was a life of service and love for people like me and you. When he was not himself sick\, he nevertheless suffered with and for you that were sick. When he was not physically hungry\, he hungered with people like you. He had a divine love for people. He loved people for what he could do for them—and for God\, through them.” \nIn 1960\, a Father Solanus Guild was formed in Detroit to aid Capuchin seminarians. By 1967\, the guild had 5\,000 members—many of them grateful recipients of his practical advice and his comforting assurance that God would not abandon them in their trials. He was declared Venerable in 1995. \n\nReflection\nJames Patrick Derum\, his biographer\, writes that eventually Father Solanus was weary from bearing the burdens of the people who visited him. “Long since\, he had come to know the Christ-taught truth that pure love of God and one’s fellowmen as children of God are in the final event all that matter. Living this truth ardently and continuously had made him\, spiritually\, a free man—free from slavery to passions\, from self-seeking\, from self-indulgence\, from self-pity—free to serve wholly both God and man” (The Porter of St. Bonaventure’s\, page 199). \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Venerable Solanus Casey is November 3.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/venerable-solanus-casey/2017-11-05/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171104
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171105
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T191043Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T191043Z
UID:5585-1509753600-1509839999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Charles Borromeo
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Carlo Borromeo\, cardinal of Milan | Wellcome Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Charles Borromeo\nSaint of the Day for November 4\n(October 2\, 1538 – November 3\, 1584)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Charles Borromeo’s Story\nThe name of Saint Charles Borromeo is associated with reform. He lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation\, and had a hand in the reform of the whole Church during the final years of the Council of Trent. \nAlthough he belonged to Milanese nobility and was related to the powerful Medici family\, he desired to devote himself to the Church. When his uncle\, Cardinal de Medici\, was elected pope in 1559 as Pius IV\, he made Charles cardinal-deacon and administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan while he was still a layman and a young student. Because of his intellectual qualities he was entrusted with several important offices connected with the Vatican and later appointed secretary of state with responsibility for the papal states. The untimely death of his elder brother brought Charles to a definite decision to be ordained a priest\, despite relatives’ insistence that he marry. Soon after he was ordained a priest at the age of 25\, he was consecrated bishop of Milan. \nBecause of his work at the Council of Trent\, he was not allowed to take up residence in Milan until the Council was over. Charles had encouraged the pope to renew the Council in 1562 after it had been suspended for 10 years. Working behind the scenes\, Saint Charles deserves the credit for keeping the Council in session when at several points it was on the verge of breaking up. He took upon himself the task of the entire correspondence during the final phase. \nEventually\, Charles was allowed to devote his time to the Archdiocese of Milan\, where the religious and moral picture was far from bright. The reform needed in every phase of Catholic life among both clergy and laity was initiated at a provincial council of all the bishops under him. Specific regulations were drawn up for bishops and other clergy: If the people were to be converted to a better life\, he had to be the first to give a good example and renew their apostolic spirit. \nCharles took the initiative in giving a good example. He allotted most of his income to charity\, forbade himself all luxury and imposed severe penances upon himself. He sacrificed wealth\, high honors\, esteem\, and influence to become poor. During the plague and famine of 1576\, he tried to feed 60\,000 to 70\,000 people daily. To do this he borrowed large sums of money that required years to repay. Whereas the civil authorities fled at the height of the plague\, he stayed in the city\, where he ministered to the sick and the dying\, helping those in want. \nWork and the heavy burdens of his high office began to affect his health. He died at the age of 46. \n\nReflection\nSaint Charles made his own the words of Christ: “…I was hungry and you gave me food\, I was thirsty and you gave me drink\, a stranger and you welcomed me\, naked and you clothed me\, ill and you cared for me\, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-36). Charles saw Christ in his neighbor and knew that charity done for the least of his flock was charity done for Christ. \n\nSaint Charles Borromeo is the Patron Saint of:\nCatechists\nCatechumens\nSeminarians
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-charles-borromeo/2017-11-04/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171103
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171104
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T183310Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T190724Z
UID:5582-1509667200-1509753599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Martin de Porres
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Martin de Porres | St Dominic’s priory church in London | photo by Lawrence OP\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Martin de Porres\nSaint of the Day for November 3\n(December 9\, 1579 – November 3\, 1639)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Martin de Porres’ Story\n“Father unknown” is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. “Half-breed” or “war souvenir” is the cruel name inflicted by those of “pure” blood. Like many others\, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man\, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised. \nHe was the son of a freed woman of Panama\, probably black but also possibly of Native American stock\, and a Spanish grandee of Lima\, Peru. His parents never married each other. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father\, who finally acknowledged his son after eight years. After the birth of a sister\, the father abandoned the family. Martin was reared in poverty\, locked into a low level of Lima’s society. \nWhen he was 12\, his mother apprenticed him to a barber-surgeon. He learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood (a standard medical treatment then)\, care for wounds\, and prepare and administer medicines. \nAfter a few years in this medical apostolate\, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper\,” not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. After nine years\, the example of his prayer and penance\, charity and humility led the community to request him to make full religious profession. Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color\, race or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage\, took care of slaves brought from Africa and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality\, as well as generosity. He became the procurator for both priory and city\, whether it was a matter of “blankets\, shirts\, candles\, candy\, miracles or prayers!” When his priory was in debt\, he said\, “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me.” \nSide by side with his daily work in the kitchen\, laundry\, and infirmary\, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air\, light filling the room where he prayed\, bilocation\, miraculous knowledge\, instantaneous cures\, and a remarkable rapport with animals. His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house. \nHe became a formidable fundraiser\, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent. \nMany of his fellow religious took him as their spiritual director\, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave.” He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru\, Rose of Lima. \n\nReflection\nRacism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution\, it is a “sin of the world” that is everybody’s responsibility but apparently nobody’s fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness (on the part of those discriminated against) and Christian justice (on the part of reformed racists) than Martin de Porres. \n\nSaint Martin de Porres is the Patron Saint of:\nAfrican Americans\nBarbers\nHairdressers\nRace Relations\nRadio\nSocial Justice \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for November 3 is Saint Hubert.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/5582/2017-11-03/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171102
