Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

I remember the stories of the martyrs of Uganda well.

St. Athanasius is very popular nowadays. He persisted in the right faith despite tremendous corruption everywhere.

Welcome back Shin!
Good to see u 

[Patricia]

Odhiambo, thank you for the post about the holy martyrs of Uganda.  Brave Catholics!  Have you read ' Left to tell' by Immaculee Ilibagiza ?  A very touching story.

[odhiambo]

Odhiambo, thank you for the post about the holy martyrs of Uganda.  Brave Catholics!  Have you read ' Left to tell' by Immaculee Ilibagiza ?  A very touching story.

I am afraid not Patricia.
I have not heard of the book. Since you have recommended it,will look for it it the bookshops.

[odhiambo]

May 4

Today we remember
Saint Godehard of Hildesheim
One saint among many remembered on this day.

[odhiambo]

Saint Godehard of Hildesheim

Also known as Godard, Godehard or Gothard.
Our Saint today was born in Reichersdorf, in Bavaria, Germany. He grew up among priests as his father worked with the canons of Niederaltaich Abbey. It followed that he himself wanted to live the life he was accustomed to seeing. He was ordained a Benedictine priest in 990. He eventually became Abbot of Niederaltaich Abbey. As Abbot, he was instrumental in the reintroduction of the Benedictine Rule at Niederaltaich.
His success led to his appointments in other positions. Emperor Saint Henry II appointed him bishop of Hildesheim in 1022. He was also asked to reform monasteries.
The saint was renown for his charitable works.
Saint Godard died of natural causes in 1038. A chapel, Saint Gotthard, was constructed in his honor and in turn, Saint Gotthard Pass in Switzerland, was named after this chapel.
Saint Gotthard was canonized in 1131 by Pope Innocent II.

Saint Gotthard,
Pray for us

[Shin]

It's also the traditional feast day of St. Monica.

And the feast of the Carthusian Martyrs. These all died under the infamous King Henry VIII, for refusing to acknowledge him as head of the Church.

[odhiambo]

It's also the traditional feast day of St. Monica.

And the feast of the Carthusian Martyrs. These all died under the infamous King Henry VIII, for refusing to acknowledge him as head of the Church.

Saint Monica.
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

5 May
Today we remember
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
One Blessed among many other saints
and Blesseds we honor today.

[odhiambo]

Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice.
Founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

Edmund was born on 1 June 1762 in Callan, Ireland. He was the 4 th of seven sons born to his parents.
At seventeen, Edmund moved to Waterford to work for his uncle , Michael, who was running a shipping business there. When his uncle died, Edmund inherited the business and became wealthy.
In 1785 or 1787, Edmund married a girl named Mary Elliott. He was about 25 years old. The couple was blessed with a baby girl.
Two years down the line, however, he lost his wife.
After this loss, Edmund, a devout man, at first wanted to enter the religious life. He was , however encouraged by the Bishop of Waterford, Bishop Hussey, to serve God in another way, another direction, by dedicated himself to charitable works. He began working with poor, uneducated boys. The Bishop drew Edmund’s attention to the gangs of ragged youth in the streets, asking him if he too, planned to abandon them. No, Edmund would not abandon these needy children. He saw the lack of Christian education among the boys of Waterford, and decided on the course he would take. Encouraged by Pope Pius VII and the Bishop he sold his business, arranged for his daughter’s care, and commenced his great work of Christian education by opening his first school in 1802. This was the founding of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, or just the Christian Brothers, or even, the Irish, Christian Brothers. It was a Catholic Model School. By 1806, he had three other schools in operation. He now took the religious name of Ignatius.

Edmund established eleven communities in Ireland, eleven in England, and one in Australia, with requests coming from the United States and Canada. He resigned as Superior General in 1838.

He died of natural causes on 29 August 1844 in Waterford, at Mount Sion, the site of his first school.
He was beatified him on October 6, 1996 by John Paul II.
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

I understand that Edmund was born at a time in history when the Irish Catholics were undergoing persecutions by the English. During that period, it was apparently illegal for a catholic to educate his children as Catholics or for any teacher to do the same. This state of affairs is what contributed to the sorry state of Catholic boys in Waterford, that so aroused Edmund’s pity and compassion.
That he was able to found the Catholic Model Schools  at such a time must surely mean that the penal laws had been relaxed?

[Shin]

Hmm, I wish Martin were here to tell us more about Irish history. 

[odhiambo]

Hmm, I wish Martin were here to tell us more about Irish history. 

