Today’s saint of the day is St. Pope John l. He was Pope from August 13, 523 - May 18, 526. Saint Pope John l was born in year 470 in Tuscany, Italy. While he was a deacon in Rome, he was known to have been a strong supporter of the anti-pope Laurentius. He was the Deacon John that signed the “Acta” of the Roman Synod of 499 and 502. At this time, the Catholic Church has only seven Deacons, making it very easy to identify him. He also was the one that dictated secretly of the early religious documents written between 512 - 520. Saint John was very weak when he was elected to the Papacy. He was sent to Constantinople by the Arian King, Theodoric the Great, to secure a moderation of Emperor Justin’s decree of year 523 against the Arians. The King threatened Saint Pope John l that if he fail in his mission, there would be retaliation against the Catholics in the West. Even though the mission was a success, Saint John was arrested once he got back home because the King thought he was helping Emperor Justin. He was imprisoned in Ravenna, where he died of neglect and ill treatment. His body was buried in the Basilica of St. Peter.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O dearest St. John, you were imprisoned and starved to death by a heretical Germanic King and still had faith in those difficulty moments. Help us also to have faith in times that are tough. We ask this through Christ out Lord, Amen
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Saint Paschal Baylon was born on May 24, 1540 at Torrehermosa, in the Kingdom of Aragon. He was also born on the Pentecost, which led to him being named Paschal. He lived with two older siblings and they were very poor and pious. Paschal was a shepherd between the ages of 7 to 24. He lived a humble life and was a very honest person. In 1564, at the age of 24, he joined the Friars Minor to live his life in penance. Although he was recommended to study to become a priest, Paschal stayed a brother and did many things for them. Baylon vowed to maintain a life of humbleness and poverty. He made sure that nothing was wasted and was put to good use. When he had free time, Paschal prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Paschal Baylon died on May 15, 1592 due to an illness. After his death, many miracles happened and people went to his tomb. He was canonized in 1690. Saint Paschal Baylon is the patron of Eucharistic congresses and societies. His feast day is May 15.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O God, Who hast glorified blessed Paschal Thy Confessor by a wonderful love for the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood: mercifully grant that we also, like him, may deserve to taste the spiritual sweetness of this Divine Supper:Who lives and reignest world without end. Amen Today's Saint of the Day is Saint Margaret of Cortona. Margaret was born to a farming family in Laviano, Tuscany, in the year 1247. Her mother died when she was seven, and life was very difficult with her stepmother. She moved out at the age of 17, and lived with a man named Arsenio, the son of a local noble, for 9 years, and bore him a son, though they were not married. One day, the favorite hound of Arsenio came back unaccompanied, and Margaret, concerned, followed the hound back into the forest to find his dead body. The crime shocked Margaret into a life of prayer and penance. She and her son joined the Franciscan Friars of Cortona, where her son became a friar. Margaret fasted for three years, avoiding meat and eating only bread and vegetables. In 1277, she joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and lived a life of poverty. Margaret participated in public affairs, and twice, claimed the divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, because he lived like a prince. She moved into the ruined church of Basil of Caesarea, and spent the rest of the life there, till her death on February 22, 1297. She is the patron saint of the falsely accused, homeless, insane, orphaned, mentally ill, midwives, single mothers, and step children.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER God, through the intercession of Saint Margaret of Cortona, please help us lead a life of prayer and penance. Amen. Saint Isadore the Farmer was a very religious man. Every morning he went to church and visited many others throughout the day. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. He married a young woman who also became a saint-Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child. He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isadore’s supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals. He died on May 15, 1130 and was declared a saint in 1622 along with four others. Together, the group is known in Spain as “the five saints.” Saint Isidore is the patron saint of farmers.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Oh Lord, grant that through the intercession or Blessed Isidore, we may follow his example of patience and humility. Help us walk faithfully in his footsteps that in the evening of life we may be able to present to You an abundant harvest of merit and good works. Amen The apostles were looking for someone to replace Judas Iscariot as a new apostle because of his betrayal of Jesus and his own death. The apostles decided that the new apostle had to have been with them since the beginning, from the baptism of John to the resurrection of Jesus. This narrowed their reach down to two people, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. The apostles prayed to the lord and gave lots to them. The lot fell upon Matthias and he became the twelfth apostle. Besides this, not much is known about Saint Matthais’s life. He is the patron of carpenters, tailors, those with smallpox, and in prayers for perseverance and for hope. He also preached in Jerusalem but eventually got stoned and beheaded which is why he is often portrayed holding an axe.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O God, who assigned Saint Matthias a place in the college of Apostles, grant us, through his intercession, that, rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us, we may merit to be numbered among the elect. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Today’s commemorated saint is Saint John the Silent. He was born in 454 AD in Nicoplis, Armenia. His parents died when he was 18 and he built a monastery where he stayed with 10 young monks where they taught him hard work and devotion. John has built a reputation for leadership which led the archbishop of Sebastian to consecrate him bishop of Colonia in Armenia when he was 28. He didn’t really want the role nevertheless he was the bishop for nine years before returning to a life of seclusion. One night when John was praying, he saw a bright cross form in the air and heard a voice say to him, “If thou desires to be saved, follow this light”. The light led him to the monastery of St. Sabas which held 150 monks and after many tests, St. Sabas let John have a separate hermitage for uninterrupted contemplation. He was only 38 at the time and after three years he was made the steward of the monastery. John had never told anyone he was a bishop for four years, St. Sabas thought John was worthy to become a priest and presented him to the patriarch Elias of Jerusalem. John told the patriarch that he was a bishop which the patriarch told St. Sabas. John wanted to leave the monastery after that but St. Sabas convinced him to stay and promising to keep his secret and let him stay in his cell for four years speaking to no one. In 503 AD some disciples forced St. Sabas to leave the monastery which led John to move to a nearby wilderness were he spent six years being mute and only conversing with God and eating roots and herbs. When St. Sabas returned, he tried to convince John to come back but after spending so much time in silence, he was very reluctant. He returned with St. Sabas and stayed in his cell for forty years and didn’t turn anyone away who wanted his teachings. Cyril of Scythopolis wrote about John’s life and John recommend he join Laura of St. Euthymius but Cyril didn’t listen which led him to fall ill. John appeared to him in a dream and scolded him for not listening to him and said that he would find his salvation and get well if he went there. Cyril went the next day as he was told and got better instantly. John died in 558 AD at the age of 104 and had spent 76 years in solitude and was only interrupted nine years when he was the bishop.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Father, you have called St. John to the solitary life in which he prayed for others. Grant us signs we seek for discerning Your will and purify our hearts, dear Lord, that we may serve You more perfectly. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. St. Leopold Mandíc was born in Herceg Novi, Montenegro on May 12, 1866. He was physically malformed and delicate, with clumsy walk and stuttering. He was ordained to priesthood at the age of 24 on September 20, 1890. For several years Leopold taught patrology, the study of the Church Father's, to the clerics of his province, but he is best known for his work in the confessional, where he sometimes spent 13 - 15 hours a day. Several bishops sought out his spiritual advice. Leopold's dream was to go to the Orthodox Christians and reunite Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, however his health would not allow for this. However, the cause of unity was constantly in his prayers. Leopold died in Padua on July 30, 1942, and was canonized in 1982.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER St. Leopold, you were a source of God's grace for all who had recourse to you. Through your intercession, may we live our lives in love, relying entirely on God's will, and strong in the hope of his promise, Amen. Today's saint of the day is Francis Ignatius Vincent Peis. Francis was born in 1701, the second of seven children, and was named after St. Francis of Assisi. From a young age, he worked hard and lived a pious life. He was known to wait in front of the church doors every morning, praying, until they were opened. When he was a teenager, Francis wanted to join the Capuchins (a Franciscan friar) but his father forbade him, because their family needed his labor on the farm to survive. But when he was 20, he entered the monastery and took his second name, Ignatius, as his religious name. Ignatius was well-loved by the poor and children and took care of them everyday. He told them stories of God and taught them how to pray. St. Ignatius died in 1781, and was canonized in 1951 by Pope Pius 6th.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER God help us follow the example of Saint Francis Ignatius Vincent Peis and always put others before ourselves and help those in need. Amen oday’s commemorated saint is Saint Damien of Molokai. He was born in rural Belgium, on January 3, 1840. His original name was Jozef De Veuster and was supposed to take care of the family when he got older but instead wanted to have religious path like his his older brother and two sisters. Jozef left school when he was 13 to help his family. He helped his family till he was old enough to enter the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary where he changed his same to Damien. In March of 1864, Fr. Damien arrived in Hawaii and was made a priest two months later and for nine years he worked on the island. When Hawaii established the leper colony, Fr. Damien went there and gave the leper’s there the leadership that they needed. He helped the people build houses and schools and eventually the parish church, St. Philomena which still stands today. Fr. Damien was only supposed to stay at the colony for some time and then someone would replace him. Feeling attached to the colony, he stayed and continued to serve the people there. Fr. Damien eventually got leprosy in 1885 but kept on working despite his illness. He gained strength from prayer and devotion and was reported to be very happy. After sixteen years in the colony, Fr. Damien succumbed to his illness on April 15, 1889. He was beatified by Pope John Paul ll in Brussels, Belgium on June 4, 1995 and became a saint for lepers on October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. His feast day is May 10.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Damien, brother in the journey, happy and generous missionary, who loved the Gospel more than your own life, who for love of Jesus left your family, your homelands, your security and your dreams. Teach us to give our lives with joy like yours, to be in solidarity with the outcasts of our world, to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist as the source of our own commitment. Help us to love to the very end and, in the strength of the Spirit, to persevere in compassion for the poor and forgotten so that we might be good disciples of Jesus and Mary. Amen ! St. John was born in the Castile region of Spain and was sent at the age of 14 to the University of Salamanca to study law. Later he studied philosophy and theology In Alcala before his ordination as a diocesan priest. After John’s parents died and left him as their sole heir to a considerable fortune, he distributed his money to the poor. John traveled to Seville hoping to become a missionary in Mexico. However, Seville’s archbishop persuaded John to remain administered to the inhabitants of Andalusia. Over the next nine years, John gained the reputation as an engaging preacher a perceptive spiritual leader, and a wise confessor. Because John was not afraid to denounce vice in high places, he was investigated by the Inquisition but was cleared in 1533. John worked closely with the society of Jesus helping it to grow both in Spain and in the Spanish colonies. John of Avila died in 1569 was canonized in 1970 and declared a doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Almighty and eternal God, who gave your holy Church blessed John of Avila as Doctor, grant that what he taught when moved by the divine Spirit may always stay firm in our hearts; and, as by your gift we embrace him as our patron, may we also have him as our defender to entreat your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, forever and ever. Amen. |