Santo Domingo de Guzmán, also known as St Dominica, was born in Spain into a wealthy and well-respected family. It is said that a star appeared on him during this baptism. This is why in many pictures of St Dominic a star is drawn on his head.
In 1194, he joined the Canon of Regular, a religious community attached to the cathedral of a diocese. He spent his time there learning about Jesus and praying. At that time, there were many heretics, people preached false beliefs. St Dominic would preach to the heretics and explain that Jesus was both human and divine. Many people came to him asking st Dominic if they could study, pray and peach with him. He formed them into the Order of Preachers also known as the Dominicans. To this day, the Dominicans continue to pray and preach through St Dominicans intercession. Dominic was canonized by Pope Gregory IX and is the patron saint of astronomers and the Dominican Republic. INTERCESSORY PRAYER O God, through the intercession of St. Dominic who dedicated his life to preaching about Jesus, I pray that I may also be able to preach about Jesus to everyone around me.
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St. Cajetan is an Italian saint predominantly known as the Founder of the Theatines. He was born in Vicenza, Italy in 1480 to a pious mother who took care of him. He lived a faithful youth and took his degree as Doctor of Civil Law at Padua when he was 24. Two years later he began working with Pope Julius II as a prothonotary Apostolic. However, at Pope Julius’ death in 1523, the Catholic Church was in a state of dismay as many criticized the Church for its uneducated and immoral priests. Good priests and laypeople were left ignored and could not attain the necessary spiritual nourishment. Many, like Martin Luther, responded to this situation by splitting off from the Catholic Church. However, Cajetan did not want to split off from the Church, he wanted to restore it. In the following years, he met other clergy who felt the way he did. Together they decided to form a religious order that was based on the lives of the Apostles in the hopes that they would inspire others to live holy lives devoted to Jesus. They focused on moral lives, sacred studies, preaching, pastoral care, and helping the sick among other solid foundations of pastoral life. This newfound order became known as Theatines Clerks Regular named after the regular clergy and a bishop known as Theatensis, who was their first superior general, that founded the order. Their holy example and preaching converted many. As he worked tirelessly for the Church, St. Cajetan fell ill. When doctors tried to get him to rest on a softer bed then the boards he slept on, Cajetan answered, "My savior died on a cross. Let me die on wood at least." St. Cajetan passed away on August 7, 1547. He is celebrated today as the patron saint of Argentina, gamblers, and the unemployed on his feast day: August 7.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint Cajetan, when we see things that trouble us in our Church, help us to continue to love her. Guide us to the positive steps we need to take to work within the Church for renewal. Help us to be examples of holiness to all. Amen Today’s Saint of the Day is Saint Hormisdas. Saint Hormisdas was born in Frosinone, Italy in the year 450 CE. Born into a wealthy family, Hormisdas had married and fathered children. before becoming a deacon of the Roman Church. He was a devout supporter of his predecessor, Pope Symmachus. Most of Saint Hormisdas' papacy relates to the Acacian Schism, which has existed since 484. The schism was the result of Constantinople's attempt to reconcile the Monophysites with the main body of the church. It was a policy that was rejected by successive popes. Hormisdas' efforts to resolve the schism were successful, due to the development of a confession of faith known as the Formula of Hormisdas. It played a major role in the reunion of the church of Constantinople and the Roman Church in 519. The Formula of Hormisdas relies on the fact that the pope is Saint Peter's representative. He died on August 6, 523 AD, in Rome. His feast day is on August 6th. He is the patron saint of stable boys.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER God, through the intercession of Saint Hormisdas, please help us lead a life of devotion. Amen St. Addal was a disciple of Christ sent by St. Thomas to the court of King Abgar the Black. A historian named Eusebius recorded a tradition which he believed was true. The tradition was found in a book called, “The Teachings of Addai”. It states that Abgar, King of Edessa was afflicted by an incurable disease. He had heard of Jesus’s powers and the miracles he performed. He wrote a letter to Jesus asking him to come and heal him. Jesus did not go, but promised to send a messenger named St. Addal to heal him. St. Addal was one of the 72
disciples of Christ. St. Addal cured the king and converted the king and his people to the faith. Addai was one of them who became Addal’s successor. St. Addal was known for doing work around Edessa toward the end of the second century. St. Addal died on August 5 as martyr for his faith. INTERCESSORY PRAYER Blessed St. Addal, Jesus sent you to heal a person with an incurable disease. Just as Jesus sent you to heal others, intercede for those of us with incurable diseases or contagious diseases so that we may also receive Jesus’ saving grace. Amen. St John Vianney was born on May 8, 1786 to a catholic family in Dardilly, France. During his childhood, priests were forced into serving the people in secret because of the anticlerical forces of the French Revolution; St. John admired these brave priests as his heroes.
