Saturday, September 27, 2014

BLESSED CHRISTINA CAMOZZI

Blessed Christina of Spoleto

Also known as Christina Camozzi
Christina Visconti (a mispelling that has been perpetuated in several accounts)


Feast day :13 February




Born 1435 at Lake Lugano, Italy as Christina Camozzi

Died 1458 of natural causes

Beatified 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI cultus confirmed



Physician‘s daughter. A dissolute youth, she had a sudden and complete conversion, and imposed severe austerities on herself as penance for her earlier life. After a few years of frivolity, Christina embraced a life of extreme bodily mortification leading to her death at age 23

Agostina Camozzi was the daughter of a well-known doctor in Ostenso in the Italian province of Como. A graceful and attractive young woman, she married at an early age but within a short time was left widowed. In a second relationship she suffered the loss of her only child, a son. A subsequent marriage left her widowed again, this time at the hands of a jealous rival. In about 1450 Agostina underwent a serious conversion, became an Augustinian Tertiary, and changed her name to that of Christine. Her life now was to be one of penance, prayer, and the works of mercy. She lived in various Augustinian convents, moving from one to another, in order to remain in obscurity as best she could. In 1457 she undertook a pilgrimage with the intention of visiting Assisi, Rome and Jerusalem. Together with another tertiary she arrived in Spoleto in the province of Perugia where she devoted herself to the care of the sick and where she died on February 13, 1458, not yet 30 years of age. Her body was interred in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto, which at the time belonged to the Augustinians. Her reputation as a woman of holiness and a worker of numerous miracles caused devotion to Christine to spread quickly and widely. Gregory XVI confirmed her cult in 1834, proclaiming her blessed.

SAINT CASTOR


Castor
Born Probably Aquitaine

 Died 389. OR 400 Karden
First monk of Germany .


Castor of Karden



Saint Castor of Karden .German: Kastor von Karden was a priest and hermit of the 4th century who is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Castor was a pupil of Maximinus of Trier around 345 AD, and was ordained as a priest by Maximinus. Like his teacher, Castor may have come from the region of Aquitaine. At his ordination, Castor settled at Karden on the Moselle as a hermit with various companions, where they dedicated themselves to an ascetic life and established a small religious community.

Castor’s companions there included the Aquitanian pilgrim Saint Potentinus, and Potentinus’ two sons Felicius and Simplicius.

Castor died at Karden at an advanced age.


By the year 791 AD, there was already a reliquary dedicated to Castor, which was translated to the Paulinuskirchen at Karden. In 836, the relics were translated to what became the Basilica of St. Castor at Koblenz by Archbishop Hetto of Trier.

BLESSED BEATRIX OF D' ORNACIEUX

Blessed Beatrix of Ornacieux
Blessed Beatrix of d'Ornacieux,


Born. 1260 in Ornacieu, France

Also known as Beatrice
Feast day: February13  .27 November in the diocese of Grenoble, France
Died.1306 November 25,at the monastery at Eymieux, France of natural causes

Beatified 15 April 1869 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmed)



Carthusian nun. Founded a Carthusian house at Eymieux, France(Esmue convent). Known for her devotion to the Passion of Christ; said to have driven a nail through her left hand to help realize the sufferings of the Crucifixion.
For many years she had remarkable mystical experiences as well as .

SAINT AIMO OF MEDA

Aimo of Meda
Also known as Aimonius
 Died . 790.
Feast day: February13
Saint Aimo Founder of convent of St  Saint Victor at Meda in the archdiocese of Milan, Italy.



Friday, September 26, 2014

SAINT MODOMNOC O'NEIL B

Modomnoc O'Neil B
Also known as Domnoc, Dominic, Modomnock

St. Modomnoc

Feast day: February 13

Death: 550



Irish bishop and a disciple of St. David of Wales. Sometimes called Domnoc or Dominic, he was a member of the royal Irish family of ONeil and ended his years as a hermit at Tibraghny in Kilkenny When Modomnoc returned to Ireland after studying with St. David, swarms of bees left Wales to follow him, thus supposedly being introduced to Ireland.


The story goes that Modomnoc, descended of the Irish royal line of O'Neil, had to leave Ireland to train for the priesthood, since he was a student before the creation of the great Irish monasteries. He crossed the English Channel to be educated under the great Saint David at Mynyw Menevia, now Saint David'sMonastery in Wales. All the pupils had to work in the fields, garden, or in building, in addition to attending to their studies.

 Modomnoc was given charge of the bees and he loved it. And so did everyone else--they all loved honey, but few like taking charge of the hives. Modomnoc liked the bees almost more than he liked their honey. He cared for them tenderly, keeping them in straw skeps in a special sheltered corner of the garden, where he planted the kinds of flowers best loved by the bees.

 Every time they swarmed, he captured the swarm very gently and lovingly and set up yet another hive. He talked to the bees as he worked among them and they buzzed around his head in clouds as if they were responding. And, of course, they never stung him. At the end of summer, they gave him loads and loads of honey, so much that Modomnoc needed help carrying it all inside. The monks
never seemed to run out of honey for their meals or making mead to drink. The good Modomnoc thanked God for his success, and he also thanked the bees. He would walk among the skeps in the evening and talk to them, and the bees, for their part, would crowd out to meet
him. All the other monks carefully avoided that corner of the monastery garden because they were afraid of being stung.
As well as thanking the bees, Modomnoc did everything he could to care for them in cold and storm. Soon his year's of study ended, and Modomnoc had to return to Ireland to begin his priestly
ministry. While he was glad to be returning home, he knew he would be lonely for his bees. On the day of his departure, he said good- bye to David, the monks, and his fellow students. Then he went down to the garden to bid farewell to his bees.

 They came out in the hundreds of thousands in answer to his voice and never was there such a buzzing and excitement among the rows and rows of hives. The monks stood at a distance watching the commotion in wonder, "You'd think the bees knew," they said. "You'd think they knew that Modomnoc was going away."  Modomnoc resolutely turned and went down to the shore and embarked the ship. When they were about three miles from the shore, Modomnoc saw what looked like a little black cloud in the sky in the direction of the Welsh coast. He watched it curiously and as it approached nearer, he saw to his amazement that it was a swarm of bees that came nearer and nearer until finally it settled on the edge of the boat near him. It was a gigantic swarm--all the bees
from all the hives, in fact. The bees had followed him! This time Modomnoc did not praise his friends. "How foolish of you," he scolded them, "you do not belong to me but to David's monastery! How do you suppose the monks can do without honey, or mead? Go back at once, you foolish creatures!" But if the bees understood what he said, they did not obey him. They settled down
on the boat with a sleepy kind of murmur, and there they stayed. The sailors did not like it one bit and asked Modomnoc what he intended to do.

 He told them to turn the boat back for Wales. It was already too far for the bees to fly back, even if they wanted to obey him. He could not allow his little friends to suffer for their foolishness.
But the wind was blowing the boat to Ireland and when they turned back, the sail was useless. The sailors had to furl it and row back to the Welsh coast. They did it with very bad grace, but they were
too much afraid of the bees to do anything else.

 David and the monks were very surprised to see Modomnoc coming back and looking rather ashamed. He told them what had happened. The moment the boat had touched land again, he bees had made straight for their hives and settled down contentedly again. "Wait until tomorrow," advised the abbot, "but don't say farewell to the bees again. They will be over the parting by then."

 Next morning, the boat was again in readiness for Modomnoc and this time he left hurriedly without any fuss of farewell. But when they were about three miles from the shore, he was dismayed to see
again the familiar little black cloud rising up over the Welsh coast. Everyone recognized the situation and the sailors turned back to shore immediately.

 Once more the shamefaced Modomnoc had to seek out David and tell his story. "What am I to do?" he pleaded. "I must go home. The bees won't let me go without them. I can't deprive you of them. They are so useful to the monastery."  David laughed and said, "Modomnoc, I give you the bees. Take them with my blessing. I am sure they would not thrive without you anyhow. Take them. We'll get other bees later on for the monastery."

 The abbot went down to the boat and told the sailors the same story. "If the bees follow Modomnoc for the third time, take them to Ireland with him and my blessing." But it took a long time and a
great deal of talking to get the sailors to agree to this. They did not care who had the bees as long as they weren't in their boat. Bees, they explained, were the kind of passengers they never
wanted. If they gave trouble on the boat and no one could sail it, they might all be drowned. Anything but bees, they said. Wild animals, okay; bee, no.

