Saint of the day and Feast days.

[odhiambo]

12th December

Today is the Memorial of
Our Lady of Guadalupe

[odhiambo]

Our Lady of Guadalupe.
You read about her apparition on the 9th December, Saint Juan Diego's memorial.
You will read it again today, the Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is such a beautiful story, I make no apology going over it again!
One day, on a Saturday morning of December 9, 1531, in Mexico ; a fifty-five-year-old Aztec Indian Christian , was hurrying to Mass. His name was Cuauhtlatohuac. The name translates into ‘the eagle that speaks’ at least that is what my source says. Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized Juan Diego. On reaching a place known as Tepeyac hill ( now part of Mexico City ), Juan heard music, he saw a bright and beautiful light and he also saw a beautiful woman arrayed very strikingly and surrounded by golden rays.
The woman spoke to Juan. She sent him to Bishop Juan Zumaraga, a Franciscan missionary prelate, to ask that a church be built on the spot where she stood.
She was at the same spot that evening and Sunday evening to get the Bishop’s answer to her request.
After cross-questioning Juan, the Bishop ordered him to ask for a sign from the lady who had said she was the Mother of God.
Mary had spoken to Juan in these words:
“Know and take heed, my dear little son, that I am the holy Mary, ever Virgin, Mother of the true God for Whom we live, Creator of all the world, Maker of heaven and earth. I urgently desire that a church should be built here, to bear witness to my love, my compassion, my help and protection. For I am a merciful Mother to you and to all your people who love me and trust in me and invoke my help.”
When asked for a sign for the Bishop, she told Juan to go up to the nearby rocks and gather roses. Juan knew it was neither the time nor the place for roses but he obeyed. Gathering the roses he found in bloom, into the long cloak worn by Mexican Indians, he return to the Blessed Mother who arranged them nicely within his cloak and told him to take them to the Bishop.
When he arrived at the Bishop’s home, Juan unfolded his cloak and the roses fell out. Startled to see the Bishop and his attendants kneeling before him, he looked at the cloak and saw that the image of the Virgin Mary, exactly as she had appeared to him, was imprinted on his tilma (cloak)
That image instantly became a national treasure of Mexico , and a holy object enshrined in Mexico City .
Our Lady appeared as The Immaculate Conception, with the sun, moon and stars according to the text in the Book of Revelation. Mary, clothed in a blue robe, dotted with stars, stands on the crescent moon. Underneath the crescent is a supporting Angel. The rays of the sun shoot out on all sides from behind the Blessed Mother.
In 1709, a rich and beautiful shrine was erected near Mexico City; in 1904, it was made a basilica and contains the picture.
Pilgrimages have been made to this shrine almost uninterrupted since 1531.
A new and much larger basilica has also been built.
Pope Pius X11 proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe the Patroness of the Americas .
The United States was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1846.
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

13th December

Today is the Memorial of
Saint Lucy
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Lucy.
Lucy was born in the year 283 in the city of Syracuse on the island of Sicily in Italy .
She was born to wealthy, noble parents. Her father died while she was still very young.
When she grew up, Lucy consecrated her virginity to God.
Being rich and beautiful, she attracted many young noble men who wanted to marry her, and her mother urged her to marry. There was a certain pagan nobleman whom she had chosen for Lucy, but Lucy would not have him. She, instead, thought of a plan to win her mother. She knew that her mother suffered from haemorrhage, so she convinced her to go to the shrine of St. Agatha who had been martyred cruelly in 251 A.D, and pray for her recovery.
The two women went to the miracle-working tomb of Saint Agatha at Catania some 50 miles away
There, Eutychia was instantly and completely cured! Lucy told her mother of the promise she made to God to remain a virgin for His sake and begged to be allowed to fulfill it. Her mother, in gratitude for her cure, consented.
When the young nobleman to whom Lucy had been promised in marriage heard of this, he was filled with rage and went immediately to the governor of Sicily and denounced her as being Christian.
The persecution of Christians was in full swing at this time; anyone known to be Christian was captured, tortured and put to death.
So it was that the governor ordered Lucy to be brought before him and commanded her to sacrifice to pagan gods. When she refused, she was subjected to horrible and shameful torture.
She was ordered to be exposed to prostitution in a brothel, but this was thwarted by divine intervention.
She was next ordered to be burnt to death, but proved impervious to the flames. Seeing that she was unharmed even in the midst of raging flames, one of the servants thrust a sword through her throat.
Thus, Lucy died, a martyr for the love of Our Savior Jesus.
Saint Lucy,
Pray for us!.

