Saints of the Month: September

Saints of the Month: September

Saints of the Month: September

GO TO MARY

GO TO MARY

Saints of the Month: September Copyright © 2017 by E. Phang. All Rights Reserved.

Saints of the Month: September

Contents Introduction ................................................................................. x Saint Giles ........................................................................... 12 Saint Brocard ...................................................................... 14 Pope Saint Gregory the Great ............................................ 16 Saint Rosalia ....................................................................... 18 Saint Teresa of Calcutta ..................................................... 21 Saint Eleutherius ................................................................ 23 Saint Regina ....................................................................... 25 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary ................................... 27 Saint Adrian of Nicomedia .................................................. 29 Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise ............................................ 31 Saint Ambrose Edward Barlow ........................................... 33 Saint John Gabriel Perboyre ............................................... 36 Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary .............................. 39 Saint Guy of Anderlecht ...................................................... 42 Saint John Chrysostom ....................................................... 44 Feast of the Cross ............................................................... 46 Saint Albert of Jerusalem .................................................... 48 Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows ............................................. 51 Saint Catherine of Genoa ................................................... 55 Pope Saint Cornelius .......................................................... 57 Saint Hildegard of Bingen .................................................. 59 Saint Joseph of Cupertino ................................................... 61 Saint Januarius ................................................................... 64 Saint Andrew Kim Taegon .................................................. 66 Saint Matthew the Apostle ................................................. 68 Saint Ignatius of Santhià .................................................... 70 The Theban Legion ............................................................. 71

Saints of the Month: September

Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina .............................................

Feast of Our Lady of Ransom .............................................

Saint Gerard of Csanรกd ......................................................

Saint Cleopas ......................................................................

Saints Cosmas and Damian ................................................

Saint Vincent de Paul .........................................................

Saint Wenceslaus I .............................................................

Feast of the Holy Archangels .............................................

Saint Jerome .......................................................................

73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 92

Introduction

Saint of the day for September. For more information see Go to Mary.

The month of September is the month of Our Lady of Sorrows.

This devotion commemorates the spiritual martyrdom of Our Lady in union with Her Son’s Passion. It is also Her role in salvation history and is symbolised by one or seven swords piercing Her heart. The seven swords represents her Seven Sorrows which are the prophecy of Simeon, the flight to Egypt, the loss of the Infant Jesus for three days, the meeting of Jesus and Our Lady as He carried the Cross, the crucifixion and death of Our Lord, the taking down of Jesus’ body, and His burial.

x

Mary surrounded by the Seven Sorrows

xi

1

Saint Giles

Image: Detail of Saint Giles and the Hind, by the Master of Saint Giles c. 1500

The 1st of September is the feast day of Saint Giles (c. 650 AD – c.

710). He is the patron saint of beggars; blacksmiths; breast cancer; breast feeding; cancer patients; disabled people; Edinburgh (Scotland); epilepsy; noctiphobics; forests; hermits; horses; lepers; mental illness; outcasts; poor people; rams; spur makers; and against sterility.

12

Saints of the Month: September

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ST. GILES, whose name has been held in great veneration for several ages in France and England, is said to have been an Athenian by birth, and of noble extraction. His extraordinary piety and learning drew the admiration of the world upon him in such a manner that it was impossible for him to enjoy in his own country that obscurity and retirement which was the chief object of his desires on earth. He therefore sailed to France, and chose a hermitage first in the open deserts near the mouth of the Rhone, afterward near the river Gard, and lastly in a forest in the diocese of Nismes. He passed many years in this close solitude, living on wild herbs or roots and water, and conversing only with God. We read in his life that he was for some time nourished with the milk of a hind in the forest, which, being pursued by hunters, fled for refuge to the Saint, who was thus discovered. The reputation of the sanctity of this holy hermit was much increased by many miracles which he wrought, and which rendered his name famous throughout all France. St. Giles was highly esteemed by the French king, but could not be prevailed upon to forsake his solitude. He, however, admitted several disciples, and settled excellent discipline in the monastery of which he was the founder, and which, in succeeding ages, became a flourishing abbey of the Benedictine Order.

Reflection.—He who accompanies the exercises of contemplation and arduous penance with zealous and undaunted endeavors to conduct others to the same glorious term with himself, shall be truly great in the kingdom of heaven.

13

Saints of the Month: September

2

Saint Brocard

Image: Stained Glass representing Saint Brocard and Saint Albert Avogadro stained glass window of the Chapel ND of Mount Carmel, Carmel of Middletown, NY, USA

T

he 2nd of September is the feast day of Saint Brocard (d.

1231). He was one of the first group of hermits at Mount Carmel.

Saint Brocard was a Frenchman who lived in the 13th Century.

14

Saints of the Month: September

He travelled to the Holy Land and entered the religious life. He was one of the first hermits to create a community of monks in Mount Carmel. After the death of Saint Berthold, he became prior of the community. To formalise the monks’ way of life on Mount Carmel, he asked Saint Albert, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to write a rule of life for the community. He then created the Rule of Saint Albert and the Carmelites was established as a new religious order. Saint Brocard was an expert on Islam and Eastern affairs, and he planned to accompany Saint Albert to the Fourth Lateran Council. However, Saint Albert was murdered before the Council convened. The Council suppressed new religious orders from being created, but the Carmelites were approved by the Holy See prior to this new decree. The community was led by Saint Brocard during this period of uncertainty, until they were eventually granted special approval from the Holy Father.

15

Saints of the Month: September

3

Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Jerome and Gregory by Antonio Vivarini (15th Century)

T

he 3rd of September is the feast day of Pope Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 12 March 604). He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: GREGORY was a Roman of noble birth, and while still young was governor of Rome. On his father’s death he gave his great wealth to the poor, turned his house on the Cœlian Hill into a monastery, which now bears his name, 16

Saints of the Month: September

and for some years lived as a perfect monk. The Pope drew him from his seclusion to make him one of the seven deacons of Rome; and he did great service to the Church for many years as what we now call Nuncio to the Imperial court at Constantinople. While still a monk the saint was struck with some boys who were exposed for sale in Rome, and heard with sorrow that they were pagans. “And of what race are they?” he asked. “They are Angles.” “Worthy indeed to be Angels of God,” said he.

“And of what province?” “Of Deira,” was the reply. “Truly must we rescue them from the wrath of God. And what is the name of their king?” “He is called Ella.” “It is well,” said Gregory; “Alleluia must be sung in their land to God.” He at once got leave from the Pope, and had set out to convert the English when the murmurs of the people led the Pope to recall him. Still the Angles were not forgotten, and one of the Saint’s first cares as Pope was to send from his own monastery St. Augustine and other monks to England. On the death of Pope Pelagius II., Gregory was compelled to take the government of the Church, and for fourteen years his pontificate was a perfect model of ecclesiastical rule. He healed schisms; revived discipline; saved Italy by converting the wild Arian Lombards who were laying it waste; aided in the conversion of the Spanish and French Goths, who were also Arians; and kindled anew in Britain the light of the Faith, which the English had put out in blood. He set in order the Church’s prayers and chant, guided and consoled her pastors with innumerable letters, and preached incessantly, most effectually by his own example. He died A. D. 604, worn out by austerities and toils; and the Church reckons him one of her four great doctors, and reveres him as St. Gregory the Great.

Reflection.—The champions of faith prove the truth of their teaching no less by the holiness of their lives than by the force of their arguments. Never forget that to convert others you must first see to your own soul.

