Saint of the day and Feast days.

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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.

Yes, Like the BVM did in today's Gospel Reading.
Imagine a young girl, whose life has been dedicated to God.
She is engaged to be married to an honorable man and suddenly, she is told she is to bear a son! I tell you,
only the Virgin Mary could respond as the Bible tells us; only the BVM.

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18th December

Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Anthony Grassi
Among many others

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Blessed Anthony Grassi .
Anthony was born in 1592 in Fermo, Northern Italy.
His father died when he was just 10 years old.
He showed signs of piety early. As a school boy, he used to frequent the local church of the Oratorium Fathers.
At the age of 17, he joined the Order.
Anthony's natural intelligence and love of learning made his studies for the priesthood a pleasant time in his life. His good memory made it possible for him to acquire an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Bible, the Fathers of the Church, and the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He gained a reputation as a “walking dictionary”.
Each year Anthony made a pilgrimage to the holy house of Loreto which was only twenty miles away. On one such visit, Anthony was struck by lightning and knocked unconscious. He received the anointing of the sick and the doctors gave him little hope of recovery. But God had other plans for him. Anthony was completely healed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and from that time on, he recognized all the more, his dependence on God and sought even harder, to dedicate himself completely to His Will.
In 1635 he was elected superior of the Fermo Oratory. He was so well regarded that he was reelected every three years until  his death in 1671 aged 80 years old.
Blessed Anthony Grassi
Pray for us!

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19th December
Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Pope Urban V
Among many others

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Blessed Pope Urban V.
Blessed Pope Urban V was born Guillaume de Grimoard at Grisac in Languedoc, France in 1310.
He studied canon law and theology at Montpellier and Toulouse, then he joined the Benedictine Order at Marseilles and received a doctorate in 1342.
In 1352, he was elected abbot of the monastery of Saint Germain of Auxerre and served as a trusted legate for Pope Innocent V1.
After the death of Pope Innocent V1 in 1362, Guillaume was elected pope while on a papal mission in Naples, even though he was not a cardinal.
He traveled immediately to Avignon where he was crowned.
Note that in those days, Popes were crowned using a “Papal Tiara” that was placed on the head of the newly elected pope. The practice started with Pope Celestine II in 1143 and ended with Pope Paul VI.
Note also that Urban was one of the popes during the so called Babylonian Captivity or Avignon Papacy when the papacy resided in Avignon, France .
After his crowning, Urban demanded that he continue to wear his Benedictine habit and that he be given time every day for his prayers.
Elected because of his reputation for goodness, he chose the papal name “Urban” because of the generally saintly reputation of his namesakes (so my reference tells me!).
Pope Urban took as his two main objectives, the return of the popes to Rome and an improvement in the relations between the Western and Eastern Churches .
His hopes for a reunion with the Greeks never materialized. He however managed a return of the papacy to Rome in 1367.
The breakout of war between England and France , forced him to return to Avignon on a peacekeeping mission. He died on December 19, 1370. He was buried at Avignon but his body, was later transferred to Marseille according to his own wishes, and his tomb became the site of many miracles.
Blessed Pope Urban V
Pray for us!

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20TH December
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Dominic Silos
Among many other saints.

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Saint Dominic of Silos
Dominic was born in Canas, Navarre,Spain, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, around the year 1000. His family was peasant and he was a shepherd boy, looking after his father's flocks.
He came to know God in the solitude of shepherding and was drawn into monastic life. He became a monk at the monastery of San Millan de la Cogolla, and was later elected an abbot.
In his position as abbot, Dominic found himself at odds with King Garcia III of Navarre. The king wanted Dominic to surrender part of the Benedictine lands to the crown, but the abbot resolutely refused. The king retaliated by driving Dominic out of the monastery. Dominic went with other monks to Castille, where the king of Castille, Ferdinand I received him very kindly and appointed him abbot of the monastery of St. Sebastian at Silos.
The monastery was in terrible shape, spiritually and materially.  Dominic set about to restore the monastery and to reform the lives of the monks.
He preserved the Mozarbic Rite (one of the variants of the Latin Rite) at his monastery, and the monastery became one of the centers of the Mozarbic liturgy.
Dominic of Silos died on December 20,1073,
Saint Dominic,
Pray for us!

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21st December

Today is the Feast day of
Saint Peter Canisius
Among many other saints.

