Saint of the day and Feast days.

[Patricia]

Btw that is my humble opinion. 

[odhiambo]

St. Paschal's day already! How time flies, I had completely lost track! I love his story!  

Yes, it is a beautiful life history.
I never got a feed back from you know where 
A pity

[odhiambo]

May 18

Today is the Feast day of
Pope. Saint John I
Amomg many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Pope Saint John I

Pope John was born in Tuscany, Italy. His father was a man named Constantius. Not much is available of his life before the papacy. We do know that he became a priest while he was still a young man. He was soon appointed archdeacon and held this office for several years before his election to succeed Pope Saint Hormisdas in 523.
In 525, the Arian king, Theodoric, who had been ruling Italy for many years, sent the Pope to Constantinople to see the Emperor Justin and ask him to reverse his edict against the Arians which had been enacted two years previously. The edict required Arians to give back churches which they had taken from orthodox Catholics.
Much against his will, the Pope went to see the Emperor. He was the first pontiff to visit Constantinople. He was received as the Successor of Peter most of the bishops of the East affirmed their communion with him and his precedence as Bishop of Rome.
It was the Pope who presided over the Easter liturgy in Constantinople on April 19, 526. Even the Emperor Justin prostrated himself at the Pope’s feet.
As for the main purpose of his visit to Constantinople, Theodoric had wanted a reversal of Justin’s policy. What the Pope did, however, was to counsel the Emperor Justin to be gentler in his overzealous dealings with the Arians.
The mission was successful, but Theodoric mistrusted the friendly relations between the Pope and the emperor, thinking there was a conspiracy against him.
On his return home, no sooner had he reached Ravenna, than he was seized and cast into prison. He died in prison on18 May 526 of thirst and starvation
His body was taken to Rome where he now lies buried in the basilica of St. Peter
Pope Saint John’s canonication was Pre-Congregation .
In his short pontificate ( 523-526), Pope John I convoked the Council of Orange; he fixed the date of Easter and promoted Latin Chant in the liturgy.

Pope Saint John I,
Pray for us!

Ref:
Saints of the Liturgical Year
A Paulines Publication for Africa.

[odhiambo]

May 19
Today is the Feast day of
Pope Saint Celestine V
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Pope Saint Celestine V
Also known as :
Peter Celestine.
Peter Morrone.
Pietro del Morrone.

Peter Celestine was born in 1215 in Isernia, in Italy. He
was born of humble parentage and into a very large family of twelve children. He
was the last but one to be born. His given name was Peter Celestine di Morone.
Father died when he was still young.
Peter knew about saints while still a child. It is said that when his mother
used to ask her children, "Which one of you is going to become a saint?" Little Peter
would answer "Me, Mama! I'll become a saint!” To show that he meant it,
Peter became a Benedictine at the age of seventeen, and was ordained priest at Rome.
Peter loved solitude and this love drove him at first into the wilderness of
Monte Morone. Later, he sought even wilder territory and found it in the region of
Mount Majella where he lived as John the Baptist did.
He wore a hair-cloth roughened with knots. He had a chain of iron encompassed
around his frame, emaciated from constant fasting. He fasted every day except
Sunday.
Most of his days and a great part of the night were consecrated to prayer and
labor.
As always happens with the saintly, they never get the solitude they crave. So
it was with Peter. Many hermits came to him for guidance, and a desire to
imitate his way of life; so much so that he was inspired to founded the Holy
Spirit Community of Majella or the Benedictine Celestines, or simply the Celestines.
Meanwhile, events were occurring in Rome that had a direct bearing on the future
of the Saint. Pope Nicholas IV died on April 4, 1292. Then followed a two year
period during which the cardinals could not decide on a pope. It seems that
Peter came to them with the message that God was not pleased with the long
delay, and guess what happened? Out of the blue, Peter Celestine was elected Pope.
Three cardinal from Rome, accompanied by huge multitude of monks and laymen,
 trudged their way up Monte Morone to informed the astonished Peter that he had been elevated
 to Pope by a unanimous vote of the Sacred College and humbly begged him to accept the honour. He did, albeit reluctantly.
He was installed as Pope on August 29, 1294. He was 84 years old at the time.
The primary objective of his pontificate was to reform clergy, many of whom were
using spiritual power to obtain worldly power. Celestine sought a way to bring
the faithful to the original Gospel spirit. He called for a year of forgiveness
of sins, and a return to evangelical austerity and fidelity.
There was a problem, however.
He was not familiar with the papal court; he had no knowledge of Latin and there
was a lot of politics and intrigues going on in the Italian states, all
unfamiliar territory to the humble pontiff. Members of the Vatican Curia took advantage of him. This led to much mismanagement, and great uproar in the Vatican. His reign lasted a mere five months. Convinced that his resignation was in the
best interest of the Church, Celestine asked forgiveness for his mistakes, and stepped down on December 13 of that year, the only pope to ever do so.
His successor, Boniface VIII, imprisoned Celestine in the castle of Fumone,
in order to prevent his being used by the unscrupulous, against the legitimate papacy.
Celestine reportedly declared as he entered his chamber:
“A cell I have desired, and a cell they have given to me.”
He died there on May 19, 1296. Some claim he was murdered. He was buried in the
church of Saint Agatha, Ferentino, Italy.
Some years following his canonization by Clement V in 1313, his remains were
transferred from Ferentino to the church of his order at Aquila, where they are
still the object of great veneration.

