Category Archives: The Saints

Friends in Christ,

Today is the Feast of St. Scholastica. St. Scholastica was born in the year 480, and she was actually the twin sister of St. Benedict. Under her brother’s direction, she founded a community of nuns not too far from Benedict’s monastery at Monte Cassino. Like her brother, she dedicated herself to God in the monastic life. She died in 547.

We do not know too much about her, but we DO have an incident which was famously told by St. Gregory the Great about her. He writes: Scholastica had been consecrated to God from her youth, and she was accustomed to visiting her brother once a year, at a little place between his monastery and her convent.

One time Benedict went as usual with some of his companions to meet her; they spent the whole day praising God and talking of sacred things. Their spiritual conversation went on, and the hour grew late.

When darkness was setting in, having taken their meal together, his sister said to him: ‘Please do not leave tonight brother, let us keep talking about the joys of heaven until morning. ‘What are you saying, sister?’ he replied. ‘You know that I cannot stay away from the monastery.’ “At her brother’s refusal Scholastica folded her hands on the table and rested her head upon them in earnest prayer. As she raised her head from the table, there suddenly appeared in the otherwise clear sky, menacing, dark clouds, and then a burst of lightning and thunder. As her prayer ended, there came such a downpour of rain that Benedict and his friends were unable to set foot outside the door.

Realizing that he could not return to the abbey in the storm, Benedict complained bitterly. ‘God forgive you, sister!’ he said. ‘What have you done?’ Scholastica answered, ‘When I appealed to you, you would not listen. So I turned to God and He heard my prayer. Now leave if you can. Leave me here and go back to your monastery!’

This, of course, he could not do, and so he stayed against his own will. They therefore passed the whole night, engrossed in conversation about the spiritual life. Benedict did not know that his sister would leave this earth only three days hence.

St Gregory says that her prayer was more effective than his because God is love, and she loved more.

Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Blaise.

Blaise was the Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia, and he was also a doctor. Because of persecution, he lived in a cave on Mt. Argeus; there, it is said, birds brought him food, and many animals were attracted to him. He would bless them, and cure them of their illnesses.

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One day, some hunters came near, and saw a large herd of animals near the cave; they saw Blaise, and reported it to the governor; he ordered that Blaise should immediately be captured because he was a Christian.

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As the soldiers were bringing him along, he encountered a woman whose pig was being attacked by a wolf; he commanded the wolf to release the pig, which it did at once.

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Brought before the governor, Blaise was told to renounce Jesus Christ, but he refused. He was beaten with clubs, and then put into prison. So there he was, in his gloomy prison, more of a dungeon; but that woman whose pig Blaise had saved – she came to him, and gave him two candles to light up his dark cell. He thanked her, and said: ‘Each year, offer a candle in the Church and all will be well with you.’

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The next day, Blaise was tortured; hung from rafters, his flesh was torn with iron spikes. ‘Either adore the gods of Rome or not, said the governor. He refused, and so was ordered to be thrown into the lake. At that moment, Blaise made the sign of the cross over the lake, and like Christ, he was able to walk on top of the water. Standing there, he said to the crowd: ‘If your gods are really gods, then show their power by walking on the water to me. 65 pagans promptly walked in and drowned. He was then ordered to be beheaded.

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While being taken away, a lady urgently came to him because her son was choking on a fishbone, caught in his throat. Blaise laid hands on him and prayed for the child, and said that anyone who invoked his intercession would be protected from diseases, especially of the throat. The child was instantly cured.

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St. Blaise was martyred in the year 283. Many miracles accompanied his relics, and to this day, we have the blessing of throats on his feast day.  St. Blaise is the patron saint of animals, construction workers, veterinarians, coughs, and throat diseases.

Friends in Christ, today is the feast of St. John Bosco. When John Bosco was nine years old, he had a dream: the Lord asked him to lead young children to become good – to be friends of Jesus Christ. He eventually became a priest, and as a priest, he started a school for boys; he soon had 900 boys there. He trained them in their lessons and in the Holy Faith, and also they were trained to become expert tailors, shoe repairers, cooks, printers, carpenters, locksmiths, and farmers.

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Children loved to speak to John Bosco, he was a fun teacher; he knew magic tricks and could do acrobatics. He was always telling jokes and laughing. Even when he was 53 years old, he could out-race the boys.