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171103
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T170724Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T170724Z
UID:5579-1509580800-1509667199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
DESCRIPTION:Image: Orthodox service for the Faithful Departed | Vasily Vereshchagin\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCommemoration of All the Faithful Departed\nSaint of the Day for November 2\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nThe Story of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed\nThe Church has encouraged prayer for the dead from the earliest times as an act of Christian charity. “If we had no care for the dead\,” Augustine noted\, “we would not be in the habit of praying for them.” Yet pre-Christian rites for the deceased retained such a strong hold on the superstitious imagination that a liturgical commemoration was not observed until the early Middle Ages\, when monastic communities began to mark an annual day of prayer for the departed members. \nIn the middle of the 11th century\, Saint Odilo\, abbot of Cluny\, France\, decreed that all Cluniac monasteries offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November 2\, the day after the feast of All Saints. The custom spread from Cluny and was finally adopted throughout the Roman Church. \nThe theological underpinning of the feast is the acknowledgment of human frailty. Since few people achieve perfection in this life but\, rather\, go to the grave still scarred with traces of sinfulness\, some period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face-to-face with God. The Council of Trent affirmed this purgatory state and insisted that the prayers of the living can speed the process of purification. \nSuperstition easily clung to the observance. Medieval popular belief held that the souls in purgatory could appear on this day in the form of witches\, toads or will-o’-the-wisps. Graveside food offerings supposedly eased the rest of the dead. \nObservances of a more religious nature have survived. These include public processions or private visits to cemeteries and decorating graves with flowers and lights. This feast is observed with great fervor in Mexico. \n\nReflection\nWhether or not one should pray for the dead is one of the great arguments which divide Christians. Appalled by the abuse of indulgences in the Church of his day\, Martin Luther rejected the concept of purgatory. Yet prayer for a loved one is\, for the believer\, a way of erasing any distance\, even death. In prayer we stand in God’s presence in the company of someone we love\, even if that person has gone before us into death.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/commemoration-of-all-the-faithful-departed/2017-11-02/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171101
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171102
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T170609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T170609Z
UID:5576-1509494400-1509580799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Solemnity of All Saints
DESCRIPTION:Image: Evening of All Saints’ Day at Malmi Cemetery\, Helsinki\, Finland | photo by Jori Samonen | flickr\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSolemnity of All Saints\nSaint of the Day for November 1\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nThe Story of the Solemnity of All Saints\nThe earliest certain observance of a feast in honor of all the saints is an early fourth-century commemoration of “all the martyrs.” In the early seventh century\, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs\, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagonloads of bones and reinterred them beneath the Pantheon\, a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods. The pope rededicated the shrine as a Christian church. According to Venerable Bede\, the pope intended “that the memory of all the saints might in the future be honored in the place which had formerly been dedicated to the worship not of gods but of demons” (On the Calculation of Time). \nBut the rededication of the Pantheon\, like the earlier commemoration of all the martyrs\, occurred in May. Many Eastern Churches still honor all the saints in the spring\, either during the Easter season or immediately after Pentecost. \nHow the Western Church came to celebrate this feast\, now recognized as a solemnity\, in November is a puzzle to historians. The Anglo-Saxon theologian Alcuin observed the feast on November 1 in 800\, as did his friend Arno\, Bishop of Salzburg. Rome finally adopted that date in the ninth century. \n\nReflection\nThis feast first honored martyrs. Later\, when Christians were free to worship according to their consciences\, the Church acknowledged other paths to sanctity. In the early centuries the only criterion was popular acclaim\, even when the bishop’s approval became the final step in placing a commemoration on the calendar. The first papal canonization occurred in 993; the lengthy process now required to prove extraordinary sanctity took form in the last 500 years. Today’s feast honors the obscure as well as the famous—the saints each of us have known.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/solemnity-of-all-saints/2017-11-01/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171031
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171101
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T160536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T160536Z
UID:5573-1509408000-1509494399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg
