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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180303
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180304
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170828T153200Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T153826Z
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SUMMARY:Saint Katharine Drexel
DESCRIPTION: \nSaint Katharine Drexel\nSaint of the Day for March 3\n(November 26\, 1858 -March 3\, 1955 )\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar03.mp3\n\nKatharine Drexel’s Story\nIf your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car\, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer\, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that. \nBorn in Philadelphia in 1858\, she had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl\, Katharine also had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness\, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death\, and her life took a profound turn. \nKatharine had always been interested in the plight of the Indians\, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour\, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied\, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities. \nBack home\, Katharine visited the Dakotas\, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions. \nKatharine Drexel could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor\, she wrote in 1889\, “The feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!” \nAfter three and a half years of training\, Mother Drexel and her first band of nuns–Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored–opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942\, she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states\, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work\, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all\, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states. \nTwo saints met when Mother Drexel was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her order’s Rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans\, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans. \nAt 77\, Mother Drexel suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost 20 years of quiet\, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers\, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at 96 and was canonized in 2000. \n\nReflection\nSaints have always said the same thing: Pray\, be humble\, accept the cross\, love and forgive. But it is good to hear these things in the American idiom from one who\, for instance\, had her ears pierced as a teenager\, who resolved to have “no cake\, no preserves\,” who wore a watch\, was interviewed by the press\, traveled by train\, and could concern herself with the proper size of pipe for a new mission. These are obvious reminders that holiness can be lived in today’s culture as well as in that of Jerusalem or Rome. \n\nAnother Sant of the Day for March 3 is Blessed Innocent of Berzo.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/6395/2018-03-03/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180302
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180303
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170828T152829Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T152829Z
UID:6392-1519948800-1520035199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Agnes of Bohemia
DESCRIPTION:Saint Agnes of Bohemia\nSaint of the Day for March 2\n(1205 – March 6\, 1282)\n\n\n\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar02.mp3\n  \n\nSaint Agnes of Bohemia’s Story\nAgnes had no children of her own but was certainly life-giving for all who knew her. \nAgnes was the daughter of Queen Constance and King Ottokar I of Bohemia. She was betrothed to the Duke of Silesia\, who died three years later. As she grew up\, she decided she wanted to enter the religious life. \nAfter declining marriages to King Henry VII of Germany and King Henry III of England\, Agnes was faced with a proposal from Frederick II\, the Holy Roman Emperor. She appealed to Pope Gregory IX for help. The pope was persuasive; Frederick magnanimously said that he could not be offended if Agnes preferred the King of Heaven to him. \nAfter Agnes built a hospital for the poor and a residence for the friars\, she financed the construction of a Poor Clare monastery in Prague. In 1236\, she and seven other noblewomen entered this monastery. Saint Clare sent five sisters from San Damiano to join them\, and wrote Agnes four letters advising her on the beauty of her vocation and her duties as abbess. \nAgnes became known for prayer\, obedience and mortification. Papal pressure forced her to accept her election as abbess\, nevertheless\, the title she preferred was “senior sister.” Her position did not prevent her from cooking for the other sisters and mending the clothes of lepers. The sisters found her kind but very strict regarding the observance of poverty; she declined her royal brother’s offer to set up an endowment for the monastery. \nDevotion to Agnes arose soon after her death on March 6\, 1282. She was canonized in 1989. \n\nReflection\nAgnes spent at least 45 years in a Poor Clare monastery. Such a life requires a great deal of patience and charity. The temptation to selfishness certainly didn’t vanish when Agnes walked into the monastery. It is perhaps easy for us to think that cloistered nuns “have it made” regarding holiness. Their route is the same as ours: gradual exchange of our standards–inclinations to selfishness–for God’s standard of generosity.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-agnes-of-bohemia/2018-03-02/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180301
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180302
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170828T142925Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170828T142925Z
UID:6388-1519862400-1519948799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint David of Wales
DESCRIPTION:Saint David of Wales\nSaint of the Day for March 1\n(d. March 1\, 589)\nhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODMar01.mp3\nSaint David of Wales’ Story\nDavid is the patron saint of Wales and perhaps the most famous of British saints. Ironically\, we have little reliable information about him. \nIt is known that he became a priest\, engaged in missionary work\, and founded many monasteries\, including his principal abbey in southwestern Wales. Many stories and legends sprang up about David and his Welsh monks. Their austerity was extreme. They worked in silence without the help of animals to till the soil. Their food was limited to bread\, vegetables and water. \nIn about the year 550\, David attended a synod where his eloquence impressed his fellow monks to such a degree that he was elected primate of the region. The episcopal see was moved to Mynyw\, where he had his monastery\, now called St. David’s. He ruled his diocese until he had reached a very old age. His last words to his monks and subjects were: “Be joyful\, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith\, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me.” \nSaint David is pictured standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. The legend is that once while he was preaching a dove descended to his shoulder and the earth rose to lift him high above the people so that he could be heard. Over 50 churches in South Wales were dedicated to him in pre-Reformation days. \n\nReflection\nWere we restricted to hard manual labor and a diet of bread\, vegetables and water\, most of us would find little reason to rejoice. Yet joy is what David urged on his brothers as he lay dying. Perhaps he could say that to them—and to us—because he lived in and nurtured a constant awareness of God’s nearness. For\, as someone once said\, “Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” May his intercession bless us with the same awareness! \n\nSaint David of Wales is the Patron Saint of:\nWales
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-david-of-wales/2018-03-01/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180228
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180301
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T165423Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165423Z
UID:6305-1519776000-1519862399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Daniel Brottier
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Daniel Brottier\nSaint of the Day for February 28\n(September 7\, 1876 – February 28\, 1936)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed Daniel Brottier’s Story\nDaniel spent most of his life in the trenches—one way or another. \nBorn in France in 1876\, Daniel was ordained in 1899 and began a teaching career. That didn’t satisfy him long. He wanted to use his zeal for the gospel far beyond the classroom. He joined the missionary Congregation of the Holy Spirit\, which sent him to Senegal\, West Africa. After eight years there\, his health was suffering. He was forced to return to France\, where he helped raise funds for the construction of a new cathedral in Senegal. \nAt the outbreak of World War I\, Daniel became a volunteer chaplain and spent four years at the front. He did not shrink from his duties. Indeed\, he risked his life time and again in ministering to the suffering and dying. It was miraculous that he did not suffer a single wound during his 52 months in the heart of battle. \nAfter the war he was invited to help establish a project for orphaned and abandoned children in a Paris suburb. He spent the final 13 years of his life there. He died in 1936 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Paris only 48 years later. \n\nReflection\nBlessed Daniel might be called “Teflon Dan” since nothing seemed to harm him while in the midst of war. God intended to use him in some pretty wonderful ways for the good of the Church and he willingly served. He is a good example for all of us.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-daniel-brottier/2018-02-28/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180227
