Saint Robert Bellarmine was the first Jesuit to become a professor at Louvain. His most famous work is his three-volume Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith. The most noteworthy sections were those on the temporal power of the pope and the role of laity. Saint Robert was made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII on the grounds that “he had not equal for learning”. Robert moved into his new apartment and he limited his household expenses to what was barely essential, eating only what was available to the poor. He took the hangings of his rooms and gave them to the poor saying, “the walls won’t get cold”. Robert Bellarmine died on September 17, 1621. In 1930, Pope Pius XI canonized him, and the next year declared him a doctor of the Church.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER God our Father, you gave Robert Bellarmine wisdom and goodness to defend the faith of your Church. By his prayers may we always rejoice in the profession of our faith, amen.
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St. Cornelius the bishop of Rome, from March 251 until his martyrdom in June 253 AD. He served as pope during and following a painful period of persecution against the church. The church was also facing a division over how repentant church members, who had practiced pagan sacrifices to protect themselves, of the time had become readmitted back into the Church. This created a division among the church: some argued that they should not be admitted back into the church because they failed to maintain their confession of faith under the persecution. These people were known as the Novationists. However, Cyprian of Carthage, supported by Cornelius argued that these repentants could be admitted back into the church under the condition that they perform varyings acts of penance. However, despite the division, Cornelius was able to call a synod that confirmed his election as the Pope and excommunicated Novatian. Finally, in 251 under Roman emperor Trebonianus Gallus, the persecutions against Christians started back, resulting in Cornelius being sent into exile. Historians believe he may have died in exile from the rigors of banishments, while some accounts say he was beheaded. St. Cornelius is the patron of epilepsy, fever, twitching, earache sufferers and also the German town of Kornelimünster, where his head is enshrined.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER God our Father, in Saints Cornelius and Cyprian you have given your people an inspiring example of dedication to the pastoral ministry and constant witness to Christ in their suffering. May their prayers and faith give us courage to work for the unity of your Church, amen. Not much is known about Saint Nicomedes’ earlier life. He was born in Ancient Rome and was a Roman priest and a martyr. He was beaten to death with whips after refusing to sacrifice to the gods. After his death in Italy, he was buried in the catacomb on the Via Nomentana.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Stay close to Your people, O Lord, so that the brilliant merits of Your blessed martyr Nicomedes may help us, and his prayers win for us Your unfailing mercy. Through our Lord, amen. Saint Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, of France, was ordained a priest of the Society for Foreign Missions of Paris at the age of 24. The renewed persecution of Chinese Christians in 1784 led to Dufresse’s arrest. He soon escaped from prison and was taken in by a Chinese Catholic family. But, after an auxiliary bishop instructed all the priests to surrender themselves to keep their families safe, Saint Gabriel did so. Dufresse was imprisoned and then exiled to Macau. A few years later, he managed to return to the Szechwan Province. In the years that followed, his missionary labors were very successful. But once the anti-Christian persecution continued again in 1805, Dufresse had to change his place of residence almost daily to keep himself safe. In May of 1815, he was recaptured and suffered beheading about 4 months afterwards.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, you suffered imprisonment and other difficulties countless times. Even through all of it, you remained true to your faith and died for what you believed. Pray for us that we may also be strong in the face of danger, amen. Saint Notburga was a cook in the family of Count Henry of Rothenburg and used to give food to the poor. But her mistress, Ottilia, ordered her to feed the swine with the leftover food. So, Saint Notburga saved some of her own food, especially on Fridays, and brought it to the poor. Once Ottila passed away, Notburga entered into the service of a peasant on a condition that would permit her to go to church evenings before Sundays and festivals. One evening, her old master urged her to continue working in his fields. She threw her sickle in the hair and said, “Let my sickle be the judge between me and you,” and the sickle remained suspended in the air. After some time, Saint Notburga could feel herself weakening. Shortly before her death, she told her master to place her corpse on a wagon drawn by two oxen, and to bury her wherever the oxen took her. They drew her wagon to the chapel of St. Rubert, where she was buried. Saint Notburga is the patroness of servants and peasants.