Category: Saints For March

March 31st - St Benjamin

3/31/2014

ISDEGERDES, Son of Sapor III., put a stop to the cruel persecutions against the Christians in Persia, which had been begun by Sapor II., and the Church had enjoyed twelve years' peace in that kingdom, when in 420 it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of Abdas, a Christian bishop, who burned down the Pyræum, or Temple of Fire, the great divinity of the Persians. King Isdegerdes thereupon demolished all the Christian churches in Persia, put to death Abdas, and raised a general persecution against the Church, which continued forty years with great fury. Isdegerdes died the year following, in 421. But his son and successor, Varanes, carried on the persecution with greater inhumanity.

The very recital of the cruelties he exercised on the Christian strikes us with horror. Among the glorious champions of Christ was St. Benjamin, a deacon. The tyrant caused him to be beaten and imprisoned. He had lain a year in the dungeon, when an ambassador from the emperor obtained his release on condition that he should never speak to any of the courtiers about religion. The ambassador passed his word in his behalf that he would not; but Benjamin, who was a minister of the Gospel, declared that he should miss no opportunity of announcing Christ. The king, being informed that he still preached the Faith in his kingdom, ordered him to be apprehended, caused reeds to be run in between the nails and the flesh, both of his hands and feet, and to be thrust into other most tender parts, and drawn out again, and this to be frequently repeated with violence. Lastly, a knotty stake was thrust into his bowels, to rend and tear them, in which torment he expired in the year 424.

March 29th - St Gundleus

3/29/2014

St Gundleus and his wife St Gladys

This saint, who was formerly honoured with great devotion in Wales, was son to the king of the Dimetians in South-Wales. After the death of his father, though the eldest son, he divided the kingdom with his six brothers, who nevertheless respected and obeyed him as if he had been their sovereign. He married Gladys, daughter of Braghan, prince of that country, which is called from him Brecknockshire, and was father of St. Canoe and St. Keyna. St. Gundleus had by her the great St. Cadoc, who afterwards founded the famous monastery of Llancarvan, three miles from Cowbridge, in Glamorganshire. Gundleus lived so as to have always in view the heavenly kingdom for which we are created by God. To secure this, he retired wholly from the world long before his death, and passed his time in a solitary little dwelling near a church which he had built. His clothing was sack-cloth, his food was barley-bread, upon which he usually strewed ashes, and his drink was water. Prayer and contemplation were his constant occupation, to which he rose at midnight, and he subsisted by the labour of his hands: thus he lived many years. Some days before his death he sent for St. Dubritius and his son St. Cadoc, and by their assistance, and the holy rites of the church, prepared himself for his passage to eternity. He departed to our Lord towards the end of the fifth century, and was glorified by miracles.

Saint for Today - St John Capistran

3/28/2014

John was born at Capistrano, in the Abruzzi. He was educated at Perugia, and became so expert in letters, both sacred and profane, that on account of his eminent knowledge of law, Ladislaus, King of Naples, set him over several cities. He was seeking in righteousness to bring the affairs of these places out of trouble into peace, when he himself was kidnapped and put in chains. From this captivity he marvellously escaped, and then professed himself a Friar Minor under the rule of Francis of Assisi. Here he went forward in the study of divinity, and had as a teacher the holy Bernardine of Siena, of whom he was one of the most marked followers, especially in spreading abroad the honour paid to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, and to the Mother of God. The bishoprick of Aquila was offered to him, but he refused it. He was chiefly known by the hardship of his self-denial, and by the writings which he published in large numbers for the reform of manners.

He devoted himself without ceasing to the preaching of the Word of God, in the which work he travelled throughout nearly all of Italy, and by the power of eloquence and of miracles not a few, he recalled souls almost countless into the path of salvation. Martin V appointed him Iniquisitor to stamp out the sect of the Fraticelli. Nicholas V appointed him Inquisitor-General in Italy against Judaism and Mohammedanism, and he brought many such misbelievers to believe in Christ. He did much good work in the affairs of the Eastern Church, and at the Council of Florence, wherein he shone like a sun, he brought back the Armenians to the Catholic Church. The same Pope Nicholas V, at the request of the Emperor Frederick III, sent him into Germany as Nuncio of the Apostolic See, in order that he might bring back the heretics to the Catholic faith and the minds of the princes to peace and agreement. He did a wonderful work for God's glory during the six years that he laboured in Germany and other countries, and by his teaching of the truth and the striking evidence of his miracles brought back to the bosom of the Church almost countless numbers of Hussites, Adamites, Taborites, and Jews.