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St. John wrote some books that became best-sellers, one of them was called ‘The Smart Boy.’

His school could take the most rotten boys, and make them into virtuous young men. He said: there is no such boy, that cannot be loved. “trust a boy even if he does not merit it, then you make him trustworthy! he said. ‘And even if he is not lovable, love him; then he will become lovable.’

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The Prime Minister of England once visited his oratory and asked how he could be so successful with delinquents when civil institutions could not. “Your Excellency he said, the means that we have are not available to you: Frequent confession, Holy Communion, and the Sacrifice of the Mass.’

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Now an interesting thing about St. John Bosco, is that whenever he got into any danger, a huge, gray, dog named Grigio would show up to help him. He never knew where Grigio came from, he would just suddenly show up. Whenever he walked through a dangerous part of town, especially at night, the huge dog Grigio would appear, and walk alongside of him.

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Once, two suspicious men were following St. John; suddenly, they threw a cloak over his head and tied him; he called for help, and suddenly with a terrific howl, Grigio appeared and rushed upon the men. He forced them into the mud, and growling furiously; ‘Call off your dog!’ they yelled. ‘if you let me be’ – yes, anything! ‘Come Grigio, said Don Bosco, and the dog obeyed.

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Another time, a man came out of the woods with a stick, and then a whole group of men with clubs came out to attack him; suddenly appeared Grigio, running around and around his master, showing his teeth and growling, and he drove those bad men away.

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As powerful a protector this dog was, he also loved children. Once Grigio was in the playroom, and all the boys of the school gathered around him, pulling his ears, petting him, and the little ones rode around on his back. No one knows where Grigio came from, but he may have been sent by God to protect St. John Bosco.

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St. John Bosco wanted children to love God with all their heart, and to be very good. He is the patron saint of boys, of students, and of schoolchildren.

Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Thomas lived 800 years ago, yet his books are the most important of all theology.

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When he was growing up, his parents wanted him to be a very important man, but Thomas felt that God was calling him to become a Dominican priest. The Dominicans live a simple life, they wear a white habit, and their main work is to study and to preach the gospel. But Thomas’ parents were determined to prevent him from this path.

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So one day while he was walking along, Thomas saw two men riding quickly toward him on horses. He realized they were his brothers, who came to stop him from being a priest. They captured him, and locked him in the tower of their castle, until he changed his mind. They took away all his books, except one: the Bible. And so for the time he was locked in that tower, he read the bible. Because of his great mind, Thomas was able to memorize the entire bible, and this would serve him well in the future.

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His sisters continued to try to help him, and they often brought him food, sliding it under the wooden door. One day an angel appeared and placed a rope around his waist; ‘you will be a Dominican priest the angel told him.

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His brothers, determined to keep him from his plan, brought a wicked woman to tempt Thomas to give up his purity, but Thomas boldly grabbed a hot poker from the fireplace and ran at her yelling, get out! Get out! Which she did. Ultimately, his sisters came with a large basket and some rope, and lowered him down from the tower so that he could escape.

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St. Thomas DID become a Dominican, and his main teacher was Albert the Great, who taught him many things. Now he was a very gentle boy and rather quiet, so some fellow students thought he was not very smart. They often called him ‘The Dumb Ox,’ but Thomas didn’t mind; he just smiled and prayed for them. Albert their teacher once reprimanded the students. He said to them: ‘You will see that one day this dumb Ox will bellow so loud, that the whole world will listen to him.’ He meant that Thomas would be a great teacher and doctor of the Church, which he was.

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Even though Thomas had great knowledge, he had a child-like simplicity. The goodness of his heart shined in his face, and each person who met him felt happy. After his death, his confessor said: “Thomas Aquinas was as innocent as a five-year-old child.’ He died at only the age of 50, yet he accomplished more than any other man.

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His sister Theodora once asked him, ‘how can I become a saint?’ He told her: just decide to do it, and then do it.

Friends in the Lord,[i] today is the Feast of St. Angela Merici.

St. Angela was born in 1474 in Italy. By age 10 she was an orphan, and some years later her dear sister suddenly died; because her sister had not received the last sacraments, Angela was worried; she prayed often for her sister.

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She lived a life of great austerity, possessing nothing of her own, not even owning a bed. She ate bread and water and a fasted on vegetables. One day God showed her in a vision that her sister was with the saints in heaven, and this gave her much peace.

