Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

July 29
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Martha of Bethany
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Martha of Bethany
Martha was the sister of Mary. The two were the sisters of Lazarus and they all lived together in Bethany. Martha was older than Mary and was in charge of running the house. She was a deeply pious and generous, hardworking woman. The three were close friends of Jesus who used to stay at their home at times and it was with them that he spent the last few days before the Passion.
At those times when Jesus was visiting them, Martha used to be very concerned about His welfare. There is this well known incidence in Luke 10: 38-42 where she asked Jesus to tell her sister Mary to help her with the work of preparing and welcoming their guests. Mary had been sitting at the Lord's feet, absorbed in everything the Lord said, listening to Him intently. Jesus responded by chiding Martha gently for bustling about so. He told her, “It is Mary who has chosen the better part.”
Thus, Mary has become the prototype of the activist Christian while Mary is the symbol of the contemplative life.
After the death of Lazurus when Jesus belatedly came to mourn His friend, it was Martha who went out to meet him when he was still some distance from the home but Mary remained at home waiting for Him there. It was to Martha that Jesus declared: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”.
According to an ancient legend , Martha, Mary and Lazarus went to France after the death of Jesus and evangelized Provence.
Martha died in 80 of natural causes.
She is the patron of cooks, butlers, ( if they still exist, that is  ) and other domestic servants among other patronages.

Saint Martha,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

July 30
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Peter Chrysologus
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Peter Chrysologus
Bishop of Ravenna.
Doctor of the Church.

Peter was born about the year 406 at Imola in the region of Emilia, Italy. He studied under the watchful eyes of Bishop Cornelius of Imola. He was an excellent student, always first among his schoolmates. He studied theology among his subjects and, in time, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Cornelius.
When Cornelius died, Pope Saint Sixtus III named Peter Bishop of Ravenna in 433 in place of another clergy who had been elected by the people. Legend has it that the Pope acted this way in response to a vision which he had, telling him to do so.
Little reliable information about St. Peter's life survived. What we know is that he began his reign at a time when there was a strong pagan influence in Ravenna and many of the faithful had elapsed. He at once embarked on measures to eradicate paganism from his diocese and to bring people back to the Church. This he did through pastoral care and very practical yet passionate preaching. His sermons were always said to be brief but so inspiring that he was given the title "Chrysologus" (Greek for "Golden-worded or, of golden words).
( Compare with Saint John Chrysostom for “ golden-mouthed”)
Through this efforts, many people returned to the faith and paganism was eradicated in Ravenna.
Peter died at Imola on July 31 450, during the reign of Pope Leo the Great.
He was declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Bendict XIII in 1729.

Saint Peter Chrysologus,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

"Clothe yourself with the garment of sanctity, gird yourself with  the cincture of chastity; let Christ be the covering of your head; let the Cross of Christ be the protection for your face; instill in your breast the Sacrament of divine wisdom; let the odour of your prayers always ascend upon high"

Saint Peter Chrysologus

[James - a humble servant]

"He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, molded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches, and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies Heavenly Food to the faithful."

"Today Christ works the first of his signs from heaven by turning water into wine. But water [mixed with wine] has still to be changed into the sacrament of his blood, so that Christ may offer spiritual drink from the chalice of his body, to fulfill the psalmist's prophecy: How excellent is my chalice, warming my spirit."

~ St. Peter Chrysologus, Doctor of the Church
   ( 406 - 450 )

[odhiambo]

July 31
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Ignatius de Loyola
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Ignatius de Loyola
Founder of the Society of Jesus.
 
Ignatius was born in 1491.He was of noble birth. Born the son of Don Beltran Yanez de Loyola and Maria Saenz de Licona y Balda. He was born in the family castle in the Basque province, Spain.  He was the youngest of thirteen children ( others talk of twelve, and still others, eleven). His given name was Inigo Lopez de Loyola.
In keeping with the family tradition, Ignatius became a soldier joining the military  service of the Duke of Nagara. In 1521, during the siege of Pamplona, Ignatius was wounded in the right leg by a cannonball which left him partially disabled for life.
During the long convalescence that followed this injury, Ignatius passed the time reading  about the life of Christ as well as the biographies of assorted saints. He was so impressed by what he read that by 1522, Ignatius was determined that he too would become a saint. He therefore decided he would henceforth devote himself to Jusus.Once he had recovered, he left the family castle and went on a pilgrimage to the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat, Here, Ignatius confessed his sins, dressed in sackcloth and hung up his sword at Our Lord's altar.( According to Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, Ignatius "placed his sword on the alter of the Blessed Virgin to whom he dedicated himself as a knight.").
For about one year, Ignatius lived in retreat in a cave in Manresa. Here, alone with his God, Ignatius grew spiritually and began work on his masterpiece, the famed Spiritual Exercises. He left Manresa in 1523 and went to Rome, then on to Jerusalem where he lived entirely on alms and worked to convert the local Moslems.
The Years 1524-1535, Ignatius spent studying at Barcelona, Alcala, Salamanca( where he was accused and then exonerated of preaching heresy), and Paris. On March 14, 1534,  when he was 43 years old, Ignatius received his masters of arts degree. In this same year, he founded the society of Jesus, the Jesuits, with fellow students: Francis Xavier, Peter Favre, Diego Laynez, Alfonso Salmeron, Simon Rodriguez and Nicholas Bobadilla in Paris. On August 15, 1534, in the chapel of the Benedictine monastery of Paris, they each took the vows of poverty and chastity, with special hope of missionary pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and with particular obedience to the Holy See. Thus, the Society of Jesus was born although this formal title was not adopted until 1537 when they were ordained.
The group went to Italy and were ordained in Venice in 1537 as mentioned. The pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as was part of their vow, proved impossible. The group instead, went to Rome and offered their services to the Pope.
It was on the way to Rome that Ignatius had the famous vision of La Storta, in which Christ promised all would go well in Rome. The Society was approved by Pope Paul III
 in 1540 and the group took their final vow in 1541 and Ignatius was named Superior General. Jesuits were sent at once to missionary areas. Soon Jesuit houses, schools, colleges and missionries were founded all over Europe. The Order became renown for their achievments in the intellectual sphere and in the field of education.
 