It was mainly at the entreaty of John that Callistus III proclaimed a Crusade, and John hastened about through Pannonia and other provinces, where by his words and his letters he so roused the minds of princes to that holy war, that in a short while seventy thousand Christian soldiers were enrolled. It was mainly through his advice and by his power that victory was gained at Belgrade, when one hundred and twenty thousand Turks were either slain or put to flight. The news of this victory reached Rome upon the sixth day of August, and Pope Callistus thereupon consecrated that day for ever to the solemn commemoration of the Transfiguration of the Lord Christ. As John lay sick unto death at Illak, many princes came to see him, and he exhorted them to protect religion. He gave up his soul in holiness to God, in the year of salvation 1456. God confirmed his glory by many miracles after his death, and when these had been duly proved Alexander VIII enrolled his name with those of the saints in the year 1690, and two hundred years after his canonization Leo XIII extended his Office and Mass to the whole Church.

The Siege of Belgrade by the Ottoman Turks

Saint for Today - St John of Damascus

3/27/2014

This John is called John of Damascus, from his native place. He was of noble birth, and studied sacred and profane letters at Constantinople, under the monk Cosmas. At what time the Emperor Leo the Isaurian was making a wicked attack upon the honouring of holy images, John, at the desire of the Roman Pontiff Gregory III, earnestly defended both by his words and his writings, the holiness of this honour. By this he roused against him so great a hatred on the part of Leo, that that Prince, by forged letters, accused John as a traitor to the Caliph of Damascus, whom he was serving as a councillor and minister. John denied the charge, but the Caliph was deceived by it, and caused his right hand to be cut off. He called earnestly for the help of the most holy Virgin, and she manifested the innocency of her servant by reuniting his hand to his arm, as though it had never been cut off. This miracle moved John to carry out a design which he had long had in mind. He obtained from the Caliph, albeit with difficulty, leave to go away, distributed all his goods to feed the poor, and freed all his slaves, then visited as a pilgrim the holy places in Palestine, and at length withdrew, along with his teacher Cosmas, to the monastery of St. Saba, between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. There he was ordained priest.

As a monk John set a bright example to all the others, especially as regarded lowliness and obedience. He sought for the lowest offices in the community, as though they were in a peculiar sense his own, and fulfilled them with the greatest care. When he was sent to Damascus to sell baskets made by himself, he welcomed the mockery and jests of the lowest classes in that city where he had before time been charged with the most honourable offices. He was so devoted to obedience that he not only started up to obey every nod of his superiors, but also never thought it right to ask the reason of any duty laid upon him, however difficult or however strange it might be. While thus living he never ceased earnestly to defend the Catholic doctrine as to the honouring of holy images. For this reason he drew upon himself the hatred and persecution of the Emperor Constantine Copronymus, as he had first done that of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian, and this all the more because he freely rebuked the arrogance of these Emperors, who must needs take in hand matters concerning the faith, and pronounce sentence upon them according to their own judgment.

It is a marvel how many things John devised both for the protection of the faith, and for the encouragement of godliness, and expressed in his writings both in prose and verse. He was worthy of the high praise which was given him by the Second Council of Nice. On account of the golden streams of his eloquence, he was surnamed Chrysorrhoas, or John of the golden streams. It was not against the enemies of holy images alone that he defended the orthodox faith. He fought stoutly against the Acephali, the Monothelites, and the Theopaschites. He maintained the laws and the power of the Church. He taught with great learning the Primacy of the Prince of the Apostles, and many times calleth him the Pillar of the Churches, the unbroken rock, and the Teacher and Ruler of the world. The whole of his writings are not only steeped in learning and teaching, but have a certain savour or simple piety, especially when he is praising the Mother of God, toward whom he was filled with a special reverence and love. But the greatest praise of John is that he was the first who arranged in order a complete course of theology, and prepared the way in which holy Thomas Aquinas hath so clearly dealt with the whole body of sacred doctrine. This truly holy man, full of days and good works, fell asleep in the peace of Christ about the year of salvation 754. The supreme Pontiff, Leo XIII, established his office and Mass throughout the universal Church, whereof he also gave him the title of doctor.