17

Saints of the Month: September

4

Saint Rosalia

Image: Santa Rosalia, depicted on the right, before St. Mary by Anthony van Dyck

T

he 4th of September is the feast day of Saint Rosalia (1130–1166). She is the patron saint of Palermo; El Hatillo; Zuata Anzoátegui; and Italian fishermen of Monterey, California.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: 18

Saints of the Month: September

ST. ROSALIA was daughter of a noble family descended from Charlemagne. She was born at Palermo in Sicily, and despising in her youth worldly vanities, made herself an abode in a cave on Mount Pelegrino, three miles from Palermo, where she completed the sacrifice of her heart to God by austere penance and manual labor, sanctified by assiduous prayer and the constant union of her soul with God. She died in 1160. Her body was found buried in a grot under the mountain, in the year of the jubilee, 1625, under Pope Urban VIII., and was translated into the metropolitan church of Palermo, of which she was chosen a patroness. To her patronage that island ascribes the ceasing of a grievous pestilence at the same time.

ST. ROSE OF VITERBO, who is honored on this same day, was born in the spring of 1240, a time when Frederick II, was oppressing the Church and many were faithless to the Holy See. The infant at once seemed filled with grace; with tottering steps she sought Jesus in His tabernacle, she knelt before sacred images, she listened to pious talk, retaining all she heard, and this when she was scarcely three years old. One coarse habit covered her flesh; fasts and disciplines were her delight. To defend the Church’s rights was her burning wish, and for this she received her mission from the Mother of God, who gave her the Franciscan habit, with the command to go forth and preach. When hardly ten years old, Rose went down to the public square at Viterbo, called upon the inhabitants to be faithful to the Sovereign Pontiff, and vehemently denounced all his opponents. So great was the power of her word, and of the miracles which accompanied it, that the Imperial party, in fear and anger, drove her from the city, but she continued to preach till Innocent IV. was brought back in triumph to Rome and the cause of God was won. Then she retired to a little cell at Viterbo, and prepared in solitude for her end. She died in her eighteenth year. Not long after, she appeared in glory to Alexander IV., and bade him translate her body. He found it as the vision had said, but fragrant and beautiful, as if still in life.

Reflection.—Rose lived but seventeen years, saved the Church’s cause, and died a Saint. We have lived, perhaps, 19

Saints of the Month: September

much longer, and yet with what result? Every minute something can be done for God. Let us be up and doing.

20

Saints of the Month: September

5

Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa at a pro-life meeting in 1986 in Bonn, West Germany

T

he 5th of September is the feast day of Saint Teresa of Calcutta. She is the patron saint of World Youth Day, Missionaries of Charity and the Archdiocese of Calcutta (co-patron).

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born in 1910 in what is now Macedonia to a family of Albanian descent. When she was young, 21

Saints of the Month: September

she was interested in the stories of missionaries serving in India.

By the time she was 12 she discerned a vocation to the religious life, and at 18 years old she joined the Sisters of Loreto to be a missionary to India. In 1929 she arrived in India and taught in Darjeeling at a schoolhouse for wealthy children. She chose her religious name after Saint Therese of Lisieux, who is the patron saint of missionaries. She became head mistress and served the school for 20 years. She became aware and disturbed at the extreme poverty and societal unrest she observed around her.

She then answered “the call within a call” and started her own religious order in Calcutta to minister to, as she described, the “hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, as those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.” The Missionaries of Charity was started in 1950 with 12 sisters. By the time she died on September 5, 1997, there were 4000 sisters operating 610 missions in 123 countries in the Missionaries of Charity. She received the Nobel Peace Prize and received the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize. On September 4, 2016 she was canonised by Pope Francis.

22

Saints of the Month: September

6

Saint Eleutherius

T

he 6th of September is the feast day of Saint Eleutherius (d.

585 A.D.).

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: WONDERFUL simplicity and spirit of compunction were the distinguishing virtues of this holy man. He was chosen abbot of St. Mark’s near Spoleto, and favored by God with the gift of miracles. A child who was possessed by the devil, being delivered by being educated in his monastery, the abbot said one day: “Since the child is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him.” These words seemed to savor of vanity, and thereupon the devil again entered and tormented the child. The abbot humbly confessed his fault, and fasted and prayed with his whole community till the child was again freed from the tyranny of the fiend. St. Gregory the Great not being able to fast on Easter-eve on account of extreme weakness, engaged this Saint to go with him to the church of St. Andrew’s and put up his prayers to God for his health, that he might join the faithful in that solemn practice of penance.

Eleutherius prayed with many tears, and the Pope, coming out of the church, found his breast suddenly strengthened, so that he was enabled to perform the fast as he desired. St. Eleutherius raised a dead man to life.

Resigning his abbacy, he died in St. Andrew’s monastery in Rome, about the year 585.

Reflection.—”Appear not to men to fast, but to thy 23

Saints of the Month: September

Father Who is in heaven, and thy Father, Who seeth in secret, He will repay thee.�

24

Saints of the Month: September

7

Saint Regina

Statue of St. Regina at church dedicated to her at Drensteinfurt.

T

he 7th of September is the feast day of Saint Regina (d. 286 A.D.). She is the patron saint against poverty, impoverishment, shepherdesses, and torture victims.

Saint Regina died in 286 A.D. and was born in France to pagan parents. After her mother died during childbirth, her father gave 25

Saints of the Month: September

her to be cared for by a Christian nurse who the secretly had her baptised and raised in the Christian faith. When she grew older it was evident that she had embraced Christianity and her father disowned her. She then lived with her Christian nurse and they both lived in poverty. To support the household, she would tend to the sheep. This time of solitude gave her time to pray and she meditated on the lives of the saints. A Roman proconsul, called Olybrius wanted to marry her when she was 15 years old. When he discovered she was a Christian he asked her to renounce her faith to save her life and marry him. Regina had already taken a vow of virginity to Christ and refused to deny her faith. She was cast into prison, and Olybrius visited her in prison hoping she will weaken and eventually renounce her faith. She again refused to give up her faith which angered Olybrius and had her tortured by scourging, burning and at the rake. She was then beheaded. Her strong resolve not to renounce her faith and the appearance of a dove above her caused many witnesses to convert to Christianity.

Many miracles were attributed to her relics.

26

Saints of the Month: September

8

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary

by Giotto, in the Scrovegni Chapel Padua, Italy (circa 1305)

T

he 8th of September is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

27

Saints of the Month: September

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: THE birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced joy and the near approach of salvation to the lost world. Mary was brought forth in the world not like other children of Adam, infected with the loathsome contagion of sin, but pure, holy, beautiful, and glorious, adorned with all the most precious graces which became her who was chosen to be the Mother of God. She appeared indeed in the weak state of our mortality; but in the eyes of Heaven she already transcended the highest seraph in purity, brightness, and the richest ornaments of grace. If we celebrate the birthdays of the great ones of this earth, how ought we to rejoice in that of the Virgin Mary, presenting to God the best homage of our praises and thanksgiving for the great mercies He has shown in her, and imploring her mediation with her Son in our behalf! Christ will not reject the supplications of His mother, whom He was pleased to obey whilst on earth. Her love, care, and tenderness for Him, the title and qualities which she bears, the charity and graces with which she is adorned, and the crown of glory with which she is honored, must incline Him readily to receive her recommendations and petitions.

28

Saints of the Month: September

9

Saint Adrian of Nicomedia

Saint Adrian and his wife, Saint Natalia

The 8th of September is the feast day of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia (d. 306 A.D.). He is the patron saint of plague, epilepsy, arms dealers, butchers, guards, and soldiers.

The Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian was persecuting Christian during the time of Saint Adrian. Thirty-three Christians were arrested in Nicomedia and were tortured. They stayed 29

Saints of the Month: September

steadfast to their faith and told the judge that with each increasing form of torture, their heavenly glory would increase while his damnation into Hell was being guaranteed. Adrian was 28 years old when he witnessed the faith of the Christians, and was the head of the praetorium. He exclaimed that he would reject paganism and was willing to die a martyr with the other Christians. A servant of Adrian heard this and ran to tell his wife, Natalie, who was a secret Christian. She went to the prison full of joy at the news of her husband’s faith and encouraged him to stay steadfast in it. Adrian refused to recant his profession of faith and was then thrown into prison and tortured where he died as a martyr.

