February 1:
St. Ansgar (801-865)
The “apostle of the north” (Scandinavia) had enough frustrations to
become a saint—and he did. He became a Benedictine at Corbie, France,
where he had been educated. Three years later, when the king of Denmark
became a convert, Ansgar went to that country for three years of
missionary work, without noticeable success. Sweden asked for Christian
missionaries, and he went there, suffering capture by pirates and other
hardships on the way. Less than two years later he was recalled, to
become abbot of New Corbie (Corvey) and bishop of Hamburg. The pope
made him legate for the Scandinavian missions. Funds for the northern
apostolate stopped with Emperor Louis’s death. After 13 years’ work in
Hamburg, Ansgar saw it burned to the ground by invading Northmen;
Sweden and Denmark returned to paganism. He directed new apostolic
activities in the North, travelling to Denmark and being instrumental
in the conversion of another king. By the strange device of casting
lots, the king of Sweden allowed the Christian missionaries to return. Ansgar’s biographers remark that he was an extraordinary preacher, a
humble and ascetical priest. He was devoted to the poor and the sick,
imitating the Lord in washing their feet and waiting on them at table.
He died peacefully at Bremen, Germany, without achieving his wish to be
a martyr. Sweden became pagan again after his death, and remained so
until the coming of missionaries two centuries later. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 2:
St. Joan de Lestonnac
St. Joan de Lestonnac was born in Bordeaux, France, in
1556. She married at the age of seventeen. The happy marriage produced four
children, but her hasband died suddenly in 1597. After her children were raised,
she entered the Cistercian monastery at Toulouse. Joan was forced to leave the
Cistercians when she became afflicted with poor health. She returned to Bordeaux
with the idea of forming a new congregation, and several young girls joined her
as novices. They ministered to victims of a plague that struck Bordeaux, and
they were determined to counteract the evils of heresy promulgated by Calvinism.
Thus was formed the Congregation of the Religious of Notre Dame of Bordeaux. In
1608, Joan and her companions received the religious habit from the Archbishop
of Bordeaux. Joan was elected superior in 1610, and many miracles occurred at
her tomb. She was canonized in 1949 by Pope Pius XII.
(www.catholic.org)
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February 3:
St. Blase (d. 316)
We know much more about the devotion to St. Blase by
Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. His feast
is observed as a holy day in some Eastern Churches. The Council of Oxford,
in 1222, prohibited servile labour in England on Blase’s feast day. The
Germans and Slavs hold him in special honour and for decades many United
States Catholics have sought the annual St. Blase blessing for their throats.
We know that Bishop Blase was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea,
Armenia, in 316. The legendary Acts of St. Blase were written 400 years later. According
to them Blase was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual
and physical health of his people. Although the Edict of Toleration (311),
granting freedom of worship in the Roman Empire, was already five years
old, persecution still raged in Armenia. Blase was apparently forced to
flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer,
but made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking
wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blase’s cave. They were
first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer
surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears. As the hunters
hauled Blase off to prison, the legend has it, a mother came with her
young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blase’s command
the child was able to cough up the bone. Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia,
tried to persuade Blase to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blase
refused, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and
his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. (English wool combers, who used
similar iron combs, took Blase as their patron. They could easily appreciate
the agony the saint underwent.) Finally he was beheaded.
Four centuries give ample opportunity for fiction to creep
in with fact. Who can be sure how accurate Blase’s biographer was? But
biographical details are not essential. Blase is seen as one more example
of the power those have who give themselves entirely to Jesus. As Jesus
told his apostles at the Last Supper, "If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you" (John
15:7). With faith we can follow the lead of the Church in asking for Blase’s
protection.
"Through the intercession of St. Blase, bishop and martyr,
may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Blessing
of St. Blase). (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 4:
St. Joseph of
Leonissa (1556-1612)
Joseph avoided the safe compromises by which people sometimes
undercut the gospel. Born at Leonissa in the Kingdom of Naples, Joseph
joined the Capuchins in his hometown in 1573. Denying himself hearty meals
and comfortable quarters, he prepared for ordination and a life of
preaching. In 1587 he went to Constantinople to take care of the Christian
galley slaves working under Turkish masters. Imprisoned for this work, he
was warned not to resume it on his release. He did and was again imprisoned
and then condemned to death. Miraculously freed, he returned to Italy where
he preached to the poor and reconciled feuding families as well as warring
cities which had been at odds for years. He was canonized in 1746.