Ignatius died on 31 July 1556 at Rome, Italy of fever.
He was beatified on  27 July 1609 by Pope Paul V and canonized on 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.
He was declared the patron of all spiritual exercises on  22 March 1622,by Pope Pius XI.
 
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Pray for us!
 
Taken from:
1: Our Sunday Visitor Encyclopedia Of Saints.
By Matthew Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Margaret Bunson:
 
2: Dictionary of Saints by John J. Delaney.

[odhiambo]

“The more desperate, things seem, the more we must hope in God. When man’s aid fails, God’s is close at hand”

St Ignatius de Loyola.

[odhiambo]

August
The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
 
August 1
 
Today is the Feast day of
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Alphonsus de Liguori
Bishop
Doctor of the Church
Founder of the Congregation of Redemptorist.
 
Alphonsus was born on 27 September 1696 at Marianelli near Naples, Italy. His given name was,( brace yourself for the lengh of this name), Alphonsus Marie Antony Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori ( did you ever?). He was the eldest of seven children of Giuseppe de Liguori (Don Joseph) and Anna Cavalieri,
His father was an officer in the Royal Navy. The child was raised piously by a devout mother. In fact the family was noted for its piety. Of the seven children in the family, three became priests and two became nuns. As a boy, Alphonsus made a retreat each year in the company of his father in some religious house. He was extraordinarily brilliant and gifted,
He was educated at the University of Naples, receiving his doctorate in both canon and civil law at the age of just 16. By the age of 19, he was practicing law and had his own legal practice which was very successful. He did this job for nearly ten years. One day Alphonsus found out that one of the  cases he was defending was not based on justice at all but on political intrigue.
He abandoned the practice of law and dedicated himself to God, seeking to discover His will in prayer and works of charity. He finally decided to become a priest and was ordained in 1726. .
Next, he joined a group of secular priests dedicated to missionary activities. He served as a missionary around Naples.
Alphonsus was a great preacher, noted for his simple and clear, manner of preaching, and also for his gentle and understanding way in the confessional.
In 1732, he founded the Redemptorists, a congregation of priests and brothers, to work especially among the country people of Italy who often lacked the opportunity for missions, religious instruction, and spiritual retreats.  He sent his Redemptorists into the countryside and the market towns and villages to preach the Word of God.
The Redemptorists were approved by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749, and Alphonsus was elected superior general.
In 1762, he was appointed bishop of Saint Agatha of the Goths near Naples. As bishop he corrected abuses, restored churches, reformed seminaries, and promoted missions throughout his diocese.
In May 1768, Alphonsus suffered an attack of rheumatic fever which left him paralysed. He resigned his bishopric in 1775.
During the last years of his life, the saint was betrayed by members of his own congregation. He was tricked into signing a form that altered the original rule of the Congregation. Consequent to this occurrence, he was denied any authority among the Redemptorists. He was thus effectively deposed and excluded from his own congragation. This was a source of great anguish for him.
He was, however able to overcome this betrayal by his very own. He died peacefully on 1 August 1787 at Nocera di Pagani, near Naples, Italy of natural causes.  He is said to have died as the Angelus Bell was ringing.
He was beatified on 15 September 1816 by Pope Pius VII and canonized on 26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.
He was declared Doctor of the Church in 1871 by Blessed Pope Pius IX.
 
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

“Whoever desires the fruit must go to the tree; whoever desires Jesus must go to Mary: and whoever finds Mary will most certainly find Jesus”

St Alphonsus de Liguori.

[Patricia]

One of my favorite saints!!

[Shin]

And one of mine too! His books are tremendously helpful! 

Great to see you Patricia!

[Shin]

'I shall conclude this subject with what St. Basil said to his monks: If, my children, we desire to raise the soul towards heaven, let us direct the eyes towards the earth. From the moment we awake in the morning, let us pray continually in the words of holy David: Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Patricia]

Great to see you too, Shin!  I don't see Brigid around. Wheres she?