Reflecting on the Saints

Of the saints and celebrations that I could have written about this week: July 29 -- Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus July 30 -- Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church July 31 -- S aint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest August 1 -- Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church [2024] August 2 -- Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop August 2 -- Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest August 3 -- EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C) I’ve chosen to write about St. Martha , though Pope Francis expanded the feast day to include the whole family – Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus . St. Martha has been a beloved saint across the whole history of the Church, even is she is kinda “put in her place” by Jesus when she asks him to get involved in a dispute she was having with her apparently more introverted or introspective sister Mary . The two, Martha and her sister Mary show up in two episodes in the Gospels, the first related by St. Luke (10:38-42) , when Martha inv...

Of the various saints and feast days celebrated this week: June 19 - Saint Romuald, Abbot June 19 - Saint Juliana Falconieri, OSM, virgin, foundress June 21 - Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious June 22 - THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (Corpus Christi) I’ve chosen to write about Saint Juliana Falconieri, OSM , virgin, traditional foundress of the Servite Sisters. St. Juliana Falconieri, OSM , born around 1270 belonged to the Falconieri family, an important family of cloth merchants in Florence , Italy .  Her uncle, St. Alexis Falconieri, OSM was one of the Seven Holy Founders (Feast Day, March 17th) of the Order of Servants of Mary.  Under his influence, she entered the Servites as a Third Order (I’m assuming Regular) Sister, becoming the foundress of the Third Order Servite Sisters in Florence and became their Mother Superior until she died. Servite spirituality puts emphasis on both prayer and service.  St. Juliana proved to be an classic example of both: In he...

Of the various saints and feast days celebrated this week: May 18th -- FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - C May 20th -- Saint Bernardine of Siena, Priest May 21st -- Saint Christopher Magallanes, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs May 22nd -- Saint Rita of Cascia, Religious May 25th – SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - C In a nod to our new pope Leo XIV , I’ve chosen to write about Augustinian saint, St. Rita of Cascia .   Though a popular saint for many years, indeed many centuries … whe was only canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1900, and has been both on and then off and then on again the general Calendar of the century plus ever since. Why?  Well she makes for an interesting if at times troublesome saint! The future St. Rita was born as Margherita “Rita” Lotti in 1381 in the village of Roccaporena , a small hamlet near Cascia in the Italian province of Umbria , then one of the papal states . She was married off to a rich but ill-tempered nobleman Paolo di Ferdinando di Mancino who made many ...

Of the various saints that we remember this week: May 11 -- FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (Good Shepherd Sunday) May 12 -- Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs   May 12 -- Saint Pancras, Martyr May 12 -- Blessed Francis of Siena, OSM, Religious May 13 -- Our Lady of Fatima May 14 -- Saint Matthias, Apostle May 15 -- Saint Isidore the Laborer, USA I’ve chosen to write about St. Pancras an early Christian child martyr who was beheaded during the Persecution of Diocletian after he refused to renounce his faith. I’ve chosen to write about him because both his story and his fame became surprisingly widespread across the Christian world.   Born around 289 A.D. in Phrygia Salutaris in Asia Minor (the interior of the modern state of Turkey today), to parents who were Roman citizens, he became an orphan by the age of 10.  His uncle brought him back to Rome , and they lived in a villa on Caelian Hill , the hill over from Palatine Hill where the Emperor had his palace.  Bo...