30

Saints of the Month: September

10

Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise

A stained glass of St. Ciarán from St. Brendan’s Church, Birr, County Offaly, Ireland

T

he 9th of September is the feast day of Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise (512-546 A.D.), he is also known as Ciarán the Younger, or Ceran, Kieran and Queran. He is the patron saint of Connacht.

31

Saints of the Month: September

Saint Ciaran lived between 512 to 546 A.D. His father was a carpenter and he was born in Connacht Ireland. He was educated by a holy deacon who also baptised him. He would tend to the cattle but after this, he entered the Saint Finnian’s monastery school to further his education where he became a monk. There he gained a reputation for performing miracles and for his learning aptitude. He mentored and tutored many of Ireland’s Catholic Church founders. Saint Ciaran left Clonard and founded Clonmacnoise Abbey that is in West Meath Ireland. The Abbey attracted thousands of students across Europe. Saint Ciaran is one of the first twelve bishops in Ireland consecrated by Saint Patrick and is also the first Irish-born saint.

32

Saints of the Month: September

11

Saint Ambrose Edward Barlow

Saint Ambrose Barlow, O.S.B.

T

he 10th of September is the feast day of Saint Ambrose Edward Barlow (1585-1641).

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: (Alias Radcliffe and Brereton.) Priest and martyr, b. at 33

Saints of the Month: September

Barlow Hall, 1585; d. 10 September, 1641. He was the fourth son of Sir Alexander Barlow, Knight of Barlow Hall, near Manchester, by Mary, daughter of Sir Uryan Brereton, Knight of Handforth Hall, Co. Chester, and was baptized at Didsbury Church 30 November, 1585; the entry in the register may still be seen. Educated at the Benedictine monastery of St. Gregory, Douai, he entered the English College, Valladolid, 20 September, 1610, but returned to Douai where his elder brother William Rudesind was a professed monk. He was himself professed in 1616 and ordained, 1617. Sent to England, he laboured in South Lancashire with apostolic zeal and fervour. He resided chiefly at Wardley Hall, the seat of the Downe family, near Manchester, and at Morley’s Hall, a mansion of the Tyldesleys, in the parish of Leigh, some seven miles from Manchester. At the former, his skull is still preserved, in a little receptacle on the staircase. At the latter he was apprehended for the fifth and last time on Easter Sunday, 25 April, 1641. He was arrested by the Vicar of Eccles, who marched at the head of his parishoners, clad in his surplice, and was followed by some 400 men armed with clubs and swords. He was preaching at the time and could have escaped in the confusion, but yielded himself up to his enemies, and was carried off to Lancaster Castle. Here after four months’ imprisonment he was tried, on 6 or 7 September, and sentenced next day, having confessed that he was a priest. On Friday, 10 September, he suffered the usual penalties at Lancaster.

A beautiful picture of his life is given by Challoner from two manuscript relations belonging to St. Gregory’s monastery, one written by his brother Dom Rudesind Barlow, President of the AngloBenedictine Congregation.

There is another manuscript, entitled “The Apostolical Life of Ambrose Barlow”, written by one of his pupils for Dom Rudesind, which is at present in the Library of Owen’s College, Manchester. It is to be printed among the publications of the Chetham Society. This contains many details hitherto unpublished. Two portraits of this martyr exist and also one of his father, Sir Alexander. Many of his relics are also preserved, a hand being at Stanbrook 34

Saints of the Month: September

Abbey near Worcester. A full biography is in course of preparation.

Allanson, Biographical MSS. (preserved at Ampleforth Abbey), I; Gillow, Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath. (London, 1885); Challoner, Memoirs; Fletcher Moss, Pilgrimages to Old Homes (Didsbury, 1903); Idem, History of Didsbury (Manchester); Idem, Chronicles of Cheadle, Cheshire (Didsbury, 1894); Dodd, Church History of England (Brussels, 1739). Bede Camm.

35

Saints of the Month: September

12

Saint John Gabriel Perboyre

Statue of St. John Gabriel Perboyre

T

he 11th of September is the feast day of Saint John Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840).

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: Missionary and martyr, born at Puech, Diocese of Cahors, 36

Saints of the Month: September

France, 6 January, 1802; martyred at Ou-Tchang-Fou, China, 11 September, 1840.

Jean-Gabriel was one of eight children born to Pierre Perboyre and Marie Rigal. By reason of his piety, he was the model of his companions during his childhood. While acting as companion to his younger brother, in the preparatory seminary of Moutauban, he felt the Divine call to the priesthood, and after obtaining the consent of his father to take the step, he entered the noviciate of the Congregation of the Mission, in the seminary of Montauban, December, 1818. On the feast of the Holy Innocents, 1820, he made the four vows of the Vincentians. He was raised to the priesthood, 23 September, 1825, in the chapel of the Sisters of Charity,

by Bishop Dubourg, of New Orleans, and on the following day he said his first Mass. Shortly after, he was sent to the seminary of Saint-Flour to teach dogmatic theology, and two years later, he was appointed superior of the preparatory seminary of Saint-Flour. His great sanctity and marvellous success induced his superiors, in 1832, to appoint him subdirector of the novitiate in Paris. He continued in this office until 1835, when he had sought and begged and prayed for, permission to go to China, there to preach, to suffer, and to die. He left Havre on 21 March, and on 29 August, 1835, arrived at Macao, where he spent some time studying the Chinese language. On 21 December, 1835, he began his journey to Ho-Nan, the mission assigned him. In January, 1838, he was transferred to the mission of Hou-PĂŠ, in which, as in that of Ho-Nan, he laboured zealously and with great success.

In September, 1839, the persecutions against Christians broke out in Hou-PĂŠ, and Jean-Gabriel was one of the first victims. The events leading to his death bear a striking resemblance to the Passion and Death of Christ. A neophyte, like another Judas, betrayed Jean-Gabriel for thirty ounces of silver. He was stripped of his garments and clothed with rags, bound, and dragged from tribunal to tribunal. At each trial, he was treated inhumanly, tortured both in body and in soul. Finally, he was taken to Ou-Tchang-Fou, and after unparalleled tortures, was condemned to death. The sentence was ratified by an 37

Saints of the Month: September

imperial edict, and on 11 September, 1840, Jean-Gabriel was led to death with seven criminals. The holy priest was strangled to death on a cross.

[Jean-Gabriel was declared Venerable by Gregory XVI in July, 1843, beatified by Leo XIII on 9 November, 1889, and canonized by John Paul II on 2 June, 1996. His feast is celebrated on 11 September. — Ed.] Joseph S. Glass.

38

Saints of the Month: September

13

Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) – The Madonna of the Roses (1903)

T

he 12th of September is the optional memorial of the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

39

Saints of the Month: September

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: We venerate the name of Mary because it belongs to her who is the Mother of God, the holiest of creatures, the Queen of heaven and earth, the Mother of Mercy. The object of the feast is the Holy Virgin bearing the name of Mirjam (Mary); the feast comrnemorates all the privileges given to Mary by God and all the graces we have received through her intercession and mediation. It was instituted in 1513 at Cuenca in Spain, and assigned with proper Office to 15 Sept., the octave day of Mary’s Nativity. After the reform of the Breviary by St. Pius V, by a Decree of Sixtus V (16 Jan., 1587), it was transferred to 17 Sept. In 1622 it was extended to the Archdiocese of Toledo by Gregory XV. After 1625 the Congregation of Rites hesitated for a while before authorizing its further spread (cf. the seven decrees “Analecta Juris Pontificii”, LVIII, decr 716 sqq.) But it was celebrated by the Spanish Trinitarians in 1640 (Ordo Hispan., l640). on 15 Nov., 1658, the feast was granted to the Oratory of Cardinal Berulle under the title: Solemnitas Gloriosae Virginis, dupl. cum. oct., 17 Sept. Bearing the original title, SS. Nominis B.M.V., it was granted to all Spain and the Kingdom of Naples on 26 Jan., 1671. After the siege of Vienna and the glorious victory of Sobieskl over the Turks (12 Sept., 1683), the feast was extended to the universal Church by Innocent XI, and assigned to the Sunday after the Nativity of Mary by a Decree of 25 Nov., l683 (duplex majus); it was granted to Austria as d. 2. classis on 1 Aug., 1654. According to a Decree of 8 July, 1908, whenever this feast cannot be celebrated on its proper Sunday on account of the occurence of some feast of a higher rank, it must be kept on 12 Sept., the day on which the victory of Sobieski is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology.