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Saint Peter Canisius
Peter Canisius or Peter kanis, was born in the Dutch town of Nijmegen on May 8, 1521, the year that Martin Luther left the Church. His father was wealthy, being the mayor of Nijmegen. He studied at the Latin school of St. Stephen there, and at 15 years of age he entered the University of Cologne where he studied theology. At 19, he was awarded his Master’s degree and three years later he became the first German to enter the Society of Jesus. He soon made a name for himself as a teacher at the University and an orator of note.
Peter was ordained a priest in 1546 by which time he was 25 years old. He was next employed as theologian by the Cardinal Bishop of Augsburg at the great Council of Trent.
After spending some months in Rome with Saint Ignatius, he made his solemn profession as a Jesuit in 1549 and was sent to Vienna, where he taught theology at the University, preached in the cathedral and at the court of Ferdinand I.
Peter worked hard to restore the true Catholic doctrine. The church in Vienna was in a deplorable state  with no priests having been ordained there for nearly 20 years and many country Parishes had to be abandoned.
Peter was convinced that many had fallen away simply out of ignorance, he avoided narrow minded arguments. His exemplary humility, moderation and tact, made him the most influential leader of the Counter Reformation in those lands.
As his talents were recognized by the Jesuit Order, Peter was used as a teacher in Cologne, Vienna and Ingolstadt. He established Jesuit colleges in Munich, Innsbruck, Augsburg, Vienna, Wurzburg and Dillington. He was by now very well known for his preaching, his superb defense of Catholic doctrine, and his resistance to Protestantism, especially in Bavaria, Bohemia and parts of Austria.
Peter was named provincial of Upper Germany in 1556. He took part in the Discussion at Worms in 1557, the council of Trent and the Diet of Augsburg in 1559.
Peter concentrated his efforts on establishing colleges, promoting reform throughout Catholic lands and halting the tide of the Protestant Reformation.
Credit is given to him for revitalizing Catholicism in Austria and Germany at a time when they were in danger of being lost to Protestantism.
For his achievements he is honored as the Second Apostle of Germany.

Noted as a brilliant theologian, Peter was the author of several catechisms, the most famous being the Summa Doctrinae Christianae (or the Catechismus Major), published in 1555. It presents Catholic dogma through two hundred and eleven questions and answers. The Summa was the chief writing of the Catholic Reformation (with the exception of the Spiritual Exercises).
Peter died on Dec. 21, 1597 at Fribourg, Switzerland at the age of 76.
He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925, and declared Doctor of the Church at the same time.
Saint Peter Canisius,
Pray for us!
References:
1.Our Sunday Visitor's encyclopedia of saints Revised.
2. Saint Companions for each day by A.J.M. Mausolfe and J.K. Mausolfe

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22nd December

Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Jacopone Da Todi
Amomg many others.

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Blessed Jacopone Da Todi
Pray for us!

[Shin]

St. Peter Canisius wrote a grand catechism, which I wish somewhere along the line had been translated into English.

I feel deprived without it. 


'The heretics have made their false theology popular and presented it in a way that is within the capacity of the common people. They preach it to the people and teach it in the schools, and scatter pamphlets that can be bought and understood by many; they influence people by their writings when they cannot reach them by preaching. Their success is largely due to the negligence of those who should have shown some interest, and the bad example and the ignorance of Catholics, especially the clergy, have made such ravages in the vineyard of the Lord.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola, 'Letter to St. Peter Canisius'

'If you have too much to do, with God's help you will find time to do it all.'

St. Peter Canisius

'Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were, to be in collusion with the Church's enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our faith.'

St. Peter Canisius

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I sort of "disappeared" from the face of the earth these last few days. I apologize. Had I known I would not be able to post, I would have said something.
I am back in Nairobi now and trying to catch up. Will pick up from where I left off.

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23rd December

On this day we remember
Saint John of Kanty
Among many other saints

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John Kanty.
He is also known as
John Cantius
John Kantius
John of Kanti
John was born on 23 June 1390 at Kanty , Silesia, Poland.
He studied at the University of Cracow , and was said to be a brilliant student.
He was ordained after his University studies and became professor of theology at the same University.
Jealous associates falsely accused him and he was ousted from his position in the University.
he was assigned as parish priest at Olkusz , Bohemia.
After several years in this parish, he returned to Cracow and taught Scripture the rest of his life.
He died on 24 December 1473 at Cracow, Poland.

John is famous for his austerities and care for the poor. At the time of his death, he was so well loved that his veneration began immediately. For years his doctoral gown was worn by graduates receiving advanced degrees at the University of Cracow.
He was declared patron of Poland and Lithuania in 1737 by Pope Clement XII, thirty years before his final canonization
Saint John Cantius
Pray for us!

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24 December
On this day we commemorate
Christmas at Grecco