Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

Saint  John Cantius reportedly, distributed to the poor all the money and clothes he had, retaining only what was absolutely necessary to support himself. He slept on the floor and for very few hours. He ate very sparingly and abstained completely from meat after he became a doctor.
He reportedly made one pilgrimage to Jerusalem hoping to become a martyr among the Turks, and four pilgrimages to Rome, visiting the tombs of the Apostles and to pay honor to the Holy See.
It is said that he always traveled on foot. One day he was robbed by bandits. He had a few gold pieces sewn into his cloak and these were not discovered at the time of the robbery and he himself had not remembered about them. As soon as he remembered, however, he called the robbers back and handed over the gold pieces! They were so astonished they refused to accept the gold and even returned to him whatever they had taken!

Matthew 5:39-40
Jesus teaching about retaliation. “But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with
you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well”
Could that have been it?

[Shin]

I think you have it!

'Suppose that you had fallen into the river, and that a charitable person threw himself into the water to save you. What would you say to such kindness? Moreover, suppose that, hardly drawn from the water, you had been attacked by assassins, and that your rescuer again came to your assistance, and saved your life at the risk of his own. What would you do in return for such friendship? It is certain that you would do all in your power to heal the bruises he received on your account. So ought we to act towards Christ: we must contemplate Him engulfed in an ocean of sorrows to save us from the eternal abyss; consider Him all covered with wounds and bruises to purchase for us eternal life. Then let us make His pains our own, sympathize with His sorrows, and consecrate to Him all our affections.'

St. Paul of the Cross

A hymn..

Corpus domas jejuniis.

Long fasting hath thy body tamed,
With many cruel stripes it bleeds,
Though innocence exemption claimed
For thee from penitential deeds.

Then let us follow in the path
Of John, our Father and our guide;
Who follows him, his spirit hath
The power to curb all carnal pride.

In winter's frost thy loving care
Provides a garment for the poor;
For those who want thou dost prepare
Of meat and drink a copious store.

O thou who never didst deny
Thine aid unto the suppliant's prayer!
Hear Christendom's and Poland's cry,
And save thy country from despair.

To Father and the Son be praise,
And, Holy Spirit, praise to Thee;
May Cantius' prayers obtain us grace
And glory through eternity.

[Shin]

Here I found another biographical summary of St. John Cantius..

John was born at Kenty, a town in the diocese of Cracow; and hence his surname Cantius. His parents were pious and honourable persons, by name Stanislaus and Anna. From his very infancy, his sweetness of disposition, innocence, and gravity, gave promise of very great virtue. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Cracow, and taking all his degrees proceeded professor and doctor. He taught sacred science for many years, enlightening the minds of his pupils and enkindling in them the flame of piety, no less by his deeds than by his words.

When he was ordained priest, he relaxed nothing of his zeal for study, but increased his ardor for Christian perfection. Grieving exceedingly over the offences everywhere committed against God, he strove to make satisfaction on his own behalf and that of the people, by daily offering the unbloody Sacrifice with many tears. For several years he had charge of the parish of Ukusi, which he administered in an exemplary manner; but, fearing the responsibility of the cure of souls, he resigned his post; and, at the request of the University, resumed the professor's chair.

Whatever time remained over from his studies, he devoted partly to the good of his neighbour, especially by holy preaching; partly to prayer, in which he is said to have been sometimes favoured with heavenly visions and communications. He was so affected by the Passion of Christ, that he would spend whole nights without sleep, in the contemplation of it; and in order the better to cultivate this devotion, he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

While there, in his eagerness for martyrdom he boldly preached Christ crucified even to the Turks. Four times he went to Rome on foot, and carrying his own baggage, to visit the threshold of the Apostles; in order to honor the Apostolic See to which he was earnestly devoted, and also (as he used to say), to save himself from Purgatory by means of the indulgences there daily to be gained. On one of these journeys he was robbed by brigands. When asked by them whether he had anything more, he replied in the negative; but afterwards remembering that he had some gold pieces sowed in his cloak, he called back the robbers, who had taken to flight, and offered them the money. Astonished at the holy man's sincerity and generosity, they restored all they had taken from him.

After St. Augustine's example, he had verses inscribed on the walls in his house, warning others, as well as himself, to respect the reputation of their neighbors. He fed the hungry from his own table; and clothed the naked not only with garments bought for the purpose, but even with his own clothes and shoes; on these occasions he would lower his cloak to the ground, so as not to be seen walking home barefoot. He took very little sleep, and that on the ground. His clothing was only sufficient to cover him, and his food to keep him alive. He preserved his virginal purity, like a lily among thorns, by using a rough hair-shirt, disciplines, and fasting; and for about thirty-five years before his death, he abstained entirely from flesh-meat.