The abbot assured the sailors that the bees would give no trouble as long as Modomnoc was around. The sailors asked, if that were so, why the bees did not obey Modomnoc's command to return to the
monastery. After much back and forth, the sailors were finally persuaded into starting out again.
 For the third time the boat set sail, Modomnoc praying hard that the bees would have the sense to stay in their pleasant garden rather than risking their lives at sea. For the third time he saw the dreaded little black cloud rising up in the distance, approaching nearer and nearer until he saw it was the same swarm of bees again. It settled on the boat once more. This time it did not turn back. Modomnoc coaxed his faithful friends into a sheltered corner of the boat, where they remained quietly throughout the journey, much to the sailors' relief.

 When he landed in Ireland, he set up a church at a place called Bremore, near Balbriggan, in County Dublin, and here he established the bees in a happy garden just like the one they had in Wales. The
place is known to this day as "the Church of the Beekeeper." Some say that he became a hermit at Tibraghny in Kilkenny and later bishop .

SAINT LICINIUS OF ANGERS

St. Lezin
Licinius of Angers
Also known as Lesin, Lucinus

Feast day: February 13

Birth: 540

Death: 609 OR 618



French bishop. A member of the Frankish aristocracy, he gave up worldly Concerns and entered the Church. Known for his sanctity, he later became bishop of Angers.



Feast day formerly November 1. When Licinus was about 20, he was sent to the court of his cousin King Clotaire I. His prudence and valor distinguished him both in the court and in the army, and he carried out all his Christian duties with diligently. Fasting and prayer were familiar to him, and his
heart was always raised to God. After King Chilperic made him count of Anjou, about 578, Licinus consented to take a wife. On their wedding day, the lady contracted leprosy. He immediately decided to renounce the world and entered holy orders two years later.

 Licinus found true joy within a community of ecclesiastics, engaging in the exercises of piety, austere penance, and meditaton on the holy scriptures. The people, clergy, and the court of Clotaire II all concurred that Licinus should assume the episcopacy of Angers when Bishop Audouin died. Overcoming his own humility, he was consecrated by Saint Gregory of Tours.  As bishop, his time and his substance were divided in feeding the hungry, comforting and releasing prisoners, and curing the bodies and souls of his people. Though he was careful to keep up exact discipline in his diocese, he was more inclined to indulgence than rigor, in imitation of the tenderness which Jesus Christ showed for sinners. He won souls, not simply by strong preaching, but more through an exemplary life, miracles, and daily prayer for the souls in his care. He longed for greater solitude, and tried to resign his bishopric, but his priests, people, and fellow bishops refused to entertain such a thought. So he spent the rest of his life tending his flock--doing God's will and not his own. His patience
was perfected by continual infirmities in his last years.
 Licinus was buried in the monastery church of St. John Baptist, which he had founded for his frequent retreats. It is now a collegiate church, and enriched with his relics. At Angers he is commemorated on June 8 the day of his consecration and on June 21 when his relics were translated or taken up, 1169, in the time of Henry II, king of England, count of Anjou. His vita, based on the
testimony of his disciples, was written soon after his death; and again by Marbodius, archdeacon of Angers, afterwards bishop of Rennes, both in Bollandus .





BLESSED JOHN LANTRUA OF TRIORA OFM

Bl. John Lantrua of Triora OFM


Feast day: February 13
Born in Triora, Liguria, Italy, 1760;
Death:in China, 1816;

Beatified in 1900.
Franciscan martyr of China. He was born at Triora, in Liguria, Italy, in 1760, and became a Franciscan at the age of seventeen. John volunteered for the Chinese missions. After working in China with great success from 1798, he was arrested, imprisoned, and strangled on February 7.



John joined the Franciscans when he was 17. He could have continued to live a happy little life as the guardian of Velletri near Rome, but instead he volunteered for the Chinese missions though he knew a fierce persecution was raging. He arrived in China in 1799 and worked with success in spite of many obstacles. Eventually, he was seized and martyred by strangulation at Ch'angsha Fu . John was beatified in 1900.

SAINT GOSBERT

St. Gosbert

Gosbert of Osnabruck,
Feast day: February 13

Death: 859



   Benedictine bishop and friend of St. Angsar. Gosbert was the Fourth bishop of Osnabruck, Germany and a disciple of Saint Ansgar. His was a particularly laborious episcopate . 

SAINT DYFNOG

St. Dyfnog
 7th century.

Feast day: February 13



Welsh confessor of the Caradog family. He was venerated in Clwyd, Wales.He was formerly held in local veneration in Denbighshire.

BLESSED ARCHANGELA GIRLANI

Bl. Archangela Girlani

Born in Trino, Monferrato, Italy,1460 OR 1461;
Died 1494;
Feast day: February 13
cults confirmed 1864.

 Archangela became a Carmelite in Parma and, at the request of the Gonzagas, was sent to found a new Carmel at Mantua. She was its first prioress, a living pattern of perfection .




 She was born in Trino, in northern Italy, in 1460, baptized Eleanor. Though planning to become a Benedictine nun, she was thwarted in her desire by her horse - the animal refused to carry her to the convent. She then became a Carmelite in Parma, Italy, taking the name Archangela, being professed in 1478. Named prioress of the convent, Archangela founded a new Carmel in Mantua. She was gifted with ecstasies and levitation and was reported to have performed miracles. Archangela died on January 25, 1494.

SAINT CATHERINE DE RICCI

St. Catherine de Ricci

Feast day: February 13

Birth: 1522
Born in Florence, Italy, April 23, 1522;
Died in Prato near Florence, February 2, 1590;

 Beatified by Clement XII in 1732;

canonized in 1747 by Benedict XIV; feast day formerly February 2.


St. Catherine baptismal name was Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine upon entering religion. From her earliest infancy she manifested a great love of prayer, and in her sixth year, her father placed her in the convent of Monticelli in Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun. After a brief return home, she entered the convent of the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year. While very young, she was chosen Mistress of Novices, then subprioress, and at twenty-five years of age she became perpetual prioress. The reputation of her sanctity drew to her side many illustrious personages, among whom three later sat in the chair of Peter, namely Cerveni, Alexander de Medicis, and Aldo Brandini, and afterward Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI respectively. She corresponded with St. Philip Neri and, while still living, she appeared to him in Rome in a miraculous manner.She is famous for the "Ecstacy of the Passion" which she experienced every Thursday from noon until Friday at 4:00 p.m. for twelve years. After a long illness she passed away in 1589.






Alexandrina dei Ricci was born of a patrician family, but Catharine Bonza died leaving her motherless in her infancy. She was trained in virtue by a very pious godmother. The little girl took
Our Lady as her mother and had for her a tender devotion. The child held familiar conversations with her guardian angel, who taught her a special manner of saying the rosary and assisted her in the
practice of virtue.

 As soon as Alexandrina was old enough to go away from home age 6 or 7, she was sent to the convent school of Monticelli, where her aunt, Louisa dei Ricci, was the abbess. Besides learning her
lessons for which she was sent, the little girl developed a great devotion to the Passion. She prayed often before a certain picture of Our Lord, and at the foot of a crucifix, which is still treasured as "Alexandrina's crucifix." Returning from the monastery when her education was completed according to the norm for girls, she turned her attention to her vocation.

 In her plans to enter a monastery of strict observance, she met with great opposition from her father Peter. She loved the community life that had allowed her to serve God without impediment
or distraction. She continued her usual exercises at home as much as she was able, but the interruptions and dissipations that were inseparable from her station, made her uneasy.

 Finally, Peter allowed her to visit St. Vincent's convent in Prato, Tuscany, which had been founded by nine Third Order Dominicans who were great admirers of Savonarola. Alexandrina begged to remain with them; however, her father took her away, promising to let her return. He did not keep his promise, and the girl fell so ill that everyone despaired of her life. Frightened into agreement, her father gave his consent; Alexandrina, soon recovering, entered the convent of Saint Vincent.

 In May 1535, Alexandrina received the habit from her uncle, Fr. Timothy dei Ricci, who was confessor to the convent. She was given the name Catherine in religion, and she very happily set about imitating her beloved patron. Lost in celestial visions, she was quite unaware that the sisters had begun to wonder about her qualifications for the religious life: for in her ecstasies she
seemed merely sleepy, and at times extremely stupid. Some thought her insane. Her companions did not suspect her of ecstasy when she dozed at community exercises, spilled food, or broke dishes.
 Neither did it occur to Sister Catherine that other people were not, like herself, rapt in ecstasy. She was about to be dismissed from the community when she became aware of the heavenly favors she
had received. From then on there was no question of dismissing the young novice, but fresh trials moved in upon her in the form of agonizing pain from a complication of diseases that remedies seemed only to aggravate. She endured her sufferings patiently by constantly meditating on the passion of Christ, until she was suddenly healed. After her recovery, she was left in frail health.