The Cathedral of St. John Baptist, Damascus now in the hands of the infidel and desecrated as a mosque

Saint for Today - St Ludger

3/26/2014

Saint Ludger (also Lüdiger or Liudger) (born at Zuilen near Utrecht about 742; died 26 March 809 at Billerbeck) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia.

St Ludger's parents, Thiadgrim and Liafburg, were wealthy Christian Frisians of noble descent. In 753 Ludger saw the great Apostle of Germany, Saint Boniface, which, together with the subsequent martyrdom of the saint, made a deep impression on him. At his own request he was sent to the Utrecht Cathedral School (Martinsstift), founded by Saint Gregory of Utrecht in 756 or 757, and made good progress. In 767 Gregory, who did not wish to receive episcopal consecration himself, sent Alubert, who had come from England to assist him in his missionary work, to York to be consecrated bishop. Ludger accompanied him to be ordained into the diaconate (as he duly was, by Ethelbert of York) and to study under Alcuin, but after a year he returned to Utrecht. Some time later he was granted an opportunity to continue his studies in the same school, when he developed a friendship with Alcuin which lasted throughout life. In 785 he met Charlemagne and was given charge of the spiritual direction of five provinces. He refused the see of Trier but became the founding bishop of Munster in 804.

On Passion Sunday 809, Ludger heard Mass at Coesfeld early in the morning and preached, then went to Billerbeck, where at nine o'clock he again preached, and said his last mass. That evening he died peacefully in the company of his followers.

A dispute arose between Münster and Werden for the possession of his body. His brother Hildegrim was appealed to, and after consultation with the Emperor, decided in favour of Werden, where the relics still remain. Portions have however since been brought to Münster and Billerbeck

St. Ludger is represented either as a bishop reciting his breviary or as standing between two geese (occasionally described as swans). His feast day is celebrated on 26 March.

Feast for Today - The Annunciation

3/25/2014

At that time: The Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin's name was Mary.

Sermon by St. Ambrose the Bishop

The mysteries of God are unsearchable, as is especially declared in the prophetical words: What man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? Nevertheless, some things have been revealed to us. And hence we may gather, from the words and works of our Lord and Saviour, that there was a special purpose of God in the fact that she who was chosen to bring forth the Lord was espoused to a man. Why did not the power of the Highest overshadow her before she was so espoused? Perhaps it was lest any might blasphemously say that the Holy One was conceived in fornication.

And the Angel came in unto her. Let us learn from his Virgin how to bear ourselves: let us learn by her devout utterance; above all let us learn by the holy mystery to be timid, to avoid the advances of men, and to shrink from men's addresses. Would that our women would learn from the example of modesty here set before us. She upon whom the stare of men had never been fixed was alone in her chamber, and was found only by an Angel. There was neither companion nor witness there, that what passed might not be debased in gossip; and the Angel saluted her.

R. Rejoice, O Mary; thou alone all heresy dost slay; thou the Archangel Gabriel's message didst obey; * He who is God and Man was born thy Son, yet art thou still a Maid, O spotless one.
V. Blessed art thou, O Mary, for that thou hast believed, and there shall be a performance in thee of those things which were told thee from the Lord.
R. He who is God and Man was born thy Son, yet art thou still a Maid, O spotless one.

Saint for Today - St Gabriel

3/24/2014

At that time: The Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin's name was Mary.

