February 18 - Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879) Saint Bernadette's Silence (I) Bernadette was born in a mill, among the noise of grinding wheat. Her cries disturbed the baptism ceremony held on
March 19 - Feast of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Virgin Mary Blessings on Saint Joseph! Blessings on you, loving heart of Mary, for all the affection that you have for great Saint Joseph! Blessings on [...] on your noble heart forever, Saint Joseph, for all the love that it held and will hold eternally for Jesus and Mary, for all the care that it provided for the needs of the Son and the Mother and for all [...] sufferings, contempt and ill treatment, which it saw them receiving on behalf of ungrateful people! Great Saint Joseph, we offer our hearts to you; bind them to yours, and to Jesus’ and Mary’s. Beg them to make
January 24 - Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (1567-1622) Saint Francis’ Memorare The year was 1586. At that time the question of predestination was an enthralling one for theologians [...] were obliged to take part in the debate. On this point, Francis followed the views of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas with his eyes closed, until one day he surprised himself by thinking, “And what if [...] rejected me? And what if God abandons me in bad times...” These thoughts became an obsession to the saint. This was obviously the devil’s attack and God’s desire for purifying suffering. His sorrow was so
January 27 - Saint Mary of the Angels (Aix-en-Provence, France) - Saint Angela Merici Litany of Saint Angela of the Ursulines Holy Mary, Mother of God, and faithful Guardian of our Mother Saint Angela, Pray [...] Pray for us. Saint Angela Merici, Pray for us. St Angela, favored with the choicest gifts of God from thy infancy, Pray for us. St Angela, who didst give thyself to the practice of all the virtues from [...] angelic life in the house of thy parents, Pray for us. (…) O God, Who by means of our blessed Mother Saint Angela didst cause a new Order of holy virgins to flourish in Thy Church,: grant, through her intercession
say that the statue was carved by Nicodemus, a contemporary of Jesus, painted by Saint Luke, and brought to Spain by Saint James. Of course all this is difficult to ascertain as the manuscript recording [...] November 10 – Our Lady of Almudena (Madrid, Spain) Oru Lady of Almudena, patron saint of Madrid The name Almudena has an Arabic etymology (Spaniards and Arabs cohabitated in Spain for several centuries) [...] time. The present statue dates from around the year 1500. Our Lady of Almudena was made the patron saint of Madrid in 1623, and this honor was solemnly confirmed in 1646. She is celebrated on November 9th
Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (1666) Carried by a thousand angels, Mary saved Saint James Saint James the Greater was Saint John’s brother. Tradition says that he had a great devotion for the Virgin Mary [...] in his mission of evangelizing Spain: - The first time was in Granada, where a pagan mob attacked Saint James as soon as he arrived and killed one of the twelve disciples traveling with him, who had opposed [...] where my Son wants you to offer Him the sacrifice of your life at the place where He gave His." Saint James bowed down. The angels celebrated with him the inauguration of this first shrine, which became
October 4 - Saint Francis of Assisi (d. 1226) Saint Francis of Assisi considered the Rosary an urgent duty Saint Francis, "the lover of Christ," strove to live as close as possible to the evangelical life [...] House of the Order. Every day, the friars felt that it was their urgent duty to recite the Rosary. Saint Francis composed prayers to Mary, the protectress of the Franciscan Order, such as this one: Hail
August 26 - Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland) Why did Saint John Paul II choose “Totus Tuus” for his motto? Remembering Saint John Paul II and the 15th anniversary of his death, Pope Francis encouraged [...] one of the reasons why the epidemic is so frightening because, for so many people, faith has died. Saint John Paul II was a believer, a convinced believer, a coherent believer and faith illuminated the path [...] very difficult moments, like the 1981 assassination attempt. Marian devotion was a hallmark of the saint-pope, so much so that “Totus Tuus Maria” (“Mary, I am all yours”) was on his coat of arms. When asked
August 4 - Saint John Mary Vianney, Holy Curé of Ars (France, d. 1859) - Apparition of Our Lady to Natalino Scarpa (14 years old) in 1716 (Pellestrina, Italy) Saint Joan of Arc’s mission was a true kind [...] kind of motherhood Catherine Royer, a contemporary of Saint Joan of Arc, who had accommodated her for three weeks in her home, left us beautiful testimony about how Joan hastened to accomplish her mission [...] people of France, had to "give birth" to them by her actions and the pains of her passion as well. Saint Joan repeated to Catherine a popular prophecy according to which "France, lost by a woman, would be
to the Blessed Virgin (France, July 27, 1214) Both saints collaborated in the same providential work Both Saint Catherine Labouré (in Paris) and Saint Bernadette Soubirous (in Lourdes) collaborated in the [...] (1880-1965), Archbishop of Lyons, in a homily at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on December 3,1933, in La Sainte de Reuilly , by A. Lanquetin.
