Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

29th October

Today is the Memorial of
Saint Narcissus.
Bishop of Jerusalem.

[odhiambo]

Saint Narcissus
Saint Narcissus was Greek. He was consecrated Bishop around the year 180, when he was already an elderly man.
Not much is known about his life, but there are many reports about his miracles.
The miracle for which he is most remembered is turning water into oil for use in the Church lamps on Holy Saturday when the deacons had forgotten to provide any.
He was known for his holiness, but many people are said to have found him harsh and rigid in his efforts to impose Church discipline.
When he supported the use of Roman customs for the celebrations of Easter, he was denounced by many in the See. One of his many detractors accused him of a serious crime, though the charges against him did not hold up, he used the occasion to retire from his post as bishop. He embarked on a life of solitude as a hermit and lived thus for several years.
Saint Narcissus eventually returned to take up his duties, naming Saint Alexander to serve as his coadjutor.
Saint Narcissus lived for over 100 years. According to Alexander, Narcissus was 116 years old in 212. Some speculate he lived to 160 before passing on.
He did not die as a martyr, his time as bishop coming during a period of relative rest in the persecution of the Church by the Roman Empire.
Saint Narcissus
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

October 30

 
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez.
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez
Alphonsus, also called Alonso, was born in Segovia, Spain on July 25th 1532. (1533 by other accounts). He was the son of a wealthy merchant in the textile industry.
He was prepared for his First Holy Communion by Blessed Peter Favre, a friend of his father.
While studying with the Jesuits at Alcala, Alphonsus had to return home when his father died. He was just 23 years old. He took over the family business, married and had a son. That son died, as did two other children. Then his wife also died. All these sad events happened within a  short span of time, about five years. Business was also very poor.
Alphonsus sold his business, left Segovia and went to Valencia, where a Jesuit priest he had known and admired earlier in Segovia, was now stationed.
He requested admission to the Order. His lack of education and poor health, however stood in the way of priesthood for him. He was accepted as a lay brother on January 31st 1571.
After novitiate training, he was sent to Montesion College on the island of Majorca. There he labored as a hall porter for 24 years, overlooked by some of the Jesuits in the house.
Alphonsus exerted a wonderful influence on many. Not just the young students such as Saint Peter Claver, but also local civic and social leaders came to his porter’s lodge for advice and direction.
Obedience and penance were the hallmark of his life, as well as his devotion to the Immaculate Conception.
Alphonsus died after a long illness, on October 31, 1617 and his funeral was attended by church and government leaders.
He was declared venerable in 1627 and was named a patron of Majorca in 1633.
He was beatified in 1825 and canonized in September 1888 with Saint Peter Claver.
Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

Let us also remember today,
Saint Marcellus the Centurion
And his Children
Martyrs
Marcellus was born in Galicia
He was a soldier in the Roman army. He was a brave soldier and was soon promoted to the charge of centurion. He had a wife called Nona and twelve children.
One day Marcellus heard a bishop of the church of Leon preaching, and he became a convert. He was converted together with his entire family.
In 292, as on the birthday of the Emperor Maximian Herculeus, there was extraordinary feasting and solemn rites as part of the celebrations to mark the day.
Marcellus , then posted in Tingis (modern Morocco), denounced these pagan ceremonies.
He left his company, throwing down his arms and declaring that he was the soldier of Jesus Christ the Eternal King. He was arrested at once and committed to prison. When the festivities were over, he was brought before a judge, and having reiterated his faith , he was brought before Aurelius Agricola, the Praetorian prefect deputy.
Aurelius condemned Marcellus to death by the sword. He was immediately led to execution and beheaded on October 30th 298.
The notary of the court at the trial, Saint Cassian, refused to record the sentence pronounced against Marcellus because of its injustice. He too was immediately hurried to prison and beheaded in his turn on December 30th 298
The children of Saint Marcellus stood firm with their father in his belief. They too lost their lives. Three of them were hanged and then decapitated at Leon.
Nona bought back the bodies of her family and buried them secretly. The bodies were later transferred to a church that was built in their honor in the city of Leon.
Saint Marcellus,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

Nona bought back the bodies of her family and buried them secretly.