Sermon by St. Bernard the Abbot

Consider that this Angel was not one of lesser rank, even though such are, on one account or another, often sent on embassies to this earth. That he was an Angel of greater rank is indicated by his name which signifieth: Strength of God: and by the fact that he was sent, not by some Angel perhaps more excellent than he (as is usual), but from God himself. Therefore for this reason it is said: From God. Or, it might be for another reason, namely, lest it should be thought that God had discourteously revealed his counsel to any of the blessed spirits, except only the Archangel Gabriel, before he did so to the Virgin. For Gabriel alone was found so eminent among his compeers as to be held worthy both of such a name and message.

Neither do his name and his message disagree. For whom did it more behove to announce Christ, who is the Power of God, than him who is honoured by a like name? For what else is power than strength? Neither doth it appear to be unbecoming or unseemly that the Lord and his messenger should be known by a like title. Christ is called the power or strength of God in a very different sense from that in which this appellation is given to the Angel. In the Angel it is but a name. In the case of Christ, it is also an eternal attribute.
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Sermon by St. Venerable Bede the Priest

The Angel saith that the prayer of Zacharias was heard, and then straightway promiseth that the wife of Zacharias should bear a child. We are not to understand that he had been praying for the birth of a son whilst he was offering the sacrifice according to the liturgy of that time, for we are told that he had given up hope of a son, and no one prayeth for that which he hath no hope of obtaining. Yea, so hopeless was he of ever having children of his own, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both now well stricken in years, that he did not even believe the Angel's promise. Therefore the words of the Angel: Thy prayer is heard: refer to the redemption of the people, for which Zacharias had prayed in the pleading of the sacrifice. And the words: Thy wife shall bear a son: do shew the manner of that redemption, for he addeth that the son of Zacharias shall go before the Redeemer as a herald, to make ready his way amongst the people. Thus, in this saying that the prayer of supplication offered by Zacharias was heard of God, the Angel sheweth in what manner the people can be brought to salvation and perfection; namely, by repentance at the preaching of John, whereby they are to be led to faith in Christ.

But Zacharias hesitateth because of the sublime things which have been promised. Wherefore he asketh for a sign, that he may believe, albeit the coming of the Angel and his words of promise ought to have been a sufficient sign. Hence he was stricken dumb as a just penalty for his slowness of belief: to be dumb was both a sign to stir him up to the faith which he sought, and the penance which he deserved for his unbelief. We may thus understand that if a man of earth had promised such things, it would be lawful to seek for a sign, but that when an Angel is sent from heaven to give God's promise, there should have been no occasion for doubt. And yet the Angel giveth the desired sign, so that he who spake from disbelief may learn from silence to believe. Note that the Angel saith: I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee these glad tidings. Doubtless when Angels come to us they fulfil this active and outward ministry in such a way that they yet do always remain in God's presence by contemplation. Wherefore, they stand in his presence even though they be sent from him on a mission. An Angel is a created spirit, and therefore hath many limitations. But God hath no limitations, and is everywhere. Thus when he sendeth his Angels from his presence, they yet do stand therein, for whithersoever they go on a mission, they go in him. - This Feast of the Archangel Gabriel was extended to the universal Church by Pope Benedict XV.

March 22nd - St Nicholas of Flue

3/22/2014

Nicholas was born on March 21, 1417, in Switzerland. He was the eldest son of peasant parents who were very devout Catholics. Nicholas later took his name, Flue, from the name of the Flueli River, which flowed near his birthplace.

As a young man, Nicholas was very fond of praying and also practiced mortification. When he was twenty-one years old, he joined the army and was involved in the battle of Ragaz in 1446. He also engaged in the so-called Thurgau war against Archduke Sigismund of Austria. Because of his intercession, Swiss confederates did not destroy the convent of St. Katharinental.

When Nicholas was twenty-five he married a woman named Dorothea Wissling who bore him ten children, five sons and five daughters. The youngest son became a priest and doctor of theology. Nicholas became magistrate and was a highly respected counselor. He turned down the office of governor several times and had no interest in pursuing a political career.