Like Saint John of Egypt and Saint Antony, Catherine met Philip Neri in a vision while he was still alive and in Rome. They had corresponded for a long time and wanted to meet each other but were
unable to arrange it. Catherine appeared to Philip in a vision and they conversed for a long time. Saint Philip, who was also cautious in giving credence to or publishing visions, confirmed this. This
blessed ability to bilocate, like Padre Pio, was confirmed by the oaths of five witnesses. Also like those desert fathers, Antony and John, she fasted two or three times weekly on only bread and water,
and sometimes passed an entire day without taking any nourishment.  Like Saint Catherine of Siena, she is said to have received a ring from the Lord as a sign of her espousal to him--a mysterious ring
made of gold set with a diamond, invisible to all except the mystic. Others saw only a red lozenge and a circlet around her finder.

 Sister Catherine was 20 when she began a 12-year cycle of weekly ecstasies of the Passion from noon each Thursday until 4:00 p.m. each Friday. The first time, during Lent 1542, she meditated so heart-rendingly on the crucifixion of Jesus that she became seriously ill, until a vision of the Risen Lord talking with Mary Magdalene restored her to health on Holy Saturday. She received the sacred stigmata, which remained with her always. In addition to the five wounds, she received, in the course of her Thursday-Friday ecstasies, many of the other wounds which our Lord suffered. Watching her face and body, the sisters could follow the course of the Passion, as she was mystically scourged and crowned with thorns. When the ecstasy was finished, she would be covered with wounds and her shoulder remained deeply indented where the Cross had been laid.

 Soon all Italy was attentive and crowds came to see her. Skeptics and the indifferent, sinners and unbelievers, were transformed at the sight of her. Soon there was no day nor hour at which people
did not come, people in need and in sin, people full of doubt and tribulation, who sought her help, and, of course, the merely curious. Because of the publicity that these favors attracted, she and her entire community asked our Lord to make the wounds less visible, and He did in 1554.

 Her patience and healing impressed her sisters. While still very young, Catherine was chosen to serve the community as novice- mistress, then sub-prioress, and, at age 30, she was appointed
prioress in perpetuity, despite her intense mystical life of prayer and penance. She managed the material details of running a large household were well, and became known as a kind and considerate superior. Catherine was particularly gentle with the sick. Troubled people, both within the convent and in the town, came to her for advice and prayer, and her participation in the Passion exerted a
great influence for good among all who saw it. Three future popes Cardinals Cervini later known as Pope Marcellus II, Alexander de Medici Pope Leo XI, and Aldobrandini Pope Clement VIII were
among the thousands who flocked to the convent to beseech her intercession.  Of the cloister that Catherine directed, a widow who had entered it observed: "If the world only knew how blessed is life in this cloister, the doors would not suffice and the thronging people would clamber in over all the walls."

 A contemporary painting of Catherine attributed to Nardini at the Pinacoteca of Montepulciano shows a not unattractive, though relatively plain woman. Her eyes protrude a bit too much and her
nose is too flared to account her a classic beauty, but she possessed high cheekbones, dark hair, widely spaced eyes, and full lips. Her mein is that of a sensitive woman who has experience pain
and now has compassion.  Catherine's influence was not confined within the walls of her convent. She was greatly preoccupied by the need for reform in the Church, as is apparent from her letters, many of them addressed to highly-placed persons. This accounts, too, for her reverence for the memory of Savonarola, who had defied the evil-living Pope Alexander VI and been hanged in Florence in 1498. Saint Catherine was in touch with such contemporary, highly-orthodox reformers as Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Pius V. After Catherine's long and painful death in 1589, many miracles were performed at her tomb. Her cultus soon spread from Prato throughout the whole of Italy and thence to the whole world. The future Pope Benedict XIV, the "devil's advocate" in Catherine's cause for canonization, critically examined all relevant claims. As in the case of her younger contemporary, Saint Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi, canonization was not granted because of the extraordinary phenomenon surrounding her life, but for heroic virtue and complete union with Christ .

SAINT POLYEUCTUS

St. Polyeuctus
Polyeuctus of Melitene
Died January 10,  250-259.

Feast day: February 13

Patron of vows and treaty agreements

Roman martyr of Greek parentage. An official in the Roman provincial government in the East, he was put to death in Armenia during the persecution launched by Emperor Valerian. His Acts are extant, as recorded by Metaphrastes, and are well known for their beauty and poignancy. Polyeuctus martyrdom was the subject of a play by Pierce Corneille in the seventeenth century.



Saint Polyeuctus, a wealthy Roman officer, was martyred at Melitene, Armenia, under Valerian. His acta, as given by Metaphrastes, are as touching as any in early Christian literature. His friend Nearchus was so zealous in his desire to lay down his life for Christ when he heard the Christian
persecution was to reach the outposts of the Empire, that Polyeuctus was converted to the faith and openly professed it. He was, of course, captured and condemned to be tortured. When his
tormentors were weary, they turned to argumentation to persuade him to apostatize. Most men would have been moved by the distress of their families. But tears and protestations of his wife Paulina,
his children, and his father-in-law Felix were insufficient move this new Christian. Finally the sentence of death was passed by the judge, which Polyeuctus greeted with such cheerfulness and joy that many were converted as he travelled to the place of his beheading.

 The Christians buried him in Melitene. Nearchus gathered his blood in a cloth, and afterwards wrote his acta. The Greeks keep his festival very solemnly, and all the Latin martyrologies mention him.

Saint Euthymius often prayed in a famous church of St. Polyeuctus at Melitene. The stately church bearing his name in Constantinople, under Justinian, the vault of which was covered with plates of gold, in which it was the custom for men to make their most solemn oaths, as is related by Saint Gregory of Tours. The same author informs us, in his history of the Franks, that the kings of France confirmed their treaties by the name of Polyeuctus.  Saint Jerome's Martyrology and the most ancient Armenian calendars place Polyeuctus's feast on January 7; while the Greeks celebrate in on January 9. Nevertheless, his feast is marked on February 13 in the ancient martyrology, which was sent from Rome to Aquileia in the eighth century, and which is copied by Ado, Usuard, and the Roman Martyrology. Corneille has used some elements of the martyr's story in his tragedy Polyeucte .

SAINT MARTINIAN

St. Martinian

Martinian the Hermit
Also known as Martinian of Caesarea
Feast day: February 13

 Died . 400.

Hermit of Caesarea, in Palestine. He started his life as a recluse on a site called the Place of the Ark at eighteen. Zoe, a woman of evil reputation, came upon him and tried to seduce him. Martinian not only resisted her advances by putting his feet in a fire, but converted her and counseled her to become a nun at Bethlehem. Martinian was quite elderly when he went to Athens, where he died.

Recluse near Caesarea, Palestine, who put his feet in the fire and another time jumped into the sea to escape from the so-called weaker sex.  Martinianus retired to the 'place of the Ark' near his hometown of Caesarea when he was about 18. He lived for 25 years among holy solitaries practicing penance and the virtues, and manifesting the gift of miracles.

 The harlot Zoe, hearing of his sanctity and inspired by the devil, determined to pervert him. She pretended to be a poor woman, lost and helpless in the desert late at night, and prevailed upon
Martinianus to allow her to spend the night with him in his cell. About dawn she tossed aside her beggar's rags and donned her city finery. Zoe told him that she offered herself and all her wealth
and estates to him. She also appealed to the Old Testament saints who were wealthy and married, and urged him to abandon his purpose.  It seems that Martinianus may have assented in his heart for he
did not send her away immediately. He was expecting certain people to call upon him for a blessing and instructions but told her to wait. He intended to dismiss his guests, but was touched with
remorse. Returning speedily to his cell he built a fire and stuck his feet into it. Hearing his scream of pain, Zoe ran to him. "If I cannot bear this weak fire, how can I endure the fire of hell?"

 This example excited Zoe to sentiments of grief and repentance. She asked Martinianus's help in finding the way to salvation. Thus, she entered the convent of Saint Paula in Bethlehem, where she
lived in continual penance, lying on the floor and consuming only bread and water.

 It took nearly 7 months for Martinianus's legs to heal. When he was able to rise from the ground, he retired to a rock surrounded by water on every side to be secure from the approach of danger and
all occasion of sin. Here he lived exposed to the elements and seeing no one except a boatman who brought him supplies twice annually.

 After six years on the rock, he one day spied a ship wrecked at the bottom of his rock. All on board had perished except for one girl, who cried out for help. He rescued her but, fearing temptation of living alone with her for two months until the boatman came again, resolved to leave her and his provisions. She freely chose to live out her days on the rock in imitation of
Martinianus.

 He threw himself into the sea to shun all danger of sin, swam to the mainland, and travelled through many deserts to reach Athens, where he lived out the rest of his life.  Martinianus's name does not appear in the R.M., but does occur in the Greek Menaea. 