In one of his sermons, Joseph says: "Every Christian must be a living
book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel. This is what St. Paul
says to the Corinthians, ‘Clearly you are a letter of Christ which I have
delivered, a letter written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh in the heart’ (2
Corinthians 3:3). Our heart is the parchment; through my ministry the Holy
Spirit is the writer because ‘my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe’
(Psalm 45:1)." (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 5:
Saint Agatha,
virgin and martyr (d. 251?)
As in the case of Agnes, another virgin-martyr of the early Church, almost
nothing is historically certain about this saint except that she was
martyred in Sicily during the persecution of Emperor Decius in 251. Legend
has it that Agatha, like Agnes, was arrested as a Christian, tortured and
sent to a house of prostitution to be mistreated. She was preserved from
being violated, and was later put to death. She is claimed as the patroness
of both Palermo and Catania. The year after her death, the stilling of an
eruption of Mt. Etna was attributed to her intercession. As a result,
apparently, people continued to ask her prayers for protection against fire.
When Agatha was arrested, the legend says, she prayed: “Jesus Christ, Lord
of all things! You see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I
am — you alone. I am your sheep; make me worthy to overcome the devil.” And in
prison: “Lord, my creator, you have protected me since I was in the cradle.
You have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to
suffer. Now receive my spirit.” (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 6:
Saint Paul Miki,
martyr, and his companions, martyrs (d. 1597)
Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second
atomic bomb was dropped, killing hundreds of thousands. Three and a half
centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as
the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers
and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan
Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men
and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and
his Church. Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become
the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross Paul
Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: “The sentence of
judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not
come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my
being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did
teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I
believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me
and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become
happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do
not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall
on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.”
When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first
they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they
found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had
secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were
finally canonized in 1862. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 7:
St. Colette
(1381-1447)
Colette did not seek the limelight, but in doing God’s will
she certainly attracted a lot of attention. Colette was born in Corbie,
France. At 21 she began to follow the Third Order Rule and became an
anchoress, a woman walled into a room whose only opening was a window into a
church. After four years of prayer and penance in this cell, she left it.
With the approval and encouragement of the pope, she joined the Poor Clares
and reintroduced the primitive Rule of St. Clare in the 17 monasteries she
established. Her sisters were known for their poverty—they rejected any
fixed income—and for their perpetual fast. Colette’s reform movement spread
to other countries and is still thriving today. Colette was canonized in
1807. Colette began her reform during the time of the Great Western Schism
(1378-1417) when three men claimed to be pope and thus divided Western
Christianity. The 15th century in general was a very difficult one for the
Western Church. Abuses long neglected cost the Church dearly in the
following century; the prayers of Colette and her followers may have
lessened the Church’s troubles in the 16th century. In any case, Colette’s
reform indicated the entire Church’s need to follow Christ more closely.
In her spiritual testament, Colette told her sisters: "We
must faithfully keep what we have promised. If through human weakness we
fail, we must always without delay arise again by means of holy penance, and
give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the
Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit,
source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation. Amen."
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 8:
St. Josephine
Bakhita (c. 1868-1947)
For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave but her spirit
was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed. Born in
Olgossa in the
Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of
seven, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate.
She was re-sold several times, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani, Italian
consul in Khartoum, Sudan. Two years later he took Josephine to Italy and
gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Bakhita became babysitter to
Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice's Institute of the
Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being
instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized
and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine. When the Michielis
returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with
them, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case, the
Canossian sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine's
behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had
actually been free since 1885. Josephine
entered the Institute of St.
Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In
1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where
she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery and
welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children
attending the sisters' school and the local citizens. She once said, "Be
good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace
it is to know God!" The first steps toward her beatification began in 1959.
She was beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.
Josephine's body was mutilated by those who enslaved her, but
they could not touch her inner spirit. Her Baptism set her on an eventual
path toward asserting her civic freedom and then service to God's people as
a Canossian sister. She who worked under many "masters" was finally happy to
address God as "master" and carry out everything that she believed to be
God's will for her.
During his homily at her canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope John
Paul II said that in St. Josephine Bakhita, "We find a shining advocate of
genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive
acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls and women
from oppression and violence, and to return them to their dignity in the
full exercise of their rights." (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 9:
St. Jerome Emiliani (1481?-1537)
A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was
captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In
prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to
pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the
education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood. In
the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and
a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring
for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the
sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property
solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three
orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital. Around 1532
Jerome and two other priests established a congregation dedicated to the
care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a
disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928
Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 10:
Saint Scholastica, virgin (480-542?)
