Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
The Younger,
Doctor of the Church

Gregory is one of the saints we have come to know who are “born in a family of saints. ( Remember Saint Basil ? )

He was born at Arianzus, in Asia Minor, present day Turkey. in 325(? 330) He was one of three children born to Saint Gregory the Elder, Bishop of Nazianzus , and Saint Nonna, a daughter of Christian parents. Saint Caesarius was his brother and Saint Gorgonia his sister, a family of saints.

Gregory first studied at Caesarea in Cappadocia where he met and became firm friends with Saint Basil. Later he went to study in Caesarea in Palestine, to Alexandria in Egypt and finally to the highly esteemed University of Athens in Greece where he studied Law and other subjects. At Athens Gregory and Basil, who had parted at Caesarea, met again, and renewed their earlier friendship.

After completing his studies, Gregory returned home to Nanziazus.
On returning home, both he and his friend Basil decided to devote their lives completely to the service of God as hermits. In 362, however, Gregory’s father insisted on ordaining him to priesthood and did so practically against his will. Gregory then wrote a thesis on the priestly office whch became an inspiration to countlass others.

He was named the Bishop of Sasima in 372, but he remained at Nanzianzus to assist his now aged father.

The city of Constantinople ( Now Istanbul) had for many years been the stronghold of the Arian heresy. In 379, the few remaining faithful Catholics, invited Saint Gregory there to go and spearhead the fight against Arianism.

“After much hesitation he gave his consent, proceeded to Constantinople early in the year 379, and began his mission in a private house which he describes as "the new Shiloh where the Ark was fixed", and as "an Anastasia, the scene of the resurrection of the faith ". Not only the faithful Catholics, but many heretics gathered in the humble chapel of the Anastasia, attracted by Gregory's sanctity, learning and eloquence; and it was in this chapel that he delivered the five wonderful discourses on the faith of Nicaea -- unfolding the doctrine of the Trinity while safeguarding the Unity of the Godhead -- which gained for him, alone of all Christian teachers except the Apostle St. John, the special title of Theologus or the Divine. He also delivered at this time the eloquent panegyrics on St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius, and the Machabees, which are among his finest oratorical works”

From Catholic on Line.

In 380, Emperor Theodosius had the Arian Patriach exiled and replaced with Gregory. After just a few months as Patriac of Constantinople, Gregory resigned and retired to his native town,

where he died in 390.
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus,
Pray for us!

[Shin]

'I hold that the choice of a state of life is so important that it decides, for the remainder of our lives, whether our conduct shall be good or bad.'

St. Gregory Nazianzus

'As a fish cannot swim without water, and as a bird cannot fly without air, so a Christian cannot advance a single step without Christ.'

St. Gregory Nazianzus

[odhiambo]

A Christian without Christ is no Christian 

[odhiambo]

May 10

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Antoninus
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Antoninus
Archbishop of Florence.


Antonius was born on 1 March 1389 at Florence in Italy. His given name was Antonius Pierozzi. He was the only child born to his parents, Nicholas Pierozzi and Thomassina.
The Pierozzi Family was prominent and of a high social standing in Florence.
The Saint was of small stature and this earned him the nickname of Little Antony by which he was known.
When Antonius was fifteen years old; he applied for admission to the Dominican Order at
Fiesole. The Superior told him that for him to be admitted, he had to learn by heart the whole of the Canon Law. We are talking here of several hundred pages of text to be memorised! The Superior never thought for a moment that he would be taken seriously, besides he only told Antonius to memorise the Canon Law to test his resolve, never imagining that in just one year, Antonius would be back.

But he came back, after spending the year in study, Antonius was able to recite the Canon Law.
So it was that Antonius was admitted to the Dominican Order at the age of sixteen. He was the very first to receive the habit for the Convent of Fiesole which was about to be constructed by Blessed John Dominic.
He was sent to Cortona with Fra Angelico and Fra Bartolommeo
to make his novitiate under Blessed Lawrence of Ripafratta. After completing his year in the novitiate, he returned to Fiesole.

Once ordained, Antonius filled several important posts in the Order. He served as superior of several Dominican monasteries and was elected provincial of the order. In 1436, he founded San Marco Convent in Florence and attended the Council of Florence-Ferrara from 1438 to 1445. In 1446, quite against his will, he was appointed archbishop of Florence. Pope Pius II also appointed him as a reformer of the Roman court.
Saint Antonius was called “ the Counselor” because of his vast knowledge of canon law. He was the author of several treatises, including the Summa Theologiae Moralis.
Saint Antonius was the beloved of his people of Florence who called him “the People’s Prelate” because of the care he gave the poor and the suffering, especially at a time when there was a series of earthquakes, famines and plaques.

Antonius died on 2 May 1459 at Florence, Italy
He was canonized on 31 May 1523 by Pope Adrian VI
He is invoked against fever

Saint Antonius,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

May 11

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Mammertus
Among many other saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Mammertus
Archbishop of Vienne.