SAINT JULIAN OF LYONS

St. Julian of Lyons

Feast day: February 13

Death: unknown


 The Roman Martyrology says that he suffered at Lyons, France. Some traditions report that he was martyred in Nicomedia.

SAINT HUNA

Huna of Ely
Feast day: February 13

Died . 690.


Monk priest of Ely, England, who aided St. Etheldreda. Attending her in her last hours, Huna became a hermit in the Fens.


Saint Huna  assisted in her last moments and buried. Soon afterwards, he retired to a hermitage at Huneya in the Fens, where he died. His relics were translated to Thorney Abbey, where they were venerated from at least the 11th century .


Monday, September 22, 2014

SAINT ERMENGILD

St. Ermengild

Feast day: February 13

Ermengild of Ely,
Also known as Ermenilda, Erminilda
Death: 700 OR 703.

Queen and Benedictine nun, also called Ermenilda. The daughter of a king of Kent, England, and St. Sexburga, Ermengild married the king of Mercia. She helped spread the faith in Mercia until her husband's death in 675. She then became a nun at Milton at Minster, Sheppey. When her mother, who had served as abbess, retired, Ermengild succeeded to that Office. She then followed St. Sexburga to Ely, becoming abbess there also.

  She married Wulfhere, King of Mercia, and used her powerful influence to remove the remaining pockets of idolatry in a land which had been the last stronghold of Anglo-Saxon paganism. By her virtuous example and unwearied kindness she won the hearts of her subjects; she had great pity on all in distress, and throughout her life she bore her witness as a Christian queen.  Like her mother before her, the saintly Sexburga, the widowed Queen of Kent and abbess of Minster in Sheppey, she desired to be wholly devoted to God. On Wulfhere's death Erminilda joined her mother and succeeded her as abbess when her mother moved to Ely.  Later, Erminilda, too, migrated to the abbey of Ely, which was the center of a flourishing community, had the unusual distinction of having as its first abbesses a succession of three queens; for, before Sexburga, her sister, Queen Ethelreda had held the office.
Erminilda was the mother of Saint Werburga, and so this royal succession of Christian witness was carried into the fourth generation.

SAINT BENIGNUS

St. Benignus

Benignus of Todi

Feast day: February 13

Death: 303


 A priest of Todi,  
            Martyr of Todi, in Umbria, Italy. He was executed during the persecutions conducted by Emperor Diocletian.

SAINT AGABUS

St. Agabus
Agabus the Prophet

Feast day: February 13

Death: 1st Century


Martyr and one of the seventy-two disciples mentioned by St. Luke. He was a Jewish convert to the faith, noted as a prophet. Agabus predicted a famine in the Roman Empire and probably Paul's imprisonment. Agabus was unable to dissuade Paul from going to Jerusalem. The martyr died for the faith in the city of Antioch.


 A Jewish-Christian prophet from Jerusalem, Agabus came to Antioch and predicted a famine throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 11:28-29), which actually occurred in 49 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius. He is probably the same Agabus who predicted Paul's imprisonment in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10ff). According to tradition, he died a martyr at Antioch. A Carmelite legend has led to his being usually represented in art robed in the Carmelite habit and holding the model of a church .

BLESSED EUSTOCHIUM OF PAUDA


Blessed Eustochium of Padua,
 Born in Padua, Italy, 1444;
Died 1469.

Feast day: February 13

Baptized Lucrezia Bellini, Saint Eustochium was the daughter of a nun of Padua who had been seduced. The gentle, pious 'Cinderella of the Cloister' became a nun in 1461 and for four years was subject to violent hysteria for which she was treated as one diabolically possessed: exorcised, kept in prison, fed on bread and water or even deprived of food.


                Bl. Eustochium, the illegitimate child of a seduced nun, she was born at San Prosdocimo convent in Padua, baptized Lucrezia, and raised and educated at the convent. When she grew older she wished to become a nun and despite the opposition of many in the community because of the circumstances of her birth, the Bishop approved her noviceship and she was veiled, taking the name Eustochium. Though normally humble and obedient, she soon began to display strange and curious spells of unusual behavior in which she acted like a mad woman. For a time she was tied up for days and when the Abbess fell ill, Eustochium was accused of poisoning her and was barely saved from a mob of townspeople who wanted her burned as a witch. Instead the Bishop had her imprisoned in a cell; fortunately the Abbess recovered, but Eustochium was shunned by the members of the community. Her spells continued, with such manifestations as self-inflicted wounds, walking on high roofs, and being found naked in her cell with marks on her throat; on her recovery from each of the attacks, she was a model religious. At the insistence of her confessor, she was allowed to become a nun and seems to have conquered what appeared to be diabolical attacks. In time she won the respect of her community by her penitance and holiness. She died on February 13, at which time the name Jesus was found burned on her breast.  When in her right mind she bore her treatment with heroic patience and humility. She died after profession, aged 25, and the name of Jesus was found cauterized on her breast. Eustochium is venerated in Padua . 

Saturday, September 20, 2014

SAINT SEDULIUS

Saint Sedulius

 feast day: 12 February
Also known as Seadhal;Siadal;Siadhal;the Christian Virgil

 5th century. Sedulius is known as the Christian Virgil on the strength of his epic poem Carmen Paschale. He left Ireland to found a school of poetry in Athens, proving that outstanding scholarship
existed on the Emerald Isle prior Saint Patrick. While he was still in Ireland, he may have been a disciple of Saint Ailbhe. In 494, a decree of the First Roman Council contained a phrase "honoring by signal praise the Paschal Work of the Venerable man, Sedulius". 

Friday, September 19, 2014

NICHOLAS HERMAN

Nicholas Herman
feast day :February 12
 Born in Lorraine, France,1610;
Died in 1691.

                Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman around 1610 in Herimenil, Lorraine, a Duchy of France. His birth records were destroyed in a fire at his parish church during the Thirty Years War, a war in which he fought as a young soldier. It was also the war in which he sustained a near fatal injury to his sciatic nerve. The injury left him quite crippled and in chronic pain for the rest of his life. He was educated both at home and by his parish priest whose first name was Lawrence and who was greatly admired by the young Nicholas.


Nicholas Herman as Brother Lawrence, Nicholas was a contemporary of Pascal, though, unlike him, a simple and ignorant man, reared in a peasant's cottage. He enlisted as a soldier and narrowly escaped being shot as a spy. He was wounded and remained lame for life. He then found employment as a footman, but was so clumsy that he was always breaking things. Later he became a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris, where he worked in the kitchen.

 He had been converted at he age of 18. Like Jeremiah he had see a tree in winter stripped bare yet with signs of the promise of spring, and from that moment he loved and served God with a simple and unquestioning faith. His book Practice of the Presence of God is the story of his heart, and is a lively devotional classic, in which he sets down the intimate details of his daily drudgery and is never afraid to laugh at himself. When sent to Burgundy to buy wine for the monastery with but little idea how to set about it, having no head for business, and being so lame that he had to roll himself over the casks, he had no worry, he tells us, but left himself in God's hands. It was God's business and God would see it done. And the business, he adds, went through well.

 In the kitchen also, where he was set to work, 'having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of God and with prayer upon all occasions for His grace to do His work well, he had found everything easy, during 15 years he had been employed there.' The times of prayer, he declared, should be no different from other times, and he found himself more united to God in his outward employments than when he retired to pray.

 Of all the stories of the saints, few are more remarkable than that of this simple man, this big, clumsy ex-serviceman with his lame foot and awkward movements, hobbling round the kitchen, disliking his work but full of gentleness and good humor, laughing at mishaps, content to serve God in a humble way. And when after many years he was too old for the kitchen, he continued, until his death at 82, to potter around and make himself useful.

 "Lift up your heart to God," he said, "sometimes even at your meals, and when you are in company. . . . It is not necessary for being with God to be always at church: we may make an oratory of our hearts."

 To a soldier on active service he wrote: "A little lifting up of the heart suffices: a little remembrance of God, one act of inward worship, though upon a march and sword in hand, are prayers which, however short, are nevertheless very acceptable to God." "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament" Gill.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

SAINT GOSCELINUS OF TURIN

Saint Goscelinus of Turin

Also known as Goscelinus of San Solutore, Goslin ,Goslino ,Gozzelino ,Gozzelinus .

feast day :12 February

Died 12 February  1053 of natural causes
relics enshrined in San Solutore Abbey in 1472

Born to the Italian nobility. Benedictine monk in 1006 at the San Solutore Abbey near Turin, Italy soon after its founding. Reluctant abbot in of the house in 1031, he served the remaining 22 years of his life.