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180228
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T165315Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165315Z
UID:6302-1519689600-1519775999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
DESCRIPTION:Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows\nSaint of the Day for February 27\n(March 1\, 1838 – February 27\, 1862)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows’ Story\nBorn in Italy into a large family and baptized Francis\, Saint Gabriel lost his mother when he was only four years old. He was educated by the Jesuits and\, having been cured twice of serious illnesses\, came to believe that God was calling him to the religious life. Young Francis wished to join the Jesuits but was turned down\, probably because of his age\, not yet 17. Following the death of a sister to cholera\, his resolve to enter religious life became even stronger and he was accepted by the Passionists. Upon entering the novitiate he was given the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. \nEver popular and cheerful\, Gabriel quickly was successful in his effort to be faithful in little things. His spirit of prayer\, love for the poor\, consideration of the feelings of others\, exact observance of the Passionist Rule as well as his bodily penances—always subject to the will of his wise superiors— made a deep impression on everyone. \nHis superiors had great expectations of Gabriel as he prepared for the priesthood\, but after only four years of religious life symptoms of tuberculosis appeared. Ever obedient\, he patiently bore the painful effects of the disease and the restrictions it required\, seeking no special notice. He died peacefully on February 27\, 1862\, at age 24\, having been an example to both young and old. \nSaint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was canonized in 1920. \n\nReflection\nWhen we think of achieving great holiness by doing little things with love and grace\, Therese of Lisieux comes first to mind. Like her\, Gabriel died painfully from tuberculosis. Together they urge us to tend to the small details of daily life\, to be considerate of others’ feelings every day. Our path to sanctity\, like theirs\, probably lies not in heroic doings but in performing small acts of kindness every day. \n\nSaint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows is the Patron Saint of:\nClergy\nStudents\nYoung People
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-gabriel-of-our-lady-of-sorrows/2018-02-27/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180226
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180227
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T165151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165151Z
UID:6299-1519603200-1519689599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Maria Bertilla Boscardin
DESCRIPTION:Saint Maria Bertilla Boscardin\nSaint of the Day for February 26\n(October 6\, 1888 – October 20\, 1922)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Maria Bertilla Boscardin’s Story\nIf anyone knew rejection\, ridicule and disappointment\, it was today’s saint. But such trials only brought Maria Bertilla Boscardin closer to God and more determined to serve him. \nBorn in Italy in 1888\, the young girl lived in fear of her father\, a violent man prone to jealousy and drunkenness. Her schooling was limited so that she could spend more time helping at home and working in the fields. She showed few talents and was often the butt of jokes. \nIn 1904\, she joined the Sisters of Saint Dorothy and was assigned to work in the kitchen\, bakery and laundry. After some time Maria received nurses’ training and began working in a hospital with children suffering from diphtheria. There the young nun seemed to find her true vocation: nursing very ill and disturbed children. Later\, when the hospital was taken over by the military in World War I\, Sister Maria Bertilla fearlessly cared for patients amidst the threat of constant air raids and bombings. \nShe died in 1922 after suffering for many years from a painful tumor. Some of the patients she had nursed many years before were present at her canonization in 1961. \n\nReflection\nThis fairly recent saint knew the hardships of living in an abusive situation. Let us pray to her to help all those who are suffering from any form of spiritual\, mental\, or physical abuse
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-maria-bertilla-boscardin/2018-02-26/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180225
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180226
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T165038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T165038Z
UID:6294-1519516800-1519603199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio\nSaint of the Day for February 25\n(January 20\, 1502 – February 25\, 1600)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed Sebastian of Aparicio’s Story\nSebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity and destiny. \nSebastian’s parents were Spanish peasants. At the age of 31\, he sailed to Mexico\, where he began working in the fields. Eventually he built roads to facilitate agricultural trading and other commerce. His 466-mile road from Mexico City to Zacatecas took 10 years to build and required careful negotiations with the indigenous peoples along the way. \nIn time Sebastian was a wealthy farmer and rancher. At the age of 60\, he entered a virginal marriage. His wife’s motivation may have been a large inheritance; his was to provide a respectable life for a girl without even a modest marriage dowry. When his first wife died\, he entered another virginal marriage for the same reason; his second wife also died young. \nAt the age of 72\, Sebastian distributed his goods among the poor and entered the Franciscans as a brother. Assigned to the large (100-member) friary at Puebla de los Angeles south of Mexico City\, Sebastian went out collecting alms for the friars for the next 25 years. His charity to all earned him the nickname “Angel of Mexico.” \nSebastian was beatified in 1787 and is known as a patron of travelers. \n\nReflection\nAccording to the Rule of St. Francis\, the friars were to work for their daily bread. Sometimes\, however\, their work would not provide for their needs; for example\, working with people suffering from leprosy brought little or no pay. In cases such as these\, the friars were allowed to beg\, always keeping in mind the admonition of Francis to let their good example commend them to the people. The life of the prayerful Sebastian drew many closer to God. \n\nBlessed Sebastian of Aparicio is the Patron Saint of:\nTravelers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-sebastian-of-aparicio/2018-02-25/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180224
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180225
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164927Z
UID:6293-1519430400-1519516799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed Luke Belludi
DESCRIPTION:Blessed Luke Belludi\nSaint of the Day for February 24\n(1200 – c. 1285)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed Luke Belludi’s Story\nIn 1220\, Saint Anthony was preaching conversion to the inhabitants of Padua when a young nobleman\, Luke Belludi\, came up to him and humbly asked to receive the habit of the followers of Saint Francis. Anthony liked the talented\, well-educated Luke and personally recommended him to Francis\, who then received him into the Franciscan Order. \nLuke\, then only 20\, was to be Anthony’s companion in his travels and in his preaching\, tending to him in his last days and taking Anthony’s place upon his death. He was appointed guardian of the Friars Minor in the city of Padua. In 1239\, the city fell into the hands of its enemies. Nobles were put to death\, the mayor and council were banished\, the great university of Padua gradually closed and the church dedicated to Saint Anthony was left unfinished. Luke himself was expelled from the city but secretly returned. At night he and the new guardian would visit the tomb of Saint Anthony in the unfinished shrine to pray for his help. One night a voice came from the tomb assuring them that the city would soon be delivered from its evil tyrant. \nAfter the fulfillment of the prophetic message\, Luke was elected provincial minister and furthered the completion of the great basilica in honor of Anthony\, his teacher. He founded many convents of the order and had\, as Anthony\, the gift of miracles. Upon his death he was laid to rest in the basilica that he had helped finish and has had a continual veneration up to the present time. \n\nReflection\nThe epistles refer several times to a man named Luke as Paul’s trusted companion on his missionary journeys. Perhaps every great preacher needs a Luke; Anthony surely did. Luke Belludi not only accompanied Anthony on his travels\, he also cared for the great saint in his final illness and carried on Anthony’s mission after the saint’s death. Yes\, every preacher needs a Luke\, someone to offer support and reassurance—including those who minister to us. We don’t even have to change our names!