At length, full of days and of merits, he prepared himself long and diligently for death, which he felt drawing near; and that nothing might be a hindrance to him, he distributed all that remained in his house to the poor. Then, strengthened with the Sacraments of the Church, and desiring to be dissolved and to be with Christ, he passed to heaven on Christmas Eve. He worked many miracles both in life and after death. His body was carried to St. Anne's, the church of the University, and there honorably interred. The people's veneration for the saint, and the crowds visiting his tomb, increased daily; and he is honored as one of the chief patrons of Poland and Lithuania. As new miracles continued to be wrought, Pope Clement XIII. solemnly enrolled him among the Saints, on the seventeenth of the Kalends of August, in the year 1767.

Prayer

The Church is ever saying to thee, and we repeat it with the same unwavering hope: "O thou, who didst never refuse assistance to any one, take in hand the cause of thy native kingdom ; it is the desire of the Poles, thy fellow-countrymen, it is the prayer of even foreigners."

The treason of which thy unhappy fatherland was the victim, has not ceased to press heavily upon disorganized Europe. How many other crushing weights have since been thrown into the balance of our Lord's justice! O John, teach us at least not to add thereto our own personal faults. It is by following thee along the path of virtue, that we shall merit to obtain pardon from heaven, and to hasten the hour of great atonements.

[Shin]

After St. Augustine's example, he had verses inscribed on the walls in his house, warning others, as well as himself, to respect the reputation of their neighbors.

I particularly like this as it reminds me of how I like so much having the quotations of the saints everywhere, and I like to think of them in churches and on the walls of homes, and so forth and so on.

And here this place as we can see is quite covered in them. 

[odhiambo]

Prayer
The Church is ever saying to thee, and we repeat it with the same unwavering hope: "O thou, who didst never refuse assistance to any one, take in hand the cause of thy native kingdom ; it is the desire of the Poles, thy fellow-countrymen, it is the prayer of even foreigners."

The treason of which thy unhappy fatherland was the victim, has not ceased to press heavily upon disorganized Europe. How many other crushing weights have since been thrown into the balance of our Lord's justice! O John, teach us at least not to add thereto our own personal faults. It is by following thee along the path of virtue, that we shall merit to obtain pardon from heaven, and to hasten the hour of great atonements.

Amen!

[odhiambo]

October 21

Today we remember
Saint Ursula and her Companions
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Ursula and her Companions
Martyrs .
The story of these Christians reads like a legend and I would like to mention that it is believed that Pope Benedict XIV (r 1740-1758} had planned to remove Ursula and her Companions from the Roman Martyrology.
The story involving Saint Ursula and eleven thousand virgins originated through an inscription found in Cologne in 1155 and dated to the fourth or fifth century. The inscription declared that a certain Clematius had restored an ancient basilica on a site where several holy virgins were put to death.
Additional mention was made of the virgin in a sermon dated to the eighth or ninth century and ascertaining they were put to death during the persecution of Co-Emperor Maximian ( r 285-305)
The leader of the Virgins was identified as Ursula.
The most common version of the story is as follows.

Ursula was born in Great Britain. She was the daughter of Maurus, King of Scotland. He was a Christian.
Ursula was a very beautiful young woman and a young Pagan Prince sought her hand in marriage. She had, however, vowed her life and her heart to Jesus.
Ursula apparently left the island with ten ladies-in-waiting, each lady in her turn, accompanied by a thousand other maidens! (It is not clear if they left Scotland to avoid the pagan prince)
They traveled across the continent, including pilgrimage to Rome. At some point during their long voyage, a storm arose and the ships were driven to a hostile region under the control of the Huns, who were ravaging Europe at the time. It appears that when their virtues were threatened, the ladies, urged by Ursula, put up a spirited fight which resulted in their being massacred by the Huns. This was around 451.
And there ended the lives of these brave women.
Saint Ursula and her Companions
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

October 22

Let us remember today
Saint Hilarion
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Hilarion
Patriarch of the Solitaries of Palestine.
Saint Hilarion was probably born at Tabatha in Gaza, Palestine.
His parents were pagans.
He went to study in Alexandria, Egypt and while there, he became a Christian.
At the age of fifteen, Hilarion was attracted to the life of a hermit. He lived for about 2 months with Saint Anthony of Egypt, in the desert, returned home, divided all his wealth among the poor and retired to be a hermit in the barren desert near Gaza, at Majuma.
As his fame for saintliness, exorcism and reputed miraculous cures grew, Hilarion began attracting followers. To escape the increasingly large crowds, he left Gaza and returned to Egypt, visiting places where Saint Anthony had lived and died.
Later, he went to Sicily, Libya, eventually settling in Cyprus, where he died at the age of seventy( Other sources indicate 80 years as the age at which he died).
Much of what is known about Saint Hilarion is from his biography written by Saint Jerome.
He had reached such fame by the time of his death that his body had to be secretly removed so that a shrine would not be built in his honour.
Saint Hesychius is reportedly the one who secretly took his remains back to Palestine.
Saint Hilarion,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