The San Solutore Abbey was destroyed during the occupation of Italy by the French in 1536, and the relics were transferred Consolata Benedictine monastery.Relics enshrined in the church of Saints Solutore, Ottavio and Avventore in Turin, Italy on 19 January 1575
relics transferred to the church’s new constructed chapel of Saint Paul in 1584.

SAINT GAUDENTIUS OF VERONA

Saint Gaudentius of Verona

feast day :12 February

Bishop of Verona, Italy.

Died :465
 Bishop of Verona, whose in the basilica of Saint Stephen, Verona, Italy




SAINT MARINA



Saint Marina the Monk also known simply as Saint Marina, Pelagia, Mary of Alexandria, Marinus, or Marinos was a 6th-century Christian saint of Roman occupied northern Syria modern-day Lebanon.

Born Circa 5th century
Died     July :19 ;  508

Feast day: February 12


Marina in red dress being brought to a monastery by her father Eugenius. 14th century French manuscript.
Marina, the daughter of wealthy Christian parents. Marina's mother died when she was very young and she was raised in devout Christian life by her father Eugenius. As her age of marriage drew near her father wished to retire to the Monastery of Qannoubine in the Kadisha Valley of Lebanon after he had found her a husband. When Marina learned of her father's plan she asked why he intended "to save his own soul and destroy mine?" When asked by her father "what shall I do with you? You are a woman." Marina answered that she would renounce womans clothing and live as a monk, in the "garb of a man." After which she immediately shaved the hair from her head and changed her clothes. Her father, seeing his daughter's strong determination gave all his possessions to the poor and traveled with her to the Kadisha Valley to live in monastic life, sharing a cell with her.


After ten years of prayer, fasting and worship together her father died, leaving her alone. Marina increased her level of asceticism and continued to conceal the fact that she was a woman. The other monks attributing her soft voice to long periods of prayer and strict ascetic life. One day, the abbot of the monastery sent her with three other monks to attend to some business for the monastery. As the journey was long, they were forced to spend the night at an inn. Also lodging there was a soldier of the eastern Roman front. Upon seeing the beauty of the inn keepers daughter the soldier defiled her virginity and impregnated her, instructing the daughter to say that "it was the monk, Father Marina, who has done this to me."



After some time, it was discovered that the inn keepers daughter was pregnant and, as was agreed, she told her father that Marina was to blame. On hearing the story, the man went furiously to the abbot of the monastery. The abbot calmed the man and told him that he would see to the matter. He called for Marina and reprimanded her severely. When she realized what was happening she fell to her knees and wept, admitting to the sin and asking forgiveness. The fact that there was no attempt to deny the fault made the abbot so furious that he told her to leave the monastery. She left at once and remained outside the gates as a beggar for quite a long time. When the inn keeper's daughter gave birth, he took the child and gave him to Marina. She fed the child sheep's milk provided by the local shepherds and remained caring for him outside the monastery for ten years. Finally the monks convinced the abbot to allow Marina to return, but he also imposed heavy penalties upon her. She was to perform hard labor in cooking, cleaning and carrying water in addition to her regular monastic duties.


At the age of forty, Marina became ill. Three days later she died. The abbot ordered that her body be cleaned, her cloths changed, and that she be transferred to the church for funeral prayers. While cleaning and changing her, the monks discovered that she was, in fact a woman, and became very distressed. The monks informed the abbot, who came to her side and wept bitterly for the wrongs he had done. The abbot then called for the inn keeper and informed him that Marina was actually a woman. The inn keeper went to where her body lay and also wept for the pain and suffering which he had unjustly brought upon her. During the funeral prayers, one of the monks who was blind in one eye, after he touched the saint, received full sight again. Legend says that God also allowed a devil to torment the inn keeper’s daughter and the soldier. This caused them to travel to where the Saint was buried. There they both confessed their iniquity in front of everyone and asked for forgiveness.

Monday, September 15, 2014

SAINT EULALIA OF BARCELONA

Saint Eulalia of Barcelona

Also known as Aulaire,Aulazia,Aulazie,Auzalie,Elalia,Eulalie,Eulària,Occille,
Olacie,Olaia,Olaille,Olaire,Olalla,Ollala,


Feast day 12 February

Born 290 in Barcelona, Spain
Died 12 February 304 at Barcelona, Spain
Canonized 633
 Spanish martyr in the persecution of Diocletian 12 February, 304, patron of the cathedral and city of Barcelona, also of sailors.Sanctified virgin, the forerunner of professed nun. Martyred at age 13 or 14 in the persecutions of Diocletian tortured and then crucified. Often confused with Saint Eulalia of Merida. Several villages in Guienne and Languedoc are named for her.Interred in the church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelonarelics translated to the Barcelona cathedral on 23 November 874.

SAINT MELETIUS OF ANITOCH

St. Meletius of Antioch

Feast day: February 12
 Born at Melitene, Lower Armenia
Death: 381 Constantinople


  Patriarch of Antioch and presider of the Great Council of Constantinople, in 381. He was bom in Melitene in Armenia and became the bishop of Sebaste in 358. In 360 he was named patriarch of Antioch and was a friend of St. Basil. Meletius suffered banishment for a time by the Arian emperors. He convened the Council in 381 and died during the session.



 Born at Melitene, Lower Armenia; died in Constantinople in 381. Meletius was born into a distinguished family and was appointed bishop of Sebastea about 358 but fled to the desert and then to Beroea, Syria, when the appointment caused great dissension. In 361, a group of Arians and Catholics elected him archbishop of Antioch, a church that had been oppressed by the Arians since the banishment of Saint Eustathius in 331. He was a compromise candidate between the two groups, and though confirmed by Emperor Constantius II, he was opposed by some Catholics because Arians had participated in his election.

 The Arian hope that he would join them was dashed when he expounded the Catholic position before the pro-Arian emperor. He and several other bishops were ordered to expound upon the text of the Book of Proverbs: "The Lord has created me in the beginning of His ways." First, George of Alexandria explained it in an Arian sense. Then Acacius of Caesarea gave it a meaning bordering on the heretical, but Meletius expounded it in the Catholic sense and connected it with the Incarnation. This public testimony so angered the Arians that the Arian Bishop Eudoxus of Constantinople was able to convince the emperor to exile Meletius to Lower Armenia (only a month after he took possession of his see) and to appoint Arian Euzoius, who had previously been excommunicated by Patriarch Saint Alexander of Alexandria, to his episcopal chair. Thus began the famous Meletian schism of Antioch, although it really started with the banishment of Saint Eustathius.

 On the death of the emperor in 361, his successor, Julian, recalled Meletius, who found that in his absence, a faction of the Catholic bishops, led by Lucifer Cagliari, had elected Paulinus archbishop.

 The Council of Alexandria in 362 was unsuccessful in healing the breach, and an unfortunate rift between Saint Athanasius and Meletius in 363 exacerbated the matter. During the next 15 years, Meletius was exiled 356-66 and 371-78 by Emperor Valens while the conflict between the Arian and Catholic factions raged.

 Gradually, Meletius's influence in the East grew as more bishops supported him. By 379, the bishops backing him numbered 150, in contrast to his 26 supporters in 363. The rift between the contending Catholic factions, however, continued despite the untiring efforts of Saint Basil, who was unswerving in his support of Meletius, to resolve the matter.

 In 374, the situation was further complicated when Pope Damasus recognized Paulinus as archbishop, appointed him papal legate in the East, and Saint Jerome allowed himself to be ordained a priest by Paulinus. In 378, the death of the avidly pro-Arian Valens led to the restoration of the banished bishops by Emperor Gratian, and Meletius was reinstated. He was unable to reach an agreement with Paulinus before his death in Constantinople in May while presiding at the third General Council of Constantinople. His funeral was attended by all the fathers of the council and the faithful of the city. Saint Gregory of Nyssa delivered his funeral panegyric. 

Sunday, September 7, 2014

SAINT HUMBELINE OF JULLY

St. Humbeline
Humbeline of Jully

Also known as
Hombeline,Homberga,Humbelina,Ombelina,Ombeline,Ombline

Feast day: February 12

Born 1092 in Dijon, France

Died 21 August 1136 at the Jully-les-Nonnains convent in France of natural causes
several family members, include Saint Bernard were with her buried in Jully-les-Nonnains

Beatified 1703 by Pope Clement XI (cultus confirmed)


Benedictine abbess and younger sister of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, France. Married to Guy de Narcy,a member of the ruling family of Lorraine in modern France. After a few years of rich and frivolous living, Humbeline visited her brother and underwent a personal conversion. She received permission from her husband, Guy de Marcy, to enter the Benedictines at Jully les Nonnais convent near Troyes, France. becoming abbess and succeeding her sister in law, Elizabeth. Humbeline died in her brothers arms.

