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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: May 10, 2012 3:13 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Thursday, May 10, 2012) - St. Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka'i
To: "vanderkok@gmail.com" <vanderkok@gmail.com>

Thursday, May 10, 2012 St. Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka'i (1840-1889) When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy (Hansen's disease). By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Molokai, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope (January 23), to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. Comment: Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Molokai and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an "Open Letter to Dr. Hyde." Quote: During the beatification homily, Pope John Paul II said: "Holiness is not perfection according to human criteria; it is not reserved for a small number of exceptional persons. It is for everyone; it is the Lord who brings us to holiness, when we are willing to collaborate in the salvation of the world for the glory of God, despite our sin and our sometimes rebellious temperament." (This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.) CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe

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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: May 6, 2012 3:04 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Sunday, May 06, 2012) - Sts. Marian and James
To: "vanderkok@gmail.com" <vanderkok@gmail.com>

Sunday, May 06, 2012 Sts. Marian and James (d. 259) Often, it’s hard to find much detail from the lives of saints of the early Church. What we know about the third-century martyrs we honor today is likewise minimal. But we do know that they lived and died for the faith. Almost 2,000 years later, that is enough reason to honor them. Born in North Africa, Marian was a lector or reader; James was a deacon. For their devotion to the faith they suffered during the persecution of Valerian. Prior to their persecution, Marian and James were visited by two bishops who encouraged them in the faith not long before they themselves were martyred. A short time later, Marian and James were arrested and interrogated. The two readily confessed their faith and, for that, were tortured. While in prison they are said to have experienced visions, including one of the two bishops who had visited them earlier. On the last day of their lives, Marian and James joined other Christians facing martyrdom. They were blindfolded and then put to death. Their bodies were thrown into the water. The year was 259. CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe

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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: May 1, 2012 3:04 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Tuesday, May 01, 2012) - St. Joseph the Worker
To: "vanderkok@gmail.com" <vanderkok@gmail.com>

Tuesday, May 01, 2012 St. Joseph the Worker Apparently in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a much longer history. In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ. Comment: “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15). The Father created all and asked humanity to continue the work of creation. We find our dignity in our work, in raising a family, in participating in the life of the Father’s creation. Joseph the Worker was able to help participate in the deepest mystery of creation. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work. Thus, if you wish to be close to Christ, we again today repeat, ‘Go to Joseph’” (see Genesis 41:44). Quote: In Brothers of Men, René Voillaume of the Little Brothers of Jesus speaks about ordinary work and holiness: “Now this holiness (of Jesus) became a reality in the most ordinary circumstances of life, those of word, of the family and the social life of a village, and this is an emphatic affirmation of the fact that the most obscure and humdrum human activities are entirely compatible with the perfection of the Son of God...in relation to this mystery, involves the conviction that the evangelical holiness proper to a child of God is possible in the ordinary circumstances of someone who is poor and obliged to work for his living.” (This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.) CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe

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From: "JP VANDERKOK" <vanderkok@gmail.com>
Date: Apr 28, 2012 7:25 AM
Subject: Fwd: Saint of the Day (Saturday, April 28, 2012) - St. Peter Chanel
To: "777" <jkokccc@gmail.com>

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> From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: Apr 26, 2012 3:08 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Thursday, April 26, 2012) - St. Pedro de San Jos&eacute; Betancur
To: "vanderkok@gmail.com" <vanderkok@gmail.com>

Thursday, April 26, 2012 St. Pedro de San José Betancur (1626-1667) Central America claimed its first saint with the canonization of Pedro de Betancur by Pope John Paul II in Guatemala City on July 30, 2002. Known as the "St. Francis of the Americas," Pedro de Betancur is the first saint to have worked and died in Guatemala. Calling the new saint an “outstanding example” of Christian mercy, the Holy Father noted that St. Pedro practiced mercy “heroically with the lowliest and the most deprived.” Speaking to the estimated 500,000 Guatemalans in attendance, the Holy Father spoke of the social ills that plague the country today and of the need for change. “Let us think of the children and young people who are homeless or deprived of an education; of abandoned women with their many needs; of the hordes of social outcasts who live in the cities; of the victims of organized crime, of prostitution or of drugs; of the sick who are neglected and the elderly who live in loneliness,” he said in his homily during the three-hour liturgy. Pedro very much wanted to become a priest, but God had other plans for the young man born into a poor family on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Pedro was a shepherd until age 24, when he began to make his way to Guatemala, hoping to connect with a relative engaged in government service there. By the time he reached Havana, he was out of money. After working there to earn more, he got to Guatemala City the following year. When he arrived he was so destitute that he joined the bread line which the Franciscans had established. Soon, Pedro enrolled in the local Jesuit college in hopes of studying for the priesthood. No matter how hard he tried, however, he could not master the material; he withdrew from school. In 1655 he joined the Secular Franciscan Order. Three years later he opened a hospital for the convalescent poor; a shelter for the homeless and a school for the poor soon followed. Not wanting to neglect the rich of Guatemala City, Pedro began walking through their part of town ringing a bell and inviting them to repent. Other men came to share in Pedro's work. Out of this group came the Bethlehemite Congregation, which won papal approval after Pedro's death. A Bethlehemite sisters' community, similarly founded after Pedro's death, was inspired by his life of prayer and compassion. He is sometimes credited with originating the Christmas Eve posadas procession in which people representing Mary and Joseph seek a night's lodging from their neighbors. The custom soon spread to Mexico and other Central American countries. Pedro was canonized in 2002.. Comment: As humans, we often pride ourselves on our ability to reason. But, as Pedro’s life shows, other skills may be an even more crucial element of our humanity than a clever mind: compassion, imagination, love. Unable to master studies for the priesthood despite his efforts, Pedro responded to the needs of homeless and sick people; he provided education to the poor and salvation to the rich. He became holy—as fully human as any of us can ever be. Quote: Speaking of Pedro and the four others beatified with him in 1980, Pope John Paul II said: "God lavished his kindness and his mercy on them, enriching them with his grace; he loved them with a fatherly, but demanding, love, which promised only hardships and suffering. He invited and called them to heroic holiness; he tore them away from their countries of origin and sent them to other lands to proclaim the message of the gospel, in the midst of inexpressible toil and difficulties" (L'Osservatore Romano). CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe

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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: Apr 22, 2012 3:02 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Sunday, April 22, 2012) - St. Adalbert of Prague
To: "vanderkok@gmail.com" <vanderkok@gmail.com>

Sunday, April 22, 2012 St. Adalbert of Prague (956-97) Opposition to the Good News of Jesus did not discourage Adalbert, who is now remembered with great honor in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Germany. Born to a noble family in Bohemia, he received part of his education from St. Adalbert of Magdeburg. At the age of 27 he was chosen as bishop of Prague. Those who resisted his program of clerical reform forced him into exile eight years later. In time, the people of Prague requested his return as their bishop. Within a short time, however, he was exiled again after excommunicating those who violated the right of sanctuary by dragging a woman accused of adultery from a church and murdering her. After a short ministry in Hungary, he went to preach the Good News to people living near the Baltic Sea. He and two companions were martyred by pagan priests in that region. Adalbert's body was immediately ransomed and buried in Gniezno cathedral (Poland). In the mid-11th century his relics were moved to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Comment: Preaching the Good News can be dangerous work whether the audience is already baptized or not. Adalbert fearlessly preached Jesus' gospel and received a martyr's crown for his efforts. Similar zeal has created modern martyrs in many places, especially in Central and South America. Some of those martyrs grew up in areas once evangelized by Adalbert. Quote: “God our Father, you have honored the Church with the victorious witness of St. Adalbert, who died for his faith. As he imitated the suffering and death of the Lord, may we follow in his footsteps and come to eternal joy” (adapted from the Common of a Martyr in the Easter season). CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe

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From: "Catholic Online" <publisher@catholic.org>
Date: Apr 21, 2012 1:54 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day
To: <vanderkok@gmail.com>

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Saint of the Day Saturday, April 21, 2012 St. Anselm St. Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury and Confessor APRIL 21,A.D. 1109 IF the Norman conquerors stripped the English nation of its liberty, and many temporal advantages, it must be owned that by their valor they raised the reputation of its arms, and deprived their own country of its greatest men, both in church and state, with whom they ... Read More » More Saints of the Day St. Beuno St. Anastasius XI St. Anastasius the Sinaite St. Apollo and Companions St. Arator St. Conrad of Parzham St. Froduiphus St. Maximian of Constantinople Bl. John Saziari Tomorrow's Saint of the Day St. Abdiesus Also called Hebed Jesus, a deacon in the Christian community of Persia who was caught up in the persecutions conducted by King Shapur II. Records indicate that Abdiesus was accompanied in his martyrdom by Abrosimus, Acepsimus, Azadanes, Azades, Bicor, Mareas, Milles, and a women named ... Read More » News | Catholic Life | PRWire | Encyclopedia | Bible | Prayers | Vocations | Saints & Angels © Copyright 2012 Catholic Online.