Mammertus was born near Lyons, France. Year of birth not known or rather, I have not been able to find any information about him before he became prelate. He was Archbishop of Vienne, France in 461.
The saint is renowned for his sanctity, his learning, and his miracles. Reading about Saint Mammeritus, I was very interested to read that as Bishop, he brought back the tradition of rogation processions which soon gained papal approval and were used throughout Europe. I was interested because this is the first time I have came across the word “Rogation” and I had to look it up. Here is how CA explains it.
Rogation Days are “Days of prayer, and formerly also of fasting, instituted by the Church to appease God's anger at man's transgressions, to ask protection in calamities, and to obtain a good and bountiful harvest….”
It appears that at the time that Mammertus was archbishop of Vienna, the city was ravaged by wars and various calamities such as earthquakes and fires as well as ravenous wild beasts which visited the city. All these calamities were interpreted as signs of God’s anger with the people who had grown indifferent to Him. As if to crown it all, a terrible fire broke out one Easter night in the city of Vienna. Nobody knew how the fire started; everybody knew the city was about to be consumed by the fire. The archbishop turned to God and pleaded for mercy and, lo and behold, the fire, that had been so threatening; so frightening, suddenly went out! This was a miracle and it strongly affected
the minds of the people. It was on this occasion that Saint Mammertus decided to restore the Rogations, which had long been forgotten. The practice was a yearly event in which all the faithful joined. There was fasting, prayers; confessions and genuine sorrow for sins. There were in addition processions and Psalms for three days preceding the feast of the Ascension. All these was aimed at appeasing the Lord.
Saint Mammeritus built a church in honor of Saint Ferreolus whose relics were discovered in his diocese.
Mammertus died of natural causes about the year 477 in Vienna, France. His body was
transported and interred in the cathedral of Orleans, France
It remained there in great veneration until 16th century
when it was burnt by the
enemies of the Church, the Huguenots.
Canonized-Pre-Congregation.

Saint Mammeritus,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

May 12.

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Pancras of Rome
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Pancras of Rome

Pancras was born in Phrygia ( somewhere in present day Turkey), in the year 290. We are told that by the time the lad had reached his fourteenth birthday, he had become an orphan. He was then taken to Rome by a pious uncle, Dionysius (now a saint) and converted to Christianity. Soon after this conversion, around the year 304, Pancras was martyred for publicly declaring the faith, these, as you will recall were hard times for Christians. It was the period that Emperor Diocletian was persecuting the Christians. The saint was beheaded in the Via Aurelia, together with three others namely, Saint Nereus, Saint Achilleus and Saint Domitilla.

Later on Pope Saint Vitalian sent some of Saint Pancras’ relics to England hopeful that they would help in the evangelization of England.
Saint Augustine of Canterbury dedicated the first church to Pancras. This became a tradition that soon spread across the country.and many churches throughout England were named after the Saint.

It seems that some of the relics of Saint Pancras were also presented to the king of Northumberland when he converted to Christianity. Those relics that were interred in Saint Pancras in Rome were destroyed in 1798. His head, however, is still in the Lateran Basilica.

His canonization was Pre-Congregation.

Saint Pancras is invoked against false witness, headaches and other maladies.

Saint Pancras,
Pray for us

[Shin]

Saint Pancras is invoked against false witness, headaches and other maladies.

Good to remember!

I think the Rogation days and the life of St. Mammertus contains a lesson for these times..

[odhiambo]

May 13

Today we commemorate the
Feast of Our Lady of Fatima
1917

[odhiambo]

Our Lady of Fatima

Many of you I am aware, are very familiar with the six famous apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a little town in Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. Today is the day the Church identified for the commemoration of these apparitions all those years ago. It is, however an Optional Memorial.
In a nut shell, this is what happened.
Three children: Francisco and Jacinta Marto, brother and sister aged nine and seven respectively and their cousin Lucia dos Santos, (de Jesus) aged ten, were out tending sheep at the nearby Cova da Iria on May 13, 1917. The three lived in a tiny village called Aljustrel near Fatima, Portugal.
It was their habit to say the Rosary out there before coming home. On this day, after reciting the Rosary, the children saw a bright light and a woman, described by them as a “Lady brighter than the sun”
The Lady invited them to return the Cova da Iria for five consecutive months, on the 13th day.
The children went in June and July as instructed and the Lady appeared every time. In August, they were prevented from returning to the Cova da Iria by the mayor of Villa Nova de Ourem. On August 19th, while grazing sheep at another site, they received another apparition. The final apparition occurred on October 13 with seventy thousand people in attendance. During this last apparition, The Blessed Mother proclaimed herself “Our Lady of the Rosary”
A miracle then occurred. “The Miracle of the sun”. On that day, the sun “danced”!
Note:
The message of Our Lady to the three children and to the Christian Community can be summarized in the call to prayer and conversion.

Our Lady of Fatima
Pray for us!

[Patricia]

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!!

[Brigid]

Our Lady of the Rosary, ora pro nobis.

[odhiambo]

May 14
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Matthias the Apostle
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Matthias.
Matthias was originally one of the 70 disciples of Jesus. Following the
Ascension of Jesus, Peter saw a need to replace Judas Iscariot , Our Lord’s
betrayer now dead. He proposed to the disciples who had gathered in Jerusalem at
this time, to choose one man from among themselves who would number among the
Apostles. . Two disciples, Joseph Barsabas, and Matthias were selected, and the
disciples voted in favour of Matthias who then joined the eleven Apostles.
Little is known of his missionary work other than that he preached the Gospel
for more than 30 years in Judea, Cappadocia, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Matthias was stoned to death in the year 80 (Place of stoning not clear to me. It
was either in Jerusalem or Ethiopia), and then beheaded.
Saint Hellen brought his relics back to Rome. A portion of the relics was
transferred to Trier,Germany, still
others in Saint Mary Major in Rome, Italy.
His canonization was Pre-Congregation.
He is invoked against alcoholism and smallpox( now eradicated), among others.
Saint Matthias,
Pray for us!