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Heavenly Lord, Saint Notburga served as a maid for a nobleman, and then she went to work for a peasant family. She discovered that she preferred working for the poor and devoted the rest of her life to this. I ask her to pray for me when I have opportunities to work for those who cannot afford my services. Help me, O God, to consider people as a higher priority than money, not basing my services on what they can pay, but on whether or not I can supply what they’re needing. When I am the one who cannot afford others’ services, be generous with me, too, dear Lord. Saint Notburga, pray for me. Amen. Saint John Chrysostom was a monk in the desert for quite some time. When he was brought to Constantinople, he was made a bishop against his will. His body was weak from stomach ailments because of his desert days. Although his body wasn’t strong, his tongue was. Saint John’s sermons were high and mighty and sometimes lasted 2 hours. Many of his sermons called for sharing wealth with the poor. Whether intended or not, sermons mentioning the lurid Jezebel and impious Herodias were associated with the empress, who finally did manage to have John exiled. He died in exile in 407.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint John Chrysostom spread the Good News with courage and honesty. He continued preaching regardless of what anybody else would say. We pray today so that we may understand the Good News and spread the word effectively as he did, Amen. Saint Cyprian was highly educated and became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage. Cyprian complained that the peace the Church had enjoyed had weakened the spirit of many Christians and had opened the door to converts who did not have the true spirit of faith. During a plague in Carthage, Cyprian urged Christians to help everyone, including their enemies and persecutors. He was exiled by the emperor and then recalled for trial. He refused to leave the city, insisting that his people should have the witness of his martyrdom. Saint Cyprian was both cheerful and serious so much so that nobody knew what to think of him. He was a courageous and kind man.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint Cyprian, you were a strong man and you kept your faith in God through all your struggles. Strengthen us to do the same as we face many problems and temptations. Amen. Saint Thomas was from Spain and received a superior education at the University of Alcala, becoming a popular professor of philosophy there. After joining the Augustinian friars at Salamanca, Thomas was ordained and resumed his teaching despite a continuing absentmindedness and poor memory. He was nominated by the emperor to the archbishopric of Granada, but refused. When the spot again became vacant he was pressured to accept. The money his cathedral chapter gave him to furnish his house was given to a hospital instead. He took in orphans and paid his servants for every deserted child they brought to him. He encouraged the wealthy to imitate his example and be richer in mercy and charity than they were in earthly possessions. As he lay dying, Thomas commanded that all the money he possessed be distributed to the poor. In his lifetime Thomas of Villanova was called “the almsgiver” and “the father of the poor.”
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Pray for us that we will see the needs of others less fortunate than ourselves as our daily responsibility. Let us aid and pray for those in need, amen. Saint Peter Claver left his homeland, Spain, forever in 1610 to be a missionary in the colonies of the New World. He sailed into Cartagena, a rich port city washed by the Caribbean where he was ordained. By this time, the slave trade had been established in the Americas for nearly 100 years, and Cartagena was a chief center for it. Thousands of slaves would pour into the port each year under condition so foul that an estimated ⅓ of passengers died in transit. When Claver arrived, he declared himself “the slave of negroes forever”. He aided the incoming slaves with food and baptized about 300,000 of them. After four years of sickness, he was forced to rest and passed away on September 8, 1654. He is the worldwide patron of missionary work among black slaves.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER O God, who made Saint Peter Claver a slave of slaves and strengthened him with wonder charity and patience as he came to their help, grant, through his intercession, that, seeking the things of Jesus Christ, we may love our neighbor in deeds and in truth. Amen. Not much is known about Saint Adrian. According to legend, he was a pagan officer at the imperial court of Nicomedia. Impressed by the courage of a group of Christians who were being tortured, he became a Christian. Because of this, Saint Adrian was imprisoned with the other Christians and suffered excruciating tortures before he was put to death. He is the patron saint of butchers, guards, and soldiers.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER Saint Adrian, we ask your intercession with our Heavenly Father for the grace of wisdom. Pray that we may continue to learn and grow in our faith. May we seek true wisdom which leads to knowledge in the ways of God and His will for our lives, Amen. |