In 1467, with the consent of his wife and family, Nicholas embraced the life of a hermit and built a small hut made out of branches and leaves. His austerity was extreme. Even in the winter he didn’t wear either a cap or shoes. For the rest of his life he lived entirely without food, except for the Holy Eucharist. Because he became well-known for his piety and wisdom, many visited him, including civic leaders. In fact, dignitaries from all over Europe came to this humble man for counsel. In 1469, the civil authorities built a cell and a chapel for him where he resided for the remainder of his life.

In 1480 delegates of the Swiss confederates met at Stans to try to settle their differences; however, civil war seemed inevitable. The pastor of Huns, Henry Imgrund, went to Nicholas and pleaded with him to intervene and prevent war. Nicholas agreed to go to the delegates with his counsels and proposals and the civil war was indeed averted.

Nicholas died on his seventieth birthday on March 21, 1487. He was canonized in 1947.

Saint for Today - St Benedict

3/21/2014

Benedict was born of a noble family at Norcia, and studied letters at Rome. Desiring to give himself to Christ Jesus, he betook himself to a very deep cave at the place now called Subiaco. In this place he lay hid for three years, unknown to all except the monk Romanus, by means of whom he received the necessaries of life. While he was in the cave at Subiaco, the devil one day assailed him with an extraordinary storm of impure temptation, and to get it under, he rolled himself in brambles till his whole body was lacerated, and the sting of pain drove out the sallies of lust. At last the fame of his holiness spread itself abroad from the desert, and some monks came to him for guidance, but the looseness of their lives was such that they could not bear his exhortations, and they plotted together to poison him in his drink. When they gave him the cup, he made the sign of the Cross over it, whereupon it immediately broke, and Benedict left that monastery, and retired to a desert place alone.

Nevertheless his disciples followed him daily, and for them he built twelve monasteries, and set holy laws to govern them. Afterwards he went to Cassino, and broke the image of Apollo which was still worshipped there, overturned the altar, and burnt the groves. There, he built the Church of St. Martin and the little chapel of St. John; and instilled Christianity into the townspeople and inhabitants. He grew in the grace of God day by day, so that being endowed with the spirit of prophecy he foretold things to come. When Totila, King of the Goths, heard of it, and would see whether it really were so, he sent his spatharius before him, with the kingly ensigns and attendance, and feigning himself to be Totila. But as soon as Benedict saw him he said: My son, put off that which thou wearest, for it is not thine. To Totila himself he foretold that he would go to Rome, would cross the sea, and would die after nine years.

Some months before he departed this life, Benedict forewarned his disciples on what day he was to die; and he ordered his grave to be opened six days before he was carried to it. On the sixth day, he would be carried into the Church, where he received the Eucharist, and then, in the arms of his disciples, with his eyes lifted up to heaven, and wrapt in prayer, he gave up the ghost. Two monks saw his soul rising to heaven, clothed in a most precious garment and surrounded with lights, and One of a most glorious and awful aspect standing above, whom they heard saying: This is the way whereby Benedict, the beloved of the Lord, goeth up to heaven.

Power and uses of the St Benedict Medal

March 20th - St Photina

3/20/2014

St. Photina was that Samaritan woman whom our Lord met at Jacob’s Well. When He disclosed the secret of her profligate life, she believed in Him at once as that Messiah which was to come, and began spreading the Gospel among the Samaritans, converting many. Later, she and her son Josiah and her five sisters went to Carthage to preach and then to Rome. Another son, Victor, was a soldier and had already come to Emperor Nero’s attention as being a Christian. The Emperor summoned the whole family and with threats and tortures tried to force them to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, when Nero’s daughter Domnina came in contact with Photina (the Lord Himself had given her the name, meaning “resplendent” or “shining with light”), she, too, was converted. The enraged emperor had the heads of the sons and sisters cut off; Photina was held in prison for a few more weeks before being thrown into a well, where she joyously gave her soul to the Lord.

She, with her Christian sisters, Anatola, Phota, Photis, Parasceva, and Cyriaca; and her sons Photinus and Joses; and Sebastian the Duke, Victor, and Christodulus, all met martyrdom under the persecutions of Nero.

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