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Now Angela was a very short person, but she was quite attractive and really a born leader; she wanted to use her gifts and charm, to lead people to heaven. In those days one of the big problems was that young people knew very little of their Faith, so she organized her friends into a group of teachers. They gathered girls of the town together to teach them the Faith.[ii]

Eventually, many schools were built, and even the Pope in Rome heard of her success as a religion teacher.[iii] [iv]

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One time, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and while on the way, she suddenly went blind.[v] Her friends suggested turning back, but she insisted on completing the pilgrimage, praying at each of the places in the Holy Land, though seeing nothing. On the return trip she abruptly regained her sight and returned to her work of teaching.

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In 1535, she placed her little group under the protection of St. Ursula, and this was the beginning of the Ursuline Order of Sisters.

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Angela was like the mustard seed in the gospel. Though she was very short in stature, her life flowered like a giant mustard tree and brought many young girls closer to Jesus.

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She once wrote to her Sisters telling them: ‘Be ever concerned about each one of your daughters. Embrace them with a living love, for mothers, even if they have a thousand children, carry each one in their heart, and they never forget any one of them. The more children a mother has, the more her love for each one is increased.

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St. Angela Merici died in 1540. She is the patron saint of disabled people.

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[i] strive to draw them by love, modesty, charity, and not by pride and harshness. Be sincerely kind to every one; you also ought to exercise pleasantness toward all, taking great care especially that what you have commanded may never be done by reason of force. For God has given free will to everyone, and therefore he forces no one but only indicates, calls, persuades. Sometimes however something will have to be done with a stronger command, yet in a suitable manner and accordion to the state and necessities of individuals; but then, also we should be impplelled only by charity and zeal for souls. Brev. III, p. 1333.

[ii] She taught them that ‘a good heart and soul, inflamed with charity, can do nothing but good and holy works.’

[iii] In the jubilee year 1525, she visited Rome; Pope Clement VII, who had heard of her great holiness and her extraordinary success as a religious teacher of young girls, invited her to remain in Rome, but Angela, who shunned publicity, returned to Brescia.

[iv] It is related that one day, while in an ecstasy, she had a vision of young virgins ascending to heaven on a ladder of light; a voice had said: ‘Take heart, Angela: before you die you will found a group of maidens similar to those you have just seen.’

[v] On the island of Crete.

Beloved in Christ, one of the things taught in the Catechism about our Faith, is the 4 marks of the Church.

For any Church to be the True Church of Christ, it must have these four things. We say them in the Creed each Sunday: the Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.

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How is the Church catholic? The word ‘catholic’ means universal. In other words, the beliefs of the True Church must be the same everywhere. Japanese Catholics believe the same thing as Catholics in the Philippines and in Nebraska. And this universality of the Faith must be true, not just geographically, today, but – through time. So today’s Catholics believe the same thing that our great-grandparents, and Thomas Aquinas, and St. Agatha believed.

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The True Church of Christ is also ‘Holy.’ How is the Church holy? Well, Christ lives at the center of our Church – in the Holy Eucharist. This is holiness par excellence. Our Blessed Mother is the first member of the Church, and countless saints live in the Bosom of Mother Church. We still struggle here for holiness, but the Church triumphant in heaven, is very holy.

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How is the Church One? The Church is One, in that there is a unity among her. When I was in Greece, we met up with a group of Catholics from Korea and Singapore, and there was an immediate fraternal bond in Christ even though we did not speak the same language. We share in the same Sacrifice of the altar, the same sacraments, and we are under the vicar of Christ: the Pope.

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Finally, the True Church must be Apostolic. This means, that we have the Faith and the priesthood which have been passed down to us from the Apostles. We read of this today in the scriptures, on this Feast of Timothy and Titus. St. Paul says to Timothy, who is a bishop: stir up the grace that is in thee by the laying on of my hands (2 Tim 1:6) Do not lay hands hastily upon anyone. (1 Tim 5:22)

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St. Paul tells Titus, his other bishop, to appoint presbyters – that is, priests – in every city. So the Church of Christ must have Apostolic succession by the laying on of hands. Which we do. This is how the priesthood and the power of the sacraments is transmitted through the generations. We possesses all 4 marks of the True Church. One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.