He remained very religious during his childhood, and received the Holy Eucharist and Confirmation in secret. When John was 20 years old, he left his family to study at presbytery school, where he studied math, history, geography, and Latin. It was during this time that the revolution ended and religious freedom was restored. Later, in 1812, John joined a minor seminary, and was ordained as a deacon in 1825. He became a priest a year later. Beginning his priestly duties, St. John Vianney began to realize how many of the Catholics had become ignorant of their faith because of the French Revolution. He spent hours upon hours every day teaching the people how to stay faithful to God. In a few years, his fame spread throughout all of France, and people began to travel to have him from across the country. It is said he received more than 20,000 pilgrims in his life. St. John Vianney passed away in 1859, having succeeded in rescuing the French Catholics who had swayed in their faith, transforming them into devout Christians. INTERCESSORY PRAYER I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally... My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. Amen. In the 1st century St.Lydia Purpuraria was born in Thyatira, a city southeast of Pergamum. She is also known as Lydia of “Thyatira,” “Purpuraria,” and of “Philippi”. Philippi is where she met St.Paul. She was Saint Paul's first convert in Philippi. She was so excited about Paul's message that she and her entire household were baptized. She then invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house. Because women did not possess the same equality rights as modern women, it appears unusual that Lydia would be capable of inviting a group of foreign men to her house without a man’s consent. She was a religious seeker. Though she was a Gentile by birth, Lydia worshiped the God of the Jews. Lydia insisted on giving hospitality to Apostle Paul and his companions in Philippi. She was also a merchant of purple cloth, making her a patron saint of purple cloth. It took thousands of mollusks to make only an ounce of dye. Because of this, purple cloth was rare and expensive, it was worn only by royalty, rich and important people. Her wealth allowed her to live independently in a spacious house. People think that Lydia was a servant but no one knows. Many Christian denominations recognize Lydia of Thyatira as a saint, though her feast day varies greatly. In the Catholic church her feast day is August 3rd. Devotion to St. Lydia is greater in the Orthodox Church than in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, and this is evident by the myriad of icons depicting this woman. The Orthodox Churches have given her the title of “Equal to the Apostles,” which signifies her importance and level of holiness.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Pour out upon us, Lord, the spirit of knowledge and love of you, with which you filled your handmaid blessed Lydia, so that, serving you sincerely in imitation of her, we may be pleased by our faith and our works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Saint Eusebuis of Vercelli was born on the isle of Sardinia, he became a member of the Roman clergy, and is the first recorded bishop of Vercelli in Piedmont in northwest Italy. Eusebius was also the first to link the monastic life with that of the clergy, establishing a community of his diocesan clergy on the principle that the best way to sanctify his people was to have them see a clergy formed in solid virtue and living in community. He was sent by Pope Liberius to persuade the emperor to call a council to settle Catholic-Arian troubles. When it was called at Milan, Eusebius went reluctantly, sensing that the Arian block would have its way, although the Catholics were more numerous. He refused to go along with the condemnation of Saint Athanasius; instead, he laid the Nicene Creed on the table and insisted that all sign it before taking up any other matter. The emperor put pressure on him, but Eusebius insisted on Athanasius’ innocence and reminded the emperor that secular force should not be used to influence Church decisions. At first the emperor threatened to kill him, but later sent him into exile in Palestine. There the Arians dragged him through the streets and shut him up in a little room, releasing him only after his four-day hunger strike. They resumed their harassment shortly after. His exile continued in Asia Minor and Egypt, until the new emperor permitted him to be welcomed back to his land in Vercelli. Eusebius attended the Council of Alexandria with Athanasius and approved the leniency shown to bishops who had wavered. He also worked with Saint Hilary of Poitiers against the Arians. Eusebius died peacefully in his own diocese at an advanced age.