Twins often share the same interests and ideas with an equal intensity.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Scholastica and her twin brother,
Benedict, both established religious communities within a few miles from
each other. Born in 480 of wealthy parents, Scholastica and Benedict were
brought up together until he left for Rome to continue his studies. Little
is known of Scholastica’s early life. She founded a religious community for
women near Monte Cassino at Plombariola, five miles from where her brother
governed a monastery. The twins visited each other once a year in a
farmhouse because Scholastica was not permitted inside the monastery. They
spent these times discussing spiritual matters. According to the Dialogues
of St. Gregory the Great, the brother and sister spent their last day
together in prayer and conversation. Scholastica sensed her death was close
at hand and she begged Benedict to stay with her until the next day. He
refused her request because he did not want to spend a night outside the
monastery, thus breaking his own Rule. Scholastica asked God to let her
brother remain and a severe thunderstorm broke out, preventing Benedict and
his monks from returning to the abbey. Benedict cried out, “God forgive you,
Sister. What have you done?” Scholastica replied, “I asked a favour of you
and you refused. I asked it of God and he granted it.” Brother and sister
parted the next morning after their long discussion. Three days later,
Benedict was praying in his monastery and saw the soul of his sister rising
heavenward in the form of a white dove. Benedict then announced the death of
his sister to the monks and later buried her in the tomb he had prepared for
himself. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 11:
Our Lady of Lourdes
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more
than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to
Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition
on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the
Immaculate Conception.” Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their
practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette
could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the
prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.” During
interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something
white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term
meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her
arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil.
There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette
was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form
of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a
humble girl and treated her with dignity. Through that humble girl, Mary
revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people.
People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all
over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the
apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese.
The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 12:
St. Apollonia (d. 249)
The persecution of Christians began in Alexandria during the reign of the
Emperor Philip. The first victim of the pagan mob was an old man named
Metrius, who was tortured and then stoned to death. The second person who
refused to worship their false idols was a Christian woman named Quinta. Her
words infuriated the mob and she was scourged and stoned. While most of the
Christians were fleeing the city, abandoning all their worldly possessions,
an old deaconess, Apollonia, was seized. The crowds beat her, knocking out
all of her teeth. Then they lit a large fire and threatened to throw her in
it if she did not curse her God. She begged them to wait a moment, acting as
if she was considering their requests. Instead, she jumped willingly into
the flames and so suffered martyrdom. There were many churches and altars
dedicated to her. Apollonia is the patroness of dentists, and people
suffering from toothache and other dental diseases often ask her
intercession. She is pictured with a pair of pincers holding a tooth or with
a golden tooth suspended from her necklace. St. Augustine explained her
voluntary martyrdom as a special inspiration of the Holy Spirit, since no
one is allowed to cause his or her own death.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 13:
St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph (1729-1812)
In the same year that a power-hungry Napoleon Bonaparte led
his army into Russia, Giles Mary of St. Joseph ended a life of humble
service to his Franciscan community and to the citizens of Naples. Francesco
was born in Taranto to very poor parents. His father’s death left the
18-year-old Francesco to care for the family. Having secured their future,
he entered the Friars Minor at Galatone in 1754. For 53 years he served at
St. Paschal’s Hospice in Naples in various roles, such as cook, porter or
most often as official beggar for that community. “Love God, love God” was
his characteristic phrase as he gathered food for the friars and shared some
of his bounty with the poor—all the while consoling the troubled and urging
everyone to repent. The charity which he reflected on the streets of Naples
was born in prayer and nurtured in the common life of the friars. The people
whom Giles met on his begging rounds nicknamed him the “Consoler of Naples.”
He was canonized in 1996.
In his homily at the canonization of Giles, Pope John Paul II said
that the spiritual journey of Giles reflected “the humility of the
Incarnation and the gratuitousness of the Eucharist” (L'Osservatore
Romano 1996, volume 23, number 1).
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 14:
St. Cyril (d. 869) and St. Methodius (d. 884)
Because their father was an officer
in a part of Greece inhabited by many Slavs, these two Greek brothers
ultimately became missionaries, teachers and patrons of the Slavic peoples.