SAINTS DAMIANS

Sts. Damians

Feast day: February 12

Death: unknown



Two saints honored on the same feast day. One is a martyred soldier in Africa, probably in Alexandria, Egypt; the second a Roman martyr whose relics were discovered in the catacombs of St. Callistus and sent to Salamanca, Spain.

SAINT BENEDICT REVELLI

St. Benedict Revelli

Feast day: February 12

Death: 900



Benedictine bishop. He was a monk of Santa Maria dei Fonte, in Italy

Cultus confirmed by Pope Gregory XVI. Benedict is said to have been a Benedictine monk of Santa Maria dei Fonti, and then a hermit on the island of Gallinaria in the Gulf of Genoa. In 870, he was chosen bishop of Albenga towards the western end of the Ligurian Riviera.

SAINT ANTONY KAULEAS

St. Anthony Kauleas
Also known as Antony Cauleas
Born near Constantinople in 829

Feast day: February 12

Death: 901

Patriarch of Constantinople. He was born in 829 of Phrygian descent near Constantinople and entered a local monastery.  A successor of Photius, whose schisms he attempted to heal.


    Antony's noble, Phrygian parents had retired to the countryside near Constantinople to escape the persecution of the Iconoclasts when he was born. He became a monk at a monastery in Constantinople when he was 12 years old, and eventually became its abbot. Upon the death of Patriarch Stephen the Wise, the brother of Emperor Leo VI, Antony succeeded as patriarch of Constantinople in 893. Thus, he was the second successor to Photius, the effects of whose schism he labored to remove and whom Leo VI exiled. Antony completed the work began by Stephen to bring peace to the Church in the East. He presided over the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople 869-70, which condemned or reformed all that had been done by Photius during his last usurpation of that see after the death of Saint Ignatius. The acts of this council are entirely lost, perhaps through the malice of those Greeks who renewed this unhappy schism. A perfect spirit of mortification, penance, and prayer, sanctified this great pastor, both in his private and public life. His name is found both
in the Greek Menaea and in the Roman Martyrology .

SAINT LUDAN

St. Ludan

Ludan of Alsace
Also known as Luden, Loudain
Feast day: February 12

Death: 1202


Honored at Scherkirchen in Alsace, Scottish pilgrim, also listed as Ludain or Luden. He was probably the son of a Scottish prince who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On his return, Ludan stopped at Scherkirchen, near Strasbourg, France, where he died, while the local church bells saluted him miraculously.

SAINT MODESTUS AND AMMONIUS

St. Modestus & Ammonius

Feast day: February 12

Death: unknown



Martyrs of Alexandria, Egypt. They are reportedly the children of St. Damien, martyr, and were caught up in the persecution of that era.

SAINT MODESTUS

St. Modestus

Modestus, Deacon
Feast day: February 12

Death: 304


 Saint Modestus martyred deacon of Sardinia. His relics were translated to Benevento, Italy, around 785 . He was martyred during the under Emperor Diocletian.

SAINT MODESTUS AND JULIAN

St. Modestus & Julian

Feast day: February 12

Death: unknown



Martyrs linked by being listed together in the pre-1970 Roman Martyrology. There is no proven historical association between them. Modestus was martyred at Carthage, Africa,Julian at Alexandria about 160.  and Julian is patron saint of Cartagena, Spain.

SAINT ETHELWALD



St. Ethelwald

Ethelwald of Lindisfarne,
Also known as Æthelweald, Aedilauld, Ethilwald, Ethelwold

Feast day: February 12


Born in Northumbria
Died  740;

Bishop of Lindisfame, England, a disciple of St. Cuthbert. Ethelwald served as prior and then abbot of Old Melrose in Scotland. St. Bede praised Etheiwald, who succeeded St. Eadfrith at Lindisfame in 721.


     Second feast of the translation of his relics by King Edgar to Westminster on April 21. Ethelwald
was one of Saint Cuthbert's chief assistants. He was prior and then abbot of Old Melrose in Scotland. On the death of Saint Edfrith, Ethelwald succeeded to the see of Lindisfarne. His interest in Edfrith's work is demonstrated by his patronage of the hermit Saint Billfrith, who made at his request a binding for it of gold and precious stones now lost. His relics were translated from Lindisfarne with those of Saint Cuthbert. A stone cross bearing his name went from Lindisfarne to Durham. A compilation by him called Ymnarius Edilwaldi may be the source of the Book of Cerne .

BLESSED JAMES FENN AND COMPANIONS

Blessed James Fenn and Companions

 Died 1584.
Feast day: February 12




A group of martyrs consisting of James Fenn, John Nutter, John Munden, and Thomas Hemerford, who were martyred at Tyburn, England, and beatified in 1929. While they died during the same persecution and were beatified at the same time, they are not included among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.  James Fenn was born in Montacute near Yeovil, Somerset, and was
educated at Corpus Christi College and Gloucester Hall at Oxford. He became a school master and married. Upon his wife's death, he studied in Rheims and was ordained to the priesthood in 1580.
John Nutter was born near Burnley, Lancastershire, and was a fellow of Saint John's College, Cambridge. He studied for the priesthood at Rheims and was ordained in 1581. John Munden, a native of Coltley, South Maperton, Dorset, studied at New College, Oxford, became a school master, went to Rheims and to Rome for his ecclesiastical training and was ordained in 1582.  Thomas Hemerford, a native of Dorsetshire, was educated at Saint John's College and Hart Hall, Oxford. He studied for the priesthood at the English College in Rome, where he was ordained in 1583--just
a year before his death .



Blessed James Fenn
   Martyr in England. Born in Somerset, he studied at Oxford and became a fellow until he refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and was removed. James married and became a schoolmaster in Somerset. After the passing of his wife, he went to Reims where he studied for the priesthood and received ordination in 1580. Returning to England, he worked in Somerset until arrested. He was then moved to London and named a conispirator of a bogus assassination plot. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on February 12. Pope Pius XI canonized him in 1929.

BLESSED THOMAS HEMERFORD


Bl. Thomas Hemerford

Feast day: February 12

Death:  Martyred Tyburn, 1584

English martyr. A native of Dorsetshire, he was educated at Saint John's College and Hart Hall, Oxford and then studied for the priesthood at English College, Rome. He was ordained in Rome in 1583, and returned to England,just a year before his death where he was swifily arrested. Condemned for being a priest, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn with four companions. He was beatified in 1929.



BLESSED ANTONY OF SAXONY AND COMPANIONS ,O.F.M



Blessed Antony of Saxony & Companions, OFM
Feast day: February 12

Death: 1369


 These Franciscans were slain by a pagan chief in the area, until recently, comprising modern Yugoslavia, at Widdin.


 A group of Franciscan martyrs consisting of Antony of Saxony, Gregory of Tragurio, Nicholas of Hungary, Thomas of Foligno, and Ladislaus of Hungary, who were put to death for the faith by King Bazarath at the village of Widdin in some part of former Yugoslavia in the presence of the heretic monk by whom they had been arrested. Of special note considering general impatience in the West regarding the delay in beatifications, after 600 years these martyrs have never been officially beatified. Theirs is simply a popular cultus.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

SAINT JULIAN

St. Julian
Julian the Hospitaller
Also known as Julian the Poor Man
Feast day: February 12




According to a pious fiction that was very popular in the Middle Ages, Julian was of noble birth .
 Fictitious; feast day of January 29 in the Acta Sanctorum appears to be arbitrary. Of the many churches, hospitals, and other charitable institutions in western Europe which bore or bear the name of Saint Julian, most commemorate this hero of a romance, a pious fiction that was very popular in the Middle Ages. There is no evidence to suggest any historicity whatsoever.

 According to the James Voragine's Golden Legend, Julian the Hospitaler accidentally committed one of the worst crimes possible: He killed his parents. This was predicted one day while the nobleman was hunting. A deer reproached Julian for hunting him and said that in the future he would commit the crime. Afraid of committing such a terrible crime, Julian migrated to a far land and served the king there so well that he was knighted and given a rich widow in marriage with a castle for her dowry.

While he was away his mother and father arrived at his castle seeking him; When his wife realized who they were, she put them up for the night in the master's bed room. When Julian returned unexpectedly later that night and saw a man and a woman in his bed, he suspected the worst and killed them both. When his wife returned from church and he found he had killed his parents, he was overcome with remorse and fled the castle, no longer fit to live with decent people. She refused to abandon him. Together they set out to attempt to make amends for his crime. They forsook their fine castle and journeyed first to Rome to obtain absolution, then as far as a swiftly flowing, wide river where they built a hospital for the poor and an inn for travellers. In addition to this work, they did penance for Julian's crime by helping travellers across the swift river. resolved to do a fitting penance. He was forgiven for his crime when he gave help to a leper in his own bed; the leper turned out to be a messenger from God who had been sent to test him.