DESCRIPTION:Image: Statue of Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg | main altar\, Parish church in Metnitz | Raul de Chissota\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Wolfgang of Regensburg\nSaint of the Day for October 31\n(c. 924 – August 31\, 994)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Wolfgang of Regensburg’s Story\nWolfgang was born in Swabia\, Germany\, and was educated at a school located at the abbey of Reichenau. There he encountered Henry\, a young noble who went on to become Archbishop of Trier. Meanwhile\, Wolfgang remained in close contact with the archbishop\, teaching in his cathedral school and supporting his efforts to reform the clergy. \nAt the death of the archbishop\, Wolfgang chose to become a Benedictine monk and moved to an abbey in Einsiedeln\, now part of Switzerland. Ordained a priest\, he was appointed director of the monastery school there. Later he was sent to Hungary as a missionary\, though his zeal and good will yielded limited results. \nEmperor Otto II appointed him Bishop of Regensburg\, near Munich. He immediately initiated reform of the clergy and of religious life\, preaching with vigor and effectiveness and always demonstrating special concern for the poor. He wore the habit of a monk and lived an austere life. \nThe draw to monastic life never left him\, including the desire for a life of solitude. At one point he left his diocese so that he could devote himself to prayer\, but his responsibilities as bishop called him back. In 994\, Wolfgang became ill while on a journey; he died in Puppingen near Linz\, Austria. He was canonized in 1052. His feast day is celebrated widely in much of central Europe. \n\nReflection\nWolfgang could be depicted as a man with rolled-up sleeves. He even tried retiring to solitary prayer\, but taking his responsibilities seriously led him back into the service of his diocese. Doing what had to be done was his path to holiness—and ours. \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for October 31 is Blessed Thomas of Florence.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-wolfgang-of-regensburg/2017-10-31/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171030
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171031
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T160430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T160430Z
UID:5570-1509321600-1509407999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez
DESCRIPTION:Image: Detail | Vision of Alphonsus Rodriguez | Francisco de Zurbarán\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n  \nSaint Alphonsus Rodriguez\nSaint of the Day for October 30\n(1533 – October 30\, 1617)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Alphonsus Rodriguez’ Story\nTragedy and challenge beset today’s saint early in life\, but Alphonsus Rodriguez found happiness and contentment through simple service and prayer. \nBorn in Spain in 1533\, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within the space of three years\, his wife\, daughter\, and mother died; meanwhile\, business was poor. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the business and\, with his young son\, moved into his sister’s home. There he learned the discipline of prayer and meditation. \nYears later\, at the death of his son\, Alphonsus\, almost 40 by then\, sought to join the Jesuits. He was not helped by his poor education. He applied twice before being admitted. For 45 years he served as doorkeeper at the Jesuits’ college in Majorca. When not at his post\, he was almost always at prayer\, though he often encountered difficulties and temptations. \nHis holiness and prayerfulness attracted many to him\, including Saint Peter Claver\, then a Jesuit seminarian. Alphonsus’ life as doorkeeper may have been humdrum\, but he caught the attention of poet and fellow-Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins\, who made him the subject of one of his poems. \nAlphonsus died in 1617. He is the patron saint of Majorca. \n\nReflection\nWe like to think that God rewards the good\, even in this life. But Alphonsus knew business losses\, painful bereavement\, and periods when God seemed very distant. None of his suffering made him withdraw into a shell of self-pity or bitterness. Rather\, he reached out to others who lived with pain\, including enslaved blacks. Among the many notables at his funeral were the sick and poor people whose lives he had touched. May they find such a friend in us! \n\nSaint Alphonsus Rodriguez is the Patron Saint of:\nMajorca.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-alphonsus-rodriguez/2017-10-30/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171029
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171030
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T160239Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T160239Z
UID:5567-1509235200-1509321599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY: Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem | in Caractâeristiques des saints dans l’art populaire | photo by Internet Archive Book Images\nSaint Narcissus of Jerusalem\nSaint of the Day for October 29\n(d. c. 216)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Narcissus of Jerusalem’s Story\nLife in second- and third-century Jerusalem couldn’t have been easy\, but Saint Narcissus managed to live well beyond 100. Some even speculate he lived to 160. \nDetails of his life are sketchy\, but there are many reports of his miracles. The miracle for which he is most remembered was turning water into oil for use in the church lamps on Holy Saturday when the deacons had forgotten to provide any. \nWe do know that Narcissus became bishop of Jerusalem in the late second century. He was known for his holiness\, but there are hints that many people found him harsh and rigid in his efforts to impose Church discipline. One of his many detractors accused Narcissus of a serious crime at one point. Though the charges against him did not hold up\, he used the occasion to retire from his role as bishop and live in solitude. His disappearance was so sudden and convincing that many people assumed he had actually died. \nSeveral successors were appointed during his years in isolation. Finally\, Narcissus reappeared in Jerusalem and was persuaded to resume his duties. By then\, he had reached an advanced age\, so a younger bishop was brought in to assist him until his death. \n\nReflection\nAs our life spans increase and we face the bodily problems of aging\, we might keep Saint Narcissus in mind and ask him to help us face our developing issues.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-narcissus-of-jerusalem/2017-10-29/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171028
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171029
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T160121Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T160121Z
UID:5564-1509148800-1509235199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Simon and Jude
DESCRIPTION:Image: San Simón | Jusepe de Ribera / Image: Saint Jude Thaddeus | Georges de La Tour\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n  \nSaints Simon and Jude\nSaint of the Day for October 28\n(1st Century)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaints Simon and Jude’s Story\nJude is so named by Luke and Acts. Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels\, except\, of course\, where all the apostles are mentioned. Scholars hold that he is not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually\, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name\, it was shortened to “Jude” in English. \nSimon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called “the Zealot.” The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them\, the messianic promise of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent nation. God alone was their king\, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—the very domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees\, carrying on their ideals of religion and independence. But many were the counterparts of modern terrorists. They raided and killed\, attacking both foreigners and “collaborating” Jews. They were chiefly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. \n\nReflection\nAs in the case of all the apostles except for Peter\, James and John\, we are faced with men who are really unknown\, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot\, a former (crooked) tax collector\, an impetuous fisherman\, two “sons of thunder\,” and a man named Judas Iscariot. \nIt is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit\, culture\, personality\, effort\, or achievement. It is entirely God’s creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude\, like all the saints\, is the saint of the impossible: Only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so\, for all of us. \n\nSaint Jude is the Patron Saint of:\nDesperate Situations