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Lord God, Saint Eusebius affirmed the divinity of your Son. By keeping the faith he taught, may we come to share the eternal life of Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Alfonsus Maria Liguori was born near Naples in 1696. His parents were Joseph, captain of the royal galleys, and Anna, Knights of Avenia. The father wanted his eldest son to receive a good education, so Alfonsus was educated at a young age. At thirteen, he started his law studies and at sixteen, four years before the normal age, he obtained his doctorate in civil and canon law in Naples university. It has been said that he had never lost a case in eight years of being an advocate. But eventually he gave up law for apostolic activity. He was ordained a priest and concentrated his pastoral efforts on popular parish missions, hearing confessions, and forming Christian groups. At age 66, he was made a bishop after trying to reject the honor. At 71, Alphonsus was afflicted with rheumatic pains which left an incurable bending of his neck. He suffered a final 18 months of fears and temptations against every article of faith and every virtue. Alphonsus is best known for his moral theology, but he also wrote well in the field of spiritual theology. His Glories of Mary is one of the great works on that subject, and his book Visits to the Blessed Sacrament went through 40 editions in his lifetime, greatly influencing the practice of this devotion in the Church. Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori is the patron saint of theologians and vocations
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint Alphonsus, I humbly implore your powerful intercession for obtaining from the heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I have great confidence in your prayers. I trust that if it is God’s holy will, my prayers will be granted through your intercession for me at the throne of God. Saint Alphonsus, pray for me and those I love. May we experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen. . St. Ignatius grew up in the village of Loyola and his mother died when he was young. He had dreams of becoming a great and well known leader for his people. When he was eighteen, he joined the Spanish military in wars against the French. Still wanting to be well known, he started to call himself Ignatius. In one battle he got hit by a cannonball, and doctors performed many surgeries to save his life. As he recovered, he read all the books he could about Jesus and all the saints. Ignatius then sought to complete his education. While he was studying in Paris he met Peter Faber and Francis Xavier. They became friends and soon, as more people joined the group they called themselves the ‘Friends in the Lord’. They decided to go to Rome where Pope Paul III made them an official religious order called the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. Ignatius was made their leader, and he put a strict rule on the order. The Jesuits created 35 schools and had 1,000 members before Ignatius died. The Jesuits are known for educating the youth worldwide. Ignatius died on July 31, 1556, was beatified on July 27, 1609 and canonized on March 12, 1622. His feast day is on July 31. He is the patron saint of soldiers, educators, education and the Jesuits.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER St. Ignatius of Loyola you started the Jesuits who educated people worldwide. Help us educate ourselves in the ways of kindness and wisdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen There isn’t much information on Saint Peter Chrysologus. St. Peter was baptized, educated, and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. St. Peter merited being called "Chrysologus" (golden-worded) from his exceptional preachings. He destroyed the last few traces of paganism and other abuses that had sprouted among his people, cautioning them especially against indecent dancing. He said, "Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil, cannot rejoice with Christ." He died in Italy in 450 and in 1729 was made a Doctor of the Church because of his simple, practical, and clear sermons.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O God, You made Saint Peter Chrysologus an outstanding preacher of Your Word. Grant, through his intercession, that we may ponder in our hearts the mysteries of your salvation and faithfully express them in what we do. Through Christ, our Lord, amen. |