St. Dominic - Feast Day August 8

St. Dominic (1170 AD – 1221 AD) 

The truth is we do not know much about this Saint. Of all his writings, little to nothing has survived to this day. However, his legacy has come down to us in a form of a vibrant and lively Order named after him.  His orthodoxy in a time of rampant heresy throughout Europe is inspiring.  He travels through Europe establishing different priories and houses for the Order of Preachers to defeat the Cathari heresy, which has its root from the different Gnostic philosophies that appear in the 1^stcentury A.D. 

The Catharis round up multitudes of converts by utilizing on the wickedness of some clergy in the Church and using the sinful behaviour of Catholic clerics as a catalyst to spur the adherents of the Catholic faith into abandoning the Church and joining their heresy. Closely tied to Manichaeism, the Catharis teach that the universe consists of a duality, which is made of matter and spirit. Everything physical is wicked and must be treated as sinful, whereas only the spirit is good, and it must be protected from the flesh. 

Contrary to this view, the Catholic Church teaches that God created all things. Therefore, all things are good, including our bodies and all physical matter around us as well. However, due to Original Sin, our bodies have become corrupt. This corruption is not so extensive that our bodies cannot be salvaged. Rather, through God’s grace offered to us by the Sacraments, we are able to salvage our bodies and temper their rebellious passions, mending their unruly cravings, thereby redeeming our bodies and spirits as well. 

In fact, all matter in this universe is redeemed too. In Christianity, evil is not really a substance per se. Instead, evil is a corruption of good. The Dominican theology has been taught for 2000 years by the Catholic Church. 

St. Dominic’s inspiring sermons have won back many wayward Christians who have abandoned the Church. His order has produced numerous Saints, among which the most famous being St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Louis de Montfort, and St. Rose of Lima. 

May the zeal of this fervent preacher inspire us to love the sinners and desire their salvation.

Pope Gregory IX canonized St. Dominic on July 13, 1234, and his feast day is August 8.



source: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=178
and
http://viewcatholic.blogspot.ca/2012/12/twenty-one-saints-everyone-must-know-ix.html

St. Thomas Aquinas - Feast Day January 28

Feast Day: January 28 
Born:1225 :: Died:1274

Thomas was the son of the Count of Aquino and was born in the family castle in Lombardy near Naples, Italy. . Thomas was one of nine children and was very intelligent, but he never boasted about it. He knew that his mind was a gift from God. 

His parents hoped that he would become a Benedictine abbot some day. The family castle was in Rocca Secca, just north of Monte Cassino where the monks lived. Thomas was sent to the abbey for schooling when he was five and he was educated by the Benedictine monks there. When he was eighteen, he went to the University of Naples to finish his studies.

There he met a new group of religious men called the Order of Preachers. Their founder, St. Dominic, was still living. Thomas knew he wanted to become a priest and felt that he was called to join these men. So he secretly joined the Dominican order in 1244.

His parents were angry with him. When he was on his way to Paris to study, his brothers kidnapped him and kept him a prisoner in one of their castles for over a year. During that time, they did all they could to make him change his mind. 

One of his sisters, too, came to convince him to give up his vocation. But Thomas spoke so beautifully about the joy of serving God that she changed her mind. She decided to give her life to God as a nun. After fifteen months, Thomas was finally allowed to follow his call.

St. Thomas wrote so well about God that people all over the world have used his books for hundreds of years. His

explanations about God and the faith came from Thomas' great love for God. He writings touched the hearts of people because he was not trying to impress anyone. He just wanted with all his heart to offer the gift of his life to Jesus and the Church.

St. Thomas is one of the greatest Doctors of the Church and is considered the universal patron of universities, colleges, and schools.

Around the end of 1273, Pope Gregory X asked Thomas to be part of an important Church meeting called the Council of Lyons. While traveling to the meeting, Thomas became ill. He had to stop at a monastery at Fossanova, Italy, where he died. It was March 7, 1274. He was only forty-nine.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary IEW

Feast Day: November 17
Born: 1207 :: Died: 1231

Elizabeth, the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary was born in Presburg. When she was only thirteen years old, she married Louis, the ruler of Thuringia. Elizabeth was a beautiful bride who dearly loved her handsome husband. Louis returned her affection with all his heart. God gave them three children and they were very happy for six years.

She build a hospital at the foot of the mountain where the castle stood and looked after the sick herself. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick in secret, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her cloak. The food she was carrying miraculously changed to roses.

Then St. Elizabeth's sorrows began. Louis died of the plague. She was so heart-broken that she cried: "The world is dead to me and all that is joyous in the world." Louis' relatives had never liked Elizabeth because she had given so much food to the poor.

While Louis was alive, they had not been able to do anything but now they began to trouble her. Within a short time, this beautiful, gentle princess and her three children were sent away from the castle. They suffered hunger and cold.

Yet Elizabeth did not complain about her terrible sufferings. Instead she blessed God and prayed with great fervor. She accepted the sorrows just as she had accepted the joys.

Elizabeth's relatives came to her rescue. She and her children had a home once more. Her uncle wanted her to marry again, for she was still very young and attractive. But the saint had decided to give herself to God.

She wanted to imitate the poverty of St. Francis. She went to live in a poor cottage and spent the last few years of her life serving the sick and the poor. She even went fishing to try to earn more money for her beloved poor.

St. Elizabeth was only twenty-four when she died in 1231. On her death bed, she was heard to sing softly. She had great confidence that Jesus would take her to himself.


source: http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/1117.asp 

BALDWIN PROJECT:  http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=hallg&book=saints&story=elizabeth

St. Clare IEW

Feast Day: August 11
Born: 1193 :: Died: 1253

St. Clare was born in a little town called Assisi, in Italy. She was a beautiful girl who lived at the time of St. Francis of Assisi.
Before she was born, when her mother was praying one day for the baby that was soon to be born, she heard a voice saying "Woman, do not worry, you shall have a daughter and by her life, she will bring God's light to the world." 

Clare had so much pity for the poor, that quite often she would secretly give her food to them and go hungry herself.
She spent time praying faithfully to Jesus everyday. If she did anything wrong when she was with her friends she would immediately do penance so that Jesus would be happy with her again. 

When Clare was eighteen, she heard St. Francis preach. Her heart burned with a great desire to imitate him. She also wanted to live a poor, humble life for Jesus. 

So one evening, she ran away from home and went to the church where St. Francis and his Friars (disciples) lived. In a little chapel outside Assisi, she gave herself to God. 

St. Francis cut off her beautiful hair and offered her a rough brown habit (long dress that nuns normally wear) and left her in the abbey to stay with the Benedictine nuns. 

Her friends hated this work she was doing for God and her parents tried in every way to make her return home, but Clare would not. Soon her fifteen-year-old sister Agnes also joined her. Other young women wanted to be brides of Jesus, too. Before long there was a small religious community.
Under the guidance of St. Francis, Clare started an order of nuns called the "Poor Clares." St. Clare and her nuns wore no shoes. They never ate meat. They lived in a poor house and kept silent most of the time. Yet they were very happy because they felt that Jesus was close to them. 

Once an army of cruel soldiers came to attack Assisi. They planned to raid the convent first. Although very sick, St. Clare asked to be carried to the window. She had the Blessed Sacrament placed right where the soldiers could see it. 

Then she knelt and begged God to save the nuns. "O Lord, protect these sisters whom I cannot protect now," she prayed. And a voice within her seemed to say: "I will keep them always in my care." Suddenly, a great fear came over the attackers and they ran away as fast as they could.
St. Clare was sick for twenty-nine years before she died on August 11, 1253. But she was always joyful because she was serving the Lord. 

Some people worried that the nuns were suffering because they were so poor. "They say that we are too poor, but how can a heart which holds the infinite God be poor?"


source: http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/0811_clare.asp

St. Anthony of Padua IEW

Feast Day: June 13
Born: 1195 :: Died: 1231

This very popular saint was born at Lisbon in Portugal in a wealthy family. He was baptized and named "Ferdinand." His parents wanted him to be a great nobleman but when Anthony grew up he wanted to become a priest.
 
He received an excellent education from the Augustinian friars and joined the order. When he was twenty-five, his life took an exciting turn. He heard about how some Franciscans - St. Berard and his companions had been martyred by the Moors in Morocco for their faith in Jesus.

From then on, Ferdinand felt a strong desire to die for Christ and he joined the Franciscans. This order was very new. St. Francis himself was still alive. Ferdinand took the name "Anthony." He went off to Africa to preach to the Moors but he soon became so sick that he had to return to Italy.
The other Franciscan friars had no idea how brilliant and talented Anthony was or of how much education he had received. He never spoke about himself. So the Franciscan superiors assigned him to a quiet friary in Italy. There he washed pots and pans without complaint.
 
One day, at a large gathering of priests, when the speaker failed to arrive, Anthony was forced to preach. He preached such a marvelous sermon that everyone who heard him was most impressed. From then on, until he died nine years later, St. Anthony preached all over Italy and France. He was so popular that people even closed their stores to go to hear him.

St. Anthony died at Arcella, near Padua, Italy, on June 13, 1231 when he was just thirty-six. After he died, people often prayed to St. Anthony in times of physical as well as spiritual needs and many miracles have taken place through the intercession of St. Anthony. That is why he is called the "wonder-worker."

The statue of St. Anthony shows him with Baby Jesus because Baby Jesus appeared to him. Other pictures show St. Anthony holding a bible. This is because he knew, loved and preached the Word of God so well. In fact, St. Anthony was so well educated especially in Sacred Scripture that Pope Pius XII proclaimed him the "Evangelical Doctor," or Doctor of Sacred Scripture.



source: http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/0613.asp

Additional Resource: BALDWIN PROJECT!
http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=hallg&book=saints&story=padua

St. William of Bourges IEW

  Feast Day: January 10
Born: (around)1155 :: Died:1209

St. William was born at Nevers in France and came from a wealthy French family of the Counts of Nevers. His father Baldwin wanted William to be a part of the French military. William was educated by his uncle Peter the Hermit who was archdeacon of Soissons.

Even as a boy, he did not waste time fooling around or being idle. He spent time praying every day. When he joined the Cistercian order, he tried to be a good monk. His fellow monks admired him, even though he was not trying to impress anybody.

St. William had a great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He practiced penance without showing how hard it was. He always seemed to be happy. When he was made abbot of the community, he remained humble.

When the archbishop of Bourges died, William was chosen to take his place. He was grateful to be consecrated a bishop, but unhappy because of all the attention he would receive. He stayed humble by doing penances for his own soul and for the conversion of sinners. He defended the Church against the state, cared personally for the poor, sick, and imprisoned, and converted many to Christianity. Witnesses claim he performed many miracles during his life.

Although William loved to be alone with God in the Blessed Sacrament, he knew it was his duty as archbishop to travel all over his diocese willingly. He celebrated the Eucharist and preached the faith. He visited prisoners, the poor and sick, cared for them, consoled them and helped bring them to Jesus.
Archbishop William died on January 10, 1209. He was buried in the cathedral of Bourges and many miracles were reported by people who prayed at his tomb.

Also known as

• Guillaume de Bourges
• William Berruyer
• William de Don Jeon
• William the Confessor

Born

• 12th century in Nevers, France

Died

• 10 January 1209 at Bourges, France of natural causes while in prayer

Canonized

• 17 May 1217 by Pope Honorius III

Source: http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-william-of-bourges/

Additional resources:

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Catholic Online
• Heiligen 3s
• Katherine Rabenstein
• Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
• Pictorial Lives of the Saints

MLA Citation

• “Saint William of Bourges“. Saints.SQPN.com. 10 January 2013. Web. 10 November 2013. <http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-william-of-bourges/>

Virtue Club Saint Report - St. Thomas Aquinas

Virtue of the Month - Wisdom

Pablo Cortez

October 1, 2010

St Thomas Aquinas - The Dumb Ox (1225-1274)  FEAST DAY: JAN 28 

Thomas was born in his family castle near Naples, Italy. His family was very rich. Thomas was one of nine children and was extremely intelligent but he never bragged about his gifted mind from God. He was so quiet and reserved that sometimes people thought that he was dull. His parents wanted him to become a Benedictine abbot. 

Thomas was educated by the Benedictine monks from 5 years of age to 18. Then he went to the University of Naples to finish his studies. There he met a new group of religious men called the Preachers (or The Dominicans). They lived very simple lives and felt that their calling was to teach. Their founder, St. Dominic, was still living. Thomas knew he wanted to become a priest and he felt called to join the Dominicans. 

His parents were very angry with him! The Dominicans were not prestigious enough for them. He secretly joined the order in 1244.  His brothers actually kidnapped him and kept him a prisoner in one of their castles for over a year! They did everything they could think of to make him change his mind. One of his sisters came to convince him to give up his vocation. But Thomas spoke so beautifully about the joy of serving God that she changed her mind and became a nun. 

 After fifteen months, Thomas was finally allowed to follow his calling. 

When he first became a Dominican some of the men called him “The Dumb Ox”. They were very wrong! He was not dumb in fact, St. Thomas wrote so well about God that people all over the world have used his books for hundreds of years. St. Thomas’ explanations about God and the faith came from his great love for God. His writings touched the hearts of many people because he was not trying to impress anyone. He just wanted with all his heart to offer the gift of his life to Jesus and the Church. 

He died when he was 49.

St. Thomas is one of the greatest Doctors of the Church and is considered the universal patron of universities, colleges, and Catholic schools.

"The end of my labors is come.  All that I have written seems to me so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me."