After a brilliant course of studies, Cyril
(called Constantine
until he
became a monk shortly before his death) refused the governorship of a
district such as his brother had accepted among the Slavic-speaking
population. He withdrew to a monastery where his brother Methodius had
become a monk after some years in a governmental post. A decisive change in
their lives occurred when the Duke of Moravia (present-day Czech Republic)
asked the Eastern Emperor Michael for political independence from German
rule and ecclesiastical autonomy (having their own clergy and liturgy).
Cyril and Methodius undertook the missionary task. Cyril’s first work was to
invent an alphabet, still used in some Eastern liturgies. His followers
probably formed the Cyrillic alphabet (for example, modern Russian) from
Greek capital letters. Together they translated the
Gospels, the psalter,
Paul’s letters and the liturgical books into Slavonic, and composed a
Slavonic liturgy, highly irregular then. That and their free use of the
vernacular in preaching led to opposition from the German clergy. The bishop
refused to consecrate Slavic bishops and priests, and Cyril was forced to
appeal to Rome. On the visit to Rome, he and Methodius had the joy of seeing
their new liturgy approved by Pope Adrian II. Cyril, long an invalid, died
in Rome 50 days after taking the monastic habit.
Methodius continued mission work for 16 more years. He was papal legate for
all the Slavic peoples, consecrated a bishop and then given an ancient see
(now in the Czech Republic). When much of their former territory was removed
from their jurisdiction, the Bavarian bishops retaliated with a violent
storm of accusation against Methodius. As a result, Emperor Louis the German
exiled Methodius for three years. Pope John VIII secured his release. The
Frankish clergy, still smarting, continued their accusations, and Methodius
had to go to Rome to defend himself against charges of heresy and uphold his
use of the Slavonic liturgy. He was again vindicated. Legend has it that in
a feverish period of activity, Methodius translated the whole Bible into
Slavonic in eight months. He died on Tuesday of Holy Week, surrounded by his
disciples, in his cathedral church.
Opposition continued after his death, and the work of the brothers in
Moravia was brought to an end and their disciples scattered. But the
expulsions had the beneficial effect of spreading the spiritual, liturgical
and cultural work of the brothers to Bulgaria, Bohemia and southern Poland.
Patrons of Moravia, and specially venerated by Catholic Czechs, Slovaks,
Croatians, Orthodox Serbians and Bulgarians, Cyril and Methodius are
eminently fitted to guard the long-desired unity of East and West. In 1980,
Pope John Paul II named them additional co-patrons of Europe (with
Benedict). (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 15:
St. Claude la Colombière (1641-1682)
This is a special day for the Jesuits, who claim today’s saint as one of
their own. It’s also a special day for people who have a special devotion to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a devotion Claude la Colombière promoted, along
with his friend and spiritual companion, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The
emphasis on God’s love for all was an antidote to the rigorous moralism of
the Jansenists, who were popular at the time. Claude showed remarkable
preaching skills long before his ordination in 1675. Two months later he was
made superior of a small Jesuit residence in Burgundy. It was there he first
encountered Margaret Mary Alacoque. For many years after he served as her
confessor. He was next sent to England to serve as confessor to the Duchess
of York. He preached by both words and by the example of his holy life,
converting a number of Protestants. Tensions arose against Catholics and
Claude, rumoured to be part of a plot against the king, was imprisoned. He
was ultimately banished, but by then his health had been ruined. He died in
1682. Pope John Paul II canonized Claude la Colombière in 1992.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 16:
St. Gilbert
of Sempringham (c. 1083-1189)
Gilbert was born in Sempringham, England, into a wealthy family,
but he followed a path quite different from that expected of him as the
son of a Norman knight. Sent to France for his higher education, he decided
to pursue seminary studies. He returned to England not yet ordained a priest,
and inherited several estates from his father. But Gilbert avoided the
easy life he could have led under the circumstances. Instead he lived a
simple life at a parish, sharing as much as possible with the poor. Following
his ordination to the priesthood he served as parish priest at Sempringham.
Among the congregation were seven young women who had expressed to him
their desire to live in religious life. In response, Gilbert had a house
built for them adjacent to the Church. There they lived an austere life,
but one which attracted ever more numbers; eventually lay sisters and lay
brothers were added to work the land. The religious order formed eventually
became known as the Gilbertines, though Gilbert had hoped the Cistercians
or some other existing order would take on the responsibility of establishing
a rule of life for the new order. The Gilbertines, the only religious order
of English origin founded during the Middle Ages, continued to thrive.