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-simon-and-jude/2017-10-28/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171027
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171028
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T155959Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T155959Z
UID:5561-1509062400-1509148799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY: Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza
DESCRIPTION:Image: Statue of Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza | Monastery of Saint Bartholomew-Saint Anthony\, Vicenza\, Italy | photo by Claudio Gioseffi\nBlessed Bartholomew of Vicenza\nSaint of the Day for October 27\n(c. 1200 – 1271)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nBlessed Bartholomew of Vicenza’s Story\nDominicans honor one of their own today\, Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza. This was a man who used his skills as a preacher to challenge the heresies of his day. \nBartholomew was born in Vicenza around 1200. At 20\, he entered the Dominicans. Following his ordination\, he served in various leadership positions. As a young priest\, he founded a military order whose purpose was to keep civil peace in towns throughout Italy. \nIn 1248\, Bartholomew was appointed a bishop. For most men\, such an appointment is an honor and a tribute to their holiness and their demonstrated leadership skills. But for Bartholomew\, it was a form of exile that had been urged by an antipapal group that was only too happy to see him leave for Cyprus. Not many years later\, however\, Bartholomew was transferred back to Vicenza. Despite the antipapal feelings that were still evident\, he worked diligently—especially through his preaching—to rebuild his diocese and strengthen the people’s loyalty to Rome. \nDuring his years as bishop in Cyprus\, Bartholomew befriended King Louis IX of France\, who is said to have given the holy bishop a relic of Christ’s Crown of Thorns. \nBartholomew died in 1271. He was beatified in 1793. \n\nReflection\nDespite oppositions and obstacles\, Bartholomew remained faithful to his ministry to God’s People. We face daily challenges to our faithfulness and duties as well. Perhaps Bartholomew could serve as an inspiration in our darker moments.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-bartholomew-of-vicenza/2017-10-27/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171026
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171027
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T155827Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T155827Z
UID:5558-1508976000-1509062399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Peter of Alcantara
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Peter of Alcántara | Luis Tristán\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Peter of Alcantara\nSaint of the Day for October 26\n(1499 – October 18\, 1562)\n\n\nClick to hear audio clip ►\n\n\nSaint Peter of Alcantara’s Story\nPeter was a contemporary of well-known 16th-century Spanish saints\, including Ignatius of Loyola and John of the Cross. He served as confessor to Saint Teresa of Avila. Church reform was a major issue in Peter’s day\, and he directed most of his energies toward that end. His death came one year before the Council of Trent ended. \nBorn into a noble family (his father was the governor of Alcantara in Spain)\, Peter studied law at Salamanca University and\, at 16\, joined the so-called Observant Franciscans (also known as the discalced friars). While he practiced many penances\, he also demonstrated abilities which were soon recognized. He was named the superior of a new house even before his ordination as a priest\, he was elected provincial at the age of 39\, and he was a very successful preacher. Still\, he was not above washing dishes and cutting wood for the friars. He did not seek attention; indeed\, he preferred solitude. \nPeter’s penitential side was evident when it came to food and clothing. It is said that he slept only 90 minutes each night. While others talked about Church reform\, Peter’s reform began with himself. His patience was so great that a proverb arose: “To bear such an insult one must have the patience of Peter of Alcantara.” \nIn 1554\, Peter\, having received permission\, formed a group of Franciscans who followed the Rule of St. Francis with even greater rigor. These friars were known as Alcantarines. Some of the Spanish friars who came to North and South America in the 16th\, 17th and 18th centuries were members of this group. At the end of the 19th century\, the Alcantarines were joined with other Observant friars to form the Order of Friars Minor. \nAs spiritual director to Saint Teresa\, Peter encouraged her in promoting the Carmelite reform. His preaching brought many people to religious life\, especially to the Secular Franciscan Order\, the friars and the Poor Clares. \nHe was canonized in 1669. \n\nReflection\nPoverty was a means and not an end for Peter. The goal was following Christ in ever greater purity of heart. Whatever obstructed that path could be eliminated with no real loss. The philosophy of our consumer age—you are worth what you own—may find Peter of Alcantara’s approach severe. Ultimately\, his approach is life-giving while consumerism is deadly. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint Peter Alcantara is September 22.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-peter-of-alcantara/2017-10-26/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171025
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171026
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T155715Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T155715Z
UID:5555-1508889600-1508975999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão
DESCRIPTION:Image: Statue of Saint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão | Cathedral of Saint Anthony\, Guaratinguetá | photo by Zééh.mané\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão\nSaint of the Day for October 25\n(1739 – December 23\, 1822)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão’s Story\nGod’s plan in a person’s life often takes unexpected turns which become life-giving through cooperation with God’s grace. \nBorn in Guarantingueta near São Paulo\, Antônio attended the Jesuit seminary in Belem\, but later decided to become a Franciscan friar. Invested in 1760\, he made final profession the following year and was ordained in 1762. \nIn São Paulo\, he served as preacher\, confessor\, and porter. Within a few years\, he was appointed confessor to the Recollects of Saint Teresa\, a group of nuns in that city. He and Sister Helena Maria of the Holy Spirit founded a new community of sisters under the patronage of Our Lady of the Conception of Divine Providence. Sister Helena Maria’s premature death the next year left Father Antônio responsible for the new congregation\, especially for building a convent and church adequate for their growing numbers. \nHe served as novice master for the friars in Macacu and as guardian of St. Francis Friary in São Paulo. He founded St. Clare Friary in Sorocaba. With the permission of his provincial and the bishop\, he spent his last days at the Recolhimento de Nossa Senhora da Luz\, the convent of the sisters’ congregation he had helped establish. \nHe was beatified in Rome on October 25\, 1998\, and canonized in 2007. \n\nReflection\nHoly women and men cannot help calling our attention to God\, to God’s creation and to all the people whom God loves. The lives of holy people are so oriented toward God that this has become their definition of “normal.” Do people see my life or yours as a living sign of God’s steadfast love? What might have to change for that to happen?