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-luke-belludi/2018-02-24/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180223
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180224
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164728Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164728Z
UID:6290-1519344000-1519430399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Polycarp
DESCRIPTION:Saint Polycarp\nSaint of the Day for February 23\n(c. 69 – c. 155)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Polycarp’s Story\nPolycarp\, bishop of Smyrna\, disciple of Saint John the Apostle and friend of Saint Ignatius of Antioch\, was a revered Christian leader during the first half of the second century. \nSaint Ignatius\, on his way to Rome to be martyred\, visited Polycarp at Smyrna\, and later at Troas wrote him a personal letter. The Asia Minor Churches recognized Polycarp’s leadership by choosing him as a representative to discuss with Pope Anicetus the date of the Easter celebration in Rome—a major controversy in the early Church. \nOnly one of the many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved\, the one he wrote to the Church of Philippi in Macedonia. \nAt 86\, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was finally killed by a dagger. The centurion ordered the saint’s body burned. The “Acts” of Polycarp’s martyrdom are the earliest preserved\, fully reliable account of a Christian martyr’s death. He died in 155. \n\nReflection\nPolycarp was recognized as a Christian leader by all Asia Minor Christians—a strong fortress of faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ. His own strength emerged from his trust in God\, even when events contradicted this trust. Living among pagans and under a government opposed to the new religion\, he led and fed his flock. Like the Good Shepherd\, he laid down his life for his sheep and kept them from more persecution in Smyrna. He summarized his trust in God just before he died: “Father… I bless Thee\, for having made me worthy of the day and the hour…” (Acts of Martyrdom\, Chapter 14). \n\nSaint Polycarp is the Patron Saint of:\nEaraches
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-polycarp/2018-02-23/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180222
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180223
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164558Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164558Z
UID:6287-1519257600-1519343999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Chair of Saint Peter
DESCRIPTION:Chair of Saint Peter\nSaint of the Day for February 22\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of the Chair of Saint Peter\nThis feast commemorates Christ’s choosing Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church. \nAfter the “lost weekend” of pain\, doubt\, and self-torment\, Peter hears the Good News. Angels at the tomb say to Magdalene\, “The Lord has risen! Go\, tell his disciples and Peter.” John relates that when he and Peter ran to the tomb\, the younger outraced the older\, then waited for him. Peter entered\, saw the wrappings on the ground\, the headpiece rolled up in a place by itself. John saw and believed. But he adds a reminder: “…[T]hey did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9). They went home. There the slowly exploding\, impossible idea became reality. Jesus appeared to them as they waited fearfully behind locked doors. “Peace be with you\,” he said (John 20:21b)\, and they rejoiced. \nThe Pentecost event completed Peter’s experience of the risen Christ. “…[T]hey were all filled with the holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4a) and began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them. \nOnly then can Peter fulfill the task Jesus had given him: “… [O]nce you have turned back\, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). He at once becomes the spokesman for the Twelve about their experience of the Holy Spirit—before the civil authorities who wished to quash their preaching\, before the Council of Jerusalem\, for the community in the problem of Ananias and Sapphira. He is the first to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. The healing power of Jesus in him is well attested: the raising of Tabitha from the dead\, the cure of the crippled beggar. People carry the sick into the streets so that when Peter passed his shadow might fall on them. \nEven a saint experiences difficulty in Christian living. When Peter stopped eating with Gentile converts because he did not want to wound the sensibilities of Jewish Christians\, Paul says\, “…I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong…. [T]hey were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel…” (Galatians 2:11b\, 14a). \nAt the end of John’s Gospel\, Jesus says to Peter\, “Amen\, amen\, I say to you\, when you were younger\, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old\, you will stretch out your hands\, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). What Jesus said indicated the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God. On Vatican Hill\, in Rome\, during the reign of Nero\, Peter did glorify his Lord with a martyr’s death\, probably in the company of many Christians. \nSecond-century Christians built a small memorial over his burial spot. In the fourth century\, the Emperor Constantine built a basilica\, which was replaced in the 16th century. \nFor more on Saint Peter’s chair\, click here. \n\nReflection\nLike the committee chair\, this chair refers to the occupant\, not the furniture. Its first occupant stumbled a bit\, denying Jesus three times and hesitating to welcome gentiles into the new Church. Some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit\, sometimes even failed scandalously. As individuals\, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down. Still\, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as a focus for the universal Church.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/chair-of-saint-peter/2018-02-22/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180221
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180222
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164446Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164446Z
UID:6284-1519171200-1519257599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Peter Damian
DESCRIPTION:Saint Peter Damian\nSaint of the Day for February 21\n(988 – February 22\, 1072)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Peter Damian’s Story\nMaybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one of his brothers\, Peter Damian was very good to the poor. It was the ordinary thing for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked to minister personally to their needs. \nPeter escaped poverty and the neglect of his own brother when his other brother\, who was archpriest of Ravenna\, took him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a professor. \nAlready in those days\, Peter was very strict with himself. He wore a hair shirt under his clothes\, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in prayer. Soon\, he decided to leave his teaching and give himself completely to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of Saint Romuald at Fonte Avellana. They lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray and slept so little that he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he had to use some prudence in taking care of himself. When he was not praying\, he studied the Bible. \nThe abbot commanded that when he died Peter should succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five other hermitages. He encouraged his brothers in a life of prayer and solitude and wanted nothing more for himself. The Holy See periodically called on him\, however\, to be a peacemaker or troubleshooter\, between two abbeys in dispute or a cleric or government official in some disagreement with Rome. \nFinally\, Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe out simony (the buying of church offices)\, and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests\, warning against needless travel\, violations of poverty\, and too comfortable living. He even wrote to the bishop of Besancon complaining that the canons there sat down when they were singing the psalms in the Divine Office. \nHe wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53 of his sermons and seven lives\, or biographies\, that he wrote. He preferred examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin. \nHe asked often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia\, and finally Pope Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk\, but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an assignment in Ravenna\, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office\, he died on February 22\, 1072. \nIn 1828\, he was declared a Doctor of the Church. \n\nReflection\nPeter was a reformer and if he were alive today would no doubt encourage the renewal started by Vatican II. He would also applaud the greater emphasis on prayer that is shown by the growing number of priests\, religious\, and laypersons who gather regularly for prayer\, as well as the special houses of prayer recently established by many religious communities.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-peter-damian/2018-02-21/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180220