The Calendar of the Nuns of Perpetual Adoration, O.S.B., in France, of the year 1827, has the feast with a special Office on 25 Sept. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary, is the patronal feast of the Clerics Regular of the Pious Schools (Piarists) and of the Society of Mary (Marianists), in both cases with a proper office. In 1666 the Discalced Carmelites received the faculty to recite the Office of the 40

Saints of the Month: September

Name of Mary four times a year (duplex). At Rome one of the twin churches at the Forum Trajani is dedicated to the Name of Mary. In the Ambrosian Calendar of Milan the feast of the Holy Name of Mary is assigned to 11 September.

FREDERICK G. HOLWECK

41

Saints of the Month: September

14

Saint Guy of Anderlecht

Saint Guy of Anderlecht depicted as a pilgrim in a Book of Hours, c.

1484-1529

The 12th of September is the feast day of Saint Guy of Anderlecht (ca. 950–1012). He is the patron saint of Anderlecht, Belgium; against mad dogs; against rabies; bachelors; people with epilepsy; horned animals; labourers; protection of outbuildings, stables, and sheds; sacristans; and workhorses.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: AS a child Guy had two loves, the Church and the poor.

42

Saints of the Month: September

The love of prayer growing more and more, he left his poor home at Brussels to seek greater poverty and closer union with God. He arrived at Laeken, near Brussels, and there showed such devotion before Our Lady’s shrine that the priest besought him to stay and serve the Church.

Thenceforth his great joy was to be always in the church, sweeping the floor and ceiling, polishing the altars, and cleansing the sacred vessels. By day he still found time and means to befriend the poor, so that his almsgiving became famous in all those parts. A merchant of Brussels, hearing of the generosity of this poor sacristan, came to Laeken, and offered him a share in his business. Guy could not bear to leave the church; but the offer seemed providential, and he at last closed with it. Their ship, however, was lost on the first voyage, and on returning to Laeken Guy found his place filled. The rest of his life was one long penance for his inconstancy. About the year 1033, finding his end at hand, he returned to Anderlecht, in his own country. As he died, a light shone round him, and a voice was heard proclaiming his eternal reward.

Reflection.—Jesus was only nine months in the womb of Mary, three hours on the cross, three days in the sepulchre, but He is always in the tabernacle. Does our reverence before Him bear witness to this most blessed truth?

43

Saints of the Month: September

15

Saint John Chrysostom

A Byzantine mosaic of John Chrysostom from the Hagia Sophia.

T

he 13th of September is the feast day of Saint John Chrysostom. He is the patron saint of Constantinople, education, epilepsy, lecturers, orators, and preachers.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints:

44

Saints of the Month: September

ST. JOHN was born at Antioch in 344. In order to break with a world which admired and courted him, he in 374 retired for six years to a neighboring mountain. Having thus acquired the art of Christian silence, he returned to Antioch, and there labored as priest, until he was ordained Bishop of Constantinople in 398. The effect of his sermons was everywhere marvellous. He was very urgent that his people should frequent the holy sacrifice, and in order to remove all excuse he abbreviated the long Liturgy until then in use. St. Nilus relates that St. John Chrysostom was wont to see, when the priest began the holy sacrifice, “many of the blessed ones coming down from heaven in shining garments, and with bare feet, eyes intent, and bowed heads, in utter stillness and silence, assisting at the consummation of the tremendous mystery.” Beloved as he was in Constantinople, his denunciations of vice made him numerous enemies. In 403 these procured his banishment; and although he was almost immediately recalled, it was not more than a reprieve. In 404 he was banished to Cucusus in the deserts of Taurus. In 407 he was wearing out, but his enemies were impatient. They hurried him off to Pytius on the Euxine, a rough journey of nigh 400 miles. He was assiduously exposed to every hardship, cold, wet, and semi-starvation, but nothing could overcome his cheerfulness and his consideration for others. On the journey his sickness increased, and he was warned that his end was nigh. Thereupon, exchanging his travelstained clothes for white garments, he received Viaticum, and with his customary words, “Glory be to God for all things. Amen,” passed to Christ.

Reflection.—We should try to understand that the most productive work in the whole day, both for time and eternity, is that involved in hearing Mass. St. John Chrysostom felt this so keenly that he allowed no consideration of venerable usage to interfere with the easiness of hearing Mass.

45

Saints of the Month: September

16

Feast of the Cross

Russian icon of Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (icon from Yaroslavl by Gury Nikitin, 1680.

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow).

T

he 14th of September is the feast of the Cross.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: CONSTANTINE was still wavering between Christianity 46

Saints of the Month: September

and idolatry when a luminous cross appeared to him in the heavens, bearing the inscription, “In this sign shalt thou conquer.” He became a Christian, and triumphed over his enemies, who were at the same time the enemies of the Faith. A few years later, his saintly mother having found the cross on which Our Saviour suffered, the feast of the ” Exaltation” was established in the Church; but it was only at a later period still, namely, after the Emperor Heraclius had achieved three great and wondrous victories over Chosroes, King of Persia, who had possessed himself of the holy and precious relic, that this festival took a more general extension, and was invested with a higher character of solemnity. The feast of the “Finding” was thereupon instituted, in memory of the discovery made by St. Helena; and that of the “Exaltation” was reserved to celebrate the triumphs of Heraclius. The greatest power of the Catholic world was at that time centred in the Empire of the East, and was verging toward its ruin, when God put forth His hand to save it: the re-establishment of the great cross at Jerusalem was the sure pledge thereof. This great event occurred in 629.

Reflection.—Herein is found the accomplishment of the Saviour’s word: “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to Myself.”

47

Saints of the Month: September

17

Saint Albert of Jerusalem

Statue of Albert in Madonna del Carmine, Milan.

The 14th of September is the feast day of Saint Albert of Jerusalem (died 14 September 1214). He is also known as Albertus Hierosolymitanus, Blessed Albert, Albert of Vercelli or Alberto Avogadro.

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: Patriarch of Jerusalem, one of the conspicuous ecclesiastics in the troubles between the Holy See and Federick Barbarossa; date of birth uncertain; died 14 September, 1215. He was in fact asked by both Pope and Emperor to act as umpire in their dispute and, as a reward, was made Prince of the Empire. He was born in 48

Saints of the Month: September

the diocese of Parma, became a canon regular in the Monastery of Mortara (not Mortura, as Butler has it) in the Milanese, and after being Bishop of Bobbio, for a short time, was translated to the see of Vercelli. This was about 1184. At that time the Latins occupied Jerusalem and, the Patriarchate falling vacant, Albert was implored by the Christians of Palestine to accept the see. As it implied persecution and a prospect of martyrdom, he accepted, and was appointed by Innocent III, who at the same time made him Papal Legate. His sanctity procured him the veneration of even the Muslims. It was while here that he undertook a work with which his name is particularly and peculiarly associated. In Paslestine, at that time, the hermits of Mount Carmel lived in separate cells. One of their number gathered them into a community, and in 1209 their superior, Brocard, requested the Patriarch, though not a Carmelite, to draw up a rule for them. He assented, and legislated in the most rigorous fashion, prescribing perpetual abstinence from flesh, protracted fasts, long silence, and extreme seclusion. It was so severe that mitigations had to be introduced by Innocent IV in 1246.