But the order came to an end when King Henry VIII suppressed all Catholic
monasteries.
Over the years a special custom grew up in the houses of the order
called "the plate of the Lord Jesus." The best portions of the dinner were
put on a special plate and shared with the poor, reflecting Gilbert's lifelong
concern for less fortunate people. Throughout his life Gilbert lived simply,
consumed little food and spent a good portion of many nights in prayer.
Despite the rigours of such a life he died at well over age 100. When he
came into his father’s wealth, Gilbert could have lived a life of luxury,
as many of his fellow priests did at the time. Instead, he chose to share
his wealth with the poor. The charming habit of filling “the plate of the
Lord Jesus” in the monasteries he established reflected his concern. Today’s
Operation Rice Bowl echoes that habit: eating a simpler meal and letting
the difference in the grocery bill help feed the hungry. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 17:
Seven Founders of
the Order of Servites (13th century)
Can you imagine seven prominent men of Boston or Denver
banding together, leaving their homes and professions, and going into solitude
for a life directly given to God? That is what happened in the cultured
and prosperous city of Florence in the middle of the thirteenth century.
The city was torn with political strife as well as the heresy of the Cathari.
Morals were low and religion seemed meaningless. In 1240 seven noblemen
of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place
for prayer and direct service of God. Their initial difficulty was providing
for their dependents, since two were still married and two were widowers.
Their aim was to lead a life of penance and prayer, but they soon found
themselves disturbed by constant visitors from Florence. They next withdrew
to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario. In 1244, under the direction of
St. Peter of Verona, O.P., this small group adopted a religious habit similar
to the Dominican habit, choosing to live under the Rule of St. Augustine
and adopting the name of the Servants of Mary. The new Order took a form
more like that of the mendicant friars than that of the older monastic
Orders. Members of the community came to the United States from Austria
in 1852 and settled in New York and later in Philadelphia. The two American
provinces developed from the foundation made by Father Austin Morini in
1870 in Wisconsin. Community members combined monastic life and active
ministry. In the monastery, they led a life of prayer, work and silence
while in the active apostolate they engaged in parochial work, teaching,
preaching and other ministerial activities. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 18:
Blessed John of
Fiesole (c. 1400-1455)
The patron of Christian artists was born around 1400 in a village
overlooking Florence. He took up painting as a young boy and studied
under the watchful eye of a local painting master. He joined the
Dominicans at about age 20, taking the name Fra Giovanni. He eventually
came to be known as Fra Angelico, perhaps a tribute to his own angelic
qualities or maybe the devotional tone of his works. He continued to
study painting and perfect his own techniques, which included
broad-brush strokes, vivid colors and generous, lifelike figures.
Michelangelo once said of Fra Angelico: “One has to believe that this
good monk has visited paradise and been allowed to choose his models
there.” Whatever his subject matter, Fra Angelico sought to generate
feelings of religious devotion in response to his paintings. Among his
most famous works are the Annunciation and Descent from the Cross as
well as frescoes in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. He also
served in leadership positions within the Dominican Order. At one point
Pope Eugenius approached him about serving as archbishop of Florence.
Fra Angelico declined, preferring a simpler life. He died in 1455.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 19:
St. Conrad of
Piacenza (1290-1350)
Born of a noble family in northern Italy, Conrad as a young man married
Euphrosyne, daughter of a nobleman. One day while hunting he ordered
attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. The
fire spread to nearby fields and to a large forest. Conrad fled. An innocent
peasant was imprisoned, tortured to confess and condemned to death. Conrad
confessed his guilt, saved the man’s life and paid for the damaged property.
Soon after this event, Conrad and his wife agreed to separate: she to a Poor
Clare monastery and he to a group of hermits following the Third Order Rule.
His reputation for holiness, however, spread quickly. Since his many
visitors destroyed his solitude, Conrad went to a more remote spot in Sicily
where he lived 36 years as a hermit, praying for himself and for the rest of
the world. Prayer and penance were his answer to the temptations that beset
him. Conrad died kneeling before a crucifix. He was canonized in 1625.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 20:
Blessed Jacinta
(1910-1920) and Francisco Marto (1908-1919)
Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds
from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near
Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time, Europe was involved
in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil, having
overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious
organizations soon after. At the first appearance, Mary asked the children
to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six
months. She also asked them to
learn
to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and
the end of the war.” They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of
Russia, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall
under communism. Up to 90,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on
October 13, 1917. Less than two years later, Francisco Marto died of
influenza in his family home. He was buried in the parish cemetery and then
re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1952. Jacinta Marto died of influenza in
Lisbon, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the
world and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1951.