Pope St. Celestine is the patron saint of Aquila, Italy, and of bookbinders.

Pope St. Celestine,
Pray for us!

Ref: 1: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson:
2: Catholic Encyclopedia

[Shin]

It's a moving story.. I love the solitary hermit saints.

[odhiambo]

It's a moving story.. I love the solitary hermit saints.

A pope imprisoning someone who is without fault, leave alone another pope is a bit hard to swallow 

[Shin]

Well, we try to think the best..

The stories about what happened to St. Celestine after his resignation are rather obscure and perhaps not reliable, I've never seen the source material.

His successor did not have an easy time of it.

[Shin]

'We, Celestine, Pope V, moved by legitimate reasons, that is to say, for the sake of humility, of a better life and an unspotted conscience, of weakness of body and of want of knowledge, the malignity of the people, and personal infirmity, to recover the tranquillity and consolation of our former life, do freely and voluntarily resign the pontificate, the place, the dignity, occupation, and honors of which we expressly renounce, and we give full and free faculty to the college of cardinals canonically to elect a pastor of the Universal Church.'

Pope St. Celestine V

[odhiambo]

'We, Celestine, Pope V, moved by legitimate reasons, that is to say, for the sake of humility, of a better life and an unspotted conscience, of weakness of body and of want of knowledge, the malignity of the people, and personal infirmity, to recover the tranquillity and consolation of our former life, do freely and voluntarily resign the pontificate, the place, the dignity, occupation, and honors of which we expressly renounce, and we give full and free faculty to the college of cardinals canonically to elect a pastor of the Universal Church.'

Pope St. Celestine V

He was a truly humble, dignified man.

[odhiambo]

May 20
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Bernardine of Siena.
Among many other Saints.

[odhiambo]

May 20
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Bernardine of Siena.
Among many other Saints.

"One day in the year 1408 the great apostle Saint Vincent Ferrer suddenly interrupted his sermon, to declare that there was among his hearers a young Franciscan who would be one day a greater preacher than himself, and who would be placed in honor by the Church before himself. This unknown friar, who would be canonized only six years after his death, was Bernardine, then 28 years old. Of noble birth, he had spent his youth in works of mercy, caring for the sick before he entered religion at the age of 24."
From :
 Lives of the Saints, May 20, St. Bernardine of Siena

[odhiambo]

Saint Bernardine of Siena

Bernardine was born on September 8, 1380, it was the feast of the Nativity of Mary. He was born of a noble , and very well known family of the name Albizeschi in the Tuscan town of Massa, near Siena, Italy. His father was governor of the town.
Bernardine was orphaned at seven years of age and was raised by his maternal aunt in Siena.
Right from the start, Bernadine was a good influence on his friends. He was said to be affable, courteous and patient at all times except when moved with righteous indignation.
From a book, Saints For All. Lives of Saints For Every Week. A Paulines Publication Africa, we read:

“Once when a man of position sought to lead him into vice, Bernadine struck him in the face with his fists, and on a second and similar occasion, incited his comrades to join him in pelting the tempter with mud and stones”