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DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164332Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164332Z
UID:6281-1519084800-1519171199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto
DESCRIPTION:Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto\nSaint of the Day for February 20\n(Jacinta: 1910 – February 20\, 1920; Francisc0: 1908 – April 14\, 1919)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaints Jacinta and Francisco Marto’s Story\nBetween May 13 and October 13\, 1917\, three Portuguese shepherd children from Aljustrel\, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria\, near Fátima\, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time\, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil\, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious organizations soon after. \nAt the first appearance\, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months. She also asked them to learn to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia\, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall under communism. Up to 90\,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on October 13\, 1917. \nLess than two years later\, Francisco died of influenza in his family home. He was buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1952. Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon in 1920\, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners\, peace in the world\, and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1951. Their cousin Lúcia dos Santos\, became a Carmelite nun and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000; she died five years later. Pope Francis canonized the younger children on his visit to Fátima to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first apparition–May 13\, 2017. The shrine of Our Lady of Fátima is visited by up to 20 million people a year. \n\nReflection\nThe Church is always very cautious about endorsing alleged apparitions\, but it has seen benefits from people changing their lives because of the message of Our Lady of Fátima. Prayer for sinners\, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary\, and praying the rosary—all these reinforce the Good News Jesus came to preach.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-jacinta-and-francisco-marto/2018-02-20/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180219
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180220
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164222Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164222Z
UID:6278-1518998400-1519084799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Conrad of Piacenza
DESCRIPTION:Saint Conrad of Piacenza\nSaint of the Day for February 19\n(c. 1290 – February 19\, 1351)\nSaint Conrad of Piacenza’s Story\nBorn of a noble family in northern Italy\, Conrad as a young man married Euphrosyne\, daughter of a nobleman. \nOne day while hunting he ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. The fire spread to nearby fields and to a large forest. Conrad fled. An innocent peasant was imprisoned\, tortured to confess\, and condemned to death. Conrad confessed his guilt\, saved the man’s life\, and paid for the damaged property. \nSoon after this event\, Conrad and his wife agreed to separate: she to a Poor Clare monastery and he to a group of hermits following the Third Order Rule. His reputation for holiness\, however\, spread quickly. Since his many visitors destroyed his solitude\, Conrad went to a more remote spot in Sicily where he lived 36 years as a hermit\, praying for himself and for the rest of the world. \nPrayer and penance were his answer to the temptations that beset him. Conrad died kneeling before a crucifix. He was canonized in 1625. \n\nReflection\nFrancis of Assisi was drawn both to contemplation and to a life of preaching; periods of intense prayer nourished his preaching. Some of his early followers\, however\, felt called to a life of greater contemplation\, and he accepted that. Though Conrad of Piacenza is not the norm in the Church\, he and other contemplatives remind us of the greatness of God and of the joys of heaven.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-conrad-of-piacenza/2018-02-19/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180218
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180219
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164122Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164122Z
UID:6275-1518912000-1518998399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Blessed John of Fiesole
DESCRIPTION:Blessed John of Fiesole\nSaint of the Day for February 18\n(1387 – February 18\, 1455)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nBlessed John of Fiesole’s Story\nThe patron of Christian artists was born around 1400 in a village overlooking Florence. He took up painting as a young boy and studied under the watchful eye of a local painting master. He joined the Dominicans at about age 20\, taking the name Fra Giovanni. He eventually came to be known as Fra Angelico\, perhaps a tribute to his own angelic qualities or maybe the devotional tone of his works. \nHe continued to study painting and perfect his own techniques\, which included broad-brush strokes\, vivid colors and generous\, lifelike figures. Michelangelo once said of Fra Angelico: “One has to believe that this good monk has visited paradise and been allowed to choose his models there.” Whatever his subject matter\, Fra Angelico sought to generate feelings of religious devotion in response to his paintings. Among his most famous works are the Annunciation and Descent from the Cross as well as frescoes in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. \nHe also served in leadership positions within the Dominican Order. At one point\, Pope Eugenius approached him about serving as archbishop of Florence. Fra Angelico declined\, preferring a simpler life. He died in 1455. \n\nReflection\nThe work of artists adds a wonderful dimension to life. Without art our lives would be much depleted. Let us pray for artists today\, especially those who can lift our hearts and minds to God. \n\nBlessed John of Fiesole is the Patron Saint of:\nChristian Artists \n\nAnother Saint of the Day for February 18 is Saint Simeon.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/blessed-john-of-fiesole/2018-02-18/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180217
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180218
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T164003Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T164003Z
UID:6272-1518825600-1518911999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Seven Founders of the Servite Order