It is amazing how the World changes and also remains the same!
Some of you may have been following the increased terrorist activities within Kenya of late. A French national was abducted from Kenya, some weeks ago and taken deep inside Somalia. Unfortunately, she was not well and needed daily medication to preserve life. The abductors could not have known this or if they did, they didn't care. The lady died. Last I heard, the abductors offered to sell back the body!

[odhiambo]

Today is the Memorial of
Saint Quentin
Among many others saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Quentin
Missionary and Martyr.
Quentin was a Roman by birth. He descended from a senatorial family. He was sent as a missionary to Gaul  with Saint Lucien of Beauvais. He enjoyed great success as a preacher in Amiens.
His fame soon came to the notice of Rictiovarus; the local prefect. Rictiovarus was the Roman prosecutor who at the time represented the Emperor Maximian Herculeus in Gaul.
Quentin was seized and thrown into prison. He was tortured and finally executed by beheading at Augusta Veromanduorum (later called Saint Quentin).
Before decapitation, Saint Quentin is quoted to have said this prayer:

“O Lord Jesus, God of God, Light of Light….for love of whom I have given up my body to all the torments…..ah! I implore Thee, in Thy holy mercy; receive my spirit and soul, which I offer Thee with all the ardor of my desires. Do not abandon me. O most kind King, who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever!”

Saint Quentin,
Pray for us!

[Patricia]

It is amazing how the World changes and also remains the same!

You're right, Odhiambo. In the past few years in my own home country priests and nuns have been assaulted and killed and persecutions have increased. Terrorism continues unabated. Our Lady of Fatima, we pray for world peace and for the consecration of Russia to Thy Immaculate Heart.

[odhiambo]

You're right, Odhiambo. In the past few years in my own home country priests and nuns have been assaulted and killed and persecutions have increased. Terrorism continues unabated. Our Lady of Fatima, we pray for world peace and for the consecration of Russia to Thy Immaculate Heart.

Amen!

[odhiambo]

November 1
The Feast of All Saints Day
The month of November is dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory

[odhiambo]

All Saints Day
Today, we Catholics honor all the Saints of the Church, those formally declared as well as those as yet unknown. It is a Holy Day of Obligation for us here in Kenya.
Pope Urban IV declared that All Saints Day was also instituted to make up for omissions in the celebrations of the various saints’ days throughout the liturgical year.
When the Church was still young, and growing, martyrs were solemnized on the anniversary of their death. Groups of martyrs who died together were sometimes honored with joint commemorations. In time, especially in the reign of Emperor Diocletian, so many Christians were martyred that their individual feasts could not be established. One feast was needed to give the martyrs veneration.
Saint John Chrysostom and others mentioned such a feast.
In the early days, only martyrs and Saint John the Baptist were honored on this feast.
The regulation of the canonization process and the recognition of Saints who had not endured martyrdom widened the scope of All Saints as a feast.
On May 13, 609, Pope Saint Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to all the martyrs. This act also started a custom of maintaining an anniversary feast.
In 731, Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in Saint Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, to honor the saints.
The day chosen for the feast was November 1.
Saint Boniface had instituted the feast to honor all the saints, especially those not in the calendars.
The custom of keeping a vigil, or a day of preparation and prayer, for All Saints started about 731.
The octave, the eight days involved with the Feast of All Saints was added by Pope Sixtus IV (r 1471-1484)
From
Our Sunday Visitor’s
Encyclopedia of Saints
Revised.

[Shin]

Today is truly a special day. 

[odhiambo]

November 2
Today is the Feast of the Faithful Departed.
It is All Souls Day
On this day, we honor all The Souls in Purgatory i.e. The Church Suffering.

[odhiambo]

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

God Our Father,
Your power brings us to birth.
Your Providence guides our lives. By
Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die, still live in Your presence.
Their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family, relatives and friends
and for those dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ, who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your Kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us again in one family, to sing
Your praise forever and ever.
Eternal rest grant unto them Oh Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen!

[Patricia]

"I received many and great favors from the Saints,
but still greater favors from the Holy Souls."

--St. Catherine of Bologna.