Exactly!
I thought of him when I was posting that.
Well, it will still be here when he comes. We will draw his attention to it.

[Shin]

Today is also Pope St. Pius V's day, on the traditional calendar.

'You are the salt of the earth! You are the light of the world! See to it that the people are edified by your example, by the purity of your lives, by the moderation of your conduct, and the brilliance of your holiness! God does not ask of you mere ordinary virtue. He demands downright perfection!'

Pope St. Pius V, to the cardinals

'I know very well that I am dealing with men, not with angels.'

Pope St. Pius V

'The Roman Pontiffs, and the other Holy Fathers, our predecessors, when they were pressed in upon by temporal or spiritual wars, or troubled by other trials, in order that they might more easily escape from these, and having achieved tranquility, might quietly and fervently be free to devote themselves to God, were wont to implore the divine assistance, through supplications or Litanies to call forth the support of the saints, and with David to lift up their eyes unto the Mountains, trusting with firm hope that thence would they receive aid. . .

Dominic looked to that simple way of praying and beseeching God, accessible to all and wholly pious, which is called the Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which the same most Blessed Virgin is venerated by the angelic greeting repeated one hundred and fifty times, that is, according to the number of the Davidic Psalter, and by the Lord's Prayer with each decade. Interposed with these prayers are certain meditations showing forth the entire life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, thus completing the method of prayer devised by the by the Fathers of the Holy Roman Church. . .

Christ's faithful, inflamed by these prayers, began immediately to be changed into new men. The darkness of heresy began to be dispelled, and the light of the Catholic Faith to be revealed. . .

Following the example of our predecessors, seeing that the Church militant, which God has placed in our hands, in these our times is tossed this way and that by so many heresies, and is grievously troubled troubled and afflicted by so many wars, and by the deprave morals of men, we also raise our eyes, weeping but full of hope, unto that same mountain, whence every aid comes forth, and we encourage and admonish each member of Christ's faithful to do likewise in the Lord.'

Pope St. Pius V

[Shin]

Pope St. Pius V. . .

"Was Master of novices and prior of several Dominican houses, working for stricter adherence to the Order‘s Rule. Inquisitor in Como and Bergamo, Italy. Commissary general of the Roman Inquisition in 1551. On 4 September 1556 Michele was consecrated Bishop of Nepi e Sutri, Italy against his will. Inquisitor in Milan and Lombardy in 1556. Created cardinal on 15 March 1557, and Grand inquisitor on 14 December 1558."

"He fasted, did penance, passed long hours of the night in meditation and prayer, traveled on foot without a cloak in deep silence, or only speaking to his companions of the things of God."

". . . it was he who defeated the project of Maximilian II, Emperor of Germany, to abolish ecclesiastical celibacy. On the death of Pius IV, he was, despite his tears and entreaties, elected pope, to the great joy of the whole Church."

"As pontiff he practiced the virtues he had displayed as a monk and a bishop. His piety was not diminished, and, in spite of the heavy labours and anxieties of his office, he made at least two meditations a day on bended knees in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In his charity he visited the hospitals, and sat by the bedside of the sick, consoling them and preparing them to die. He washed the feet of the poor, and embraced the lepers."

"It is related that an English nobleman was converted on seeing him kiss the feet of a beggar covered with ulcers. He was very austere and banished luxury from his court, raised the standard of morality, laboured with his intimate friend, St. Charles Borromeo, to reform the clergy, obliged his bishops to reside in their dioceses, and the cardinals to lead lives of simplicity and piety. "

". . . the great thought and the constant preoccupation of his pontificate seems to have been the struggle against the Protestants and the Turks. In Germany he supported the Catholics oppressed by the heretical princes. In France he encouraged the League by his counsels and with pecuniary aid. In the Low Countries he supported Spain. In England, finally, he excommunicated Elizabeth, embraced the cause of Mary Stuart, and wrote to console her in prison."

"He worked incessantly to unite the Christian princes against the hereditary enemy, the Turks."

"He supported the Knights of Malta, sent money for the fortification of the free towns of Italy, furnished monthly contributions to the Christians of Hungary, and endeavoured especially to bring Maximilian, Philip II, and Charles I together for the defence of Christendom. In 1567 for the same purpose he collected from all convents one-tenth of their revenues. In 1570 when Solyman II attacked Cyprus, threatening all Christianity in the West, he never rested till he united the forces of Venice, Spain, and the Holy See.