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-antonio-de-santanna-galvao/2017-10-25/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171024
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171025
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T155606Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T155606Z
UID:5552-1508803200-1508889599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Anthony Mary Claret
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Anthony Mary Claret | Saints in Rome and Beyond\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Anthony Mary Claret\nSaint of the Day for October 24\n(December 23\, 1807 – October 24\, 1870)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Anthony Mary Claret’s Story\nThe “spiritual father of Cuba” was a missionary\, religious founder\, social reformer\, queen’s chaplain\, writer and publisher\, archbishop\, and refugee. He was a Spaniard whose work took him to the Canary Islands\, Cuba\, Madrid\, Paris\, and to the First Vatican Council. \nIn his spare time as weaver and designer in the textile mills of Barcelona\, he learned Latin and printing: The future priest and publisher was preparing. Ordained at 28\, he was prevented by ill health from entering religious life as a Carthusian or as a Jesuit\, but went on to become one of Spain’s most popular preachers. \nAnthony spent 10 years giving popular missions and retreats\, always placing great emphasis on the Eucharist and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. His rosary\, it was said\, was never out of his hand. At 42\, beginning with five young priests\, he founded a religious institute of missionaries\, known today as the Claretians. \nHe was appointed to head the much-neglected archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba. He began its reform by almost ceaseless preaching and hearing of confessions\, and suffered bitter opposition mainly for opposing concubinage and giving instruction to black slaves. A hired assassin (whose release from prison Anthony had obtained) slashed open his face and wrist. Anthony succeeded in getting the would-be assassin’s death sentence commuted to a prison term. His solution for the misery of Cubans was family-owned farms producing a variety of foods for the family’s own needs and for the market. This invited the enmity of the vested interests who wanted everyone to work on a single cash crop—sugar. Besides all his religious writings are two books he wrote in Cuba: Reflections on Agriculture and Country Delights. \nHe was recalled to Spain for a job he did not relish—being chaplain for the queen. He went on three conditions: He would reside away from the palace\, he would come only to hear the queen’s confession and instruct the children\, and he would be exempt from court functions. In the revolution of 1868\, he fled with the queen’s party to Paris\, where he preached to the Spanish colony. \nAll his life Anthony was interested in the Catholic press. He founded the Religious Publishing House\, a major Catholic publishing venture in Spain\, and wrote or published 200 books and pamphlets. \nAt Vatican I\, where he was a staunch defender of the doctrine of infallibility\, he won the admiration of his fellow bishops. Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore remarked of him\, “There goes a true saint.” At the age of 63\, he died in exile near the border of Spain. \n\nReflection\nJesus foretold that those who are truly his representatives would suffer the same persecution as he did. Besides 14 attempts on his life\, Anthony had to undergo such a barrage of the ugliest slander that the very name Claret became a byword for humiliation and misfortune. The powers of evil do not easily give up their prey. No one needs to go looking for persecution. All we need to do is be sure we suffer because of our genuine faith in Christ\, not for our own whims and lack of prudence. \n\nSaint Anthony Mary Claret is Patron Saint of:\nSavings\nWeavers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-anthony-mary-claret/2017-10-24/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171023
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171024
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T155447Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T155447Z
UID:5549-1508716800-1508803199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint John of Capistrano
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint John Capistrano | Stained glass window in the Franciscan Monastery in Washington\, DC. | photo by Lawrence OP\n\nSaint John of Capistrano\nSaint of the Day for October 23\n(June 24\, 1386 – October 23\, 1456)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint John of Capistrano’s Story\nIt has been said the Christian saints are the world’s greatest optimists. Not blind to the existence and consequences of evil\, they base their confidence on the power of Christ’s redemption. The power of conversion through Christ extends not only to sinful people but also to calamitous events. \nImagine being born in the 14th century. One-third of the population and nearly 40 percent of the clergy were wiped out by the bubonic plague. The Western Schism split the Church with two or three claimants to the Holy See at one time. England and France were at war. The city-states of Italy were constantly in conflict. No wonder that gloom dominated the spirit of the culture and the times. \nJohn Capistrano was born in 1386. His education was thorough. His talents and success were great. When he was 26 he was made governor of Perugia. Imprisoned after a battle against the Malatestas\, he resolved to change his way of life completely. At the age of 30 he entered the Franciscan novitiate and was ordained a priest four years later. \nHis preaching attracted great throngs at a time of religious apathy and confusion. He and 12 Franciscan brethren were received in the countries of central Europe as angels of God. They were instrumental in reviving a dying faith and devotion. \nThe Franciscan Order itself was in turmoil over the interpretation and observance of the Rule of St. Francis. Through John’s tireless efforts and his expertise in law\, the heretical Fraticelli were suppressed and the “Spirituals” were freed from interference in their stricter observance. \nHe helped bring about a reunion with the Greek and Armenian Churches\, unfortunately only a brief arrangement. \nWhen the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453\, he was commissioned to preach a crusade for the defense of Europe. Gaining little response in Bavaria and Austria\, he decided to concentrate his efforts in Hungary. He led the army to Belgrade. Under the great General John Hunyadi\, they gained an overwhelming victory\, and the siege of Belgrade was lifted. Worn out by his superhuman efforts\, Capistrano was an easy prey to an infection after the battle. He died on October 23\, 1456. \n\nReflection\nJohn Hofer\, a biographer of John Capistrano\, recalls a Brussels organization named after the saint. Seeking to solve life problems in a fully Christian spirit\, its motto was: “Initiative\, Organization\, Activity.” These three words characterized John’s life. He was not one to sit around. His deep Christian optimism drove him to battle problems at all levels with the confidence engendered by a deep faith in Christ. \n\nSaint John of Capistrano is Patron Saint of:\nJudges