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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: Apr 21, 2012 3:07 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Saturday, April 21, 2012) - St. Anselm
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Saturday, April 21, 2012 St. Anselm (1033-1109) Indifferent toward religion as a young man, Anselm became one of the Church's greatest theologians and leaders. He received the title "Father of Scholasticism" for his attempt to analyze and illumine the truths of faith through the aid of reason. At 15, Anselm wanted to enter a monastery, but was refused acceptance because of his father's opposition. Twelve years later, after careless disinterest in religion and years of worldly living, he finally fulfilled his desire to be a monk. He entered the monastery of Bec in Normandy, three years later was elected prior and 15 years later was unanimously chosen abbot. Considered an original and independent thinker, Anselm was admired for his patience, gentleness and teaching skill. Under his leadership, the abbey of Bec became a monastic school, influential in philosophical and theological studies. During these years, at the community's request, Anselm began publishing his theological works, comparable to those of St. Augustine. His best-known work is the book Cur Deus Homo ("Why God Became Man"). At 60, against his will, Anselm was appointed archbishop of Canterbury in 1093. His appointment was opposed at first by England's King William Rufus and later accepted. Rufus persistently refused to cooperate with efforts to reform the Church. Anselm finally went into voluntary exile until Rufus died in 1100. He was then recalled to England by Rufus's brother and successor, Henry I. Disagreeing fearlessly with Henry over the king's insistence on investing England's bishops, Anselm spent another three years in exile in Rome. His care and concern extended to the very poorest people; he opposed the slave trade. Anselm obtained from the national council at Westminster the passage of a resolution prohibiting the sale of human beings. Comment: Anselm, like every true follower of Christ, had to carry his cross, especially in the form of opposition and conflict with those in political control. Though personally a mild and gentle man and a lover of peace, he would not back off from conflict and persecution when principles were at stake. Quote: "No one will have any other desire in heaven than what God wills; and the desire of one will be the desire of all; and the desire of all and of each one will also be the desire of God" (St. Anselm, Letter 112). (This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.) CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe

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From: "Catholic Online" <publisher@catholic.org>
Date: Apr 18, 2012 1:48 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day
To: <vanderkok@gmail.com>

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Saint of the Day Wednesday, April 18, 2012 St. Apollonius the Apologist Martyr whose Apologia, or defense of the faith, is considered one of the most priceless documents of the early Church. Apollonius was a Roman senator who was denounced as a Christian by one of his slaves. The Praetorian Prefect, Sextus Tigidius Perennis, arrested him, also putting the slave to death as an informer. Perennis demanded that Apollonius denounce the faith, and when he refused, the case was remanded to the Roman senate. There a debate took place between Perennis ... Read More » More Saints of the Day St. Agia St. Athanasia of Aegina St. Wicterp St. Calocerus St. Cogitosus St. Corebus St. Eleutherius & Anthia St. Galdinus St. Gebuinus St. Laserian St. Perfectus St. Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur Bl. Marie-Anne Blondin St. Pedro de San Jose Betancur Tomorrow's Saint of the Day St. Alphege Archbishop and "the First Martyr of Canterbury." He was born in 953 and became a monk in the Deerhurst Monastery in Gloucester, England, asking after a few years to become a hermit. He received permission for this vocation and retired to a small hut near Somerset, England. In 984 ... Read More » News | Catholic Life | PRWire | Encyclopedia | Bible | Prayers | Vocations | Saints & Angels © Copyright 2012 Catholic Online.

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From: "Franciscan Media" <goodnews@franciscanmedia.org>
Date: Apr 3, 2012 3:10 AM
Subject: Saint of the Day (Tuesday, April 03, 2012) - St. Benedict the African
To: "vanderkok@gmail.com" <vanderkok@gmail.com>

Tuesday, April 03, 2012 St. Benedict the African (1526-1589) Benedict held important posts in the Franciscan Order and gracefully adjusted to other work when his terms of office were up. His parents were slaves brought from Africa to Messina, Sicily. Freed at 18, Benedict did farm work for a wage and soon saved enough to buy a pair of oxen. He was very proud of those animals. In time he joined a group of hermits around Palermo and was eventually recognized as their leader. Because these hermits followed the Rule of St. Francis, Pope Pius IV ordered them to join the First Order. Benedict was eventually novice master and then guardian of the friars in Palermo— positions rarely held in those days by a brother. In fact, Benedict was forced to accept his election as guardian. And when his term ended he happily returned to his work in the friary kitchen. Benedict corrected the friars with humility and charity. Once he corrected a novice and assigned him a penance only to learn that the novice was not the guilty party. Benedict immediately knelt down before the novice and asked his pardon. In later life Benedict was not possessive of the few things he used. He never referred to them as "mine" but always called them "ours." His gifts for prayer and the guidance of souls earned him throughout Sicily a reputation for holiness. Following the example of St. Francis, Benedict kept seven 40-day fasts throughout the year; he also slept only a few hours each night. After Benedict’s death, King Philip III of Spain paid for a special tomb for this holy friar. Canonized in 1807, he is honored as a patron saint by African-Americans. Comment: Among Franciscans a position of leadership is limited in time. When the time expires, former leaders sometimes have trouble adjusting to their new position. The Church needs men and women ready to put their best energies into leadership— but men and women who are gracefully willing to go on to other work when their time of leadership is over. Quote: "I did not come to be served but to serve (see Matthew 20:28), says the Lord. Those who are placed over others should glory in such an office only as much as they would were they assigned the task of washing the feet of the brothers. And the more they are upset about their office being taken from them than they would be over the loss of the office of [washing] feet, so much the more do they store up treasures to the peril of their souls (see John 12:6)" (Francis of Assisi, Admonition IV). CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION If you are having difficulty listening to Saint of the Day audio, or need help setting up an audio player, go to our Audio Help page for more information. SHARE THIS EMAIL: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Digg MySpace Check out all our fine free e-newsletters from Franciscan Media: 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Copyright© 1996-2012 Franciscan Media. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe