St. Paul of Tarsus - You Tube

Link Back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNyNYYZuGzY

ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS - July 30

ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS

Peter was born in the small town of Imola, Italy. He lived in the fifth century. Bishop Cornelius of Imola educated him and ordained him a deacon. Even as a boy, Peter understood that a person is truly great only if he can control his passions and put on the spirit of Christ.

When the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy, died, Peter was appointed by Pope St. Leo the Great to succeed him. This was around 433. As a priest and bishop, St. Peter was effective. He worked hard to wipe out the paganism still practiced in his diocese. He helped his people grow in faith.

It was as a preacher that St. Peter became famous. Indeed, "Chrysologus" means "golden word." Yet his sermons or homilies were all short. He was afraid his audience would get bored. Besides that, these sermons were not especially unusual or beautiful. But St. Peter's message was more valuable than gold. He preached with such enthusiasm and fire that people listened to him breathlessly. In his sermons, St. Peter urged everyone to receive Jesus often in Holy Communion. He wanted people to realize that the Body of the Lord should be the daily food for their souls.

This good archbishop also worked for the unity of all the members of the Catholic Church. He tried to prevent people from getting confused about what Catholics believe. He also tried to keep peace. St. Peter Chrysologus died on December 2, 450, in his hometown of Imola, Italy. For his wonderful sermons, so rich in teaching, Pope Benedict XIII declared St. Peter to be a Doctor of the Church in 1729.

When we find it hard to pay attention at Mass, we can ask St. Peter Chrysologus to be near us. He will help us receive the sermon with loving hearts. He will also help us prepare our hearts for Holy Communion.
References and Sources:
http://archive.org/details/fathersofthechur013355mbp
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/640679/posts

Plus many more

St. Ananias and St. Paul - January 25

One of the least known saints, St. Ananias of Damascus, baptizing one of the best known - St. Paul. 
January 25th  happens to be the Feast Day for both!

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Jesus, with all the Masses being said all over the world this day, for the Souls in Purgatory." Our Lord showed St. Gertrude a vast number of souls leaving Purgatory and going to Heaven as a result of this prayer, which the Saint was accustomed to say frequently during the day. Taken from the booklet Read Me or Rue It by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan which has the approval of the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal – March 4, 1936. St. Gertrude's life was the mystic life of the Cloister – a Benedictine nun. She meditated on the Passion of Christ, which many times brought a flood of tears to her eyes. She did many penances and Our Lord appeared to her many times. She had a tender love for the Blessed Virgin and was very devoted to the suffering souls in Purgatory. She died in 1334. Her feast day is November 16th.

St Charles Lwanga and Companions - what would these brave men make of the Soho Masses?

A few months ago I wrote a post highlighting the fact that Terence Weldon - member of the Soho Masses Pastoral Council and author of the Queering the Church blog - had declared that a gay-rights campaigner who had probably, according to later reports, died at the hands of his rent boy was a "New Ugandan Martyr." In his post, Weldon also went on to seemingly disparage St Charles Lwanga, who is a true martyr for the Christian faith. One of the reasons St Charles was put to death was for his refusal to allow Mwanga II, the homosexual king of what was then called Buganda (modern-day Uganda), to sodomise him and the other young Christians under his care.

Contrary to other Catholic organisations that provide pastoral care and support to those with same-sex attractions (i.e. Courage Apostolate), the Soho Masses group seems to promote the gay culture and its political agenda - which, of course, is profoundly opposed to the Gospel and to the truth that Catholicism proclaims. One wonders then, on this his feast day, what St Charles Lwanga would have to say about the Soho Masses? I find it very difficult to believe that his holy and brave man, who refused to submit to his King's homosexual lust, would approve of a group within the Church that seems to promote homosexuality as well as same-sex civil partnerships and the like.

To find out more about the story of St Charles Lwanga and his young Companions, please visit Catholic Online, which has an excellent article on these holy Martyrs. Also, here is a video, which movingly recounts the last moment of St Charles and the other men and boys who were barbarically killed alongside him.

There were also some Anglicans who died for the Christian faith with St Charles and his friends. These men, who were mentioned by Pope Paul VI at the Canonisation of St Charles and his Companions, also refused the King's homosexual advances, and witness both to the Church's ultimate unity and to the fact that Christians should always stand together in promoting sanctity, truth and God's Holy Commandments. It is wonderful to know that St Charles Lwanga and the other young men and boys who gave their lives for Christ with him are now beholding God before His Throne in Heaven! May they not forget us who for now live as their earth-bound brothers and sisters.

Lord God, we pray for the Church,

that she may be One in faith and united in witnessing to the splendour of the truth.

May she always have the courage to call men and women to holiness

and may she never bow to the false teachings of this passing world. Amen

St Charles Lwanga and Companions, pray for us

SOURCE: http://areluctantsinner.blogspot.com/2011/06/st-charles-lwanga-and-companions-what.html
[Image: St Charles Lwanga and Comps., as found on many websites on the internet. This image is in the public domain]

Father Damien

Feast Day: May 10

St. Jean-Marie Vianney