DESCRIPTION:Seven Founders of the Servite Order\nSaint of the Day for February 17\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order\nCan you imagine seven prominent men of Boston or Denver banding together\, leaving their homes and professions\, and going into solitude for a life directly given to God? That is what happened in the cultured and prosperous city of Florence in the middle of the 13th century. The city was torn with political strife as well as the heresy of the Cathari\, who believed that physical reality was inherently evil. Morals were low and religion seemed meaningless. \nIn 1240\, seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God. Their initial difficulty was providing for their dependents\, since two were still married and two were widowers. \nTheir aim was to lead a life of penance and prayer\, but they soon found themselves disturbed by constant visitors from Florence. They next withdrew to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario. \nIn 1244\, under the direction of St. Peter of Verona\, O.P.\, this small group adopted a religious habit similar to the Dominican habit\, choosing to live under the Rule of St. Augustine and adopting the name of the Servants of Mary. The new Order took a form more like that of the mendicant friars than that of the older monastic Orders. \nMembers of the community came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and settled in New York and later in Philadelphia. The two American provinces developed from the foundation made by Father Austin Morini in 1870 in Wisconsin. \nCommunity members combined monastic life and active ministry. In the monastery\, they led a life of prayer\, work and silence while in the active apostolate they engaged in parochial work\, teaching\, preaching\, and other ministerial activities. \n\nReflection\nThe time in which the seven Servite founders lived is very easily comparable to the situation in which we find ourselves today. It is “the best of times and the worst of times\,” as Dickens once wrote. Some\, perhaps many\, feel called to a countercultural life\, even in religion. All of us are faced in a new and urgent way with the challenge to make our lives decisively centered in Christ.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/seven-founders-of-the-servite-order/2018-02-17/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180216
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180217
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T163854Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163854Z
UID:6269-1518739200-1518825599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Gilbert of Sempringham
DESCRIPTION:Saint Gilbert of Sempringham\nSaint of the Day for February 16\n(c. 1083 – February 4\, 1189)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Gilbert of Sempringham’s Story\nGilbert was born in Sempringham\, England\, into a wealthy family\, but he followed a path quite different from that expected of him as the son of a Norman knight. Sent to France for his higher education\, he decided to pursue seminary studies. \nHe returned to England not yet ordained a priest\, and inherited several estates from his father. But Gilbert avoided the easy life he could have led under the circumstances. Instead he lived a simple life at a parish\, sharing as much as possible with the poor. Following his ordination to the priesthood he served as parish priest at Sempringham. \nAmong the congregation were seven young women who had expressed to him their desire to live in religious life. In response\, Gilbert had a house built for them adjacent to the Church. There they lived an austere life\, but one which attracted ever more numbers; eventually lay sisters and lay brothers were added to work the land. The religious order formed eventually became known as the Gilbertines\, though Gilbert had hoped the Cistercians or some other existing order would take on the responsibility of establishing a rule of life for the new order. The Gilbertines\, the only religious order of English origin founded during the Middle Ages\, continued to thrive. But the order came to an end when King Henry VIII suppressed all Catholic monasteries. \nOver the years a special custom grew up in the houses of the order called “the plate of the Lord Jesus.” The best portions of the dinner were put on a special plate and shared with the poor\, reflecting Gilbert’s lifelong concern for less fortunate people. \nThroughout his life\, Gilbert lived simply\, consumed little food\, and spent a good portion of many nights in prayer. Despite the rigors of such a life he died at well over age 100. \n\nReflection\nWhen he came into his father’s wealth\, Gilbert could have lived a life of luxury\, as many of his fellow priests did at the time. Instead\, he chose to share his wealth with the poor. The charming habit of filling “the plate of the Lord Jesus” in the monasteries he established reflected his concern. Today’s Operation Rice Bowl echoes that habit: eating a simpler meal and letting the difference in the grocery bill help feed the hungry.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-gilbert-of-sempringham/2018-02-16/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180215
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180216
DTSTAMP:20260403T134436
CREATED:20170825T163739Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163739Z
UID:6266-1518652800-1518739199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Claude de la Colombière
DESCRIPTION:Saint Claude de la Colombière\nSaint of the Day for February 15\n(February 2\,1641 – February 15\, 1682)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Claude de la Colombière’s Story\nThis is a special day for the Jesuits\, who claim today’s saint as one of their own. It’s also a special day for people who have a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a devotion Claude de la Colombière promoted\, along with his friend and spiritual companion\, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. The emphasis on God’s love for all was an antidote to the rigorous moralism of the Jansenists\, who were popular at the time. \nClaude showed remarkable preaching skills long before his ordination in 1675. Two months later\, he was made superior of a small Jesuit residence in Burgundy. It was there he first encountered Margaret Mary Alacoque. For many years after he served as her confessor. \nHe was next sent to England to serve as confessor to the Duchess of York. He preached by both words and by the example of his holy life\, converting a number of Protestants. Tensions arose against Catholics and Claude\, rumored to be part of a plot against the king\, was imprisoned. He was ultimately banished\, but by then his health had been ruined. \nHe died in 1682. Pope John Paul II canonized Claude de la Colombière in 1992. \n\nReflection\nAs a fellow Jesuit and as a promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus\, Saint Claude must be very special to Pope Francis who has so beautifully emphasized the mercy of Jesus. The emphasis on God’s love and mercy are characteristic of both men.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-claude-de-la-colombiere/2018-02-15/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180215
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T163634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163634Z
UID:6263-1518566400-1518652799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Cyril and Methodius
DESCRIPTION:Saints Cyril and Methodius\nSaint of the Day for February 14\n(Cyril: c. 827 – February 14\, 869; Methodius: c. 815 – April 6\, 884)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaints Cyril and Methodius’ Story\nBecause their father was an officer in a part of Greece inhabited by many Slavs\, these two Greek brothers ultimately became missionaries\, teachers\, and patrons of the Slavic peoples. \nAfter a brilliant course of studies\, Cyril (called Constantine until he became a monk shortly before his death) refused the governorship of a district such as his brother had accepted among the Slavic-speaking population. Cyril withdrew to a monastery where his brother Methodius had become a monk after some years in a governmental post. \nA decisive change in their lives occurred when the Duke of Moravia asked the Eastern Emperor Michael for political independence from German rule and ecclesiastical autonomy (having their own clergy and liturgy). Cyril and Methodius undertook the missionary task. \nCyril’s first work was to invent an alphabet\, still used in some Eastern liturgies. His followers probably formed the Cyrillic alphabet. Together they translated the Gospels\, the psalter\, Paul’s letters and the liturgical books into Slavonic\, and composed a Slavonic liturgy\, highly irregular then. \nThat and their free use of the vernacular in preaching led to opposition from the German clergy. The bishop refused to consecrate Slavic bishops and priests\, and Cyril was forced to appeal to Rome. On the visit to Rome\, he and Methodius had the joy of seeing their new liturgy approved by Pope Adrian II. Cyril\, long an invalid\, died in Rome 50 days after taking the monastic habit. \nMethodius continued mission work for 16 more years. He was papal legate for all the Slavic peoples\, consecrated a bishop and then given an ancient see (now in the Czech Republic). When much of their former territory was removed from their jurisdiction\, the Bavarian bishops retaliated with a violent storm of accusation against Methodius. As a result\, Emperor Louis the German exiled Methodius for three years. Pope John VIII secured his release. \nBecause the Frankish clergy\, still smarting\, continued their accusations\, Methodius had to go to Rome to defend himself against charges of heresy and uphold his use of