The end of this great prelate was most tragic. Summoned

by Innocent III to take part in the General Council of the Lateran, in 1215, he was assassinated before he left Palestine, while taking part in a procession, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. He is honoured among the saints by the Carmelites, on 8 April. The Bollandists call attention to this curious anomaly, that not at Vercelli, where he was Patriarch, not among the Canons Regular, to whom he properly belonged, but in the Order of the Carmelites, of which he was not a member, does he receive the honour of a saint. “That holy Order could not and ought not to lose the memory of him by whom it was ranked among the Orders approved by the Roman Church; in saying which”, adds the writer, “I in no way wish to impugn the Carmelite claim of descent from Elias.” At Vercelli Albert does not even figure as Blessed, and the Canons Regular honour him as a saint, but pay him no public cult.

49

Saints of the Month: September

T.J. CAMPBELL

50

Saints of the Month: September

18

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady who softens evil hearts, Russian icon, 19th century

T

he 15th of September is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. She is also known as Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (Latin: Mater Dolorosa), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours. She is the patron saint of Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, 51

Saints of the Month: September

Malta, Seven Sorrows of Mary, Mississippi, Ronda, Cebu, Tanawan Bustos, and Bulacan.

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: There are two such days: Friday before Palm Sunday, major double; third Sunday in September double of the second class.

The object of these feats is the spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of God and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son. (1) The seven founders of the Servite Order, in 1239, five years after they established themselves on Monte Senario, took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order. The corresponding feast, however, did not originate with them; its celebration was enacted by a provincial synod of Cologne (1413) to expiate the crimes of the iconoclast Hussites; it was to be kept on the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter under the title: “Commemoratio angustix et doloris B. Marix V.”. Its object was exclusively the sorrow of Mary during the Crucifixion and Death of Christ. Before the sixteenth century this feast was limited to the dioceses of North Germany, Scandinavia, and Scotland. Being termed “Compassio” or “Transfixio”, Commendatio, Lamentatio B.M.V.”, it was kept at a great variety of dates, mostly during Eastertide or shortly after Pentacost, or on some fixed day of a month (18 July, Merseburg; 19 July, Halberstadt, Lxbeck, Meissen; 20 July, Naumberg; cf.

Grotefend, “Zeitrechnung”, II, 2, 166). Dreves and Blume (Analecta hymnica) have published a large number of rhythmical offices, sequences and hymns for the feast of the Compassion, which show that from the end of the fifteenth century in several dioceses the scope of this feast was widened to commemorate either five dolours, from the imprisonment to the burial of Christ, or seven dolours, extending over the entire life of Mary (cf. XXIV, 52

Saints of the Month: September

122-53; VIII, 51 sq.; X, 79 sq., etc.). Towards the end of the end of the sixteenth century the feast spread over part of the south of Europe; in 1506 it was granted to the nuns of the Annunciation under the title “Spasmi B.M.V.”, Monday after Passion Sunday; in 1600 to the Servite nuns of Valencia, “B.M.V. sub pede Crucis”, Friday before Palm Sunday. After 1600 it became popular in France and was termed “Dominx N. de Pietate”, Friday before Palm Sunday. To this latter date the feast was assigned for the whole German Empire (1674). By a Decree of 22 April 1727, Benedict XIII extended it to the entire Latin Church, under the title “Septem dolorum B.M.V.”, although the Office and Mass retain the original character of the feast, the Compassion of Mary at the foot of the Cross. At both Mass and Office the “Stabat Mater” of Giacopone da Todi (1306) is sung.

(2) The second feast was grated to the Servites, 9 June and 15 September, 1668, double with an octave for the third Sunday in September. Its object of the seven dolours of Mary (according to the responsories of Matins: the sorrow 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

at the prophecy of Simeon; at the flight into Egypt; having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem; meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary; standing at the foot of the Cross; Jesus being taken from the Cross; at the burial of Christ.

This feast was extended to Spain (1735); to Tuscany (double of the second class with an octave, 1807). After his return from his exile in France Pius VII extended the feast to the Latin Church (18 September, 1814), major double); it was raised to the rank of a double of the second class, 13 May, 1908. The Servites celebrate it as a double of the first class with an octave and a vigil. Also in the Passionate Order, at Florence and Granada (N.S. de las Angustias), its rank is double of the first class with an octave. The hymns which are now used in the Office of this feast were probably composed by the Servite Callisto Palumbella (eighteenth century). On the devotion, cf.

53

Saints of the Month: September

Kellner, “Heortology”, p. 271. The old title of the “Compassio” is preserved by the Diocese of Hildesheim in a simple feast, Saturday after the octave of Corpus Christi. A feast, “B.M.V. de pietate”, with a beautiful medieval office, is kept in honour of the sorrowful mother at Goa in India and Braga in Portugal, on the third Sunday of October; in the ecclesiastical province of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, last Sunday of May, etc. (cf. the corresponding calendars). A special form of devotion is practised in Spanish-speaking countries under the term of “N.S. de la Soledad”, to commemorate the solitude of Mary on Holy Saturday. Its origin goes back to Queen Juana, lamenting the early death of her husband Philip I, King of Spain (1506).

To the oriental churches these feasts are unknown; the Catholic Ruthenians keep a feast of the sorrowful Mother on Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi.

F.G. HOLWECK

54

Saints of the Month: September

19

Saint Catherine of Genoa

Image: Saint Catherine of Genoa

The 15th of September is the feast day of Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447 – 15 September 1510). She is also known as Caterina Fieschi Adorno. She is the patron saint of brides, childless people, difficult marriages, people ridiculed for their piety, temptations, victims of adultery, victims of unfaithfulness, and widows.

55

Saints of the Month: September

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: NOBLE in birth, rich, and exceedingly beautiful, Catherine had as a child rejected the solicitations of the world, and begged her divine Master for some share in His sufferings. At sixteen years of age she found herself promised in marriage to a young nobleman of dissolute habits, who treated her with such harshness that, after five years, wearied out by his cruelty, she somewhat relaxed the strictness of her life and entered into the worldly society of Genoa. At length, enlightened by divine grace as to the danger of her state, she resolutely broke with the world and gave herself up to a life of rigorous penance and prayer. The charity with which she devoted herself to the service of the hospitals, undertaking the vilest of offices with joy, induced her husband to amend his evil ways and he died penitent. Her heroic fortitude was sustained by the constant thought of the Holy Souls, whose sufferings were revealed to her, and whose state she has described in a treatise full of heavenly wisdom. A long and grievous malady during the last years of her life only served to perfect her union with God, till, worn out in body and purified in soul, she breathed her last on September 14, 1510.

Reflection.—The constant thought of purgatory will help us not only to escape its dreadful pains, but also to avoid the least imperfection which hinders our approach to God.

56

Saints of the Month: September

20

Pope Saint Cornelius

T

he 16th of September is the feast day of Pope Saint Cornelius (d. 253 A.D.).

During the reign of Roman Emperor Decius, Pope Saint Fabian was martyred after which the Church was left without a Pope for 14 months. Saint Cornelius, a Roman citizen and priest, was elected to the position becoming the 21st Pope. During his brief 2 year reign as Pope, controversy arose about Catholics who apostatised from the faith due to persecution. Novatian, a priest who became an anti-pope, led the charge that those who had apostatise can only receive the sacraments if they were rebaptised. Pope Saint Cornelius, in a synod of bishops, confirmed his position as Pope, and had Novatian excommunicated and declared the doctrine of re-baptism as heretical. Pope Saint 57

Saints of the Month: September

Cornelius confirmed that after true contrition and penance, apostates were able to be forgiven by the Church and were able to receive the sacraments. A new persecution against the Christians began, and Pope Saint Cornelius was sent to exile in Centumcellae, Italy, and was martyred in 253 A.D.

58

Saints of the Month: September

21

Saint Hildegard of Bingen

Illumination from the Liber Scivias showing Hildegard receiving a vision and dictating to her scribe and secretary

T

he 17th of September is the feast day of Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179).

Saint Hildegard of Bingen lived between 1098-1179 and belonged 59

Saints of the Month: September

to a large noble German family. At the age of 3, she began having mystical visions which continued throughout her life. At the age of 8 years old, she was sent to be educated at the Benedictine Abbey by an Anchoress as her parents promised to give her to the service of God. When she was 14 years old, she became a consecrated nun and became the new leader of the group of nuns at the age of 38 after the Anchoress’ death. She wrote many books on theology, natural medicine, natural science, poems, plays and composed sacred music and liturgy. When she was 42 she began writing down her visions. Her works were read even by the Pope and she became famous as a mystic and prophetess, gaining the name of “Sibyl of the Rhine.” As her group of nuns became larger, Saint Hildegard created a new monastery at Rupertsberg. She was declared to be a Doctor of the Church in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, due to her writings on how man needed to live in balance with nature with the love of God. She is regarded as the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

60

Saints of the Month: September

22

Saint Joseph of Cupertino

St. Joseph of Cupertino is lifted in flight at the site of the Basilica of Loreto, by Ludovico Mazzanti (18th century)

T

he 18th of September is the feast day of Saint Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663). He is the patron saint of The City of 61

Saints of the Month: September

Osimo, aviation, astronauts, mental handicaps, examinations, and students.

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: Mystic, born 17 June, 1603; died at Osimo 18 September, 1663; feast, 18 September. Joseph received his surname from Cupertino, a small village in the Diocese of Nardo, lying between Brindisi and Otranto in the Kingdom of Naples. His father Felice Desa, a poor carpenter, died before Joseph was born and left some debts, in consequence of which the creditors drove the mother, Francesca Panara, from her home, and she was obliged to give birth to her child in a stable. In his eighth year Joseph had an ecstatic vision while at school and this was renewed several times; so that the children, seeing him gape and stare on such occasions, lost to all things about him, gave him the sobriquet “Bocca Aperta�. At the same time he had a hot and irascible temper which his strict mother strove hard to overcome. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, but at the age of seventeen he tried to be admitted to the Friars Minor Conventuals and was refused on account of his ignorance. He then applied to the Capuchins at Martino near Tarento, where he was accepted as a lay-brother in 1620, but his continual ecstasies unfitted him for work and he was dismissed. His mother and his uncles abused him as a good-for-nothing, but Joseph did not lose hope. By his continued prayers and tears he succeeded in obtaining permission to work in the stable as lay help or oblate at the Franciscan convent of La Grotella near Cupertino. He now gave evidence of great virtues, humility, obedience, and love of penance to such an extent that he was admitted to the clerical state in 1625, and three years later, on 28 March he was raised to the priesthood. Joseph was but little versed in human knowledge, for his biographers relate that he was able to read but poorly, yet infused by knowledge and supernatural light he not only surpassed all ordinary men in the learning of the schools but could solve the most intricate questions.

62

Saints of the Month: September

His life was now one long succession of visions and other heavenly favours. Everything that in any way had reference to God or holy things would bring on an ecstatic state: the sound of a bell or of church music, the mention of the name of God or of the Blessed Virgin or of a saint, any event in the life of Christ, the sacred Passion, a holy picture, the thought of the glory in heaven, all would put Joseph into contemplation. Neither dragging him about, buffeting, piercing with needles, nor even burning his flesh with candles would have any effect on him — only the voice of his superior would make him obey. These conditions would occur at any time or place, especially at Mass or during Divine Service. Frequently he would be raised from his feet and remain suspended in the air.

Besides he would at times hear heavenly music. Since such occurrences in public caused much admiration and also disturbance in a community, Joseph for thirty-five years was not allowed to attend choir, go to the common refectory, walk in procession or say Mass in church, but was ordered to remain in his room, where a private chapel was prepared for him. Evil-minded and envious men even brought him before the Inquisition, and he was sent from one lonely house of the Capuchins or Franciscans to another, but Joseph retained his resigned and joyous spirit, submitting confidently to Divine Providence. He practised mortification and fasting to such a degree, that he kept seven Lents of forty days each year, and during many of them tasted no food except on Thursdays and Sundays. His body is in the church at Osimo. He was beatified by Benedict XIV in 1753, and canonized 16 July 1767 by Clement XIII; Clement XIV extended his office to the entire Church. His life was written by Robert Nuti (Palermo, 1678). Angelo Pastrovicchi wrote another in 1773, and this is used by the Bollandist “Acta SS.”, V, Sept., 992.

FRANCIS MERSHMAN

63

Saints of the Month: September

23

Saint Januarius

Traditional portrait of Saint Januarius

T

he 19th of September is the feast day of Saint Januarius (d.

305 A.D.). He is the patron saint of blood banks; Naples; and volcanic eruptions.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: MANY centuries ago, St. Januarius died for the Faith in the persecution of Diocletian, and to this day God 64

Saints of the Month: September

confirms the faith of His Church, and works a continual miracle, through the blood which Januarius shed for Him. The Saint was Bishop of Beneventum, and on one occasion he travelled to Misenum in order to visit a deacon named Sosius. During this visit Januarius saw the head of Sosius, who was singing the gospel in the church, girt with flames, and took this for a sign that ere long Sosius would wear the crown of martyrdom. So it proved. Shortly after Sosius was arrested, and thrown into prison. There St. Januarius visited and encouraged him, till the bishop also was arrested in turn. Soon the number of the confessors was swollen by some of the neighboring clergy. They were exposed to the wild beasts in the amphitheatre. The beasts, however, did them no harm; and at last the Governor of Campania ordered the Saints to be beheaded.

Little did the heathen governor think that he was the instrument in God’s hand of ushering in the long succession of miracles which attest the faith of Januarius.

The relics of St. Januarius rest in the cathedral of Naples, and it is there that the liquefaction of his blood occurs.

The blood is congealed in two glass vials, but when it is brought near the martyr’s head it melts and flows like the blood of a living man.

Reflection.—Thank God Who has given you superabundant motives for your faith; and pray for the spirit of the first Christians, the spirit which exults and rejoices in belief.

65

Saints of the Month: September

24

Saint Andrew Kim Taegon

A statue of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean Catholic priest

T

he 20th of September is the feast day of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon (21 August 1821 – 16 September 1846). He is the patron saint of Korea and the Korean clergy.

Saint Andrew Kim Taegon lived between 1821 to 1846 and was 66

Saints of the Month: September

born in Korea to a noble family. His parents converted to the Catholic faith and he was baptised at the age of 15. His father, great-grandfather, and great-uncle were martyred due to the government’s persecution against Christianity. This left the remaining family in poverty. He later travelled to China to be trained for the priesthood and was ordained in Shanghai and became the first native Korean priest. He had to return to Korea in secrecy to avoid detection by the authorities. In his hometown, he started to catechise the faithful until the bishop asked him to come to Seoul to help smuggle French missionaries from China into Korea with the help of Chinese fishermen. However, he was caught and imprisoned by the border patrol and charged as a traitor, was tortured and finally beheaded on September 16, 1846, at the age of 25. On May 6, 1984, Fr Andrew Kim Taegon and 102 Korean martyrs were canonised by Pope Saint John Paul II.