Their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun and was still living
when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000. Sister Lucia died in
February 2005 at the age of 97. The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited
by up to 20 million people a year.
In his homily at their beatification, Pope John Paul II recalled
that shortly before Francisco died, Jacinta said to him, “Give my greetings
to Our Lord and to Our Lady and tell them that I am enduring everything they
want for the conversion of sinners.” (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 21:
St. Peter Damian
(1007-1072)
Maybe because he was orphaned and had been treated shabbily by one of his
brothers, Peter Damian was very good to the poor. It was the ordinary thing
for him to have a poor person or two with him at table and he liked to
minister personally to their needs. Peter escaped poverty and the neglect of
his own brother when his other brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, took
him under his wing. His brother sent him to good schools and Peter became a
professor. Already in those days Peter was very strict with himself. He wore
a hair shirt under his clothes, fasted rigorously and spent many hours in
prayer. Soon,
he decided to leave his teaching and give himself completely
to prayer with the Benedictines of the reform of St. Romuald at Fonte
Avellana. They lived two monks to a hermitage. Peter was so eager to pray
and slept so little that he soon suffered from severe insomnia. He found he
had to use some prudence in taking care of himself. When he was not praying,
he studied the Bible. The abbot commanded that when he died Peter should
succeed him. Abbot Peter founded five other hermitages. He encouraged his
brothers in a life of prayer and solitude and wanted nothing more for
himself. The Holy See periodically called on him, however, to be a
peacemaker or troubleshooter, between two abbeys in dispute or a cleric or
government official in some disagreement with Rome. Finally, Pope Stephen IX
made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He worked hard to wipe out simony,
and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan
clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious
observance. He wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and
priests, warning against needless travel, violations of poverty and too
comfortable living. He even wrote to the bishop of Besancon, complaining
that the canons there sat down when they were singing the psalms in the
Divine Office. He wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53
of his sermons and seven lives, or biographies, that he wrote. He preferred
examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. The liturgical
offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin. He asked
often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia, and finally
Alexander II consented. Peter was happy to become once again just a monk,
but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such
an assignment in Ravenna, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks
gathered around him saying the Divine Office, he died on February 22, 1072.
In 1828 he was declared a Doctor of the Church.
“...Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we
have received from our forefathers” (St. Peter Damian).
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 22:
The Chair of Peter
the Apostle
This feast commemorates Christ’s choosing
Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church (see
June 29).
After
the “lost weekend” of pain, doubt and self-torment, Peter hears the Good
News. Angels at the tomb say to Magdalene, “The Lord has risen! Go, tell his
disciples and Peter.” John relates that when he and Peter ran to the tomb,
the younger outraced the older, then waited for him. Peter entered, saw the
wrappings on the ground, the headpiece rolled up in a place by itself. John
saw and believed. But he adds a reminder: “..They did not yet understand the
scripture that he had to rise from the dead”(John 20:9). They went home.
There the slowly exploding, impossible idea became reality. Jesus appeared
to them as they waited fearfully behind locked doors. “Peace be with you,”
he said (John 20:21b), and they rejoiced. The Pentecost event completed
Peter’s experience of the risen Christ. “...They were all filled with the
holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4a) and began to express themselves in foreign tongues
and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them. Only then can Peter fulfil
the task Jesus had given him: “... Once you have turned back, you
must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). He at once becomes the
spokesman for the Twelve about their experience of the Holy Spirit—before
the civil authorities who wished to quash their preaching, before the
council of Jerusalem, for the community in the problem of Ananias and
Sapphira. He is the first to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. The
healing power of Jesus in him is well attested: the raising of Tabitha from
the dead, the cure of the crippled beggar. People carry the sick into the
streets so that when Peter passed his shadow might fall on them. Even a
saint experiences difficulty in Christian living. When Peter stopped eating
with Gentile converts because he did not want to wound the sensibilities of
Jewish Christians, Paul says, “...I opposed him to his face because he
clearly was wrong.... They were not on the right road in line with the truth
of the gospel...” (Galatians 2:11b, 14a). At the end of John’s Gospel, Jesus
says to Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to
dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will
stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where
you do not want to go” (John 21:18). What Jesus said indicated the sort of
death by which Peter was to glorify God. On Vatican Hill, in Rome, during
the reign of Nero, Peter did glorify his Lord with a martyr’s death,
probably in the company of many Christians.