the Slavonic liturgy. He was again vindicated. \nLegend has it that in a feverish period of activity\, Methodius translated the whole Bible into Slavonic in eight months. He died on Tuesday of Holy Week\, surrounded by his disciples\, in his cathedral church. \nOpposition continued after his death\, and the work of the brothers in Moravia was brought to an end and their disciples scattered. But the expulsions had the beneficial effect of spreading the spiritual\, liturgical\, and cultural work of the brothers to Bulgaria\, Bohemia and southern Poland. Patrons of Moravia\, and specially venerated by Catholic Czechs\, Slovaks\, Croatians\, Orthodox Serbians and Bulgarians\, Cyril and Methodius are eminently fitted to guard the long-desired unity of East and West. In 1980\, Pope John Paul II named them additional co-patrons of Europe (with Benedict). \n\nReflection\nHoliness means reacting to human life with God’s love: human life as it is\, crisscrossed with the political and the cultural\, the beautiful and the ugly\, the selfish and the saintly. For Cyril and Methodius much of their daily cross had to do with the language of the liturgy. They are not saints because they got the liturgy into Slavonic\, but because they did so with the courage and humility of Christ. \n\nSaints Cyril and Methodius are the Patron Saints of:\nSlavic Peoples\nEcumenism
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-cyril-and-methodius/2018-02-14/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180213
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180214
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T163435Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163435Z
UID:6260-1518480000-1518566399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Giles Mary of Saint Joseph
DESCRIPTION:Saint Giles Mary of St. Joseph\nSaint of the Day for February 13\n(November 16\, 1729 – February 7\, 1812)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Giles Mary of Saint Joseph’s Story\nIn the same year that a power-hungry Napoleon Bonaparte led his army into Russia\, Giles Mary of Saint Joseph ended a life of humble service to his Franciscan community and to the citizens of Naples. \nFrancesco was born in Taranto to very poor parents. His father’s death left the 18-year-old Francesco to care for the family. Having secured their future\, he entered the Friars Minor at Galatone in 1754. For 53 years\, he served at St. Paschal’s Hospice in Naples in various roles\, such as cook\, porter\, or most often as official beggar for that community. \n“Love God\, love God” was his characteristic phrase as he gathered food for the friars and shared some of his bounty with the poor—all the while consoling the troubled and urging everyone to repent. The charity which he reflected on the streets of Naples was born in prayer and nurtured in the common life of the friars. The people whom Giles met on his begging rounds nicknamed him the “Consoler of Naples.” He was canonized in 1996. \n\nReflection\nPeople often become arrogant and power hungry when they forget their own sinfulness and ignore the gifts God has given to other people. Giles had a healthy sense of his own sinfulness—not paralyzing but not superficial either. He invited men and women to recognize their own gifts and to live out their dignity as people made in God’s divine image. Knowing someone like Giles can help us on our own spiritual journey.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-giles-mary-of-saint-joseph/2018-02-13/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180213
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T163315Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163315Z
UID:6255-1518393600-1518479999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Apollonia
DESCRIPTION:Saint Apollonia\nSaint of the Day for February 12\n(d. c. 249)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Apollonia’s Story\nThe persecution of Christians began in Alexandria during the reign of the Emperor Philip. The first victim of the pagan mob was an old man named Metrius\, who was tortured and then stoned to death. The second person who refused to worship their false idols was a Christian woman named Quinta. Her words infuriated the mob and she was scourged and stoned. \nWhile most of the Christians were fleeing the city\, abandoning all their worldly possessions\, an old deaconess\, Apollonia\, was seized. The crowds beat her\, knocking out all of her teeth. Then they lit a large fire and threatened to throw her in it if she did not curse her God. She begged them to wait a moment\, acting as if she was considering their requests. Instead\, she jumped willingly into the flames and so suffered martyrdom. \nThere were many churches and altars dedicated to her. Apollonia is the patroness of dentists\, and people suffering from toothache and other dental diseases often ask her intercession. She is pictured with a pair of pincers holding a tooth or with a golden tooth suspended from her necklace. Saint Augustine explained her voluntary martyrdom as a special inspiration of the Holy Spirit\, since no one is allowed to cause his or her own death. \n\nReflection\nThe Church has quite a sense of humor! Apollonia is honored as the patron saint of dentists\, but this woman who had her teeth extracted without anesthetic surely ought to be the patron of those who dread the chair. She might also be the patron of the aging\, for she attained glory in her old age\, standing firm before her persecutors even as her fellow Christians fled the city. However we choose to honor her\, she remains a model of courage for us. \n\nSaint Apollonia is the Patron Saint of:\nDentists\nToothache
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-apollonia/2018-02-12/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180211
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180212
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T163326Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163326Z
UID:6254-1518307200-1518393599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Our Lady of Lourdes
DESCRIPTION:Our Lady of Lourdes\n Saint of the Day for February 11\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of Our Lady of Lourdes\nOn December 8\, 1854\, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later\, on February 11\, 1858\, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25\, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” \nBernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father\, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.” \nDuring interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero\, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu)\, but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity. \nThrough that humble girl\, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907. \n\nReflection\nLourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing\, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures\, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. \nThere still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God\, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe\, no explanation is possible.” \n\nOur Lady of Lourdes if the Patron Saint of:\nBodily Ills
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/our-lady-of-lourdes/2018-02-11/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180210
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180211
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T163038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T163038Z
UID:6251-1518220800-1518307199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Scholastica