Dear young people,

Today is the Feast of St. Vincent. St. Vincent was a Deacon, one of the Church’s 3 most famous deacons.[i] Now as you know, in the sacrament of Holy Orders, there are 3 ranks: Bishop, Priest, and Deacon. So Vincent was a Deacon, and he assisted his bishop, in Saragosa, Spain. In fact, his bishop had some kind of speech impediment, he had a hard time speaking, and so he commissioned his Deacon Vincent to do the preaching for him in the diocese.

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In those days, many of the authorities were against Catholics; but nevertheless, Vincent spoke out clearly and strongly, teaching the truth about Jesus Christ, salvation, and the Church he founded, the Catholic Church. Now this angered the anti-Catholic authorities. So by order of the Governor, Dacian, Vincent and his bishop were arrested, and dragged in chains to Valencia and kept in prison for a long time.

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Vincent was told that he would be released, if only he would take the Holy Bible and throw it into the fire; but he adamantly refused, because the Holy Scriptures is the Sacred Word of God. Vincent was then put on the rack, and his arms and legs were pulled and pulled apart. Dacian asked him, ‘Tell me Vincent, how does your body look to you now?’ But the saint smiling, replied: ‘This is what I have always longed for, you are doing me great favors!

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Beside himself with rage, Dacian yelled at the torturers: ‘Miserable wretches, you’re getting nowhere with him.’ So they drove iron hooks into his sides until blood spurted forth and his intestines hung out, but he still said, ‘I have no fear of your tortures.’

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He was taken from the rack and carried to a hot gridiron with a fire under it. He was seared and roasted, but nothing could undermine the courage of his faith. Frustrated, the Governor ordered him returned to prison. During the night, a heavenly brightness flooded into the prison bringing a great peace; seeing this, the guards immediately converted to the Catholic Faith.

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The governor then tried a different approach. Instead of tortures, Vincent was placed on a soft bed in the hope that lenient treatment would convince him to give up the faith. Yet no matter what methods were tried, because he believed in Jesus and the truth of heaven, he remained invincible in spirit.

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After he died, they threw his body out for the vultures to eat, but a flock of ravens suddenly flew down, and guarded his body. His body was taken to what is known as Cape St. Vincent, and even today, his grave is guarded by flocks of ravens.

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St. Vincent is often pictured as a deacon being torn by hooks and being defended by ravens. He is an example to us, that no matter what anyone tries to do to get us to do something wrong or give up our Faith, we never, never, will.

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[i] the other two being St. Stephen and Lawrence. Vincent is also Spain’s most famous martyr.

Friends in the Lord, today is the feast of St. Agnes.

St. Agnes is one of the famous virgin-martyrs of the Church, and her name is still in Eucharistic Prayer I of the Mass, going back to ancient times.

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As a young girl, she committed her virginity to the Lord, but one day, while coming home from school, the Prefect’s son saw her and fell in love at first sight, she was a beautiful girl. He promised her wealth and love if she would be his wife; but Agnes told him: I am already pledged to another lover. The young man persisted, so she told him – ‘The one I love is more noble than you. His Mother is a Virgin, and his Father is served by angels. His love is chastity, and union with him, is virginity.’

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The boy went home, and lay sick in bed for days. The doctors examined him; the Prefect asked, ‘What is wrong with my son?’ The diagnosis – he is lovesick, but the girl he loves is taken. The Prefect demanded to know, who is the girl’s lover!? Someone told him, it is Christ, and since it was illegal to be a Christian, he would now make sure she changed her mind.

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She was arrested and chained up, and ordered to sacrifice to the gods, but she refused, and at that moment, as if possessed by the Devil, the Prefect’s son rushed into the room demanding to have Agnes for himself, but on the spot he fell over dead. Agnes knelt and prayed for the boy, and before them all, he came back to life.

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Even this miracle however, instead of instilling faith, merely angered the authorities more, and so they threw Agnes into a fire, but she was unharmed. Then a soldier thrust his dagger into her throat, sending her to her Beloved in heaven. A martyr for Christ, Agnes was only 12 years old. At her grave, her sister told the people how wicked they were for killing her, so they stoned her to death, and at that moment there was an earthquake and many pagans died.

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Her parents later were praying at the tomb, and they saw angels in shining garments walking with Agnes, She said to them, ‘do not weep, but rejoice, because I am safe now, with all these holy ones.’