 After many years Julian was awakened one freezing night by a voice from the other side of the river crying for help. He got up, crossed over, and discovered a man almost frozen to death. Julian carried the man across the river and warmed him back to life in his own bed. The poor sufferer appeared to be a leper, but this did not stop Julian. And when the man recovered, he revealed himself to be a special messenger from God, sent to test the saint's kindness. "Julian," the leper said, "Our Lord sends you word that He has accepted your penance"

 There are many saints named Julian. Some of their stories have mixed with the tale of the Hospitaler and vice versa. The one with which he is most confused is Julian the Martyr, whose wife was also named Basilissa. Nevertheless, Julian the Hospitaller's story is recorded in the sermons of Antoninus of Florence, the 13th-century work of Vincent of Beauvais, and in one of Gustave Flaubert's Trois Contes .

 Saint Julian is depicted in his identifying scene: killing his parents in bed. Sometimes he is shown as young, richly dressed with a hawk on his finger making him difficult to distinguish from Saint Bavo;  holding an oar;  wearing a fur-lined cloak, sword, and gloves;  with a stag; or  carrying a leper over the river to his waiting wife Saint Basilissa . Julian's legend is portrayed in several important cycles of 13th-century stained glass at both Chartres and Rouen, as well as medieval paintings elsewhere .

 He is the patron of boatmen, ferrymen, innkeepers, musicians, travellers, and wandering minstrels .

Friday, September 5, 2014

SAINT THEODORA EMPRESS


Theodora Empress

 Died 867.

Holy Empress Theodora was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast 829-842, but she did not share in the heresy of her husband and secretly venerated the holy icons. After the death of her husband, St Theodora governed the realm because her son Michael was a minor.


from Paphagonia, Theodora descended from an aristocratic Armenian family. Theophilus' stepmother, Euphrosyne, selected her as his bride and during their marriage they had seven children, five daughters and two sons. The youngest son would succeed his father as Emperor Michael III.

Theophilus maintained the restored iconoclastic policies initiated by Leo V in 813 after the first period of restoration of veneration under Empress Irene in the late eighth century. Theodora, however, secretly was a strong believer in veneration of icons. Upon the death of Theophilus in 842, Theodora came to power as the regent for her son Michael and ended the iconoclastic policies of her husband in 843 with the backing of a church council. The proclamation of 843 restoring veneration of icons initiated the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy that has since been celebrated by the Orthodox Church each year on the first Sunday of Lent.

She ably governed the empire, including replenishing the treasury and fending off an attempted invasion by the Bulgarians. As Michael grew older, he came under the influence of his uncle Bardas, who undermined the authority of Theodora. In 855, he finally displaced Theodora from her regency and sent her to the Monastery of St. Euphrosyne, where she died around the year 867.

In 1460, the Turks gave her relics to the people of Kerkyra Kephalonia.

SAINTS SATURNINUS, DATIVUS, FELIX, AMPELIUS, VICTORIA AND COMPANIONS




SATURNINUS, DATIVUS, FELIX, AMPELIUS, VICTORIA AND COMPANIONS
 Died 304.

 Feast day: February 11

A group of 49 martyrs in Albitina in North Africa.   Arrested during the liturgy, they were sent to Carthage for questioning.   Saturnine was a priest, and with him suffered his four children, Saturnine and Felix, readers, Mary, a virgin, and Hilarion, a young child.   Dativus and another Felix were senators.   Others from this group, whose identities have remained known to us are: Thelica, Ampelius, Emeritus, Rogatian and Victoria, a holy virgin of undaunted courage.   The child Hilarion, when threatened by the magistrates while his companions were being tortured, replied: 'Yes, torture me too; anyhow, I am a Christian'.


 The Acta of these African martyrs are believed to be authentic, contemporaneous to their deaths. Emperor Diocletian had order Christians to give up the holy Scriptures during a year- long persecution.  In the town of Abitina, Saturninus celebrated the Eucharist on a Sunday in the house of Octavius Felix. The officials became aware of it and sent soldiers to arrest the entire congregation of 49 people. Arrested with Saturninus were his four children Saturninus junior and Felix both lectors, Mary who had consecrated her virginity to God, and Hilarianus a child; and Dativus and another Felix (enators, Thelica, Emeritus, Ampelius, Rogatus, and
Victoria. The procession of prisoners was led by the senator and Saturninus, who were followed immediately by the latter's children. Their courage in professing Jesus was in stark contrast to the infamous sacrilege committed just before by Bishop Fundanus of Abitina, who had given up the sacred books to be burned, but a violent storm put out the fire.  After their resolute confession, the Christians were shackled and set to Carthage, residence of the proconsul Anulinus. They thought themselves blessed to be chained for Christ and sang hymns of praise along the way.

 Dativus was the first to be questioned, racked, torn with iron hooks, and then beaten with cudgels as was each in turn. The women no less than the men resolutely underwent the trials.  When Anulinus continuously asked why they presumed to celebrate the Lord's Day against imperial orders, they repeatedly answered:
"The obligation of Sunday is indispensable. It is not lawful for us to omit the duty of that day. We celebrated it as well as we could. We never passed a Sunday without meeting at our assembly. We will keep the commandments of God at the expense of our lives." No dangers nor torments could deter them from this duty, from which so many now seek to excuse themselves.  Previously, Victoria, a professed virgin of pagan parents, had leaped from her window on her wedding day to prevent the marriage but was miraculously saved from death and escaped to the refuge of a church. Because she was counted among the nobility and her brother was a pagan, Anulinus tried every means to prevail upon her to renounce her faith and save herself.  She continued to profess her faith. Her pagan brother Fortunatianus undertook her defense, but she refuted his intimation that she had simply been led astray. Anulinus asked Victoria if she would return home with her brother. She said that she could not because she only acknowledged as brethren those who kept the law of God. Continued entreaties did not move her.  Anulinus then turned his attention to the child Hilarianus, son of Saturninus, thinking that he could sway one of such a tender age. But the child showed more contempt than fear of the tyrant's threats, and continued to answer that he was a Christian of his own free will. While his elders were being tortured, he replied, "Yes, torture me, too; anyhow, I am a Christian."  These Christians died from the hardships of their confinement and are all honored in the ancient calendar of Carthage and the Roman Martyrology on February 11, though only two both named Felix actually died on that day .

Names of all 49
Saturninus, Presbyter ;Saturninus, son of Saturninus,  Reader ;Felix, son of Saturninus,  Reader;
Maria, daughter of Saturninus ; Hilarion infant son of Saturninus; Dativus, also known as Sanator ; Felix
another Felix ; Emeritus, Reader; Ampelius, Reader; Rogatianus ;Quintus; Maximianus or Maximus; Telica or Tazelita; another Rogatianus; Rogatus; Ianuarius; Cassianus; Victorianus; Vincentius; Caecilianus; Restituta; Prima;  Eva;  yet another Rogatianus; Givalius; Rogatus ;Pomponia; Secunda ;Ianuaria; Saturnina; Martinus; Clautus ; Felixjunior; Margarits; Maior;Honorata; Regiola; Victorinus; Pelusius; Faustus; Dacianus; Matrona; Caecilia; Victoria, a virgin from Carthage; Berectina; Secunda; Matrona; Ianuaria

SAINTS MARTYRS OF AFRICA IN THE YEAR 303

Martyrs of Africa
 Died . 303.
 Feast day: February 11
These martyrs are known as the "Guardians of the Holy Scriptures." They chose to die during the Diocletian persecutions rather than to deliver the sacred books to be burned. Saint
Augustine of Hippo mentions especially those of Numidia..

SAINT GREGORY II POPE

Gregory II, Pope
St. Gregory II

Birth: 669 in Rome, Italy; died 731
Papacy Start Date 19 May 715
Papacy End Date 11 February 731

sometimes celebrated also on February 13.
 Feastday: February 11
St. Gregory II was the scion of a noble Roman family. Under Sergius I, Gregory was the librarian and the keeper of the purse; he accompanied Pope Constantine when the pope traveled to Constantinople to protest the anti-western canons of the Second Trullan or Quintisext Council 692. Successful, the two returned to Rome in 711


The 89th pope, Saint Gregory, became involved in church affairs in his youth, was educated at the Lateran, became a subdeacon under Pope Saint Sergius, served as treasurer and librarian of the Church under four popes, and became widely known for his learning and wisdom. In 710, now a deacon, he distinguished himself in his replies to Emperor Justinian when he accompanied Pope Constantine to Constantinople to oppose the Council of Trullo canon that had declared the patriarchate of Constantinople independent of Rome and helped to secure Justinian's acknowledgment of papal supremacy.