67

Saints of the Month: September

25

Saint Matthew the Apostle

Saint Matthew by Caravaggio

T

he 21st of September is the feast day of Saint Matthew the Apostle (1st c.). He is the patron saint of accountants; Salerno, Italy; bankers; tax collectors; perfumers; and civil servants.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ONE day, as Our Lord was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw, sitting at the receipt of custom, Matthew the 68

Saints of the Month: September

publican, whose business it was to collect the taxes from the people for their Roman masters. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me;” and leaving all, Matthew arose and followed Him. Now the publicans were abhorred by the Jews as enemies of their country, outcasts, and notorious sinners, who enriched themselves by extortion and fraud. No Pharisee would sit with one at table. Our Saviour alone had compassion for them. So St. Matthew made a great feast, to which he invited Jesus and His disciples, with a number of these publicans, who henceforth began eagerly to listen to Him. It was then, in answer to the murmurs of the Pharisees, that He said, “They that are in health need not the physician. I have not come to call the just, but sinners to penance.” After the Ascension, St. Matthew remained some years in Judæa, and there wrote his gospel, to teach his countrymen that Jesus was their true Lord and King, foretold by the prophets. St. Matthew afterward preached the Faith far and wide, and is said to have finished his course in Parthia.

Reflection.—Obey all inspirations of Our Lord as promptly as St. Matthew, who, at a single word, “laid down,” says St. Bridget, “the heavy burden of the world to put on the light and sweet yoke of Christ.

69

Saints of the Month: September

26

Saint Ignatius of Santhià

The 22nd of September is the feast day of Saint Ignatius of Santhià (5 June 1686 – 22 September 1770). He was born as Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti, and is the patron saint of chaplains and Santhià.

Saint Ignatius of Santhia belonged to an Italian upper-class family. His education came from a priest, a relative of his mother who inspired him to become a priest. For six years he was a diocesan priest and had a good reputation as a preacher in retreats and missions. However, he decided to join the Capuchin Franciscans in Turin as a friar, which disappointed and surprised his parishioners. There, he became known for his wisdom and sanctity, and many people would come to him for confessions and gain spiritual direction. He was devoted to Our Lady and prayed the rosary. His last years were spent on his sick bed where he continued to hear confessions and give spiritual direction.

70

Saints of the Month: September

27

The Theban Legion

Saint Gereon of the Theban Legion and soldier companions, Stefan Lochner, c. 1440

T

he 22nd of September is the feast day of the Theban Legion.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: THE Theban legion numbered more than six thousand 71

Saints of the Month: September

men. They marched from the East into Gaul, and proved their loyalty at once to their Emperor and to their God. They were encamped near the Lake of Geneva, under the Emperor Maximian, when they got orders to turn their swords against the Christian population, and refused to obey. In his fury Maximian ordered them to be decimated.

The order was executed once and again, but they endured this without a murmur or an effort to defend themselves.

St. Maurice, the chief captain in this legion of martyrs, encouraged the rest to persevere and follow their comrades to heaven. “Know, O Emperor,” he said, “that we are your soldiers, but we are servants also of the true God. In all things lawful we will most readily obey, but we cannot stain our hands in this innocent blood. We, have seen our comrades slain, and we rejoice at their honor, We have arms, but we resist not, for we had rather die without shame than live by sin.” As the massacre began, these generous soldiers flung down their arms, offered their necks to the sword, and suffered themselves to be butchered in silence.

Reflection.—Thank God for every slight and injury yon have to bear. An injury borne in meekness and silence is a true victory. It is the proof that we are good soldiers of Jesus Christ, disciples of that heavenly wisdom which is first pure, then peaceable.

72

Saints of the Month: September

28

Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

The 23rd of September is the feast day of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (May 25, 1887 – September 23, 1968). He is the patron saint of civil defence volunteers, adolescents, Pietrelcina, stress relief, January blues, and Italy and Malta.

His parents were peasant farmers in Southern Italy. At the age of 5, he decided to dedicate his life to God completely. He joined the Capuchin Franciscan friars when he was 19 years old. He is known for his many spiritual gifts and miracles. He was known to 73

Saints of the Month: September

bilocate, levitate, read souls, have stigmata, and healed people physically by touch. People flocked to see him especially to hear their confession. He died at 81 years old and was canonised in 2002 by Pope Saint John Paul II.

74

Saints of the Month: September

29

Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

Maria de Mercede, fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio, ca1472

T

he 24th of September is the feast day of Our Lady of Ransom.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ST. PETER, of the noble family of Nolasco, was born in Languedoc, about 1189. At the age of twenty-five he took a vow of chastity, and made over his vast estates to the Church. Some time after, he conceived the idea of establishing an order for the redemption of captives. The divine will was soon manifested. The Blessed Virgin appeared on the same night to Peter, to Raymund of Pennafort, his confessor, and to James, King of Arragon, 75

Saints of the Month: September

his ward, and bade them prosecute without fear their holy designs. After great opposition, the Order was solemnly established, and approved by Gregory IX., under the name of Our Lady of Mercy. By the grace of God, and under the protection of His Virgin Mother, the Order spread rapidly, its growth being increased by the charity and piety of its members, who devoted themselves not only to collecting alms for the ransom of the Christians, but even gave themselves up to voluntary slavery to aid the good work.

It is to return thanks to God and the Blessed Virgin that a feast was instituted which was observed in the Order of Mercy, then in Spain and France, and at last extended to the whole Church by Innocent XII., and the 24th September named as the day on which it is to be observed.

Reflection.—St. Peter Nolasco and his knights were laymen, not priests, and yet they considered the salvation of their neighbor intrusted to them. We can each of us by counsel, by prayer, but above all by holy example, assist the salvation of our brethren, and thus secure our own.

76

Saints of the Month: September

30

Saint Gerard of Csanád

Saint Gerard of Csanád

The 24th of September is the feast day of Saint Gerard of Csanád ( 23 April 977/1000 – 24 September 1046). He is also known as Saint Gerard of Sagredo. He is the patron saint of Hungary and Budapest.

Saint Gerard was born in Venice and wanted to dedicate his life to God from an early age. He became a Benedictine monk and 77

Saints of the Month: September

was an abbot in a monastery in Venice. He left the monastery to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land but while he was passing Hungary, he met Saint Stephen, the Hungarian king. Saint Stephen asked him to stay in Hungary to evangelise and minister his people. Saint Gerard agreed to do this and became Bishop of Csanad and was the royal tutor of the Hungarian prince. He was called the “Apostle of Hungary� as he helped convert Hungary to Christianity. However, after King Saint Stephen died, there was a pagan uprising against Christians and Saint Gerard was martyred with two other people. According to tradition, he was put in a barrel lined with spikes and was rolled down a hill. The hill is in Budapest and is now named after him. He was declared a saint by Pope Saint Gregory VII in 1083.

78

Saints of the Month: September

31

Saint Cleopas

A depiction of Cleopas as one of the disciples who met Jesus during the Road to Emmaus appearance, by Joseph von Führich, 1837

T

he 25th of September is the feast day of Saint Cleopas (1st c.) also known as Cleophas, Alphaeus or Clopas (Greek Κλεόπας).

Saint Cleopas lived in the 1st Century, and was one of Jesus’ 70 disciples. According to Saint Luke’s Gospel, he walked on the way to Emmaus with another disciple, when Jesus appeared to them after His crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus then began to explain to them how the Messiah needed to suffer, fulfilling the Holy Scriptures though the two disciples didn’t recognise Him. Saint 79

Saints of the Month: September

Cleopas is said to be Jesus’ uncle, as he was the brother of Saint Joseph, and was the husband of Saint Mary of Cleophas. Saint Cleopas and Saint Mary of Cleophas had three sons, Saint Simon, Saint James the Less and Saint Jude who all became one of Jesus’ 12 Apostles. They also had a daughter named Mary Salome, who is the mother of Saint James the Greater and Saint John who were both, also Apostles. He was martyred by Jewish authorities, dying in his home which had received Jesus as a guest.

80

Saints of the Month: September

32

Saints Cosmas and Damian

Icon of Saints Cosmas (left) and Damian (right) one holding a urine bottle and the other a medicine box.