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-john-of-capistrano/2017-10-23/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171022
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171023
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T154757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T154757Z
UID:5546-1508630400-1508716799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint John Paul II
DESCRIPTION:Image: Pope John Paul II | old Yankee Stadium\, New York City\, in October 1979 | Library of Congress\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint John Paul II\nSaint of the Day for October 22\n(May 18\, 1920 – April 2\, 2005)\n\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint John Paul II’s Story\nOpen wide the doors to Christ\,” urged John Paul II during the homily at the Mass when he was installed as pope in 1978. \nBorn in Wadowice\, Poland\, Karol Jozef Wojtyla had lost his mother\, father and older brother before his 21st birthday. Karol’s promising academic career at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. While working in a quarry and a chemical factory\, he enrolled in an “underground” seminary in Kraków. Ordained in 1946\, he was immediately sent to Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology. \nBack in Poland\, a short assignment as assistant pastor in a rural parish preceded his very fruitful chaplaincy for university students. Soon he earned a doctorate in philosophy and began teaching that subject at Poland’s University of Lublin. \nCommunist officials allowed him to be appointed auxiliary bishop of Kraków in 1958\, considering him a relatively harmless intellectual. They could not have been more wrong! \nHe attended all four sessions of Vatican II and contributed especially to its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Appointed as archbishop of Kraków in 1964\, he was named a cardinal three years later. \nElected pope in October 1978\, he took the name of his short-lived\, immediate predecessor. Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. In time\, he made pastoral visits to 124 countries\, including several with small Christian populations. \nHe promoted ecumenical and interfaith initiatives\, especially the 1986 Day of Prayer for World Peace in Assisi. He visited Rome’s Main Synagogue and the Western Wall in Jerusalem; he also established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel. He improved Catholic-Muslim relations and in 2001 visited a mosque in Damascus\, Syria. \nThe Great Jubilee of the Year 2000\, a key event in John Paul’s ministry\, was marked by special celebrations in Rome and elsewhere for Catholics and other Christians. Relations with the Orthodox Churches improved considerably during his ministry as pope. \n“Christ is the center of the universe and of human history” was the opening line of his 1979 encyclical\, Redeemer of the Human Race. In 1995\, he described himself to the United Nations General Assembly as “a witness to hope.” \nHis 1979 visit to Poland encouraged the growth of the Solidarity movement there and the collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe 10 years later. He began World Youth Day and traveled to several countries for those celebrations. He very much wanted to visit China and the Soviet Union but the governments in those countries prevented that. \nOne of the most well-remembered photos of his pontificate was his one-on-one conversation in 1983 with Mehmet Ali Agca\, who had attempted to assassinate him two years earlier. \nIn his 27 years of papal ministry\, John Paul II wrote 14 encyclicals and five books\, canonized 482 saints and beatified 1\,338 people. In the last years of his life\, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was forced to cut back on some of his activities. \nPope Benedict XVI beatified John Paul II in 2011\, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014. \n\nReflection\nBefore John Paul II’s funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square\, hundreds of thousands of people had waited patiently for a brief moment to pray before his body\, which lay in state inside St. Peter’s for several days. The media coverage of his funeral was unprecedented. \nCardinal Joseph Ratzinger\, then dean of the College of Cardinals and later Pope Benedict XVI\, presided at the funeral Mass and concluded his homily by saying: “None of us can ever forget how\, in that last Easter Sunday of his life\, the Holy Father\, marked by suffering\, came once more to the window of the Apostolic Palace and one last time gave his blessing urbi et orbi (‘to the city and to the world’). \n“We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house\, that sees us and blesses us. Yes\, bless us\, Holy Father. We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God\, your Mother\, who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the glory of her Son\, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-john-paul-ii/2017-10-22/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171021
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171022
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T154629Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T154629Z
UID:5543-1508544000-1508630399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Hilarion
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint-Hilarion Church\, Church place in Saint-Hilarion\, France | photo by Lionel Allorge\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Hilarion\nSaint of the Day for October 21\n(c. 291 – 371)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Hilarion’s Story\nDespite his best efforts to live in prayer and solitude\, today’s saint found it difficult to achieve his deepest desire. People were naturally drawn to Hilarion as a source of spiritual wisdom and peace. He had reached such fame by the time of his death that his body had to be secretly removed so that a shrine would not be built in his honor. Instead\, he was buried in his home village. \nSaint Hilarion the Great\, as he is sometimes called\, was born in Palestine. After his conversion to Christianity\, he spent some time with Saint Anthony of Egypt\, another holy man drawn to solitude. Hilarion lived a life of hardship and simplicity in the desert\, where he also experienced spiritual dryness that included temptations to despair. At the same time\, miracles were attributed to him. \nAs his fame grew\, a small group of disciples wanted to follow Hilarion. He began a series of journeys to find a place where he could live away from the world. He finally settled on Cyprus\, where he died in 371 at about age 80. \nHilarion is celebrated as the founder of monasticism in Palestine. Much of his fame flows from the biography of him written by Saint Jerome. \n\nReflection\nWe can learn the value of solitude from Saint Hilarion. Unlike loneliness\, solitude is a positive condition in which we are alone with God. In today’s busy and noisy world\, we could all use a little solitude.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-hilarion/2017-10-21/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171020
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171021
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T154250Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T154250Z
UID:5540-1508457600-1508543999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Paul of the Cross