DESCRIPTION:Saint Scholastica\nSaint of the Day for February 10\n(c. 480 – February 10\, 542)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Scholastica’s Story\nTwins often share the same interests and ideas with an equal intensity. Therefore\, it is no surprise that Scholastica and her twin brother\, Benedict\, established religious communities within a few miles from each other. \nBorn in 480 of wealthy parents\, Scholastica and Benedict were brought up together until he left central Italy for Rome to continue his studies. \nLittle is known of Scholastica’s early life. She founded a religious community for women near Monte Cassino at Plombariola\, five miles from where her brother governed a monastery. \nThe twins visited each other once a year in a farmhouse because Benedict was not permitted inside the monastery. They spent these times discussing spiritual matters. \nAccording to the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great\, the brother and sister spent their last day together in prayer and conversation. Scholastica sensed her death was close at hand and she begged Benedict to stay with her until the next day. \nHe refused her request because he did not want to spend a night outside the monastery\, thus breaking his own Rule. Scholastica asked God to let her brother remain and a severe thunderstorm broke out\, preventing Benedict and his monks from returning to the abbey. \nBenedict cried out\, “God forgive you\, Sister. What have you done?” Scholastica replied\, “I asked a favor of you and you refused. I asked it of God and he granted it.” \nBrother and sister parted the next morning after their long discussion. Three days later\, Benedict was praying in his monastery and saw the soul of his sister rising heavenward in the form of a white dove. Benedict then announced the death of his sister to the monks and later buried her in the tomb he had prepared for himself. \n\nReflection\nScholastica and Benedict gave themselves totally to God and gave top priority to deepening their friendship with him through prayer. They sacrificed some of the opportunities they would have had to be together as brother and sister in order better to fulfill their vocation to the religious life. In coming closer to Christ\, however\, they found they were also closer to each other. In joining a religious community\, they did not forget or forsake their family but rather found more brothers and sisters. \n\nSaint Scholastica is the Patron Saint of:\nNuns
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-scholastica/2018-02-10/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180210
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162927Z
UID:6248-1518134400-1518220799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Jerome Emiliani
DESCRIPTION:Saint Jerome Emiliani\nSaint of the Day for February 9\n(1486 – February 8\, 1537)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Jerome Emiliani’s Story\nA careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice\, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think\, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped\, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood. \nIn the years after his ordination\, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor\, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others\, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages\, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital. \nAround 1532\, Jerome and two other priests established a congregation\, the Clerks Regular of Somasca\, dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928\, Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children. \n\nReflection\nVery often in our lives it seems to take some kind of “imprisonment” to free us from the shackles of our self-centeredness. When we’re “caught” in some situation we don’t want to be in\, we finally come to know the liberating power of Another. Only then can we become another for “the imprisoned” and “the orphaned” all around us. \n\nThe Liturgical Feast of Saint Jerome Emiliani is February 8.\n\nSaint Jerome Emiliani is the Patron Saint of :\nOrphans\nAbandoned Children
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-jerome-emiliani/2018-02-09/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180209
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162819Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T171417Z
UID:6245-1518048000-1518134399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Josephine Bakhita
DESCRIPTION:Saint Josephine Bakhita\nSaint of the Day for February 8\n(c. 1869 – February 8\, 1947)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Josephine Bakhita’s Story\nFor many years\, Josephine Bakhita was a slave but her spirit was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed. \nBorn in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan\, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of 7\, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita\, which means fortunate. She was resold several times\, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani\, Italian consul in Khartoum\, Sudan. \nTwo years later\, he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli\, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens\, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed\, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890\, taking the name Josephine. \nWhen the Michielis returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them\, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case\, the Canossian Sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine’s behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy\, she had actually been free since 1885. \nJosephine entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902\, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona)\, where she assisted her religious community through cooking\, sewing\, embroidery\, and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens. She once said\, “Be good\, love the Lord\, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!” \nThe first steps toward her beatification began in 1959. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later. \n\nReflection\nJosephine’s body was mutilated by those who enslaved her\, but they could not touch her spirit. Her Baptism set her on an eventual path toward asserting her civic freedom and then service to God’s people as a Canossian Sister. \nShe who worked under many “masters” was finally happy to address God as “master” and carry out everything that she believed to be God’s will for her.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-josephine-bakhita/2018-02-08/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180208
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162716Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162716Z
UID:6242-1517961600-1518047999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Colette
DESCRIPTION:Saint Colette\nSaint of the Day for February 7\n(January 13\, 1381 – March 6\, 1447)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Colette’s Story\nColette did not seek the limelight\, but in doing God’s will she certainly attracted a lot of attention. Colette was born in Corbie\, France. At 21\, she began to follow the Third Order Rule and became an anchoress\, a woman walled into a room whose only opening was a window into a church. \nAfter four years of prayer and penance in this cell\, she left it. With the approval and encouragement of the pope\, she joined the Poor Clares and reintroduced the primitive Rule of St. Clare in the 17 monasteries she established. Her sisters were known for their poverty—they rejected any fixed income—and for their perpetual fast. Colette’s reform movement spread to other countries and is still thriving today. Colette was canonized in 1807. \n\nReflection\nColette began her reform during the time of the Great Western Schism (1378-1417) when three men claimed to be pope and thus divided Western Christianity. The 15th century in general was a very difficult one for the Western Church. Abuses long neglected cost the Church dearly in the following century. Colette’s reform indicated the entire Church’s need to follow Christ more closely.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-colette/2018-02-07/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180206
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180207
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162608Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162608Z
UID:6239-1517875200-1517961599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Paul Miki and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Saint Paul Miki and Companions\nSaint of the Day for February 6\n(d. 1597)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Paul Miki and Companions’ Story\nNagasaki\, Japan\, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped\, immediately killing over 37\,000 people. Three and a half centuries before\, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill\, now known as the Holy Mountain\, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests\, brothers\, and laymen\, Franciscans\, Jesuits\, and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists\, doctors\, simple artisans\, and servants\, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his Church. \nBrother Paul Miki\, a Jesuit and a native of Japan\, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross\, Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: “The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines\, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all\, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.” \nWhen missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s\, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627\, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862. \n\nReflection\nToday\, a new era has come for the Church in Japan. Although the number of Catholics is not large\, the Church is respected and has total religious freedom. The spread of Christianity in the Far East is slow and difficult. Faith such as that of the 26 martyrs is needed today as much as in 1597.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-paul-miki-and-companions/2018-02-06/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180205