He sent his blessing to Don John of Austria, the commander-in-chief of the expedition, recommending him to leave behind all soldiers of evil life, and promising him the victory if he did so. He ordered public prayers, and increased his own supplications to heaven.

On the day of the Battle of Lepanto, 7 Oct., 1571, he was working with the cardinals, when, suddenly, interrupting his work opening the window and looking at the sky, he cried out, with supernatural radiance, "A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian army".

"And so it was, far away, the great victory had occurred."

He burst into tears when he heard of the victory, which dealt the Turkish power a blow from which it never recovered. In memory of this triumph he instituted for the first Sunday of October the feast of the Rosary, and added to the Litany of Loreto the supplication "Help of Christians".

He was hoping to put an end to the power of Islam by forming a general alliance of the Italian cities Poland, France, and all Christian Europe, and had begun negotiations for this purpose when he died of gravel, repeating "O Lord, increase my sufferings and my patience!"

- various sources

[odhiambo]

Pope St. Pius V. . .

"Was Master of novices and prior of several Dominican houses, working for stricter adherence to the Order‘s Rule. Inquisitor in Como and Bergamo, Italy. Commissary general of the Roman Inquisition in 1551. On 4 September 1556 Michele was consecrated Bishop of Nepi e Sutri, Italy against his will. Inquisitor in Milan and Lombardy in 1556. Created cardinal on 15 March 1557, and Grand inquisitor on 14 December 1558."

"He fasted, did penance, passed long hours of the night in meditation and prayer, traveled on foot without a cloak in deep silence, or only speaking to his companions of the things of God."

". . . it was he who defeated the project of Maximilian II, Emperor of Germany, to abolish ecclesiastical celibacy. On the death of Pius IV, he was, despite his tears and entreaties, elected pope, to the great joy of the whole Church."

"As pontiff he practiced the virtues he had displayed as a monk and a bishop. His piety was not diminished, and, in spite of the heavy labours and anxieties of his office, he made at least two meditations a day on bended knees in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In his charity he visited the hospitals, and sat by the bedside of the sick, consoling them and preparing them to die. He washed the feet of the poor, and embraced the lepers."

"It is related that an English nobleman was converted on seeing him kiss the feet of a beggar covered with ulcers. He was very austere and banished luxury from his court, raised the standard of morality, laboured with his intimate friend, St. Charles Borromeo, to reform the clergy, obliged his bishops to reside in their dioceses, and the cardinals to lead lives of simplicity and piety. "

". . . the great thought and the constant preoccupation of his pontificate seems to have been the struggle against the Protestants and the Turks. In Germany he supported the Catholics oppressed by the heretical princes. In France he encouraged the League by his counsels and with pecuniary aid. In the Low Countries he supported Spain. In England, finally, he excommunicated Elizabeth, embraced the cause of Mary Stuart, and wrote to console her in prison."

"He worked incessantly to unite the Christian princes against the hereditary enemy, the Turks."

"He supported the Knights of Malta, sent money for the fortification of the free towns of Italy, furnished monthly contributions to the Christians of Hungary, and endeavoured especially to bring Maximilian, Philip II, and Charles I together for the defence of Christendom. In 1567 for the same purpose he collected from all convents one-tenth of their revenues. In 1570 when Solyman II attacked Cyprus, threatening all Christianity in the West, he never rested till he united the forces of Venice, Spain, and the Holy See.

He sent his blessing to Don John of Austria, the commander-in-chief of the expedition, recommending him to leave behind all soldiers of evil life, and promising him the victory if he did so. He ordered public prayers, and increased his own supplications to heaven.

On the day of the Battle of Lepanto, 7 Oct., 1571, he was working with the cardinals, when, suddenly, interrupting his work opening the window and looking at the sky, he cried out, with supernatural radiance, "A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian army".

"And so it was, far away, the great victory had occurred."

He burst into tears when he heard of the victory, which dealt the Turkish power a blow from which it never recovered. In memory of this triumph he instituted for the first Sunday of October the feast of the Rosary, and added to the Litany of Loreto the supplication "Help of Christians".

He was hoping to put an end to the power of Islam by forming a general alliance of the Italian cities Poland, France, and all Christian Europe, and had begun negotiations for this purpose when he died of gravel, repeating "O Lord, increase my sufferings and my patience!"

- various sources

Pope St. Pius V,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

6 May

Today is the day we commemorate the attempted martyrdom of
Saint John the Apostle
 in the year 95 in Rome.