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Paul of the Cross | Engraving | Wellcome Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Paul of the Cross\nSaint of the Day for October 20\n(January 3\, 1694 – October 18\, 1775)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Paul of the Cross’ Story\nBorn in northern Italy in 1694\, Paul Daneo lived at a time when many regarded Jesus as a great moral teacher but no more. After a brief time as a soldier\, he turned to solitary prayer\, developing a devotion to Christ’s passion. Paul saw in the Lord’s passion a demonstration of God’s love for all people. In turn that devotion nurtured his compassion and supported a preaching ministry that touched the hearts of many listeners. He was known as one of the most popular preachers of his day\, both for his words and for his generous acts of mercy. \nIn 1720\, Paul founded the Congregation of the Passion\, whose members combined devotion to Christ’s passion with preaching to the poor and rigorous penances. Known as the Passionists\, they add a fourth vow to the traditional three of poverty\, chastity\, and obedience\, to spread the memory of Christ’s passion among the faithful. Paul was elected superior general of the Congregation in 1747\, spending the remainder of his life in Rome. \nPaul of the Cross died in 1775\, and was canonized in 1867. Over 2000 of his letters and several of his short writings have survived. \n\nReflection\nPaul’s devotion to Christ’s passion must have seemed eccentric if not bizarre to many people. Yet it was that devotion that nurtured Paul’s compassion and supported a preaching ministry that touched the hearts of many listeners. He was one of the most popular preachers of his day\, known for both his words and his generous acts of mercy. \n\nSaint Paul of the Cross is the Patron Saint of:\nHungary \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for October 20 is Blessed Contardo Ferrini.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-paul-of-the-cross/2017-10-20/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171019
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171020
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T154051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T154051Z
UID:5537-1508371200-1508457599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Isaac Jogues\, Jean de Brébeuf\, and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Image: Martyrdom of Father Isaac Jogues S.J. | Engraving by A. Malaer | Wellcome Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaints Isaac Jogues\, Jean de Brébeuf\, and Companions\nSaint of the Day for October 19\n(d. 1642 – 1649)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaints Isaac Jogues\, Jean de Brébeuf\, and Companions’ Story\nIsaac Jogues and his companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent officially recognized by the Church. As a young Jesuit\, Isaac Jogues\, a man of learning and culture\, taught literature in France. He gave up that career to work among the Huron Indians in the New World and in 1636\, he and his companions\, under the leadership of Jean de Brébeuf\, arrived in Quebec. The Hurons were constantly warred upon by the Iroquois\, and in a few years Father Jogues was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months. His letters and journals tell how he and his companions were led from village to village\, how they were beaten\, tortured\, and forced to watch as their Huron converts were mangled and killed. \nAn unexpected chance for escape came to Isaac Jogues through the Dutch\, and he returned to France\, bearing the marks of his sufferings. Several fingers had been cut\, chewed\, or burnt off. Pope Urban VIII gave him permission to offer Mass with his mutilated hands: “It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ not be allowed to drink the Blood of Christ.” \nWelcomed home as a hero\, Father Jogues might have sat back\, thanked God for his safe return\, and died peacefully in his homeland. But his zeal led him back once more to the fulfillment of his dreams. In a few months he sailed for his missions among the Hurons. \nIn 1646\, he and Jean de Lalande\, who had offered his services to the missioners\, set out for Iroquois country in the belief that a recently signed peace treaty would be observed. They were captured by a Mohawk war party\, and on October 18 Father Jogues was tomahawked and beheaded. Jean de Lalande was killed the next day at Ossernenon\, a village near Albany\, New York. \nThe first of the Jesuit missionaries to be martyred was René Goupil who with Lalande\, had offered his services as an oblate. He was tortured along with Isaac Jogues in 1642\, and was tomahawked for having made the sign of the cross on the brow of some children. \nJean de Brébeuf was a French Jesuit who came to Canada at the age of 32 and labored there for 24 years. He went back to France when the English captured Quebec in 1629 and expelled the Jesuits\, but returned to his missions four years later. Although medicine men blamed the Jesuits for a smallpox epidemic among the Hurons\, Jean remained with them. \nHe composed catechisms and a dictionary in Huron\, and saw 7\,000 converted before his death. He was captured by the Iroquois and died after four hours of extreme torture at Sainte Marie\, near Georgian Bay\, Canada. \nFather Anthony Daniel\, working among Hurons who were gradually becoming Christian\, was killed by Iroquois on July 4\, 1648. His body was thrown into his chapel\, which was set on fire. \nGabriel Lalemant had taken a fourth vow—to sacrifice his life for the Native Americans. He was horribly tortured to death along with Father Brébeuf. \nFather Charles Garnier was shot to death as he baptized children and catechumens during an Iroquois attack. \nFather Noel Chabanel was killed before he could answer his recall to France. He had found it exceedingly hard to adapt to mission life. He could not learn the language\, and the food and life of the Indians revolted him\, plus he suffered spiritual dryness during his whole stay in Canada. Yet he made a vow to remain until death in his mission. \nThese eight Jesuit martyrs of North America were canonized in 1930. \n\nReflection\nFaith and heroism planted belief in Christ’s cross deep in our land. The Church in North America sprang from the blood of martyrs\, as has been true in so many places. The ministry and sacrifices of these saints challenges each of us\, causing us to ask just how deep is our faith and how strong our desire to serve even in the face of death. \n\nSaints Isaac Jogues\, Jean de Brébeuf\, and Companions are the Patron Saints of:\nNorth America\nNorway
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-isaac-jogues-jean-de-brebeuf-and-companions/2017-10-19/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171018
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171019
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T153232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T153232Z
UID:5534-1508284800-1508371199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Luke