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180206
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162457Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162457Z
UID:6236-1517788800-1517875199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Agatha
DESCRIPTION:Saint Agatha\nSaint of the Day for February 5\n(c. 230 – 251)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Agatha’s Story\nAs in the case of Agnes\, another virgin-martyr of the early Church\, almost nothing is historically certain about this saint except that she was martyred in Sicily during the persecution of Emperor Decius in 251. \nLegend has it that Agatha\, like Agnes\, was arrested as a Christian\, tortured and sent to a house of prostitution to be mistreated. She was preserved from being violated\, and was later put to death. \nShe is claimed as the patroness of both Palermo and Catania. The year after her death\, the stilling of an eruption of Mt. Etna was attributed to her intercession. As a result\, apparently\, people continued to ask her prayers for protection against fire. \n\nReflection\nThe scientific modern mind winces at the thought of a volcano’s might being contained by God because of the prayers of a Sicilian girl. Still less welcome\, probably\, is the notion of that saint being the patroness of such varied professions as those of foundry workers\, nurses\, miners and Alpine guides. Yet\, in our historical precision\, have we lost an essential human quality of wonder and poetry\, and even our belief that we come to God by helping each other\, both in action and prayer? \n\nSaint Agatha is the Patron Saint of:\nDiseases of the Breast\nNurses
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-agatha/2018-02-05/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180204
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180205
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162339Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162339Z
UID:6233-1517702400-1517788799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Joseph of Leonissa
DESCRIPTION:Saint Joseph of Leonissa\nSaint of the Day for February 4\n(January 8\, 1556  – February 4\, 1612)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Joseph of Leonissa’s Story\nJoseph was born at Leonissa in the Kingdom of Naples. As a boy and as a student in early adulthood\, Joseph drew attention for his energy and virtue. Offered a nobleman’s daughter in marriage\, Joseph refused and joined the Capuchins in his hometown in 1573 instead. Avoiding the safe compromises by which people sometimes undercut the gospel\, Joseph denied himself hearty meals and comfortable quarters as he prepared for ordination and a life of preaching. \nIn 1587\, he went to Constantinople to take care of the Christian galley slaves working under Turkish masters. Imprisoned for this work\, he was warned not to resume it on his release. He did and was again imprisoned and then condemned to death. Miraculously freed\, he returned to Italy where he preached to the poor and reconciled feuding families as well as warring cities which had been at odds for years. He was canonized in 1745. \n\nReflection\nSaints often jar us because they challenge our ideas about what we need for “the good life.” “I’ll be happy when. . . \,” we may say\, wasting an incredible amount of time on the periphery of life. People like Joseph of Leonissa challenge us to face life courageously and get to the heart of it: life with God. Joseph was a compelling preacher because his life was as convincing as his words.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-joseph-of-leonissa/2018-02-04/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180204
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162230Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162230Z
UID:6230-1517616000-1517702399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Blaise
DESCRIPTION:Saint Blaise\nSaint of the Day for February 3\n(d. c. 316)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Blaise’s Story\nWe know more about the devotion to Saint Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. His feast is observed as a holy day in some Eastern Churches. In 1222\, the Council of Oxford prohibited servile labor in England on Blaise’s feast day. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor\, and for decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual Saint Blaise blessing for their throats. \nWe know that Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea\, Armenia\, in 316. The legendary Acts of St. Blaise were written 400 years later. According to them Blaise was a good bishop\, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. Although the Edict of Toleration (311)\, granting freedom of worship in the Roman Empire\, was already five years old\, persecution still raged in Armenia. Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer\, but he made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves\, lions and bears. \nThe legend has it that as the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison\, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone. \nAgricolaus\, governor of Cappadocia\, tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused\, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. Finally\, he was beheaded. \n\nReflection\nFour centuries give ample opportunity for fiction to creep in with fact. Who can be sure how accurate Blaise’s biographer was? But biographical details are not essential. Blaise is seen as one more example of the power those have who give themselves entirely to Jesus. As Jesus told his apostles at the Last Supper\, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you\, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). With faith we can follow the lead of the Church in asking for Blaise’s protection. \n\nSaint Blaise is the Patron Saint of:\nThroat Ailments\nEnglish Wool Combers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-blaise/2018-02-03/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180202
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180203
DTSTAMP:20260403T134437
CREATED:20170825T162120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170825T162120Z
UID:6227-1517529600-1517615999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Presentation of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:Presentation of the Lord\nSaint of the Day for February 2\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of the Presentation of the Lord\nAt the end of the fourth century\, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal\, discovered in 1887\, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany\, the observance of Christ’s birth\, and the gala procession in honor of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later. (Under the Mosaic Law\, a woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth\, when she was to present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.” Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification. \nThe observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25\, the Presentation was moved to February 2\, 40 days after Christmas. \nAt the beginning of the eighth century\, Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession; at the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day became part of the celebration\, giving the feast its popular name: Candlemas. \n\nReflection\nIn Luke’s account\, Jesus was welcomed in the temple by two elderly people\, Simeon and the widow Anna. They embody Israel in their patient expectation; they acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Early references to the Roman feast dub it the feast of Saint Simeon\, the old man who burst into a song of joy which the Church still sings at day’s end.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/presentation-of-the-lord/2018-02-02/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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