Let us also remember today
Saint Mello
Archbishop of Rouen
Reading about this saint, I was impressed by the manner of his conversion. It just happened instantly. He did not need time to think about it or anything. Here is his story.
Saint Mello was born in Cardiff, Great Britain. He was a pagan practicing idolatry. He was sent to Rome on a diplomatic mission and while there, converted to Christianity after listening to Pope Saint Stephen in a discussion. It is recorded that immediately after listening to a discourse by the Pope, Mello expressed a desire for Baptism. He was baptized and later ordained by Pope Saint Stephen. The same Pope also consecrated him Bishop and sent him to Rouen, France, at a later date.
Saint Mello was Bishop of Rouen for forty years before he died in 311.
He is associated with many miraculous events.
The ways of the Lord, I tell you!
Saint Mello,
Pray for us!

[Patricia]

Saint Mello, Saint Hilarion pray for us!

So many saints I am just getting to know and this is just the tip of the iceberg! 

[odhiambo]

October 23

Today is the Feast of

The Most Holy Redeemer

[odhiambo]

The Most Holy Redeemer.
Today we celebrate the all important feast of the Most Holy Redeemer.
A redeemer is one who pays the debt of another, to deliver him from an unfortunate situation from which he finds himself unable to be liberated without outside help.
The best way to explain this situation that I have ever read is that given by Leo J. Trese in his book
“The Faith Explained” and I quote;

“It once happened that a man was walking along the edge of an abandoned stone quarry. Absent-mindedly, the man stepped too near the brink and plunged headlong into the water that filled the bottom of the quarry.
When he tried to climb out, he found that there was no toe hold or hand hold in the perpendicular rock cliffs which enclosed the quarry.
Good swimmer though he was, the man would have drowned from exhaustion if a passer by had not seen his plight and rescued him with a rope.-------The sin of Adam, left the human race in much the same predicament as the man at the bottom of the quarry.
There we were, down at the bottom with no possible way of getting back out by ourselves.
Whatever a human being may do, it is infinite, or measurable in its value. If the greatest of saints were to lay down his life to atone for sin, the value of his sacrifice would still be a limited value.
Indeed if every member of the human race from Adam until the last survivor at the end of the world were to offer his life to pay humanity’s date to God, the payment still would be inadequate.
Collectively it would be a great payment, but it still would not be an infinite payment. It just is not within the power of man to do anything of infinite worth.
After Adam’s sin, our fate would have been a hopeless one if no one had come along to throw us a rope.
It was God Himself who threw us that rope. It was God Himself who solved our dilemma.
The dilemma was that, since only God is infinite, only God would be capable of an act of atonement which would repair the infinite malice of sin. Yet, he who would undertake to pay for human sin would have needed to be human if he were really to take our sins upon himself, really to represent us.”

God’s solution is what we are commemorating today. We are thankful to God for the infinite love and mercy He showed us “when He decreed , from all eternity that His own Divine Son, should come into the world and unite Himself to a human nature like ours in order to pay the price for our sins.”
And so it was. Jesus Christ, Our Most Holy Redeemer

[odhiambo]

“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21)

Yes!
Today is also World Mission Sunday 2011.
Find out the message the Pope has for us on this day.

[odhiambo]

Today we remember
Saint Raphael the Archangel.

[odhiambo]

Saint Raphael the Archangel
Archangel Raphael is one of the angels venerated by name in the Church, together with Michael and Gabriel. The name Raphael means “The healer of God; God hath healed”
He is considered one of the angels of healing.
He is honored in Christian lore as the head of the guardian angels, the angel of knowledge and the angel of science.
In the Old Testament, Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he provides much needed assistance to Tobias, helping to rid him of the frightful torments of the demon Asmedeus. At the end of the book, he tells Tobias: “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand in the presence of the Lord ready to serve Him” Tobit 12:15 The Good News Bible.
Raphael is a prominent figure in the angelic lore and customs of Judaism; for instance, the legend that he was one of the three angels who visited Abraham prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
In liturgical art, Archangel Raphael is depicted as a young man carrying a staff or fish.
Saint Raphael the Archangel,
Pray for us!