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St. Ambrose tells us: Girls of the age of Agnes, even when pricked by a needle, they cry. But she offered her body to be put to the sword. The crowds marveled at her recklessness in throwing away her life, as if she had already lived life to the full.

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St. Agnes is the Patron Saint of: purity, chastity, and of rape victims.

Friends in the Lord, today is the feast of St. Sebastian.

Sebastian was a solid Christian man and a soldier, and well-thought of by the Emperor, who made him Captain of the imperial guard. Now although it was illegal to be a Christian, Sebastian used his position to help persecuted Christians in prison, and by his efforts, he brought many to Christ.

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One important man, Chancellor Nicostratus, was very bull-headed, and told Sebastian that he would never become a Christian. Now Sebastian had sensed that the man’s wife, Zoe, was a woman of faith, so he turned to Zoe and asked, ‘why don’t you speak to your husband about the Lord? Tears began to role down her cheeks, and Sebastian wondered why she was crying; Nicostratus said, ‘Don’t you know anything, she is mute! She has never been able to speak a word.

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Sebastian therefore lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed, and turning to her he said, ‘Zoe, look at me.’ He made the sign of the cross on her lips and said: Zoe, do you believe in Our Lord Jesus Christ?’ And for the first time in her life, the woman spoke: ‘I do believe in Jesus, Our Lord!’ – Her first words.

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Hardly had she finished speaking when her husband knelt down and declared his faith. He too was won for Christ.

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Soon however, Sebastian was found out; summoned to appear before the Emperor he was told: ‘I have always considered you to be my best soldier, but all this time you have been acting against the gods. Sebastian said, I worship the True God who is in heaven, and pray to Christ for your salvation and the good of the Empire.

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‘Death!’ snarled the Emperor. ‘Death by arrows.’ He was tied to a post in the center of the camp with a thick rope. The archers were then told to shoot him full of arrows. One writer says: ‘they shot so many arrows into his body that he looked like a porcupine.’ But he was not quite dead.

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A woman named Irene brought Sebastian home, and cared for him in her own house. After his recovery, he went straightaway to the Emperor, and rebuked him for his wickedness. Enraged, the emperor ordered him beaten with clubs until he expired. His body was thrown into a sewer. Later, Sebastian appeared to a woman named Lucina, to show her where the body was, and asked that he be buried near the Apostles.

It was the year 288.

Many miracles soon occurred through his intercession.

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St. Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, police officers, soldiers, and athletes.

Friends in the Lord, today is the feast of St. Anthony of Egypt. This is not Anthony of Padua, but Anthony of Egypt. He was born around the year 250AD, and is honored in both the East and the West, and is most famous for his life of penance in the desert.

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When Anthony was only 18, his parents died, leaving he and his sister. He cared for her and looked after their home and property. One day, he was on his way to church for his usual visit, and he began to think of how the apostles had left everything and followed the Savior; he also thought of those in the Acts of the Apostles who had sold their possessions and gave the money to the needy. He reflected too on the great hope stored up in heaven for those who give all for Christ.

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This was all in his mind when, entering the church, he heard the gospel being read. ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give to the poor – then follow me. It seemed to Anthony that it was God who had earlier brought all those thoughts to his mind, and that the words of the Gospel had been spoken directly to him. Immediately he left the church and gave away the property he had inherited: 200 acres of beautiful, fertile land, However, to care for his sister he retained a few things.

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The next time he went to church he heard the Lord say in the gospel: ‘Do not be anxious about tomorrow.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, he went out and gave the poor all that he had left, and he placed his sister in the care of some trustworthy virgins, to be brought up in the convent. Then he himself took up the ascetic life, not far from his home.

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He prayed without ceasing, and was so attentive when scripture was read, that nothing escaped him. He retained all that he heard, and therefore his memory served him in place of books. The villagers came to call him the friend of God, and they loved him as both a son and brother.

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He then went off to live a life of penance in the desert, and many would follow him. His bed was the hard ground, he fasted rigorously, eating bread and salt, and drinking only water. Often, he spent whole nights in prayer. He often taught that we should begin each day as if we will not live ‘till evening, and go to bed as if we will not awaken in the morning. If we live this way he said, as if each day is our last, then we will not fall into sin, and no desire will enslave us, no anger move us, and no treasure bind us to earth.

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Anthony of Egypt died in 356 on Mount Kolzin by the Red Sea. He was 105 years old.