 On May 19, 715, Gregory was elected pope to succeed Constantine, put into effect a program to restore clerical discipline, fought heresies, began to rebuild the walls around Rome as a defense against the Saracens, and helped restore and rebuild churches including Saint Paul-Outside-the-Walls, hospitals, and monasteries, including Monte Cassino under Petronax, which had been destroyed by Lombards about 150 years previously. He sent missionaries into Germany, among them Saint Corbinian and Saint Boniface in 719, whom he consecrated bishop. He also helped Saint Nothelm in his researches in the papal archives to provide material for Saint Bede's Ecclesiastical history. Gregory also received the Wessex king Ina, who became a monk in Rome in 726.

Gregory II resisted the iconoclasm of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian. He also resisted taxes the Emperor imposed, and the emperor plotted to kill the pope. In 716,
 An old tradition makes Gregory a Benedictine monk, and his office figured for centuries in several Benedictine Propria.

 The outstanding concern of his pontificate was his difficulties with Emperor Leo III the Isaurian. Gregory opposed Leo's illegal taxation on the Italians, and counseled against the planned revolt of Italy against Byzantium and the election of an emperor in opposition to Leo. He also demanded that Leo stop interfering with church matters, vigorously opposed iconoclasm supported by the emperor, and severely rebuked him at a synod in Rome in 727. Gregory also supported Germanus, patriarch of Constantinople, against Leo. Gregory's relations with the Lombards who were intent upon conquering Italy were friendly mainly due to his influence with their leader, Liutprand .

Gregory peacefully regained papal territory from the Lombards, and when King Liutprand of the Lombard s threatened to invade Rome in 729, Gregory disuaded him


Gregory died in February, and was buried in St. Peter's 11 Feb., 731.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

SAINT GOBNATA OF BALLYVOURNEY

St Gobnata of Ballyvourney
Also known as Gobnet, Gobnait
St. Gobnata


Feast day: Febuary 11

Death: 6th century



Irish abbess and disciple of St. Abban. When St. Abban founded a convent in Ballyvourney, County Cork, Ireland, Gobnata was placed in charge. A well there bears her name.
Saint Gobnata was born in County Clare, Ireland;  at the end of the fifth, or the beginning of the sixth century. Later she fled to the Aran Islands to escape from some enemy. An angel appeared to her one day and told her to leave that place and to keep walking until she found nine white deer. She saw three white deer at Clondrohid, Co. Cork, and decided to follow them. Then at Ballymakeera, she saw six white deer. Finally, at Ballyvourney she came upon nine white deer grazing in a wood. There she was given land for a women’s monastery by her spiritual Father St Abban of Kilabban, Co. Laois (March 16), and he installed her as abbess. Excavations in 1951 proved that indeed there had been an early Christian settlement on the site.

St Gobnata was renowned for her gift of healing, and there is a story of how she kept the plague from Ballyvourney. She is also famous for her skill as a bee-keeper.
 Her grave in the churchyard at Ballyvourney is decorated with crutches and other evidence of cures obtained through Gobnata's intercession. Among the miracles attributed to her intercession were the staying of a pestilence by marking off the parish as sacred ground. Another tradition relates that she routed an enemy by loosing her bees upon them. Her beehive has remained a precious relic of the O'Herlihys.

One day, St Gobnata was watching from a hill overlooking a valley as an invading chieftain and his army came through, destroying crops and driving off cattle. She sent the bees to attack them, and they were thrown into such confusion that they left without their plunder.

The holy virgin St Gobnata fell asleep in the Lord on February 11. The exact year of her death is not known, but it probably occurred in the sixth century. Although she is regarded as the patron saint of Ballyvourney, she is venerated throughout southern Ireland. There are churches dedicated to her in Waterford and Kerry, for example, and she is also revered in Scotland.

The round stone associated with her is still preserved. Several leading families of Munster have a traditional devotion to this best-known and revered local saint. The devotion of the O'Sullivan Beare family may have been the reason that Pope Clement VIII honored Gobnata in 1601 by indulgencing a pilgrimage to her shrine and, in 1602, by authorizing a Proper Mass on her feast. About that time the chieftains of Ireland were making a final struggle for independence and the entire clan migrated to the North having dedicated their fortunes to Gobnata in a mass pilgrimage that included O'Sullivan Beare, his fighting men, and their women, children, and servants

BLESSED ELISABETH SALVIATI


Blessed Elisabeth Salviati,
Born  Italy

 Died 1519.

 Feast day: February 11

Elisabeth was a Camaldolese nun and abbess of the convent of San Giovanni Evangelista at Boldrone in Florence, Italy. Pope Urban VIII allowed pictures of her with the title of beata underneath to be
printed in Rome . 

SAINT CASTRENSIS OF CAPUA

Saint Castrensis of Capua

Also known as Castrense,Castrese

Feast day: February 11
Relics at Capua, Italy and in Monreale, Sicily
Bishop exiled from Africa to Italy in the 5th century by Arian Vandals. Bishop of Capua, Italy.


Saint Castrensis has a second feast day on September 1 together with Priscus, an African bishop, and his priests Tamarus, Rosius, Heraclius, Secundinus, Adjutor, Mark, Augustus, Elpidius, Canion, and Vindonius who were cast adrift in a rudderless boat by the Arian Vandals. They reached southern Italy, where eventually Priscus became bishop of Capua and several of the others were promoted to other sees. The Acta, however, are untrustworthy. It seems that the companions of Saint Priscus are Campanian Italian saints unconnected with the story in the Roman Martyrology. One opinion interprets Priscus Castrensis as meaning
"Priscus formerly bishop of Castra in northern Africa" .

SAINT CALOCERUS OF RAVENNA

Saint Calocerus of Ravenna

Also known as Calogero,Caio,Calocero

Born Greek

Died.130
Feast day: February 11


Spiritual student of Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna. Bishop of Ravenna, Italy.

SAINT CAEDMON

Caedmon

Feast day: February 11
 Died 670/680.
Author of Biblical Poems in Anglo-Saxon, date of birth unknown; died between 670 and 680. While Caedmon's part in the authorship of the so-called Caedmonian poems has been steadily narrowed by modern scholarship, the events in the life of this gifted religious poet are definitively established by the painstaking Bede, who lived in the nearby monastery of Wearmouth


Saint Bede recorded the life of Caedmon, the cowherd of Whitby Abbey, who though rough and untutored, by some strange power, in his later years broke into song and became the father of English poetry. Some say he was quite old when he first exercised his gift. The legend is that for years he was so ashamed of his inability, on account of his shyness, to take his turn in singing on festive occasions that he would steal away and hide himself. Wherefore, being sometimes at feasts, when all agreed for glee's sake to sing in turn, he no sooner saw the harp come towards him than he rose from the board and turned homewards.'

 One night, however, when he had left the feast and had taken refuge in the stable, he heard a voice saying: 'Sing, Caedmon. Sing some song to Me.' Caedmon stammered in reply: 'I cannot sing.' 'But you shall sing,' replied the voice. 'What shall I sing?' Caedmon asked in wonder. The voice answered: 'Sing the beginning of created things.' And Caedmon, in that moment, attempting to sing, found his stammering tongue had been loosened.  In the morning he recalled the words of his song and, adding other verses to it, appeared before the Abbess Hilda, to whom he related his strange story. He sang to her the song he had sung in the night, and she and all who heard were amazed, and agreed 'that heavenly grace had been conferred upon him by the Lord.'

 He became a lay-brother and, still in the great abbey of Whitby, was taught by his fellow monks the truths of the Bible; these he turned into poetry 'so sweet to the ear that his teachers became his hearers.' 'He sang,' says Bede, 'of the creation of the world, the origin of man, and the history of Israel, of the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ, and the teaching of the Apostles.' This first Anglo-Saxon writer of religious poetry covered with his paraphrases the whole field of Scripture, and though 'others after him strove to compose religious poems, none could vie with him, for he learned the art of poetry not from men,
but from God.'

 He is said to have died in holiness and perfect charity to all, after showing that he knew his life was at an end, although he was not seriously ill.  It was a remarkable instance of the power of the Bible to stimulate the imagination and awaken natural genius. Thus, Caedmon brought to the common people the energy and realism of the Scriptures, which, entering deeply into the life of the nation, have never ceased through all the centuries to invigorate and inspire the culture of the English-speaking world. Though only nine lines of one of his hymns, Dream of the Road, said to have been composed in a dream, survives, he is called the 'Father of English Sacred Poetry.' His feast is still celebrated at Whitby
 One of two candidates for the earliest surviving copy of Caedmon's Hymn is found in "The Moore Bede" .which is held by the Cambridge University Library