T

he 26th of September is the feast day of Saints Cosmas and Damian (d. 287 A.D.) . They are the patron saints of surgeons, physicians, dentists, protectors of children, barbers, pharmacists, veterinarians, orphanages, day-care centers, confectioners, children in house, against hernia, and against the plague.

81

Saints of the Month: September

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: STS. COSMAS and DAMIAN were brothers, and born in Arabia, but studied the sciences in Syria, and became eminent for their skill in physic. Being Christians, and full of that holy temper of charity in which the spirit of our divine religion consists, they practised their profession with great application and wonderful success, but never took any fee. They were loved and respected by the people on account of the good offices received from their charity, and for their zeal for the Christian faith, which they took every opportunity to propagate. When the persecution of Diocletian began to rage, it was impossible for persons of so distinguished a character to lie concealed. They were therefore apprehended by the order of Lysias, Governor of Cilicia, and after various torments were bound hand and foot and thrown into the sea.

Reflection.—We may sanctify our labor or industry, if actuated by the motive of charity toward others, even whilst we fulfil the obligation we owe to ourselves and our families of procuring an honest and necessary subsistence, which of itself is no less noble a virtue, if founded in motives equally pure and perfect.

82

Saints of the Month: September

33

Saint Vincent de Paul

A portrait of St. Vincent de Paul by Simon François de Tours (17th century)

T

he 27th of September is the feast day of Saint Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660). He is the patron saint of charities; horses; hospitals; leprosy; lost articles; Madagascar; prisoners; Richmond, Virginia; spiritual help; Saint Vincent de Paul Societies; Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory; Vincentian 83

Saints of the Month: September

Service Corps; and volunteers.

Saint Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 and died in 1660. He was born in France and belonged to a peasant farming family. He grew up herding sheep but showed to be good in his studies. His father sold the family oxen to fund Saint Vincent de Paul’ education in the seminary and was ordained in 1600. After his ordination, Saint Vincent worked in Toulouse, working as a tutor so he can pay for his doctorate. He was captured by Turkish pirates in 1605 while travelling by sea and was brought to Tunis in Africa where he was sold into slavery. He was sold into slavery four times, but escaped in 1607 with his master whom he converted to the faith. He went to Rome where he continued studying and then returned to France. He ministered to the nobility as a parish priest but encounters with the destitute gave him the inspiration to work among the poor and marginalised. To help gather funds for the missionary projects, he formed a group of wealthy women in the parish. This group became the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. The Vincentians, an order or priests was also founded by Saint Vincent, who devoted themselves to the Evangelical Councils, serving in the small towns and villages. He ministered to convicts, built a hospital, and educated priests, in the process renewing the faith of France.

84

Saints of the Month: September

34

Saint Wenceslaus I

Statue of Saint Wenceslaus in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague. The head of the statue apparently fits the measurements of Wenceslaus’ skull.

T

he 28th September is the feast day of Saint Wenceslaus I (c.

907 – September 28, 935). He is the patron saint of Prague, Bohemia, and the Czech Republic.

85

Saints of the Month: September

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: WENCESLAS was the son of a Christian Duke of Bohemia, but his mother was a hard and cruel pagan.

Through the care of his holy grandmother, Ludmilla, herself a martyr, Wenceslas was educated in the true faith, and imbibed a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. On the death of his father, his mother, Drahomira, usurped the government and passed a series of persecuting laws. In the interests of the Faith Wenceslas claimed and obtained, through the support of the people, a large portion of the country as his own kingdom. His mother secured the apostasy and alliance of her second son, Boleslas, who became henceforth her ally against the Christians. Wenceslas meanwhile ruled as a brave and pious king, provided for all the needs of his people, and when his kingdom was attacked, overcame in single combat, by the sign of the cross, the leader of an invading army. In the service of God he was most constant, and planted with his own hands the wheat and grapes for the Holy Mass, at which he never failed daily to assist. His piety was the occasion of his death. Once, after a banquet at his brother’s palace, to which he had been treacherously invited, he went, as was his wont at night, to pray before the tabernacle. There, at midnight on the feast of the Angels, 938, he received his crown of martyrdom, his brother dealing him the death-blow.

Reflection.—St. Wenceslas teaches us that the safest place to meet the trials of life, or to prepare for the stroke of death, is before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

86

Saints of the Month: September

35

Feast of the Holy Archangels

Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, depicted in stained glass in St Ailbe’s Church, a Catholic church in Ireland

T

he 29th of September is the feast day of Archangels, Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael. They are the only angels mentioned by name in the Bible.

87

Saints of the Month: September

Guido Reni’s Michael (in Santa Maria della Concezione church, Rome, 1636) tramples Satan. A mosaic of the same painting decorates St. Michael’s Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Saint Michael’s name means “Who is like God?” He is the Guardian of the Catholic Church; Guardian of Vatican City; protector of the Jewish people, Germany, France, Ukraine, Brussels, Kiev, Arkhangelsk, Argao, Cebu, Philippines, and the patron saint of police officers,military, grocers, mariners, paratroopers, firefighters, paramedics, and invoked against sickness.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: “MI-CA-EL,” or “Who is like to God?” Such was the cry of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in 88

Saints of the Month: September

the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has been known as “Michael,” the captain of the armies of God, the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul in strife with the powers of evil. Thus he appears in Holy Scripture as the guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it is who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory, and who rescues the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One. And since Christ’s coming the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trumpet, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.

Reflection.—”Whenever,” says St. Bernard, “any grievous temptation or vehement sorrow oppresses thee, invoke thy guardian, thy leader; cry out to him, and say, ‘Lord, save us, lest we perish!'”

89

Saints of the Month: September

Detail of Gabriel from Pinturicchio’s The Annunciation (1501)

Saint Gabriel’s name means “Power of God.” He is known for the angel that appeared to Our Lady during the Annunciation. He is the patron saint of telecommunication workers, radio broadcasters, messengers, postal workers, clerics, diplomats, stamp collectors, Portugal, Santander, Cebu, and ambassadors.

90

Saints of the Month: September

Saint Raphael the Archangel by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Saint Raphael’s name means “God has healed.” He was the angel that accompanied Tobiah and healing his father in the book of Tobit. He is the patron saint of apothecaries; ordained marriage; blind people; bodily ills; diocese of Madison, WI; druggists; archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa; eye problems; guardian angels; happy meetings; insanity; lovers; mental illness; nightmares; nurses; pharmacists; physicians; archdiocese of Seattle, Washington; Aloguinsan, Cebu, Philippines; shepherds; sick people; travellers; and young people.

91

Saints of the Month: September

36

Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome in the Wilderness by Bernardino Pinturicchi

T

he 30th of September is the feast day of Saint Jerome (c. 27 March 347 – 30 September 420). He is a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of archaeologists; archivists; Bible scholars; librarians; libraries; school children; students; and translators.

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints:

92

Saints of the Month: September

ST. JEROME, born in Dalmatia, in 329, was sent to school at Rome. His boyhood was not free from fault. His thirst for knowledge was excessive, and his love of books a passion. He had studied under the best masters, visited foreign cities, and devoted himself to the pursuit of science. But Christ had need of his strong will and active intellect for the service of His Church. St. Jerome felt and obeyed the call, made a vow of celibacy, fled from Rome to the wild Syrian desert, and there for four years learnt in solitude, penance, and prayer a new lesson of divine wisdom. This was his novitiate. The Pope soon summoned him to Rome, and there put upon the now famous Hebrew scholar the task of revising the Latin Bible, which was to be his noblest work. Retiring thence to his beloved Bethlehem, the eloquent hermit poured forth from his solitary cell for thirty years a stream of luminous writings upon the Christian world.

Reflection.—”To know,” says St. Basil, “how to submit thyself with thy whole soul, is to know how to imitate Christ.”

93