Like the committee chair, this chair refers to the occupant, not the
furniture. Its first occupant stumbled a bit, denying Jesus three times and
hesitating to welcome gentiles into the new Church. Some of its later
occupants have also stumbled a bit, sometimes even failed scandalously. As
individuals, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down.
Still, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as
a focus for the universal Church.
Peter described our Christian calling in the opening of his First Letter,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great
mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead...” (1 Peter 1:3a). (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 23:
Saint Polycarp,
bishop and martyr (d. 156)
Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir,
Turkey), disciple of St. John the Apostle and friend of St. Ignatius of
Antioch was a revered Christian leader during the first half of the second
century. St. Ignatius, on his way to Rome to be martyred, visited Polycarp
at Smyrna, and later at Troas wrote him a personal letter. The Asia Minor
Churches recognized Polycarp’s leadership by choosing him as a
representative to discuss with Pope Anicetus the date of the Easter
celebration in Rome — quite a controversy in the early Church. Only one of the
many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved, the one he wrote to the
Church of Philippi, Macedonia. At 86, Polycarp was led into the crowded
Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was
finally killed by a dagger. The centurion ordered the saint’s body burned.
The “Acts” of Polycarp’s martyrdom are the earliest preserved, fully
reliable account of a Christian martyr’s death. He died in 156. Polycarp was
recognized as a Christian leader by all Asia Minor Christians—a strong
fortress of faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ. His own strength emerged from
his trust in God, even when events contradicted this trust. Living among
pagans and under a government opposed to the new religion, he led and fed
his flock. Like the Good Shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep and
kept them from more persecution in Smyrna. He summarized his trust in God
just before he died: “Father... I bless Thee, for having made me worthy of
the day and the hour... .” (Martyrdom, Chapter 14).
“Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of
the Lord, ‘firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving
each other, united in truth,’ helping each other with the mildness of the
Lord, despising no man” (Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians).
(AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 24:
Blessed Luke
Belludi (1200-c. 1285)
In 1220, St. Anthony was preaching conversion to
the inhabitants of Padua when a young nobleman, Luke Belludi, came up to him
and humbly asked to receive the habit of the followers of St. Francis.
Anthony liked the talented, well-educated Luke and personally recommended
him to St. Francis, who then received him into the Franciscan Order. Luke,
then only 20, was to be Anthony's companion in his travels and in his
preaching, tending to him in his last days and taking Anthony's place upon
his death. He was appointed guardian of the Friars Minor in the city of
Padua. In 1239 the city fell into the hands of its enemies. Nobles were put
to death, the mayor and council were banished, the great university of Padua
gradually closed and the church dedicated to St. Anthony was left
unfinished. Luke himself was expelled from the city but secretly returned.
At night he and the new guardian would visit the tomb of St. Anthony in the
unfinished shrine to pray for his help. One night a voice came from the tomb
assuring them that the city would soon be delivered from its evil tyrant.
After the fulfilment of the prophetic message, Luke was elected provincial
minister and furthered the completion of the great basilica in honour of
Anthony, his teacher. He founded many convents of the order and had, as
Anthony, the gift of miracles. Upon his death he was laid to rest in the
basilica that he had helped finish and has had a continual veneration up to
the present time. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 25:
Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio (1502-1600)
Sebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final
bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity
and destiny. Sebastian’s parents were Spanish peasants. At the age of 31 he
sailed to Mexico, where he began working in the fields. Eventually he built
roads to facilitate agricultural trading and other commerce. His 466-mile
road from Mexico City to Zacatecas took 10 years to build and required
careful negotiations with the indigenous peoples along the way. In time
Sebastian was a wealthy farmer and rancher. At the age of 60 he entered a
virginal marriage. His wife’s motivation may have been a large inheritance;
his was to provide a respectable life for a girl without even a modest
marriage dowry. When his first wife died, he entered another virginal
marriage for the same reason; his second wife also died young. At the age of
72 Sebastian distributed his goods among the poor and entered the
Franciscans as a brother. Assigned to the large (100-member) friary at
Puebla de los Angeles south of Mexico City, Sebastian went out collecting
alms for the friars for the next 25 years. His charity to all earned him the
nickname "Angel of Mexico." Sebastian was beatified in 1787 and is known as
a patron of travellers.