[Patricia]

St Lucy , pray for us!! 

[odhiambo]

14th December

Today is the Memorial of
Saint John of the Cross
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint John of the Cross.
John was born in 1542, in Fontiveros castle in Spain . His birth name was Juan de Yepes de Alvarez. His father, Francisco Gonzalo de Yepes, was a nobleman who had been disinherited for marrying below his rank. His bride, John’s mother, was Catalina Alvarez. She was a humble silk weaver.
Forced to adapt to a life of poverty and hard work, Francisco died in his prime, before the birth of his son John (other sources say John was an infant when his dad died).
Given the kind of upbringing fate provided for him, John grew up frail and undersized.
He obtained his education at the Jesuit school of Medina.
When he was 15 he was apprenticed in the hospital of Our Lady of Conception, where he worked for 7 years.
In 1563, John entered the Carmelites at their monastery of Medina del Campo. He took the name ‘John of St. Matthias’ and, after profession, he was sent to the monastery of the Carmelites near the University of Salamanca. After four years of study in philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest.
Soon after he was ordained, John made the acquaintance of St.Teresa of Avila who persuaded him to do for the Carmelite Order of men, what she was doing for the nuns.
Thus, on November 28, 1568, the first reformed house for Discalced Friars was established at Duruelo. It was hardly more than a hovel in which the first three Friars took their vows in “surpassing poverty, austerity and fervour” Saint Teresa called it “the Stable of Bethlehem” At this point, John adopted the name ‘John of the Cross’.
Other foundations followed in rapid succession.
For 5 years, John of the Cross was confessor to Saint Teresa and her nuns at Avila.
The reforms caused much internal strife and passionate disagreements;  as a result of these strife, John was imprisoned by his own brethren for 9 months, in a stifling, narrow cell. He was also mistreated and slandered by all until he was miraculously shown a means of escape. John escaped and achieved the separation of the Carmelite into Discalced and Calced communities in 1579-1580 (the reformed and the mitigated Carmelites)
During the years following the separation of the two Carmelite communities, John acted as Provincial Superior. Further dissention, however had him deposed and sent to a solitary monastery in Southern Spain.
While there, Saint John became ill developing ulcers on his leg. He was taken to Ubeda for medical care. John died on December 14, 1591, humiliated and misunderstood.
In 1592, his body , still incorrupt, was transferred to Sergovia.
He was beatified by Pope Clement X in 1675, canonized by Pope Benedict X111 in 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius X1 on 24 November 1926.
Saint John of the Cross
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

Saint John of the Cross.
John was born in 1542, in Fontiveros castle in Spain . His birth name was Juan de Yepes de Alvarez. His father, Francisco Gonzalo de Yepes, was a nobleman who had been disinherited for marrying below his rank. His bride, John’s mother, was Catalina Alvarez. She was a humble silk weaver.
Forced to adapt to a life of poverty and hard work, Francisco died in his prime, before the birth of his son John (other sources say John was an infant when his dad died).
Given the kind of upbringing fate provided for him, John grew up frail and undersized.

Fathers on earth may disinherit their children but our Eternal Father in Heaven, loves us regardless.

[odhiambo]

15th December

Today is the Memorial of
Blessed Mary Frances Schervier
Among many others.

[odhiambo]

Blessed Mary Frances Schervier
Mary Frances Schervier was born on Jan 3, 1819 into a wealthy family in Aachen, Germany.
Her father, Johann Heinrich Schervier was a wealthy owner of a needle factory.
Her mother, Maria Louise Migeon, was the god daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria.
After her mother and two sisters died from tuberculosis, Mary Frances took care of her father. She was known for her generosity  to the poor.
In 1844 she entered the Third Order of St. Francis, becoming a Secular Franciscan. The following year, she and four companions established a religious community devoted to caring for the poor.
On 2 July 1851, the local bishop approved the "Poor Sisters of St. Francis", and the congregation soon spread.
An American foundation was established within seven years of its founding, to serve German immigrant communities in New York and Ohio.
In 1857, she encouraged Philip Hoever in establishing the "Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis". This was a congregation of lay brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis. It was instituted for charitable work among orphan boys and to educate the youth from poor families.  Mary Frances also founded several hospitals.
In 1863, Mother Frances visited the United States and helped her sisters to nurse soldiers wounded in the Civil War.
Mother Mary Frances Schervier died on December 14, 1876 in Aachen, aged about 58 years.
She left about 2,500 members of her congregation worldwide.
Blessed Mary Frances,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

16th December.