DESCRIPTION:Image: The Apostle Luke | Andrey Mironov\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Luke\nSaint of the Day for October 18\n(d. c. 84)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Luke’s Story\nLuke wrote one of the major portions of the New Testament\, a two-volume work comprising the third Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. In the two books he shows the parallel between the life of Christ and that of the Church. He is the only Gentile Christian among the Gospel writers. Tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch\, and Paul calls him “our beloved physician.” His Gospel was probably written between 70 and 85 A.D. \nLuke appears in Acts during Paul’s second journey\, remains at Philippi for several years until Paul returns from his third journey\, accompanies Paul to Jerusalem\, and remains near him when he is imprisoned in Caesarea. During these two years\, Luke had time to seek information and interview persons who had known Jesus. He accompanied Paul on the dangerous journey to Rome where he was a faithful companion. \nLuke’s unique character may best be seen by the emphases of his Gospel\, which has been given a number of subtitles:\n1) The Gospel of Mercy\n2) The Gospel of Universal Salvation\n3) The Gospel of the Poor\n4) The Gospel of Absolute Renunciation\n5) The Gospel of Prayer and the Holy Spirit\n6) The Gospel of Joy \n\nReflection\nLuke wrote as a Gentile for Gentile Christians. His Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles reveal his expertise in classic Greek style as well as his knowledge of Jewish sources. There is a warmth to Luke’s writing that sets it apart from that of the other synoptic Gospels\, and yet it beautifully complements those works. The treasure of the Scriptures is a true gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. \n\nSaint Luke is the Patron Saint of:\nArtists/Painters\nBrewers\nButchers\nNotaries\nPhysicians/Surgeons \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for October 18 is Blessed James of Strepar.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-luke/2017-10-18/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171017
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171018
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T153121Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T153121Z
UID:5531-1508198400-1508284799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Ignatius of Antioch
DESCRIPTION:Image: Detail | Saint Ignatius with Madonna and Child | Lorenzo Lotto\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Ignatius of Antioch\nSaint of the Day for October 17\n(d. c. 107)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Ignatius of Antioch’s Story\nBorn in Syria\, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually became bishop of Antioch. In the year 107\, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome. \nIgnatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome. Five of these letters are to churches in Asia Minor; they urge the Christians there to remain faithful to God and to obey their superiors. He warns them against heretical doctrines\, providing them with the solid truths of the Christian faith. \nThe sixth letter was to Polycarp\, bishop of Smyrna\, who was later martyred for the faith. The final letter begs the Christians in Rome not to try to stop his martyrdom. “The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.” \nIgnatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus. \n\nReflection\nIgnatius’s great concern was for the unity and order of the Church. Even greater was his willingness to suffer martyrdom rather than deny his Lord Jesus Christ. He did not draw attention to his own suffering\, but to the love of God which strengthened him. He knew the price of commitment and would not deny Christ\, even to save his own life.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-ignatius-of-antioch/2017-10-17/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171016
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171017
DTSTAMP:20260403T173029
CREATED:20170801T153006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170801T153006Z
UID:5528-1508112000-1508198399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
DESCRIPTION:Image: Stained glass\, depiction Christ appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showing her His Sacred Heart | St. Francis Xavier Basilica\, Vincennes\, IN\nSaint Margaret Mary Alacoque\nSaint of the Day for October 16\n(July 22\, 1647 – October 17\, 1690)\nClick to hear audio clip ► \nSaint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Story\nMargaret Mary was chosen by Christ to arouse the Church to a realization of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus. \nHer early years were marked by sickness and a painful home situation. “The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering.” After considering marriage for some time\, Margaret Mary entered the Order of the Visitation nuns at the age of 24. \nA Visitation nun was “not to be extraordinary except by being ordinary\,” but the young nun was not to enjoy this anonymity. A fellow novice termed Margaret Mary humble\, simple\, and frank\, but above all\, kind and patient under sharp criticism and correction. She could not meditate in the formal way expected\, though she tried her best to give up her “prayer of simplicity.” Slow\, quiet\, and clumsy\, she was assigned to help an infirmarian who was a bundle of energy. \nOn December 21\, 1674\, three years a nun\, she received the first of her revelations. She felt “invested” with the presence of God\, though always afraid of deceiving herself in such matters. The request of Christ was that his love for humankind be made evident through her. \nDuring the next 13 months\, he appeared to her at intervals. His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love. By her own love she was to make up for the coldness and ingratitude of the world—by frequent and loving holy Communion\, especially on the first Friday of each month\, and by an hour’s vigil of prayer every Thursday night in memory of his agony and isolation in Gethsemane. He also asked that a feast of reparation be instituted. \nLike all saints\, Margaret Mary had to pay for her gift of holiness. Some of her own sisters were hostile. Theologians who were called in declared her visions delusions and suggested that she eat more heartily. Later\, parents of children she taught called her an impostor\, an unorthodox innovator. A new confessor\, Saint Claude de la Colombière\, a Jesuit\, recognized her genuineness and supported her. Against her great resistance\, Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters\, and to make this known. \nAfter serving as novice mistress and assistant superior\, she died at the age of 43 while being anointed. She said: “I need nothing but God\, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.” \n\nReflection\nOur scientific-materialistic age cannot “prove” private revelations. Theologians\, if pressed\, admit that we do not have to believe in them. But it is impossible to deny the message Margaret Mary heralded: that God loves us with a passionate love. Her insistence on reparation and prayer and the reminder of final judgment should be sufficient to ward off superstition and superficiality in devotion to the Sacred Heart while preserving its deep Christian meaning. \n\nOther Saints of the Day for October 16 is Saint Gerard Majella and Saint Hedwig.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-margaret-mary-alacoque/2017-10-16/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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