St. Francis once told his followers: "There is a contract between the world
and the friars. The friars must give the world a good example; the world
must provide for their needs. When they break faith and withdraw their good
example, the world will withdraw its hand in a just censure" (2 Celano,
#70). (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 26:
St. Porphyry of Gaza (353-421)
We go far back in history today to learn a bit about a saint whose name is
not familiar to most of us in the West but who is celebrated by the Greek
and other Eastern churches. Born near Greece in the mid-fourth century,
Porphyry is most known for his generosity to the poor and for his ascetic
lifestyle. Deserts and caves were his home for a time. At age 40, living in
Jerusalem, Porphyry was ordained a priest. If the accounts we have are
correct, he was elected bishop of Gaza—without his knowledge and against his
will. He was, in effect, kidnapped (with the help of a neighbouring bishop,
by the way) and forcibly consecrated bishop by the members of the small
Christian community there. No sooner had Porphyry been consecrated bishop
then he was accused by the local pagans of causing a drought. When rains
came shortly afterward, the pagans gave credit to Porphyry and the Christian
population and tensions subsided for a time. For the next 13 years, Porphyry
worked tirelessly for his people, instructed them and made many converts,
though pagan opposition continued throughout his life. He died in the year
421. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 27:
St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
(1838-1862)
Born
in Italy into a large family and baptized Francis, he lost his mother when
he was only four years old. He was educated by the Jesuits and, having been
cured twice of serious illnesses, came to believe that God was calling him
to the religious life. Young Francis wished to join the Jesuits but was
turned down, probably because of his age, not yet 17. Following the death of
a sister to cholera, his resolve to enter religious life became even
stronger and he was accepted by the Passionists. Upon entering the novitiate
he was given the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. Ever popular and
cheerful, Gabriel quickly was successful in his effort to be faithful in
little things. His spirit of prayer, love for the poor, consideration of the
feelings of others, exact observance of the Passionist Rule as well as his
bodily penances—always subject to the will of his wise superiors— made a
deep impression on everyone. His superiors had great expectations of Gabriel
as he prepared for the priesthood, but after only four years of religious
life symptoms of tuberculosis appeared. Ever obedient, he patiently bore the
painful effects of the disease and the restrictions it required, seeking no
special notice. He died peacefully on February 27, 1862, at age 24, having
been an example to both young and old. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was
canonized in 1920. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 28:
Blessed Daniel Brottier (1876-1936)
Daniel
spent most of his life in the trenches—one way or another. Born in France in
1876, Daniel was ordained in 1899 and began a teaching career. That didn’t
satisfy him long. He wanted to use his zeal for the gospel far beyond the
classroom. He joined the missionary Congregation of the Holy Spirit, which
sent him to Senegal, West Africa. After eight years there, his health was
suffering. He was forced to return to France, where he helped raise funds
for the construction of a new cathedral in Senegal. At the outbreak of World
War I Daniel became a volunteer chaplain and spent four years at the front.
He did not shrink from his duties. Indeed, he risked his life time and again
in ministering to the suffering and dying. It was miraculous that he did not
suffer a single wound during his 52 months in the heart of battle. After the
war he was invited to help establish a project for orphaned and abandoned
children in a Paris suburb. He spent the final 13 years of his life there.
He died in 1936 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Paris only 48
years later. (AmericanCatholic.org)
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February 29:
St. Oswald (d. 992)
The last acts in the life of today's saint make for an amazing story. In truth,
they merely underscore the holiness he exhibited throughout his life. Born into
a military family in 10th-century England, Oswald was a nephew of the archbishop
of Canterbury, who raised him and played a crucial role in his early education.
Oswald continued his studies abroad in France, where he became a Benedictine
monk. Following his appointment as bishop of Worcester, and later as archbishop
of York, he founded monasteries and introduced many reforms. He supported—and
improved—scholarship at the abbeys he established, inviting leading thinkers in
such fields as mathematics and astronomy to share their learnings. He was widely
known for his sanctity, especially his love for the poor. The final winter of
his life was spent at the cathedral in Worcester that he so loved. At the start
of Lent in February of the year 992, he resumed his usual practice of washing
the feet of 12 poor men each day. On Leap Year Day, February 29, he died after
kissing the feet of the 12th man and giving a blessing. The news of Oswald's
death brought an outpouring of grief throughout the city.
(AmericanCatholic.org)