Today is the Memorial of
Blessed Honoratus Kozminski
Among many others.

[odhiambo]

Blessed Honoratus Kozminski
Commissary General of the Capuchins in Poland,
 Prolific writer for the
Congregations he founded.
Blessed Honoratus was born on October 16, 1829 in Biala Podlaska (Poland). He was the son of Stefan Kozminski and Aleksandra Kahlowa. His baptismal name was Wenceslaus.
Wenceslaus lost his father when he was about 16. In 1844 he enrolled in the Department of Architecture at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts.
The young Wenceslaus was, at one time, arrested and sent to prison with his friends for conspiring against the Russians who, at the time occupied Poland
While in prison, Wenceslaus experienced a spiritual renewal.
After eleven months of imprisonment, he was freed, and to the great surprise of those who knew him, he entered the Capuchin Order, taking the name Honoratus. After professing his vows and finishing his philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained a priest.
As a priest, he began an enthusiastic and zealous apostolic activity in Warsaw. He was an indefatigable confessor and preacher.
The failed revolt against Czar Alexander III in 1864, led to the suppression of all religious Orders in Poland. The Capuchins were expelled from Warsaw and forced to live in Zakroczym, where Honoratus continued his ministry.
He died in Nowe Miasto in 1916 and was buried there.
He was beatified in 1988.
Blessed Honoratus
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

17th December

Today is the Memorial of
Saint Lazarus
Among many other saints.

[odhiambo]

Saint Lazarus.
Lazarus was born in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem , Israel .
He had two sisters Martha and Mary of Bethany. Lazarus was a disciple of Jesus; he and his two sisters were beloved friends of Jesus.
One time, while Jesus was away, Lazarus became very sick.
His sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, "he whom you love," is ill. Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, according to the narrator in Saint John’s Gospel Chapter 11, Jesus intentionally remained where he was for two extra days before beginning the journey.
When He arrived in Bethany , he found that Lazarus was dead and had already been in his tomb for four days. He met first with Martha and then with Mary. Martha lamented that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother and Jesus replied with the well-known statement,
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
John 11:25-26
Next encountering Mary, Jesus was moved by her sorrow. The narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, "Jesus wept".
In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus went to the tomb. Over the objections of Martha, Jesus had them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and said a prayer. He then called Lazarus to come out and Lazarus did so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then called for someone to remove the grave-cloths. The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event "believed in him." Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returned to Bethany and Lazarus was present at a supper that Martha, his sister, served. Jesus and Lazarus together attracted the attention of many Jews and the narrator states that the chief priests considered having Lazarus put to death because so many people ware believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.
The Bible tells us nothing of the subsequent life of Lazarus. Some say that he followed Saint Peter into Syria, but according to the tradition in the East, Lazarus, together with his sisters, ware put into a leaking boat by hostile Jews at Jaffa, in the hope that they would perish at sea. The tradition goes that by a supernatural intervention of providence, they landed safely on the island of Cyprus. He was reportedly made Bishop of Kition, where he died in peace after 30 years.
In 890, the Emperor Leo V1 built a church and monastery in his honor at Constantinople to which he transferred some of the Saint’s relics from Cyprus .
Saint Lazarus,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

There is another account of where saint Lazarus died which differs from the above.
The presence of Saint Lazarus in the West is first heard in connection with the legend of Saint Mary Magdalene in Provence .
According to letter written by Pope Benedict 1X ( So says ‘Saint's Companions’ by A.J.M Mausolfe and J.K Mausolfe which I am using as reference. ), Lazarus and his sisters were put in an oar-less and rudderless boat that landed in the south-east of Gaul . He made a number of converts at Marseilles, became their bishop and was martyred under Domitian.
He was buried in a cave over which the abbey of Saint Victor was subsequently built. From there his relics are supposed to have been taken to Autun where some human remains were enshrined in the new cathedral in 1146.

[Patricia]

Lazarus and his sisters were put in an oar-less and rudderless boat

Sounds like the situations we are put in at some point in our lives! Abandoning ourselves to God's will inspite of all opposing circumstances.