The saint studied Philosophy, Law and Sacred Scriptures.
At the age of seventeen, he enrolled in the Confraternity of Our Lady in the hospital of Maria della Scala and served the sick for four years. He practiced severe bodily mortification and made sacrifices for the sick and the poor.
In the year 1400, a dreadful plaque spread like wildfire throughout different parts of Italy. Many people died from the plaque and those who had not succumbed, fled the stricken areas in fear and self preservation.
When the plaque reached siena, Bernardine convinced twelve young men to help him care for the sick and dying. For four months, these young men worked tirelessly, day and night under the direction of Bernardine.
Several of these noble young men died but Bernardine was spared.
When he returned home after the outbreak, he fell very ill, from utter physical exhaustion.
This is how Catholics on Line describes this part of the Saint’s biography:

“In the year 1400, a young man came to the door of the largest hospital in Siena. A plague was raging through the city so horrible that as many as twenty people died each day just in the hospital alone. And many of the people who died were those who were needed to tend the ill. It was a desperate situation -- more and more people were falling ill and fewer and fewer people were there to help them.
The twenty-year-old man who stood there had not come because he was ill but because he wanted to help. And he brought not new patients but young men like himself willing to tend the dying. For four months Bernardine and his companions worked day and night not only to comfort the patients but to organize and clean the hospital. Only at the end of the plague did Bernardine himself fall ill -- of exhaustion.”.....

Please continue at the next post.

[Patricia]

He practiced severe bodily mortification and made sacrifices for the sick and the poor.

St Bernardine of Siena pray for us!!

[odhiambo]

Saint Bernardine of Siena

Continuation
Bernardine was sick for several months. When he recovered, he devoted all his attention to the care of his aunt for whom he cared deeply. She was now blind, frail, and bedridden. She needed caring for and he was there for her. She died fourteen months later.
Free from all earthly ties, Bernardine distributed his inheritance to the poor, and joined the Franciscan Order in 1402 and was ordained a priest on September 8, 1404.
He then lived as a hermit for twelve years before starting his life’s work of preaching. Because of a defect in his speech, his success as a preacher seemed doubtful. He turned to the Virgin Mother, imploring her help and the defect was miraculously removed.
His first sermon attracted attention because of its eloquence and fervor. He traveled throughout Italy, going on foot from village to village, city to city, preaching against the immoralities of the time. He drew large crowds wherever he preached. He frequently focused his sermons on devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
All over Italy, men talked of the fruits of Bernardine’s mission: numerous conversions; restoration of ill- gotten goods; reparations of injuries and reforms of morals.
As is always the case, there were some who slandered him, accusing him of encouraging superstitious practices. This was because St. Bernardine had designed a symbol which he displayed during his sermons to assist him in promoting devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
The symbol consisted of an abbreviated form of the name of Jesus at the center, surrounded by a blazing sun.
Soon the symbol began to appear on buildings and in the homes where St. Bernardine had spoken. It was this use of his own symbol to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus that was disapproved of by some people of his time and charges of heresy were made against him.
They went as far as to denounce him to Pope Martin V who commanded him to keep silent. He was, however completely vindicated after an examination of his doctrine and conduct. After his vindication, he was permitted to preach wherever he liked.
The Pope offered Bernardine the see of Siena but he declined as he later declined the sees of Ferrara and of Urbino. His excuse was that if he was confined to one diocese, he could no longer minister to many souls.
In 1438, Bernardine was elected Vicar General of the Franciscan Friars of the Strict Observance. He held this office for five years and before he resigned, he had increased the membership of the order from three hundred to more than four thousand.
He resigned in 1442; so that he could start preaching again which he did.
In the end, the Saint was forced to retire because of ill health.
He was venerated as the foremost Italian missionary of this period particularly in stirring devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
He died at Aquila on May 20, 1444, Ascension Eve of that year.
His remains were enshrined there.
Relics of the Saint are also in Siena, Rome and Massa Marittima.
He was canonized in 1450.
He is depicted in liturgical art holding a sign with the letters “IHS” denoting the Holy Name of Jesus.
Small miters are often shown at his feet representing the offices of bishop that he refused.
He is the patron of wool weavers and Massa Marittima and is often invoked against hoarseness, bleeding and chest complaints.

Saint Bernardine,
Pray for us!

Ref:

1:Lives of Saints For Every Week.
A Paulines Publication Africa.
2:Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson: